What the words in a tender mean, explained in short and backed by the article of the law they come from.
The contracting authority ends the procedure without an award, for example because it no longer wants to buy, no bid meets the requirements or the bids clearly exceed the budget (PPA Art. 43 para. 1). If the abandonment is justified, there is no compensation (PPA Art. 43 para. 2). The abandonment can be appealed (PPA Art. 53 para. 1 let. g).
More in the guide: Award, reasons and appealA bid whose total price seems abnormally low compared with the others. The contracting authority must then check whether the participation conditions are met and the requirements understood (PPA Art. 38 para. 3). If the bidder cannot show this on request and offers no guarantee of performing as contracted, it can be excluded (PPA Art. 44 para. 2 let. c).
More in the guide: Avoiding exclusion: how bids are checkedThe contracting authority clarifies the work and the terms of the bids with bidders when only this can clarify the contract or the bids or make the bids comparable, or when changes to the work are objectively necessary (PPA Art. 39 paras. 1 and 2). It may only ask for a price adjustment in these cases and records the result in minutes (PPA Art. 39 paras. 3 and 4).
More in the guide: Avoiding exclusion: how bids are checkedThe legal remedy against a decision of the contracting authority, for example against the invitation to tender, an exclusion, the abandonment or the award (PPA Art. 53 para. 1). It must be filed in writing with reasons within 20 days of notification, without any suspension of time limits (PPA Art. 56 paras. 1 and 2). For the Confederation the Federal Administrative Court decides from certain contract values on (PPA Art. 52 para. 1), for cantons and communes the cantonal administrative court (IAPP Art. 52 para. 1).
More in the guide: Award, reasons and appealThe decision on which bid gets the contract: the most advantageous one (PPA Art. 41). The contracting authority notifies it by publication or individual notice, with a summary of reasons: type of procedure, chosen bidder, total price and the decisive features and advantages of the bid (PPA Art. 51 paras. 1 and 3). The award can be appealed (PPA Art. 53 para. 1 let. e).
More in the guide: Award, reasons and appealThe criteria by which valid bids are compared: besides price and quality, for example deadlines, technical value, life-cycle costs, sustainability or customer service (PPA Art. 29 para. 1). The criteria and their weighting are stated in the invitation to tender or the documents (PPA Art. 29 para. 3). German publications often list them as “ZK 1”, “ZK 2”.
More in the guide: Eligibility and award criteriaSeveral companies that submit one bid together. Bidding consortia are allowed unless the invitation to tender or the documents exclude or restrict them (PPA Art. 31 para. 1). Bidding several times as a member of consortia is only possible if the invitation to tender or the documents expressly allow it (PPA Art. 31 para. 2).
More in the guide: Bidding consortia and subcontractorsThe construction cost plans of CRB: the BKP cost plan and the cost plans for building and civil engineering (eBKP-H, eBKP-T) group construction work by trade, in the BKP for example 211 for main contractor work or 23 for electrical installations. Many construction tenders name them in addition to the CPV code.
More in the guide: CPV and BKP codesThe EU's Common Procurement Vocabulary: codes of eight digits plus a check digit that describe the work; 45 at the start, for example, stands for construction work. Every invitation to tender names the relevant CPV classification, for services also the CPC classification (PPA Art. 35 let. b).
More in the guide: CPV and BKP codesA conversation after the decision: an unsuccessful bidder can ask the contracting authority to name the main reasons why its bid was not chosen (PPO Art. 12). The ordinance applies to procurement by the Confederation.
More in the guide: Award, reasons and appealProcedures by which a contracting authority collects proposed solutions, such as planning or design-and-build contests and study contracts; it sets the procedure case by case and may refer to rules of professional associations (PPA Art. 22 para. 1). The winner can receive the follow-on contract by direct award if the contracting authority reserved this in the invitation to tender (PPA Art. 21 para. 2 let. i).
The contracting authority awards the contract directly, without a tender, and may obtain comparative quotes and negotiate (PPA Art. 21 para. 1). Which procedure applies depends on the threshold (PPA Art. 16 para. 1); above it, a direct award is only allowed in the cases the law lists (PPA Art. 21 para. 2). Direct awards from the threshold of the open procedure on are published on simap.ch (PPA Art. 48 para. 1).
