Evaluation of Tenders and Contract Award

A contracting authority must compare the tenders solely on the basis of criteria set out in the contract notice and in the request for tender. The contract shall be awarded to the tenderer whose tender is most economically advantageous. The economically most advantageous solution can be identified based on lowest price, best price-quality ratio or most cost-effective solution. The measurement of the most cost-effective solution can be based on other costs than the direct purchase price, e.g. the life-cycle costs of the procurement. If a contracting entity uses solely price as a criterion for the most economically advantageous tender in other purchases than in the supply of goods, it has an obligation to provide valid reasons for this choice.

When comparing tenders, only the information that a tenderer has provided in its tender, can be taken into account in the tender comparison. Therefore, a contracting authority may not as a rule take into account its own experiences on the quality of the goods or services offered by the different tenderers, or information from public sources, such as a tenderers´ web pages, or from the media.

After the evaluation of tenders, the contracting authority must provide in writing the results of the tendering procedure, including the grounds for the decision. When awarding the contract to the most economically advantageous tender the decision must contain an explanatory description on the comparison of the tenders and on the allocation of points. If the contracting authority has granted different points to different tenderers, the grounds for these points must be indicated in the decision.

A procurement procedure may be cancelled only for a real and justified reason.

An award decision shall include appeal instructions to the Market Court. A tenderer dissatisfied with the decision may refer the matter to the Market Court respecting the appeal time limits indicated in the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts.