Failing to pay the court fee within 30 days strikes your case off the roll — without a single argument being assessed
NV M. went to the Council of State in December 2025 against the award of the Pannestraat works in Lanaken, but did not pay the court fee within 30 days of the payment notice — result: the appeal was struck off the roll without any examination of the substantive grounds.
What happened?
On 16 October 2025 the executive of Lanaken awarded the contract 'Lanaken – Pannestraat: infrastructure works parcelling Pannestraat and diversion Langekeukelbeek' to a third bidder and approved the evaluation report of 15 October 2025. A rejected bidder, NV M., filed an annulment appeal on 15 December 2025. On 1 April 2026 the chief registrar — at the request of the assigned auditor — sent NV M. the notice under article 71, fourth paragraph of the Regent's Decree of 23 August 1948. That provision is crystal clear: if the Council's account is not credited within 30 days of receipt of the payment notice, the appeal is struck off the roll. The registered letter expressly mentioned this rule. NV M. did not pay within the 30 days. The Council mechanically applies article 71, fourth paragraph and strikes the appeal off the roll. No examination of grounds, no cost order against the authority — a void arrest noting only the procedural lapse. The arrest spans three pages. NV M. did not request a hearing, suggesting realisation that the case was lost.
Why does this matter?
Filing a UDN or annulment appeal is not just a lawyer's matter — there is a court fee tied to it that must be paid within a strict deadline. Miss that payment and the entire appeal becomes void, however strong your substantive grounds. For bid managers: double-check that your lawyer treats the court-fee payment as a critical deadline. For in-house counsel: set up court-fee payment as a separate task in your workflow, with a warning on day 20 and a hard stop on day 28.
The lesson
When filing an appeal with the Council of State: immediately note the date you received the court-fee payment notice. Add 30 days and put that date in your calendar as a hard deadline. Credit the Council's account no later than day 25 to absorb bank delays. One slip on this administrative step makes the entire procedure worthless, and you don't even get the court fee back.
Ask yourself
Do you currently have an appeal pending with the Council of State, or are you considering one? Ask your lawyer (or check your file): when was the payment notice received, and has the account actually been credited? If so, on what date? If not, how many days do you have left? If you can answer this in under 24 hours, you are fine. If you don't know immediately, there is risk.
About this database
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 →