RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
11 November 2008 
 (08-5496) 
Committee on Government Procurement Original:   English 
  
 
 
CHECKLIST OF ISSUES FOR PROVISION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO 
ACCESSION TO THE AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA 
 
Revised Replies by the Republic of Moldova
* 
  
 The following communication, dated 4 November 2008, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of the Republic of Moldova. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. Public procurement in the Republic of Moldova co ntinued to grow over the last years, both in 
terms of amount of funds allocated for procurem ent and their share in the National Public Budget 
(NPB) and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  Th us, the volume of public procurement has grown 
from US$30.3 million in 2000 to about US$600 million in 2007, which represents almost 50 per cent 
of the GDP in terms of expenditures and over 12 per cent of the total GDP. 
2. The Government of the Republic of Moldova considers the accession to the WTO Agreement 
on Government Procurement (GPA) as an important st ep in the establishment and maintenance of an 
efficient system of government procurement, which could lead, according to forecasts, to saving significant amounts from the total expenditures in curred in this field (20-25 per cent). 
3. This document is mainly intended to pr esent the new public procurement regulatory 
framework established by the new Law of th e Republic of Moldova on Public Procurement 
No. 96-XVI of 13 April 2007 (please see the Annex to this document (at page 18) for the full text 
of the new Law No. 96-XVI) . 
II. LEGAL FRAMEWORK 
1. Is there a single central law on procurement?  If so, please specify? 
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 instruments.  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. 
                                                     
 
* Original replies to the Checklist (GPA/35 of 21 June 2000) were provided by Moldova in document 
GPA/W/177, dated 9 January 2002. GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
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3. To what extent will the provisions of the Ag reement be applied directly or need to be 
transposed into the relevant law?  In the ev ent of direct application of the Agreement over 
conflicting provisions of domestic law, please indicate the relevant legal basis. 
 
4. Before the entry in force of the new La w on Public Procurement No. 96-XVI of 
13 April 2007
1, the relations in this field continued to be regulated by the Law on procurement of 
goods, works and services for the state needs no. 1166-XIII of 30 April 1997, and by a number of 
governmental regulations, of which, th e most important are the following: 
(a) Government Decision on the approval of the Regulations and the staff of the Council 
of the Agency for Material Reserves, Public Procurement and Humanitarian Aid 
No.912 of 26.08.2005 (Official Monitor (OM) no.117-118/980 of 02.09.2005); 
(b) Government Decision on the approval of the Regulations for procurement of services 
for the execution of design works for public investments No. 44 of 13.01.2006 (OM no.25-27/142 of 10.02.2006); 
(c) Government Decision for the approval of the Regulations on the procedure of 
preparation and review of the List of  vendors (contractors) who are banned to 
participate in public procurement procedures No.105 of 30.01.2006 (OM 
no.21-24/138 of 03.02.2006); 
(d) Government Decision on special public proc urement resources of the Agency for 
Material Reserves, Public Procurement a nd Humanitarian Aid No.278 of 16.03.2006 
(OM no.47-50/314 of 24.03.2006); 
(e) Government Decision on procurement of goods, works and services for the state 
needs for 1999 no.50 of 27.01.1999 (OM no.10-11/91 of 04.02.1999); 
(f) Government Decision on the management a nd supervision of public procurement 
procedures no.595 of 25.06.1999 (OM no.67-69/626 of 01.07.1999); 
(g) Government Decision on the approval of the Regulations on public procurement of 
works no.1123 of 15.09.2003 (OM no.204-207/1181 of 26.09.2003); 
(h) Government Decision for the approval of the Regulations on procurement of goods 
and services through invitation to bid no.832 of 13.08.2001 (OM no.104-105 of 24.08.2001); 
(i) Government Decision on the main measures for more efficient public procurement 
no.782 of 30.06.2003 (OM no.135-137/819 of 04.07.2003); 
(j) Government Decision for the approval of  the Regulations on singe source public 
procurement no.951 of 04.08.2003 (OM no.182-185 of 19.08.2003); 
(k) Government Decision for the approval of the Regulations on generation and use of 
special resources of the public instituti ons from the provision of tender documents 
no.98 of 31.01.2005 (OM no.20-23/150 of 04.02.2005); 
                                                     
 
1 See Annex to this document.  The Law entered into force three months after its publication (art. 76), 
i.e. on 27 October 2007.  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 3 
 
 
(l) Government Decision on valuation, hom ologation and procurement of literary, 
dramatical, and musical works and works of fine arts for the completion of state collections no.1312 of 28.12.2000 (OM no.1-4/11 of 11 January 2001); 
(m) Regulations of the working group for the procurement of goods, works and services, 
approved by the National Agency for Public Procurement on 5 March 2003 (OM 
no.62-66 of 4 April 2003); 
(n) Regulations on the contract for the procurement of goods and services for 
governmental beneficiaries (public procurem ent contract), approved by the National 
Agency for Public Procurement on 17 November 1999 (OM no.1-4 of 6 January 
2000), etc. 
5. Given the adoption of a new Law on Public Procurement No. 96-XVI of 13 April 2007, the 
governmental regulations mentioned above were re quired to be harmonized, within six months from 
the publication of the Law, with its provisions (art. 76).   In addition, the Law envisages the 
development and approval of several governmental re gulations to ensure further development of the 
legal base in this field.  These partic ularly relate to the following issues: 
(a) low value procurement procedures (art. 2); 
(b) list of qualified economic  operators (art. 17); 
(c) list of banned economic operators (art. 18); 
(d) procurement procedures based on a framework agreement (art. 50); 
(e) single source procurement procedures (art. 53); 
(f) procurement procedures based on invitations to bid (art. 54); 
(g) procurement procedures based on dynamic system (art. 55); 
(h) procurement procedures based on electronic tender (art. 56); 
(i) procedures of procurement through the Universal Commodity Exchange (art. 58); 
(j) structure and content of applications fo r offers of consultancy services (art. 61); 
(k) etc. 
6. Similarly to the previous Law on Public Procurement, the new Law provides for the 
supremacy of international treaties over the domestic legislation. Thus, if the international treaty to 
which the Republic of Moldova is a party, in partic ular the GPA, contains other provisions than those 
stipulated in the national legislation on public pr ocurement, the international provisions shall apply 
(art. 7 of the Law). 
III. SCOPE AND COVERAGE 
4. Please summarize the organization of the government in your country at each level. 
5. Please list all central government entities (m inistries, departments, agencies, etc.) 
procuring goods, services and construction services. GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 4  
 
6. What entities at the sub-central level of government (states, provinces, municipalities, 
etc.) procure goods and services? 
7. Which are the enterprises owned or controlled by the government that are subject to the 
rules on government procurement?  Which are th e other entities or categories of entities (Annex 
3-type entities) owned and controlled by the gove rnment that engage in procurement?  Specify. 
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 
they autonomous from federal or central governme nt 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 , etc., they are subject to.  How will your 
government ensure the implementation of th e Agreement by such entities below the 
central/federal government level? 
9. Are there any general exceptions from the scope of application of the national 
procurement rules, for instance for essential na tional defence or security reasons?  Please 
provide details. 
10. Please provide available statistics on the procurement by government entities in your 
country in the last two years, including, to the extent available, a breakdown by entity and by 
categories of products and services. 
7. The administrative organization of the territory of the Republic of Moldova consists of two 
levels:  villages, communes, towns and municipalitie s - the first level and rayons - the second level 
(Law on Local Public Administration No. 123-XV of 18.03.2003).  The public administration of the 
Municipality of Chisinau and of the Autonomous Terr itorial Operator of Gagauzia is regulated by 
special laws.  The legal status of the region of Tr ansnistria, where the Mold ovan authorities currently 
are not exercising their power, shall be defined in  the framework of negotiations taking place between 
the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria under the auspices of the OSCE, mediated by Ukraine and 
the Russian Federation and with the participation of  the USA and the EU (the so called 5+2 format), 
in accordance with the provisions of the Law of th e Republic of Moldovan on the Basic Provisions of 
the Special Legal Status of the Settlements on the Left Bank of Nistru River (Transnistria) 
No. 173-XVI of 22.07.2005. 
8. The central public authority that supervises a nd coordinates generally the field of public 
procurement is the Agency for Material Reserv es, Public Procurement and Humanitarian Aid 
(AMRPPHA).  The Agency has functional autonomy, but is subordinated to the Government of the 
Republic of Moldova.  The Agency carries out its activities and is managed based on the Regulations 
approved by the Government Decision No.912 of 26. 08.2005.  Pursuant to the provisions of the new 
Law on Public Procurement, the Agency exercises its powers through its local subdivisions, which 
shall be established this year (Article 8 and 9 of  the Law No. 96-XVI of 13 April 2007), subject to 
adequate financing. 
9. All procurement contracts entered into by a " contracting authority " shall fall under the scope 
of the Law on Public Procurement .  For the purposes of Article 12 of the Law No. 96-XVI, the 
capacity of " contracting authority " is granted to " public authorities ", as defined by the legislation of 
the Republic of Moldova, " persons of public interest" , as well as " associations of such authorities or 
persons ".  Pursuant to Article 12(2) of the Law, " legal person of public interest
" is any entity which 
enjoys legal personality and has been created with a view of satisfying a public interest, and not for 
profit.  In the meanwhile, the activity of the entity should be mainly financed from public funds or its 
performance should be supervised by public au thorities, or its administration, executive or 
supervisory board should consist of more than 50 per cent of State's representatives.  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 5 
 
 
10. It should be mentioned that the Government  could decide to apply the Law on Public 
Procurement to legal persons acting on markets on wh ich, based on a regulatory or administrative act, 
or the existence of a monopoly, competition is excl uded (Article 12 (4), Law No. 96-XVI).  Here we 
could first include a number of state enterprises or enterprises in which the State is the main 
shareholder.  It has been not pr ovided by the Law on Procurement of Goods, Works and Services for 
State Needs No.1166-XIII of 30 April 1997.  The List  of such enterprises shall be approved by the 
Government. 
11. In respect of the central and second-level lo cal public administration, the duties of a 
"contracting authority" in the procurement of goods, work s and services are exercised by the 
following main state authorities: 
A. Central public authorities: 
 
1) Office of the President of the Republic of Moldova and institutions subordinated to it and 
under its supervision; 
2) Office of the Parliament and institutions s ubordinated to it and unde r its supervision; 
3) Office of the Government of the Republic of Moldova and institutions subordinated to it 
and under its supervision; 
4) Ministry of Economy and Trade and institu tions subordinated to it and under its 
supervision; 
5) Ministry of Foreign Affairs and institutions subordinated to it and under its supervision; 
6) Ministry of Internal Affairs and institutions  subordinated to it and under its supervision; 
7) Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry a nd institutions subordina ted to it and under its 
supervision; 
8) Ministry of Defence and institutions subord inated to it and under its supervision; 
9) Ministry of Transports and institutions subordinated to it and under its 
supervision2; 
10) Ministry of Culture and Tourism and in stitutions subordinated to it and under its 
supervision; 
11) Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources a nd institutions subordinated to it and under 
its supervision; 
12) Ministry of Finance and institutions subord inated to it and under its supervision; 
13) Ministry of Education and institutions s ubordinated to it and unde r its supervision; 
14)  Ministry of Justice and institutions su bordinated to it and under its supervision; 
15) Ministry of Social Protection and institutions subordinated to it and un der its supervision; 
16) Ministry of Health and institutions subord inated to it and under its supervision; 
17) Ministry of culture and institutions subor dinated to it and unde r its supervision; 
18) Ministry of Information Development and institutions subordinated to it and under its 
supervision; 
19) Ministry of Reintegration and institutions s ubordinated to it and under its supervision; 
20) Ministry of Local Public Administration a nd institutions subordinated to it and under its 
supervision; 
21) Customs Service; 
22) Bureau for Interethnic Relations; 
23) National Statistic Bureau; 
24) Border Services; 
25) Agency for Construction and Territorial Development; 
26) Forestry Agency "Moldsilva"; 
27) Agri-industrial Agency "Moldova-Vin"; 
28) Material Reserves, Public Procurement and Humanitarian Aid Agency; 
                                                      
2 Based on Governmental Decision and amendments to the Law on Government the Ministry of 
transports was liquidated.  This Minist ry is operational until November 2008. GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 6  
 
29) Cadastre and Land Relations Agency; 
30) Centre for Combating Economic Crime and Corruption 
31) State Chamber of licensing; 
32) Sport Agency, etc. 
 B. Local public authorities: 
 
1) Council of Chisinau municipality and ins titutions subordinated to it and under its 
supervision; 
2) Council of Balti municipality and institutions s ubordinated to it and un der its supervision; 
3) Council of Gagauzia TAU and in stitutions subordinated to it and under its supervision; 
4) 37 rayon councils and institutions subord inated to it and under its supervision. 
  
TABLE 1:  PUBLIC PROCUREMENTS REGISTERED BY AMRPPHA IN 2006 
 
Procurement 
Procedure No. of Contracts in % Amount in MDL in % 
Tender 8,990 30.2 3.674.804.652,64 69.87 
Invitation to bid 18,504 62.17 1.204.788.032,58 22.90 
Single source 2,270 7.63 380.224.203,28 7.23 
Total: 29,764 100 5.259.816.888,50 100 
Source : AMRPPHA 
 
12. The ratione materiae  of the Law on Public Procurement No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007 is defined 
based on two key criteria: 
(a) a minimum threshold of the estimated value of MDL 20,000 (US$1,600) for contracts of 
public procurement of goods and MDL 25,000 (US$2,000) for contracts of public 
procurement of works and services;  the estim ated value of the procurement contract 
shall be computed without VAT; 
 
(b) the fact that the procurement contract is  not excluded from the scope of the Law on 
Public Procurement. 
 
13. Public procurement contracts whose estimated value, without VAT, does not exceed the 
aforementioned threshold shall be entered into pursu ant to the procedure provided by the Regulations 
on Low Value Public Procurement.  A special stat us is reserved for public procurement contracts 
exceeding MDL 2.5 million (US$200,000) in case of contracts for goods and services and 
MDL 99 million (US$8.25 million) in case of works. 
14. Currently 12 types of contracts are excluded fro m the scope of the Law, some of which are 
contracts for the concession of public works and services and public procurement contracts whose 
objective is procurement of goods for re-sale (Article 4 (g) and (i), Law No. 96-XVI). 
15. The following are also excluded from its scope: contracts classified for security reasons if 
their performance must be accompanied by special safe ty measures as established by legislative acts, 
and contracts for procurement of goods, works and services related to the production and trade with 
guns, moperatorions and arming systems (Article 4 (j ) and (k), Law No. 96-XVI).  In the other cases, 
the contracting authorities from the area of national security, public order, safety and national security 
have the duty to apply the provisions of Law No. 96-XVI of 13 April 2007. 
  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
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TABLE 2:  PUBLIC PROCUREMENTS BY  LOCAL PUBLIC AUTHORITIES IN 2006 
Invitations to bid 
Goods and services  Works Total 
District 
(rayon) No. of 
contracts Amount in 
MDL No. of 
contra
cts Amount in 
MDL No. of 
contracts Amount in 
MDL 
Anenii Noi 457 10.124.689 55 3.220.365 512 13.345.054
Basarabeasca 109 3.469.564 15 1.020.147 124 4.489.711
Briceni 212 8.933.994 64 3.554.805 276 12.488.799
Cahul 915 12.732.169 46 1.901.711 961 14.633.880
Cantemir 165 5.501.825 6 292.924 171 5.794.749
Calaraşi 190 6.471.300 39 3.181.000 229 9.652.300
Căuşeni 438 15.496.500 29 1.827.900 457 17.324.400
Cimişlia 159 4.403.000 21 2.510.000 180 6.913.000
Criuleni 452 27.481.528 106 28.512.447 558 55.993.975
Donduşeni 182 5.719.440,16 22 1.376.802,29 204 7.096.242,45
Drochia 367 12.566.367,23 45 3.549.922,54 412 16.116.289.77
Dubăsari 264 7.201.064,90 16 2.001.028,90 280 9.202.093,80
Edineţ 268 10.322.230 22 1.282.755 290 11.604.985
Făleşti 200 9.470.711 25 2.242.371 225 11.713.082
Floreşti 119 4.613.795 101 16.189.429 220 20.803.224
Glodeni 132 7.572.500 6 386.300 138 7.958.800
Hănceşti 974 21.936.186 97 18.245.804 1071 40.181.990
Ialoveni 339 12.786.855,89 50 6.169.488.08 389 18.956.343,97
Leova 386 8.333.600 14 801.300 400 9.134.900
Nisporeni 227 11.684.000 57 12.663.000 284 24.347.000
Ocniţa 159 7.611.920 48 3.100.672 207 10.712.592
Orhei 408 17.059.926 55 2.871.367 463 19.931.293
Rezina 231 8.625.800 37 2.476.100 268 11.101.900
Rîşcani 293 10.413.046 51 2.549.526 344 12.962.572
Săngerei 258 9.668.542 37 6.942.796 295 16.611.338
Soroca 338 15.781.196,14 31 3.584.927,65 369 19.366.123,79
Străşeni 368 12.559.102.,81 33 1.807.325,44 401 14.366.428,25
Şoldăneşti 85 2.843.091 7 468.404 92 3.311.495
Ştefan Vod ă 216 4.758.088 51 2.372.386 267 7.130.474
Taraclia 277 12.693.642,31 25 3.392.779 302 16.086.421,31
Teleneşti 153 5.552.000 20 1.179.600 173 6.731.600
Ungheni 303 11.182.165,39 37 2.073.288,53 340 13.255.453,92
Chişinău 1506 62.297.893,61 348 19.995.383 1854 82.293.276,61
Bălţi 124 5.468.000 14 1.445.200 138 6.913.200
UTA Gagauzia 631 24.251.600 116 7.626.200 747 31.877.800
TOTAL 11905 417.587.332,44 1746 172.815.454,43 13651 590.402.786,87
Source : AMRPPHA GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 8  
 
