Tenders

General matters

Like the call for tenders on the contracting entity’s side, the tender constitutes the central document in a procurement procedure on the tenderer’s side. With their tender, the tenderers declare that they

• are aware of the terms of the call for tenders documents,
• have the necessary authorisations,
• are prepared to provide the tendered services on the stated terms and at the stated prices and
• are committed to their tender until the expiry of the award period.

The tender must fundamentally adhere to the call for tenders. A tender must contain the following information, with this list merely serving as an illustration:

• Name (company name, business name) and place of business of the tenderer. In the case of groups, a person authorised to conclude and perform the contract must be named.
• Declaration of the sub-services that the tenderer intends to pass on to subcontractors (it should be noted that a distinction must be made between subcontractors on whose capacity the tenderer relies to prove his/her suitability and other subcontractors; the Bundesvergabegesetz (BVergG) contains requirements and control options of the contracting entity in connection with subcontractors; a definition of a subcontractor is also contained in the Bundesvergabegesetz. The supply of goods that are not commercially available constitutes a subcontractor service).
• Address of the body authorised to receive the post.
• Evidence that any deposit (security) that may be required has been paid.
• Price with all required breakdowns.
• Other explanations or declarations required for the assessment of the tender or deemed necessary by the tenderer.
• List of documents included in the tender or those that are being submitted separately.
• Any alternative tenders
• Date and legally binding signature (in the case of electronically transmitted tenders a qualified electronic signature within the meaning of the Signaturgesetzes) of the tenderer. Note: From 1 October 2018, tenders in the upper threshold range must be made electronically.
  

Submission of tenders

The form of submission of a tender in the procurement procedure depends on the procurement procedure used.

Course of procedure - Contracting authorities

Open procedure:

• Submission of tenders by undertakings within the tender period

Restricted procedure without notice and negotiated procedure without notice:

• Contracting entities obtain tenders from the undertakings considered

Restricted procedure with notice and negotiated procedure with notice:

• Simultaneous written request by the contracting entity to the selected applicants to submit a tender
  

Competitive dialogue:

• Request by the contracting entity to the remaining participants to submit a tender on the basis of the solution presented and set out in more detail in the dialogue phase

Dynamic procurement system:

• Separate request to submit a tender for the awarding of each individual contract

Course of procedure – Sectoral contracting entities
Open procedure

• Submission of tenders by undertakings within the tender period
  

Restricted procedure without call for competition and negotiated procedure without call for competition:

• Contracting entities obtain tenders from the undertakings considered

Restricted procedure after call for competition and negotiated procedure after call for competition:

• Simultaneous written request by the sectoral contracting entity to the selected applicants to submit a tender
  

Competitions:

• Opportunity to participate in the competition for applicants who have submitted applications to participate in good time on the basis of the notice and who are to be regarded as authorised, capable and reliable
  

Dynamic procurement system:

• Separate request to submit a tender for the awarding of each individual contract

Application to participate

The form of the applications to participate in the procurement procedure is different and depends on the procurement procedure used.

Course of procedure - Contracting authorities

Restricted procedure with notice and negotiated procedure with notice:

• Applications to participate can be made by letter or electronically. Expressions of interest in participation can also be communicated by telephone or fax.
• If the undertaking needs subcontractors to prove its own capacity or authorisation, the undertaking must announce the subcontractors in question with the application to participate.

Competitive dialogue:

• Applications to participate can be made by letter or electronically. Expressions of interest in participation can also be communicated by telephone or fax.

Course of procedure – Sectoral contracting entities
Restricted competition

• After an unlimited number of undertakings and individuals have been publicly requested to submit applications to participate, competition participants selected by the awarding authority are asked to submit competition work

Restricted procedure after call for competition and negotiated procedure after call for competition:

• Applications to participate can be made by letter or electronically. Expressions of interest in participation can also be communicated by telephone or fax.
  

Dynamic procurement system:

• During the entire term, each undertaking can electronically submit a non-binding declaration of service provision and apply for admission as a participant in the dynamic procurement system.

List of suitable traders

In public procurement, various service facilities such as the Austrian Contractor Registry (ANKÖ) and auftrag.at help undertakings to find relevant calls for tenders more easily, conveniently and quickly in order to present themselves as a suitable trader.

The list of suitable traders of the Austrian Contractor Registry is a relevant, generally accessible directory of undertakings and their proof of suitability in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Procurement Act. Undertakings can be entered on this list in order to thereby provide proof of professional authorisation and professional reliability as well as financial, economic and technical capacity.

The entry saves undertakings time and money, as the data held evident in the list do not have to be reverified in every procurement procedure, but are available online to the authorised users (contracting entities).

However, this form of proof of suitability requires that the documents specified by the contracting entity have the up-to-date relevance requested by the contracting entity and can be called up directly by the contracting entity itself.

Further information on tender defects and tender and award periods can also be found at USP.gv.at.

Related links

• Austrian Contractor Registry (→ ANKÖ)
• auftrag.at (→ WZDP)
• Information - electronic signatures (→ BMF)
• Digital Austria Platform (→ BMF)^{German text}

Legal Basis

Bundesvergabegesetz 2018 (BVergG 2018)