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Financial Administration And Audit Act (Cap. 174) Public Contracts Regulations, 2003 General Provisions (L.N. 299 Of 2003 )

PUBLIC CONTRACTS REGULATIONS, 2003Part IGeneral Provisions

1 Citation and coming into force
2 Interpretation
3 Scope
4 Non-discrimination and confidentiality
5 Director of Contracts
6 Remedies - Competence of the Department of Contracts
7 Discretion to refer
8 General Contracts Committee
9 Special Contracts Committee
10 Contracts Committees
11 Thresholds
12 Requirement of approval before issue and publication of tender
13 Annual report
14 Applicability
15 Rules for calculating applicable estimated value
16 Non-applicability

17 Applicability
18 Scope
19 Procurement procedures for Contracting Authorities
20 Right of recourse

21 Applicability
22 Regulation

23 Applicability
24 Award procedures
25 Award criteria
26 Special considerations relating to rules governing award criteria
27 Sub-contracting
28 Joint and group tendering
29 Separate packages
30 Appeals Board
31 Statistical and other reports
32 Official lists

33 Applicability
34 Number of tenderers
35 Negotiated procedures
36 Time limits for receipt of tenders in open procedures
37 Time limits for receipt of applications to participate in tenders in restricted and negotiated procedures
38 Time limits in cases of urgency
39 Time limit for a public works concession contract
40 Application of Council Regulation 1182/71
41 Information
42 Technical specifications
43 Variants
44 EU notices
45 Qualitative selection criteria
46 Evidence of financial and economic standing
47 Evidence of technical capacity
48 Supplemental information
49 Report to Commission

50 Scope
51 Application
52 Two-tier application
53 Design contests
54 With prior publication of a EU contract notice
55 Without prior publication of a EU contract notice
56 Information
57 Rejection of variants
58 Entitlement to carry out a service activity
59 Third countries
Section B

60 Scope
61 With prior publication of a EU contract notice
62 Without prior publication of a EU contract notice
63 Rejection of variants
64 Third countries
Section C

65 Scope
66 Public works concession
67 With prior publication
68 Without prior publication
69 Design and construction of public housing contracts
70 Information
71 Third countries

72 Scope
73 Applicability
74 Exempted activities
75 Activities
76 Non-applicability
77 Framework Agreements
78 Two-tier Application
79 Contracts or design contests
80 Technical specifications
81 Availability of technical specifications
82 Call for competition
82A Prior Indicative Notice
83 Procedure
84 Without prior call for competition
84A Call for Competition
84B Supply of Documents
85 Information
86 Qualification criteria
87 Certificates
88 Groupings of tenderers
89 Award criteria
90 Third countries
91 Information to Commission
92 Information to be kept
93 Statistical report
94 Attestation system
95 Conciliation
96 Application of Community Law
97 Judicial review

98 Contracts awarded by Authorities listed in Schedules 2 and 3

99 Contracts Committees

100 Functions of the Contracts Committees

101 Procurement Committees

102 Separate packages in tender offer

103 Procedure for the submission of appeals

104 Appeals Board

Schedule 1 Complete List of Contracting Authorities
Schedule2 Contracting Authorities falling within the competence of the Department of Contracts
Schedule 3 List of Contracting Authorities who shall administer their own public procurement in accordance with the provisions of these regulations.
Schedule 4 List of Contracting Authorities for the supply of water
Schedule 5 List of Contracting Authorities for the supply of energy
Schedule 6 List of Contracting Authorities for the supply of fuels for the production of energy
Schedule 7 Public works contracts activities
Schedule 8A Services within the meaning of regulation 52(1) Schedule 8B Services within the meaning of regulation 52(2) Schedule 9 Thresholds
Schedule 10 Model notices
Schedule 11 List of products in the field of defence

BY virtue of the powers conferred by article 4 of the Financial Administration and Audit Act, the Minister of
Finance has made the following regulations:-
PART I

can appoint more than half of the members of the undertaking's administrative, managerial or supervisory body.
Provided that for the purposes of Part VII of this regulation –
(a) an "affiliated undertaking" means any undertaking the annual accounts of which are consolidated with those of the Contracting Entity in accordance with the requirements of the seventh Council Directive 83/349/EEC of 13 June 1983, based on Article 54 (3) (g) of the EEC Treaty on consolidated accounts or, in the case of entities not subject to that Directive, any undertaking over which the Contracting Entity may exercise, directly or indirectly, a dominant influence, or which may exercise a dominant influence over the Contracting Entity or which, in common with the Contracting Entity, is subject to the dominant influence of another undertaking by virtue of ownership, financial participation, or the rules which govern it;
(b)a "relevant affiliated undertaking" is one which has as one of its activities the provision of services and which provides those services principally to one or more of its affiliated undertakings: without prejudice to the determination of whether services are principally provided to affiliated undertakings in other cases, in the case of an undertaking which has been in existence for 36 months or more, it shall be taken to be so if, for the preceding 36 months, 80% or more of the average turnover of :-
(i) the undertaking, or
(ii) it and of any affiliated undertaking
in respect of the provision of services of the type or similar to those to be provided under the contract within member States was derived from the provision of those services to affiliated undertakings.
“Appeals Board” means the Board defined in regulation 30 “body governed by public law” means any body:
(a) established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character; and
(b) having legal personality; and
(c) financed, for the most part, by the State, or regional or local authorities, or other bodies governed by public law; or
subject to management supervision by those bodies, or having an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, regional or local authorities or by other bodies governed by public law.
“call for tenders” means a contest for the award of a public contract made pursuant to a formal notice or a EU notice.
“candidate” means any natural or legal person, including a public body, who seeks an invitation to participate in a restricted or negotiated procedure, a public works concession, a design contest or a qualification system.
“the Commission” means the Commission of the European Union. “concessionaire” means a person entrusted with a public works
concession.

“Contracting Authority” means the State, regional or local authorities, bodies governed by public law, associations formed by one or several of such Authorities or bodies governed by public law.

“Contracting entity” means a Contracting Authority, public undertaking or other person referred to in regulation 73(1) and 73(2).
“Contracts Committees” means the General Contracts Committee and, or the Special Contracts Committee.
“Departmental Adjudication Boards” means boards or committees appointed by Contracting Authorities with the purpose of evaluating tenders received and for making recommendations thereon.
“Departmental Tender” means tenders issued by Contracting Authorities pursuant to Part II of these regulations.
“design contest” means those procedures which enable the Contracting Authority to acquire, mainly in the fields of area planning, architecture and civil engineering, or data processing, a plan or design selected by a body after being put out to competition with or without the award of prizes.
“direct contracts” means contracts awarded without recourse to a prior call for competition.
“Director” means the Head of the Department of Contracts.
“EU notice” means a notice to be published in the Official Journal of the
European Union as well as in the Gazette.
“Framework Agreement” means an agreement between one of the Contracting Authorities and one or more tenderers, the purpose of which is to establish the terms, in particular with regard to the prices and, where appropriate, the quantity envisaged, governing the contracts to be awarded during a given period.
“General Contracts Committee” means the Committee defined in regulation 8.
“Member State” means a member state of the European Communities as described in the term “Commission” herein.
“Minister” means the Minister responsible for Finance.
“negotiated procedures” means those procedures whereby Contracting Authorities consult tenderers of their choice and negotiate the terms of a contract with one or more of them.
“non-compliant tender” means a tender which does not conform to the terms and conditions specified in the notice or EU notice to tender or in the tender documents themselves .
“notice” means a notice published in the Gazette.
“open procedures” means those procedures whereby any interested undertaking may submit a tender.
“periodic indicative notice” means the EU prior information notice referred to in regulation 44.
“public contract” means any contract concluded in writing for pecuniary interest being a public services contract, public supply contract, public works contract or public utilities contract, as defined in this regulation.
“public service concession contract” means a public services contract except for the fact that the consideration for the services to be provided consists solely of the right to exploit the
provision of the service to the public or in this right together with payment.
“public services contract” means a contract concluded in writing for pecuniary interest between a service provider and a Contracting Authority to the exclusion of:-
(a) public supply contracts (b) public utilities contracts (c) public works contracts
(d) contracts for the acquisition or rental, by whatever financial means, of land, existing buildings, or other immovable property or concerning rights thereon. For the avoidance of doubt and for the purposes of the regulations, financial service contracts concluded at the same time as, before or after the contract of acquisition or rental in whatever form, of the property herein referred to, shall also be deemed a public services contract.
(e) contracts for the acquisition, development, production or co-production of programme material by broadcasters and contracts for broadcasting time.
(f) contracts for voice telephony, telex, radiotelephony, paging and satellite services.
(g) contracts for arbitration and conciliation services.
(h) contracts for financial services in connection with the issue, sale, purchase or transfer of securities or other financial instruments, and central bank services.
(i) employment contracts.
(j) research and development service contracts other than those where the benefits accrue exclusively to the Contracting Authority for its use in the conduct of its own affairs, on condition that the service provided is wholly remunerated by the Contracting Authority.
(k) public service concession contracts
“public supply contract” means a contract concluded in writing for pecuniary interest involving the purchase, lease, rental or hire purchase, with or without option to buy, of products between a supplier and a Contracting Authority. The delivery of such products may in addition include sitting and installation operations.
“public telecommunication services” and “public telecommunication networks” referred to in Part VII of these regulations shall be construed and interpreted by reference to the relevant provisions of the Telecommunications (Regulation) Act, including but not limited to the meaning assigned therein to the terms “commercial activities connected with telecommunications” “commercial activities connected with telecommunications” “electro-magnetic system” “public telecommunications system” “public telecommunications service” “telecommunications” and telephony”.

