Article 27

1. The criteria on which the contracting entities shall base the award of contracts shall be: (a)the most economically advantageous tender, involving various criteria depending on the contract in question, such as: delivery or completion date, running costs, cost-effectiveness, quality, aesthetic and functional characteristics, technical merit, after-sales service and technical assistance, commitments with regard to spare parts, security of supplies and price; or (b)the lowest price only. 2. In the case referred to in paragraph 1 (a), contracting entities shall state in the contract documents or in the tender notice all the criteria they intend to apply to the award, where possible in descending order of importance. 3. Where the criterion for the award of the contract is that of the most economically advantageous tender, contracting entities may take account of variants which are submitted by a tenderer and meet the minimum specifications required by the contracting entities. Contracting entities shall state in the contract documents the minimum specifications to be respected by the variants and any specific requirements for their presentation. Where variants are not permitted, they shall so indicate in the contract documents. 4. Contracting entities may not reject the presentation of a variant on the sole ground that it was drawn up on the basis of technical specifications defined with reference to European specifications or to national technical specifications recognized as complying with the essential requirements within the meaning of Directive 89/106/EEC. 5. If, for a given contract, tenders appear abnormally low in relation to the services, the contracting entity shall, before it may reject those tenders, request in writing details of the constituent elements of the tender which it considers relevant and shall verify those constituent elements taking account of the explanations received. It may set a reasonable period within which to reply. The contracting entity may take into consideration explanations which are justified on objective grounds relating to the economy of the construction or production method, or the technical solutions chosen, or the exceptionally favourable conditions available to the tenderer for the execution of the contract, or the originality of the product or the work proposed by the tenderer. Contracting entities may reject tenders which are abnormally low owing to the receipt of State aid only if they have consulted the tenderer and if the tenderer has not been able to show that the aid in question has been notified to the Commission pursuant to Article 93 (3) of the Treaty or has received the Commission's approval. Contracting entities which reject a tender under these circumstances shall inform the Commission thereof.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-31 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.