Provisional contractor and award evidence

Definition

The provisional contractor is the bidder whose offer ranked first after the evaluation of the technical and financial offers, and who is invited to prove with documents that no exclusion grounds apply and that it meets the selection criteria, as declared in the ESPD. The status is governed by article 103 of Law 4412/2016 and confers no right to the contract: it exists only for the check of the evidence.

The award evidence

The contracting authority invites the provisional contractor through ΕΣΗΔΗΣ to submit, within ten days of notification of the invitation, the means of proof set in the tender documents. The most common:

• Criminal record extract for the members of the management, or a sworn statement where provided.
• Tax and social security clearance certificates, valid at the time of bid submission and at the time of submitting the evidence.
• Certificates that the operator is not bankrupt, in restructuring, in liquidation or under compulsory administration.
• A sworn statement on the absence of labour law fines and on the other exclusion grounds not proven by certificate.
• Chamber certificate, corporate documents and a certificate of current representation from the business registry.
• Evidence for the selection criteria: balance sheets or turnover statements, certificates of good performance of similar contracts, ISO certificates.

Many of these are issued electronically and immediately by gov.gr, the tax authority, the social security fund and the business registry. Certificates of good performance from other contracting authorities and sworn statements take longer and are best prepared before the invitation.

What happens if something is missing

If the evidence is incomplete, the authority grants a deadline of at least ten days for completion, provided the documents had been issued in time or the gaps are minor. If the evidence shows that the provisional contractor did not meet the conditions, or declared inaccurate information in the ESPD, or if it submits nothing, it is rejected, its participation guarantee is forfeited, and the authority invites the next in the ranking as the new provisional contractor. An inaccurate declaration may also be a ground for exclusion from future tenders.

From provisional to final

If the check succeeds, the committee recommends and the authority issues the award decision, which is notified to all participants. After the appeal deadline passes unused, the provisional contractor is invited to lodge the performance guarantee and sign the contract. From signature it is the contractor.