 
IV. 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. 
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 other country. 
13. Please provide details of any provisions in national legislation allowing a locally 
established supplier to be treated less favourabl y than another locally established supplier on 
the basis of its degree of foreign affiliation or ownership or discriminating against locally 
established suppliers on the basis of the country of production of the good or service being 
supplied. 
14. Please specify to what extent, if at all, more favourable treatment is granted to any 
sectors of the economy, regions or specifi c categories of suppliers or supplies. 
15. Please specify any provisions requiring or allo wing the use of offsets or measures with 
similar effect, such as domestic content, licen sing 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. 
16. Any economic operator having the status of an enterprise either Moldovan resident or not 
(natural or legal person) is entitled to particip ate in the procedure of being awarded a public 
procurement contract.  Notwithstanding, the contrac ting authority may decide, in conformity with the 
legislation, to restrict the circle of  participants to national entities only. 
17. It is mandatory to grant non-Moldovan reside nt economic operator national treatment in case 
of public procurement exceeding, in case of c ontracts for goods and services MDL 2.5 million, and 
contracts for works – MDL 99 million (Article 2 (3) Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007), provided 
however that they are entitled to do so under the la ws of their jurisdiction.  Further, the Law 
guarantees that the terms for financial guarantees, technical qualifications and information necessary 
to establish the financial good-standing shall not be less favourable to non-Moldovan residents as 
opposed to Moldovan residents and that they sh all not otherwise discriminate any non-Moldovan 
resident (Article 15 (5) Law No.96 of 13.04.2007). 
18. Pursuant to the provisions of Law No.96-XVI of 13.04.2007, all goods and services shall be 
treated equally regardless of the region.  Further, the right to participate in the procedure of being 
awarded public procurement contract may be reserved,  by the Government, to a rate that shall not 
exceed 20 per cent of the amount of procurements, to the Society of the Blind and Disabled, the Production Workshop of the Republic Psychiatric Hosp ital, penitentiaries and to other disadvantaged 
persons or the Government may establish the term s of participation in these procedures within 
employment programmes in the manner provided for by the legislation (Article 5 (2), Law 
No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007). 
19. When evaluating and comparing offers, the c ontracting authority shall apply protective 
measures in the form of applying a preferential margin in favour of offe rs of domestic goods and 
offers of works executed by Moldov an residents, which shall not exceed 15 per cent of the price of the 
best offer.  For the offers of goods produced by  the Society of the Blind the Disabled, the Production 
Workshop of the Republic Psychiatric Hospital, pen itentiaries and the offers for ecologic agricultural  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 9 
 
 
products or in the period of transition to ecologic agricultural products, the preferential margin shall 
not exceed 20 per cent of the price of the best offer (Article 44 (6), Law No.96 of 13.04.2007). 
20. The legislation of the Republic of Moldova in the field of public procurement does not 
specify the criteria related to environmental and wo rkers safety, but these la rgely fall under the scope 
of environmental and labo ur legislation.  Thus, in the procurement process the parties involved are 
bound to observe these provisions deriving from the national regulatory regime. 
V. ELEMENTS SPECIFIC TO PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES 
16. Please provide a general description of yo ur existing procurement methods and 
procedures, including the main procurement me thods used and a brief description of each 
method, and the extent to which qualification of suppliers and open, selective and limited 
tendering for each level of government is used. 
17. Identify the provision in your country's le gislation 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? 
18. In situations where qualification procedures  and selective tendering may be used, to 
what extent do entities allow suppliers to beco me qualified during the procurement process?  To 
what extent do entities maintain permanent lists of suppliers? 
19. What are the conditions and circumstances fore seen 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 consti tute a means of discriminating among foreign 
supplies/suppliers or in favour of domestic supplies/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? 
21. Article XI sets out the minimum time-period s for tendering and delivery.  What are the 
rules and practices regarding time-periods in your legislation?  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. 
22. Briefly describe the procedures for the submission, receipt and opening of tenders and 
awarding of contracts, in particular the pro cedures and conditions guaranteeing regularity of 
the openings and consistency with the non-discri mination provisions of the Agreement.  How is 
the information on the proceedings related to the receipt, opening and evaluation of tenders maintained by entities? 
23. Please identify the provisions in your le gislation setting the parameters for the 
prescription of technical specifications by en tities as part of the evaluation criteria. 
24. Identify the measures in national legislat ion ensuring that awards are made in 
accordance with the evaluation criteria and ess ential requirements specified in the tender 
documentation. 
21. The basic procedure of awarding a public procur ement contract is by way of open tender. 
Additionally public procurement contracts may be awarded using the following procedures: GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 10  
 
(a) restricted tender; 
(b) framework agreement; 
(c) competitive dialogue; 
(d) negotiated procedures; 
(e) procurement from a single source; 
(f) invitation to bid; 
(g) dynamic procurement systems; 
(h) electronic tender; 
(i) procurement in case of social housing plans; 
(j) procurement through the Universal Commodity Exchange; 
(k) procurement of consultancy services. 
 22. The manner of carrying out the specific types of procurement shall be regulated by means of 
special Regulations enacted by the Government. 
23. "Open Tender " means a procedure which includes offers  by all economic operators willing to 
participate at the tender.  The contracting aut hority shall beforehand publish, subject to the 
requirements set out in the Law, an adequate par ticipation invitation and shall make available the 
tender documents to economic  operators (Article 35, Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007).  The structure 
and contents of the tender documents is provided by in the standard documentation approved by the 
Government.  The fee that the contracting author ity may collect for tender documents includes only 
expenditures related to their printing and deliver y to the economic operator (Article 36-37, Law 
No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007).  Currently the price of  a package of tender documentation (the scope of 
work) is fixed at a rate of MDL 200 (US$16).
3 
24. The economic operator's offer is valid up to th e deadline specified in the tender documents.  
Unless otherwise provided in the tender documents , the bidder may amend or withdraw its offer 
before the expiration of the deadline for submitting o ffers, without loosing its deposit for the offer.  
The amount of the deposit for the offer shall not exceed 3 per cent of the estimated value of the 
procurement contract. 
25. Upon procurement of goods and works, the contr acting authority shall request that the bidder 
submit, upon the time of the conclusion of the contract, of a security of its performance.  The amount of the security for contract performance shall not  exceed 15 per cent of the estimated value of the 
procurement contract.  Upon the procurement of goo ds of less than MDL 200,000 and works of less 
than MDL 1 million, the contracting authority is entitled not to request from the economic operator a 
deposit for the offer or a security for its execution. 
26. The contracting authority shall award the " economically  most favourable offer ", taking into 
consideration the preferential margins of 15 pe r cent and 20 per cent provided pursuant to 
Article 44 (6) of Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007.  In  accordance with Article 45, the criteria of the 
"economically  most favourable offer " are as follows: 
(a) in case of public procurement contracts for goo ds – price, terms of delivery, terms of 
payment, profitability, quality, aesthetic, functional and technical characteristics, the possibilities and costs of technical servicing and technical support; 
 
(b) in case of public procurement of works – th e offered quality, cost of one operator of 
bidder’s product at the end of works, total price, bidder’s experience etc; the rate of 
relevance of the price in the total evaluati on of the offers shall not be less than 
80 per cent; 
                                                     
 
3 Paragraph 4 of the Regulations on generation and use of special resources of the public institutions 
from the provision of tender documents (Government Decision No. 98 of 31 January 2005).  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 11 
 
 
 
(c) in case of public procurement of services – the offered quality, cost of one operator of 
bidder's product, total price, bidder's experience et c;  the rate of relevance of the price in 
the total evaluation of the offers shall not be less than 40 per cent. 
 
27. When awarding a contract, economic operator that directly or indirectly encourage 
professional development, employment of disabled and special needs, fight against unemployment 
and environmental safety, including during the pe rformance of the contract, employment of the 
unemployed or implementation of professional deve lopment actions for the unemployed or youth, 
improvement of labour conditions and labour safety, rural development and professional agriculture 
development, protection and s upport of small and medium enterprises, inclusive as part of 
subcontracting mechanics, may be granted priority.  Such facilities shall always be published in the 
participation invitation (Article 66, Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007). 
28. Contracts entered into based on the winning offers  enter into force upon their registration with 
AMRPPHA and one of the operators of the State Treasury.  Unregistered contracts have no legal 
power (Articles 47 (4) and 67 (8), Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007). 
29. "Restricted tender " means a procedure used in procurement of goods, works and services 
having a complex character or where a high number of economic operators are active on the market.  
A restricted tender is carried out by the same  rules as for the opened tender, subject to the 
pre-selection procedures based on the qualificati ons of the economic operators mentioned in 
Article 16 of the Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007, in  particular managerial competence, experience, 
good repute, qualified personnel, fi nancial condition, technical base, other competencies that are 
necessary for a qualitative performance  of the contract during the entire period of validity of the 
public procurement contract etc.  The prelimin ary sign-up in the List of Qualified Economic 
operators, which is managed by the Agency pursuant  to the regulations approved by the Government, 
is not mandatory (Article 17 (2) and (3), Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007). 
30. Further, when evaluating the qualifications of  each economic operator that has submitted an 
application for pre-selection only the pre-selection criteria specified in the pre-selection documents shall apply.  Additionally, Article 15 (5) of th e Law No. 96-XVI guarantees the non-discrimination in 
the qualifications of the supplier for the purposes of the provisions of Articles VIII and X of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. 
31. "Tender based on a Framework Agreement " means a procedure carried out by entering into 
an agreement by one or several contracting authorities and one or several economic operators, 
agreeing on the terms and conditions for contracts th at shall be awarded during a specified period of 
time, in particular as regards prices and, if the case may be, expected quantities (Article 50). 
32. "Tender based on a Competitive Dialogue " means a procedure of open tender carried out in 
two stages, applicable in case of "especially comple x" procurement contracts (Article 51 (2)) in which 
any business person may request to participate and in which the contracting authority undertakes a 
dialogue with the candidates admitted to the tende r, with a view to developing one or several 
alternative solutions capable of responding to needs based on which selected candidates will be 
invited to submit offers (Article 51). 
33. "Tender based on Negotiated Procedures " means  an tender procedure in which contracting 
authorities negotiate with bidders the offers submitted  thereby, in order to adapt them to the needs 
expressed in the participation announcement, scope of  work and additional documents, if any, and in 
order to identify the most favourable offer.  The ca ses of use of tender based on negotiated procedures 
are provided for in Article 52 (1) of the Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007. GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 12  
 
34. "Procurement from a Single Source " means a procurement procedure used in the special cases 
specified by the applicable legislation, in particular in case of " maximum urgency " as a result of 
unpredictable evens which render impossible the comp liance with the periods of time specified for 
open or negotiated procedures, by publishing a par ticipation announcement.  The situations invoked to 
justify a " maximum urgency " must not be attributable to the c ontracting parties (Article 53).  The 
manner of carrying out of the procurement from a single source is established by the Regulations 
approved by Government Decision No. 951 of 4 August 2003. 
35. "Procurement based on an invitation to bid " means a procurement procedure where each 
economic operator may submit one single bid, without  being entitled to change it.  No negotiations 
may take place between the contracting authority and the bidder on the terms of the bid.  The 
procedure may be used for contracts of procuremen t of goods, works and services that have a defined 
specification, provided however that the estimat ed value of the procurement does not exceed 
MDL 200,000 for goods and services and MDL 1 million for works.  The manner of carrying out of 
the procurement through invitation to bid is laid  down in Regulations approved by Government 
Decision No. 832 of 13 August 2001. 
36. "Tender based on the Dynamic Procurement System " means an entirely electronic 
procurement procedure of current use whose charact eristics, generally available on the market, meet 
the needs of the contracting authority, being limite d in time and opened for the entire period to any 
economic operator meeting the selection criteria and which submits an estimated offer according to 
the requested needs.  The tender based on the dynamic procurement system is carried out in compliance with the requirements for open tenders at  all its stages up to the award of the contract 
within the said system.  All bidders meeting th e selection criteria and which have submitted an 
estimated offer consistent with the scope of work and the additional documents, if any, are invited and 
admitted in the system; estimated offers may be impr oved at any point in time, provided that they will 
continue to be consistent  with the scope of work. 
37. "Electronic Tender " means a procurement procedure implying an electronic device displaying 
in descending order new prices and/or new values rela tive to certain elements of the offer, which are 
made after a first complete evaluation of offers, allowing their classification based on automated evaluation methods.  Certain contracts for services and certain contracts for works which refer to 
intellectual activities, such a designing works, ma y not form the object of electronic tenders.  The 
manner of carrying out of the procurement through  electronic tender is laid down in Regulations 
approved by the Government. 
38. "Procurement in case of Social Housing Plans " means a special awarding procedure used for 
public procurement contracts for designing and deve loping a facility of social housing intended to 
identity the members of the works development team (Article 57). 
39. "Procurement Procedure through the Universal Commodity Exchange " means a procedure of 
procurement of certain types of goods of strategi c importance.  The manner of carrying out of these 
types of procurements is laid down in Regula tions approved by the Government (Article 58). 
40. "Procedure of Procurement of Consultancy Services " means the procedure provided for by 
Chapter VII (Article 60-64) of the Law No. 96- XVI of 13.04.2007.  Generally procurement of 
consultancy services take place via announcements published in the Public Procurement Newsletter 
and in media outlets of internationa l coverage, of offers for services or  calls for pre-selection.  In all 
cases where there is doubt as to whether the subject of procurement is a good or a service, the 
procurement shall be treated as a procurement of goods. 
41. In general terms, the deadline for submitting and receiving participa tion applications and 
offers shall be sufficient to allow economic ope rators both Moldovan and foreign to prepare and 
submit offers before the ending of the tender proced ures (Article 26, Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007).   GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 13 
 
