RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONGPA/W/136
2 May 2001
(01-2171)
Committee on Government Procurement Original:  English
CHECKLIST OF ISSUES FOR PROVISION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO
ACCESSION TO THE AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Replies by Bulgaria
The following communication, dated 28 April 2001, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Bulgaria with the request that it be circulated to Parties.
_______________
I. LEGAL FRAMEWORK
1. Is there a single central law on procurement?  If so, please specify?
There is a single central law on procurement in Bulgaria – the Public Procurement Law,
adopted by the Parliament on 9 June 1999, published in State Gazette (SG) No. 56 of 22 June 1999, in
force as of 25 June 1999.  This Law lays down the rules and procedures for awarding of public
procurement contracts above the thresholds specified in it.
Rules for awarding of public procurement contracts in Bulgaria were introduced as early as
in 1921 by the Law on Budget, Accountancy and Undertakings, which was amended in 1934 andabolished by the Law on Budget and Budget Accountancy in 1948.  Later on, a new Law on Supplies
and Carrying out Work at the Expense of the St ate was adopted and subsequently abolished in 1952.
During the totalitarian period in Bulgaria, under the central economy, public procurement
contracts have been awarded directly to state enterprises due to the lack of private sector and marketmechanism.
Certain competitive conditions in the awarding of public procurement construction contracts
above specified thresholds were set in the beginning of 90's, with the adoption of a Regulation on
Carrying out of Construction Tenders.
Major changes to the national public procurement system were introduced for the first time
with the adoption in 1997 of the Law on Awarding State and Municipality Procurements, repealed by
the current Public Procurement Law.
2. What are the other laws, regulations, decrees, administrative rulings, decisions, policy
guidelines and other instruments governing government procurement?  Please provide a summary of
the subject areas dealt with by each of these instrume nts.  Please also explain the main differences (if
any) that exist between their application at the central and sub-central levels of government and at
other types of entities.GPA/W/136
Page 2
The main laws and regulations governing as a whole or certain aspects of the process of
awarding public procurement contracts and the performance of such contracts are as follows:
1. Public Procurement Law;
2. Regulation on Awarding of Public Procurement Contracts below the Thresholds set
out in Article 7.1 of the Public Procurement Law;
3. Regulation on Keeping the Public Procurement Register;
4. Law on Obligations and Contracts;
5. Commercial Law;6. Law on Administrative Procedures;7. Law on Administrative Infringements and Penalties.These legal instruments are applicable to the entities at central and sub-central levels of
government in the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as to the other types of entities under the Public
Procurement Law.
1) Public Procurement Law
The subject areas  dealt with are as follows:
1. Construction works, including:
(a) engineering;
(b) performance of individual or complex construction or assembly work;
(c) horizontal or vertical extension, raising of superstructures; rehabilitation and
reconstruction of buildings;
(d) delivery, assembly and disassembly of technological equipment carried out in the
construction process.
2. Supplies in the form of:
(a) purchase of products;
(b) purchase, rental or hire or leasing of machines, facilities and complex equipment.
3. Provision of the following services:
(a) maintenance, running and extensive repairs of buildings, machines or equipment;
(b) activities related to getting constructions into exploitation;(c) demolition of buildings and construction facilities;
(d) transport by land, by air and by water;
(e) telecommunications;
(f) insurance;
(g) design and installation of hardware or software;(h) accounting and auditing;
(i) scientific and research activities;
(j) management consultant services and related services;GPA/W/136
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(k) planning at all phases including urban and geodesic planning, preliminary surveys
and construction plans;
(l) market research, advertising and public opinion polling;
(m) real estate management and maintenance;
(n) publishing, distribution and printing services, including the printing of securities,
standard documents and registered forms bearing serial numbers or such as may be
used in the collection of state revenue or such as contain tax related information or
have nominal value;
(o) legal services;
(p) household waste disposal, refuse disposal and similar services, planting, grassing and
other development services in residential areas;
(q) training and retraining;(r) security and security systems;
(s) financial services, except those provided by the Bulgarian National Bank  and those
related to the national debt management.
Procuring entities are:
1. State authorities, mayors of municipalities, higher schools, as well as other authorities and
organisations disposing of funds from the consolidated state budget, including:
(a) Health insurance and pension funds;
(b) Non-profit legal organizations;
2. Non-profit organizations established by one or several state authorities and/or local
authorities;
3. Public undertakings exercising one or several of the activities as stated in the answer to
question 7 below.
Contractors
Any Bulgarian or foreign natural person or legal entity, as well as their joint ventures, may
apply for contractors under public procurement contracts.  The provisions of the Law require that theybe registered as commercial entities under the Commercial Law, or exercise a liberal profession.
Thresholds
The provisions of the Law apply to public cont racts, the estimated value of which, without
VAT, at the date of announcing the procedure is as follows:
1. for construction work contracts - exceeding 600,000 BGL1;
2. for supply contracts - exceeding 50,000 BGL;
3. for services contracts - exceeding 30,000 BGL.
When the public contract is intended to cover both supplies of products and services, the
provisions of the Law apply to the total estimated value of the products and the services in the
amounts defined for supply contracts.
                                                     
1 Bulgarian Lev (BGL) = 1 German Mark (DM).GPA/W/136
Page 4
The rules and procedures for awarding public procurement contracts below the above
thresholds are laid down in the Regulation on Awa rding Public Procurement Contracts below the
thresholds set out in Article 7.1 of the Public Procurement Law.
Principles and Procedures
Public procurement contracts are awarded by three types of procedures:  open, restricted or
negotiated procedure, in accordance with the following principles:
1. ensuring publicity of the procedures and transparency;
2. free and fair competition;
3. providing equal opportunities for participation of all interested suppliers;4. ensuring the keeping of trade secrets of interested suppliers and their tenders.
