Last December 9, the Executive Branch signed the new Decree No. 2992/19 regulating Law No. 2051/03 “On Public Procurement” and its amending Law No. 3439/17 (the “Decree”). 

The main reasons for the Decree are, on the one hand, to save on public procurement through the policy of improving public expenditures, and on the other hand, to reconcile and unify the current regulations, since the Public Procurement Law was regulated in more than ten regulatory bodies.

Among the most important novelties introduced by the Decree are the following aspects:

• Unifies regulatory provisions of the Public Procurement Law. For example, it unifies the different contracting modalities by including regulations regarding the modalities of prequalification, bidding with financing, bidding with two or more evaluation stages and electronic low bidding.
• Allows joint purchasing between two or more public entities or agencies that require the same service, good or work. Greater benefits will be obtained by purchasing in volume.
• Through its new sustainability criteria, the environmental and social impact that the contracting would imply is taken into consideration, and not only the price of the offer. The National Directorate of Public Procurement will regulate the mechanisms for the application of these criteria.
• Seeks to implement technological means to carry out processes more quickly, efficiently, transparently and easily.

It is important to highlight the fact that the Decree will become effective on January 01, 2020.