Partial Lot in Procurement Law 2026 – Definition and Significance

Definition: A partial lot is a defined, independently tenderable part of a public contract, formed in the context of lot-by-lot procurement, for which bidders can submit separate bids.

Last updated: January 2026 · Legal status: Art. 46 Directive 2014/24/EU, § 97 (4) GWB, § 30 VgV, § 7 EU section VOB/A, § 57 BVergG 2018

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What is a partial lot?

A partial lot is the smallest independent unit of a lot-by-lot procurement and refers to the specific section of a contract for which a bidder can submit an independent bid. The Austrian Federal Procurement Act and the German procurement regulations provide that public contracts should generally be divided into lots in order to facilitate participation by small and medium-sized enterprises in procurement procedures. Each partial lot describes a defined service area that is complete in itself and can be commissioned separately.

The term "partial lot" (Teillos) is often used synonymously with "lot" (Los), but emphasises the character as part of a larger overall contract.

Legal obligation to divide into lots

The requirement to divide into lots is a central instrument for promoting SMEs in procurement law. Under § 97 (4) GWB, public contracts must be divided into specialist lots and partial lots; deviation is only possible for objective reasons. The contracting authority must justify non-division and document it in the procurement file.

Types of lots

Under procurement law, a distinction is made between:

• Specialist lots (qualitative division): Division by service areas (e.g. electrical, heating/ventilation, sanitary in a construction project)
• Partial lots (quantitative division): Division of identical services by quantity, region or period

In practice, these forms are often combined.

Cross-lot restrictions

Contracting authorities may limit the number of lots to which a single bidder can be awarded contracts. This prevents a single company from winning all lots of a large contract and thus restricting competition in future procurements. Such restrictions must be set out in advance in the contract notice.

FAQ

Must a bidder bid on all partial lots? No. Unless the contracting authority has set a different rule, a bidder can bid on individual lots or on all of them.

Can the contracting authority award the contract to an overall bidder despite the division into lots? Only if this has been provided for in the procurement documents and objective reasons exist (e.g. overall lot advantage prevails).

How many lots must a contracting authority form? The law does not prescribe a minimum number. The size of the lots must correspond to the principle of economic efficiency and the requirement to promote SMEs.

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