In recent weeks, several large calls for tender by ESM, the state-owned power utility, have been active on North Macedonia's Electronic Public Procurement System, including a tender for coal and interburden excavation at REK Bitola with an estimated value exceeding 15 million euros, conducted through an electronic auction. In earlier procedures run by the same contracting authority, bids from two companies were rejected and the tender was annulled and republished. For bidders, a rejected bid is not the end of the story: the Public Procurement Law provides an effective appeal mechanism, but with short, preclusive deadlines.
Who can file an appeal and against what?
An appeal may be filed by any economic operator with a legal interest in being awarded the contract that has suffered, or could suffer, damage from a violation of the provisions of the Public Procurement Law. The appeal is filed directly with the State Appeals Commission (SAC), in electronic form through the Electronic Public Procurement System, and there is no prior stage before the contracting authority.
An appeal may target almost any action in the procedure: the content of the contract notice and tender documentation, the manner of evaluation, the award decision (through which the rejection of the bid is challenged in practice), and the decision to annul the procedure.
An important warning: if you miss an appeal against the notice or the tender documentation at an early stage, as a rule you lose the right to rely on the same legal grounds at a later stage of the procedure.
What is the deadline for appealing to the SAC?
The deadline depends on the type of procedure and runs from receipt of the award or annulment decision, or from the event being challenged:
| Type of procedure | Appeal deadline |
|---|---|
| Open procedure | 10 days |
| Simplified open procedure and small-value procurement | 5 days |
| Small-value procurement via the electronic marketplace (2025 amendments) | 3 days |
| Contract concluded without a procedure | 60 days from knowledge, no later than 6 months from conclusion |
These deadlines are preclusive: a late appeal is dismissed without any substantive review, no matter how strong it is on the merits. In practice, from receipt of the award or cancellation decision you have only 3, 5 or 10 days, depending on the procedure type, to analyse the decision and the tender documentation and to prepare an appeal.
Does an appeal stop the contract from being signed?
Yes. As a rule, the contracting authority may not sign the contract until the award decision becomes final (the so-called standstill period), and a filed appeal postpones the conclusion of the contract or framework agreement until the SAC's decision becomes final. A contract concluded in breach of the standstill period or of the appeal's suspensive effect is subject to annulment, in whole or in part, by the State Appeals Commission under the conditions set by the Public Procurement Law.
There is an exception: at the contracting authority's request, the SAC may allow the contract to be signed even while the appeal procedure is pending. This is why the speed of preparing the appeal is of essential importance.
How much does an appeal cost and what can the SAC decide?
A fee for conducting the procedure is paid with the appeal, set according to the value of the bid: from 50 euros for bids up to 10,000 euros, up to 200 euros for bids above 130,000 euros, in denar counter-value, plus an administrative fee, as well as attorney's fees if the appeal is filed through an attorney. Proof of payment is attached to the appeal.
The SAC decides within 15 days of completion of the case documentation (3 days for small-value procurement via the electronic marketplace). It may uphold the appeal and annul the challenged act or the procedure in its unlawful part, and the contracting authority is obliged to act upon the decision within 30 days. No appeal lies against the SAC's decision, but an administrative dispute may be initiated before the Administrative Court.
Under the 2025 amendments to the Public Procurement Law, the SAC's review of substantial violations is mandatory ex officio, which further strengthens appeal protection.
What should a bidder check before filing an appeal?
Not every rejection is worth appealing. The prospects depend on the reason for the rejection, so before filing we recommend an assessment along these lines:
- whether the rejection is based on a formal omission that the law allows to be remedied, or that the contracting authority should have asked you to supplement;
- whether the requirement in the tender documentation is clear and proportionate, or creates an unequal position among bidders;
- whether the correct evaluation criterion was applied and whether the reasoning of the decision is complete;
- whether the appeal deadline is still running and from which event it started;
- whether the procedure is divided into lots, since the suspension applies only to the challenged lot.
A rejection based on an objectively unmet condition generally has weaker prospects of being challenged. An overly formalistic interpretation, unclear documentation or improper evaluation, on the other hand, may provide grounds for an appeal, depending on the circumstances of the specific procedure.
Was your bid rejected or were you excluded from a tender?
Appeal deadlines before the SAC are short and preclusive. We analyse the decision and the tender documentation, assess the prospects of success and prepare the appeal with all supporting evidence, before the deadline expires.
For companies that regularly participate in public procurement, we also offer continuous legal support: review of contract notices before a bid is submitted, timely appeals against discriminatory requirements, and representation throughout the appeal procedure.
Book an urgent consultationRelated service: Administrative Law Attorney
Source: Public Procurement Law, Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia no. 24/2019, as amended by Official Gazette of the Republic of North Macedonia nos. 87/2021 and 14/2025.
This text is general legal information and does not constitute legal advice for a specific case. For advice tailored to your situation, consult an attorney.