GENERAL INVITATION TO TENDER

Nº10344

Daily transport of publications

and other goods from Luxembourg to the European Institutions and other addresses

TENDER SPECIFICATIONS

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Invitation to tender No 10344 – Daily transport of publications and other goods

Table of contents

CONTENTS

1.Preliminary information concerning the Invitation to Tender

1.1Presentation of the Publications Office

1.2Nature of the contract

1.3Subject and background of the contract

1.4Starting date and duration of the contract

1.5Prices

1.6Payment

1.7Guarantees

1.8Site or location of works

1.9General terms and conditions for the submission of tenders

1.10Period of validity of tenders

1.11Date and place of opening of the tenders

2Assessment of the tender

2.1Assessment and award of contract

2.2Form and content of the tender

2.3Structure of the bid

2.4Section one: Administrative information

2.5Section two: exclusion criteria

2.6Section three: selection criteria

2.7Part four: award criteria – technical bid

2.8Part five: award criteria – financial bid

2.9Final assessment

2.10Information for tenderers

2.11Award of the contract

3Joint bids and subcontracting

3.1Making a bid in collaboration with other companies

3.2Documents to submit – joint bid

3.3Documents to submit – subcontracting

3.4Assessment of joint bids or bids including subcontracting

4Technical specifications

4.1Types of task

4.2Vehicles and drivers

4.3Goods

4.4Collection of the goods

4.5Deliveries

4.6Goods for return to the Publications Office

4.7Deadlines

4.8Timetable

4.9Delivery notes

4.10Damages

4.11Coordination meetings

5Technical annexes

6Annexes

1Financial bid, price schedule and specimen quotation

2AFinancial identification form

2BLegal entity form

2CAgreement /power of attorney

3Tenderer identification form

4Questionnaire for joint bids and subcontracting

5List of documents to provide

6Declaration on the grounds for exclusion

7Technical questionnaire regarding the SELECTION criteria

8Technical questionnaire regarding the AWARD criteria

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Invitation to tender No 10344 – Daily transport of publications and other goods

1. Preliminary information concerning the Invitation to Tender

1.Preliminary information concerning the Invitation to Tender

These Specifications follow the publication of:

the prior information notice in OJ S – 2011/S 20-031102 of 29/01/2011 and,

the contract notice in OJ S – 2011/S 77-125403 of 20/04/2011.

This invitation to tender was published by the Publications Office of the European Union, which will sign the contract and supervise its performance.

1.1Presentation of the Publications Office

Publishing house of the European Institutions

The Publications Office of the European Union (2, rue Mercier, L-2985 Luxembourg) is the publishing house of the European Institutions in the broadest sense, responsible for producing and distributing, on all media and by all means, all the publications of the European Union.The way in which the Publications Office of the European Union is organised and operates is laid down by Decision 2009/496/EC, Euratom (Official Journal of the European Union, L168, 30.06.2009, pp.41-47).It is managed by a Management Committee in which each institution is represented by its Secretary-General.The Publications Office is attached to the European Commission for administrative purposes.More information can be found on the Publications Office website:

As a publisher, the Publications Office has a duty to offer the highest-quality service to its customers – the originating departments of the Institutions and other bodies of the European Union – and to its public – the people of the European Union and those throughout the world who are interested in European affairs.In the field of new technologies, the Publications Office must place itself at the forefront of the publishing profession.

Under the Treaty on European Union, the publication of certain titles, such as the Official Journal of the European Union or the General Report on the Activities of the European Union, is a legal obligation.

Useful addresses:

Publications Office website /
EU bookshop:the EU online bookshop /
EUROVOC:multilingual thesaurus /
CORDIS:
Community Research and Development Information Service /
Eur-Lex:
portal for accessing EU law /
WHOISWHO:
European Union directory /
TED:
Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union /
SIMAP:
information portal on European public contracts /
Other useful links /

1.2Nature of the contract

The contract is a framework service contract with the title:'Daily transport of publications and other goods from Luxembourg to the European Union and other addresses'.

As the exact implementing conditions, quantities and/or delivery times cannot be indicated in advance, the Commission intends to conclude a framework contract which will establish the basic terms for a series of specific orders or contracts to be concluded over its duration.Framework contracts impose no direct obligation on the Commission whatsoever.Only their implementation by way of specific contracts and/or order forms is binding on the Commission.

The estimated amount of the contract is EUR 1000000 over a maximum period of four years.

1.3Subject and background of the contract

The subject of the contract is:

the hire of motor vehicles with driver, intended for the daily transport of publications, the Official Journal of the European Union and other goods (publications on electronic media, packages, letters, supplies, small portable machines etc.) from Luxembourg (Gasperich) to the European Institutions and other addresses in particular in the metropolitan areas of Brussels and Luxembourg and in the neighbouring countries, within a radius of approximately 300km of Luxembourg.

at the express request of the Publications Office, taking charge of goods intended for the Publications Office in the metropolitan areas of Brussels and Luxembourg and within a radius of approximately 300km of Luxembourg.

