How to Submit a Tender in Public Procurement

Prior to drafting a tender the tenderer should check which tendering procedure has been chosen. The most commonly used procedure is the open procedure in which any interested economic operator may submit a tender. In restricted procedures (including negotiated procedure and competitive dialogue) any economic operator may request to participate but only those economic operators invited by the contracting authority to submit a tender may submit one.

A tender must strictly conform to the request for tender. A contracting authority has not only the right but a de facto obligation to reject a tender that does not fulfill the criteria set in the request for tender. It is a matter of equal treatment of tenderers.

A tenderer is responsible for the contents of its tender. A tender submitted to the contracting authority in due time is binding and obligates its maker. Contracting authorities have the right to trust the correctness and the accuracy of the information provided in tenders. The price indicated in the tender is always final and may not be subject to bargaining.

The procurement procedure as defined in the request for tender must be complied with. A tender must therefore be submitted to the contracting authority in accordance with what has been required in the request for tender and in the specified time limits. In order to secure equal treatment of tenders, a contracting authority is obliged to reject all tenders that are submitted late. A tenderer bears all responsibility relating to the submission of a tender.

Due to the nature of the tendering procedure, the Act on the Openness of Government Activities is applicable to the documents submitted during the tendering procedure. All documents submitted to contracting authorities become public after the procurement decision except for business secrets. The tendering prices that have been used in the comparison of tenders are always public after the procurement decision.