IDDEEA Proposal Contrary to EU Regulations and Threatens Public Procurement System

Transparency International in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) has submitted comments on the Draft Work Program of the Agency for Identification Documents, Registers and Data Exchange (IDDEEA) for 2018, which proposes exempting the procurement of identification documents from the application of the Law on Public Procurement of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Namely, after multiple cancellations of tenders for the procurement of passport booklets due to irregularities in the procedure itself, as well as in the tender documentation, which also led to delays in issuing documents to BiH citizens, instead of aligning procurement implementation with the Law, IDDEEA proposes amendments to the Law on Public Procurement.

As reasons for this proposal, IDDEEA cites the Agency's inability to influence the decisions of the BiH Appeals Review Office, and the fact that the tender documentation has been cancelled multiple times, significantly prolonging the entire procurement procedure for identification documents.

TI BiH emphasized that IDDEEA, precisely through its unlawful conduct in the previous period, directly influenced the decisions made, as it prescribed non-competitive conditions contrary to legal regulations.

Auditors had previously determined that IDDEEA, in the process of procuring personal documents, did not enable the implementation of a transparent method for procuring personal documents, nor the selection of an optimal technological solution from the aspect of security, cost-effectiveness, and functionality of the electronic ID card.

TI BiH warns that exempting the procurement of identification documents from the application of the Law on Public Procurement would call into question the goal and purpose of such a law, as well as the entire public procurement system in BiH, and would open new opportunities for abuse.

Moreover, the proposed solution is not in line with the acquis communautaire of the European Union, whose regulations do not provide for the exemption of identification document procurement from conducting procedures.

TI BiH proposes that IDDEEA, instead of proposing amendments to the Law on Public Procurement with the aim of exempting identification documents from the public bidding procedure, align its activities primarily with the Law, but also with its proclaimed strategic goals and international standards.

Otherwise, an approach that seeks to adapt the law to individual needs and interests, instead of ensuring conditions for its compliance, indicates a complete disregard for the legal and institutional order and deepens the legal uncertainty that has been present for years.