BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 2. The Azerbaijani
parliament has adopted a new rule for signing tender contracts,
Trend
reports.
This issue is reflected in the draft law amending the law "On
state procurement" at today’s plenary session of the
parliament.
According to the draft law, 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.
According to existing legislation, 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
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, the procurement method, the contract value,
and the 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"; - the 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.
The draft law was put to a vote after discussions and passed on
first reading.
Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News
Agency's WhatsApp channel
