Special law – changes in public procurement
The Act of 1 October 2024 amending the Act on special solutions related to flood repair and remediation and certain other acts (hereinafter: the Act), has been published in the Journal of Laws and will enter into force tomorrow (i.e. 5 October 2024).
The Act provides that, for a period of 6 months from the date of its entry into force, the provisions of the Public Procurement Law (hereinafter: PPL) shall not apply to the award of public contracts for services or supplies intended for repair and remediation of flood damage that occurred after 12 September 2024 .
The explanatory memorandum for the Act provides that, in view of the damage caused by the flood and problems associated with provision of aid and organization of life in areas affected by the flood, it is necessary to take appropriate legislative measures to facilitate the flood repair and remediation procedures.
Contracting authorities that award contracts in accordance with the procedures provided for in the Act are only required to publish information on the award in the Public Procurement Bulletin within 30 days of the award. The information must include, without limitation, a description of the subject matter of the contract, the price, the factual circumstances justifying the award of the contract without applying the provisions of the PPL and the name of the entity with which the contract was concluded.
Risk of abuse and negative opinion of the European Commission
This exemption will apply to contracts for remediation of flood-related events and, in order to prevent abuse, the effective duration of its provisions will be limited to 6 months from the entry into force of the Act. All longer term contracts should be executed under the provisions of the PPL Act.
Importantly, however, the Public Procurement Office (UZP), in its opinion on the bill, emphasized the fact that a significant part of the funds spent for flood remediation will come from EU funds and will have to be accounted for in accordance with the European Union procedures. The Act provides for an exemption regardless of the value of the contract. However, such exemptions are not provided for in EU legislation. Therefore, in view of the risk of a negative opinion from the European Commission, the Public Procurement Office proposed that such exemptions should be limited to service and supply contracts not exceeding the EU thresholds. However, this proposal was not included in the Act.
Orders given under the Crisis Management Act
The Act also includes changes to the Crisis Management Act. The PPL will also not apply to orders issued by the Prime Minister on his own initiative or at the request of ministers. In this case, however, the time limit of 6 months from the entry into force of the Act does not apply, and the information in this respect must be published in the Public Information Bulletin (BIP) within 7 days of the award.
KONTAKT
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