 
When determining the deadline, contracting authoriti es shall take into account the complexity of the 
expected procurements, the anticipated area of s ubcontracting and the usual time for the transmittance 
of offers through mail from the country and abroad. 
42. Further, in case of open or restricted tende rs, the period for submission and receipt of 
participation applications and of o ffers shall be of at least 15 calendar days as of the publication of the 
participation announcement, and in case of public proc urements directly subsidised by more than 
50 per cent by contracting authorities (Article 2 (3), Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007), of at least 40 calendar days.  In case of repeated contract and in case of urgency, the offer submission period 
may be reduced to not less than 10 calendar days. 
43. In case of procedures by way of invitation to bid, the period for submission and receipt of 
offers shall be of at least 10 calendar days fo r works and services and three calendar days for goods as 
of the date of the launch of the participation inv itation, and in case of public procurements directly 
subsidised by more than 50 per cent by contracti ng authorities (Article 2 (3), Law No. 96-XVI of 
13.04.2007), of at least 25 calendar days.  In case of secondary procurements, repeated contracts and 
in case of urgency, justified by the contracting au thority, the offer submission period may be reduced 
to not less than five calendar days for work s and services and two calendar days for goods. 
44. Offers shall be opened at such time as sha ll be specified in the tender documentation as 
deadline of the submission of offers or such time as shall be specified as the deadline of the prolonged 
period, in such place and in conformity with the procedures provided for in the tender documentation.  
Bidders or their representatives are entitled to particip ate in the opening of the offers (Article 43 (2), 
Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007). 
45. The name and contact information of each bidde r whose offer is opened and the cost of the 
offer shall be communicated to those present at the opening, as well to those who were not present or 
not represented at the opening, upon their request, and shall be registered in the procurement 
procedure report (Article 43 (3), Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007). 
VI. INFORMATION (TRANSPARENCY OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT) 
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 relevant publication(s) and indicate the media used for this purpose.  Please also provide, where availa ble, the address of an Internet website where 
the legislation referred to in questions 1 and 2 can be found. 
26. Article IX:1 of the Agreement foresees the pub lication of invitations to participate for all 
cases of intended procurement by entities.  Plea se give the name of the relevant publication(s) 
and indicate the media to be used for this pur pose.  Please also provide, where available, the 
address of an Internet website where such invitations are published. 
27. Please specify the types of information that your legislation requires to be included in 
notices of invitation to tender or in tender docu mentation, and identify the relevant provisions 
of your legislation. 
28. Article IX:1 of the Agreem ent foresees publication of permanent lists of qualified 
suppliers by entities maintaining such lists.  Please give the name of the relevant publication(s) and indicate the means used for this purpose.  Please also provide, where available, the address 
of an Internet website where such lists are published. 
29. Article XVIII:1 of the Agreement foresees the publication of details of contract award 
notices by entities.  Please give the name of th e relevant publication(s) and indicate the means to GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 14  
 
be used for this purpose.  Please also provi de, where available, the address of an Internet 
website where such notices are published. 
30. Please specify the types of information that no tices of contract awards should contain in 
your country and identify the relevant provisions in your legislation. 
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. 
46. All laws, decrees, decisions of the Governme nt and other regulatory documents of the 
Republic of Moldova shall be published, pursuant to  the Law on the Manner of Publication and Entry 
into Force of Official Documents, No. 173-XIII of 6 July 1994, in the Official Monitor of the Republic 
of Moldova ) and also on the official web-site of the Parliament, Government, relevant ministries and 
departments.  Publication is effected in the offi cial language, accompanied by a Russian translation.  
The Government provides free and unrestricted access vi a the Internet to all laws and regulations that 
are duly published, as well as access to updates as and when they are being amended (Article 10/1 of 
Law No. 173-XIII).  Official documents, except those that constitute state secret, may not enter into 
force without being officially published (Article 1 (5) of Law No. 173-XIII).  Laws and regulations 
that modify the conditions of import or export ma y not enter into force before the expiration of 
30 days following their adoption. 
47. The contracting authority is bound to publish a ll announcements of intentions of expected 
public procurements as well as all invitations to  submit offers both in the Public Procurement 
Newsletter and the Agency's website (Article 19- 20, Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007).  After the 
publication of the announcement in the Public Proc urement Newsletter these may also be published in 
other media outlets, both national and international.  If after the publi cation of the invitation to bid, 
but before the deadline for opening or receiving of fer, it is necessary to correct or republish the 
invitation, the corrected invitation shall be publishe d in the same media outlets  and shall have equal 
value as the original one. 
48. Announcements of intentions to organize a te nder should be published separately for goods, 
works and services within a maximum of 30 calendar da ys as of the date of approval of the relevant 
contracting authority's own budget.  The announc ement of intention shall include all public 
procurement contracts expected to be awarded be fore the end of the budgetary year.  For the 
procurement contracts whose estimated value fo r goods and services is less than MDL 200,000, and 
for works - less than MDL 1 million, the pub lication of the announcement is not mandatory 
(Article 19 (3), Law No. 96-XVI of 13 April 2006). 
49. The contracting authority may specify in the scope of work the entity or entities from which 
candidates or bidders may obtain relevant info rmation on the obligations related to taxes, 
environmental safety and the labour conditions in th e Republic of Moldova, whic h shall be applied to 
works on site or to services provided during the period of performance of the contract. 
50. Announcements awarding public procurement contra cts shall be published within 30 calendar 
days as of the date of the conclusion of the public  procurement contract (Article 21, Law No. 96-XVI 
of 13.04.2007). 
51. The contracting authority shall inform the bidders participating in the procurement 
procedures, upon their request, about all contract awarding decisions.  Further, upon the request of 
candidates and bidders, the contracting authority is  under an obligation to offer explanations on the 
procurement procedures applied, as well as the r easons for not selecting a rejected bidder, the 
characteristics and relative advantages as well as the complete firm name of the awarded bidder (Article 22, Law No.96-XVI of 13.04.2007).  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 15 
 
 
VII. BID CHALLENGE PROCEDURES 
32. Please provide information on ex isting challenge procedures. 
33. Are there specific provisions enabling a ccess of foreign suppliers to challenge 
procedures? 
34. To the extent that this information does not fully respond to the following points, please 
provide the supplementary info rmation 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 th e basis of the complaint is known or 
reasonably should have been known.  What are the limits in your domestic 
legislation? 
 
 (ii) What body is responsible for the cha llenge 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? 
 
 (iii) What is the applicable law by ref erence to which the challenge body will 
examine complaints? 
  (iv) Which rapid interim measures are provided to correct breaches of the 
Agreement and to preserve commercial opportunities? 
 
  - Do these measures include the po ssibility to suspend the procurement 
 process?  On what conditions? 
  (v) How do challenge procedures provide  for correction of the Agreement?  What 
types of compensation for loss or da mages suffered can the challenge body 
order? 
  (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. 
 
 (vii) What are the usual costs to cond uct a challenge procedure?  Are there 
possibilities foreseen to do so free of charge? 
 
52. The procurement procedure may be cancelled by  contracting authorities or upon the request 
of the Agency, following an audit.  Cancellation may be undertaken before the date of issuance of the 
communication regarding the results of the applica tion of the public procurement procedure but, in 
any case, before the date of the conclusion of the co ntract, for the grounds specified in Article 59 (1) 
of the Law. 
53. Furthermore, any economic opera tor alleging that within the procurement procedures the 
contracting authority, by its decision or the procedure applied had breached the law, a right 
recognized by law of the economic operator, which resulted or may result in loss, may challenge the 
decision or the procedure applied by the contracting authority with AMRPPHA, in the manner GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 16  
 
provided for by the Law No. 96 of 13.04.2007.  The Law on Public Procurement does not require the payment of stamp duties for the launch of the challenging proceedings. 
54. The Law allows the reimbursement of loss caused  by the unlawful actions of the contracting 
authorities, except for lost profits or the lost possi bility to obtain income.  Damages shall be allotted 
only based on final court judgement (Art icle 72 (7) Law No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007). 
55. The following may not be challenged: 
(a) choice of the procedures for the selection of consultancy services offers; 
 
(b) limitation of participation in the procurem ent procedure, resolved pursuant to the 
applicable legislation (Article 15 (1), Law No. 96 of 13.04.2007); 
 
(c) decision to reject all offers; 
 
(d) failure to make reference to this Law, ot her regulatory documents on public procurement, 
as well as failure to inform on right to challenge. 
 
56. The general period for submission of challenges is  up to 10 calendar days as of the date when 
the economic operator took knowledge of the circumst ances that based its challenge, of the decision 
of the procedure applied by the contracting author ity.  Challenges of invitations to participate in 
tenders or of tender documentation may be submitted before the openi ng by the contracting authority 
of the offer packages. 
57. Following a prima facie review of the challenge , the Agency may decide (Article 72 (4) Law 
No. 96 of 13.04.2007) the following: 
(a) initiate the procedure of amicable resolution of the claim; 
 
(b) totally or partially satisfy the claim; 
 
(c) totally or partially dismiss the claim; 
 
(d) request that offers be re-evaluated; 
 
(e) take other resolution measures pursuant to the applicable legislation. 
 
58. Generally, the law applicable to  the substance of the challenge shall be the Law No. 96-XVI 
of 13.04.2007, as well as other governmental regulato ry documents in this field.  Upon need, the 
Agency and the administrative court may additionally apply the conflict of laws rules of the private international law, contained in the Ci vil Code of the Republic of Moldova. 
59. The Agency shall review the challenge within 20 working days from its submission and shall 
issue its decision within the same period of time based on the documents presented or following its 
review in an open session, inviting in writing and w ith the participation of at least the Agency's 
representative, the challenger, the contracting authorit y and the awarded bidder, if any.  In the process 
of review of the challenge, the Agency may inv ite field experts that would submit written and/or 
verbal reports in the hearings on the challeng es (Article 73 (6), Law No. 96 of 13.04.2007). 
60. The Agency may, either upon the request of th e interested economic operator or ex officio, 
order the  
suspension of the conclusion/performance of the public procurement contract if the 
challenge is material and contains a stat ement which, being proven, confirms that:  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 17 
 
 
(a) without such suspension the econo mic operator shall incur losses; 
 
(b) there is a chance of satisfaction of the challenge; 
 
(c) the suspension shall not damage the parti es involved in the procurement procedure. 
 
61. Upon the proposal of the Agency and/or th e economic operator participating in the 
procurement challenging proceedings, challenges may be resolved amicably (Article 72 (5), Law 
No. 96 of 13 August 2007). 
62. If the Agency fails to deliver its decision with in the specified deadline or if the economic 
operator is not satisfied with the Agency's deci sion, it may file an action with the competent 
administrative court.  After the filing of such acti on, the Agency is no longer competent in resolving 
the challenge (Article 73 (10), Law No.96 of 13.04.2007). 
63. The contracting authority is bound to prepare and maintain the public procurement file for 
five years after the initiation of the procuremen t procedure (Article 32 (1), Law No. 96-XVI of 
13.04.2007). 
VIII.  OTHER MATTERS 
35. To what extent is information technology being used in the process of government 
procurement?  Are notices of invitations to te nder and/or notices of contract awards published 
electronically?  Please provide the address of such electronic publications. 
36. Is there a contact point in your country for responding to enquiries from suppliers, 
other governments and the wider public relatin g to laws, regulations and procedures and 
practices regarding government procurement at th e central and/or sub-central level?  Please 
provide the address. 
64. Moldova widely uses information technology in th e field of public procurement.  For further 
information on the activity of the Agency for Material Reserves, Public Procurement and 
Humanitarian Aid and the field of public procurement please see:  www.tender.gov.md . GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 18  
 
ANNEX
* 
 
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA 
 
LAW 
ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENTS 
No. 96-XVI of 13.04.2007  
 
Official Gazette “Monitorul Oficia l” no. 107-111/470 of 27.07.2007 
 
* * * 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
Chapter I 
GENERAL 
 
Article 1.  Principal terms 
Article 2.  The scope of the law 
Article 3.  Calculation of the estimated value of public procurement contracts and 
planning of such contracts 
Article 4.  The exceptions 
Article 5.  The special regime 
Article 6.  The principles regulating the public procurement relationships 
Article 7.  The legal framework 
 
Chapter II 
STATE REGULATION OF THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENTS 
 
Article 8.  The Agency for Provisioning of Tangibl e Resources, Public Procurements and 
Humanitarian Aid 
Article 9.  The Agency's principal functions in  the sphere of public procurements 
Article 10.  The Agency's operation and administration 
Article 11.  The Agency's budget 
 
Chapter III 
PARTICIPANTS IN THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES 
 
Section 1 
The Contracting Authorities 
 
Article 12.  The status of the Contracting Authority 
Article 13.  The functions of the Contracting Authorities in the sphere of public 
procurements 
Article 14.  Performing of the Contracting Authority’s functions 
 
  
 
                                                     
 
* In English only.  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 19 
 
 
Section 2 
The Supplier 
 
Article 15.  The Suppliers’ participation in the public procurement procedures 
Article 16.  The Supplier’s qualifications 
Article 17.  The list of qualified suppliers 
Article 18.  The list of prohibited suppliers 
 
Chapter IV 
PUBLICITY AND TRANSPARENCY 
 
Article 19.  The announcement of intent 
Article 20.  General rules regarding the developm ent and publication of a request for 
proposals 
Article 21.  The announcement regarding the award of the public procurement contract 
Article 22.  Notices to the bidders 
 
Chapter V 
THE PRINCIPAL REQUIREMENTS TO  THE PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES 
 
Article 23.  The rules regarding notices 
Article 24.  Communication forms 
Article 25.  The requirement to confirm the documents 
Article 26.  The timing for the submission and receipt of the applications for participation 
and bids 
Article 27.  The rules for the description of the goods, works and services 
Article 28.  The language of the standardized documentation 
Article 29.  The rejection of all bids 
Article 30.  Acts of corruption on the part of suppliers 
Article 31.  The conditions regarding taxes, e nvironmental issues and labor safety 
Article 32.  The public procurements file 
 
Chapter VI 
THE PUBLIC PROCUREM ENT PROCEDURES 
 
Section 1 
The types of the public procurement procedures 
 
Article 33.  Public procurement procedures 
 
Section 2 
The open tender 
 
Article 34.  The initiation of an open tender 
Article 35.  The invitation to participate in the open tender 
Article 36.  The conditions regarding the offer of tender documents 
Article 37.  The tender documents 
Article 38.  The explanations regarding the tende r documents and their modifications GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
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Article 39.  The bid submission terms and conditions 
Article 40.  The bid validity term, amendments and withdrawal 
Article 41.  Alternative bids 
Article 42.  The guarantee to secure the bid and the execution of the contract 
Article 43.  Opening of the bids 
Article 44.  Examination, evaluation and comparison of the bids 
Article 45.  The bid most advantageous in the economic terms 
Article 46.  A bid with an abnormally low price 
Article 47.  Bid acceptance, awards and conclu sion of the procurement contract 
 
Section 3 
The closed tender 
 
Article 48.  The conditions for holding a closed tender 
Article 49.  Pre selection (short-listing) procedure 
 
Section 4 
Other public procurement procedures 
 
Article 50.  The framework agreement 
Article 51.  The competitive dialogue 
Article 52.  The negotiation procedure 
Article 53.  Procurements from a single source 
Article 54.  The request for price quotations 
Article 55.  The dynamic procurements system 
Article 56.  An electronic auction 
Article 57.  Procurements in the case of the social housing construction schemes 
Article 58.  Procurements via Universal Commodity Exchange 
Article 59. Cancellation  of the results of procurement procedures 
 
Chapter VII 
THE SPECIFICS OF THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENTS FOR ADVISORY SERVICES 
 
Article 60.  The attraction of bids for advisory services 
Article 61.  The RFP for the advisory services 
Article 62.  The evaluation criteria for th e bids for advisory services 
Article 63.  The procedure for the selection of the advisory service bids 
Article 64.  Confidentiality 
 
Chapter VIII 
THE PUBLIC PROCUR EMENTS CONTRACT 
PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE REPORTS 
 
Article 65.  The principles of awarding a public procurements contract 
Article 66.  Preferences in the awards of public procurement contracts 
Article 67.  The public procurements contract 
Article 68.  Subcontracts  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
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Article 69.  The ban on the procurements fragmentation or increase 
Article 70.  The report on the procurements procedure 
 
Chapter IX 
SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES AND LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY 
 
Section 1 
Settlement of disputes 
 
Article 71.  The right of appeal 
Article 72.  Submission and examination of appeals 
Article 73.  Claim examination procedures 
Article 74.  Suspension of the procurements procedure 
 
Section 2 
Responsibility for the infringement of the public procurement law 
 
Article 75.  The forms of responsibility 
 
Chapter X 
THE CONCLUDING AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS 
 
