Directive 2014/25/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and repealing Directive 2004/17/EC Text with EEA relevance

• (b) communicates to the Commission, under the conditions defined in Commission Decision 93/327/EEC ([^E0008]), information relating to the contracts they award.

Subsection 5 Activities directly exposed to competition and procedural provisions relating thereto

Article 34

Activities directly exposed to competition

The geographical reference market, on the basis of which exposure to competition is assessed, shall consist of the area in which the undertakings concerned are involved in the supply and demand of products or services, in which the conditions of competition are sufficiently homogeneous and which can be distinguished from neighbouring areas because, in particular, conditions of competition are appreciably different in those areas. That assessment shall take account in particular of the nature and characteristics of the products or services concerned, of the existence of entry barriers or of consumer preferences, of appreciable differences of the undertakings’ market shares between the area concerned and neighbouring areas or of substantial price differences.

If free access to a given market cannot be presumed on the basis of the first subparagraph, it must be demonstrated that access to the market in question is free de facto and de jure.

Article 35

Procedure for establishing whether Article 34 is applicable

In the request, the Member State or contracting entity concerned shall inform the Commission of all relevant facts, and in particular of any law, regulation, administrative provision or agreement concerning compliance with the conditions set out in Article 34(1).

Contracts intended to enable the activity concerned to be carried out and design contests that are organised for the pursuit of such an activity shall cease to be subject to this Directive in any of the following cases:

• (a) The Commission has adopted the implementing act establishing the applicability of Article 34(1) within the period provided for in Annex IV;

• (b) has not adopted the implementing act within the period provided for in Annex IV.

• (a) the publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, for information, of the date on which the period set out in paragraph 1 of Annex IV begins and ends, including any prolongations or suspensions of those periods, as provided for in that Annex;

• (b) publication of the possible applicability of Article 34(1) in accordance with point (b) of the second subparagraph of paragraph 3 of this Article;

• (c) implementing provisions concerning the form, content and other details of requests pursuant to paragraph 1 of this Article;

Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 105(2).

CHAPTER IV General principles

Article 36

Principles of procurement

The design of the procurement shall not be made with the intention of excluding it from the scope of this Directive or of artificially narrowing competition. Competition shall be considered to be artificially narrowed where the design of the procurement is made with the intention of unduly favouring or disadvantaging certain economic operators.

Article 37

Economic operators

However, in the case of service and works contracts as well as supply contracts covering in addition services or siting and installation operations, legal persons may be required to indicate, in the tender or the request to participate, the names and relevant professional qualifications of the staff responsible for the performance of the contract in question.

Where necessary, contracting entities may clarify in the procurement documents how groups of economic operators are to meet the criteria and requirements for qualification and qualitative selection referred to in Articles 77 to 81 provided that this is justified by objective reasons and is proportionate. Member States may establish standard terms for how groups of economic operators are to meet those requirements.

Any conditions for the performance of a contract by such groups of economic operators, which are different from those imposed on individual participants, shall also be justified by objective reasons and shall be proportionate.

Article 38

Reserved contracts

Article 39

Confidentiality

Article 40

Rules applicable to communication

Notwithstanding the first subparagraph, contracting entities shall not be obliged to require electronic means of communication in the submission process in the following situations:

• (a) due to the specialised nature of the procurement, the use of electronic means of communication would require specific tools, devices or file formats that are not generally available or supported by generally available applications;

• (b) the applications supporting file formats that are suitable for the description of the tenders use file formats that cannot be handled by any other open or generally available applications or are under a proprietary licensing scheme and cannot be made available for downloading or remote use by the contracting entity;

• (c) the use of electronic means of communication would require specialised office equipment that is not generally available to contracting entities;

• (d) the procurement documents require the submission of physical or scale models which cannot be transmitted using electronic means.

In respect of communications for which electronic means of communication are not used pursuant to the second subparagraph, communication shall be carried out by post or other suitable carrier or by a combination of post or other suitable carrier and electronic means.

