48.—(1) Contracting authorities may make known their intentions of planned procurements through the publication of a prior information notice.
(2) Such notices shall contain the information set out in section I of part B of Annex V to the Public Contracts Directive.
(3) A contracting authority wishing to publish a prior information notice shall—
(a)send it for publication in accordance with regulation 51; or
(b)publish it on the contracting authority’s buyer profile in accordance with regulation 52.
(4) Where the prior information notice is published by the contracting authority on its buyer profile—
(a)the prior information notice shall contain the information set out in part A of Annex V to the Public Contracts Directive, and
(b)the contracting authority shall send for publication, in accordance with regulation 51, a notice of the publication on its buyer profile.
(5) Where sub-central contracting authorities use a prior information notice as a call for competition in accordance with regulation 26(9), the notice shall fulfil all of the following conditions:—
(a)it refers specifically to the supplies, works or services that will be the subject-matter of the contract to be awarded;
(b)it indicates that the contract will be awarded by restricted procedure or competitive procedure with negotiation without further publication of a call for competition and invites interested economic operators to express their interest;
(c)it contains, in addition to the information set out in section 1 of part B of Annex V to the Public Contracts Directive, the information set out in section 2 of that part;
(d)it has been sent for publication between 35 days and 12 months prior to the date on which an invitation is sent for the purposes of regulation 54(1) or (2).
(6) Where paragraph (5) applies, paragraph (3)(b) shall not apply to the notice, but additional publication at national level under regulation 52, if any, may be made on a buyer profile.
(7) The period covered by the prior information notice shall be a maximum of 12 months from the date on which the notice is transmitted for publication.
(8) In the case of public contracts for social and other specific services, the prior information notice referred to in regulation 75(1)(b) may cover a period which is longer than 12 months.