Love Me, Tender?

July 2, 2025

Public tenders for the procurement of imaging equipment and cartridges continue to present serious challenges for OEM cartridge remanufacturers. In the EU, the outright exclusion of remanufactured OEM cartridges from public tenders is illegal. Challenging such tenders is an ongoing task for ETIRA.

It is unacceptable that some public bodies violate EU competition law by preventing bidders from offering remanufactured OEM cartridges. ETIRA intervenes wherever we discover these unlawful exclusions. Over the past two years, ETIRA has formally protested against around 25 tenders in Germany, Spain, Italy, Romania and France, which initially excluded remanufactured cartridges. In most cases, the public authority backed down and eventually allowed remanufactured products to be included.

Other tender-related problems arise when unscrupulous traders abuse the system. In several recent cases, ETIRA exposed firms that won tenders by offering remanufactured cartridges on paper, only to supply polluting single-use cartridges instead. ETIRA notified the relevant authorities and demanded that the delivered products be tested for compliance with the tender criteria.

Abuse also includes the submission of false information to qualify for a tender. In one recent case in Italy, ETIRA exposed bidders who falsely claimed their products held Type-1 ecolabel certification.

If you have encountered similar issues, don’t hesitate to get in touch with info@etira.org to explore how ETIRA can assist you in responding.