¹ By this Act, the Confederation intends to:

A.

To regulate procurement, service and construction contracts and to ensure transparency;

B.

Strengthen competition among bidders;

C.

Promote the economic use of public funds.

² It also intends to guarantee the equal treatment of all tenderers.

¹ The following shall be subject to this Law:

A.

The general administration of the Confederation;

B.

The Federal Liquor Control Board;

C.

Federal polytechnics and their research institutions;

D. ¹

Postal services and the automobile services of Swiss Post, provided that their activities do not compete with those of third parties not subject to the GPA ² In addition, the services of the Swiss postal services are subject to the law only for the markets they pass in the context of their activity in Switzerland in the field of passenger transport;

E. ³

The Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate;

F. ⁴

The Swiss National Museum;

G. ⁵

The Federal Institute of Metrology.

² The Federal Council designates public or private law organisations operating in Switzerland in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors which, in so doing, also fall within the scope of this law according to the GPA And other international agreements.

³ It may declare this Act or some of its provisions applicable to other public contracts of the Confederation. This application extends to foreign bidders only if their country guarantees equal treatment to Swiss tenderers. The Principles of Art. 8 apply in all cases. Such contracts cannot be the subject of an appeal procedure (Section 5).

¹ This Law shall not apply:

A.

Contracts with institutions for the disabled, charities or penitentiaries;

B.

Contracts awarded under agricultural or food aid programmes;

C.

Contracts awarded on the basis of an international treaty between the signatory states of the GPA or Switzerland and other States, which relate to an object to be carried out and to be borne in common;

D.

Contracts with an international organisation on the basis of a special procedure;

E.

The acquisition of weapons, ammunition or war material and the establishment of combat and command infrastructures for general defence and the military.

² The contracting authority shall not be required to award a contract in accordance with the provisions of this Law:

A.

When it is in danger of being contrary to morality or endangering public order and security;

B.

When the protection of the health and life of persons, animals or plants requires it or

C.

When it infrings intellectual property rights.

This Law shall apply to tenders from tenderers arising from:

A.

The signatory states of the GPA, to the extent that these States grant reciprocity;

B.

Other States, provided that Switzerland has concluded contractual agreements with them or that the Federal Council has found that these countries guarantee equal treatment to Swiss tenderers.

¹ For the purposes of this Law:

A.

Supply contract: a contract between a contractor and a tenderer concerning the acquisition of movable property, in particular in the form of purchase, leasing (leasing), rent-to-rent, on-farm or lease-sale;

B.

Contract of services: a contract between a contractor and a tenderer concerning the supply of a benefit according to Appendix 1, Annex 4, deu GPA;

C.

Construction contract: a contract between a contractor and a tenderer concerning the construction of buildings or civil engineering works within the meaning of c. 51 of the Central Product Classification (CPC list) according to Appendix 1, Annex 5, of the GPA.

² A physical work is the result of all construction or civil engineering work under para. 1, let. C.

¹ This Law shall apply only if the estimated value of the procurement to be awarded meets the following threshold without the value added tax:

A.

230 000 francs for supplies;

B.

230 000 francs for services;

C.

8.7 million francs for the works;

D.

700 000 francs for:

1.

Supplies and services relating to an adjudicator designated under s. 2, para. 2, LMP,

2.

The markets that the automobile services of La Poste Suisse pass in the framework of their activity in Switzerland in the field of passenger transport. ¹

² After agreement with the Federal Department of Finance (DFF), the Federal Department of Economics, Training and Research ² Periodically adapts these threshold values to the provisions of the GPA.

¹ A contract may not be subdivided in order to avoid the provisions of this Act.

² If a contracting authority awards several construction contracts for the completion of a work, their total value is decisive. The Federal Council shall determine the value of each of the construction contracts, which shall be in all cases subject to the provisions of this Law. It determines the percentage that they must represent throughout the work (de minimis clause).

³ If a contracting authority awards several similar contracts for supplies or services or subdivides a supply or service contract into several lots of the same nature, the value of the contracts shall be calculated on the basis of:

A.

The actual value of successive contracts awarded in the preceding twelve months; or

B.

The estimated value of successive contracts to be awarded within twelve months of the award of the first contract.

