What does tender documents mean?
Tender documents (Vergabeunterlagen, also called Ausschreibungsunterlagen) include all the documents that the contracting authority prepares as part of a procurement procedure and makes available to interested companies. They form the basis for preparing the bid and define the subject of the contract, the contract terms and the requirements for the bid.
Tender documents typically consist of several parts: the cover letter or invitation to submit a bid, the bill of quantities or the specification, the contract terms (general and special), the conditions of participation, the forms for proof of suitability and declarations, technical specifications and drawings, and the award criteria and their weighting. In construction procurement, drawings, construction descriptions and GAEB files are often added.
The tender documents must be complete, unambiguous and free of contradictions. The contracting authority is obliged to design them so that all bidders understand the requirements in the same way and can submit comparable bids. Since e-procurement was introduced, tender documents are usually made available for download on tender portals. Above the EU thresholds, free, unrestricted and complete electronic access to the tender documents is mandatory.
Relevance for bidders
A thorough analysis of the tender documents is the first and most important step in preparing a bid. Bidders should read all documents carefully and check them for completeness. Contradictions, ambiguities or missing information should be raised with the awarding office early through bidder questions, because they must be clarified before the bid deadline.
The conditions of participation deserve special attention, because they define the formal requirements for the bid. Violations of formal requirements, such as missing signatures, forms not filled in or the wrong file format, can lead to the bid being excluded. Bidders should create a checklist of all required documents and proof and work through it systematically before submitting the bid.
Legal framework
Above the EU thresholds, the requirements for tender documents are governed by Section 29 VgV (Public Procurement Ordinance). Access to the tender documents is set out in Section 41 VgV. For construction work, the corresponding rules are in Sections 8 and 8a VOB/A. Below the thresholds, Section 21 UVgO (Sub-Threshold Procurement Ordinance) governs the tender documents. In Article 53, EU Procurement Directive 2014/24/EU requires electronic access to the tender documents from the date the contract notice is published.