Public Procurement Agency provides clarification: Documents must be certified

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - The Public Procurement Agency of BiH, during the natural disaster declared throughout BiH at the request of the Council of Ministers of BiH, has adapted the public procurement procedure to the current conditions, but as they stated, they are already noticing certain abuses and warn that this will not go unnoticed. Also, the question arises whether bidders must submit certified statements from competent authorities while the coronavirus is ongoing.

"The Law on Public Procurement (”Official Gazette of BiH” no. 39/14) - hereinafter referred to as the Law, along with bylaws regulating the field of public procurement, is a systemic law that should establish an efficient and transparent system of spending public funds, but within the existing legal system, not separately from other laws and regulations governing a specific area.

Regarding the difficulty of certifying documentation with competent authorities in the current circumstances, we emphasize that in accordance with the conditions from Article 56, Paragraph (3) of the Law, contracting authorities may amend tender documentation and reduce the requirement for certified documents (except for those strictly required by the Law). Therefore, to reduce the burden on bidders in terms of not requesting too much unnecessary documentation beyond what the Law explicitly states, depending on the procedure.

For a competitive request for proposal, if it is appropriate for the specific procurement, no qualification documents may be required (thus, there is no need to certify documents with competent authorities).

In open procedures, limited procedures, and negotiated procedures with and without a prior notice, the Law clearly states that only the statement from Articles 45 and 52 of the Law must be certified. Only the most favorable bidder selected must submit all certified documentation from Article 45 of the Law.

Therefore, even in this situation, we must continue to respect the provisions regarding the certification of documents, as this concerns not only the Law on Public Procurement but also substantive regulations on document certification. However, contracting authorities certainly have the option to adapt to the current emergency situation and reduce the request for documents.

Authorities responsible for certification (municipalities, courts, notaries) are working and available to clients in accordance with the orders issued by competent authorities, albeit with reduced capacity," the Agency stated.