SPAR procurement halted

According to the SPAR Authority, a decision has been made to break off the ongoing procurement regarding the SPAR database (Statens PersonAdressRegister), and the Swedish government has called for further investigation. Through its subsidiary Infodata AB, Bisnode is responsible for operation and distribution of information in the SPAR database. In 2007/2008 the SPAR contract was put to tender in a public procurement that has now been halted.

In the spring of 2007 the SPAR Authority announced that its agreement with Infodata AB for operation and wholesale distribution of information from the SPAR database would be terminated with effect from 1 January 2009, and the agreement was then put to tender. The procurement has now been halted by the Swedish government, which has commissioned the Swedish Tax Agency, in association with the SPAR Authority, to investigate how the transfer of responsibility for SPAR can be effected by 1 January 2009. The foremost objective is to enable continued management of SPAR in a legally secure and efficient manner. In the investigation, the Swedish Tax Agency has also been ordered to consult with the affected public agencies, to outline the financial consequences for both the Swedish Tax Agency and other public authorities and, when needed, to present alternative solutions.

“Since 1978, Infodata has operated and distributed information from the SPAR database on behalf of the SPAR Authority, and public procurement that would have changed the competitive situation has now been broken off and further investigation requested. Our agreement runs, as earlier, until 31 December 2008, and we have no way of predicting what effects the investigation will have after that date. At the moment we are awaiting further information from the Swedish Tax Agency,” says Peter Englisch, President of Infodata.

Infodata and other companies in the Bisnode Group which are also resellers and major users of SPAR will work actively to continue providing information about Swedish consumers in an efficient manner.