- Thresholds for above-threshold contracts
- Open procedure
- Restricted procedure
- Negotiated procedure with prior publication
- Competitive dialogue
- Innovation partnership
- Direct negotiated procedure (Negotiated procedure without prior publication)
1. Thresholds for above-threshold contracts
2. Open procedure
The open procedure is the most common and widely used public procurement procedure.
The open procedure is announced by the publication of a contract notice, so the date of publication of this notice is also considered to be the date of commencement of the given public procurement process. It is open to the unlimited number of economic operators. In addition to the tenders, tenderers should also submit documents required by the contracting authority to prove conformity with the selection criteria. These documents are required for every tenderer’s tender.
The minimum time limit to submit tenders is:
- 35 days from the date on which the contract notice was sent to the Publications Office;
- 15 days from the date on which the contract notice was sent to the Publications Office if the contracting authority published the preliminary notice at least 12 months and at latest 35 days prior to contract notice submission while the preliminary notice includes all the required data and information if they are only available in the time of publication of the preliminary notice ;
- 30 days if the contracting authority/entity requires electronic submission of tenders;
- 15 days for urgent situations.
3. Restricted procedure
The restricted procedure is open for the unlimited number of economic operators that can submit requests to participate.
The use of the restricted procedure is particularly suitable when, for example, public procurement involves submitting technically complex tenders to be assessed and at the same time a high number of candidates, which may unreasonably extend and complicate the tender evaluation process and thus significantly increase its administrative complexity.
It differs from the open procedure, as the restricted procedure is a two-phase procedure (in the first phase, qualified candidates are selected, and in the second phase, the most advantageous tender is selected), and it allows to limit the number of candidates from the first phase of the procedure for the second phase, where they will be invited by the contracting authority/entity to submit their tenders.
The minimum time limit to submit a request to participate is:
- 30 days from the date on which the contract notice was sent to the Publications Office;
- 15 days from the date on which the contract notice was sent to the Publications Office for urgent situations.
In restricted procedures, only candidates meeting the defined selection criteria invited by the contracting authority/entity to submit their tenders may do so.
The minimum time limit to submit tenders is:
- 30 days from the date on which the invitation to tender was sent;
- 10 days from the date on which the invitation to tender was sent, if the contracting authority published a prior information notice no sooner than 12 months and no later than 35 days before the date on which the contract notice was sent to the Publications Office;
- 25 days from the date on which the invitation to tender was sent, if the contracting authority/entity requires electronic submission of tenders;
- 10 days for urgent situations;
- based on an agreement, the contracting authority under Section 7(1)(b) to (e) / contracting entity may define a time limit to submit tenders based on an agreement with selected candidates only if they all are to have the same amount of time to prepare and submit tenders. If the agreement is not reached, the contracting authority under Section 7(1)(b) to (e) / contracting entity determines the time limit, that may not be shorter than 10 days from the date on which the invitation to tender was sent.
4. Negotiated procedure with prior publication
The negotiated procedure with prior publication is open for the unlimited number of economic operators, which are invited to submit documents required to prove conformity with selection criteria.
The minimum time limit to submit a request to participate is:
- 30 days from the date on which the contract notice was sent to the Publications Office;
- 15 days from the date on which the contract notice was sent to the Publications Office for urgent situations.
The contracting authority/entity may, on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory rules, limit the number of candidates to be invited to tender to at least three so as to allow competition. Initial tenders may be submitted only by candidates invited to do so by the contracting authority.
The minimum time limit to submit initial tenders:
- 30 days from the date on which the call for initial tenders was sent;
- 10 days from the date on which the call for initial tenders was sent, if the contracting authority/entity published a prior information notice no sooner than 12 months and no later than 35 days before the date on which the contract notice was sent to the Publications Office;
- 25 days from the date on which the call for initial tenders was sent, if the contracting authority/entity requires electronic submission of tenders;
- 10 days from the date on which the call for initial tenders was sent for urgent situations.
5. Competitive dialogue
The aim of establishing a competitive dialogue is to ensure a flexible procedure that would allow the contracting authority/entity and the contracting entity, in order to find the most appropriate solution, to engage in a dialogue with each candidate on all aspects of the contract, i.e. technical, economic and legal.
Therefore, the competitive dialogue is useful for ‘particularly complex contracts’. This procedure is particularly appropriate where using an open or restricted procedure is ruled out due to objective difficulties in describing and specifying the subject matter of the contract, or in determining and formulating the legal or financial conditions of the subject matter of the public procurement, while these obstacles may be overcome by opening a dialogue with professionally qualified candidates, to which the contracting authority/entity will present in an informative document a basic concept of the required functions, complex output, including its general characteristics.
6. Innovation partnership
The contracting authority/entity will use this procedure if the need to develop an innovative product or service, or innovative works, and the need to subsequently purchase the resulting goods, services or works cannot be satisfied with solutions already available on the market.
The contracting authority/entity may, on the basis of objective and non-discriminatory rules, limit the number of candidates to be invited to participate to at least three, so as to allow competition. Tenders are evaluated exclusively on the basis of the best price-quality ratio.
The time limit to submit requests to participate may not be less than 30 days from the date on which the contract notice was sent to the Publications Office.
7. Direct negotiated procedure (Negotiated procedure without prior publication)
The direct negotiated procedure is a special procedure for awarding above-limit contracts, which may be used by the contracting authority/entity if the conditions laid down by law for its use are met. The direct negotiated procedure can be used for both civil contracts and contracts in the fields of defence and security. The direct negotiated procedure should generally be used only in very exceptional cases, as it restricts competition.
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Last modified: 22. 2. 2021
Publication date: 8. 10. 2020