Definition
The διακήρυξη is the main procurement document in which the contracting authority describes what it wants to buy and on what terms it will award it: subject matter and estimate, procedure, exclusion grounds and selection criteria, award criterion, method of submission and evaluation of bids, deadlines, guarantees, performance and payment terms. Together with its annexes (technical specifications, templates, draft contract, ESPD) it forms the "procurement documents" of article 53 of Law 4412/2016.
Tender documents and notice
The two words are often confused. The notice (προκήρυξη) is the short announcement that a tender is starting: it is published in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ and, above the EU thresholds, in TED, with the basic data (subject matter, CPV codes, estimated value, deadline). The tender documents (διακήρυξη) are the full text with all the terms. The notice tells you a tender exists. The tender documents tell you whether you can and whether it pays to take part.
For contracts below the EU thresholds the notice is often a summary of the tender documents and the two are posted together.
Standard templates
ΕΑΔΗΣΥ issues standard tender document templates for supplies, services, works and studies, which contracting authorities are obliged to use. That means the structure of a tender document is almost identical from one authority to another: same numbering of sections, same place for the selection criteria, same annexes. Anyone who learns to read one template reads all the following ones quickly.
What a supplier reads first
- Subject matter and lots. If the contract is divided into lots, you can bid for just one.
- Selection criteria. Minimum turnover, experience in similar contracts, certifications. If you do not meet them, further reading is pointless.
- Award criterion. Price only or price and quality, and with what weights.
- Technical specifications. The annex that decides whether your product or service is accepted.
- Deadline and guarantees. Submission date, participation guarantee amount, offer validity period.
- Performance and payment terms. Delivery time, penalties, how and when you get paid.
GOVADI's fit report reads the whole tender document and its annexes, not just the title, and returns criterion by criterion what you cover, what is missing and what excludes you, with a 0 to 100 score and a BID or NO-BID recommendation.
Frequently asked questions
Can the contracting authority change the tender documents after publication?
It can issue clarifications and correct errors, posted in ΕΣΗΔΗΣ and ΚΗΜΔΗΣ. A material change of terms requires an extension of the submission deadline or a new procedure, so that all interested parties have the same time.
How do I challenge a term of the tender documents I consider unlawful?
By a pre-judicial appeal to ΕΑΔΗΣΥ within the statutory deadline from publication of the tender documents in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ. After the deadline the term is deemed accepted and binds all participants.