eTendering in Public Procurement Law 2026

eTendering: electronic conduct of procurement procedures – from publication of the notice and submission of tenders through to the award.

Definition: eTendering (electronic tendering) is the fully electronic conduct of public procurement, in which all procedural steps – publication of the notice, provision of procurement documents, submission of tenders, communication and award – are handled via digital platforms and systems.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: Directive 2014/24/EU Art. 22, BVergG 2018 §§ 47 ff., VgV §§ 10–12

What is eTendering?

eTendering describes the use of electronic means for the entire conduct of public procurement procedures and, since the 2014 EU procurement reform, has been mandatory in the above-threshold range. With Directive 2014/24/EU the EU made the move to fully electronic procurement procedures binding. Member States were required to introduce electronic procurement in full by October 2018 at the latest (April 2017 for central purchasing bodies).

In a broad sense, eTendering covers all aspects of electronic procurement:

eProcurement as an umbrella term for electronic procurement in general
eNotification (electronic publication of notices)
eAccess (electronic access to procurement documents)
eSubmission (electronic submission of tenders)
eEvaluation (electronic examination and evaluation of tenders)
eAward (electronic contract award)

Legal requirement for electronic communication

Article 22 of Directive 2014/24/EU provides that all communication and information exchange in the procurement procedure must take place electronically. This includes the transmission of notices, the provision of procurement documents, the submission of tenders and the communication between contracting authority and tenderers.

Exceptions are only permitted under narrow conditions, for example where specific IT-security requirements demand them or where the nature of the contract subject matter requires particular physical presentation.

Requirements for eTendering systems

eTendering platforms must meet a range of technical and security requirements in order to satisfy the principles of procurement law.

Key requirements:

Confidentiality: tenders must not be accessible before the tender deadline expires
Integrity: submitted tenders must not be capable of being altered
Authenticity: the identity of senders must be ensured
Immutability: tenders received must be stored in unalterable form
Time stamping: the time of submission must be verifiably logged

eTendering in Austria and Germany

Austria

In Austria the requirements for electronic procurement are governed by BVergG 2018 (§§ 47 ff.). The central platform for federal tenders is the Lieferanzeiger system and the platform operated by the BBG (federal procurement agency). Additional platforms exist at federal-state level. The Federal Procurement Office has made clear that tenderers must have reasonable access to the systems used.

Germany

In Germany the obligation to conduct procurement electronically is anchored in §§ 10–12 VgV and § 11 UVgO. The DTVP (German Procurement Portal) and other certified procurement platforms offer eTendering functionality. For federal procurement the Vergabemanagementsystem (VMS) of the Procurement Office is decisive.

Benefits and challenges

eTendering lowers transaction costs, increases transparency and speeds up procurement procedures – but also places technical demands on contracting authorities and tenderers.

Benefits:

Reduction of paper costs and postage
Faster procedures through automated processing
Improved traceability and auditability
Easier cross-border market access

Challenges:

Technical entry barriers for SMEs
Compatibility issues between systems
Training needs for contracting authorities and tenderers
Data protection and IT security

Related terms

FAQ

From which threshold is eTendering mandatory? In the EU above-threshold range, eTendering is in principle mandatory. Below the threshold the requirements vary by national law; many Member States have extended the obligation to the entire procurement area.

Do tenderers have to install special software? Contracting authorities are required to use systems that support common end devices and operating systems. An obligation to install proprietary software may not be imposed.

What happens if a tenderer has technical problems with electronic submission? Technical problems on the tenderer's side do not in principle excuse non-compliance with the submission deadline. Where there are technical failures on the contracting authority's side (platform outage), a deadline extension is required.

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