Organs
The provisions of Article 54 of the Public Procurement Law delegates to the Minister of State
Administration functions related to the issuing of a Regulation on keeping the public procurement
register;  provision of methodological guidance on the application of the Law;  co-ordination among
procuring entities with regard to the applicatio n of the Law, etc.  The Minister may notify the
authorities competent for the control on the application of the Law.  He represents the Republic of
Bulgaria in international organizations in the field of public procurement.  In the performance of suchfunctions the Minister of State Administration is assisted by a specialized unit within the
administration of the Council of Ministers (the Public Procurement Directorate).
Tenderers participating in public procurement procedures under the Law may launch
complaints against non-compliance with the requirements for carrying out of public procurementprocedures, in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Administrative Procedures.
The control on the implementation of the Law is performed by the National Audit Office and
the organs of the Agency for State Internal Financial Control.
Administrative Penal Provisions
The finding of breaches, as well as the issue, appeal and execution of penal injunctions is
undertaken in accordance to the provisions of the Law on Administrative Infringements and Penalties.
2) The Regulation on Awarding of Public Procurement Contracts below the
Thresholds set out in Article 7.1 of the Public Procurement Law (SG No, 36 of 2 May 2000, in
force as of 5 May 2000) stipulates the rules and procedures for awarding of public procurement
contracts below the thresholds set in the Public Procurement Law (the so called "small public
procurement").
Small public procurement contracts are awarded through the following types of procedures:
open tender;  restricted tender;  design contest;  and negotiation procedure.  These procedures are
identical to the procedures set out in the Public Procurement Law.  The Regulation provides for more
favourable terms related to the time-limits for conducting the procedures;  a special procedure for
awarding design contract;  additional cases in which negotiation procedure could be used.  For small
public procurement contracts with a value up to 10,000 BGL the provisions of the Regulation allowthe procuring entity not to apply the public procurement procedure and not to conclude a contract in
writing, as business transactions may be proved by primary payment documents.
The following suppliers are eligible for part icipation in small public procurement award
procedures:  (1) Bulgarian or foreign natural persons or legal entities, including their joint-ventures;GPA/W/136
Page 5
and (2) scientific organizations and institutions.  In the decision for initiation of a procedure the
procuring entity may stipulate a requirement for the successful tenderer to be a commercial entity
within the meaning of the Commercial Law, except where the contractor exercises a liberal
profession.
The award and performance of small public procurement contracts, as well as the launch of
complaints against non-compliance with the requirements for conducting of public procurement
procedures are carried out in accordance with the legal acts provided for in the Public Procurement
Law.  The provisions for control over the implementation of the Regulation, breaches and finding of
breaches are identical.
3) The Regulation on Keeping the Public Procurement Register (SG No. 89 of
31 October 2000, in force as of 1 November 2000)  lays down the rules and procedures for keeping,
maintenance and use of the Public Procurement Register, defines the content and structure and the
terms of gathering of information in the Register, as well as access to it.
4) The Law on Obligations and Contracts (SG No. 275 of 22 November 1950, as last
amended SG No. 34 of 25 April 2000) is a common law setting out the main rules for conclusion of
contracts, including public procurement contracts.
5) The Commercial Law  (SG No. 48 of 18 June 1991, as last amended SG No. 84 of
13 October 2000) is a special law setting out the rule s for conclusion of commercial contracts.  The
Law is a main legal act governing thoroughly commercial juridical relations.  It defines commercial
entities, contractual relations among them and procedures for declaring bankruptcy.
6) The Law on Administrative Procedures  (SG No. 90 of 13 November 1979, as last
amended SG No. 95 of 2 November 1999) lays down procedures for issue, appeal and execution of
individual administrative acts, as far as no specific rules are envisaged in other law or decree.
Within the meaning of the Law, individual administrative acts are acts issued by heads of
state institutions, mayors of municipalities, regional  governors and other organs of the local executive
authority, as well as other duly authorized bodies, by which acts rights and obligations arise, or rights
and legal interests of citizens and organizations are impaired, as well as the refusal for issue of such
acts.
According to Article 45 of the Public Procurement Law the decisions of procuring entities are
individual administrative acts within the meaning of the Law on Administrative Procedures and are
subject to appeal under the provisions of the latter.
7) The Law on Administrative Infringements and Penalties  (SG No. 92 of
28 November 1969, as last amended SG No. 92 of 10 November 2000) stipulates general rules for
administrative infringements and penalties, procedures for statement of administrative infringements,
imposition and execution of administrative penalties and provides the necessary guarantees for
protection of rights and legal interests of citizens and organizations.
Administrative infringement in the awarding of public procurement contracts is any act
(action or non-action), infringing the established order of state management, has been done guiltily
and has been declared as liable to punishment with administrative penalty imposed under
administrative procedure.  Administrative penalties are imposed with the purpose to alert theinfringers to obey the set legal system.
Finding of breaches, as well as issue and appeal under the Public Procurement Law, and
execution of penal injunctions is undertaken in accordance to the provisions of the Law on
Administrative Infringements and Penalties.GPA/W/136
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3. To what extent will the provisions of the Agreement be applied directly or need to be
transposed into the relevant law?  In the event of direct application of the Agreement over conflicting
provisions of domestic law, please indicate the relevant legal basis.
Pursuant to Article 5 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria international treaties or
agreements, ratified by law under the constitutional procedure, published in State Gazette and entered
into force, become part of the national legislation.
When the Agreement on Government Procurements is signed, ratified by law and published
in State Gazette, its provisions will become part of the national legislation and will prevail over the
conflicting provisions of the domestic legislation.
II. SCOPE AND COVERAGE
4. Please summarize the organization of the government in your country at each level.
According to the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Law on Administration the
executive authority is divided into central and territorial.
Central executive authorities are the Council of Ministers, ministries, state agencies, state
commissions, executive agencies and other structures, established by law or regulation of the Council
of Ministers.
The Council of Ministers performs the internal and foreign policy, ensures public order and
national security and performs general management of state administration and military forces.
The ministries perform government's policy in the relevant field of public life.
State agencies are directly subordinated to the Council of Ministers and are established to
fulfil activities that are not performed by a minist ry.  State commissions are established at the Council
of Ministers or at a relevant minister to fulfil functions related to supervision (control), registration
and licensing.
