The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016

Open Procedure

45.—(1) In open procedures, any interested economic operator may submit a tender in response to a call for competition.

(2) The minimum time limit for the receipt of tenders shall, subject to paragraphs (4) to (6), be 35 days from the date on which the contract notice is sent.

(3) The tender shall be accompanied by the information for qualitative selection that is requested by the utility.

(4) Where utilities have published a periodic indicative notice which was not itself used as a means of calling for competition, the minimum time limit for receipt of tenders, as laid down in paragraph (2), may be shortened to 15 days, provided that both of the following conditions are fulfilled—

(a) the periodic indicative notice included all the information required by Section I and II of Part A of Annex VI to the Utilities Contracts Directive, insofar as the information in Section II was available at the time the periodic indicative notice was published;

(b) the periodic indicative notice was sent for publication between 35 days and 12 months before the date on which the contract notice was sent.

(5) Where a state of urgency duly substantiated by the utility renders impracticable the time limit laid down in paragraph (2), it may fix a time limit which shall be not less than 15 days from the date on which the contract notice is sent.

(6) The utility may reduce by 5 days the time limit for receipt of tenders set out in paragraph (2) where it accepts that tenders may be submitted by electronic means in accordance with regulation 40.