# Voluntary ex ante transparency notice

Notice of a contract without competition. If the contracting authority waits ten days, it is as a rule protected from illegal direct award sanctions.

Canonical URL: https://tendline.no/en/glossary/voluntary-transparency-notice

In Norwegian: [Intensjonskunngjøring](https://tendline.no/ordliste/intensjonskunngjoring.md)

## Definition

A voluntary ex ante transparency notice (intensjonskunngjøring), often called a VEAT notice, is a notice in which the contracting authority announces that it intends to conclude a contract without having advertised a competition. It is published after the contracting authority has chosen the supplier, and before the contract is concluded. According to DFØ (the Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management), the contracting authority must give its reasons in the notice itself for why the contract can be concluded without a competition. The Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften) say that the contracting authority «may» publish such a notice, so it is voluntary. The § references on this page are to the Regulations unless the Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven) is named.

The contracting authority uses it when it believes it has a legal basis to conclude the contract without advertising the competition. The rules are in Part II (§ 8-18), Part III (§ 21-5) and Part IV (§ 30-6) of the Regulations. These are 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; Part III, which applies at or above the EEA thresholds for supply, service and works contracts; and Part IV, which covers health and social services from NOK 8.7 million. According to DFØ, the notice is relevant in Part II when the contracting authority believes the contract is exempt under § 5-2, for example because it can only be concluded with one particular supplier in the market, and in Part III when the conditions for a competitive procedure with negotiation without prior publication (§ 13-3) or for award without competition (§ 13-4) are met. For health and social services from NOK 8.7 million (Part IV), the same two exceptions from the duty to advertise apply (§ 30-5 (4)). For special services above NOK 8.7 million, which follow Part II, the exceptions in § 5-2 do not apply, but the same two exceptions as in Part III do (§ 5-2 (2) and § 8-17 (5) letter b). DFØ also mentions contracts that the contracting authority believes fall outside the rules, for example cooperation within the public sector. When a purchase can be made without a competition is explained on the page on direct award.

The notice is published in Doffin, Norway's national database for public procurement notices. In Part III and Part IV, and for special services above the EEA threshold of NOK 8.7 million, the rules in § 21-1 apply, and Doffin forwards the notice to TED (Tenders Electronic Daily, the EU's database of procurement notices). Below NOK 1.3 million, and for health and social services below NOK 8.7 million, there is no duty to advertise, and the Regulations have no rule on voluntary ex ante transparency notices.

The notice can protect the contracting authority. When it has been published in line with the Regulations, and the contract is concluded at the earliest after the expiry of ten days counted from the day after the date of the notice, KOFA (the Complaints Board for Public Procurement) cannot impose an infringement fine for an illegal direct award (ulovlig direkte anskaffelse) (Public Procurement Act § 12 (2)). Nor can the court declare the contract ineffective for an illegal direct award (§ 13 (1) letter a and (2) of the Act), and from NOK 1.3 million up to the EEA thresholds it cannot shorten the contract or impose an infringement fine for it (§ 14 (1) letter b and (4) of the Act). The protection only covers these sanctions for an illegal direct award. According to DFØ, it also requires the contracting authority to have acted with due diligence: the notice must give a clear and unambiguous justification, and DFØ refers to the judgment of the Court of Justice of the EU in case C-19/13 Fastweb. According to DFØ, KOFA and the courts can always consider the case and establish that the rules have been breached. The Act makes the ten days a condition for the protection; the Regulations have no separate rule that the contracting authority must wait.

## Why it matters for suppliers

For you, the voluntary ex ante transparency notice is the warning that a contract is on its way without a competition, and the start of the time you have to react. Once the ten days have passed without the contract being stopped, and the notice holds, the contract can no longer be declared ineffective or shortened because the competition was not advertised.

Read the justification at once. Which exception does the contracting authority rely on, and does it match the market you know? In Part III, the exceptions for technical reasons and exclusive rights, for example, only apply when there is no reasonable alternative, and when the absence of competition is not the result of the contracting authority having tailored the procurement documents to one particular supplier (§ 13-4 letter b). According to DFØ, the notice is meant to let those who believe the contracting authority has no legal basis step in, for example by asking questions about the planned contract or taking legal action. Advice: if you can deliver the same, write to the contracting authority the same day, say so, and ask for the basis of its assessment.

If you want to stop the contract, you must petition the district court (tingretten) for interim measures (midlertidig forføyning). In Part III and Part IV, and for special services above NOK 8.7 million, the contracting authority's right to conclude the contract is suspended when the petition is filed within the ten days. The suspension takes effect when the petition has been served on the contracting authority, and lasts until the district court has decided (§ 25-3, § 30-10 and § 10-3). Below the EEA thresholds, a petition gives no such suspension, and once the contract has been concluded, the court cannot order interim measures (Public Procurement Act § 9). A complaint to KOFA does not stop the contract. You can complain about an illegal direct award without showing a legitimate interest (saklig interesse); see the pages on direct award and KOFA. Since 1 July 2026, only undertakings established in Norway or another EEA state, or in a state that is party to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) or another agreement binding Norway, have rights under the Act and the Regulations, and the latter only to the extent that agreement gives them rights (Public Procurement Act § 3). Other undertakings may take part in competitions but cannot rely on those rights.

In Part III and Part IV, and for special services above NOK 8.7 million, the contracting authority must publish a contract award notice no later than 30 days after the contract was concluded (§ 21-6, § 30-7 and § 8-19), and according to DFØ this also applies when it has used a voluntary ex ante transparency notice. If you believe the protection does not hold, for example because the justification did not show due diligence, proceedings for sanctions for an illegal direct award must be brought within 30 days counted from the day after the date of the contract award notice. If no contract award notice has been published, the time limit is two years after the contract was concluded. A complaint to KOFA alleging an illegal direct award interrupts both time limits (Public Procurement Act § 15 (4) and (5)).

