On December 9, 2022, the Executive Power has promulgated the new law on public supplies and public contractions, previously sanctioned by the Legislative Power on October 26 of this year, which repeals the previous law that governed the matter, Law Nr. 2051. /2003 and its amendments and that will enter into force from the publication of the Decree that regulates it, as provided in art. 160 of said Law.
Among the important novelties of the new law are the repeal of articles 41 to 46 of Law 1533/2000 “Which establishes the Public Works regime”, the repeal of Laws 4727/2012 “Which regulates the performance of studies of feasibility, projects, construction, supervision of official engineering and architecture works” and 4678/2013 “Which regulates the application of price readjustment formulas in public works contracts” The new law aims to introduce new mechanisms that would derive in more efficient public purchases and therefore, in an improvement in public spending.
However, under art. 159 of the new promulgated law, the contracts entered into subject to Law 2051/2003 in which the final acceptance or liquidation certificate has not been signed, will be subject to the price readjustment provisions in force on the date of the call and the procedures initiated before the enactment of the new enacted law. Likewise, the celebration and execution of the contracts contemplated in previous legislation will be subject to what is established in the laws in force at the time of the call.
The new law has 161 articles where relevant issues are contemplated such as conflicts of interest (art. 17); prohibitions and limitations to submit proposals and contract (art. 21); a contractual risk analysis (art. 30), the report from the bidders, suppliers, consultants and contractors of their final beneficiaries in accordance with law 6446/2019 (art. 60) and the duty of collaboration on the part of the Contracting Administrations (art. 117).
An important novelty of the new sanctioned law is the preference for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MYPIMES) in contracting procedures of less than 5,000 minimum wages in the so-called “Low Amount tenders” (arts. 34 and 37). Other innovations are i) the analysis of value for money applicable to the process and ii) the economy of scale is contemplated.
The National Public Supply System is also created, which will be administered by the Ministry of Finance and the Registry of Public Buyers and Registry of State Suppliers (registration required to participate in contracting procedures).
As was the case in Law 2051/2003, the Civil Code is maintained as supplementary legislation (art. 64). However, a great novelty of the enacted law is the use of electronic means in institutional administrative procedures.
The new law focuses on efficiently promoting the general principles that govern the field of Public Procurement, promoting transparency and publicity, economy and efficiency, greater participation of bidders on equal terms and adjusting public purchasing procedures through simplification and administrative modernization.
For more information please contact Dahiana Acosta: dahiana.acosta@berke.com.py and/or Adriana Ocampos: adriana.ocampos@berke.com.py and/or Martín Carlevaro: martin.carlevaro@berke.com.py and/or Pedro Lacasa: Pedro.Lacasa@berke.com.py