Executive agencies are established at a relevant minister to perform administrative services
and related activities thereof.
Other bodies may also be established at the Council of Ministers or at a relevant minister by
law or regulation of the Council of Ministers.
The Constitution provides for two levels of loca l public authority - within the districts and
within the municipalities.  In districts, a management at a regional level is performed and a
compliance with the national and local interests in the conduct of regional policy is ensured.  Each
district consists of municipalities.  In the municipalities activities related to the local government and
competences of the central level of administration, delegated by a legislation, are carried out.
Please, see the organizational chart attached.
5. Please list all central government entities (m inistries, departments, agencies, etc.) procuring
goods, services and construction services.
Central government entities procuring goods, services and construction services are the
Council of Ministers, ministries, state agencies, state commissions, executive agencies, commissions
and other bodies established at the Council of Ministers or at a relevant minister under the provisionsGPA/W/136
Page 7
of law or regulation of the Council of Ministers (see the organizational chart referred to in the answer
to question 4 above).
6. What entities at the sub-central level of gover nment (states, provinces, municipalities, etc.)
procure goods and services?
Entities at the sub-central level of government that may procure goods and services, including
construction works are the districts and the municipalities (see the organizational chart referred to in
the answer to question 4 above).
7. Which are the enterprises owned or controlled by the government that are subject to the rules
on government procurement?  Which are the other entities or categories of entities (Annex 3-type of
entities) owned and controlled by the government that engage in procurement?  Specify.
The rules of the Public Procurement Law that apply to the central government procuring
entities also apply to public undertakings (regardless of the ownership) exercising one or several of
the following activities, including on the basis of concession or licence:
(a) operation of fixed public service networks for production, transport or distribution of
drinking water, electricity, gas or thermal energy, as well as their supply to such
networks;
(b) exploitation of oil and gas fields, coal or other solid fuels;(c) operation of airports, harbours or other terminal facilities for carriers;(d) operation of public transportation networks;
(e) operation of telecommunication networks or provision of telecommunication and
postal services, as well as automated systems for public services.
8. Do entities listed in response to questions 5, 6 and 7 apply in their procurement the main law
(if one exists), other legislation provided by the federal or central level of government or are theyautonomous from federal or central level of gover nment in their procurement rules and practices?
Where any of these entities are not subject to the main procurement law, please list the entities
concerned and indicate which laws, regulations, et c., they are subject to.  How will you government
ensure the implementation of the Agreement by such entities below the central/federal government
level?
The Republic of Bulgaria is an unitary state and therefore the Public Procurement Law
applies to all procuring entities, referred to in the answers to questions 5, 6 and 7 above.
9. Are there any general exceptions from the scope of application of the national procurement
rules, for instance for essential national defense or security reasons?  Please provide details.
The Public Procurement Law does not apply to public procurement:1. related to national defence and security, that are subject to state secret, or whose
execution involves special security arrangements in accordance with national
legislation in force;
2. governed by procedural rules and awarded in accordance with international
agreements;GPA/W/136
Page 8
3. awarded pursuant to special procedure of an international organization;
4. if the supplier is a procuring entity within the meaning of the Public Procurement
Law, when the procuring entity is a public undertaking (see the answer to question 7above).
10. Please provide available statistics on the procurement by government entities in your country
in the last two years, including, to the extent av ailable, a breakdown by entity and by categories of
products and services.
As of 6 November 2000 the Public Procurement Directorate at the Council of Ministers is
keeping a public procurement register, the first of its kind in Bulgaria.  The Regulation on Keeping
the Public Procurement Register envisages that the information on public procurement from the date
of entry into force of the Public Procurement Law (25 June 1999) until 31 December 2000 be broughtinto compliance with the requirements of the Regulation by 30 June 2001.
For the period from the entry into force of the Law until 1 January 2001, the following
information on the number of initiated public procurement procedures is available:
No. Criteria Number of initiated
procedures
1. Type of procuring entity:
1.1. State authorities, higher education institutions and other
organizations, disposing of funds from the consolidated state
budget1282
1.2. Municipalities' mayors 1019
1.3. Health insurance and pension funds 49
1.4. Non-profit legal organisations, established by one or several
state authorities and/or local government authorities5
1.5. Public undertakings operating networks for drinking water,
electricity, gas or thermal energy863
1.6. Public undertakings exploiting oil and gas fields, coal or other
solid fuels232
1.7. Public undertakings operating airports, harbours or other
terminal facilities for carriers14
1.8. Public undertakings operating pubic transportation  networks 181
1.9. Public undertakings operating telecommunication networks or
providing telecommunication and postal services, as well as
automated systems for public services238
2. Type of public procurement:
2.1. services 1385
2.2. supplies 2246
2.3. construction works 252
3. Type of procedure:
3.1. open procedure 3005
3.2. restricted procedure 507
3.3. negotiation procedure 371GPA/W/136
Page 9
III. NATIONAL TREATMENT AND NON-DISCRIMINATION
11. Identify the specific provisions in the legislation which reflect the national treatment and
non-discrimination commitments of Article III of the Agreement.
According to the Public Procurement Law, any Bulgarian and foreign natural person or legal
entity, as well as their joint-ventures, may apply for contractors in the public procurement procedures.
The contractor has to be registered as commercia l entity within the meaning of the Commercial Law,
except when he exercises a liberal profession.
12. Please provide details of any provisions in national legislation according domestic supplies
and suppliers treatment more favourable than that accorded to foreign supplies or suppliers or
according supplies or suppliers of any country more favourable treatment than those of any othercountry.
There are no such provisions in the Bulgarian legislation.
13. Please provide details of any provisions in national legislation allowing a locally established
supplier to be treated less favourably than another locally established supplier on the basis of its
degree of foreign affiliation or ownership or di scriminating against locally established suppliers on
the basis of the country of production of the good or services being supplied.
There are no such provisions in the Bulgarian legislation.
14. Please specify to what extent, if at all, more favourable treatment is granted to any sectors of
the economy, regions or specific categories of suppliers or supplies.
