Law on Public Procurement

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Document Information:

Year: 2004
Country: Kosovo
Language: English
Document Type: Domestic Law or Regulation
Topic: Government Funding and Procurement

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PROVISIONAL I NSTI TUTIONS OF SELF GOVERNMENT

LAW NO. 2003 / 17

LAW ON P UBLIC PROCUREM ENT IN K OSOVO

The Assem bly of Kosovo,
United Nations Inte rim
Adm inistration Mission
in Kosovo

UNMIK
ATIONS UNIES
Mission d ’Adm inistratio n
Intér imaire des Nations Unies
au Kosovo
NITED NATIONS

Taking into account United Nations Interi m Adm inistration Missi on in Kosovo (UNMIK)
Regulation No. 1999/1 of 25 July 1999, “On the Authority of the Interim Adm inistration
in Kosovo,” as am ended; UNMIK Regul ation No. 1999/24 of 12 December 1999, “On
the Law Applicable in Kos ovo,” as am ended; UNMIK Re gulation No. 2001/9 of 15 May
2001, “On a Constitutional Fram ework for Pr ovisional Self-Govern ment in Kosovo,”
especially S ections 5.1(b), 5.7, 9.1.1, 9.1.26(a), 9.3.3 and 11.2 thereof; and UNMIK
Regulation 2001/19 of 13 Septem ber 2001, “O n th e Executive Branch of the Provisional
Institutions of Self-Governm ent in Kosovo,” especially Sections 1.6 and 1.7 thereof and
point (ix) of Annex II and point (vi) of Annex IX thereto; and

Recognizing the need to bring procurem ent activities in Kosovo generally into
com pliance with Euro pean Union requirem ents and internationally recognized best
standard s an d practices ;

Hereby adopts the following,

CONTE NTS

TITLE I GENERAL M ATTERS

Chapter 1 P urpose, Scope, Exem ptions, Definitions

Section 1 P urpose
Section 2 S cope
Section 3 Exemptions
Section 4 Definitions

Chapter 2 General Principles

Section 5 Cost-Effectiveness and Efficiency
Section 6 Equality of Treatment/Non-Discrim ination

Chapter 3 General Requirem ents

Section 7 P rocurem ent Forecast
Section 8 Determ ination of Needs to Be Satisfied
Section 9 Transparency
Section 10 Confi dential Business Information
Section 11 Currency and Paym ent
Section 12 Languages
Section 13 Grantees of Special or Exclusive Rights

Chapter 4 R ules for Valuing and Classifyi ng Public Contracts and Design Contests

Section 14 Classifying Mixed Contracts
Section 15 Calculating the Estim ated Value of a Supply Contract
Section 16 Calculating the Estim ated Value of a Service Contract
Section 17 Calculating the Estim ated Value of a W orks Contract
Section 18 Classifying a Public Contract by Estim ated Value
Section 19 Classifying a Desi gn Contest by Estim ated Value

Chapter 5 Authority to Initiate a P rocurem en t Activ ity and to Sign a Public Contract

Section 20 Initiation of a Procurem ent Activity
Section 21 Contracting Authorities to Establish Procurem ent Departm ents
Section 22 P rocurem ent Officers to Conduct Procurem ent Activities
Section 23 T raining of Procurem ent Officers
Section 24 S igning of Public Contracts
Section 25 Review of Contract Award
Section 26 Contract A ward Committees

TITLE II RULES GOVERNING PUBLIC CONTRACTS

Chapter 1 R ules Governing Technica l Specifications and Tender Dossiers

Section 27 General Provisions
Section 28 Technical Specifications
Section 29 Variants of Technical Specifications

Chapter 2 T ypes and Applicability of Procurem ent Procedures

Section 30 Open Procedures
Section 31 General Rest ricted Pro cedures
Section 32 Special Res tricted Procedures
Section 33 Negotiated Procedures Afte r the Publication of a Contract Notice
Section 34 Negotiated Proce dures W ithout the Publication of a Contract Notice
Section 35 Price Quotation Procedures
Section 36 Procedures for Minim al Value Contracts

Chapter 3 R ules on Advertising and Transparency

Section 37 Indicative N otice
2

Section 38 Contract Notice
Section 39 Contract A ward Notice
Section 40 Publication of Notices
Section 41 Form and Content of Notices
Section 42 General Rules for Setting a Tim e Li mit for the Receip t of Requests to
Participate or Tender
Section 43 Special Rules for Setti ng a Tim e Li mit for the Receip t of Tenders for a
Public Contract Cove red by an Indicative N otice
Section 44 Special Rule s Perm itting Reduction o f tim e Lim it
Section 45 Comm ence ment of Ti me Lim its
Section 46 Delivery of Tender Dossiers
Section 47 Means of Transm issi on of Requests to Participate
Section 48 Dispatch and Content of Invitations
Section 49 Notification of Qualif ication Requirem ents and Criteria
Section 50 Notification of Contract Award Criteria
Section 51 Providing Additio nal Inf orm ation to Candidates and Te nderers
Section 52 Notification to Elim inated Candidates and Tenderers
Section 53 Means of Comm unication

Chapter 4 C onduct of Procurem ent Procedures

Section 54 General Provisions on the Selecti on of Particip ants a nd the Award of
Contracts
Section 55 Tender Security
Section 56 Opening of Tenders
Section 57 Exam ination, Evalua tion and Com parison of Tenders
Section 58 Contract A ward Criteria
Section 59 Abnor mally Low Tenders
Section 60 Perform ance Security

Chapter 5 Eligibility Requirem ents

Section 61 Eligib ility o f the Candidate or Tenderer
Secti on 62 Professional Suitability
Section 63 Econom ical and Financial Standing
Section 64 Tec hnical and/or Profe ssional Capability
Section 65 Quality Assurance Standards
Section 66 Groups of Econom ic Operators

TITLE III RULES GOVERN ING DESIGN CONTESTS

Section 67 General Provisions
Section 68 Scope
Section 69 Design Contest Notices
Section 70 Design Contest Results Notice
Section 71 P ublication of Design Contest Notices
Section 72 Form and Conten t of Design Contest Notices
Section 73 Means of Communication
Section 74 Com positio n and Decisions of the Jury

TITLE IV ADDITIONAL RULES ON WORKS CONCES SION CONTRACTS
Section 98 Organization an d W ork of the Public Proc urem ent Rules Comm ittee

TITLE VIII PROCUREMEN T REVIEW PROCEDURES

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Section 99 Scope

Chapter 1 R ules Governing the Award of a W orks Concession Contract by a Contracting
Authority

Section 75 Applicability of the Rules Governing the Award of W orks Contracts
Section 76 Subcontracting
Section 77 Compulsory Stipulation

Chapter 2 R ules on Contracts Awarded by Concessionaires

Section 78 Rules Applicable when the W orks C oncessionaire is a Contracting
Authority
Section 79 Rules Applicable wh en the Works Concessionaire is not a Contracting
Authority
Section 80 Contracts with Related Undertakings

TITLE V PUBLIC PROCUREMEN T REGULATORY COMMISSION

Section 81 Establishm ent of the Public Procurem en t Regulatory Comm ission
Section 82 Enforcem ent of the Present L aw
Section 83 Monitoring and Investigative Functions
Section 84 Implem entation of Pr ocurem ent Review Procedures
Section 85 Other Functions of the PPRC
Section 86 Appointm ent of Mem bers
Section 87 Organization and Voting of the PPRC
Section 88 Conf identiality
Section 89 Re moval and Suspension of Me mbers

TITLE VI PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AGENCY

Section 90 Establishm ent of Public Procurem ent Agency
Section 91 Procurem ent Activities of the PPA
Section 92 Mainte nance of a Public Procurem ent Register
Section 93 Other Functions of the PPA

TITLE VII PUBLIC PROCUREM ENT RULES COMMITTEE

Section 94 Establishm ent of the Public Pro cure ment Rules Comm ittee
Section 95 Developm ent and Adoption of the Public Procurem ent Rules
Section 96 Appointm ent of Mem bers
Section 97 Chairm an of the Public Proc urem ent Rules Comm ittee
4

Section 100 Basic Principles

Chapter 2 R eview Panels

Section 101 Establishment of Review Panels by the PPRC
Section 102 Com position of Review Panels
Section 103 Rules of Procedure for Review Panels
Section 104 Confidentiality

Chapter 3 In vitation and Initial Cond uct of Review Proceedin gs

Section 105 Tim e Li mits for Subm ission of Complaint
Section 106 Filling and Basic Content of Com plaint
Section 107 Autom atic Susp ension of Procur ement Activity
Section 108 Engagem ent of Review Expert
Section 109 Responsibilities of the Revi ew Expert and the Contracting Authority
Section 110 Decision of the Contracting Authority

Chapter 4 Proceedings B efore a Review Panel

Section 111 Com petence and Responsibility of the Review Panel
Section 112 Decision-Making Deadline
Section 113 Security, Penalties and Da mages
Section 114 Actions in the Courts

Chapter 5 R eporting

Section 115 Reporting to the Assembly
Section 116 Conveying Inform ation

TITLE IX REMEDIAL AND PE NALT Y PROVISIONS AND FINAL MATTERS

Chapter 1 Violation and Penalties

Section 117 Illicit Influence
Section 118 Violations by a Contracting Authority
Section 119 Procurem ents Conclude d in Violation of the Present Law

Chapter 2 Final Provisions

Section 120 Abrogation of the previous Legislation
Section 121 Entry into Force

TITLE I
GENERAL MATTERS

Chapter 1
Purpose, Scope, Exemptions, Defin itions

Section 1
Purpose

1.1 The purpose of the present la w is to ensure the m ost efficient, cost-effective,
transparent and fair use of public funds and public resources in Kosovo by establishing
the requ ire ments and rules tha t sha ll be obse rved, the procedures that shall be followed,
the r ights th at sha ll be respect ed, and the obligations that shall be perform ed, by persons,
econom ic operators, undertaki ngs, contracting authorities, works concessionaires, and
public bodies conducting, or involved, particip ating or interested in, a procurem ent
activity involving or rela ting to the use of such funds and/or resources.

1.2 The present law also aim s to ensure the integrity and acc ountability of public
officials, civil servants a nd other persons conducting or involved in a procurem ent
activ ity by r equir ing that the deci sions of such individuals, an d the legal an d f actual bas es
for such decisions, are free of any pers onal interest, are characterized by non-
discrim ination and a high degree of transp arency, and are in co mpliance with the
procedural and substantive requirements of the present law.

1.3 Finally, the present law is intended to promote the establishm ent of an
institutional culture of unbiased, ethical an d m aterially disinter ested professionalism
am ong all public officials, civil servants and other persons conduc ting or involved in a
procurem ent activity by requiring such indivi duals to con duct them selves in a manner
that is inf ormed solely by the obje ctive of ach ieving the most efficient, cost-effective,
transparent and fair use of public f unds and public resources whil e strictly com plying
with the procedural and substantive requirem ents of the present law.
.

Section 2
Scope

2.1 The present law shall apply to the procurem ent activities of contracti ng authorities
and works concessionaires, as those term s are defined herein. Such authorities and
concessionaires are required, in the conduct of their procur em ent activities, to observe
and com ply with the ap plicab le pro cedural and substantive requirem ents of the present
law.
.
2.2 The present law also applies to all pe rsons, econom ic operators, undertakings, as
those term s are defined herein, involved, participating or interested, directly or indirectly,
in a procurem ent activity covered by the present law; such persons, operators,
undertakings are also required to observe and comply with th e applicable procedural and
substantive requirem ents of the present law.

Section 3
Exem ptions

3.1 Notwithstanding any other provision of th e present law, a contracting authority
shall not be required to use or comply with any specific procurem ent procedure nor to
observe the provisions of the present law on transparency to the extent that such
com pliance and/or observance would com prom ise legitim ate secrecy or s ecurity concerns
when conducting procurem ent activities leading to the award of a public contract that the
SRSG and the Prim e Mi nister have agreed to exem pt from the application of the pr esent
law because (i) the perf orm ance of such cont ract requires, under th e law applicab le in
Kosovo, the use of special security m easures, or (ii) the SRSG and the Prim e Minister
have agreed to classify the s ubject matter of such contract as secret. W ithout prejudice to
the powers of the SRSG in respect of reserved respons ibilities, exempti ons under this
section in respect of reserved m atters sh all be granted in c onf orm ity with the p rinc iple
set ou t in section 4.2 o f the Law o n Access to Official do cum ents as prom ulgated by
UNMIK- Regulation No.2003/32.

3.2 The present law shall not apply to procur em ent activities leadi ng to the award of a
public contract falling within the scope of an agreem ent providing for the application of
other procurem ent rules and/or procedur es where (i) such agreem ent m akes the
availability of financing f or the con cerned co ntract cond ition al on the ap plica tion of such
other rules and/or procedures , and (ii) such agreem ent has been entered in to between
UNMIK or the Governm ent and an interg overnm ental, bilatera l, m ultila ter al or
international financing in stitu tion.

3.3 The present law shall not apply to a procurem ent activity leading to the award of
em ploym ent or an em ploym ent contract if su ch procurem ent activity is subject to other
rules established by another law or an UNMIK regulation.

3.4 The present law shall not apply to a socially owned enterprise under the

adm inistration of the K osovo Trust Agency if such enterprise does not receive public
funds and does not engage, on the basis of sp ecial or exclusive ri ghts granted by a
com petent public au thority, in a pub lic service activ ity.

Section 4
Definitions

4.1 Whenever used in the present law, each of the following term s shall have the
indica ted meaning unle ss the con text within w hich such term appears clear ly in tends
another m eaning.

“Authorizing Officer” shall m ean, with respe ct to a contra cting autho rity that is a p ublic
authority, (i) the highest ranki ng civil servant in such pub lic authority, or (ii) if no
em ployee of such pub lic autho rity h as th e s tatus of a civil servant, the highest ranking
em ployee in such public authority whose em ploym ent is not the re sult of a political
appointm ent. “Authorizing Officer” shall m ea n, with respect to a contracting authority
that is not a public authority, the highest ra nking person in charge of the day-to-day
manage ment of such contracting authority.

“Body governed by public law” m eans a person, undertaking or body that (i) has been
estab lished f or the spec ific pur pose of m eeting needs in the ge neral interest that do not
have an ind ustrial or comm ercial characte r, and (ii) m eets any of the following three
criteria: (a) it receiv es 50 % or more of its finan cing from public funds and/or one or m ore
public authorities and/or ot her bodies governed by public law, (b) it is subject to
manage ment supervision by one or more pub lic authorities and/ or bodies governed by
public law, or (c) it has an adm inistrative, managerial or supervisory board, 50% or more
of the votes of which are exercisable by m embers appoi nted by one or m ore public
authorities and/or bodies governed by public law.

“Candidate” m eans an econom ic operator that ha s sought an invita tion or has been
invited to take part in a procurem ent activity that is being conducted with restricted or
negotiated procedures or price quotation procedures.

“Commodities” m eans all products that are highly fungible and the prices for which are
quoted in an estab lished commodities m arket.

“Common technica l sp ecification” shall m ean a technical specificatio n drawn up in
accordan ce with a procedure rec ognized by the Mem ber States of the E U with a view to
uniform application in all such Member States and published in the Official Journal of the
European Comm unities.

“Common use items” means products or services require d by m ore than one contracting
authority and for which a m ore cost-effectiv e or efficient use of public funds m ay be
achieved through the conduct of a central, common or consolidated procurem ent.

“Complainant” shall m ean an inte rested p arty who is f ilin g or has file d a com plaint in
accordan ce with the p rovisions of Section 106 o f the presen t law.

“Confidential business information” means inform ation described in Section 10.1 or 10.2
of the present law.

“Contracting authority” m eans a public authority, publi c se rvic e operato r, p ublic
undertak ing and/or any person, committee or undertak ing carrying o ut a procurem ent
activity on behalf of or for th e benefit of a public authorit y, public service operator or
public undertaking.

“Date of publication” shall m ean (i) with resp ect to an ind icative notice or a contract
notice, the date on which such notice is firs t published in accordance with Section 40.3,
and (ii) with resp ect to a contract aw ard no tice, the date on which it has been d ispatched
to concerned econom ic operato rs in accordan ce with Section 40.4.

“Design co ntest” m eans a procurem ent procedure having the objective of enabling a
contracting authority to acquire , m ainly in the fields of area planning, town planning,
architecture, engineering, data processing, and the design of works of art, a plan or design
selected by a jury after being put out to com petition with or without the award of prizes.

“Dominant influence ” m eans, but is not limited to, a s ituation wh ere a contracting
authority or an undertaking, directly or indi rectly, holds a m ajority of an undertaking’ s
subscrib ed capital, c ontrols a m ajority of th e v otes a tta ching to sha res issued by s uch
8

undertaking, or can appoint more than half of such undertaking’ s adm inistrative,
manage ment or supervisory body.

“Economic operator” is a general term m eaning and cove rin g a supp lie r, serv ice pro vider
and/or a works contractor.

“Electron ic means” m eans the us e o f electronic equi pm ent for the processing (including
digital com pression ) and storage of data tr ansm itted, convey ed and received by wire, by
radio, by optical m eans or by other electrom agnetic m eans.

“European specification” shall m ean a common technical specification, a European
technical approval or a national standa rd im plem enting a European standard.

“European standard” shall m ean a standard app roved (i) by the European Comm ittee for
Standard ization (CEN) or by the European Comm ittee for E lectro tech nical
Standard ization (Cenelec) as a “European St andard” (EN) or “Harm onization Document”
(HD), according to the common rules of those organization s, or (ii) by the Eu ropean
Telecomm unications S tandards In stitu te (ET SI) acco rding to its own rules as a
“European Telecomm unications Standard” (ETS).

“European technical approval” shall m ean a favorable techn ical assessment issued b y an
approval body of an EU Mem ber State on the fitness for use of a product for a particular
purpose, bas ed on f ulfillm ent of the essential requirem ents f or building w orks, by m eans
of the inh erent characteristics of the p roduct and the defined conditions of application and
use, as p rovided for in Council Direct ive 89 /106/EEC of 21 Decem ber 1988 on the
approxim ation of laws, regulations and adm inistrative provisions of the Mem ber States
relating to construction products.

“Government” m eans the Government established pursuant to Secti ons 1.5(c) and 9.3 et
seq. of UNMIK Regulation 2001/9 “On a Constitu tional Fram ework for Provisional Self-
Governm ent in Kosovo” and any successor governm ent or central executive authority.

“Immovable Property Contract” means a contract for pec uniary interest concluded
between a contracting authority and any person, undertaking or contracting authority that
rela tes exc lusively to the acquisition of imm ovable property or an interest in imm ova ble
property.

“Interested party” shall m ean a person who, or an undert aking that, has or had a specific
material interest in the outcom e of a pr ocurem ent activity conduc ted by a contracting
authority an d relating to a specific pu blic contract or design contest.

“Large valu e contract” means a public contract falling wi thin the Scope of Section 18.1
of the prese nt law.

“Large valu e design con test” m eans a design con test f alling within the s cope of Section
19.1 of the present law.

“Low value contract” means a public contract falling with in the scope of Section 18. 3 of
the pres ent law.

“Low value design contest” m eans a design co ntest f alling within th e scope of Sectio n
19.3 of the present law.

“Medium value con tra ct” means a public contract f alling within th e Scope of Section
18.2 of the present law.

“Medium value design contest” m eans a de sign contest falling within the scope of
Section 19.2 of the present law.

“Minimal v alue con tra ct” means a public contract f alling within the s cope of Sec tion
18.4

“Negotiated procedures” m eans procurem ent procedures allowing a contracting authority
to invite and consult with the econom ic operato rs of its choice and to ne gotia te the terms
of contract with one or more of these.

“Open procedures” m eans procurem ent procedures allowin g for any interested econ omic
operator to subm it a tender.

“Person” means a natural person or an undertaking or organization havi ng separate legal
personality.

“PPA” –m eans the Public Procurem ent Age ncy within the Gove rnm ent of Kosovo,
specia lly referred to sec tion VI of this Law

“PPRC” means th e Public Pro curem ent Regulat ory Commission established pursuant to
Title V of th e presen t la w.

“Present la w” m eans the presen t law and the subsid iary n orm ative acts and instru ments
issued in furtherance of or under the author ity of the present law, including the public
procurem ent rules and code of ethics issued pursuant to or under the authority of the
present law.

“Procurement activity” m eans any a ctivity connected with the initiation or conduct of a
procedur e o r othe r a ctiv ity that le ad s to o r is in tended to le ad to the a ward of a p ublic
contract.

“Public authority” m eans any of the following: (i) a cen tral, regional, municipal or local
executive authority, public body, m inistry, depa rtm ent, agency, or other authority that
exercises, pursuant to any norm ative or sub-norm ative act, executive, legislative,
regulatory, public-adm inistrative or judicial powers; (ii) a body governed by public law;
and (iii) an association of one or m ore of such authorities and/or bodies.

“Public con tract” is a general term covering any and all of the f ollowin g specif ic ty pes
of contract entered into by a contr acting autho rity : ( i) a se rvice contract, (ii) a su pply
contract, (iii) a works contra ct, including a works concession contract, and/or (iv) an
immovable property contract.

“Public fun ds” m eans (i) m oney or financial assets in the custody or und er the control of
any public authority, including m oney that is he ld by a public authority for the benefit of
a person, body, organization or undertaking other than a public authority ; (ii) m oney or
10

financial assets in the custody or under th e control of any pers on, body, organization or
undertaking m aintaining such custody or exerci sing such control fo r or on behalf of a
public authority and (iii) any m oney or financial assets provide d or appropriated, directly
or indirectly, to any contr acting authority or undertaking under the Kosovo Consolidated
Budget or from the Kosovo Consolidated Fund.

“Public Procurement Register” m eans the register es tablishe d pursuant to Section 88 of
the pres ent law.

“Public pro curement ru les” m eans the instructions, rules, docum ents, code of ethics, and
standard ized form s adopted by the Rules Comm ittee in ac cor dance with Title VII of the
present law.

“Public ser vice a ctivity ” means an activ ity invo lving ( i) the provision or operation of a
fixed physical network intended to provide a service to the public in connection w ith,
inter alia, the production, transport, distributi on or treatm ent of water, electricity, gas or
heat, (ii) the supply of wate r, electricity, gas or heat to such a network, (iii) the
exploitation of a geographical area for the purpos e of exploring for or extracting oil, gas,
coal o r o ther solid fuels , (iv ) the provision of airport or ot her term inal f acilities, (v) the
provision or operation of a pub lic telecommunications network or the provision of one or
more public telecomm unications or postal se rvices, (vi) the collection or m anage ment of
waste, or (vii) the operation of a network pro viding a tra nsport se rvice to th e pu blic
involving the use of rail, bus , tram way, trolley bus, cable or autom ated system s; such a
network shall ex ist where such a transport serv ice is prov ided under op erating cond itions
established by a com petent public authority, such as conditions on the routes to be served,
the capa city to be m ade availab le or the frequency of the service.

“Public ser vice opera tor” means: (i) a public authority or a public undertaking engage d
in a public service activity, a nd (ii) a person, undertaking, body or organization that is
neither a public authority nor a public undertak ing and that is enga ged, on the basis of
special or exclusive rights granted by a co mpetent public authorit y, in a public service
activ ity.

“Public undertaking” means any undertaking over which one or m ore public authorities
may exercis e, directly o r ind irectly, a dom inan t influence by virtue of the ownership of
such undertaking, financial participation in such undertaking and/or the rules governing
such undertaking.

“Related undertaking” means any undertaking (i) over which a works concessionaire
may exercise, directly or indirectly, a dom inant influence, (ii) that m ay exercise a
dom inant influence over the concerned works concessionaire, or (iii) that, in com mon
with the con cerned work s concess ion aire, is s ubject to the dom inant influence of another
undertaking by virtue of owners hip, financial participation, or the rules that govern it.

“Restricted procedures” m eans procurem ent procedures allowing for only those
econom ic operators invited by a contracting author ity to subm it a tender and refers to
both general and special restricted procedures.

“Review pa nel” m eans a rev iew pa nel es tablish ed by the P PRC pursuant to T itle V III of
the pres ent law.

“Rules Committee” m eans the Pub lic Procur em ent Rules Co mmittee es tablished purs uant
to Title VII of the prese nt law.

“SPAC” means the Senior Public Appointm ents Comm ittee es tablis hed pursuant to
UNMIK Re gulation No. 2001/36, “On the Kosovo Civil Service.”

“Service co ntract” means a con tract for p ecuniary interest concluded between a
contracting authority and one or m ore service providers that rela tes ex clu sively o r m ainly
to the provision of services.

“Service p rovider” m eans any person, undertaking or public body, or group of such
persons, undertakings and/or bodies that prov ides and/or offers to provide services.

“Specia l or exclus ive rights ” m eans rights that arise from a grant or authorization m ade
by a com petent public authority pursuant to an y legislative, regulatory or adm inistrative
provision th at (i) h as th e effect of lim iting to one or m ore en tities the right or ability to
engage in c erta in ac tiv ities, and (ii) substantially affects the right or ab ility of other
persons, undertakings, bodies or organizations to carry out such activity on the same
territory under substantia lly equivalent conditions.

“Supplier” m eans any person, undertaking or pub lic body, or group of such persons,
undertakings and/or bodies that provides and/or o ffers to supply products.

“Supply contract ” m eans a con tract for pecuniar y interest concluded between a
contracting authority and one or m ore suppliers that relates exclusively or m ainly to the
purchase, lease, rental or hire-purchase, w ith or without option to buy, of one or more
products; “products” shall be interpreted broadly to include one or m ore item s of tangible
movable pro perty, includ ing – but no t lim ite d to – commodities, goods, m anufactures, raw
materials, and equipm ent.

“Standard” shall m ean a technical specification approved by a recognized standardizing
body for repeated or continuous application, com pliance w ith which is generally not
mandatory.

“Technical specifica tion s” shall m ean technical requirem ents defining the characteristics
of a set of works, m aterial, product, supply or service, and enabli ng a piece of work, a
material, a product, a supply or a service to be objectively described in a m anner such
that it f ulfils the use f or which it is intended by the c ontracting au thority. Techn ical
specifications m ay include quality, perform ance, safety or dim ensions, as well as
requirem ents applicable to the m aterial, pr oduct, supply or service as regards quality
assurance, term inology, sym bols, testing and test m ethods, packaging, m arking or
labeling. In the case of works contracts, they may also include rules for the design and
costing, the test, insp ection and acceptan ce conditions fo r works and techniques or
methods of construction and a ll o ther technical conditions wh ich th e con tracting auth ority
is in a position to prescrib e under general or specific re gulations, in relation to the
finished works and to the m aterial s or parts which they involve.

“Tender” means a docum ent subm itted to a contrac ting authority by an econom ic
operator setting forth the term s of the econom ic operator’s offer in response to a specific
contract notice, invitation to tender or other solic ita tion issued o r m ade by such
12

contracting authority. T he term “tender” shall include, but not be lim ited to, a proposal
or price quotation.

“Tenderer” m eans an econom ic oper ator that ha s subm itted a tender.

“Tender dossier” has the m eaning specified in Section 27.

“Undertaking” m eans any enterprise (including a personal busine ss en terp rise),
partnership, join t venture, legal entity, asso ciation, p roject, branch, office, or o ther
organization or establishm ent.

“Violation” m eans a f ailure to com ply with one o r m ore provisions of the present law.

