Draft Law No. 11520, which is intended to harmonize Ukraine’s procurement rules with European ones, provides for a long-awaited increase in thresholds.
The thresholds will be set in euros, excluding VAT. For conversion into hryvnias, the euro exchange rate will be determined based on the official exchange rate of the National Bank of Ukraine as of January 1 each year. Therefore, if the euro rises, the thresholds will increase accordingly.
For regular contracting authorities as defined by the law, it will be possible to conclude contracts directly and not report them in Prozorro for goods and services worth up to EUR 2,000 (approximately UAH 100,000 at the current exchange rate), and for works up to EUR 5,000 (UAH 250,000). Contracting authorities will retain the right to use competitive methods for these below-threshold procurements at their own discretion — either a request for quotations or simplified procurement. The electronic catalogue will be renamed the electronic marketplace.
For goods worth between EUR 2,000 and EUR 10,000 (UAH 100,000–500,000), the main method will be a request for quotations. If that procedure does not take place, or if the product is not available in the marketplace, the contracting authority will be able to conclude a direct contract, but it will already have to report it. A simplified procurement procedure will also remain an alternative.
For services worth between EUR 2,000 and EUR 10,000 (UAH 100,000–500,000) and works worth between EUR 5,000 and EUR 40,000 (UAH 250,000–2 million), direct contracts will still be allowed, but they will have to be reported in Prozorro. Alternatively, contracting authorities will be able to conduct simplified procurement or use a request for quotations.
Mandatory competitive procedures and methods will now apply from EUR 10,000 (UAH 500,000) for goods and services and from EUR 40,000 (UAH 2 million) for works. These may be the familiar procedures under the current law, such as open bidding and the negotiated procedure (where grounds exist), as well as new procedures. The electronic marketplace will also be allowed here. In addition, new procurement methods will become available: joint procurement, updated framework agreement procurement, procurement through a dynamic purchasing system, and the groundwork has been laid for the future introduction of reserved contracts.
Thresholds for procurement with publication in English have also increased: to EUR 140,000 (UAH 7 million) for goods and services, and to EUR 5.4 million (UAH 274 million) for works. These procedures may likewise be carried out using a range of procurement methods, except for requests for quotations through the electronic marketplace.
A similar increase in thresholds is also provided for contracting authorities operating in specific sectors.
This material is funded by the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of Transparency International Ukraine and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