As a general rule the Public Procurement Law does not grant more favourable treatment to
any sectors of economy, regions or specific categories of suppliers or supplies.  The only exception
relates to small and medium-sized enterprises and disabled people, its aim being to support social
policy performance.  The relevant provisions envisage the following:
(1) In the evaluation of tenders in open or restricted procedure, under equal other
conditions, a preference is given to suppliers that are small or medium-sized
enterprises or that have hired such enterprises as sub-contractors;
(2) In an open or restricted procedure, in the evaluation of a tender submitted by a
supplier meeting the requirements laid down in Article 21.3 of the Law on Protection,
Rehabilitation and Social Integration of Disabled People
2, his price offer is deemed to
be the lowest offer, provided that it does not exceed the lowest price offered by
another supplier by more than 10 per cent.  According to the Public Procurement
Law, the lowest price offered can be one of the main criteria for evaluation of tenders.
                                                     
2 Article 21.3 of the Law on Protection, Rehabilitation and Social Integration of Disabled People
provides that in the specialized undertakings, cooperations and separate production units the relative share of thelabour readjusted people in the total staff number is not less than 50 per cent for disabled people suffering anytype of disease and not less than 30 per cent - for blind people or people with weak sight.GPA/W/136
Page 10
15. Please specify any provisions requiring or allowing the use of offsets or measures with
similar effect, such as domestic content, licensing of technology, investment, counter-trade or similar
requirements in the qualification or selection of suppliers, products or services or in the evaluation of
tenders and award of contracts.
Pursuant to Article 22 paragraph 2 of the Public Procurement Law, the procuring entity has
the right to include in its decision for initiation of a procedure additional requirements to contract
performance, such as:
1. conditions relating to the solution of environmental issues, unemployment, job
creation for disabled workers, use of local resources and raw materials in certain
regions;
2. requirements relating to the protection of the national security, defence and public
order;
3. conditions relating to stimulating the participation of small and m еdium-sized
enterprises as sub-contractors.
Article 28.3 of the Public Procurement Law allows that the share of the contract to be
entrusted to a sub-contractor may be up to 50 per cent of the total tender price if the tenderer is a
foreign natural or legal person or consortium, provided that the sub-contractors are Bulgarian naturalor legal persons.
IV. ELEMENTS SPECIFIC TO PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES
16. Please provide a general description of your existing procurement methods and procedures,
including the main procurement methods used and a brief description of each method, and the extentto which qualification of suppliers and open, selective and limited tendering for each level of
government is used.
Types of procedures under the Public Procurement Law:Public procurement contracts above the thresholds specified in the Law are awarded by three
types of procedures:  open, restricted and negotiation procedure.
In open public procurement procedures, the procuring entity sends invitations to all interested
suppliers to submit tenders.
In restricted procedures, tenders may be submitted only by those suppliers who on the basis of
a pre-qualification procedure have been invited in writing by the procuring entity.
In the negotiation procedure, the procuring entity awards a public procurement contract
following negotiations with one or more suppliers previously selected by him.
The passing over from one type of procedure to another is allowed only when the initially
announced procedure has been terminated without the conclusion of a contract.
The procuring entity takes a decision to initiate an open procedure  for awarding a public
procurement contract in all cases, unless otherwise is provided for in the Law.
Restricted procedures  may be carried out only when:GPA/W/136
Page 11
1. due to the specific character of the procurement, the contract can be performed only
by limited number of suppliers;
2. due to the complex technical nature of th e procurement, in the course of contract
performance subsequent technical and technological clarifications need to be made;
3. the open procedure initially announced has been cancelled or terminated without the
conclusion of a contract.
A negotiation procedure  may be carried out only when:
1. the procurement is related to scientific research, experiment or studies.  The results of
such procurement may not be used for mass production or the establishment of the
product's commercial viability;
2. there is a need for prevention of accidents or elimination of after-effects from
accidents or natural calamities, or there is a risk of damage on a large scale, or whenpeople's health and safety are at risk;
3. in case of additional deliveries by the same supplier, but not later than six months
from awarding of the initial contract, provided that the following conditions are met
simultaneously:
(a) the initial contract has been awarded by open or restricted procedure and the 
procuring entity had stated the possibility of additional deliveries in its 
invitation to tender;
(b) the change of supplier would entail the purchase of materials of different 
technical characteristics that might result in a lack of compatibility or in 
technical difficulties in operation or maintenance;
(c) for the purposes of such additional deliveries, the unit prices remain the same 
as under the main contract and adjustment in line with official rate of 
inflation is allowed;
(d) the total value of such additional procurement does not exceed 20 per cent of 
the value of the main contract;
4. the procurement is for a repetition of a service supplied, or for an additional services
by the same contractor not later than 1 year from the award of the main contract,
provided that the following requirements are met simultaneously:
(a) the main contract has been awarded by open or restricted procedure and the 
procuring entity had stated  the possibility of additional procurement in its invitation to tender;
(b) for the purposes of such additional procurement, the unit prices remain the 
same as under the main contract and adjustment in line with official rate of 
inflation is allowed;
(c) the total value of such additional procurement does not exceed 20 per cent of 
the value of the main contract;GPA/W/136
Page 12
5. awarding the contract to another supplier w ould result in infringement of copyright or
other intellectual property rights;
6. the public procurement contract for supply is to be concluded with public undertaking
that is bankrupt, or is subject of proceedings for declarations of bankruptcy, or it isbeing wound up;
7. the products and services are included in a list approved by the Council of Ministers
in accordance with Article 22 (1) of the Law on Protection, Rehabilitation and Social
Integration of Disabled People
3;
8. the open and restricted procedures have terminated without the conclusion of a
contract.
Description of tendering procedures
The three types of procedures for awarding public procurement contracts begin with
procuring entity's decision for initiation of a procedure.
