(83)Overly demanding requirements concerning economic and financial capacity frequently constitute an unjustified obstacle to the involvement of SMEs in public procurement. Any such requirements should be related and proportionate to the subject-matter of the contract. In particular, contracting authorities should not be allowed to require economic operators to have a minimum turnover that would be disproportionate to the subject-matter of the contract; the requirement should normally not exceed at the most twice the estimated contract value. However, in duly justified circumstances, it should be possible to apply higher requirements. Such circumstances might relate to the high risks attached to the performance of the contract or the fact that its timely and correct performance is critical, for instance because it constitutes a necessary preliminary for the performance of other contracts. In such duly justified cases contracting authorities should remain free to decide autonomously whether higher minimum turnover requirements would be appropriate and pertinent without being subject to administrative or judicial supervision. Where higher minimum turnover requirements are to be applied, contracting authorities should remain free to set the level as long as it is related and proportionate to the subject-matter of the contract. Where the contracting authority decides that the minimum turnover requirement should be set at a level higher than twice the estimated contract value, the individual report or the procurement documents should contain an indication of the main reasons for the contracting authority’s choice. Contracting authorities should also be able to request information on the ratios, for instance, between assets and liabilities in the annual accounts. A positive ratio showing higher levels of assets than of liabilities could provide additional evidence that the financial capacity of economic operators is sufficient.