General principles

Where the implementation of a project requires procurement by the Beneficiary, the contract must be awarded to the most economically advantageous offer (i.e. the one with the best price-quality ratio), in accordance with the principles of transparency and fair competition for potential contractors and taking care to avoid conflicts of interest.

To this end, the Beneficiary must comply with the rules set out below.

In the event of failure to comply with the rules referred to above, expenditure on the operations in question is not eligible for JBF financing.

The JBF will carry out ex post checks on beneficiaries’ compliance with the rules.

The provisions of this section apply mutatis mutandis to contracts to be concluded by the Beneficiary’s partners.

Eligibility for contracts

The nationality rule

Participation in tender procedures administered by the Beneficiary is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons of all countries.

The rule of origin

There is no restriction on the origin of goods to be purchased under the grant.

Grounds for exclusion from participation in procurement

Candidates or tenderers will be excluded from participation in a procurement procedure if:

• they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;
• they have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional conduct by a judgment which has the force of res judicata;
• they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the Beneficiary can justify;
• they have not fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which they are established or with those of the country of the Beneficiary or those of the country where the contract is to be performed;
• they have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation or any other illegal activity detrimental to the PSDPs financial interests;
• following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure financed by the Community budget, they have been declared to be in serious breach of contract for failure to comply with their contractual obligations.

Candidates or tenderers must certify that they are not in one of the situations listed above.

Exclusion from award of contracts

Contracts may not be awarded to candidates or tenderers which, during the procurement procedure:

(a)        are subject to a conflict of interests;

(b)       are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the Beneficiary as a condition of participation in the contract procedure or fail to supply this information.

Solicitations for goods and services need the following:

1. A clear and accurate description of technical requirements for the material, product, or service without unduly restricting competition
2. A description of the technical requirements in terms of function to be performed and the range of acceptable characteristics or minimum acceptable standards

Procurement under US$5000

For services and goods of a value of US$5 000 or less, the Beneficiary may place orders on the basis of at least two tenders.

Procurement over US$5000

Services and goods worth more than US$5 000 must be procured by means of a negotiated procedure without publication, in which the Beneficiary consults at least three suppliers or service providers of its choice and negotiates the terms of the contract with one or more of them.

Direct Agreement or negotiated procedures Rules

Subject to the approval of the JBF, the Beneficiary may enter into a direct agreement with a service provider or supplier on the basis of a single tender in the following cases:

• For reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events which the Beneficiary could not have foreseen and which can in no way be attributed to him.
• where contracts extend activities already under way which are not included in the main contract but which, because of unforeseen circumstances, have become necessary to perform the contract, or which consist of the repetition of similar services entrusted to the contractor providing services under the initial contract;
• for additional deliveries by the original supplier intended either as a partial replacement of normal supplies or installations or as the extension of existing supplies or installations, where a change of supplier would oblige the Beneficiary to acquire equipment having different technical characteristics which would result in either incompatibility or disproportionate technical difficulties in operation and maintenance;
• for additional works not included in the initial contract concluded which have, through unforeseen circumstances, become necessary for carrying out the works;
• where, for technical reasons, or for reasons connected with the protection of exclusive rights, the contract can be awarded only to a particular service provider;
• where warranted by the nature or particular characteristics of the supplies, for example, where performance of the contract is exclusively reserved for the holders of patents or licences to use patents;