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Information and some statistics (the first half of the year 2000)
on the activities of the Office for Public Procurement

1. Establishment of the Office for Public Procurement and Its Competencies

On 14 September 1999, the National Council of the Slovak Republic adopted the draft Act on Public Procurement and on the Modification and Amendments of Certain Acts (hereinafter „the Act“) by its decision No. 439. The Act of published in the Collection of Laws of the Slovak Republic, volume 112 on 26 October 1999 and came into effect on 1 January 2000. By this Act a new institution has been established: the Office for Public Procurement, which started its operations on 1 January 2000.

• The new Act on Public Procurement stipulates the following obligations that lie within the competencies of the Office for Public Procurement:

• prepare public procurement and concession procurement concepts,

• perform state administration in the field of public procurement and concession procurement,

• perform surveillance of public and concession procurement and decide on objections of the participants in the public and concession procurement filed against the treatment of procuring entities,

• submit a report on the outcomes of its activities to the government and if requested to a committee of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, at least once a year,

• notify about the translations of financial thresholds for the above-the-threshold methods of public procurement into the Slovak currency,

• gather and publish information on intended public procurement methods for a given year in its Journal of Public Procurement,

• issue the Journal of Public Procurement (intended from 1 January 2001),

• maintain a list of entrepreneurs that have demonstrated their qualifications for being awarded contracts in public procurement and that have applied for being entered therein,

• prepare programmes of professional training and re-training,

• issue certificates of professional qualification and maintain a list of persons who have professionally qualified,

• provide methodology and guidance to the participants of public procurement and provide professional assistance to other central state administration authorities and municipalities,

• impose fines for the infringement of the Act,

• perform other activities pursuant to the Act No. 263/1999 Coll. of Laws on Public Procurement and on modification and amendment of certain acts.

2. Public Procurement Methods and Procedures

• Assessment of Public Procurement Methods

The new version of the Act on Public Procurement stipulates methods by which a contracting partner is selected in the public procurement process, which may be:

• open tender

• restricted tender

• negotiated procedure with prior notification

• negotiated procedure without prior notification.

All public procurement methods – except for the negotiated procedure without prior notification – are published by a notice of invitation to a public procurement method or by a preliminary notice in the Commercial Journal of the Ministry of Justice SR; after 1 January 2001 these will be published in a special periodical – the Journal of Public Procurement issued by the Office for Public Procurement.

The Act stipulates equality of open and restricted tender. It is up to the procuring entity to decide which of the public procurement methods to apply and select a contracting partner.

Special methods comprise negotiated procedure with prior notification (4 conditions) and negotiated procedure without prior notification (9 conditions), which may be applied by procuring entities only if some of the conditions for their application are complied with.

The public procurement methods are – depending on the amount of the anticipated costs of the object of procurement and the financial threshold – defined as above or below the threshold. The financial threshold applies to the anticipated price for the object of procurement excluding VAT, the amount of which determines the procuring entity pursuant to its experience from previous purchases or rules set in other regulations.

• Public Procurement Procedures and Stages

The entire public procurement process may be split up into three stages:

1. Preparation and planning: includes the decision on the procuring entity’s need to purchase and the anticipated price of the object of procurement, the selection of the public procurement method, a breakdown of requirements on the object of procurement, preparing of technical specifications, criteria for the evaluation of tenders, selection of contract terms and conditions and setting criteria to assess the qualification of tenderers or candidates;

2. Selection of the contracting partner by methods and procedures regulated by the Act on Public Procurement;

3. Contract performance.

The new Act regulates the public procurement procedures (stage 2) as follows:

• preparation of tender documents pursuant to which tenders are to be prepared and the preparation of a notice of invitation to a public procurement method,

• publishing the notice of invitation to a public procurement method or a preliminary notice (with the exception of negotiated procedure without prior notification),

• distribution and explanation of tender documents,

• submission of tenders,

• establishing a commission for opening and evaluation of tenders,

• opening the envelopes with tenders and evaluation of tenders,

• justification of tenders,

• information on ranking and award of contract, unless an objection against the procuring entity’s treatment has been filed,

• entering into a contract,

• notice of the outcome of an open tender.

In an open tender, the evaluation of tenders also includes an examination of compliance with the qualification requirements (Articles 24 and 25). At the same time, in a restricted tender and negotiated procedure, the qualification of candidates follows the notice of invitation to a public procurement method in the Journal; only qualified candidates may submit a tender/bid.

