WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONGPA/35
21 June 2000
(00-2516)
Committee on Government Procurement
CHECKLIST OF ISSUES FOR PROVISION OF INFORMATION
RELATING TO ACCESSION TO THE AGREEMENT
ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
To facilitate consultations relating to accession to the Agreement on Government
Procurement, please provide a description of the government procurement regime applied in your
country by replying, to the extent possible, to the questions in the checklist of issues below.  If there is
no specific provision on a particular issue, the response should state this.
The information to be provided in this context is without prejudice to any additional
information which Parties may wish to request from acceding governments on any other aspects of
their procurement regimes.  For each item on the ch ecklist, please identify any legal or administrative
actions that will need to be taken in order to al ign your government procurement regime with the
requirements of the GPA and ensure full implementation of the Agreement following accession.
If your government is aware of any need for training or other capacity-building efforts
relating to any of the items on this checklist, please describe the need in as specific and concrete terms
as possible, and describe any steps your government is taking, whether independently or in
cooperation with other Members or international organizations, to address that need.
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I. LEGAL FRAMEWORK
1. Is there a single central law on procurement?  If so, please specify?
2. What are the other laws, regulations, decrees, administrative rulings, decisions, policy
guidelines and other instruments governing government procurement?  Please provide a summary of
the subject areas dealt with by each of these instruments.  Please also explain the main differences (ifany) that exist between their application at the central and sub-central levels of government and at
other types of entities.
3. To what extent will the provisions of the Agreement be applied directly or need to be
transposed into the relevant law?  In the event of direct application of the Agreement over conflicting
provisions of domestic law, please indicate the relevant legal basis.
II. SCOPE AND COVERAGE
4. Please summarize the organization of the government in your country at each level.
5. Please list all central government entities (ministries, departments, agencies, etc.) procuring
goods, services and construction services.GPA/35
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6. What entities at the sub-central level of government (states, provinces, municipalities, etc.)
procure goods and services?
7. Which are the enterprises owned or controlled by  the government that are subject to the rules
on government procurement?  Which are the other entities or categories of entities (Annex 3-type
entities) owned and controlled by the government that engage in procurement?  Specify.
8. Do entities listed in response to questions 5, 6 and 7 apply in their procurement the main law
(if one exists), other legislation provided by the federal or central level of government or are they
autonomous from federal or central government in their procurement rules and practices?  Where any
of these entities are not subject to the main procurement law, please list the entities concerned and
indicate which laws, regulations, etc., they are subject to.  How will your government ensure the
implementation of the Agreement by such entiti es below the central/federal government level?
9. Are there any general exceptions from the scope of application of the national procurement
rules, for instance for essential national defence or security reasons?  Please provide details.
10. Please provide available statistics on the procurement by government entities in your country
in the last two years, including, to the extent available, a breakdown by entity and by categories of
products and services.
III. NATIONAL TREATMENT AND NON-DISCRIMINATION
11. Identify the specific provisions in the legislation which reflect the national treatment and
non-discrimination commitments of Article III of the Agreement.
12. Please provide details of any provisions in national legislation according domestic supplies
and suppliers treatment more favourable than that accorded to foreign supplies or suppliers or
according supplies or suppliers of any country more favourable treatment than those of any othercountry.
13. Please provide details of any provisions in national legislation allowing a locally established
supplier to be treated less favourably than another locally established supplier on the basis of its
degree of foreign affiliation or ownership or discriminating against locally established suppliers on the
basis of the country of production of the good or service being supplied.
14. Please specify to what extent, if at all, more favourable treatment is granted to any sectors of
the economy, regions or specific categories of suppliers or supplies.
15. Please specify any provisions requiring or allowing the use of offsets or measures with similar
effect, such as domestic content, licensing of technology, investment, counter-trade or similar
requirements in the qualification or selection of suppliers, products or services or in the evaluation of
tenders and award of contracts.
IV. ELEMENTS SPECIFIC TO PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES
16. Please provide a general description of your existing procurement methods and procedures,
including the main procurement methods used and a brief description of each method, and the extent
to which qualification of suppliers and open, selective and limited tendering for each level of
government is used.
17. Identify the provision in your country's legislation requiring non-discrimination as regards the
qualification of suppliers in terms of Article VIII and selection of suppliers in terms of Article X.GPA/35
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Indicate any exception to this requirement.  What are the provisions ensuring non-discriminatory
access of new suppliers to existing qualification lists?
18. In situations where qualification procedures and selective tendering may be used, to what
extent do entities allow suppliers to become quali fied during the procurement process?  To what
extent do entities maintain permanent lists of suppliers?
