(izmjena) Nabavka i isporuka raznog namještaja za smještaj i kancelarije, uređaja i razne opreme za sjedište EUFOR-a, kamp Butmir Sarajevo

PROCUREMENT AND CONTRACTING OFFICE

HQ EUFOR, J8

BUTMIR Camp Sarajevo

Bldg. 225, 71210 Ilidza, BH

Fax: Civil +387-33-495707

e-mail: taco@eufor.europa.eu

SUPPLY BIDDING DOSSIER - MODIFICATION 1

Sarajevo, 07 August 2026

Our ref.:

HQ EUFOR/ACCOMMODATION&OFFICE FURNITURE, APPLIANCES&EQUIPMENT/2026-SU/021

Dear Mr/Ms,

SUBJECT: INVITATION FOR INTERNATIONAL BIDDING FOR SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF VARIOUS ACCOMMODATION AND OFFICE FURNITURE, APPLIANCES AND VARIOUS EQUIPMENT FOR CAMP BUTMIR SARAJEVO

Further to your enquiry regarding the publication of the above-mentioned invitation to bid, please find enclosed the following documents, which constitute the bidding dossier:

A. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS 4

1 SUPPLIES TO BE PROVIDED 4

2 TIMETABLE 5

3. PARTICIPATION 6

4. TYPE OF CONTRACT 6

5. CURRENCY 6

6. LOTS 6

7. PERIOD OF BID VALIDITY 6

8. LANGUAGE OF BIDS AND PROCEDURE 7

9. SUBMISSION OF BIDS 7

10. CONTENT OF BIDS 7

11 PRICING 8

12. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BEFORE THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF BIDS 8

13. CLARIFICATION MEETING / SITE VISIT 9

14. ALTERATION OR WITHDRAWAL OF BIDS 9

15. COSTS OF PREPARING BIDS 9

16. EXCLUSION CRITERIA 9

17. OWNERSHIP OF BIDS 11

18. JOINT VENTURE OR CONSORTIUM 12

19. OPENING OF BIDS 12

20. EVALUATION OF BIDS 12

21. SIGNATURE OF THE CONTRACT AND PERFORMANCE GUARANTEE 14

22. BID GUARANTEE (NOT APPLICABLE). 14

23. ETHIC CLAUSES 15

24. CANCELLATION OF THE BIDDING PROCEDURE 15

B. DRAFT CONTRACT AND SPECIAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING ANNEXES 17

[DRAFT CONTRACT] 18

SPECIAL CONDITIONS 21

ANNEX I: GENERAL CONDITIONS 24

ANNEX II: TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS - MODIFICATION 1 46

ANNEX III : FINANCIAL OFFER - MODIFICATION 1 …………………………………….………… 74

ANNEX IV : MODEL PERFORMANCE GUARANTEE 84

ANNEX V : FINANCIAL IDENTIFICATION FORM (FIF) 84

ANNEX VI : DECLARATION ON EXCLUSION CRITERIA 85

C. FURTHER INFORMATION 88

ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLIANCE GRID 89

EVALUATION GRID 91

D. BID FORM FOR A SUPPLY CONTRACT 92

SPECIMEN FOR A BID GUARANTEE (NOT APPLICABLE).........................................................93

Any request for clarification must be received by the Contracting Authority in writing at least 21 days before the deadline for submission of bids. The Contracting Authority will reply to bidders' questions at least 11 days before the deadline for submission of bids. If the Contracting Authority, either on its own initiative or in response to a request from a bidder, provides additional information on the bidding dossier, it will send such information in writing to all bidders at the same time.

Costs incurred by the bidders in preparing and submitting the bid proposals will not be reimbursed.

We look forward receiving your bid at the address specified in the Instructions to Bidders before or on Wednesday, 30 September 2026 at 14:00 hours.

If you decide to submit a bid, we would be grateful if you could notify us at the following e-mail address, taco@eufor.europa.eu, in order to provide you potential clarifications during the bidding period.

If you decide not to submit a bid, we would be grateful if you could inform us in writing, stating the reasons for your decision.

