What cancellation is

Cancellation is the contracting authority's decision not to complete an award procedure it has started. It is governed by article 106 of Law 4412/2016 and always requires a specifically reasoned decision after the opinion of the tender committee. The decision is notified to the participants, posted in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ and can be challenged by pre-judicial appeal.

When a tender is cancelled

Mandatory

The authority must cancel when the procedure has failed. A failed tender is one in which either no bid was submitted, or all bids were rejected or all participants excluded. Also failed, under article 32, is a tender in which no bid was suitable: a bid irrelevant to the subject matter or manifestly incapable of meeting the needs without substantial changes.

Discretionary

The authority may cancel, with reasons, in six cases:

  • Irregular conduct of the procedure, where the error cannot be corrected by repeating a stage.
  • A material change in the economic or technical parameters, so that the authority no longer has an interest in the contract.
  • Force majeure preventing normal performance.
  • A finding that the selected bid is not advantageous, for example because the only bid is at the level of the estimate.
  • Expiry of the validity of the bids without extension.
  • Other compelling reasons of public interest, in particular public health or protection of the environment.

Cancellation may cover the whole contract or only the lots connected with its reason. For works, cancellation because the bid is not advantageous additionally requires the opinion of the competent technical council.

Correction instead of cancellation

If an error or omission is found at some stage, the authority is not obliged to cancel everything. It may annul in part, reform the result or repeat the procedure from the point of the error. That is the legal basis of the "repeated" stage: for example, repeating the evaluation of the financial offers with a new committee, without a new submission.

What follows cancellation

Together with the cancellation the authority may decide to repeat any phase of the procedure, on the same or modified terms, or to resort to negotiation. The three usual outcomes:

  1. Repeated tenderNew tender documents, usually with corrected specifications, an increased estimate or relaxed selection criteria when the first tender failed. There is no separate article on the "repeated tender": it is an ordinary new procedure, with full deadlines, which often carries the label in its title.
  2. Negotiated procedure without publication on the same termsIf the open or restricted tender failed, the authority may resort to negotiation without prior publication (article 32 par. 2a), provided the original terms of the contract are not substantially modified. The authority invites economic operators of its choice. Above the EU thresholds the assent of ΕΑΔΗΣΥ is required, and a report to the Commission if requested. The obligations on ΕΣΗΔΗΣ, the ESPD and guarantees in principle continue to apply.
  3. AbandonmentThe need is met otherwise, carried over to the next year or dropped. The funds are released.

ΕΑΔΗΣΥ has repeatedly reminded authorities that negotiation without publication is an exceptional procedure: the conditions of article 32 must be met cumulatively and fully reasoned, otherwise the award is unlawful and can be challenged.

What it means for the supplier

  • A failed tender is information. It shows that an authority has a need and committed funds it did not cover. Its next step, repeat or negotiation, usually comes within a few weeks, and in a negotiation the ones invited are those known to the department.
  • Read why it failed. If no bid was submitted, the estimate or the specifications were out of line with the market and the repeat will be more favourable. If all bids were rejected, see why, so that you do not repeat the error.
  • Cancellation can be challenged. If you are the provisional contractor and the authority cancels with vague reasoning, a pre-judicial appeal before ΕΑΔΗΣΥ has a serious chance, because cancellation requires specific reasoning that the Authority scrutinises strictly.
ON THE PLATFORM

The GOVADI platform's lifecycle tracking flags tenders in your codes that were cancelled or failed and alerts you when the same authority re-tenders the subject matter or publishes an invitation to negotiate.

Frequently asked questions

What does a failed tender mean?

A tender in which no bid was submitted, or all bids were rejected, or all participants were excluded, or no bid was suitable for the subject matter. The authority must cancel it and may repeat it or resort to negotiation.

Can the authority cancel a tender because it dislikes the result?

Only with specific reasoning, for example that the selected bid is not advantageous compared with market prices. The reasoning is reviewed by ΕΑΔΗΣΥ on appeal, and a vague cancellation is annulled.

What is a repeated tender?

A new procedure launched after a cancellation, usually with corrected terms. It is not a separate type of procedure in the law: it rests on the authority's power to repeat the procedure under article 106 and follows the normal deadlines.

Can a direct award follow a failed tender?

The authority may resort to negotiation without prior publication under article 32 par. 2a, provided it does not substantially change the original terms. It invites operators of its choice, but above the EU thresholds it needs the assent of ΕΑΔΗΣΥ.

Is the participation guarantee returned on cancellation?

Yes, to all participants, once the cancellation decision becomes final, that is after the appeal deadline passes unused or the appeal is dismissed.

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