More in the guide: Direct awardThe requirements for your company: whether it can carry out the contract professionally, financially, economically, technically and organisationally and has enough experience (PPA Art. 27 para. 2). The contracting authority sets them exhaustively (PPA Art. 27 para. 1); a bidder who does not meet them can be excluded (PPA Art. 44 para. 1 let. a). German publications often list them as “EK 1”, “EK 2”.
More in the guide: Proving eligibility: proofs, references, self-declarationThe contracting authority can exclude a bidder from the procedure, for example if it does not meet the conditions for taking part, its bid has significant formal defects or departs significantly from binding requirements, or it does not pay taxes or social security contributions due (PPA Art. 44 para. 1 let. a, b and g). The exclusion can be appealed (PPA Art. 53 para. 1 let. h).
More in the guide: Avoiding exclusion: how bids are checkedA contract that sets the terms of future purchases for a given period, above all the price and possibly the quantities; based on it the contracting authority concludes individual contracts (PPA Art. 25 para. 1). It lasts at most five years, longer in justified cases, and is not extended automatically (PPA Art. 25 para. 3).
Without a public invitation to tender, the contracting authority invites bidders of its choice and obtains at least three bids where possible (PPA Art. 20 para. 2). It applies to contracts outside the scope of the international agreements according to the thresholds (PPA Art. 20 para. 1). Such contracts do not appear as a tender on simap.ch.
More in the guide: The invitation procedure: contracts without a public tenderThe public notice of a contract. In the open and the selective procedure it appears on simap.ch (PPA Art. 48 para. 1) and names at least the contracting authority, the work, the procedure, the deadline, the eligibility criteria and where to get the documents (PPA Art. 35). The invitation to tender itself can be appealed (PPA Art. 53 para. 1 let. a).
More in the guide: Submitting a bid, step by stepThe contracting authority can split a contract into lots and award them to one or several bidders (PPA Art. 32 para. 2). You can bid for several lots unless the invitation to tender rules otherwise; it can also limit how many lots one bidder receives (PPA Art. 32 para. 3). Whether partial bids are allowed is stated in the invitation to tender (PPA Art. 35 let. e).
A request by the contracting authority to the market before the actual tender, on simap.ch as a “Request for Information” (RFI). Taking part does not make a supplier count as previously involved; the contracting authority discloses the results in the tender documentation (PPA Art. 14 para. 3). TEXFY shows market surveys as early signals.
CRB's NPK catalogue of standard items describes construction work in standardised items from which bills of quantities are built. Many construction tenders name the NPK chapters of their bill of quantities.
More in the guide: CPV and BKP codesThe contracting authority publishes the contract, and every bidder can submit a bid (PPA Art. 18). The invitation to tender and the award appear on simap.ch (PPA Art. 48 para. 1). For contracts covered by the international agreements the bid deadline is at least 40 days (PPA Art. 46 para. 2 let. a); the contracting authority may only shorten it in certain cases (PPA Art. 47).
More in the guide: The four types of procedureIn the open and the selective procedure, at least two representatives of the contracting authority open all bids submitted on time (PPA Art. 37 para. 1). The record names, among other things, the bidders and the total price of their bids; you can inspect it on request at the latest after the award (PPA Art. 37 paras. 2 and 4).
More in the guide: Submitting a bid, step by stepWhat the bidder and its subcontractors must meet: comply with workplace safety rules, terms of employment and equal pay, pay taxes and social security contributions due and refrain from unlawful agreements affecting competition (PPA Art. 12; PPA Art. 26 para. 1). Which proof is due when is stated in the invitation to tender or the documents (PPA Art. 26 para. 3).
More in the guide: Proving eligibility: proofs, references, self-declarationWith it the contracting authority announces a planned purchase before it tenders it; in the open and the selective procedure it appears on simap.ch (PPA Art. 48 para. 1). For contracts covered by the international agreements the bid deadline may then be shortened to no less than 10 days if the notice appeared 40 days to 12 months before the tender (PPA Art. 47 para. 3). TEXFY shows prior notices as early signals.
