WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONGPA/65
13 March 2002
(02-1292)
Committee on Government Procurement Original:  English
APPLICATION FOR ACCESSION OF ALBANIA TO THE
AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
The following communication, dated 13 February 2002, has been received from the
Permanent Mission of Albania with the request that it be circulated to the Committee.
_____________
Albania is providing to the Committee on Government Procurement the notification of the
following national implementing legislation for review by all Members:
Law No. 7971, dated 26.07.1995, "On Public Procurement"
Law No. 8074, dated 22.02.1996, on some changes in the Law No. 7971
Law No. 8112, dated 28.03.1996, on some changes in the Law No. 7971, dated 26.07.1995,
"On Public Procurement"
Decision of the Council of the Minister s No. 12, dated 1.01.1996, "On the Rules on Public
Procurement".  This decision is abrogated by the Decision No. 335, dated 23.06.2000.
Standard Bidding Documents1
Standard Bidding Document for Procurement of Goods1
General Conditions of Contract, Procurement of Works1
Invitation to Quote for small works (under lek 5 million) 1
Request for Quotation (for buying goods)1
In the meantime, Albania is working to transl ate the other implementing legislation that is
mentioned in document GPA/W/161, in order to pr ovide it to the Members as soon as possible.
                                                     
1  Available for consultation in the WTO Secretariat, Office No. 3014.GPA/65
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LAW No. 7971, dated 26.07.1995
ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
DECIDED:
CHAPTER I.  GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Purpose of this Law
The purpose of this Law is to promote economy and efficiency in the use of public funds by
procuring entities while ensuring that public procurement procedure are fair, transparent and
non-discriminatory.
Article 2. Definitions
In this Law :
"procurement" means the purchasing, hiring or obtaining by any other contractual means of goods,
construction and services;
"procuring entity" means any organ of the State or regional and local authorities as well as any other
juridical person to whom public funds have been allocated for use in public procurement;
"public procurement" means procurement by procuring entities;
"goods" means raw materials, products, machineries and equipments, objects in solid, liquid or
gaseous form and electricity, as well as transport, installation, maintenance or similar obligations
related to the supply of the goods if their value does not exceed that of the goods themselves;
"construction" means all work associated with the construction, reconstruction, demolition, repair or
renovation of a building or structure, such as si te preparation, excavation, installation of equipment
and materials, decoration, as well as services incidental to construction, if the value of those services
does not exceed that of the construction itself;
"services" means any object of procurement other than construction and goods;"tendering" means a procurement procedure under which tenders are invited, received, examined and
evaluated for the purpose of awarding a contract;
"open tendering" means a procurement procedure whereby all interested candidates may submit
tenders;
"restricted tendering" means a procurement procedure whereby only those candidates which are
invited by the procuring entity may submit tenders;
"two-stage tendering" means a procurement procedure whereby the procuring entity invites tenders in
two stages, in the first stage tenders with full information without prices and in the second stage
tenders with prices;GPA/65
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"request for proposals" means a procurement procedure whereby the procuring entity invites
proposals from selected candidates;
"direct procurement" means a procurement procedure whereby the procuring entity contacts and seeks
a proposal from one candidate;
"request for quotations" means a procurement procedure whereby the procuring entity invites
quotations from candidates selected by it;
"candidate" means a physical or juridical person invited to take part in public procurement or seeking
to be so invited;
"procurement regulations" are the regulations issued by the competent authority under this Law;
"supplier" means a physical or juridical person under contract with a procuring entity to supply goods,
construction or services;
"tender documents" means the documents provided by the procuring entity to tenderers as a basis for
preparation of their tenders;
"tenderer" means a physical or juridical person submitting a tender;
"public funds" means every monetary value originat ed from the state budget, from revenues of state
enterprises and companies with the Government as a majority shareholder.
Article 3. Scope of application
This Law applies to public procurement, expect the cases where the Council of Ministers, for
the reason of national security or national defence, may define another procedure for public
procurement of goods, constructions or services.
Article 4. International obligations
To the extent that this Law conflicts with an obligation of the State under or arising out of an
agreement with one or more other states or with an international organization, the provisions of that
agreement shall prevail;  but in all other respects, public procurement shall be governed by this Law.
Article 5. Procurement regulations
1. The Council of Ministers is authorized to pr omulgate procurement regulations to fulfil the
objectives and to carry out the provisions of this Law.
2. If more than one procuring entity needs the same kind of goods, construction or services, the
Council of Ministers may assign to one of those entities the task of procuring such items on behalf ofthe other entities.
Article 6. Public accessibility of legal texts
This Law, the procurement regulations and all instructions of the Agency shall be promptly
made accessible to the public and systematically maintained.GPA/65
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CHAPTER II.  PUBLIC PROCUREMENT ORGANIZATION
Article 7. Responsibility of the procuring entity
1. The procuring entity is responsible for procurement with public funds at its disposal subject
to the provisions of this Law and to any such further condition as may be laid down in theprocurement regulations and the instructions of the Agency.
