To limit the number of potential suppliers to be invited to tender a two stage process must be followed:
The Contract Notice must specify and the SQ documentation must set out, the objective non-discriminatory criteria that will be applied to limit the number of suppliers to be invited to tender.
The number of suppliers invited to participate in the next stage should not be less than five suitably experienced suppliers who meet the minimum requirements set out in the SQ evaluation for the restricted procedure and should not be less than three suitably experienced suppliers who meet the minimum requirements set out in the SQ evaluation for competitive procedure with negotiation, the competitive dialogue procedure and the innovation partnership procedure. Although these are the minimum numbers to be specified by the public body, the actual numbers may be less, if there are fewer numbers of suitably experienced suppliers who have submitted a SQ or more, if a higher number is deemed desirable to ensure effective competition.
An evaluation report that clearly identifies reasons for rejecting suppliers should be produced to assist with debriefing, and as a matter of best practice, suppliers should be advised in writing of the outcome of the SQ evaluation stage. For requirements that are subject to the Public Contract Regulations 2015, any supplier not advised at the SQ stage that they will not be issued with an Invitation to Tender (ITT) document must be provided with certain information at the contract award decision stage.
A standard template notice for advising unsuccessful suppliers is available here.
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