Suitability criteria

The suitability criteria are defined in Article 35a of the Public Procurement Act, and in the Articles 35 to 37 of the Public Procurement Ordinance. Suitability criteria shall in principle refer to the suitability of the candidate or tenderer and not to the suitability of the subject matter of the contract to be performed. Suitability criteria are KO criteria, i.e. the suitability is present or just not present, which leads to the exclusion.

The following criteria are considered to be suitability:

• the economic performance;
• the financial capacity;
• the professional capacity;
• and the technical capability.

As evidence of financial or professional capacity, the contracting authority may require the following documents:

• bank statements;
• proof of professional liability insurance;
• the submission of balance sheets or balance sheet extracts, if their publication is required by law in the candidate's or offeror's country of origin, with an indication of the relationship between, for example, assets and 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 offeror and, if applicable, the turnover for the area of activity that is the subject of the tender, for no more than the previous three financial years, corresponding to the date of establishment or the date of commencement of the company's activities, provided that relevant information is available.
• A statement of the applicant's or offeror's minimum annual turnover, including a specified minimum turnover for the area of activity that is the subject of the RFP. The minimum turnover shall 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 as evidence of financial and economic capacity a certificate of registration in an official register. The certificate shall indicate the evidence on the basis of which the registration in the directory has been made and the classification resulting from the directory. The information to be taken from the official lists cannot be doubted without justification in the case of companies established in the EEA member state in which the official list is kept.

As evidence of professional or technical capacity, the contracting authority may require the following documents:

• proof that he is licensed to perform the services in question in his country of origin (extract from the register);
• in the case of works and services contracts, the study certificates and certificates of professional competence of the candidate or tenderer and/or of the managerial staff of the candidate or tenderer, unless they are evaluated as an award criterion;
• in the case of works contracts, a list of the significant services performed in the last five years and, in the case of service and supply contracts, a list of the significant services performed in the last three years by the candidate or offeror and the result thereof, indicating the invoice value, the date of performance and the public or private recipients of the service performed, as well as whether the work was carried out in a professional and proper manner. If necessary to ensure adequate competition, contracting authorities may indicate that they will also take into account relevant works, supplies or services performed more than five or three years ago;
• by indicating the technical experts or technical bodies, whether or not affiliated with the candidate or tenderer, and 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;
• in the case of works and services contracts, a statement showing the annual average number of employees 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 services contracts, a statement indicating the equipment, devices and technical equipment 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 applicant or tenderer to ensure 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 country of origin of the candidate or tenderer, provided that the contracts to be performed are of a particularly complex nature or serve a special purpose. This control concerns the production capacity of the supplier or the technical capacity of the service provider and, if necessary, the investigation and research capabilities of the candidate or tenderer, as well as the measures taken to ensure quality;
• Statement of the portion of the contract for which the candidate or offeror 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;
• for supply contracts, certificates issued by institutes or official quality control bodies recognized as competent, confirming that products precisely identified by appropriate references comply with certain specifications or standards;
• Statement of the environmental management measures that the candidate or offeror can apply in the execution of the contract;
• Statement of the supply chain management and monitoring system available to the candidate or offeror for contract performance;

The contracting authority shall indicate in the tender documents, the notice or in the invitation to tender which evidence must be provided. The evidence of suitability may be required only to the extent justified by the subject matter of the contract. Contracting authorities may require candidates and tenderers to complete or explain the evidence.

In lieu of an extract from the register, the candidate or offeror may submit a statement under oath or a certificate. The contracting authority may, under certain conditions, require proof of the eligibility or membership of candidates or offerors when awarding public service contracts.

When awarding public contracts for the supply of goods for which installation or affixing work is required, the provision of services and/or works, the suitability of candidates and tenderers to provide such services or to carry out installation and affixing work may be assessed in particular on the basis of their technical knowledge, efficiency, experience and reliability.

The contracting authority shall also accept as evidence of professional and technical capacity a certificate of registration in an official register. The certificate shall state the evidence on the basis of which the registration in the directory was made and the classification resulting from the directory. The information to be taken from the official lists cannot be doubted without justification in the case of companies established in the EEA Member State in which the official list is kept.