2. With respect to contracts above thresholds stated in the procurement regulations, the
procuring entity shall submit to the higher central or local authority or to the Council of Ministers for
prior review and approval, before a contract is awarded or concluded, a summary report containing:
(a) justification for the choice of procurement procedure, if other than open tendering;
(b) the evaluation of tenders of proposals received; and
(c) the proposed award or conclusion of contract.
3. Procuring entities must make records and documents regarding their public procurement
available for inspection by the Agency and must submit reports regarding their procurement activities
in such detail and at such intervals as the Agency may require.
Article 8. The Public Procurement Agency
1. The Public Procurement Agency is reporting to the Council of Ministers and is the central
organ for coordination and perfection of the public procurement process.
2. In the performance of its tasks, the Agency;
(a) submits proposals for procurement regulations to the Council of Ministers;
(b) promotes and supports training of central and local government officials engaged in
public procurement;
(c) edits and issues a Public Procurement Bulletin to be used for invitations to tender and
other announcements relevant to public procurement;
(ç) prepares standard documents to be used in connection with public procurement;(d) gives instructions, and, on request, advice and assistance to procuring entities in
undertaking procurement;
(dh) presents an annual report to the Council of Ministers regarding the overall
functioning of the public procurement system;
(e) inspects the records of procuring entities to the extent it deems appropriate in order to
check on the proper application of this Law by them;
(ë) performs administrative review of complaints as foreseen in Chapter VIII;
(f) cooperates with international institutions and with other foreign entities on matters
associated with the public procurement system;  andGPA/65
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(g) plans and coordinates foreign technical assistance to Albania in the field of public
procurement.
3. The Director of the Agency is appointed and dismissed by the Prime Minister.
4. The Prime Minister also appoints an inter-disciplinary consultative board, composed of
representatives from major procuring entities at the central and local government levels, to give
advice and comments on the overall functioning of the public procurement system in Albania and on
proposals to be submitted by the Agency for consideration by the Council of Ministers.
CHAPTER III.  COMMON PROCUREMENT RULES
Article 9. Non-discrimination on the basis of nationality
Physical or juridical persons shall not be excluded from participation in public procurement
on the basis of nationality.
Article 10. Records of procurement
l. Procuring entities shall maintain records of publ ic procurement in sufficient detail to allow
control and verification that the provisions of this Law have been respected.  With respect to each
transaction the record shall contain, as a minimum, justification of the procurement procedure chosen,
if other than open tendering, information concerning the goods, construction or services procured, thenames of candidates, the name of the supplier to whom the contract was awarded, and the contract
price.
2. The minimum information to be recorded according to paragraph 1 shall, on request, be made
available to interested persons after a contract has been awarded.  Other information shall remainconfidential.
3. The procuring entity shall preserve and keep the record and documents relating to any
procurement available for inspection by the competen t authorities during a period of time stated in the
procurement regulations.
Article 11. Form of communications
Communications between candidates and procuring entities shall be only in writing.  If the
communication is made in any other form, it shall refer only to the written documents and the content
of that communication shall be confirmed in writing, immediately after that communication.
Article 12. Qualification of candidates
1. In order to participate in public procurement, candidates must qualify by meeting such of the
following criteria as the procuring entity considers appropriate under  the circumstances:
(a) that they possess the necessary professional, technical and organizational capacity,
personnel, financial resources, machineries and other physical facilities, reputation
and reliability to perform the contract;
(b) that they shall have before performed similar contracts in compliance with the stated
provisions in procurement regulations;
(c) that they have the legal capacity to  enter into the contract;GPA/65
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(ç) that they are not insolvent, in receivership, bankrupt or being wound up, their
business activities have not been suspended, and they are not the subject of legal
proceedings for any of the foregoing;
(d) that they have fulfilled their obligations to pay taxes and social security contributions.
Documentary evidence to be provided by a foreign candidate to demonstrate that it
meets the criterion in this paragraph may consist of a written declaration to that effect
by the candidate.
2. The procuring entity may require candidates to provide such appropriate documentary
evidence or other information as it may deem useful to satisfy itself that the candidates are qualified in
accordance with the criteria referred to in  paragraph 1.
3. Any requirement established pursuant to this Article shall be set forth in the pre-qualification
documents, if any, and in the tender documents or other documents for solicitation of proposals, and
shall apply equally to all candidates.
4. The procuring entity shall evaluate the qualif ications of candidates in accordance with the
criteria and procedures set forth in the documents referred to in paragraph 3.
5. The procuring entity shall disqualify a candidate who submits a document containing false
information for purposes of qualification.  In such case the procuring entity can propose to the PublicProcurement Agency that the candidate be expulsed from all public procurement for a period up to
one year.  If the Public Procurement Agency shall approve this proposal, this shall be published in the
Public Procurement Bulletin.
6. The procuring entity has the right to disqualify a candidate, if it, at any time up to the signing
of the contract, will find out that the information submitted related to the qualification or other data
presented by and for the candidate are inaccurate or incomplete.
Article 13.  Pre-qualification proceedings
1. The procuring entity may engage in pre-qualification proceedings with a view towards
identifying, prior to the submission of tenders, that candidates are qualified. The use ofpre-qualification proceedings is indispensable as a preliminary to open tendering or two-stage
tendering in the case of large or complex contracts for goods and construction.
