Teckal exception

England, Wales

An exception that means, in certain circumstances, a contract let by a public body will not be deemed to be a contract for the purposes of the public procurement regime. The relevant circumstances are that:

• The service provider carries out the principal part of its activities with the relevant public body.

• The public body exercises the same kind of control over the service provider as it does over its own departments.

• There is no private sector ownership of the service provider or any intention that there should be any.

The exemption was established by the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) ruling in Teckal Srl v Comune de Viano and Azienda Gas-Acqua Consorziale (AGAC) di Reggio Emilia (C-107/98) [1999] ECR I-8121.

For further details, see Practice note, Impact of the public procurement regime on development agreements (www.practicallaw.com/8-500-5625).