Division into Lots in Public Procurement 2026

Division into lots in public procurement: obligation to divide contracts into trade and partial lots to promote SMEs and competition.

Definition: Division into lots refers to the splitting of a public contract into several substantively or regionally delimited sub-contracts (lots) which are tendered and awarded separately; it is in principle mandatory in German and Austrian procurement law and serves to promote SMEs and intensify competition.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: Art. 46 Directive 2014/24/EU, § 97 (4) GWB, § 58 BVergG 2018

What is division into lots?

Division into lots is the central instrument of public procurement law for promoting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): by splitting large contracts into smaller, more manageable units, SMEs are also given the opportunity to participate in public tendering procedures. The obligation to divide into lots is anchored in § 97 (4) GWB (Germany) and § 58 BVergG 2018 (Austria), and is generally regarded as an expression of the SME-protection principle in public procurement law.

Types of lots

Public procurement law distinguishes between trade lots and partial lots as two basic forms of division into lots.

Trade lots (award by trade)

Trade lots divide a contract according to professional criteria, so that services from different trades or specialisms are tendered separately. Example: A construction project is divided into shell construction, electrical installation, plumbing, painting and floor covering.

Partial lots (geographical or quantitative division)

Partial lots divide a contract along geographical or quantitative criteria. Example: A nationwide cleaning tender is divided into regional lots.

Legal basis

Art. 46 of Directive 2014/24/EU does not oblige contracting authorities to divide into lots, but requires reasons if this is not done (comply-or-explain).

The national implementations are stricter:

§ 97 (4) GWB (Germany): Services must in principle be divided into trade and partial lots; departures from division into lots are only possible on economic or technical grounds – this must be documented
§ 58 BVergG 2018 (Austria): Division into lots must in principle be undertaken; exceptions must be substantively justified

Exceptions to division into lots

Contracting authorities can dispense with division into lots where economic or technical reasons require the award as a single overall contract.

Recognised reasons for dispensing with division:

Technical indivisibility: The service cannot be sensibly divided technically (e.g. general contractor for highly complex projects)
Coordination effort: The costs and risks of coordinating several contractors outweigh the advantages of dividing into lots
Time pressure: Division into lots would jeopardise timely completion
Single warranty: Uniform warranty requires a single contractor

The decision to dispense with division into lots must be justified in writing in the procurement documentation (§ 8 (2) VgV).

Award by lots and threshold calculation

For threshold calculation, the total contract value is decisive, not the value of the individual lot – artificial splitting to circumvent thresholds is prohibited.

Small lots (de minimis lots) may, however, be awarded below the threshold where:

In Germany: The cumulative value of the de minimis lots does not exceed 20% of the total contract value and is not more than EUR 80,000 (§ 3 (9) VgV)
In Austria: Corresponding small-lot rules of the BVergG 2018 apply

Bidder restrictions for lots

Contracting authorities can limit the number of lots that an individual bidder may be awarded in order to preserve market diversity.

This option is expressly provided for in Art. 46 (1) sub-paragraph 2 of Directive 2014/24/EU. A contracting authority can, for example, stipulate that one bidder may receive at most two out of five lots. This rule must be announced in advance in the contract notice.

FAQ

Must each lot be tendered separately? Yes, in principle. Several lots can, however, be tendered in a single contract notice. Bidders may apply for individual, several or all lots, provided no bidder restriction has been set.

Can a contracting authority award all lots to a single bidder? Yes, provided no lot-group restriction has been set. If a bidder receives all lots, this is economically equivalent to an overall award.

What is the difference between division into lots and award by lots? Division into lots refers to the splitting of the contract into lots already at the stage of tender planning; award by lots refers to the act of separately awarding the individual lots.

Last updated: January 2026 All information provided without guarantee. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in public procurement law.