Article 76.  Coming into effect. Terminations . The Government's obligations 
 GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 22  
 
 The Parliament hereby adopts this organic law.  
CHAPTER I:  GENERAL 
 
Article 1. Principal Terms 
 
For the purposes of this law, the following prin cipal terms shall be used in the following 
meaning:  
Public procurements:  Acquisition of goods, works performed or services provided for the 
needs of one or more Contracting Authorities; 
 
The Agency for the Provisioning of Tangib le Resources, Public Procurements and 
Humanitarian Aid:  The central administrative authority with the functions of government regulation, 
supervision, control and inter-industry coordina tion in the sphere of public procurements; 
 
The contracting authority: Public administration authorities, legal entities under public law 
as well as associations of such authorities or entities;  
Public funds:  The funds from the state budge, local budgets of administrative territorial units, 
the public social insurance budget, specialized  foundations, specialized provisions of public 
institutions, the Statutory Medical Insurance F und, external loans accounted for as direct or 
guaranteed state debt; 
 
 Public procurement contract:  A remunerative contract concl uded in writing between one or 
several suppliers and one or more Contracti ng Authorities and having as its subject matter the 
acquisition of goods, works performed or services provided within the meaning of this law; 
 
Standardized documentation:  The documents which comprise all information regarding the 
subject matter of the public procurements contr act and the procedures for its awards, including the 
terms of reference or description, as the case may be;  
Bid guarantee:  An amount of money or a guarantee to provide such amount, which is 
presented by the Bidder to the Contracting Authority together with the bid and which secures the validity of such bid;  
Contract execution guarantee:  The guarantee securing the execution of the contractual 
obligations provided for in the public procuremen ts contract concluded between the Contracting 
Authority or authorities and the bidder awarded the contract;  
The procurements workgroup:  The group of professionals within the Contracting 
Authority, which implements th e public procurement procedures; 
 
Open Tender: The public procedure, under which any interested supplier may submit a bid; 
 
Closed Tender:  The public procedure, under which any interested supplier may apply for the 
participation and under which only the suppliers short-listed (pre-selected) by the Contracting 
Authority may submit their bids; 
 
Electronic means: The means which uses electronic data procession equipment, including 
digital compression and storage of data, which can be diffused, transmitted and received via cable, radio, optical devices or other electromagnetic devices;   GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 23 
 
 
The bid most advantageous in economic terms:  The bid selected as the winning bid 
according to the criteria laid down in this law and in the procedure of awarding a public procurements 
contract;  
A bidder: The supplier who has submitted a bid accord ing to the procedure of awarding a 
public procurements contract; 
 
A supplier:  Supplier of goods, works and/or services , who can be an individual or an entity, 
or a public law entity, or an association of such  persons and/or entities which supply goods, works 
and/or services at the market. 
 
Article 2. The scope of the law 
 
(1) This law shall apply to public procur ement contracts, which are not covered in 
Article 4 and which have an estimated value without value-added tax (VAT) no less than the 
threshold levels below: 
   (a) for public procurement contracts to procure goods: MDL 20,000; 
 
  (b) for public procurement contracts to procure  
   works and services:     MDL 25,000. 
 
(2) This law shall apply also to public proc urement contracts directly subsidized by the 
Contracting Authority by more than 50%, where they  are not covered by the exceptions specified in 
Article 4.  
(3) This law shall provide also for the speci fic details regarding the public procurement 
contracts, which are not covered in Article 4 and which have an estimated value without value-added 
tax (VAT) no less than the threshold levels below:  
  (a) for public procurement contracts to procure    goods and services:     MDL 2,500,000; 
 
  (b) for public procurement contracts to procure works: MDL 99,000,000. 
 
(4) The public procurement contracts which have an estimated value without VAT less 
than the threshold levels specified in Paragraph (1) shall be dealt with in conformity with the 
Government-approved Regulation on low value public procurements. 
 
Article 3. Calculation of the estimated value of pu blic procurement contracts and planning of such 
contracts 
 
(1) The estimated value of a public procurem ent contract shall be calculated based on the 
total amount payable, without VAT, as assessed by the Contracting Authority. The structure of the 
total amount payable shall include all types of remuneration, including eventual bonuses, fees, 
commissions, obtained income and/or premiums or payments to the benefit of the bidders, with account at all times of possible options and eventual contract extensions.  
(2) The exact methods for calculation of th e estimated value of public procurement 
contracts and their planning shall be laid down in a separate regulation approved by the Government. 
 
Article 4. The exceptions 
  The provisions of this law shall not apply to: GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 24  
 
 
(a) R&D service contracts, under which the Cont racting Authority is the sole beneficiary, 
where the deliverables are u sed for in-house purposes and to exercise its functions, 
provided the supplied services are paid solely  by the Contracting Authority and the 
prices for the provided services do not exceed or are within the range of the market 
prices for similar services; 
 
(b) public procurement contracts which have arbitration and/or reconciliation services as 
their subject matter; 
 
(c) public procurement contracts in respect of the issue, purchase, sale or transfer of titles 
or other financial instruments, and in particular in respect of the operations to accumulate the Contracting Authorities’ funds or capital; 
 
(d) the services provided by the National Bank of Moldova; 
 
(e) public procurement contracts declared secr et under the applicable legislation, where 
their execution necessitates special secu rity measures required by the law; 
 
(f) public procurement contracts which have employment contracts as subject matter; 
 
(g) concession contracts for public services and works; 
 
(h) public procurement contracts awarded by a Contracting Authority to any other 
Contracting Authority or an association of Contracting Authorities based on the 
exclusive rights they are holding according to the law; 
 
(i) public procurement contracts which have  as their subject matter the acquisition of 
goods for subsequent resale; 
 
(j) contracts for the procurement of goods by the Contracting Authority from the state 
provisions of tangible resour ces and emergency provisions; 
 
(k) contracts for the procurement of goo ds, works and services connected with the 
manufacture of or trade in armaments, ammunition and armament systems; 
 
(l) public procurement contracts regulated  by different norms and procedures and 
awarded according to: 
 
  the international agreements concluded by  Moldova and one or more third countries 
in respect of the goods or services required for joint implementation or operation of a certain venture by the signatory states, or regarding the services necessary for the 
joint implementation or operation of a certain project by the signatory states; 
 
  the international agreements regarding th e deployment of troops and connected with 
the engagements of Moldova or a third country; 
 
  the specific procedures of an international organization. 
 
Article 5. The special regime 
 
(1) The Contracting Authorities operating in th e sphere of the national defense, public 
order and national security shall be obliged to ap ply the provisions of this law, excepting the 
situations covered in Article 4.  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 25 
 
 
 
(2) The right to participate in the procedur es to award public procurement contracts may 
be reserved by the Government - to the extent  not to exceed 20% of the total volume of the 
procurements - for the Association of the Blind; the Association of the Handicapped; the Association 
of the Deaf; the production facility of the Nationa l Psychiatric Hospital; penitentiary system 
institutions and other disadvantaged parties; altern atively such parties may enjoy preferential terms 
and conditions for the participation in such pr ocedures within the framework of employment 
programs, as provided for in the legislation.  
Article 6. The principles regulating th e public procurement relationships 
 
The relations arising in connection with the public procurements shall be regulated on the 
basis of the following principles:  
(a) the efficient use of public funds and mi nimization of the risks for the Contracting 
Authorities; 
 
(b) transparency of the public procurements; 
 
(c) ensuring of the competition and prevention of unfair competition in the sphere of 
public procurements; 
 
(d) environment protection and promotion of the sustainable development principles via 
public procurements; 
 
(e) maintenance of the public order, morale and security; protection of human health and 
human life, flora and fauna; 
 
(f) liberalization and expansio n of international trade; 
 
(g) free circulation of goods, liberty to establish and provide services; 
 
(h) equal treatment, impartiality and non-di scrimination for all bidders and suppliers; 
 
(i) support for the suppliers resident in Moldova - to the extent which does not come in 
conflict with the international laws  to which Moldova is a party; 
 
(j) responsibility within the framework of the public procurement procedures. 
 
Article 7. The legal framework 
 
(1) The relations arising in connection with the public procurement are regulated by this 
law and other laws and Govern ment resolutions adopted in conformity with this law. 
 
(2) Should an international agreement or treaty to which Moldova is a party establish the 
norms different from those provided for in this law,  the provisions of the international treaty shall 
prevail.  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 26  
 
CHAPTER II 
STATE REGULATION OF THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENTS 
 
Article 8. The Agency for Provisioning of Tangible Resources, Public Procurements and 
Humanitarian Aid 
 
(1) The Agency for Provisioning of Tangi ble Resources, Public Procurements and 
Humanitarian Aid, further “ the Agency ”, is a public authority with the legal status of an independent 
legal entity established as a central administrative aut hority with the status of a legal entity, which is 
subordinated to the Government and established w ith the objective to exercise state regulation, 
supervision, control and inter-secto r coordination in the sphere of pub lic procurements. The Agency is 
an independent functional unit.  
(2) The Agency shall have its own balance sheet, bank account(s), the stamp bearing the 
State Ensign of Moldova and the name of the Agency in the state language. 
 
Article 9. The Agency’s principal functions  in the sphere of public procurements 
 
(1) The Agency shall perform the following principal functions: 
 
(a) develop and submit to the Governme nt for approval the draft regulations 
necessary to exercise this law; devel op suggestions regarding the introduction 
of modifications and amendments to the public procurements legislation; 
(b) coordinate, monitor, assess and control compliance of the Contracting 
Authorities with the public procurement procedures and procedures for the awarding of public procurement contracts; 
(c) produce, update and maintain the list of qualified supplies and supplier 
disqualification lists; 
(d) develop and implement standard ized documentation for the public 
procurement procedures; 
(e) examine and register the tender docum entation submitted by the Contracting 
Authorities; 
(f) examine reports on the public procurement procedures; 
(g) examine and register public procur ement contracts concluded as result of 
implementing the procurement procedures,  excepting the contracts concluded 
as result of implementing the request for price quotations procedure; 
(h) request re-examination or cancellation, as the case may be, of the results of 
public procurement procedures; 
(i) maintain the automated public procurements register; (j) examine and settle disputes between th e parties participating in the public 
procurement procedures; 
(k) provide methodology assistance  and advice regarding the public 
procurements to the Contracting Aut horities, initiate and support training 
efforts for the Contracting Authority staff involved in the preparation and 
implementation of the public procur ement procedures and awarding of the 
public procurement contracts; 
(l) issue the public procurements bulletin ; develop and place in the Internet the 
web page “Moldova’s Public Procuremen ts”, which is the formal venue for  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 27 
 
 
publication of invitations to tender, re quests for proposals and information on 
the public procurements and awards of public procurement contracts; 
(m) submit to the Government quarterly a nd annual reports and statistical analysis 
on public procurements; 
(n) request and obtain from the relevant authorities the information on the 
suppliers participating in the public procurement procedures as well as any 
other information required by the Agency to perform its functions; 
(o) collaborate with international agenci es and similar foreign entities operating 
in the sphere of public procurements; 
(p) coordinate the use of foreign technical assistance in the sphere of public 
procurement; 
(q) perform other functions provided for in  this law and other applicable laws 
and regulations. 
(2) The Agency shall perform its functions at the level of developing regions via its 
territorial offices. 
 
Article 10. The Agency's operation and administration 
 
The Agency's operation and administration shall follow the Regulations approved by the 
Government.  Article 11. The Agency's budget 
 
(1) The Agency's budget shall be comprised of: 
 
  (a) own income resulting from activities which are not contrary to this law; 
 
  (b) allocations from the state budget; 
 
  (c) other additional lawful sources. 
 
(2) The Agency’s budget shall be develope d, examined, approved and reported in 
compliance with the law. 
 
CHAPTER III 
PARTICIPANTS IN THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES 
 
SECTION 1.  THE CONTRACTING AUTHORITIES 
 
Article 12. The status of the Contracting Authority 
 
(1) The Contracting Authority may be any pub lic authority within the meaning of the 
term defined in the legislation of Moldova, includi ng legal entities under the public law, associations 
of such authorities or persons. 
 
(2) A legal entity under the public  law shall mean any entity: 
   (a) established exclusively to satisfy public needs, without any profit targets 
 (industrial or commercial); 
 
  (b) with a separate legal identity; GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 28  
 
   (c) whose operations are secured to a major extent with public funds, or whose 
 management is subject to the contro ls exercised by a public authority or 
 another legal entity under the public law, or whose Administrative,  Management or Supervision Board has more than 50% of the members 
 appointed by the above entities. 
 
(3) Furthermore, the Contracting Authority ma y be an association of several Contracting 
Authorities, whose members appoint a legal entity from their midst by a civil law act to represent 
them as a single buyer in the relationships with an y Supplier, contractor to perform works or service 
provider. 
 
(4) Other legal entities with an obligation to perform public procurements may be 
qualified as the Contracting Authorities by a Govern ment decision according to this law, where they 
operate at the markets in which the competition is excluded on the force of a regulation or an 
administrative ruling or due to the existence of a monopoly. 
 
(5) Any other entity, which does not satisfy the aggregate of the requirements specified 
in Paragraph (2) hereof, may be qualified upon request or decision of a competent governance body as 
a Contracting Authority subject to the performance of  the procurements in strict compliance with this 
law. 
 
(6) A Contracting Authority may be a public authority appointed by the Government to 
organize and perform in a centralized way the publ ic procurement procedures with the objective to 
satisfy certain needs in the respective goods, works or services for some other Contracting Authorities. 
 
Article 13. The functions of the Contracting Au thorities in the sphere of public procurements 
 
 (1) The Contracting authorities shall perform  the following actions in the sphere of 
public procurement:  
  (a) establish work groups in charge of implementing the public procurements 
 within the Contracting Authority; 
   (b) develop annual and quarterly public procurement plans;  
  (c) issue requests for proposals / invita tions to tender within the framework of 
 the public procurement procedures; 
   (d) develop tender documentation p ackages and other documents applicable 
 within the framework of the procurement procedures; 
 
  (e) initiate and perform the public procurement procedures; 
   (f) ensure the extensive participation of Suppliers in the public procurement 
 procedures; 
 
  (g) examine, assess and compare the bids submitted by Suppliers within the 
 framework of the public procurement procedures; 
   (h) conclude public procurem ent contracts with Suppliers; 
  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 29 
 
 
  (i) produce reports on the results of the public procurement procedures and 
 submit them to the Agency; 
   (j) execute and manage public procurement contracts according to their terms 
 and conditions; 
 
  (k) keep records of all documents prod uced and applied within the framework of 
 the public procurement procedures. 
 
(2) The Contracting Authority shall: 
 
  (a) ensure the efficiency of the public procurements;    (b) ensure the objectivity and impar tiality within the framework of the public 
 procurement procedures; 
 
  (c) ensure the transparency and publicity of the public procurement procedures;    (d) submit upon the Agency’s request any information regarding the conclusion 
 and execution of the public procurement contracts. 
 Article 14. Performing of the Co ntracting Authority’s functions 
 
(1) The Contracting Authority shall exercise its functions through the procurements work 
group, established for that purpose of the Contra cting Authority’s officers and experts with the 
relevant professional experience and expertise in the sphere of public procurements, which are 
selected from among the listed staff. Depending on the subject of the procurements, the Contracting 
Authority may establish one or more procurements work groups.  
(2) The Contracting Authority may invite, if  necessary, professionals and experts in the 
sphere of particular procurements to act as advisors  in the procurements work group. In special cases 
provided for in the law, such professionals and ex perts may be granted a voting right in the work 
group. 
  (3) A member of the work group must sign (at his/her personal responsibility) a 
declaration in writing regarding the confidentiality and impartiality, in which he/she undertakes to 
observe unconditionally the provisions of this law and pr esents furthermore that he/she: 
 
  (a) is not a spouse, relative or in-law (t o the third degree inclusive) of any of the 
 bidders; 
   (b) has not been within the last 3 years a party to an employment contract or a 
 cooperation contract concluded with any of the bidders, as shown in the labor 
 record book, or has not been a member  of the bidder’s administrative board 
 or any other of the bidder’s governance or management bodies; 
   (c) does not hold a stake or shares in the authorized and subscribed capital of any 
 of the bidders. 
 
