Tenders submitted in response to an invitation shall not be considered unless a deposit is lodged. Except in cases of force majeure, the deposit shall be forfeited in whole or in part if tenderers have not fulfilled, or have only partially fulfilled, the obligations placed upon them.
Contracting authorities shall as soon as possible inform each candidate and tenderer of decisions reached concerning the conclusion of a framework agreement, the award of the contract or admittance to a dynamic purchasing system, including the grounds for any decision not to conclude a framework agreement, not to award a contract for which there has been a call for competition, to recommence the procedure or not to implement a dynamic purchasing system.