2. If the procuring entity engages in pre-qualification proceedings, it shall prepare a set of
pre-qualification documents containing as minimum the following information:
(a) instructions for preparing and submitting pre-qualification applications;(b) the nature and quantity of goods, construction or services to be procured;
(c) the desired time for delivery of the goods or completion of the construction or
services;
(ç) the criteria and procedures to be used for evaluating the qualifications of the
candidates, following the provisions of Article 12;
(d) a summary of the principal required terms and conditions of the contract to be entered
into as a result of the procurement proceedings;GPA/65
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(dh) any documentary evidence or other information that must be submitted by candidates
to demonstrate their qualifications;
(e) the manner and place for the submission of applications to pre-qualify and the
deadline for submission;  and
(ë) any other requirements that may be established by the procuring entity in conformity
with this Law and the procurement regulations.
3. An invitation to pre-qualify shall be advertised  in the manner prescribed for invitations in the
open tendering procedure by being in compliance with the time-limits defined in procurement rules
for the pre-qualification procedure and shall contain at least information about:
(a) the name and address of the procuring entity;(b) a brief description of the purpose of the invitation along with a summary of the nature
and quantity of goods, construction and services to which the pre-qualification willapply;
(c) the means of obtaining pre-qualification documents and the place and deadline for
submission of applications to pre-qualify.
4. The procuring entity shall make a decision with respect to the qualifications of each candidate
submitting an application to pre-qualify. In reachin g that decision, the procuring entity shall apply
only the criteria set forth in the pre-qualification documents.
Article 14. Technical specifications
1. Technical specifications laying down the characteristics of the goods, construction or services
to be procured shall be prepared for the purpose of giving a correct and complete description of the
object of procurement and for the purpose of creating  conditions of fair and open competition
between all candidates.
2. The technical specifications shall clearly describe the procuring entity’s requirements with
respect to quality, performance, safety and dimensions, symbol, terminology, packaging, marking and
labelling or the processes and methods for their production and requirements relating to conformity
assessment procedures.
3. Technical specifications prescribed by procuring entities shall, where appropriate:
(a) be in terms of performance rather than design or descriptive characteristics;  and(b) be based on international standards, where such exist, or otherwise recognized
national standards or building codes.
4. There shall be no requirement or reference in  the technical specifications to a particular
trademark or name, patent, design or type, specific origin, producer or service provider, unless there is
no sufficiently precise or intelligible way of describing the procurement requirements and provided
that words such as "or equivalent" are included in the specifications.
Article 15. Rejection of all tenders, proposals or quotations
1. If so specified in the tender documents or in the request for proposal or quotations, and
provided rejection can be justified on sound economic grounds, the procuring entity may reject allGPA/65
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tenders, proposals or quotations at any time prior to their acceptance.  The procuring entity shall upon
request communicate to any candidate the grounds for its rejection but is not required to justify those
grounds.
2. The procuring entity shall incur no liability to wards candidates solely by virtue of its invoking
paragraph 1 of this Article.
3. Notice of the rejection shall be given promptly to all participating candidates.4. If the decision to reject all tenders, proposals and quotations is taken before the closing date,
all tenders proposals and quotations received shall be returned unopened to the tenderers submitting
them.
Article 16. Inducements from candidates
The procuring entity shall reject a tender, proposal or quotation if the candidate that submitted
it gives or promises to give, directly or indirectly, to any current or former officer to employee of theprocuring entity or other governmental authority a gratuity in any form, an employment or any other
thing or service of value, as an inducement with respect to an act or decision of, or procedure
followed by, the procuring entity in connection with the procurement proceedings.  Such rejection and
the reasons therefore shall be recorded in the record of the procurement proceedings and promptly
communicated officially to the candidate concerned.
CHAPTER IV.  CHOICE OF PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE
Article 17.  Procurement procedures
1. Expect as otherwise provided in this Chapter,  the procuring entity shall use open tendering as
the preferred procedure of procurement.
2. A procuring entity may use a procedure other than open tendering only pursuant to the
following Articles 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23.
3. Exceptionally, in special cases or force majeure, the Council of Ministers may permit the use
of a procedure other than open tendering in situations not foreseen in Articles 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23.
4. A procuring entity shall plan its procurement in a rational manner, and no procurement
requirements for a given quantity of goods, construction or services shall be split up with the intention
of avoiding a procurement procedure stated in this Law or in the procurement regulations.
