Fixed-Date Transaction in Public Procurement Law 2026

Fixed-date transaction in procurement law: a contract with a mandatory completion date. Legal consequences of default and distinction from ordinary deadline rules.

Definition: In the procurement-law context, a fixed-date transaction is a contract in which compliance with a particular performance or completion date is agreed as an essential contractual condition, with the result that, where the contractor is in default, special legal consequences arise – up to and including rescission without an additional grace period.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: § 376 HGB, § 871 ABGB (Austria), VOB/B, BGB

What is a fixed-date transaction?

The fixed-date transaction is a special form of contract in which the date is not merely important but essential to the contract – its non-observance renders the performance worthless or unusable for the contracting authority. In general commercial and civil law, the fixed-date transaction (§ 376 HGB, § 871 ABGB) is a contract in which performance by a particular date or within a particular period is so essential that, if the deadline is exceeded, the creditor's right of rescission arises automatically, without the need to set an additional grace period.

In the procurement-law context, the fixed-date transaction arises in particular for contracts in which the completion date is fixed immovably by external events (e.g. trade fair, opening ceremony, seasonal use).

Typical use cases in public procurement

Fixed-date transactions arise in public procurement principally for time-critical projects in which compliance with a deadline is objectively necessary.

Examples:

Construction work for a planned opening event (stadium, congress centre)
IT systems that must go into operation by a statutorily prescribed cut-off date
Winter service or snow-clearance services with seasonally driven deadlines
Trade-fair construction with an unalterable trade-fair date
School-extension builds with the start of the school year as a mandatory deadline

Procurement-law aspects

When formulating fixed-date provisions in procurement documents, contracting authorities are bound by the principle of proportionality: not every deadline requirement justifies agreement of a fixed-date transaction.

In practice, fixed dates are often combined with contractual-penalty provisions. Contracting authorities must observe the following:

Transparency: The fixed-date character and its legal consequences must be clearly identified in the procurement documents.
Proportionality: Contractual penalties must be proportionate; excessive penalties may be contrary to public policy or objectionable from a competition-law perspective.
Allocation of risk: Bidders must be able to realistically calculate the deadline risk.

Distinction from ordinary deadline rules

The decisive difference between a fixed-date transaction and an ordinary deadline rule lies in the legal consequence in the event of delay.

Feature	Ordinary deadline contract	Fixed-date transaction
Compliance with deadline	Important, but not essential	Essential to the contract
Consequence of default	Additional grace period required	Rescission without grace period possible
Damages	Under general rules on default	Often liquidated damages/penalty

Related terms

FAQ

Must the contracting authority point out the fixed-date character in the tender? Yes. If a contract is to be agreed as a fixed-date transaction, this must be expressly and clearly identified in the procurement documents and in the draft contract.

What happens if a contractor fails to meet the fixed date? In the case of a genuine fixed-date transaction, the contracting authority may rescind the contract without an additional grace period and claim damages. Whether the agreed fixed-date transaction holds up legally depends on the specific design of the contract.

Can bidders also submit an offer subject to the condition of a fixed date? As a rule, no. The contracting authority sets the performance deadlines. Bidders may, however, propose alternative dates in the context of variant offers, provided variant offers are permitted.

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