Notwithstanding the first subparagraph of this paragraph, contracting entities are not obliged to require electronic means of communication in the submission process to the extent that the use of means of communication other than electronic means is necessary either because of a breach of security of the electronic means of communications or for the protection of the particularly sensitive nature of information requiring such a high level of protection that it cannot be properly ensured by using electronic tools and devices that are either generally available to economic operators or can be made available to them by alternative means of access within the meaning of paragraph 5.

It shall be the responsibility of the contracting entities requiring, in accordance with the second subparagraph of this paragraph, means of communication other than electronic means in the submission process to indicate in the individual report referred to in Article 100 the reasons for this requirement. Where applicable, contracting entities shall indicate in the individual report the reasons why use of means of communication other than electronic means has been considered necessary in application of the fourth subparagraph of this paragraph.

Contracting entities shall be deemed to offer suitable alternative means of access in any of the following situations, where they:

• (a) offer unrestricted and full direct access free of charge by electronic means to those tools and devices from the date of publication of the notice in accordance with Annex IX or from the date on which the invitation to confirm interest is sent. The text of the notice or the invitation to confirm interest shall specify the internet address at which those tools and devices are accessible;

• (b) ensure that tenderers having no access to the tools and devices concerned, or no possibility of obtaining them within the relevant time limits, provided that the lack of access is not attributable to the tenderer concerned, may access the procurement procedure through the use of provisional tokens made available free of charge online; or

• (c) support an alternative channel for electronic submission of tenders.

• (a) information on specifications for the electronic submission of tenders and requests to participate, including encryption and time-stamping, shall be available to interested parties;

• (b) Member States, or contracting entities acting within an overall framework established by the Member State concerned, shall specify the level of security required for the electronic means of communication to be used in the various stages of the specific procurement procedure; that level shall be proportionate to the risks attached;

• (c) where Member States, or contracting entities acting within an overall framework established by the Member State concerned, conclude that the level of risks, assessed under point (b) of this paragraph, is such that advanced electronic signatures as defined by Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0009]) are required, contracting entities shall accept advanced electronic signatures supported by a qualified certificate, taking into account whether those certificates are provided by a certificate services provider, which is on a trusted list as provided for in Commission Decision 2009/767/EC ([^E0010]), created with or without a secure signature creation device, subject to compliance with the following conditions:
• (i) the contracting entities shall establish the required advanced signature format on the basis of formats established in Commission Decision 2011/130/EU ([^E0011]) and shall put in place necessary measures to be able to process those formats technically; in case a different format of electronic signature is used, the electronic signature or the electronic document carrier shall include information on existing validation possibilities, which shall be under the responsibility of the Member State. The validation possibilities shall allow the contracting entity to validate online, free of charge and in a way that is understandable for non-native speakers, the received electronic signature as an advanced electronic signature supported by a qualified certificate. Member States shall notify information on the provider of validation services to the Commission, which shall make the information received from the Member States available to the public on the internet;
• (ii) where a tender is signed with the support of a qualified certificate that is included on a trusted list, the contracting entities shall not apply additional requirements that may hinder the use of those signatures by tenderers.

In respect of documents used in the context of a procurement procedure that are signed by a competent authority of a Member State or by another issuing entity, the competent issuing authority or entity may establish the required advanced signature format in accordance with the requirements set out in Article 1(2) of Decision 2011/130/EU. They shall put in place the necessary measures to be able to process that format technically by including the information required for the purpose of processing the signature in the document concerned. Such documents shall contain in the electronic signature or in the electronic document carrier information on existing validation possibilities that allow the validation of the received electronic signature online, free of charge and in a way that is understandable for non-native speakers.

The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 103 to amend the list set out in points (a) to (d) of the second subparagraph of paragraph 1 of this Article where technological developments render continued exceptions from the use of electronic means of communication inappropriate or, exceptionally, where new exceptions must be provided for because of technological developments.

To ensure the interoperability of technical formats as well as of process and messaging standards, especially in a cross-border context, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 103 to establish the mandatory use of such specific technical standards, in particular with regard to the use of electronic submission, electronic catalogues and means for electronic authentication, only where technical standards have been thoroughly tested and proved their usefulness in practice. Before making the use of any technical standard mandatory, the Commission shall also carefully consider the costs that this may entail, in particular in terms of adaptations to existing e-procurement solutions, including infrastructure, processes or software.