Article 18.  Conditions for use of restricted tendering
The procuring entity may engage in procurement by means of restricted tendering in
accordance with Article 36, when:
(a) the goods, construction or services are available only from a limited number of
suppliers;
(b) the estimated value of the contract does not exceed a threshold set out in the
procurement regulations.GPA/65
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Article 19. Conditions for use of direct procurement
1. The procuring entity may use direct procurement in accordance with Article 37 if this method
is not resorted to with a view to avoiding possi ble competition or in a manner which would constitute
a means of discrimination among candidates:
(a) when in the absence of competition for technical reasons the goods, construction or
services can be supplied or provided only by one candidate;
(b) within limits defined in the procurement re gulations, for additional deliveries by the
original supplier which are intended either as parts replacement for existing supplies,
services, or installations, or as the extension of existing supplies, services, orinstallations where a change of supplier would compel the procuring entity to procure
equipment or services not meeting requirements of interchangeability with already
existing equipment or services;
(c) within limits defined in the procurement regulations, when additional construction
services, which were not included in the initial contract have, through enforceable
circumstances, become necessary since the separation of the additional construction
services from the initial contract would be difficult for technical or economic reasons;
(ç) within limits defined in the procurement regulations, for new construction services
consisting of the repetition of similar construction services which conform to a basic
project for which an initial contract was awarded on the basis of open or restricted
tendering;
(d) for continuation of consulting services, where the original contract has been
satisfactorily performed and the continuation is likely to lead to gain in economy and
efficiency;
(dh) for purchase of perishable commodities such as fresh fruits, vegetables or other
similar items which are purchased on market terms;
(e) for purchases of goods made under exceptionally advantageous conditions which
only arise in the very short term.  This provision is intended to cover unusual
disposals by firms which are not normally suppliers. It is not intended to cover
routine purchases from regular suppliers;
(ë) for the continuation of the design services that are related with services previously
performed, which would violate the author’s right if they would be given to another
subject.
2. The procuring entity may also use direct procurement for small-value purchases of readily
available goods when the contract price does not exceed an amount stated in the procurementregulations.
Article 20.  Conditions for use of two-stage tendering
The procuring entity may engage in procurement by means of two-stage tendering in
accordance with the Article 38, in the case of large or complex contracts for goods or constructions,
for which open or restricted tendering is not suitable because of the difficulty in defining precisely the
goods or constructions, by requesting:GPA/65
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(a) in a first stage, tenders without prices with full technical information as to various
possible means of meeting its objectives, after which;
(b) in a second stage, priced tenders on the basis of technical specifications and other
data chosen on the basis of the first stage.
Article 21. Conditions for use of request for proposals
The procuring entity may engage in procurement by means of request for proposals in
accordance with Article 39 when it seeks to obtain consulting services or other services for which
tendering is not suitable because of the difficulty in defining precisely the services.
Article 22. Conditions for use of request for quotations
The procuring entity may engage in procurement by means of request for quotations in
accordance with Article 40 for the purchase of readily available goods or for procurement of
construction or services for which there is an established market, so long as the estimated value of thecontract does not exceed an amount stated in the procurement regulations.
CHAPTER V.  OPEN TENDERING
Article 23. Basic provision regarding open tendering
Open tendering shall be used when the estimated contract value exceeds an amount stated in
the procurement regulations.  Procuring entities may engage in open tendering whenever goods,
construction or services to be procured are obtainable from domestic sources and in sufficient
competition within the country, always subject to the rule of non-discrimination in Article 9.  The
following basic provision shall apply to open tendering procedures.
Article 24. Invitation to tender
The invitation to tender shall contain, as a minimum:(a) the name and address of the procuring entity;
(b) a brief description of the goods, construction or services to be obtained, including
desired time-limit for delivery or completion;
(c) the means and conditions for obtaining the tender documents and the place from
which they may be obtained;
(ç) the place and deadline for the submission of tenders, and(d) the place and time for opening of tenders, along with an announcement that tenderers’
representatives are allowed to attend the opening of tenders.
Article 25. Advertisements
1. In addition to any publication in the Public Procurement Bulletin, invitations to tender shall
be advertised in at least two national newspapers of general circulation.
2. The time allowed for preparation of tenders shall not be less than a minimum number of days
stated in the procurement regulations.GPA/65
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Article 26. Tender documents
The tender documents shall contain sufficient information to enable competition among the
tenderers to take place on the basis of complete, neutral and objective terms. In particular, tender
documents must include:
(a) instructions for the preparation and submission of tenders;(b) information on the final date for receipt of tenders, the address to which tenders must
be sent, the date, hour and place of such opening, as well as an announcement that
tenderer's representatives are allowed to attend the opening;
(c) forms of tender and, where applicable, forms of tender security to be provided;
(ç) the number of copies to be submitted with the original tender;(d) conditions of contract, general and special;(dh) specification of requirements, including time-limit for delivery or completion, as
appropriate;
(e) evidence to be provided by the tenderer to demonstrate its qualifications as well as its
standing with regards to fiscal and social security obligations;
(ë) the period during which the tender must remain valid;(f) the criteria for evaluation of tenders and award of the contract;  and(g) a reservation to the effect that the procuring entity may reject all tenders at any time
prior to the acceptance of a tender.
Article 27. Provision of tender documents
Tender documents shall be made available to candidates in an expeditious manner, at  a  price
not exceeding the cost of reproduction and delivery to candidates, and otherwise in the manner
specified in the invitation to tender.
Article 28. Modifications to tender documents
At any time prior to the deadline for submission of tenders, the procuring entity may, on its
own initiative or in response to an inquiry by a candidate having purchased the tender documents,
modify the tender documents by issuing an addendum.  Any addendum shall be communicated
promptly to all candidates having purchased the tender documents.  If the procuring entity considers it
necessary to amend the tender documents, and if that amendment is made less than one-third of thetime allowed for the preparation of tenders remains until the closing date, the procuring entity shall
postpone the closing date by a number of days, depending on the procurement object.
