askTender currently tracks Sweden’s larger tenders, the ones published on TED. Smaller Swedish tenders appear in the registered advertising databases listed below.
Swedish public procurement in one paragraph
Swedish public contracts follow four acts:
- LOU (2016:1145): the general Public Procurement Act.
- LUF (2016:1146): utilities.
- LUK (2016:1147): concessions.
- LUFS (2011:1029): defence and security.
A 2022 reform simplified the rules below the EU thresholds. There are no set procedures there any more; the buyer designs the process, as long as it is fair and proportionate. Upphandlingsmyndigheten, the National Agency for Public Procurement, gives guidance and publishes statistics, and Konkurrensverket, the Competition Authority, supervises. Municipalities place almost 7 in 10 advertised procurements.
Where Swedish tenders are published
Every advertised procurement must appear in an advertising database registered with Konkurrensverket. There are five:
| Database | Notes |
|---|---|
| e-Avrop | Also runs Pabliq. |
| KommersAnnons | |
| Mercell | Also the tools behind TendSign and Opic. |
| Konstpool | |
| Clira |
Contracts above the EU thresholds also go on TED. Direct awards don’t have to be advertised. The databases feed the national statistics, and a national procurement database is being designed for 2027.
The thresholds in 2026
From 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, excluding VAT:
| Contract | Threshold |
|---|---|
| Goods and services: central government | SEK 1,589,140 |
| Goods and services: other public buyers | SEK 2,451,816 |
| Goods and services: utilities, and defence and security | SEK 4,903,632 |
| Social and other specific services | SEK 8,513,250 |
| Works and concessions | SEK 61,340,804 |
Direct-award limits:
- SEK 700,000 under LOU. It is written into the act, so it didn’t change in 2026.
- SEK 1.2 million under LUF and LUFS.
Buyers must document why they used a direct award of SEK 100,000 or more, and must have their own direct-award guidelines.
How contracts are procured
- Open procedure (öppet förfarande): 53% of advertised procurements in 2025. At least 35 days above the thresholds, or 30 with electronic submission, or 15 with a prior information notice or in urgent cases.
- Restricted and negotiated procedures: at least 30 days to apply (25 electronically), then 30 days to bid.
- Below the thresholds: no fixed minimum. Suppliers must get a reasonable time (skälig tid).
- Framework agreements: almost half (48%) of advertised procurements.
Competition is fairly strong. Swedish procurements drew 4.6 bids on average in 2024, and the most common number of bids was 2. About one in five got a single bid, and bidders of every size win 36–40% of the time.
What you need to qualify
ESPD. Above the thresholds, buyers must accept the European Single Procurement Document. You can usually choose between the ESPD and full evidence.
Exclusion grounds are in chapter 13 of LOU. Unpaid taxes or social contributions are a mandatory ground once established. Since 1 July 2026, a coordinated register check is being set up so buyers can verify exclusion grounds at award and during the contract. It may not be fully running until 2028.
F-tax for foreign companies. A foreign company can be approved for Swedish F-skatt on the same terms as a Swedish one, if it has no unpaid taxes at home. Without it, the buyer must withhold tax from payments for work done in Sweden. For services performed in Sweden, buyers also ask for a social-security certificate (such as an A1) and proof that posted workers were notified to the Work Environment Authority.
Language. Bids can be in any EU language unless the documents say otherwise. Buyers may require Swedish, and courts have upheld that, so many tenders are Swedish-only.
Electronic bidding. Communication is electronic above the thresholds. If a buyer requires an advanced electronic signature, it must accept foreign eIDAS signatures. Swedish BankID needs a Swedish personal number, so foreign firms sign through the platform’s own login or an eIDAS service.
How bids are assessed
Contracts go to the most economically advantageous tender, judged on the best price-quality ratio, on cost, or on price. Abnormally low bids must be explained, and are rejected if they aren’t.
Labour conditions. For contracts at or above the thresholds, buyers must require Swedish-level pay, holiday and working hours, set at the level of the central collective agreement, whenever that is necessary and possible. This applies to the people doing the work in Sweden, including those employed by foreign companies.
Review.
- Standstill: at least 10 days after an electronic award decision, 15 days otherwise.
- Applying: apply for review (överprövning) to the administrative court where the buyer is based, before the standstill ends. Applying extends the standstill until the court decides.
- Cost: there is no court fee, but each side pays its own lawyers.
- Volume: suppliers challenged 5% of procurements in 2024, and cases fell to 3,643 in 2025.
- Damages must be claimed in the general courts within one year.
Getting paid
- Payment: public bodies may not agree terms longer than 30 days.
- Late payment: interest at the reference rate plus 8 points, which is 10% for the second half of 2026.