 (4) Should a work group member present prior to the bid opening meeting to fall into one or several of the categories listed in Paragraph (3),  he/she must request promptly his/her immediate 
removal from the work group and replacement with another person.  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 30  
 
 (5) The Agency may cancel the procurement process in the case of non-compliance with 
the provisions of the Paragraphs (3) and (4) above.   (6) The procurements work group shall be guided in its activities by this law and the 
Regulations approved by the Government. 
 
SECTION 2.  THE SUPPLIER 
 
Article 15. The Suppliers’ participation in the public procurement procedures 
  (1) Any Supplier with the status of a resident or non-resident business company 
(including individuals as well as legal entities) may pa rticipate according to this law in the procedures 
of awarding the public procurement contract, ex cepting the cases where the Contracting Authority, 
acting in conformity with the legislation, deci des to procure domestic goods and services. The report 
on the procurement procedure shall indi cate the reasons for such decision. 
 
 (2) Non-resident suppliers shall enjoy the ri ghts and remedies similar to those granted to 
resident suppliers under this law solely in the case of the public procurements provided for in 
Article 2 Paragraph (3) subject to compliance w ith the requirements of Paragraph (3) hereof. 
  (3) A foreign supplier shall enjoy in Moldova the rights in respect of the participation in 
the procedures of awarding public procurement c ontracts similar to the rights enjoyed by the 
Moldovan suppliers in the foreign supplier’s home country.   (4) Suppliers may form associations for the purposes of submitting their bids and/or act as joint bidders. An association (a group of suppliers) might be obliged to obtain a certain legal status 
- where such transformation is necessary fo r the proper execution of the contract. 
  (5) The participation terms and conditions set for the suppliers (which may include 
financial guarantees, technical qualifications a nd the information necessary to assess the supplier’s 
financial, commercial and technical capacity an d to check his qualifications) may not be less 
favorable for non-resident suppliers that those required from resident s uppliers or otherwise 
discriminatory for the non-resident supplier. 
 
Article 16. The supplier’s qualifications 
 
 (1) To confirm the supplier’s qualifications for the purposes of the public procurement 
procedures, the supplier must submit the documents issued by the competent authorities indicated by 
the Contracting Authority for th e purposes of the public procurem ent procedures and evidencing: 
   (a) the Supplier’s managerial competen cies, experience, good repute, availability 
 of the skilled staff and equipment, financial capacity and other capacities 
 necessary for adequate execution of the public procurements contract 
 throughout the lifetime of such contract; 
   (b) authority to conclude the public procurements contract;    (c) good standing, implying the availability of certificates confirming that the 
 supplier is not in the process of liquidation or bankruptcy, its assets are not 
 under sequestration and its business operations are not suspended; 
   (d) payment of taxes and other statutor y charges in compliance with the laws of 
 the supplier’s home country; 
  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 31 
 
 
  (e) non-application during the last 3 years of any disciplinary, administrative or 
 penal sanctions to the supplier’s managers in connection with their 
 professional activities or submission of erroneous data for the purposes of  concluding a public procurements contract; 
 
  (f) the list of founders/shareholders  and affiliates (affiliated persons). 
  (2) The Contracting Authority shall take into account the Supplier’s rights connected 
with the protection of its intellect ual property and commercial secrets. 
 
 (3) The Contracting Authority shall assess th e Supplier’s qualifications, using the criteria 
and procedures described in the request  for proposals/invitation to tender. 
  (4) The Contracting Authority may disqualify the bidder at any stage of the procurement process in case it is found that the information s ubmitted by the supplier for the qualification purposes 
is untrue or incomplete, or in other cases provided for in this law and other applicable laws and 
regulations.   (5) The Bidder may be disqualified if he do es not present the supplementary information 
requested by the Contracting Authority within the requested term.  
 (6) The bidder may not be disqualified due to  the fact that the qualification information 
presented by him is inaccurate or incomplete to an immaterial degree.   (7) The Contracting Authority may request  the bidders to present the documentary 
evidence, if necessary, and should it have any do ubts regarding the bidder’s and supplier’s personal 
situation, it may request cooperation and the n ecessary information from the competent authorities, 
including foreign ones.   (8) The competent authorities and the authorities protecting and enforcing the law and order should present upon request of the Contracting Authority and free of charge within 10 calendar 
days the systematized information or any other information regarding the supplier’s legal status, 
involvement/non-involvement in criminal associati ons or groups as well as other information about 
the respective bidder and supplier, specified in this  law. In the case of non-resident suppliers such 
information may be sought from the competent foreign authorities according to the accepted 
international practices.  Article 17. The list of qualified suppliers 
 
 (1) The list of qualified suppliers is a form al list maintained to ensure the suppliers’ 
accessibility during the public procurement procedures.   (2) The inclusion in the List of qualified suppliers may not be an obligatory requirement; 
it is performed upon the supplier’s request with the issuance of the confirming certificate upon such 
inclusion.   (3) The List of qualified suppliers shall be  developed, maintained and updated by the 
Agency according to the Regulations approved by the Government. 
 
Article 18. The list of prohibited suppliers 
 
 (1) The list of prohibited suppliers is a formal list developed and maintained by the 
Agency for the purpose to restrict for 3 years the participation of prohibite d suppliers in the public 
procurement procedures covered by this law. GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 32  
 
  (2) The list of prohibited suppliers shall be  developed, maintained  and updated by the 
Agency according to the Regulations approved by the Government.  
CHAPTER IV 
PUBLICITY AND TRANSPARENCY 
 
Article 19. The announcement of intent 
 
(1) The Contracting Authority must publish an announcement of intent in the Public 
Procurements Bulletin regarding the scheduled pu blic procurements. In the case of the public 
procurements covered by Article 2 Paragraph (3), the announcement of  intent shall be published also 
in “The Official Journal of the European Community”.  
(2) The announcement of intent shall be p ublished separately for the goods, works and 
services within 30 days upon approval of the respective Contracting Authority’s budget. 
 
(3) The announcement of intent shall cover a ll public procurement contracts scheduled to 
be awarded prior to the end of the budgetary y ear. It shall not be necessary to publish an 
announcement of intent in respect of the procur ement contracts for goods and services with the 
estimated value of up to MDL 200,000 and for works - up to MDL 1,000,000. 
 
(4) The publication of the announcement of inte nt shall not create an obligation for the 
Contracting Authority to perform the respective public procurements. 
 
Article 20. General rules regarding the developm ent and publication of a request for proposals 
 
(1) The Contracting Authority must publish a request for proposals (further “RFP”) in the 
Public Procurement Bulletin and on the Agency’s we b page in all cases provided for by this law in 
accordance with the applied procurement procedures.  In the case of the public procurements covered 
by Article 2 Paragraph (3), the RFP shall be publishe d also in “The Official Journal of the European 
Community”. 
 
(2) The RFP shall be published in the state language and, if necessary, in one of the 
internationally used languages.  
(3) Standardized formats approved for the purpo se shall be used to develop and adjust the 
RFP, making it possible to publicize the public procurements. 
 
(4) To ensure the maximum transparency, the Contracting Authority may publish the 
RFP in other national or international mass media; however, it may be done solely upon publication of 
the respective RFP in the Public Procurements Bulletin and on the Agency’s web page. The RFP 
published in the other local, national or internationa l mass media should make reference to the issue 
number and date of the Public Procurements Bulleti n where the RFP has been first published, and it 
may not contain any information additional to that published in the Public Procurements Bulletin. 
 
(5) The RFP shall be published well in advan ce to provide a realistic possibility for any 
interested supplier to participate without discrim ination in the procedures of awarding the public 
procurements contract. 
  (6) Should it become necessary to adjust or publish anew the RFP after its initial 
publication, but prior to the deadlin e specified for the opening or subm ission of the bids, the adjusted 
RFP must be published in the same media and indicate the same value as the initial RFP. 
  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 33 
 
 
Article 21. The announcement regarding the aw ard of the public procurement contract 
 
(1) The Contracting Authority must publish the announcement regarding the award of the 
public procurements contract in the Public Proc urements Bulletin and on the Agency’s web page 
within 30 calendar days after the conclusion of such contract. 
 
(2) The announcement regarding the award of the public procuremen ts contract shall 
contain at least the following information:    (a) the nature and quan tity of the goods, works or services forming the subject 
 matter of the awarded contract; 
   (b) the name and address of the Contracting Authority which has awarded the 
 contract; 
 
  (c) the day of awarding the contract; 
   (d) the name and other information identifying the winning supplier;    (e) the value of the awarded contract;  
  (f) the legal grounds for the use of the respective contract award procedure; 
   (g) the used procedure.  
Article 22. Notices to the bidders 
 
 (1) Upon request of the bidders, the Contracting Authority must provide:    (a) explanations regarding th e applied procurement procedures; 
   (b) to the rejected bidders – the reasons for choosing a different bid as well as the 
 relative characteristics and advantages and full name of the winning bidder. 
  (2) The Contracting Authority shall notify th e bidders participating in the procurement 
procedures, upon their request, about all contract award decisions.  
 (3) Such information on the awarded contr act shall not be provided, the disclosure of 
which is contrary to the law or public interest.   (4) The rejected bidder may request the inform ation, which evidences the impartiality of 
the procurement process. For that purpose the Contr acting Authority shall provide free of charge the 
information regarding the relative characteristi cs and advantages of the winning bidder and the 
contract price, excepting the cases where the discl osure of such information might prejudice the 
competition at future tenders.  
CHAPTER V 
THE PRINCIPAL REQUIREMENTS TO  THE PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES 
 
Article 23. The rules regarding notices 
 
 (1) The notices, amendments to the inform ation and their storage shall ensure the 
integrity of the data and the confidentiality of bi ds and applications for participation as well as the GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 34  
 
possibility of scrutiny and analysis in substance of the bids and applications for participation by the 
Contracting Authority solely after the deadline specified for their submission. 
 
(2) The tools used for electronic communicati ons and their technical characteristics must 
be continuously available to the public and compa tible with the generally used information and 
communication technologies. 
 
(3) The use of devices for electronic transmission and reception of the bids as well as the 
devices for electronic reception of the applicati ons for participation should satisfy the following 
requirements: 
 
  (a) the information regarding the speci fications necessary for the submission of 
 bids and applications for participati on via electronic channels, including their 
 coding/encoding, must be available to the interested parties; 
 
  (b) the bids submitted electronically must  be confirmed with a digital signature. 
 
Article 24. Communication forms 
 
(1) All notices may be given and all excha nge of information may take place, upon the 
Contracting Authority’s choice, by mail, by fax,  electronically, by phone or using a combination 
thereof. 
 
(2) The chosen communication means should be generally accessible and they must not 
limit the suppliers’ access to the procedure of awarding the public procurements contract. 
 Article 25. The requirement to confirm the documents 
 
 The Contracting Authority may request the bidder to provide the evidence confirming the 
documents presented by him – according to the c onditions laid down for the relevant document 
category.  Article 26. The timing for the submission and receipt of the applications for participation and bids 
 
 (1) The deadline for the submission and receipt  of the applications for participation and 
bids must be established sufficiently well in a dvance to enable the domestic as well as foreign 
suppliers to prepare and submit their bids prio r to the completion of the tender procedures. 
 
 (2) Establishing the deadline, the Contracting Authority must take into consideration the 
complexity of the scheduled procurements, the an ticipated subcontracted areas and the time normally 
required to receive the bids sent by the domestic and international mail. 
  (3) The Contracting Authority shall be resp onsible for the establishment of deadlines for 
the submission and receipt of appli cations for participation and bids. 
  (4) In the case of an open or closed tenders, the term for the submission and receipt of the 
applications for participation and bids may be no less than 15 calendar days after the day on which the 
RFP is published, and in the case of the public proc urements covered by Artic le 2 Paragraph (3) – no 
less than 40 calendar days. In the case of repeated contracts and in emergency situations (which must 
be substantiated by the Contracting Authority) th e term for the submission of bids may be reduced, 
however, it may not be less than 10 calendar days.   (5) In the case of the procedures implying the request to submit price quotations, the time 
for the submission and receipt of the bids may be no less than 3 calendar days for the goods and 10  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 35 
 
 
calendar days for the works and services after th e RFP is circulated. In the case of auxiliary 
procurements, repeated contracts and in the emergenc y situations (which must be substantiated by the 
Contracting Authority) the term for the submissi on of bids may be reduced, however, it may be no 
less than 2 calendar days for the goods and 5 calendar days for the works and services.  Article 27. The rules for the descrip tion of the goods, works and services 
 
 (1) The characteristics of the goods, works and services requested by the Contracting Authority shall be an exact and complete descrip tion of the subject matter for the procurements, 
making it possible to comply with all requireme nts and criteria established by the Contracting 
Authority. 
  (2) The characteristics of th e subject matter for the procurements must correspond to the 
Contracting Authority’s requirements regarding the quality, efficiency, testi ng, security, dimensions, 
symbols, terminology, packaging, transportati on, marking, labeling, production processes and 
techniques as well as conformity assessment procedures, as specified in the tender documents. 
  (3) Upon adjustments to the technical ch aracteristics, projects, technical designs, 
drawings and descriptions requested  by the Contracting Authority: 
   (a) physical description of the requested goods, works and services shall be 
 provided on the basis of the objective and relevant technical specifications 
 and quality characteristics; 
   (b) the characteristics shall be provided in terms of the operational performance 
 of the goods and the efficiency of wo rks and services in cases where physical 
 description is impossible or where th e efficiency or performance is of  
 primary significance; 
   (c) the standardized characteristics, requirements, symbols and terms or the 
 international and national standards acc epted internationally and approved by 
 the Standardization and Metrology Serv ice shall be used for the purposes of 
 describing the requested goods, works and services. 
  (4) The technical characteristics shall make no reference to a certain trade mark, brand or 
company, patent, drawing or type of the goods, works and services; no specific place of origin, manufacturer or supplier shall be indicated. Shou ld it be impossible to detail the procurement 
requirements with sufficient exactness without such  references, the wordin g of the characteristics 
shall include the words “or their equivalent”.   (5) Technical specifications shall be based on the international or national standards, 
national technical regulations or c onstruction codes, if applicable. 
 Article 28. The language of the standardized documentation 
 
 (1) The short-listing or tender documents and other public procurement documents shall 
be produced and published in the state language.  
 (2) The documents covered by Paragraph (1) may be produced furthermore in one of the 
internationally used languages where:    (a) the nature of the requested goods, works and services implies the 
 involvement of foreign suppliers, resources or technologies, provision of 
 foreign professional services or involvement of foreign competitors; GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 36  
 
   (b) the estimated price of the request ed goods, works and service is in excess of 
 the threshold levels specified in Article 2 Paragraph (3). 
  (3) The bids shall be submitted in the st ate language. Any supplier may make reference 
to the tender documents and formulate requests in the language of the bid. 
 
Article 29. The rejection of all bids 
 
 (1) Contracting Authority may reject all bids  at any time prior to their receipt. Such 
action may be justified by the absence of effectiv e competition, the impossibility of funding or non-
compliance of the bids with the requireme nts specified in the tender documents. 
  (2) The notice regarding the rejection of all bi ds shall be given to all bidders within no 
more than 3 calendar days.  The Contracting Authority shall communicate the grounds for the 
rejection upon inquiry of any bidder. 
 
Article 30. Acts of corruption on the part of suppliers 
 
 (1) The Contracting Authority shall reject the bid in the case the supplier submitting it offers or agrees to offer, directly or indirectly, a favor in any form or to extend an employment offer, 
or to provide any other service to any of the Cont racting Authority’s former  or current officers or 
employees as remuneration for certain actions, decisi ons or use of certain procurement procedures to 
his advantage.   (2) The rejection of the bid and the grounds for the rejection shall be indicated in the 
report on the procurement procedure and communi cated promptly to the relevant suppliers. 
  (3) The Agency shall report promptly each case of corruption or attempted corruption acts on the part of the supplier or a representative of the Contracting Authority to the competent 
authorities.  
 (4) The public procurement contracts awarde d as result of the corruptive acts confirmed 
by the definitive court decision sh all be considered null and void. 
 
