Federal Act on Public Procurement (PPA) (PPA)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Art. 16 Thresholds
1 The choice of procedure depends on the value of the contract and the thresholds in accordance with Annex 4. The Federal Council periodically adjusts the thresholds in line with international obligations after consulting the Intercantonal Public Procurement Body. 2 The Confederation guarantees the participation of the cantons in any adjustment of international obligations with regard to the thresholds. 3 If several contracting authorities subject to this Act, each with different thresholds, participate in a procurement, the thresholds of the contracting authority that provides the most financing apply to the entire procurement. 4 If the total value of several construction work items listed in section 1 of Annex 1 for the realisation of a structure reaches the threshold for the scope of international treaties, the provisions of this Act that govern procurements within the scope of international treaties apply. However, if the value of each individual construction work item is less than
Art. 17 Procedure types
Depending on the value of the contract and the thresholds, the contracting authority may choose to award public contracts by open procedure, selective procedure, invitation procedure or direct award procedure.
Art. 18 Open procedure
1 In the open procedure, the contracting authority issues a public invitation tender. 2 All tenderers may submit a tender.
Art. 19 Selective procedure
1 In the selective procedure, the contracting authority issues a public invitation to tender and invites the tenderers to submit a request to participate first. 2 The contracting authority selects the tenderers that may submit a tender based on their eligibility. 3 The contracting authority may limit the number of tenderers permitted to tender, provided that effective competition is maintained. If possible, at least three tenderers are permitted to submit tenders.
Art. 20 Invitation procedure
1 The invitation procedure applies to public contracts outside the scope of international treaties in accordance with the thresholds in Annex 4. 2 In the invitation procedure, the contracting authority invites the tenderers of its choice to submit tenders without launching a public invitation to tender. It prepares tender documentation for this purpose. If possible, at least three tenders are obtained. 3 An invitation procedure without observing the thresholds may be used for the procurement of weapons, ammunition, war material and, provided they are essential for defence and security purposes, other supplies of goods, construction work, services and research or development services.
Art. 21 Direct award procedure
1 In the direct award procedure, the contracting authority awards a public contract directly without an invitation to tender. The contracting authority is entitled to obtain comparative quotes and to conduct negotiations. 2 The contracting authority may award a contract using the direct award procedure irrespective of the threshold value if one of the following conditions is met: a. In the open, selective or invitation procedure, no tenders or requests to participate are received, no tender meets the essential requirements of the tender or the technical specifications, or no tenderer meets the eligibility criteria. b. There are sufficient indications that all of the tenders received in the open, selective or invitation procedure are based on unlawful agreements affecting competition. c. Due to the technical or artistic features of the contract or for reasons of intellectual property protection, only one tenderer is eligible and there is no appropriate alternative. d. Due to unforeseeab
Art. 22 Design contest and study contracts
1 The contracting authority that organises a design contest or a competition to conduct studies including execution or awards study contracts shall regulate the procedure on a case-by-case basis in compliance with the principles of this Act. It may refer to the relevant provisions of trade associations. 2 The Federal Council shall determine: a. the types of design contest and the terms of study contracts; b. the types of procedure to be applied; c. the requirements in terms of preparatory work; d. the arrangements for the preliminary technical examination of the competition entries prior to their evaluation by the panel of experts; e. the specific terms for study contracts and design contest for the procurement of information and communication technology supplies; f. the make-up of the panel of experts and the requirements concerning the independence of its members; g. the tasks of the panel of experts; h. the conditions under which the panel of experts may decide on purchases; i. the
Art. 23 Electronic auctions
1 The contracting authority may hold an electronic auction for the procurement of standardised goods, work or services within the framework of a procedure under this Act. In this case, the tenders are revised after an initial full evaluation and re-ranked using electronic aids and, if necessary, multiple rounds. Reference must be made to this in the invitation to tender. 2 The electronic auction covers the following areas: a. prices where the contract is to be awarded to the tenderer with the lowest total price; or b. prices and values for quantifiable components such as weight, purity or quality where the contract is to be awarded to the most advantageous tender. 3 The contracting authority checks whether the tenderers meet the eligibility criteria and whether the tenders fulfil the technical specifications. It carries out an initial evaluation of the tenders based on the award criteria and the weighting established for this purpose. Before the auction begins, it provides each tendere
Art. 24 Dialogue
1 In the case of complex contracts, intellectual services or the procurement of innovative goods, work or services, a contracting authority may, within the framework of an open or selective procedure, conduct a dialogue with the aim of specifying the subject of the supply and identifying and defining the solutions or procedures. Reference must be made to the dialogue in the invitation to tender. 2 The dialogue may not be conducted for the purpose of negotiating prices or total prices. 3 The contracting authority formulates and explains its needs and requirements in the invitation to tender or in the tender documentation. It also discloses the following: a. the dialogue process; b. the possible content of the dialogue; c. whether and how tenderers will be compensated for their participation in the dialogue and the use of their intellectual property rights, knowledge and experience; d. the timeframes and arrangements for submitting the final tender. 4 It may reduce the number of particip
Art. 25 Framework agreements
1 The contracting authority may issue an invitation to tender towards agreements with one or more tenderers with the aim of determining the terms for the goods, work and services to be procured over a given period, in particular with regard to their price and, where appropriate, the quantities envisaged. The contracting authority may conclude individual contracts based on such a framework agreement during its term. 2 Framework agreements may not be used with the intention or effect of impeding or eliminating competition. 3 The term of a framework agreement may not exceed 5 years. An automatic extension is not possible. A longer term may be envisaged in justified cases. 4 If a framework agreement is concluded with only one tenderer, the individual contracts based on this framework agreement are concluded in accordance with the terms of the framework agreement. For the conclusion of the individual contracts, the contracting authority may ask the respective contracting party in writing to