Suitability

The contracting authority may award a contract only to suitable bidders. The suitability of each bidder is checked based on the criteria of expertise, performance and reliability. The basis for the check is the declarations and evidence to be submitted by the bidder which the contracting authority has often already specified in the notice and often even must specify in the notice in order for them to be considered as effectively drawn up. In addition, the contracting authority must verify the absence of grounds for exclusion.

The suitability test must not get out of hand into a bid test. The contracting authority must ensure that the criteria of the suitability test are not mixed with the award criteria based on which the bid is later evaluated. A common rule of thumb is that suitability criteria relate to the bidder's company, while award criteria relate to the contract and its execution.