Yours sincerely,

Procurement and Contracting Office

HQ EUFOR

A. INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS

PUBLICATION REF.: HQ EUFOR/ACCOMMODATION&OFFICE FURNITURE, APPLIANCES&EQUIPMENT/2026-SU/021

In submitting a bid, the bidder accepts in full and without restriction the special and general conditions governing this contract as the sole basis of this bidding procedure, whatever his own conditions of sale may be, which he hereby waives. Bidders are expected to examine carefully and comply with all instructions, forms, contract provisions and specifications contained in this bidding dossier. Failure to submit a bid containing all the required information and documentation within the deadline specified will lead to the rejection of the bid. No account can be taken of any reservation in the bid as regards the bidding dossier; any reservation will result in the immediate rejection of the bid without further evaluation.

1 Supplies to be provided

1.1 The subject of the contract is the supply and delivery by the Contractor of the following Accommodation & Office furniture, appliances and equipment, in accordance with the Technical specifications, Annex II, at HQ EUFOR Camp Butmir Sarajevo, 71210 Ilidza, Bosnia and Herzegovina, DAP (delivered at place):

ACCOMMODATION FURNITURE:

1. METAL WARDROBE LOCKER - quantity 170 EA

2. METAL BED - quantity 250 EA

3. METAL NIGHTSTAND - quantity 200 EA

4. CHAIR STRAIGHT PVC - quantity 100 EA

5. TABLE SMALL - quantity 100 EA

6. CHAIR STRAIGHT - quantity 50 EA

OFFICE FURNITURE:

1. BOOKSHELF - quantity 20 EA

2. CABINET LOCKER - quantity 20 EA

3. CABINET - quantity 10 EA

4. TABLE, coffee - quantity 10 EA

5. OFFICE DIVIDER (Partition) - quantity 30 EA

6. SOFA, 3 seat - quantity 3 EA

7. SOFA, 2 seat - quantity 3 EA

8. CHAIR, lounge - quantity 3 EA

VARIOUS APPLIANCES:

1. REFRIGERATOR, Big - quantity 5 EA

2. REFRIGERATOR, Small - quantity 5 EA

3. MICROWAVE - quantity 3 EA

4. COFFEE MAKER - quantity 2 EA

5. TV, LCD - quantity 2 EA

VARIOUS EQUIPMENT:

1. SHREDDER - quantity 4 EA

2. VEHICLE SEARCH MIRROR - quantity 10 EA

3. TYRE DEFLATION SPIKE STRIP - quantity 5 EA

4. FLAG POLE - quantity 30 EA

INDUSTRIAL APPLIANCE (pending funds availability):

1. HOBART DISHWASHER MACHINE, INDUSTRIAL - quantity 1 EA

Expected delivery period for all required except for Industrial appliance is within 60 calendar days after Contract signature by both Parties.

Expected delivery period for Industrial Hobart Dishwasher is within 30 calendar days after Contract signature by both Parties.

NOTE: if delivery is not possible within stated period, your offer should include delivery period under which you would be able to deliver offered items.

1.2 The supplies must comply fully with the Technical Specifications set out in the bidding dossier (annex II) and conform in all respects with the quantities, models, measurements, quality standards and other instructions.

1.3 Bidders are not authorised to bid for a variant solution in addition to the present bid.

2 Timetable

All times are in the time zone of the country of the Contracting Authority (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Provisional dates

3. Participation

3.1. Participation to this procedure is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons of the Member States of the European Union, Turkey, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Albania, Chile, Republic of North Macedonia, Mexico, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and neighbouring countries, in accordance with Part II Article 3 and Part IV Article 3 of the EPF Implementing Rules applicable for expenditure financed through the Facility mechanism.

3.2. These terms refer to all nationals of the said states and to all legal entities, companies or partnerships constituted under, and governed by, the civil, commercial or public law of such states and having their statutory office, central administration or principal place of business there. A legal entity, company or partnership having only its statutory office there must be engaged in an activity which has an effective and continuous link with the economy of the state concerned.

3.3 Bidders must not be in any of the exclusion criteria indicated in Section 16 of the Instructions to bidders and must have the legal capacity to allow them to participate in this bidding procedure (see Section 16).

