Article 7

Tenderers shall participate in the tendering procedure either by sending a written tender by registered post to the Commission department indicated in the tender notice or by lodging the written tender with that department against acknowledgment of receipt. Tenders must be placed in an envelope bearing the words ‘food aid’ and the reference number of the relevant invitation to tender. The envelope must be sealed and placed inside a second envelope bearing the address indicated in the tender notice.

Tenders may also be sent by written telecommunication to the numbers indicated in the tender notice. The fact that the numbers were engaged shall not be accepted as an excuse for failure to meet the deadline for submission of tenders.

Tenders must arrive or be lodged in their entirety before expiry of the deadline for submission of tenders laid down in the tender notice.

One single tender may be submitted for each lot. It shall be valid only if it relates to a complete lot. Where a lot is subdivided into part: lots, the tender shall be established as an average thereof.

Where the invitation to tender relates to the supply of more than one lot, a separate tender shall be submitted per lot. The tenderer is not obliged to present a tender for all the lots.

Tenders shall conform to the model in Annex IIA and shall take account of the particulars given in Annex IIB.

Tenders must indicate:

The tender shall be deemed to take account both of the mobilization procedure referred to in Article 4 as laid down for the supply concerned, and of the refund or charge applicable on export and other compensatory amounts provided for in the rules governing trade in agricultural products.

The invitation to tender may provide that the tender must include these refunds or other amounts;

The provisions of the second and third subparagraphs shall apply mutatis mutandis where the provisions of point (e) are applied.

Without prejudice to paragraph 3, in the case of delivery ex works or free at destination overland only, the tender shall indicate a maximum of two loading addresses. In the case of delivery free carrier, the loading address shall be indicated in the tender notice; the Commission will only proceed to this stage of delivery in special circumstances duly motivated.

Without prejudice to paragraph 3, in the case of delivery free at port of landing or free at destination by sea, the tender shall indicate one single port of shipment. However, two ports may be indicated in the tender if the whole cargo cannot be loaded in the first port by virtue of that port's configuration and loading has to be completed on the same vessel in the second port.

Without prejudice to paragraph 3, in the case of delivery free at port of shipment, the tender shall indicate one single port accessible to ocean-going vessels where the supply can be undertaken under the conditions laid down. However, two ports may be indicated in the tender if the lot is subdivided into part lots with different destinations.

In the case of supplies involving no more than 3 000 tonnes net per lot for a single destination, the port of loading shall be selected, having regard to the possibility of a sea connection with the country of destination, with a maximum of one transshipment in a port outside the Community, by a liner or part cargo vessel during the shipment period laid down. In this case, the tender shall be valid only if it is accompanied by a confirmation from a shipping company or its agent of the existence of such a connection.

In the case of the supply of processed products, including rice, mobilized in the Community, the sea transport may include one transshipment in another European port of the Community under the conditions laid down above; that port must also be indicated in the tender. The transshipment costs shall be borne by the supplier.

In special circumstances the port of shipment may be specified in the tender notice.

Where point (d) of paragraph 3 applies, the tender shall be presented as follows:

Where point (e) of paragraph 3 applies, the tender notice shall specify the manner of presentation of the tender.

The tender shall be valid only if it is accompanied by evidence that the guarantee referred to in Article 8 has been lodged. The guarantee shall be provided under the conditions set out in paragraph 1 of the present Article. The mere reference to a guarantee lodged for the same lot in a previous tender shall be inadmissible.

A tender which is not submitted in accordance with the provisions of this Article or contains reservations or conditions other than those laid down for the invitation to tender shall not be valid.

No tender may be changed or withdrawn after it has been received, except in the case referred to in Article 9(4).