What is a veat notice?

Public procurement sometimes isn’t about competition, especially when contracting authorities use a VEAT (Voluntary Ex-Ante Transparency) notice. This mechanism allows them to award contracts directly without a full tender process, significantly speeding up urgent deals. At the same time, it also sparks debate around transparency and compliance. So, when is a VEAT permissible, and how can you strategically respond to it? Let’s find out in this post.

What is a VEAT notice?

VEAT stands for Voluntary Ex Ante Transparency notice.

In public procurement, a VEAT notice was published by a contracting authority indicating its intention to award a contract to a specific supplier without having an open tender process.

Its purpose was to justify a non-competitive award, giving other vendors the chance to challenge prior to the contract being awarded, in case fairness has been bypassed. A VEAT was intended to reduce the risk of the contract being ruled unlawful in a later challenge.

VEATs were often found on Find a Tender in the UK. Publishing a VEAT triggered a 10-day standstill period and helped demonstrate transparency before making the award.

It's important to note that VEAT notices were a staple of the Public Contracts Regulation Act of 2015, but not included in the Procurement Act of 2023, which went into effect in February of 2025. The Act replaces VEATs with a new notice type called the transparency notice. Both the PCR 2015 and Procurement Act of 2023 govern public procurement regulations from CPV code usage to government contract awards.

What information was required for a VEAT?

More than a simple announcement, a VEAT was required to provide a detailed justification for why a contract was awarded without competition. The required information typically included:

• Name of the contracting authority
• A description of the contract’s nature and value
• Selected supplier’s details
• Legal justification for the direct award
• Reference to the relevant regulation and explanation of why it applies

To understand how procurement’s transparency rules are evolving, see how Stotles is evolving to support suppliers in the transition to the UK Procurement Act of 2023.

To understand how a VEAT could make a strong or weak justification for a contract award, see the below table:

When was a VEAT notice used?

A VEAT notice was intended for strict legal exemptions and circumstances where running a competitive tender is impractical. The valid reasons were narrow and clearly defined under the VEAT notice regulation to ensure compliance with public procurement requirements.

Legitimate grounds for non-competitive award

Key justifications included extremely urgent requirements brought by unexpected events, or where there is only one capable supplier due to technical sensitivity or intellectual property protection. VEAT notices were often relevant for highly specialised or niche contracts that can’t be sourced competitively.

Misuse and grey areas (when VEAT is questionable)

Misuse occurs when the above exemptions were stretched. Instances of a highly questionable VEAT include:

• Create false or overstated urgency to cover poor planning
• Favour a familiar supplier while a genuine competitive market exists
• Deliberately avoid the scrutiny of a public call for tender

Contracting authorities undermined procurement integrity and transparency when stepping into these grey areas. Suppliers can learn how to find and assess opportunities in our beginner’s guide: how to find public sector tenders.

Real-world examples and typical scenarios

Urgent health service procurement

During a public health crisis like COVID-19, authorities bypassed lengthy tendering to secure PPE, vaccines, and vital services quickly. Running a tender over the course of months to find suppliers would compromise public health.

Specialist technical contracts

A common ground for VEATs may involved projects that require highly specialised technology available from a single supplier. For instance, a governmental agency hoping to upgrade its proprietary IT system can argue that only the original developer is capable of performing the work. They would issue a VEAT acknowledging that competition is absent due to technical reasons, such as the knowledge, source code, and tools.

Closed frameworks and call-off contracts

VEATs also often appeared in the context of closed frameworks, where buyers order from a list of approved vendors under pre-negotiated terms and conditions. In these cases, each call-off contract is awarded directly based on the framework agreement and doesn’t have to go through public tendering.

These scenarios highlight why VEATs mattered and how non-competitive awards work in practice. For example, buyers frequently publish direct award notices in areas like public health, such as this recent notice of public health funding, which clearly laid out the justification for awarding a contract without running an open tender.

The VEAT publication process explained

The publication of a VEAT notice must follow a regulated procedure with specific checkpoints. Emphasising the balance of administrative efficiency and market transparency, it creates a window for challenging a non-competitive award before a contract is finalised.

What happened after a VEAT was published

Once a contracting authority decides to make a direct award, it publishes a VEAT detailing the contract, supplier, and reasons for evading competition. This action formally notifies the market, allowing it to assess whether the justification is valid.

Standstill periods and deadlines

To benefit from the VEAT ‘safe harbour’, the authority must observe a standstill of at least 10 calendar days from the day after the notice is published. During this time, the contracting authority can’t enter into the contract. If no challenge is raised, the award can proceed. Otherwise, it might be delayed or annulled when the justification is deemed illegitimate.

What a supplier could legally challenge

Suppliers contested the exemption cited in a VEAT notice, the adequacy of market research, and the quality of the supporting evidence. A successful challenge hinges on the contracting authority’s flawed reasoning, rather than commercial inconvenience. Procedural missteps, such as an incorrect standstill period, may also serve as a sound basis for a challenge.

