Grounds for Cancelling a Tender May Not Be Lawful: What Should Firms Do?

24 March 2026

Although Public Procurement Law No. 4734 confers on contracting authorities the power to cancel a tender, that power is not unlimited. The decisions of the Public Procurement Board show that cancellations must be carried out within the framework of the public interest, the requirements of the service and the fundamental principles. Grounds such as an insufficiency of appropriations that does not reflect the true position, requirements arising subsequently, grounds that are not concrete, the fact that only one valid tender remains, or an assertion that competition did not arise are in most cases not accepted as lawful. Firms whose tenders are cancelled should therefore examine the grounds carefully and, where necessary, have recourse to legal remedies.