4. Type of contract

Supply Contract/s with fixed prices.

5. Currency

Bids must be presented in euro currency (EUR). In case of award to a local (BiH) company, Contract will be signed in national (BAM) currency with exchange rate applicable 1 EUR - 1.95583 BAM.

6. Lots

This bidding procedure is not divided into lots; however, partial bids for requested group of items shall be accepted and evaluated. Bidders must bid for the entire quantities of the item indicated.

7. Period of bid validity

7.1. Bidders shall be bound by their bids for a period of 90 days from the deadline for the submission of bids.

7.2. In exceptional cases and prior to the expiry of the original bid validity period, the Contracting Authority may ask bidders in writing to extend this period by 40 days. Bidders that agree to do so will not be permitted to modify their bids. If they refuse, their participation in the bidding procedure will be terminated.

7.3. The successful tenderer will be bound by his tender for a further period of 60 days following receipt of the notification of award that he has been selected.

8. Language of bids and procedure

8.1. The bids, all correspondence and documents related to the bid exchanged by the bidder and the Contracting Authority must be written in the language of the procedure. The language of this procedure shall be English.

8.2. Supporting documents and printed literature furnished by the bidders may be in another language, provided they are accompanied by an accurate translation into the language of the procedure. For the purposes of interpretation of the bid, the language of the procedure will prevail.

9. Submission of bids

9.1. Bids must be received before the deadline specified in the letter of invitation to bid. They must include the Bid submission form in part D of this bidding dossier and be sent/delivered to the following address:

HQ EUFOR

Procurement and Contracting Office

Main Gate Camp Butmir Sarajevo

71210 Ilidza

Bosnia and Herzegovina

In case the bid is hand delivered before or on the submission deadline indicated; please call the following number, 00387 33 495 721, in order to arrange the hand-over of your bid.

Bids must comply with the following conditions:

9.2. All Bids must be submitted in one (01) original, marked “original”, and two (02) copies signed in the same way as the original and marked “copy”.

9.3 All bids must be received at HQ EUFOR, Main gate Butmir Camp, 71210 Ilidza, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, before or on Wednesday, 30th September 2026 at 14:00 hours, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or hand delivered against receipt signed by the Contracting Authority or his representative.

9.3. All bids, including annexes and all supporting documents, must be submitted in a sealed envelope/package bearing only:

a) the above address;

b) the reference code of this bidding procedure, (i.e., HQ EUFOR/ACCOMMODATION&OFFICE FURNITURE, APPLIANCES&EQUIPMENT/2026-SU/021);

c) where applicable, the number of the lot(s) applied for;

d) the words “Not to be opened before the bid opening session” in the language of the bidding dossier and “Ne otvarati prije komisije za dodjelu ugovora”

e) the name of the bidder.

The financial bid, Annex III (original and copy), must be placed in a sealed envelope with the technical bid (original and copy). The envelopes (original and copies) should then be placed in another single sealed envelope/package, unless their volume requires a separate submission.

10. Content of bids

All bids submitted must comply with the requirements in the bidding dossier and comprise:

10.1. A technical bid consisting of:

A detailed description of the supplies proposed in conformity with the technical specifications and requirements (Annex II), including any documentation required to demonstrate technical conformity of the proposed supplies, such as but not limited to:

a) Catalogues/pictures of items offered by the bidder

b) Technical/performance data sheets

c) The warranty declaration statement

d) The delivery period statement.

e) Authorization for training services, only for Hobart Dishwasher

10.2. A financial bid calculated on a basis of DAP ,to Sarajevo Camp Butmir, for the supplies, in accordance with Annex III

10.3 A Financial Identification Form Annex V, containing all bank account details therein and in which payments should be made.

10.4 The completed Bid Submission Form (Part D), including the duly authorised signature.

10.5. A description of the firm's qualifications: in order to assess the firm’s compliance with technical capacity criterion the bidder must provide evidence that he has been the main contractor for at least one (01) contract consisting of providing supplies as this contract during the past 3 (three) years (2025, 2024 and 2023). The name of the recipient/employer or Contracting Authority must be mentioned.

