The Act stipulates the following forms of award procedures:

• simplified below-the-threshold procedure;
• open procedure;
• restricted procedure;
• negotiated procedure with publication;
• negotiated procedure without publication;
• competitive dialogue;
• innovative partnership;
• procedure on award of concession; and
• simplified procedure.

The Act further regulates sui generis forms of award procedures:

• framework agreement; and
• dynamic purchasing system.

Open procedure and restricted procedure may generally be used by the contracting authorities without any restrictions. Competitive dialogue and simplified below-the-threshold procedure may not be used by sector contracting authorities.

In an open procedure, an unlimited number of contractors are invited to submit a tender and prove the fulfilment of the qualification criteria.

A restricted procedure is a two-phase procedure. First, the contractors are invited to prove the qualification criteria. Contractors who fulfilled the qualification criteria are then invited to submit a tender.

Negotiated procedure with publication or without publication may generally be used only after a previous unsuccessful award procedure or in other exceptional circumstances. In the negotiated procedure, the tender is subject to further amendments in order to achieve more advantageous conditions for the contracting authority based on negotiations with the respective contractors.

Competitive dialogue may only be used in case of a particularly complex subject matter of the public contract, i.e. in case the contracting authority is objectively incapable of determining exactly the technical specifications, legal or financial requirements applicable to the performance of public contracts. In the course of the competitive dialogue, the contracting authority enters into negotiations with selected contractors for the purpose of identifying and specifying one or more suitable solutions capable of meeting its needs and requirements.

Innovative partnership may only be used if the need to develop innovative supplies, services or works, including subsequent purchase of results of such development, cannot be satisfied through the solutions that are already available on the market.

Simplified below-the-threshold procedure enables the contracting authority to invite only specific candidates (at least five) to submit a tender.

Simplified procedure could be used for awarding public contracts for social and other specific services listed in the Annex to the Act. Examples of these special services would be healthcare services, hotel and restaurant services, postal services, etc.

Dynamic purchasing systems may be set up by the contracting authority for public contracts which cover regular and commonly available goods, services or works in open procedure. Contractors submit indicative offers during the duration of the dynamic purchasing system. Contractors who have submitted indicative offers in accordance with the requirements of the contracting authority would be admitted to the dynamic purchasing system. Public contracts are awarded on the basis of an invitation to tender to contractors admitted to the dynamic purchasing system.

Subject to statutory exceptions, written communication within the entire procurement procedure between a contracting authority and contractors is to be conducted via electronic means as of 18 October 2018. Certain contracting authorities, such as the Czech National Bank and central contracting authorities, are already required to use the electronic means for communication with contractors as of 18 April 2017.

Additionally, the following electronic methods and tools for procurement procedures are already available for use:

• Dynamic purchasing system (as described above);
• Electronic catalogues allowing bidders to submit their bids (or a part thereof) in an electronic form and containing information regarding price, product description, etc.; use of electronic catalogues may be expressly required by the contracting authority; and
• Electronic auctions the use of which for purposes of evaluation of tenders may be reserved by the contracting authority in the RFP; the electronic auctions may also be used in case of public contracts awarded in a dynamic purchasing system or under the framework agreement.

EU-wide calls for bids are published on the website Bids Electronic Daily (TED):

http://ted.europa.eu/

TED is the online version of the Supplement to the Official Journal of the EU, dedicated to European public procurement.

In the Czech Republic, calls for tenders are published in the Public Procurement Journal which is available on the following website: https://www.vestnikverejnychzakazek.cz

Prospective bidders may only be excluded from the procurement procedure if the statutory requirements concerning exclusion of bidders are met. In some cases, the exclusion is optional and depends on decision of the contracting authority, in other cases, such as non-payment of a monetary deposit, the exclusion is obligatory and follows directly from the Act. A non-exhaustive list of acts resulting in potential exclusion of bidders is stated below.

The contracting authority may exclude a prospective bidder from participation in the procurement procedure if

• The information submitted by the bidder does not meet the qualification criteria or if the information has not been submitted within the set period;
• The provided information is not true and is capable of influencing evaluation of the participation conditions or fulfilment of evaluation criteria; and
• The tender contains abnormally low bid price which has not been clarified by the bidder.

Further, a prospective bidder may be excluded for ineligibility if the contracting authority proves that

• The performance offered by the bidder would lead to non-compliance with environmental laws, employment laws or collective agreements relating to the public contract to be awarded;
• There is a conflict of interest that cannot be prevented by a less restrictive measure;
• Competition has been distorted by participation of the bidder in preparation of the procurement procedure that cannot be remediated by other, less incisive measures, and the bidder cannot prove that the competition has not been distorted;
• The bidder committed severe misconduct relating to performance of a contractual relationship with the contracting authority awarding the current public contract in the last three years prior to initiation of the procurement procedure and such misconduct resulted in damage, early termination of the contractual relationship or other comparable sanctions; and
• The bidder tried to unlawfully influence the procurement procedure.

Other reasons for prohibition to taking part in the procurement procedure include e.g. bid rigging or professional misconduct of a bidder.