Directive 2014/23/EU of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

Article 42 Subcontracting

1. Observance of the obligations referred to in Article 30(3) by subcontractors shall be ensured through appropriate action by the competent national authorities acting within the scope of their responsibility and remit.

2. In the concession documents, the contracting authority or the contracting entity may ask or may be required by a Member State to ask the tenderer or the applicant to indicate in its tender any share of the concession it may intend to subcontract to third parties and any proposed subcontractors. This paragraph shall be without prejudice to the question of the main concessionaire’s liability.

3. In the case of works concessions and in respect of services to be provided at the facility under the oversight of the contracting authority or the contracting entity, after the award of the concession and at the latest when the performance of the concession commences, the contracting authority or the contracting entity shall require the concessionaire to indicate to the contracting authority or the contracting entity the name, contact details and legal representatives of its subcontractors, involved in such works or services, insofar as known at that point in time. The contracting authority or the contracting entity shall require the concessionaire to notify it of any changes to that information during the course of the concession as well as of the required information for any new subcontractors which it subsequently involves in such works or services.

Notwithstanding the first subparagraph Member States may impose the obligation to deliver the required information directly on the concessionaire.

The first and second subparagraphs shall not apply to suppliers.

Contracting authorities and contracting entities may extend or may be required by Member States to extend the obligations provided for in the first subparagraph to for instance:

(a) services concessions other than those concerning services to be provided at the facilities under the oversight of the contracting authority or the contracting entity or to suppliers involved in works or services concessions;

(b) subcontractors of the concessionaire’s subcontractors or further down the subcontracting chain.

4. With the aim of avoiding breaches of the obligations referred to in Article 30(3), appropriate measures may be taken, such as:

(a) Where the national law of a Member State provides for a mechanism of joint liability between subcontractors and the concessionaire, the Member State concerned shall ensure that the relevant rules are applied in compliance with the conditions set out in Article 30(3).

(b) Contracting authorities and contracting entities may verify or may be required by Member States to verify whether there are grounds for exclusion of subcontractors pursuant to Article 38(4) to (10). In such cases, the contracting authority or the contracting entity shall require the economic operator to replace a subcontractor in respect of which the verification has shown that there are compulsory grounds for exclusion. The contracting authority or the contracting entity may require or may be required by a Member State to require that the economic operator replaces a subcontractor in respect of which the verification has shown that there are non-compulsory grounds for exclusion.

5. Member States may provide for more stringent liability rules under national law.

6. Member States having chosen to provide for measures pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 3 shall, by law, regulation or administrative provisions and having regard to Union law, specify the implementing conditions for those measures. In so doing, Member States may limit their applicability, for instance in respect of certain types of contracts, certain categories of contracting authorities, contracting entities or economic operators or as of certain amounts.