October 22, 2020 / Law /

On January 1, 2021, the new Public Procurement Law will enter into force, introducing many revolutionary changes to the public procurement system. One of the new institutions are the so-called “Trivial orders”, that is classic orders, the value of which, excluding VAT, for a one-off purchase is less than PLN 130,000, but not less than PLN 50,000. Orders up to PLN 50,000 net are not covered by the Act, and thus, in their case, the contracting authority decides on the method of awarding them. This solution definitely differs from the previous solution, which provides that orders up to EUR 30,000 are not covered by the Act at all.

Notices on trivial contracts will be published by contracting entities in the Public Procurement Bulletin (pursuant to Art. 268 of the new PPL). The contracting authority when placing a contract notice in PPB, informs potential contractors about its intention to award this contract. Therefore, the notice of a trivial order must contain the information necessary due to the circumstances of its award, in particular the deadline for submitting tenders corresponding to the deadline for submitting tenders by potential contractors to whom the information on the intention to award the contract has been provided.

If, after the public announcement of the intention to award a trivial contract, the contracting authority identifies the need to modify the subject of the contract or any other significant conditions, it will be obliged to amend the notice. However, if the changes are of a significant nature, then it will be necessary to extend the deadline for submitting bids, so that all interested entrepreneurs have equal opportunities to conclude a contract.

Including trivial orders by the new PPL Act raises serious doubts in the contracting authorities environment, as it may contribute to the extension of purchasing processes, which have not been formalized so far.