Prior Information Notices
9.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, a contracting authority shall, as soon as possible after the commencement of each of its financial years, send to the Official Journal a notice, in a form substantially corresponding to that set out in Part A of Schedule 3 and containing the information therein specified, in respect of the public supply contracts in relation to which it expects to seek offers leading to an award during that financial year and the notice shall be subdivided to give that information separately for each product area(1).
(2) The obligation under paragraph (1) above shall only apply—
(a)to proposed public supply contracts which are not excluded from the application of these Regulations by virtue of regulation 6 or 7; and
(b)where, at the date of despatch of the notice, the total consideration which the contracting authority expects to give under all the proposed public supply contracts which are for the purchase or hire of goods falling within the same product area equals or exceeds 750,000 ECU.
The relevant classification for product area shall be defined by reference to the Classification of Products by Activity as determined by the Commission in consultation with member States and published from time to time in the Official Journal.