On 18 April 2018, the Belgian Official Journal (Belgisch Staatsblad/Moniteur belge) published an amending Royal Decree amending public procurement laws (Koninklijk Besluit van 15 april 2018 tot wijziging van meerdere Koninklijke Besluiten op het vlak van overheidsopdrachten en concessies en tot aanpassing van een drempel in de Wet van 17 juni 2013 betreffende de motivering, de informatie en de rechtsmiddelen inzake overheidsopdrachten, bepaalde opdrachten voor werken, leveringen en diensten en concessies/Arrêté royal du 15 avril 2018 modifiant plusieurs Arrêtés royaux en matière de marchés publics et de concessions et adaptant un seuil dans la Loi du 17 juin 2013 relative à la motivation, à l'information et aux voies de recours en matière de marchés publics, de certains marchés de travaux, de fournitures et de services et de concessions – the "RD"). The main changes introduced by the RD are summarised below.

Amendments to Royal Decrees on Award of Public Procurement Contracts

The RD amends the Royal Decree of 18 April 2017 on the award of public procurement contracts in the classical sectors (Koninklijk Besluit plaatsing overheidsopdrachten in de klassieke sectoren van 18 april 2017/Arrêté royal du 18 avril 2017 relatif à la passation des marchés publics dans les secteurs classiques) and the Royal Decree of 18 June 2017 on the award of public procurement contracts in the special sectors (Koninklijk Besluit plaatsing overheidsopdrachten in de speciale sectoren van 18 juni 2017/Arrêté royal du 18 juni 2017 relatif à la passation des marchés publics dans les secteurs spéciaux) as follows:

  • The date from which the European Single Procurement Document ("ESPD") should be submitted to contracting authorities in electronic format is 18 April 2018, which is six months earlier than initially planned. Other exchanges of information between tenderers and contracting authorities can still take place in non-electronic format. For public procurement contracts with a value equal to or above the thresholds for European publication, the use of electronic means of communication for these other exchanges will become compulsory from 18 October 2018.
  • The RD clarifies that the assessment of the tenders should be inclusive of VAT only when VAT entails an actual cost for the contracting authority (i.e., when the contracting authority cannot recover VAT).
  • The RD specifies that requests to participate in a tender procedure and tenders are filed in a timely fashion only if the contracting authority receives them before the specified date and time. If the contracting authority receives the request to participate or the tender on or after the date and time specified, it will be considered as belatedly filed.
  • The RD confirms explicitly that contracting authorities are entitled to request translations of documents and certificates even if they are drafted in one of Belgium's official languages.

Amendments to Law of 17 June 2013 concerning Reasons, Information and Legal Remedies with regard to Public Procurement Contracts and Specific Contracts for Works, Supplies and Services

The RD updates specific threshold amounts in the Law of 17 June 2013 concerning the reasons, the information and the legal remedies with regard to public procurement contracts and specific contracts for works, supplies and services (Wet van 17 juni 2013 betreffende de motivering, de informatie en de rechtsmiddelen inzake overheidsopdrachten en bepaalde opdrachten voor werken, leveringen en diensten/Loi du 17 juin 2013 relative à la motivation, à l'information et aux voies de recours en matière de marchés publics et de certains marchés de travaux, de fournitures et de services) to align them with (i) the thresholds mentioned in other legal texts; and (ii) new EU public procurement thresholds which apply from 1 January 2018 (see VBB on Belgian Business Law, Volume 2017, No. 12 available at www.vbb.com).

Amendments to Royal Decree of 14 January 2013 Laying Down General Rules for Performance of Public Procurement Contracts

The RD replaces Article 30 of the Royal Decree of 14 January 2013 laying down general rules for the performance of public procurement contracts (Koninklijk Besluit van 14 januari 2013 tot bepaling van de algemene uitvoeringsregels van de overheidsopdrachten/Arrêté royal du 14 janvier 2013 établissant les règles générales d'exécution des marchés publics – the "RD of 14 January 2013") with a new provision which makes it clear that contracting authorities are under a duty to observe the contractor's rights of defence under Article 44, §2 of the RD of 14 January 2013 should they wish to call on the guarantee provided by the contractor for the latter's failure to perform the contract correctly.

The RD expands the situations in which the contractor cannot be entitled to damages if performance of the contract is suspended at the request of the contracting authority.

The RD gives retroactive effect to Articles 38/1 ("Additional works, supplies or services"), 38/2 ("Unforeseeable circumstances for the contracting authority") and 38/19 ("Publication") of the RD of 14 January 2013, which were introduced by the Royal Decree of 22 June 2017 containing new rules on the performance of public works contracts and concession contracts for public works (Koninklijk Besluit van 22 juni 2017 tot wijziging van het Koninklijk Besluit van 14 januari 2013 tot bepaling van de algemene uitvoeringsregels van de overheidsopdrachten en van de concessies voor openbare werken en tot bepaling van de datum van inwerkingtreding van de Wet van 16 februari 2017 tot wijziging van de Wet van 17 juni 2013 betreffende de motivering, de informatie en de rechtsmiddelen inzake overheidsopdrachten en bepaalde opdrachten voor werken, leveringen en diensten/Arrêté royal du 22 juin 2017 modifiant l'Arrêté royal du 14 janvier 2013 établissant les règles générales d'exécution des marches publics et des concessions de travaux publics et fixant la date d'entrée en vigueur de la Loi du 16 février 2017 modifiant la Loi du 17 juin 2013 relative à la motivation, à l'information et aux voies de recours en matière de marchés publics et de certains marchés de travaux, de fournitures et de services – the "RD of 22 June 2017"). The RD provides that Articles 38/1, 38/2 and 38/19 will apply also to contracts tendered before 30 June 2017 (i.e., the date of entry into force of the RD of 22 June 2017).

The RD entered into force on 28 April 2018, subject to exceptions for some specific provisions (including the provision on the ESPD which, as indicated above, applies from 18 April 2018).

The RD should be welcomed in that it provides helpful clarification. However, similar clarification may prove necessary in the near future for a variety of other issues frequently encountered by tenderers and contracting authorities.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.