Public procurement and electronic tendering

Bid submission prevented by platform delays: bydder must be readmitted

The digitalisation of tender procedures is an increasingly important issue for contracting authorities.A recent judgment by the Umbria Regional Administrative Court (TAR), No. 854/2025, addresses a practical question: what happens when a bidder uploads its tender documents within the deadline but cannot complete the submission because of delays or technical issues affecting the e-procurement platform? The caseThe dispute arose from a tender procedure launched by the Lazio Region through an e-procurement platform. A bidder had begun uploading its tender documents within the prescribed deadline.During the upload, however, an issue involving the processing of a digitally signed file in “p7m” format slowed down the system, preventing the bidder from completing the submission on time.The contracting authority rejected the bidder’s request to be readmitted, citing the principle of bidder responsibility, under which tenderers are expected to allow sufficient time before the deadline to complete their submissions.The bidder challenged the decision before the Regional Administrative Court, which upheld the appeal on the following grounds. The Court’s reasoningThe Court held that a bidder is entitled to an opportunity to complete its submission after the deadline not only where a platform malfunction has been established, but also where the cause of the delay cannot be determined with certainty.In such circumstances, the risk associated with an “unknown cause” rests with the contracting authority, which selected and provided the platform used for the tender procedure.The principle of bidder responsibility, together with provisions in the tender rules advising bidders to submit well before the deadline, cannot result in all technical risk being transferred to the bidder.A bidder that began uploading its documents in good time cannot therefore be excluded if platform delays or technical issues prevented it from completing the submission, even where the precise cause cannot be established. Further reading:- Umbria Regional Administrative Court (TAR), Perugia, Judgment No. 854/2025