In Belgium, public procurement is regulated by EU law and national (implementing) legislation. The EU Directives on public procurement and remedies are implemented into national legislation by:

• the Law of 17 June 2016 on public procurement;
• the Law of 13 August 2011 on public procurement in the defence and security sector; and
• the Law of 17 June 2013 concerning the justification, information and legal remedies for public procurement and certain instructions for works, supplies and concessions.

Several Royal and Ministerial Decrees further implement this legislation:

• the Royal Decree of 23 January 2012 concerning public procurement in the defence and security sector;
• the Royal Decree of 14 January 2013 establishing the general implementing rules for public procurement contracts;
• the Royal Decree of 18 April 2017 concerning placement of public procurement contracts; and
• the Royal Decree of 18 June 2017 concerning placement of public procurement contracts in the utilities sector.

The public procurement legislation applies to “contracting authorities”; these are mainly “public authorities”, such as the State, regional and local authorities and so-called bodies governed by public law.

Bodies governed by public law meet the following criteria, they:

• are established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having industrial or commercial characteristics;
• have legal personality; and
• are mostly financed or managed by a "public authority" or another body governed by public law or have an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by a "public authority" or another body governed by public law.

The interpretation of these criteria is subject to a dynamic and evolving jurisprudence by the CJEU and the Belgian State Council.

Certain (private) entities can also be subject to procurement regulation, when the contract’s estimated value exceeds the European threshold, the contract is subsidised for more than 50% by a “public authority” and is concluded for works of a civil engineering nature or for services connected to the above-mentioned worked (ie the so-called “subsidised contracts”). In addition to the contracting authorities mentioned above, in the utilities the rules regarding public procurement also apply to “public undertakings”, which is any undertaking over which a contracting authority may exercise directly or indirectly a dominant influence, and entities enjoying special or exclusive rights.

Procurement contracts are contracts of pecuniary interest concluded between one or more economic operators and one or more contracting authorities concerning works, supplies and/or services.

The rules regarding publication and in relation to which type of award procedure can be used depend on the estimated value of the contract. The European minimum value thresholds are relevant in this regard. An overview is provided below of the thresholds applicable to "standard" public procurement contracts (eg not utilities, defence and security sector nor social or other specific services):

• for works contracts – EUR5.35 million;
• for supply contracts – EUR139,000 (for central government authorities) and EUR214,000 (for sub-central contracting authorities); and
• for services contracts – EUR139,000 (for central government authorities) and EUR214,000 (for sub-central contracting authorities).

For public procurement contracts with a value below these thresholds national publication requirements may apply. Public procurement contracts of so-called "limited value", estimated at EUR30,000, are subject to a less stringent regime.

In addition, the public procurement legislation excludes certain type of contracts from its scope of application, for example, services such as legal services, acquisition of real estate, and certain financial services.

In Belgium, public procurement procedures are in principle open to any interested party from any jurisdiction. The legislation provides that, in principle, “every interested economic operator” is eligible to submit a tender offer or request for participation in a tender procedure. The applicable legislation defines an economic operator as “any natural person or any private or public-law legal entity, or any combination of these entities, including all temporary partnerships of companies that offer works, supplies or services to the market”.

Like the European public procurement legislation, Belgian public procurement law is based on four basic principles that should guide the contracting authorities:

• equal treatment (and in particular between those that are nationally based and those that are based in another member state of the EU);
• non-discrimination;
• transparency; and
• proportionality.

At any stage of the tender process (and also before or after the tender process), the contracting authorities must ensure that they adhere to these principles. They may not in any way attempt to circumvent public procurement law or to distort competition, for example by favouring certain candidates/subscribers.

The above principles are clearly visible in the key obligations under Belgian public procurement legislation. These key obligations are divided into two categories: key obligations that apply throughout the procurement process and key obligations that provide an outline of the procurement process.

Key Obligations throughout the Procurement Process

• The contracting authority must take any measure necessary to avoid potential conflicts of interest during the procurement procedure.
• All operators must ensure compliance with all applicable obligations under environmental, social and employment legislation.
• In principle, the contractor will be remunerated by means of a lump sum price (subject to certain exceptions).
• In principle, the contracting authority will only pay for works, deliveries or services after these have been performed and accepted.
• All procurement documents submitted by candidates (such as requests to participate and offers) are strictly confidential as long as the contracting authority has not yet made a decision in this regard.
• As a matter of principle, all exchanges between the contracting authority and the operators must be made in electronic form. This contributes to the transparency of the procedure.
• It is mandatory to estimate the value of each assignment.

