Definition
Mandatory Exclusion Ground
A ground the buyer must exclude you for.
Mandatory exclusion grounds are circumstances, such as certain criminal convictions or serious tax non-compliance, where a UK public buyer has no discretion and must exclude a bidder from the procurement unless a narrow exception applies. They sit alongside discretionary exclusion grounds, where the buyer can weigh up proportionality instead.
What triggers mandatory exclusion
Mandatory grounds typically cover convictions for offences such as fraud, bribery, corruption, organised crime, money laundering, and modern slavery-related offences, plus confirmed non-compliance with tax or social security obligations that has not been resolved.
These grounds usually apply to the bidding organisation and its directors or other individuals with power to represent or control it, so a conviction of a director can trigger exclusion of the company even where the company itself was not directly convicted.
- Convictions for specified offences: fraud, bribery, corruption, money laundering, terrorism-related offences, modern slavery
- Unresolved breach of tax or social security payment obligations
- Applies to the bidding entity and relevant individuals (directors, controlling persons)
- Buyer generally has limited or no discretion once the ground is established
Time limits and self-cleaning
Mandatory exclusion is usually time-limited, meaning a conviction from many years ago may no longer be an automatic bar depending on the rules in force. Suppliers can also present self-cleaning evidence, but the bar for accepting it against mandatory grounds is generally higher than for discretionary grounds.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between mandatory and discretionary exclusion?
- Mandatory exclusion grounds must be applied by the buyer once established, with little discretion, such as specified criminal convictions or unresolved tax debts. Discretionary grounds, such as past poor performance, allow the buyer to weigh proportionality and decide whether exclusion is justified.
- Can a company be excluded because of a director's conviction?
- Yes, if the director has power to represent, make decisions for, or control the bidding organisation, their relevant criminal conviction can trigger mandatory exclusion of the company, not just personal consequences for the individual.
- Does mandatory exclusion last forever?
- No. Mandatory exclusion grounds are generally subject to a maximum look-back period set out in the applicable rules, after which an old conviction is no longer an automatic bar, though buyers may still consider it under discretionary grounds in some circumstances.
Related terms