The National Directorate of Public Procurement (“DNCP”) just published Resolution No. 4576/2020 whereby guidelines regarding application of the Open Contract modality in procurement procedures under Law No. 2051/03 are established.
According to this contracting modality, the requestor establishes minimum and maximum quantities of goods or services to be acquired or a percentage of the minimum and maximum budget to be applied, when the requestor cannot accurately define the quantity or scope of goods, services or works that will be required during the term of the contract.
Contracts for the provision of goods, performance of works, rendering of services or consultancies may be the object of this modality. When talking about bidding for works, the unit to be delivered (construction model) must be clearly defined, submitting all blueprints with comprehensive details and breakdown of the quantities for each item comprised by the unit.
The Open Contract modality may be used in works such as: construction of houses, classrooms, toilets, wells for drinking water supply, and other of similar nature that are duly justified by the requestor.
The advantage of bidding for works through this type of contracting relies on contracts having certain flexibility due to the minimum and maximum range, so in case designs should be adjusted and the item appears in the quantity sheet, it would not be necessary further addenda or amendments in order to adjust the contract to the real requirements of works, which usually are determined just at the time of their execution, thus representing an advantage for both, requestor and contractor.
However, in all cases, the requestor must justify the need to adopt this modality; and the maximum stipulated quantities or amounts do not imply an obligation for the requestor to ask for the provision of such quantity / amount during the term of the contract, although there is an obligation in regard to the minimum stipulated quantity or amount.
Said resolution entered into force as of October 15, 2020, for the procedures communicated to the DNCP as of that date. For more information, contact: Sofía Suárez – sofia.suarez@berke.com.py, and/or Martín Carlevaro – martin.carlevaro@berke.com.py
