European Single Procurement Document (ESPD)
DEUC / ESPD
1. DEUC – Spanish acronym: Documento Europeo Único de Contratación
2. Acronyms in English: European Single Procurement Document
01
What is the DEUC/ESPD?
The European Single Procurement Document (ESPD) consists of a declaration of the financial situation, capabilities and suitability of companies for a public procurement procedure. The DEUC/ESPD entered into force on April 18, 2016.
This is a document in electronic format that identifies and accredits a Bidder before the Administration. Thus, the bidder declares to comply with the conditions and requirements that the bidding document demands for contracting. With it, the bidders declare in a responsible manner that they meet the suitability requirements to develop the contract:
- Legal personality – That the company is validly constituted and that, in accordance with its corporate purpose, it may bid for the bid, as well as that the signatory of the declaration is duly represented for the presentation of the proposal and the bid.
- Capacity to contract – That it has the corresponding classification, if applicable, or that it meets the economic, financial and technical or professional solvency requirements.
- No incursion in prohibitions to contract – That it is not prohibited from contracting either by itself or by extension as a consequence of the application of Article 71.3 of this Law.
In short, by means of this document the bidders state that they have the necessary financial solvency in relation to the estimated value of the contract and that they also have the necessary capacity, and that they are not in any of the situations that may cause their exclusion from the procedure, such as, for example, that they are not involved in a cause of prohibition to contract with the public sector.
02
DEUC/ESPD as a simplification of the administrative documentation submission.
Public tenders usually involve the presentation of documentation that is divided into envelopes: Envelope 1 or A, Envelope 2 or B and Envelope 3 or C. Sometimes they consist of two envelopes instead of three.
In any case there will always be an envelope 1 or A in which the Bidder presents the administrative documentation that accredits it as suitable, that is to say that it can be presented, before that Bidding.
Well, instead of all bidders initially submitting all the documentation accrediting the requirements for contracting with the Administration, as was the case before the implementation of the DEUC/ESPD, this documentation may be replaced by a responsible declaration in this single format, and only the bidder proposed as the successful bidder will be asked to provide the documentation.
Thanks to DEUC/ESPD, bidders will no longer have to provide full documentary evidence and different forms previously used in EU public procurement, which means a considerable simplification of access to cross-border tendering opportunities.
03
Obligatory nature of the DEUC/ESPD
Initially the DEUC/ESPD was launched as a right and not as an obligation, nowadays its use is widespread and it is mandatory in the open procedure. By simplifying the declaration of compliance with preconditions, and being a standardized form and translated into all EU languages, any company from any EU country can easily submit this declaration for any Public Tender opportunity it encounters.
With the generalization of the DEUC, the Community institutions intend to favor the presentation of companies to tenders in other member states by reducing the problems related to the diversity of pre-existing national declarations and language barriers.
The DEUC/ESPD is currently required in open, restricted, competitive bidding with negotiation, competitive dialogue and innovation partnership procedures.
Basically, the only exceptions are simplified and supersimplified open procedures, as well as minor contracts and those processed on an emergency basis.
04
Temporary joint ventures, subcontracting and DEUC/ESPD
When a company is bidding in a joint venture (or in a commitment to form a joint venture) with one or more other companies, each member company of the future joint venture must submit a standardized DEUC/ESPD form.
Likewise, when a company relies on the capacity of other companies as subcontractors or as a means of meeting solvency requirements through third parties (art. 75 LCSP), it must submit an independent DEUC/ESPD.
The generalization of the use and requirement of the DEUC/ESPD by Contracting Bodies is a firm commitment to transparency, equal opportunities, efficiency and sustainability.
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