askTender currently tracks Italy’s larger tenders, the ones published on TED. Italy’s many smaller contracts appear on the national legal-publicity platform and on the buyers’ own platforms.
Italian public procurement in one paragraph
All Italian public contracts follow the Public Contracts Code (Codice dei contratti pubblici, D.Lgs. 36/2023), effective since July 2023. A corrective decree (D.Lgs. 209/2024) rewrote more than 80 provisions from 31 December 2024. Since 1 January 2024, procurement in Italy is fully digital: every tender runs on a certified e-procurement platform linked to ANAC’s national public contracts database (BDNCP). Only qualified buyers can run larger tenders; there were 3,680 at the end of 2025, down from more than 20,000.
Where Italian tenders are published
| Where | What’s on it |
|---|---|
| Legal-publicity platform (PVL) | ANAC’s platform, where notices take legal effect. It replaced publication in the Official Gazette from 2024, and it is free. |
| TED (the EU’s Official Journal) | Every contract above the EU thresholds. ANAC sends these notices to TED on the buyers’ behalf. |
| Certified e-procurement platforms | Where tenders actually run: you register, download documents and bid. ANAC keeps a public register of them. |
| Consip and MePA (acquistinretepa.it) | The national central purchasing body. MePA, its electronic marketplace, is where public buyers order smaller supplies and services. Registration is free. |
| Regional platforms | Such as Sintel (Lombardy) and START (Tuscany), used by regional and local buyers. |
Each tender gets a CIG, a unique identification code, which follows it through every stage.
The thresholds in 2026
EU thresholds (from 1 January 2026, excluding VAT). Italy applies the European Commission’s figures automatically:
| Contract | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Supplies and services: central government | €140,000 |
| Supplies and services: other public buyers | €216,000 |
| Supplies and services: utilities, and defence and security | €432,000 |
| Social and other specific services | €750,000 |
| Works | €5,404,000 |
Italian rules below them:
| Value (excluding VAT) | What the buyer can do |
|---|---|
| Under €150,000 (works) or €140,000 (supplies and services) | Direct award (affidamento diretto) to a company with relevant, documented experience. |
| Works €150,000 to €1 million | Negotiated procedure without a notice, inviting at least 5 companies. |
| Works €1 million to the EU threshold | The same, inviting at least 10 companies. |
| Supplies and services €140,000 to the EU threshold | The same, inviting at least 5 companies. |
Buyers must follow the rotation principle: they generally can’t give the next contract in the same category to the outgoing supplier. That opens a door for new bidders. Any buyer can award works up to €500,000 itself; above that, it must be qualified or go through a qualified buyer.
How contracts are procured
- Direct award: 55% of Italian procedures of €40,000 or more in 2025, though only 5% of their value. ANAC counted almost 14,000 direct awards in 2025 just under the €140,000 limit.
- Negotiated procedure without a notice: 21% of procedures, 14% of value.
- Open procedure (procedura aperta): 16% of procedures but 54% of value, the route for most large contracts. At least 30 days to bid, or 15 with a prior information notice or in urgent cases.
- Restricted procedure (procedura ristretta): at least 30 days to apply and 30 to bid.
- Competitive procedure with negotiation, competitive dialogue, innovation partnership, framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems for the rest.
What you need to qualify
Your declaration. You bid with the DGUE, Italy’s version of the European Single Procurement Document. Buyers check your requirements through ANAC’s virtual company file (FVOE), which verified about 175,000 companies in 2025.
Exclusions. Automatic exclusion grounds include convictions for organised crime, corruption, fraud and money laundering, and definitively established serious tax or social-contribution debts under Italian law or your home country’s law. Tax debts count from €5,000 once definitive.
SOA for works. Public works of €150,000 or more require an SOA certificate, issued by certification bodies authorised by ANAC, by works category and value class. It lasts 5 years, and holding the right category is sufficient proof of capacity. Companies from countries with an EU agreement can instead prove the same requirements tender by tender, with home-country documents and certified Italian translations.
Financial standing. For supplies and services, buyers can ask for turnover of at most twice the contract value, from your best three of the last five years.
Guarantees.
- Bid security (garanzia provvisoria): 2% of the procedure value, which the buyer can lower to 1% or raise to 4%. SMEs get 50% off, ISO 9001 holders 30% off.
- Performance security (garanzia definitiva): 10% of the contract value, rising if you won with a deep discount, and released progressively as the work is done.
Language and submission. Bids go in electronically on the certified platform, signed with a qualified electronic signature. The tender documents set the language, and qualification documents from abroad need certified Italian translations. If something is missing or irregular, the buyer must give you 5 to 10 days to fix it (soccorso istruttorio), but this doesn’t apply to your technical or price offer.
How bids are assessed
Most tenders are judged on the best price-quality ratio (offerta economicamente più vantaggiosa). It is mandatory for social services, labour-intensive services (where price can count for at most 30%), engineering and architecture services from €140,000, and innovative supplies. Lowest price is allowed only for standardised supplies and services. Abnormally low offers must be explained within 15 days, and wages and safety costs can’t be cut.
Two rules from the 2024 corrective decree matter to bidders:
- Collective agreements. The buyer names the national collective labour agreement that applies. If you use a different one, you must show it gives equivalent pay and conditions.