10.6. A financial statement/balance sheets for the years 2025, 2024, and 2023 in order to assess the firm’s financial capacity in accordance with the following criteria: the bidder must have an average annual turn-over of at least 200,000.00 EUR during the past 3 (three) years (2025, 2024, and 2023).

10.7. Declaration on honour on exclusion criteria Annex VI

10.8. Company registration documents.

10.9. VAT registration document.

11. Pricing

11.1. Bidders will be deemed to have satisfied themselves, before submitting their bid, as to its correctness and completeness, to have taken account of all that is required for the full and proper performance of the contract and to have included all costs in their rates and prices.

11.2. Depending on whether the supplies proposed are manufactured locally or are to be imported into the country of contract performance and final delivery, bidders must quote, unit (and overall) prices for their bids on the following bases:

a) place of destination and in accordance with the above conditions, excluding all domestic taxation and VAT applicable to their manufacture;

b) for supplies to be imported into the country of the Contracting Authority, unit and overall prices must be quoted for delivery to the place of destination and in accordance with the above conditions, excluding all duties and taxes applicable to their importation and VAT, from which they are exempt.

11.3. Whatever the origin of the supplies, the contract shall be exempt from stamp and registration duties.

11.4. The prices for the contract are fixed and not subject to revision.

12. Additional information before the deadline for submission of bids

The bidding dossier should be clear enough to preclude the need for candidates invited to bid to request additional information during the procedure. If the Contracting Authority, either on its own initiative or in response to a request from a prospective bidder, provides additional information on the bidding dossier, it must send such information in writing to all other prospective bidders at the same time.

Bidders may submit questions in writing to the following address up to 21 days before the deadline for submission of bids, specifying the publication reference and the contract title:

HQ EUFOR

Procurement and Contracting Office

Butmir Camp Sarajevo

71210 Ilidza, BiH

Fax: 00387 33 495 707

taco@eufor.europa.eu

Any clarification of the bidding dossier will be communicated simultaneously in writing to all known bidders at the latest 11 days before the deadline for submission of bids and will be published on the following website: www.euforbih.org under tenders where the complete bidding dossier is published. No further clarification will be provided after this date.

Any prospective bidders seeking to arrange individual meetings with the Contracting Authority during the bidding period may be excluded from the bidding procedure.

13. Clarification meeting / site visit

13.1 No clarification meeting / site visit is planned.

14. Alteration or withdrawal of bids

14.1. Bidders may alter or withdraw their bids by written notification prior to the deadline for submission of bids referred to in Article 9.3. No bid may be altered after this deadline. Withdrawals must be unconditional and will end all participation in the bidding procedure.

14.2. Any such notification of alteration or withdrawal must be prepared and submitted in accordance with Article 9. The outer envelope must be marked 'Alteration' or 'Withdrawal' as appropriate.

14.3. No bid may be withdrawn in the interval between the deadline for submission of bids referred to in Article 9.3 and the expiry of the bid validity period. Withdrawal of a bid during this interval may result in forfeiture of the bid guarantee.

15. Costs of preparing bids

No costs incurred by the bidders in preparing and submitting the bids are reimbursable by the Contracting Authority. All such costs will be borne by the bidders.

16. Exclusion criteria

Participation to this bidding is only open to bidders who are not in one of the situations listed below:

(a) it is bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding up procedures, its assets are being administered by a liquidator or by a court, it is in an arrangement with creditors, its business activities are suspended or it is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for under national legislation or regulations;

(b) it has been established by a final judgement or a final administrative decision that the person is in breach of its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions in accordance with the law of the country in which it is established, with those of the country in which the contracting authority is located or those of the country of the performance of the contract;

(c) it has been established by a final judgement or a final administrative decision that the person is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which the person belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful conduct which has an impact on its professional credibility where such conduct denotes wrongful intent or gross negligence, including, in particular, any of the following:

(i) fraudulently or negligently misrepresenting information required for the verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the fulfilment of selection criteria or in the performance of a contract;

(ii) entering into agreement with other persons with the aim of distorting competition;

(iii) violating intellectual property rights;

