Compliance requirements
The machine-readable notice includes standard exclusion grounds. The bidder must confirm that neither the company nor its management/representation bodies have been finally convicted in the last five years for participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud and the other listed exclusion grounds in the tender documents. If an exclusion ground exists, the bidder may be allowed to prove self-cleaning measures where the law and tender documents permit it. The exact exclusion grounds and any proof requirements must be checked in the official tender documents.
Qualification criteria and exclusion grounds
The bidder must prove at least one properly performed catering contract completed during the last 36 months. Under that contract, catering services must have been provided for at least 12 months in a school, serving at least 300 pupils or school staff for school lunches. A list of contracts must be submitted with the partner’s details, a description of the contract subject, the number of diners, and the contract signing and performance dates and period.
The bidder must also submit a 4-week sample lunch menu for a school lunch containing meat or fish for upper secondary level, and sample breakfast and lunch menus for the cafeteria, including the names of the dishes and portion weights. These must comply with the requirements set out in the technical specification.
In addition, the bidder must confirm that throughout the contract period at least 20% of the raw materials used each month for preparing school lunches come from organic production. The bidder must also already hold, or apply for, the organic label for catering services no later than 90 days after the start of service provision.
The bidder must confirm that subcontractors and suppliers representing more than 10% of the contract value will not be involved in performance if they are linked to the Russian Federation in the manner described in the regulation. It must also be confirmed that subcontractors and suppliers used for performance are established or resident in Estonia, another EU Member State, another EEA Agreement State or a country that has acceded to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement.
If this is a joint tender, an authorised representative must be named and a power of attorney from the joint bidders must be attached. The bidder must also confirm that the tender complies with the tender documents and that the offered goods are not subject to international sanctions and do not originate from sanctioned areas. If the exact requirements are only in the tender documents, they must be checked there.
The machine-readable notice does not provide precise exclusion grounds beyond the standard criminal-conviction grounds; these must be checked in the official tender documents. If an exclusion ground exists, self-cleaning evidence may be possible where permitted by law and the tender documents. The exact exclusion grounds and proof requirements must be checked in the tender documents.