Article 183. Procedure.

1. The concessions are awarded on the basis of the award criteria established by the granting body provided that all the following conditions are met: a) the offer meets the minimum requirements possibly prescribed by the granting body; b) the bidder complies with the conditions of participation relating to the technical and professional skills and financial and economic capacity requested in the notice; c) the tenderer is not excluded from participation in the award procedure pursuant to Articles 94, 95, with reference to the international agreements listed in Annex in particular technical, physical, functional and legal, which each offer must satisfy or possess. 3. The granting bodies shall provide, in the concession notice, a description of the concession and the conditions of participation and, in the invitation to submit offers or in the other procurement documents, a description of the award criteria and, where applicable, the minimum requirements to be met. 4. The awarding body may limit the number of candidates or tenderers to an appropriate level, provided this is done in a transparent manner and on the basis of objective criteria. The number of candidates or tenderers invited to participate must be sufficient to ensure effective competition. 5. The granting body shall communicate to all participants a description of the envisaged organization of the procedure and an indicative deadline for its completion. Any changes are communicated to all participants and, to the extent that they concern elements indicated in the concession notice, they are made public for all economic operators. 6. The granting body ensures the use of the digitalisation of the procedure according to the rules of referred to in Book I, Part II. The use of digital media and methods guarantees the transparency of the procedure and the imputability of the documents. 7. The granting body can freely conduct negotiations with the candidates and bidders. The object of the concession, the award criteria and the minimum requirements are not changed during the negotiations. These negotiations are normally conducted through a competitive dialogue pursuant to Article 74. 8. The granting body verifies the conditions of participation relating to the technical and professional capabilities and the financial and economic capacity of the candidates or tenderers, on the basis of self-certifications or references which must be presented as proof based on the requirements specified in the concession notice; the requirements are non-discriminatory and proportionate to the object of the concession. The conditions of participation are related and proportional to the need to guarantee the concessionaire's ability to carry out the concession, taking into account the object of the concession and the objective of ensuring effective competition. 9. To meet the conditions of participation, where appropriate and in the case of a particular concession, the economic operator may rely on the capacities of other entities, regardless of the legal nature of its relationships with them. If an economic operator wants to rely on the capabilities of other entities, it must demonstrate to the granting body that it will have the necessary resources for the entire duration of the concession, for example by submitting a commitment to this end from said entities. As regards the financial capacity, the granting body may require that the economic operator and the subjects in question are jointly responsible for the execution of the contract. 10. Under the same conditions, a grouping of economic operators may rely on the capabilities of the participants in the group or other subjects. 11. The provisions regarding preliminary assistance referred to in article 101 apply. EFFECTIVE FROM: 1 July 2023