Building maintenance framework agreement: suspension for inadequate price verification – verification on only 3 of 292 items (less than 1%) is insufficient
The Council of State suspends the Brussels Port's decision to award a building maintenance framework agreement to IN ADVANCE, because the contracting entity verified prices on only 3 of the 292 items in the bill of quantities — less than 1% — by excluding all items deemed 'negligible' (less than 3% of the average global price), while articles 84 of the Law of 17 June 2016 and 43 of the Royal Decree of 18 June 2017 require verification of all unit prices.
What happened?
Brussels Port launched a framework agreement for building maintenance (CSC 1445), worth up to EUR 3,000,000 excl. VAT over 8 years, with price as sole award criterion. Three tenderers submitted offers. This was the third award attempt after two prior decisions were withdrawn following successive suspension proceedings. During price verification, the Port defined as 'negligible' all items whose average total price was less than 3% of the average global price. These items were entirely excluded from verification. Only 3 of 292 items exceeded this threshold. The Council found that excluding over 99% of unit prices from any verification does not comply with articles 84 of the Law and 43 of the Royal Decree. The exemption from requesting justifications for 'negligible' items (art. 44(2)) does not exempt from verifying those prices. Suspension ordered.
Why does this matter?
This ruling draws a crucial distinction between two stages of price control: verification (art. 43 RD), which must cover all unit prices, and examination of apparently abnormal prices (art. 44), for which justifications need not be requested for negligible items. An item may be negligible for the in-depth examination, but cannot be excluded from the initial verification.
The lesson
As a contracting entity: do not confuse the negligible character of an item (no need to request written justifications for apparent abnormality) with an exemption from all price verification. Verification must cover all unit prices. As a tenderer: check whether the evaluation report shows effective price verification across the entire bill of quantities.
Ask yourself
As a contracting entity: have I verified all unit prices across the entire bill of quantities, not just those above a certain threshold? As a tenderer: does the analysis report demonstrate effective and concrete price verification across the entire bill of quantities?
About this database
The Council of State (Raad van State / Conseil d'État) is Belgium's supreme administrative court. In disputes over public procurement — from contract awards to tenderer exclusions — the Council of State is the final arbiter. The rulings in this database are summarised by TenderWolf in plain language, with practical lessons for tenderers and contracting authorities. View all rulings →