Article 41

Nomenclatures

Article 42

Conflicts of interest

Member States shall ensure that contracting authorities take appropriate measures to effectively prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures so as to avoid any distortion of competition and to ensure equal treatment of all economic operators.

The concept of conflicts of interest shall at least cover any situation where staff members of the contracting authority or of a procurement service provider acting on behalf of the contracting authority who are involved in the conduct of the procurement procedure or may influence the outcome of that procedure have, directly or indirectly, a financial, economic or other personal interest which might be perceived to compromise their impartiality and independence in the context of the procurement procedure.

TITLE II RULES APPLICABLE TO CONTRACTS

CHAPTER I Procedures

Article 43

Conditions relating to the GPA and other international agreements

In so far as they are covered by Annexes 3, 4 and 5 and the General Notes to the European Union’s Appendix I to the GPA and by the other international agreements by which the Union is bound, contracting entities within the meaning of Article 4(1)(a) shall accord to the works, supplies, services and economic operators of the signatories to those agreements treatment no less favourable than the treatment accorded to the works, supplies, services and economic operators of the Union.

Article 44

Choice of procedures

• (a) a periodic indicative notice pursuant to Article 67 where the contract is awarded by restricted or negotiated procedure;

• (b) a notice on the existence of a qualification system pursuant to Article 68 where the contract is awarded by restricted or negotiated procedure or by a competitive dialogue or an innovation partnership;

• (c) by means of a contract notice pursuant to Article 69.

In the case referred to in point (a) of this paragraph, economic operators having expressed their interest following the publication of the periodic indicative notice shall subsequently be invited to confirm their interest in writing by means of an invitation to confirm interest in conformity with Article 74.

Article 45

Open procedure

The minimum time limit for the receipt of tenders shall be 35 days from the date on which the contract notice was sent.

The tender shall be accompanied by the information for qualitative selection that is requested by the contracting entity.

• (a) the periodic indicative notice included, in addition to the information required by Section I of Part A of Annex VI, all the information required by Section II of Part A of Annex VI, insofar as the latter information was available at the time the periodic indicative notice was published;

• (b) the periodic indicative notice was sent for publication between 35 days and 12 months before the date on which the contract notice was sent.

Article 46

Restricted procedure

The minimum time limit for the receipt of requests to participate shall, as a general rule, be fixed at no less than 30 days from the date on which the contract notice or the invitation to confirm interest was sent and shall in any event not be less than 15 days.

The time limit for the receipt of tenders may be set by mutual agreement between the contracting entity and the selected candidates, provided that all selected candidates have the same time to prepare and submit their tenders.

In the absence of agreement on the time limit for the receipt of tenders, the time limit shall be at least 10 days from the date on which the invitation to tender was sent.

Article 47

Negotiated procedure with prior call for competition

The minimum time limit for the receipt of requests to participate shall, as a general rule, be fixed at no less than 30 days from the date on which the contract notice or, where a periodic indicative notice is used as a means of calling for competition, the invitation to confirm interest was sent and shall in any event not be less than 15 days.

The time limit for the receipt of tenders may be set by mutual agreement between the contracting entity and the selected candidates, provided that they all have the same time to prepare and submit their tenders.

In the absence of agreement on the time limit for the receipt of tenders, the time limit shall be at least 10 days from the date on which the invitation to tender was sent.

Article 48

Competitive dialogue

The minimum time limit for receipt of requests to participate shall, as a general rule, be fixed at no less than 30 days from the date on which the contract notice or, where a periodic indicative notice is used as a means of calling for competition, the invitation to confirm interest was sent and shall in any event not be less than 15 days.

Only those economic operators invited by the contracting entity following the assessment of the information provided may participate in the dialogue. Contracting entities may limit the number of suitable candidates to be invited to participate in the procedure in accordance with Article 78(2). The contract shall be awarded on the sole basis of the award criterion of the tender presenting the best price-quality ratio in accordance with Article 82(2).

During the dialogue, contracting entities shall ensure equality of treatment among all participants. To that end, they shall not provide information in a discriminatory manner which may give some participants an advantage over others.