To submit a bid, tenderers must fill in the price schedule and the specimen quotation, as well as the technical information sheets.

In order to contribute to the environmental policies pursued by the European Union, this invitation to tender provides for compliance with certain energy and environmental standards[1].

For more details on the tasks to be performed, refer to chapter 4 (Technical specifications).

1.4Starting date and duration of the contract

The contract will enter into force on 1 October 2011.The performance of tasks may not start before the contract has been signed.Services relating to transport inLuxembourg will begin on 1 March 2012.

The duration of the contract shall be one year and may be renewed automatically up to three times, each time with the duration of one year and under the same conditions (see ArticleI.2 of the draft contract).

1.5Prices

Prices must be quoted in EUR. For tenderers in countries which are not in the euro zone, the price quoted may not be revised in line with exchange rate movements.

The prices indicated shall be fixed and not subject to revision.Prices can only be revised in accordance with Article I.3 of the contract.Please note that the price revision is conditional to a request which must be submitted at the latest three months before the anniversary date of the entry into force of the contract.If the request is justified and timely, the revised prices will enter into force on the anniversary of the entry into force of the contract.Revisions of prices will be calculated to the same number of decimal places as was stipulated in the initial price schedule, and the revised prices are also to have the same number of decimal places (point 2.8.1).

For details of how to submit the financial bid in the price schedule and the specimen quotation, see point 2.8.1.

1.6Payment

Payments shall be made in accordance with Article II.4 of the draft contract as follows:

  • payments shall be executed only if the contractor has fulfilled all its contractual obligations by the date on which the invoice is submitted.

1.7Guarantees

[Not applicable]

1.8Site or location of works

The consignments shall be made available at the logistical site of the Publications Office, located at No 3, rue Émile Bian, Cloche d'Or – Gasperich, L-1235 Luxembourg.

Meetings between the Publications Office and the successful contractor may be held on the premises of the Publications Office.

1.9General terms and conditions for the submission of tenders

Participation in the tendering procedure is open on equal terms to all natural and legal persons coming within the scope of the treaties and to all natural and legal persons in a third country which has a special agreement with the European Communities in the field of public procurement on the conditions laid down in that agreement.

Submission of a tender implies that the tenderer accepts all the terms and conditions set out in the invitation letter, in these specifications (including annexes) and in the draft contract and waives all other terms of business.The bid submitted will be binding on tenderers to whom a contract is awarded during performance of the contract.

Once the Publications Office has accepted the tender, it shall become the property of the Publications Office and the Publications Office shall treat it confidentially.

The Publications Office shall not reimburse any costs incurred in preparing and submitting tenders.

The Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities or, where appropriate, the Vienna Convention of 24 April 1963 on Consular Relations shall apply to this invitation to tender.

1.10Period of validity of tenders

The offer must remain valid for a period of nine (9) months following the final date for submitting tenders (see letter of invitation to tender).During this period, tenderers must maintain all the conditions of their bids.

1.11Date and place of opening of the tenders

Tenders will be opened on 09/06/2011 at 10.00 a.m. at the following location:

Address of the Publications Office:

Publications Office

2, rue Mercier

L-2985 Luxembourg

One authorised representative of each tenderer may attend the opening of the bids.Companies wishing to attend are requested to notify their intention by sending a fax or email at least 24 hours in advance to the address below.This notification must be signed by an authorised officer of the tenderer and specify the name of the person who will attend the opening of the tenders on the tenderer’s behalf.

Fax: (352) 2929-42672

Email:

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Invitation to tender No 10344 – Daily transport of publications and other goods

2. Assessment of the tender

2Assessment of the tender

2.1Assessment and award of contract

Tenderers and bids will be assessed in three stages:

The aim of each of these stages is:

to check, in the first stage (exclusion criteria), whether tenderers can take part in the tendering procedure and, potentially, be awarded the contract;

to check, in the second stage (selection criteria), the economic and financial capacity and the technical and professional capacity of each tenderer having passed the first stage;

to assess, on the basis of the award criteria, each bid which has passed the first and second stages.

The assessment procedure may result in the award of the contract.

The assessment will be based on each tenderer’s bid.With regard to the exclusion and selection criteria, the Publications Office reserves the right to request additional evidence in relation to the bid submitted for clarification or verification purposes within a time limit stipulated in its request.All the information will be assessed against the criteria specified in this chapter.

Please be aware that, with regard to the award criteria, the Publications Office can enter into contact with a tenderer only where a bid leads to a request for clarification or in order to correct an obvious clerical error.Such contact may only serve to clarify points already present in the bid and may not lead to any modification of the terms of the bid.

Only bids meeting the requirements of each stage will pass on to the next stage of the assessment.

2.2Form and content of the tender

Tenders must be clear and concise and assembled in a coherent fashion (e.g. bound or stapled etc.).The tenderer is also asked to provide a complete list indicating where to find the required documents (Annex 5).If the tender is divided into different sections, it is advisable to prepare a table of contents for each section.

