Consultation Regarding the Commission's Involvement in the Matter
In a move to encourage innovation and sustainability, new regulations have been introduced in the procurement process for start-ups and public contracting authorities. These changes, effective from October 1, 2024, affect all public contracting authorities except for municipalities.
The revised VwV Procurement provides impulses for facilitated contract awarding to start-ups. According to the regulations, start-ups are defined as "young innovative companies with growth ambitions" that distinguish themselves through an innovative business model, product, or service, and have scaling potential.
Direct awards are now permissible for supply and service contracts not subject to EU procurement law, free of procurement law, up to an estimated net contract value of 100,000 euros. This means that only one offer is required, and negotiations may be conducted freely over this.
Organizational, content-related, economic, and technical connections must be considered in the direct awards. A good indication of a start-up's eligibility could be if the company has already benefited from start-up promotion or financing.
The higher thresholds in the VwV Beschaffung also apply to municipal contracts below the threshold. This means that municipalities can also benefit from higher thresholds in the construction sector, with restricted procurement without competitive bidding being permitted up to one million euros net.
The price of the procured goods or services must be market-based, and the procurement must be subject to economic conditions. The CO2 shadow price should be factored into cost-benefit analyses, based on the "scientifically determined and recommended value by the Federal Environment Agency for each tonne of CO2 generated over the lifecycle of the measure".
Switching between commissioned companies is encouraged, and the contract may be awarded online, via email, or even by phone. However, the obligation to consider the CO2 shadow price does not apply to contracts with a volume of less than 100,000 euros net and also not if there are no reliable and verifiable aids available for calculating CO2 emissions.
A Staatsanzeiger subscription is required to subscribe to topics and save articles related to these changes. The higher value thresholds for the award of supply and service contracts by authorities have been increased as of October 1, 2024.
These changes aim to foster innovation, promote sustainability, and simplify the procurement process for start-ups and public contracting authorities.
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