Government procurement

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Government procurement, also called public tendering or public procurement, is the procurement of goods and services on behalf of a public authority, such as a government agency. With 10 to 15% of GDP in developed countries, and up to 20% in developing countries, government procurement accounts for a substantial part of the global economy.

To prevent fraud, waste, corruption or local protectionism, the law of most countries regulates government procurement more or less closely. It usually requires the procuring authority to issue public tenders if the value of the procurement exceeds a certain threshold.

Government procurement is also the subject of the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), a plurilateral international treaty under the auspices of the WTO.

Overview

Scope of application

Government procurement regulations normally cover all public works, services and supply contracts entered into by a public authority. However, there may be exceptions. These may notably cover military acquisitions, which account for large parts of government expenditures. The GPA and EU procurement law do not apply where public tendering would violate a country's essential security interests. Additionally, certain politically or economically sensitive sectors of government spending, such as public health, energy supply or public transport, may also be treated differently.

Regulation by jurisdiction

European Union

Main article: Government procurement in the European Union

Government procurement in the European Union has been regulated and harmonized by community law since the 1970s. It accounts for more than EUR 2 trillion, or 19% of the EU GDP.

Poland

Main article: Public procurement law (Poland)

Russia

Main article: Government procurement in Russia

Russian Federal Law N94-ФЗ of 21.07.2005 require all federal, regional and municipal government customers to publish all information about government tenders, auctions and other purchase procedures on special public government websites.

United States

Main article: Government procurement in the United States

Government procurement by public authorities in the United States accounts for about USD 7 trillion annually. Federal procurement is governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. FedBizOpps and USASpending.gov are websites where federal contracts are shown. Public announcements of awards has several exemptions, including contracts less than $3.5 million.

The National Institute of Governmental Purchasing and the Federal Acquisition Institute are active in procurement certification and training. A specialized program in procurement law in the United States is located at The George Washington University Law School.

See also

• Contract awarding
• Public eProcurement
• Standstill period

References

• Prieß, Hans-Joachim, ed. (2012). Public Procurement 2012: An overview of regulation in 40 jurisdictions worldwide (8. ed.). Getting the Deal Through. ISSN 1747-5910. 

Footnotes

External links

WTO WTO government procurement portal Canada Public Works and Government Services Canada European Union Tenders Electronic Daily

United States Federal Acquisition Institute Federal Procurement Data System National Institute of Governmental Purchasing National Association of State Procurement Officials Russia Russian federal procurement portal List of all Russian government procurement portals