A concession contract shall be awarded on the basis of objective criteria in order to determine an overall economic advantage for the contracting entity. The contracting entity shall respect the principles of equal treatment, non-discrimination and transparency and shall ensure that tenders are evaluated under conditions of effective competition. The contracting entity may negotiate with candidates and tenderers, but may not change the subject matter of the concession contract, the award criteria or the minimum requirements. There are two reasons for the ineffectiveness of a concession contract: concession contracts are often drafted as licensing agreements, although they are usually forms of service contracts for which a “royalty” is due. The qualification of the agreement as a “licence” does not necessarily mean that the procurement rules for the award of concession contracts are not applicable. A typical consideration in relation to a concession contract is to ensure that the concessionaire does not receive any lease or renewal rights. These rights may, in some cases, include legal protection of the tenancy, automatic renewal rights and statutory indemnification rights. This can be solved by carefully determining the terms of the agreement to make it clear that a rental is not planned. Individual cases may justify the legal waiver of renewal rights that flow otherwise if there is a particular risk that a concession contract will be classified as a lease by a court. `any document drawn up or referred to by the contracting authority/water supplier to describe or define elements of the concession contract or the concession award procedure, including the concession notice, the technical and functional requirements, the proposed conditions for the concession contract, the formats for the presentation of documents by candidates and tenderers, information on obligations of general application and any additional documentation. Longer time limits should be provided for where the preparation of tenders or applications requires an on-the-spot visit or the inspection of supporting documents (in addition to concession documents) and the time limits for the receipt of tenders or applications should be set in order to allow all economic operators to be informed of the information necessary for the preparation of a tender or application.

The economic interests linked to the concession contract can only be regarded as compelling reasons in exceptional cases. If a declaration of nullity would entail disproportionate consequences and economic interests directly linked to the concession, such as costs resulting from a delay in performance, a new procurement procedure or a change of contractor, cannot constitute compelling reasons. Finally, the JRC 2016 provides for an exception for concession contracts concluded exclusively between two or more contracting authorities exercising joint control if all of the following conditions are met: the contracting entity is also entitled to extend the obligation to obtain information on subcontractors to suppliers or subcontractors involved in works concession contracts or service concession contracts. The 2016 JRC shall not apply to concession contracts for these services, unless the benefits accrue exclusively to the contracting entity for use in the conduct of its own business; and the service is fully remunerated by the contracting body. The Concession Contract Regulation 2016, SI 2016/273 (JRC 2016) entered into force on 18 April 2016 and implemented Directive 2014/23/EU (the Concessions Directive) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The JRC 2016 regulates the procedure for the award of concession contracts by contracting authorities and public services. The 2016 JRC does not apply to contracts started before 18 April 2016. Prior to the Concessions Directive, concessions were generally considered not to fall within the scope of public procurement rules. Since there were calls for tenders for the award of concessions by contracting authorities, they were carried out very informally. The Concessions Directive has fundamentally changed that.

Notice of decisions on the award of a concession contract Concession contracts awarded to a joint venture or a utility undertaking forming part of a joint venture, a significant difference from the previous concession system is that the 2016 JRC does not provide for framework agreements. Accordingly, any concession exceeding the applicable threshold must be purchased separately and, in particular, announced by means of a concession notice. Similarly, there is no provision for the establishment and award of concession contracts under a dynamic purchasing system. For a comparative explanation of these agreements under the Government Procurement Regulations 2015, SI 2015/102 (PCR 2015), see Practice Note: Framework Agreements and Dynamic Purchasing Systems. Concession contracts between public sector contracting entities The minimum time limit for receipt of applications (whether or not they contain tenders for the concession contract) is 30 days from the date on which the concession notice was sent for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. This article provides an overview of the public procurement regime for concession contracts under the JRC 2016. General information and related government directives are available in general: Crown Commercial Service – Guidance: Government Procurement Policy, and in particular: Crown Commercial Service – Handbook for Concession Contract Regulations 2016. The contracting entity may specify in the concession documents how groups of economic operators are to comply with the requirements of economic and financial standing or technical and professional capacity, provided that this is justified and proportionate for objective reasons. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1950 amending Directive 2009/81/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards thresholds for supply, service and works contracts All other service contracts, all design contests, subsidised service contracts, all supply contracts constituting enforceable contracts – ConsideringThe practice note examines the doctrine of consideration and its key role in law ENGLISH in the field of determining the applicability of a contract.

A promise can only be contractually executed if it is made either in a deed or in restrictions on the duration of a concession contract. It may not be indefinite and, if the duration exceeds 5 years, the maximum duration must not exceed the time that the contractor could reasonably need to recover the investments made. It is important to note that the 2016 JRC stipulates that the cost estimate must be reviewed at the time of contract award. If it is more than 20% higher than the original estimate, the recalculated estimate applies. This could be particularly important if the initial estimate was not published by a concession notice, for example. B because it was below the applicable threshold. If the revised estimate is 20 % higher than the initial value and brings the value above the threshold, the procuring entity may need to advertise instead of awarding. The objective method of calculating the value shall be specified in the concession documents.

Special time limits apply if a challenge is raised due to inefficiency (see below). In accordance with the provisions of the previous concession scheme, a lighter regime is provided for contracts relating to certain social services and other specific services. For these services, the contracting entity`s only obligation is to comply with ccR 24 (2), 31 (3) to (5), 32 and 46 to 64 of the JRC 2016. The exemption is also extended to contracts awarded to a body jointly controlled by more than one contracting authority (JRC 2016 reg 17(4)), provided that: in addition to the power to require tenderers to inform the contracting entity of the proposed part of a concession contract to be awarded, contracting entities must, for all works and service concession contracts, relate to services provided in an entity under the control of the procuring entity, to require the contractor to provide the contracting entity with the contact details (including names, contact details and legal representatives) of its subcontractors and to keep it informed of any changes. .