“public undertaking” means any undertaking over which the Contracting Authority may exercise directly or indirectly a dominant influence by virtue of their ownership of it, their financial participation therein, or the rules which govern it. A dominant influence on the part of the Contracting Authority shall be presumed when these Authorities, directly or indirectly, in relation to an undertaking
(a) hold the majority of the undertaking’s subscribed capital, or
(b) control the majority of the votes attaching to shares issued by the undertaking, or
(c) can appoint more than half of the members of the undertaking’s administrative, managerial or supervisory body.
“public utilities contract” means a contract awarded in terms of Part VII
of these regulations or excluded from these regulations by virtue of regulation 76.
“public works concession” means a public works contract, except for the fact that the consideration for the works to be carried out consists either solely in the right to exploit the construction , or in this right together with payment.
“public works contract” means a contract for pecuniary interest in writing between a contractor and a Contracting
Authority, which has as its object either the execution, or both the execution and the design, of works related to one of the activities referred to in Schedule 7 of these regulations, or a work as defined n this regulation, or the execution by whatever means, of a work corresponding to the requirements specified by the Contracting Authority.
“relevant state” means a state with which the European Union has entered into an agreement on public procurement including in particular the Agreement on the European Economic Area, Europe Agreements, bilateral agreements and, where it applies, the Government Procurement Agreement of the World Trade Organisation.
“restricted procedures” means those procedures whereby only those candidates invited by the Contracting Authorities may submit tenders.
“Special Contracts Committee” means the Committee defined in regulation 9.
“technical specifications” has the meaning assigned to it pursuant to regulation 42.
“tenderer” means any legal or natural person, including a public body, who submits a tender under an open procedure or who in a restricted or negotiated procedure, the procedure for the award of a public works concession or a design contest and submits a tender, offer or design as appropriate.
“third country” means a state not being a member of the European Union
“thresholds” means the amounts listed in Schedule 9 and determined in accordance with regulation 11.
“undertaking” means a supplier, contractor or service-provider who offers products, works or services and who is resident in a member State or a relevant state.
“work” means the outcome of building or civil engineering works taken as a whole that is sufficient of itself to fulfil an economic and technical function.
“working days” means working days in Malta.

(b) to authorise deviations from standard conditions in accordance with the regulations set out herein and which may be included in tender documents;
(c) to ensure that tender conditions and specifications do not give an undue advantage or disadvantage to any particular tenderer and any person having or having had an interest in obtaining a particular public contract ;
(d) to order that a tendering period of any call for tenders referred to in these regulations be extended if he considers such an extension justified by the circumstances of the case;
(e) to vet and approve (with or without modification) tender documents before the same are issued and published;
(f) to ensure that these regulations are observed by all parties involved;
(g) to establish and regulate the procedure to be followed during meetings of the Contracts Committee and Departmental Adjudication Boards, and during the issue and publication of calls for tenders, receipt of offers, opening of bids, adjudication of tenders and award of contracts in accordance with the rules herein set out;
(h) to obtain information from the Authorities listed in Schedule 1 to which these regulations apply on the award of contracts whose value is less than Lm 20,000 including but not limited to variation orders, penalties (imposed or remitted) and generally as he may deem necessary in order to enable him to ensure conformity with these regulations;
(i) to approve, where appropriate, as provided in Part VIII of these regulations, variations which affect the original values of contracts by more than 5 per centum;
(j) to approve extensions in the duration of contracts awarded by him if he considers that circumstances so warrant in the public interest;
(k) to identify and implement appropriate means to enable him to monitor the proper execution of contracts awarded by him and, on the advice of the General Contracts Committee, to impose or remit, as appropriate, penalties and damages due on such contracts;
(l) to institute and to defend any judicial or arbitral proceedings that may be necessary in relation to any contract awarded by him;
(m)(i) to issue calls for tenders and to award period contracts for the provision of equipment, stores, works or services which are of a common use nature for Contracting Authorities listed under Schedule 2; and
(ii) to periodically notify Heads of Departments of the prices and conditions applicable for, and the procedure to be followed in, the procurement of such equipment, stores, works or services;
Provided that Heads of Departments shall obtain such equipment, stores, works or services directly from the contractor in accordance with such conditions and procedures notified by the Director as provided herein;
(n) to make regulations to award tenders in the name and on behalf of the Government of Malta in relation to Contracting Authorities listed in Schedule 2:
Provided that, the Authorities listed in Schedule 2 shall – (i) draw up the tender documents;
(ii) effect payment of the awarded tender; and
(iii) shall monitor the implementation of the tender.

Remedies – Competence of the Department of Contracts

Competence of the

(2) In terms of this regulation the Director shall: Department of
(a) take, at the earliest opportunity, interim measures with the aim of correcting an alleged infringement or preventing further damage to the interests concerned, including measures to suspend or to ensure the suspension of the procedure for the award of a public contract or the implementation of any decision taken by the Contracting Authority;

Contracts.

Provided that in the exercise of these powers the Director may take into account the probable consequences of the measures for all interests likely to be harmed, as well as the public interest, and may decide not to grant such measures where their negative consequences could exceed their benefits;
Provided further that a decision not to grant interim measures shall not prejudice any other claim of the person seeking these measures:
Provided further that in relation to Contracting Authorities who have their public procurement regulated under Part VII may order that a sum, by way of penalty, be paid pursuant to this subregulation, which sum shall be set at a level high enough to dissuade the contracting entity from committing or persisting in an infringement;
(b) either set aside or ensure the setting aside of decisions taken unlawfully, including the removal of discriminatory technical, economic or financial specifications in the invitation to tender, the contract documents or in any other document relating to the contract award procedure;
(c) take at the earliest opportunity, measures other than those provided for in (a) and (b) above with the aim of correcting any identified infringement and preventing injury to the interests concerned and to report to the Minister on cases where a Contracting Authority fails to correct any infringement in response to his instructions;
(d) in the event of a cancellation of a call for tenders the Director shall have the authority to order a refund of the cost incurred by any tenderer and any person having or having had an interest in obtaining a particular public contract in acquiring a copy of the tender documents or, if the tender is to be re-issued, to ensure that such a tenderer and any person having or having had an interest in obtaining a particular public contract obtains the new tender document free of charge.
(3) The decisions of the Director in terms of sub-regulation (2) hereof shall be rendered in writing in the Gazette and shall indicate the reasons upon which such decision was taken.

General Contracts

Committee

(2) The members of the General Contracts Committee shall be appointed for a fixed term of not more than three years and may be re-appointed.
(3) Any member of the General Contracts Committee may during his tenure of office be removed by the Prime Minister where he is satisfied that there has been a clear case of misbehaviour by the member or inability of a member to perform his functions or where such circumstances exist that would disqualify such a member from remaining a member of the Contracts Committee.
(4) The provisions of Part IX shall apply to the General Contracts
Committee.

Special Contracts

Committee

(2) The members of the Special Contracts Committee shall be appointed for the duration of the adjudication process of the particular call for tenders, until the tender is awarded or else until the Director of Contracts declares that the award of the public contract is withdrawn.
(3) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, regulation 8 above shall apply to members of a Special Contracts Committee as they apply to members of the General Contracts Committee.
(4) The provisions of Part IX shall apply to the Special Contracts
Committee.

(2) Decisions shall be taken by a simple majority of the votes of the members present and voting. The Chairman shall in the event of an equality of votes, have a casting vote.
(3) The meetings of the Contracts Committees shall be open to the public during the opening of bids. The list of tenders
received, together with the respective prices (except offers submitted as per regulation 29) shall be given publicity by the Director immediately after their opening and scheduling.
(4) The Contracts Committees established in terms of these regulations shall regulate their own proceedings, unless otherwise provided for herein. The Chairman of any committee established by virtue of these regulations shall have a casting vote.
(5) The Contracts Committees shall have the function to assist the Director in the execution of his duties in accordance with these regulations. In the discharge of their functions, the Contracts Committees shall be regulated by the provisions of these regulations generally and in particular by the provisions of Part X to these regulations.

.

(2) The Minister shall lay a copy of every such Annual report on the table of the House of Representatives at the earliest opportunity.

Applicability.

(a) the estimated value of which does not exceed Lm 20,000, shall be subject to Part II of these regulations;
(b) the estimated value of which exceeds Lm 20,000 but which does not exceed the thresholds, shall be subject to Parts III and IV of these regulations<
(c) the estimated value of which equals or exceeds the thresholds, shall be subject to Part IV, V, VI A, VI B, VI C and VII of these regulations as may be applicable.
In calculating the estimated values of public contracts the Contracting
Authority shall use the provisions laid down in regulation 15.

Rules for calculating applicable estimated value.

