Step 1 - Prequalification for procurement of "Software for Leakage Reduction and Sewerage System Outflow in Municipality of Trondheim"

Trondheim Municipality, hereinafter referred to as the contracting authority, invites tenders for a contract in the project "Software for Leakage Reduction and Sewerage System Outflow in Municipality of Trondheim".Trondheim Municipality hereby announces that the competition is cancelled, cf. the Public Procurement Regulations § 21-4.In this competition, the contracting authority has set a qualification requirement that tenderers must have their tax and VAT matters in order, with an associated documentation requirement for the submission of an ordinary tax certificate and an extended tax certificate.During the pre-qualification process, it has become clear that the requirement to obtain an "extended tax certificate" creates challenges for foreign suppliers, as the companies must be established as a Norwegian registered foreign business (NUF).As the documentation requirement is currently formulated, foreign suppliers who have not established a NUF will, in reality, not have the opportunity to fully document that they meet the qualification requirement in the manner we have described. Alternative ways for foreign tenderers to document this have also not been specified. This is unfortunate and contributes to an unnecessary restriction of competition, without being required to achieve the purpose of the requirement. We therefore consider the requirement to be disproportionate and that it poses a risk of breaching the fundamental principles of the procurement regulations, particularly the principles of proportionality and equal treatment.It is not possible to change the documentation requirements for a qualification requirement at this time, as this would be a significant change that could affect the outcome of the competition. If the contracting authority must amend the tender documentation, and this cannot be done without making significant changes, the contracting authority will have a duty to cancel the competition.The contracting authority will make adjustments to the qualification requirement and then republish the competition shortly.