“A work ” means th e outcom e of cons truction or civil engineeri ng works or activities that,
taken as a whole, is suf ficient to f ulfill an e cono mic or technical f unction .

“Works con cessiona ire ” m eans (i) a person, undertaking or contracting authority that has
received a works concession con tract from a contracting authority, and/or (i) any person,
undertaking or contracting aut hority carrying out procurem ent activities on behalf of or
for the benefit of such a person, undert aking or contrac ting authority.

“Works con cession con tract ” m eans a works contract the perform ance of which is
com pensated, in whole or in part, by a grant of a right to exploit the object of such
contract.

“Works co ntract ” m eans a contract for pecuniary interest concluded between a
contracting authority and one or more works contractors that has as its principal object
the execution, design and executi on, or realization, by whatev er m eans, of a work or
construction or civil engineering activities, i.e. activ ities that are direct ly involved in the
construc tion , resto ration, repa iring or dem olition of buildings, facilities, c ivil eng inee ring
structures, other structures, or any part(s) thereof.

“Works con tractor” m eans any person, undertaking or c ontracting authority, or group of
such persons, undertakings and/ or authorities, offering to ex ecute, design and execute, or
realize, by whatever means, a work or constr uction or c ivil engin eer ing activ ities , i.e.
activ ities th at are d irectly invo lved in the construc tion , resto ratio n, repairing or
dem olition of buildings , f acilities, civil engine ering structures, othe r struc tures, o r any
part(s) th ere of.

“Writing” m eans any expression consisting of word s and/or figures that can be read,
reproduced and subsequently communicated. It m ay include infor mation transm itted and
stored by electronic m eans.

4.2 A person or undertaking that intends to award a contract to another person or
undertaking shall, if 50% or m ore of the es tim ated value of such contract is either
subsidized directly by a contra cting authority or otherwise fi nanced with public funds, be
deem ed to be a “contracting authority” within th e m eaning of the present law with respect
to any procurem ent activities connected with th e award of s uch contract. Such a person
or undertaking shall therefore conduct such pr ocurem ent activities in strict com pliance
with the app licab le pro cedural and substantive requirem ents of the present law.

4.3 More detailed definitions of the term s used in the present law, as well as
def inition s of other ter ms, m ay be estab lishe d by or se t f orth in the p ublic p rocur em ent
rules; provided, however, that such m ore detailed definitions and def initions of other
term s shall not im pair the operation of any provision of the present law.

Chapter 2
General Principles

Section 5
Cost-Effectiveness and Efficiency

5.1 All contracting authorities, econom ic operators, persons, undertakings, and works
concessionaires conducting or involved in any procurem ent activity are under an
obligation to ensure that public funds and public resources are used in the m ost effi cient
and cost-effective m anner taking into account the purpose and object of the procurement.

5.2 Public funds and public resources provi ded or m ade available under a public
contract m ay be used only within the scope of such contract and only for the purposes
specified in such contract.

Section 6
Equality of Treatm ent/Non-Discr imination

6.1 A contracting authority shall not conduct a ny aspect of a procurem ent activity in a
manner that reduces o r elim inates co mpetition among econom ic operators.

6.2 A contracting author ity shall not conduct any stage or elem ent of a procurem ent
activity in a m anner that discrim inates agai nst or in favour of one or more econom ic
operators.

6.3 W ithout reducing the applicability of the fore going paragraph, a contracting
authority is specifically prohibi ted f rom determ ining its nee ds to be satisf ied, specif ying
the object to be procured, dividing or aggreg ating lots or other ob jects to be procured,
selecting a procurem ent procedu re, or es tabl ishing a selection or award requ irem ent o r
criterion or technical specifi cation in a m anner that favors or discrim inates against one or
more econom ic operators.

6.4 A contracting authority shall not create or impose, and shall take all necessary
measures to prevent th e creation or im pos ition of, circum stances or requirem ents
resulting in territorial, physical, m aterial , personal or organizational discrim ination
am ong econom ic operators.

6.5 Unless an authorization for the im position of such a requ irem ent is specifically
provided for in the present law, another law or an interna tio nal ag reem ent, a contrac ting
author ity sh all no t r equire an econom ic operator (i) to em ploy or utilize, or not to employ
or utilize, any specific person or undertaking in the perform ance of any aspect of a public
contract, or (ii) to supply or provide, or to not supply or provide, products or services
originating from a specific pe rson, undertaking or geographic area. In the event such a
requir ement is spec ifica lly autho rize d by the pre sent law, another law or an inte rna tional
agreem ent, the exact param eters of such requi rem ent shall b e specified in, as applica ble,
14

the contract or design contest no tice, the invitatio n to particip ate or tender , and the ten der
dossier.

6.6 When conducting any procurem ent activity, all contracting authorities shall take
reasonable and necessary m easures to ensure (i ) the widest possible participation, in light
of the value and object of the procurem ent, of potentially in teres ted eco nom ic operators ;
(ii) the proper publication, dispat ch and/or availability, as re quired by the present law , of
all notices, invitations, infor mation and docum ents relating to a pro cure ment activity; ( iii)
the elim ination of practices, criteria, requi rements and technical specifications that
discrim inate in favor or agains t one or m ore econom ic operators; (iv ) that all tecnical
specification s and all s election an d awar d requirem ents and criteria, including the
relative im portance of each such requirem ent and criteri on, and the m ethodologies for
selection an d award, are specified in the conc erned contract or desi gn contest no tic e, the
invitation to tender o r partic ipate, and/or the tender dossi er; (v) th at no requirement,
criterion or specification that has not been so specified is used in the selection and award
process ; an d (vi) tha t the sele cted tender con form s, in all m aterial respec ts, to the
requirem ents, criteria an d specificati ons that have been so specified.

Chapter 3
General Requirements

Section 7
Procurem ent Forecast

7.1 No less than sixty (60) calendar days prio r to the beginning of each fi scal year,
each contrac ting au thority shall p rep are and p rov ide to the PP A, in writin g, a pre lim inary
procurem ent forecast that iden tifies in reason able detail all supplies, serv ices and works
that the contracting au thority in tends to procure over the course of such fiscal year. S uch
prelim inary procurem ent forecast sh all specify:

a. in the case of anticipated supply contracts, the esti mated total procurem ent by
value and by product classification of the products that the c ontracting authority
intends to procure over the fiscal year;

b. in the cas e of antic ipa ted se rvic e contra cts, th e estim ated aggrega te value by
catego ry of each s ervice that th e con trac ting auth ority in tends to p rocure over the
fiscal year; and

c. in the cas e of works contracts, the es sent ial characteristics of each works contra ct
that the contracting auth ority intend s to award ov er the fis cal year.

7.2 No less than ten (10) calendar da ys after the prom ulgati on of the appropriations
legis lation for a fiscal y ear, each co ntracti ng au thority shall prepare an d provide to the
PPA, in wr iting, a final procurem ent forecast that id entifies in reaso nable detail all
supplies, s ervices and works that th e contra cting authority intends to procure over the
course of such fiscal year. Such final proc urem ent forecast shall contain the information
required under points a – c of Section 7.1.

7.3 The PPA s hall review and aggregate th e infor mation contained in all such
forecasts. The PPA shall identify common use item s and any other objects and item s that
may be acquired m ore efficiently through th e application a cons olidated or common
15

procurem ent procedure. The PPA m ay (i) in accordance with Section 91 of the pr esent
law, conduct the procurem ent of any such ite ms or objects on behalf of the concerned
contracting authorities, or (ii) in accordance with Section 26 of the present law, estab lish
a contract award comm ittee to cond uct the procurem ent of any such item s or objects on
behalf of the concerned contracting authorities.

7.4 If the PPA decides to conduct, or to establis h a contract award comm ittee to
conduct, the procurem ent of an item or object on behalf of one or more contracting
authorities, the PPA shall prov ide th e concerned contracting autho rities with r eason able
notice of such decisio n. After receiv ing such a notice, the concerned contractin g
authority shall have no authority to conduc t such procurem ent activity.

Section 8
Determ ination of Needs to be Satisfied and Availability of Funds

8.1 Prior to initiating the co nduct of any specific procurem ent activity or procedure
having as its object the acquisition of any pr oducts, services or works, a contracting
authority shall conduct a form al needs assessm ent with respect theret o. This assessm ent
shall de termine (i) the p recis e natu re and scope of the spec ific needs o f the contra cting
authority that the proposed procur ement is intend ed to satisf y; (ii) the estim ated value and
the proposed type and m aterial term s of the pub lic contract that will be the subject of the
envisaged procurem ent; (iii) the proposed func tional specifications of each object to be
covered by s uch contract; (iv ) the benefits e xpected from each such object; (v ) in th e case
of equipm ent, durable goods and works, an es tim ate of the cost of ownership over the
whole of the object’s operational life, incl uding acquisition, operati ng, and m aintenance
costs and residual value; (vi) an indication as to whether su ch procurement activity was
included in the procu rem ent forecast requ ired by Section 7, and, if not, a statem ent of
reasons as to why it was not so included; an d (vii) a clear s tatem ent as to ho w the
procurem ent will prom ote the con trac ting au thority’s ins titu tio nal obje ctiv es.

8.2 After the conduct of the required needs a ssessm ent, the contracting authority shall
for mally ensure that funds have been approp riated for the concerned p rocurem ent in an
am ount sufficien t to fulfill any financial obligat ions th at m ay arise du ring the cours e of
the then -current fiscal y ear as a result of such procurem ent.

8.3 If the concerned pro curem ent will give rise to financial obligations that are to be
satisfied from appropriations expected in futu re fiscal years, the contracting au tho rity
shall (i) ens ure tha t th ere is a reason able ba sis to expect that appropriatio ns will be m ade
available to it in such future fiscal years for the purpose of satisfying, and (ii) include in
the concern ed public contract a provision th at clearly con ditions th e enforceability of
such obligations on the availa bility, under future appropriati ons legislation, of funds for
the purpose of satisfying, and in an amount sufficient to satisfy, such obligations.

8.4 If the contracting authority is a public authority, such public authority shall take
reasonab le m easures to ensure that objects meeting such needs are n ot availab le from
another public authority.

8.5 As evidence that the cont racting authority has com plie d with Sections 8.1 – 8.4,
the contracting authority shall prepare and m aintain a writte n “Statem ent of Needs and
Determ ination of Availability of Funds.” Such “Statem ent of Needs and Determ ination
16

of Availability of Funds” shall contain the following infor mation: (i) a written statem ent
of needs that summ arizes the results of the needs assessm ent conducted by the
contracting authority pursuant to section 8.1, (ii) a written statem ent affir ming the
availability of funds that dem onstrates th at th e contractin g authority has fulfilled its
obligations under Section 8.2, ( iii) if applicable, a written statem ent setting forth the
basis, required by Section 8.3, fo r the contracting authority’s expectation regarding f uture
appropriations; and (iv) if applicable, a writt en s tatem ent des crib ing th e m easures th at the
contracting authority to ok to com ply with Section 8.4. The Rules Comm ittee shall
develop a standard form “Statem ent of N eeds and Determ ination of Availability of
Funds” that contracting authorities sha ll use to com ply with this Section 8.5.

8.6 If the public contract is of large value or if the objects of the procurem ent activity
have not b een includ ed in the con tracting au thority’s final procurem ent forecas t prov ided
to the PPA pursuant to Secti on 7.2, the contracting authorit y shall provide a copy of the
concerned “Statem ent of Needs and Determ inat ion of Availability of Funds” to the PPA
at least five (5) business days before initiat ing the concerned procurem ent activity. The
PPA shall review each such statem ent to determ ine if there is another m ore efficient or
cost-effective m ethod of acquiri ng the concerned objects or ot her item s meeting the needs
of the contr acting autho rity. In par ticula r, if the concerned objects were not included in
the contracting authority ’s final p rocurem ent forecast p rovid ed to the PPA pursuant to
Section 7.2, the PPA shall revi ew such objects to identify any common use item s and any
other objects and item s that m ay be acquired more efficiently thr ough a consolidated or
common procurem ent procedure. The PPA m ay (i) in acco rdance with Section 91 of the
present law, conduct the procurement of any such item s or objects on behalf of the
concerned contracting authority, or (ii) in acco rdance with Section 26 of the present law,
establish a contract award co mm ittee to conduct the procurem ent of any such item s or
objects on behalf of the concerned contracting authority.

Section 9
Transparency

9.1 A contracting authority shall m aintain a well-ordered and com prehensive set of
records f or e ach procure ment activity that it con ducts, rega rdless of whether such activity
results in a contract o r desi gn award. At a m inim um, the records for each procu rem ent
activ ity sha ll conta in (i) all docum ents relate d to, developed or acqui red in the course of,
or used to initiate, conduct or conclude, a procurem ent activity, regardless of whether
such activity results in a contract o r desi gn aw ard, (ii) if the procurem ent activity has
resulted in a contract or desi gn award, all docum ents related to such award, and (iii) if the
procurem ent activity has resulte d in the execution of a public contract, a copy of the
public contract and all docum ents relating to th at contract and/or its perform ance.

9.2 Upon the request of an interested party, a contracting authorit y shall provide such
interested party with imm ediate access to a ll records described in Section 9.1, other than
confidential business inf orm ation, that relate to the procurem ent activities in which such
interested party has or had a specific m aterial in terest.

9.3 Upon the request of any person, a contrac ting authority shall provide such person
prom pt and reasonab le access to the record s described in Section 9.1, other than
confidential business infor mation, relating to any procurem ent activity that has been
17

concluded f or m ore than ten (10) business da ys. For the purposes of this Section 9.3, a
procurem ent activ ity sh all be de emed to ha ve been concluded (i) on the date of
publication of the concerned contract award noti ce or design contest re su lts notice, or (ii)
if the procurem ent activ ity was f orm ally cancelled or othe rwise te rm inated prio r to th e
making of an award or the sel ection of a winner, on the date that the p roc urem ent activity
was for mally cancelled or otherwise term inated.

9.4 The contracting autho rity shall prov ide the access required by Sections 9.2 and
9.3 in a routine, uneventful, and non-obstructi ve m anner. The contracting authority m ay,
however, provide for th e supervisio n of such access or take other reason able m easures to
ensure th at the integ rity of the record s is m aintain ed.

9.5 A contracting authority sha ll, upon the request of a pers on or an interested party,
make and provide to such person or interested party a copy of any material that such
person or interested party m ay acces s pursuant to Section 9.2 or 9.3.

9.6 The PPRC s hall provide to any person w ho so requests a copy of the present law
and/or a copy the public procurem ent rules.

9.7 The PPA shall electronica lly publish the present law and the public procurem ent
rules on the website r eferred to in Se ctions 92 and 93 of the present law.

9.8 The Rules C omm ittee sh all estab lis h in the public procurem ent ru les a reasonable
charge that a contracting authority and the PPRC m ay assess to cover th e cost of
producing the copies required by Sections 9.5 and 9.6; provided, however, that such
charge shall be no m ore than is deemed reas onab ly necessary to cover th e cost associa ted
with producing such copies.

9.9 A contracting authority shall p rovide access to and copies of any procurem ent
activity records, including c onfidential business infor mation, and any other procurement-
rela ted inf ormation to a review expe rt, th e PPA, the PPRC, a Contract Award Committe e
and/or a review panel imm ediately upon the request or order of any of these. A
contra cting author ity sh all a lso p rovide acc ess to and co pies of suc h record s and
inform ation to a court o f com petent jurisdic tion if such access and copies are requ ired
pursuant to an order issued by such court. The contr acting author ity s hall imm ediately
provide the access and copies re qu ired by this Section 9.9 in a routine, uneventful, and
non-obstructive m anner.

Section 10
Conf idential Business In form ation

10.1 W ithout prejudice to its obligations to provid e access to in terested parties and
members of the pub lic to p rocure ment activity reco rds, a contr acting author ity s hall
respect and safeguard item s classified as c onf identia l busin ess inf orm ation in ac cor dance
with this S ection 10.

10.2 W ith the exception of the inform ation th at Section 56.3 requir es to be announced
and recorded at the public opening of te nders, the contents of a tender shall be
confidential business inform ation.

10.3 A contracting authority m ay classify other inform ation as confidential business
inf orm ation only if such inf orm ation m eets the f ollowing th ree criter ia:

a. it has been furnished by an econom ic operator pursuant to a requirem ent
established by such contrac ting authority under Section 63 or 64 of the present
law;

b. the concerned econom ic operator has provi ded the contracting authority with a
written requ est expr essing its des ire that the co ntrac ting au thority m aintain such
item as confidential; and

c. such written reques t con tains a s tatem ent (i ) a tte sting tha t su ch item is n ot in the
public dom ain and is protected from intentional and negligent disclosure by the
econom ic operator, and (ii) setting forth r easons that convincingly dem onstrate, in
the reasonable judgm ent of the contracti ng authority, that public access to such
item would result in m ateria l harm to the legitim ate commercial in tere sts of such
econom ic operator.

10.4 A contracting authority that has classified an item of infor mation as confidential
business inf orm ation pursuant to Section 10. 3 shall, if such item is contained in a
docum ent that also contains non-confidentia l infor mation, prepare a “sanitized” version
of such doc um ent. Such sanitized version sh all be include d in the m ater ial to wh ich
interested parties and m embers of the public are entitled to access under S ections 9.2 and
9.3. The contracting authority sh all attach to the front of su ch sanitized version a notice
that (i) the contracting authorit y has class ified certain item s of inf orm ation in the orig inal
docum ent as confidential business in for mati on at the request of the concerned econom ic
operato r, an d (ii) the attached sanitized ve rsion has been p repared by the con tracting
authority and is an accurate copy of the original after the removal or deletion of such
confidential business inform ation.

10.5 If a docum ent contains only information that a contractin g authority has classified
as confidential busin ess inform ation pursuant to Se ction 10.3, and such contracting
authority therefore decides to with hold such docum ent from the mater ial to which
interested parties and m embers of the public are entitled to access under S ections 9.2 and
9.3, the co ntracting au thority shall prepare an d include in the accessible m aterial a
docum ent c ontaining a general summ ary of the contents of the withheld docum ent. The
contra cting author ity sh all a tta ch to the f ront of such summary a notice that (i) the
contra cting author ity ha s cla ssif ied all the in form ation contained in the origin al doc um ent
as confidential bus iness inform ation at th e requ est of the con cerned econom ic operator
and (ii) the attached do cum ent has been pr ep ared by the contracti ng authority and is a
general non-confidential su mmary of the original.

10.6 If, in connection with the conduct of any procurem ent activity, a contracting
authority requires an econom ic operator to subm it infor mation covered by Section 63
and/or 64 of the present law, such contracti ng authority shall include a statem ent in the
tender dossier notifying econom ic operators that, if they de sire any or all of such
inform ation to be classified and treated as confidential business information, they must
subm it a written reques t confor ming to Secti on 1 0.3 of the present law.

Section 11
Currency and Paym ent

11.1 All prices and values spec ified in any public contract, any tender dossier, notice or
invitation to tender or p articipa te sh all be st ated , and all pa ym ents with respect the reto
shall be required to be made, in Euro.

11.2 The term s and conditions of public c ontracts shall confor m to us ual and
custom ary public and comm ercial practices ap plicab le to th e specific type and su bject
matter of the concerned contract.

Section 12
Languages Used in Public Procurem ent Docum ents

12.1 A contracting authority shall prepare all tender dossiers, noti ces, invitations and
other docum ents published or provided to econom ic operators during the conduct of a
procurem ent activity leading to the award of a minim al, low or m edium value contract or
design contest in the Albanian and the Se rbian langu ages which shall b e eq ually
authentic. A contracting authority m ay also prepare such docum ents in the English
language.

12.2 A contracting authority shall prepare all tender dossiers, noti ces, invitations and
other docum ents published or provided to econom ic operators during the conduct of a
procurem ent activ ity le ading to the award of a large value contract or design contest in
the Albanian, Serbian and English languages.

12.3 In the event that there is an inconsis tency am ong the different language versions
of the sam e docum ent, the English language version, if one has been prepared, shall
control. If an English version has been prep ared, the fact tha t such vers ion shall con trol
any inconsistencies am ong the different language versions shall be clearly stated on the
first page of all concerned docum ents.

12.4 If no English language vers ion has been prepared, and there is an inconsistency
between the Albanian and Serbian versions th at can reaso nably be ex pected to cause
material p rejudice to an econom ic operato r’s ability to tim ely subm it a responsive tender
or request to participate, th e contracting authorit y shall, as soon as it becom es aware of
such an inconsistency, com ply wit h Sec tion 51.9 of the present law by providing all
concerned econom ic operators with whatever clarifying inform ation is needed and
extending any applicable deadli nes. If such m easures would be insufficient to elim inate
such potential prejudice, or if the tim e established by S ection 51.9 for using such
measures has passed, the contracting author ity shall cancel the concerned procurem ent
activity.

12.5 An economic operator m ay subm it a tende r, a request to participate or other
docum ent required or perm itted to be filed durin g the conduct of a procurem ent activity
in the Albanian, Serbian or English languages.

12.6 All tender dossiers, notices and invitations shall clearly indicate that an econom ic
operator m ay, as provided for in Section 12.5, su bm it a tender, request to participate and
20

other docum ents required or permitted to be filed during the conduct of a procurem ent
activ ity in th e Albanian, Serb ian or E nglish language

Section 13
Grantees of Special o r E xclusiv e Rig hts to Engage in a Public Service Activity

If a person, or undertaking other than a cont racting authority – regardless of its legal
status – receives o r h as received a grant of sp ecial or exclusive righ ts to engag e in any
public service activity, such pe rson, or undertaking shall observe the rules and procedures
of the present law when awarding medium or la rge value public contracts to third parties.

Chapter 4
Rules for Valuing and Classifying Public Contracts and Design Contests

Section 14
Classifying Mixed Contracts

14.1 If a supply contract includes provisions re quiring the supplier(s) to deliver, site
and/or install the concerned it em (s), the ex isten ce of such p rovision s sh all no t affect the
classification of such cont ract as a supply contract.
14.2 A contract covering both products and se rvices shall be considered a service
contract if th e estim ated value of the services exc eeds th e e stim ated valu e of the products.
If the con tract includ es provis ions for the delivery, sitting and/or in stallation of the
concerned products, the estim ated value of such activitie s shall be included in the
valuation of the product’s com ponent of such contract.
14.3 A contract having as its principal object the provision of a professional
construction-related service (e.g., architectural and/or engineering services, geotechnical
or geodetic site investigation services, stru ctu re or stru ctu re design ass essm ent services,
or construction supervision or construction m anagem ent services) shall be considered a
service contract ev en if such contract also covers, by way of addition to such principal
object, the perform ance of one or more activi tie s ref erred to in the definition of “works
contract.”
14.4 A contract having as its principal subject the conduct of activiti es referred to in
the definition of “works contract,” but that also covers the provision of profes sional
construc tion -related se rvices, sha ll b e consider ed a “works contract” if such services are
necessary for the perform ance of such contract.
14.5 A contract that has as it s subject both the supply of products and the conduct of
activ ities r eferred to in the de finition “works contract” shal l b e class ified as a “works
contract” un less such activities con sist only of sitting and/or installation activities.

Section 15
Calculating the Estim ated Value of a Supply Contract

15.1 The estim ated value of a proposed supply contract shal l equal the estim ated price
to be paid by the contracting authority for all products, services and other objects covered
thereby. T he estim ated price of such produ cts, services and objects shall be their
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estim ated price on th e d ay of dispatch of the contract notice with respect thereto. I n
determ ining the estim ated value of a proposed supply contract, the contracting authority
shall includ e all reason ably foreseeable elem ents of the ultim ate price to be pa id b y the
contracting authority for such products, services and objects, including any and all
applicable taxes, duties a nd other charges.

15.2 In the case of contracts f or the lease, re ntal or hire-purchase of products, the value
to be tak en a s the bas is f or calcula tin g the estim ated value of the contract s hall be:
a. in the case of a f ixed-term contr act, the to tal contr act value inc luding the
estim ated residual value; or
b. in the case of a cont ract for an indefinite period or where there is doubt as to the
duration of the contract, the m onthly value m ultip lied by 48.
15.3 Where a proposed contract contains an option, the basis for calculating the
estim ated contract value shal l be the m aximum potential to tal am ount of the purchase,
lease, rental, or hire-purchase, including any amounts that m ay becom e payable as a
result of the exercise of the option clause.
15.4 A contracting authority shall not select or use a valuation m ethod for the purpose
of lowering the value of a supply contract be low a threshold specified in Section 18; nor
shall any contracting authority split up a procurem ent require ment for a given quantity of
products for the purpose of lowering the valu e of a supply contract below a threshold
specified in Section 18.

Section 16
Calculating the Estim ated Value of a Service Contract

16.1 The estim ated value of a proposed service contract shall equal the estimated total
rem uneration and reim bursable am ounts to be paid by the c ontracting authority under the
contract throughout the term of the contract, taking accoun t of the p rovisions set out in
this Section 16. In determ ining the estim ated value of a proposed service contract, the
contra cting author ity sh all includ e all reason ab ly foreseeab le elem ents of the ultim ate
price to be paid by the contra cting authority for the services and other objects covered by
such contract, including any and all appli cable taxes, duties and other charges.
16.2 Where a proposed service contract contai ns an option, the basi s for calculating the
estim ated contract value shall be the m aximum potential total am ount to be paid under
the proposed service contract, including any amounts that may becom e payable as a result
of the exercise of the option clause.
16.3 For the purposes of calculating the estim ated value of a proposed service contract
covering insurance services, banking and othe r types of financial services, or design
services, account shall be taken, where appropriate:
a. in the c ase o f insurance s erv ices, of the prem ium payable;
b. in the case of banking and other financ ial serv ices, of fees, comm issions and
inte rest as well a s othe r types of remuneration; or
c. in the case of design servi ces, of fees or comm issions.
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16.4 Where services are subd ivided in to severa l lots, each one the subject of a separate
contract, the aggregate estim ated v alue of a ll s uch lots sha ll be used to dete rm ine the
classificatio n of each such contract under Sectio n 18.
16.5 In the case of proposed service contracts th at do not specify a total price, the value
to be tak en a s the bas is f or calcula tin g the es tim ated contr act value sha ll b e:
a. in the case of a fixed-term contract having a term of 48 months or less, the total
estim ated contract value for its duration;
b. in the case of a contract of indefinite duration or with a term of more than
48 m onths, the averag e estim ated m onthly value multiplied b y 48.
16.6 Where it is reasonably foreseeable that a pro posed service contract m ay be
extended, renewed or followed by a successor contrac t f or new se rvices within th e
meaning of Section 34.2.c(iii), the basis for calculating the estim ated contract value of
such proposed service contract shall be th e m axim um potential total am ount to be paid
under the proposed service contr act, including the m aximum pot ential total am ount to be
paid under any such reasonably foreseeable exten sion, renewal or successo r contract.
16.7 A contracting authority shall not select or use a valuation m ethod for the purpose
of lowering the value of a service contract be low a threshold specified in Section 18; nor
shall a contracting au thority split u p a p roc urem ent requirem ent for a given am ount of
services for the purpose of lowering the value of a servi ce contract below a threshold
specified in Section 18.

