Brussels, 29/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - A contracting authority in a tendering procedure must seek explanations from a tenderer in the case where the tender appears to contain an abnormally low price. On the other hand, it is not required to seek clarification in respect of a tender which is imprecise or which does not meet the technical requirements of the tender specifications, states the EU Court of Justice in a ruling on 29 March (Case C-599/10). In response to the Supreme Court of Slovakia to which two groups of undertakings had brought legal proceedings challenging the administrative decisions ordering their exclusion from the public procurement procedure, the Court interpreted Directive 2004/18/EC on the awarding of public procurement contracts. It notes in this respect that the directive requires the awarding authority to examine the details of tenders which contain an abnormally low price and to request tenderers to furnish the necessary explanations to prove that their tenders are genuine. This request for clarification must be set out clearly so that tenderers are in a position fully and effectively to show that their tenders are genuine. However, the directive does not expressly set out the procedure to be followed in the event that the contracting authority finds the tender submitted is imprecise or does not meet the technical requirements of the tender specifications. Once submitted, the tender cannot be modified by the contracting authority or by the tenderer, or be the subject of wrangling between them, in order to preserve equal treatment between tenderers. Under these conditions, the directive does not oblige a contracting authority to request tenderers to clarify their tenders in the light of the technical requirements of the tender specifications before rejecting them on the grounds that they are imprecise or do not meet those requirements. (FG/transl.jl)