The Competition Register at the Bundeskartellamt

The Competition Register for Public Procurement provides public contracting authorities, sector contracting entities and concession grantors with information helping them to assess whether a company must or can be excluded from an award procedure in Germany for having committed certain economic offences.

The Competition Register for Public Procurement can be consulted electronically, making it easy for contracting entities to obtain the relevant information.

The Competition Register Act (Wettbewerbsregistergesetz – WRegG) and the Competition Register Regulation (Wettbewerbsregisterverordnung – WRegV) form the legal basis for the establishment and operation of the Competition Register for Public Procurement. The Competition Register is maintained at the Bundeskartellamt as an electronic database.

In line with Section 6(1) WRegG, public contracting entities are obliged to consult the Competition Register if the estimated order value threshold of 30,000 euros net of tax is met. If this threshold is not met, contracting entities may consult the register on a voluntary basis.

Companies entered in the register can apply to the Bundeskartellamt for premature deletion due to self-cleaning (by implementing measures to compensate for any damage as well as cooperation and compliance measures). The Bundeskartellamt has published guidelines and a practical guide on this procedure.