Key Obligations That Outline the Procurement Process

• The contracting authority must publish a contract notice in the Official Journal of the EU and the Public Procurements Bulletin (if it reaches the thresholds for European publication) or only in the Public Procurements Bulletin (if the value is lower than the thresholds for European publication). The notice describes the authorities’ requirements and the timeline for submitting a request to participate or an offer (depending on the applicable procedure).
• Upon receipt of requests to participate, the contracting authority must evaluate the candidates’ requests by applying the selection criteria it has previously disclosed. The purpose is to assess whether the candidates have the required financial standing and technical capacity. The contracting authority must invite the selected candidates to submit an offer or to participate in negotiations or a dialogue (depending on the procedure).
• The contracting authority is obliged to disclose its objective award criteria as well as its valuation method. For public procurement contracts that reach the thresholds for European publication, this in particular means disclosing the weight given to each award criterion.
• Upon receipt of the offers, the contracting authority must evaluate the offers on the basis of the previously disclosed award criteria. It must award the contract to the economically most advantageous offer (this is not necessarily the lowest price but can be based on a value for money approach).
• Once it has selected the economically most advantageous offer, the contracting authority must notify all subscribers of its decision. It must apply a standstill period of fifteen days as of this notification before signing the contract with the winning contractor.
• After signing the contract, the authority must publish a contract award notice.

Public procurement contracts for which the estimated value exceeds the European thresholds should be published in the OJEU and the National Bulletin of Tenders. In principle, the announcement cannot be published in the Bulletin of Tenders before it has been published in the OJEU.

The contract should be advertised using a Uniform European Procurement Form. The announcement should contain the information specified below, as well as the information in Annex 4 to the Royal Decree of 18 April 2017:

• the contracting authority’s identity, address and other relevant details;
• guidance on how to access the tender documents;
• guidance on the contracting authority and requirements for the tender (nature and quantity of works, supplies or services, estimated value and duration);
• the award criteria;
• the requirements to participate in the tender procedure (legal, economic, financial, technical and professional); and
• description of the procedure and its characteristics (type of procedure, language of application) and the deadline for tender applications.

The announcement should consist of a tender announcement, an announcement when the tender will be placed and, if applicable, a preliminary announcement.

In principle, tenders that do not exceed the European thresholds should be published in the National Bulletin of Tenders. The announcement should contain the information as specified above.

In line with EU legislation, the Belgian public procurement legislation allows a contracting authority to carry out a preliminary market consultation. This consultation has a double purpose. On the one hand, the contracting authority is able to prepare for placement of the contract and keep up to speed with innovations and developments by collecting advice from private and public institutions, independent experts and market actors. On the other hand, the contracting authority can notify enterprises of her plans and requirements.

However, this consultation may not result in preliminary negotiations with certain enterprises or distorting competition, nor can it result in a violation of the principles of non-discrimination and transparency.

There are different procedures under Belgian public procurement legislation, some of which allow for negotiations between the economic operators and the contracting authority. In case of negotiations, the contracting authority is always obliged to guarantee the main principles of public procurement, such as equal treatment of all subscribers.

The open procedure and the restricted procedure are the two default procedures. The use thereof does not need to be justified by the authority. Whenever the authority decides to use any of the other procedures, it must justify this decision in the procurement documents.

Open Procedure

The open procedure entails the publication of a contract notice inviting any interested operator to submit an offer. The subscribers need to submit their offers together with the information needed to assess the fulfilment of the selection criteria. The authority will assess both selection and award in the same phase.

Restricted Procedure

The restricted procedure entails the publication of a contract notice inviting any interested operator to submit a request to participate. At this first phase, the economic operator must submit the information needed to assess fulfilment of the selection criteria. Subsequently, the contracting authority will circulate invitations to tender to the selected candidates. In a second phase, the candidates will need to submit their offer.

