
Focal points
Guidelines for price determination based on cost price (CSP)
Services in cooperation with the guidelines for price determination based on cost price (CSP)
The abbreviation “LSP” stands for the guidelines for price determination based on cost price. These guidelines include calculation rules that are intended to enable market-based pricing in public procurement if restrictions on competition prevent this. The CSPs can be regarded as a factual unit with Regulation PR No. 30/53 on prices for public contracts and are therefore attached to the Regulation as an annex. This public price law interferes with free price formation between the contractor and the contracting authority.

The following aspects play a role in the overall context of the procurement process of public clients:
- Public procurement law: This concerns procedures and criteria for the selection of contractual partners.
- Price law: This sets out requirements for the admissibility of the price of public contracts.
- VPöA: The regulation provides for a ranking of the pricing method to be used in six stages.
- CSP: These are legally binding regulations for determining the cost price of goods. They are only permissible if the goods to be purchased are not marketable or if pricing is significantly influenced by competitive constraints.
The LSP represent a set of rules with 52 provisions for price calculation, whereby the following minimum structure is observed:
Production material costs
+ Production costs
+ Development and design costs
+ administration costs
+ distribution costs
= cost price + imputed profit = cost price.


Selection of services in cooperation with the CSPs
Audit Services
- Prüfung der Nachweise angefallener Kosten
- Prüfung zur Einhaltung der Vorgaben der LSP
- Gutachtenerstellung
Advisory Services
- Support in determining the total cost or cost price
- Tool-based transfer of data from internal cost accounting into the required CSP structure
A project example
Initial situation
- Contract between a German industrial company and a foreign state-owned enterprise (client)
- Agreed contract volume in the nine-figure range
- Conclusion of a state export credit insurance
Production and delivery halt
- Embargo against the client
- Federal directive to the contractor to cease production and delivery
- Claim for insurance compensation is fundamentally approved
Obligations of the contractor
- Ermittlung der Selbstkosten
- Beauftragung eine unabhängigen Wirtschaftsprüfer:in zur betriebswirtschaftlichen Prüfung und Begutachtung der Höhe der ermittelten Selbstkosten
Phases of the assessment
- Data copy of the order costs on an individual item basis (> 700K) into a suitable evaluation tool
- Conducting analytical and individual case review actions
- Preparation of an expert report and note on the independent business audit
Communication
- Continuous exchange to verify the content of actually incurred costs
- Answering inquiries from insured parties and the federal government
Your challenges and our solutions
Your challenges
- Modern cost accounting does not align with the requirements of the CSP from 1953
- Lack of definitions for eligible costs creates room for interpretation and thus risks
- Lack of practical examples and guidelines
Our services
- Support in determining eligible costs according to CSP
- Transfer of large data volumes and efficient analysis and sorting according to CSP requirements
- Reliable and traceable review of documentation
- Robust and target-oriented expert report preparation
Your benefit
- Established approach based on best practice examples
- Reduced time expenditure through a qualified team
- Experienced handling of public sector stakeholders and insurance companies to enforce claims
Your contact partners
