Public procurement requirements will apply to contracts for over PLN 126,747 net
An amendment to the Public Procurement Law will increase the threshold for application of the public procurement regime. Contracts and contests worth no more than EUR 30,000 will be exempt from procurement procedures.
The act of 14 March 2014 amending Poland’s Public Procurement Law includes changes called for by the Public Procurement Office, including an increase in the threshold for application of the Public Procurement Law from EUR 14,000 to EUR 30,000. Under the current exchange rate used for this purpose, this means that an order will be subject to the procurement regime only if the contractor’s fee exceeds PLN 126,747.00 net (or PLN 155,898.81 including VAT at the 23% rate). Also excluded from the procurement regime will be orders below EU thresholds for supply of goods or services solely for the purposes of research, experimentation, science or development, not for use for serial production by the contracting authority for profit or to cover R&D costs, as well as orders for goods or services involving cultural activity connected with organisation of exhibitions, concerts, contests, festivals, shows, theatrical performances, cultural education initiatives or gathering of museum or library collections, so long as the orders are not used to provide the contracting authority with fixed assets for use in supporting its ongoing activity.
Orders for supply of items produced for research, experimentation or development purposes, not for use for serial production by the contracting authority for profit or to cover R&D costs, and which may be performed by only one contractor, may be filled using the single-source procurement procedure. And in the case of orders involving creative or artistic activity, contracting authorities will be released from the obligation to require declarations from recognised artists with whom they wish to conclude a contract that they are capable of performing the contract or have the knowhow, technical resources and staff at their disposal capable of performing the contract. The contracting authority will also be able to cancel a tender for R&D if it does not receive funding for the contract.
The purpose of the act is to help eliminate barriers to growth in innovation and research so that within 10 years Poland can become an “innovation leader” in the EU’s Innovation Union Scoreboard. Raising the thresholds for application of the public procurement regime is designed to eliminate the necessity of following procurement procedures, and incurring the related costs, when the costs exceed the benefits that could be obtained from following procurement procedures.
The amended provisions will not apply to procurement procedures commenced before the effective date of the amendment or contracts concluded as a result of those procedures.
The act awaits the signature of the President and will enter into force 14 days after publication in the Journal of Laws.
Anna Prigan, Infrastructure, Transport and Public Procurement practices, Wardyński & Partners
