CHAPTER II

PUBLIC TENDER PROCEDURES
SECTION 5

Information exchange

Communication with candidates and tenderers
Article 26
1
During the tender procedure, candidates and tenderers shall communicate only with the contact person(s) indicated by the ECB. The means of communication shall be generally available and non-discriminatory.
2
Candidates and tenderers shall submit their applications and tenders in writing in accordance with the requirements set out in the contract notice or invitation to tender.
3
Candidates or tenderers may submit in writing questions concerning the contract notice, the invitation to tender or the supporting documents to the ECB in accordance with the procedure laid down in the contract notice or the invitation to tender. The ECB shall reply to such questions within reasonable time limits, and shall communicate the answers to all candidates or tenderers on an anonymous basis if they are of relevance to all of them.
4
The ECB shall ensure that the information provided by candidates and tenderers is treated and stored in accordance with the principles of confidentiality and integrity and, to the extent personal data is provided, with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council .

Requests for additional documentation and clarification
Article 27
After the ECB has opened applications or tenders, it may request candidates or tenderers to submit, supplement, clarify or complete information or documentation which is or appears to be missing, incomplete or erroneous within an appropriate time limit. Such requests shall be made in full compliance with the principles of equal treatment and transparency; in particular, they shall not lead to any preferential treatment, give a competitive advantage, or change the terms of an application or tender.

Rectification of procurement documents
Article 28
1
If the ECB discovers, before the expiry of the time limit for the submission of applications or tenders, a lack of precision, an omission or any other type of error in the text of the contract notice, invitation to tender or supporting documents, it shall rectify the error and inform all candidates or tenderers in writing.
2
If candidates or tenderers consider that the ECB's requirements laid down in the contract notice, the invitation to tender or supporting documents are incomplete, inconsistent or illegal or that the ECB or another candidate or tenderer has infringed the applicable procurement rules, they shall notify their objections to the ECB within 15 days after they become aware of such an irregularity. If the irregularity affects the invitation to tender or other documents sent by the ECB, the time limit shall start to run from the date of receipt of the documents. In other cases, the time limit shall start to run from the time the candidates or tenderers become aware or could reasonably have become aware of the irregularity. The ECB may then either correct or supplement the requirements or remedy the irregularity, or reject the request indicating the reasons for doing so. Objections which are not communicated to the ECB within the time limit may not be raised at a later stage.
Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1).