For commonly used purchases the characteristics of which, as generally available on the market, meet the requirements of the contracting authorities, contracting authorities may use a dynamic purchasing system. The dynamic purchasing system shall be operated as a completely electronic process, and shall be open throughout the period of validity of the purchasing system to any economic operator that satisfies the selection criteria. It may be divided into categories of products, works or services that are objectively defined on the basis of characteristics of the procurement to be undertaken under the category concerned. Such characteristics may include reference to the maximum allowable size of the subsequent specific contracts or to a specific geographic area in which subsequent specific contracts will be performed.

All communications in the context of a dynamic purchasing system shall only be made by electronic means in accordance with Article 22(1), (3), (5) and (6).

Contracting authorities shall give any economic operator, throughout the entire period of validity of the dynamic purchasing system, the possibility of requesting to participate in the system under the conditions referred to in paragraph 2. Contracting authorities shall finalise their assessment of such requests in accordance with the selection criteria within 10 working days following their receipt. That deadline may be prolonged to 15 working days in individual cases where justified, in particular because of the need to examine additional documentation or to otherwise verify whether the selection criteria are met.

Notwithstanding the first subparagraph, as long as the invitation to tender for the first specific procurement under the dynamic purchasing system has not been sent, contracting authorities may extend the evaluation period provided that no invitation to tender is issued during the extended evaluation period. Contracting authorities shall indicate in the procurement documents the length of the extended period that they intend to apply.

Contracting authorities shall inform the economic operator concerned at the earliest possible opportunity of whether or not it has been admitted to the dynamic purchasing system.

Contracting authorities shall invite all admitted participants to submit a tender for each specific procurement under the dynamic purchasing system, in accordance with Article 54. Where the dynamic purchasing system has been divided into categories of works, products or services, contracting authorities shall invite all participants having been admitted to the category corresponding to the specific procurement concerned to submit a tender.

They shall award the contract to the tenderer that submitted the best tender on the basis of the award criteria set out in the contract notice for the dynamic purchasing system or, where a prior information notice is used as a means of calling for competition, in the invitation to confirm interest. Those criteria may, where appropriate, be formulated more precisely in the invitation to tender.

Contracting authorities may, at any time during the period of validity of the dynamic purchasing system, require admitted participants to submit a renewed and updated self-declaration as provided for in Article 59(1), within five working days from the date on which that request is transmitted.

Article 59(4) to (6) shall apply throughout the entire period of validity of the dynamic purchasing system.

No charges may be billed prior to or during the period of validity of the dynamic purchasing system to the economic operators interested in or party to the dynamic purchasing system.