⁴ If a market has an option in subsequent markets, the total value is decisive.

¹ The following principles must be observed in public procurement:

A.

The contracting authority shall ensure the equal treatment of Swiss and foreign tenderers in all phases of the procedure;

B.

For services provided in Switzerland, it only awards the contract to a tenderer observing the provisions relating to the protection of workers and the working conditions. The requirements in place at the place where the benefit is provided are decisive;

C.

It awards the contract only to a tenderer who guarantees to its employees the equal treatment of men and women, in terms of wages, for the services provided in Switzerland;

D.

It undertakes to observe the confidentiality of all indications provided by the tenderers. The information published after the award and the information given in accordance with art shall be reserved. 23, para. 2 and 3.

² The contracting authority shall have the right to control or have control over compliance with the provisions relating to the protection of workers, working conditions and equal treatment between women and men. Upon request, the tenderer must provide proof that he has complied with them.

¹ The contracting authority may require the tenderers to submit evidence demonstrating their financial, economic and technical capacity. It establishes qualification criteria for this purpose.

² It shall publish the qualification criteria and the list of evidence required in the invitation to tender or documents relating thereto.

¹ The contracting authority may establish a control system and verify whether the tenderers have the required qualifications.

² Bidders who meet the requirements of s. 9 are on a list.

³ The Federal Council regulates the procedure.

The tenderer may revoke the invitation to tender or exclude certain tenderers from the procedure and remove them from the list provided for in Art. 10, including when:

A.

They no longer meet the qualification criteria required by s. 9;

B.

They provided false information to the adjudicator;

C.

They have not paid, at any time or in part, taxes or social contributions;

D.

They do not meet the obligations set out in s. 8;

E.

They have concluded agreements that substantially restrict or eliminate effective competition;

F.

They are the subject of a bankruptcy procedure.

¹ The contracting authority shall draw up the necessary technical specifications in the tender and tender documents and in the contracts.

² In so doing, it takes into account, to the extent possible, international standards or national standards that embody international standards.

¹ The contracting authority may enter into a public contract in accordance with the open or selective procedure, or on a voluntary basis, subject to certain conditions.

² The Federal Council regulates the conditions under which the procedure may be chosen, in accordance with the GPA.

³ It rules the competition for projects and the competition for studies and implementation.

¹ The contracting authority shall issue a public tender for the intended market.

² Each tenderer may submit an offer.

¹ The contracting authority shall issue a public tender for the intended market.

² Each tenderer may submit a request for participation.

³ The adjudicator shall determine, in accordance with the qualification criteria set out in Art. 9 or art. 10, tenderers who may submit an offer.

⁴ It may limit the number of bidders invited to submit an offer if it is not compatible with the efficient operation of the contract award mechanism. However, effective competition must be guaranteed.

The contracting authority shall award the contract directly to a tenderer without a call for tenders.

The Federal Council shall determine, in accordance with the GPA, the time limits to be observed in the tendering procedure and the publication of the award.

¹ Each planned contract, which is based on the open or selective procedure, must be the subject of a separate invitation to tender.

² The adjudicators designated under s. 2, para. 2, and the services of the Swiss postal services, for the markets they spend in the context of their activity in Switzerland in the field of transport of persons, may gather in one publication the contracts provided for For a period of time. They may also, in those markets, issue a call for tenders in accordance with one of the systems of control provided for in Art. 10. ¹

¹ Tenderers shall submit their request for participation or offer them in writing, in a complete and timely manner. Applications for participation may also be submitted by telegram, telex or telefax.

² The Federal Council may provide for exceptions.

³ The contracting authority shall remove tenders and requests for participation containing serious procedural defects from the procedure.

¹ Negotiations may only be initiated if:

A.

The invitation to tender provides; or

B.

No offer seems to be the most economically advantageous according to Art. 21, para. 1.

² The Federal Council regulates the procedure according to the principles of confidentiality, written form and equal treatment.

¹ The contract shall be awarded to the tenderer who submitted the most economically advantageous tender. It is evaluated according to different criteria, including delivery time, quality, price, profitability, operating costs, after-sales service, adequacy of delivery, aesthetic character, character Ecological, technical value and training of persons in initial vocational training. This latter criterion can only be taken into account for contracts which are not subject to international agreements. ¹

^1bis If the procuring entity has divided the benefits to be acquired, it may decide that a tenderer may obtain only a limited number of lots. It shall be precise in the invitation to tender. ²

² The award criteria should be listed in order of importance in the tender documents.

