IV.7.4.  Fixed-price Contracts  IV.7.4.1.  Informatics Services  shall be provided at a fixed price when the Parties agree in the  specific contract that an overall sum, which must be justified using the agreed daily rates in the  framework contract, is to be paid following express acceptance of the work by the contracting  authority.  IV.7.4.2.  The work shall be undertaken by the contractor in accordance with the specifications set  out in the specific contract. The specifications shall comprise in particular a description of the  work, the timetable, reports, standards, reference manuals and details of the results and  deliverables required.  IV.7.4.3.  Each result and deliverable shall be subject to acceptance by the contracting authority, in order  to ensure conformity with the specifications. The acceptance period will run up to a maximum  of seventy-five (75)  Normal working days  from the day of signature of a  Consignment note .  During this acceptance period, the contracting authority may notify any defaults in the result or  deliverable to the contractor by a  Means of communication . As from the date of such  notification, the running of the acceptance period will be suspended up to the date on which  the contractor notifies by a  Means of communication  that it has remedied the notified default,  which date will reinitiate the acceptance period for the rest of the seventy-five (75)  Normal  working days  period, with a guaranteed minimum period of twenty-five (25)  Normal working  days  after the last notification by the contractor that it has remedied a default. Upon  successful expiration of the acceptance period, the contracting authority will sign a  Certificate  of Conformity  as stated in Article I.1 of the General Conditions for each delivered result or  deliverable. If no  Certificate of Conformity  has been issued at the end of the acceptance period  and no default is pending, the contracting authority is considered as having accepted.  IV.7.5.1.  Prior to any specific contract, t h e c o n t r a c t i n g a u t h o r i t y and the contractor shall  exchange the information needed for the  Informatics Services  to be provided. Throughout the  term of the framework contract they shall maintain the required level of information and make  it available to the other party for the purpose of providing the  Informatics Services . The  updating of information shall not give rise to any payment.  IV.7.5.2.  In accordance with Article II.4.2 of the General Conditions, throughout the term of the  framework contract the contractor shall ensure that a stable service is maintained as  required for the proper implementation of the specific contracts.  IV.7.5.3.  When a change of staff or  Informatics Services  is agreed by the parties there should be a ten- day period of adjustment when both the replacement and original personnel should work side by  side for training and transfer of relevant information. The costs of this period of adjustment shall  be borne by the contractor.  IV.7.5.4.  In the case of a time and means framework contract, t h e c o n t r a c t i n g a u t h o r i t y must be notified in advance of staff changes and reserves the right to refuse them. The  contractor agrees to organise these changes at no extra cost for the contracting authority  and to provide for a transition period necessary for the outgoing staff to duly instruct and train  the incoming staff.  IV.7.6.  Timetable  IV.7.5.  Stability of  Services In no event shall the contractor be able to plead a change of staff as a reason for not meeting  any of its obligations, in particular with regard to deadlines and quality.  Page 34 of 40 