How to sell to the Czech state

Selling to the Czech state is not mysterious, but it rewards preparation. A supplier who arrives at the deadline with a good product and a messy file loses to one with a slightly worse product and a clean submission. The process is built that way, because the contracting authority has to defend its choice if anyone challenges it.

This guide describes the route in practical terms. It is not legal advice, and the tender documents of each procurement are binding. The framework itself is explained in how Czech public procurement works.

Get your basics in order

You must prove who you are and that you may lawfully do the work. For a company, that means an entry in the commercial register (how the register works) and the relevant trade licence (which activities need a permit). For a sole trader, the trade licence is the key document.

Prepare a standing file with:

• an extract from the commercial register or the trade register;
• confirmations of no tax arrears and no social security or health insurance arrears;
• an extract from the criminal record for the company and the relevant persons, where the tender requires it;
• references and a list of similar contracts you have delivered;
• evidence of financial standing, such as turnover figures from your accounts (annual accounts filing);
• professional certificates and insurance, where relevant.

Many of these documents are valid only for a limited time, so check each tender's date requirement. Authorities can accept a statutory declaration (čestné prohlášení) first and ask the winner for the evidence, which saves effort at the start.

Set up for electronic submission

Tenders are electronic. You will need an account on the tool the authority uses, most often the state's National Electronic Tool (NEN) or another certified tool, and often an electronic signature or qualified certificate. Your company needs a data box (datová schránka), mandatory for companies, because authorities use it for official communication. Test the system before the deadline: a bid uploaded at the last minute that exceeds the system's size limit is a bid that does not exist.

Finding tenders

Notices appear in the Public Procurement Bulletin, on the contracting authority's profile in its electronic tool and, above the EU thresholds, in the EU's tender system, which is searchable in English. Search by CPV code, the common procurement vocabulary used across the EU to describe the subject of a contract. Most platforms offer alerts.

Watch the Register of Contracts too, where public bodies publish their contracts. It shows who won what, at what price, and which authorities buy your kind of product. It is public, and a good source for market research.

Read the tender documents

The documents define the contract, the qualification conditions, the evaluation criteria and the format of the bid. Read them in full, paying attention to:

• the deadline, down to the time of day;
• the mandatory content of the bid, which cannot be left out;
• how prices are to be presented, and whether VAT is included;
• the evaluation criteria and their weights;
• the draft contract, including penalties and liability.

If something is unclear, ask for clarification (dodatečné informace) within the time limit. The authority's reply is published to all bidders. Ask in writing, concisely and in time.

Prepare the bid

Follow the structure the authority asks for, even if you think another is better. Submit every required document and name every subcontractor if the tender requires it. If you rely on another firm's qualification, you must submit evidence that it will really make its capacity available. Where a joint bid is allowed, agree the lead partner and responsibilities in writing.

Keep prices consistent: an abnormally low price may be examined, and you may be asked to justify it. Check the arithmetic and the currency. Some tenders require a bid security (jistota), a sum or guarantee that protects the authority if you withdraw.

After submission

The authority opens the bids electronically, checks formal compliance, assesses qualification, evaluates against the announced criteria and issues a decision on the selection, which it sends to the participants. Excluded or unsuccessful bidders may object within the periods set by the Act and can later complain to the Office for the Protection of Competition, so a decision is not final until those periods end.

If you win, the authority invites you to sign the contract and may ask for the supporting evidence mentioned earlier. The contract is then published in the Register of Contracts, which is part of how it becomes effective.

Start small

For a first-time supplier, small contracts below the national thresholds are a sensible place to begin. The rules are lighter, and authorities often invite quotations from several suppliers. Larger tenders require a track record. Subcontracting to an established bidder is another way to build references, and framework agreements, which authorities use for repeat purchases, can generate steady work once you are in.

Selling to the state also means being paid on the state's timetable. Read the payment terms in the draft contract and the rules on interest in late payment and debt recovery.

Pick one authority that buys what you sell, find its last three tenders in the bulletin and read the documents as if you were bidding. You will learn what the file looks like before you spend money on a real one.

This is a general explainer, not legal or tax advice.