Doubtful Price Statement in Procurement Law 2026

Doubtful price statement: a price entry in a tender that contains ambiguities or contradictions and must be clarified by the contracting authority.

Definition: Under procurement law, a doubtful price statement exists where a price entry in a tender is unclear, contradictory or not comprehensible, and the contracting authority is therefore unable to determine with certainty what price the bidder is actually offering.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: VOB/A § 16d, ÖNORM A 2050, BVergG 2018

What is a doubtful price statement?

A doubtful price statement is a price entry in a tender that exhibits ambiguities or internal contradictions that do not allow an unambiguous interpretation. It must be distinguished from a missing price entry (no entry at all) and from an obviously incorrect price entry.

Typical forms include:

Illegible digits or ambiguous notation of numbers
Contradiction between unit price and total price (calculation error)
Entry of a price in the wrong column
Unclear strikethroughs or overwrites
Inconsistencies in currency or unit indications

Duty of the contracting authority to clarify

In the case of doubtful price statements, the contracting authority is in principle obliged to enquire with the bidder and clarify the ambiguity before excluding the tender.

Under § 16d VOB/A, contracting authorities may request clarification of tenders containing ambiguities. The clarification, however, must not lead to a substantive change of the tender – only what was actually meant may be clarified.

In Austria, ÖNORM A 2050 governs tender examination and provides for differentiated treatment of defects.

Limits of clarification

The clarification of doubtful price statements has its limits: it must not result in bidders subsequently adjusting or improving their prices.

If clarification reveals that the bidder actually intended the price entry as ambiguously entered, and no unambiguous price results, the tender may be excluded. If, on the other hand, it is clearly recognisable which price was meant (e.g. through an obvious transcription error), the correct price is to be applied.

Contradiction between unit price and total price

A common special case is the calculation error in which unit price and total price do not match. Under most procurement regulations, the unit price prevails and the total price is corrected accordingly – provided that it is clear which price was actually offered.

Exclusion where clarification is impossible

If a doubtful price statement cannot be unambiguously determined despite an attempt at clarification, the tender is generally to be excluded, since an evaluation based on an unclear price would infringe the equal treatment of bidders.

FAQ

May a bidder correct a doubtful price statement after submitting the tender? No. The bidder may only clarify what they meant by the statement – a substantive change or improvement of the price is not permissible.

What happens if a calculation error leads to an unusually low total price? The contracting authority must seek clarification from the bidder. If clarification reveals a calculation error, the correct price is applied. If the corrected price is no longer competitive, the tender may not necessarily be excluded.

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