Adquisición de datos de productos a nivel de SKU para varios grupos de productos del Índice de Precios de Consumo y el Índice Armonizado de Precios de Consumo

❓There is no physical site visit or information session foreseen (explicitly “Niet van toepassing / Pas d’application”).

✓The place of performance is Belgium (SPF/FOD Economie, Statbel), and the data will be used for national and international statistical and methodological price research, including possible publication on Statbel and related sites.

✓Award criteria and weighting are detailed and identical in FR and NL.

✓The contracting authority will choose the economically most advantageous tender based on: (1) Quality of the data (50%) split into 1.1 quality and reliability of transaction data (20%), 1.2 quality and completeness of product characteristics (20%), 1.3 representativeness and market coverage (5%), 1.4 possibility to follow products over time (5%); and (2) Price for 4 years (50%).

✓For the price criterion, the lowest regular offer gets the maximum 50 points; other offers are scored proportionally using P = G × (PRmin / PRoffre).

✓The qualitative criteria are scored on a 1–5 scale (from “acceptable with important limitations” up to “very high standard with exceptional quality”), with possible half points; scores are converted into points via P = G × (Seval / Smax).

✓The contract is awarded to the bidder with the highest final score, after verification of the accuracy of its UEA/DUME declaration.

✓As for risks and special conditions, the texts set out extensive exclusion grounds (mandatory and optional) based on Belgian public procurement law, covering criminal offences (such as corruption, fraud, terrorism, money‑laundering, trafficking, illegal employment), serious professional misconduct, competition distortion, environmental/social/labour law breaches, insolvency situations, unpaid fiscal/social debts above thresholds, false statements, and attempts to unduly influence the procedure.

✓Bidders may present “mesures correctrices” (self‑cleaning) to demonstrate reliability despite certain exclusion grounds.

✓The offer is binding for 90 calendar days from the day after opening.

✓No bid bond/cautionnement/borgtocht is required.

✓However, there are several revision clauses under article 38 of the AR Exécution/K.B.

✓Uitvoering: an annual price revision linked to the consumer price index (base 2025=100), clauses for changes in Belgian taxes/levies affecting the contract amount, and clauses for unforeseeable circumstances disrupting the contractual balance (in favour of either the contractor or the authority), potentially leading to time extensions, other forms of revision or even contract termination.

✓Invoicing must be done electronically via Peppol and is subject to the general execution rules and payment terms.

✓Subcontracting is allowed but strictly controlled: bidders must indicate in their offer which part of the contract they intend to subcontract, the identity, address and references of subcontractors, and the type of contractual arrangements; additional subcontractors require prior authorization by the authority, and the contractor remains solely responsible to the authority, which recognises no contractual link with the subcontractors.

✓There is also a specific conflict‑of‑interest clause prohibiting the use, within two years of departure, of former internal collaborators of SPF/FOD Economie in connection with this tender or its execution when a direct link exists with their previous activities.

✓Regarding contradictions or corrections, the FR and NL versions of the cahier spécial/bijzonder bestek and annexed offer forms are concordant: they contain the same procedural rules, amounts, duration, criteria and clauses.

✓The documents explicitly state that notices and rectifications published in the Belgian Bulletin des Adjudications/Bulletin der Aanbestedingen and the EU Official Journal form an integral part of the specifications and must be taken into account by bidders, but no specific contradiction between internal clauses is indicated in the extracted text.

✓Where the same subject is described in both languages (such as. scope, estimated amount, award criteria, price revision, absence of variants/options and of a bond, deadlines for questions and offers), the content and figures match; in case of interpretation, the contract language (FR or NL) is chosen by the bidder in the offer form, and Belgian public procurement and execution law applies.

Answers on the required criteria

Must securities be provided (bid bond, performance or warranty guarantee)? If so: which, in what amount and by when?

✓As regards securities, the documents explicitly state in the section “9. Cautionnement / 9. Borgtocht” that no guarantee is required (“Er wordt geen borgtocht geëist.”).

✓That means the contracting authority does not demand a bid bond, performance guarantee or warranty guarantee for this contract; no amount, form or timing for a securities instrument is specified because none is requested.

Is subcontracting allowed? If so: with which limits and which disclosure duties?

✓Concerning subcontracting, the contract allows it: the French and Dutch versions explain that for the execution of the contract the contractor may conclude sub‑contracting contracts with third parties.

✓The bidder must indicate in the offer which part of the contract will be subcontracted, as well as the name, address and references of the proposed subcontractors, and describe the type of contractual arrangements with them.

✓In addition, when a bidder relies on the capacity of other entities for selection purposes, the use of “other” subcontractors is subject to the prior authorisation of the contracting authority.

✓However, the main contractor remains solely responsible towards the contracting authority; no contractual relationship is created between the authority and the subcontractors.

Is there a site visit, and is attendance mandatory? If so: when?

✓Regarding site visits or information sessions, the relevant clause “4.3.

✓Session d’information / Infosessie” is marked “Pas d’application / Niet van toepassing”.

❓There is no site visit or information session foreseen, and therefore no mandatory attendance requirement or date to observe in that regard.

In which language must the tender and the supporting documents be submitted, and are documents in other languages accepted?

✓On the language of tenders, the input text specifies in section 5.4 that the offer and the annexes attached to the tender form must be drawn up in French or Dutch.

✓As an exception, documents of a technical nature that are added to the offer may be in English, but only where no French or Dutch translation exists.

✓No other languages are accepted for the core tender documentation.

How long is the bidder bound by the tender (validity period), and is there a deadline for bidder questions? If so: until when?

✓Finally, concerning the binding period of offers and the deadline for bidder questions, the documents indicate (5.5 Durée de validité de l’offre / Geldigheidsduur van de offerte) that tenderers are bound by their offer for 90 calendar days from the day following the opening of tenders.

✓As for bidder questions, an online Q&A forum is opened on the e‑Procurement platform; it is accessible to the public and can be used exclusively for questions from 19/10/2026 until 09/11/2026 inclusive.

✓After 09/11/2026, questions can no longer be submitted through this forum.

Further details

✓The input text concerns a Belgian public procurement procedure launched by the SPF/FOD Economie, P.M.E., Classes moyennes et Energie for the purchase of product data at SKU level.

✓It is based on Belgian public procurement law (laws of 17 June 2016 and 17 June 2013 and related royal decrees) and refers to EU instruments such as the ESPD/UEA (DUME).

✓The point of view is clearly that of a Belgian federal contracting authority operating within the EU procurement framework.

✓The submission deadline (and typically opening date) is 20/11/2026 at 14:00.