19. What are the conditions and circumstances foreseen in your legislation allowing the use of the
limited tendering method under Article XV of the Agreement?  What measures exist in order to
ensure that this method is not used with a view to avoiding maximum possible competition or in a
manner which would constitute a means of discriminating among foreign supplies/suppliers or in
favour of domestic supplies/suppliers?
20. Article XIV of the Agreement allows for negotiation under certain conditions.  Are entities
allowed to proceed to negotiations?  If so, which categories and what are the conditions imposed?
21. Article XI sets out the minimum time-periods for tendering and delivery.  What are the rules
and practices regarding time-periods in your legislation?  Does the legislation reflect the various
minimum time-periods as set out in the Agreement?  If not, give information on any different
time-periods which have been established in your national legislation.
22. Briefly describe the procedures for the submission, receipt and opening of tenders and
awarding of contracts, in particular the procedures and conditions guaranteeing regularity of the
openings and consistency with the non-discrimination provisions of the Agreement.  How is the
information on the proceedings related to the receipt, opening and evaluation of tenders maintained by
entities?
23. Please identify the provisions in your legislation setting the parameters for the prescription of
technical specifications by entities as part of the evaluation criteria.
24. Identify the measures in national legislation ensuring that awards are made in accordance with
the evaluation criteria and essential requirements specified in the tender documentation.
V. INFORMATION
25. Article XIX:1 of the Agreement foresees the publication of laws, regulations, judicial
decisions, administrative rulings of general application and procedures regarding government
procurement.  Please give the name of the relevant publication(s) and indicate the media used for this
purpose.  Please also provide, where available, the address of an Internet website where the legislation
referred to in questions 1 and 2 can be found.
26. Article IX:1 of the Agreement foresees the publication of invitations to participate for all
cases of intended procurement by entities.  Please give the name of the relevant publication(s) and
indicate the media to be used for this purpose.  Please also provide, where available, the address of anInternet website where such invitations are published.
27. Please specify the types of information that your legislation requires to be included in notices
of invitation to tender or in tender documentation, and identify the relevant provisions of your
legislation.
28. Article IX:1 of the Agreement foresees publication of permanent lists of qualified suppliers
by entities maintaining such lists.  Please give the name of the relevant publication(s) and indicate the
means used for this purpose.  Please also provide, where available, the address of an Internet website
where such lists are published.GPA/35
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29. Article XVIII:1 of the Agreement foresees the publication of details of contract award notices
by entities.  Please give the name of the relevant publication(s) and indicate the means to be used for
this purpose.  Please also provide, where available, the address of an Internet website where such
notices are published.
30. Please specify the types of information that notices of contract awards should contain in your
country and identify the relevant provisions in your legislation.
31. Please specify the relevant provisions in your legislation enabling, as foreseen in
Article XVIII:2, the provision of information to other Parties and unsuccessful tenderers regarding the
reasons why a tender was not selected.
VI. BID CHALLENGE PROCEDURES
32. Please provide information on existing challenge procedures.
33. Are there specific provisions enabling access of foreign suppliers to challenge procedures?
34. To the extent that this information does not fully respond to the following points, please
provide the supplementary information necessary to do so:
(i) The time-limit to launch a complaint contained in the Agreement is "not less than
10 days" from the time when the basis of the complaint is known or reasonably
should have been known.  What are the limits in your domestic legislation?
(ii) What body is responsible for the challenge procedures?  Is this a "court" or an
"impartial and independent review body"?  If the latter:
- How are its members selected?- Are its decisions subject to judicial review?- If not, how will the requirements of paragraph 6 of Article XX be taken into 
account?
(iii) What is the applicable law by reference to which the challenge body will examine
complaints?
(iv) Which rapid interim measures are provided to correct breaches of the Agreement and
to preserve commercial opportunities?
- Do these measures include the possibility to suspend the procurement 
process?  On what conditions?
(v) How do challenge procedures provide for correction of the Agreement?  What types
of compensation for loss or damages suffered can the challenge body order?
(vi) Give any available information on the time-periods for the stages of the challenge
process, including to obtain interim measures and a final decision.
(vii) What are the usual costs to conduct a challenge procedure?  Are there possibilities
foreseen to do so free of charge?GPA/35
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VII. OTHER MATTERS
35. To what extent is information technology being used in the process of government
procurement?  Are notices of invitations to tender and/or notices of contract awards published
electronically?  Please provide the address of such electronic publications.
36. Is there a contact point in your country for responding to enquiries from suppliers, other
governments and the wider public relating to laws, regulations and procedures and practices regarding
government procurement at the central and/or sub-central level?  Please provide the address.
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