The FSR applies to public procurement procedures where the total estimated contract value (excluding VAT) is €250 million or more.
If the contracting authority divides the procurement into lots, the FSR obligations apply when
- the estimated net procurement value exceeds €250 million, and
- the value of the lots the tenderer applies for is at least €125 million (either individually or in aggregate).
Obligations for economic operators
Above the relevant thresholds, the economic operator, including its subsidiary companies without commercial autonomy, its holding companies, and, where applicable, its main subcontractors and suppliers involved in the same tender must either
- submit a notification of all aggregate financial contributions received from non-EU countries in the past 3 years, if these contributions total €4 million or more per country; or
- submit a declaration confirming that the foreign financial contributions received are not notifiable, in line with Article 28(1)(b) of the FSR.
This notification or declaration must be sent to the contracting authority, together with the tender.
To learn more about the obligations for the economic operators and the submission process, refer to the page Guidance for economic operators.
Obligations for contracting authorities
Contracting authorities must transfer all submitted notifications and declarations from economic operators fulfilling the criteria of Article 28 (1)(a) and Article 28 (2) of the FSR.
To learn more about the obligations for the contracting authorities and the submission process, refer to the page Guidance for contracting authorities.
Additional investigative powers
The Commission can also request ad-hoc notifications for public procurement procedures below the thresholds, if it suspects the existence of distortive foreign subsidies. Pending the Commission’s review, the investigated bidder cannot be awarded the contract.
The ex officio procedure allows the Commission to start investigations on its own initiative if information indicates the possibility that a foreign subsidy distorting the internal market exists.
Contact us
For questions on FSR in the context of public procurement procedures, emails can be sent to: grow-fsr-pp-notifications@ec.europa.eu