Section 17
Calcula ting the Estim ated Value of a W orks Contract and an Immovable Property
Contract

17.1 The estim ated value of a proposed work s or im movable property contract shall
equal the es tim ated pric e to be p aid by the co ntracting au thority f or all works, serv ices,
products, immovable property, a nd other objects covered thereby; including – in the case
of a works contract – o bjects th at are needed to execu te su ch contract and that are to be
made available to the w orks contractor by the contracting authority. In determ ining the
estim ated value of a proposed works or im movable property contr act, the contracting
authority sh all inc lude a ll reason ably foreseeable elem ents of the ultim ate price to be paid
by the contracting authority for such works, services, products and objects, including any
and all applicable taxes, duties and other charges.
17.2 Where a work is subdivided into several lots, each one the s ubject of a separate
contract, the aggregate estim ated v alue of a ll s uch lots sha ll be used to dete rm ine the
classificatio n of each such contract under Sectio n 18.
17.3 Where a proposed works contract cont ains an option clause, the basis for
calculating the estim ated contract value shal l be the m aximum potential total am ount to
be paid under the proposed works contr act, including any am ounts that m ay become
payable as a result of the exercise of the option clause.
17.4 Where it is reasonably foreseeable that a proposed works contract m ay be
extended, renewed or followed by a successor co ntrac t for ne w works within the m eaning
of Section 34.2.d, the basis for calculating the estim ated contract value of such proposed
works contract shall be the m aximum poten tial total am ount to be paid under the
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proposed works contract, including the m aximum potential total am ount to be paid under
any such reasonably foreseeable extension, renew al or successor contract.
17.5 A contracting authority shall not s plit up a w ork or a works contract for the
purpose of lowering the value of a work or wo rks contract below a threshold specified in
Section 18.

Section 18
Classifying a Public Cont ract by Estim ated Value

18.1 The following shall be considered as a “large value contract:”

a. a supply contract or a servic e contract the estim ated valu e of which is equal to or
greater than, or can reasonably be expected to be equal to or greater than, 100,000
Euros; or

b. Works or immovable property contracts the estim ated value of which is equal to
or greater than, or can be reason ably expe cte d to b e equ al to o r gr eater than,
250,000 Euros.

18.2 The following shall be considered as a “m edium value contract:”

a. a supply contract or a servic e contract the estim ated valu e of which is equal to or
greater than, or can reasonably be expected to be equal to or greater than, 10,000
Euros, but less than 100, 000 Euros; or

b. Works or immovable property contracts the estim ated valu e of which is equal to
or greater than, or can reas ona bly be e xpe cted t o be e qua l to or grea ter t han,
10,000 Euros, but less than 250,000 Euros.

18.3 The following shall be considered as a “low value contract:” Any p
ublic contract
the estim ated value of which is equ al to or gr eater than, or can reasonably be expected to
be equal to or greater than, 500 Eu ros, but less than 10,000 Euros.

18.4 The following shall be considered a “m inim al value contract:” Any public
contract the estim ated value of which is less than, or can reasonabl y be expected to be
less than, 500 Euros.

18.5 The Rules Comm ittee shall hav e the authority to issue, no m ore often than once
every two y ears, a pub lic procurem ent rule re vising the value thresholds established by
this Section 18, the first such revision not to occur prior to 1 January 2005.

Section 19
Classifying a Design Contest by Value

19.1 The following shall be considered as a “large value design contest:”
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a. design contest that is organi zed as part of a procedure leading to o r invo lving th e
award of a service con tract the estim ated value of which is equal to o r greater
than, or can be reasonably expected to be equal to or greater than, 100,000 Euros;
or

b. a design contest where the total amount of c ontest prizes and paym ents to
participan ts is to be equ al to or g rea ter than, or can be reaso nably expected to b e
equal to or greater than, 100,000 Euros.

19.2 The following shall be considered as a “m edium value design contest:”

a. a design contest that is or ganized as part of a proce dure leading to or involving
the award of a service co ntract the es tim ated value of which is equal to or greater
than, or can be reasonably expected to be equal to or greater than, 10,000 Euros,
but less than 100,000 Euros; or

19.3 A design contract that does not fall within the scope of Section 19.1 or 19.2 shall
be considered a “low value design contest.”
19.4 The Rules Comm ittee shall hav e the authority to issue, no m ore often than once
every two y ears, a pub lic procurem ent rule re vising the value thresholds established by
this Section 19, the first such revision not to occur prior to 1 January 2005.

Chapter 5
Authori zation to Initiate a Procurement Activity and to Sign a Public Contract

Section 20
Initiation of a Procurem ent Activ ity

20.1 A contracting author ity m ay not initiate a specific procurem ent activity unless and
until the Authoriz ing Of ficer of such contra cti ng author ity ha s consented in writing to the
initiation of such procurem ent activity.

20.2 An Authorizing Officer shall not cons ent to the initiation of any specific
procurem ent activity unless and until the require ments of Se ctions 8.1 – 8.4 of the present
law have been com plied with.

Section 21
Contracting Authorities to Esta blish Procurem ent Departm ents

21.1 Each contracting authority shall establish a P rocurem ent Departm ent to conduct
the procurem ent activities of such contracting authority. Each contra cting authority shall
ensure tha t its Procur ement Departm ent is staffed with a sufficien t num ber of tr ained
personnel to enable it to effi ciently and professionally condu ct the contracting authority’s
procurem ent activ ities in strict accordance with the presen t law.

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21.2 The contracting authority shall designate one person to serve as its Procurem ent
Officer. The Procurem ent Officer shall s erve as the head of the contracting autho rity ’s
Procurem ent Departm ent. The contracting authority m ay only desi gn ate a perso n to

serve as its Procurem ent Officer if such pe rson holds a current and valid “procurem ent
professional certificate, ” issu ed b y the PPRC, evidencing that su ch person has
satisf actorily com plete d the PPRC’s course of training on the present law. If the
contra cting author ity is a public authority, its Procurem ent Officer shall have the status of
a civil servant.

21.3 No person m ay serve as a Procurem ent Offic er or as a staff m ember of a
Procurem ent Departm ent if he/she would be inelig ible to p articipa te in a procurem ent
activity by reason of a provi sion of Section 61.2 of the present law.

21.4 No person m ay serve as a Procurem ent Offic er or as a staff m ember of a
Procurem ent Departm ent unless and until he/s he has execu ted a wri tten declaration under
oath declaring that he/she sh all honestly and faithfully cond uct th e proc urem ent activitie s
of the contracting authority in c onf ormity with the presen t la w.

21.5 Each contracting authority shall ensu re that the person designated as its
Procurem ent Officer meets the requirem ent of Section 21.2, is not ineligible under
Section 21.3, and executes the declaration required by Section 21.4. Each contracting
author ity sh all ensu re th at all o ther staf f members of it Procurem ent De partm ent are not
ineligible under Section 21.3 and execute th e declaration required by Section 21.4.

Section 22
Procurem ent Officers to Conduct Procurem ent Activities

22.1 All procurem ent activities of a contra cting authority shall be conducted by its
Procurem ent Departm ent, except in those cases where the PPA, in accordanc e with
Section 91 or section 26 of the present law, ha s determ ined that such an activ ity sha ll be
conducted b y the PPA or a contract award comm ittee.

22.2 The Procurem ent Offic er of a contrac ting authority shall be responsible for
ensuring that all procurem ent activities of su ch contracting authority are conducted by the
Procurem ent Departm ent and in strict com pliance with the present law.

22.3 The Procurem ent Offic er of a contrac ting authority shall be responsible for
imm ediately reporting to the PPRC any proc urem ent activities of such contrac ting
author ity th at are incons istent with th e presen t la w.

22.4 If, in the opinion of the PPRC, a Proc urem ent Officer or a staff m ember of a
Procurem ent Departm ent fails during the course of his/her duties to dem onstrate either a
sufficient level of com petence, d ilig ence or p rofessional eth ics, the PPRC shall requ ire
the contracting authority to rem ove the concer ned individual from su ch position. If such
person holds a “procurem ent professional ce rtificate,” the PPRC sh all also revoke and
cancel such certificate. If the concerned pe rson is a Procurem ent Officer, the concerned
contracting authority sh all be required to de sign ate, in accordance with Section 21, a new
person to serve as its Procurem ent Officer.

Section 23
Training of Procurem ent Officers

23.1 The PPRC shall develop and deliver, at l east three tim es per year, a procurem ent
professional training course. Each such cou rse shall cove r all m aterial aspects of the
present law and shall last at leas t ten ( 10) business days. The PPRC shall issue a
“procurem ent profess ional certificate” to all persons who, on the basis of objective
testing, satisfactorily complete such course. Su ch certificate shall be valid for a period of
one year.

23.2 A contracting authority m ay sponsor one of its current civil servants or a current
em ployee whose em ploym ent is not the result of a politic al appo intm ent to a tten d a
procurem ent professional tr aining course. The c oncern ed contracting authority s hall
ensure that such person is available to atte nd every day of such tr aining. The concerned
contra cting author ity sh all tre at su ch tr aining tim e as tim e spent at work and s hall
com pensate its P rocurem ent Officer for such tim e in the sa me m anner as tha t applicable
to tim e spent a t work. The con tracting autho rity m ay als o provid e s uch per son, in
accordan ce with any other applicab le norm ative or sub-no rm ative acts , reim bursem ent
for expenses that su ch person necessarily incurs in order to attend such training.

Section 24
Signing of Public Contracts

24.1 Except as provided for in Section 24.2, th e Procurem ent Officer of a contracting
author ity sh all b e th e o nly per son author ized to ente r in to or s ign a public contract on
behalf of s uch contracting authority. A public contract that is not signed by the
contracting authority’s Procurem ent Officer shall be void and unenforceable. A public
contract s igned by a Pro curem ent Officer in vio lation of this Section 24 or in disregard of
an order or notification receiv ed from the PPRC, the PPA, a review p anel or a co urt of
com petent jurisdiction s hall be vo id and unenforceable.

24.2 If the PPA, in acco rdance with S ection 91 o f the present law, con ducts a
procurem ent activity on behalf of a contracting authority, th e only person authorized to
enter into or sign the co ncerned con tract shal l b e the P rocurem ent Officer of the PP A. If
the PPA, in accordan ce with Section 26 of the present law, estab lishes a contract award
comm ittee to conduct a procurem ent activity on behalf of a contract ing authority, the
only person authorized to enter into or sign the concerned co ntract shal l be t he chairma n
of such comm ittee. In either even t, the Pr ocurem ent Officer of the concerned contracting
authority shall have no authority to ente r into or sign the concerned contract.

24.3 The person having signing authority unde r Section 24.1 or Section 24.2 m ay sign
such contract only if the following co nditions are m et:

a. at leas t three (3) busin ess da ys have passed since the da te of publica tion of th e
concerned contract award notice; provi ded, however, that this condition shall
not apply to an e mergency procurem ent conducted pursuant to Section
34.2.a(iv) or 35.2;
27

b. such person has reconfirm ed that the inform ation contained in the concerned
“Statem ent of Needs and Determ ination of the Availability of Funds” is still
accurate;

c. such person has no reaso n to believ e that a com plaint has be en filed or will be
filed within the tim e period specif ied in Section 105.2; provided, however,
that th is con dition sha ll not apply if the PPRC has issued a decis ion pursuant
to Section 1 07 that the f iling of a c omplaint sh all no t bar the signing o f the
contract; and

d. such person has received no comm unication from the PPA or the PPRC
indicating that such contr act should not be signed.

24.4 Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 24, if the concerned public
contract is of large value, the person having signing auth ority under Section 24.1 or
Section 24.2 m ay, for cerem onial purposes only, perm it a senior public official who is not
a civil serv ant to also sign su ch contract. In such event, the person having signing
authority sh all ensu re that such co ntract c ontains an additional signature line for this
purpose. However, the concerned senior pub lic of ficial sh all not s ign until the per son
having signing authority has signe d.

24.5 Notwithstanding the other provisions of th is Section 24, if a com plaint is filed
within the applicable tim e period, the pers on specified by S ections 24.1 and Section 24.2
as having signing authority m ay sign the concer ned public contract if he/she thereafter
receives a written communicat ion f rom the PPRC stating th at th e PPRC has de term ined,
pursuant to Section 107.2, that th e filing of the com plaint shall not bar the sign ing of such
contract.

Section 25
Review of Contract Award

25.1 The PPRC s hall, at any tim e after the aw ard but prior to the signing of any public
contract, have the authority to requ ire that such award and the procedure leading to such
award be re viewed in d etail by the PPRC or an award review comm ittee. If the PPRC
desire s to e xercis e th is author ity it shall imm ediately notify the concerned Procurem ent
Officer no t to ex ecute the concerned cont ract until the PPRC or the award review
comm ittee has com plete d its rev iew and the Pr ocurem ent Officer has received a form al
written communication from the PPRC sta ting that the PPRC does not object to the
signing of such contract.

25.2 Whether the concerned review is conduc ted by the PPRC or an award review
comm ittee, such review shall be com pleted within the thirty (30) day period following the
dispatch of the notification to the concerned Procurem ent Officer required by Section
25.1. Howe ver, the Procurem ent Officer shall have no authority to sign a contract that is
subjec t to s uch review until the Procurem en t Off icer ha s rece ived a f orm al written
communication f rom the PPRC stating that th e PPRC does not object to the signing of
such contract.
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25.3 If the PPRC requires an award and/or th e procedure leading to such award be
reviewed by an award review comm ittee, the PPRC shall have the authority to establis h
such an award review comm ittee to conduct such review.

25.4 Each such award review comm ittee shall b e es tablished on an ad hoc basis an d
shall b e comprised of th ree (3) p erso ns nam ed by the PPRC. In selecting the ind ividu als
to serve on s uch a committee, the PP RC shall m ake best efforts to select individuals who
are high ly f amiliar with the require ments of the present law and the pu blic pro cure ment
rules and at least one individual who has speci al exper tis e in th e sub ject m atter o f the
concerned procurem ent.

25.5 The PPRC shall select a person who hol ds a valid and current “procurem ent
professional certificate” issued by th e PPRC to serve as th e chairm an of an award review
comm ittee.

25.6 No person m ay serve as a m ember of an award review com mittee if he/she would
be inelig ible to partic ipa te in a proc urem ent activity by reason of a provision of Section
61.2 of the present law.

25.7 No person shall serve as a m ember of an award review comm ittee unless and until
he/she has executed a w ritten declaration unde r oath declaring that they shall honestly
and faithfully conduct the concerned review in confor mity with the present law.

25.8 The PPRC shall ensure that (i) the chai rm an of an award review comm ittee m eets
the requirem ent of Section 25.5, (ii) no m ember of an award review comm ittee is
ineligible under Section 25.6, and (iii) all m emb ers execute the declar ation required by
Section 25.7.

Section 26
Contract A ward Committee

26.1 If the PPA determ ines that a propos ed procurem ent involving a large value
contract o r technically com plicated m atters sho uld – for rea sons of professional expertise
or other leg itim ate concerns – be awarded by a contract award comm ittee, the PPA shall
notify the concerned Procurem ent Officer of th e concerned contracting authority of such
determ ination, and the concerned contracting authority shall no longe r have any authority
to conduct the concerned procurem ent and the Procurem ent Officer of such contracting
authority shall no longer have any author ity to sign the concerned contract.

26.2 If the PPA exercises its authority u nder Section 26.1, the PPA shall have the
authority to establish such a contract award comm ittee to conduct the concerned
procurem ent and to award and sign the concer ned contract on behalf of the contracting
authority.

26.3 Each such contract award committee shall be establish ed on an ad hoc basis and
shall be co mprised of three (3 ) persons nam ed by the PPA. In selecting the individuals
to serve on such a comm ittee, the PPA shall m ake best efforts to select individuals who
are high ly f amiliar with the require ments of the present law and the pu blic pro cure ment
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rules and at least one individual who has speci al exper tis e in th e sub ject m atter o f the
concerned procurem ent.

26.4 The PPA shall select a person w ho hol ds a valid and current “procurem ent
professional certificate” issued by th e PPRC to serve as the chairm an of a contract award
comm ittee.

26.5 No person m ay serve as a m ember of a contract award com mittee if he/she would
be inelig ible to partic ipa te in a proc urem ent activity by reason of a provision of Section
61.2 of the present law.

26.6 No person shall serve as a m ember of a contract award comm ittee unless and until
he/she has executed a w ritten declaration unde r oath declaring that they shall honestly
and faithfully conduct the concerned procurem ent in conform ity with the present law

26.7 The PPA shall ensu re th at (i) the ch airm an of a contract aw ard comm ittee m eets
the requirem ent of Section 26.4, (ii) no m ember of an award review comm ittee is
ineligible under Section 26.5, and (iii) all m emb ers execute the declar ation required by
Section 26.6.

TITLE II
RUL ES GOVERNING PUBLIC CONTRACTS

Chapter 1
Rules Governing Technical Specifications and Tender Dossiers

Section 27
General Pro visions

For each proposed public con tract, other than a m inimal value con tract, a con tracting
authority shall draw up a tender dossier providing all relevant inform ation on the
concerned contract, including all material te rms and conditions thereof, the applicable
procurem ent procedure, any applicable eligib ility requirem ents or selection criteria, the
procedure governing complaints and such ot her inform ation as the present law m ay
require or the contracting authority deem s necessary. If the concerned procurem ent
activ ity req uires the pu blica tion of a contrac t n otice, the te nder doss ier shall con tain a
copy of suc h notice and such other relev ant in form ation that m ay be necessary to clarify
and supplem ent the inform ation contained in su ch notice. A contracting authority shall
designate in the tender dossier the appl icable technical speci fications and, where
appropriate, indica te its willingn ess to conside r varian ts, b ut only in a ccordanc e with
Sections 28 and 29 of the present law.

Section 28
Technical Specifications

28.1 The contracting authority shall set f orth all m andatory technical specifications in
the tender dossier. If the concerned proc urem ent ac tiv ity requir es th e public ation of a
contract no tice, the contracting autho rity shall ( i) to the exte nt practicable, set forth su ch
specification s in such n otice o r (ii) provide a clear statem ent in such n otice indicating
where such technical specifications m ay be obtained.

28.2 A contracting authority sha ll establish technical specifica tions in a m anner that is
both consistent with the purpose of the procurem ent and directed at providing the greatest
possible access to all potentially interest ed econom ic operators and tenderers. A
contracting authority is specifi ca lly prohibited f rom establish ing a technical spec ifica tio n
that favors or disfavors one or m ore econom ic operators.

28.3 A contracting authority shall form ulate a technical specificati on by reference to (i)
a Kosovo standard im plem enting a European st andard, (ii) a European standard, (iii) a
European technical approval, (iv) a comm on techn ical sp ecification , and/or (v ) an
international standard.

28.4 If an applicable standard, specificati on or approval requi red by Section 28.3 does
not exist, or if its use woul d either require a contracting authority to use products or
materials incom patible with equipm ent alr eady in use or would entail disproportionate
costs o r technical d ifficulties, such contra cting authority may form ulate the con cerned
technical specification by refe rence to (i) a K osovo standa rd, (ii) a Kosovo technical
approval, or (iii) any other technical refe rence produced by Eur opean standardisation
bodies; provided, however, that such a refere nce shall be accom panied by the words “or
equivalent.”

28.5 If an applicable standard, specificati on, approval or technical reference required
by Sections 28.3 and 28.4 do not exist, or if its use would either require a contracting
authority to use products or m aterials incom patible with equipm ent already in use or
would entail disproportionate co sts or technical difficulties, such contracting authority
may for mulate the con cerned technical specifica tion in term s of either a perform ance or a
functional requirem ent; however, it sha ll be s ufficiently p recis e to a llow tender ers to
determ ine th e subje ct m atte r of the c ontrac t and to allow a contracti ng authority to aw ard
the contract.

28.6 If, in the case of a works contract, th ere is no applicable European standard,
European technical approval or common tec hnical specification, and it is im possible to
for mulate the specification in term s of a perform ance or functional requirem ent, the
technical specification m ay be defi ned by reference to a K osovo technical specification
relating to the design, m ethod of calculation or execution of works or to the use of
material; provided, however, that such a re ference shall be accom panied by the words
“or equivalent.”

28.7 A contracting authority shall not establish a technical specificati on that refers to a
specific m ake or source, or a particular pro cess, or to tradem arks, patents, types or a
specific origin or production. Notwithsta nding the foregoing, a contracting authority
may, on an exceptional basis, establish a t echnical specification m aking such a reference
if the contr acting au thor ity can clearly dem onstrate that it is not possible to develop a
31

suf ficiently precis e and inte llig ible descrip tio n of the subje ct m atter of the contr act in
accordan ce with Sectio ns 28.3 – 28.6 or otherwise; provided, however, that any such
reference sh all be accompanied by th e words “or equivalent”.

28.8 If a tenderer can show in his tender, by any appropriate means (such as a technical
dossier or a test report by an independent third party), th at the solution proposed by the
tenderer satisfies in an equivalent m anne r the requirem ents defined by a technical
specification, a contracting authority m ay not reject a tender on the grounds that the
product or service tendered does not com ply with a Kosovo standard implem enting a
European standard, a E uropean standard, a Eu ropean tech nical appro val, a com mon
technical specification, an in ternational standard, Kosovo standard, K osovo technical
specification or Kosovo technical approval.

28.9 Where a contracting authority has prescrib ed a technical specif ication in term s of
a perform ance or functional requirem ent, it m ay not use such requirem ent as a basis for
rejecting a tender of a product or service that complies with a standard, specification or
technical approval referred to in Section 28.3 or 28.4, if such standard, specification or
approval addresses the sam e perfor mance or fu nctional requirem ent and is appropriate.
The tenderer m ust de monstrate in his tende r, by any appropriate m eans (such as a
technical dossier or a test report by an i ndependent third party) , that the product or
servic e complying with the standa rd, specif ication or approval also m eets the functional
or perform ance requirem ents of the contracting authority.

Section 29
Variants of Technical Specifications

29.1 If a contract is to be awarded to th e tenderer su bm itting the m ost econom ically
advantageous tender, a contra cting authority m ay consider a tender proposing an item or
servic e that com plies with a varian t of a de signated techn ical specification and m eets the
minimum functional or perform ance requirem ents or the m inim um specification of the
contracting authority.

29.2 A contracting authority shall stat e in the tender dossier the m inimum
specification s to b e res pected by a vari ant and any specific requirem ents for the
presentation of a variant.

29.3 If a tenderer m ay not pr opose an item or se rvice that com plies with a variant of a
designated technical sp ecification, the con tracting au thor ity shall indicate this in the
tender dossier.

Chapter 2
Types and Applicability of Procurement Procedures

Section 30
Open Procedures

30.1 Unless a provision of Sections 31 – 36 speci fically authorizes the use of different
procurem ent procedures, a contracting author ity shall select and use open procedures
when conducting procurem ent activities lead ing to the award of a public contract.
32

30.2 If, without any intent to di scrim inate against or in favor of any econom ic operator,
a contracting authority determ ines that (i) the concerned product, service or works can
only be supplied, provided or perf orm ed by a n econom ic operator having adequate
technical, p rofessional a nd/or f inanc ial cap acity , and (ii) suc h contrac tin g authority will
therefore o nly accep t tenders fro m econom ic operato rs possessing certain m inim um
qualif ica tion s, the contra cting autho rity shall comply with all applic able requir ements of
Section 49.
30.3 If less than thr ee (3) responsive tenders are recei ved, the contracting authority
shall cance l the procu rement activity; in su ch e vent, th e co ntracting au thority shall, if it
still desires to procure the c oncerned objects, initiate a new procurem ent activ ity f or such
objects.
30.4 Notwithstanding the requi rem ent established by Section 30.3, if there are
com pelling reasons to believ e that canceli ng the current procurem ent activity and
initiating a n ew procure ment activity will not re sult in an in creas ed number of respo nsive
tenders, the PPRC may waive the requirem ent of Section 30.3 if (i) the PPRC receives a
written request setting forth such reasons fr om the concerned contracting authority, and
(ii) the PPRC determ ines that such reasons provide a convincing basis to waive the
requirem ent of Section 30.3.

Section 31
General Restricted Procedures

31.1 A contracting authority m ay use genera l restricted proce dures to conduct a
procurem ent activity leading to the award of any public contract if such contracting
authority ha s com plied with this Se ction 31 an d receiv ed a written authoriza tion to use
such proced ures from the PPA. If the contracting autho rity is the PPA or a contract
award comm ittee estab lished by th e PPA, it s hall also co mply with this Section 31;
however, in such a case, the autho rization req uest and th e statem ent required b y this
Section 31 shall b e su bm itted to the PPA’s chief executive of ficer, and the wr itten
authorization required by this Section 31 m ay be issued only by such officer.

31.2 A contracting authority desiring to obtai n the authorization required by Section
31.1 shall first prep are a written s tatem ent affi rm ing that the contracting authority has,
without any intent to discrim inate against or in favour of any econom ic operator, made
the following determ inations: (i) the concer ned product, service or works – by reason of
its high ly co mplex or specia lized n ature – can only be supplied, provided or perform ed by
an econom ic operator having adequate technica l, professional and/ or financial capacity,
and (ii) it would be more economically effici ent for the contracti ng authority to first
review the qualifications of interested ec onomic operators and then to invite those
possessing certain specif ied m inimum qualificat ions to subm it tenders. The contracting
authority shall also set fort h in the statem ent required by this Section 31.2 a detailed
explanation of the reasoning us ed and the facto rs cons ide red by th e con trac ting auth ority
in reaching these determ inations.

31.3 The contracting autho rity shall th en subm it to th e PPA in writing an au thorization
request and the statement specified in S ection 31.2. The PPA shall either issue the
authorization or deny the reque st in writing with in f ive (5 ) business days after receipt.
33

31.4 The PPA m ay authorize a contracting authority to use ge neral restricted
procedures only if (i) th e PPA has r eceived fr om such contracting auth ority in writing the
authorizatio n reques t an d statem ent specified ab ove, and (ii) the PPA has rev iewed s uch
statem ent and determ ined that, objectivel y considered, such st atem ent convincingly
dem onstrate s that the determ inatio ns m ade by the con tracting auth ority pu rsua nt to
Section 31.2 are valid.

31.5 Whenever the PPA authorizes a contrac ting authority to use general restricted
procedures, the PPA shall publis h a copy of such authorizati on in the Public Procurem ent
Register.

31.6 A contracting authority sha ll com ply with the applicable provisions of Section 49
when estab lishing the m inim um qualif ica tion requirem ents that an interested econ omic
operator is required to meet.
31.7 If less than three (3) req uests to participate are recei ved fro m qualified candidates,
or if less than three (3) re sponsive tenders are received from qualified candidates that
were inv ited to subm it a tende r, th e contra cting author ity sh all cance l th e procu rem ent
activ ity ; in such event, the contrac ting autho rity shall, if it still de sir es to procu re the
concerned objects, initiate a new procurem ent activity for such objects.
31.8 Notwithstanding the requi rem ent established by Section 31.7, if there are
com pelling reasons to believ e that canceli ng the current procurem ent activity and
initiating a new procure ment activity will not re sult in an in creas ed number of requests to
participate f rom qualified candidates or an increased num be r of re sponsive tenders f rom
qualified candidates, the PPRC may waive the requirem ent of Section 31.7 if (i) the
PPRC receives a written requ est setting fo rth such reasons from the concerned
contracting authority, and (ii) the PPRC de term ines that su ch reasons pro vide a
convincing basis to waive the requirem ent of Se ction 31.7.