Article 29. Tender security
1. The procuring entity shall include in the tender documents a condition that tenders must be
accompanied by security in the form of a deposit or bank guarantee.  The amount of such security
shall be sufficient to discourage irresponsible tende rs and shall remain within limits stated in the
procurement regulations.GPA/65
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2. Tender security shall be forfeited if a tenderer withdraws his tender within the validity period
therefor or, in the case of a successful tenderer, if the tenderer repudiates the contract or fails to
furnish performance security, if so required.
Article 30. Submission and receipt of tenders
1. Tenders shall be submitted in writing, signed and in a sealed envelope.  They should be
submitted at the place, time and date specified in the invitation to tender.  The tender envelope should
contain the documentation for the qualification of the candidates and the technical-economic tender
closed in two separate envelopes.  In international tender procedures the tenders can be received
before the designated opening date, but the invitati on to tender should specify the deadline for tender
submission.  In those cases, the procuring entity, after a request, should give to the tenderer a
document specifying the date and time that he has submitted the proposal.
2. Tenders received after the deadline for submission shall be returned unopened to the tenderer.
Article 31. Opening of tenders
1. At the time stipulated in the tender documents for opening of the tenders, which for
international tender procedures should follow shortly after the deadline for submission of tenders, the
procuring entity shall open all tenders received before the deadline.
2. Tenderers, or their authorized representatives, shall be allowed to attend the opening of
tenders.
3. The name of the tenderer and the total amount of each qualified tender shall be read out aloud
and recorded, a copy of the record shall be made available to any tenderer on request.
4. The envelopes containing the technical-economic tender of a tenderer disqualified for not
meeting qualification criteria should be sent unopened to the tenderer.
Article 32. Examination and evaluation of tenders
1. The procuring entity may ask tenderers for clarification of their tenders in order to assist in
the examination and evaluation of tenders.  No change in the substance of the tender, including
changes in price, shall be sought, offered or permitted.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the procuring entity shall correct purely arithmetical errors that
are discovered during the examination of tenders.  The entity shall give prompt notice of any such
correction to the tenderer that submitted the tender.
3. Subject to paragraph 4, the procuring entity shall regard a tender as responsive only if it
conforms to all requirements set forth in the tender documents.
4. The procuring entity may regard a tender as responsive even if it contains minor deviations
that do not materially alter or depart from the characteristics, terms, conditions and other requirements
set forth in tender documents or if it contains errors or oversights that are capable of being corrected
without touching on the substance of the tender.  Any such deviations shall be quantified, to the extentpossible, and appropriately taken account of in the evaluation and comparison of tenders.
5. The procuring entity shall not accept a tender when a tenderer:
(a) has failed to demonstrate, in the manner foreseen in Article 26(e), that it is qualified;GPA/65
Page 13
(b) does not accept a correction of an arithmetical error made pursuant to paragraph 2 of
this Article;
(c) its tender is not responsive;(ç) has offered an inducement under Article 16.
6. The procuring entity shall evaluate and compare the tenders that have been held responsive in
order to ascertain the successful tender, as defined in paragraph 7, in accordance with the procedures
and criteria set forth in the tender documents.  No criterion shall be used that has not been set forth in
the tender documents.
7. The successful tender shall be the tender which, in accordance with the procedures and
criteria  set forth in the tender documents, meets the requirements of procurement object with:
(a) the lowest tender price;  or(b) if the procuring entity has so stipulated in the tender documents, the lowest evaluated
tender ascertained on the basis of factors affecting the economic value of the tender
which have been specified in the tender documents, which factors shall, to the extent
practicable, be objective and quantifiable, and shall be given a relative-weight in theevaluation procedure or be expressed in monetary terms wherever practicable.
8. The procuring entity shall prepare an evaluation report, containing a summary of the
examination and evaluation of tenders.
Article 33. Process to be confidential
1. After the opening of tenders, information relating to the examination, clarification, and
evaluation of tenders and recommendations for award must not be disclosed to tenderers or other
persons not officially concerned with this process until the award of the contract is announced.
2. Following opening of the tenders, and until the contract is signed, no tenderer shall make any
unsolicited communication to the procuring entity  or try in any way to influence the entity's
examination and evaluation of the tenders.
Article 34. Tenderers not to be requested to modify their tenders
A tenderer shall not be required, as a condition for award, to undertake responsibilities not
stipulated in the tender documents, to change its price or otherwise to modify its tender.
Article 35. Notification of award and signing of contract
1. Prior to the expiry of the period of tender validity, the procuring entity shall notify the
successful tenderer that its tender has been accepted.
2. The notification of award shall constitute the formation of a contract between the parties,
which must be signed within the time stated in tender documents.  The notification shall contain atleast total value of contract, request for the furnishing performance security and the sign of contract
form.