(2) Contracting Authorities shall not establish an estimated value of a public contract with the intention of avoiding the application, in part or in whole, of these regulations.
(3) Contracting Authorities shall not adopt any mechanism, the purpose of which is to circumvent the application, in part or in whole, of these regulations.
(4) When the content of a tender is subdivided into several lots, each one the subject of a contract, the value of each lot must be taken into account for the purpose of calculating the estimated value of the public contract and thus the applicability of these regulations;
Provided that in the case of a public services or a works contract, Contracting Authorities may depart from the principles laid down in this sub- regulation in respect of any lot which has an estimated value, net of VAT, of less than the threshold stated in Schedule 9 and provided that the total value of such lots does not exceed 20 percent of the total value of all the lots.
(5) (i) Where a public supplies contract or a public services contract is a regular contract, a series of contracts, or a contract which is to be renewed within a given time, the estimated value of the public contract shall be established on the basis of;
(a) either the actual aggregate value of similar contracts concluded over the previous fiscal year or 12 months,
adjusted where possible, for anticipated changes in quantity or value over the 12 months following the initial contract;
(b) or the estimated aggregate value during the 12 months following the first delivery or during the term of the contract, where this is in excess of 12 months.
(ii) If a proposed procurement of supplies or services of the same type may lead to contracts being awarded at the same time in separate parts, the estimated value of the total sum of these parts must be taken as the basis for the calculation of the estimated value.
(6) Where a public services contract does not specify a total price, the basis for calculating the estimated value of the public contract value shall be;
(a) in the case of fixed-term public contracts, where their term is 48 months or less, by the total contract value for its duration;
(b) in the case of public contracts of indefinite duration, or with a term of more than 48 months, by the monthly instalment multiplied by 48.
(7) Where a public contract is for the lease, rental or hire purchase of products, the basis for calculating the estimated value of the public contract shall be;
(a) in the case of fixed term contracts, where their term is 12 months or less, the total contract value for its duration, or, where the term exceeds twelve months, its total value including the estimated residual value;
(b) in the case of contracts for an indefinite period or in cases where there is doubt as to the duration of the contracts, the monthly value multiplied by 48.
(8) Where a proposed procurement provides for option clauses, the basis for calculating the estimated value of the public contract shall be the highest permitted total including use of the option clauses.
(9) For the purposes of calculating the estimated value of a contract for financial services, the following amounts shall be taken into account;
(a) as regards insurance services, the premium payable;

(2) Contracting Authorities shall not be obliged to supply information, the disclosure of which is deemed contrary to the essential interests of Malta’s security.
PART II

(d) where the estimated value exceeds Lm 2,500 but not Lm 20,000, the equipment, stores, works or services may be procured after a departmental call for tenders. The tenders shall be opened in public by three senior officers of the said department and the prices quoted shall also be made public. The provisions of regulation 25 of these regulations shall apply for the adjudication of the tenders submitted;
Provided that the Minister may by regulations allow limits higher than Lm
20,000 up to the thresholds, in the case of particular departments, and may authorise, as and when he deems appropriate, the setting up of procurement committees as provided for in these regulations;
Provided further that the Minister may allow that variations and the imposition or remission of penalties in respect of such contracts be approved by the Minister charged with responsibility for that department, who may delegate his authority in writing to the Parliamentary Secretary, the Permanent Secretary or the Head of Department.
(2) Every six months the Head of Department shall publish in the Gazette a full list of all departmental contracts awarded by him and a list of all cases involving variations which exceed the original contract values by more than 5 per centum. In such cases details should include the nature of the contracts, the original contract values and the final contract values.
(3) In all cases in which the Authorities listed in Schedule 2 wish to adopt the restricted procedure in order to carry out their procurement under this regulation, the prior consent of the Director of Contracts shall be required.
(4) Without prejudice to regulation 19(1)(d) above Direct contracts valued in excess of Lm 2,500 may, in exceptional cases, be placed by any Contracting Authority listed in Schedule 2 after such an Authority obtains the prior written approval of the Minister who may delegate his authority in writing to the Permanent Secretary or any other senior official in his Ministry.
(5) The financial limits referred to in this regulation may be varied by order of the Minister published in a legal notice.
(6) Contracting Authorities operating in terms of an enabling law shall follow the procedures stipulated in that law in the award of direct contracts.

PART III

PART IV

to carry out their procurement, the prior consent of the Director of Contracts shall be required.
(4) In all cases in which the Authorities listed in Schedule3 wish to adopt the restricted or negotiated procedure in order to carry out their procurement the prior approval from the Minister responsible for that Authority, or from a senior official in that Ministry duly delegated in writing by his Minister to grant such approval, shall be required.

(d) the principal category of service, supply, work to be carried out; and
(e) the nationality of the person to whom the contract was awarded.
(2) A Contracting Authority shall send to the Director a report containing such information as the Director may from time to time require in respect of any particular public contract irrespective of its value.

(2) Certified registration in official lists of undertakings by the competent bodies in EU Member States shall, constitute a presumption of suitability corresponding to the undertaking’s classification.
(3) Information which can be deduced from registration in official lists may not be questioned. However, with regard to the payment of social security contributions, an additional certificate may be required of any registered undertaking whenever a contract is offered.
(4) The Contracting Authorities shall apply the above provisions only in favour of undertakings established in the Member State holding the official list.
(5) When undertakings from other Member States are being registered in an official list, no proof or statement can be required in addition to those required of national undertakings.
PART V

(2) The time limit for the receipt of tenders laid down in sub-regulation
1 may be reduced to 36 days where the Contracting Authority has published the EU prior information notice, drafted in accordance with the model in Schedule 10 of these regulations and incorporating as much of the information required for a EU contract notice as was available at that time and provided that the EU prior information notice was dispatched to the Office for Official Publications not less than 52 days and not more than one year before dispatch of the EU contract notice.
(3) The contract documents and supporting documentation, if any, must be sent to the tenderers by the Contracting Authority or competent department within six days from the date of receipt of their application to tender:
Provided that tenderers agree to make good the costs of such Dispatch; Provided further that where tenderers have a presence in Malta all
documents shall, at the option of each tenderer, either be collected by the tenderers from the place indicated in the EU contract notice or shall be dispatched to them provided that the tenderers agree to make good the Costs of such dispatch.
(4) Additional information relating to the contract documents must be sent to the tenderers by the Contracting Authority not later than six days before the final date fixed for receipt of tenders.
(5) Where the contract documents, supporting documentation or additional information are too voluminous to be sent within the time limits laid down in sub-regulations (3) and (4) above, or where tenders can only be made after a site visit, or following an onsite inspection of the documents, the time limits laid down in subregulations (1) and (2) shall be extended by such time as may be considered appropriate by the Director of Contracts or the Contracting Authority administering the call for tenders.

(2) In the restricted procedure the Contracting Authority shall following a selection process, simultaneously and in writing, invite the selected tenderers to submit their tenders.
(3) The invitation to tender shall be sent to the selected tenderers accompanied by the contract documents and supporting documents. It shall include at least the following information:
(a) where appropriate, the address of the service from which the contract documents and supporting documents can be requested and the final date for making such a request;
(b) the amount and terms of any sum due in respect of such documents; (c) the final date for receipt of tenders, the address to which they must
be sent and the language or languages in which they must be drawn up; (d) reference to the EU contract notice published;
(e) indication of any documents to be scheduled which supplement the information referred to in regulations 46 and 47 of these regulations;
(f) the criteria for the award of the contract, if these are not given in the EU contract notice;
(g) any other special condition for participation in the contract.
(4) Where a public contract is to be awarded by restricted procedures, the Contracting Authority shall fix the time limit for the receipt of tenders at not less than 40 days from the date of dispatch of the written invitation.
(5) The time limit for the receipt of tenders laid down in sub-regulation (4) may be reduced to 26 days where the Contracting Authorities have drafted and published the EU prior information notice, in accordance with the model found in Schedule 10 of these regulations incorporating as much of the information required for a EU contract notice as was available at that time and provided that the EU prior information notice was dispatched to the Office for Official Publications not less than 52 days and not more than one year before dispatch of the EU contract notice.
(6) Requests to participate in procedures for the award of contracts may be made by letter, electronic mail, telegram, telex or fax.

1971 determining the rules applicable to periods, dates and time limits.

(2) Where a Contracting Authority decides either to abandon or recommence an award procedure in respect of which a EU contract notice has been published, or for which there has been an invitation to tender, it shall without delay inform the Director and the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities as well as any undertaking who submitted an offer or who applied to be included amongst the persons to be selected to tender for or to negotiate the contract, of the reasons for its decision.
(3) The Contracting Authority shall, within 15 days of the date on which the request is received, inform any eliminated candidate or tenderer of the reasons for rejection of its application or tender and any tenderer who has submitted a compliant tender of the characteristics and relative advantages of the tender selected as well as the name of the successful tenderer. A Contracting Authority may decide to withhold certain information on the contract award, referred to in the preceding subregulation, where release of such information would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest or would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular undertakings, public or private, or might prejudice fair competition between undertakings.
(4) For each contract awarded, the Contracting Authority shall draw up a written report which shall include at least the following;
(a) the name and address of the Contracting Authority, the subject and value of the contract;
(b) the names of the tenderers admitted to participate or tender and the reasons for their selection;
(c) the names of the candidates or tenderers rejected from participating or tendering and the reasons for their rejection;
(d) the name of the successful tenderer and the reasons for his tender having been selected and, if known, any share of the contract the successful tenderer may intend to subcontract to a third party;
(e) if the Contracting Authority has used negotiated procedures, the circumstances which justify the use of these procedures.
(5) The provisions of regulation 31 of these regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis to this Part.

