The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Croatia has suggested defining clearer non-price criteria in selecting the most economically advantageous offer and increase the transparency of reporting on contract performance.
AmCham representatives have met with Natasa Mikus Zigman, State Secretary at the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, to present their proposals for improving the implementation of the Public Procurement Act.
With the entry into force of the Public Procurement Act on 1 January 2017, the most economically advantageous offer was introduced as the only selection criterion in public procurement processes, AmCham Executive Director Andrea Doko Jelusic said according to a press release issued by the AmCham.
Ever since then AmCham members have been monitoring the implementation of this law and have noticed practices that are not in the spirit of public procurement nor were they intended by legislators, she added.
“Although we believe that the law is essentially good, it is necessary to strengthen the capacities and raise stakeholders’ awareness of the public procurement system,” Doko Jelusic said.
The AmCham considers it necessary to better define non-price criteria in selecting the most economically advantageous offer because currently the deadline of delivery is predominantly used as the sole non-price criterion, which was not legislators’ intention.
It is also important to publish information on contract performance more specifically and transparently, including reasons for amending contracts and legal grounds for such amendments, to ensure better legal protection.
The AmCham also stressed the need to ensure a clear interpretation of provisions on conflict of interest situations, further strengthen the institute of prior consultation, and more clearly define framework public procurement agreements.
Noting the importance of public procurement for the Croatian economy, the AmCham cited data from the last statistical report for 2018 according to which the total value of public procurement that year was HRK 46.6 billion excluding VAT, which was 14.88% of GDP in 2018.
