Public procurement contracts are usually awarded using free market competition and advertised on the portal for public procurement contracts (Portail des marchés publics).

The preparation of the bid document and the tendering of the bid itself are therefore key steps in the procurement procedure.

The business (tenderer) which has tendered the lowest bid is not automatically awarded the contract. During the procedure, the contracting authority (State, communes, public establishments or syndicates of the communes) takes into account specific selection and awarding criteria.

Who is concerned

Any economic operator, a natural or legal person or group of persons who meet the conditions stated in the tender documents of a public procurement contract can prepare and submit a bid for said contract.

A business may choose between various types of public tendering processes:

• by separate professional body (by profession);
• by lots;
• by general contractor.

Prerequisites

The submission criteria are detailed in the tender documents accompanying the public contract notice or are sent directly to the business (procedure without publication). The following information is provided:

• award criteria, the weighting given to each criterion and the rating system;
• the minimum criteria for participation in case of a public tender;
• deadlines;
• penalties for delays;
• possible bonus for termination of works before the deadline;
• technical description of variants;
• insurance policies to take out.

Preliminary steps

Once the business has identified a potentially interesting public procurement notice or if it has been invited by a contracting authority to tender a bid, it must verify:

• if the means (human, technical, financial, etc.) at its disposal meet the contract requirements;
• if it can meet the deadlines.

How to proceed

Types of procedures

There are several types of public procurement procedures:

• open procedures, which require the procurement contracts to be publicly advertised;
• exceptional procedures, which depend on the scope of the procurement contract:
  • negotiated procedure or restricted procedure without publication of notice;
  • negotiated procedure;
  • negotiated procedure with or without prior publication;
  • competitive dialogue.

Preparing the tender

A business must meet all requirements detailed in the tender documents. This document defines the works or services to be carried out, the tendering conditions and the documents requested by the contracting authority.

Bid documents which do not meet the conditions laid down in the tender documents are rejected.

The bid document allows the business to:

• present itself or the members of the group of businesses;
• highlight its experience;
• put forward its financial means and guarantees;
• put forward the advantages it has over the competition;
• define its project.

Tendering the bid

To be eligible, a company must meet the deadlines for submission of the application/tender.

The tender may be submitted personally in exchange for a receipt or sent by mail with acknowledgement of receipt.

NB: only the arrival date of the tender is taken into account, not the sending date. It is important to take into account the time needed for a delivery by mail.

Administrative certificates

Depending on the procedure, the business must also prove that it has fulfilled its professional obligations by attaching the following documents to its tender:

• a non liability certificate from the Joint Social Security Centre (Centre Commun de la Sécurité Sociale, CCSS);
• a certificate of compliance with respect to VAT obligations and liability from the Registration Duties, Estates and VAT Authority (Administration de l'enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA);
• a non liability certificate from the Luxembourg Inland Revenue (Administration des contributions directes - ACD), delivered on simple request at the competent tax office of the ACD;
• an extract from the criminal record.

Where applicable, national and foreign subcontractors must also provide these certificates.

Who to contact