VEAT vs other procurement notices in Public Contracts Regulations of 2015

VEAT notices should be distinguished from other announcements because they conveyed distinct meanings throughout signal different meanings in the procurement lifecycle. The table below compares the key distinctions in timing and intent between a VEAT, a Prior Information Notice (PIN), and a Contract Award Notice (CAN).

Risks of VEAT notices for contracting authorities

While reinforcing transparency for public procurement, publishing a VEAT carries significant risks for contracting authorities. If their justification for the direct award is weak, a supplier’s successful challenge could result in financial penalties, contract termination, and reputational damage.

Risk vs reward for buyers

VEATs enable faster, more convenient appointment of a specific supplier for a niche or urgent task. However, this efficiency must be weighed against the possibility of public scrutiny, especially when a VEAT is poorly justified or executed. Buyers, therefore, need to carefully consider the benefits of skipping competition vs the legal challenges and provide robust evidence to minimise risks.

What did a VEAT notice mean for suppliers?

A VEAT notice gave a suppliers both good news and bad news. It signals that a contract has been awarded without competition, which can be frustrating for some. Conversely, this notice offers businesses insight into the buyer behaviour and potential grounds for challenge.

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How lessons from VEAT notices can be applied to transparency notices

Now that VEAT have officially been replaced by transparency notices, there are lessons to be gleaned from years of government VEATs to be applied to the current regulations.

Understand the law

The legal foundation for VEAT notices came from the Remedies Directive as implemented by Regulation 99 of the PCR 2015, which set out how a voluntary ex-ante transparency notice couldreduce the risk of a contract being declared ineffective when an authority relied on the direct award grounds in Regulation 32. The recent UK Procurement Act of 2023 reforms lay out the rules governing transparency notices in part 3.

Strengthen capability statements and evidence

Having an evidence-supported capability statement makes it harder for contracting authorities to justify a sole-supplier award. Demonstrate your unique expertise, unmatched compliance, and proprietary technology. Well-prepared documentation not only positions your business as a justifiable choice but also supports challenges when a transparency notice is unfounded.

What made a VEAT invalid

An invalid VEAT was vulnerable to challenges and often displays vague or generic reasoning. Key failures include citing the incorrect regulation, lacking sufficient supporting evidence, and using a predictable event to claim urgency.

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Why understanding VEAT Notices matters for suppliers and contracting authorities

VEAT notices balanced speed and transparency for procurement outcomes, but they came with the risk of challenges for contracting authorities.  

Rather than treating VEATs as a dead regulation, suppliers can use them as signals, indicators of buyer priorities, collaboration patterns, and contract cycles. Combined with broader market intelligence, VEATs become part of a proactive strategy that strengthens positioning long before a tender is published.

Here are two ways suppliers are getting ahead to position themselves to be the beneficiary of a directly awarded contract: 

Track buyer pipelines and upcoming renewals

Monitoring buyer pipelines to prepare for early engagement prior to a crucial contract expiring. Modern procurement isn’t just about knowing current tenders, but anticipating future opportunities.

Build relationships before contracts expire

Foster a strong relationship with contracting authorities to increase visibility before they even consider a transparency notice. Initiate conversations months in advance and present your solutions to make yourself a credible alternative.

If you want to get ahead of procurement with real, actionable data, Stotles provides tools to surface buyer intent signals, identify upcoming contract expiries, and understand buyer priorities through strategic documents — all grounded in publicly available procurement data. Start building your pipeline before the procurement process begins.

Frequently Asked Questions about VEATs

Below are answers to some common questions that help contracting authorities and suppliers understand VEAT notices and their role under current legislation.

Is VEAT still used under the new Procurement Act?

For new procurements under the Procurement Act 2023, contracting authorities must use transparency notices for direct awards. VEAT / voluntary transparency notices still apply only to procurements that remain under the old PCR 2015 regime.

Is a VEAT legally binding?

No, a VEAT isn’t legally binding. It’s a formal announcement of an intention to award a contract.

How long is the VEAT challenge period?

Suppliers normally have at least 10 calendar days from the day after the VEAT notice is published electronically in the official journal to bring a challenge if the authority wants the VEAT to have a protective effect.

Can a VEAT notice be invalid?

Yes, a VEAT can be invalid if it fails to meet legal requirements, such as providing insufficient justification, misapplying the regulation, and omitting the awarded supplier’s details.

When should a supplier challenge a VEAT?

Suppliers should challenge when they determine that a justification is weak, supporting evidence is missing, urgency is factually incorrect, and alternative vendors clearly exist.

What happens if a VEAT challenge succeeds?

A successful challenge can lead to the award or contract being voided and penalties being inflicted on the contracting authority.

What is the difference between a VEAT and a PIN notice?

A VEAT notice explains why a contract will be awarded to a specific supplier without competition; whereas, a PIN is used earlier to signal an upcoming tender for suppliers to prepare for bid management.