Section 32
Special Res tricted Procedures

32.1 A contracting authority m ay use special restricted procedures to conduct a
procurem ent activity leading to the award of a public contract for highly intellectual or
com plex consulting ser vices if the contra ctin g author ity ha s com plied with this Se ction
32 and received a written authorization to use such proced ures from the PPA. If the
contracting authority is the PPA or a contra ct award comm ittee estab lish ed by the PP A, it
shall also co mply with this Sec tion 32; howev er, in su ch a case, th e au thoriza tion req uest
and the statem ent required by this Section 32 shall be su bm itted to the PPA’s chief
executive of ficer, and the written au thoriza tion re quired by th is Section 3 2 m ay be issued
only by such officer.

32.2 A contracting authority desiring to obtai n the authorization required by Section
32.1 shall first prep are a written s tatem ent affi rm ing that the contracting authority has,
without any intent to discrim inate against or in favour of any econom ic operator, made
the f ollowin g determ ina tions: (i) th e desired c onsulting se rvices – by reason of their
technical, financial, prof essional or other highl y intellectu al o r com plex nature – c an o nly
be supplied, provided or perform ed by an economic operator having special
34

technical/professional expertise and – if relevant – financial capacity, an d (ii) it would be
more econo mically efficient for the contracting author ity to f irst r eview the qua lif ica tions
of interested econom ic operators and then to invite those possessing certain specified
minim um qualif ica tions to subm it a tende r cons isting of tw o parts: a technical proposal
and a financial proposal. The c ontracting authority shall also set forth in the statement
required by this Section 32.2 a detailed explana tion of the reasoning us ed and the factors
considered b y the contracting au thor ity in reachin g these determ inations.

32.3 The contracting autho rity shall th en subm it to th e PPA in writing an au thorization
request and the statement specified in S ection 32.2. The PPA shall either issue the
authorization or deny the reque st in writing with in f ive (5 ) business days after receipt.

32.4 The PPA m ay authorize a contracting authority to use sp ecial restricted
procedur es f or th e pro curem ent of consulting se rvices only if (i) th e PP A has r eceived
from such contra cting author ity in writi ng the authorization request and statem ent
specified ab ove, and (ii) the PPA has rev iewed such s tatem ent and determ ined that,
objectively considered, such statem ent conv inci ngly dem onstrates that the determ inations
made by the contracting authority pursuant to Section 32.2 are valid.

32.5 Whenever the PPA aut horizes a contrac ting authority to use special restricted
procedures for the procurem ent of c ertain consulting services, th e PPA shall publish a
copy of such authorization in the Public Procurement Register.

32.6 A contracting authority sha ll com ply with the applicable provisions of Section 49
when estab lishing the m inim um qualif ica tion requirem ents that an interested econ omic
operator is required to meet.
32.7 If less than three (3) req uests to participate are recei ved fro m qualified candidates,
or if less than three (3) re sponsive tenders are received from qualified candidates that
were inv ited to subm it a tende r, th e contra cting author ity sh all cance l th e procu rem ent
activ ity ; in such event, the contrac ting autho rity shall, if it still de sir es to procu re the
concerned objects, initiate a new procurem ent activity for such objects.
32.8 Notwithstanding the requi rem ent established by Section 32.7, if there are
com pelling reasons to believ e that canceli ng the current procurem ent activity and
initiating a new procure ment activity will not re sult in an in creas ed number of requests to
participate f rom qualified candidates or an increased num be r of re sponsive tenders f rom
qualified candidates, the PPRC may waive the requirem ent of Section 32.7 if (i) the
PPRC receives a written requ est setting fo rth such reasons from the concerned
contracting authority, and (ii) the PPRC de term ines that su ch reasons pro vide a
convincing basis to waive the requirem ent of Se ction 32.7.

Section 33
Negotiated Procedures After Pub lication of a Contract Notice

33.1 A contracting authority m ay use negotia ted procedures after publication of a
contract notice to conduct a procurem ent activ ity leading to the award of a large value
service contract described in Section 33.2 if the contracting authority has com plied with
this Section 33 and received a writte n authoriz ation to use such proce dures from the PPA.
35

If the con tracting autho rity is the PP A or a contract award comm ittee es tablished by th e
PPA, it shall also com ply with this Section 33 ; however, in s uch a case, the authorization
request and the sta tem ent requ ire d by this Section 33 shall be subm itted to the P PA’s
chief executive officer, and the written auth orization required by this S ection 33 may be
issued only by such officer.

33.2 A contracting authority m ay seek an au thorization to use negotiated procedures
after publication of a contract notice to c onduct a procurem ent having as its object the
award of a large value s ervice contract where th e nature of the services to be procured,
especially in the case of in tellectual or tec hnology-intensive servic es or insurance,
banking or investm ent services, is such th at the con tract specifications canno t be
estab lished with suf ficie nt prec ision to perm it th e award of the contra ct by selec ting the
best tender according to the rules gov erning open or restricted procedures.

33.3 A contracting authority desiring to obtai n the authorization required by Section
33.1 shall first prep are a written s tatem ent affi rm ing that the contracting authority has,
without any intent to discrim inate against or in favor of any econom ic operator, m ade the
following d eterm ination s: ( i) the technica l, f inancia l, pro fessional o r other hig hly
inte llec tua l or com plex nature of th e desired se rvices is su ch that it is not poss ible to
estab lish th e contract specifications in a manner that would perm it the award of the
contract by selecting the best tender according to the rules governing open or restricted
procedures, (ii) it would th erefore be m ore econom ically effi cient for t he cont ract ing
author ity to f irst rev iew the qualif ications of inte rested e con om ic operators and then to
invite tho se possess ing cer tain spe cified m inimum qualif ications to subm it a te nder
consisting of a proposal that will serve as the basis f or further negotiations. The
contra cting author ity sh all also set f orth in the statem ent req uired by this Section 33 .3 a
detailed exp lanation of the reason ing used a nd the factors c onsidered by the contracting
authority in reach ing these determ inations, in clu ding a com pelling explanation as to why
such procurem ent activity cannot be conducte d using special restricted procedures.

33.4 The contracting autho rity shall th en subm it to th e PPA in writing an au thorization
request and the statement specified in S ection 33.3. The PPA shall either issue the
authorization or deny the request in writing with in f ive (5) b usiness days after receipt.

33.5 The PPA may authorize a contracting author ity to use negotiated procedures after
the publication of a contract notice only if (i ) the PPA has received from such contracting
author ity in writing th e author izatio n request an d statem ent specified ab ove, and (ii) the
PPA has reviewed such statem ent and determ ined that, objectively considered, such
statem ent convincingly dem onstrates that th e determ inations m ade by the contracting
authority are valid. The PPA shall strongly disfavour the use of negotiated procedures
after the publication of a contract notice; therefore, whenever it is possible for the
concerned contracting authority to procur e the concerned services using open or
restricted procedures, the PPA shall deny a request to use ne gotiated procedures after the
publication of a contract notice.

33.6 Whenever the PPA authorizes a contracti ng authority to use negotiated procedures
after the publication of a contract notice, the PPA sh all publish a copy of such
author izatio n in the Public Procurement Register.

33.7 A contracting authority sha ll com ply with the applicable provisions of Section 49
when estab lishing the m inim um qualif ica tion requirem ents that an interested econ omic
operator is required to meet.
33.8 If less than three (3) req uests to participate are recei ved fro m qualified candidates,
or if less than three (3) re sponsive tenders are received from qualified candidates that
were inv ited to subm it a tende r, th e contra cting author ity sh all cance l th e procu rem ent
activ ity ; in such event, the contrac ting autho rity shall, if it still de sir es to procu re the
concerned objects, initiate a new procurem ent activity for such objects.

Section 34
Negotiated Procedures W ithout Pu blication of a Contract Notice

34.1 A contracting authority m ay use negotiated procedures without publication of a
contra ct no tice to cond uct a pro curem ent activity only af ter it h as co mplied with this
Section 34 and receiv ed a written authoriz ation from the PPA. If the contra cting
author ity is the PPA or a c ontract award comm ittee establ ished by the PPA, it shall also
com ply with this Sec tio n 34; howe ver, in su ch a case, the authorizatio n reques t an d the
statem ent required by this Section 34 shall be subm itted to the PPA’s chief executive
officer, and the written author izatio n required by this Sec tion 34 m ay be issued only by
such officer.

34.2 A contracting authority m ay seek an au thorization to use negotiated procedures
without prior publication of a contract notice to conduct a pr ocurem ent activity having a s
its object the award of:
a. any public contract :
(i) if, for objective and compelling techni cal or artistic reasons, the contract
may be awar ded only to a pa rticular econom ic operator;
(ii) if, f or valid legal r easo ns requiring the resp ect of exclusiv e rights, the
contract m ay be awarded only to a particular econom ic operator;
(iii) for the delivery of water, e lectri city, gas or heat, if the contract
requirem ents, becaus e of objec tive and com pelling physical or
technological constraints, can only be m et by one econom ic operator; or
(iv) if, insof ar a s is stric tly necessa ry for reasons of extrem e urgency brought
about by objectively verifiable events that were not reasonably foreseeable
by the concerned contracting authorit y, such contracti ng authority cannot
afford the tim e required to conduct any other procedure provided for by
the presen t law. Provided, however, that if the circum stances creating the
situation of extrem e urgency can be a ttribu ted to the negligent or
purposeful acts or om issions of a cont racting authority, this provision m ay
not be invoked.

b. a supply contract :
(i) for additional deliveries by the or iginal supplier where su ch addition al
deliveries are replacem ents for pr eviously delivered products or
installations or constitu te an extension of curr ent product deliveries or
37

insta lla tions if a ch an ge of supplier would necess arily require the
concerned contracting authority to a ccept produ cts o r installations havin g
technical o r other characteris tics that ar e m ateria lly d ifferent f rom the
products or installations previously acquired and these differences would
result in signif icant c ompatibility or technical difficulties. Provided,
however, that this Section 34.2.b(i) ca n only be invoked to cover one or
more contracts for additional deliveries that, alone or in the aggregate,
have a v alue that is not greater than ten percent (10%) of th e value of th e
supply contract covering th e original deliveries; or
(ii) if the concerned contracting author ity is a public service ope rator, f or th e
purchase of commoditie s at a commodities exch ange;

c. a service contract :
(i) that follows from a design contest conducted pursuant to open or restricted
procedures, and that is required, under the applicable rules, to be awar
ded
to the su cces sful candidate;
(ii) to be awarded to a contracting authority that enjoys, pursuant to a
legislative or regulatory norm ative or sub norm ative act, an exclusive right
to provide such service; or
(iii) for the perfo rmance or execution of new services that are highly sim ilar to
services that are covered by an ear lie r works c ontrac t, if (a) such ne w
contract is to be awarded to the sa me econom ic operator that was awarded
such earlier works contract, (b) such new services are connected with the
sam e basic project for which such ear lier works contract was awarded, and
(c) su ch ea rlier works co ntrac t was a warded pursuant to open or restricted
procedures. Provided, however, that this Section 34.2.c(iii) can only be
invoked to cover one or mo re contracts for new serv ices that, al one or in
the aggregate, have a value that is not greater than ten percent (10%) of
the valu e of the earlie r w orks contrac t; or

d. a service or works co ntract :
(i) for the perform ance or execution of a dditional services or works that were
neithe r inc luded in the o rigin al conc eption of a previously awarded works
project nor provided for in the con cerned w orks contract previously
concluded, but which have, through unforeseen circum stances, beco me
necessary for the p erform ance of the serv ices o r works described in such
project and contract. Provided, however , that this Section 34.2.d(i) m ay
only be invoked if (a) the contract c overing such additional services or
works is to be awarded to the econo mic operator perform ing the original
services or works and (b) such ad dition al services or wo rks cannot be
technically or econom ically separate d from the m ain contract without
major inconvenience to the contracting authority. Provided, further, that
this Section 34.2.d(i) m ay only be invoked to cover one or more contracts
for addition al serv ices or works that, alone or in the aggr egate, have a
value th at is not grea ter than ten per cent (10 %) of the value of the orig inal
contract.

34.3 A contracting authority desiring to obtai n the authorization required by Section
34.1 shall first prep are a written s tatem ent affi rm ing that the contracting authority has,
without any intent to discri minate against or in favour of any econom ic operator, ha s
determ ined that a provision of Section 34.2 perm its the us e of negotiated procedures
without the publication of a c ontract notice to conduct such activity. The contracting
authority shall also set fort h in the statem ent required by this Section 34.3 a detailed
explanation of the reasoning us ed and the facto rs cons ide red by th e con trac ting auth ority
in reaching this determ ination.

34.4 The contracting autho rity shall th en subm it to th e PPA in writing an au thorization
request and the statement specified in S ection 34.3. The PPA shall either issue the
requested authorization or deny the request in writing with in five (5 ) bus iness d ays a fter
rece ipt.

34.5 The PPA m ay authorize a contracting au thority to use nego tiated procedures
without the publication of a contract notice only if (i) th e PPA has received from such
contra cting author ity in writi ng th e authorizatio n request an d statem ent specified ab ove,
and (ii) th e PPA has reviewed such stat ement and determ ined that, ob jective ly
considered, such statement convincingly dem ons trates that the determ ination m ade by the
contracting authority is valid.

34.6 Whenever the PPA authorizes a contracti ng authority to use negotiated procedures
without the publication of a contract noti ce, the PPA shall publ ish a copy of such
author izatio n in the Public Procurement Register.

34.7 If the PPA receives a request from a contractin g au thority that desires to invoke
Section 34.2 .a(iv), th e PPA shall imm ediately accord the highest possib le priority to the
developm ent of a response to such request . The PPA m ay authorize a contracting
authority to use negotiated pr ocedures without publication of a contract notice on the
basis of paragraph 34.2.a(iv) onl y if the PPA first verifies in writing that (i) events
necessitating an extremely urgent procurem ent have occurred, (ii) such events were not
reasonab ly foreseeable b y the contracting autho rity, (iii) such events req uire the con duct
of the concerned pro curem ent on a m ore accelerated b asis than even the tim e lim its
provided for in Section 44 allow, and (iv) the occurrence of such events cannot be
attributed to the negligent or purposeful acts or om issions of a contracting authority.

34.8 Even if the PPA determines that the cr iteria specified in Section 34.7 have been
fulfilled, if the concern ed procurem ent invol ves a low or m edium value contract for
goods or services m eeting the description specified in Section 35.1, the PPA shall,
whenever feasible, deny the reques t and instead direc t the con trac ting auth ority to u se the
price quotation procedures se t forth in Section 35.

34.9 The conduct of a negotiated procedure w ithout publication of a contract notice
shall not in any way relieve a con tracting auth ority of its ob liga tion (i) to play an a ctiv e
role in deter mining the term s of the contrac t, with spec ial r eference to prices, de liv ery
deadlin es, q uantities, te chnica l characteristics and guarantees , (ii) to ensure th at the
contracted price is not higher than the concerned market price , and ( iii) to caref ully ass ess
the quality of the concerned product, service or works.

Section 35
Price Quotation Procedu res
35.1 A contracting authority m ay use pr ice quotation procedures to conduct a
procurem ent activity having as its object the award of a m inim al or low value supply or
service contract if (i) the concerned goods or services are read ily available fro m
econom ic operators, (ii) the concerned goods or services do not need to be specially
produced or custom ized in order to satisfy the r equirem ents of the con tracting autho rity,
and (iii) there is an es tablished m arket for such goods or services.
35.2 A contracting authority shall use pri ce quotation procedures to conduct an
em ergency procurem ent involving the award of a low or m edium value supply or service
contract when directed to do so by the PPA, pursuant to section 34.8
35.3 The contracting authority shall simultaneously send a written request f or price
quotations to at least three (3) econom ic operato rs and, to the extent practicable, to as
many additional econom ic operators as is necessa ry to ens ure tha t ef fective com petition
for the concerned contract is not im paired.
35.4 The contracting authority shall select such econom ic operators and otherwise
conduct the procurem ent activity in a m anner that is not inte nded to discrim inate against
or in favor of any econom ic operator.
35.5 An econom ic operator that did no t receive a req uest for price quotations that was
sent to other econom ic operators shall have the right to obtain, immediately upon request,
such request for price quotations from the c oncerned contracting authority. An econom ic
operato r that did not receive a request for price quo tations that w as sent to other
econom ic operators shall also have the righ t to subm it a price quot ation in response to
such request, even if such econom ic operator obtained a copy or information about such
request for price quotations from someone other than the contracting authority.
35.6 The written request for price quotati ons shall satisfy the tender dossier
requirem ents established by Sectio n 27 of the present law. In particular, such a written
request for price quo tations sh all (i) describ e, in acco rdance with Section 2 8, the
concerned goods, services, or works (ii) in form all econom ic operators that their
quotations must contain a lum p sum fixed price that the cont racting authority would need
to pay to obtain the concerned goods or servi ces and that such lum p sum fixed price shall
include any and all app licable taxes and duties as well as a ny transportation, insurance,
installation or other charges, f ees or expenses of any description; and (iii) specify the date
by which price quotation s m ust be received.
35.7 For a procurem ent activity conducted pursu ant to Section 35.1, the date by which
price quotations m ust be receiv ed shall be no less than ten ( 10) calendar days from the
date of the dispatch o f the written request f or price quotations. For an em ergency
procurem ent conducted pursuant to Section 35.2, the date by which price quotations must
be rece ived shall b e no less than thr ee (3) bus iness days from the date of the dispatch of
the written request for price quotations.
35.8 If, in a procurem ent activity conducted pursuant to Section 35.1, less than three
(3) econom ic operators that routinely offer th e concerned goods or services on the m arket
subm it responsive written quotations on or befo re the specified deadline, the contracting
40

author ity sh all c ance l th e proc urem ent activity. In such ev en t, the contr acting autho rity
shall, if it still de sires to procure the concerned goods or services, initiate a new
procurem ent activity for su ch goods or services.
35.9 An econom ic operator m ay subm it only one price quotation during the concerned
procurem ent activity. An econom ic operator may not change its price quotation after
such quotation has been subm itted.
35.10 For the purposes of the applicability of the other provisions of the present law, a
request f or p rice quo tatio ns shall cons titu te an “ invita tion to te nder.”

Section 36
Procedures f or Minim al Contracts

The Rules Comm ittee shall have the author ity to estab lish in the public pr ocurem ent rules
a special procedure to govern the award of m inim al value contracts. The Rules
Comm ittee shall ens ure that s uch proced ure provides for adequate com petition,
transparency and the m ost cost-effective us e of public funds. The Rules Comm ittee shall
also ensure that such pro cedure observes the principle of non-discrim ination and all
applicable provisions of the pres ent law.

Chapter 3
Rules on Advertising and Transparency

Section 37
Indica tive N otice

37.1 When a contracting authority has the intention of awardi ng, over a future 12-
month period, (i) one or more supply contracts having an estim ated value, alone or in the
aggregate, of 750,000 Euros, (ii) one or m ore service contracts having an estim ated value,
alone or in the aggregate, of 750,000 Euros, or (iii) one or more works contracts having
an estim ated value, alone or in the a ggregate, of 1,000,000 Euros, the contracting
authority sh all p repare an i ndicative notice that s pecifies :

a. in the case of anticipated supply contracts, the total procurem ent by product area
that the contracting auth ority intend s to procure over such 12-month period;

b. in the case of anticipated service co ntra cts, th e estim ated ag gregate valu e of each
catego ry of service th at th e con tracting authority inte nds to procure over such 12-
month period; and

c. in the cas e of antic ipa ted works c ontrac ts, th e essen tia l charac ter istics of the
works contracts th at th e contractin g au thority intends to award over such 12-
month period.

37.2 An indicative notice shall be prepared in the Albanian, Serbian and English
languages. The contracting aut hority shall ensure that al l language versions of an
indicative notice comply with the presen t law and contain m ater ially ide ntica l
inform ation.
41

37.3 In the case of an indicative notice re ferred to in Section 37.1.a or b, the
contracting authority shall prepare such indi cative notice as soon as possible after the
beginning of the concerned fiscal year.

37.4 In the case of an indica tive notice referred to in S ection 37.1.c, the contracting
authority shall prepare such indicative notice immediately after the decision approving
the planning of the concerned works contracts.

Section 38
Contract Notice

When a contracting authority intends to conduct a procurem ent using open or restricted
procedures or negotiated procedures after the publica tion of a contr act notice, the
contracting authority shall pr epare a contract notice in the languages required by Section
12. The contracting authority sh all ensure that all language ve rsions of a contract notice
com ply with the present law and cont ain m aterially identical infor mation.

Section 39
Contract A ward Notice

If a contracting authority has awarded any public contract using open, restricted, or
negotiated procedures, or price quotation proc edures, such contrac ting authority shall,
within two ( 2) busine ss days af ter the award of such contract, prep are a contract award
notice in the languages required by S ection 12. T he contracting authority shall ensure that
all language versions of a cont ract award notice com ply with the present law and contain
materially identical inform ation.

Section 40
Publication of Notices

40.1 If a contracting authority is not th e PPA, such contracting authority shall
imm ediately subm it to the PPA all language ve rsions of any notice that it has prepared
pursuant to Section 37, 38 or 39. The Rule s Committee shall establish rules govern ing
the subm ission of notices to the PPA by other contracti ng authorities.

40.2 W ithin two (2) business days after the PPA prepares a notice pursuant to Section
37, 38 or 39, or receiv es such a notice from another co ntracting authority pursuant to
Section 40.1, the PPA shall publ ish all language versions of such notice on the PPA’s
website and in the Public Procurem ent Register.

40.3. A contracting authority shall publish a no tice that it has prepared in the required
languages in a m ajor Albanian language publica tion of general circulation in Kosovo and
a m ajor Serbian language publication, pr ovided, how ever, that this publication
requirem ent shall not apply to contract award n otice for a la w or m inim al value contract.
If the contracting authority is not the PPA, it shall com ply w ith this Section 40.3 within
three (3) business days after subm itting the concerned not ice to the PPA as requ ired by
Section 40.1. If the contractin g authority is the PPA, it sha ll com ply with this Section
40.3 within three (3) business days after it prepares the con cerned notice. All language
42

versions of a notice shall be published on the sa me date or dates, in the same m anner. The
Rules Comm ittee shall establish rules governing the publication of notices.

40.4 A contracting authority shall dispatch a c ontract award notice, immediately after it
has been prepared, to all econom ic operators that received an invitation to tender or
subm itted a request to participa te or tender. A c ontrac ting authority sh all dispatch su ch a
notice to the concerned econom ic operators by the m ost rapid m eans available.

40.5 Except as provided for in Section 40.4, no notice, nor any inform ation in a notice,
may be m ade public or disclosed to any pe rson or undertaking prior to its publication
pursuant to Section 40.2 or 40.3.

Section 41
Form and Content of Notices

Every notice shall be drawn up in accordance with th e applicable s tandard form adopted
by the Rules Comm ittee.

Section 42
General Rules f or Settin g a Tim e Lim it f or the
Receipt of Tenders or Requests to Participate

42.1 Any tim e li mit set by a contracting authority for the receipt of tenders or requests
to par tic ipate shall be of a duration that is suf ficient to give poten tia lly in terested
econom ic operators a reasonable amount of tim e to prepare and subm it such documents.
In setting su ch a tim e lim it, a contracting autho rity shall take into consid eration the ob ject
and com plexity of the concerned procurem ent and the contract to be awarded as well as
the level of difficulty and/or com plexity involved in the preparation of a responsive
tender o r req uest to p articipate.

42.2 In a procurem ent using open procedures, th e contracting authority shall set a tim e
lim it f or the rece ipt of te nders tha t is:

a. if the concerned contract is a large valu e public contract, not less than 52 calendar
days; and

b. if the concerned contract is not a larg e valu e public con tract , not less than 30
calendar days.

42.3 In a procurem ent using restricted proce dures, the contracting authority shall se t
tim e lim its for the r ece ipt of requests to par tic ipate and tende rs that are :

a. if the concerned contract is a large valu e public contract, not less than 37 calendar
days for the receip t of requests to p articipate an d not less th an 40 calen dar days
for the receipt of tenders; and

b. if the concerned contract is not a larg e valu e public con tract , not less than 21
calendar days for the receip t of r equests to participa te and not less than 21
calendar days for the receipt of tenders.
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42.4 In a procurem ent using negotiated proce dures after the publica tion of a contract
notice, the contra cting author ity sh all set tim e lim its f or the rece ipt of requests to
participate and tenders that are:

42.5 In a procurem ent using price quotation pr ocedures, the contracting authority shall
set a tim e f or the r ece ipt of tenders as specified in Section 35.7.

Section 43
Special Rule s f or Setting a Tim e Limit f or the Re ceipt of Ten ders
for a Public Contract Cove red by an Indicative N otice

43.1 Notwithstanding the provisions of Secti on 42, in a procurem ent activity using
open or restricted procedures and having as its object a la rge value contract that has
previous ly b een the sub ject of an in dicativ e notice, the con tracting auth ority m ay set a
tim e lim it f or the rec eipt of tende rs tha t is no less than 36 calend ar da ys f rom (i) in the
case of open procedures, the date of publication of the concerned contract notice, or (ii )
in the cas e of restricted procedures the date on or by which all inv ita tio ns to tende r are
sent.

43.2 The PPA may, in cases where it is convin ced that the prepara tion of a responsive
tender should be a relatively sim ple m atter, au thorize a contracting au thority to set a tim e
lim it that is shorter than 36 calendar days, but in no event m ay the tim e lim it be less than
26 calendar days. Such an authorization shal l be in writing. If the PPA or a contract
award comm ittee desires to invoke this Se ction 43.2 for a procurem ent activity being
conducted b y the PPA or a contract award co mm ittee, the required auth orization m ust be
signed by th e PPA’s chief executive officer.

43.3 The tim e lim its referenced in Sections 43.1 and 43.2 m ay only be used if (i) the
concerned indicative n otice includ ed all the infor mation specified in the applicable
standard form adopted by the Rules Comm ittee a nd (ii) th e date of pu blication of such
indicative n otice occu rred no less than 52 ca lendar days and no m ore than 12 months
prior to the date of publication of the concerned contract notice.

Section 44
Special Rule s Perm itting the Reductio n of Tim e Lim its

44.1 If circum stances exist that (i) necessitate the conduct of a procurem ent activity on
an urgent basis, (ii) m ake it im practicable to obs erve the tim e lim its sp ec ified in Section
42 or, if applicable, Section 43, (iii) do not give rise to the kind of extrem e urgency
44

anticipated by Section 34.2.a(iv), and (iv) are not attr ibutable to the acts and om issions of
a contracting authority, a cont ractin g author ity m ay, with the prio r written au thor ization
of the PPA or – if the proc urem ent activity is being conduc ted by the P PA or a contract
award comm ittee – the chief executive officer of the PPA, conduct the procurem ent using
the accelerated tim e lim its esta blished in this Section 44.

44.2 In a procurem ent activity using open pro cedures, the contracting authority m ay be
authorized to set a tim e lim it for the receip t of ten ders that is:

a. if the concerned contract is a large valu e public contract, not less than 20 calendar
days; or

b. if the concerned contract is not a larg e valu e public con tract , not less than 15
calendar days.

44.3 In a procurem ent activity using restrict ed procedures, the contracting authority
may be authorized to s et a tim e lim it that is (i) not less than 15 calendar days for the
rece ipt of re quests to pa rticip ate and /or (ii) not less than 10 calendar days for the receipt
of tenders.

