searching in the tenders database
The frequently asked questions
FAQ for searching our tenders database for tracking EU calls
for tenders and public sector procurement contracts
Which information can you find at this site ?
You can find the abstract of the 'call for tender' or the 'prior information procedures' as published by the contracting authority in the official language of the contracting authority. The integral text of this publication can be ordered by you on line through our service offered on this website.
What do you get when ordering documents from this site ?
You get the official publication of the call for tender, in the official language of the contracting authority, done by contracting authorities in the EU for which they are obliged to publish a call for tender. Based on the information from our service, you may decide to ask for (detailed) tender specifications at the contracting authority itself or its representing party. Full contact details can be found in the integral text of tender as delivered by Europe Consult, but drafted by the contracting authority.
What do you NOT get when ordering documents (calls for tender) from this site ?
You do not get the (detailed) tender specifications which are needed for submitting a bid. These specifications can be requested at the contracting authority.
What is a 'contracting authority' ?
A contracting authority is an authority which according to European directives is obliged to publish calls for tender.
What type of documents are offered on this site ?
In order to make the search for interesting documents not to difficult for our clients, we do not publish all documents but only the documents for which you may offer a bid on the shorter or longer term. We therefore divide the documents in two categories. These categories are; Calls for tenders or Prior Information Procedures.
What are 'calls for tenders' ?
A 'call for tender' is a publication from the contracting authority with which they start a purchasing procedure and invite companies to make an offer on the shorter or longer term. For more detailed information on this subject have a look at 'different types of (calls for) tenders'.
Different types of documents (calls for) tenders
The official publisher of the European Union, the Publications Office, distinguishes formally several types of tenderdocuments which are classified accordingly. Europe Consult has for the sake of simplicity decided not to give the client the option to select between these thirteen different types, but to threat some of these different types as a 'call for tender'. We are aware of the fact that this is formally not correct. Although we predefined those different types in order to make the selection easy but effective for the client, in the end you can still see the original type of tender. This means that once you have selected a particular tender which seems to be of interest for you, we present the tenderdetails including the formal type of the (tender)document.
What are 'prior information procedures' ?
'Prior Information Procedures' are all publications for which you can not make a bid yet. With this notice the contracting authority notifies interested parties that a call for tender will follow. Europe Consult will immediately publish this call for tender on our site once offered by the contracting authority. In order to guarantee that you will not miss this call for tender you may use our service TENDERWATCH !
Attention ! By publishing prior information procedures the contracting authority is allowed to shorten deadlines for submitting bids in the call for tender which they are going to publish in the near future !
Why are not all documents published on our website ?
In order to make searching for calls for tender not too complicated for our clients, we decided only to publish calls for tenders and prior information procedures and not other publications like contract awards.
What are 'contract awards' ?
Contract awards are all publications in which the contracting authority informs the market about the result of the call for tender. In this publication the contracting authority should publish the name of the winning supplier, contractor or service provider, prices offered and the number of bids received.
Why are contract awards not published on our site ?
In order not to make the searches too complicated, we decided not to publish the contract awards. If you are interested in a particular contract award, you may use our service TENDERWATCH and we will be pleased to check it for you.
What are publications for 'additional information' or 'corrigenda' ?
These publications give additional information or rectifications on calls for tenders published before.
Why are the publications for 'additional information' or 'corrigenda' not published on our site ?
We do not publish the publications for additional information or corrigenda in order not to make the searches too complicated for our clients.
Why does the system sometimes show the publications for 'additional information' or 'corrigenda' ?
Although we do not publish the publications for additional information or corrigenda, we do have them in our database and inform you when such a document has been published for a call for tender selected by you. This information might contain relevant information on documents published before.
What are 'abstracts' ?
The abstract is a summary of what the contract is about. This abstract is drafted by the contracting authority in the official language of the contracting authority and as published on this site. Full details on the exact specifications on the contract, can only be requested at the contracting authority. We can not give you more information.
Why is there sometimes limited information about the tenders ?
The information you see on our site, is the official abstract as drafted by the contracting authority. The content of the abstract is written by the contracting authority. The length of the abstract, so the quantity and quality of the information (abstract), is variable. Europe Consult has no influence on the content of the abstract and can not give you more information on it. Tender specifications can only be requested at the contracting authority itself or its representing party.
What is the language used ?
The language used for the documents published on this site, is in general the official language of the contracting authority. The information in the official language of the abstract contains most detailed information on the contract. In most cases we can also offer you an English version of the abstract.
Which languages can I use for my keywords ?
The system is searching in the official language and the translated English version. You will find the most relevant hits when you use keywords in the official language of the country for which you are looking for tender documents. The hits become even more relevant once you have also selected the country or countries you are interested in. Keep in mind that sometime words also appear in other languages. If you are using a word, like 'PAPIER', and you do not select a country, the system might select all documents with 'PAPIER' in tenders from the Netherlands PAPIERen), France (PAPIERs), Belgium (fotokopieerPAPIER(, Poland (PAPIERowej), Germany (AltPAPIERsammlung) and probably from other countries as well.
