Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB) – Procurement Law 2026

The GWB is Germany's central competition and procurement act. Part 4 governs public procurement above the EU thresholds.

Definition: The Act against Restraints of Competition (Gesetz gegen Wettbewerbsbeschränkungen – GWB) is Germany's central competition and antitrust statute; its Part 4 (§§ 97–184 GWB) contains the key rules for the award of public contracts above the EU thresholds and transposes the European procurement directives into German law.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: GWB as amended by the Procurement Law Modernisation Act 2016, last amended by the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) 2023

What is the GWB?

The Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB) is the foundation of German procurement law above the EU thresholds and ensures that public contracting authorities procure services in competition and through transparent procedures. The Act has existed since 1958 but was fundamentally reformed by the Procurement Law Modernisation Act 2016 (VergRModG) in order to transpose the 2014 EU procurement directives. The procurement-relevant Part 4 of the GWB spans §§ 97 to 184 and contains principles, procedural rules and legal protection provisions.

Structure of the procurement part (§§ 97–184 GWB)

Part 4 of the GWB is structured into procurement principles, procedural rules, provisions on special cases and the legal protection regime before the procurement review chambers and the Higher Regional Courts.

§ 97 GWB – General principles: competition, transparency, equal treatment, proportionality
§§ 99–101 GWB – Definitions: public contracting authorities, utilities, concession grantors
§§ 103–104 GWB – Definitions of public contracts and concessions
§§ 119–135 GWB – Procurement procedures, eligibility, evaluation, award, cancellation
§§ 155–184 GWB – Review proceedings before review chambers and appeals to Higher Regional Courts

Principles under § 97 GWB

§ 97 GWB codifies the central procurement principles, which are binding on all participants and give rise to legal protection claims in case of breach.

The key principles are:

Competition – contracts must be awarded in competition
Transparency – the procedure must be comprehensible to all bidders
Equal treatment – all candidates and bidders must be treated equally
Proportionality – requirements must be appropriate to the subject of the contract
SME friendliness – contracts should be divided into lots (§ 97(4) GWB)
Sustainability – social, environmental and innovative aspects may be considered (§ 97(3) GWB)

Relationship with VgV, VOB/A and SektVO

The GWB contains the statutory foundations; the Procurement Regulation (VgV), VOB/A Part 2 and the Utilities Regulation (SektVO) flesh these out at regulation level. The GWB empowers the Federal Government to govern the procurement procedure in detail by ordinance (§ 113 GWB). The VgV applies to supplies and services, VOB/A to construction works, and the SektVO to utilities.

Legal protection under the GWB

The GWB provides for a two-tier primary legal protection system: first, review proceedings before the review chamber, then an immediate appeal to the Higher Regional Court.

Review chambers (§§ 156–162 GWB): authorities attached to the Federal Cartel Office and Länder authorities; decisions within five weeks (§ 167 GWB)
Immediate appeal (§§ 171–178 GWB): to the competent Higher Regional Court; suspensive effect possible
Damages (§ 181 GWB): bidders harmed by procurement law breaches can claim damages

Bidder rights under § 97(6) GWB

§ 97(6) GWB grants undertakings a subjective right that the contracting authority comply with the procurement rules. This right forms the basis for review applications. Without this subjective right, effective legal protection would not be possible, since procurement law primarily exists in the public interest.

GWB and Austria's BVergG

Austria has transposed the EU procurement directives by the Federal Procurement Act 2018 (BVergG 2018), which structurally resembles the German GWB regime but has its own national particularities. Both legal regimes rest on the same European directives but differ in procedural details, threshold application and legal protection instances.

FAQ

Does the GWB also apply to contracts below the EU thresholds? No. Below the thresholds, the Sub-Threshold Procurement Regulation (UVgO) applies in Germany to supplies and services, and VOB/A Part 1 applies to construction works. These do not form part of the GWB.

Who monitors compliance with the GWB in procurement? The review chambers at the Federal Cartel Office and at the Länder monitor compliance on application. There is no general oversight; legal protection is only available on application by an eligible bidder.

What are the current EU thresholds under the GWB? For supplies and services of classical public contracting authorities, the threshold is EUR 143,000; for construction works it is EUR 5,538,000 (as at 2024/2025).

Can foreign undertakings also use the GWB review procedure? Yes. The review procedure is open to all undertakings that have an interest in the relevant contract and that may have been harmed by a procurement law breach.

Last updated: January 2026 All information provided without guarantee. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in procurement law.