Article 31. The conditions regarding taxes,  environmental issues and labor safety 
  (1) The Contracting Authority may indicate in  the terms of reference (TOR) an authority 
or authorities where the bidders can obtain pertinen t information regarding the obligations connected 
with taxes, environment protection, labor safety and labor legislation in Moldova, which would be 
applied to the works performed on site or the ser vices provided during the execution of the contract. 
  (2) The Contracting Authority which provid es the information as per Paragraph (1) shall 
request the bidders to mention that they took in to account during the preparation of the bid the 
obligations ensuing from the applicable labor safet y norms and labor regulations effective in the 
location of the works or services.  
Article 32. The public procurements file 
 
 (1) The Contracting Authority must produce th e public procurements file and ensure its 
safekeeping for 5 years after the initiation of the procurement procedure.   GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 37 
 
 
 (2) The documents which should be included in the public procurements file as well as 
those which should be transmitted to the Agency ar e specified in the Regulations approved by the 
Government.  
CHAPTER VI 
THE PUBLIC PROCUREM ENT PROCEDURES 
 
SECTION 1.  THE TYPES OF THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES 
 
Article 33. The public procurement procedures 
 
 (1) The award of the public procurements c ontract may be performed using the following 
procedures:    (a) open (public) tender; 
 
  (b) closed tender;    (c) framework contract;    (d) competitive dialogue; 
 
  (e) negotiations;    (f) procurement from a single source;  
  (g) request for price quotations; 
   (h) dynamic procurement system;    (i) electronic auction/tender;  
  (j) procurements for the social housing construction schemes; 
   (k) procurements through th e Universal Commodity Exchange. 
  (2) The open tender shall be the basic proc edure for the awards of public procurement 
contracts.  Other procurement procedures may be used solely on conditions expressly provided for in 
this law.  
SECTION 2.  THE OPEN TENDER 
 
Article 34. The initiation of an open tender 
 
 (1) The open tender procedure involves the reception of bids from all suppliers who are 
willing to participate in the tender.   (2) The Contracting Authority shall publish according to the provisions of Article 26 a 
prior invitation to participate in the open tender in  order to notify the potential participants and to 
enable them to prepare their bids.  
Article 35. The invitation to participate in the open tender 
  The invitation to participate in the open tender shall indicate: GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 38  
 
  (a) the Contracting Authority’s name and address;   (b) the goods, their quantities and the address for their delivery; the works and their 
location; the services and the location for their provision; 
 
 (c) the term for the supply of the goods or co mpletion of the works, the time schedule for 
the provision of the services; 
  (d) the suppliers’ qualification criteria and assessment procedures; 
 
 (e) the provision which cannot be amended at  a later stage, stating that: either the 
suppliers may participate in the procurement procedure irrespective of their country of residence, or the circle of particip ants is limited according to Article 15 
Paragraph (1); 
 
 (f) the procedure and address fo r obtaining the tender documents; 
  (g) the fee payable for the tender documents, if applicable;   (h) the currency and procedures to pay the fee for the tender documents; 
 
 (i) the language(s) of the tender documents;   (j) the address and deadline for the submission of bids.  Article 36. The conditions regarding  the offer of tender documents 
 
 The Contracting Authority shall offer the tende r documents to the suppliers on the terms and 
conditions specified in the invitation to participate in the tender (RFP).  The fee which the Contracting 
Authority might choose to request for the tender documents may include only the costs of their 
multiplication and delivery to the suppliers.  The tende r documents shall be offered free of charge to 
the Association of the Blind, the Association of the Handicapped, the Association of the Deaf, the 
production facility of the National Psychiatric Hospital,  the penitentiary system institutions and other 
disadvantaged parties.  
Article 37. The tender documents 
 
 The structure and contents of the tender documen ts shall be established in the standardized 
documents approved by the Government.  
Article 38. The explanations regarding th e tender documents and their modifications 
  (1) Any supplier may request explanations  regarding the tender documents from the 
Contracting Authority.  The Contracting Authority shall provide an answer to any such request/inquiry, which is received prior to the deadlin e for the submission of the bids, within the term 
which gives the supplier the possibility to submit his bid on time.  Without indicating the source of the inquiry, the Contracting Authority shall provide the respective explanations to  all suppliers who have 
obtained the tender documents. 
  (2) The Contracting Authority may modify th e tender documents prior to the deadline for 
the submission of the bids at its sole discretion or as the reaction to the inquiry to provide explanations received from a supplier.  The info rmation on any such modifications shall be 
communicated without delay to all suppliers who have been offered the tender documents by the  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 39 
 
 
Contracting Authority, thus enabling them to take it into account during the preparation of the bids, 
and the Agency.   (3) In the case a meeting of the suppliers is convened, the Contr acting Authority shall 
produce the meeting minutes, including the inquiries and requests expressed at the meeting to provide 
explanations in connection with the tender documents and the answ ers to such requests, without 
indication of the source.  The Contracting Author ity shall distribute the meeting minutes without 
delay to all suppliers who have obtained the tender documents, thus enabling them to take the 
document into account during the preparation of th e bids, and notify the Agency accordingly.  The 
meeting minutes shall form an integral part of the tender documents and due reference shall be made 
to their respective provisions where the Contracti ng Authority intends to introduce modifications or 
amendments.  
Article 39. The bid submission terms and conditions 
  (1) The Contracting Authority shall sp ecify the venue and the deadline for the 
submission of bids, indicating the exact day and time.  This deadline shall be established in 
conformity with Article 26.   (2) Where the Contracting Authority provid es explanations or introduces amendments to 
the tender documents or where it convenes a meeting of the suppliers, the d eadline for the submission 
of the bids may be postponed, if necessary, to give  the suppliers sufficient time to take into account 
the relevant explanation, amendment or provisions of the meeting minutes.   (3) The Contracting Authority may extend the pe riod for the preparation of the bids at its 
sole discretion prior to the deadlin e for the submission of the bids. 
 
 (4) The Contracting Authority shall give the notice regarding the extension of the preparation period without delay to all suppliers  who have obtained the tender documents and the 
Agency.   (5) The bids shall be submitted in writi ng, stamped, in a sealed envelope. The 
Contracting Authority must issue the supplier a r eceipt indicating the day and time of receiving the 
respective bid.   (6) The bids received by the Contracting Au thority after the deadline for the submission 
of the bids shall be returned to  the respective suppliers unopened. 
 
Article 40. The bid validity term , amendments and withdrawal 
 
 (1) The bid shall be valid for the te rm specified in the tender documents. 
  (2) Prior to the expiry of the bid the Contracting Authority may request the bidder to 
extend its validity term.  The Bidder may: 
   (a) refuse to comply with the request, retaining the right to withdraw the 
 guarantee deposited for his bid; 
 
  (b) accept the request, either extending the validity term of the guarantee 
 deposited to secure the bid or providi ng a new bid guarantee to cover the 
 extended bid validity term. The bidde r which does not extend the validity 
 term of the guarantee deposited to secure the bid or provide a new bid 
 guarantee shall be deemed to reject the request to extend the bid validity 
 term. GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 40  
 
  (3) Unless the tender documents provide othe rwise, the bidder may amend or withdraw 
the bid prior to the deadline for the submission of  bids, without losing the right to withdraw the 
guarantee deposited for his bid. Such amendment or a notice regarding the withdrawal of the bid shall 
be valid provided it is received by the Contracting Authority prior to the d eadline for the submission 
of bids. 
 
Article 41. Alternative bids 
 
 (1) The bidder may submit additionally other bids termed as “alternative bids” – solely 
provided the bid assessment criterion is “ the most advantageous bid in technical and economic 
terms ”.  Only alternative bids may deviate to a certa in extent from the requirements specified in the 
documentation regarding the devel opment and submission of bids. 
  (2) The Contracting Authority must specify  the minimum obligatory requirements in the 
tender documents, with which the alte rnative bids should comply in or der to be considered.  Therefore 
where the Contracting Authority does not intend to permit the submission of alternative bids, it must 
state that ban expressly in the RFP/invitation to tender.   (3) The Contracting Authority may not reject an alternative bid solely on grounds that:  
  (a) it is prepared using technical specifications differing from those given in the 
 TOR – provided the bidder is able to show that the proposed solution ensures  the adequate fulfillment of all technical requirements put forward by the  Contracting Authority; 
 
  (b) in the case where it can be declared a winning bid: 
    the public procurements contract for the goods, which should be awarded in 
 the tender, is transformed in the public procurements contract for the  services;  or 
 
   the public procurements contract for the services, which should be awarded 
 in the tender, is  transformed in th e public procurements contract for the 
 goods. 
 
Article 42. The guarantee to secure the bid and the execution of the contract 
 
(1) In case of the procurements of goods or works, the supplier shall submit the bid 
together with the guarantee securing the bid.   (2) The tender documents may specify the requirements of the Contracting Authority 
regarding the admissibility of the party issuing the guarantee to secure the bid or, if applicable, the 
party backing the guarantee; the form, terms and c onditions of the guarantee to secure the bid. The 
Contracting Authority may not reject the bid on the grounds that the guarantee is issued by a foreign resident, where it is not contrary to the legisl ation, provided the bid guarantee and the guarantor 
comply with the requirements speci fied in the tender documents. 
 
 (3) Prior to the submission of the bid, the supplier may request the Contracting Authority 
to confirm the admissibility of the guarantor issuing the bid guarantee or the party backing it. The Contracting Authority shall respond to such request  promptly. Such confirmation may not prevent the 
Contracting Authority from the rejection of the bid gu arantee, if the guarantor or the party backing the 
guarantee becomes insolvable or loses its credibility. 
  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 41 
 
 
 (4) The Contracting Authority shall specify  the requirements in the tender documents 
regarding the guarantor, format, amount and other basic requirements of the guarantee securing the 
bid as well as the requirements to the supplier submitting the bid guarantee for the following situations:  
  (a) the supplier withdraws or amends the bid after the deadline for the 
 submission of the bids; 
   (b) the winning bidder refuses to sign the procurement contract;  
  (c) the bidder does not agree to correct mistakes in calculations; 
   (d) the winning bidder refuses to s ecure the execution of the contract upon 
 acceptance of his bid or does not fulfill any of the prerequisites for signing of  the procurement contract, which ar e specified in the tender documents. 
 
 (5) The Contracting Authority may refrain fro m the request to the supplier to provide a 
bid guarantee in the case of the procurements of goods with the total estimated value below 
MDL 200,000 and works with the total estimated value below MDL 1,000,000. Where the Contracting Authority requests such guarantee, the s upplier shall comply with the provisions of this 
Article. 
 
 (6) The amount of the bid guarantee should not exceed 3% of the value of the submitted 
bid.   (7) The Contracting Authority may not clai m payment on the bid guarantee and it shall 
return the bid guarantee without delay upon occu rrence of any of the below circumstances: 
   (a) expiry of the bid guarantee validity term;    (b) signing of the procurement contract and provision of the guarantee securing 
 its execution, where such guarantee is required by the tender documents; 
 
  (c) suspension of the tender procedur es without awards of the procurement 
 contract; 
   (d) withdrawal of the bid prior to th e bid submission deadline - unless the tender 
 documents prohibit expressly such withdrawal. 
  (8) In the procurement of goods and works,  the Contracting Authority shall request the 
bidder to provide the security for the cont ract execution at the time of its signing. 
  (9) Contracting Authority shall specify the requirements in the tender documents 
regarding the guarantor, format, amount and othe r basic terms and conditions of the required 
guarantee securing the execution of the contract.   (10) Prior to the provision of the guara ntee securing the execution of the contract, the 
supplier may request the Contracting Authority to confirm the admissibility of the proposed guarantor 
issuing the guarantee or the party backing it. The C ontracting Authority shall respond to such request 
without delay.   (11) In the procurements of goods to the estimated value below MDL 200,000 and works to the estimated value below MDL 1,000,000 the Co ntracting Authority may refrain from the request GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 42  
 
to the bidders to provide a guarantee securing the execution of the contract. If the Contracting Authority chooses to request such guarantee, it sha ll comply with the provisions of this Article. 
  (12) The amount of the guarantee securing the execution of the contract may not exceed 15% of the nominal value of the procurement contract. 
 
Article 43. Opening of the bids 
 
 (1) Opening of the bids and their subseq uent examination, evaluation and comparison 
shall fall within the powers and responsibility of the Contracting Authority. 
 
 (2) The bids shall be opened on the day and at the time specified in the tender documents 
as the deadline for the submission of the bids or on the day and at the time specified as the new 
deadline in case of an extension, in the venue and according to the procedures established in the 
tender documents. The bidders or their representatives  may participate in the opening of the bids. 
 
 (3) The name and contact details for each bidder whose bid is opened and the bid price 
shall be notified to the parties present at the bid opening procedure and, upon their request, to those 
who were absent or had no representative at the opening procedure; and the respective information 
shall be entered in the report on the procurement procedure.  Article 44. Examination, evaluation and comparison of the bids 
 
 (1) The examination, evaluation and comparis on of the bids shall be performed in the 
absence of the bidders or their representatives. To facilitate the examination, evaluation and 
comparison of the bids, the Contracting Authorit y may request the bidder to provide additional 
explanations in writing regarding the bid. No am endments, including price amendments, shall be 
allowed for the purpose to bring the bid in complia nce with the requirements with which it did not 
comply initially. The Contracting Authority shall correct only arithmetic errors found in the bid 
during its examination, notifying the bidder accordingly without delay.   (2) The Contracting Authority may consider the bid as complying if it contains 
immaterial deviations from the provisions of the tender documents, errors or omissions which can be 
corrected without affecting the essence of the bid. Any deviation of that kind shall be given quantitative assessment – to the extent possible - and taken in consideration during the evaluation and 
comparison of the bids.  
 (3) The Contracting Authority shall not accept the bid where: 
   (a) the bidder does not comply with the qualification requirements;    (b) the bidder does not agree to correct an arithmetic error;  
  (c) the bid does not comply with the requirements specified in the tender 
 documentation; 
   (d) the corruptive acts are shown to take place.  
 (4) The Contracting Authority shall evaluate and compare the submitted bids to 
determine the winning bid, using the procedures a nd criteria described in the tender documents. It 
may not use any criteria not mentioned in the tender documents.   GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 43 
 
 
 (5) The winning bid shall be the bid found to be the most advantageous economically 
according to Article 45, with account of any preferential margin established according to 
Paragraph (6) hereof.   (6) During the evaluation and comparison of the bids the Contracting Authority shall 
apply the preferential margin in favor of the bids proposing the domestic goods and the bids 
proposing the works performed by operators resident  in Moldova, which preferential margin may not 
exceed 15% of the bid price found to be the best. The bids offering the products of the enterprises 
owned by the Association of the Blind, the Association of the Ha ndicapped, the Association of the 
Deaf, the production facility of the National Psyc hiatric Hospital or the penitentiary system 
institutions and bids offering agri cultural products and foodstuffs, which are ecological or in the 
period of transition to the ecological production pr ocesses, shall enjoy the preferential margin of 20% 
of the bid price found to be the best.   (7) Where the bid prices are expressed in two or more currencies, the prices of all bids 
shall be recalculated in a single currency accordi ng to the exchange rate specified in the tender 
documents in order to facilitate the evaluation and comparison of the bids. 
  (8) If the bidder does not fulfill the requirement of the Contracting Authority to re-confirm the qualification data for the conclusion of the contract, the bid shall be rejected and the 
second best bid shall be selected as winner from among the remaining valid bids. However, the 
Contracting Authority may reject all other bids. 
  (9) The information regarding the examina tion, evaluation and comparison of the bids 
may not be disclosed to the bidders or other persons  not involved formally in those procedures or in 
the determination of the winning bid. 
 
