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ARTICLES

LEGAL RESOURSES

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    • Article 1009: Qualification of Suppliers

    1. Further to Article 1003 (TLCAN: Art. 1003), no entity of a Party may, in the process of qualifying suppliers in a tendering procedure, discriminate between suppliers of the other Parties or between domestic suppliers and suppliers of the other Parties.

    2. The qualification procedures followed by an entity shall be consistent with the following:

  • Conditions for participation by suppliers in tendering procedures shall be published sufficiently in advance so as to provide the suppliers adequate time to initiate and, to the extent that it is compatible with efficient operation of the procurement process, to complete the qualification procedures;

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  • Conditions for participation by suppliers in tendering procedures, including financial guarantees, technical qualifications and information necessary for establishing the financial, commercial and technical capacity of suppliers, as well as the verification of whether a supplier meets those conditions, shall be limited to those that are essential to ensure the fulfillment of the contract in question;

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  • The financial, commercial and technical capacity of a supplier shall be judged both on the basis of that supplier's global business activity, including its activity in the territory of the Party of the supplier, and its activity, if any, in the territory of the Party of the procuring entity;

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  • An entity shall not misuse the process of, including the time required for, qualification in order to exclude suppliers of another Party from a suppliers' list or from being considered for a particular procurement;

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  • An entity shall recognize as qualified suppliers those suppliers of another Party that meet the conditions for participation in a particular procurement;

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  • An entity shall consider for a particular procurement those suppliers of another Party that request to participate in the procurement and that are not yet qualified, provided there is sufficient time to complete the qualification procedure;

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  • An entity that maintains a permanent list of qualified suppliers shall ensure that suppliers may apply for qualification at any time, that all qualified suppliers so requesting are included in the list within a reasonably short period of time and that all qualified suppliers included in the list are notified of the termination of the list or of their removal from it;

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  • Where, after publication of a notice in accordance with Article 1010 (TLCAN: Art. 1010), a supplier that is not yet qualified requests to participate in a particular procurement, the entity shall promptly start the qualification procedure;

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  • An entity shall advise any supplier that requests to become a qualified supplier of its decision as to whether that supplier has become qualified; and
  • Where an entity rejects a supplier's application to qualify or ceases to recognize a supplier as qualified, the entity shall, on request of the supplier, promptly provide pertinent information concerning the entity's reasons for doing so.

    • 3. Each Party shall:

  • Ensure that each of its entities uses a single qualification procedure, except that an entity may use additional qualification procedures where the entity determines the need for a different procedure and is prepared, on request of another Party, to demonstrate that need; and

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  • Endeavor to minimize differences in the qualification procedures of its entities.

    • 4. Nothing in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall prevent an entity from excluding a supplier on grounds such as bankruptcy or false declarations.