Art. 67. Previous participation of candidates or bidders

1. Where a candidate or tenderer or an undertaking related to a candidate or tenderer has given to the contracting authority the documentation referred to in Article 66, paragraph 2, or has otherwise been involved in the preparation of the procurement procedure, the contracting authority shall take appropriate measures to ensure that competition is not distorted by the participation of that candidate or tenderer. The communication to the other candidates and tenderers of relevant information exchanged in the context of or resulting from the involvement of the candidate or tenderer in the preparation of the procurement procedure as well as the fixing of adequate time limits for the receipt of tenders shall be considered as an adequate measure.

2. Where it is not possible under any circumstance to ensure the respect of the principle of equal treatment, the candidate or tenderer concerned shall be excluded from the procedure. In any case, prior to proceed to their exclusion, the contracting authority invites the candidates or tenderers concerned, within a time limit however not exceeding ten days, to prove that their involvement in preparing the procurement procedure is not capable of distorting competition

3. The measures taken by the contracting authority shall be documented in the individual report required by Article 99 of this Code.