(2). Without prejudice to the legally binding technical rules in Malta, and insofar as these are compatible with Community law, the technical specifications shall be defined by the Contracting Authorities by reference to European specifications.
(3). A Contracting Authority may depart from paragraph 2 if: (a) the European specifications do not include any provision for establishing conformity, or, if technical means do not exist for establishing satisfactorily the conformity of a product to the European specifications; or (b) use of the European specifications would oblige the contracting authority to acquire products or materials incompatible with equipment already in use or would entail disproportionate costs or disproportionate technical difficulties, but only as part of a clearly defined and recorded strategy with a view to change-over, within a given period, to European specifications; or (c) the project concerned is of a genuinely innovative nature for which use of existing European specifications would not be appropriate.
(4). Contracting authorities invoking paragraph 3 shall record, wherever possible, the reasons for doing so in the EU contract notice published in the Official Journal of the European Union or in the contract documents and in all cases shall record these reasons in their
internal documentation and shall supply such information on request to
Member States and to the Commission.
(5). In the absence of European specifications, the technical specifications shall be defined:
(a) by reference to the national technical specifications in Malta recognized as requirements listed in the Community directives on technical harmonization, in accordance with the procedures laid down in those directives, and in particular in accordance with the procedures laid down in Council Directive 89/106/EEC of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to construction products;
(b) by reference to national technical specifications in Malta relating to design and method of calculation and execution of works and use of materials;
(c) by reference to other documents In the following order of preference:
(i) Malta standards implementing international standards; (ii) other national standards and national technical approvals of Malta; (iii) any other standard.
(6) Unless such specifications are justified by the subject of the contract, Contracting Authorities shall not introduce into the contractual clauses relating to a given contract technical specifications which mention products of a specific make or source or of a particular process and which therefore favour or eliminate certain undertakings. In particular, the indication of trade marks, patents, types, or of a specific origin or production shall be prohibited. However, if such indication is accompanied by the words 'or equivalent', it shall be authorized in cases where the Contracting Authorities are unable to give a description of the subject of the contract using specifications which are sufficiently precise and intelligible to all parties concerned.
(7). For the purposes of this regulation the following terms mean:
a. 'Technical specifications': the totality of the technical prescriptions contained in particular in the tender documents, defining the characteristics required of a work, material, product or supply, which permits a work, a material, a product or a supply to be described in a manner such that it fulfils the use for which it is intended by the contracting authority. These technical prescriptions shall include levels of quality, performance, safety or dimensions, including the requirements applicable to the material, the product or to the supply as regards quality assurance, terminology, symbols, testing and test methods, packaging, marking or labelling. They shall also include rules relating to design and costing, the test, inspection and acceptances for works and methods or techniques of construction and all other technical conditions which the contracting authority is in a position to prescribe, under general or specific regulations, in relation to the finished works and to the materials or parts which they involve;
(b). 'Standard': a technical specification approved by a recognized standardizing body for repeated and continuous application, compliance with which is in principle not compulsory;
(c). 'European standard': a standard approved by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) or by the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (Cenelec) as 'European standards (EN)' or 'Harmonization documents (HD)' according to the common rules of these organizations;
d. 'European technical approval': a favourable technical assessment of the fitness for use of a product, based on fulfilment of the essential requirements for building works, by means of the inherent characteristics of the product and the defined conditions of application and use. The European agreement shall be issued by an approval body designated for this purpose by the Member State;
(e). 'Common technical specification': a technical specification laid down in accordance with a procedure recognized by the Member States to ensure uniform application in all Member States which has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
(f). 'Essential requirements': requirements regarding safety, health and certain other aspects in the general interest, that the construction works must meet.

information other than that to be published in the Official Journal of the
European Union.
(13) The Contracting Authorities must be able to supply proof of the date of dispatch.
(14) The length of the EU notice shall not be greater than one page of the Journal, or approximately 650 words
(15) Contracting Authorities may arrange for the publication in the Official Journal of the European Union of EU notices announcing public contracts which are not subject to the publication requirement laid down in this regulation.

(a) is bankrupt or is being wound up, or whose affairs are being administered by the court, who has entered into an arrangement with creditors or who has suspended business activities or who is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure under national laws and regulations;
(b) is the subject of proceedings for a declaration of bankruptcy, for an order for compulsory winding up or administration by the court or for an arrangement with creditors or of any other similar proceedings under national laws or regulations;
(c) has been convicted of an offence concerning his professional conduct by a judgement which has the force of res judicata;
(d) has been declared guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the Contracting Authorities can justify;
(e) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions in accordance with the legal provisions of Malta or the country in which he is resident;
(f) has not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of Malta or the country in which he is resident;
(g) is guilty of serious misrepresentation in supplying the information required under these regulations.

(a) the candidate’s or tenderer’s educational and professional qualifications and, or those of the candidate’s or tenderer’s managerial staff and, in particular, those of the person or persons responsible for providing the products, works or services;
(b) a list of the principal products, works or services provided in the past three years, with the sums, dates and recipients, public or private, of the products, works or services provided; Provided that –
(i) where the above are provided to Contracting Authorities, the evidence of the items in paragraph (b) above are to be in the form of certificates issued or countersigned by the Competent Authority,
(ii) where the above are provided to private purchasers, the delivery is to be certified by the purchaser or, failing this, simply declared by the candidate or tenderer to have been effected;
(c) an indication of the technicians or technical bodies involved, whether or not belonging directly to the candidate or tenderer, especially those responsible for quality control;
(d) a statement of the candidate’s or tenderer’s average annual manpower and the number of managerial staff for the last three years;
(e) a statement of the tool, plant or technical equipment available to the candidate or tenderer for carrying out the services;
(f) a description of the candidate’s or tenderer’s measures for ensuring quality;
(g) where the products, works or services to be provided are complex or are required for a special purpose, an inspection on the technical capacities, study and research facilities and quality control measures of the candidate or tenderer, may be carried out by the Contracting Authority, or if so authorised, by a competent official body of the State in which the candidate or tenderer has its principal place of business, management or control;
(h) an indication of the proportion of the public contract which the candidate or tenderer may intend to sub-contract;
(i) samples, description and, or photographs of the products to be supplied, the authenticity of which must be certified if the contracting authority so requests;
(j) certificates drawn up by official quality control institutes or agencies of recognized competence attesting conformity to certain specifications or standards of products clearly identified by references to specifications or standards;
(3) In so far as candidates for a public contract or tenderers have to possess a particular authorization or to be members of a particular organization in their home country in order to be able to perform the service concerned, the Contracting Authority may require them to prove that they hold such authorization or membership.
(4) Any candidate or tenderer may be requested to prove his enrolment, as prescribed in his country of establishment, in one of the professional or trade registers or to provide a declaration or certificate as described in sub- regulation (9) hereof.
(5) The Contracting Authority shall specify, in the EU notice or in the invitation to tender, which references it wishes to receive.
(6) The extent of the information referred to in regulation 46 and in sub-regulations (1), (2) and (3) of this regulation must be confined to the subject matter of the public contract.
(7) The Contracting Authority shall take into consideration the legitimate interests of candidates and tenderers as regards the protection of their technical or trade secrets.
(8) The Department of Contracts shall designate the authorities and bodies competent to issue the documents, certificates or declarations referred to in this regulation and shall forthwith inform the Commission and other member States thereof.
(9) A list of the relevant professional and trade registers and authorities from which the relevant declarations or certificates may be obtained shall be kept by the Department of Contracts and shall be made available to the public.

.

PART VI Types of Contract Section A

the service is to be carried out or performed. This shall be without prejudice to the application of regulation 26.

Section B

characteristics which would result in incompatibility or disproportionate technical difficulties in operation and maintenance. The length of such contracts as well as that of recurrent contracts may, as a general rule, not exceed three years.

Section C

accordance with the formal requirements of the tendering procedure;
(b) when the works involved are carried out only for the purpose of research, experiment or development but not for the purposes of establishing commercial viability or for the recovery of research and development costs;
(c) in exceptional cases, when the nature of the works or the risks attaching thereto do not permit prior overall pricing.

(a) in the event that no tenders or appropriate tenders are received in response to an open or restricted procedure in so far as the original terms of the contract are not substantially altered and provided that a report is communicated to the Commission at its request;
(b) when, for technical or artistic reasons or for reasons connected with the protection of Exclusive rights, the works may only be carried out by a particular contractor;
(c) when the time-limits for open, restricted or negotiated procedures referred to in regulations 36 to 38 cannot be respected for reasons of extreme urgency occasioned by unforeseeable events. The circumstances invoked to justify urgency must not be attributable to the Contracting Authority;
(d) for additional works not included in the project initially considered or in the contract first concluded but which have, through unforeseen circumstances, become necessary for the carrying out of the work described therein, on condition that the award is made to the contractor carrying out such work:
(i) when such works cannot be technically or economically separated from the main contract without great inconvenience to the Contracting Authority, or
(ii) when such works, although separable from the execution of the original contract, are strictly necessary to its completion;

provisions and the working conditions which are in force in Malta, or the region or locality in which the services are to be performed and which shall be applicable to the performance of the contract.
(2) A Contracting Authority which supplies the information referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall request the tenderers to indicate that they have taken account, when drawing up their tender, of the obligations relating to employment protection provisions and the working conditions which are in force in the place where the work or the service is to be carried out or performed. This shall be without prejudice to the application of regulation 26 concerning abnormally low tenders.