3. The existence of a contract shall be confirmed through the signature of a contract document
incorporating all agreements between the parties.GPA/65
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CHAPTER VI.  OTHER PROCUREMENT METHODS
Article 36. Restricted tendering procedures
Restricted tendering procedures are the same as those applied in open tendering, except that:
(a) the invitation to tender is addressed to a limited number of qualified candidates - for
the purpose of obtaining not less than three tenderers - which have declared an
interest in submitting tenders. The selection should be made in a non-discriminatory
manner, and the number of candidates invited should be, if possible, sufficient to
ensure effective competition;
(b) procuring entities maintaining updated lists of qualified suppliers may select
candidates to be invited to tender from among those listed.  Any selection shall allow
for equitable opportunities for suppliers on the list;
(c) the time allowed for preparation of tenders shall not be less than a minimum number
of days stated in the procurement regulations;  and
(ç) the procuring entity may decide, depending on the circumstances, if tender security
will have to be submitted or not.
Article 37. Direct procurement procedure
1. When the procuring entity engages in direct procurement according to Article 19.1, it shall
prepare a description of its needs and any special requirements as to quality, quantity, terms and timeof delivery, and shall be free to negotiate with the sole candidate.  Any agreement reached by
procurement according to Article 19.1 shall be confirmed by  a contract signed by both parties.
2. Direct procurement according to Article 19.2 requires no contract or other documents.Article 38. Two-stage tendering procedure
1. When the procuring entity engages in two-stag e tendering, it shall select candidates on the
basis of pre-qualification proceedings according to Article 13.
2. In the first stage, the procuring entity shall invite pre-qualified candidates to submit tenders
without price but including information about the technical performance, quality or othercharacteristics of the goods or construction that they consider best suited to meet the procuring entity's
objectives. In this stage, the procuring entity may engage in negotiations with any candidate
concerning any aspect of its tender.
3. In the second stage, the procuring entity shall invite final, priced tenders on the basis of final
technical specifications from candidates which have presented satisfactory tenders in the first stage.
4. For award of a contract based on tenders submitted in the second stage, the provisions of
Chapter V shall apply.
Article 39. Request for proposals procedure
1. Request for proposals shall be addressed to not less than three, not more than seven
candidates selected by the procuring entity.GPA/65
Page 15
2. A request for proposals shall contain at least the following information:
(a) name and address of the procuring entity;(b) a description of the services required, normally through terms of reference;(c) in case of consultancy assignments which may involve potential conflict of interest, a
reminder that candidates for such assignments must exclude themselves from
procurement of goods and construction which may follow as a result of, or in relation
to, the assignment;
(ç) the criteria for evaluating the proposals, the relative weight to be given to price and
other criteria, and the manner in which they will be applied in the evaluation of
proposals;
(d) place and deadline for the submission of proposals.
3. The procuring entity may negotiate with candidates with respect to the content of their
proposals and may seek or permit revision thereof.
4. Any award by the procuring entity shall be made to the candidate whose proposal is most
advantageous, determined in accordance with the criteria and procedures for evaluating proposals setforth in the request for proposals.
Article 40. Request for quotation procedure
1. The procuring entity shall request quotations from as many candidates as practicable, but
from at least three.
2. The request shall contain a clear description of the requirements of the procuring entity as to
quality, quantity, terms and time of delivery as well as other special requirements.
3. Any award by the procuring entity shall be placed with the candidate who meets the
requirements of the procuring entity stipulated in paragraph (2) and who quotes the lowest price.
4. The procuring entity shall place a contract with the successful candidate.
CHAPTER VII.  INTERNATIONAL PROCEDURES
Article 41. Open international tendering
1. The procuring entity shall use "Open internat ional tendering" whenever in open tendering an
effective competition cannot be obtained unless foreign firms are invited to tender.
2. Open international tendering shall respect the provisions of Chapter V as well as the
following provisions:
(a) The invitation to tender and the tender documents shall be in Albanian language and
in a language generally used in international trade.
(b) The invitation to tender shall be advertised in a newspaper using the same foreign
language as the invitation and being of sufficient circulation to attract foreign
competition.GPA/65
Page 16
(c) The deadline for submission of tenders, stated in the procurement regulations, shall
be sufficient for the invitation to reach candidates and for enabling them to prepare
and submit tenders.
(ç) Technical specifications shall, to the extent compatible with national requirements, be
based on international standards or standards widely used in international trade.
(d) Candidates shall be permitted to express their tenders, as well as any security
documents to be presented by them, in their respective home currencies, or in a
currency widely used in international trade and stated in the tender documents.
(dh) General and special conditions of contract shall be of a kind generally used in
international trade.
Article 42.  Other international procedures
Whenever international competition cannot be obtained unless foreign firms are invited to
participate in procedures other than open internat ional tendering, such as restricted or two-stage
tendering, the provisions of Article 42.2 shall apply to the extent practicable in addition to the
stipulations of Chapter VI.
CHAPTER VIII.  ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW
Article 43. General
1. Subject to the provisions of this Chapter, any candidate is free to seek administrative review
of an act or omission by a procuring entity which the candidate considers to be in breach of this Law,the procurement regulations or any instructions issued pursuant thereto.
2. The following shall not be subject to the review provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article:
(a) the choice of a procurement method pursuant to Chapter IV;(b) a decision by the procuring entity under Article 15 to reject all tenders, proposals or
quotations;  and
(c) a decision taken by the entity with the consent of the Council of Ministers.