Competitive Procedure with Negotiation

The competitive procedure with negotiation can only be used in specific circumstances listed in the legislation. Generally, these circumstances relate to the technical complexity of the assignment. Like the restricted procedure, it consists of a pre-selection phase (for any interested operator) and an offer phase (for the invited candidates). The contracting authority then negotiates with the subscribers on the basis of their initial offer (and potentially subsequent offers). If the authority has included this possibility in the procurement documents, it may award the contract without conducting any negotiations. There can be no negotiation with regard to:

• the minimum requirements; and
• the award criteria.

There can be no negotiation regarding the final offer.

Computative Dialogue

The competitive dialogue may be used in similar circumstances as a competitive procedure with negotiation. After a pre-selection phase, only the candidates that are invited by the authority may participate in the dialogue phase. A dialogue is conducted between the candidates and the authority to determine the best solutions for the very specific needs of the authority. Any aspect of the contract and assignment may be discussed during this phase.

The dialogue itself can be organised in several phases if the authority has indicated this in the contract notice or the bidding guidelines. After closure of the dialogue, the participants are invited to submit their final offer on the basis of the discussed solutions. The authority may request for further clarification of the offers. Such clarification may not cause a modification of the essential elements of an offer or the assignment if that would lead to disruption of fair competition or to discrimination.

Further negotiations can be conducted with the bidder that submitted the offer with the most value for money. The negotiations may not lead to a modification of essential elements or to disruption of fair competition or to discrimination. This procedure is often used in the context of public private partnerships.

Innovation Partnership

The innovation partnership is tailored for the situation where the authority is looking for certain products, services or works that are not yet available on the market. It entails a pre-selection phase after which only the candidates that are invited can participate in the procedure. The authority can select one or multiple partners. The award of the contract is based only on the criterion of the best value for money.

Both the development of the relevant products, services or works and the final purchase thereof form the subject of the procedure. Therefore, the procedure is structured in phases that align with the development process. The phases will be linked to specific goals. The procedure can be stopped or certain participants can be excluded on the basis of (non-achievement of) such goals. The authority will negotiate with the participants regarding their offers, except for the final offer. There can be no negotiation with regard to:

• the minimum requirements; and
• the award criteria.

Simplified Negotiation Procedure with Prior Publication

The simplified negotiation procedure with prior publication can only be used for purchases of goods and services of which the estimated cost is lower than the thresholds for European publication or for works of which the estimated cost is lower than EUR750,000. Any interested operator can submit an offer, which should also contain the information relevant for the pre-selection. The authority may negotiate with the subscribers regarding all offers except for the final offer. There can be no negotiation with regard to the minimum requirements and the award criteria. The negotiations may be conducted in a phased manner if the authority indicates this in the publication or another procurement document. After the negotiations the authority will invite the remaining subscribers to submit their final offers.

Competitive Procedure without Prior Publication

The competitive procedure without prior publication may only be used in exceptional circumstances. This procedure does not require the prior publication of a contract notice. The specific conditions are listed in the public procurement legislation and mainly relate to low value, extreme urgency, technical specificity, an unsuccessful prior procedure, repeated assignments in the framework of a base project and unusually beneficial terms upon cessation of activities of the contractor.

The authority may negotiate with the subscribers regarding all offers. The award criteria are not negotiable. If the estimated value of the assignment reaches the thresholds for European publication or if the authority has mentioned it in the procurement documents, there will also be no negotiation on the minimum requirements.

If either of the two standard procedures (the open procedure and the restricted procedure) are used, the choice is at the discretion of the awarding authority. The other procedures can only be used in the specific circumstances listed in the public procurement legislation. In such case, the authority will need to justify its choice in the procurement documents.

A contracting authority may publish a prior information notice. The period covered by the prior information notice is a maximum of 12 months from the date the contracting authority transmits the notice for publication. A prior information notice cannot substitute a contract notice.

The legislation does not provide for any other deadlines in relation the contract notice.  All procurement documents need to be freely, fully and directly accessible without any cost as of the publication date of the contract notice.

The legislation imposes a minimum duration for the candidates to be able to submit their request to participate or their offer. The most important minimum durations are:

• in case of an open procedure, the term for submission of an offer should be at least 35 days as of the send date of the publication of a contract notice; and
• in case of a restricted procedure, the term for submission of requests to participate should be at least 30 days as of the send date of the publication of a contract notice and the term for submission of an offer should be at least 30 days as of the sending of the invitations to tender.

