The Council of Ministers re-approved on Wednesday a draft Act to Amend and Supplement the Public Procurement Act. The bill was passed at first reading by the 48th National Assembly on December 14, 2023, but was not adopted conclusively because of the dissolution of that legislature.
The proposed amendments transpose Directive (EU) 2019/1161 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 amending Directive 2009/33/EC on the promotion of clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles.
In connection with cases of misapplication of in-house procedures, the bill bans the subcontracting of the whole or parts of the subject-matter of the Contract to other parties and envisages a sanction for the violation of this ban.
In order to achieve conformity with the requirements of Directive 2014/24/EU on public procurement, the bill proposes the repeal of three exclusions from the scope of the law: the construction and maintenance of protective obstacles for the purpose of protecting the international border, the purchase by medical treatment facilities for in-patient care of medicinal products for disease treatment with no alternative in Bulgaria, and activities in woodland for the creation of forests, harvesting of timber and non-timber forest products.
Other proposals are related to commitments assumed under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. They seek to reduce the use of negotiated procedures without publication of a contract notice and the share of procurements awarded after the submission of a single tender. New increased sanctions are provided for contracting entities which conduct a negotiated procedure without meeting the conditions established by the law.
In order to encourage centralized procurement, the Council of Ministers is empowered to establish, by act, a central purchasing body for the needs of the municipalities.
Provisions are made for mandatory ex-ante control by the Public Procurement Agency of procedures of a value exceeding BGN 5 million, i.e. all significant public procurements of major public interest.
Monitoring on the basis of a sample from the centralized electronic platform for public procurement awards is to be carried out according to specified indicators, and the data obtained are to be provided to the ex-post control authorities for a check. These authorities will be expected to draw and submit a report on the results of the checks and the problems identified in the application of public procurement legislation.
The value thresholds are increased in line with the new delegated regulations of the European Commission and the rise of prices at the national and international level as a result of volatile inflation.