Brno - The Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS) didn´t make a mistake when contesting the purchase of trams for Dopravní podnik Ostrava (DP). ÚOHS´s decision was confirmed by the Regional Court in Brno, where the DP´s suit was dismissed on Tuesday.

"Dopravní podnik signed a contract on taking a particular type of trams. Later on, the company changed the wording of the contract in additional amendments. It would have been correct to follow the Public Contracts Act and call for a new tender, as it was stated by ÚOHS," David Raus, one of the three members of the senate, justified the verdict.

The court´s ruling is in favour of Pilsen´s producer Škoda Transportation. Škoda used to produce trams for the town of Ostrava.

But it was then replaced by the local Inekon Group. Škoda filed a complaint against Dopravní podnik Ostrava. They demanded CZK 183 million as compensation for the allegedly unfair competition.

However, the Prague court dismissed the charge.

Škoda appealed against the decision and the case now goes to the Supreme Court in Prague. The ÚOHS´s decision and subsequently the decision of the administrative section of the Regional Court in Brno can now significantly help Škoda improve its image in the eyes of the Supreme Court.

Did ÚOHS act confusedly?

Škoda would gain hundreds of millions and would be on top in the fight with its rival Inekon, which has been supplying Ostrava with trams.

As a result, the attorney of Dopravní podnik Ostrava, Vlastislav Klusák, is considering cassation and also filing a constitutional complaint.

"In my opinion, the decision of the Office for the Protection of Competition is illegal. In the course of  the administrative procedure, a number of principles were violated," claims Klusák.

This Ostrava case is not the only one with which Škoda and Inekon overload the Czech court system.

War over trams

In the spring, the Regional Court in Brno sent back a similar case concerning Dopravní podnik Praha to the Office for the Protection of Competition, for the second time already.

For a change, they chose Škoda as the supplier of trams worth CZK 17 billion. And defeated Inekon claimed that DP Praha had secretly disadvantaged them.

As a result, Ostrava´s authorities have considered terminating long-term cooperation between Inekon and Dopravní podnik Ostrava to achieve better transparency.