Part VII

(b) the technical and financial capacity of Entities to engage in particular activities shall be established prior to any evaluation of the merits of competing applications for authorization;
(c) authorization to engage in those activities shall be granted on the basis of objective criteria concerning the way in which it is intended to carry out exploitation or extraction, which shall be established and published prior to the requests and applied in a non-discriminatory manner;
(d) all conditions and requirements concerning the carrying out or termination of the activity, including provisions on operating obligations, royalties, and participation in the capital or revenue of the Entities, shall be established and made available prior to the requests for authorization being made and then applied in a non-discriminatory manner; every change concerning these conditions and requirements shall be applied to all the Entities concerned, or else amendments must be made in a non-discriminatory manner; however, operating obligations need not be established until immediately before the authorization is granted; and
(e) Entities shall not be required by any law, regulation, administrative requirement, agreement or understanding to provide information on their intended or actual sources of procurement, except at the request of national authorities with a view to the objectives mentioned in Article 30 of the EC Treaty.
(2) In the application of sub-regulation (1) hereof it shall be ensured, through the conditions of the authorization or other appropriate measures, that any Contracting Entity;
(a) observes the principles of non-discrimination and competitive procurement in respect of the award of supplies, works and service contracts, in particular as regards the information which the Contracting Entity makes available to undertakings concerning its procurement intentions;
(b) communicates to the Commission and the Department of Contracts, under conditions to be defined by the Commission information relating to the award of contracts.
(3) As regards individual concessions or authorizations granted before the date of the coming into force of this regulation, subregulation (1) (a), (b) and (c) shall not apply, provided that at that date other Entities are free to seek authorization for the
exploitation of geographical areas for the purpose of exploring for or extracting oil, gas, coal or other solid fuels, on a non-discriminatory basis and in the light of objective criteria. Sub-regulation (1)(d) shall not apply as regards conditions or requirements established, applied or amended before the date referred to above.
(4) The Commission shall be informed by the Department of Contracts in the event that sub-regulation (1) is sought to be applied. In so doing, it shall inform the Commission of any law, regulation or administrative provision, agreement or understanding relating to compliance with the conditions referred to in sub-regulations (1) and (2) The Commission shall take a decision and shall publish its decision, giving its reasons, in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(a) the provision or operation of fixed networks intended to provide a service to the public in connection with the production, transport or distribution of:
(i) drinking water; or
(ii) electricity; or
(iii) gas or heat; or
(iv) the supply of drinking water, electricity, gas or heat to such networks; or
(b) the exploitation of a geographical area for the purpose of;
(i) exploring for or extracting oil, gas, coal or other solid fuels, or
(ii) the provision of airport, maritime or inland port or other terminal facilities to carriers by air, sea or inland waterway; or
(c) the operation of networks providing a service to the public in the field of transport by land;
For the purposes of this clause a transport services network exists where the service is provided under conditions laid down by a competent governmental body or authority, such as conditions on
the routes to be served, the capacity to be made available or the frequency of the service;

(a) public contracts which Contracting Entities listed in Schedule 4 award for the purchase of water;
(b) public contracts which Contracting Entities listed in Schedules 5 and
6 award for the supply of energy or of fuels for the production of energy;
(c) public contracts or design contests which the Contracting Entities award or organise for purposes other than the pursuit of their activities as described in regulation 75(1);
(d) public contracts awarded for purposes of resale or hire to third parties, provided that the Contracting Entity enjoys no Special or Exclusive right to sell or hire the subject of the contracts, and other entities are free to sell or hire it under the same conditions as the Contracting Entity> provided that the Contracting Entities shall notify the Commission at its request of any activities they regard as excluded under this sub-regulation;
(e) public contracts, which a Contracting Entity exercising activities described in regulation 75(1)(d) award, for purchases intended exclusively to enable them to provide one or more telecommunications services where other entities are free to offer the same services in the same geographical area and under substantially the same conditions; provided that the Contracting Entities shall notify the Commission at its request of any activities they regard as excluded under this sub-regulation;
(f) public service contracts, which a Contracting Entity awards to an affiliated undertaking;
(g) public service contracts, which are awarded by a joint venture formed by a number of Contracting Entities for the purpose of carrying out a relevant activity within the meaning of regulation 75, to one of the Contracting Entities or to an affiliated undertaking; provided that at least 80% of the average turnover of that undertaking with respect to services arising within the Community for the preceding three years derives from the provision of such services to undertakings with which it is affiliated.
Where more than one undertaking affiliated with the Contracting Entity provides the same service or similar services, the total turnover deriving from the provision of services by those undertakings shall be taken into account.

(2) Awards of contracts issued under a Framework Agreement may be made pursuant to regulation 84.
(3) A Contracting Entity may not use Framework Agreements in order to hinder, limit or distort competition.

8A and 8B shall be awarded in accordance with the provisions of regulation 52 of these regulations.

(3) In the absence of European specifications, the technical specifications should as far as possible be defined by reference to other standards having currency within the Community.
(4) Contracting Entities shall define such further requirements as are necessary to complete European specifications or other standards. In so doing, they shall prefer specifications which indicate performance requirements rather than design or description characteristics, unless the Contracting Entity has objective reasons for considering that such specifications are inadequate for the purposes of the contract.
(5) Technical specifications which mention goods of a specific make or source or of a particular process, and which have the effect of favouring or eliminating certain undertakings, shall not be used unless such specifications are indispensable for the subject of the contract. In particular, the indication of trade marks, patents, types, of specific origin or production shall be prohibited; however, such an indication accompanied by the words “or equivalent” shall be authorized where the subject of the contract cannot otherwise be described by specifications which are sufficiently precise and fully intelligible to all concerned.
(6) Contracting Entities may derogate from subregulation (2) if:
(a) it is technically impossible to establish satisfactorily that a product conforms to the European specifications;
(b) the application of sub-regulation (2) would prejudice the application of Council Directive 86/361/EEC of 24 July 1986 on the initial stage of the mutual recognition of type approval for telecommunications terminal equipment, or of Council Decision 87/95/EEC of 22 December 1986 on standardization in the field of information technology and telecommunications;
(c) in the context of adapting existing practice to take account of European specifications, use of those specifications would oblige the Contracting Entity to acquire supplies incompatible with equipment already in use or would entail disproportionate cost or disproportionate technical difficulty. Contracting Entities which have recourse to this derogation shall do so only as part of clearly-defined and recorded strategy with a view to a changeover to European specifications;

(b) by means of a EU periodic indicative notice drawn up in accordance with Schedule X “Utilities”, provided the periodic indicative notice, issued in terms if Regulation 82A, was published not more than 12 months prior to dispatch of the invitation to confrim interest in accordance with subregulation
2(c) below; or
(c) by means of a EU notice on the existence of a qualification system drawn up in accordance with Schedule X “Utilities” .
(2) When a call for competition is made by means of a periodic indicative EU notice:
(a) the EU notice must refer specifically to the supplies, works or services which will be the subject of the contract to be awarded;
(b) the EU notice must indicate that the contract will be awarded by restricted or negotiated procedure without further publication of a EU notice of a call for competition and invite interested undertakings to express their interest in writing;
(c) Contracting Entities shall subsequently invite all candidates to confirm their interest on the basis of detailed information on the contract concerned before beginning the selection of tenderers or participants in negotiations, provided the deadline ofr requests to participate shall in general be at least five weeks from the date of dispatch of the invitation and shall in any case not be less than 22 days from that date and not less than 15 days if the invitation is sent by telex, facsimile or electronic means;
(3) When a call for competition is made by means of a EU notice on the existence of a qualification system, tenderers in a restricted procedure or participants in a negotiated procedure with a call for competition shall be selected from the qualified candidates in accordance with such a system.
(4) In the case of design contests, the call for competition shall be made by means of a EU notice drawn up in accordance with Schedule X ‘Utilities’.
(5) The EU notices referred to in this regulation shall be dispatched to the Official Journal of the European Union.
(6) Regulation 44 (1), 44(2), 44(3), and 44(10) to 44(15) shall not apply hereto.

1.Contracting entities shall make known, at least once a year, by means of a periodic indicative notice:
(a) in the case of supply contracts, the total of the contracts for each product area of which the estimated value, is equal to or
greater than EURO 750,000, and which they intend to award over the following twelve months;
(b) in the case of works contracts, the essential characteristics of the works contracts which the contracting entities intend to award and which fall within the preview of Schedule 9 regulation 4(a)(ii), 4(b)(iii) and 4(c)ii.
(c) in the case of service contracts, the estimated total value of the service contracts in each of the categories of services listed in Schedule 8 A which they intend to award over the following 12 months, where such estimated total value is equal to or greater than ECU 750,000.
2. The notice shall be drawn up in accordance with Schedule 10 and published in the Official Journal of the European Communities and the Gazette.

(a) in the absence of the receipt of tenders or of compliant tenders in response to a procedure with a prior call for competition, provided that the original contract conditions have not been substantially changed;
(b) when the products involved are manufactured only for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development but not for the purposes of establishing commercial viability or for the recovery of research and development costs and in so far as the award of such contract does not prejudice the competitive award of subsequent contracts which have in particular these purposes;
(c) when, for technical or artistic reasons or for reasons connected with protection of Exclusive rights, the contract may be executed only by a particular supplier, contractor or service provider;
(d) insofar as is strictly necessary, when the time-limits for open, restricted or negotiated procedures referred to in regulations 36 to 38 cannot be respected for reasons of urgency
occasioned by unforeseeable events. The circumstances invoked to justify urgency must not be attributable to the Contracting Entity;
(e) in the case of supply contracts for additional deliveries by the original supplier which are intended either as a partial replacement of normal supplies or installations or as the extension of existing supplies or installations, where a change of supplier would oblige the Contracting Entity to acquire material having different technical characteristics which would result in incompatibility or disproportionate technical difficulties in operation and maintenance;
(f) for additional works or services not included in the project initially awarded or in the contract first concluded but which have, through unforeseen circumstances, become necessary for the execution of the contract, on condition that the award is made to the contractor or service provider executing the original contract:
(i) when such additional works or services cannot be technically or economically separated from the main contract without great inconvenience to the Contracting Entity;
(ii) or when such additional works or services, although separable from the execution of the original contract, are strictly necessary to its completion;
(g) for new works consisting in the repetition of similar works entrusted to the tenderer to which the same Contracting Entity awarded an earlier contract, provided that such works conform to a basic project for which a contract was originally awarded in accordance with the procedures referred to in regulation 83 ;
Provided that where a Contracting Entity intends to award a series of contracts for the same project, EU notice must initially be given that the negotiated procedure might be adopted, and the total estimated cost of subsequent works shall be taken into consideration by the Contracting Entity when they apply the provisions of regulation 15. This procedure may be applied solely during the three years following the conclusion of the original contract;
(h) for supplies quoted and purchased on a commodity market;
(i) for contracts to be awarded on the basis of a Framework Agreement, provided that the conditions referred to in regulation 77 are fulfilled;
(j) for bargain purchases, where it is possible to procure supplies taking advantage of a particularly advantageous opportunity available for a very short space of time at a price considerably lower than normal market prices;
(k) for purchases of goods under particularly advantageous conditions from either a supplier definitively winding up his business activities or liquidator of a bankruptcy, an arrangement with creditors or a similar procedure;
(l) where the contract concerned is awarded subsequent to a design contest and must be awarded to one or more successful tenderers, in which case they shall be invited to participate in the negotiations.