Section 45
Comm encem ent of Ti me Lim its for Receipt of Requests to Participate an d Tenders

The tim e lim its specif ied in Section s 42 – 44 sha ll comm ence to run as f ollows:

a. for the receipt of tenders in a procurem ent activity using open procedures, on the
date of publication of the contract notice;

b. for the receipt of requests to particip ate in a procurem ent activity using restricted
procedures or negotiated procedures afte r the publication of a contract notice, on
the date of publication of the contract notice.

c. for the receipt of tenders in a procu rem en t activity using restricted procedures or
negotiated procedures after the publicati on of a contract notice, on the date on
which all in vita tions to s ubm it a tend er ar e sent; a nd

d. for the receipt of tenders in a proc urem ent activity using price quotatio n
procedures, on the date on which all invi tations to subm it a price quo tation a re
sent.

Section 46
Delivery of Tender Dossiers

If an econom ic operator has tim ely filed a reque st to obtain a tender dossier that m eets the
requirem ents set forth in the concerned co ntrac t no tic e, the c oncerned contracting
author ity is strictly req uired to se nd th e requ ested tender dossier to such econ omic
operato r as f ollows:

a. If the tim e lim it set f or the re ceip t of te nders is m ore than 30 calendar days, no
late r than f ive days af ter receiving such request;

b. if the tim e lim it set f or the rece ipt of tenders is m ore than 20 calenda r but less
than 30 calendar days, no later than four calendar days afte r receiving such
request; and

c. if the tim e lim it set f or the rece ipt of tenders is le ss than 20 c alenda r days , no late r
than th ree calendar d ays af ter receiving such a request.

Section 47
Means of Transm ission of Requests to Participate

47.1 A request to participate in a procurem ent activity leading to the award of any
public con tract m ay be subm itted by elec tronic means, le tte r o r fax.

47.2 In a procu rem ent procedure using th e accelerated tim e lim its authorized by
Section 44, a reques t to participate m ay be subm itted by the m ost rapid m eans of
communication possible.

47.3 A request to participate m ade by fax m ust be confirm ed by letter or electronic
means bef ore the exp iry of the tim e-lim it set for the rece ipt of requests to participa te.

Section 48
Dispatch and Contents of Invitations to Tender

48.1 In restricted procedures, negotiated proce dures after the public ation of a contract
notice, and price quotation pr ocedures, the contracting au thority shall sim ultaneously
dispatch to all selected candidates the concerned invitation to tender.

48.2 In restricted procedures and negotiated procedures after the publication of a
contract notice, all invitations to tender shal l be sent together with the tender dossier,
except to the extent that the con tracting authority has m ade tender dossier material
available electron ically. If the con tracting au thority has m ade such m aterial available
elec tronically, the inv itation letter shall p rovid e sufficient inform ation to enable the
candidate to access su ch m aterial.

48.3 In price quotation procedures, the invita tion to tender shall contain all m aterial
inform ation needed by the candidates to subm it responsive price quotations.

48.4 The for m and content of any invitation, m aterial or other inform ation sent to a
candida te sh all b e iden tical to tha t sent to any other candidate. No candidate shall be
given greater or lesser access to any m aterial or infor mation than any other candidate.
48.5 If a procurem ent activity using restri cted procedures is being conducted under
accelerated tim e lim its authorized by Sec tio n 44.3, the contracting authority shall
dispatch the invita tions to subm it a tende r by the m ost rapid m eans of communication
possible.

Section 49
Notif ication of Qualif ication Re quirem ents and Selection Criteria
49.1 A contracting authority shall specify in the contract notice and the tender dossier
any and all m inimum qualification requirem ents that an in terested econ omic operator is
required to m eet in order to be considered qua lified (i) in the case of ope n procedures, to
be awarded a contract, or (ii) in the case of restricted proced ures or negotiated procedures
after the pu blica tion of a contract notice, to r eceive an in vita tion to tender. All such
qualif ica tion requirem ents sha ll be lim ited to re quirem ents n ecessary to ensure that only
econom ic operators possessing the professional, financial and technica l ability necessary
to f ulfil the te rm s of the conce rned contract sh all be con sidered qu alif ied to receive a
contract aw ard or an invita tion to tender. In no case sh all a contracting auth ority
estab lish, sp ecif y or use qualif ica tion requirem ents that are based on considerations other
than thos e p erm itted und er the p rovis ions of Sections 61 – 65.
49.2 A contracting authority shall specify in the contract notice and the tender dossier
any and all docum ents or other infor mation that an in terested e con om ic operator is
required to subm it with its tender or request to participa te. All such docum entary and
inform ation requirem ents shall be lim ited to such docum ent s and inform ation as may be
reasonably necessary to allow the contractin g authority to verify that the concerned
econom ic operator (i) is not ineligible under section 61 of the present law, and (ii) if
applic able, satisf ies the m inim um qualif ica tio n requirem ents specified in the contract
notice and the tender dossier. In no case shall a contract no tice or a tender dossier require
an interested econom ic operator to com ply w ith docum entary or infor mation subm ission
requirem ents that are not in conformity with the provisions of Sections 61-65.

49.3 All qualification requirem ents and docum enta ry and inform ation requirem ents
established and noticed under this Section 49 shall be both directly relevant and
proportionate to the subject m atte r of the concerned contract.

Section 50
Notification of Cont ract Award Crite ria

50.1 A contracting authority shall specify in the contract notice and the tender dossier
eithe r (i) th at th e contr act sh all be aw arded to the e cono mic operato r subm itting the
lowest-p ric ed tender or (ii) tha t the contra ct shall be awarded to the eco nom ic opera tor
subm itting the m ost econom ically a dvantageous tender.

50.2 If the contracting authority has specified that the awar d of a public contract shall
be m ade to the econo mic operator subm ittin g the m ost econom ically advan tageous
tender, such contracting authority s hall speci fy in th e ten der doss ier the criteria for
determ ining the winning tender and the weightin g assigned to each. To the greatest extent
practicab le, the con tracting autho rity shall specify each criterion in an objective and
quantifiable m anner and express the weighting a ssign ed th ereto in m onetary te rm s. In
specifying s uch criteria, a contractin g authority shall ensu re that such criteria are directly
linked to the objects and requirem ents of the c oncerned public contract. Furtherm ore, a
contracting authority may only sp ecif y crite ria that re late to: (i) the te nder price ( ii) the
term s of paym ent, (iii) o perating, m aintenan ce an d other life-tim e cost s, (iv) the delivery
date, delivery period or period of com pletion, (v) functional characteristics, (vi) after-
sales service and technical ass istance, and/ or (vii) the term s of any warranties o r
guarantees.
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Section 51
Providing A ddition al Inf orm ation to Candidates and Tendere rs

51.1 When preparing a tender, any econo mic operator m ay make a written request to
the concerned contracting authority for addi tional or clar ifying inf ormation that the
econom ic operator believes is needed to pr epare or subm it a responsive tender; provided,
however that any such w ritten request shal l be received by the contracting authority:

a. no less than 20 calendar days pr ior to the date se t f or the r eceipt of tende rs, if the
tim e lim it set f or the r ece ipt of tende rs is 40 ca len dar days or more;

b. no less than 15 calendar days prior to the da te s et f or the re ceipt of tend ers if the
tim e lim it set f or the re ceipt of ten ders is 30 c alenda r days or m ore but less than
40 calendar days;

c. no less than 10 calendar days prior to the da te s et f or the re ceipt of tend ers if the
tim e lim it set f or the re ceipt of ten ders is 20 c alenda r days or m ore but less than
30 calendar days; or

d. no less than 6 calendar days pr ior to the da te s et f or th e re ceipt of ten ders if th e
tim e lim it set f or the re ceipt of ten ders is 10 c alenda r days or m ore but less than
20 calendar days.

51.2 Such a request m ay be subm itted to the c ontracting authority by electron ic m eans,
letter or fax.
51.3 The contracting authority shall specify th e date by which such a request m ust be
received in the tender dossi er and, if applicable, the invitation to tender.
51.4 A contracting authority shall imm ediatel y review any such request received to
determ ine whether or not econom ic operators ne ed the requested addi tional or clarif ying
inform ation in order to prepare responsive tenders.
51.5 If the contracting authority determ ines that econom ic operato rs do not need the
requested infor mation, the contracting author ity shall imm ediately communicate a denial
of the request in writing to the concerned econom ic operator.
51.6 If the contracting au tho rity determ ines that an y of the requested add ition al o r
clarifying infor mation is needed by econom ic operators, the contracting authority shall
imm ediately and sim ultaneously provide such infor mation in writing, by the m ost rapid
means possible, to all econom ic operators who have obta ined or received from the
contracting authority the concerned tender dossier or invitation to tender. The
contra cting author ity sh all no t revea l the iden tity of the eco nom ic ope rator that requ este d
the clarifying inform ation.
51.7 If, in a procurem ent activity involving the use of open, restricted or negotiated
procedures, the contracting authority provides any additional or clar ifying inform ation to
econom ic operators, and the date on which su ch inform ation is provided is less than 10
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calendar days from the deadlin e set for the receipt of tende rs, the contracting auth ority
shall extend such deadline to give econom ic operators at least 10 cal endar days from the
date on which such inf orm ation is provided to subm it their tenders. If an econom ic
operato r has already su bm itted a tender, such econom ic operato r shall be perm itted to
subm it an am endment to such tend er, but su ch am endm ent shall b e lim ited to changes
that are reas onably related to such addition al or clarifying in for mation.
51.8 If, in a procurem ent activity involving the use of price quotation procedures, th e
contracting authority provide s any additional or clarifyi ng inf orm ation to econ omic
operators, and the date on which such inform ation is provided is less than 5 calendar days
from the dea dline set f or the r ece ipt o f tenders, th e contrac tin g autho rity shall extend such
deadlin e to give econo mic operators at least 5 calendar days from the date on which such
inf orm ation is provided to subm it their tend ers. If an econom ic operator has already
subm itted a tender, su ch econom ic operato r shall be perm itted to subm it an am endm ent to
such tend er, but such am endment shall b e li mited to ch ang es tha t are r easonably re lated
to such additional or clarifying information.
51.9 If, at any tim e prior to the deadline set for the receipt of tenders, a contracting
authority determ ines or becom es awa re – by any means – that any additional or clarifying
inform ation is needed by econom ic operators, the contracting author ity shall imm ediately
and sim ultaneously provide such infor mation in writing, by the m ost rapid m eans
possible, to all econom ic operators that have received a tender dossier or invitation to
tender from the contracting au thor ity. In such event, the contra cting author ity sh all
extend the deadline for the rece ipt of tenders in accordance with Section 51.7 or Section
51.8, whichever is applicable.
Section 52
Notif ication to Elim inate d Candidates and Tenderers
52.1 Whenever a contacting authority elim inat es a candidate or tenderer from further
participa tion in a procu rem ent activity, such contracting authority shall imm ediately
notify such candidate or tendere r in writing of such event.
52.2 If a contracting authority receives from an elim inated candidate or tenderer a
written requ est for a statem ent of the reasons upon which such candidate or tenderer was
elim inated, the contrac ting autho rity shall, within 15 calendar days f rom the date on
which such request is received, send such elim inated candidate or tend erer a statem ent
specifying s uch reasons in acco rdance with the fo llowing:
a. In the case of an eli minated candid ate, th e statem ent shall specify the reasons for
the re jec tion of that cand idate ’s r equ est to p articipate.
b. In the ca se of an eliminated tende rer who was elim inated f or subm itting an
irregular or otherwise non -responsive tender, the statem ent shall specify the
deficiencies in such tend er.
c. In the case of an unsuc cessful tend erer who subm itted a responsive ten der, the
statem ent shall specify the characteristics and relative adv antages of the winning
tender and the nam e of t he winning tenderer.
52.3 Notwithstanding the foregoing paragraph, a contracting authority m ay withhold
inf orm ation if (i) the contrac ting authority determ ines that the d isclosure of such
inform ation would be contrary to som e impor tant and specific public interest or would
49

have a signif icant poten tia l to im pede law enf orcem ent ef forts, to ha rm the legitim ate
commercial interests of one or m ore econom ic operato rs, or to prejud ice fair com petition
am ong the m, and (ii) the PPRC reviews such determ ination and provides the contracting
author ity with a written author iza tion to w ithhold inform ation otherwise required to be
disclosed by Section 52.2.

Section 53
Means of Comm unication

53.1 Except during the conduct of a site visit or a pre-te nder m eeting, all
communication and inform ation exchange betw een econom ic operators and a contracting
author ity sh all be perf ormed (i) in writing – whether by letter, fax and/or electronic m eans
– and (ii) in confor mity w ith all other applicable provi sions of the present law. .
53.2 Such communication and inform ation excha nge shall be carried out in such a way
as to ensu re that the in tegrity of data and the con fidentia lity of tende rs and all inf orm ation
supplied by econom ic operators are preserved, a nd that a contracting authority exam ines
the conten t of a tender or request to participa te o nly af ter the tim e lim it set f or the re ceipt
thereof has expired.

Chapter 4
Conduct of Procurement Procedures

Section 54
General Provisions on the Selection of Pa rticipants and the Award of Contracts

54.1 All public contracts shall be awarded on the basis of the criteria specified in
Section 58 and in acco rdance with th e procedu re estab lished pursuant to s uch section.

54.2 The contracting authority shall disqualify any candidate or tende rer that has failed
to subm it (i) requ ired c ertif icat ions or attestations dem ons trating or affirm ing that such
candidate or tenderer is not ineligible under Section 61, (ii) a certificate, docum ent or
other sufficient eviden ce that has been r easonably required by a contr acting au tho rity
under Sectio n 62 for the purpose of v erifying th e professional suitability of the cand idate
or tenderer, or (iii) sufficien t evidence, as described and ev aluated under Sections 63 and
64, reasonably dem onstrating that such candidate or tendere r m eets the m inimu m
financial, te chnica l and prof ession al c apacity requ irem ents spe cified in the con trac t
notice in accordance with Section 49.

54.3 In the case of restricted procedures and negotiated procedures after the
publication of a contract notice, a c ontrac ting authority sh all sele ct the candid ates that
will be invited to subm it a tender or proposal only on the basis of (i) the selection criteria
specified in the contract notice and the te nder dossier in accord ance with Section 49.2
and (ii) the docum ents, inf orm ation and/or ev idence of qualif ica tions subm itted by
candidates in direct response to the requirem ents stated in the contract notice and the
tender dossier. Candidates not so selected shall be el im inated from further participation.
The Rules Comm ittee sh all e stab lish in the pub lic procurem ent rules a d etailed p roced ure
that contracting authorities shall be require d to follow when m aking such a selection.
The Rules Comm ittee shall ensu re that such procedure is (i) in acco rdance with best
inte rnational prac tic e, ( ii) provid es f or adequ ate c ompetition and tr ansparen cy, (iii)
50

im ple ments the principle of non-discrim inatio n, and (iv) otherwise complies with all
applicable provisions of the pres ent law
54.4 A tenderer, in the case of open procedures, or a candidate, in the case of restricted
procedures and negotiated procedures after th e publication of a contra ct notice, shall not
be disqualif ied, excluded or elim inated fr om such procedures on the basis of any
requirem ent or criterion not specified in the con tract no tice and the tender dossier.

Section 55
Tender Security

55.1 In a procurem ent activity leading to the award of large or m edium value contract,
a contracting authority m ay require a tendere r to post tend er secu rity. Tender security
posted by a tenderer shall be forfeite d in the ev ent:

a. the con trac ting autho rity dete rm ines, on the basis of object ively verif iab le
evidence, that such tenderer has provi ded m aterially f alse or m islead ing
inform ation to the contracting authority;

b. such tende rer withdr aws its tender af ter th e deadline for the subm ission of tenders
but prio r to the exp iration of the tender validity peri od sp ecified in th e tender
dossier; or

c. such tenderer is awarded the concerned cont ract on the basis of its tend er and the
tender er th en ref uses or fails ( i) to pos t any required perform ance security that
was specified in the tender dossier, (ii) to com ply with any other condition
preceden t to the s igning of the concerned con tract that was sp ecified in th e tend er
dossier, or (iii) to execu te a contract th at conform s to the term s and conditions
specified in the tend er d ossier.

55.2 If the contracting authority im poses a tender security requirement, such
requirem ent shall apply to all tenderers. Th e contracting authority sha ll r ejec t and not
evaluate a tender receiv ed from a tenderer that has f ailed to com ply with an applica ble
tender security requirement.

55.3 If the contracting authority im poses a tender security requirem ent, the a mount of
the tender s ecurity requ ired sh all be no le ss tha n thre e pe rcent (3%) and no greater than
five percent (5%) of the estim ated value of the public con tract or design contest, but shall
in no case be less than 1000 Euros.

55.4 The contracting authority shall specify in the tender dossier any requirem ents
regard ing th e natu re, form , a mount and othe r term s and conditions applicab le to the
required tender security. Tender security m ay always be posted in cash or a cash
equivalent, such as a bank wire or bank transfer. Tender secu rity m ay also be posted in
the for m of a certified check, surety bond, le tter of credit or bank guarantee; however, the
contra cting author ity sh all specif y in the te nder dossier any requirem ents th at the is suer
of such a check, bond, letter of credit or gua rantee m ust meet; provided, however, that
such requ ire ments shall not requ ire the issu er to have a place of busine ss in a sp ec ific
location. The Rules Comm ittee sh all include in the public procurem ent rules detailed
provisions on the m inimum qualification requir em ents that issuers of certified ch ecks,
surety bonds, letters of cr edit and bank guarantees m ust m eet in order for such
51

instrum ents to be acceptable; provided, how ever, that such m inimum qualification
requirem ents shall be non-disc rim inatory and lim ited to requi rem ents that are directly
rela ted to en suring th e f inancia l stab ility and re lia bility of suc h issuer s.

55.5 If the contracting authority decides to impose a tender security requirem ent, the
tender dos sier shall con tain a section on tender security that sets forth:

a. the precise am ount of t he tender security and th e required validity period
of the tender security;

b. the dead line for the r ece ipt of the te nde r security, which shall be the same
as tha t for th e rece ipt of tenders;

c. a statem ent of the events, in acco rdance with Section 55.1, that will cau se
such security to be forfeited; and

d. the requirem ents covered by Section 55.4.

55.6 Each contracting authority shall establish a separate in terest-bearing account at a
licensed commercial bank in Kosovo for th e purpose of receiving and holding funds
received as tender security or received under a surety bond, letter of credit or bank
guarantee that had been posted as tender security. A contracting authority shall
imm ediately deposit and hold all su ch funds in such accoun t. A contracting autho rity
shall not return, transfer, use or m ake any othe r disposition or use of such funds except as
specifically authorized by Sections 55.7 – 55.9.

55.7 If no event has occurred re quiring the forfeiture of tende r security, as specified in
Section 55.1, a contracting aut hority shall return the funds or docum ent constituting such
tender security within five (5) business days after th e occu rrence of any of the follo wing
events :

a. the expiration of the tender validity period;

b. the award an d entry into force of the concerned public contract;

c. the f orm al cancellation or term ination of the procurem ent activ ity pr ior to
the award o r entry into force of the concerned public contract; or

d. the withd rawal of the te nder pr ior to the deadline set for the subm ission of
tenders, unless the tender dossier sp ecifically states that no su ch
withdrawal is perm itted.

55.8 If a contracting authority determ ines th at an event requiri ng the forfeiture of
tender security, as specified in Section 55.1, has occurred, such contracting authority
shall notify the concerned tender er in writing of such dete rm ination. However, if the
concerned tender security has been posted in the for m of a surety bond, letter of credit or
bank guarantee, the contracting authority shall first take whatever m easures m ay be
necessary to obtain the concer ned funds from the issuer be fore providing the tenderer
with th e no tification req uired by th e preced ing sentenc e. A contracting autho rity shall
52

leave such funds on deposit in the account specified in Se ction 55.6 until the concerned
tenderer has exhausted all of its righ ts to appea l the contrac ting autho rity ’s de term ination .
Once the tenderer has exhausted its rights to ap peal such decision, an d no order has been
received from the PPRC, a review p anel or a co urt of com petent ju risdiction requiring the
concerned contracting authority to m ake a nother dispos itio n of the concerned funds, th e
contracting authority shall:
a. if the contracting authority is s ubject to the norm ative acts on public
budgetary and appropriations m atters, treat such forfeited tender security as a
fine and/or penalty and transfer the concerned funds to the K osovo
Consolidated Fund in accordance with the relevant provisions of such acts; or
b. if the contracting autho rity is not su bject to such acts, tran sfer the concerned
funds to its general operating accoun t a nd treat such funds, for accountin g and
tax purposes, in the same m anner as othe r general revenue of such contracting
authority.

Section 56
Opening of Tenders

56.1 A contracting authority shall specify both the location and the tim e for the
public opening of tenders in the contract noti ce and in the tender dossier. If a contacting
author ity iss ues, in conf orm ity with the present law, a docum ent extending the deadline
for the subm ission of t enders, the contracting author ity sh all spe cify in such docum ent a
new tim e for the public opening of tenders. The tim e se t f or th e pu blic op enin g of
tenders sh all be a tim e occurring imm ediately after the exp iration of the deadlin e for the
subm ission of tenders. A contracting authority shall not open a tende r at any other place
or at any other tim e.

56.2 All tend ers that hav e been subm itted pr ior to the deadlin e for the subm ission of
tenders sh all be opened at the tim e and locat ion specified in accord an ce with Section
56.1. Tenders th at h ave been subm itted after su ch deadline s hall no t be o pened and s hall
be imm ediately returned, unopened, to the c oncerned economic operator. Every tenderer
shall have the right to have a representative present to observe the opening of tenders.

56.3 As each ten der is open ed, the concerned con tracting authority shall anno unce to
those p resen t (i) the n ame of the con cerned tende rer, (ii) the total tende r p rice spec ified in
such tender, except w here th e co ncerned do cum ent is only the technical proposal
com ponent of a two-part tende r, and (iii) any discounts offe red in the tender. Any
discounts not so announced shall not be consid ered in the evaluation of tenders. All
inform ation so announced shall be imm ediatel y recorded in the m inutes of the public
tender opening, which shall, at the conclusion of such meeting, be signed by the
concerned P rocurem ent Officer and each repres entative of a tenderer who is present at
such m eeting. Such minutes shall immediat ely be included in the records for such
procurem ent activity required by S ection 9.1 of the present law and copies of such
minutes shall imm ediately be sent to all tenderers.

Section 57
Exam ination, Evaluation and Com parison of Tenders
57.1 A contractin g authority m ay, in writing, request a tenderer to provide a written
clarification of any aspect of its tender in order to assist in the exam ination, evaluation
and com parison of tenders. No change in any ma terial term or aspect of a tender shall be
solicited o r accepted by a contractin g au thority o r offered by a tenderer.
57.2 A contracting authority shall correct an error in a tender th at is of a purely
arithm etical nature if s uch an error is discovered during the exam ination of tenders. A
contracting authority shall prom ptly provide to the concerned tenderer written notice of
any such correction.
57.3 A contracting authority sha ll regard a tender as responsive only if it conform s to
all requirements set forth in the contract not ice and the tend er doss ier. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, a contracting authority m ay regard a tender as responsive if (i) it contains
only errors or oversights that are capable of being corrected without a ltering any m ateria l
term or aspect of such tender, or (ii) it contains only m inor deviations that do not
materially alte r or de part f rom the char acteristics, term s, conditions and other
requirem ents set forth in the contract no tice and the tender dossier; provided, however,
that any su ch deviation s shall be q uantif ied, to the extent possibl e, and appropriately
taken account of in the evaluation and com parison of tenders.
57.4 A contracting authority shall evaluate and compare tender s that have been
tim ely submitted by elig ible and – if applic ab le – qualified econom ic ope rators in orde r to
ascertain th e successful tender. The successful tender shall b e chosen in accordan ce with
Section 58.
57.5 Except for the comm uni cations that are specifically authorized by Sections 57.1
and 57.2, no comm unic ations, discussions or nego tiations of any description shall take
place b etween the contracting autho rity and an econom ic operato r with respect to a tender
that ha s bee n subm itted.
57.6 Notwithstanding the prohibition of Sec tion 57.5, a contracting authority m ay, in
a procurem ent activity that is being conducted with negotiated procedures, negotiate with
the selected econom ic operato r; provided, ho wever, that the Rules Comm ittee shall
establish in the public procurem ent rules a detailed procedure that contracting authorities
shall be required to follow when conduc ting such negotiations. The Rules Comm ittee
shall ensure that such p rocedure is (i) in a ccord ance with best intern ational practice, (ii)
provides for adequate c ompetition and tr anspar ency, ( iii) implem ents the prin cip le of
non-discrim ination and (iv) otherwise com plie s with all applicable provisions of the
present law.

Section 58
Contract A ward Criteria

58.1 Except as provided for in Sections 58.2 and 58.3, a contracti ng authority shall
make an award of a pub lic con tract to th e econo mic operator subm itting the lowest-pr iced
tender.

58.2 If, in accordance with S ection 50, the contrac ting authority has specified in the
tender dossier that the award of a public cont ract shall be m ade to the econom ic operator
subm itting the m ost econom ically a dvantageous tender, suc h award shall be m ade only
on the b asis of the cr ite ria and weigh ting that hav e been sp ecified in the tender dossier in
accordan ce with Section 50.2.

58.3 The Rules Comm ittee shall estab lish in the pu blic pro curem ent rules a detailed
procedure that contracting authorities sha ll b e required to f ollow when exam ining,
evaluating and com paring tenders and awardi ng public contracts. The Rules Commi ttee
shall ensure that such p rocedure is (i) in a ccord ance with best intern ational practice, (ii)
provides for adequate c ompetition and tr anspar ency, ( iii) implem ents the prin cip le of
non-discrim ination and (iv) and otherwise com plies with all a pplicable provisions of the
present law.

Section 59
Abnor mally Low Tenders

59.1 If an econom ic operator subm its a tende r that, considered objectively, is or
appears to be abnorm ally low in relation to the object of any procurem ent procedure and
the tender therefore gives rise to a reasonable belief that the econom ic operator has
subm itted an un-perf ormable tender, the contra cting au thority shall s end a written r equest
to the tenderer asking for the tenderer to s upply a detailed breakdown of the relevant
constituent e lem ents of the tende r.

59.2 The contracting authority m ay – if appr opriate – then conduct a hearing with the
concerned tendere r to r eview the c onstitu ent e lem ents of the tender a nd to allow the
tenderer to provide explanations, in accordan ce w ith Section 59.3, regarding the bases for
the tend er.

59.3 The contracting authority shall take in to consideration explanations provided by
the tend ere r rela ting to:

a. the econom ics of the manufacturing process, of the services provided and/or of
the construction m ethod;

b. any technical solutions offered or chosen;

c. any exceptionally favorable conditions availa ble to the tenderer for supplying the
products, providing the services, executing the works project and/or perform ing
the cons truc tion ac tiv itie s being procured; and/or

d. the or igina lity of the sup plies, services, work or works proposed.

59.4 After taking into consid eration the infor mation a nd explanations provided by
the tendere r pursuant to Secti ons 59.2 and/or 59.3, if the co ntracting authority concludes
that the tenderer has provided a satisfactory ex planation of the bases o f its tende r, the
contra cting author ity sh all trea t such tender in the sam e m anner as any other tender.

