Does the government allow affiliated units to participate in the bidding for purchasing services?

This question first depends on whether there is an agreement in this respect in the bidding documents of the project. If not, it will be even more difficult. Because the "Government Procurement Law" and the "Measures for the Administration of Bidding for Government Procurement of Goods and Services" do not clearly stipulate the bidding of affiliated enterprises. Only Article 32 of the Measures for Bidding of Construction Goods stipulates that two or more legal persons whose legal representatives are the same person, the parent company, wholly-owned subsidiaries and their holding companies may not bid at the same time in the same goods bidding. Therefore, if there is no agreement in the bidding documents, even affiliated enterprises can bid together, because this behavior does not violate the prohibition of the law.

Specific to the case you mentioned, just because the shareholders of the two companies are the same and the legal representatives are husband and wife, it is not enough to think that they are affiliated enterprises. If one company is engaged in ceramics and the other is engaged in clothing, there is no business relationship between the two companies, and both companies do not control the other company, these will certainly not constitute affiliated enterprises in tax law. In addition, shareholders are not necessarily employees, and husband and wife are in charge of their own companies. Let's assume that they have bad feelings and may even get divorced. Maybe they are real competitors in this bid. Therefore, judging from the current evidence, these two companies are not prohibited by law, nor do they constitute invalid bids in the bidding documents of this project. It is legal for them to participate in government procurement activities. So I personally think this question should not be established.

However, some people may say that such companies always make people feel suspicious of collusion or bidding. This question should be thought of this way. Undoubtedly, we can't just think that others have problems. However, I suggest you carefully check the bidding documents of the two companies to see if there are any similarities, such as the same names in personnel composition, quotation, qualification certificate, manufacturer authorization and so on. Report problems to the regulatory authorities in time, because it is the responsibility of the regulatory authorities to investigate and deal with illegal acts, and it is the responsibility of the organization to report problems in time.

Finally, it is suggested that the bidding of so-called affiliated enterprises should be clearly restricted in the bidding documents. In addition, regarding the supplier's inquiry, it is best to explicitly ask them to provide evidence materials or evidence sources, because the inquiry belongs to the scope of civil law adjustment, and the principle of who advocates who gives evidence can be applied. However, the supervision department is an administrative department and has its own investigation power. Suppliers can complain without proof. (Yang Zhijian is the full-time legal adviser of Foshan Finance Bureau)