Overview
This regulation states that, where a supplier is participating in a procurement procedure and has been involved in the preparation of that procurement (in the context of regulation 40 PCR 2015 or otherwise), the contracting authority must take appropriate measures to ensure that competition is not distorted by the participation of the supplier. Regulation 41 also applies where a supplier participating in a procurement is connected to another supplier which has been involved in the preparation of the procurement procedure.
Appropriate measures must include:
- informing all other suppliers of any relevant information exchanged with the supplier(s) involved in the preparation of the procurement procedure, and
- allowing adequate time for the receipt of tenders, i.e. by allowing the other suppliers enough time to review the information (insofar as the information might impact on tenders).
Contracting authorities should exclude suppliers on the basis of their prior involvement, only where there are no means available to ensure that all suppliers are treated equally (complying with the duty in regulation 18(1); principles of procurement). Any exclusion on this basis should only take place once the supplier concerned has been given an opportunity to prove that its prior involvement is not capable of distorting competition.