Poland plans record-high fees for public tender appeals

Poland's Public Procurement Office is proposing a drastic increase in fees for appealing public tender decisions, a move intended to curb a significant rise in disputes and improve the efficiency of the procurement process. The proposed changes, detailed in a new bill, would see the cost of lodging an appeal skyrocket, particularly for large construction contracts.

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The right of contractors to lodge appeals is a very important element of the public procurement system. However, the constant increase in the number of appeals lodged constitutes a systemically undesirable phenomenon.

Currently, the fee for an appeal ranges from 7,500 to 20,000 PLN, a rate unchanged since 2010. However, the number of appeals has surged by 60% in the last five years, reaching nearly 6,000 in 2025 compared to less than 2,700 in 2019. The office attributes this trend partly to the relatively low cost of appeals, which has been eroded by inflation.

The most dramatic increase would affect construction projects exceeding 30 million euros. Companies bidding on these contracts could face a fee of 150,000 PLN per appeal. This would make appealing tender decisions in Poland more expensive than any other legal recourse within the country's court system, where the maximum fee in civil cases is capped at 100,000 PLN. For contracts valued between 15 million and 30 million euros, the fee would be 60,000 PLN, and for those below 15 million euros, it would be 30,000 PLN. Lower thresholds apply for supplies and services.

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The increase in the appeal fee for the largest orders – This is a bold decision, I don't know if not too bold.

Legal experts express caution. Dr. hab. Włodzimierz Dzierżanowski, a lecturer at Lazarski University, described the decision as "bold, perhaps too bold." He noted that while the fee itself is substantial, the threshold for its application is also a concern. For major investments, lodging two appeals could consume nearly 10% of the projected profit, given typical margins of around 2%. The proposed changes aim to make the appeals process more efficient, but critics suggest the high costs could disproportionately impact businesses and potentially stifle competition.

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In practice, this means that tender disputes will become the most expensive form of litigation in the entire Polish judiciary.