³ The award of widely standardized goods can be done exclusively on the basis of the lowest price criterion.

¹ The contract may be concluded with the tenderer after the award, unless the Federal Administrative Court has granted a suspensive effect within the meaning of Art. 28, para. 2.

² If an appeal procedure is pending, the contracting authority shall immediately inform the court of the conclusion of the contract.

¹ The adjudicator shall communicate the decisions referred to in Art. 29, by motivating them summarily, or by publication, in accordance with art. 24, para. 1, per individual notification.

² Upon request, the procuring entity shall provide, as soon as possible, the following information to the unsuccessful tenderers:

A.

The type of tendering procedure used;

B.

The name of the successful bidder;

C.

The value of the winning bid or the value of the highest and lowest bid taken into account in the procurement process;

D.

The main reasons for rejecting their offer;

E.

The characteristics and decisive advantages of the selected offer.

³ The contracting authority must not provide information in accordance with para. 2 when disclosure:

A.

Violate federal law or would be contrary to the public interest;

B.

Prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of the tenderers or prejudice fair competition between tenderers.

¹ The publications will be published in a body designated by the Federal Council.

² Tendering and tenders must always be published.

³ The invitation to tender and the invitation to tender shall be published at least in the official language of the place where construction is intended when it relates to construction contracts and related supplies and services in relation to Construction projects, and in two official languages at least when they relate to other supplies and services.

⁴ If the invitation to tender is not written in French, a French, English or Spanish summary will be added.

The contracting authority establishes each year a statistics on the markets it passes under the GPA and forwards it to the appropriate federal service.

¹ The procedure shall be governed by the general provisions of the federal administrative procedure, unless otherwise provided for in this Law.

² Art. 22 A, 24-28, 30, 30 A And 31 of the Federal Act of 20 December 1968 on administrative procedure ¹ Are not applicable to the decision-making procedure under section 4.

¹ The decisions of the adjudicator may be appealed to the Federal Administrative Court.

² If an appeal is filed, the court shall immediately inform the adjudicator.

¹ The appeal has no suspensive effect.

² On request, the Federal Administrative Court may grant the suspensive effect. ¹

The following are deemed decisions subject to appeal:

A.

The award or interruption of a tendering procedure;

B.

The call for tenders;

C.

The decision on the choice of participants in the selective procedure;

D.

The exclusion provided for in s. 11;

E.

The decision concerning the listing of bidders on the list provided for in s. 10.

Appeals must be filed within 20 days of notification of the decision.

The complaint of non-opportunity cannot be invoked in the appeal proceedings.

¹ The Federal Administrative Court shall decide or refer the matter to the adjudicator with mandatory instructions.

² If the action is justified and a contract has already been entered into with the tenderer, the court shall limit itself to the extent to which the contested decision infringes federal law.

Where the Federal Administrative Tribunal is to rule on a request for review, s. 32, para. 2, shall apply mutatis mutandis.

¹ The Confederation or the external contracting party to the ordinary federal government shall reply to the damage which they have caused by taking a decision whose non-conformity with the law has been found in the procedure laid down in Art. 32, para. 2, or 33.

² Liability under para. 1 is limited to the necessary expenditure incurred by the tenderer in relation to the tendering and appeal procedures.

³ For the rest, the Law of 14 March 1958 on Liability ¹ Is applicable.

¹ The tenderer shall file his application for damages with the adjudicator. The Federal Council shall designate the body competent to act.

² An appeal may be lodged with the Federal Administrative Court against the decision of that body. ¹

³ The claim for damages must be filed no later than twelve months after the finding of non-compliance with the law in the procedure under s. 32, para. 2, or 33.

... ¹

This Law shall apply to all proceedings in respect of which the invitation to tender is made after its entry into force or, if the contracts are concluded without an invitation to tender, where no contract has been concluded before its entry into force. The other procedures are governed by the old law and are not determinative for the calculation of threshold values.

¹ This Act is subject to an optional referendum.

² The Federal Council shall fix the date of entry into force.