Compliance requirements
A bidder may be excluded if it or a person authorised to represent, manage or control it has a relevant final conviction within the last five years, including for participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, terrorism-related offences, money laundering or terrorist financing, trafficking in human beings or illegal child labour. Exclusion grounds also cover failure to pay taxes or social-security contributions; breaches of environmental, social or labour obligations; bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, suspended business activity or comparable situations; serious professional misconduct; agreements with other businesses intended to distort competition; an unmanageable conflict of interest; improper involvement in preparing the procurement; serious or repeated failures under previous public contracts; submitting false or misleading information, withholding required information or failing to provide requested supporting documents; and attempts to improperly influence the procurement or obtain confidential information.
National grounds include enabling a foreign national without a lawful basis to work, being subject to applicable international sanctions, and relevant tax offences. For Estonian tax debts, the notice explains that a debt below EUR 100 or a debt whose payment has been deferred does not result in issuance of a tax-debt certificate. Where applicable, a bidder may provide evidence of measures taken to restore its reliability.
Qualification criteria and exclusion grounds
The bidder must submit a compliant, unconditional offer and confirm that it meets the tender documents. For a joint bid, the partners must appoint an authorised representative and submit a power of attorney. The bidder must provide a bid guarantee of EUR 500 for each forestry worker offered, either as proof of payment or as a guarantee meeting the tender-document requirements; its validity must match the bid’s validity period. The guarantee must cover at least one worker for each part bid for.
The maximum number of workers varies by part: Part 1, up to 5; Part 2, up to 2; Part 3, up to 4; Part 4, up to 3; Part 5, up to 2; Part 6, 1; Part 7, 1; Part 8, 1; and Part 9, up to 2. One worker is expected to complete 150 hectares of brush-saw work, and two workers 300 hectares. The bidder must identify any trade secrets in the offer and give reasons, but may not classify the offer price or evaluation-related numerical figures as trade secrets. Where the offer departs from a specified standard or other requirement by proposing an equivalent, the bidder must explain the equivalence and provide supporting evidence.
The bidder must confirm that it will comply with RMK’s forest-work environmental requirements, personal protective equipment requirements and other applicable RMK guidance. It must also confirm that it has explained to its employees their rights concerning occupational injuries, occupational diseases, labour disputes and complaints, including applicable employee and employer rights and obligations. The provided documents specify no financial-capacity or prior-experience thresholds and do not state the award-scoring details.