3. Some statistics on the activities of the Office for Public Procurement (hereinafter „ the Office“) - the first half of the year 2000

1. The Office receives and proceeds with :

1. Filings which are considered objections against acting of the procuring entity

2. Filings which are not objections and which point out violations of the public procurement process on the part of the procuring entity.

Proceeding with the filings which are considered objections

Within the Office there is a department which makes decisions on objections of participants in the public procurement filed against acting of the procuring entity. Objections against acting of the procuring entity shall be considered motions to start proceedings for termination or suspending a method of public procurement.Whenever a violation of the public procurement occurs, the Office may, before a contract is awarded, order a termination of :

• the advertised method of public procurement,

• the discriminatory technical requirements of the procuring entity, economic or financial requirement stipulated in the notice of invitation to award of contracts, in contract documents or any other evidence relating to public procurement,

• the procuring' s entity decision to exclude a tenderer or candidate, or its ranking of tenders evaluated, where the principle of non – discrimination proves to have been violated.

The Office may suspend the public procurement for maximum 30 days by the means of a preliminary ruling.

In the first half of the year 2000 the Office (till 30 June 2000) received 128 objections filed by the participants.

Proceeding with the filings which are not objections

Managment in Public Procurement Department of the Office proceeds with the filings which are not objections and which point out violations of the public procurement process on the part of the procuring entity :

1. performs surveillance over public procurement process and follows according to :

• Article 84 – to perform surveillance over public procurement process in accordance with the Law on Inspection in the State Administration unless the Act on Public Procurement stipulates otherwise,

• Article 85 – if necessary, the Office can require co-operation of other inspection bodies (in performing their inspection assignements, the inspection bodies shall be obliged to co – operate with the Office, in particular co – ordinate the performance of inspections and the performance of supervision, and when requested by the Office, to provide for an inspection and to supply the Office with the inspection conclusions,

• Article 38 – if necessary, the Office can request the procuring entity to submit the complete public procurement documentation .

 

Some statistics for the first half of the year 2000 (till 30 June 2000) :

2. proceeds with the filings leading to administrative proceedings and decides whether to start administrative procedings according to the Act. No. 71/1967 Coll. on Administrative Proceedings (hereinafter „Administrative Order“).

Statistics

The Office has received 72 of those filings in the first half of the year 2000 and in 2 cases it has started administrative proceedings according to Administrative Order.

Fines

Managment in Public Procurement Department may impose a fine on a procuring entity (stipulated in Article 90, paragraph 1). In the first half of the year it has not imposed any fine.

The disputes concerning the validity and contents of legal relations in public procurement shall be decided by law courts.

2. Methodology guidance to the participants of the public procurement process

Analysis and Documents Department of the Office for Public Procurement provides methodology guidance in writing to the participants of the public procurement process if required as well as personal technical assistance to them. This department also provides lecturer's activities. In the first half of the year the representatives of the department have provided these activities in the organisations financed by the state budget, in the state contributory organisations and in the public institutions. At present this department is preparing support materials in order to assist the procuring entities in the implementation of the public procurement.

Some statistics for the first half of the year 2000 (till 30 June 2000) :

 

3. Journal of Public Procurement

According the Act the Journal shall advertise in particular:

• a preliminary notice, a notice of invitation to award of contracts, the of public procurement,

• a list of non – national press media recommended by advertising of notifications concerning public procurement,

• a list of interpreneurs and changes therein (this list will be published since 1 January 2002 and the Office shall enter in the list only an interpreneur compliant with the requirements for participation in public procurement pursuant Article 24 of the Act),

• a list of training providers and data concerning professional training and training,

• place and dates of examinations,

• other information as decided by the Office (most frequent mistakes in public procurement process).

Concerning publication of the notices (all public procurement methods – except for the negotiated procedure without prior notification – are published by a notice of invitation to a public procurement method or by a preliminary notice) and other above – mentioned information Journal Department of the Office co – operates with the Commercial Journal of the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic in which these information are advertised. According the Act after 1 January 2001 all these information will be published in the Journal of Public Procurement issued by the Office for Public Procurement.

Some statistics for the first half of the year 2000 (till 30 June 2000)

Notification of invitation to award of contracts	1688 ( of them 93, 1 % notification of invitation to open tender, 5,6 % notification of invitation to restricted tender and 1,3% notification of invitation to negotiated procedure with prior notification).
Outcomes of public procurement	496 (including the outcomes of negotiated procedures without prior notification - 296)