Suitability criteria

The suitability criteria are defined in Article 35a of the Law on Public Procurement and in Articles 35 to 37 of the Ordinance on Public Procurement. In principle, suitability criteria must relate to the suitability of the candidate or tenderer and not to the suitability of the object of the contract to be performed. Suitability criteria are KO criteria, i.e. suitability is either present or absent, which leads to exclusion.

The following criteria are regarded as suitability

• economic Affairs Division;
• financial capacity;
• professional capacity;
• and technical capability.

The contracting authority may request the following documents as proof of financial or economic capacity:

• Bank statements;
• proof of professional indemnity insurance;
• the submission of balance sheets or extracts from balance sheets, if their publishing is required by law in the candidate's or tenderer's country of origin, stating, for example, the ratio of assets to liabilities, provided that the contracting authority specifies the methods and criteria for this in the tender documents. The methods and criteria must be transparent, objective and non-discriminatory;
• Declarations on the total turnover of the candidate or tenderer and, where applicable, the turnover for the area of activity that is the subject of the call for tenders, for a maximum of the previous three financial years, corresponding to the date of foundation or the date on which the company commenced operations, provided that the relevant information is available.
• a declaration of the applicant's or tenderer's minimum annual turnover, including a specific minimum turnover for the area of activity that is the subject of the invitation to tender. The minimum turnover may not exceed twice the estimated value of the contract, except in duly justified cases involving specific risks linked to the nature of the works, supplies or services.

The contracting authority shall also accept a certificate of registration in an official register as proof of financial and Economic Affairs Division capacity. The certificate must state the evidence on the basis of which the entry in the register was made and the classification resulting from the register. The information contained in the official registers cannot be called into question without justification in the case of companies established in the EEA Member State in which the official register is kept.

The contracting authority may request the following documents as proof of professional or technical capacity:

• proof that he is authorized in his country of origin to perform the services in question (extract from the register);
• in the case of works and service contracts, certificates of studies and certificates of professional competence of the candidate or tenderer and/or the candidate's or tenderer's managers, unless they are assessed as an award criterion;
• in the case of works contracts, a list of the main works carried out by the candidate or tenderer in the last five years and, in the case of service and supply contracts, a list of the main works carried out by the candidate or tenderer in the last three years and their results, stating the invoice value, the date of performance and the public or private Reception of the work carried out and whether the work was carried out in a professional and proper manner. Where necessary to ensure adequate competition, contracting authorities may indicate that they will also take into account relevant works, supplies or services carried out more than five or three years previously;
• by indicating the technical experts or technical bodies, whether or not they are affiliated to the candidate or tenderer, in particular those responsible for quality control and, in the case of public works contracts, those available to the candidate or tenderer for the execution of the work;
• for works and service contracts, a declaration stating the annual average number of persons employed by the candidate or tenderer over the last three years and the number of its managers over the last three years;
• in the case of works and service contracts, a statement indicating the equipment, tools and technical facilities that the candidate or tenderer will have at its disposal for the performance of the contract;
• a description of the technical equipment and measures taken by the candidate or tenderer to guarantee quality and its investigation and research capabilities;
• in the case of service and supply contracts, a check carried out by the contracting authority or on its behalf by another authority in the candidate's or tenderer's country of origin, provided that the contracts to be performed are of a particularly complex nature or serve a specific purpose. This control concerns the production capacity of the supplier or the technical capacity of the service provider and, if necessary, the candidate's or tenderer's study and research capabilities and the measures taken to ensure quality;
• Indication of the proportion of the contract for which the candidate or tenderer may intend to subcontract;
• in the case of supply contracts, samples, descriptions and/or photographs of the products to be supplied, the authenticity of which must be verifiable at the request of the contracting authority;
• in the case of supply contracts, certificates issued by institutes or official quality control bodies recognized as competent and confirming that products precisely identified by appropriate references comply with certain specifications or standards;
• Indication of the environmental management measures that the candidate or tenderer can apply in the performance of the contract;
• Indication of the supply chain management and monitoring system available to the candidate or tenderer for the performance of the contract.

The contracting authority shall specify in the tender documents, the contract notice or in the invitation to tender which evidence must be submitted. Proof of suitability may only be requested to the extent that it is justified by the subject matter of the contract. Contracting authorities may require candidates and tenderers to complete or explain the evidence.

Instead of the extract from the register, the candidate or tenderer may submit a declaration under oath or a certificate. When awarding public service contracts, the contracting authority may, under certain conditions, require proof of the authorization or membership of the candidates or tenderers.

When awarding public contracts for the supply of goods requiring installation or fitting work, the provision of services and/or construction work, the suitability of candidates and tenderers to provide these services or to carry out the installation and fitting work may be assessed in particular on the basis of their expertise, efficiency, experience and reliability.

The client also recognizes a certificate of registration in an official register as proof of professional and technical capability. The certificate must state the evidence on the basis of which the entry in the register was made, as well as the classification resulting from the register. The information contained in the official registers cannot be called into question without justification in the case of companies based in the EEA Member State in which the official register is kept.