(iv) attempting to influence the decision-making process of the contracting authority during the award procedure;

(v) attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it undue advantages in the award procedure;

(d) it has been established by a final judgement that the person is guilty of the following:

(i) fraud, within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 July 1995;

(ii) corruption, as defined in Article 3 of the Convention on the fight against corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of EU Member States, drawn up by the Council Act of 26 May 1997, and in Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision 2003/568/JHA, as well as corruption as defined in the legal provisions of the country where the contracting authority is located, the country in which the person is established or the country of the performance of the contract;

(iii) participation in a criminal organisation, as defined in Article 2(1) of Joint Action 98/733/JHA of the Council;

(iv) money laundering or terrorist activities, as defined in Articles 1,4 and 5 of Council Directive 2015/849;

(v) child labour or other offences concerning trafficking of human beings as referred to in Article 2 of Direcive 2011/36/EU.

(e) following another procurement procedure or grant award procedure financed by the budget of the European Union or through Facility, they have been declared to be in serious breach of contract for failure to comply with their contractual obligations.

(f) it does not have adequate resources to perform the contract, or the ability to obtain them;

(g) it is not able to comply with the required delivery or performance schedule, taking into consideration all existing commercial and business commitments;

(h) Confirmed guilty plea agreement, but not exclusively, which is not a “judgement which has the force of res judicata” hence is treated like a “judgement which has the force of res judicata”

In addition to the above, contracts may not be awarded to bidders who, during the procurement procedure:

• are subject to a conflict of interest;

• are guilty of misrepresentation in supplying the information required by the contracting authority as a condition of participation in the contract procedure or fail to supply this information;

• were previously involved in the preparation of procurement documents used in the award procedure where this entails a breach in the principle of equality of treatment.

Means of proof required

Bidders, including all consortium members and all sub-contractors where applicable, shall provide a declaration on their honour (see model in Annex VI), duly signed and dated, stating that they are not in one of the situations referred to above. Bidders shall without delay inform the Contracting Authority of any changes in the situations as declared.

17. Ownership of bids

The Contracting Authority retains ownership of all bids received under this bidding procedure. Consequently, bidders have no right to have their bids returned to them.

18. Joint venture or consortium

18.1. If a bidder is a joint venture or consortium of two or more legal entities, than the bid must be single with the object of securing a single contract, each person representing the legal entities forming the consortium or joint-venture must sign the bid and will be jointly and severally liable for the bid proposal and any contract arising from it. Those persons must designate one of their number to act as leader with authority to bind the joint venture or consortium. The composition of the joint venture or consortium must not be altered without the prior consent in writing of the Contracting Authority.

18.2. The bid may be signed by the representative of the joint venture or consortium only if he has been expressly so authorised in writing by the members of the joint venture or consortium, and the authorising contract, notarial act or deed must be submitted to the Contracting Authority within the 15 days following the award notification of the contract. All signatures to the authorising instrument must be certified in accordance with the national laws and regulations of each party comprising the joint venture or consortium together with the powers of attorney establishing, in writing, that the signatories to the tender are empowered to enter into commitments on behalf of the members of the joint venture or consortium.

18.3. In addition, each member of the consortium must provide the required evidence for the exclusion (see Section 16 of the Instructions to bidders) criteria.

19. Opening of bids

19.1. The opening and examination of bids during the contract award committee meetings is for the purpose of checking whether the bids are complete, whether the requisite bid guarantees have been furnished if required, whether the documents have been properly signed and whether the bids are generally in order.

19.2. During and after the opening of the bids, no information relating to the examination, clarification, evaluation and comparison of bids, or recommendations concerning the award of the contract can be disclosed.

19.3. In the interests of transparency and equal treatment and without being able to modify their bids, bidders may be required, at the sole written request of the contract award committee, to provide clarifications within maximum 48 hours. Any such request for clarification will not seek the correction of formal errors or of major restrictions affecting performance of the contract or distorting competition.

19.4. Any attempt by a bidder to influence the contract award committee in the process of examination, clarification, evaluation and comparison of bids, to obtain information on how the procedure is progressing or to influence the Contracting Authority in its decision concerning the award of the contract will result in the immediate rejection of his bid.

