Legislation on Public Procurement: Recent Changes and Analysis
Introduction
Public procurement is an important instrument of economic policy that promotes efficient spending of budget funds, development of competition and support of domestic producers. In Ukraine, public procurement legislation has undergone significant changes in recent years aimed at increasing transparency, preventing corruption and improving access to tender procedures for participants.
Major Changes in Public Procurement Legislation
1. Implementation of the Prozorro System
One of the most important reforms was the introduction of the Prozorro electronic procurement system. This system provides:
- Transparency and openness of tender procedures: All stages of procurement are publicly available, which helps to avoid corruption schemes.
- Convenience for participants: The ability to submit bids online, which simplifies participation in procurement for small and medium-sized businesses.
- Competitiveness: The creation of a level playing field for all participants, which helps to improve the quality and reduce the cost of goods and services.
2. New version of the Law "On Public Procurement"
In 2020, a new version of the Law of Ukraine "On Public Procurement" was adopted, which includes the following key changes:
- Lowering the thresholds for procurement: Reducing the thresholds for open tenders, which increases the number of procurements that go through the electronic system.
- Introduction of a system of risk indicators: Implementation of an automated risk analysis system to identify potentially problematic procurements.
- Updating the appeal procedure: Simplification of the mechanism for appealing against procuring entities' decisions, which increases the protection of tenderers' rights.
3. Changes in Liability for Violation of the Law
The new amendments provide for increased liability for violations of public procurement legislation:
- Administrative liability: Introduction of fines for violation of public procurement procedures, which will encourage compliance with the law.
- Criminal liability: Provision for criminal liability for corrupt practices in public procurement.
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Analysis of Recent Changes
Positive aspects
- Transparency and Openness
The Prozorro system has significantly increased the transparency of public procurement by providing access to information on all stages of tender procedures for the general public. This helps to reduce corruption and increase trust in the procurement system.
- Competition and Budgetary Savings
Lowering the thresholds for open bidding and creating a level playing field for all participants helps to increase competition. This, in turn, leads to lower prices for goods and services procured by the state and budgetary savings.
- Protection of Participants' Rights
Updating the appeal procedure and introducing a system of risk indicators provide additional protection of the rights of procurement participants and increase the responsibility of customers for compliance with the law.