Public Procurement Office

What it means

The Public Procurement Office is the central government authority that supervises public procurement in Slovakia. It reviews contracting authorities' procedures, decides bidders' objections, keeps the list of economic operators and imposes fines for breaches of the law.

Its aim is to ensure that public money is spent transparently and economically, with equal treatment of all bidders. The Office also issues guidance, runs the public procurement journal and trains both contracting authorities and suppliers.

For companies bidding for public contracts, the Office is the main institution in disputes over fair competition. If a bidder considers the terms of a tender discriminatory or the evaluation wrong, it can defend itself by filing objections, which the Office decides.

How it works in practice

Being entered in the list of economic operators makes it easier to take part in tenders, because the company need not prove certain conditions, such as a clean record or authorisation to do business, again in every procedure. The information in the list must be kept up to date.

For contracts financed by EU funds, compliance with procurement rules is checked especially strictly. A breach can lead to financial corrections, where the beneficiary must repay part of the aid even if the contract was otherwise properly performed.

Besides standard procedures there are simplified ones, such as buying commonly available goods through the electronic contracting system. Companies wishing to supply the public sector should also register in the register of public sector partners where the law requires it.

What to watch out for

Deadlines for requesting a remedy and filing objections are short, and missing them means losing the chance to defend oneself. A company bidding for contracts should have a procedure ready in advance and, if needed, quickly consult a lawyer experienced in public procurement.

The Office also works with the competition authority where bid rigging or market sharing between bidders is suspected. Such practices are serious breaches of competition law and can lead to heavy fines and exclusion from future tenders.