Price Information in Public Procurement Law 2026
Price information in the tender procedure: bidders' duty to provide complete and accurate price information and the consequences of faulty or missing entries.
Definition: Price information refers to the entries required from bidders in the tender procedure regarding prices, unit prices, overall prices and other price-related information, which serve as the basis for the contracting authority's evaluation of the tender.
Last updated: January 2026 · Legal basis: § 53 VgV, VOB/A, § 35 UVgO, BVergG 2018
Importance of complete price information
Complete and accurate price information is a fundamental formal requirement for every tender in a procurement procedure – missing or faulty price information can lead to exclusion of the tender. Price information only makes it possible for the contracting authority to compare the submitted tenders. Every item of the bill of quantities must be priced; zero prices or missing prices are permissible only in exceptional cases.
Requirements for price information
The tender documents specify which price information is required and in what form. Typical requirements include:
- Unit prices: price per unit (e.g. EUR/piece, EUR/m²)
- Total prices: unit price multiplied by the tendered quantity
- Lump-sum prices: fixed total price for a defined service
- Option prices: prices for tendered options or conditional services
- Subcontractor shares: corresponding information where required
All price information is in principle to be provided exclusive of VAT (net); VAT is shown separately.
Faulty price information
Calculation errors arising from an obvious miscalculation of unit price and quantity are in principle to be corrected; the unit price is decisive. This is expressly regulated in § 16d VOB/A. In the case of more serious errors or missing mandatory entries, the tender must be excluded. Bidders may be invited to clarify illegible or ambiguous price information, but not to remedy it substantively.
Zero prices and mixed calculations
Zero prices – the offering of individual items at a price of zero euros – are in principle problematic under procurement law and may indicate an inadmissible mixed calculation. A mixed calculation is present when losses on one item are offset by overpricing on other items, which leads to a distortion of competition. Contracting authorities may treat zero prices as grounds for an in-depth examination.
FAQ
What happens if a price item has been forgotten? If required price information is missing, the tender is generally to be excluded, as it is incomplete and does not permit a reliable evaluation.
May the bidder change price information after submission? No. After expiry of the tender deadline, substantive changes are inadmissible. The bidder is bound by their tender.
Is price information confidential? Yes, until the tender opening. In the supra-threshold range, the contract prices are published as part of the contract award notice after conclusion of the contract.
Last updated: January 2026 All information provided without guarantee. For legally binding advice, please consult a law firm specialising in public procurement law.
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