(1) The invitation for participation in an open procedure  for awarding public
procurement contract is being sent simultaneously to State Gazette for publication in the Public
Procurement Bulletin and to the Public Procurement Register not later than 45 calendar days beforethe date specified for tendering. The State Gazette publishes the invitation for participation not later
than 5 calendar days after its receipt. The procur ing entity also sends the invitation for publishing in
one local or national daily newspaper.
The invitation is addressed to all interested suppliers. If no tender or less than three tenders
have been submitted within the specified time-limit,  the procuring entity may extend the time-limit for
submission of tenders by no more than 30 days.  The potential tenderers buy the tender documentation
and if interested, they prepare and submit their tenders.
For the purpose of conducting the open procedure, the procuring entity appoints a special
commission.  The commission receives from the procuring entity the list of tenderers, examines and
assesses the submitted tenders in accordance with the preliminary announced criteria.  The threetenderers whose tenders meet to the greatest extent the conditions announced by the procuring entity
are ranked.  The commission records the examination, evaluation and ranking of the tenders in
properly signed minutes and terminates its work by handling the minutes to the procuring entity.
The procuring entity announces by a decision the top three rankings and awards the contract
to the tenderer ranked first not later than three wo rking days after the completion of the commission's
work.
(2) The restricted procedure has two stages:  pre-qualification of suppliers and
restricted procedure with the selected tenderers.
The invitation for participation in the pre-qualification stage is sent to State Gazette for
publication in the Public Procurement Bulletin and to the Public Procurement Register not later than
15 calendar days before the specified pre-qualification date.  The State Gazette publishes the
invitation for participation in the pre-qualification not later than five calendar days after its receipt.The procuring entity sends the invitation for publishing in one local or national daily newspaper.
                                                     
3 Pursuant to Article 22 of the Law on Protection, Rehabilitation and Social Integration of Disabled
People, the Council of Ministers has to adopt a list of goods and services, the production of which is awarded tospecialized undertakings and cooperations through public procurement.GPA/W/136
Page 13
The aim of the pre-qualification stage is to invite for participation in the restricted procedure
only suppliers with the necessary economic and technical capabilities of performing the contract.  All
suppliers interested in the procurement have the ri ght to submit applications to be invited to the
pre-qualification stage.  If no request or less than three applications have been submitted within thespecified time-limit, the procuring entity may extend the deadline for submission of applications by
not more than 30 days.
The selection of suppliers is carried out by a commission appointed by the procuring entity.
The commission assesses the applications for participation submitted and recommends that the
procuring entity invite only those suppliers w ho fulfill to the greatest extent the pre-announced
requirements.
The procuring entity selects the suppliers that wi ll be invited to participate in the restricted
procedure and sends simultaneously to all selected suppliers invitations for participation.  Within
seven days from the receipt of the invitation each supplier confirms in writing its intention to participate
in the restricted procedure.  A lack of confirmati on is deemed to be a refusal to participate in the
procedure.  The procuring entity proceeds to the restricted procedure provided that at least three
suppliers confirm their intention to participate.  Otherwise, the procuring entity terminates the
procedure and informs the suppliers in writing.  The evaluation of tenders is carried out by the
commission according to the proceedings provided for evaluation under open procedures.  The
procuring entity announces by a decision the top three rankings and awards the contract to thetenderer ranked first.
(3) The invitation for participation in a negotiation procedure  for awarding public
procurement contract is addressed to one or more suppliers selected by the procuring entity.  The
invitation is sent for publication in the Public Procurement Register.
The suppliers submit tenders within the time-limit sp ecified by the procuring entity that is not
less than 15 calendar days before the date specified for carrying out the procedure.  The procuring
entity proceeds in its own best interest in the negotiations.
There are no limitations of legal nature for the application of the different types of procedures
by procuring entities at each level of government.
17. Identify the provision in your country's legislation requiring non-discrimination as regards
the qualification of suppliers in terms of Article VIII and selection of suppliers in terms of Article X.
Indicate any exception to this requirement.  What are the provisions ensuring non-discriminatory
access of new suppliers to existing qualification lists?
There are no provisions in the Bulgarian legislation requiring the qualification of suppliers.
Each procuring entity carries out market research an d elaborates lists of the suppliers in the relevant
industries on a case-by-case basis.
Though there are no explicit provisions in the Public Procurement Law, the principle of non-
discrimination as provided in Article VIII and Article X of Agreement of Government Procurements,
is applied to qualification and selection of suppliers.
18. In situations where qualification procedures and selective tendering may be used, to what
extent do entities allow suppliers to become qualified during the procurement process?  To what
extent do entities maintain permanent lists of suppliers?
There are no explicit provisions in the Bulgarian legislation for the maintenance of permanent
list of suppliers.GPA/W/136
Page 14
It is foreseen that after 30 June 2001 the Public Procurement Register will include annual
rankings of the best traders in the relevant industries.  Proposals for such rankings are to be made by
professional associations and organizations in the relevant industries.
19. What are the conditions and circumstances foreseen in your legislation allowing the use of
the limited tendering method under Article XV of the Agreement?  What measures exist in order to
ensure that this method is not used with a view  to avoiding maximum possible competition or in a
manner which would constitute a means of discriminating among foreign supplies/suppliers or in
favour of domestic supplies/suppliers?
According to the provisions of the Public Procurement Law, public procurement contracts
may be awarded under limited procedure within the meaning of Article XV of the Agreement on
Government Procurement (in the Bulgarian law it is referred to as "negotiation procedure").  This type
of procedure may be applied only in specified cases (see the answer to question 16 above), and in a
manner not allowing its use with a view to avoi ding maximum possible competition or which would
constitute a means of discriminating among foreign supplies/suppliers, or in favour of domesticsupplies/suppliers.
20. Article XIV of the Agreement allows for negotiation under certain conditions.  Are entities
allowed to proceed to negotiations?  If so, which categories and what are the conditions imposed?
According to the provisions of the Public Procurement Law, the procuring entity is not
allowed to proceed to negotiations under the open and restricted procedures.  Only under the
negotiated procedure the procuring entity may negotiate the terms of the contract in its own best
interest.
