Steps to win - #5 What to expect after the deadline for submitting offers, where to find information about competitors' offers and how to get acquainted with their offers?

Today we continue our series of posts (called "Steps to win") on our blog dedicated primarily to contractors who want to participate in public tenders in Poland and win them (previous post you can find on our blog). This time we want to explain to you what to expect after the deadline for submitting offers, where to find information about competitors' offers and how to get acquainted with their offers?

On 1 January 2021, the Act of 11 September 2019 – Public Procurement Law (hereinafter referred to as PZP - this is commonly used Polish abbreviation of this act) entered into force. Despite the fact that a lot of time has passed since the new regulations came into force, we are still faced with questions from contractors (but also, indirectly, contracting authorities who want to help their novice contractors by providing a kind of "PZP application guide") regarding how to participate in a public tender.

In order to meet the expectations of contractors, below (and in the future posts on our blog) we present practical hints (Q&A) for contractors participating in public tenders in Poland. We used as a reference point an open procedure (for orders with a value equal to or higher than the EU thresholds (hereinafter referred to as the EU tender) and a new basic mode, similar to the previous open procedure, without conducting negotiations (for orders with a value lower than the EU thresholds, hereinafter referred to as the national tender).

We hope that our publications will be helpful, especially for contractors from outside Poland, in understanding what a tender conducted in accordance with the Public Procurement Law really is and how to effectively apply for a contract in Poland? At the same time, the aim of our publications will be to present the extensive subject of the Public Procurement Law in the most concise way possible - in the case of issues requiring in-depth analysis, including reference to the case law currently in force, we encourage you to contact us.

Our previous publications from the series "Steps to win" you have listed below:

#1 Where to find information about the public tender in Poland?

#2 How to get answers to your questions in a public tender in Poland?

#3 What documents must be submitted by the contractor together with the offer in a public tender in Poland?

#4 What should you know about a company secret, a deposit and a validity period of the offer in a public tender in Poland?

#5 What to expect after the deadline for submitting offers, where to find information about competitors' offers and how to get acquainted with their offers?

What to expect after the deadline for submitting offers?

In short, a public tender, after the deadline for submitting bids, consists of the following steps:

1. Bid opening (generally private, but the contracting authority may also organize an open one).

2. Evaluation of submitted bids (including in terms of compliance with the contract terms, the realistic nature of the offered price, and the accuracy of price calculations).

3. Requesting the contractor who submitted the highest-scoring bid to submit evidence (in domestic tenders, if the contracting authority has requested such evidence).

4. Verification by the contracting authority of whether the submitted documents confirm compliance with the conditions for participation in the procedure and non-exclusion from the procedure.

5. Alternatively, if aplicable, requesting the contractor to submit, correct, or supplement the documents – ultimately enabling the selection of the most advantageous bid or the cancellation of the procedure.

Where to find information about competitors' offers submitted in a public tender?

Information about the bids submitted in the tender (including prices) and the amount the contracting authority has allocated to finance the procurement can be found on the website of the ongoing procedure.

According to the Public Procurement Law, the opening of bids should take place immediately after the deadline for submission of bids, but no later than the day following the deadline for submission of bids.

The contracting authority shall publish information on the website of the ongoing procedure, no later than before the bid opening, about the amount it intends to allocate to finance the procurement.

How to get acquainted with competitors' offers?

You should be aware that the contractor has the right to review the competing bids. The exception to this continues to be the presence of trade secrets in bids (provided, of course, that the contractors disclose and justify the trade secret at the appropriate time).

It's worth remembering that the tender minutes are public and made available upon request.

Annexes to the tender minutes (e.g., correspondence with contractors after the bid opening) are made available by the contracting authority after the most advantageous bid is selected.

However, the bids, along with their annexes, are made available immediately after the bids are opened, but no later than three days after the bid opening date. This is a new deadline, unknown under the previously applicable regulations, intended to mobilize contracting authorities to act.