On 25 July 2014, the Polish Parliament passed on an amendment of the Public Procurement Law (the Amendment). The changes introduced by this legislation reflect suggestions put forward by the country's entrepreneurs and representatives of its public administration. The amendments are designed to tackle the most serious problems encountered in the public procurement process in Poland, such as competition among economic operators based solely on price, social dumping, and the impossibility of valorising already concluded contracts. The Amendment will soon go to the Senate (the second chamber of the Polish Parliament) and will most likely come into force in the final quarter of 2014. 

Price will no longer be the sole criterion

Currently, the outcome of public procurement tenders in Poland is usually determined only by the price criteria. This situation is unfavourable both for economic operators and contracting entities. Often, members of the first group, in their efforts to submit the "best" (i.e., lowest priced) offers, agree to carry out the contract at underestimated costs, which often confronts these entities with bankruptcy. The latter group, the contracting entities, have taken into consideration only one economic factor (i.e., price) and are likely to have received services or goods of low quality -- or none at all, if the economic operator was declared bankrupt in the course of fulfilling the contract.
 
Pursuant to the Amendment, the price criterion will be the exclusive criterion of the tender evaluation only when a contract relates to the supply of goods or services that are generally available on the market and have commonly established quality standards. In all other cases, contracting entities should also take into account an expanded range of factors, including the quality, functional performance, technical parameters, environmental considerations, social aspects, the best available technologies, servicing, the contract fulfilment period, or the costs of exploitation. It should be emphasised that the above list is not exhaustive and the contracting entity is allowed to also choose additional criteria, if these are more appropriate for the specific goods or services it is seeking. 

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