Procurement below the threshold: quotations, direct contracts and departmental tenders

Part III of the Regulations, «Rules applicable to Departmental Tenders», governs the procurement a contracting authority runs on its own. The method depends on the estimated value.

Up to €5,000

The supplies, works or services may be procured departmentally in one of three ways, at the discretion of the Head of the Contracting Authority: after obtaining a minimum of three quotations, after publication on the government’s e-procurement platform, or through a direct contract (regulation 100(1)).

Above €5,000 and up to €10,000

Either quotations obtained through the government’s e-procurement platform or a direct contract, at the discretion of the Head of the Contracting Authority or of a person he has delegated in writing (regulation 100(2)).

Above €10,000 and up to the threshold

A departmental call for tenders (regulation 101). The call is carried out through an open procedure, unless otherwise approved in terms of the Regulations (regulation 106), and the minimum time limit for the receipt of tenders is twenty days from publication, or fifteen in cases of extreme urgency (regulation 116(5)).

A direct contract above €10,000 is for exceptional cases and needs the prior written approval of the Minister, who may delegate that authority in writing (regulation 103).

Procedures and consents

• A design contest, a framework agreement, an innovation partnership or a restricted procedure needs the prior written consent of the Director (regulation 107).
• Competitive dialogue, the competitive procedure with negotiation, dynamic purchasing systems, electronic auctions and the negotiated procedure without public notice are not permitted (regulation 108).
• Market consultations may be held before the procedure (regulation 105).

Publication and access

• Calls for quotations exceeding €5,000 and departmental calls for tenders are published through the government’s e-procurement platform, unless the Director authorises otherwise in writing (regulation 102(1)); where the platform is not used, their publication is advertised in the Gazette (regulation 102(2)).
• The procurement documents are available through the platform free of charge, with unrestricted and full direct access, from the date of publication (regulation 109).
• Conditions relating to the performance of the contract must be indicated in the call for competition or in the procurement documents (regulation 112).

Opening, report and publication of awards

• Tenders are opened in public by two officers of the contracting authority; the names of the bidders and the prices quoted are made public (regulation 110(1)).
• For every tender issued under Part III the authority draws up a written report with at least the content of regulation 113.
• Every six months the Head of the contracting authority publishes in the Gazette the departmental contracts awarded with a value exceeding €5,000 and the variations exceeding the original contract value by more than five per cent (regulation 111(2)).

Review applies here too

Where the estimated value of the contract meets or exceeds €5,000, a proposed award, the rejection of a tender or the cancellation of a call can be brought before the Public Contracts Review Board (regulation 270): see Remedies.