European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016.

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 284/2016

Arrangement of Sections

Part 1

SCOPE, DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Chapter 1

Scope and definitions

Subject matter and definitions

1. Citation and commencement

2. Interpretation

3. Subject matter and scope

4. Mixed procurement

Thresholds

5. Threshold amounts

6. Methods for calculating the estimated value of procurement

Exclusions

7. Contracts in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors

8. Specific exclusions in the field of electronic communications

9. Public contracts awarded, and design contests organised, pursuant to international rules

10. Specific exclusions for service contracts

11. Service contracts awarded on the basis of an exclusive right

12. Public contracts between entities within the public sector

Specific situations

13. Contracts subsidised by contracting authorities

14. Research and development services

15. Defence and security

16. Mixed procurement involving defence or security aspects

17. Public contracts and design contests involving defence or security aspects which are awarded or organised pursuant to international rules

Chapter 2

General rules

18. Principles of procurement

19. Economic operators

20. Reserved contracts

21. Confidentiality

22. Rules applicable to communication

23. Nomenclatures

24. Conflicts of interest

Part 2

RULES ON PUBLIC CONTRACTS

Chapter 1

Procedures

25. Conditions relating to the GPA and other international agreements

26. Choice of procedures

27. Open procedure

28. Restricted procedure

29. Competitive procedure with negotiation

30. Competitive dialogue

31. Innovation partnership

32. Use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication

Chapter 2

Techniques and instruments for electronic and aggregated procurement

33. Framework agreements

34. Dynamic purchasing systems

35. Electronic auctions

36. Electronic catalogues

37. Centralised purchasing activities and central purchasing bodies

38. Occasional joint procurement

39. Procurement involving contracting authorities from other Member States

Chapter 3

Conduct of the procedure

Preparation

40. Preliminary market consultations

41. Prior involvement of candidates or tenderers

42. Technical specifications

43. Labels

44. Test reports, certificates and other means of proof

45. Variants

46. Division of contracts into lots

47. Setting time limits

Publication and transparency

48. Prior information notices

49. Contract notices

50. Contract award notices

51. Form and manner of publication of notices

52. Publication in the State

53. Electronic availability of procurement documents

54. Invitations to candidates

55. Informing candidates and tenderers

Choice of participants and award of contracts

56. General principles

57. Exclusion grounds

58. Selection criteria

59. European Single Procurement Document

60. Means of proof

61. e-Certis

62. Quality assurance standards and environmental management standards

63. Reliance on the capacities of other entities

64. Recognition of official lists of approved economic operators and certification by certification bodies

65. Reduction of the number of otherwise qualified candidates to be invited to participate

66. Reduction of the number of tenders and solutions

67. Contract award criteria

68. Life-cycle costing

69. Abnormally low tenders

Chapter 4

Contract performance

70. Conditions for performance of contracts

71. Subcontracting

72. Modification of contracts during their term

73. Termination of contracts

Part 3

PARTICULAR PROCUREMENT REGIMES

Chapter 1

Social and other specific services

74. Award of contracts for social and other specific services

75. Publication of notices

76. Principles of awarding contracts

77. Reserved contracts for certain services

Chapter 2

Rules governing design contests

78. Scope of Chapter

79. Notices

80. Rules on the organisation of design contests and the selection of participants

81. Composition of the jury

82. Decisions of the jury

Part 4

GOVERNANCE

83. Retention of contract copies

84. Reporting and documentation requirements

Part 5

REVOCATION AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

85. Revocation

86. Transitional provisions

SCHEDULE 1

List of activities for public works contracts

SCHEDULE 2

Requirements relating to tools and devices for the electronic receipt of tenders, requests for participation as well as plans and projects in design contests

SCHEDULE 3

Information to be included in notices

Part 1 — Information to be included in notices of the publication of a prior information notice on a buyer profile

Part 2 — Information to be included in prior information notices

Part 3 — Information to be included in contract notices

Part 4 — Information to be included in contract award notices

Part 5 — Information to be included in design contest notices

Part 6 — Information to be included in notices of the results of a contest

Part 7 — Information to be included in notices of modifications of a contract during its term

Part 8 — Information to be included in contract notices concerning contracts for social and other specific services

Part 9 — Information to be included in prior information notices for social and other specific services

Part 10 — Information to be included in contract award notices concerning contracts for social and other specific services

SCHEDULE 4

Information to be included in the procurement documents relating to electronic auctions

SCHEDULE 5

Features concerning publication

Part 1 — Publication of notices

Part 2 — Publication of complementary or additional information

Part 3 — Format and procedures for sending notices electronically

SCHEDULE 6

Contents of the invitation to submit a tender, to participate in the dialogue or to confirm interest under Regulation 54

SCHEDULE 7

List of international, social and environmental conventions referred to in Regulation 18(4)(a)

SCHEDULE 8

Means of proof of selection criteria

Part 1 — Economic and financial standing

Part 2 — Technical ability

SCHEDULE 9

List of European Union legal acts referred to in Regulation 68(5)

S.I. No. 284 of 2016

EUROPEAN UNION (AWARD OF PUBLIC AUTHORITY CONTRACTS) REGULATIONS 2016

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 3rd June, 2016.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to Directive 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing Directive 2004/18/EC1 , hereby makes the following regulations:

Part 1

SCOPE, DEFINITIONS AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Chapter 1

Scope and definitions

Subject matter and definitions

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Award of Public Authority Contracts) Regulations 2016.

(2) These Regulations are deemed to have come into operation on 18 April 2016.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“accelerated procedure” means—

(a) an open procedure in which the contracting authority has exercised the power conferred by Regulation 27(3) to fix a time limit for the receipt of tenders that is shorter than the minimum specified in Regulation 27(1)(b),

(b) a restricted procedure in which the contracting authority has exercised the power conferred by Regulation 28(5) to fix a time limit—

(i) for the receipt of requests to participate that is shorter than the minimum specified in Regulation 28(1)(b); or

(ii) for the receipt of tenders that is shorter than the minimum specified in Regulation 28(1)(e), or

(c) a competitive procedure with negotiation in which the contracting authority has exercised the power conferred by Regulation 28(5) to fix a time limit—

(i) for the receipt of requests to participate that is shorter than the minimum specified in Regulation 29(4), or

(ii) for the receipt of initial tenders that is shorter than the minimum specified in Regulation 29(5);

“advanced electronic signature” has the same meaning as it has in the Electronic Commerce Act 2000 (No. 27 of 2000);

“ancillary purchasing activity” means an activity consisting of the provision of support to purchasing activities, in particular in the following forms:

(a) technical infrastructure enabling contracting authorities to award public contracts or to conclude framework agreements for works, supplies or services;

(b) advice on the conduct or design of procurement procedures;

(c) preparation and management of procurement procedures on behalf and for the account of the contracting authority concerned;

“Award of Contracts by Utilities Regulations” means the European Union (Award of Contracts by Utility Undertakings) Regulations 2016;

“body governed by public law” means a body that has the following characteristics:

(a) it is established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character;

(b) it has legal personality;

(c) it has any of the following characteristics:

(i) it is financed, for the most part, by the State, a regional or local authority, or by another body governed by public law;

(ii) it is subject to management supervision by an authority or body referred to in clause (i);

(iii) it has an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, a regional or a local authority, or by another body governed by public law;

“candidate” means an economic operator that has sought an invitation or has been invited to take part in a restricted or negotiated procedure, in a competitive dialogue or in an innovation partnership;

“central government authority” means a central government...