site.btaParliamentary Legal Affairs Committee Approves Amendments to Public Procurement Act on First Reading

The National Assembly Legal Affairs Committee on Thursday voted, 15-0 with five abstentions, to approve on first reading a Government-proposed bill to amend and supplement the Public Procurement Act.

The revisions are intended to align the Act with EU law, honour commitments under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, prepare Bulgaria for accession to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and address problems identified in contracting entities' practice.

The bill streamlines the definition of public procurement and establishes a permanent expert consultative council including all authorities and units vested with methodological and control powers within the Finance Ministry system. The idea is to coordinate the practices of these authorities and units for uniform understanding and application of the Act and pursuit of uniform and consistent policy in the field of public procurement.

Another legislative measure proposed would reduce the number of negotiated procedures without prior publication by streamlining the definition of "exceptional circumstances".