59.5 After taking into consid eration the infor mation a nd explanations provided by
the tendere r pursuant to Secti ons 59.2 and/or 59.3, if the co ntracting authority concludes
that there is still good reason to b elieve that th e tenderer has subm itted an un-perform able
tender, the contracting author ity may award th e concern ed contract to such tenderer on
the conditio n that the tenderer post perform ance security in accordan ce with Section 60.

Section 60
Perform ance Security

60.1 A contracting authority shall requir e an econom ic operator that has been
awarded a c ontrac t to p ost pe rformance s ecu rity as a pr e-c ondition to the s igning and
entry into fo rce of such contract if (i) such contract is a work s contract, (ii) such con tract
is a servi ce cont ract for soft wa re developm ent services, (iii) th ere i s a r isk t hat a br each of
such contract would cause substantial dam age to the con tracting au thority and/or require
the con tracting author ity to incur sub stantia l expense in obtaining th e completion of such
contract, (iv) th e con tract involves m any workers, subcont ractors, and/or m aterial
suppliers that m ight be left unpaid in the event of a breach of such contract by the
econom ic operator or (v) the contracting auth ority has, after com plying with Section 59,
good reaso n to believ e that an econom ic operato r has s ubm itted an un-performable
tender.

60.2 A contracting authority shall requir e an econom ic operator that has been
awarded any other m edium or large value cont ract to pos t p erform ance security as a pre-
condition to the signing and entry into force of such contract if th ere is a risk that a
breach of such contract would cause m aterial dam age to the contracting authority an d/or
require the contracting authority to incur m aterial expense in obtai ning the com pletion of
such contract.

60.3 A contracting authority shall ensure that the am ount of any perform anc e
security that is required by Section 60.1 (i) is eq ual to at least fifteen percent (15%) of the
value of the contract and (ii) is otherwise set at a level that is cons isten t with usual and
custom ary public and comm ercial practices ap plicab le to th e specific type and su bject
matter of the concerned contract.

60.4 A contracting authority shall ensure that the am ount of any perform anc e
security that is required under Section 60.2 (i) is equal to at least ten percen t (10%) of the
value of the contract and (ii) is otherwise se t a t a leve l tha t is suf ficie nt to cover any
dam ages and expenses that the contracting au thority r eason ably expects it will incu r in
the even t of a breach of s uch contract by the econ omic operator.

60.5 A contracting authority sh all ensure that the tender dossier and the concerned
public contract contain detail ed provisions on the nature, form , a mount, status, term,
forfeiture, and return of any required perf ormance security. Such provisions shall
confor m to usual and custom ary public and comm ercial practices applic able to the
specif ic typ e and sub ject m atter of the conce rned contract. In particular, the concerned
56

contract shall include provisi ons (i) requiring the contracti ng authority to provide the
econom ic operato r with written no tice of any al leged failure of the econom ic operator to
perform the contract, and (ii) giving the ec onom ic operator a usual and custom ary a mount
of tim e to correct such failure. Notwithst anding the foregoing, a perform ance security
requirem ent established pursuant to Section 60. 1(v) need not be specified in the tender
dossier.

60.6 If the perform ance security m ay be pos ted in the form of a certified check,
surety bond, letter of credit or bank guarantee, the contracting author ity shall specify in
the tender dossier any requirem ents that the issuer of such a bond, letter of credit or
guarantee must m eet; provided, however, that such requirem ents shall not require the
issuer to have a place of business in a specific location. The Rules Com
m ittee shall
include in the public p rocurem ent rules de tail ed provisions on the m atters falling within
the scope of this Section 60.6.

60.7 Each contracting authority shall establish a separate in terest-bearing account at
a licensed comm ercial bank in Kosovo for the purpose of receiv ing and holding funds
received as perform ance securi ty or received under a surety bond, letter of credit or bank
guarantee that had been posted as perform ance security. A contracting autho rity shall
imm ediately deposit and hold all su ch funds in such accoun t. A contracting autho rity
shall not return, transfer, use or m ake any othe r disposition or use of such funds except as
specifically authorized by Sections 60.8 – 60.9.

60.8 If no event has occurred requiring the forfeiture of perform ance security, a
contracting authority sh all re turn th e funds or docum ent constitu ting such performance
security in accordance with th e term s of the concerned contract.

60.9 If a contracting authority determ ines th at an event requiring the forfeiture of
perform ance security, as sp ecified in the co ncerned co ntract, has occurred, such
contracting authority sh all notify th e concern ed econom ic operato r in writing of s uch
determ inatio n. However, if such perform ance s ecurity has been posted in the for m of a
surety bond, letter of credit or bank guarantee, the contracti ng authority shall first take
whatever measures m ay be necessary to obt ain the concerned funds from the issuer
before providing the tenderer with the notif ication required by the preceding sentence. A
contracting authority sh all leave such funds on deposit in the account specified in Section
60.7 until the concerned econom ic operator has exhausted all of its rights to appeal the
contracting authority’s determ ination. On ce the econom ic operato r has exhausted its
rights to appeal such decision, and no order ha s been received from the PPRC, a review
panel or a court of competent jurisdiction requiring the concer ned contracting authority to
make another disposition of the concerned funds, the contracting authority shall:
a. if the contracting auth ority is subject to th e norm ative acts on public
budgetary and appropriati ons m atters, treat such forfeited perform ance
security as a fine and/or penalty an d transfer the concerned funds to the
Kosovo Consolidated F und in acco rdance with the relevan t provisions of
such acts ; or
b. if the con tracting auth ority is no t subjec t to such ac ts, transf er th e
concerned funds to its g eneral operating accoun t and treat su ch funds, for
accounting and tax purposes, in the sa me manner as other general revenue
of such contracting authority.

Chapter 5
Eligibility Requireme nts

Section 61
Eligib ility o f the Candidate or Tend erer

61.1 An economic operator shall not be elig ible to participate in a procurem ent
activity or in the perform ance of any public co ntract if such econo mic operator, or any
em ployee, executiv e, m anager or d irector thereof:

a. participa ted in the prepa ration of the c oncerned contract noti ce or tender dossier,
or any part thereof, being used by th e concerned contracting authority; or

b. received ass istan ce in p reparation o f its tender or requests to particip ate f rom a
person or undertaking who or that particip ated in the prep aration of the co ncerned
contract notice or tender dossi er, or any part thereof.

61.2 An economic operator shall not be elig ible to participate in a procurem ent
activity or in the perform ance of any public co ntract if such econo mic operator, or any
executive, manager or director thereo f, has, in the past ten years:

a. been deter mined by a court of com petent ju risdiction to have comm itted a
crim inal or civil offence involving corr upt practices, m one y laundering, bribery,
kickbacks or activities descri bed, or sim ilar to those de scribed, in Section 117.1 of
the present law under the laws or regulati ons applicable in Kosovo or any country,
or under international tr eaties or conventions;

b. been declared ineligible, by reason of conduct such as that described above, by
any bank, institu tion or organizatio n provi ding funds for general developm ent,
public investm ent or reconstruction;

c. been determ ined by a co urt of com petent jur isd iction to hav e comm itted a se rious
offence by participating in the activities of a crim inal organization, defined as a
structured association established over a period of ti me and operating in a
concerted manner to achieve financial gain through activities that are crim inal or
otherwise illegal where they take place; or

d. been de term ined by a co urt of com petent ju risd iction to h ave comm itted an a ct of
fraud or an act equivalent to fraud;

e. been determ ined to have engaged in unprofessional conduct by a court of
com petent jurisdiction, adm inistrative ag ency or organization responsible for
enforcing standards of professional conduct; or

f. been determ ined by the PPRC on the basis of substantial evidence, to have
engaged in serious professional m isconduct or made serious m isrepresentations in
docum ents subm itted in connectio n with a procurem ent proceed ing or activity
governed by public law in Kosovo or elsewhere.

61.3 An economic operator shall not be elig ible to participate in a procurem ent
activity or in the perform ance of any public contract if such econom ic operator:

a. has, in the past two yea rs, been adjudged to be bankrupt or insolvent by a court of
com petent jurisdiction;

b. is being wound up or adm inistered, or its affairs are being wound up or
adm inistered, by a court of com petent jurisdiction;

c. curren tly has in place an agreem ent or arrangem ent with its creditors providing
for extended or reduced term s of paym ent if s uch term s were agreed to by such
creditors because the econom ic operator h ad previously been unable to satisfy its
obligations as they came due;

d. is in any situation analogous to a, b or c above arising from a sim ilar procedure
under the laws of its place of establis hm ent or of a place where it conducts
business;

e. is currently the subject of a judicial or adm inistrative order suspending or
reducing pa ym ents by o r to such ec onom ic ope rator and re sulting in th e to tal o r
partial loss of the econom ic operator’s right to adm inister and/or dispose of its
property;

f. is currently the subject of legal or adm inistrativ e proceed ings that m ay result in a
judicial or adm inistrative order suspending or reducing paym ents by or to such
econom ic operato r if su ch proceed ings m ay also result in the econom ic operator
being adjudged bankrupt or insolvent;

g. has, in the past three years, been adj udged by a court of comp etent jurisdiction to
have seriou sly breached a con tract with any p ublic entity, public au thority or
public undertaking in Kosovo or elsewhere;

h. is currently delinquent in the paym ent of any social security contributions in
Kosovo or the econom ic operator’s country of establishm ent;

i. is currently delinquent in the paym ent of taxes in Kosovo or the econom ic
operator’s country of establishm ent; or

j. has not yet com plied with an order is sued by the PPRC or a review panel.

61.4 The historical tim e periods specified in this Section shall re late to the period
imm ediately preceding the date of publication of the contract notice o r, in the case of
negotiated procedures without a contract no tice, the communication of the invitation to
participate or tender.

61.5 The Rules Comm ittee shall dev elop and adopt the rules regarding th e types of
docum ents, evidence and/or declarations that an econom ic operator m ust provide in order
to dem onstrate that such econom ic operator is not excluded by any provision of this
Section 61. The Rules Comm ittee shall en sure that such rules do not strictly req uire
docum ents or declarations that are not avai lable in certain countri es or regions. The
Rules Comm ittee shall ensure that such ru les reasonab ly accomm odat e the ab ilities of
59

econom ic operators in this respect by allowing the subm ission of declarations under oath,
notarized s tatem ents and the like. In all cases, th e subm itting econom ic operato r shall be
required to acknowledge the possi bility of crim inal and ci vil sanctions, penalties and
dam ages if such econo mic operator inten tion ally or negligently subm its any docum ent ,
declaration or statem ent cont aining m aterially false or m isleading information.

Section 62
Professional Suitability

62.1 A contracting authority m ay requir e an econom ic operator desiring to
participate in a procurem ent activity or the perfor mance of a public contract to subm it a
docum ent issued by the appropriate public au thority in the econom ic operator’s country
of establishm ent evidencing the econom ic opera tor’s registration in that country’s – as
appropriate – professional, comm ercial and /or co rporate reg ister.

62.2 If the object of any procurem ent activ ity is a public contract involving the
provision of professional servic es, and if such services are of a type that m ay norm ally
only be provided by an econom ic operator holdi ng an authorization or license from a
public authority or having m embership in a particular organizatio n, t he c ont racting
authority m ay require econom ic operators to provide reasonable evidence that they hold
such an authorization or li cense or have such a m embership in their country of
establishm ent or a declaration under oath that no su ch requirem ent exists in their country
of establishm ent.

62.3 The Rules Comm ittee shall d evelop an d adopt rules that allow , where
reasonable and necessary, an econom ic operator to subm it, in lieu of a docum ent required
under Section 62.1, a certificate, declaration unde r oath or notarized statem ent certifying
or attes ting to such regis tration. In all cases, th e subm itting econom ic operato r sh all b e
required to acknowledge the possi bility of crim inal and ci vil sanctions, penalties and
dam ages if such econo mic operator inten tion ally or negligently subm its any docum ent ,
declaration or statem ent containing m aterially false or m isleading information.

Section 63
Econom ic a nd Financial Standing
63.1 A contracting authority m ay require econom ic operators to subm it evidence
dem onstrating that they m eet the m inimum econom ic and financial requirem ents
specified in the tender dossier and the contr act notice. Eco nom ic operators sha ll, as a
general rule, be perm itted to satisfy such a requirem ent by subm itting, as m ay be relevant
and appropriate, one or more of the following references:
a. an appropriate statem ent or statem ents from one or m ore banks;
b. evidence of a relevant policy of insurance issued by a reputable licensed insuranc e
com pany;
c. certified copies of one or m ore balance sh eets or extracts f rom balance sheets if
publication of such balan ce sheets is required unde r the law of the econom ic
operator’s country of establishm ent; or
d. copies of incom e statem ents and m ana ge ment reports certified by a reputable
licensed auditing firm .
60

63.2 A contracting author ity shall specify, in the contract notice or in the invitation
to tender or participate, whic h of the references m entioned in Section 63.1 and/or other
references it requires.
63.3 If, for any valid reason, the econom ic operator is unable to provide the
references requested by the contracting authority, such econom ic operator m ay be
perm itted to dem onstrate its econo mic and f inancial standin g by any o ther docum ent tha t
the contracting authority, in the exercise of reasonable discretion, considers appropriate.

Section 64
Technical and/or Pr ofessional Capability
64.1 A contracting authority may require econom ic operat ors to provide reasonable
evidence d emonstratin g they po ssess th e m inimum technical and professional
qualif ica tion s specif ied in the tender dossier a nd the contract notice. In establishing such
a requirem ent, a contracting authority m ay require econom ic operators to provide, as is
relevant and appropriate, any or all of the item s specified in this Section 64.
64.2 In procedures leading to the award of a public contract covering the delivery of
products, econom ic operators m ay be required to prove their technical capability through
one or m ore of the following m eans, according to the nature, quantity an d purpose of the
products to be supplied:
a. a list specifying each o f the econo mic operator’s relevant principal deliveries
effected in the past three years, specif ying the products involved, contract am ount ,
date and recipien t; (i) where the deliver y was m ade to a public authority in
Kosovo or elsewhere, evidence of such de livery shall be a copy of the relevant
certificate(s) issued or countersigned by such public authority; (ii) w here the
delivery was to a private purchaser, evidence of such delivery shall be a copy of
any docum ent executed by the purchaser a nd evidencing such delivery;
b. a description of the econom ic operator’s tech nical facilities, quality assuranc e
measures and resea rch a nd develop ment f acilities;
c. an indication of th e technicians or technical b odies involved, whether or not
belonging directly to the econom ic operato r, especially those responsible for
quality control;
d. product samples, descriptions, graphic re presentations and/or photographs of the
products to be supplied, the authenticity and representative quality of which m ust
be certified if the contracting aut hority so requests; and/or
e. certificates drawn up by official quality co ntrol institu tes or age ncies of
recognised com petence attesting the confor mity of products clearly identified by
references to specifications or standards.
64.3 If, in connection with procedures lead ing to the award of a public contract
covering the delivery of products, any of th e products to be supplied are com plex or,
exceptionally, are requ ired for a special pu rpose, the contracting authority m ay require
participating econom ic operators to subm it to an inspection for the purpose of verifying
their production capacities and, if relevant, research and developm ent facilities and
quality assu rance m easures. Such an insp ection m ay, at the cont racting authority’s
expense, be carried out by the contracting au thority or a competent independent body in
the country in which the concerned econom ic operator is established.
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64.4 In procedures leading to the award of a public contract cove ring the provision of
services, a contracting authority m ay requ ire econom ic operators to provide evidence
dem onstrating their ab ility to p rov ide such se rvices ; in p articula r, ev idence m ay be
required with resp ect to their skills, capacity , efficiency, experience and reliab ility.
Evidence of the econom ic operators’ techni cal capabilities m ay be required to be
furnished by one or more of the following means acco rding to the nature, quan tity and
purpose of the services to be provided:
a. the educational and professional qualific ations of the econom ic operator’s
managerial staff and, in particular, t hose of the person or persons directly
responsible for providing the concerned services;
b. a list s pecifying each of the econ omic operator’s relevan t principal servic e
contracts perform ed during the past three years, specifying the type of services
involved, contract am ount, date and reci pient; (i) where the services were
provided to a public authority in Kosovo or elsewhere, evidence of such provision
shall be a copy of the relevant certific ate(s) issued or countersigned by such
public auth ority ; (ii) w here the ser vices were provided to a private purchaser,
evidence of such provision shall be a copy of any document executed by the
purchaser and evidencing such provision;
c. an indication of th e technicians or technical b odies involved, whether or not
belonging directly to the econom ic operato r, especially those responsible for
quality control;
d. a statem ent of the econom ic operator’ s av erage m anpower and average num ber of
managerial s taff for each of th e last three years;
e. a statem ent of the tools, plant or tec hnical equipm ent available to the econom ic
operato r for carry ing out the serv ice s;
f. a description of the e conom ic operator ‘s m easures for ensuring quality and
research and developm ent facilities;
g. an indication of the elem ents of the con cerned contract that the econom ic operator
intends to sub-contract; and/or
h. other appropriate and relevant inform ation.
64.5 If, in connection with procedures lead ing to the award of a public contract
covering the provision of servi ces, any of the services to be provided are com plex or,
exceptionally, are requ ired for a special pu rpose, the contracting authority m ay require
participating econom ic operators to subm it to an inspection for the purpose of verifying
their technical and pro fessional capacities an d, if relevant, research and developm ent
facilities an d quality as surance m easures. Such an inspection m ay, at the contracting
authority’s expense, be carried out by th e contracting authority or a com peten t
independent body in the country in whic h the concerned econom ic operator is
estab lished.
64.6 In procedures leading to the award of a public contract covering the execution
of works projects or the perform ance of cons truction ac tivities, a contr acting au tho rity
may require econom ic operators to provide evidence dem onstrating their technical and
prof essional ability to execute such projec ts o r to perf orm such ac tivitie s; in pa rticular, a
contracting authority m ay require evidence of:
a. the educational and professional qualific ations of the econom ic operator’s
managerial staff, and, in particular, t hose of the person or persons directly
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responsible for executing the works project or perform ing the c onstruction
activ ities;
b. a list sp ecif ying each of the economic opera tor’s works projects and construction
activ ities carried out ov er th e pas t thre e years, accom panied by certificates of
satisfactory execution and/or com pletion fo r th e m ost i mportan t works projects
and/or cons truction activ ities; the ce rtif ica tes shall indicate th e value, date, nature
and site of the works projects and/or construction activities and shall specify
whether they were executed and/or perfor med according to the rules of the tr ade
and properly com pleted; whenever pos sible, the econom ic operator m ay be
required to arrange for the com petent public authority in Kosovo or elsewhere to
subm it the concerned c ertif icates d irectly to the contra cting author ity;
c. a statem ent of the tools, plant and technical equipm en t available to the econom ic
operator for executing the works project or perform ing the construction activities;
d. a statem ent of the econo mic operator’s av erage m anpower and averag e num ber of
managerial s taff for each of the last three years;
e. a statem ent of the technicians or techni cal divisions that the econom ic operator
can call up on for executing the w orks pr oject or performing the construction
activities, w hether or not they belong to the econom ic operator; and/or
f. other appropriate and relevant inform ation.
64.7 A contracting authority shall specify in the tender dossier which of the item s
specif ied in this Sec tion 64 it r equir es.

Section 65
Quality Ass urance Stan dards

Should a contracting authority require th e production of certific ates drawn up by
independent bodies attesting the com plian ce of the econom ic operator with certain
quality assu rance stand ards, the co ntracting authority shall refer to quality assurance
system s based on the relevant European sta ndards series certified by bodies that conduct
their activities in conf orm ity with the European standard s series on ce rtif ication ac tivity.
A contracting authority shall recognize equiva lent certificates issued by any certification
body, regardless of locati on, if such body is reco gnized by a m ember state of the EU. A
contracting authority shall also accept othe r reasonably reliable evidence of equivalent
quality assurance m easures from econom ic operators who have no access to such
certificates or no possib ility of obtaining them within the relevant tim e lim its.

Section 66
Groups of Econom ic Operators

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66.1 A request to participate or a tende r m ay be subm itted by a group of econom ic
operators. N o such group m ay be required to assum e a spec ific legal f orm in order to
subm it the tender; however, the group selected m ay be require d to do so af ter it h as been
awarded the concerned contract, to the extent th at such a req uirem ent is necessary fo r the
satisfactory perform ance of the contract.
66.2 If a tender is subm itted by such a group, the gro up shall be required to subm it
with its tend er a signed origin al of the agre em ent establishing such group. All contracting
author ities s hall s et f orth this r equire ment in their tender dos siers.

66.3 All m embers of such a group shall be jointly and severally liable to the
contracting authority for the c ontents of the group’ s tender and, if the concerned contract
is awarded to such group, the perform ance of such contract. All c ontracting authorities
shall includ e in the ir tend er dossiers a notice to th is ef fect.

TITLE III
RUL ES GOVERNING DESIGN CONTES TS

Section 67
General Provisions

67.1 The rules for the organization and conduc t of a design cont est shall be in
conf orm ity with the pro visions se t f orth in this Title III and shall be co mmunicated to all
persons and undertakings expressing an inte rest in participating in such contest.
67.2 A design contest shall be conducted in the sam e gene ral m anner, and using the
sam e tim e lim its and deadline s, as those applica ble to a p rocurem ent activity f or a large
value contract conducted with open procedures.
67.3 If, without any intent to discrim inate against or in favor of any person or
undertaking, a contracting aut hority determ ines that (i) th e solicited design can only be
supplied, provided or perform ed by a person or undertaking having adeq uate technical or
prof essional qualif ica tio ns and (ii) s uch contrac ting author ity will ther efore only acc ept
subm issions from persons or undertakings po ssessing certain m inimum qualifications, the
contra cting author ity sh all e stab lish such qua lification requ irem ents in a m anner that is
clear, objective and non-discrim inatory and publish all such requirem ents in the design
contest notice.

Section 68
Scope
The provisions of this Title sh all a pply to any design conte st descr ibed in Section 19 of
the pres ent law.

Section 69
Design Contest Notices

When a contracting authorit y intends to conduct a desi gn contes t, the con tracting
authority shall prepare a design contest noti ce in the languages required by Section 12 of
the presen t law. If the contrac ting authority is not the PPA, the contr acting au tho rity
shall imm ediately subm it to the PPA all language versions of such notice to the PPA.

Section 70
Design Contest Results Notice
A contracting authority that has held a design co ntest sha ll, within two ( 2) business days
of the conclusion of such contest, prepare a notice on the results of the design con test in
the languages required by Section 12. If the c ontracting authority is not the PPA, the
contracting authority shall im mediately subm it to the PPA all language versions of such
notice.
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Section 71
Publication of Design Contest Notices

71.1 The rules governing the pub lication of a design contest notice shall be the sam e
as those set forth in Section 40 governing the publication of a contract notice f or a
contract having the sam e value as the concerned design contest.

71.2 The rules governing the dispatch and publication of a des ign contest results
notice shall be the same as those set fort h in Section 40 governing the dispatch and
publication of a contract award notice for a contract having the sam e value as the
concerned design contest.

71.3 W ith the exception of a design contest re sults notice that has been dispatched by
a contracting authority to a participant, no no tice, nor any inform ation in a notice, m ay be
made public or disclosed to any person or undertaking prior to its publication in
accordan ce with this S ection 71.

Section 72
Form and Content of Design Contest Notices

Every notice shall be drawn up and published in accordance with the applicab le stand ard
for m adopted by the Rules Comm ittee.

Section 73
Means of Comm unication
73.1 All communication and infor mation excha nges m entioned in this Title m ay be
made or perform ed by letter, fax o r electr onic m eans, according to th e choice of th e
contracting authority.
73.2 The communication and inform ation exch anges covered by this Title shall be
carried ou t in such a way as to ensure th at the in teg rity and conf identiality o f all
inform ation supplied by participants are pres erved, and that a contracting authority m ay
only exam ine the con ten t of any sub mitted plans , designs o r projec ts af ter the tim e lim its
set for receiving these has expired.
73.3 The contracting authority shall ensure that the design contest notice and the
rules specified in Sectio n 67.1 indicate that, if plans, design s or projects are subm itted by
elec tronic means, the su bm itting pa rtic ipant sha ll be required to subm it to the contra cting
authority the physical original – or, w here appr opriate, copies thereo f – of any docum ents,
certificates, attestations and declarations required by the co ntracting authority not later
than the deadline set for the receipt of such physical originals or copies.

Section 74
Com positio n and Decisions of the Jury

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74.1 The jury shall be com posed of an uneven num ber of natural persons, but in no
case les s than three (3). These perso ns shall be s elected by the contracting authority and
shall not in any way be related to o r af filiate d with a participant in th e contest. I f the
participants are required to possess a specific professiona l qualification, at least two
thirds of th e m embers of the ju ry shall also have that qualificati on or its equivalent.

74.2 The jury shall decide the contest only on the basis of the criteria indicated in the
design con test no tice. The iden tity of the pa rticipan ts sh all no t be disclos ed to the
members of the jury.

74.3 No person outside the jury shall influen ce or attem pt to influence the decision
of the jury or the opinion of any jury m ember.

74.4 Only the decision of the jury shall be disclosed to a person who is not
a jury
member. The substance of the deliberations of the jury and the opinions of the individual
jury m embers shall be m aintained as conf idential by all ju ry m embers. Except where
required by a written order of the PPRC, a review pane l or a co urt of competent
jurisdiction, no jury m ember shall disclose or discuss the substance of such deliberations
or the opinion of any individua l ju ry m ember with any pers on who is n ot also a m ember
of the jury. A jury mem ber who viola tes th e duty of conf identia lity specif ied in this
Section 74.4 shall be subject to an adm inistrative penalty of up to 10,000 Euros which
shall be determ ined and assessed by the PPRC.

74.5 A jury shall m ake reasonable efforts to reach a consensus decision. If, after
reasonab le efforts, a m ajority of the m embers of the jury decide th at a co nsensus decision
cannot be reached, the jury shall decide the contest by m ajority vote. The Rules
Comm ittee shall establish clear, rational, non- discrim inatory rules and procedures to
govern such voting.

TITLE I V
ADDI TONAL RULE S ON WORKS CONCESSION CONTRACT S

Chapter 1
Rules Governing the Aw ard of a
Works Con cession Contract by a C ontracting Authority

Section 75
Applicability of the Rules Govern ing the Award of W orks Contracts

The provisions of the present law governing th e conduct of a procurem ent activity having
as its object the award of a works contra ct shall also apply, without lim itation, to the
conduct of a procurem ent activity by a contra cting authority having as its object the
award of a works concession contract; provided, however, th at such contracting au thority
shall prepare, in lieu o f a contract notic e, a works concession notice drawn up in
accordan ce with the app licab le form adopted by the Rules Committee.

Section 76
Subcontracting

In conducting a procurem ent activity leadin g to the aw ard of a large value works
concession contract, a contracti ng authority m ay specify in the relevant works concession
notice and tender dossier th at tend erers are required to s pecif y in th eir tende rs the
percentage, if any, of the tota l value of the concerned works or work that the tenderer
intends to assign or subcontract to other econom ic operators.
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Section 77
Com pulsory Stipulation

When a contracting authority awards to a person, undertaki ng or any body other than a
contracting authority – regard less o f its lega l s tatus – a works concession contract, the
contra cting author ity sh all en sure th at such c ontract contains a provi sio n that refere nces
Section 79 of the present law and restates th e obligations specified in such section;
provided, however, that if such contract fails to contain su ch a provision, th is shall in no
way relieve the concern ed works concessiona ire of its obligation to comply with Section
79.