## Legal basis

Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften) § 5-1, § 5-2, § 5-3, § 8-17, § 8-18, § 8-19, § 13-3, § 13-4, § 21-1, § 21-5, § 21-6, § 25-3, § 30-5, § 30-6, § 30-7 and § 30-10 · Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven) § 9 and § 12 to § 15 · Regulations on the Complaints Board for Public Procurement (klagenemndsforskriften) § 8 and § 13a

## Example

A central government agency wants to buy continued operation and maintenance of a specialist IT system for NOK 4 million from the supplier that built it. The value is above NOK 1.63 million, which is the EEA threshold for central government authorities, so Part III applies. The agency believes competition is impossible for technical reasons (§ 13-4 letter b), and publishes a voluntary ex ante transparency notice dated Tuesday 1 December 2026. Your company runs similar systems and believes it can deliver. The ten days are counted from Wednesday 2 December and expire on Friday 11 December. You write to the agency the same day and ask for the basis of its assessment. The answer does not convince you, and you ask a lawyer to assess a petition for interim measures. If it is filed by 11 December at the latest, and preferably earlier because the suspension only takes effect once the petition has been served, the agency cannot conclude the contract until the district court has decided. If you do nothing, the agency can conclude the contract from 12 December with its protection intact, as long as the notice followed the rules and its justification showed due diligence.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is a voluntary ex ante transparency notice?

A notice in Doffin in which the contracting authority announces that it has chosen a supplier and intends to conclude a contract without having advertised the competition, because it believes it has a legal basis to do so. It gives other suppliers the chance to react before the contract is concluded, and gives the contracting authority protection against sanctions for an illegal direct award if the contract is concluded at the earliest after ten days.

### How long do I have after a voluntary ex ante transparency notice?

Ten days counted from the day after the date of the notice. If the notice is dated 1 December, the first day is 2 December and the last is 11 December, and the contracting authority can conclude the contract with its protection intact from 12 December. In Part III and Part IV, and for special services above NOK 8.7 million, a petition for interim measures must be filed within the ten days to give suspension, and preferably earlier, because the suspension only takes effect once the petition has been served.

### What does the notice protect the contracting authority against?

Only the sanctions for an illegal direct award: the infringement fine imposed by KOFA (Public Procurement Act § 12), the court declaring the contract ineffective (§ 13 (1) letter a of the Act), and the court shortening the contract or imposing an infringement fine from NOK 1.3 million up to the EEA thresholds (§ 14 (1) letter b of the Act). The protection requires that the notice follows the rules in the Regulations, that the contract is concluded at the earliest after ten days, and, according to DFØ, that the justification shows the necessary due diligence. KOFA and the courts can still establish that the rules have been breached.

### Must the contracting authority publish a voluntary ex ante transparency notice?

No. The Regulations say that the contracting authority «may» publish one. So you will not always be warned before a contract is concluded without a competition. In Part III and Part IV, and for special services above NOK 8.7 million, a contract award notice must be published no later than 30 days after the contract is concluded, and that may be the first time you see the purchase.

### Where do I find voluntary ex ante transparency notices?

In Doffin, where notices under the Public Procurement Regulations are published. Under the rules in Part III and Part IV, and for special services above NOK 8.7 million, Doffin forwards them to TED. Advice: follow voluntary ex ante transparency notices in your field the same way you follow competitions, because you only have ten days.

## In Tendline

[Tendline follows every notice on Doffin, including those announcing a contract without a competition](https://tendline.no/en#how-we-work)

## Sources

- [Lovdata: Public Procurement Regulations (anskaffelsesforskriften), § 5-1, § 5-2, § 5-3, § 8-17, § 8-18, § 8-19, § 13-3, § 13-4, § 21-1, § 21-5, § 21-6, § 25-3, § 30-5, § 30-6, § 30-7 and § 30-10 (Norwegian)](https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2016-08-12-974)
- [Lovdata: Public Procurement Act (anskaffelsesloven), § 9 and § 12 to § 15 (Norwegian)](https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2016-06-17-73)
- [Lovdata: Regulations on the Complaints Board for Public Procurement (klagenemndsforskriften), § 8 and § 13a (Norwegian)](https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2002-11-15-1288)
- [DFØ: Guide to the Public Procurement Regulations, chapter 31 Notices (section 31.6.7 Voluntary ex ante transparency notice) (Norwegian)](https://www.anskaffelser.no/veileder-til-anskaffelsesforskriften/31-kunngjoringer)
- [DFØ: Guide to the Public Procurement Regulations, chapter 11 Planning and advertising (section 11.12.5.3) (Norwegian)](https://www.anskaffelser.no/veileder-til-anskaffelsesforskriften/11-planlegging-og-kunngjoring)
- [EUR-Lex: Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement, Article 32 (English terminology)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/24/oj/eng)
- [EUR-Lex: Directive 2007/66/EC on review procedures (Remedies Directive), Articles 2d and 3a (English terminology)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2007/66/oj/eng)

Last checked against the sources: 14 October 2026

## Related terms

- [Direct award](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/direct-award.md)
- [Contract notice](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/contract-notice.md)
- [Doffin](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/doffin.md)
- [KOFA (Complaints Board for Public Procurement)](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/kofa.md)
- [Standstill period](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/standstill-period.md)
- [Award decision](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/award-decision.md)
- [Procurement record](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/procurement-record.md)
- [Threshold values](https://tendline.no/en/glossary/threshold-values.md)