1. In open procedures the time limit for the receipt of tenders shall be fixed by contracting entities at not less than 52 days from the date of dispatch of the notice. This time limit may be shortened to 36 days where contracting entities have published a periodic indicative notice
2. In restricted procedures and in negotiated procedures with a prior call for competition, the following arrangements shall apply:
(a) the time limit for receipt of requests to participate, in response to an EU notice or in response to a Notice On The Existence Of A Qualification System from a contracting entity , shall, as a general rule, be at least five weeks from the date of dispatch of the notice or invitation and shall in any case not be less than not later than 22 days after their dispatch or within fifteen days in response to a request by the contracting entity and provided that the notice has been sent to the Office by electronic mail, telex or telefax.
(b) The time limit for receipt of tenders may be fixed by mutual agreement between the contracting entity and the selected
candidates, provided that all tenderers are given equal time to prepare and submit tenders;
(c) Where it is not possible to reach agreement on the time limit for the receipt of tenders, the contracting entity shall fix a time limit which shall, as a general rule, be at least three weeks and shall in any case not be less than 10 days from the date of the invitation to tender; the time allowed shall be sufficiently long to take account in particular of the factors mentioned in Article
84B(3).

1. Provided that they have been requested in good time, the contract documents and supporting documents must be sent to the suppliers, contractors or service providers by the contracting entities as a general rule within six days of receipt of the application.
2. Provided that it has been requested in good time, additional information relating to the contract documents shall be supplied by the contracting entities not later than six days before the final date fixed for receipt of tenders.
3. Where tenders require the examination of voluminous documentation such as lengthy technical specifications, a visit to the site or an on-the-spot inspection of the documents supporting the contract documents, this shall be taken into account when the appropriate time limits are fixed.
4. Contracting entities shall invite the selected candidates simultaneously and in writing. The letter of invitation shall be accompanied by the contract documents and supporting documents. It shall include at least the following information:
(a) the address from which any additional documents can be requested, the final date for such requests and the amount and methods of payment of any sum to be paid for such documents;
(b) the final date for receipt of tenders, the address to which they must be sent and the language or languages in which they must be drawn up;
(c) a reference to any tender notice published; (d)an indication of any document to be annexed;
(e) the criteria for the award of the contract if these are not given in the notice;
(f) any other special condition for participation in the contract.
5. Requests for participation in contracts and invitations to tender must be made by the most rapid means of communication possible. When requests to participate are made by telegram, telex, telephone or any electronic means, they must be confirmed by letter dispatched before the expiry of the time limit referred to in Article 84A (1) or of the time limit set by contracting entities pursuant to Article 84A (2).

(2) A Contracting Entity which supplies the information referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall request the tenderers to indicate that they have taken account, when drawing up their tender, of the obligations relating to employment protection provisions and the working conditions which are in force in the place where the work or the service is to be carried out or performed. This shall be without prejudice to the application of regulation 89(5) and (6) concerning the examination of abnormally low tenders.

(2) The criteria and rules for qualification shall be made available on request to interested candidates. The updating of these criteria and rules shall be communicated to the interested candidates. Where a Contracting Entity considers that the qualification system of certain third entities or bodies meets its requirements, it shall communicate to interested candidates the names of such third entities or bodies.
(3) A Contracting Entity shall inform candidates of their decision as to qualification within a reasonable period. If the decision will take longer than six months from the presentation of an application, the Contracting Entity shall inform the candidate, within two months of the application, of the reasons justifying a longer period and of the date by which its application will be accepted or refused.
(4) In reaching their decision as to qualification or when the criteria and rules are being updated, a Contracting Entity may not;
(i) impose conditions of an administrative, technical or financial nature on some suppliers, contractors or service providers which are not imposed on others,
(ii) require tests or proof which duplicate objective evidence already available.
(5) Candidates whose qualification is refused shall be informed of this decision together with the reasons for refusal within 15 days from the date of the decision. The reasons, where applicable according to this regulation, must be based on the criteria for qualification referred to in sub-regulation (1).
(6) A written record of qualified candidates shall be kept and it may be divided into categories, according to the type of contract for which the qualification is valid.
(7) A Contracting Entity may remove the qualification of an candidate, only for reasons based on the criteria referred to in subregulation (2). The intention to bring qualification to an end must be notified in writing to the candidate beforehand, together with the reason or reasons justifying the proposed action.
(8) The qualification system shall be the subject of an EU notice. Where the system is of a duration greater than three years, the EU notice shall be published annually.

(2) Contracting Entities shall recognize equivalent certificates from bodies established in other Member States. They shall also accept
other evidence of equivalent quality assurance measures from service providers who have no access to such certificates or no possibility of obtaining them within the relevant time limits.

meet the minimum specifications required by the Contracting Entities. Contracting Entities shall state in the contract documents the minimum specifications to be respected by the variants and specific requirements for their presentation. Where variants are not permitted, they shall so indicate in the contract documents.
(4) Contracting Entities may not reject the presentation of a variant on the sole ground that it was drawn up on the basis of technical specifications defined with reference to European specifications or to national technical specifications recognized as complying with the essential requirements within the meaning of Directive 89/106/EEC.
(5) If, for a given contract, tenders appear abnormally low in relation to the provision of services, the Contracting Entity shall, before it may reject those tenders, request in writing details of the constituent elements of the tender which it considers relevant and shall verify those constituent elements taking account of the explanations received. It may set a reasonable period within which to reply. The Contracting Entity may take into consideration explanations which are justified on objective grounds relating to the economy of the construction or production method, or the technical solutions chosen, or the exceptionally favourable conditions available to the tenderer for the execution of the contract, or the originality of the product or the work proposed by the tenderer.
(6) Contracting Entities may reject tenders which are abnormally low owing to the receipt of State aid only if they have consulted the tenderer and if the tenderer has been unable to show that the aid in question has been notified to the Commission pursuant to Article 88 (3) of the EEC Treaty or has received the Commission’s approval. Contracting Entities which reject a tender under these circumstances shall inform the Commission thereof.

(2) Any tender made for the award of a supply contract may be rejected where the proportion of the products originating in third countries, as determined in accordance with Council regulation (EEC) No 802/68 of 27 June
1968 on the common definition of the concept of the origin of goods, exceeds
50% of the total value of the products constituting the tender.

(d) the non-application of the relevant provisions of this regulation in accordance with regulation 74, 76 and 79.
(2) The information shall be kept for at least four years from the date of award of the contract so that the Contracting Entity will be able, during that period, to provide the necessary information to the Commission if the latter so requests.

a) production, transport or distribution of drinking water;
b) production, transport or distribution of electricity;
c) transport or distribution of gas or heat;
d) exploration for and extraction of oil or gas;
e) exploration for and extraction of coal or other solid fuels;
f) railway services;
g) urban railway, tramway, trolleybus or bus services;
h) airport facilities;
i) maritime or inland port or other terminal facilities;
j) operation of telecommunications networks or provision of telecommunications services.

(2) The request referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall be addressed in writing to the Commission.

(2) The Commission shall propose, as quickly as possible, a conciliator drawn from a list of independent persons accredited for this purpose. This list shall be drawn up by the Commission, following consultation of the Advisory Committee for public contracts or, in the case of Contracting Entities the activities of which are defined in regulation 75(1)(d), following consultation of the Advisory Committee on Telecommunications Procurement.
Each party to the conciliation procedure shall declare whether it accepts the conciliator, and shall designate an additional conciliator. The conciliators may invite not more than two other persons as experts to advise them in their work. The parties to the conciliation procedure and the Commission may reject any expert invited by the conciliators.
(3) The conciliators shall give the person requesting the application of the conciliation procedure, the Contracting Entity and any other candidate or tenderer and any person having or having had an interest in obtaining the particular public contract participating in the relevant contract award procedure the opportunity to make representations on the matter either orally or in writing.
(4) The conciliators shall endeavour as quickly as possible to reach an agreement between the parties which is in accordance with Community Law.
(5) The conciliators shall report to the Commission on their findings and on any result achieved.
(6) The person requesting the application of the conciliation procedure and the Contracting Entity shall have the right to terminate the procedure at any time.
(7) Unless the parties decide otherwise, the person requesting the application of the conciliation procedure and the Contracting Entity shall be responsible for their own costs. In addition, they shall each bear half of the costs of the procedure, excluding the costs of intervening parties.

