Framework contract for the supply of Liquid Distribution Systems

✓The maximum framework term during which call‑off contracts may be awarded is 48 months.

✓IMEC aims to complete the selection phase in Q4/2026 and to close the framework agreement in Q1/2027.

✓Regarding award criteria and weighting, the documents specify that the framework agreement will be awarded based on the best quality‑price ratio, with detailed award criteria and their weightings to be set out only in the second‑phase tender documents (the specifications/bestek).

✓In the quotation phase, selected candidates submit offers which may be subject to regularisation and negotiation; IMEC may negotiate in phases, request revised offers, and either ask for a final offer or decide to award based on initial or revised offers.

✓After evaluation against the award criteria and any negotiations, IMEC will designate the three highest‑ranked tenderers as participants in the framework agreement, provided that a sufficient number of regular and acceptable tenders have been received.

✓The actual closure (execution) of the framework agreement with the most economically advantageous tender(s) takes place after a standstill (waiting) period and notification of the award decision.

✓The text highlights several risks and special conditions for bidders.

✓Procedurally, IMEC may change, shorten, suspend or even cease the procedure at any time, without any right to compensation for candidates or tenderers; participation is at their own risk.

✓There are strict exclusion‑ground checks (such as mandatory and optional grounds for exclusion, tax and social security debts, bankruptcy) and candidates must demonstrate compliance, including through the ESPD and, on request, official certificates or sworn statements; there is a one‑off regularisation possibility for social/tax debts under Belgian law, within five working days after notification.

✓If candidates rely on other entities’ capacities (financial or technical), IMEC may require joint and several liability, which those entities must accept in writing, and IMEC will verify that such entities also meet selection and exclusion criteria.

✓Use of subcontractors and consortium members is permitted under these conditions, and any consortium must designate a representative and ensure no member is in an exclusion state.

✓Signature requirements in the selection phase are relatively flexible (global electronic signature on the submission report suffices), but the documents warn that Belgian law imposes stricter signature requirements for tenders in the second phase, such as qualified electronic signatures.

✓Tenderers can be invited to oral presentations and must delegate a person with negotiation mandate; combinations and named subcontractors may also be required to attend.

✓There is a strict question deadline: all questions and notifications of errors or gaps in the selection guideline must be submitted via the e‑procurement forum no later than ten days before the submission deadline, and IMEC may decline to answer irrelevant questions; answers become part of the selection guideline.

❓No explicit penalties or performance guarantees are described in the selection guideline; those would typically be addressed later in the tender specifications.

✓On contradictions or corrections, the text explicitly states that the selection guideline is part of the contract documents but that the contracting authority may deviate from its stipulations during the procedure, provided it respects transparency, objectivity and equality and does not distort competition or cause discrimination; any deviations, amendments or additions will be notified to candidates.

✓Candidates are obliged to promptly report any detected errors or gaps in the selection guideline via the e‑procurement forum at least ten days before the submission deadline; IMEC can then correct the documents, and the answers and corrections are considered integral to the guideline.

✓There is provision for “regularisation” of both RTP and offers where irregularities of form or content can be corrected, except where public‑procurement law prohibits regularisation or where the irregularity constitutes a criminal offence in environmental, labour or social law; in such cases the irregularity cannot be cured and may bar selection or negotiations.

✓No substantive contradictions between the Dutch and English versions are identified in the excerpt; instead, the RTP form contains a clause by which a candidate requesting an English version acknowledges prior knowledge of the procedure, accepts Belgian laws, and releases IMEC from liability regarding translation, with the English version becoming an official language version but not prevailing over other versions.