19.5. All bids received after the deadline for submission specified in those instructions will be kept by the Contracting Authority. The associated bid guarantees may be returned to the bidders on request. No liability can be accepted for late delivery of bids. Late bids will be rejected and will not be evaluated.

20. Evaluation of bids

20.1. Examination of the administrative conformity of bids

The completeness of the bid, including the required documents as outlined in Article 10 will be verified at this stage of the evaluation of bids.

The aim at this stage is to check that bids comply with the essential requirements of the bidding dossier. A bid is deemed to comply if it satisfies all the conditions, procedures and specifications in the bidding dossier without substantially departing from or attaching restrictions to them.

Substantial departures or restrictions are those which affect the scope, quality or execution of the contract, differ widely from the terms of the bidding dossier, limit the rights of the Contracting Authority or the bidder’s obligations under the contract or distort competition for bidders whose bids do comply. Decisions to the effect that a bid is not administratively compliant must be duly justified in the contract award committee minutes.

If a bid does not comply with the bidding dossier, it will be rejected immediately and may not subsequently be made to comply by correcting it or withdrawing the departure or restriction.

20.2 Technical evaluation

After analysing the bids deemed to comply in administrative terms, the contract award committee will rule on the technical admissibility of each bid, classifying it as technically compliant or non-compliant.

The following criteria will be considered during the technical evaluation:

1. Economical/Financial capacity criteria:

The bidder must have an average annual turnover of at least 200,000.00 EUR during the past 3 years (2025, 2024 and 2023). Shall be evaluated using required documents under clause 10.6.

2. Technical capacity criteria:

The bidder must have executed at least one (01) contract consisting of providing supplies as this contract during the past 3 (three) years (2025, 2024 and 2023). The name of the recipient/employer or Contracting Authority and contract value must be mentioned. Shall be evaluated using required documents under clause 10.5.

3. Technical conformity and compliance criteria:

The bidder’s technical proposed offer is fully compliant in all aspects with the requirements and desired outputs outlined in the terms of reference (Annex II) Shall be evaluated using the required documentation under clause 10.1.a, b, c and d.

The Contracting Authority will examine in detail all the information supplied by the bidders and will formulate its judgement and award on the basis of full technical compliance while being the lowest bid. No other award and selection criteria will be used and they will be examined in accordance with the requirements as indicated in the technical specification and instructions included in this bidding dossier.

20.3 To facilitate the examination, evaluation and comparison of bids, the contract award committee may ask each bidder individually for clarification of his bid. The request for clarification and the response must be in writing only, but no change in the price or substance of the bid may be sought, offered or permitted except as required to confirm the correction of arithmetical errors discovered during the evaluation of the financial proposal. Decisions to the effect that a bid is not technically compliant must be duly justified in the contract award committee minutes.

20.4 Financial evaluation

a) Bidders found to be technically compliant shall be checked for any arithmetical

errors in computation and summation. Errors will be corrected by the evaluation

committee as follows:

- where there is a discrepancy between amounts in figures and in words, the amount in words will be the amount taken into account;

- where there is a discrepancy between a unit price and the total amount derived from the multiplication of the unit price and the quantity, the unit price as quoted will be the price taken into account.

b) Amounts corrected in this way will be binding on the bidders. If the bidder

does not accept them, his bid will be rejected.

20.5 Award criteria

The contract will be awarded to the lowest priced bidder, while being administratively and technically compliant.

In accordance with Article 6. Lots and allowed partial bidding, HQ EUFOR reserves the right to reject any or all bids received in response to this Invitation for bid, and may negotiate with any of the participants in order to split the requirement or items among several participants, increase or decrease the indicated quantities.

21. Signature of the contract and performance guarantee

21.1. The successful bidder will be informed in writing that his bid has been accepted for award. (Notification of award).

21.2. Within 15 days of receipt of the notification of award, the selected bidder will submit the documents mentioned in the section 16 of the Instructions to bidders. Before effective contract signature, the successful bidder will provide the required performance guarantee (applicable for Contract/s awarded as a result of this bidding procedure, that are exceeding 40,000.00 EUR). On signing the contract, the successful bidder will become the Contractor and the contract will enter into force. The Contracting Authority may forfeit the performance guarantee if the Contractor is in a situation of exclusion as referred to Article 16.