Chapter 2
Rules on Contracts A warded by Concessionaires

Section 78
Rules Applicable W hen the W orks Con cessiona ire is a Contra cting Autho rity

If the works concession aire is a co ntracti ng authority, such works concessionaire shall
conduct all of its procurem ent activities in com pliance with the provisions of the present
law.

Section 79
Rules Applicable W hen the W orks Conce ssionaire is Not a C ontracting A uthority

When the works conces sionaire is n ot a contra cting authority, such works concessionaire
shall, when conducting procurem ent activities having as their object the award to a third
party of a contract having an estim ated value in excess of 100,000 Euros, conduct such
activ ities in com pliance with the pro visions of th e presen t la w in the sam e m anner as that
required of a contracting authority. A work s concessiona ire shall comply with Sectio ns
15-17 of the present law when estim ating the value of its contracts.

Section 80
Contracts With Related Undertakings

80.1 A related undertaking of a works concessi onaire shall not be c onsidered a “third
party” within the m eaning of Section 79 if, prio r to the awa rd of the works concession
contract, such works concessi ona ire f orm ally notif ied the contracting autho rity o f the
existence of such related undertaking.
80.2 If a works concession contract is aw arded to a group of econom ic operators, a
member of such group shall not be considered as a “third party” within the m eani ng of
Section 79. A related undertaki ng of such a m ember shall also not be considered such a
third party if, prior to the award of the wo rks concession contract, the group formally
notified the contracting aut hority of the existence of such related undertaking.

TITLE V
PUBLI C P ROCUREMENT REGULATORY COMMISSION

Section 81
Establishm ent of the Public Procurem ent Regulatory Comm ission

81.1. Pursuant to this law there shall be established by the govern ment a procurement
regulatory comm ission to be known as the Public Procur ement Regulatory Commission
(the “PPRC”). The P PRC shall be respons ible for (i) the overall developm ent and
operation of the public procurem ent system in Kosovo, (ii) ensuring that such syste m
operates in m anner that achieves a highly rationa l, efficien t and tran sparent use of p ublic
funds and p ublic resou rces, and en courages co mpetition and respects the equality of
participan ts in th e pu blic p rocur ement pr ocess, and (iii) carrying out the functions
assigned to it by the present law.

81.2 The PPRC s hall be staffed with a suffi cient number of trained support personnel
to enab le it to ef ficien tly a nd professionally carry out the f unctions spe cified in Se ction
81.1.

Section 82
Enforcem ent of the Pres ent Law

The PPRC shall have the com petence, authority, power and responsibility to enforce the
present law and the public procurement rules.

Section 83
Monitoring and Inve stig ative Func tions

83.1 The PPRC shall also have the com petence, authority, power a nd responsibility to:

a. monitor and conduct ad hoc and regular audits of any proc urem ent activities
governed by the present law;

b. investigates, on its own init iative or at the request of any public authority, the
conduct of any procurem ent activities that are suspected to invol ve violations of
the present law, the public pr ocurement rules or any prev ious legislation or rules
governing public procurm ent in Kos ovo

c. m onitor and supervise the im plem en tation of the provisions of the present law and
the public procurem ent rules; and

d. perform any other duties and responsibil ities assigned to the PPRC by the present law.

83.2 In specific connection with the m onitoring, inve stigative, auditing and
supervisory functions specified under Secti on 83.1, the PPRC shall have the com petence,
authority, power and responsibility to:

a. issue an order to any pe rson, undertaking or public au thority requ iring such
person, undertaking or authority to produce, transfer, subm it and/or grant access
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to data, inform ation, docu ments, and/or other item s o f m ova ble and/or immovable
property th at th e PPRC considers , in th e ex ercis e of reas onable discretion,
relevant to the conduct of any such function;

b. issue an order to any person to appear at the PPRC to provide testim ony regarding
any m atter that th e PPRC considers, in the exercis e of reasonable discretion ,
relevant to the conduct of any such function;

c. take any other lawful action necessary and ap propria te to ascer tain whether a
violation of the present la w or the public procurem ent rules has occurred; and

d. if the PPRC determ ines or has reas on to suspect that a violation has occurred,
issue, without delay, an order, as appropr iate, ( i) setting as ide or suspending an
award of a public con tract or a result of a design contest, ( ii) req uiring a
contracting authority to suspend or term inate the conduct of a procurem ent
activ ity o r the im plem entation of a decis ion of such contr acting autho rity ; ( iii)
requiring a contracting auth ority to cancel or revoke a decision of such
contracting authority (iv) re quiring a contracting authority to correct th e v iolation,
(v) requiring a contracting authority to remove discrim ina tory technical,
econom ic, fi nancial or selection specificat ions, requirem ents or criteria contained
in any no tice, inv ita tio n contract docum ent or othe r docum ent relating to a
procurem ent activity; and/or (vi) requiri ng law enforcem ent officials to assis t the
PPRC to obtain com pliance with another order of the PPRC.

Section 84
Im ple mentation of Procurem ent Review Procedures

The PPRC shall also be respons ible for im ple menting the proc urem ent review procedures
estab lished in Title VI II of the prese nt law.

Section 85
Other Functions of the PPRC

In addition to the m atters specified above, the PPRC shall:

a. provide advice on the require ments of the present law and the public procurem ent
rules to contracting authorit ies and econom ic operators;

b. estab lish qu alif ica tion c riteria, tests and training requirem ents for the public
procurem ent professionals of contrac ting authorities; an d conduct training
program s for the public procurem ent prof essionals of contracting authorities;

c. develop and m aintain (i) a “Lis t of Cent ral Public Author ities” th at ide ntif ies all
central au thorities, bo dies , m inis tries, departm ents, agencies, entities and
associations in Kosovo cove red by the definition of “ public authority” and (ii) a
“List of Non-Centra l Public Authorities” th at identif ies all othe r au thoritie s,
bodies, m inistries, departm ents, agencies, entities and associations covered by the
definition of “public authority;” provide d, ho wever, tha t if the PPRC f ails to
include an authority, bo dy, m inistry , depart ment, agency, en tity o r association in
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such a list, s uch f ailu re s hall not b e determ inativ e of the qu esti on as to whether or
not such authority, body, m inistry, departm ent, agency, entity or association is a
public authority within the m eaning of such definition.

d. develop and m aintain a “List of Public Serv ice Operator s” that id entif ies all
public authorities, undertakings, persons, bodies and organizations covered by the
def inition of “pub lic se rvice op era tor;” provid ed, however, that if the PPRC f ails
to include a public authority, undertaki ng, person, body or organization in such
list, such f ailure shall n ot be de terminative of the ques tion as to whether or not
such public authority, undertaking, pe rson, body or organization is a public
service operator within the m eaning of such definition.

e. for each calendar year, prepare and subm it to th e Governm ent and the Assem bly
an annual report analyzing public procur ement activities oc curring in such
calenda r yea r, such ana lysis to be s ubm itted no late r than the end of February of
the f ollowin g year; and

f. prepare and subm it to the Govern ment and the Assem bly, togeth er with th e
annual report m entioned imme diately above, recomm endations for the
im prove ment of the public procuremen t system and/or the present law.

Section 86
Appointm ent of Mem bers

86.1 The PPRC shall be comprised of five (5) individuals. All m embers shall be
appointed as provided in this Sec tion 86 for a term of five years.

86.2 Each m ember of the PPRC shall have the status of a civil servant under the law
applicable in Kosovo a nd shall not be subj ect to rem oval or suspension prior to the
expiration of their term except by an order of the Government or an order of a court of
com petent jurisdiction as provided f or in Section 89 of the present law.

86.3 The P resident and the other m embers of PPRC s hall be nom inated by the
Governm ent and appointed by the Asse mbly. In m aking such nom inations, the
Governm ent shall give regard to the require ments for m embership specified in Sections
86.4 – 86.7

86.4 No person m ay be appointed or serve as a m ember of the P PRC if he/she would
be inelig ible to partic ipa te in a proc urem ent activity by reason of a provision of Section
61.2

86.5 The Governm ent shall ensure that each m ember of the PPRC holds a university
degree, possesses substantial procurem ent or other relevant e xperience and is not
ineligible by reason of Section 86.4.

86.6 The Governm ent shall ensure that at least one mem ber of the PPRC pos sesses
the sam e qualifications as those required und er the applicable law for a judicial
appointm ent. The Governm ent shall designate such a m ember to serve as the Review
Panel Chairperson, who shall be res ponsible for overseeing the PPRC’s proper
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im ple mentation of the procurem ent review proc edures es tab lished in Title VII I of the
present law.

86.7 The Governm ent shall ensure th at each of the other m embers of the PPRC
meets one of the following criteria: (i) he/she is a lawyer, accountant, econom ist or other
professional holding a university degree and possessing substantial procurem ent or other
relevant experience, or (ii) he/she holds a uni versity degree in engineering or architecture
and has substantial experience in executing works projects.

Section 87
Organization and Voting of the PPRC

87.1 The President shall represent, m anage and organize the work of the PPRC.

87.2 The President shall have the authority to designate an individual m ember to
organize and m anage the work of the PPR C in a particular subject area; provided,
however, th at the Review Panel C hairpers on shall be responsible for organizing and
managing the PPRC’s implem entation of the pr ocurem ent review procedures established
in Title VII I of the present law and the work of the review panels es tablished pursua nt to
such title.

87.3 The President shall convene m eetings of the PPRC when and as he considers
necessary or when requested by two other m embers of the PPRC.

87.4 The quorum for m eetings of the PPRC shall be three (3) m embers.

87.5 The President shall chair the PPRC m ee tings. In exceptional cases where it is
necessary for the PPRC to m eet in the abse nce of the Presiden t, the President s hall
authorize one of the other m embers of the PPRC t o chair the m eeting.

87.6 The PPRC shall m ake every effort to reach decisions at its m eetings by
consensus. In the event that th e chairpers on of the m eeting determ ines that consensus
cannot be reached, the m atter shall be put to a vote. Decisions shall require the support
of a m ajority of the m embers prese nt. In th e ev ent of a tie vote, the ch airperson of the
meeting shall have the deciding vote.

87.7 The PPRC m ay establis h, as it deem s nece ssary, addition al procedural rules to
govern its operations. The PP RC shall provide to any pers on who so requests a copy of
such rules.

Section 88
Conf identiality

88.1 All m embers, em ployees, staff and consu ltants of the PPRC are required to take
all approp riate m easures to acco rd a h igh degree of p rotection to any confiden tial
inform ation developed or received by the PPR C during the conduct of its work. Such
measures shall be sufficient to ensure th at such inform ation is protected against
inten tiona l a nd/or neg lig ent dis closu re.

88.2 All m embers, em ployees, staff and consul tants of the PPRC shall be required to
execute a written declaration under oath declari ng that they shall prot ect from disclosure
and otherwise m aintain the secrecy of conf idential business inform ation and any other
inform ation designated as confidential by the PPRC. In such declaratio n, the m embers,
em ployees, staff and consultants of the PPRC shall also be required to acknowledge that
they m ay personally be held crim inally and/ or civ illy liable f or th e inten tiona l or
negligent disclosure of such inform ation.

88.3 The PPRC shall not designa te as confidential any in form ation the disclosure,
publication, or public accessib ility o f which is required or perm itted by the presen t law or
any other norm ative act.

88.4 Any intentional violation or repeated negligent violatio ns of the duty of
conf identia lity spe cified in th is Se ction 88 sh all serve as sufficient basis for the removal
of the concerned m ember or the term ination of the concerned employee, staf f or
consultant.

Section 89
Re moval and Suspension of Me mbers

89.1 The Governm ent m ay rem ove or suspend a m ember of the PPRC through the
adoption, by a m ajority v ote, of an order calling f or such rem oval or susp ension.

89.2 A court of com petent juri sdiction shall issue an orde r rem oving or suspending a
member of the PPRC fr om office if, after th e conduct of a full and fair hearing on the
issue, such court determ ines that the conc erned m ember (i) does not m eet, or no longer
meets, the requirem ents for m embership specified in Sectio n 86, (ii) h as comm itted a
crim inal or unethical act in the course of or relating to the conduct of his official duties,
(iii) has been involved in an ev ent described in Section 117.1 or (iv) has in tentio nally
violated or more than once negligently violated his/her duty of confid entiality spec ified in
Section 88.

89.3 If the court determ ination specified in Section 89.2 is subject to further
proceed ings or appeals, the court shall issue an o rder su spend ing the m ember until a final
determ ination on the issue is en tered. If the court determ ina tion specified in Section 89.2
is not sub ject to furth er proceed ing s or appe als , the court s hall issue an order removing
the me mb er.

89.4 If a m ember of the PPRC becom es the subject o f a court proceeding in volving
alleg ation s that the m ember has com mitted a crim inal or unethic al a ct in the cour se of or
relating to the conduct of his o fficial duties or has been involved in an event of illicit
influence as described in Section 117.1, the court m ay issue an order suspending such
member until the court has th e opportunity to conduct a fu ll and fair hearing on the
allegations and to m ake a determ ination thereon..

89.5 A m ember of the PPRC who is suspende d pursuant to this Section 89 shall
continue to rece ive his /her salary u ntil su ch mem ber is removed or such suspens ion is
cancelled.

TITLE VI
PUBLI C P ROCUREMENT AG ENCY

Section 90
Establishm ent of the Public Pro cure ment Agency

90.1 Pursuant to this Law , th ere shall be established w ithin the Governm ent , an
executive agency to be known as th e Public Procurem ent Agency (“PPA”).

90.2 The directo r an d the m embers of th e execu tive board of th e PPA shall be
nom inated by the Governem nt and appointed by the Assem bly for a three year term .

90.3 No person m ay serve as m ember of th e Executive Board or a staff m ember of the
PPA if he/she (i) would be ineligib le to par ticipate in a procurem ent activity by reason of
a provision of Section 61.2 of the present law.

90.4 No person m ay s erve as m ember of the executive Board or a staff m ember of the
PPA unless and until he/she ha s executed a written declara tion under oath declaring that
they shall honestly and faith fully conduct the procurem ent ac tivities of the contracting
authority in confor mity with the present law and the public procurem ent rules.

90.5 The Governm ent shall ensure that the person nom inated as a m ember of the
Executive B oard of the PPA m eets the requir em ents of Section 90.3 and executes the
declaration specified in Section 90.4. The Di rector of the Executive B oard of the PPA
shall ensure that all staff m embers of the PPA meet the requirem ents of Section 90.3 and
execute the declaration sp ecified in S ection 90.4.

Section 91
Procurem ent Activities o f the PPA

91.1 If the PPA determ ines that a proposed procurem ent activity should – for reasons
of professional expertise, cost -effectiveness, efficien cy or other legitim ate con cerns – be
conducted by the PPA instead of the concerne d contracting authorit y, the PPA shall have
the authority to conduct, and shall conduct, the concerned pr ocurem ent activity on behalf
of such con tracting authority. In such a case, the PPA shall so no tify the concerned
contracting authority, and such contracting authority shall no longer have any authority to
conduct the concerned procurem ent activity.

91.2 The PPA m ay, after receiving a cont ract or design contest notice from a
contracting authority, require su ch contra cting author ity to modify or re-prepare such
notice in ac cordance with the ins tructions of the PPA. The contracting authority m ay not
proceed with the concerned procu rem ent activity until it h as com plied with the P PA’s
instru ctions.

91.3 The PPA m ay, after receiving a cont ract or design contest notice from a
contracting authority, require such contra cting author ity to provid e th e PPA with the
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concerned tender dossier. The PPA m ay, a fter reviewing the tender dossier, require the
contracting authority to modify of re-prepare su ch tender do ssier in acco rdance with th e
instru ctions of the PPA. The contracting au thority m ay not proceed with the con cerned
procurem ent activ ity un til it h as comp lied with th e PPA’s instructions.

Section 92
Maintenance of a Public Procurem ent Register

92.1 The PPA shall establish and m aintain an up-to-date P ublic P rocurem ent
Registe r tha t sha ll s erve as th e r epo sitory for e lectron ic cop ies of all no tice s, inv ita tions,
declarations, tender dossiers, reports, com plaints and decisions f ile d or issued in
connection with each and every procurem en t activity conducted or initiated b y a
contracting authority.

92.2 The PPA shall m aintain such register el ectronically in the f orm of a computer
databas e. T he PPA shall develop a web site perm itting public access to all inform ation in
the reg ister.

92.3 The register shall ensure such access to such infor mation for a period of five
years after, as appropriate, (i) the expirati on or term ination of the c oncerned public
contract, (ii) the conclusion of th e design co ntest, o r (iii) if form ally cancelled or
otherwise term inated without award, the date on which the concerned procurem ent
activ ity was so cance lled or term inate d.

Section 93
Other Functions of the PPA

The PPA shall a lso:

a. crea te and m aintain a p ublic ly acc essible database and web site contain ing current
inform ation on all public procurem ent oppor tunities and activ ities in Kosovo;
such database and website m ay contain inform ation on public procurem ent
activities outside of Kosovo;

b. create and m aintain a publicly accessible sy stem atic collection of basic statistical
and other m aterial inform ation on the pr ocur em ent activities of all c ontrac ting
authorities, including the PPA;

c. crea te and m aintain a public ly ac cessib le central database for recording and
maintaining non-confidential inform ati on provided by econom ic operators in
fulfillm ent of requirements es tablished by contrac ting au thoritie s pursuant to
Sections 61 – 65 of the present law;

d. crea te and m aintain a centra l datab ase f or recording and mainta ining in form ation
about the perform ance of public contracts by econom ic operators;

e. prepar e and m aintain rep orts on the P PA’s procur em ent activities ; requ ire, rece ive
and m aintain reports from other cont racting authorities on the procurem ent
activ ities of such cont racting authorities;

f. arrange for the publishing of notices as required by the present law; and

g. perform all other duties and responsibili ties assigned to the PPA by the present
law.

TITLE VII
PUBLI C P ROCUREMENT RULES COM M ITTEE

Section 94
Establishm ent of the Public Pro cure ment Rules Comm ittee

The PPRC, the PPA and the Ministry of Finance and Econom y s hall establish a
comm ittee to be known as the Public Procu rem ent Rul es Comm ittee (the “R ules
Comm ittee”).

Section 95
Developm ent and Adoption of the Public Procurem ent Rules

95.1 The Rules Comm ittee shall develop and prom ulgate detailed public rules for the
im plem entation of the pr esent law. Such public procurem ent rules s hall consist of rules ,
instructions, guidelines, docum ents and for ms that contracting aut horities, procurem ent
officers, undertakings and pe rson s shall follo w, use and /or take into conside ration
executing or participating to the procur em ent activities governed by this law.

95.2 If a prov ision of the p resent law e xplicitly requires the Rules Comm ittee to
develop and/or establish rules im plem enting or covering the subject m atter of such
provision, the Rules Comm ittee is spec ifically obligated to develo p and include such
rules in th e public p rocu rem ent rules . If a provis ion of the pr esent law do es not exp lic itly
state such a requ irem ent, the Rules Comm itt ee sha ll, if and to the exten t it d eem s
necessary, develop and include rules i mplem en ting or covering the subject m atter of such
a prov ision in th e pub lic procu rem ent ru les. T he Rules Comm ittee sh all also hav e the
authority to develop rules cove ring m atters with in the scope of the present law but that
are not explicitly covered by a provision of the present law.

95.3 The Rules Comm ittee shall en sure that all such item s are consistent w ith the
present law and otherwise prom ote the integrit y and fairness of the procurem ent process.

95.4 With respect to procurement activit ies leading to the award of large value
contra cts, th e Rules Committee sha ll ensu re th e rules gov erning th e c ontent of te nder
dossiers and notices require esse ntially identical infor mation corresponding to the form as
required by relevant EU Legislation.

95.5 The Rules Comm ittee shall develo p and adopt detailed ru les on the precis e
procedures to be followed, and the form s to be used, for each of the procurem ent
procedures established by Secti ons 30 -36 of the presen t la w. All such rules sha ll, at a
minim um, be consis ten t with the p resent la w and best inte rna tiona l pra ctice and ob lig ate
contracting authorities (i) to p lay an active role in dete rm ining the ter ms of contracts,
with special reference to prices, delivery d ead lines, quan tities, technical characteris tics
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and guarantees, (ii) to the greatest extent possible under the circum stances, to compare
requests to participate and tende rs effectively to ascertain their relative advantages and
disadvantages, (iii) to ensure that the contra cted price is not higher than the concerned
market price.

95.6 The Rules Committee shall al so develo p a procurem ent code of ethics to be
observed by public offi cials, civil servants and other persons e mployed by contracting
authorities. Such code of ethics shall, at a m inim um, contain a clear set of m andatory
rules on the avoidance of conf licts to inte rest.

Section 96
Appointm ent of Mem bers

96.1 The Rules Comm ittee shall b e co mprise d of three indiv iduals. The three
individu als s hall include one rep resen tative fr om each of the following pu blic authorities:
the PPRC, the PPA, and the Ministry of Finance and Economy.

96.2 The PPRC, the PPA and the Min istry of Fin ance and Econom y sha ll each
ensure th at the indiv idual design ated as thei r r epresenta tive m eets the f ollowing criter ia:

a. he/she has the status of a civil servan t or is an employee whose em ploym ent is
not the result of a political appointment;

b. he/she would not be inelig ible to participa te in a procure ment activity by
reason of a provision of Section 61.2 ;

c. he/she holds a university degree and possesses substantial procurem ent or
other relevant experience; and

d. he/she is a vailab le to comm it substantial time to the work of the Rules
Comm ittee.

Section 97
Chairm an of the Public Procurem ent Rules Comm ittee

The representative of the PPRC shall be the Cha irperson of th e Rules Committee.

Section 98
Organiza tio n and W ork of the Public Procurem ent Rules Comm ittee

98.1 The Chairperson shall organize and m anage the work of the Rules Comm ittee.

98.2 The Chairperson shall have the authority to designate an individual m ember to
organize and m anage the work of the Rules Committee in a particu lar subject a rea. The
Chairperson shall also have the authority to invite ou tside experts to participa te in th e
work of the Rules Comm ittee.

98.3 The Chairperson shall convene m eetings of the Rules Comm ittee when and as
he/she considers necessary or when re quested by another m embers of the Rules
Comm ittee.

98.4 The quorum for a m eeting of t he Rules Comm ittee where decisio ns regard ing the
content of the procurem ent public rules are to be m ade shall be two m embers (2).

98.5 The Chairp erson shall chair the m eetings of the Rules Comm ittee. In
exceptional cases, where it is neces sary for th e Rules Comm ittee to meet in the ab senc e
of the Chairperson, the Chairperson shall auth orize one of the other m embers to chair the
meeting.

98.6 The Rules Comm ittee sh all m ake reasonabl e efforts to reach a consensus on the
content of the public procurem ent rules. In the even t that the Chairperson determ ines that
a consensus cannot be reached on a specific matter, such m atter shall be decided in
accordan ce with the co nsensus of a m ajority of the m embers. In th e event that the
Chairperson determ ines that such a m ajority consensus cannot be reached, the
Chairperson shall d ecide the m atter.

TITLE VIII
PROCUREMENT REVIEW PROCEDURES

Chapter 1
General Provisions

Section 99
Scope

The provisions of this Title es tab lish ce rta in substantive and proce dural r ights and
rem edies availab le to an interested p arty as that term is defined in Section 4.

Section 100
Basic Prin ciples

100.1 In conducting any procurem ent review pr oceeding specified in this Title, all
participating persons, undertakings and public authorities shall ensure that such
proceed ing is conducted and concluded in an expeditious, fair and no n-discrim inatory
manner that is directed at ach ieving a fair, lawful and effective re solution of the subject
matter involved.

100.2 Neither the conduct of any review pr oceed ing n or any decision by th e P PRC, a
review panel established by the PPRC, or a member or employee of th e PPRC shall b e
done or m ade in any manner that discrim inates in favor of or agains t any participant in
the proceeding or any other person or undertaking.

100.3 All in terested parties shall have e qual access to the p rocurem ent review
proceed ings and rem edies estab lish ed in this T itle VIII.

100.4 Any procurem ent review proceedin g shall be carried out in strict conform ity
with the app licab le prov isions of this Title.

Chapter 2
Review Panels

Section 101
Establishm ent of Review Panels by the PPRC

101.1 The PPRC shall establish, as needed, one or more review panels to conduct
procurem ent review pro ceedings in a ccordanc e with th e provisions of this Title VI II.

101.2 A review panel established by the PPRC shall have the com petence, authority,
power and responsibility , under the conditi ons sp ecified in this Title VIII, to:

a. review com plain ts r ece ived by the PP RC from interested parties containing
alleg ation s of violation s of the prese nt law;

b. conduct inv estig ation s and procurem ent review proceedin gs for the purpose of
determ ining the f acts g iving ris e to s uch com plaints and a lleg ations ;

c. issue an order to any pe rson, undertaking or public au thority requ iring such
person, undertaking or authority to produce, transfer, subm it and/or grant access
to data, inform ation, docu ments, and/or other item s o f m ova ble and/or immovable
property that the review panel considers, in the exercise of reasonable discretion ,
relevant to the conduct of an investiga tion or a procurem ent review proceeding;

d. issue an order to any pers on to appear at a procurem ent review proceeding and
provide testim ony regarding any matter that the review panel considers, in the
exercise of reasonable discretion, rele vant to the subject m atter of such
proceed ing;

e. take any other action necessary and appropr iate to asce rta in whether a v iola tion
has occurred ;

f. issue an order setting aside or suspending an award of a public contract
or a result
of a design contest;

g. issue an o rder to a contracting au thority requiring such author ity to suspend or
term inate the conduct of a procurem ent activity or the implem entation of a
decision of such authority related to or m ade in the course of such activity;

h. issue an o rder to a co ntracting au thorit y requiring such authority to cancel or
revoke a decision of such authority rela ted to or m ade in the course of a
procurem ent activ ity ;

i. issue an order to a contracting aut hority requiring such authority to pay
com pensation to a com plainan t;

j. issue an o rder to a contracting au thority requiring such author ity to co rrec t an
alleged violation and/or to prevent furt her da mage to the com plainant and/o r
another interested party;

k. issue an order requiring a contracting auth ority to re move discrim inatory
technical, econom ic, financial or selection spe cification s, req uirem ents or criteria
contained in any notice, invitation, tende r dossier, contract docum ent or othe r
docum ent relating to a procurem ent activity; and

l. issue an order requiring law enforcem ent o fficials to ass ist th e review panel obtain
com pliance with another order of such panel.

Section 102
Com positio n of Review Panels

102.1 A review panel shall be com prised of three (3) persons. The m embe r of the
PPRC designated by the Government pursuan t to Section 86.6 as the Review Panel
Chairperson shall be a m ember of every re view panel. The other tw o m embers of a
review panel shall be appoint ed by the President of th e PP RC; provided, however any
such m ember shall be either (i) a m ember of the PPRC or (ii) a person appointed by the
Governm ent pursuant to Section 102.4.
.
102.2 The Review Panel Chairperson shall presid e over the work of all review panels.
Such person shall also represent, m anage and organize the work of all review panels.

102.3 The Review Panel Chairperson shall ha ve the authority to designate another
member of a rev iew panel to organ ize and m anage the work of such review panel in a
particular su bject area.

