In brief
With Judgment No. 1455 dated 17 February 2021 the Council of State upheld the decision of a contracting authority not to award a public tender for the supply of antiseptics and disinfectants where the only valid offer was found to have a value higher than that identified through a comparative survey of the prices of goods in the healthcare sector.
In more detail
In particular, the administrative judge acknowledged the possibility for the relevant contracting authority to apply the safeguard clause laid down in Section 95, paragraph 12, of the Code of the Public Contracts, pursuant to which contracting authorities may refuse to award a tender if no offer is considered convenient or suitable in relation to the subject matter of the contract, provided that said possibility is expressly envisaged in the call for tenders.