Tender deadline

The tender deadline (tilbudsfrist, in everyday speech also anbudsfrist), in the directive's words the time limit for the receipt of tenders, is the last point in time at which you can submit a tender in a competition. The contracting authority sets it, and it is stated in the contract notice or the tender documents. In a restricted competition, you first submit a request to participate, with its own deadline, and the tender deadline is stated in the invitation to tender if it is not already in the procurement documents (§ 8-17 (2), § 14-1, § 23-2 (4) and § 30-5 (2) of the Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften); the § references on this page are to the Regulations unless another instrument is named).

How long the deadline must be depends on which part of the Regulations applies, and the parts depend on the type of contract and its estimated value. Part II applies from NOK 1.3 million excluding VAT up to the EEA thresholds (except health and social services), and for special services (særlige tjenester) from NOK 1.3 million with no upper limit. Part III applies at or above the EEA thresholds for supply, service and works contracts, but not to special services or to health and social services. In both, the contracting authority must take account of the complexity of the contract and the time required for drawing up tenders (§ 8-14 and § 20-1 (1)). Part III also has minimum time limits for tenders in the open and restricted procedure (anbudskonkurranse) and in the competitive procedure with negotiation after prior publication of a notice, with exceptions set out in the questions below and on the page on the open and restricted procedure. Part II has no minimum time limits for tenders, and nor does Part IV, which applies to health and social services at or above NOK 8.7 million excluding VAT, where the contract notice must state a deadline for requests to participate, expressions of interest or tenders (§ 30-5 (2)). From NOK 500,000 up to NOK 1.3 million excluding VAT, and for health and social services below NOK 8.7 million, only Part I applies, and it has no rule on the tender deadline.

If the contracting authority has given a date and a time, that time applies. If the deadline is given only in days, it expires at 23:59 on the last day. How the days are counted is in the questions below.

If the tender arrives late, the contracting authority must reject it in competitions under Part II and Part III (§ 9-4 (1) letter a and § 24-1 (1) letter a). A request to participate that arrives late may be rejected, but the contracting authority is not obliged to do so (§ 9-4 (2) letter a and § 24-1 (2) letter a). Part I and Part IV have no express rules on rejection, but the contracting authority is bound by the procedure it has announced and by equal treatment (§ 30-1 and Public Procurement Act § 4), so do not count on a late tender being accepted.

In competitions under Part III, the contracting authority must extend the tender deadline proportionately when changes to the procurement documents mean that the suppliers need more time, and when it supplies additional information later than six days before the deadline, or four days in cases of urgency (§ 20-1 (3)). The duty does not apply when the information is insignificant for the tender, or when the supplier did not request it in reasonable time before the deadline (§ 20-1 (4)). The deadline must also be proportionately longer than the minimum time limit when the tender can only be drawn up after a site visit or an on-the-spot inspection of documents (§ 20-1 (2)). If the contracting authority cannot offer unrestricted and full direct access free of charge by electronic means to parts of the tender documents, the deadline must be extended by five days, except in cases of urgency (§ 20-2 (4), § 20-3 (6) and § 20-4 (3)). If a supplier has gained an advantage through dialogue before the competition, the contracting authority can offset it by, among other things, setting an adequate time limit for the receipt of tenders (§ 12-2 (2) letter b). Part II has no separate rule on extension. There, the contracting authority may only make changes to the tender documents that are not substantial (§ 8-4 (4)), and § 8-14 requires the deadline to take account of the time required for drawing up tenders.

According to DFØ (the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management), the time limits the contracting authority has set are, as a starting point, absolute, and you bear the risk that your tender arrives in time. Advice: set an internal deadline at least one working day earlier, upload the tender in good time, and check that it has actually been submitted.

Ask early. In competitions under Part III, the contracting authority must answer questions about the tender documents no later than six days before the tender deadline, or four days in cases of urgency, provided you asked in sufficient time, and the answer must be sent to all suppliers (§ 14-2 (2)). If you ask too late, the contracting authority has no duty to answer within that time limit or to extend the tender deadline (§ 14-2 (2) and § 20-1 (4)). Part II has no corresponding time limit for answers; see the page on tender documents.

The tender deadline is the point in time the contracting authority has set, not a number of days from the day you discover the competition. The minimum time limits under Part III run from the day the contract notice is sent to TED (Tenders Electronic Daily, the EU's database of contract notices) or the invitation is sent, and the Regulations give no right to a longer deadline because you found the notice late. Advice: watch prior information notices, which announce planned purchases and, under Part III, can allow a shorter tender deadline when the competition comes. After the tender deadline, the tender validity period (vedståelsesfrist) applies: if the contracting authority has not set one, you are bound by your tender in competitions under Part II and Part III for 30 days from the expiry of the tender deadline; see the page on the tender validity period.

A municipality advertises an open national tender competition (tilbudskonkurranse) for the supply of workwear worth NOK 1.8 million excluding VAT. The value is below the EEA threshold of NOK 2.5 million for municipalities, so Part II applies, and there is no minimum time limit. The tender deadline is Friday 6 November at 12:00. You send a question about the price form on 20 October, and the municipality sends the answer to everyone on 3 November. Part II has no express rule on extension, but because § 8-14 requires the deadline to allow time to draw up tenders, the municipality moves the deadline to Friday 13 November at 12:00 and notifies everyone. You upload your tender on Wednesday 11 November and check that it has been submitted. A competitor submits its tender at 12:03 on 13 November. That tender must be rejected, even though it is only three minutes late.