Can I use parts of words ?
Yes you may enter any word or part of word you like, but in order to get relevant hits, try to be as specific as possible. When you are looking for tenders for 'PAPERBOARD', do not type 'PAPER' because you will not only get tenders for paperboard, but you will get all kind of tenders for paper which you are not interested in like wallpaper or toiletpaper or just paper.
How are the keywords searching ?
The keywords take into account of the other search criteria you have selected. If you do not set any search criterion at all, the system will check all documents regardless of the country, the type of document (call for tender or prior information procedure) or the nature of document (works, supplies or services). When you have selected certain search criteria like for example 'supply contracts' and 'calls for tender' in 'Germany', the system will only check the keywords in tenders which fulfil these conditions. You may use capitals and small letters.
Can I use (Boolean) operators ?
Yes, you can make use of the Boolean operators AND and OR. The operator AND means that both keywords should be in the text of the document. The operator OR means that at least one keyword should be in the text of the document. Using the operator OR generally generates more hits. You can make use of the operators by typing AND or OR between the keywords like "VEHICLE AND CAR", or "VEHICLE OR CAR".
How long will the publications be on the website ?
All publications on the website will be deleted once the deadline for submitting bids as set by the contracting authority, has passed.
Attention! Please, have a look at the date for submitting bids before ordering tenders !
How often is the site updated ?
The site will be updated every day when the Office of Publications of the EU sends us their daily update. In principle this will be five times a week. Normally the site will be updated from Tuesday to Saturday. In general there is no update on Monday.
What is the deadline for specification ?
Sometimes the contracting authorities set a deadline for requesting the specifications of the tender. If they do so, this means that in general they will not send you the specifications after this date.
Attention! Please, have a look at the date for requesting specifications before ordering tenders!
Why is there not always a deadline for requesting specifications ?
If there is no deadline published in this field, the contracting authorities does not set a deadline for requesting the tender specifications. The documents of 'prior information procedures' are formally not a call for tender. They will be deleted three months after there date of publication.
I can not find what I am looking for ?
For several kinds of reason it is possible that you can not find the document you are looking for ! This can for example be the case when you have heard of an (upcoming) call for tender, which has not been published yet. In this case you might be interested in using our service TENDERWATCH !
How will I be invoiced ?
You will be invoiced in euro (EUR) by post or email by the Dutch company Europe Consult, registered at the Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands. You pay the current price and your local VAT provided you have communicated to us the company's VAT identification number.
Current price
The current price will be EUR 21,- excluding VAT per document send by email. These are all net payments. All bank charges or banking costs are at clients expense.
What about VAT ?
The Council of the European Union adopted a VAT directive containing a regulation on the levy of VAT in respect of electronic services. Under this regulation, effective from the 1st of July 2003, for electronically supplied services to an entrepreneur based in the EU, the VAT is taxed in the country of the entrepreneur/company consuming the service(s). The consumer of the service(s) owes VAT at the rate applicable in the Member State where the company is based, on condition that we mention the company's VAT identificationnumber on our bill.
VAT Identification number
This is the VAT number with which your company is registered at the tax autorities of the country were the company is registered.
Bankcharges and eurozone
All bankcharges or bankingcosts are at clients expense. For clients ordering documents from the eurozone, transfer of money within the eurozone will be regarded as interior payments, provided you follow the rules as set by your bank.
Please check your bank !
How can I register ?
You can register for free by filling in all contactdetails. This has the advantage that you do not need to fill all the details each time you order a call for tender.
How can I change my registration details
You may change your company details with the relevant form by clicking on 'editing company details'.
How can I login ?
For login in into the system you need to have filled in all contactdetails including your emailaddress and a password. You need to do this only once. You may login the next time by filling in your emailaddress and password.
Password
The password consists of a date in the format DD/MM/YYYY (like: 31/12/2004). This can be any date, but please use a date which has a particular interest for you but is not commonly known. This could be dates like your weddingday, or your (oldest) child's birthday. Dates like your own birthday might be tricky. Please be careful with your password !
How can I change my password
You can change your password by editing your company details.
I forgot my password
When you forgot your password when trying to login, you can send us an email via the 'login page'. The password will be send to the requested emailaddress.
Reliabilty of the information
Europe Consult is fully aware of its commitment to prepare and maintain a website which is as reliable as possible and of its obligation to provide information and advice which can be trusted. Nevertheless Europe Consult cannot accept any responsibility for any inaccuracy or any incompleteness on its site. Nor is Europe Consult responsible for any consequences of the use of this information.
I can not find the answer I am looking for !
Do you still have any question ? Please do not hesitate to contact us by mail or phone.