Access the contract

If you are invited to sign a contract or amendment, you need first to access the contract in the F&T Portal.

To access the contract, log on to the Funding & Tenders Portal and open the Procurement centre / Contracts section. 

On this section you will find a list of all contracts to which you have access in the F&T Portal (contracts for which you are PCoCo/CoCo or for whose contractor (leader in case of consortium) you have the role of LEAR/Account Administrator/Procurement LSIGN or Accounting Manager):

• direct contracts for which the tender leading to the contract has been submitted through eSubmission and the contracting authority has decided to use the F&T Portal Electronic Exchange System to sign the contract.

• framework contracts (FWCs) for which the use of F&T Portal has been activated in accordance with the terms of the FWC.

• specific contracts under such FWCs:
  • you can search for a specific contract by entering the specific contract number in the search field  (1)
  • you can see all specific contracts by clicking on the total number of specific contracts  (2) . 

The Menu button (3) on the right of each contract (direct/framework/specific) allows you to:

• manage the access to the contract: click on the Manage Consortium button (see here how to view/add/remove roles related to a contract).
• access the contract: click on the Manage contract (4) button (available only for direct and specific contracts as FWCs are not managed in the F&T Portal yet)

Manage contract

In the upper section of the Contract screen (1) you will see the key contract data:

• contract title and contract number
• procedure/request number and lot (if applicable)
• consortium leader (if the contractor is a consortium)
• contracting authority entity in charge of the contract
• total contract amount
• payment modality (global price/fee-based/time&means/quoted time&means)
• contract status .

 You can minimise or maximise this panel by clicking the arrow on top.

In the lower section of the contract screen you will see the active/archived processes and the documents received/sent to the contracting authority under these processes:

• Contract signature: the process is launched when the contractor receives the contract for signature and archived when the contract is signed by the contractor.
• Continuous reporting: the process is launched after contract signature when the contracting authority expects the contractor to submit deliverables through the F&T Portal.
• Amendment signature: the process is launched when the contractor receives the amendment for signature (or initiates an amendment to be sent to the contracting authority) and archived when the amendment is signed by the contractor.

Cancelled contract/amendment signature processes will also appear under Archived Processes.

Under each process you can see the process timeline on the left.

Check contract/amendment to sign

When you receive a contract/amendment to be signed, you can find the contract/amendment documents in the Documents tab and section of the active contract/amendment signature task 

Click on Actions and Download to download the contract/amendment.

Note: If an annex has been uploaded by the contracting authority in non-pdf format, the annex will be included in the digitally sealed contract document by means of a hyperlink, and  accessible as a separate attachment in the Documents section/tab of the contract signature process. 

Sign the contract

The Sign  button is visible for all users who can access the contract but can be used only by  those authorised to sign the contract on behalf of the contractor (see above Who can sign the contract/amendment ).  

A pop up will appear asking you to confirm that you agree to sign the contract - click on the Confirm button to proceed.

You will be redirected to the EU Login eSignature page where you will have to enter your password and then click the Sign button. 

After the contractor signs, the contract signature process is completed on the contractor side and can be found under Archived Processes.

The SIGNED step in the contract signature process timeline is green and the completion date and time-stamp are added. 

Signature of the contracting authority

When the contracting authority signs the contract:

• the  COUNTER-SIGNED  step in the contract signature process becomes green and indicates the date and time of signature of the contracting authority.
• the contract status becomes  SIGNED by EU/CA  (CA stands for Contracting authority).
• F&T Portal notification is sent to the PCoCo/CoCos and Contract Legal Signatory or, if no Contract Legal Signatory is assigned to the contract, the Procurement LSIGNs. 

Start of contract implementation

The start date of the contract depends on the terms of the direct/specific contract: 

• when the last party signs the contract, i.e. when the contracting authority signs,
• on a fixed date defined in the contract provided that the contract has already been signed by both parties on this date,
• on a date set by the contracting authority after the contract is signed: the PCoCo/CoCos  receive F&T Portal notification when the contracting authority sets the "effective start date".

Contract in phases

If the contract is to be implemented in phases, only the implementation of the first phase will start initially. 

The launch of any next phase depends on the contracting authority decision to proceed with the next phase or not.

If the contracting authority decides to proceed with the next phase, the PCoCo/CoCos will receive a notification with a link to a document "Next phase confirmation" which can be found in the Documents section of the contract screen in the F&T Portal.

The document will include the following information:

• the maximum amount and duration of the next phase,
• the date when the implementation of the next phase can start,
• description of the detailed requirements for the next phase (if provided by the contracting authority).

Decline the contract

If the contractor does not want to sign the contract, the PCoCo/CoCo/ Contract Legal Signatory or, if no Contract Legal Signatory is assigned to the contract, the Procurement LSIGN, should  click on the Decline button.

A pop up will appear asking the user to confirm the decision and provide the reason for not signing the contract.

The Proceed button becomes active only after the reason is entered.

The contracting authority is informed of the contractor's decision not to sign the contract and the provided reasons.

The contract signature process is cancelled and archived and cannot be reopened any more.

Request data correction

If the contract contains errors (e.g. wrong contractor's details), the  PCoCo/CoCo/ Contract Legal Signatory or, if no Contract Legal Signatory is assigned to the contract, the Procurement LSIGN,  can request corrections to the contracting authority by clicking on the  Incorrect data button.

A pop up will appear asking the user to indicate the incorrect data in the text field (mandatory). 

The contracting authority will be informed and will review the request for correction.

The SIGNED step in the timeline remains orange and the process status   remains active. 

Accept and sign the amendment

Most amendments are initiated by the contracting authorities.  The contractor can initiate an amendment only to amend the start date, the duration and, in case of contracts with Quoted Time & Means payment modality, the deliverables.

When the amendment is initiated by the contracting authority, the contracting authority signs the amendment first and then sends it to the contractor for signature.

The following amendment documents can be consulted in the Documents section or Documents tab of the EU Amendment  process (1): 

• amendment request letter describing the reason and details of the amendment,
• amendment matrix setting out in a table format the amended data/documents,
• the amendment document signed by the contracting authority, including any amended contract annexes.

Note: If an annex has been uploaded by the contracting authority in non-pdf format, the annex will be included in the amendment document by means of a hyperlink, and  accessible as a separate attachment in the Documents section/tab of the amendment process . 

The Accept & Sign  button   is visible for all users who can access the contract but is  active  only for those authorised to sign the contract on behalf of the contractor (see above Who can sign the contract/amendment ).  

The authorised user is redirected to the EU Login eSignature page, where the EU login password has to be entered before the Sign button becomes active.

As the contractor is the last to sign, the amendments is validly signed and enters into force. The signed amendment is available in the  Documents tab.

The amendment process is moved to Archived Processes .

Reject the amendment

Rejecting the amendment terminates completely the amendment process, without possibility for resuming the amendment later neither by the contracting authority nor the contractor.

It is not possible to request correction of incorrect data as the amendment is already signed by the contracting authority.

The amendment can be rejected by the PCoCo/CoCo/ Contract Legal Signatory or, if no Contract Legal Signatory is assigned to the contract, the Procurement LSIGN.

To reject the amendment the authorised user should:

• click on the Upload button  (1)  under the Documents section to upload a document explaining the reasons for not accepting the amendment;
• click on the Reject button (2)
• click on Confirm (3) in the next screen.

The contracting authority is notified of the rejection and the amendment is moved to the Archived Processes.