More in the guide: Deadlines in the procedureUntil this point the contracting authority accepts questions about the tender documentation; for the Confederation it sets it in the documents (PPO Art. 8 para. 1). It anonymises the questions and makes the questions and answers available to all bidders at the same time, a few working days after the deadline (PPO Art. 8 para. 2). On simap.ch this often runs through the question forum.
More in the guide: Asking questions about a tenderAn earlier contract that shows your experience. For the Confederation the contracting authority can ask for references and enquire about the value, time and place of the work and the opinion of the client at the time (PPO Annex 3 no. 12). It may not require that you have already won a public contract (PPA Art. 27 para. 4).
More in the guide: Proving eligibility: proofs, references, self-declarationThe contracts covered by Switzerland's international obligations on public procurement (PPA Art. 3 let. c). Whether a purchase is covered depends on the contracting authority, the work and the threshold (PPA Art. 8 para. 4); the invitation to tender says so (PPA Art. 35 let. t). Longer minimum deadlines apply there, for example (PPA Art. 46 para. 2).
More in the guide: Thresholds and proceduresA publicly tendered procedure in two stages: first the bidders apply to take part, then the contracting authority chooses by eligibility who may submit a bid, at least three where possible (PPA Art. 19). The selection decision can be appealed (PPA Art. 53 para. 1 let. b).
More in the guide: The four types of procedureA written statement by the bidder that it meets the participation conditions, for example workplace safety, terms of employment and equal pay, and has paid its taxes and social security contributions (PPA Art. 26 para. 1). The contracting authority can require it as proof (PPA Art. 26 para. 2). Untrue statements can lead to exclusion (PPA Art. 44 para. 2 let. a).
More in the guide: Proving eligibility: proofs, references, self-declarationThe joint online platform of the Confederation and the cantons for public procurement. In the open and the selective procedure the prior notice, the invitation to tender, the award and the abandonment appear there (PPA Art. 48 para. 1). With a supplier account you get the documents there and ask questions. TEXFY reads the publications of simap.ch; the publication there prevails.
More in the guide: Submitting a bid, step by stepAn appointment on site where the contracting authority shows where the work will be done, for example a building or a construction site. Whether there is a site visit, when it takes place and whether attending is mandatory is stated in the invitation to tender or the documents.
A company that does part of the work on behalf of the bidder. Subcontractors are allowed unless the invitation to tender or the documents exclude or restrict them (PPA Art. 31 para. 1); the characteristic work must in principle be done by the bidder itself (PPA Art. 31 para. 3). Subcontractors must also meet the participation conditions (PPA Art. 26 para. 1).
More in the guide: Bidding consortia and subcontractorsAn appeal does not stop the procedure by itself (PPA Art. 54 para. 1). On request, the court can grant it suspensive effect if the appeal appears sufficiently founded and no overriding public interest stands against it; for the Confederation only for contracts covered by the international agreements (PPA Art. 54 para. 2). For cantons and communes the same rule applies without this restriction (IAPP Art. 54 para. 2).
More in the guide: Award, reasons and appealThe documents of a tender, such as the specification, plans, forms, participation conditions and award criteria with their weighting, as far as they are not already in the invitation to tender (PPA Art. 36). They are usually made available at the same time and electronically, free of charge (PPA Art. 48 para. 2). On simap.ch you need a supplier account for them.
More in the guide: Asking questions about a tenderThe contract value from which a procedure applies: open or selective, invitation or direct award (PPA Art. 16 para. 1; IAPP Art. 16). The values differ for construction work, supplies and services and between the Confederation, cantons and communes. The contracting authority estimates the contract value, excluding VAT (PPA Art. 15 paras. 1 and 3).
More in the guide: Thresholds and proceduresThe work and the price are submitted in two separate envelopes when the invitation to tender requires it (PPA Art. 35 let. l). The contracting authority then first scores the quality and ranks the bids, and only then the total prices (PPA Art. 38 para. 4).
More in the guide: Submitting a bid, step by stepA bid that reaches the aim of the purchase in a different way than the contracting authority planned (PPA Art. 33 para. 2). You may propose variants in addition to the bid for the work described, unless the invitation to tender restricts or excludes them (PPA Art. 33 para. 1).