How to take part in a public procurement: step by step

Procurement notices are published in the publication management system of the Procurement Monitoring Bureau (Iepirkumu uzraudzības birojs, IUB) and can be searched at info.iub.gov.lv. Procurement documents and offer submission are usually in the Electronic Procurement System (EIS), and procurements above the EU thresholds are also available on TED. An overview of the sources: Where to find current public procurements.

Before you start, assess whether you have enough time to prepare an offer. In a procurement under Article 9 of the PIL, the deadline can be as short as 10 working days, while in an open procedure below the EU threshold the minimum deadline is 20 days, which can be shortened by five days if offers are submitted electronically. Which procedure applies depends on the contract value: Public procurement thresholds 2026.

If you follow several sources, Tendera collects procurements from more than 150 sources, and AI compares the procurement information with your company profile and shows the reasoning.

The procurement regulations (nolikums) are the main procurement document. They contain the qualification requirements, the technical specification, the requirements for preparing the offer, the evaluation criteria and the draft contract. From the day the procurement is announced, the contracting authority provides free and direct electronic access to the documents on its buyer profile.

Pay attention to:

• the date and time of the offer submission deadline
• the evaluation criteria: price only, or price together with quality criteria
• whether an offer security is required; it may not exceed 2% of the estimated contract value
• whether the procurement is divided into lots and whether you can submit an offer for a single lot
• the draft contract: payment terms, contractual penalties and the performance security
• the requirement that goods and services of Russian and Belarusian origin may not be used in performing the contract (PIL Article 2.2)
• amendments and answers to questions published by the contracting authority alongside the procurement documents

Qualification requirements may concern your suitability to pursue the professional activity (registration, permits), your economic and financial standing (for example, turnover) and your technical and professional ability (experience, specialists).

If you lack experience or turnover, you can form a group of suppliers, rely on the capacities of another entity or bring in a subcontractor. Your offer must show that these resources will actually be available for performing the contract.

The exclusion grounds are set out in Article 42 of the PIL, and the contracting authority may not extend them. The main ones are:

• criminal offences, such as bribery, fraud or tax evasion
• unpaid obligations in taxes, including state social insurance contributions
• insolvency, suspension of business activity or liquidation
• breaches of competition law, such as cartel agreements
• a conflict of interest or providing false information

If a requirement is unclear, ask the contracting authority. The contracting authority sends the answer to the person who asked and publishes it, together with the question, alongside the procurement documents. A question counts as asked in good time if the contracting authority has enough time after receiving it to prepare an answer.

Prepare your offer following the exact structure of the procurement regulations. It usually has three parts:

• Qualification documents: declarations, a list of previous experience, specialists’ documents and certificates, if the procurement regulations require them.
• Technical offer: how you will meet each requirement of the technical specification.
• Financial offer: the price, exactly in the contracting authority’s form, without combining costs or including them in other items.

The European Single Procurement Document (ESPD; in Latvian, Eiropas vienotais iepirkuma procedūras dokuments, EVIP) is a standard form with which you provide initial confirmation that you meet the selection requirements. The contracting authority must accept it as preliminary evidence, but it may request supporting evidence at any stage of the procedure.

An ESPD is also submitted for each entity whose capacities you rely on and for each subcontractor whose share is worth at least €10,000. A group of suppliers submits a separate ESPD for each member. An ESPD submitted in another procedure can be reused if the information in it is correct. EIS has a tool for completing the ESPD. More detail: The ESPD (EVIP).

To submit an offer in the EIS e-competitions subsystem (e-konkursi), your company must be registered in EIS. You can log in, for example, with eParaksts or Smart-ID. More detail: EIS registration.

• If the contracting authority has provided for electronic submission, you cannot submit a paper offer.
• All documents can be signed together, as a single package, with one qualified electronic signature.
• Submit your offer with time to spare, so that you can act if technical problems arise.

1. 1Evaluation. In closed meetings, the procurement commission checks qualification and the technical and financial offers, and selects the most economically advantageous offer. The law does not set a time limit for evaluation. The prospective winner is checked for exclusion grounds and sanctions.
2. 2Results. The contracting authority informs all participants within three working days of taking its decision. A rejected participant is told the reasons for the rejection.
3. 3Appeal to the IUB. An application concerning the results can be submitted within 10 days of the notice being sent electronically, or within 15 days if it was sent by post. A deposit must be paid: 0.5% of the estimated contract value, but no more than €840 for supply and service contracts and €15,000 for works contracts. The IUB review commission examines the application within one month, which can be extended for objective reasons.
4. 4Procurements under PIL Article 9. The IUB does not review these. The decision can be appealed to the District Administrative Court (Administratīvā rajona tiesa) within one month of receiving it.
5. 5Contract. In procedures, the contract is concluded no earlier than the working day after the standstill period ends, provided the IUB has not received an application. The standstill period is 10 days after the results are sent electronically, or 15 days if they were sent by post, plus one working day. The contracting authority publishes the contract on its buyer profile within 10 working days of it entering into force.