In accordance with Article 39, contracting entities shall not reveal to the other participants solutions proposed or other confidential information communicated by a participating candidate or tenderer in the dialogue without its agreement. Such agreement shall not take the form of a general waiver but shall be given with reference to the intended communication of specific information.

Those tenders may be clarified, specified and optimised at the request of the contracting entity. However, such clarification, specification, optimisation or additional information may not involve changes to the essential aspects of the tender or of the procurement, including the needs and requirements set out in the call for competition or in the descriptive document, where variations to those aspects, needs and requirements are likely to distort competition or have a discriminatory effect.

At the request of the contracting entity, negotiations with the tenderer identified as having submitted the tender presenting the best price-quality ratio in accordance with Article 82(2) may be carried out to confirm financial commitments or other terms contained in the tender by finalising the terms of the contract provided such negotiations do not have the effect of materially modifying essential aspects of the tender or of the procurement, including the needs and requirements set out in the call for competition or in the descriptive document and does not risk distorting competition or causing discrimination.

Article 49

Innovation partnership

In the procurement documents, the contracting entity shall identify the need for an innovative product, service or works that cannot be met by purchasing products, services or works already available on the market. It shall indicate which elements of this description define the minimum requirements to be met by all tenders. The indications shall be sufficiently precise to enable economic operators to identify the nature and scope of the required solution and decide whether to request to participate in the procedure.

The contracting entity may decide to set up the innovation partnership with one partner or with several partners conducting separate research and development activities.

The minimum time limit for receipt of requests to participate shall, as a general rule, be fixed at no less than 30 days from the date on which the contract notice is sent and shall in any event not be less than 15 days. Only those economic operators invited by the contracting entity following the assessment of the information provided may participate in the procedure. Contracting entities may limit the number of suitable candidates to be invited to participate in the procedure in accordance with Article 78(2).The contracts shall be awarded on the sole basis of the award criterion of the tender presenting the best price-quality ratio in accordance with Article 82(2).

The innovation partnership shall be structured in successive phases following the sequence of steps in the research and innovation process, which may include the manufacturing of the products, the provision of the services or the completion of the works. The innovation partnership shall set intermediate targets to be attained by the partners and provide for payment of the remuneration in appropriate instalments.

Based on those targets, the contracting entity may decide after each phase to terminate the innovation partnership or, in the case of an innovation partnership with several partners, to reduce the number of partners by terminating individual contracts, provided that the contracting entity has indicated in the procurement documents those possibilities and the conditions for their use.

The minimum requirements and the award criteria shall not be subject to negotiations.

In accordance with Article 39, contracting entities shall not reveal to the other participants confidential information communicated by a candidate or tenderer participating in the negotiations without its agreement. Such agreement shall not take the form of a general waiver but shall be given with reference to the intended communication of specific information.

Only those economic operators invited by the contracting entity following its assessment of the requested information may submit research and innovation projects aimed at meeting the needs identified by the contracting entity that cannot be met by existing solutions.

In the procurement documents, the contracting entity shall define the arrangements applicable to intellectual property rights. In the case of an innovation partnership with several partners, the contracting entity shall not, in accordance with Article 39, reveal to the other partners solutions proposed or other confidential information communicated by a partner in the framework of the partnership without that partner’s agreement. Such agreement shall not take the form of a general waiver but shall be given with reference to the intended communication of specific information.

Article 50

Use of the negotiated procedure without prior call for competition

Contracting entities may use a negotiated procedure without prior call for competition in the following cases:

• (a) where no tenders or no suitable tenders or no requests to participate or no suitable requests to participate have been submitted in response to a procedure with a prior call for competition, provided that the initial conditions of the contract are not substantially altered; A tender shall be considered not to be suitable where it is irrelevant to the contract, being manifestly incapable, without substantial changes, of meeting the contracting entity’s needs and requirements as specified in the procurement documents. A request for participation shall be considered not to be suitable where the economic operator concerned is to be or may be excluded pursuant to Articles 78(1) or 80(1), or does not meet the selection criteria laid down by the contracting entity pursuant to Articles 78 or 80;

