CHAPTER III

PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE FOR CONTRACTS BELOW THE THRESHOLDS AND SERVICE CONTRACTS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 6(2)

Conduct of the procedure
Article 35
Contracts the estimated value of which is below the thresholds specified in Article 4(3) and service contracts referred to in Article 6(2) shall be awarded in accordance with the following procedure.
1. If the value of the contract net of VAT exceeds or is equal to EUR 50 000 for products and services or EUR 500 000 for works, the ECB shall invite at least five suitable suppliers, if available, to submit a tender.
2. If the value of contract net of VAT is below these thresholds but equal to or above EUR 20 000, the ECB shall invite at least three suitable suppliers, if available, to submit a tender.
3. The ECB shall select the suppliers invited to participate in the tender procedure either from among the tenderers admitted to a dynamic purchasing system or, where no such system is in place, from a list of suitable suppliers drawn up following a call for expression of interest. Where no such list is established, the ECB shall select the suppliers to be invited at its own discretion, on the basis of a proper market analysis, taking account of any possible cross-border interest, confirming the suppliers' suitability and their interest in participating in the procedure. The market analysis may include a publication of the contract opportunity in an electronic procurement system. Alternatively, the ECB may publish a contract notice on its website or using other appropriate media. In that case, the suppliers invited to participate in the tender procedure shall be selected on the basis of the responses received. Other suppliers that meet the same criteria may also be invited to participate in the tender procedure.
4. If the value of a service contract referred to in Article 6(2) net of VAT exceeds or is equal to EUR
750 000
, the ECB shall publish a contract notice in the Official Journal. The suppliers invited to participate in the tender procedure shall be selected on the basis of the responses received. Other suppliers that meet the same criteria may also be invited to participate in the tender procedure.
5. The ECB shall provide the suppliers invited to participate in the tender procedure with a request for a proposal specifying the ECB's requirements, the submission process and the criteria for the award of the contract. When fixing the time limit for the submission of tenders, the ECB shall take account of the complexity of the contract and the time required to prepare a tender.
6. The tenders received shall be evaluated against the formal requirements and the selection and award criteria set out in the request for a proposal. Following the evaluation of the written tenders, the ECB may enter into negotiations with the tenderers if that possibility was mentioned in the request for a proposal. The negotiations may be carried out as consecutive negotiations in the order of the tenderers' ranking or as parallel negotiations with several tenderers whose tenders best meet the award criteria.
7. The ECB shall award the contract to the tenderer whose tender best meets the award criteria set out in the request for a proposal.
8. The procurement procedure shall be carried out in accordance with the general principles set out in Article 3. Article 9(6) and (7), Article 13(5) and (6) and Articles 18, 19, 20, 26, 27, 28, 30 and 33 shall apply accordingly.

Notification of award decision and list of contractors
Article 36
1
Following the award decision, the ECB shall inform the tenderers in writing and without undue delay of the results of the tender procedure.
2
Tenderers may, within 15 days of receipt of the notification, request the ECB to provide the reasons for rejecting their tender.
Notwithstanding paragraph 1 and the first subparagraph of this paragraph, Article 34(1) to (4) shall apply when the ECB awards through the procedure specified in Article 35(4) a service contract referred to in Article 6(2) with a value net of VAT that exceeds or is equal to EUR
750 000
, provided that there is a clear cross-border interest.
3
The ECB shall publish annually a list of contracts with a value in excess of EUR 50 000 that were awarded in accordance with Article 35 or subject to an exception in accordance with Article 6(1). The list shall specify the names of the contractors to whom contracts were awarded, the subject matter and the value of the contracts. For contracts covered by Article 6(2) whose value exceeds EUR 750 000, the ECB shall publish a contract award notice in the Official Journal.

Direct award
Article 37
The ECB may award contracts on the basis of a single offer if the estimated value of the contract is less than EUR 20 000, net of VAT.
Substituted by Decision (EU) 2020/380 of the European Central Bank of 18 February 2020 amending Decision (EU) 2016/245 laying down the rules on procurement (ECB/2020/10).
Substituted by Decision (EU) 2016/956 of the European Central Bank of 7 June 2016 amending Decision (EU) 2016/245 (ECB/2016/2) laying down the rules on procurement (ECB/2016/17).