BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 23. Procurement
(tender) contracts between the purchasing organization and economic
entities will be concluded through the "Digital State Finance"
information system based on the results of the procurement
procedure in Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
This issue is reflected in the draft law amending the "Law on
state procurement" at today’s meeting of the Economic Policy,
Industry and Entrepreneurship Committee of the Parliament.
According to existing legislation, this law does not apply to
purchases that were not foreseen in the purchasing organization’s
procurement plan for the current year and where the total value
does not exceed 10,000 manat ($5,880) within a budget year (or up
to 20,000 manat, or $11,760, in the case of high-level, 1st and 2nd
category state agencies, as well as purchasing organizations not
financed from the state budget as of January 1 of the current
year).
According to the proposed amendment, in the case mentioned
in the above paragraph, the contract concerning such procurements
will be signed via the relevant information system designated by
the relevant executive authority (organization), and the
corresponding data will automatically and immediately be
transmitted to the portal by the information system once the
contract is signed. The procurement commission will publish the
relevant information on the portal within three business days from
the effective date of the procurement contract.
After the procurement contract comes into effect, the name
of the purchasing organization and the supplier that signed the
contract (if a natural person, their surname, first name, and
patronymic), the taxpayer identification number (TIN), the
procurement subject, procurement method, contract value, and
implementation period will be transferred immediately to the portal
by the information system, and the procurement commission will
publish the relevant information within three business days from
the effective date of the procurement contract.
Under the current legislation, procurements related to
confidential information and the associated procedures are
conducted on paper.
According to the draft law, the conclusion and sending of
contracts for procurements specified in the above paragraph, as
well as contracts for procurements covered by this law, except for
cases where the winning supplier is a non-resident, will be carried
out electronically through the information system.
Under the current legislation, this law does not apply to the
procurement of goods, works, or services that are:
- provided only by state authorities (institutions) or natural
monopoly entities and whose prices (tariffs) are regulated
(determined) by the state; - goods, work, or services within the framework of relations
regulated by the law "on public-private partnership"; - composition of the supervisory board (board of directors) is
approved by the body (organization) determined by the relevant
executive body or in agreement with the body (organization)
determined by the relevant executive body. Goods, works, or
services purchased at the expense of other financial resources,
excluding funds from the state budget of Azerbaijan and the budget
of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, including funds from
special-purpose budget funds, budget loans, subsidies, loans
received with state guarantees, state grants, assistance, and funds
from extra-budgetary state funds.
Besides, centralized procurement of food products (except those
purchased for state reserves) by purchasing organizations is
carried out by the relevant authority designated by the executive
authority in accordance with procedures established by the
authority. This law doesn't apply to purchases that were not
foreseen in the purchasing organization’s procurement plan for the
current year and where the total value doesn't exceed 10,000 manat
within a budget year (or up to 20,000 manat for high-level, 1st and
2nd category state authorities or organizations not funded by the
state budget as of January 1 of the current year).
According to the draft law, contracts for the procurement of
the goods, work, and services mentioned in the two paragraphs above
will be concluded and sent electronically via the information
system.
Under the current legislation, if the procurement authority does
not make a decision within 10 business days after receiving the
final protocol, the protocol is deemed approved, and the
information is immediately reflected on the portal.
According to the draft law, the procurement commission’s
final protocol, the decision of the supervising authority (if no
decision is made by the supervising authority, the final protocol
will be deemed approved), and the winning supplier’s offer (the
volume of works and price proposal) will be transmitted immediately
to the information system.
Under the current legislation, the purchasing organization
accepts the winning supplier’s offer within three business days
before the expiration date of the offer’s validity period.
According to the proposed change, the purchasing
organization will prepare the procurement contract via the
information system and simultaneously send an acceptance
notification to the supplier through the portal. The winning
supplier will sign the procurement contract within five business
days using a qualified electronic signature in the information
system and provide the purchasing organization with the required
execution guarantee under this law. The purchasing organization
will sign the procurement contract with a qualified electronic
signature in the information system within the period specified in
the conditions set out, but no later than 10 business
days.
Under the current legislation, the procurement commission may,
with the approval of the supervisory authority, increase or
decrease the procurement item’s volume (quantity) by up to 10%
without changing the price or specifications of each unit, provided
that the overall expected price is not exceeded.
According to the draft law, if the volume (quantity) of the
procurement item is changed, the purchasing organization will
immediately transmit this information to the information
system.
Under the current legislation, after the procurement contract
comes into effect, no changes are allowed to the contract terms.
Written requests from the parties regarding amendments to the
procurement contract terms are considered within 10 business
days.
According to the draft law, changes will be made through the
information system if an agreement is reached.
Under the current legislation, closed tenders, procurement from
a single source, and framework agreements resulting in open tenders
or quotation requests can only be applied for upon the approval of
the supervising authority.
According to the draft law, approvals for procurement
methods given by the supervising authority will be immediately
transmitted to the information system.
The "information system designated by the relevant executive
authority" refers to the "Digital Government Finance" information
system.
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