GSK Stockmann successfully represented Samsung Electronics GmbH in proceedings before the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf. In a final decision dated 2 September 2026 (Ref. VII-Verg 38/25), the Public Procurement Tribunal halted the town of Datteln’s product-specific tender for tablets. This ruling sends a clear message regarding procurement decisions in the German education sector. Even if a decision has previously been made to adopt a specific system, this does not automatically justify restricting subsequent procurement decisions to the same manufacturer. Instead, local authorities are required to consider adopting a manufacturer-neutral approach and, where necessary, adapt their IT infrastructure to facilitate competition.
The German town of Datteln had issued an EU-wide call for tenders for Apple iPads, both to replace old devices in its schools that had reached the end of their useful life and to increase its existing stock. Datteln justified the requirement for Apple products specifically on the basis of its current mobile device management (MDM) system, which can only support Apple devices, as well as the additional costs and risks allegedly involved in using other products.
The Tribunal made it clear that product-specific tenders restrict competition and should therefore only be used in narrowly defined circumstances. In exceptional cases, it is the responsibility of the contracting authority to prove that a product-specific tender is permissible. Any contracting authority procuring IT equipment that cites compatibility issues with their existing hardware and software environment as justification for specifying a particular product must provide a detailed explanation, along with evidence where necessary, demonstrating that changing the system or adding product-neutral equipment would result in disproportionate additional costs or cause unacceptable disruption to the functionality of their IT environment. References to general issues such as alleged incompatibilities, security risks, training requirements or general economic considerations are not sufficient. Contracting authorities must determine the specific additional effort and costs required.
While contracting authorities have the right to determine the subject of a procurement decision, this does not give them licence to permanently exclude competing manufacturers. Even if the existing MDM system only supports devices from one manufacturer, this does not justify requiring products from that same manufacturer in the tender, provided that the system can be converted to, or supplemented with, a manufacturer-neutral (interoperable) solution without a disproportionate amount of effort, even if the existing system is functioning perfectly.
There is no general legal principle that requires a pre-existing connection with a specific manufacturer to be considered in subsequent procurement decisions. Education authorities issuing a product-specific tender for tablets must set out the strict requirements in detail, quantify them and document them; otherwise, there is a risk that the tender process will be cancelled or have to be restarted.
This ruling is a landmark decision for procurement projects in the education sector and is in line with the increasingly critical stance taken by the courts and public procurement tribunals. Recently, two further public contracting authorities in the education sector were compelled to cancel product-specific tenders for a total of more than 11,000 iPads after the Dresden Higher Regional Court and the Brandenburg Public Procurement Tribunal, respectively, ruled that these were in breach of public procurement law. The GSK Stockmann team, led by partner Dr Simon Spangler, also represented Samsung Electronics in these two cases.
Dr Simon Spangler, partner at GSK Stockmann: “The decision marks a milestone for manufacturer-neutral competition in the German education sector. It puts an end to the common practice of local authorities restricting subsequent procurement decisions to a previously chosen manufacturer. Due to their restrictive effect on competition, product-specific tenders must be handled with caution. Anyone who continues to issue product-specific tenders without providing specific reasons and evidence that their tender is exempt from the public procurement rules can expect considerable opposition. We expect to see a large number of similar calls for tenders in the near future. This is about competition in one of the most important markets in this sector. The government investment programme “DigitalPakt 2.0” alone is providing several billion euros for the digitalisation of Germany’s schools.”
GSK Stockmann provides comprehensive advice on German and European competition law, with a particular focus on the digital economy, platform economy and gatekeeper regulation, distribution antitrust law, as well as merger control and investment screening. The firm’s public procurement team advises public contracting authorities and companies on complex procurement projects and represents them in review proceedings before public procurement tribunals and higher regional courts across Germany.
Advisers of Samsung Electronics:
Dr Simon Spangler, LL.M. (lead, Antitrust), Dr Jenny Mehlitz (Public Procurement), Renée Eckruth (Antitrust), Fabian Schiefner, LL.M. (Public Procurement)