• (b) where a contract is purely for the purpose of research, experiment, study or development, and not for the purpose of securing a profit or of recovering research and development costs, and insofar as the award of such contract does not prejudice the competitive award of subsequent contracts which do seek, in particular, those ends;

• (c) where the works, supplies or services can be supplied only by a particular economic operator for any of the following reasons:
• (i) the aim of the procurement is the creation or acquisition of a unique work of art or artistic performance;
• (ii) competition is absent for technical reasons;
• (iii) the protection of exclusive rights, including intellectual property rights. The exceptions set out in points (ii) and (iii) shall only apply when no reasonable alternative or substitute exists and the absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing down of the parameters of the procurement;

• (d) in so far as is strictly necessary where, for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseeable by the contracting entity, the time limits laid down for open procedures, restricted procedures and negotiated procedures with prior call for competition cannot be complied with. The circumstances invoked to justify extreme urgency shall not in any event 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 supplies or installations or as the extension of existing supplies or installations, where a change of supplier would oblige the contracting entity to acquire supplies having different technical characteristics which would result in incompatibility or disproportionate technical difficulties in operation and maintenance;

• (f) for new works or services consisting in the repetition of similar works or services assigned to the contractor to which the same contracting entities awarded an earlier contract, provided that such works or services conform to a basic project for which a first contract was awarded according to a procedure in accordance with Article 44(1). The basic project shall indicate the extent of possible additional works or services and the conditions under which they will be awarded. As soon as the first project is put up for tender, the possible use of this procedure shall be disclosed and the total estimated cost of subsequent works or services shall be taken into consideration by the contracting entities when they apply Articles 15 and 16;

• (g) for supplies quoted and purchased on a commodity market;

• (h) for bargain purchases, where it is possible to procure supplies by taking advantage of a particularly advantageous opportunity available for a very short time at a price considerably lower than normal market prices;

• (i) for purchases of supplies or services under particularly advantageous conditions from either a supplier which is definitively winding up its business activities or the liquidator in an insolvency procedure, an arrangement with creditors or a similar procedure under national laws or regulations;

• (j) where the service contract concerned follows a design contest organised in accordance with this Directive and is to be awarded, under the rules provided for in the design contest, to the winner or to one of the winners of that contest; in the latter case, all the winners shall be invited to participate in the negotiations.

CHAPTER II Techniques and instruments for electronic and aggregated procurement

Article 51

Framework agreements

A framework agreement means an agreement between one or more contracting entities and one or more economic operators, the purpose of which is to establish the terms governing contracts to be awarded during a given period, in particular with regard to price and, where appropriate, the quantities envisaged.

The term of a framework agreement shall not exceed eight years, save in exceptional cases duly justified, in particular by the subject of the framework agreement.

The objective rules and criteria referred to in the first subparagraph shall ensure equal treatment of the economic operators who are parties to the agreement. Where a reopening the competition is included, contracting entities shall set a time limit which is sufficiently long to allow tenders for each specific contract to be submitted and contracting entities shall award each contract to the tenderer that has submitted the best tender on the basis of the award criteria set out in the specifications of the framework agreement.

Contracting entities shall not use framework agreements improperly or in such a way as to prevent, restrict or distort competition.

Article 52

Dynamic purchasing systems

Notwithstanding Article 46, the following time limits shall apply:

• (a) the minimum time limit for receipt of requests to participate shall, as a general rule, be fixed at no less than 30 days from the date on which the contract notice or, where a periodic indicative notice is used as a means of calling for competition, the invitation to confirm interest is sent and shall in any event not be less than 15 days. No further time limits for receipt of requests to participate shall apply once the invitation to tender for the first specific procurement under the dynamic purchasing system has been sent.

• (b) The minimum time limit for receipt of tenders shall be at least 10 days from the date on which the invitation to tender is sent. The second and third subparagraphs of Article 46(2) shall apply.

• (a) publish a call for competition making it clear that a dynamic purchasing system is involved;

• (b) indicate in the procurement documents at least the nature and estimated quantity of the purchases envisaged, as well as all the necessary information concerning the dynamic purchasing system, including how the dynamic purchasing system operates, the electronic equipment used and the technical connection arrangements and specifications;

• (c) indicate any division into categories of products, works or services and the characteristics defining them;

• (d) offer unrestricted and full direct access, as long as the system is valid, to the procurement documents in accordance with Article 73.

