Submitting a public procurement bid is always a race against the clock. Deadlines are legally prescribed, the submission deadline is absolute, and the specifications inevitably raise questions. The difference between a strong and a weak submission often lies in how well you manage this process: when you ask questions, how you track changes, and how you align your internal planning accordingly.
The submission deadline
Minimum time limits for submitting tenders depend on the procedure and the method of publication. The key deadlines are set out in the Act of 17 June 2016 and the Royal Decree on Placement of 18 April 2017.
Above the European threshold
| Procedure | Standard | Shortened (urgency) |
|---|---|---|
| Open procedure | 35 days | 15 days |
| Restricted procedure (selection) | 30 days | 15 days |
| Restricted procedure (tender) | 30 days | 10 days |
| Competitive procedure with negotiation | 30 days | 10 days |
Standard deadlines can be shortened by five days if the procurement documents are electronically available and the notice was dispatched electronically.
Shortened deadlines for urgency require a reasoned decision by the authority. In practice, they are mainly used in procurements requiring swift action — for example in emergencies or when an existing contract is expiring.
Below the European threshold
Deadlines below the European threshold are shorter. The general minimum for national contracts is 22 days for an open procedure. For the simplified negotiated procedure with prior publication, even shorter deadlines apply depending on the contract value.
For contracts below €143,000 (or €221,000 for other authorities) procured via the negotiated procedure without prior publication, the authority itself sets a reasonable deadline.
When does the deadline start running?
The deadline starts on the day after dispatch of the notice (not publication). For European publications, this is the day after dispatch to the Publications Office of the EU. For national publications via e-Notification, it is the day after dispatch of the notice.
Asking questions: the forum
Every set of specifications raises questions — unclear specifications, contradictory requirements, missing annexes. The forum on e-Procurement is the official channel for putting questions to the authority. The authority publishes the answers as information notes visible to all tenderers.
How do you ask a good question?
Be specific. Refer to the exact article, page or annex where the ambiguity lies. The more precise your question, the more useful the answer.
Ask your question in time. Most specifications state a final date for asking questions — typically one week to ten days before the submission deadline. The authority is not required to answer questions received after that date.
Do not reveal too much. Your questions are visible to all competitors (the identity of the questioner is typically not visible, but the content of the question is). Do not ask questions that reveal your strategy or innovative approach. Limit yourself to objective ambiguities in the specifications.
Document your questions. Keep an internal log of which questions you asked, when, and what answer you received. This is valuable in disputes.
What is an information note?
An information note is an official document that the contracting authority publishes during the award phase to clarify the specifications, answer tenderer questions, or substantively amend the specifications. Once published, the note forms an integral part of the contract documents — what it contains has the same standing as the specifications.
In practice, three types appear:
Clarifying note. Answers questions from the forum without changing the substance of the contract. Example: an explanation of an ambiguous technical requirement, or confirmation that one standard is equivalent to another.
Amending note (rectification or erratum). Adjusts the substance of the specifications: corrects errors, revises quantities, adds or removes annexes, modifies selection or award criteria. Where the change is material, the contracting authority must extend the submission deadline appropriately (see below).
Supplementary note. Provides additional information without affecting the original specifications — for example a site visit report, photos of existing infrastructure, or an updated market estimate.
Legal status
A published information note has the same legal weight as the specifications themselves. What is in a note prevails over conflicting provisions in the original specifications. The usual order of interpretation is: most recent note → earlier notes → original specifications → supplementary annexes.
In a dispute, the contracting authority must be able to demonstrate that all tenderers had equal access to the same notes. That is why they are always published on the official forum (e-Procurement), not by individual emails. An instruction or answer addressed to a single tenderer alone lacks this equality guarantee and is legally fragile.
When is a deadline extension mandatory?
Not every note triggers an extension. The Act of 17 June 2016 (Article 41) and the Royal Decree on Award (Article 65) require an extension when:
- A substantial change to the contract documents requires tenders to be adjusted.
- A late or incomplete answer to questions submitted in time disadvantages tenderers.
- The change occurs so close to the deadline that a reasonable tenderer can no longer respond.
Purely clarifying notes that merely remove interpretive uncertainty do not require an extension. The judgement of what is “substantial” is, in practice, a grey zone — the Council of State decides on a case-by-case basis.
How to handle a note correctly
- Download every note as soon as it appears. e-Notification sends an alert when you have followed the contract; activate that function and also actively check the forum.
- Read the note in full context — it may refer to specific articles or annexes you should reread separately.
- Maintain a change register in your internal tender dossier. Which note changes which clause, and what is the impact on your tender (price, planning, subcontracting)?
- Communicate changes to your project team — sub-contractors, estimators, lawyers. A single team member still working on the original version can produce a non-compliant tender.
- Verify in your final tender that all note-driven changes have been incorporated, and consider explicitly stating that you have taken into account “notes nrs 1 to n”.
Rectification notices and amendments
If the authority amends the specifications themselves — not as a clarification but as a substantive adjustment — it publishes a rectification notice (also called erratum or corrigendum). This may involve changed specifications, adjusted selection criteria, corrected annexes or new documents.
Consequence for the deadline
When a rectification notice materially changes the content of the contract, the authority is required to extend the submission deadline. The extension must be sufficient to give tenderers the opportunity to adapt their tender.
There is no fixed minimum extension — the law speaks of an “appropriate extension” in proportion to the importance of the change. In practice, this varies from a few days to several weeks.
Note: not every information note leads to a deadline extension. Only when the change is so substantial that tenderers must reconsider their tender is an extension required.
Internal planning: the ‘time-to-submit’ checklist
Experienced bid managers work backwards from the deadline. Here is a practical schedule for an open procedure with a 35-day deadline.
Day 1-3: Analysis and bid/no-bid. Read the specifications thoroughly. Inventory the knock-out criteria (selection requirements, qualification, certificates). Make a bid/no-bid decision.
Day 3-10: Formulate questions. Identify ambiguities and contradictions. Draft targeted questions for the forum. Account for the question deadline.
Day 10-25: Write the tender. Develop the technical and substantive tender. Collect evidence, references, certificates. Prepare the pricing.
Day 25-30: Review. Internal review by a second reader (red team). Check the compliance matrix: is every required document present? Are all questions addressed?
Day 30-33: Process information notes. Check all published notes and incorporate any changes into your tender.
Day 33-35: Finalisation and submission. Upload your tender on e-Tendering. Submit well before the deadline — last-minute technical problems are real.
Common mistakes
Submitting too late. The deadline on e-Tendering is absolute. One minute late is too late — the system automatically blocks the submission. Do not plan a submission in the final hour.
Missing information notes. If the authority changes a specification via a note and you submit a tender based on the original specification, your tender is potentially non-compliant.
Overestimating anonymity. Although the identity of the questioner is not always visible, the content of your question can reveal your approach. Be strategic in what you ask.
No internal change control. For complex specifications with multiple information notes, it is essential to maintain a register of all changes and their impact on your tender. Without change control, you can miss contradictions in your own tender.