There are exceptions to such rules if the authority has made a pre-notification and in case of urgency.

In addition, all procurement documents need to be freely, fully and directly accessible without any cost as of the publication date of the contract notice.

In line with the EU legislation on public procurement, the Belgian legislation enumerates certain exclusion grounds (such as bribery, participation in a criminal organisation etc) for which it is mandatory to exclude the tenderers that have been convicted of those crimes by a final judgement. In addition, the legislation provides for optional exclusion (such as bankruptcy, grave professional misconduct, distorting of competition, etc) for which a contracting authority may exclude a tenderer.

However, in certain instances, the authority can make an exception for overriding reasons relating to the public interest or if the candidate has taken adequate corrective measures (so-called “self-cleaning measures”).

In addition, contracting authorities can request for certain technical and economic capacity. A tenderer must demonstrate that it meets certain technical and/or economic thresholds in order to be able to participate to the procurement process.

Moreover, for works contracts, the contracting authority can determine that potential contractors must be accredited under national regulation in order to be eligible to be awarded the contract.

In case of a restricted procedure, competitive procedure with negotiation, competitive dialogue and innovation partnership, the authority may decide to limit the number of participants. In such case, the contract notice should include the objective and non-discriminatory criteria on the basis of which the authority will select the limited number of participants. If the contract reaches the thresholds for European publication, the minimum and maximum number of participants it will select also needs to be published.

In a restricted procedure, at least five participants need to be invited. In the other procedures mentioned above, at least three participants will need to be invited. In any case, the number of participants invited needs to suffice to safeguard fair competition. If the number of candidates that fulfil the selection criteria is not sufficient, the authority may proceed with the procurement and only invite those that do fulfil the criteria.

In the course of the competitive procedure with negotiation, the competitive dialogue and the simplified negotiation procedure with publication, the number of offers or solutions to be negotiated or discussed can be further limited on the basis of the award criteria mentioned in the procurement documents. In the final phase, the number of offer/solutions/candidates must still be sufficient to guarantee an actual competition, in so far as sufficient offers/solutions/candidates fulfil the requirements.

The authority must always award the contract to the subscriber with the economically most advantageous offer. This may, at the choice of the authority, be assessed on the basis of :

• price;
• costs (including costs efficiency such as life-cycle costs); or
• the most value for money, which is determined by means of price/cost taken together with qualitative, environmental and/or social aspects that relate to the subject of the procurement.

The award criteria should be included in the procurement documents and should be accompanied by specifications that allow an effective assessment of the information provided by the subscribers against the award criteria.

For contracts that reach the European thresholds, the authority needs to specify the relative weight that is given to each of the award criteria, except if the award is solely determined on the basis of the price.

The criteria for selection and the accepted means of proof regarding fulfilment thereof must be mentioned in the contract notice or, if there is no contract notice, in the other procurement documents.

The award criteria and their relative weight as well as the specifications thereof (see higher) must be disclosed in the contract notice or another procurement document (eg invitation to tender/specifications).

For public procurement contracts and concessions reaching or exceeding the European thresholds, the contracting authority should notify each non-selected tenderer, immediately after the selection decision of, amongst other things:

• the reasons they were not selected, by means of an extract from the reasoned selection decision;
• if the number of selected candidates has been limited based on a ranking, the reasoned selection decision.

The notification should be done by fax, email or via the electronic platform for public procurement procedures.

For public procurement contracts and concessions not exceeding the European thresholds similar notification obligations often apply. However, a case-by-cases analysis should be made to determine the exact notification obligations for the contracting authority and the options and time limits for a (non-)selected candidate/tenderer to request for further information and/or documentation.

For public procurement contracts and concessions exceeding the EU thresholds, the contracting authority should notify, immediately after the award decision:

• every tenderer that was not selected of the reasons why they were not selected, by means of an extract from the reasoned award decision;
• every tenderer with an invalid or non-compliant offer of the reasons for excluding its offer, by means of an extract from the reasoned award decision; and
• every tenderer whose offer was not chosen and to the chosen tenderer of the reasoned award decision.

The candidates are notified by fax, email or via the electronic platform for public procurement procedures.

