{"id":23368,"date":"2026-01-16T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abante.de\/precision-before-blanket-criticism-high-demands-on-price-clarification\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T11:21:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T09:21:31","slug":"precision-before-blanket-criticism-high-demands-on-price-clarification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/precision-before-blanket-criticism-high-demands-on-price-clarification\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre\u00adci\u00adsion before blan\u00adket crit\u00adi\u00adcism: High demands on price clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Decem\u00adber 16, 2025, the Bran\u00adden\u00adburg High\u00ader Region\u00adal Court ruled (case ref\u00ader\u00adence: 19 Verg 1\/25) that the exclu\u00adsion of a bid\u00adder due to an alleged\u00adly unrea\u00adson\u00adably low offer price is unlaw\u00adful if the price clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion request is not suf\u00adfi\u00adcient\u00adly clear\u00adly for\u00admu\u00adlat\u00aded. The deci\u00adsion focused on the ques\u00adtion of what require\u00adments pub\u00adlic con\u00adtract\u00ading author\u00adi\u00adties must place on a law\u00adful price clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion and how far the bid\u00adders\u2019 clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion oblig\u00ada\u00adtions extend. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our video dis\u00adcussing the judg\u00adment:<\/p>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe hcb-fetch-image-from=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/oJ2J7H4SfEI\" title=\"Pr\u00e4zision vor Pauschalkritik: Hohe Anforderungen an die Preisaufkl\u00e4rung!\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oJ2J7H4SfEI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Facts of the case<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The sub\u00adject of the pro\u00adce\u00addure was a Europe-wide invi\u00adta\u00adtion to ten\u00adder for scaf\u00adfold\u00ading work as part of the con\u00adstruc\u00adtion of a new \u201cener\u00adgy work\u00adshop\u201d. The client esti\u00admat\u00aded the con\u00adtract val\u00adue at around 157,000 euros. In fact, how\u00adev\u00ader, all of the bids received were sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant\u00adly low\u00ader than this esti\u00admate.    <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The appli\u00adcant, a scaf\u00adfold\u00ading com\u00adpa\u00adny, sub\u00admit\u00adted the most favor\u00adable offer in terms of price at around EUR 50,000 (gross). Due to the con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00adable dif\u00adfer\u00adence between the con\u00adtract val\u00adue esti\u00admate and the oth\u00ader bids, the con\u00adtract\u00ading author\u00adi\u00adty ini\u00adti\u00adat\u00aded a price clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion in accor\u00addance with Sec\u00adtion 16d EU VOB\/A. Ini\u00adtial\u00adly, the total num\u00adber of hours, mate\u00adr\u00adi\u00adal and equip\u00adment costs and indi\u00advid\u00adual items were clar\u00adi\u00adfied.    <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fol\u00adlow\u00ading an ini\u00adtial exclu\u00adsion of the appli\u00adcant and a com\u00adplaint lodged against this, the client revoked the bid\u00adder infor\u00adma\u00adtion let\u00adter and entered into a new price clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion. This sec\u00adond clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion relat\u00aded in par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar to four specif\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly named items in the bill of quan\u00adti\u00adties. After the appli\u00adcant had com\u00adment\u00aded on this, the con\u00adtract\u00ading author\u00adi\u00adty again exclud\u00aded it from the award pro\u00adce\u00addure due to what it con\u00adsid\u00adered to be an unrea\u00adson\u00adably low price.    <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The pro\u00adcure\u00adment cham\u00adber ini\u00adtial\u00adly con\u00adfirmed this exclu\u00adsion. How\u00adev\u00ader, fol\u00adlow\u00ading an imme\u00addi\u00adate appeal by the appli\u00adcant, the Bran\u00adden\u00adburg High\u00ader Region\u00adal Court over\u00adturned the deci\u00adsion of the award\u00ading cham\u00adber and oblig\u00aded the con\u00adtract\u00ading author\u00adi\u00adty to re-eval\u00adu\u00adate the bid in accor\u00addance with the legal opin\u00adion of the Sen\u00adate.   <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key point of the deci\u00adsion<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The deci\u00adsion of the High\u00ader Region\u00adal Court focused on the ques\u00adtion of what require\u00adments are to be placed on a law\u00adful price dis\u00adclo\u00adsure and what scope a request for dis\u00adclo\u00adsure actu\u00adal\u00adly has.  <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The court ini\u00adtial\u00adly con\u00adfirmed that the con\u00adtract\u00ading author\u00adi\u00adty was in prin\u00adci\u00adple enti\u00adtled to enter into a price clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion due to the sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant price gap to the next bid. The Sen\u00adate also con\u00adsid\u00adered it per\u00admis\u00adsi\u00adble to use the bid\u00adder\u2019s mean val\u00adue as an addi\u00adtion\u00adal indi\u00adca\u00adtion of a pos\u00adsi\u00adble unrea\u00adson\u00adably low price, which the defen\u00addant had formed, as all bids received were below the con\u00adtract val\u00adue esti\u00admate.   <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How\u00adev\u00ader, the deci\u00adsive fac\u00adtor was the way in which the sec\u00adond price clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion was car\u00adried out. In the opin\u00adion of the High\u00ader Region\u00adal Court, the renewed request for clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion con\u00adsti\u00adtut\u00aded a \u201ctem\u00adpo\u00adral caesura\u201d. By can\u00adcel\u00ading the first bid\u00adder infor\u00adma\u00adtion let\u00adter and announc\u00ading a new price clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion, the pro\u00adce\u00addure was set back to the sta\u00adtus pri\u00ador to the first clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion. There\u00adfore, only the sec\u00adond clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion let\u00adter was deci\u00adsive.     <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In order to clar\u00adi\u00adfy the total price \u2014 despite the use of the word \u201cin par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u201d \u2014 this only referred to four specif\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly named items accord\u00ading to its objec\u00adtive explana\u00adto\u00adry con\u00adtent. Oth\u00ader aspects, such as the total num\u00adber of hours, were no longer the sub\u00adject of a clear\u00adly for\u00admu\u00adlat\u00aded request for clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion. The appli\u00adcant was there\u00adfore enti\u00adtled to assume that she only had to explain these items.    <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the appli\u00adcant ful\u00adfilled these require\u00adments and the items con\u00adcerned only account\u00aded for around 3.7% of the total bid price, the exclu\u00adsion could not be based on a neg\u00ada\u00adtive prog\u00adno\u00adsis for the prop\u00ader pro\u00advi\u00adsion of ser\u00advices. Exclu\u00adsion due to insuf\u00adfi\u00adcient clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion was there\u00adfore unlaw\u00adful.   <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tips for pub\u00adlic clients<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>For\u00admu\u00adlate clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion requests pre\u00adcise\u00adly:<\/strong> Clients should spec\u00adi\u00adfy clear\u00adly and with\u00adout con\u00adtra\u00addic\u00adtion which price com\u00adpo\u00adnents are to be clar\u00adi\u00adfied. Unclear or ambigu\u00adous for\u00admu\u00adla\u00adtions shall be at your expense.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Note breaks in the pro\u00adce\u00addure: <\/strong>If a request for clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion is revoked and a new price clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion is ini\u00adti\u00adat\u00aded, it must be made clear whether ear\u00adli\u00ader doubts per\u00adsist or are dropped.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Clear\u00adly jus\u00adti\u00adfy neg\u00ada\u00adtive fore\u00adcasts:<\/strong> Exclu\u00adsion of an offer pre\u00adsup\u00adpos\u00ades that the spe\u00adcif\u00adic expla\u00adna\u00adtions request\u00aded are not sat\u00adis\u00adfac\u00adto\u00adry. Blan\u00adket or belat\u00aded doubts are not enough.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pro\u00adtect com\u00adpe\u00adti\u00adtion: <\/strong>Price clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion serves to ver\u00adi\u00adfy seri\u00adous\u00adness, not to sanc\u00adtion unusu\u00adal\u00adly favor\u00adable offers.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tips for bid\u00adders and fund\u00ading recip\u00adi\u00adents<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Pay atten\u00adtion to the word\u00ading: <\/strong>The deci\u00adsive fac\u00adtor is what is express\u00adly request\u00aded in the request for clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion. Bid\u00adders only have to explain what is clear\u00adly stat\u00aded.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pro\u00advide infor\u00adma\u00adtion in a struc\u00adtured and com\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsi\u00adble man\u00adner: <\/strong>Par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly in the case of indi\u00advid\u00adual items, it should be explained trans\u00adpar\u00adent\u00adly why the cal\u00adcu\u00adla\u00adtion is ade\u00adquate.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Doc\u00adu\u00adment any con\u00adtra\u00addic\u00adtions on the part of the con\u00adtract\u00ading author\u00adi\u00adty: <\/strong>Unclear or con\u00adtra\u00addic\u00adto\u00adry jus\u00adti\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtions can be deci\u00adsive in review pro\u00adceed\u00adings.  <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Use price clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion as an oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adty:<\/strong> A fac\u00adtu\u00adal and com\u00adplete expla\u00adna\u00adtion can dis\u00adpel the sus\u00adpi\u00adcion of an unrea\u00adson\u00adably low offer and pre\u00advent exclu\u00adsion.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Decem\u00adber 16, 2025, the Bran\u00adden\u00adburg High\u00ader Region\u00adal Court ruled (case ref\u00ader\u00adence: 19 Verg 1\/25) that the exclu\u00adsion of a bid\u00adder due to an alleged\u00adly unrea\u00adson\u00adably low offer price is unlaw\u00adful if the price clar\u00adi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion request is not suf\u00adfi\u00adcient\u00adly clear\u00adly for\u00admu\u00adlat\u00aded. The deci\u00adsion focused on the ques\u00adtion of what require\u00adments pub\u00adlic con\u00adtract\u00ading author\u00adi\u00adties must place [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":22627,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[703,248],"tags":[870,792,791,789,786,788,787,790],"team_kategorien":[],"lexikon_kategorie":[231,233,200,721,198],"class_list":["post-23368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-public-procurement-law-in-15-minutes","category-jurisdiction","tag-bidder","tag-bidder-mean-value","tag-calculation-bases","tag-duty-to-inform","tag-list-of-services","tag-offer-evaluation","tag-price-clarification","tag-unlawful-exclusion","lexikon_kategorie-bid-price","lexikon_kategorie-contract-value","lexikon_kategorie-public-procurement-law","lexikon_kategorie-rights-protecting-bidders","lexikon_kategorie-suitability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23368"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24323,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23368\/revisions\/24323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23368"},{"taxonomy":"team_kategorien","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/team_kategorien?post=23368"},{"taxonomy":"lexikon_kategorie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abante.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lexikon_kategorie?post=23368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}