21.3. If the successful bidder fails to provide the performance guarantee and other documents mentioned in point 21.2. within 15 days of receipt of notification of award; the Contracting Authority may consider the acceptance of the bid to be revoked and award the contract to the second best bidder, without prejudice to the Contracting Authority’s right to claim compensation or pursue any other remedy in respect of such failure, and the successful bidder will have no claim whatsoever on the Contracting Authority.

21.4 The performance guarantee is set at 10% of the estimated contract value (applicable for Contract/s awarded as a result of this bidding procedure, that are exceeding 40,000.00 EUR), and must be presented in the form specified in the annex to the bidding dossier. It should remain valid during the contract duration and be extended in case the contract duration is being extended afterwards.

22. Bid guarantee

NO BID GUARANTEE REQUIRED.

23. Ethic clauses

23.1 Any attempt by a candidate or bidder to obtain confidential information, enter into unlawful agreements with competitors or influence the contract award committee or the Contracting Authority during the process of examining, clarifying, evaluating and comparing bids will lead to the rejection of his candidacy or bid and may result in exclusion of participation in further bidding procedure.

23.2 When putting forward a bid, the bidder shall declare that he is affected by no potential conflict of interest and has no particular link with other bidders or parties involved in the project. Should such a situation arise during performance of the contract, the Contractor must immediately inform the Contracting Authority.

23.3 The Contractor must at all times act impartially and as a faithful adviser in accordance with the code of conduct of his profession. He shall refrain from making public statements about the contract or services without the Contracting Authority's prior approval. He may not commit the Contracting Authority in any way without its prior written consent.

23.4 For the duration of the contract the Contractor and his staff shall respect human rights and undertake not to offend the political, cultural and religious mores of the representatives of the Contracting Authority and the host state.

23.5 The Contractor may accept no payment connected with the contract other than that provided for therein. The Contractor and his staff must not exercise any activity or receive any advantage inconsistent with their obligations to the Contracting Authority.

23.6 The Contractor and his staff shall be obliged to maintain professional secrecy for the entire duration of the contract and after its completion. All reports and documents drawn up or received by the Contractor shall be confidential and not treated as public documents.

23.7 The contract shall govern the Contracting Parties' use of all reports and documents drawn up, received or presented by them during the execution of the contract.

23.8 The Contractor shall refrain from any relationship likely to compromise his independence or that of his staff. If the Contractor ceases to be independent, the Contracting Authority may, regardless of injury, terminate the contract without further notice and without the Contractor having any claim to compensation.

23.9 The Contracting Authority reserves the right to suspend or cancel the contract if corrupt practices of any kind are discovered at any stage of the award process and contract implementation. For the purposes of this provision, "corrupt practices" are the offer of a bribe, gift, gratuity or commission to any person as an inducement or reward for performing or refraining from any act relating to the award of a contract or implementation of a contract already concluded with the Contracting Authority.

24. Cancellation of the bidding procedure

In the event of a bidding procedure's cancellation, bidders will be notified by the Contracting Authority. If the bidding procedure is cancelled before the outer envelope of any bid has been opened, the sealed envelopes will be returned, unopened, to the bidders.

Cancellation may occur where:

▪ the bidding procedure has been unsuccessful, namely where no qualitatively or financially worthwhile bid has been received or there has been no response at all;

▪ the economic or technical parameters of the project have been fundamentally altered;

▪ exceptional circumstances or “force majeure” would render normal performance of the contract impossible;

▪ all technically compliant tenders exceed the financial resources available;

▪ there have been irregularities in the procedure, in particular where these have prevented fair competition.

In no circumstances will the Contracting Authority be liable for damages, whatever their nature (in particular damages for loss of profits) or relationship to the cancellation of a bidding procedure, even if the Contracting Authority has been advised of the possibility of damages. The invitation to bid does not commit the Contracting Authority to sign nor implement the contract announced.