Furthermore, if the contracting authority must respect a standstill period (see 3.4 Requirement for a "Standstill Period"), this notification must also contain:

• detailed information concerning the exact duration of the standstill period;
• the recommendation to alert the contracting authority within the same period, by fax, email or via the electronic platform, if the interested party should commence a suspension procedure; and
• the fax number or email address to which this alert can be sent.

The notification must also mention the legal remedies, applicable time limits and competent review body with explicit reference to the applicable articles of the legislation. If this information is required but not included, the time limit to submit a claim for annulation will only commence four months after the reasoned decision has been notified.

For contracts exceeding the European thresholds, a minimum standstill period of 15 days from the day of notification of the reasoned award decision to the candidates, participants and tenderers must be respected before closing of the procurement contract. However, the standstill period may be waived when:

• the publication of a contract notice fora contract or concession is not required at EU level;
• if the only involved tenderer is awarded the contract and there are no other candidates;
• if the contract is based on a framework agreement.

For contracts not exceeding the European thresholds and which are subject to Belgian publication, a standstill period of 15 days is also applicable if the value of the tender exceeds half of the minimum value of the thresholds for European publication. In addition, a contracting authority can always decide to voluntarily apply the standstill period if the above-mentioned is not exceeded.

The applicable legislation provides that the following review bodies are competent for reviewing award decisions from contracting authorities:

• the State Council (ie, Belgium’s highest administrative court), in so far as the contracting authority is an "administrative authority" in the line with the applicable legislation and case law of the State Council; and
• the civil courts if the contracting authority does not qualify as an administrative authority.

The judgments of the civil courts can be appealed on the merits, but the decisions of the State Council cannot.

In principle, for contracts exceeding the European thresholds, the legal remedies are as follows.

• Annulment proceedings: in so far as the decision constitutes a misuse of power, violates the applicable EU and national law on public procurement to the contract, the constitutional, statutory or administrative provision applicable to the contracts, as well as general legal principles, or the procurement contract documents.
• Suspension proceedings: under a procedure of extreme urgency before the Council of State, or under summary proceedings before the civil courts.
• Claim for damages: if the reviewing body finds that both the damage and the causal link between the damage and the alleged violation are proven. Alternatively, damages may also be awarded by the Council of State after a suspension or annulment procedure.
• Contract can be declared ineffective (only possible through civil courts):
1. when the contracting authority has concluded a contract without European publication, when this was required; and/or
2. when the standstill period was not respected or when it did not wait until the reviewing authority had decided on a claim for suspension of interim measures.

Additionally, the civil courts can impose alternative sanctions by:

• shortening the duration of the contract;
• imposing a fine on the contracting authority.

For contracts not exceeding the EU thresholds, only the annulation procedure, suspension procedure and claim for damages are available, meaning that, in principle, these types of contracts cannot be rendered ineffective. However, if the contracting authority should respect a standstill period, proceedings to have the contract rendered ineffective can also be initiated.

Interim measures are available to interested parties, such as suspension proceedings (see 4.2 Remedies Available for Breach of Procurement Legislation). The contracting authority cannot conclude and/or sign the contract while these proceedings are pending;

In principle, every entity which has or has had an interest in obtaining a certain contract and has been or could be disadvantaged by a violation of the applicable procurement law, other relevant law and legal principles applicable to the contract and the contract documents is able to initiate a suspension or annulation procedure.

This is also the case for the procedure to render the contract ineffective and the above-mentioned alternative sanctions. Claims for damages can be initiated by the entities that have been disadvantaged by a violation of the above-mentioned applicable law and documents.

In principle, the time limits for challenging an award decision are:

• for the annulment procedure: within 60 days after the notification of the decision. If the mandatory information concerning legal remedies, time limits and reviewing authorities is not included in the notification, the time limit commences four months from notification of the reasoned decision;
• for the suspension procedure: in principle within 15 days from the notification of the decision;
• for damage claims: five years before the civil courts; and
• for a declaration of ineffectiveness: 30 days from the:
1. contract award notice, if the contract was not the subject to a contact notice in the OJEU and the Belgian Bulletin of Tenders and the announcement contain the justification for that decision; or
2. the contracting authority has notified the involved candidates and tenderers of the closure of the contract and the reasoned decision.

