Procurement

Recent Articles

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  25/04/2024

  United Kingdom

  The Procurement Act 2023 ‘goes live’ on 28 October 2024

  The Government has announced that it is working towards a ‘go-live’ date for the new procurement regime of  28 October 2024. This marks the beginning of the six month preparation period for contracting authorities, utilities and suppliers to the public, utilities and defence sectors.Guidance for transitional arrangementsOn 22 April, the Cabinet Office published guidance for transitional arrangements.The guidance sets out how the changeover from the previous legislation to the Procurement Act 2023 (the ‘Act’) should be managed and effected by contracting authorities,...

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  01/04/2024

  Bulgaria

  EC closes first investigation in Bulgaria under new EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation

  On 16 February 2024, the European Commission (EC) opened its first investigation under the Foreign Subsidiaries Regulation (FSR) in relation to a BGN 1.2 billion (EUR 610 million) public procurement initiated by Bulgaria's Ministry of Transport and Communications on 4 January 2024 for the tender of 20 electric “push-pull” trains, including their maintenance over 15 years and the education of staff. The investigation was initiated following notification from a Chinese company participating in the public procurement procedure.Following the EC's announcement of an in-depth FSR investigation,...

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  18/03/2024

  Sweden

  Nya regler om tillsyn över offentliga upphandlingar

  Den 30 november 2023 beslutade riksdagen att anta regeringens proposition 2023/24:3 om en effektivare upphandlingstillsyn. Ändringarna kommer att börja gälla den 1 januari 2024. Regeringens förslag avser att stärka Konkurrensverkets roll i övervakningen av offentlig upphandling.De nya reglerna innebär bland annat att Konkurrensverket ges utökade befogenheter vid beslut om upphandlingsskadeavgifter, en förlängd tidsfrist för att fatta beslut om upphandlingsskadeavgifter samt en fördubbling av det maximala beloppet för upphandlingsavgifter...

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  11/03/2024

  Middle East

  Introduction of New Federal Law on Regulation of PPPs

  Introduction On 1st December 2023 in the United Arab Emirates (“UAE”) Federal Law No.12/2023 – On the Regulation of the Partnership Between the Public and Private Sectors (the “New PPP Law”) – came into force. Until this point, public-private partnerships (“PPPs”) have been administered predominantly at an Emirate level.While Emirates such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai have their own frameworks for PPPs, the New PPP Law seeks to regulate and boost collaboration between federal entities and the private sector in the UAE, as well as encourage private...

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  20/02/2024

  United Kingdom

  Court of Appeal confirms position on damages for breach of public procurement rules

  The much anticipated judgment in the Braceurself appeal has been handed down by the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal (led by LJ Coulson) has reaffirmed the position established by the High Court that despite a breach of the public procurement rules changing the outcome of a procurement, that is not of itself automatically ‘sufficiently serious’ to justify an award of damages.Until Braceurself, it was generally assumed that a breach which changed the outcome of a procurement would be decisive on the question of sufficient seriousness. This judgment provides clarity on the relevant...

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  26/01/2024

  England and Wales

  Commissioning Health Care Services in England: The new PSR regime

  Following a lengthy consultation process, the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023 (the “PSR”), were laid before Parliament on 19 October 2023. The PSR has been designed to introduce a flexible and proportionate process for deciding who should provide health care services. In the words of the Department for Health and Social Care, the aim of the PSR is to “move away from the expectation of tendering for healthcare services in all circumstances towards collaboration across the health and care system” and to “remove the bureaucracy and cost...

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