Overview
This regulation requires contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from participation in a procurement procedure if they have been convicted of certain specified offences.
In exceptional circumstances, a contracting authority may disregard the mandatory exclusion grounds for overriding reasons relating to the public interest, such as public health or environmental protection.
Contracting authorities also have the discretion to exclude suppliers in other specified circumstances.
If a supplier is found to meet one or more of the exclusion grounds during a procurement procedure, then, depending on whether the exclusion ground is mandatory or discretionary, the supplier must or may be excluded. The duration of exclusion varies depending on the specific circumstances, with a maximum of five years for the mandatory grounds and three years for the discretionary grounds.
Additionally, there are provisions on self-cleaning which allow a supplier to provide evidence of the measures it has taken to demonstrate its reliability, despite the existence of grounds for exclusion. If the contracting authority deems this evidence sufficient, the supplier must not be excluded from the procurement. If the measures are considered to be insufficient, the contracting authority must provide reasons for its decision to exclude the supplier concerned.