If the contracting authority does not respect these conditions, the time limit is six months from the date of the closure of the contract.

These time limits are identical for contracts above and below the EU thresholds.

This will depend from the type of procedure, such as annulment, claim for damages, claim for ineffectiveness of the contract or request for suspension of an award decision. Suspension proceedings usually run rather smoothly and are initiated and completed within a matter of weeks, as they follow the format of summary proceedings (before the civil courts) or extreme urgency (before the State Council). The other proceedings, such as annulment, claim for damages or ineffectiveness, take about two years.

The number of procurements claims are not systematically published, nor are the decisions of civil courts. Therefore, it is not possible to provide an average number of procurement claims considered by the review bodies per year. However, most candidates/tenderers do not shy away from launching a claim if the situation warrants it.

Generally, the primary costs involved are lawyer and court fees.

In line with the European legislation on public procurement, the Belgian legislation contains a detailed regime on modifications to contracts during their term (ie, post award).

In principle, no changes are possible without a new procurement procedure, unless they are they meet the specifications provided for in the applicable legislation.

The most relevant possibilities for modifications without a new public procurement procedure are:

• modifications on the basis of a clear, precise and unequivocal revision clause that was already foreseen in the initial procurement documents;
• additional works, supplies or services, that were not included in the initial procurement, in so far as:
1. a change of contractor is impossible or would lead to a significant inconvenience or rise in cost; and
2. the price increase in relation to the change is not higher than 50% of the initial contract value;
• changes due to unforeseeable circumstances (subject to specific conditions);
• changes for a de minimis amount, being :
1. below the thresholds for European publication; or
2. maximum 10% (works) or 15% (deliveries/services) of the value of the initial assignment; and
• non-material changes (regardless of value).

In certain cases a publication of the modification to the contract will be required. 

As mentioned above, the authority may opt for the competitive procedure without prior publication. In fact, this procedure can lead to a direct award of the contract. This procedure may only be used in specific circumstances that are described in the Law.

This includes the following circumstances:

• the expense to be approved by the authority or the estimated value of the contract is lower than a specific threshold;
• if the time limits of the open procedure, the restricted procedure or the competitive procedure with negotiation cannot be complied with due to extreme urgency caused by unforeseen circumstances, which is not attributable to the contracting authority;
• if no (suitable) requests to participate or tenders have been submitted following an open or restricted procedure, in so far as the original terms of the contract are not substantially changed;
• from a technical point of view or due to exclusive rights (such as IP rights), there is only one operator that can deliver the works, deliveries or services;
• in the case of extremely beneficial terms, either due to cessation of the activity of the contractor or due to bankruptcy of the contractor.

There have been a number of interesting court decisions on public procurement in the last year, we would like to highlight the following judgments/topics from the case law of the State Council:

• the case law on the ESPD continues to develop. While the State Council on the one hand finds that not submitting or providing an incorrect statement in an ESPD qualifies as a serious irregularity that cannot be remedied, it also found that an incomplete or illegible ESPD requires the contracting authority to seek further clarifications (27 November 2020 No 249.082);
• in a case dated 3 July 2020 found that the use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication for a contract for mouth masks was (prima facie) justified in light of the ongoing public health crisis; and
• in relation to relying on the capacity of another party (ie, in relation to technical and/or financial capacity) the State Council found that support from a linked company (in this case the parent company) cannot be implied.

The necessary documents, demonstrating that the necessary resources shall be made available in relation to the tender (eg through a commitment letter) should be submitted with the request for participation/offer. A tenderer cannot be allowed to subsequently submit the relevant documentation (if it was not provided in the request for participation/offer) as this would constitute an unauthorised change to the request for participation/offer (16 January 2020 No 246.696).

The following, currently contemplated, legislative initiatives should be highlighted:

• to extend the mandatory exclusion grounds to include the most serious crimes under the social penal code, being the crimes of level 3 and 4 (for example employers that made foreign employees perform work without a work permit, fraudulent manipulation of social balance sheets, non-compliance with a judicial decision to end violence or unwanted sexual behaviour at work, etc); and
• to limit the application of the provision allowing for corrective measures when the contractual balance is disrupted due to unforeseeable circumstances with regard to the impact of COVID-19 on public procurement contracts.