Award, reasons and appeal

Who wins the contract

The most advantageous bid wins the award (PPA Art. 41). Bids that meet the eligibility criteria and the technical specifications are scored against the announced award criteria, objectively, uniformly and traceably (PPA Art. 40 para. 1). With two envelopes the contracting authority ranks the quality first and then scores the prices (PPA Art. 38 para. 4).

What the award must state

The contracting authority notifies the award by publication or by individual notice to the bidders (PPA Art. 51 para. 1), with information on legal remedies (PPA Art. 51 para. 2). The summary of reasons includes the type of procedure and the chosen bidder, the total price or exceptionally the lowest and highest total prices, the decisive features and advantages of the bid and, where relevant, the reasons for a direct award (PPA Art. 51 para. 3).

It does not disclose information that would harm the legitimate economic interests of the bidders (PPA Art. 51 para. 4). In the open and the selective procedure the award appears on simap.ch (PPA Art. 48 para. 1), for contracts covered by the international agreements usually within 30 days (PPA Art. 48 para. 6).

Learning more: debriefing and record

For the Confederation, an unsuccessful bidder can ask for a debriefing; the contracting authority then names the main reasons why the bid was not chosen (PPO Art. 12). On request you can also inspect the record of the opening of tenders with the total prices (PPA Art. 37 para. 4).

A right to inspect further files only exists in appeal proceedings, for example the evaluation of your bid (PPA Art. 57).

Appeal

You can appeal against the award (PPA Art. 53 para. 1 let. e), in writing with reasons within 20 days of notification; time limits are not suspended (PPA Art. 56 paras. 1 and 2). For the Confederation the Federal Administrative Court decides, for supplies and services from the threshold of the invitation procedure, for construction work from that of the open procedure (PPA Art. 52 para. 1). For cantons and communes it is the cantonal administrative court, at least from the threshold of the invitation procedure (IAPP Art. 52 para. 1).

The court does not review whether a decision was appropriate (PPA Art. 56 para. 3; IAPP Art. 56 para. 4). For the Confederation, outside the scope of the international agreements an appeal can only establish that a decision violates federal law (PPA Art. 52 para. 2).

Suspensive effect and the contract

An appeal does not stop the procedure by itself (PPA Art. 54 para. 1). On request the court can grant suspensive effect, for the Confederation only for contracts covered by the international agreements (PPA Art. 54 para. 2), for cantons and communes without this restriction (IAPP Art. 54 para. 2).

For the Confederation, the contracting authority may sign the contract after the award for contracts outside the international agreements, and only after the appeal deadline for contracts covered by them (PPA Art. 42 paras. 1 and 2). Cantons and communes always wait for the appeal deadline (IAPP Art. 42 para. 1). If the contract has already been signed and the appeal is justified, the court establishes how the law was breached and decides on damages, limited to the costs of preparing and submitting the bid (PPA Art. 58 paras. 2 to 4).

Abandonment instead of an award

The contracting authority can also abandon the procedure, for example if 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 too (PPA Art. 53 para. 1 let. g). For the Confederation, taking part in a procedure gives no right to compensation as a rule (PPO Art. 9 para. 1).

What this means for you

• Read the reasons for the award and compare them with the award criteria and their weighting.
• Ask for a debriefing if you do not understand the reasons; for the Confederation you are entitled to one (PPO Art. 12).
• The appeal deadline of 20 days runs from notification, also over public holidays. If you are considering an appeal, get advice early.
• TEXFY shows published awards with the winner and the price as published on simap.ch.