Italian State Council bars reopening of late telematic tender

The Italian State Council (Consiglio di Stato), Section Five, ruled in judgment No. 5630/2026 that a bid submitted after the deadline cannot be accepted despite the bidder’s claim of platform slowdown. The decision concerns an INPS‑run telematic procurement for public‑service contracts, where the deadline was set for 10:00 a.m. on 29 November 2025. System logs showed the bidder began uploading the signed document at 10:00:03, after the cutoff, while the platform had functioned correctly and earlier errors were deemed non‑blocking. Consequently, the Council upheld the cancellation of the award and rejected the request to reopen the deadline.

The ruling emphasizes that in telematic procedures, evidence of platform malfunction is required to justify an extension; mere notifications of delay are insufficient. The INPS award was therefore confirmed without the contested bidder.