21. Article XI sets out the minimum time-periods for tendering and delivery.  What are the rules
and practices regarding time-periods in your legisla tion?  Does the legislation reflect the various
minimum time-periods as set out in the Agreement?  If not, give information on any different
time-periods which have been established in your national legislation.
The Public Procurement Law sets out the following minimum time-periods for submission of
tenders for tendering and delivery:
In the open procedure :  The time-period for submission of tenders is at least 45 calendar
days after the invitation has been sent for publication in State Gazette.  The State Gazette publishes
the invitation in the Public Procurement Bulletin no t later than five calendar days after its receipt.
This time-period may be reduced to 30 calendar days if the procuring entity has included this publicprocurement in its information about intended annual public procurement at the beginning of the
current year (i.e. by the end of January).
In the restricted procedure :  The pre-qualification of the candidates is carried out at least
15 calendar days after the invitation for participation in the pre-qualification has been sent forpublication in State Gazette.  The time-period for submission of tenders is at least 20 calendar days
after the receipt of the invitation for participation in  the restricted procedure.  This time-period may be
reduced to 10 calendar days if the procuring entity has included the particular procurement in its
information of planned procurement for the current year or in case of unforeseen circumstances which
require urgent action on procurement.
In the negotiation procedure :  The time-period for submission of tenders is at least
15 calendar days after the date the invitation has been sent to the candidate or candidates selected by
the procuring entity.GPA/W/136
Page 15
Only the time-periods for the restricted procedure under the Public Procurement Law are
shorter than those specified in the Agreement on Government Procurement.
22. Briefly describe the procedures for the submission, receipt and opening of tenders and
awarding of contracts, in particular the procedures and conditions guaranteeing regularity of theopenings and consistency with the non-discrimination provisions of the Agreement.  How is the
information on the proceedings related to the receipt, opening and evaluation of tenders maintained
by entities?
The procedures for the submission, receipt and opening of tenders are identical for all types of
public procurement envisaged in the Bulgarian legislation. The conditions for awarding of contracts
are equal too.
The tender is put in a sealed non-transparent envelope and delivered by the tenderer or by his
duly authorised representative by hand against acknowledgement of receipt or submitted by registeredmail with proof of receipt.  The sequence, date and hour of receipt are entered on the envelope and in
a special register.  Tenders received after the deadline are rejected and returned to the tenderer.
Tenders received in unsealed envelopes are also rejected. Such tenders are immediately returned to
the tenderer. By the deadline for submission of tenders every tenderer may modify, supplement or
withdraw its tender.  The procuring entity may request that the price proposal be submitted in a
separate sealed envelope bearing the words "Price Offer".
A commission appointed by the procuring entity opens the envelopes in the sequence of their
receipt and examines their compliance with the pr eliminary announced terms and conditions.  The
commission has the right at any time to verify the facts and data submitted by the tenderers as well as
to request supplementary evidence of facts and data provided in the tender within a specified period.
The commission may exclude from participation in the procedure any tenderer whose tender isincomplete or not in conformity with the pr e-announced requirements.  The decision of the
commission to accept a written justification or to reject the tender is announced to the tenderer
without delay.
The procuring entity concludes a public procurement contract  with the successful tenderer.
The contract includes all terms proposed by the te nderer to whom the contract is awarded.  The
procuring entity concludes the contract within one month of announcing the award decision.
The procuring entity does not conclude a public procurement contract when:
1. the time-limit specified for complaints against the procuring entity’s award decision
has not expired;
2. a complaint has been filed against the procuring entity’s award decision – by the time
when a decision on such a complaint has been taken;
3. the successful tenderer fails to present, before concluding the contract, an evidence of
registration under the Commercial Law.
The procuring entity is responsible for preparing and conducting the procedure for awarding
of public procurement contract, as well as for the acceptance and keeping the tenders.  The procuring
entity is obliged to keep the entire documentation related to each public procurement procedure for aperiod of three years after the completion of each contract.GPA/W/136
Page 16
The procedures for awarding public procurement contracts under the Public Procurement Law
and the requirements described above are applied in conformity with the provisions for
non-discrimination according to the Agreement on Government Procurements.
23. Please identify the provisions in your legislation setting the parameters for the prescription of
technical specifications by entities as part of the evaluation criteria.
§ According to the provisions of Article 41 paragraphs 2 of the Public Procurement Law,
main criteria for evaluation of tenders are the most economically advantageous tender or the lowest
price proposed.  Within the meaning of the Law "most economically advantageous tender" is the
tender that meets to the greatest extent the preliminary announced conditions as regards quality;
technical, aesthetic and functional characteristics;  technical support or warranty service; term ofperformance; price and method of payment.
24. Identify the measures in national legislati on ensuring that awards are made in accordance
with the evaluation criteria and essential requirements specified in the tender documentation.
There are explicit provisions in the Public Procurement Law that ensure the awarding of
public procurement contracts in conformity with the criteria for assessment and the main requirements
in the tender documentation:
♦ Article 39 paragraph 3 stipulates that the commission carrying out open or restricted
procedure opens the envelopes in the sequence of their receipt and assesses their
compliance with the preliminary announced terms and conditions;
♦ Under Article 40 paragraph 1(3), the commission has the right to exclude from
participation in the procedure any tenderer whose tender is incomplete or not in conformitywith the requirements laid down in the tender documentation;
♦ According to Article 41 paragraph 1, after examination of the tenders the commission
evaluates them according to the preliminary announced criteria;
♦ Under Article 43 the commission ranks the three tenderers whose tenders meet to the
greatest extent the terms and conditions specified in the tender documentation.
Article 21 paragraph 1, point 1 provides for the right of the procuring entity to terminate a
public procurement procedure in case when all the tenders do not meet the terms and conditions
pre-announced in the tender documentation.
V. INFORMATION
25. Article XIX:1 of the Agreement foresees the publication of laws, regulations, judicial
decisions, administrative rulings of general application and procedures regarding government
procurement.  Please give the name of the public ation(s) and indicate the means used for this
purpose.  Please also provide, where available, the address of an Internet website where the
legislation referred to in questions 1 and 2 can be found.
