The Public Contracts Regulations 2015

Restricted procedure

28.—(1) In restricted procedures, any economic operator may submit a request to participate in response to a call for competition by providing the information for qualitative selection that is requested by the contracting authority.

(2) The minimum time limit for receipt of requests to participate shall, subject to paragraph (10), be 30 days from the date on which—

(a) the contract notice is sent, or

(b) where a prior information notice is used as a means of calling for competition, the invitation to confirm interest is sent.

(3) Only those economic operators invited to do so by the contracting authority following its assessment of the information provided may submit a tender.

(4) Contracting authorities may limit the number of suitable candidates to be invited to participate in the procedure in accordance with regulation 65.

(5) The minimum time limit for the receipt of tenders shall, subject to paragraphs (6) to (10), be 30 days from the date on which the invitation to tender is sent.

(6) Where contracting authorities have published a prior information notice which was not itself used as a means of calling for competition, the minimum time limit for the receipt of tenders as laid down in paragraph (5) may be shortened to 10 days, provided that both of the following conditions are fulfilled:—

(a) the prior information notice included all the information required in section I of part B of Annex V to the Public Contracts Directive, insofar as that information was available at the time the prior information notice was published;

(b) the prior information notice was sent for publication between 35 days and 12 months before the date on which the contract notice was sent.

(7) Sub-central contracting authorities may set the time limit for the receipt of tenders by mutual agreement between the contracting authority and all selected candidates, provided that all selected candidates have the same time to prepare and submit their tenders.

(8) In the absence of such an agreement, the time limit shall be at least 10 days from the date on which the invitation to tender is sent.

(9) The time limit for receipt of tenders provided for by paragraph (5) may be reduced by 5 days where the contracting authority accepts that tenders may be submitted by electronic means in accordance with regulation 22.

(10) Where a state of urgency duly substantiated by the contracting authorities renders impracticable the time limits laid down in this regulation, they may fix—

(a) a time limit for the receipt of requests to participate which shall not be less than 15 days from the date on which the contract notice is sent, and

(b) a time limit for the receipt of tenders which shall not be less than 10 days from the date on which the invitation to tender is sent.