RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/WGTGP/W/30
9 May 2001
(01-2395)
Working Group on Transparency
in Government ProcurementOriginal:  French
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT REGIME IN TUNISIA
Communication from Tunisia
The following communication, dated 4 May 2001, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Tunisia with the request that it be distributed to all Members.
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1. Presentation
Government procurement aims to satisfy the widest possible range of needs in respect of
works and the supply of goods and services which influence economic growth and the well-being of
the population and has come to represent a major financial challenge.  The total volume of public
procurement is estimated at around 10-15 per cent of GDP.
In Tunisia, it corresponds to 15 per cent of GDP and around half of the national budget.It should, however, be pointed out that not only does government procurement have
considerable financial influence, but it is also an ef fective tool for promoting, as a matter of priority,
the private sector and trade development.
In an endeavour to ensure that the financial resources involved are allocated in the best
possible way and with a view to acquiring goods and services which are competitive in terms of both
quality and price, Tunisia has set up an appropriate legal framework defining the rules and procedures
to be followed when concluding procurement contracts.
Government procurement is currently regulated by a set of legislative and regulatory texts.
The basic regulations, which date from 1989, have been updated on a regular basis to take the
economic climate into account. These regulations lay down three basic principles:  free competition,
transparency in the awarding of contracts and pr eservation of the principles of sound management.
It is true that this mechanism involves a number of procedures – advertising in the
newspapers, submission of tenders in sealed envelopes, opening of the envelopes, examination of the
tenders, monitoring by procurement commissions, etc.  But however numerous they may be, these
procedures are not very complex and in fact amount to ways of ensuring that the three above-
mentioned principles are upheld, that public funds are properly managed and that all bidders aretreated fairly as far as the award of public contracts is concerned.WT/WGTGP/W/30
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2. Free competition and transparency
The regulations cover every aspect of these principles.  They ensure that government
procurement is exposed as far as possible to the broadest possible competition with a view to
obtaining the best possible quality and prices.  They have made transparency a fundamental principle,
closely linked to free competition.  This applies to the different phases of government purchasing.
As regards the tender documents, the technical specifications must define the purpose of the
procurement and the conditions under which it is to take place.  They must also lay down the
conditions for participation, the selection criteria and their relative weight, and the rights and
obligations of the parties concerned.
The regulatory selection criteria include the technical merit of the services,  professional and
financial guarantees offered by each of the bidders, price, completion time, etc.  Public purchasers
may adopt other selection criteria provided that they are adapted to the purpose of the procurement
and the conditions under which it is to take place.
The regulations also stipulate that tender documents must be clear as to what is required:
characteristics and content must be indicated precisely.  They must be defined with reference to
previously established technical specifications and possibly to specifically identified national or
international standards.  Any indication of a brand name or any other element that could direct the
purchase towards a given product is prohibited.
With respect to types of procurement, the regulations favour tendering in order to ensure
maximum competition and transparency.  Although certain provisions allow for single tendering, this
remains an exceptional procedure to be applied only in certain specific cases laid down in the
regulations, such as extreme urgency owing to un foreseen circumstances or procurement related to
research, testing, experimentation, etc.
Even in the case of single tendering or direct contracting, public purchasers are under an
obligation to ensure the freest possible competition except when required to use a particular supplier
for well-founded reasons.
Still in connection with free competition and transparency, the regulations stipulate that calls
for tenders must be advertised as widely as possible to ensure that all potential bidders are informed.
The Tunisian regulations governing the sending, receipt and opening of tenders include
precautions to ensure that the various operations in volved are carried out with complete transparency.
Thus, all bids must be sent by registered mail within the period of time specified in the tender
documents and which cannot be less than 20 days, thereby ensuring that competitors are informed ingood time of the government procurement portfolio so that they can prepare to compete and submit
high-quality tenders for contracts. Any bids which do not comply with these formal conditions or
which are received beyond the deadline are automatically rejected.
The opening of the envelopes is carried out collectively by a commission, in the presence of a
management auditor (the controller of expend iture for government procurement and the State
controller for procurement by State enterprises) and generally in the presence of the participants.
In exceptional cases where the opening of the tenders is not public, for example for reasons of
urgency, the administrator is required to post th e results of the opening immediately following the
meeting of the commission.
The regulations stipulate that, for reasons of transparency, the examination of the bids and the
choice of supplier must be carried out by a commission, which proceeds by considering the bids andWT/WGTGP/W/30
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eliminating those which do not meet the established conditions and classifies the remaining offers
exclusively and strictly on the basis of the selection criteria and weighting set forth in the tender
documents. These documents must be transmitted, against receipt, to all candidates, who may in no
circumstances modify their bids retroactively.
The commission then draws up a detailed report describing the key features of the
procurement procedure and, on the basis of this classification, proposes the bid that it considers the
most suitable, i.e., the best value for money accordin g to the previously established selection criteria.
It should be stressed that the regulations do not confine themselves to establishing general
principles such as transparency and organizing the procedures required to put them into practice.
They also seek to ensure that those principles are properly applied by providing for control, inter alia
of compliance with the regulations.
3. System of control
Government procurement involves the use of government funds, the management of which
must be accounted for at different stages.  In add ition to a concomitant control by means of on-the-spot
inspections and a post check by the Court of Auditors, the regulations have provided for a prior control
mechanism in which the procurement commissions play the key role.  The purpose of this control is to
ensure that procurement is carried out in a prope r and regular manner by bringing to light possible
irregularities or shortcomings before they occur, as well as examining disputes between the parties
concerned.
These commissions are made up of representatives of the main government departments
involved in government procurement.
This preventive control mechanism can come into play at any of the successive stages of the
government procurement procedure, from the drawing up of technical specificati ons to the awarding of
the contract.
Such a check is essentially consultative, since it takes the form of reasoned opinions notified
to the administrative head or managing director of the State enterprise concerned.
4. Challenges and dispute settlement
According to the regulations, any problem, challe nge or dispute must be brought before the
competent procurement committee, which examines the claims and grounds of each of the parties in the
light of the regulations and gives a reasoned opinion.
If the dispute continues, it can be settled amicably by an ad hoc committee chaired by a member
of the administrative court and including among its  members one representative of the profession and
one of the Higher Procuremen t Commission.  This commission endeavours to find common ground
between the two parties and proposes what it considers to be the fairest solution.
If the parties do not accept the committee's amicab le solution, they may each request arbitration
or bring the case before the Tunisian courts.
5. Protection of the domestic industry through the procurement process
Owing to the diversity of the sectors involved, the amount of public expenditure and its
impact on domestic industry, government procurement also constitutes a tool of State intervention inthe economy.WT/WGTGP/W/30
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Consequently, following the example of ot her countries, the regulations concerning
government procurement include measures for protecting local industry by establishing the obligation
for foreign suppliers, in cases of international call s for tender, to form a joint venture with Tunisian
enterprises or to subcontract as much as possible of the project to local firms.
It should be noted in this context that international donor organizations, such as the
World Bank, accept joint ventures and subcontracting and grant local products a 15 per cent
preference.
In the context of the current globalization of trade and opening-up of markets, Tunisian
regulations on government procurement have provided for a gradual reduction in the preference
margin benefiting products of Tunisian origin and its elimination as of 2004.
Last but not least, I cannot conclude without mentioning the most recent measures taken by
Tunisia to enhance the transparency and efficiency of the public procurement system.  These
measures aim to deploy effective information and management tools by using information technology
and organizing the necessary training for all those involved in the procurement process.
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