Minor engineering contracts: what a town hall can directly procure

What is a minor contract under the LCSP?

The minor contract is the most agile public procurement procedure governed by Spain's Law 9/2017 on Public Sector Contracts (LCSP). Its key feature is that it does not require prior advertising or a full tender procedure, allowing the administration to procure engineering services much faster than through an open procedure.

Article 118 of the LCSP sets the thresholds that determine when a contract can be processed as a minor contract:

• Service and supply contracts: estimated value below €15,000 ex-VAT.
• Works contracts: estimated value below €40,000 ex-VAT.

Important: the threshold refers to the estimated contract value, not the awarded price, and includes any potential extensions. VAT is excluded for the purposes of the threshold but must still be paid on the invoice.

Which engineering services can a town hall procure as a minor contract?

In the field of industrial engineering and automation, minor contracts are commonly used for:

• BMS rollout in a single municipal building (library, town hall, community centre): the cost of a project of this kind is typically between €8,000 and €14,000, within the minor-contract threshold.
• PLC or SCADA programming in municipal facilities: pumping stations, municipal wastewater plants, automated irrigation systems.
• Technical audit of HVAC or electrical installations: assessment of the state of existing systems with a technical report and improvement proposal.
• Corrective maintenance of automation systems: interventions on existing BMS, PLCs or control cabinets.
• Low-voltage electrical project for refurbishment or extension of municipal facilities.
• Electrical design and technical documentation for electrical installation works.
• Upgrade or replacement of obsolete control equipment: replacement of an out-of-support PLC or upgrade of the SCADA system.

Documentation required to process a minor contract

Although the minor contract is the most simplified procedure, it is not exempt from documentary requirements. The file for a minor contract must include:

Documentation from the contracting body

• Justifying memorandum: document setting out the need for the procurement, its object, the estimated amount and the choice of contractor (with a note that at least three companies were considered where possible, per the JCCA circular).
• Expenditure approval: resolution by the competent body (mayor's office, governing board) approving the expenditure and authorising the procurement.
• Invoice or quote: the contract is concluded with acceptance of the contractor's quote and approval of the expenditure.
• Non-splitting declaration: a declaration by the contract owner stating that the contract object has not been artificially split to avoid tendering thresholds.

Documentation the contracting company must provide

• Detailed quote with itemised concepts, unit prices and VAT separately stated.
• Responsible declaration confirming that obligations to the tax authorities (AEAT) and Social Security are up to date, that the company is not subject to any contracting prohibitions, and that it has the necessary technical and financial capability.
• Technical documentation of the offered service: technical memorandum, equipment specifications, execution methodology and work plan.
• Public liability insurance: a current policy with sufficient cover for the contract object (typically a minimum of €300,000 for projects of this kind).

Contractor requirements for engineering minor contracts

Unlike open procedures, the minor contract does not require business classification (Tenderer Register). However, the company must demonstrate that it has the technical and financial capability needed to execute the contract. The usual evidence of this capability is:

• Demonstrable experience on similar projects (customer references, with a description of the work done and the value).
• Technical team with appropriate qualifications for the contract object (industrial engineering, telecommunications, etc.).
• Current professional public liability insurance.
• For projects that include electrical installation: authorised installer registered in the Electrical Installers Register of the relevant autonomous community.

Common mistakes when processing minor contracts

• Splitting the object: dividing a single project into several minor contracts to avoid exceeding the threshold. The LCSP expressly prohibits this and may result in the nullity of the contracts and personal liability for the processing officer.
• No justification for the choice of contractor: receiving a quote is not enough. The justifying memorandum must explain why that company is being contracted (experience, references, technical proposal).
• Procuring recurring services as minor contracts: if a service is procured repeatedly and continuously, the real nature of the contract may exceed the annual threshold and require a tender.
• Omitting the non-splitting declaration: a formal requirement whose absence can generate findings in audits by the Spanish Court of Auditors or regional control bodies.

Recommendations for the municipal engineer

If you are the engineer responsible for supervising or processing minor engineering contracts at your town hall, these are the practical recommendations we draw from our experience as contractors:

• Always request a detailed itemised quote with units, unit prices and VAT separately stated. It makes comparison and expenditure justification easier.
• Require the contractor's technical memorandum to describe exactly what will be done, with which equipment and within what timeline. This is the basis for execution control.
• Make the signed FAT/SAT protocol a condition of payment. It's how you evidence that the work has been carried out as contracted.
• Make sure you receive the source code of the control software and the as-built drawings. Without them you'll be tied to the contractor for any future change.
• Consult the contracting body or the municipal secretary if you have any doubt about whether the contract can be processed as a minor or requires another procedure.

How can Bluemation help?

At Bluemation we are regular contractors of engineering projects for local administrations through minor contracts. We provide all the technical documentation required to process the file: detailed quote, technical memorandum, responsible declaration, public liability insurance and all the handover documentation (as-built, manual, FAT/SAT, CE certificate).

Check our tender documentation page or contact us for a quote on your project.