(2) Action taken pursuant to this regulation and regulation 93 shall be without prejudice to;
(a) any action that the Commission or any Member State might take pursuant to Articles 226 or 227of the Treaty or pursuant to any other remedy provided under this regulation;
(b) the rights of the persons requesting the conciliation procedure, of the
Contracting Entity or of any other person.
Part VIII

(b) When requesting such an approval, the Contracting
Authority shall present a document specifying the background to
the cause of such a variation, the effect on the total cost of the tender and any effect on the recurrent expenditure that will ensue.
(c) When granting or refusing such a request for variation, the Director shall specify his view as to whether such a variation could have been avoided and the procedure to be followed in future by the Contracting Authority to avoid a recurrence.
(d) The Director is to keep a full record of variation requests, including the name of the contractor involved and details of the documents specified in paragraphs (b) and (c).
(2) Approval for variations, having a financial effect as indicated in sub- regulation (1)(a) above on contracts awarded by Contracting Authorities listed in Schedule 3, shall require the prior approval of the Minister responsible for that Authority who may delegate his authority in writing to the Parliamentary Secretary, the Permanent Secretary or the Head of the Authority concerned;

Provided that a list of all variations catered for under this Part is to be published in the Gazette every six months by the Director and by Heads of Contracting Authorities.
Part IX

Prime Minister may appoint an officer from among the most senior of officers at the Department of Contracts to act as the Chairman of the Committees, to exercise all powers and perform all the functions of the Chairman.
(4) A person shall be disqualified from being appointed to and from remaining a member of a Committee if he –
(i) is a member of the House of Representatives; or
(ii) has such a financial or other interest as is likely to prejudice the discharge of his functions as a member of the Contracts Committees.
(5) A member of either of these committees may resign his office by letter addressed to the Prime Minister.
(6) A member of either committee who has any direct or indirect interest in any contract dealt with by such committee shall disclose the nature of his interest at the first meeting of that committee after the relevant facts have come to his knowledge; such disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of that meeting of the committee and the member having an interest as aforesaid shall withdraw from any meetings at which such contract is discussed.
(7) The provisions of regulation 104(9) of these regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis to the Contract Committees.
Part X

and
(i) the final cost including financing costs to the Contracting Authority,
(ii) the impact of each offer on the recurrent expenditure of a Contracting
Authority;
(3) report any irregularities that may be brought to its notice or that may be detected in the tendering process and make recommendations thereon to the Minister charged with responsibility for the Contracting Authority concerned;
(4) deal with matters which, according to the contract, have to be referred to the Contracts Committee, and hear and determine disputes between Contracting Authorities as the case may be, and contractors, arising out of public contracts; and
(5) formally investigate complaints concerning public contracts and procurements and make recommendations thereon;
Provided that such complaints are not the subject of a separate inquiry or investigation by the Director in the exercise of his functions or else have to be heard and determined by the Appeals Board.
Part XI

setting up and the functions of each Procurement Committee, its Chairman and its members.
Part XII

(4) A complaint by the affected tenderer and any person having or having had an interest in obtaining a particular public contract must reach the Department of Contracts or the Contracting Authority involved, as the case may be, within four working days from the date of notification of the decision and such complaint shall be accompanied by a deposit of 0.5% of the estimated tender value, which deposit shall only be refundable if the Appeals Board finds in the tenderer’s or other person having or having had an interest in obtaining a particular public contract’s favour;
Provided that the deposit shall in no case be less than Lm 250 or more than Lm 25,000.
(5) The review is to be effected by the public contracts Appeals Board before the next stage of the adjudication process is commenced.
(6) The procedure to be followed by the Board when carrying out the review shall consist in a complete and detailed re-examination of the reasons brought forward by the adjudication board of any department or Contracting Authority for the discarding of any particular tender.
(7) In fulfilling this obligation the Chairman of the Appeals Board shall have the right to put appropriate questions to the Head of any department or Contracting Authority as well as the members of the respective adjudication boards and to have recourse to all pertinent documentation.
(8) The Chairman of the Appeals Board shall also have the right to seek expert advice from outside the department or Contracting Authority involved.
(9) The decision of the Board shall be final and binding on all parties and the award procedure shall proceed in accordance with its decision.
(10) Any tenderer or any other person having or having had an interest in obtaining a particular public contract whose complaint under this Part of the regulations is not upheld shall not have the right to have recourse to the procedure for appeals as provided for in Part XIII of these regulations;
Provided that the right of appeal under Part XIII shall be available to those tenderers whose offer reaches the final stage of the award procedure, that is, the opening and the publication of the financial proposals.
Part XIII

deposit paid under sub-regulation (1) above. The tenderer who had been indicated in the adjudication decision of the Director or the Contracting Authority as the one to whom the contract was to be awarded, shall be deemed to have registered an interest but does not need to pay a deposit.
(iv) The names of the tenderers or other person having or having had an interest in obtaining a particular public contract who register an interest shall be made public on the first working day after the lapse of the time limit specified in paragraph (iii) hereof.
(v) (a) Within three working days after the publication of the list of persons who register an interest, the tenderer filing the notice of Objection shall send a reasoned letter of objection explaining the objection.
(b) The letter of objection and any accompanying documentation shall be submitted in a number of copies that equals the number of tenderers with a registered interest, plus three.
(c) The letter of objection shall be made public and shall be circulated to all persons with a registered interest.
(vi) (a) Within five working days from the publication of the letter of objection, any tenderer who had registered an interest may send a reasoned reply to the letter of objection.
(b) The reply and any accompanying documentation shall be submitted in a number of copies that equals the number of tenderers with a registered interest, plus three.
(c) The reply shall be made public and shall be circulated to all tenderers with a registered interest and to all tenderers who have filed an objection.
(vii) Within ten working days of the publication of the replies the Director or the Head of the Contracting Authority shall prepare a report (the Analysis Report) analysing the letter of objection and the replies thereto. This report shall be circulated to the persons who file an objection and who have a registered interest. After the preparatory process is duly completed, the Head of the Contracting Authority shall forward to the Director of Contracts all documentation pertaining to the call for tenders in question including files, tenders submitted, copies of deposit receipts, any motivated letter, analysis report, etc.
(viii) The Director shall forward all the documentation related to any appeal case to the Chairman of the Appeals Board who shall then proceed as stipulated in Part XIV of these regulations.
(ix) The Director or the Head of the Contracting Authority shall publish a copy of the decision of the Appeals Board at his department or at the premises of the relevant Contracting Authority, as the case may be. Copies of the decision shall be forwarded to the complaining tenderer, any persons who had registered or had an implied interest and, by the Director only, to the Contracting Authority concerned when this is one listed in Schedule 2.
(3) Complaints in terms of this Part may only be submitted in respect of public contracts awarded by Authorities listed in Schedule 1 whose value exceeds Lm 20,000.
Part XIV

(5) A person shall be disqualified from being appointed or continuing to be a member of the Appeals Board if he is a member of the House of Representatives or if he has a financial or other interest as is likely to prejudice the discharge of his functions as a member of the Appeals Board.
(6) The members of the Appeals Board shall receive such remuneration as the Prime Minister may determine.
(7) The members of the Appeals Board shall not be held personally liable for any act or omission done in good faith in the course of the exercise of their functions as members of the said Board.
(8) The Appeals Board shall be provided by the Director of Contracts with administrative and secretarial services.
(9) The Appeals Board shall be empowered to call witnesses, to administer oaths and to engage any government official or non-governmental expert to assist it in its investigations.
(10) The sessions of the Appeals Board during which the complaint is heard shall be held in public and both the complainant and any interested party shall have the right to attend and to be accompanied by any person, professional or otherwise, who they consider suitable to defend their interests.
(11)(a) The Chairman shall have the power to determine the procedure for the hearing of all complaints lodged with the Appeals Board and shall ensure that during the public hearing all interested parties are given the opportunity to make their case.
(b) The Appeals Board shall have the power to take such interim measures as it shall deem fit.
(12) Any member of the Appeals Board who may have a direct or indirect interest in any contract which becomes the subject of a complaint in terms of regulation 77 of these regulations shall inform the Director of Contracts in writing of such interest in which case the member shall be precluded from further participation in the hearing of the complaint.
(13) The Chairman shall appoint the public hearing at the earliest possible date after the referral to him of the Analysis Report and the relative documentation by the Director of Contracts as stipulated in sub-regulation (2)(viii) of regulation 103 of these regulations.
(14) The decision of the Appeals Board shall be final insofar as the award of the contract involved is concerned and the Director of Contracts or the Head of a Contracting Authority shall have the authority to proceed with the award of the contract as soon as the decision of the Board is published and notified to the interested parties.
(15) Decisions of the Appeals Board shall preferably be taken on the basis of unanimity. However, majority decisions shall be final and binding with regard to the award of the contract. The Chairman and the other two members shall have one vote each.
(16) Decisions of the Appeals Board shall be submitted by the Chairman to the Director of Contracts in writing within ten working days after the holding of the public session. Should the Appeals Board be unable, for valid reasons, to meet this time-limit, the Director of Contracts shall extend the period in question if such extension is considered warranted by the circumstances of the case.
(17) All decisions taken by the Appeals Board shall be rendered in writing. It shall contain all the facts and reasons on which the Appeals Board’s decision is taken. All decisions shall be concluded with definite recommendations which shall be binding on the Director of Contracts or the Head of the Contracting Authority and all the tenderers involved.
(18) The Appeals Board shall recommend on whether any deposit submitted by a tenderer in terms of regulation 103 should be refunded, in whole or in part, or not, giving written reasons for such a recommendation. The Board’s recommendation shall be final and binding.
(19) Any bidder submitting a complaint and who shall not be satisfied with the final decision taken by the Appeal Board shall refer the matter to the First Hall of the Civil Court.. Such recourse shall not however delay the Director of Contracts or the Head of a Contracting Authority from implementing the Appeals Board’s final decision.

