Award criteria are used to determine which economic operator is best placed to provide a contract. A contracting authority has discretion to determine what award criteria to apply but questions asked at this stage cannot duplicate questions already asked at the selection stage. This is because at this stage suppliers are being assessed on the merits of tenders themselves rather than their suitability to tender.
The criteria should allow objective comparison of tenders, be published in advance in the procurement documents and not discriminate/favour potential contractors.
