The threshold value of contracts to which the authorities may directly purchase products, services or work, without being obliged to initiate public auction, will be doubled from EUR 15,000 to EUR 30,000. The new rules are part of a draft emergency ordinance that changes public procurement legislation.

The contracting authority must submit details to the Government Procurement authority (SEAP), within five days after making a deal with a value exceeding the equivalent of EUR 3,000. The name and identification of the economic operator, the subject and value of the purchase and the quantity purchased must all be provided.

Changes are justified in the document through a "flexibility and transparency" process of assigning public procurement contracts, taking into account the low level of absorption of European funds.

Public acquisition rules apply to contracts of EUR 5 million or more in case of works – up from EUR 4.84 million – while for service contracts, public acquisition rules must be enforced for contracts of at least EUR 200,000 – up from 193,000.

Up to these levels, the contracting authorities have to publish the acquisition announcement in the European Union Official Journal with the following thresholds on service contracts, depending on the type of contracting authority: EUR 130,000 (up from EUR 125,000) and EUR 400,000 (up from 387,000). For works contracts, the maximum threshold for advertising acquisitions in the Journal is of EUR 5 million, up from EUR 4.84 million.

Ioana Toader, ioana.toader@romania-insider.com