Compliance requirements
The bidder and members of its representative, management or supervisory bodies are subject to checks for exclusion grounds. These include final convictions within the last five years for participation in a criminal organization, corruption, fraud, terrorist offences, money laundering or terrorist financing, and the use of child labour or human trafficking. Checks also cover compliance with tax and social security payment obligations. The tax debt threshold is EUR 0, although the tax authority does not issue a tax-debt certificate for a debt of less than EUR 100 or where payment has been deferred. For foreign bidders, the law of their country of establishment applies.
Other grounds include breaches of environmental, social or labour obligations; bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, an arrangement with creditors, assets administered by a liquidator or court, or suspended business activity; serious professional misconduct; agreements intended to distort competition; conflicts of interest; an unfair advantage arising from involvement in preparing the procurement; and a material or repeated breach of a previous contract resulting in termination or a sanction. Grounds also include submitting false information, failing to provide required information or documents, or improperly obtaining confidential information.
National grounds also apply, including enabling a foreign national staying in the country unlawfully to work, breaches of international sanctions, convictions for tax offences, and legal restrictions on submitting a bid. First-tier subcontractors must submit a European Single Procurement Document, and the absence of the exclusion grounds specified in section 95(1) of the Estonian Public Procurement Act will be checked for them. Where permitted, the bidder may provide evidence of measures taken to restore its reliability.
Qualification criteria and exclusion grounds
Within the 60 months preceding the start of the procurement, the bidder must have properly completed at least one construction contract in a public-sector building where the persons performing the work on the bidder’s behalf underwent the background check required for work in such a building. The bidder must provide a contract description and confirmation of the background check, the contract award date, its start and completion dates, the contracting party’s name and registration number, and the contact person’s name, email address and telephone number. If the contract resulted from a public procurement, its reference number must also be stated. A confirmation from the client must also be provided, stating that the work was properly performed and that a background check was carried out for the contract.
Bidders must visit the contract performance site in the required manner before submitting a bid. The bid must comply with the tender documents; conditional bids are not permitted. The bidder must confirm that the proposed service and construction work comply with the technical description. The bid must include a Gantt-chart work schedule showing planned activities, their timing and duration; the schedule’s deadlines must match those in the draft contract. The price must be submitted using the prescribed structure and include all specified works, services and costs needed for proper contract performance.
If the bidder offers an equivalent solution, it must explain and provide evidence of equivalence. For a joint bid, all joint bidders must sign and submit a power of attorney naming their representative, describing each partner’s share of the contract and confirming joint and several liability. If relying on another entity’s capacity, the bidder must submit that entity’s signed consent. Bidders using subcontractors must provide a subcontractor declaration and relevant details; if awarded the contract, they must provide the known subcontractor details before work begins and report any subcontractors added later. The contracting authority’s consent is required to use subcontractors. The bid must also identify the contract signatory and contact person, and include a power of attorney if the contract will be signed by an authorized representative. The provided text does not specify the detailed award criteria; these should be checked in the tender documents.