Compliance requirements
The bidder and its administrative, management or supervisory body members, as well as anyone authorised to represent, make decisions for or control the bidder, must not have relevant final convictions within the previous five years, or an exclusion period that remains in force, for participation in a criminal organisation, fraud, terrorist offences, money laundering or terrorist financing, child labour or other forms of human trafficking, or corruption. Where an exclusion ground applies, evidence of measures restoring the bidder’s reliability may be submitted if the procurement exceeds the international threshold or the tender documents allow it.
The bidder must not have outstanding tax or social security contribution obligations under the applicable rules. The notice states that Estonian tax debt evidence is not issued where the relevant debt is below EUR 100, excluding interest not determined by an administrative act, or where payment has been rescheduled; foreign bidders are assessed under the rules of their country of establishment. The bidder must not have been penalised for enabling a foreign national to work without a legal basis or in breach of the applicable employment conditions. Nor may award of the contract to the bidder breach an international or Estonian government sanctions measure; the bidder must confirm this and may be asked for further evidence if there are justified doubts.
Qualification criteria and exclusion grounds
The bidder must be registered in the Estonian Commercial Register or, for a foreign bidder, an equivalent register in its country of establishment.
The bidder’s average net turnover in water supply and sewerage pipeline construction over the last three financial years completed by the start of the procurement must be at least EUR 500,000.
The bidder must demonstrate that, during the 60 months preceding the start of the procurement, it completed at least five construction contracts for gravity sewer or stormwater pipelines, with at least 900 m of such pipeline constructed under each contract. The submission must include brief descriptions of the contracts, their performance periods and client details, including the client representative’s contact details and procurement reference numbers where applicable. Evidence of proper performance must be provided if requested by the contracting authority. The qualification document separately states a minimum completed-work count of 3, but its explanatory and descriptive text requires at least five contracts.
The construction project manager must hold at least a level 6 qualification as a water supply and sewerage engineer in the external water supply and sewerage construction management occupation, or an equivalent qualification from the foreign bidder’s country of establishment where that qualification is required there. During the three years preceding the start of the procurement, the project manager must have managed at least two construction projects in which at least 900 m of gravity sewer or stormwater pipeline was built in accordance with the design. The works must be completed by the bid submission deadline, with the completion certificate signed by both contractor and client. Forms 3 and 4 must be submitted, along with copies of qualification evidence if it is not available in public registers.
For a joint bid, the bidders must submit the joint-bid power of attorney using Form 1. The person submitting the bid must be authorised to represent the bidder. A foreign bidder must provide a document issued in its country of establishment confirming that authority; if the representative is not listed on the register card, a power of attorney using Form 5 must be included. The price must follow the structure specified in the procurement system, and the bid must include a construction cost breakdown using Form 2. The total price excluding VAT in Form 2 must match the price entered in the procurement system. The bid must comply with the tender documents; any proposed equivalent must be explained and supported by relevant evidence. Trade secrets must be identified and justified in the bid; the bid price and figures relevant to the award criteria may not be designated as trade secrets. The provided documents do not specify the award criteria; these must be checked in the official tender documents. If the bidder relies on another entity’s resources, that entity’s ESPD must be submitted, and the entity must not be subject to the exclusion grounds listed in section 95(1), points 1–5 of the Estonian Public Procurement Act.