All laws, regulations and administrative ruli ngs regarding public procurements are published
in the State Gazette.
The Public Procurement Law, the Regulation on Awarding Public Procurement Contracts
below the thresholds set out in Article 7.1 of the Public Procurement Law and the Regulation on
Keeping the Public Procurement Register are published in the Bulgarian language in the website ofGPA/W/136
Page 17
the Public Procurement Register (http://www1.gover nment.bg/rop/).  Their publication in the English
language is pending.
26. Article IX:1 of the Agreement foresees the publication of invitations to participate for all
cases of intended procurement by entities.  Please give the name of the relevant publication(s) andindicate the media to be used for this purpose.  Please also provide, where available, the address of
an Internet website where such invitations are published.
The invitations for participation in public procurement procedures are published in the Public
Procurement Bulletin, in the unofficial section of the State Gazette and in the Public Procurement
Register.  The procuring entity also publishes the invitation in one local or national daily newspaper.
The Public Procurement Register is accessible through the Internet website of the
Government as mentioned in the answer to question 25 above.  For the time being, the information in
the Register is available only in Bulgarian.
27. Please specify the types of information that your legislation requires to be included in notices
of invitation to tender or in tender documentation, and identify the relevant provisions in your
legislation.
According to Article 34 paragraph 1 and Article 52 paragraph 2 of the Public Procurement
Law the invitations for participation in open and negotiated procedures  for awarding public
procurement contracts contains the following information:
1. the name, address and telephone number of the procuring entity;2. the procuring entity's decision for initiation of a procedure, which according to
Article 22 paragraph 1 of the Public Procurement Law includes:
− the subject of public procurement;
− the legal and actual grounds for initiating the procedure;
− the type of procedure;
− the term and place of performance;
− restrictions for contract performance, if any;
− qualification requirements to tenderers;
− quality requirements;
− the terms concerning tender price formation and payment;
− the period of tender validity;
− the type and amount of tender guarantee;
− the criteria for evaluation of tenders and the method of determining their weight in
the complex tender evaluation;
− the place, date and time for examination and evaluation of tenders;
3. the place where tender documentation can be obtained, the time-limit, the price and
the method of payment for the tender documentation;
4. the place and time-limit for submission of tenders.According to Article 47 paragraph 1 of the Public Procurement Law an invitation for
participation in the pre-qualification of tenderers in the restricted procedure  contains theGPA/W/136
Page 18
information described in (1) and (2) above, as well as information on the place and time-limit for
submission of applications for participation and the pre-qualification criteria.
Under Article 49 paragraph 4 of the Public Procurement Law, an invitation for participation
in a restricted procedure  contains the following information:
(1) the place for submission of tenders;(2) the time-limit for submission of tenders;(3) the price and the method of payment for tender documentation.
According to Article 36 of the Public Procurement Law, the tender documentation  contains
all data, instructions and requirements necessary for the preparation of tenders:
1. the decision for initiation of a procedure;
2. a full description of the subject of public procurement;
3. technical performance requirements; such requirements may not stipulate
requirements or reference to undertakings, products, materials or services related to
particular undertakings, patents, utility models, trademarks and designation of origin;
4. plans and other documentation necessary for the preparation of tenders in the case of
construction works;
5. a standard tender form;6. a draft public procurement contract.
28. Article IX:1 of the Agreement foresees publication of permanent lists of qualified suppliers by
entities maintaining such lists.  Please give the name of the publication(s) and indicate the meansused for this purpose.  Please also provide, where available, the address of an Internet website where
such invitations are published.
Please, see the answers to questions 17 and 18 above.
29. Article XVIII:1 of the Agreement foresees the publication of details of contract award notices
by entities.  Please give the name of the relevant publication(s) and indicate the means to be used for
this purpose.  Please also provide, where available, the address of an Internet website where such
notices are published.
Information on the awarded public procurement contracts is published in the Public
Procurement Register.  The Internet address of the Register's website is given in the answer toquestion 25 above.
30. Please specify the types of information that not ices of contract awards should contain in your
country and identify the relevant provisions in your legislation.
Under Article 15 of the Regulation on Keeping the Public Procurement Register, the
information of the awarded public procurement contracts includes:
1. the number of contract and date of award;GPA/W/136
Page 19
2. the code under BULSTAT for commercial entities and the personal identification
number for natural persons;
3. the subject matter of the contract;
4. the time-limit for delivery;
5. the total value of the contract without VAT;6. the value of the part of a contract to be performed by sub-contractors, if any;
7. the terms of payment.
When the value of a contract is expressed in a foreign currency, the information referred to
above shall contain the type of the currency and its equivalent in Bulgarian Leva on the exchange rate
of the Bulgaria National Bank on the date of award.
When the value of recurring contracts can not be determined on the date of award, the
procuring entity shall send information about the contract performance on a six-months basis.
In case of any amendments to the contract terms or of contract termination, the procuring
entities shall send information on the relevant circumstances.
The procuring entity sends quarterly to the Register information for the small public
procurement contracts awarded.
31. Please specify the relevant provisions in your legislation enabling, as foreseen in
Article XVIII:2, the provision of information to other Parties and unsuccessful tenderers regarding
the reasons why a tender was not selected.
Currently, there are no specific provisions in the national legislation enabling the provision of
information to other Parties to the Agreement.
According to Article 45 paragraph 1 of the Public Procurement Law any tenderer in open or
restricted procedure for awarding public procurement contract has the right to request and to obtain
access to the minutes of the tender evaluation commission.  The minutes contains all the
circumstances related to the examination and evaluation of the tenders, as well as the reasons why a
tenderer has not been selected as contractor.
The procuring entity may not refuse access to the minutes of the commission.