3. Once the procuring entity has signed a contract with the candidate of successful tender or
proposal, a complaint against an act omission in the process leading up to that stage cannot be
entertained through administrative review.
Article 44. Review by the head of the procuring entity
1. A complaint against an act or omission by the procuring entity shall, in the first instance, be
submitted to the head of the procuring entity.
2. Unless the complaint is resolved by mutual ag reement, the head of the procuring entity shall
suspend the procurement proceedings and shall, within 15 days after submission of the complaint,
issue a written decision, stating the reasons, and, if the complaint is upheld, indicating the corrective
measures to be taken.GPA/65
Page 17
3. If the head of the procuring entity does not issue a decision within the time stated in
paragraph 2,or if the candidate is not satisfied with the decision of the head of the procuring entity, he
presents a  complaint to the central or local body and, if he doesn’t receive the desired solution of the
problem, the candidate is entitled to submit a complaint to the  Public Procurement Agency.
Article 45. Review by the Agency
1. Upon receipt of a complaint, the Agency shall promptly give notice of the complaint to the
procuring entity.  Such action automatically suspe nds further action by the procuring entity until the
matter has been settled by the Agency.
2. The Agency, unless it dismisses the complaint, may prohibit the procuring entity from acting
or deciding unlawfully or from following an unlawful procedure, may order the procuring entity to
proceed in a manner conforming to this Law, and may annul, in whole or in part, an unlawful act or
decision by the procuring entity, other than a decision to award or conclude a contract.
3. The Agency shall, before taking any deci sion regarding a complaint, notify interested
candidates of the complaint and shall take into account information and arguments received from such
candidates and from the procuring entity.
4. The Agency shall issue its decision within 30 days of receiving the complaint, stating the
reasons for its decision and remedies granted if any.
5. The Agency's decision shall be final.
CHAPTER IX.  FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 46.  Administrative infringements
The higher central or local authority which ascertains the breach of the provisions of this law
and procurement regulations, has the right to penalize for administrative infringement the responsive
persons of procuring entity with a fine from lek 50 to 100 thousand.  A complaint may be lodged
against the fine within five days after the notification, to the court of district of procuring entity.
Article 47.  Repeal of other legislation
All provisions that contradict this law are repealed.
Article 48.  Entry in force
This law shall enter into force on 1 November 1995.      GPA/65
Page 18
LAW No. 8074, dated 22.02.1996
ON SOME CHANGES IN THE LAW No. 7971, dated 26.07.1995
"ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT"
BASED ON ARTICLE 16 OF LAW No. 7491, dated 29.04.1991
"ON THE MAIN CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS",
ON THE PROPOSAL OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS,
THE PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
DECIDED:
Article 1
In the Law No.7971, dated 26.7.1995 "On Public Pr ocurement", in Article 3 the following
paragraph is added:  "The procedures of this law should not be applied on public funds for scientific
activity and technological development".
Article 2
This law shall enter into force 15 days after publishing in the “Official Gazette”.
Proclaimed with the Decree No.1403, dated 11.3.1996 by the President of Republic
Sali BerishaGPA/65
Page 19
REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY
LAW No. 8112, dated. 28.03.1996 ON  SOME CHANGES IN THE
LAW No. 7971, dated 26.07.1995 "ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT",
AMENDED WITH LAW No. 8074, Dated 22.02.1996
BASED ON ARTICLE 16 OF LAW No. 7491, dated 29.04.1991,
"ON THE MAIN CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS",
ON THE PROPOSAL OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS,
THE PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
DECIDED:
Article 1
Law  No. 7971, dated 26.07.1995, "On Public Procurement" changed with Law No.8074, dated
22.02.1996, is further amended as follows:
-  Article 2, third paragraph, first line the word "physical" is omitted.
-  Last paragraph of Article 2 is changed as follows:
"Public Funds" shall mean every monetary value originating from the state budget, from revenues of
state enterprises and companies with the Government as a majority shareholder.
-  In Article 12, item 5, it is added the following:
"In such a case the procurement agency can propose to the Public Procurement Agency that the
candidate be excluded from all public procurement for a period up to one year."  If the PPA shall
approve this proposal, this shall be published in the public procurement bulletin."
-  In Article 12, item 6 is changed as follows:
"(6) The procurement agency has the right to disquali fy a candidate, if it, at any time up to the signing
of the contract, will find out that the information submitted related with the qualification or other data
presented by and for the candidate is inaccurate or incomplete."
-  In Article 13, item 3, after the words "in the procedure of the open tender" it is added the
following:
"by being in compliance with the time-limits defined in the procurement rules for the pre-qualification
procedure".
-  In Article 18, item (a), the word "and" at the end of the paragraph is omitted-  In Article 19, item 1, at the beginning of item (c) the following is added:
"in compliance with the restrictions defined in the procurement rules".GPA/65
Page 20
-  In Article 19, item 1, the following item after item (e) is added:
"for the continuation of the design services that are related with services previously performed, which
would violate the author's right if they would be given to another subject".