Since tenderers will be judged on the content of their written bids, these must make it clear that they are able to meet the requirements of the Specifications.

The letter of invitation includes the information on the conditions which must be fulfilled and the rules for submitting tenders.

Please note that the tender must be signed by a person or persons who is/are entitled to represent the economic operator in accordance with its articles of association and/or extract from the commercial register, or by a person or persons who received power of attorney to do so from somebody who is mentioned in those documents.The documents showing that the person is entitled to represent the economic operator must be submitted as described in point 2.4.

The same rule is applicable to the person(s) designated to sign the contract.

2.3Structure of the bid

All bids must be presented in the following five sections:

Section one:administrative information

Section two:exclusion criteria

Section three:selection criteria

Part four:award criteria - technical bid

Part five:award criteria - financial bid

Sections one to four on the one hand and Section five on the other hand must be submitted in two separate sealed envelopes, which together are placed in double sealed envelopes as described in the letter of invitation to tender.Each inside envelope must clearly indicate its contents ('Technical bid' and 'Financial bid').

Please note that all documents must be submitted in triplicate (an original and two copies) and that this requirement also applies to any diskettes, CDs or other electronic media which are part of the tender.

2.4Section one:Administrative information

In the first section, the tenderer must provide the following:

  • A duly signed covering letter;
  • the completed form for identification of the tenderer, as provided in Annex 3, including the following information:
  • the tenderer’s name and/or business name;
  • a clear description of the tenderer’s legal form;
  • the address of the tenderer's registered office;
  • where applicable, websiteaddress;
  • information concerning the bank account;
  • the names of the legal representatives (managers, directors etc.) of the tenderer, authorised to sign contracts with third parties;
  • the names, addresses, telephone numbers, fax numbers and email addresses of the persons to be contacted;
  • the tenderer's VAT number and trade-register entry number;
  • a financial identification form filled in and signed by an authorised representative of the tenderer, bearing the bank’s stamp and signed by a representative of the bank.If you are enclosing a copy of a recent bank statement, the bank's stamp and the signature of its representative are not necessary.A standard form is provided in Annex 2A, and a specific form for each MemberState is available at the following internet address:
  • the Legal Entity Form, to be signed by a representative of the tenderer authorised to sign contracts with third parties.There is one form for individuals, one for private entities and one for public entities.A model is provided in Annex 2B.Specific forms in each MemberState language are available at:

The Legal Entity Form must be supported by the following documents in order to prove the administrative information provided by the tenderer:

For private entities:

proof of registration, as prescribed in the country of establishment, in one of the professional or trade registers or any other official document showing the registration number;

if the above document does not show the VAT number, a copy of the VAT registration document, where applicable;

a legible copy of the notice of appointment of the persons authorised to represent the tenderer in dealings with third parties and in legal proceedings, if it is not included in the above-mentioned documents, or a copy of the publication of such appointment if the legislation which applies to the legal entity concerned requires such publication.If necessary to establish authorisation to represent the tenderer, the instrument of incorporation or constitution of the legal entity and/or a copy of the statutes must be provided.If the person(s) signing the tender or the person designated to sign the contract is/are entitled to represent the economic operator by a power of attorney from the above-mentioned authorised persons, the power of attorney must also be submitted.

For individuals:

a legible copy of their identity card or passport must be produced;

where applicable, proof of registration, as prescribed in the country of establishment, in one of the professional or trade registers or any other official document showing the registration number;

if the above document does not show the VAT number, a copy of the VAT registration document, where applicable.

For public entities:

a copy of the resolution, law, decree or decision establishing the entity in question or, failing that, any other official document attesting to the existence of the entity;

the names and positions of the legal representatives (managers, directors etc.) of the tenderer, authorised to sign contracts with third parties (a copy of the appointment of the persons authorised to represent the tenderer must be produced);

if the body governed by public law has given a VAT number on the Legal Entity form, an official document which includes the VAT number.

2.5Section two:exclusion criteria

2.5.1Documents to be provided concerning the exclusion criteria

In Section Two, the tenderer(s) must provide the declaration on grounds for exclusion (Annex 6) and the following related certificates or documents:

a recent extract from the judicial record or equivalent, as evidence that they are not in any of the situations listed in paragraph (a), (b) or (e) (see point 2.5.2), or an equivalent recent document issued by a competent legal or administrative body in the country of origin or provenance showing that these requirements are met;

a recent certificate issued by the competent authority in the relevant country stating that the tenderer has fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions or equivalent;

a recent certificate issued by the competent authority in the relevant country stating that the tenderer has fulfilled obligations relating to the payment of taxes or equivalent.

Where the country concerned does not issue documents or certificates of the kind required above, they may be replaced by a sworn or, failing this, a solemn statement, made by the tenderer before a judicial or administrative authority, notary or qualified professional body in the tenderer's country of origin or provenance.

2.5.2Grounds for exclusion

In accordance with Article 93 of the Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1605/2002 (OJ L 248 of 16 September 2002, p.1, as amended), tenderers will be excluded from participation in a procurement procedure if:

a)they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations;