Commentary on Sections Selection of tenderers and award of contracts Section 27 – Exclusion of economic operators on grounds of criminal activity
54.The section applies only to regulated procurements which are not also EU-regulated procurements, that is procurements covered by regulation 5(1) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2012. These are a proposed public supply contract, public works contract, Part A services contract, framework agreement or dynamic purchasing system, save certain exclusions. Subsection (1) enables the Scottish Ministers to make regulations, subject to the negative procedure, requiring contracting authorities to exclude an economic operator where the operator or certain people connected with the operator have been convicted of an offence specified in the regulations.
55.The regulations made by Ministers may explain how contracting authorities are to determine whether or not a bidder has been convicted of an offence.
56.The regulations may also set out the specific circumstances under which a contracting authority may award a contract to a bidder despite the fact that the bidder meets the criteria which requires its exclusion.