Guide updated 11 July 2026
Why a bid gets excluded
In 2025 the Tribunal Administrativo Central de Recursos Contractuales received 2,226 appeals, and one in five was against an exclusion. Almost all paperwork exclusions repeat themselves. These are the ones we have read, one by one, in their official ruling.
Anticipating the bid in the wrong envelope
A financial breakdown in the administrative envelope (TACRC 81/2026), prices and assessed improvements in the technical envelope (TACRC 1483/2022), one extra vehicle that scored by formula described in the proposal (TACRC 1043/2023) or an ISO certification mentioned in passing (TARCJA 52/2025). The rule: whatever scores by formula appears only in its own envelope.
Going over the page count or format
58 pages where the specifications allowed 50 (TACRC 1099/2026). A 50-page Word file that took up 67 once converted to PDF (TACRC 479/2024): what counts is the pages of the document you upload. If the specifications do not provide for exclusion, the excess does not exclude (TACPCM 478/2024).
The financial offer
Exceeding the base budget or the cap on a line item even though the total fits (TACRC 1144/2023); an impossible amount such as «4.2017,41 €» (TACRC 1217/2024); the price per month when the model asked for it per hour (OARC 173/2024). Careful the other way round: comparing the total with VAT against the budget without VAT is an error by the committee, and the tribunal annulled it (TACRC 508/2024).
Signature, powers of attorney and deadline
The bid signed by someone without a validated power of attorney (TACPCM 33/2022); a signature failure in the last hour that left the bid outside the deadline (TACRC 363/2024); the electronic fingerprint submitted on time but without completing the submission within 24 hours (TACPCM 485/2024).
Requirements that cannot be remedied
Not being registered in the ROLECE in a simplified procedure (TACRC 1224/2023); part IV of the DEUC left empty and not corrected in time (TACRC 214/2026); a catalogue delivered as a OneDrive link instead of the document (TACRC 357/2022); the company name in the properties of an Excel file when the specifications required anonymity (TACPCM 202/2024).
How to avoid them
They all have something in common: they can be seen in the files before submitting them. AIM PAPYR's Sobre listo checks them one by one, free and instantly, and each warning links to the ruling that backs it.
Frequently asked questions
Can an error in the bid be remedied?
What already existed when the deadline ended can be clarified or completed (art. 141.2 LCSP), within three days. What cannot be done is change the bid: a wrongly written price or a proposal that is too long cannot be fixed afterwards.
Is it worth appealing an exclusion?
It depends on the specifications and the cause: three of the rulings we cite annulled the exclusion. That requires a specialist lawyer; we do not give advice, we check.
Where do these cases come from?
From the rulings published by the Tribunal Administrativo Central de Recursos Contractuales and the tribunals of Madrid, Andalucía and Euskadi, read in their official PDF.