Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

23. Abnormally low tenders

23.1. If, for a given contract, the price or costs proposed in a tender appears to be abnormally low, the contracting authority shall request in writing details of the constituent elements of the price or costs which it considers relevant and shall give the tenderer the opportunity to present its observations.

The contracting authority may, in particular, take into consideration observations relating to:

(a)

the economics of the manufacturing process, of the provision of services or of the construction method;

(b)

the technical solutions chosen or the exceptionally favourable conditions available to the tenderer;

(c)

the originality of the tender;

(d)

compliance of the tenderer with applicable obligations in the fields of environmental, social and labour law;

(e)

compliance of subcontractors with applicable obligations in the fields of environmental, social and labour law;

(f)

the possibility of the tenderer obtaining State aid in compliance with applicable rules.

23.2. The contracting authority shall only reject the tender where the evidence supplied does not satisfactorily account for the low price or costs proposed.

The contracting authority shall reject the tender where it has established that the tender is abnormally low because it does not comply with applicable obligations in the fields of environmental, social and labour law.

23.3. Where the contracting authority establishes that a tender is abnormally low because the tenderer has obtained State aid, it may reject the tender on that sole ground only if the tenderer is unable to prove, within a sufficient time limit fixed by the contracting authority, that the aid in question was compatible with the internal market within the meaning of Article 107 TFEU.