Compliance requirements
The bidder must confirm that neither it nor its management, administrative or supervisory body members or representatives has been finally convicted within the past five years of participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, terrorist offences or offences related to terrorist activity, money laundering or terrorist financing, child labour or human trafficking; any continuing exclusion period also applies. If an exclusion ground exists and remedial measures are permitted for this procurement, the bidder may provide evidence of steps taken to restore its reliability.
Unpaid taxes or social security contributions may constitute grounds for exclusion. The stated threshold for tax and social security debt is EUR 0; however, the Estonian tax authority does not issue a tax-debt certificate where the debt is below EUR 100 or payment has been deferred. For foreign bidders, the rules of their country of establishment apply. The bidder must also confirm that it is not in breach of environmental, social or labour law obligations and is not bankrupt, being wound up, in another insolvency situation, party to an arrangement with creditors, subject to administration of its assets by a liquidator or court, or engaged in suspended business activities.
Other potential grounds for exclusion include serious professional misconduct; agreements with other businesses intended to distort competition; an unresolvable conflict of interest; participation in preparing the procurement where this creates an unfair competitive advantage that cannot be remedied; significant or repeated breach of a previous public contract; false statements; failure to provide required information or documents; improper influence on the contracting authority’s decision-making; or obtaining confidential information to gain an unfair advantage.
National grounds may also apply, including enabling a foreign national without legal grounds to work in the country, entering into a contract with a person subject to international sanctions, and conviction for tax offences. The bidder must confirm that it will not engage a subcontractor who must be replaced. It must also not engage subcontractors or suppliers covered by sanctions who perform more than 10% of the contract value, or rely on the capacities of such entities. The contracting authority may request further information about these persons and their beneficial owners and require their replacement.
Qualification criteria and exclusion grounds
The bidder must be registered in a commercial register where required by the laws of its country of establishment. Upon request, it must provide evidence of registration; the contracting authority will verify the registration of bidders established in Estonia.
For the period from 28 December 2026 to 31 August 2028, the bidder must have available, or be able to obtain, at least EUR 1,000,000 in funds to secure performance of the contract. Upon request, it must provide a bank statement, confirmation letter or other relevant evidence.
During the 60 months preceding publication of the contract notice, the bidder must have completed, as the main contractor, at least one near-zero-energy building project involving the construction, extension or reconstruction of a similar building with a gross internal floor area of at least 3,000 m². Similar buildings include, among others, office, educational, healthcare and other buildings for public or community use. The works must have included the building’s load-bearing structures and external envelope, interior spaces, central mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, central cooling, heating, building automation, electrical and low-voltage systems. The bidder must describe the contract, its performance period and the client in the ESPD; the successful bidder must provide the client’s confirmation of proper completion.
The works must be managed by at least a project manager and a site manager. The project manager must hold a level 7 professional qualification as a chartered construction engineer specialising in building construction, with competence in managing construction activities, or an equivalent qualification. The site manager must hold a level 6 professional qualification as a construction engineer in the same specialisation and with the relevant competence, or an equivalent qualification. They must be different people. Each must have worked as project manager or site manager on at least one similar near-zero-energy building project during the previous 60 months. The bidder must provide their details and signed CVs listing their names and completed projects, including each building’s address, name, work period, the specialist’s role and the building’s intended use. Where necessary, qualification or competence evidence and written confirmation that the specialist will participate in performing the contract must also be provided. If the bidder relies on another entity’s capacity, it must also submit that entity’s or person’s ESPD.
The bidder must have a quality management system in the construction field meeting at least ISO 9001 requirements and an environmental management system meeting at least ISO 14001 requirements, or equivalent systems. Evidence may be a relevant certificate or confirmation from an independent audit firm or accredited certifier. If such evidence cannot be provided for reasons beyond the bidder’s control, evidence of equivalent measures may be submitted.
The bid must comply with the tender documents; conditional bids are not permitted. The price must be submitted in euros, excluding VAT, to the nearest cent, as a total that includes the client’s reserve and all costs necessary to achieve the contract’s purpose. The price must remain valid throughout the contract period. The completed price quotation table must be submitted; no line may be blank or valued at EUR 0, except for lines labelled “other works”. The bid remains valid for three months from the submission deadline. Price is the only award criterion, and the bid with the lowest price excluding VAT will be successful. If the lowest prices are tied, the successful bidder will be selected by drawing lots.
For a joint bid, a power of attorney for the joint bidders must be submitted. The bidder must confirm that it will not engage a subcontractor who is subject to mandatory replacement. It must also comply with restrictions on engaging subcontractors or suppliers connected with Russian sanctions who perform more than 10% of the contract value, or relying on such entities’ capacities.
For furniture, the bidder must confirm that all wood comes from legal sources. Evidence of origin, such as an FSC certificate or a FLEGT or CITES licence, must be provided on delivery. All substances on the REACH Candidate List present in the product or any component above 0.1% by mass must be declared, and evidence of their presence or absence must be provided on delivery. Furniture must be dismantlable with hand tools, with parts replaceable by an untrained person; dismantling and repair instructions must be supplied. The furniture warranty must be at least two years from delivery and cover repairs and a replacement product during warranty repairs at no extra charge. Spare parts or functionally equivalent components must be available for at least two years after delivery.