Split contracts

When the rate and extent of the requirements to be satisfied cannot be fully described in a contract for economic, technical or financial reasons, the government agency can award subdivided orders in the form of a contract with individual purchase orders or a contract with conditional brackets.

1) Conditional bracket contracts

The conditional bracket contract contains one firm bracket and one or more conditional brackets.

The firm bracket is confirmed and initiated on notification of the contract, and the only uncertainty concerns the decision to confirm the conditional brackets.

Each bracket must form a coherent unit that can be performed with no further additions or modifications. The performance of each conditional bracket is subject to PRM decision and is notified to the contract holder under the terms of the contract.

As the government has the option of not confirming the conditional brackets, it is possible, in certain cases for which full justification should be provided, to include the possible payment of a delay compensation and/or penalty.

2) Purchase order contracts

The purchase order contracts set down the specifications, volume and price of services, or the procedures for determining these, and set price or quantity maxima and minima.

Orders can then be sent as the need arises.

The uncertainty relates to order quantities and rate.

Services are initiated by "purchase orders" which state quantities and deadlines, and must comply with contract conditions.

A number of constraints must be respected:

  Such contracts are limited:

• to four years (except special cases accurately justified) according to the Public Procurement Contract Code decree,
• to five years (or more in certain cases)) according to the "2004-16 Defence decree".

  The contract must set a maximum duration for purchase order performance.
  Maximum and minimum order values or volumes must be set, with the minimum at least equal to one quarter of the maximum (the obligation to set minima and maxima can be waived in certain cases especially for Condition of Operational Service contracts in the scope of the "2004-16 Defence decree").

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