102.4 In the event that the numbe r of procurem ent complaints that must be decided by
review panels under this Title VIII p laces an excessive burden on the PPRC and thereby
im pairs the PPRC’s ability to tim ely and ef ficien tly f ulfill th e f unctions assigned to it by
the present law, the Governm ent m ay, upon the joint application of the President of the
PPRC and t he Review Panel Chairperson appo int, on a temporary basis, one or more
additional persons to serve as review panel m embers.

102.5 If the Governm ent exercises its author ity under Section 102.4, it shall ensure (i)
that no person is so appoint ed if he/she w ould be ine ligible to participate in a
procurem ent activity by reason of Section 61.2, (ii) that ever y person so appointed holds
a university degree or possesses s ubstantial procurem ent or othe r relevant experience, and
(iii) that at least one-third of the pe rsons so appointed are legal experts or possess the
sam e qualifications as those required under the a pplicable law for a judicial appointm ent.

Section 103
Rules of Procedure for R eview Panels

The PPRC shall h ave th e autho rity to estab lish rules of proc edure to go vern th e con duct
of review proceed ings by review p anels. An y rules so es tablished sh all be consisten t
with the present law, e specia lly th e provisi ons of this Title VIII. Th e Review P anel
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Chairperson shall be responsible for organi zing and m anaging the developm ent of such
rules.

Section 104
Conf identiality

All m embers of a review panel shall be s ubject to the confiden tiality provisions of
Section 88.

Chapter 3
Initiation and Initial C onduct of Review Proceedings

Section 105
Tim e Li mits for Subm ission of a Complaint

105.1 A com plaint m ay be s ubm itted by an in teres ted party at any s tage of any
procurem ent activity and with respec t to any act or om ission of the concerned contracting
authority that is alleged to be in vio lation of the p resent law.

105.2 If the concerned contract has been aw arded or the concerned design contest has
been decided, a com plaint m ay be filed onl y within the e ight (8 ) calendar day period
following the date of publication of the con cerned contract award notice or design contest
results notice. Such eight (8) calendar day pe riod shall begin at m idnight of the date of
publication of the concerned notice.

105.3 If a com plaint is filed af ter the date of publication of the concerned contract
award notice or the design contest results notic e, a review panel m ay reject an allega tio n
set f orth in s uch com plaint if :

a. the allegatio n concerns an act or om ission of a contra cting au thority that is
alleged to have occurred ten (10) or m ore calendar days prior to such date
of publication;

b. the com plainant, in the judgm ent of the review panel, knew or reasonably
should have known – eight (8) or m ore calendar days prior to such date of
publication – of the act or om ission;

c. the com plainant, in the judgm ent of the review panel, knew or reasonably
should have known – eight (8) or m ore ca lendar days prior to such date of
publica tion – that the ac t or om ission constitu ted a violation of the present
law; and

d. the com plainant, in the judgm ent of th e review panel, had sufficient time
to prepa re a nd f ile a co mplaint con tain ing such alleg ation prior to suc h
date of publication.

Section 106
Filing and B asic Contents of a Com plaint

106.1 Any interested party m ay file a com plaint with the PPRC; however, the PPRC
shall take a ction on such com plaint only if such c omplaint:

a. sets forth the nam e, address and cont act inf orm ation of the c omplainant;

b. sets forth the nam e of the c oncerned contracting authority;

c. sets forth a reasonably specific descripti on of the concerned procurem ent activity;

d. attaches a copy of th e concerned contract award not ice or design contest results
notice, if such has been issued or published.

e. dem onstrate s tha t the c omplainant qualif ies as an “in terested party,” as defined
under Section 4 of the present law;

f. describ es th e factual circum stances const ituting or giving rise to the alleged
violation;

g. specifies the provision or provisions of th e p resent law that ha ve allegedly been
violated; and

h. describes how the alleged violation has caused, o r threaten s to cause, m aterial
dam age to the com plainant.

106.2 The com plainant shall file the original of such com plaint with the PPRC and
sim ultaneously dispatch, by the most rapid means possible, a cop y thereof to the
contracting authority.

106.3 The PPRC shall, upon the receipt of a com plaint, imm ediately review such
com plaint to ensure that it m eets the re quirements of Section 106.1. The PPRC shall
com plete such review within one (1) bus iness da y af ter re ceiving the co mplaint.

106.4 If the PPR C determ ines that a compla int does not m eet the requirem ents of
Section 106.1, the PPRC shall imm ediately notif y the com plainant in writing, by the most
rapid m eans possible, of the nature of the defi ciencies. If the filing pe riod ha s expired or
will exp ire in less than two (2) busin ess days , the com plainant shall hav e two (2) busin ess
days after receiv ing su ch a no tification to correct the defi ciencies and to resubm it th e
com plaint. If the f iling period has n ot yet ex pired and will n ot expir e in less th an two (2)
business days, the complainant m ay re-subm it the co mplaint any tim e prior to the
expiration of the filing period.

106.5 If the com plainant re-subm its a deficient com plaint, the PPRC shall dism iss the
com plaint with prejud ice, and th e com plain ant shall have no furt her righ t to f ile a
com plaint se tting f orth a ny alleg atio n contain ed in the d ism issed com plaint.

106.6 If the PPRC determ ines that the compla int has been tim ely filed and m eets the
requirem ents of Section 106.1, the PPRC shall (i) appoint a review expert in accordance
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with Section 108 and (ii) establish a review panel to re view the allegati ons alleged in
such com plaint.

Section 107
Autom atic S uspension of Procurem ent Activ ity

107.1 Unless and until the PPRC m akes another determ ination in writing, the filing of
a com plaint shall au tomatically re quire th e co ncerned con trac ting au thority to su spend
the conduct of the procurem ent activity to which the com plaint relates.

107.2 The PPRC m ay re move the autom atic suspension required by Section 107.1 if,
taking into account the probable consequences of such suspen sion for all inte rests likely
to be harm ed, including the public intere st, the PPRC decides that the negative
consequences of such suspension ex ceed the be nefits that m ay be achieved thereby. The
PPRC shall notif y the c omplainant and the con cerned contracting authority in writing of
such a decision.

107.3 A decision rem oving s uch a suspension shall not in any way prejudice or
otherwise n egative ly af fect the com plaint o r the c omplainant.

Section 108
Engagem ent of Review Expert

108.1 In order to protect the interests of both the contracting authority and the
com plainant, and to ensure im partia lity in d ecid ing the issu es rais ed by the com plaint, a
review expert shall be appointed by the PPRC to revi ew the conduct of the concerned
procurem ent activ ity an d to assess the valid ity of the allegations co ntained in th e
com plaint.

108.2 The PPRC shall develop and m aintain a li st of qualified review experts. In
selecting review experts, indi viduals shall be sought that ar e im partial, professional and
familiar with the conduct of procurem ent activities and with the presen t law.

Section 109
Responsibilities of the R eview Expe rt and the Contracting Authority

109.1 A review expert shall, within the seven (7) cale ndar day period imm ediately
following the day of his/her appointm ent, (i) review the contracting authority’s
procurem ent docum entation and related record s, (ii) in terv iew, as he/she deem s
appropriate and neces sary, any o fficial, em ployee or consultan t of the contractin g
authority, and (iii) provide to both the revi ew panel and the head of the contracting
authority a written assessm ent of the procurem ent activity a nd the validity of each o f the
alleg ation s contained in the com plaint.

109.2 The contracting authority is specifically required to (i) cooper ate fully with the
review expert, (ii) pr ovide the review expert with im mediate, open and unfettered acces s
to all docum ents and re cords, withou t reg ard to location or ty pe, tha t hav e any r elatio n to
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the contracting authority’s pr ocu rement ac tiv itie s, and ( iii) com ply f ully, prom ptly and
invasively w ith any request of the review expert.

Section 110
Decision of the Contracting Authority

110.1 The contracting authority sh all, within four (4) calenda r days after receiving the
review expert’s assessment specified in Section 109.1, issue to the review expert, the
review pan el and the com plainant in writ ing the contracting au thority’s decision
regard ing th e m atters set f orth in the com plaint.

110.2 The written decision required by S ecti on 110.1 shall set forth the con tracting
authority’s detailed ass essm ent of the validity of each of th e allegations contained in the
com plaint. If the dec ision sets forth an ass essment of an a llegation tha t dif fers f rom the
assessm ent provided by the review expert, the contr acting author ity s hall inc lude a
detailed s tatem ent explaining th e reasons for su ch difference. If th e decision rejects an
alleg ation o r denies its valid ity, the contracting authorit y shall include a s tatem ent
explaining the reasons f or such rejection or denial.

110.3 If, in its decision, the cont racting authority determ ines that any or all of the
alleg ation s are v alid, it shall, within f ive (5) calendar day s, tak e whatever corrective
action m ay be necessary to bring the con cern ed procurem ent ac tivity into com pliance
with the present law and to elim inate as far as possible any resulting dam age or threat of
dam age to the com plainant or other econom ic operators. In doing so, the contracting
authority m ay seek the advice and suggestions of the rev iew expert, th e review panel, the
PPRC, the com plainant and/or the other co ncerned econom ic operators. The corrective
action tak en by a contra cting autho rity m ay in volve, as necessary and appropriate under
the circum stances: (i) canceling the procurem en t activ ity, the contrac t award or the r esult
of a design contest (ii) exte nding a deadline (iii) reversing or voiding a decision of the
contracting authority and/or (i v) taking any other action needed to correct a violation by
the contracting authority.

110.4 The contracting authority shall prom ptly notify the review panel, the
com plainant and the other concerned econom ic operators of any corrective action taken.

110.5 If, within the tim e lim it specified in Section 110.1, the contracting authority
fails to is sue the requ ired decision o r issues a decision that rejects or denies the validity of
an allegation or that fails to assess the va lidity of an allegati on, the complainant m ay
then, with in three (3) ca lendar day s after it r eceiv es such decision or the expiration of the
tim e lim it specified in Section 110.1, whichever occurs earlier, file a written notice with
the review panel and the contracting author ity identif yin g the alleg ations th at the
com plainant intends to p ursue f urther before the review panel.

110.6 If the contracting author ity issues a decision dete rm ining that an allegation
contain ed in the com pliant is valid, but fails to take appropr iate and effective correctiv e
action within the tim e lim it specified in Se ction 110.4, the com plainant m ay then, within
three (3) calendar days of the expir ation of suc h tim e lim it, f ile a writte n notice with the
review panel and the contracting authority regarding such failure and requesting the
83

review pan el to rev iew the m atter an d to issu e an order to the cont racting authority under
Section 101.2.j of the present law.

110.7 If the contracting authority tim ely receives a written notice from the
com plainant pursuant to Secti on 110.5 or 110.6, the contracti ng authority shall, within
three (3 ) calendar days after receiv ing such notice, transfer all documents and rec ords
relating to the concerned procurem en t activ ity to the review panel.

Chapter 4
Proceeding s Before a Review Panel

Section 111
Com petence and Responsibility of the Review Panel

111.1 Matters that a com plainan t has identified in a notice filed pursuant to S ection
110.5 or 110.6, shall be reviewed and decided by the review panel esta blished pursuant to
Section 106.6.

111.2 The review panel’s proceedings shall be con ducted in accordance with the
provision s of this Title VIII and the rules of procedur e establish ed pursuant to Sec tio n
103.

111.3 Before m aking a final decision on a m atte r, the review panel m ay require the
contra cting author ity an d/or the co mplainant to provide a ddition al inf orm ation and/or
explanations. The review panel shall have th e right to require any person, undertaking or
public au thority to sub mit m aterial or evid en ce that it rea sonabl y believes m ay have
relev ance to the m atter. Sim ilarly, the review panel shall have the right to require any
person, undertaking or public authority to pr ovide testim ony that it reasonably believes
may have relevance to the m atter.

111.4 If any party to the p roceedings f ails o r refu ses to participate fully in such
proceed ings or to com ply with a re quirem ent of this Title VIII, th e ru les of proce dure
established pursuant to Section 103, or an order issued by th e review panel, the review
panel m ay a ddress such refusal or failure by, as it deem s appropriate: (i) deciding any
concerned legal issue and/or factual m atter in favor of th e opposing party, and/or (ii)
deciding any concerned allegation in favor of the opposing party.

Section 112
Decision-Making Deadline

112.1 In order to protect the in terests of the contracting authority and the concerned
econom ic operato rs, pro ceedings bef ore the rev iew panel shall be efficient and conclu ded
within the s hortes t perio d possible while re specting the provisions of the present law and
the rules of procedur e established pursuant to Section 103. .

112.2 The review panel shall i ssue its final written decisi on, together with a written
statem ent of the bases for such decision, and any order required to give effec
t to such
decision not later than ten (10) calendar da ys f ollowing th e expir ation of the tim e lim it
specified in Section 110.7. Where the m atter involves particularly complex issues or
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facts, the review panel m ay designate the m atter as a particularly complex m atter and
may then extend the deadline for the issuance of such decis ion, statem ent of reasons and
order by a m axim um of a n additi onal ten (10) calendar days.

112.3 The review panel shall prom ptly send its final written de cision, its written
statem ent of the bases for such decision, a nd an y accom panying order to the contracting
author ity an d the com plainant.

Section 113
Security, Penalties and Da mages

113.1 All com plainants are required to post security within thre e (3) business days
after the filing of a complaint. The amount of such security shall be equal to five percent
(5%) of the estim ated value of the public con tract or design contest, but not less than
1,000 Euros and not m ore than 10,000 Euros. Such security m ay be posted in cash, by
wire or by bank transfer. Such security m ay also be posted in the form of a certified
check, surety bond, letter of credit or bank guarantee, if the form and the issuer of such an
instrum ent m eet the requirem ents estab lished by the Rule s Comm ittee in the pu blic
procurem ent rules.

113.2 If the full amount of such security is not posted within the specified three (3)
business day s, the PPRC shall d ism iss the com plaint with p rejudic e, and the com plainant
may not again f ile a com plaint setting f orth any allegation contained in the dism issed
com plaint.

113.3 The PPRC shall prom ptly return any secur ity that is posted in connection with a
com plaint that has been dism issed for lack of tim elines or insufficiency under Section
105 or 106.

113.4 If a com plaint has not been dism isse d for a reason specified in Section 105,106
or 113.2, the concerned review panel shall, at the conclusion of the rev
iew process,
review ea ch alleg ation in such com plaint to determine whether the com plainant h ad m ade
such allegation frivolously. The review pa ne l shall determine that an alleg ation was
made frivolously if the review panel determ ines that, at th e tim e the complainan t f ile d the
com plaint, the com plainant knew or should ha ve known that there was no objective basis
in fact or that there was no reasona ble basis in law for such allegation.

113.5 The PPRC shall prom ptly return the security to the complainant if the review panel
determ ines that any a lle gation in th e com plain t was not m ade frivolously. If the review
panel de ter mines that all a llegatio ns in th e com plaint were m ade f rivolously , the
com plainant’s secu rity shall b e f orfeit. In s uch event, the PPRC shall no tif y the
com plainant in writing of such determ ination. However, if the concerned tender security
has been posted in the form of a surety bond, letter of credit or bank guarantee, the PPRC
shall first take whatever m easures m ay be ne cessary to obtain the concerned funds from
the issue r bef ore providing the c omplainant with the notif ica tion r equired by the
preced ing sentence.

113.6 If the review panel determ ines that a ll allegations m ade by the com plainant in
its com plain t are f rivo lous, the PPRC m ay require th e complainan t to pay an additional
penalty of up to 10,000 Euros. In such event, the com plainant shall be ineligible to
participate in any m anner in a procurem ent activity covered by the present law until (i)
85

such penalty is paid in f ull or (ii) a court of co mpetent ju risdiction rescinds the order of
the PPRC requiring the paym ent of such penalty. If the PPRC ass esses a penalty
pursuant to this Section 113.6, it sh all issue an order to the co mplainant that (i) requires
the com plainant to pay such penalty, (ii) re ferences this Section 113.6 and (iii) notifies
the com plainant tha t until such pena lty is pa id in full or a co urt of com petent jurisdiction
rescind s the subjec t orde r, the com plainant sh all be ineligib le to pa rtic ipate in any m anner
in a procurem ent activity covered by the present law.

113.7 If an allegation m ade by the com plainan t is determ ined to be valid, the review
panel m ay (i ) assign a mem ber to calculate, in accordance with the applicable norm ative
acts, the dam ages, if any, suffered by the co mplainant as a result of the violations
comm itted by the con cer ned contracting autho rity and ( ii) is sue an ord er requiring s uch
contracting authority to pay the am ount of such dam ages to the com plainant.

113.8 The PPRC shall estab lish a separate interest-b earing acco unt at a licensed
commercial bank in Kosovo for the purpose of receiv ing an d holding (i) funds received
as security or under a surety bond, letter of credit or bank guarantee that had been posted
as security pursuant to Sec tion 113.1 and (ii) funds receiv ed in payment of a penalty
assessed under Section 113.6. The PPRC sha ll imm ediately deposit and hold all such
funds in su ch accoun t. The PPRC shall not retu rn, tran sfer, use o r m ake any other
disposition or use of such funds except as specifically author ized by Section 113.9.

113.9 The PPRC shall leave such funds on deposit in the acc ount specified in Section
113.8 until (i) their return is required by S ection 113.3 or 113.5 or (ii) the com plainan t
has exhausted all of its rights to appeal th e review panel’s determ inations m ade under
Sections 113.4, 113.5 and, if a pplicable, 113.6. Once a comp lainant has exhausted its
rights to appeal such determ inations and no c ourt of competent jurisdiction has issued an
order to the PPRC instructing the P PRC to m ake another dispositi on of the concerned
funds, the PPRC shall treat such forf eited securi ty and, if applicable, assessed penalties as
a fine or penalty and transfer the concerne d funds to the Kosovo Consolidated F und in
accordan ce with the relevant provisions of the applicable norm ative acts on pub lic
budgetary and appropriations m atters.

Section 114
Actions in the Courts

114.1 If a complainant believes that a final deci sion or determ ination of a review panel or
the PPRC is contra ry to the f acts or the pr esent law, the co mplainant m ay appeal such
decis ion to a court of com petent jurisdiction in accordan ce w ith the app licab le no rmative
acts establishing the procedure for such an appeal. However, th e filing, conduct or
outcom e of such appeal shall have no furt her effect on the conduct of the concerned
procurem ent.

114.2 If, after hearing such an appeal, the court finds that an allegation m ade by the
com plainant in its ear lie r com plaint bef ore the PPRC was not f rivolously m ade, the Court
shall issue a n order r equ iring the PP RC to retu rn to the com plainan t any s ecurity declared
forfeit and any penalty assesse d pursuant to the S ection 113.

114.3 If after hearing such an appeal, the court finds that an allegation m ade by the
com plainant in its ear lie r com plaint bef ore the P PRC was valid ly m ade, the cour t m ay
issue an order (i) rescinding or reversing a ny order or determ ination issued or m ade by
86

the PPRC or the review panel, and/or (ii) if th e com plainant can show that it has b een
dam aged by the concerned act or om ission of the concerned con tracting auth ority ,
requiring such contracting authority to pay ad equ ate com pensation to the com plainant.

Chapter 5
Reporting

Section 115
Reporting to the Assem bly

The PPRC s hall annually report to the Govern ment and the Assem bly on the operation of
the procu rement review procedures estab lished by or pursua nt to th is Title VIII.

Section 116
Conveying Infor mation

116.1 For each calendar y ear, the PPRC shall p rovid e to th e Governm ent and the
Assem bly, not later than the end of Febr uary of the following calendar year, the
following infor mation and data by individual types of procee dings and the object of the
concerned procurem ent activity:

a. the to tal nu mber of complain ts re ceived;

b. the num ber of com plaints tha t were dism issed f or lack of tim eliness o r
insufficiency under Section 105 or Section 106 or failure to post the security
required by Section 113

c. The num ber of com plaints determ ined to contain no valid allegation;

d. the num ber of procurem ent activities th at were can celled as the res ult of a
com plaint;

e. detailed inform ation on any event w here a contr acting autho rity f ailed to respec t
an order of the PPRC or a review panel; and

f. the num ber of review proceeding s that resu lted in a determ ination that the
concerned a procurem ent activity had b een validly conducted and the award or
decision validly m ade.

116.2 The Governm ent shall, in consulta tion with the PPRC and on the basis of
inform ation referred to in Section 116.1 above, develop a proposal for m easures aim ed at
reducing or elim inating certain repeated vi olations, including pr oposed am endm ents to
the pres ent law.

TITLE I X
REMEDI AL AND PE NAL TY P ROVISIONS AND FI NAL MATT ERS

Chapter 1
Violations and Penalties

Section 117
Illicit Influence and retributi on and confident ional agreem ents.

117.1 W ithout prejudice to and subject to the relevant crim inal and other applicable law,
it shall be a violation of the present law punishab le and enforceable in accordance with
the relevant applicable law for any persons to ׃

a) to prov ide, of fer, s olic it o r acc ept o r express or indicate a readiness to provide,
offer, solicit or accept anything of valu e (including, but not lim ited to, money, an
offer of e mploym ent, tangible or intangibl e property, a favor or service) for the
direct or indirect benefit or enrichm ent of an em ployee, form er em ployee, official
or form er official of a contracting aut hority, or any person or undertaking related
to or associated with s uch an em ployee, former em ployee, official o r for mer
official wholly or partly for the purpose of infl uencing or attem pting to influence
a decision or action affecting or connected with the initiation, conduct or outcom e
of a procurem ent activity;

b) to take any actions, or to express or indicate a readin ess to ta ke any of action ,
for the purpose of intim idatin g, coercing, harm ing or causing harm (physically,
financially, or otherwise) to any person or undertaking, who lly or partly for the
purpose of influencing, attempti ng to influence, or reta liating for a decision or
action relate d to the in itiation , im plem entati on or outcom e of a procurem ent
activity;

c). to solicit or enter into any agreem en t, arrangem ent or understanding with any
other person or undertaking, if such agreem ent, arra ngem ent or understanding has
the purpose or ef fect of preventing, restr icting or distor ting com petitio n f or any
public con tract; o r

d) to facilitate or encourage any person or undertak ing to engage in any conduct
specified in item “a,” “b” or “c” abo ve.

117.2. Item “c” of Section 117.1 shall not apply to the negotiation o r execution of a
for mal written agreem ent by a group of econo mic operators if su ch agreement falls
within the scope of Section 66.2.

117.3 Any civil servant or em ployee or official of a cont racting authority who becom es
aware, by any m eans, of an offence described in Section 117.1 or an event that could be
expected to involve such an offence shall imm ediately notify at least two m embers of the
PPRC thereof.

117.4 Upon learning of such an offence or event, by any m eans, the PPRC shall
imm ediately conduct a prelim inary investigation into the m atter and, if it determ ines that
88

there is any credib le phy sica l and /or testim oni al evidence in dicating that such an offence
has occurr ed, the PPRC shall (i) f orm ally ref er the m atte r to the of fice of public
prosecutor, and (ii), take – as the PPRC ma y deem necessary under the circum stances –
any of the a ctions authorized by Section 83 of this law. The PPRC may also orde r the
PPA to exercise its au thority under Section 26 or Section 91 of this law and PPA take the
responsibility to carry out the procurem ent ac tivity in its own or conducted by a contract
award comm ittee.

117.5Any person or undertaking who or that knowi ngly or recklessly provides, or causes
or encourages another person or undertaking to p rovide, m ateria lly f alse o r m isleading
inform ation, testim ony or evidence to the PP RC or the office of the public prosecutor
alleging or tending to prove or disprove the occurrence of an offence specified in 117.1
shall be subject to prosecution under the cr im inal laws of Kosovo for such action and
shall also be liable for any financial or othe r dam age to third persons or undertakings
caused th ereby

117.6 Where an offence specified in Sectio n 117.1 is alleged to hav e been com mitted by
or on behalf of an undertaki ng, the natural person or pers ons actually involved in the
events g ivin g ris e to such offense shall also be c rim inally lia ble th eref ore. Furth erm ore,
any director or senior execu tive officer of such undert aking who knew or – in the
exercise of reasonab le m anagerial dilig ence – should have known of t he events g iving
rise to such off ense shall also be c rim inally liable therefore. W here the offence is an
offence specified in Section 117.7, such person s, directors and office rs shall, together
with the undertaking, be jointly and severally liable for any financial or other dam age to
third persons or undertakings caused thereby.

Section 118
Violations By a Contracting Authority

118.1 The PPRC s hall im pose a fine of not less then 10.000 Euros on any contracting
author ity th at fails to im plem ent a decision or to com ply with an order of the PPRC, a
review panel or the PPA with in three (3) business days.

118.2. The civil servant or official of the c ontracting authority causing such failure shall
be dism issed and fined not less than 1,000 Euros. Such person m ay not again becom e an
civil serv an t or official of a contracting auth ority du ring the three (3) year period
following such dism issal.

Section 119
Procurem ents Concluded in Violation of the Present Law

119.1 A public con tract or desi gn contest award shall b e v oid and unenforceable if the
PPRC determ ines that such contract or award:

a. has been awarded or entered into for a purpose or pursuant to a procedure or
activ ity no t explic itly au thorized by the presen t la w;

b. has been awarded or entered into pursuant to a procedure or activity not

conducted in confor mity with the present law;

c. concerns su bject m atter that the con tracting auth ority div ide d into lots in order to
avoid the ap plicab ility o f a procurement procedure required by the present law;

d. has been aw arded to or ente red in to with an eco nom ic ope rator or contestant that
was selec ted (i) in a m anner c ontrary to the conce rned sele ctio n criter ia,
requirem ents and specifications or (ii) pursu ant to selec tion c riteria, requ irem ents
or specifications not prepared or publishe d in con form ity with the pres ent law;

e. has been aw arded to or ente red in to with an eco nom ic ope rator or contestant that
failed to meet the eligibility requir ements specified in the present law and the
applicable notice, invitation or tender dossier;

f. has been am ended in a m anner that is contra ry to a provision of the present law or
in furtherance of a purpose to avoi d a provision of the present law; or

g. has been aw arded or entered into in viol ation of a decision or order of the PPRC,
a review panel or the PPA.

119.2 In the event that the PPRC determ ines a contract or award to be null and void
under Section 119.1, It shall notify all concerne d parties of such determ ination. The
PPRC shall also issue an order to th e concerne d contracting authority and the Ministry of
Finance and Econom y not to m ake or authoriz e any paym ents under or with respect to
such contract or award.

119.3 Notwithstanding the requirem ent of Section 119.1, the PPRC m ay determine a
contract described in Section 119.1 to be valid and enforceabl e if (i) such contract has
already been wholly or substantially perform ed and (ii) taking into acco unt the prob able
consequences of determ ining such contract to be null and v oid f or all interes ts like ly to
be harm ed, including the public intere st, the PPR C decides that the negativ e
consequences of such a declaration exceed th e benefits th at m ay be achieved thereb y. In
such a case, the PPRC shall have the author ity to take whatever measures it d eems
necessary to ensure that the concerned contracting authority thereafter strictly observes
the requirem ents of the present law.

Chapter 2
Final Provisions

Section 120
Repeal of the previous L egislation

This law and the public procur em ent rules issued under this law shall supersede all prior
legislation and rules governing public procurem ent in Kosovo. Such prior legislation and
rules sh all cease to h ave any force or effect as of the ef fective date of this law.

Section 121
Entry into Force

This law shall enter into force f our months after its promulgation

LAW NO. 2003 / 17
15 January 2004

Law on Public Procurement

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