CHAPTER II

This Directive shall apply to contracts which have a value excluding value-added tax (VAT) estimated to be no less than the following thresholds: EUR 412000 for supply and service contracts; EUR 5150000 for works contracts. The calculation of the estimated value of a contract shall be based on the total amount payable, net of VAT, as estimated by the contracting authority/entity. This calculation shall take account of the estimated total amount, including any form of option and any renewals of the contract. Where the contracting authority/entity provides for prizes or payments to candidates or tenderers, it shall take them into account when calculating the estimated value of the contract. This estimate must be valid at the moment at which the contract notice is sent, as provided for in Article 32(2), or, in cases where such notice is not required, at the moment at which the contracting authority/entity commences the contract award procedure. No works project or proposed purchase of a certain quantity of supplies and/or services may be partitioned to create essentially identical separate partial contracts or otherwise subdivided to prevent its coming within the scope of this Directive. With regard to works contracts, the calculation of the estimated value shall take account of both the cost of the works and the total estimated value of the supplies necessary for executing the works and placed at the contractor’s disposal by the contracting authorities/entities. Where a proposed work or purchase of services may result in contracts being awarded at the same time in the form of separate lots, account shall be taken of the total estimated value of all such lots. Where the aggregate value of the lots is equal to or exceeds the threshold laid down in Article 8, this Directive shall apply to the awarding of each lot. However, the contracting authorities/entities may waive such application in respect of lots the estimated value of which, net of VAT, is less than EUR 80000 for services or EUR 1000000 for works, provided that the aggregate value of those lots does not exceed 20 % of the aggregate value of the lots as a whole; Where a proposal for the acquisition of similar supplies may result in contracts being awarded at the same time in the form of separate lots, account shall be taken of the total estimated value of all such lots when applying Article 8(a) and (b). Where the aggregate value of the lots is equal to or exceeds the threshold laid down in Article 8, this Directive shall apply to the awarding of each lot. However, the contracting authorities/entities may waive such application in respect of lots the estimated value of which, net of VAT, is less than EUR 80000, provided that the aggregate cost of those lots does not exceed 20 % of the aggregate value of the lots as a whole. With regard to supply contracts relating to the leasing, hire, rental or hire-purchase of products, the value to be taken as a basis for calculating the estimated contract value shall be as follows: in the case of fixed-term contracts, where that term is less than or equal to 12 months, the total estimated value for the term of the contract or, where the term of the contract is greater than 12 months, the total value, including the estimated residual value; in the case of contracts without a fixed term or the term of which cannot be defined, the monthly value multiplied by 48. In the case of supply or service contracts which are regular in nature or which are intended to be renewed within a given period, the calculation of the estimated contract value shall be based on the following: either the total actual value of the successive contracts of the same type awarded during the preceding 12 months or financial year, adjusted, if possible, to take account of the changes in quantity or value which could occur in the course of the 12 months following the initial contract; or the total estimated value of the successive contracts awarded during the 12 months following the first delivery, or during the financial year if that is longer than 12 months. The choice of method used to calculate the estimated value of a contract may not be made with the intention of excluding it from the scope of this Directive. With regard to service contracts, the value to be taken as a basis for calculating the estimated contract value shall, where appropriate, be the following: for the following services: insurance services: the premium payable and other forms of remuneration; design contracts: fees, commission payable and other forms of remuneration; for service contracts which do not indicate a total price: in the case of fixed-term contracts, where that term is less than or equal to 48 months: the total value for their full term; in the case of contracts without a fixed term or with a term greater than 48 months: the monthly value multiplied by 48. With regard to framework agreements, the estimated value to be taken into consideration shall be the maximum estimated value, net of VAT, of all the contracts envisaged for the total term of the agreement. Member States may stipulate that contracting authorities/entities may purchase works, supplies and/or services from or through a central purchasing body. Contracting authorities/entities which purchase works, supplies and/or services from or through a central purchasing body in the cases set out in Article 1(18) shall be deemed to have complied with this Directive insofar as: the central purchasing body has complied with it, or, when the central purchasing body is not a contracting authority/entity, the contract award rules applied by it are compliant with all the provisions of this Directive and the contracts awarded can be subject to efficient remedies comparable to those provided for in Title IV. None of the rules, procedures, programmes, agreements, arrangements or contracts referred to in this section may be used for the purpose of circumventing the provisions of this Directive. This Directive shall not apply to contracts governed by: specific procedural rules pursuant to an international agreement or arrangement concluded between one or more Member States and one or more third countries; specific procedural rules pursuant to a concluded international agreement or arrangement relating to the stationing of troops and concerning the undertakings of a Member State or a third country; specific procedural rules of an international organisation purchasing for its purposes, or to contracts which must be awarded by a Member State in accordance with those rules. This Directive shall not apply to the following: contracts for which the application of the rules of this Directive would oblige a Member State to supply information the disclosure of which it considers contrary to the essential interests of its security; contracts for the purposes of intelligence activities; contracts awarded in the framework of a cooperative programme based on research and development, conducted jointly by at least two Member States for the development of a new product and, where applicable, the later phases of all or part of the life-cycle of this product. Upon the conclusion of such a cooperative programme between Member States only, Member States shall indicate to the Commission the share of research and development expenditure relative to the overall cost of the programme, the cost-sharing agreement as well as the intended share of purchases per Member State, if any; contracts awarded in a third country, including for civil purchases, carried out when forces are deployed outside the territory of the Union where operational needs require them to be concluded with economic operators located in the area of operations; service contracts for the acquisition or rental, under whatever financial arrangements, of land, existing buildings or other immovable property, or concerning rights in respect thereof; contracts awarded by a government to another government relating to: the supply of military equipment or sensitive equipment, works and services directly linked to such equipment, or works and services specifically for military purposes, or sensitive works and sensitive services; arbitration and conciliation services; financial services, with the exception of insurance services; employment contracts; research and development services other than those where the benefits accrue exclusively to the contracting authority/entity for its use in the conduct of its own affairs, on condition that the service provided is wholly remunerated by the contracting authority/entity. Member States may reserve the right to participate in contract award procedures to sheltered workshops or provide for such contracts to be performed in the context of sheltered employment programmes where most of the employees concerned are handicapped persons who, by reason of the nature or the seriousness of their disabilities, cannot carry on occupations under normal conditions. The contract notice shall make reference to this provision.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-11 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.