New Public Procurement Law soon a reality

Poland

On 11 September 2019, the Polish Lower House of Parliament (Sejm) passed a new Public Procurement Law, which is to replace the existing legislation.

The adopted version of the law is similar to the draft bill prepared by the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Technology and accepted by the Council of Ministers. We wrote about this here. The Sejm made corrections, most of which were editorial revisions. The Senate will now hold a debate on the Act. The Senate may: 1) move to adopt the Act without any amendments, 2) propose amendments, or 3) move for it to be dismissed entirely. When Parliament has completed its work, the Act will be submitted to the Polish President to be signed.

The basic objective of the Act (which comprises 600 articles) is to increase competition on the public procurement market and ensure broader access to the market for contractors from the SME sector. One of the key changes will be the introduction of a simplified procedure for procurements valued below “EU thresholds”. The new Act also aims to create a better balance of the positions of parties to a public procurement contract. The legislator has also provided solutions aimed at making the appeal procedure more efficient.

The new Public Procurement Law is to enter into force at the beginning of 2021.