Open and restricted procedure (anbudskonkurranse)

An open or restricted procedure (anbudskonkurranse) is a procedure for awarding a public contract. The contracting authority advertises the competition, suppliers submit tenders by the deadline, and the contracting authority chooses the tender that is best according to the award criteria. Negotiation is not allowed (§ 23-6 (3) of the Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften); all § references on this page are to the Regulations).

The term is used in Part III of the Regulations, which applies to supply, service and works contracts at or above the EEA thresholds. Health and social services (Part IV) and special services (særlige tjenester, Part II) have their own rules. Under Part III, the contracting authority may always choose between two forms (§ 13-1). In an open procedure (åpen anbudskonkurranse), any interested supplier may submit a tender. In a restricted procedure (begrenset anbudskonkurranse), anyone may request to participate, but only the suppliers the contracting authority selects may submit a tender. The contracting authority must select enough candidates to ensure genuine competition, and at least five. If there are not enough suppliers, it may select fewer (§ 16-12). If the contracting authority sets a minimum and, if it wishes, a maximum number of candidates, it must state the limits and the criteria for limiting the number in the contract notice or in the invitation to confirm interest, and it must as soon as possible give those who are not selected a written notice with brief reasons.

For supply, service and works contracts below the EEA thresholds, the procedures are called the open and the restricted national tender competition (åpen og begrenset tilbudskonkurranse, § 8-3). They belong to Part II, which applies from NOK 1.3 million up to the EEA thresholds (except health and social services), and to special services (særlige tjenester) from NOK 1.3 million with no upper limit, so special services also follow Part II above the EEA thresholds. In a national tender competition, the contracting authority must state in the procurement documents whether it plans a dialogue with the suppliers, and after the tender deadline it may hold a dialogue that can also include negotiations (§ 9-2 and § 9-3). In everyday Norwegian, both are simply called anbud. See the page on the national tender competition.

The main steps are the same. The competition is advertised, and the tender documents are made available. In an open procedure, suppliers submit tenders by the deadline. In a restricted procedure, they first submit a request to participate, the contracting authority checks qualification and selects, and only those invited submit tenders. The contracting authority must reject, among others, tenders that arrive too late, tenders with material deviations from the tender documents, and suppliers that do not meet the qualification requirements, and it may reject on further grounds listed in the Regulations (§ 24-1, § 24-2 and § 24-8). It checks qualification before the contract is awarded, and evaluates the tenders against the award criteria. It then sends a notification of the choice of supplier with reasons, and the standstill period (karensperiode) runs before the contract can be signed (§ 25-1 and § 25-2). The contracting authority must publish a contract award notice as soon as possible, and no later than 30 days after the contract was concluded.

In an open procedure, the time limit for tenders is as a rule at least 30 days from the day the contract notice is sent to TED (Tenders Electronic Daily, the EU's database of contract notices). In a restricted procedure, the time limit for requests to participate is as a rule at least 30 days from the same day, and the time limit for tenders at least 25 days from the invitation (§ 20-2 and § 20-3). There are exceptions and shorter time limits; see the questions below.

Your tender has to stand on its own. The contracting authority cannot negotiate on price or solution after the deadline, so what you submit by the deadline is what is assessed. The contracting authority may ask in writing for information to be submitted later or clarified, but the tender must not be improved (§ 23-5). Tenders that arrive after the deadline must be rejected, and so must suppliers that do not meet the qualification requirements.

The tender documents set out the requirements and the award criteria. Advice: if anything is unclear, ask questions in good time. The contracting authority must answer no later than six days before the tender deadline (four days in cases of urgency), provided you asked in sufficient time (§ 14-2 (2)). Ambiguities in the tender documents are the contracting authority's risk, and ambiguities in your tender are yours.

If you want to take part in a restricted procedure, the first step is a request to participate, and it must arrive by the first deadline. Only after the selection are you invited to submit a tender.

A county authority advertises an open procedure for caretaker services worth NOK 12 million. The value is above NOK 2.5 million, so Part III applies. The contract notice is sent to TED on 2 March, and the tender deadline is set at 3 April, 32 days later, which is more than the minimum of 30 days. You submit your tender by the deadline. The county authority finds two different figures for the same item in the price schedule and asks in writing for a clarification, and you reply. Explaining which figure applies is a clarification, but the county authority cannot ask you to lower the price. After the evaluation, everyone who submitted a tender receives a notification of who won, with reasons and the standstill period stated.