Rejection of suspension application after withdrawal of award decision for container logistics and waste processing — withdrawal not yet definitive due to incomplete notification, but retroactive effect removes harm condition under article 14 of the Act of 17 June 2013
The Council of State rejected the suspension application by SA COGETRINA LOGISTICS against IPALLE's award of lot 4 of a service contract for container rental, transport and waste processing at recycling parks in Western Hainaut (2026-2029), because IPALLE's retroactive withdrawal of the award decision eliminated the harm condition under article 14 of the Act of 17 June 2013, even though the withdrawal was not yet definitive due to incomplete notification without mention of appeal forms and deadlines.
What happened?
IPALLE awarded lot 4 of a waste management service contract to SRL Duhaut-Devroux on 17 June 2025. COGETRINA LOGISTICS filed a suspension application on 17 July 2025. On the same day, IPALLE withdrew the award decision. The withdrawal notification mentioned the possibility of appeal but did not specify the forms and deadlines, so the withdrawal was not yet definitive. Article 30 §5 could not be applied to declare the annulment appeal moot. However, for the suspension application specifically, articles 14 and 15 of the Act of 17 June 2013 require that the applicant has been or risks being harmed. Since the withdrawal operated retroactively, the harm condition was no longer met. The suspension application was declared inadmissible. Costs were reserved.
Why does this matter?
This ruling demonstrates the asymmetric consequences of an incompletely notified withdrawal: the annulment appeal survives (because the withdrawal is not definitive), but the suspension application does not (because the retroactive effect eliminates the harm condition under article 14).
The lesson
When the contracting authority withdraws an award decision during pending proceedings, check whether the notification mentions appeal forms and deadlines. An incomplete notification prevents the withdrawal from becoming definitive, keeping the annulment appeal alive. However, the suspension application becomes inadmissible regardless.
Ask yourself
Has the contracting authority withdrawn the award decision? Does the notification mention appeal forms and deadlines? If not, the withdrawal is not definitive and your annulment appeal may remain pending.
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The Council of State (Raad van State / Conseil d'État) is Belgium's supreme administrative court. In disputes over public procurement — from contract awards to tenderer exclusions — the Council of State is the final arbiter. The rulings in this database are summarised by TenderWolf in plain language, with practical lessons for tenderers and contracting authorities. View all rulings →