Laws and regulations governing procurement

HHNK complies with the applicable laws and regulations when tendering for projects and services. These European and national rules are designed to ensure the free movement of goods, services, and capital between EU member states and optimal market functioning.

European directive

Dutch laws and regulations governing public procurement are based on European Directive 2014/24/EU. The European rules have been implemented in the Netherlands in the 2012 Public Procurement Act.

Procurement Act 2012

The 2012 Public Procurement Act( ) applies to all tenders issued by public and semi-public institutions in the Netherlands. With this act, the Netherlands implements the European directives on public procurement. 

A number of provisions from the Act have been further elaborated in an order in council (Procurement Decree):

• The 2012 Public Procurement Act considers the principle of proportionality to be one of the fundamental principles of public procurement law. This means that the requirements that a contractor must meet in a tender must be proportionate to the contract. TheProportionality Guide serves as a guideline in this regard. The Guide explains the principle in detail and contains practical examples. The principle of proportionality applies to both European and national tenders as well as to multiple private procedures.
• The Uniform European Procurement Document (UEA) is a self-declaration regarding the financial situation, capabilities, and suitability of companies for a tendering procedure. 
• The 2016 Procurement Regulations for Works (ARW 2016) describe the procedures for tendering contracts for works, but we also apply the regulations to supplies and services. This promotes uniformity in our tender documents and ensures that our working methods are recognizable and predictable for the market.