After the deadline: evaluation, standstill, award and debriefing

You pressed "Submit", downloaded the receipt and the deadline has passed. Now what? The period after the deadline has its own rules, deadlines and opportunities, and how you handle it affects both this contract and the next one. This guide walks through each step, from opening the bids to signing the contract or challenging the decision.

What happens right after the deadline?#

At the deadline the platform locks the submitted bids. Electronic systems record the exact submission time, and late bids are not accepted. Bids are then opened, either by the committee alone or, in some countries and procedures, in a public opening session where names and prices may be read out.

Where the documents use envelopes (common in Spain and Italy), the administrative envelope is opened first, then the technical offer, and only later the price envelope.

How are the bids evaluated?#

Evaluation follows the order you already know:

1. Exclusion grounds: no bidder may be in a mandatory exclusion situation.

2. Selection criteria: does each bidder meet the minimum capacity?

3. Compliance: does each offer follow the specifications and forms?

4. Award criteria: the compliant offers are scored and ranked.

Under the EU directive the buyer may evaluate offers before checking selection in open procedures, as long as the rules are followed for the winner. Usually only the preferred bidder has to provide the full certificates behind its ESPD.

Will the buyer contact me?#

Possibly. Two kinds of contact are common:

• Requests to clarify or complete documents. Where the documents and national law allow it, the buyer can ask you to submit, supplement or clarify incomplete or missing information within a set deadline (Article 56(3) of Directive 2014/24/EU). This covers administrative documents; it does not let you change your price or technical offer.

• Abnormally low tender questions. If your price looks too low, the buyer must ask you to explain it before rejecting it.

What if my bid is the preferred one?#

The buyer will ask the preferred bidder for up-to-date evidence: tax and social security certificates, criminal record extracts, register extracts, proof of insurance, references and quality certificates. In many countries a performance guarantee must also be provided before signing.

Tax and social security certificates often have short validity, so request them early.

The award decision#

When evaluation is complete, the buyer sends the award decision to all bidders, usually through the platform. It normally includes the winner, your score and the reasons for the decision, and states the standstill period.

What is the standstill period?#

For contracts covered by the EU directives, the buyer must wait a standstill period before signing the contract, so that unsuccessful bidders can challenge the decision. Under the Remedies Directive (Directive 89/665/EEC, Article 2a, as amended by 2007/66/EC) it is at least:

Sent electronically or by fax

10 calendar days from the day after sending

Sent by other means

15 calendar days from the day after sending, or 10 from the day after receipt

Purpose

time to challenge the decision before the contract is signed

National variation

some countries set longer periods, so check national law

Exceptions

for example when there was only one bidder, and certain call-offs

Below the EU thresholds, national rules decide whether a standstill applies.

How do I get a debriefing?#

Ask for one, whether you win or lose. Under Article 55(2) of Directive 2014/24/EU, the buyer must, on your written request, tell you the reasons for rejecting your offer and, if you submitted an admissible tender, the characteristics and relative advantages of the winning tender and the winner's name, within 15 days.

1. 1

   Request in writing

   through the platform as soon as you receive the award decision, so that the answer arrives within the standstill period.

2. 2

   Ask specific questions

   your score per criterion, the winner's score, what would have earned more points.

3. 3

   Compare

   the comments with your technical offer, section by section.

4. 4

   Record lessons

   in your bid library: what evaluators valued, which phrasing scored poorly.

What if I think the decision is wrong?#

Read the decision and the debriefing carefully. If you believe the rules were broken (wrong scoring, a non-compliant winner, unequal treatment), you have options:

• Ask the buyer for an explanation or a correction. Buyers can usually correct their own errors before signing.

• Apply to the review body: each member state has one (for example the Vergabekammer in Germany, the Market Court in Finland, the Tribunales de recursos contractuales in Spain, the regional administrative courts in Italy). Time limits are short, often 10 to 30 days, and set by national law.

• Ineffectiveness and damages: in serious cases, such as a contract awarded without a required notice or signed during standstill, a court can declare the contract ineffective or award damages.

Weigh the cost, the strength of your case and the relationship with the buyer. Many complaints are resolved at the first step.

Signing the contract and the award notice#

After standstill the winner signs the contract, normally the draft published with the tender. Terms cannot be renegotiated except as the documents allow. For above-threshold contracts the buyer must publish a contract award notice no later than 30 days after concluding the contract (Article 50). For framework call-offs, notices may be grouped quarterly.

The award notice is public data: the winner, the value and often the number of bids received.

During the contract#

Winning is the start of delivery, not the end:

• Modifications are limited: options written into the documents, small changes below the thresholds and 10 % of the value for services and supplies (15 % for works), or other cases under strict conditions (Article 72). Bigger changes need a new procedure.

• E-invoicing: public buyers in the EU must accept electronic invoices in the European standard, and many countries require national platforms.

• Plan the re-tender: the contract end date is when the next tender usually appears. Use the time to build the relationship and the references.

When will this contract be tendered again?#

Award notices state durations and options, which reveal when contracts end. That is the moment to prepare, whether you are the incumbent or a challenger.