Professional Guide for Tenderers

This guide explains how contracting authorities should handle requests for clarification of tender documentation. It aims to ensure the correct application of Article 95 of the Public Procurement Law, which grants economic operators the right to request written clarifications about the tender documents, including amendments or supplements. The contracting authority is obliged to publish or provide these clarifications via the ESJN within the prescribed deadline. Clarifications are particularly necessary when certain elements are unclear, ambiguous, inconsistent with other parts of the documentation, insufficiently precise regarding proof of compliance, unclear about data submission, or could be misunderstood by a reasonably diligent economic operator. This aligns with Directive 2014/24/EU, which defines procurement documents as those describing or specifying the elements of procurement and procedures, including technical specifications, contract conditions, and submission forms. Article 95 should be interpreted so that clarifications serve to eliminate ambiguities in the established content of the tender documentation, not to review the reasons behind the contracting authority's decisions. However, the law does not impose an obligation for the contracting authority to justify its needs, explain each request, or engage in dialogue about how the tender documentation should look according to the economic operator's view.