Notwithstanding the first subparagraph, as long as the invitation to tender for the first specific procurement under the dynamic purchasing system has not been sent, contracting entities may extend the evaluation period provided that no invitation to tender is issued during the extended evaluation period. Contracting entities shall indicate in the procurement documents the length of the extended period that they intend to apply.

Contracting entities shall inform the economic operator concerned at the earliest possible opportunity of whether or not it has been admitted to the dynamic purchasing system.

They shall award the contract to the tenderer that submitted the best tender on the basis of the award criteria set out in the contract notice for the dynamic purchasing system, in the invitation to confirm interest, or, where the means of calling for competition is a notice on the existence of a qualification system, in the invitation to tender. Those criteria may, where appropriate, be formulated more precisely in the invitation to tender.

Paragraphs 2 to 4 of Article 59 shall apply throughout the entire period of validity of the dynamic purchasing system.

• (a) where the period of validity is changed without terminating the system, the form used initially for the call for competition for the dynamic purchasing system;

• (b) where the system is terminated, a contract award notice referred to in Article 70.

Article 53

Electronic auctions

For this purpose, contracting entities shall structure the electronic auction as a repetitive electronic process, which occurs after an initial full evaluation of the tenders, enabling them to be ranked using automatic evaluation methods.

Certain service contracts and certain works contracts having as their subject-matter intellectual performances, such as the design of works, which cannot be ranked using automatic evaluation methods, shall not be the object of electronic auctions.

In the same circumstances, an electronic auction may be held on the reopening of competition among the parties to a framework agreement as provided for in Article 51(2) and on the opening for competition of contracts to be awarded under the dynamic purchasing system referred to in Article 52.

• (a) solely on prices where the contract is awarded on the basis of price only,

• (b) on prices and/or on the new values of the features of the tenders indicated in the procurement documents, where the contract is awarded on the basis of the best price-quality ratio or to the tender with the lowest cost using a cost-effectiveness approach.

A tender shall be considered admissible where it has been submitted by a tenderer, who has not been excluded pursuant to Article 78(1) or 80(1) and who meets the selection criteria laid down pursuant to Articles 78 and 80, and whose tender is in conformity with the technical specifications without being irregular or unacceptable or unsuitable.

In particular, tenders which do not comply with the procurement documents, which were received late, where there is evidence of collusion or corruption, or which have been found by the contracting authority to be abnormally low, shall be considered as being irregular. In particular tenders submitted by tenderers that do not have the required qualifications, and tenders whose price exceeds the contracting authority’s budget as determined and documented prior to the launching of the procurement procedure shall be considered as unacceptable.

A tender shall be considered not to be suitable where it is irrelevant to the contract, being manifestly incapable, without substantial changes, of meeting the contracting entity’s needs and requirements as specified in the procurement documents. A request for participation shall be considered not to be suitable where the economic operator concerned is to be or may be excluded pursuant to Articles 78(1) or 80(1), or does not meet the selection criteria laid down by the contracting entity pursuant to Articles 78 or 80.

All tenderers that have submitted admissible tenders shall be invited simultaneously by electronic means to participate in the electronic auction using, as of the specified date and time, the connections in accordance with the instructions set out in the invitation. The electronic auction may take place in a number of successive phases. The electronic auction shall not start sooner than two working days after the date on which invitations are sent out.

The invitation shall also state the mathematical formula to be used in the electronic auction to determine automatic re-rankings on the basis of the new prices and/or new values submitted. Except where the most economically advantageous offer is identified on the basis of price alone, that formula shall incorporate the weighting of all the criteria established to determine the most economically advantageous tender, as indicated in the notice used as a means of calling for competition or in other procurement documents. For that purpose, any ranges shall, however, be reduced beforehand to a specified value.

Where variants are authorised, a separate formula shall be provided for each variant.

• (a) at the previously indicated date and time;

• (b) when they receive no more new prices or new values which meet the requirements concerning minimum differences, provided that they have previously stated the time which they will allow to elapse after receiving the last submission before they close the electronic auction; or

• (c) when the previously indicated number of phases in the auction has been completed.

