Exclusion grounds

Circumstances that keep a bid from being considered, or exclude a bidder outright.

Exclusion grounds keep a bid from being scored at all, or remove a bidder from the procedure entirely. That is different from a low score: an exclusion ground stops the evaluation before it starts.

Common grounds include a late submission, a missing piece of required eligibility evidence, an unauthorized change to the tender conditions, or outstanding taxes and social security contributions. Serious misconduct on a prior contract can also be relevant.

A careful review of the tender documents before submission helps prevent formal gaps. Such gaps can exclude a bid even when its content is strong.