Article 45. The bid most advantageous in the economic terms 
 
 The bid most advantageous in the economic terms shall be the bid identified as the winning bid based on the following criteria:  
 (a) in the case of public procurement cont racts for the goods: price, delivery terms, 
payment terms, profitability, quality, aest hetic and functional characteristics, 
technical characteristics, availability and costs of service maintenance, technical 
assistance; 
 
 (b) in the case of public procurement contract s for the works: the proposed quality, price 
per unit of bidder’s products upon completion of the works, total price, the bidder’s experience, etc. The significance of the price in the total bid evaluation shall be no less than 80%; 
  (c) in the case of public procurement contr acts for the services: the proposed quality, 
price per unit of bidder’s products, total price, the bidder’s experience, etc. The 
significance of the price in the total bid evaluation shall be no less than 40%; 
 
Article 46. A bid with an abnormally low price 
  (1) A bid with an abnormally low price shall mean a bid to sell the goods, perform works 
or provide the services at a price which is significa ntly lower in comparison with the bids of other 
bidders, where:  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 44  
 
  (a) the Contracting Authority finds e rrors during the check and recalculation of 
 price components, which are the reas on for indication of an abnormally low 
 bid price; 
   (b) the bidder is unable to demonstrate any special access or technology or more 
 advantageous market conditions, whic h enable him to offer an abnormally 
 low bid price; 
   (c) the bidder does not comply with the technical requirements specified in the 
 TOR. 
 
 (2) The Contracting Authority must provide the supplier the possibility to justify the abnormally low bid price.  
Article 47. Bid acceptance, awards and conclusion of the procurement contract 
 
 (1) The Contracting Authority shall give the bidder a written notice on bid acceptance within 3 calendar days from the day of acceptance.   (2) The tender documents may contain a requirement to the bidder submitting the 
winning bid to sign the procurement contract within  20 calendar days after the contract is forwarded 
to the winner for signing. The Agency may suspe nd the conclusion of the contract in the cases 
specified in Article 74 . 
  (3) The contract shall be considered conclude d on the day it is signed by the parties and it 
shall become effective upon its registration in due  course as provided for in this law. The time 
necessary for such registration shou ld be indicated in the tender documents. If the contract is not 
registered within that time, the validity of the bid or bid guarantee. A guarantee might be requested in 
that case unless the Contracting Authority and the bidder agree otherwise in writing.   (4) If, upon expiry of the term provided for in Paragraph (2), the bidder who has received 
the bid acceptance notice does not sign the procuremen t contract or present the requested security for 
the execution of the contract, the Contracting Authority may reject the bid and select another winning 
bid from among the remaining valid bids. However, the Contracting Authority may reject all other 
bids according to the provisions of Article 29 of this law.   (5) The Contracting Authority shall notify th e other bidders participating in the tender 
about the conclusion of the procurements contract  within 10 calendar days upon its conclusion, 
indicating the name and contact data of the supp lier to whom the contract was awarded and the 
contract price.  
SECTION 3.  THE CLOSED TENDER 
 
Article 48. The conditions for holding a closed tender 
 
 (1) The Contracting Authority may hold a closed tender where the goods, works and 
services are of complex nature or available to a large number of suppliers operating at the market. 
 
 (2) The closed tender shall be held accordi ng to the rules similar to those for an open 
tender, subject to the application of pre-selec tion (short-listing) procedures preceded by the 
publication of a request for proposals (invitation to the participation in pre-selection).   (3) The invitation to the participati on in the short-listing shall indicate: 
  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 45 
 
 
  (a) the procedures and venue for th e acquisition of pre-selection documents; 
   (b) if applicable, the fee payable for the pre-selection documents;    (c) the currency and procedures for paying the fee for the pre-selection 
 documents; 
   (d) the language(s) for the production of pre-selection documents;    (e) venue and deadline for the submi ssion of applications for pre-selection. 
 
Article 49. Pre selection (short-listing) procedure 
 
 (1) The Contracting Authority shall perform pre-selection (short-listing) of the candidates 
to identify qualified suppliers pr ior to the submission of the bids according to the provisions of 
Article 16. 
  (2) In case of applying the above procedur es the Contracting Authority shall offer a 
package of the pre-selection documents to each supp lier applying for them based on the invitation to 
participate in the pre-selection and paying the requ ested fee for such documents. The fee may include 
only the costs of producing the documents and their delivery to the suppliers. Such documents shall be 
offered free of charge to the Association of th e Blind, the Association of the Handicapped, the 
Association of the Deaf, the production facility of th e National Psychiatric Hospital, the penitentiary 
system institutions and other disadvantaged parties.   (3) The pre-selection documents shall comprise: 
 
  (a) the instructions regarding the prep aration and submission of the applications 
 for pre-selection; 
   (b) summary description of the principal terms and conditions of the 
 procurement contract which would be concluded based on the results of the 
 procurement procedures; 
   (c) the detailed list of the documents to be presented by the supplier to confirm 
 his qualifications; 
 
  (d) the information on the procedures, venue and deadline (exact day and time) 
 for the submission of applications for pre-selection; 
   (e) any other requirements regardi ng the preparation and presentation of 
 applications for the pre-selection a nd pre-selection procedures, which the 
 Contracting Authority establishes in conformity with this law, other laws and 
 regulations and the standardized documents; 
   (f) the information specified in Article 35 Paragraph (1) letters a), e) and h), and, 
 if known, the information specified in letter j) of the above Article. 
 
 (4) The Contracting Authority must respond to  all inquiries of the suppliers regarding the 
obtained pre-selection documents no later than 10 calendar days prior to the deadline for the submission of applications for the pre-selection. The Contracting Authority must respond within a 
reasonable term so that the supplier has the possib ility to submit his application on time. The response 
to each inquiry, which might be of interest for the other suppliers, should be distributed to all GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 46  
 
suppliers obtaining the pre-selection documents from the Contracting Authority, without indicating 
the source of the inquiry.   (5) The pre-selection criteria shall be speci fied in the pre-selection documents. Only 
those criteria may be applied for the evaluation of  the qualifications demonstrated by each supplier 
applying for pre-selection. 
  (6) When the pre-selection results are registered, the Contracting Authority shall communicate them promptly to each supplier applyi ng for the pre-selection and present the list of all 
short-listed (pre-selected) suppliers  upon request of any public applicant. Only short-listed suppliers 
may participate in the subsequent procurement procedure. 
  (7) The Contracting Authority might notify each supplier who was not pre-selected, upon 
the latter’s request, about the grounds for such d ecision; however, the Contracting Authority shall 
have no obligation to subs tantiate its decisions. 
 
SECTION 4.  OTHER PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES 
 
Article 50. The framework agreement 
 
 (1) The framework agreement shall mean an agreement concluding between one or more 
Contracting Authorities on the one part and one or mo re suppliers on the other part; the subject matter 
of such agreement is to establish the terms and conditions for the contracts which would be awarded 
during a certain period, in particular prices and, if applicable, the estimated quantities. 
  (2) Concluding a framework agreement, the Contracting Authorities shall observe at all 
stages the requirements provided for herein till the awards of the contracts based on the respective 
framework agreement. The parties to the framework agreement shall be selected via application of the 
awarding criteria as per Article 45.   (3) The contracts based on the framework agreement shall be awarded in compliance 
with this law and the Regulations  approved by the Government. 
 
Article 51. The competitive dialogue 
 
 (1) The competitive dialogue is an open tende r procedure held in 2 stages, which should 
be applied in the case of extremely complex pr ocurement contracts; any supplier may apply to 
participate and the Contracting Authority conducts a dialogue with the candidates admitted to such 
tender with the aim to produce one or more altern ative solutions satisfying the requirements; the 
selected candidates are invited to submit their bids based on the results of the dialogue.   (2) A public procurement contract is considered to be “ particularly complex”  where the 
Contracting Authority is not able to define due to objective reasons: 
 
  (a) the technical means which could satisfy its needs and objectives;  and/or    (b) the legal and/or financial nature of the project.  
 (3) In the first stage of the procedure, th e tender documents should request the suppliers 
to submit bids without price quotations and to provide the information regarding the technical 
characteristics, quality and other specifics of the goods, works and services, the contract terms and 
conditions, the supplier’s professional and techni cal skills and qualifications, if necessary. 
  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 47 
 
 
 (4) At this stage of the procedure the Cont racting Authority may start negotiations with 
any supplier whose bid is not rejected.   (5) In the second stage of the procedure, th e suppliers participating in the first stage 
whose bids are not rejected should submit their fi nal bids, quoting prices. The Contracting Authority 
may exclude or amend any initial provision of th e tender documents or add new characteristics or 
criteria according to this law. The information a bout such exclusion, amendment or modification to 
the tender documents shall be communicated to the s uppliers in the invitation (RFP) to present their 
final bids. The suppliers not willing to submit fina l bids may withdraw from the tender procedure at 
this stage without losing the right to withdraw thei r bid guarantees. The final bids shall be evaluated 
and compared to determine the winning bid. 
 
Article 52. The negotiation procedures 
 
 (1) Contracting Authority may award public procurement contracts using the negotiation 
procedure, upon publication of  the invitation to participation, in the following cases: 
   (a) in the case incorrect or unacceptabl e bids are submitted in the open/closed 
 tender or a competitive dialogue, provide d the initial terms and conditions of 
 the contract are not modified substantially. The Contracting Authority may  choose not to publish an invitation to  participation where the negotiation 
 process includes all bidders or only the bidders which comply with the 
 quality criteria required for the selection and which have submitted bids  complying with the formal requirements of the contract awarding procedure  at an earlier stage in the open/clo sed tender or a competitive dialogue; 
 
  (b) in the exceptional cases, which i nvolve the goods, works or services whose 
 nature or the involved risks do not permit to estimate the total price in  advance; 
   (c) in the sphere of the services, including intellectual services, such as the 
 development of the works design - to th e extent the contract specifications 
 cannot be established with sufficient exactness due to the nature of the 
 services to be provided in order to make possible the contract awards via  selection of the most advantageous bid according to the regulations for the  open/closed tender procedure; 
 
  (d) in the case of the public procuremen t contracts for the works - where such 
 works are performed solely for the pur poses of R&D or trials rather than to 
 generate profits or cover the R&D costs. 
  (2) In the cases provided for in Paragraph (1) the Contracting Authority shall negotiate 
with the bidders based on the bids submitted by th em in order to adapt them to the requirements 
specified in the invitation to participation, TOR and the eventual supplementary documents and to 
identify the most advantageous bid.  
Article 53. Procurements from a single source 
  (1) In the case of the public procurement contracts for works, goods and services, the 
Contracting Authority may procure from a single source where:    (a) no adequate bids or candidates are identified during the open tender or 
 negotiations unless the initial contract  terms and conditions are amended 
 substantially; GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 48  
 
   (b) to the extent strictly necessary - where the terms for an open tender or 
 negotiations with the RFP publication cannot be observed for reasons of the 
 utmost urgency as result of the events, which could not be foreseen  reasonably by the relevant Contracting Authority. The situations referred to 
 in order to justify the utmost urgency may in no case be imputable to the 
 Contracting Authorities; 
   (c) for technical or creative reasons, for reasons connected with the protection of 
 exclusivity rights or any other objective reasons the required goods, works 
 and services are available only from a single supplier, or a single supplier 
 holds the priority rights to them and th ere exists no alternative, or the supplier 
 is established by the law. 
  (2) In the case of the public procurement contracts for goods, the Contracting Authority 
may procure from a single source where: 
   (a) the respective goods are produced so lely for the purposes of the R&D or 
 trials. This provision shall not a pply to large-scale industrial production 
 performed to determine the product’s commercial viability or to amortize the 
 R&D costs; 
 
  (b) the public procurements contr act involves supplementary deliveries 
 performed by the initial supplier with th e aim either to replace partially the 
 goods or installations currently in use,  or to extend the existent goods or 
 installations, if the change of a supplier would require the Contracting 
 Authority to acquire technical material with different characteristics, resulting 
 in the incompatibility or disproportiona te technical problems in operation and 
 maintenance; as a general rule, the du ration of such contracts or renewed 
 contracts may not exceed 3 years; 
   (c) the goods to be procured are s ubject to quotas and acquired at the raw 
 materials exchange; 
   (d) the public procurements contract  involves the acquisition of the goods on 
 particularly advantageous terms and conditions – either from a supplier who 
 winds up his business, or from the cura tors or liquidators of a bankrupt 
 business, or in any other process of similar nature in accordance with the 
 national legislation or regulations. 
  (3) In the case of the public procurement co ntracts for services, the Contracting Authority 
may procure from a single source where the respective  contract results from competition and must be 
awarded according to the applicable rules to the winn er or one of the winners in such competition. In 
the latter case all winners in the competition should  be invited to participate in the negotiations. 
  (4) In the case of the public procuremen ts contracts for works and services, the 
Contracting Authority may procure from a single source:  
  (a) supplementary works or services wh ich are not covered by the initial cost 
 estimate or the initial contract and wh ich have become ne cessary as result of 
 an unexpected situation to make possibl e the provision of the above works or 
 services covered thereby, provided the contract is awarded to the supplier  executing the respective works or services, where: 
  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 49 
 
 
   the respective supplementary work s or services cannot be segregated for 
 technical or economic reasons from th e initial contract without creating a 
 major inconvenience for the Contracting Authority;  or 
    the respective works or services, not withstanding the possibility of their 
 segregation from the initial contract, ar e absolutely necessary to complete the 
 contract. The aggregate value of the contracts awarded for supplementary  works or services may not exceed 30% of the total value of the initial 
 contract; 
 
  (b) new works or services, which cons ist in the repetition of similar works or 
 services awarded by the same Contracting Authority to the supplier under the  initial contract, provided the respective works or services are in conformity  with the initial project and form part of the subject of the initial contract 
 awarded in an open or closed tender; 
 
  (c) if during the procurement proce dure the Contracting Authority receives a 
 singe bid in response to the RFP, and it is not feasible to hold a new tender. 
  (5) The possibility of using the procedure mentioned in Paragraph (2) Letter b) and 
Paragraph (4) letters a) or b) shall be announced at  the time of launching the RFP for the first project, 
and the Contracting Authority shall take into account  the total estimated value of continuing the works 
or services. In the above cases, the procedure descr ibed in Paragraphs (1) – (4) may be used only 
within 3 years upon conclusion of the initial contract.   (6) The procedures for the implementation of procurements from a single source shall be 
established in the Regulations approved by the Government. 
 
Article 54. The request for price quotations 
 
 (1) The Contracting Authority may award contracts via requests for price quotations for the procurements of goods, works and services, whic h should comply with pre-defined specifications, 
provided the estimated value of the procurem ents does not exceed MDL 200,000 for goods and 
services and MDL 1,000,000 for works.   (2) The Contracting Authority may set other requirements in addition to the price, which 
would be considered during the assessment of pric e quotations. In such cases the request for price 
quotations shall indicate each such requirement  and its relative significance in the ultimate 
assessment.   (3) Each supplier may submit a single price quotation without the right to change it subsequently. The Contracting Authority may not ne gotiate any such quotations with the bidder. 
 
 (4) The winning quotation shall be the quota tion, which satisfies all requirements at the 
lowest price.   (5) The Contracting Authority shall publish an announcement of intent in the Public 
Procurement Bulletin and on the public procurement we b page Prior to the procurements of goods and 
services with the estimated value in excess of MD L 100,000 and in the procurements of works with 
the estimated value in excess of MDL 500,000.   (6) The procedures for the implementation of procurements via request for price 
quotations shall be established in the Re gulations approved by the Government. 
 GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
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Article 55. The dynamic procurements system 
 
 (1) The dynamic procurements system sha ll mean a totally electronic procurements 
process to procure the current consumption good s generally available at the market, whose 
characteristics satisfy the requirements of the Contracting Authority. The dynamic system is limited in 
time and open throughout the process to any su pplier, which satisfies the selection criteria and 
submits a preliminary bid in line with the requested requirements.   (2) To implement a dynamic procurements  system, the Contracting Authorities shall 
respect the requirements regarding the open tender at  all stages thereof till the award of the contracts 
within the respective system. All bidders should be invited and admitted in the system who satisfy the 
selection criteria and have submitted a preliminary bid complying with the TOR and the eventual supplementary documents. Prelimin ary bids may be improved at any moment, provided they remain 
in compliance with the TOR.  
 (3) To apply the dynamic procurements system, the Contracting Authorities shall: 
   (a) publish a RFP specifying that the contract would be awarded within a 
 dynamic procurements system; 
   (b) specify in the TOR, among other things, the nature of the scheduled 
 procurements which form subject of the respective system and other 
 necessary information on the procurement system, the electronic equipment  used as well as the connection arrangements and technical specifications; 
   (c) offer free, direct and total access via electronic communication channels to 
 the TOR and all supplementary documen ts for the period from publication of 
 the RFP to the expiry of the system ’s application term  and the RFP should 
 specify the Internet address where th e respective documents can be accessed. 
  (4) The Contracting Authorities may apply the dynamic procurements system to award 
public procurement contracts on terms and conditions  provided for by this law and according to the 
procedures established in the Regula tions approved by the Government. 
 