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FOREIGN AFFAIRS Permanent Secretary’s Office / Department of Corporate Services

And shall include all other Contracting Authorities and Contracting Entities as may be established in Malta from time to time.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS Permanent Secretary’s Office / Department of Corporate Services

MINISTRY OF TOURISM
MALTA TOURISM AUTHORITY
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS
LOCAL COUNCILS

Public Works Contracts Activities

22. Gas fitting and plumbing, and the installation of sanitary equipment
23. Installation of heating and ventilating apparatus (central heating, air conditioning, ventilation)
24. Sound and heat insulation, insulation against vibration
25. Electrical fittings
26. Installation of aerials, lightning conductors, telephones etc
27. Building completion work
28. General Building completion work
29. Plastering
30. Joinery, primarily engaged in on the site assembly and/or installation
(including the laying of parquet flooring)
31. Painting, glazing, paper hanging
32. Tiling and otherwise covering floors and walls
33. Other building completion work (putting in fireplaces)

Services w i thin the me aning of A r ticle 50.1

(1) Except for rail transport services covered by Category 18.

(2) Except voice telephony, telex, radiotelephony, paging and satellite services.

(3) Except contracts for financial services in connection with the issue, sale, purchase or transfer of securities or other financial instruments, and central bank services.

(4) Except research and development service contracts other than those where the benefits accrue exclusively to the contracting authority for its use in the conduct of its own affairs on condition that the service provided is wholly remunerated by the contracting authority.

(5) Except arbitration and conciliation services.

Services within the meaning of Article 50.2

Euro 200 000: threshold above which public supply contracts are subject to Part VI B of these Regulations without prejudice to the application of the threshold set out for supply contracts subject to the WTO Agreement (recital 10, Dir 93/36/EEC) .

Euro 750 000: threshold above which the contracting authorities shall make known, by means of an indicative notice to be published as soon as possible after the beginning of the budgetary year, the total procurement by product area which they envisage awarding during the subsequent 12 months as stipulated in Article 44 of the Regulations.

SDR 130 000: applicable to contracts awarded by contracting authorities, including contracts awarded by contracting authorities in the field of defence in so far as the products included in Annex 11 of these Regulations are concerned so long as such contracting authorities are dealing with products covered by Annex II of Schedule 11.

SDR 200 000: applicable to contracts awarded by contracting authorities including contracts awarded by contracting authorities in the field of defence in so far as the products not included in Annex 11 of these Regulations are concerned. But does not apply in so far as central Government authorities are concerned.

Euro 1 000 000: This threshold is applicable to works lots in terms of Article 15.4 of the Regulations.

Euro5 000 000: Threshold pursuant to Art 65.2 of the Regulations. This provision concerns only those contracts covered by Class 50, Group 502, of the general industrial classification of economic activities within the European Communities (NACE) nomenclature and contracts relating to the building works for hospitals, facilities intended for sports, recreation and leisure, school and university buildings and buildings used for administrative purposes;

- threshold above which a notice is required when contracting authorities intend to conclude a public works concession contract in terms of Art 66.1 of the Regulations.
- threshold above which a notice is required when a concessionaire other than a contracting authority intends to award a contract to a third party pursuant to Art 66.4 of the Regulations
- threshold above which the contracting authorities shall make known, by means of an indicative notice to be published as soon as possible after the beginning of the budgetary year, the essential characteristics of the works contracts which they intend to award.

SDR 5 000 000: threshold applicable to Part VI C of these Regulations

Euro 80 000: threshold applicable in terms of the proviso to Art 15.4 of the Regulations to Lots provisions.

Euro 750 000: threshold above which contracting authorities shall make known, by means of an indicative notice to be published as soon as possible after the beginning of their budgetary year, the intended total procurement in each of the service categories listed in Annex 8 A of the Regulations and in respect of which they envisage awarding contracts during the subsequent 12 months

Euro 200 000: Threshold above which a contracting authority subsidises directly by more than 50 % a service contract awarded by an entity other than itself in connection with a works contract. Article 50.2 of the Regulations refers.

In relation to public service contracts concerning the services referred to in Schedule 8 A (with the exception of the services in category 8 and the telecommunications services in category 5 under CPC references 7524,
7525 and 7526):
(i) awarded by the Central Government authorities where the estimated value net of VAT is not less than the equivalent of 130 000 SDR;
(ii) awarded by the contracting authorities other than those referred to in sub-paragraph (i) above where the estimated value net of VAT is not less than the equivalent in 200 000 SDRs.

Euro 200 000: In relation to public service contracts concerning the services referred to in Schedule 8 B, the services in category 8 in Schedule 8 A and the telecommunications services in category 5 of Schedule 8 A under CPC references 7524, 7525 and 7526, awarded by the contracting authorities.

Threshold for design contest fulfilling conditions of art 53 of the Regulations shall be:
(a) in relation to public service contracts concerning the services referred to in Annex 8 A with the exception of the services in category 8 and the telecommunications services in category 5 under CPC references 7524, 7525 and 7526:
(i) awarded by Central Government Authorities where the estimated value net of VAT is not less than the equivalent of 130 000 SDR;
(ii) awarded by the contracting authorities other than those referred to in sub-paragraph (i) above where the estimated value net of VAT is not less than the equivalent in 200 000 SDRs.

(b) Euro 200 000: In relation to public service contracts concerning the services referred to in Schedule 8

B, the services in category 8 in Annex 8 A and the telecommunications services in category 8 of Annex I A under CPC references 7524, 7525 and 7526, awarded by the contracting authorities.

(a) (i) ECU 600 000 in the case of supply and service contracts contracts awarded by contracting entities carrying out activities in the telecommunications sector, provided that the estimated value, net of value added tax (VAT).
(ii) ECU 5 000 000 in the case of worksc contracts awarded by contracting entities carrying out activities in the telecommunications sector, provided that the estimated value, net of value added tax (VAT), .
(b) (i) ECU of 400 000 special drawing rights (SDR) for supply contracts and for the service contracts listed in Schedule 8A, except for the R&D services mentioned in Category 8 and Category 5 telecommunications services, the CPC reference numbers of which are 7524, 7525 and 7526 for contracts awarded by contracting entities carrying out activities entities in the sectors covering the production, transport or distribution of drinkingwater; in the sectors covering the production, transport or distribution of electricity; in the field of urban railway, tramway, trolleybus or bus services; in the field of airport facilities; in the field of maritime or inland port or other terminal facilities;
(ii) ECU 400 000 in the case of service contracts other than those mentioned in (i) awarded by contracting entities carrying out activities entities in the sectors covering the production, transport or distribution of drinkingwater; in the sectors covering the production, transport or distribution of electricity; in the field of urban railway, tramway, trolleybus or bus services; in the field of airport facilities; in the field of maritime or inland port or other terminal facilities.;
(iii) the equivalent in ECU of 5 000 000 SDR for works contracts; awarded by contracting entities carrying out activities entities in the sectors covering the production, transport or distribution of drinking water; in the sectors covering the production, transport or distribution of electricity; in the filed of urban railway, tramway, trolleybus or bus services; in the field of airport facilities; in the field of maritime or inland port or other terminal facilities.
(c) (i) ECU 400 000 in the case of supply and service contracts for contracts awarded by contracting entities carrying out activities in the sectors covering the transport or distribution of gas or heat; in the sectors covering the exploration for and extraction of oil or gas; in the sectors covering the exploration for and extraction of coal or other solid fuels; and in the field of railway services.;
(ii) ECU 5 000 000 in the case of works contracts for contracts awarded by contracting entities carrying out activities in the sectors covering the transport or distribution of gas or heat; in the sectors covering the exploration for and extraction of oil or gas; in the sectors covering the exploration for and extraction of coal or other solid fuels; and in the field of railway services.
(d) Euro 1 000 000: threshold under which contracting entities, in the case of works contracts, are allowed to derogate from article 15.4 paragraph 1 of the Regulations provided that the total value of such lots does not exceed 20% of the total value of all the lots
Design Contests: The thresholds relating to design contests in the utilities sector are as defined in
Article 23 of Directive 93/38/EEC as follows:
1. This Article shall apply to design contests organized as part of a procedure leading to the award of a service contract the estimated value net of VAT for which is not less than the value referred to in Article 14(1).
2. This Article shall apply to all design contests where the total amount of contest prizes and payments to participants is not less than Euro 400 000 for design contests organized by entities exercising an activity referred to in Article 2 (2) (a), (b) and (c) and Euro 600 000 for design contests organized by entities exercising an activity referred to in Article 2 (2) (d).
3. The rules for the organization of a design contest shall be in conformity with the requirements of this
Article and shall be communicated to those interested in participating in the contest.
4. The admission of participants to design contests shall not be limited:
- by reference to the territory or part of the territory of a Member State;
- on the grounds that, under the law of the Member State in which the contest is organized, they would have been required to be either natural or legal persons.
5. Where design contests are restricted to a limited number of participants, the contracting authorities shall lay down clear and non-discriminatory selection criteria. In any event, the number of candidates invited to participate shall be sufficient to ensure genuine competition.
6. The jury shall be composed exclusively of natural persons who are independent of participants in the contest. Where a particular professional qualification is required from participants in a contest at least a third of its members must have the same qualification or its equivalent.
The jury shall be autonomous in its decision or opinions. These shall be reached on the basis of projects submitted anonymously and solely on the grounds of the criteria indicated in the notice provided for in Annex XVII.

Full adoption of Directive 2001/78/EC of 13th September 2001

List of Products in the Field of Defence

This list of products in the Field of Defence shall be that list as established by the list covered in Annex II of
EC Directive 93/36/EEC.