Foreign subsidies in notifiable foreign financial contributions to public procurement procedures
According to Article 5(1) of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1441, notifications of foreign financial contributions in public procurement procedures shall be submitted to the contracting authority or contracting entity in charge of the relevant public procurement procedure.
This submission shall take place through the same method used to submit the tender.
Notifying parties are invited to use the online FS-PP form (this requires EU-Login, see EU-Login tutorial) provided by the Commission, to create an FS-PP pdf file.
According to Article 26(1) of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1441, transmission of documents between the contracting authority or contracting entity in charge of the relevant public procurement procedure and the Commission shall take place through digital means. The exception is when the Commission agrees that other means may be used.
For secure digital communication with the Commission, please use EU Send (this requires EU-Login and prior registration). Instructions on using this tool are available under point 2: Digital submissions.
Please see Commission’s Communication C(2023)4749 of 12 July 2023 for more information on
- the format of notifications
- comments following the opening of an in-depth investigation
- commitments offered by the undertakings concerned and observations on the Commission’s grounds on which it intends to adopt its decision
This communication applies mutatis mutandis to public procurement procedures. However, digital signatures are not mandatory under the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1441.
Economic operators wishing to engage in pre-notification discussions with the Commission are invited to send this case team allocation request to the GROW-FSR-PP-NOTIFICATIONS
ec [dot] europa [dot] eu (Foreign Subsidies Team by email), in sufficient time prior to the notification.
Due to technical constraints, the size of a single email sent to DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs should not exceed 15 MB.
Economic Operator (EO)/Contracting Authority (CA), Contracting Entity (CE)
- EO/CA has no EU-Login -> Create EU-Login (See EU-Login tutorial)
- EO/CA has EU-Login -> See below
Economic Operator
Step 1: Fill-in the FS-PP form (the Word version of the FS-PP form can also be consulted.)
In the form, please provide the EU-Login and/or the e-mail address used when creating the EU Login account.
If you choose to send document(s) as a password-protected annex, please use the template for notifications and for declarations, and please send the password to the COM via EU Send.
Step 2: Send FS-PP form (with attachments) to CA (through the means used for submitting the tender).
Contracting Authority/Contracting Entity
Step 1: Send the EU-Login and/or the e-mail address provided when creating the EU Login account GROW-FSR-PP-NOTIFICATIONSec [dot] europa [dot] eu (by email).
Step 2: After registration confirmation by email, Send notification/declaration (with attachments) to COM.
Transmissions below 10 gigabytes but exceeding the size limitations of EU Send (4 gigabytes) should be transmitted in two or three parts. A transmittal form provided by EU Send must be completed correctly and diligently. For more information on EU Send, please take a look at the user guide.
EU Send can be used to send the following items to the Commission
- FS-PP form
- responses to requests for information
- responses to requests for internal documents, if smaller than 4 GB
- comments following the opening of an in-depth investigation
- observation on the Commission’s grounds on which it intends to adopt its decision
- submitting commitments
- any other submission to the Commission
Opening hours for processing digital submissions in EU Send
- notifications filed electronically before 17:00 CET Mondays through Thursdays, or before 16:00 CET on Fridays and days preceding Commission holidays will have the date of receipt as the notification date.
- notifications arriving after 17:00 CET Mondays through Thursdays, or after 16:00 CET on Fridays and days preceding Commission holidays will be dealt with the following working day, which will be considered the notification date.
Submissions sent by registered post | Submissions delivered by hand/direct delivery to the Commission’s Central Mail |
European Commission Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Foreign Subsidies (CASE@EC) – CAD BE-1049 Brussels | European Commission Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Foreign Subsidies (CASE@EC) – CAD Avenue du Bourget, 1 BE-1140 Evere Commission working days between 7:00 CET and 16:30 CET |
Please note that ddressing documents to other Commission departments may result in delays.
Electronic submissions delivered by hand or sent by registered post
- transmissions of over 10 GB in size may be put on external storage devices. This includes a USB stick, CD, DVD, hard disk drives formatted for Microsoft Windows, uncompressed data in a USB 2.0 or 3.0 external enclosure. The documents may be digitally signed with a QES. The external storage devices may be delivered by hand or sent via registered post to the address mentioned above.
- transmissions of under 10 GB in size may be delivered or sent by using external storage devices on an exceptional basis. This will only be allowed if the Commission agrees that other means apart from digital transmission may be used (e.g. if EU Send is not available). These documents may be digitally signed with a QES.
Paper submissions delivered by hand or sent by registered post
Exceptionally, if the Commission agrees that submitting documents digitally as required under article 26 of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1441
is not feasible, a paper submission may be hand-delivered or sent by registered post to the one of the addresses mentioned in point 3. In this case, the following must be submitted
- a hand signed paper copy of the complete submission
- two digital copies of the full submission in external storage devices for information (not signed)
- a hand signed declaration stating that the signed paper copy and the digital copies are identical
- power of attorney, if relevant
Prior to delivery, the law firm or legal representative of the notifying company must send an email to GROW-CADec [dot] europa [dot] eu (GROW-CAD[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu) to give an estimated delivery time and the name of the individual who will be making the delivery. A description of the items to be delivered (including the number of envelopes, packages or boxes) is also required.
The use of Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) is not mandatory in line with Article 26(2) of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1441. Therefore, electronic signatures such as scanned signatures or Advanced Electronic Signatures as defined in the eIDAS Regulation are also accepted.
If nevertheless the notification form (FS-PP) and commitments offered by the undertaking under investigation are signed using a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES), that signature must comply with the requirements set out in Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (the 'eIDAS Regulation').
Only paper submissions delivered by hand to the Commission or sent via registered post can be hand signed.
For notifications or declarations, please make submissions in line with Article 26 and Annex II of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1441
of 10 July 2023.
Templates
- model power of attorney for notifications
- template for listing the supporting documents attached to the FS-PP form
Notifications must be drafted in one of the official languages of the EU, as specified in Article 5 (4) of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1441 of 10 July 2023.
Contact
For queries, please contact GROW-FSR-PP-NOTIFICATIONSec [dot] europa [dot] eu (GROW-FSR-PP-NOTIFICATIONS[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)
Please specify the case number and the name of the case in all your correspondence.
Privacy statement
Privacy statement relating to the application of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation
Commission holidays