RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/WPGR/W/7/Add. 1
22February 1996
ORGANIZATION
(96-0673)
Working Party onGATS Rules
INFORMATION ONGOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT OFSERVICES
Note bytheSecretariat
Addendum
Document S/WPGR/W/7 (issued on2February 1996) provided anillustrative list,in
paragraph I.1,oftheaspects ofexisting procurement regimes onwhich Members maywishto
obtain information. Thisaddendum provides abrief, andmerely indicative, description ofwhat
eachitemonthelistcould include.
(i) Laws andregulations inforce
Indication ofwhether there areuniform lawsgoverning public procurement andreferences
torelevant laws, regulations ordirectives.
(ii) Procurement procedures applied
Description oftheprocedures used. These could differ according totheopenness ofthe
invitations totender, orthenumber ofsuppliers abletobid.Atleastthree broad categories of
procedures arecommonly distinguished: (a)public oropentendering procedures under which all
interested parties maysubmit atender; (b)selective orrestricted tender procedures under which
participation islimited toacertain number ofselected suppliers, andonlythese suppliers are
invited tosubmit atender; (c)private contract orsingle tender inwhich theawarding authority
contracts suppliers individually, andsometimes onlyasingle supplier.
Adescription ofthecircumstances inwhich different procedures areused. Forinstance,
ifthemethod useddepends onthevalue oftheprocurement, thethresholds could begiven.
(iii) Publicity forinviting tenders
Description ofhowintended procurements arepublicised. Whether invitations totender
arepublished; ifso,where, inwhatlanguages andthedetails oftheintended procurement thatare
normally published. Whether timelimits areclearly specified. Whether theextent andform of
publicity differs according totendering procedures.
(iv) Requirements laiddown forpossible suppliers
Pertains towhether there areregistration, residence orsimilar requirements. Whether
there existlistsofapproved suppliers. Theprocedures forchecking thecapability offirms
applying forinclusion ontenderers 'mailing lists. Details onother conditions forparticipation
required from suppliers, suchasfinancial guarantees, commercial standing andtechnical
qualifications. ./.S/WPGR/7/Add.1
Page2
(v) Criteria forassessing bidsandawarding contracts
Description ofthecriteria taken intoaccount intheaward oftenders. Forinstance
whether obtaining thebestvalue formoney spent istheaimandwhether criteria other thanprice
aretaken intoaccount. Details ofanyoffset provisions, suchaslocalcontent, technology transfer
orcountertrade requirements. Whether criteria differ according tosector oftheeconomy.
Themargin ofchoice ordiscretion allowed tothepurchasing authority. Forinstance,
there could be(a)automatic tender, where thecontract isawarded onthebasis ofpredetermined
criteria, either thesimple criteria ofprice, orprice andother criteria; (b)discretionary tender
procedures which involve acceptance ofthebidwhich ismost advantageous -theaward ofthe
contract isbased onseveral criteria, some ofwhich arepredetermined, butwhich ingeneral leave
theawarding authority acertain measure ofchoice; and(c)negotiated tender inwhich the
awarding authority negotiates freely withthepotential supplier orsuppliers astotheconditions of
thecontract. Therelationship between these methods andtheprocedures fortendering.
(vi) Disclosure ofbidsreceived andcontracts awarded
Description ofhowtenders arereceived, registered andopened. Whether entities are
required topublish details ofthecontracts awarded andnotify unsuccessful tenderers. Whether
entities arerequired topublish, orprovide tounsuccessful bidders, pertinent reasons whytheirbid
wasrejected.
(vii) Treatment granted todomestic andforeign products andservices and/or suppliers
Description ofanylaw,regulation, procedure orpractice through which domestic products
andservices and/or suppliers areaccorded treatment more favourable thanthataccorded toforeign
products andservices and/or suppliers, orproducts andservices and/or suppliers ofaMember are
granted more favourable treatment thanthose ofanother Member -asforinstance, under the
provisions ofaregional integration agreement. Whether thetimelimits fortendering aresetsoas
toallow sufficient timeforforeign tenderers tosubmit bids.
(viii) Procedures forhearing andreviewing complaints
Description ofprovisions forparties tolodge complaints against theaward ofacontract.
Whether challenges areheard byanadministrative tribunal, acourt oranyother review body.