Public Procurement Law amendments pass Committee on Finance and Budget
Committee approves higher thresholds, annual ceilings and strengthened digital oversight in proposed amendments to the Public Procurement Law.
The proposed amendments to the Public Procurement Law were approved today by the parliamentary Committee on Finance and Budget after a presentation by Deputy Finance Minister Nikolche Jankulovski.
Key changes and thresholds
The draft raises several value thresholds that have remained unchanged since 2019. In the classic public sector the threshold for goods and services increases from 1,000 to 2,000 euros, and for works from 5,000 to 10,000 euros. For sectoral contracting authorities the threshold for goods and services rises from 2,000 to 4,000 euros, and for works from 10,000 to 20,000 euros.
The proposal also establishes annual ceilings for procurements made under these thresholds: 25,000 euros for the classic public sector and 50,000 euros for sectoral contracting authorities.
Contracting authorities would be able to more easily purchase standardized goods and services directly from the Public Procurement Bureau’s electronic catalogs without additional tender documentation in the cases specified by law. The changes also introduce an obligation for every contracting authority to adopt an internal public procurement act.
The Public Procurement Bureau’s remit would be strengthened: it is tasked to develop web services, digital tools and AI-based solutions for automated monitoring and risk detection in public procurement processes.
There are amendments to complaint fees intended to safeguard effective legal protection for bidders and other parties in procurement disputes.
Deputy Minister Nikolche Jankulovski said: "The goal is to reduce the administrative burden on low-value procurements without thereby undermining the principles of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds."
Photo: press material from the event
