Article 17. Phases of the assignment procedures.

1. Before starting the procedures for awarding public contracts, the contracting authorities and granting bodies, with a specific deed, adopt the decision to contract by identifying the essential elements of the contract and the selection criteria of the economic operators and the offers. 2. In the case of direct assignment, the act referred to in paragraph 1 identifies the object, the amount and the contractor, together with the reasons for his choice, the general requirements and, if necessary, those relating to the economic capacity- financial and technical-professional. 3. The contracting authorities and granting bodies conclude the selection procedures within the terms indicated in Annex I.3. Exceeding the deadlines constitutes silent non-compliance and is also relevant for the purpose of verifying compliance with the duty of good faith, even during litigation. Upon first application of the code, Annex I.3 is repealed from the date of entry into force of a corresponding regulation issued pursuant to Article 17, paragraph 1, of Law no. of 23 August 1988. 400, upon proposal of the Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, after hearing the Minister for Public Administration, who replaces it entirely also as an annex to the code. 4. Each competitor can submit only one offer, which is binding for the period indicated in the notice or invitation and, in case of failure to indicate, for one hundred and eighty days from the deadline for its submission. The contracting authority and the granting body, with a reasoned deed, may ask the bidders to defer the deadline. 5. The body responsible for evaluating the bids prepares the award proposal to the best non-anomalous bid. The body competent to arrange the award examines the proposal and, if it deems it legitimate and compliant with the public interest, after having verified that the bidder meets the requirements, orders the award, which is immediately effective. 6. The award does not constitute acceptance of the offer. The successful tenderer's offer is irrevocable until the deadline established for the stipulation of the contract. 7. Once the award has been made, the contract is stipulated in accordance with the provisions of article 18. 8. Without prejudice to the provisions of article 50 , paragraph 6, the execution of the contract can be started, even before the stipulation, for justified reasons. The execution is always started before the stipulation if the reasons of urgency referred to in paragraph 9. 9 exist. The emergency execution is carried out when objectively unforeseeable events occur, to avoid dangerous situations for people, animals, things , for public hygiene and health, for the historical, artistic, cultural heritage, or in cases where the immediate failure to execute the performance included in the tender would cause serious damage to the public interest that it is intended to satisfy, including the loss of funding from the European Union. 10. The pending litigation can never justify the suspension of the procedure or the award, without prejudice to the precautionary powers of the administrative judge and those of self-protection of the contracting authority or the granting body, from exercise by the competent manager. EFFECTIVE FROM: 1 July 2023