VI. BID CHALLENGE PROCEDURES
32. Please provide information on existing challenge procedures.
Tenderers participating in public procurement procedures may launch complaints against
non-compliance with the requirements for carrying out of public procurement procedures under the
provisions of the Law on Administrative Procedures with the following authorities:
(a) the upper administrative body within 7 days time after the decision of the procuring
entity on the awarding of the contract has been announced;
(b) the court (in case the possibility to appeal under the administrative procedure has
been exhausted or the time limit has expired ) within 14 days after the decision on the
appeal of the upper administrative body has been announced, respectively after thetime limit for appeal under the administrative procedure has expired, or after the
decision of the upper administrative body has been issued.GPA/W/136
Page 20
33. Are there specific provisions enabling access of foreign suppliers to challenge procedures?
According to the Public Procurement Law tenderers, whether or not Bulgarian or foreign
persons, may launch complaints for non-compliance with the requirements for carrying out public
procurement procedures.
34. To the extent that this information does no t fully respond to the following points, please
provide the supplementary information necessary to do so:
(i) The time-limit to launch a complaint contained in the Agreement is "not less than 10
days" from the time when the basis of the complaint is known or reasonably should
have been known.  What are the limits in domestic legislation?
The time-limit to launch of complaint is 7 days after the decision of the procuring entity on
the awarding of the public procurement contract has been announced.
(ii) What body is responsible for the challenge procedures?  Is this a "court" or an
"impartial and independent review body"?  If the latter:
- How are its members selected?- Are its decisions subject to judicial review?- If not, how will the requirements of paragraph 6 of Article XX be taken into 
account?
For appeal under the civil legal proceedings responsible body is the court and for appeal
under the administrative procedure the responsible body is the upper administrative body.
(iii) What is the applicable law by reference to which the challenge body will examine
complaints?
The court examines the complaints in acco rdance with the provisions of the Law on
Administrative Procedures and for the matters not dealt with therein the provisions of the CivilProcedures Code are applied.
(iv) Which rapid interim measures are provided to correct breaches of the Agreement and
to preserve commercial opportunities?
- Do these measures include the possibility to suspend the procurement 
process?  On what conditions?
The Bulgarian legislation does not provide for rapid interim measures to correct breaches of
the Agreement.
(v) How do challenge procedures provide for correction of the Agreement? What types of
compensation for loss or damages suffered can the challenge body order?
Please, see the answer to (iv) above.(vi) Give any available information on the time-periods for the stages of the challenge
process, including to obtain interim measures and a final decision.GPA/W/136
Page 21
According to the Law on Administrative Procedures the upper administrative body takes its
decision on the complaint within 14 days after the launch of the complaint, or within 30 days - if the
administrative body is collective.
In case of appeal in the court the time limit for the taking of the decision is 30 days after the
session in which the review of the matter has terminated.
(vii) What are the usual costs to conduct a challenge procedure?  Are there possibilities
foreseen to do so free of charge?
Under the administrative challenge procedure no fees are collected.
According to Tariff No.1 on State Fees collected by the courts for the conduction of challenge
procedure a fee in the following amounts is paid by the claimant:
(a) in case the claimant is a non-profit legal entity or natural person, excluding traders -
10 BGL;
(b) for legal entities, excluding those under "a" and natural persons which are traders
within the meaning of the Commercial Law – 50 BGL;
(c) for claims of appeal the above fees are paid in half of the stated amount.
VII. OTHER MATTERS
35. To what extent is information technology  being used in the process of government
procurement?  Are notices of invitations to tender and/or notices of contract awards published
electronically?  Please provide the address of such electronic publications.
The first stage of introducing the information technology in the process of public procurement
in Bulgaria is the establishment of the Public Procurement Register that ensures access to the
following information in Bulgarian:
1. decisions for initiation of procedures for awarding public procurement contracts;
2. invitations for participation in open or negotiated procedures for awarding public
procurement contracts;
3. invitations for participation in the pre-qualification stage of restricted procedures;
4. decisions of the procuring entity referred to the lists of tenderers selected to be invited
to participate in restricted procedures;
5. decisions on any amendments to the tender conditions, as well as decisions on
cancellation of procedures for awarding public procurement contracts;
6. statistical data about the number of tenders submitted, eligible tenders and rejected
tenders;
7. information for the awarded contracts;
8. lists of external experts that the procuring entity may use in the procedures;9. any practice of the implementation of the Public Procurement Law.
The invitations for participation in open procedures and pre-qualification in restricted
procedures are sent electronically by the State Gazette to the Public Procurement Register. This
provides their publication on the same date both in the Public Procurement Bulletin and in theRegister.GPA/W/136
Page 22
36. Is there a contact point in your country for responding to enquiries from suppliers, other
governments and the wider public relating to laws, regulations and procedures and practices
regarding government procurement at the central and/or sub-central level?  Please provide the
address.
Such contact point has not been established in Bulgaria.  Taking into account its functions
related to the assistance of the Minister of State Administration in fulfilling his rights and obligations
under the Public Procurement Law, the Public Procurement Directorate at the Council of Ministers is
responsible for responding to such enquiries.
The address of the Public Procurement Directorate is as follows:
Republic of Bulgaria
1000 Sofia
1, Dondukov Blv.
Council of MinistersPublic Procurement DirectorateDirector
Mr. Plamen Nemchev
tel. (+359 2) 940 26 45; 940 24 76
fax: (+359 2) 940 21 90e-mail: P.Nemchev@government.bgGPA/W/136
Page 23ORGANIZATIONAL CHART OF THE EXECUTIVE AUTHORITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA
CENTRAL EXECUTIVE AUTHORITYLOCAL EXECUTIVE
AUTHORITY
MINISTRIES – 14 COUNCIL OF MINISTERS Districts  - 28
Executive
Agencies - 21Commissions - 1 Other bodies
established by law or
Regulation of the
Council of Ministers
(national centers,
offices, national
offices, experimental
laboratories, research
and development
institutes, educational
or training centers,
medical or
rehabilitation
centers) - 55State
Agencies - 7State
Commissions -
7Other bodies
established by law or
Regulation of the
Council of Ministers
(national agencies,
agencies, general
directorates,
experimental
laboratories, research
and development
institutes, educational
or training centers,
medical or
rehabilitational
centers) - 14Municipalities  - 262