Where the contracting entities intend to close an electronic auction in accordance with point (c) of the first subparagraph, possibly in combination with the arrangements laid down in point (b) thereof, the invitation to take part in the auction shall indicate the timetable for each phase of the auction.

Article 54

Electronic catalogues

Member States may render the use of electronic catalogues mandatory in connection with certain types of procurement.

Tenders presented in the form of an electronic catalogue may be accompanied by other documents, completing the tender.

Furthermore, electronic catalogues shall comply with the requirements for electronic communication tools as well as with any additional requirements set by the contracting entity in accordance with Article 40.

• (a) state so in the contract notice, in the invitation to confirm interest, or, where the means of calling for competition is a notice on the existence of a qualification system, in the invitation to tender or to negotiate;

• (b) indicate in the procurement documents all the necessary information pursuant to Article 40(6) concerning the format, the electronic equipment used and the technical connection arrangements and specifications for the catalogue.

• (a) invite tenderers to resubmit their electronic catalogues, adapted to the requirements of the contract in question; or

• (b) notify tenderers that they intend to collect from the electronic catalogues which have already been submitted the information needed to constitute tenders adapted to the requirements of the contract in question, provided that the use of that method has been announced in the procurement documents for the framework agreement.

Contracting entities shall allow for an adequate period between the notification and the actual collection of information.

Before awarding the contract, contracting entities shall present the collected information to the tenderer concerned so as to give it the opportunity to contest or confirm that the tender thus constituted does not contain any material errors.

Contracting entities may also award contracts based on a dynamic purchasing system in accordance with point (b) of paragraph 4 and paragraph 5 provided that the request for participation in the dynamic purchasing system is accompanied by an electronic catalogue in accordance with the technical specifications and format established by the contracting entity. That catalogue shall be completed subsequently by the candidates, when they are informed of the contracting entity’s intention to constitute tenders by means of the procedure set out in point (b) of paragraph 4.

Article 55

Centralised purchasing activities and central purchasing bodies

Member States may also provide that contracting entities may acquire works, supplies and services by using contracts awarded by a central purchasing body, by using dynamic purchasing systems operated by a central purchasing body or by using a framework agreement concluded by a central purchasing body offering the centralised purchasing activity referred to in point (b) of point (10) of Article 2. Where a dynamic purchasing system which is operated by a central purchasing body may be used by other contracting entities, this shall be mentioned in the call for competition setting up that dynamic purchasing system.

In relation to the first and second subparagraphs, Member States may provide that certain procurements are to be made by having recourse to central purchasing bodies or to one or more specific central purchasing bodies.

Furthermore, a contracting entity also fulfils its obligations pursuant to this Directive where it acquires works, supplies or services by using contracts awarded by the central purchasing body, by using dynamic purchasing systems operated by the central purchasing body or by using a framework agreement concluded by the central purchasing body offering the centralised purchasing activity referred to in point (b) of point (10) of Article 2.

However, the contracting entity concerned shall be responsible for fulfilling the obligations pursuant to this Directive in respect of the parts it conducts itself, such as:

• (a) awarding a contract under a dynamic purchasing system, which is operated by a central purchasing body; or

• (b) conducting a reopening of competition under a framework agreement that has been concluded by a central purchasing body.

Such service contracts may also include the provision of ancillary purchasing activities.

Article 56

Occasional joint procurement

Where the conduct of a procurement procedure is not in its entirety carried out in the name and on behalf of the contracting entities concerned, they shall be jointly responsible only for those parts carried out jointly. Each contracting entity shall have sole responsibility for fulfilling its obligations pursuant to this Directive in respect of the parts it conducts in its own name and on its own behalf.

Article 57

Procurement involving contracting entities from different Member States

Contracting entities shall not use the means provided in this Article for the purpose of avoiding the application of mandatory public law provisions in conformity with Union law to which they are subject in their Member State.

In respect of centralised purchasing activities offered by a central purchasing body located in another Member State than the contracting entity, Member States may, however, choose to specify that their contracting entities may only use the centralised purchasing activities as defined in either point (a) or in point (b) of point (10) of Article 2.