BT-01 Legal Basis (eForms Field)

BT-01 is one of the most foundational fields in the eForms notice framework. It records the legal basis under which a procurement procedure is conducted, determining which EU Directive and national transposition law govern the contract, which thresholds apply, and which procedural rules the contracting authority must follow throughout the procurement.

What is BT-01 Legal Basis (eForms Field)?

In the eForms SDK, each business term field has a unique identifier prefixed with "BT-". BT-01 captures the applicable legal basis for the procurement procedure. Its value is drawn from a controlled vocabulary of EU Directive identifiers, ensuring that the legal framework is recorded as a machine-readable code rather than free text.

The principal legal bases relevant to European public procurement are:

Directive 2014/24/EU governs standard public contracts for works, supplies, and services awarded by contracting authorities (government bodies, local authorities, publicly funded organisations). This is the most widely applicable directive and covers the majority of procurement notices published on TED.

Directive 2014/25/EU governs procurement by contracting entities operating in the utilities sectors (water, energy, transport, and postal services). Utilities entities have access to broader procedure options and a higher threshold for some contract types.

Directive 2014/23/EU governs the award of concession contracts for works and services where operating risk is transferred to the concessionaire.

Directive 2009/81/EC governs the procurement of defence and security equipment and related services, with specific rules designed to accommodate the sensitivity of defence procurement while maintaining transparency and competition.

When BT-01 is set to a specific directive, downstream validation in the eForms SDK uses this value to determine which notice subtypes are valid for this procedure, which procedure types are permissible, and which other business term fields are mandatory, conditional, or forbidden. A utilities procedure under Directive 2014/25/EU can use negotiated procedures more freely than a standard procedure under Directive 2014/24/EU, and BT-01 is what enables the SDK to apply the correct validation ruleset.

For national transpositions, member states may include identifiers for their specific national procurement law where it goes beyond or supplements the EU Directive minimum. This is particularly relevant for sectors or contract types where member states have adopted stricter national rules.

Why BT-01 matters for bidders

For suppliers searching procurement databases, BT-01 is a critical filter. The legal basis determines what kind of competition you are looking at and what procedural rules apply. A utilities sector competition under Directive 2014/25/EU operates under different rules (for example, regarding qualification systems, negotiated procedures, and time limits) than a standard competition under Directive 2014/24/EU.

Knowing the legal basis also helps you interpret the procedure type and assess what participation looks like. Defence contracts under Directive 2009/81/EC may require specific security clearances or industrial security agreements that are not required for civilian contracts. Concession contracts under Directive 2014/23/EU involve risk transfer dynamics very different from standard procurement.

Example

A Swedish energy network operator publishes a Competition Notice for transmission infrastructure works. BT-01 records "Directive 2014/25/EU" as the legal basis. This tells suppliers and procurement platforms that: the contract is subject to utilities sector rules; the procedure options available to the buyer include the negotiated procedure without prior competition under certain conditions; the applicable thresholds are those set for utilities rather than standard public contracts; and the notice subtype is a utilities-sector competition notice rather than a standard public works competition notice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can BT-01 reference national law rather than an EU Directive?

Yes. For sub-threshold contracts that are nonetheless published on TED voluntarily, or for contracts where national law applies specific rules beyond the Directive minimum, BT-01 may reference the national transposition legislation. However, for above-threshold contracts within the EU, the primary reference will be one of the four main procurement directives.

Does BT-01 affect what other fields are required in the notice?

Yes, significantly. BT-01 is one of the root configuration fields in the eForms validation model. The applicable directive determines which procedure types are available, which notice subtypes apply, and which downstream business terms are mandatory. Changing BT-01 can cascade into substantial changes in the required field set.

Is BT-01 visible to suppliers in the published notice?

Yes. BT-01 data is part of the published eForms notice record and is displayed by TED and procurement platforms in the notice summary, typically labelled as "Legal basis" or "Applicable directive." It is one of the first fields suppliers should check when reviewing an unfamiliar notice type.