The duty to report in public contracts
A precise rule, resting on the bidder.
Errors, ambiguities and omissions in the special specification or in the schedule are to be reported by the bidder to the contracting authority.
That report is made by registered letter or through the dedicated portal, according to the arrangements applying to the procedure.
It must be made at least seven days before the date for returning bids.
This duty is notable: it places part of the responsibility for the quality of the package on the contractor, and it limits later claims founded on an ambiguity that could have been reported.
| Situation | What applies | To whom |
|---|---|---|
| Inconsistency spotted | Notification before the bid is submitted | To the bidder |
| Correction decided | Circulation to every candidate | To the client |
| Query raised | A written and recorded answer | To the client |
The effect of a correction
Two consequences provided for in the rules. They follow the discovery of an error in the documents.
Where errors are found before the tender period expires, or where the description of the works lacks clarity, a correction must be notified to all competitors.
The tender period must then be extended appropriately.
The logic is clear: amending the package without allowing time to take it into account would distort the tender.
The extension is therefore not a favour granted to contractors; it is a condition of the validity of the comparison.
The rule of circulation to all
It applies beyond public procurement.
An answer given to one contractor must be brought to the notice of all.
Answering individually creates an information asymmetry, and makes the bids incomparable with nothing to signal it.
This rule is legal in public work and practical in private work, but its effect is the same: a tender whose participants do not share the same information produces no valid comparison.
It requires queries to be centralised, rather than letting each party answer within its own field.
Practice in private work
Four points, in the absence of a statutory framework. They organise queries and answers on private contracts.
Provide expressly for the arrangements for queries in the tender documents, channel and deadline.
Set a deadline for queries, ahead of the return date, to leave time to answer and correct.
Circulate answers to all those invited, as a numbered note incorporated into the package.
Extend the return date where a substantive correction arrives late.
These four practices are not obligatory in private work, but their absence produces incomparable bids, which defeats the object of tendering.
What queries reveal
An often neglected use.
The volume and nature of queries measure the quality of the package.
Numerous queries on the same point signal defective drafting, to be corrected for future tenders.
The complete absence of queries is not a good sign. It often indicates that contractors priced on their own assumptions rather than asking.
Keeping queries and answers therefore constitutes a body of experience, as well as documenting the tender.
What this means for a professional
Four rules.
Provide the channel and deadline for queries from the tender documents onwards.
Circulate every answer to all those invited, without exception.
Extend the return date on any substantive correction, rather than keeping a date that has become unfair.
Archive the queries, which document the tender and improve future packages.
This article reflects the rules and practice at the date of checking and serves professional orientation. It does not constitute legal advice.