- Subcontracting. There is no percentage cap, but you can’t subcontract the whole contract, at least 20% of subcontracted work should go to SMEs, and you and your subcontractors are jointly liable.
Above the EU thresholds, the contract can’t be signed for 32 days after the last award notice. Challenges go to the regional administrative court (TAR) within 30 days, under a fast-track procedure. The court fee is €2,000 up to €200,000, €4,000 up to €1 million, and €6,000 above.
Getting paid
- Payment: within 30 days of each payment certificate, or up to 60 days if the contract justifies it.
- Advance: 20% of the contract value, which the tender can raise to 30%, paid within 15 days of the start against a guarantee.
- Mandatory price revision: every contract must include it. For works, when costs move more than 3%, the buyer pays 90% of the excess. For supplies and services, past 5%, it pays 80%.
Bidding from outside Italy, including from India
From the EU or EEA, you have the same rights as an Italian firm.
From outside the EU, the Code (article 69) promises equal treatment only to companies from countries covered by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement or another agreement binding the EU, such as the US, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Switzerland.
India is in neither group. It is an observer to the WTO agreement, not a party. The EU–India trade agreement concluded in January 2026 has no procurement chapter and isn’t yet in force. After the EU Court’s Kolin judgment, ANAC ruled in October 2025 that companies from such countries are not barred by law but have no guaranteed access: a buyer may set different conditions for them in the tender documents, or exclude them with proper reasons.
In practice, for an Indian company:
- Read the tender documents (disciplinare) for any clause on third-country bidders.
- Register without an Italian tax code. Consip lets non-EU suppliers register with an equivalent ID and a short video interview with a passport, in Italian or English. ANAC services accept a username, password and one-time code.
- For works over €150,000, plan on SOA qualification. The common routes are an Italian subsidiary or branch, a joint bid (RTI) with an SOA-certified Italian firm, or relying on its capacity (avvalimento) under a written contract.
- Translate everything. Qualification documents need certified Italian translations.
What changed in 2025–2026
- 31 December 2024: the corrective decree took effect. It made price revision mandatory, set rules on equivalent collective agreements, protected 65% of engineering and architecture fees from discounting, and steered subcontracting toward SMEs. The open-procedure minimum became a flat 30 days.
- 20 July 2025: a 10% advance for design services, and green criteria applied directly to renovation works.
- 15 October 2025: ANAC’s ruling on companies from countries without an EU agreement.
- 1 January 2026: new EU thresholds, applied automatically.
- April 2026: new rules for permanent consortia, and for subcontractor checks on EU recovery-plan (PNRR) projects. ANAC updated its standard tender documents.
- August 2026: buyers may suspend recovery of the price advance on ongoing works contracts until 31 December 2026.
- Coming: the EU proposed a single Public Procurement Act on 9 September 2026. It is not yet law, and the Code applies in full.
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Questions
Can Indian companies bid for Italian public contracts?
They can, but without a guaranteed right. Italy’s Procurement Code promises equal treatment only to companies from countries covered by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement or another EU agreement, and India is in neither. In October 2025, ANAC confirmed that such companies aren’t barred by law, but buyers may treat them differently or exclude them with proper reasons, as long as the tender documents allow it. Check each tender’s documents (the disciplinare) before bidding.
What is the direct-award limit in Italy?
Under €150,000 for works and under €140,000 for supplies and services, excluding VAT. The buyer can choose a supplier with relevant documented experience without a tender, but must rotate suppliers. Direct awards make up 55% of Italian procedures of €40,000 or more by number, though only 5% by value.
What is an SOA certificate?
The qualification Italian law requires to carry out public works of €150,000 or more. It is issued by private certification bodies (SOA) authorised by ANAC, by category and value class, and lasts five years. Holding the right category is sufficient proof of your capacity. Companies from countries with an EU agreement can instead prove the same requirements tender by tender with home-country documents.
Can a foreign company register on MePA without an Italian tax code?
Yes. Consip, which runs MePA and acquistinretepa.it, has a route for non-EU suppliers: you sign up with an ID equivalent to the Italian tax code, then complete a short video interview with your passport, in Italian or English. EU users can sign in with their national eID. Registration and bidding are free.
How long is the standstill period in Italy?
32 days from the last award notice, for contracts above the EU thresholds. Challenges go to the regional administrative court (TAR) within 30 days, under a fast-track procedure, and the court fee is €2,000, €4,000 or €6,000 depending on the contract value.
How quickly do Italian public buyers pay?
Within 30 days of each payment certificate, or up to 60 days if the contract says so and it is objectively justified. Contractors are entitled to an advance of 20% of the contract value, which the tender can raise to 30%, against a guarantee.
Sources
- Codice dei contratti pubblici, D.Lgs. 36/2023 (Normattiva)
- ANAC: digitalisation of public contracts
- ANAC: annual report 2026 on activity in 2025
- ANAC: press release on the 2026 annual report (21 April 2026)
- ANAC: register of certified e-procurement platforms
- ANAC: access to services for users without an Italian tax code
- Consip (acquistinretepa.it): registration for foreign suppliers
- Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/2152: EU thresholds from 1 January 2026
- Court of Justice of the EU: Kolin, C-652/22, press release 183/24
- WTO: parties and observers to the Government Procurement Agreement
- European Commission: EU–India agreements, text of the agreements
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.