European Union tendering procedures
All Government Departments and Local Authorities are legally bound to advertise tenders for contracts that fall within specific categories listed by the EU for Suppliers, Services or Works.
The EU procurement thresholds for minimum contract value thresholds that require tendering in the EU are as follows:
Services and supplies contracts over £139,893
- Services are defined as contracts that have an element of labour within them such as consultancy or project work, insurance, finance, security etc.
- Supplies are defined as the supply of materials such as stationery, building materials, food products etc.
Works contracts over £3,497,313
- Works are defined as building work or special projects linked to the highways and construction etc.
United Kingdom law
These directives are included in UK law as :
The Public Contracts Regulations 2006, Statutory Instrument No. 5
Any firm can obtain information on tenders currently available, these are advertised in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).
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Tenders advertised in the European Union generally fall under three categories:
Open Procedure
In the open procedure any firm that requests tender documents (called an Invitation to Tender) will be sent them.
The Invitation to Tender will includes a questionnaire to determine the firm’s financial and technical suitability plus information on the Council’s requirements, a specification, the Council’s contract terms and other documents that need to be completed by the tenderer.
Restricted procedure
In the restricted procedure a firm will be asked to express an interest by completing a questionnaire to determine their financial and technical suitability, including references.
The completed questionnaires will be evaluated and those firms who meet the Council’s minimum standards for that contract will then be invited to tender.
Competitive Dialogue procedure
This is a similar process to the restricted procedure and is often used for large project based contracts such as complex IT projects or other procurements where the Council expects the tenderers to suggest methods of delivering a solution.
Related internet links
European Union tendering procedures
Viewing tenders
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