“Provision of hardware and software support by a manufacturer of equipment – Dell for the needs of the Registry Agency (AB)”

… software maintenance of the equipment is until 13.12.2026. In case no financing is provided as of 13.12.2026, the term for provision of the services is up to 5 (five) working days from the date of receipt of a notification of secured financing sent by the Client and submission by the Contractor of the specified performance guarantee, under the terms of the draft contract. - The term of the provided hardware and software maintenance of the equipment is according to the term specified in column six of Table No 1 of Section II “Scope of the service” of the Technical Specification of the Contracting Authority. *** In case it is not a manufacturer, the participant in the public procurement should be duly authorized by the manufacturer or its official representative for the right of distribution/delivery, software and hardware maintenance of the described hardware products on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. *** The requirement for authorization at the stage of submission of tenders is justified by the subject of the contract and represents a guarantee for its timely and quality performance. In the event that a contractor is selected who is denied authorisation by the manufacturer, this may lead to delays in the performance of the public procurement, as well as its termination. According to the findings of the Varhoven administrativen sad (Supreme Administrative Court), the requirement for authorisation is not in itself restrictive inasmuch as it guarantees the quality and reliability of the activity carried out. In normal commercial practice, authorisation is based on a contract, which may be directly with the manufacturer or with another economic operator authorised to authorise on behalf of the manufacturer’. (Decision No 10859 of 27 October 2021 of the Supreme Administrative Court in administrative case No 6546/2021, VIIo). In the documentation, the authorisation condition is placed extensively, i.e. it is not limited only to the manufacturer, but also to each of its official representatives. A general authorization is required, not for a specific procedure, and an opportunity is provided for any interested participant – partner, whether Bulgarian or foreign, to submit a tender, providing the opportunity to prove the above circumstance, both by an authorization letter and with any other equivalent document that certifies compliance with the specified requirement.