-  In Article 30, item 1 is changed as follows:
"(1)  The bids should be submitted in a written form, signed, sealed and in a closed envelope.  They
should be submitted at the place, time and date specified in the invitation for bids.  The bid envelope
should contain the documentation for the qualification of the candidates and the technical-economic
bid closed in two separate envelopes.  In international tenders, the bids can be accepted before the
designated opening date, but the invitation for bids should specify the deadline for bids submission. Inthose cases, the procurement agency, after a request,  should give to the bidder a document specifying
the  date and time that he has submitted the proposal."
- In Article 31, item 1, after the word "that" it is added "for international tender".
- In Article 31, item 3, before the words "every proposal (bid)" it is added the word
"qualified".
- In Article 31, item 4 is added as following:
“the envelopes containing the technical-economic tender of a tenderer disqualified for not meeting the
qualification criteria, should be sent unopened to the tenderer”
- In Article 40, item 1, the words “if possible” at the end of the paragraph should be omitted.
- In Article 44, item 3 is changed as follows:
(3) If the head of the procuring entity does not issue a decision within the time stated in paragraph (2),
or if the candidate is not satisfied with the decision of the head of the procuring entity, he presents a
complaint to the central or local body and, if he doesn’t receive the desired solution of the problem,
the candidate is entitled to submit a complaint to the  Public Procurement Agency.
Article 2
This law shall enter into force 15 days after publishing in the “Official Gazette”.GPA/65
Page 21
REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
DECISION
No. 12 dated 1.01.1996
ON THE  RULES OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
On the basis of law no. 7971 dated 26.07.1995 “On Public Procurement”, under the proposal of the
Public Procurement Agency, the Council of Ministers
DECIDED
1.  The procuring entity will use Open Tendering  in conformity with Article 23 of the law “On
Public Procurement” when the estimated value of the contract is over lek 10 million when procuring
construction works, over lek 5 million for goods and over lek 1 million for services, with the
exception of designing activity where reference will be made to the estimated construction value of
the object and not to service value.
2. The procuring entity will use Restricted Tendering in conformity with Article 18, item (b) and
article 36 of the above mentioned law, when the estimated value of the contract does not exceed
lek 10 million for construction works, lek 5 million for goods and lek 1 million for procurement of
services, excluding designing activity as in item 1.
In this case the procuring entity will ask for bids from the prospective bidders through an updated list
of at at least five candidates.  In case of International Procedures the candidates will be selected from
at least three different states.
3. The procuring entity will use “Request for Quotations” in conformity with Articles 22 and 40
of the above-mentioned law if the estimated contract value does not exceed lek 5 million forconstruction works, lek 2 million for goods and lek 200,000 for services.
4. The procuring entity will use direct procurement in conformity with Article 19 of the
above-mentioned law:
(a) item 1/b and 1/c for a value less than 50 per cent of the initial contract, when there is
a need of contract addition within the testing period for construction works and within
three months after the schedule of contract completion, for goods and services;
(b) item 2, for readily available goods, when the estimated value for  every item does not
exceed lek 100,000 within a year.
5.  For Open Tendering the period from the day of issuing the invitation to tender to the day of
submitting the bid is not less than 30 days for construction works and services, and not less than
20 days for goods.
In Restricted Tendering, this period is not less than 20 days for construction works and services as
well as for goods.GPA/65
Page 22
The period from the day the request for proposal is issued until the day the proposals are submitted is
not less than 10 days for quotations in construction and services and not less than 5 days for readily
available goods.
For International Procedures the period between the da y the invitation to tender is issued until the day
the bids are submitted is not less than 45 days.
6. The tender security, in the form of a deposit or bank guarantee, in conformity with Article 29
of the law, will be 2-5 per cent of the calculated value of the contract (calculated beforehand by the
procuring entity and given in net value in the forms of  tender).  The contract security will be 10 per
cent of the contract value.
7. The procuring entity, in conformity with Articl e 7 of the law, before a contract is awarded or
concluded, will prepare a summary report and present it for preliminary review to:
(a) the head of the central or local organs for thresholds between lek 5 and 200 million;
(b) the Public Procurement Agency for a threshold over lek 200 million.
The central or local organ or the Public Procurement Agency may request the complete
documentation on procurement procedures.
The successful bidder should confirm to the procur ing entity, through signing the contract form, his
readiness to sign the contract within 15 days after the day of receipt of notification  in the case of open
and restricted tenders, and within 30 days for international open and restricted tenders.
If the successful bidder replies negatively, the proc uring entity should invite for contract negotiation
the second classified bidder.
In international tenders, all the bidders should be notified about the results of the tender.9.  All the procuring entities should send the Invitation to Tender for all open tenders to the
Public Procurement Agency at the Council of Ministers, not later than 10 days before tender
announcement.
10.  The procuring entity should preserve and make available to control organs the complete
documentation of the procurements in conformity with the time-limits determined in the law "On
Archives" relevant to their official documentation of the institutions.
This decision comes into effect on January 1, 1996.GPA/65
Page 23
CHAIRMAN OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
ALEKSANDER MEKSI
Ref No. 155
Dated 12.1.1996
TO: Presidents' Office
Constitutional Court, Cassation CourtGeneral Prosecutor Office
Ministries and other Central Institutions
Councils of the Districts
Municipalities
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