- E-invoicing: public bodies receive invoices electronically through Peppol, now managed by Upphandlingsmyndigheten.
Bidding from outside Sweden, including from India
From the EU or EEA, you have the same rights as a Swedish firm.
From anywhere else, today, you can bid too. Swedish procurement law currently makes no distinction between suppliers by country, so third-country companies, including Indian ones, can bid and can ask a court to review a decision.
That may change from 2027. After the EU Court’s Kolin and Qingdao judgments, a government memorandum (Ds 2025:29) proposes the following:
- The procurement acts would not apply to suppliers from countries without an EU agreement guaranteeing access, such as the WTO Government Procurement Agreement.
- Each buyer would decide case by case whether to admit such suppliers, and how to treat their bids.
- Those suppliers would lose access to court review.
The proposal was sent out for consultation in January 2026, with a proposed start of 1 January 2027, but it isn’t law yet. India would fall into that group: it is an observer to the WTO agreement, not a party, and the EU–India trade agreement has no procurement chapter.
Security-sensitive contracts follow Sweden’s Protective Security Act. They need a security agreement with the buyer, and subcontractors need approval.
In practice, for an Indian company:
- Bid now, but plan for 2027. A Swedish or EU subsidiary or branch with real operations isn’t affected by the proposal.
- Get F-skatt before working in Sweden, and prepare for Swedish labour conditions on larger contracts.
- Team up. You can bid in a consortium or rely on another company’s capacity, and a Swedish partner helps with Swedish-only tenders.
What changed in 2025–2026
- 1 July 2025: suppliers can seek court review and damages for breaches of EU procurement rules, including the International Procurement Instrument.
- 1 January 2026: new thresholds in SEK. The direct-award limits are unchanged at SEK 700,000 and 1.2 million.
- January 2026: the proposal on third-country suppliers went out for consultation, aiming for 1 January 2027.
- 1 July 2026: the law on a coordinated register check of suppliers took effect.
- 2026: work began on a national procurement database.
- Coming: the EU proposed a single Public Procurement Act on 9 September 2026. It is not yet law.
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Questions
Can Indian companies bid for Swedish public contracts?
Yes, today. Swedish procurement law doesn’t distinguish between suppliers by country, so Indian companies can bid and can ask a court to review a decision. That may change: a government proposal sent out for consultation in January 2026 would let each buyer decide whether to admit suppliers from countries without an EU procurement agreement, India among them, and remove their right to court review, from 1 January 2027. It is not law yet.
What is the direct-award limit in Sweden?
SEK 700,000 excluding VAT under LOU, the general act, and SEK 1.2 million for utilities and defence. The LOU limit is written into the act, so it didn’t change with the 2026 thresholds. Buyers must document the reasons for direct awards of SEK 100,000 or more.
Can I bid in English in Sweden?
Often, yes. The main rule is that bids can be in any official EU language unless the procurement documents say otherwise. Buyers may require Swedish, and many tenders do, so check the documents.
Where are Swedish tenders advertised?
In one of five advertising databases registered with Konkurrensverket, the Swedish Competition Authority: e-Avrop (and Pabliq), KommersAnnons, Mercell, Konstpool and Clira. Contracts above the EU thresholds also go on TED. Direct awards don’t have to be advertised.
How do I challenge a Swedish procurement?
Apply for review (överprövning) at the administrative court where the buyer is based, before the standstill period ends: 10 days after an electronic award decision, 15 otherwise. There is no court fee, though each side pays its own lawyers. Damages must be claimed in the general courts within a year.
How quickly do Swedish public bodies pay?
Public bodies may not agree payment terms longer than 30 days. Late payment earns interest at the reference rate plus 8 points, which is 10% for the second half of 2026.
Sources
- Upphandlingsmyndigheten: thresholds and direct-award limits
- SFS 2026:245: EU thresholds in Swedish kronor
- Upphandlingsmyndigheten: choosing a procurement procedure
- Upphandlingsmyndigheten: time limits and advertising
- Konkurrensverket: register of advertising databases
- Upphandlingsmyndigheten: procurement statistics
- Upphandlingsmyndigheten: procurement-covered purchases of SEK 1,008 billion in 2024
- Upphandlingsmyndigheten: English as the language of tenders
- Skatteverket: buying services from foreign companies in public procurement
- Swedish courts: applying for review of a public procurement
- Riksdag: simplified supplier checks in procurement (prop. 2025/26:177)
- Government: proposal on third-country suppliers’ access to procurement (January 2026)
- Ds 2025:29: third-country suppliers’ access to public procurement
- Court of Justice of the EU: Kolin, C-652/22, press release 183/24
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.