Supply Contracts
Supply contracts are used to obtain equipment and material needed for the execution of projects under the pre-accession programme. They concern design, manufacture, delivery, assembly and commissioning of goods, together with other possible tasks such as maintenance, repairs, installation, training and after sales service. Open tenders The procedures applied for obtaining supplies vary according to the estimated value of the contract. Contracts valued at over Euro 150,000 are put out to international open tender. In this case, the tender is announced in the local press/national gazette and published in the OJ. The tender dossier is available from the Programme Authorising Officer (PAO).
For contracts with an estimated value of Euro 30,000-150,000, contracting is done through a local open tender. The tender is advertised in the local press. The tender dossier is available from the PAO in the country concerned.
Both international and local tenders are open to eligible suppliers from the Member States and from candidate/acceding countries as well as the MEDA countries.
The tender dossier The tender dossier is available, normally free of charge, to all interested suppliers. The tender dossier contains
- The invitation to tender and instructions to tenderers
- Special tender conditions
- Technical specifications defining the supplies required
- A schedule of prices
- A copy of the “General regulations for tenders and award of supply contracts”
- A contract form including a copy of the “General conditions for supply contracts”.
The technical specifications for the supplies to be tendered will define precisely the exact nature and performance characteristics of the supplies required. Where applicable, they also specify delivery conditions and installation, training and follow-up support.
The offer
The tenderer will need to submit a technical proposal and a price proposal. The “double-envelope” system is not used. The tenderer will have at least 30 days to prepare and submit his tender.
In addition to some formal documentation, the technical proposal must contain a detailed description of the supplies tendered in conformity with the technical specifications, including instruction manuals and documentation as appropriate, a list of manufacturers’ recommended spare parts, a proposal of after-sales service and a training proposal.
The price proposal must give prices for the supplies, spare parts, after-sales service and training. All prices must be given in Euro. The quoted bid price for the supplies offered will be announced in a public tender opening session.
Tenders evaluation
An Evaluation Committee is established to evaluate the tenders in a fair and transparent way. The Evaluation Committee will judge each tender against a set of pre-determined criteria and will decide which tenders are acceptable.
To be acceptable, a tender must comply fully with the technical specifications and with all the instructions given in the invitation to tenderers, and must be within the specified price parameters.
The Evaluation Committee
The Evaluation Committee has the task of evaluating the proposals submitted by the tenderers and selecting the most advantageous offer. The Committee members will be selected and formally nominated by the PAO.
A supply tender Evaluation Committee may comprise, for example, a non-voting chairperson (usually the PAO), a representative from the Contracting Authority, representatives from the target group or organisation benefiting from the project, outside expert with the relevant technical experience, and a non-voting observer from the EU Delegation. All voting committee members have equal voting rights.
A declaration of impartiality and confidentiality is signed by each Evaluation Committee member, and any member who has a past or existing link with any tenderer must declare it and withdraw from the selection process. In addition, committee members must have a reasonable command of the language in which the tender is submitted. Finally, the composition of the Evaluation Committee remains strictly confidential.
Before starting the tender evaluation itself, the Committee meet for a preparatory session to discuss and agree on the criteria and “evaluation matrix” to be used for the technical and financial evaluations.
The tender evaluation starts with the “tender opening session”, a formal public process in which the bids are checked for compliance with the formal requirements of the tender submission. No tenders can be accepted after the deadline, although the chairperson, in consultation with other Committee members, may agree to accept missing formal documents by fax or telex. Representatives of the firms submitting a tender can attend the tender opening session, if they wish. However, once compliance with the formal requirements has been recorded in writing, all subsequent meetings of the Committee are conducted in private.
The Committee now carries out further checks regarding formal compliance of the bids. In particular, the Committee checks that all tenders use the correct language and currency (Euro) and that all tender documents are correct and complete. In addition to the eligibility and nationality criteria that apply to all tenders, supply tenders have to be closely checked for the “rule of origin”. Under this rule, all suppliers procured for the Assistance Programme must originate in the EU or in a candidate/acceding MEDA country. Prior to signature of the contract, the successful tenderer will have to provide proof of origin in the form of a certificate or other official documentation. Any bids which fail to satisfy the rule of origin, or which are presented in currencies other than Euro, are not acceptable and are rejected.
Once the formalities are completed, the evaluation of the technical proposals can begin. The evaluation session should be completed as soon as possible, and in no case the evaluation last longer than 15 working days after the tender opening date.
Selection of tender’s winner
For supplies of standard traceable goods, the economically most advantageous offer will be selected. Although the “double-envelope” system is not used, tenders undergo first a technical evaluation and then a financial evaluation. Only tenders that satisfy the technical and commercial requirements are accepted for the financial evaluation.
The technical evaluation must use the previously established “evaluation matrix”. Give the wide variety of supplies and their technical nature, the “evaluation matrix” is individually developed for each tender using a Yes/No format. This ensures a clear assessment as to whether or not an offer responds to the technical specifications set out in the tender dossier.
As part of the technical evaluation, the commercial aspects (delivery period, warranty, spare parts supply, after-sales service) and, as appropriate, the training proposal are analysed to determine whether they satisfy the requirements set out in the tender dossier.
Only the tenders that satisfy the technical and commercial requirements are then passed on for the financial evaluation. The cheapest offer will then be selected and will be awarded the contract. Unsuccessful tenderers will be advised of the evaluation result in writing. The proceedings of the Evaluation Committee are also recorded in writing, along with its conclusions and its final decision, and are kept on file.
Simplified procedures, Single Tender and Negotiated Procedure
Simplified procedures are used for the purchase of minor pieces of equipment (between Euro 5,000 and 30,000 Euro unit price). No publication notice is required under this procedure. It is done by obtaining at least 3 comparable offers and selecting the best value for money.
Single tender is used for the purchase of units, of which value is less than 5,000 Euro. In this case, there is a negotiation with a single supplier.
Finally, Negotiated Procedure can be used for the procurement of supplies at any value in emergency or unforeseeable cases. If a supplier has particular characteristics such as holding of patents or licenses, if additional delivery is needed by a certain supplier in order to match compatibility, or if a tender was cancelled, a negotiated procedure can be applied.
Last update: 18.3.2008