Time limits

Minimum time limits for submission of PQQs and tenders have been reduced significantly in the new regulations enabling councils to speed up the procurement process. The new time limits are summarised in the table below.


What is this about?

Minimum time limits for submission of PQQs and tenders have been reduced significantly in the new regulations enabling councils to speed up the procurement process. The new time limits are summarised in the table below.

Care need to be taken when drawing up procurement timetables. The time limits are minimums and the regulations make it clear that suppliers need sufficient time to prepare and submit PQQs and tenders, depending on complexity etc.

When seeking to speed up the procurement process, councils should look first to the phases of the process that they control (for which there are no mandatory time limits) including assessing PQQs, conducting dialogues and negotiations and evaluating of tenders. 

What is new?

Minimum time limits under PCR 2015

This table is based on Crown Commercial Service (2014) A Brief Guide to the New EU Public Contracts Directive.

Procedure  Normal minimum time limit Where electronic tenders allowed Where urgent + Where PIN published* Where sub-central authority**
Open procedure Minimum time limit for receipt of tenders

35 days
Minimum time limit for receipt of tenders

30 days
Minimum time limit for receipt of tenders

15 days
Minimum time limit for receipt of tenders

15 days
N/A
Restricted procedure Minimum time limit for requests to participate 30 days N/A Minimum time limit for requests to participate 15 days N/A N/A
  Minimum time limit for tenders

30 days
Minimum time limit for receipt of tenders

25 days
Minimum time limit for tenders

10 days
Minimum time limit for tenders

10 days
Minimum time limit for tenders to be set by agreement with tenderers. In the absence of agreement

minimum time limit 10 days
Competitive procedure with negotiation Minimum time limit for requests to participate

30 days
N/A Minimum time limit for requests to participate

15 days
N/A N/A
  Minimum time limit for initial tenders

30 days
Minimum time limit for receipt of initial tenders

25 days
Minimum time limit for tenders

10 days
Minimum time limit for tenders

10 days
Minimum time limit for tenders to be set by agreement with tenderers.

In the absence of agreement

minimum time limit 10 days
Competitive dialogue Minimum time limit for requests to participate

30 days
N/A N/A N/A N/A
Innovation partnership No explicit time limits for submission of initial/subsequent tenders N/A N/A N/A N/A

 

Notes

       These are minimum time limits. When fixing the time limits for the receipt of tenders and requests to participate, contracting authorities must take account of the complexity of the contract and the time required for drawing up tenders.

       + This shorter time limit is allowed where a state of urgency duly substantiated by the contracting authorities renders the minimum impracticable.

       * This shorter time limit is allowed where contracting authorities have published a prior information notice which was not itself used as a means of calling for competition, provided that all of the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a) the PIN included all the information required in section I of the PIN notice referred to in the Public Contracts Directive, insofar as that information was available at the time the prior information notice was published;

(b) the prior information notice was send for publication between 35 days and 12 months before the date on which the contract notice was sent.

        ** 'sub-central contracting authorities' means all contracting authorities which are not central government authorities.