Article 56. An electronic auction 
 
 (1) An electronic auction shall mean a repeating process which involves the use of 
electronic equipment to present in the descending order new prices and/or new values of certain bid 
elements, which are used upon the first complete ev aluation of the bids, permitting their classification 
with automated evaluation methods. Certain contract s for services and works, whose subject matter is 
intellectual activities, such as work designs, may not form the subject matter of the electronic auction. 
  (2) The Contracting Authorities may use electronic auctions to award public procurement 
contracts on terms and conditions provided for by this  law and according to the procedures established 
in the Regulations approved by the Government.   (3) The Contracting Authorities holding an el ectronic auction shall mention that fact in 
the invitation for participation a nd in the standardized documents. 
 
 (4) Prior to the launch of an electronic auction, the Contracting Authoritymust perform an initial integrated assessment of the bids in conf ormity with the specified criteria for the contract 
awards.   GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 51 
 
 
 (5)  Contracting Authority must invite a ll bidders which have submitted complying bids 
to submit new price quotations and/or, as the case may be, new values for the bid components. The invitation is communicated electronically to all such bidders simultaneously.   (6) The invitation must indicate the starting day and time of the electronic auction as well 
as any information necessary to perform individual co nnection to the electronic equipment used in it. 
  (7) The Contracting Authority may not start the electronic auction earlier that in 2 woirking days from the day on which the invitations are communicated.  
 (8) The electronic auction is held in several successive rounds. 
  (9) During each round of the electronic auction the Contracting Authority must communicate simultaneously to all bidders at least the information required by them to determine at any moment their respective positions in the rating. 
 
 (10) The electronic auction comes to an e nd in any of the following situations or 
combination thereof:    (a) At the exact moment in time spec ified in advance and communicated to the 
 bidders in the invitation for participation in the auction; 
 
  (b) After a certain number of the auction rounds held according to the exact 
 schedule specified in advance and communicated to the bidders in the 
 invitation for participation in the auction; 
 
  (c) When no more new price quotations  and/or values are submitted satisfying 
 the requirements regarding the minimu m auction step (difference in bid 
 prices); in that case the invitation to participate in the auction must specify 
 the deadline for the completion of the electronic auction after the submission 
 of the last bid. 
 
 (11) The Contracting Authority must award the public procurements contract on the terms 
of Article 65 based on the results achieved on completion of the electronic auction.  
Article 57. Procurements in the case of  the social housing construction schemes 
  (1) A special contract awards procedur e may be used in the case of the public 
procurement contracts connected with the design a nd construction of social housing ensembles where 
the scope, complexity and the estimated duration of the works require that pl anning be based from the 
very beginning on very close collaboration in the workgroup comprised of the persons representing 
the Contracting Authorities, experts and contract ors performing the works and responsible for the 
execution of the works; such procedure should ensure  the selection of the contractor to perform the 
works, who is best able to integrate in the workgroup. 
  (2) The Contracting Authorities must includ e the most detailed description of the works 
in the RFP - so that interested contractors could assess realistically the project to be implemented - 
and the qualitative and organizational selection criteria  as well as economic, social, legal, financial, 
technical and personal requirements which all bidders should satisfy. 
 GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
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Article 58. Procurements via the Universal Commodity Exchange 
 
 The procurements of certain categories of strategic importance goods with the exact pre-
determined specifications may be performed via Universal Commodity Exch ange according to the 
Regulations approved by the Government. 
 
Article 59. Cancellation of the results of procurement procedures 
 
 (1) The Contracting Authority may cancel - on its own initiative or upon the Agency’s 
request based on the results of performed checks - the procedures to award the public procurements 
contract, provided such decision is made prior to  the day of notifying the results of applying the 
public procurements procedure and in any case prio r to the conclusion of the contract where: 
   (a) it was impossible to ensure a satisfactory competition level, i.e. the number of 
 bidders is lower than the minimum requ ired number of bidders set by the law 
 for each procedure; 
   (b) none of the bidders satisfies the qua lification requirements provided for in the 
 documentation on the production and submission of the bids; 
   (c) in the case of the public procurements  of works, the bid price is more than 
 20% higher than the estimated value of the works calculated by the 
 Contracting Authority according to the established procedures; 
   (d) only non-complying bids were submitted, i.e. the bids:  
   submitted after the deadline for the submission of bids; 
    produced and presented not in compliance with the requirements of the 
 documentation regarding the produc tion and submission of bids; 
    quoting prices in the financial proposal, which are evidently not the result of 
 free competition and which cannot be reasonably justified; 
    containing such proposals regarding the contract terms and conditions, which 
 are obviously disadvantageous for the Contracting Authority; 
 
   with such price quotations included in the financial proposal, where every 
 quoted price exceeds the amount allocated for the implementation of the  respective public procurements contract; 
   (e) exceptional circumstances affect the procedure of awarding the public 
 procurements contract or make the c onclusion of such contract impossible; 
 
  (f) a corruptive act is shown and conf irmed by the definitive court ruling. 
  (2) The procurement procedures may be decl ared null and void solely by the Agency 
after the communication of the results of applying the public procurements procedure and after the 
conclusion of the contract in the cases provided for in Paragraph (1). 
  (3) The decision to cancel the results of the public procurements procedure shall not 
create any liability on the part of the Contracting Aut hority or the Agency to the participants in the 
public procurement procedure, excepting the retu rn of the guarantee securing the bid and the 
execution of the contract.  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 53 
 
 
  (4) The Contracting Authority must notify a ll participants in the public procurements 
procedure in writing within 2 days after the cance llation about the termination of the obligations 
created for the both parties on the force of s ubmitting the bid as well as the grounds for the 
cancellation. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
THE SPECIFICS OF THE PUBLIC PROCUREMENTS FOR ADVISORY SERVICES 
 
Article 60. The attraction of bids for advisory services 
 
 (1) In the case of any doubts as to whether the subject matter of the procurements should be categorized as goods or as services, the procuremen ts shall be deemed to be the procurements of 
goods.  
 (2) The Contracting Authority shall attract th e bids for services or applications for pre-
selection via announcement in the Public Procurements  Bulletin and in the international circulation 
mass media. The announcements shall specify the Contracting Authority’s name and address, provide 
a brief description of the requested services, the procedures for obtaining of the RFP documents for the services or pre-selection documents and the f ee payable for such documents, if applicable. 
 
 (3) The Contracting Authority shall not appl y the provisions of Paragraph (2) where: 
   (a) the requested services are available to a limited number of suppliers, 
 provided a RFP is given to all such suppliers; 
 
  (b) the costs of examination and evaluation of a large number of bids are 
 disproportionably high as compared to  the price of the requested services, 
 provided the bids are attracted from a su fficient number of suppliers to ensure 
 efficient competition; 
   (c) a direct request is the sole method to ensure confidentiality or is required by 
 the national interests, upon cond itions provided for in Letter (b). 
  (4) Skilled consultants may be invited fo r the procurement of advisory services. 
  (5) The Contracting Authority shall offer th e suppliers RFP documents for the services or 
pre-selection documents – either according to th e procedure and requirements specified in the 
announcement or directly to the suppliers in the c ases covered by Paragraph (3). The fee, which the 
Contracting Authority may collect for the RFP or pre-selection documents, may include only the costs 
of their production and delivery to the suppliers . If pre-selection procedures are initiated, the 
Contracting Authority shall deliver the RFP to each pre-selected (short-listed) supplier, who has paid 
the application fee. 
 
Article 61. The RFP for the advisory services 
 
 The RFP structure and contents in the case of  advisory services shall be established in the 
standardized documents approved by the Government. 
 
Article 62. The evaluation criteria for the bids for advisory services 
 
 The Contracting Authority shall approve the ev aluation criteria in respect of the bids for 
advisory services as well as the relative significance of each criterion and the procedures for its 
application. Such criteria shall be communicated to the suppliers in the RFP and they shall refer to: GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 54  
 
  (a) the qualification data, experience, reput ation, reliability, professional and managerial 
skills of the supplier in general and specifica lly of his staff involved in the provision 
of the services; 
 
 (b) bid efficiency; 
  (c) bid price, including the auxiliary or related expense;   (d) the national defense and security needs. 
 
Article 63. The procedure for the selection of the advisory service bids 
 
 (1) If the Contracting Authority decides to use the procedure of selecting the bids for advisory services without negotiations, it shall establish  certain requirements regarding the quality and 
technical characteristics of the bids according to the criteria other than price specified in the RFP, and 
evaluate each bid for compliance with those criteria,  using the procedure described in the RFP. The 
winning bid shall be the bid with the optimum combined value (the highest number of awarded points) according to the criteria mentioned in Article 62.   (2) Where it is decided to apply the adviso ry services selection procedure via consecutive 
negotiations with the bidders, the Contracting Authority shall: 
   (a) establish the level of requirements according to Paragraph (1);    (b) invite the bidder with the highest number of awarded points to the 
 negotiations regarding the bid price according to Paragraph (1);  
   (c) notify the bidder about the termin ation of negotiations, should it be found 
 impossible to achieve an acceptable price; 
   (d) invite the bidder with the second highest number of awarded points to the 
 negotiations; if the contract is not concluded with that bidder either, the 
 remaining bidders  shall be invited to  the negotiations in the descending order 
 of the points awarded to them till the co ntract is concluded or till all bids are 
 rejected. 
 Article 64. Confidentiality 
 
 (1) The Contracting Authority shall ensure the confidentiality of the bid examination. 
  (2) The negotiations held shall be confidentia l. None of the parties participating in the 
negotiations may disclose any information regardin g the issues discussed durin g the negotiations to a 
third party without consent of the counterparty. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
THE PUBLIC PROCUR EMENT CONTRACT 
PROCUREMENT PROCEDURE REPORT 
 
Article 65. The principles of awarding a public procurements contract 
 
 The awards of the public procurement contr act shall be based on the following principles: 
  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
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 (a) observance of the law, order, public morale and professional ethics during the 
assessment and award of the contract; 
  (b) selection of the bid most advantag eous in technical and economic terms; 
 
 (c) ensuring the environment protection and support of social programs in the process of 
executing the contract. 
 
Article 66. Preferences in the awards of public procurement contracts 
  For the purposes of awarding public procurement contracts preference shall be given to the 
suppliers who have a direct or indirect objectiv e to encourage professional training on the job, 
creation of jobs for the unemployed, young people and persons with integr ation problems, reduction 
of the unemployment rates, professional training for the unemployed and the young people, environment protection, improvement of labor c onditions and labor safety, rural development and 
professional training in agriculture, protection and support of small and medium-sized enterprises 
(SME businesses), including during the contract execution period and their involvement as sub-contractors. Such available preferences must be specified in the invitation for participation (RFP). 
 
Article 67. The public procurements contract 
  (1) The public procurements contract must  be concluded according to the procurement 
procedures provided for in this law, for the total amou nt allocated for the procurements for the year in 
line with the procurements plan.   (2) During the procurement procedures vi a tender the winner’s notification and the 
conclusion of the procurement contract sha ll be performed according to Article 47. 
  (3) In the case of using any other procurement method, the bidders shall be informed about the terms and conditions of concluding the proc urements contract at the time of giving them a 
request for their proposals.  
 (4) It shall not be allowed to introduce any am endments in the details of the winning bid, 
to set new requirements to the winning bidder or to  involve any bidder other than the one who has 
submitted the bid most advantageous in economic terms at the time of concluding the procurement 
contract.  
 (5) The term(s) for the execution of the co ntract established reasonably according to the 
Contracting Authority’s needs shall be determined with account of the complexity of the scheduled 
procurements, the anticipated scope of sub-contract s and the time required realistically to produce, 
stock and transport the goods from the supp lier’s facilities or to provide the services. 
  (6) The terms and conditions for the execu tion of the contract shall not include any 
clauses directly or indirectly discriminatory in their nature. 
  (7) Upon conclusion, the procurement contract shall be submitted to the Agency for examination and registration within 5 days, accompanied with the documents confirming the 
implementation of the respectiv e procurements procedure. 
 
 (8) The public procurements contract regist ered with the Agency shall be registered 
subsequently with one of the State Treasury offices.  The contracts not registered in due course shall 
have no legal effect.  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 56  
 
Article 68. Sub-contracts 
 
 In the terms of reference the Contracting Aut hority may request the bidder to indicate in his 
bid the parts of the contract scope which he intends  to sub-contract to a third party and the proposed 
sub-contractors, including SME businesses and other c ubcontractors, if applicable. Such details shall 
not result in any exemptions from the principal bidder’s responsibility. 
 
Article 69. The ban on the procur ements fragmentation or increase 
 
 (1) Where the procurements are not fragmented initially, the Contracting Authority may 
not fragment the procurement by concluding separ ate contracts enabling it to apply a procedure 
different from the procurements procedure, which mu st be used in conformity with this law. The 
exception is the seasonal procurements of goods and services, which involve the conclusion of 
separate contracts for different periods of time. In  the case of the procurements of goods, works and 
services with the implementation period above one y ear, the contract may be concluded for the total 
procurements, although its implemen tation should be ensured within the limits of annual allocations 
scheduled for the purpose and specified annually in the contract.   (2) The Contracting Authority may not increase the amount of the goods, works and services specified in the concluded contracts to  avoid a new procurement, excepting the cases 
provided for in this law. 
 
 (3) It shall not be allowed to amend any part of the concluded contract or to introduce new terms and conditions, where such actions result in  deviations from the te rms and conditions of the 
bid, which are the reason for its selection, or to increase the contract value.  
 (4) In the case of the public procurem ent contracts providing for the continuous 
execution and concluded for a long term exceeding 1 y ear, it shall be allowed to adjust the value of 
the public procurement contract from time to time  according to the procedure established by the 
Government in order to take into account the cha nges in prices for the cost items of the goods, works 
or services forming the subject matter of the contract.  
 (5) The supplier must observe unconditionally the provisions of the concluded contract, 
complying with the quality requirements and the established price. A breach or improper fulfillment 
of the contractual obligations shall result in the s upplier’s liability in conformity with the legislation 
and the provisions of the contract.  
 (6) The competent controlling authorities sha ll apply financial sanctions prescribed by 
the law to any supplier, irrespectiv e of the latter’s legal status, who amends unilaterally the terms and 
conditions of the procurements c ontract, or performs works, or provides the services not included in 
the contract, or increases the contract prices without adequate substantiation.  
Article 70. The report on the procurements procedure 
 
 (1) The report on the procurements proce dure shall be prepared by the Contracting 
Authority and submitted to the Agency within 5 da ys after the day of concluding the contract. The 
report shall include:  
  (a) summary description of the g oods, works and services for which the 
 Contracting Authority has requested proposals; 
   (b) the names and contacts of the bidders as well as the name and contacts of the 
 supplier which is awarded the procuremen ts contract and the contract price; 
  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 57 
 
 
  (c) the bidders’ qualifications;    (d) the bid price or the basis for its  calculation, a summary description of the 
 other essential terms and conditions of each bid and the procurements 
 contract; 
 
  (e) summary conclusions regarding the evaluation and comparison of the bids 
 with account of using the preferential margin; 
   (f) the respective decision with valid arguments substantiating the rejection of all 
 bids, if applicable; 
   (g) the grounds for choosing the resp ective procurement method - in the case of 
 using a procurements procedur e different from an open tender; 
 
  (h) the decision and its grounds in the case of using a procurements procedure 
 different from an open tender, where such procedure fails to achieve the  conclusion of the procurements contract; 
   (i) the reasons for the rejection in the case of bid rejection according to the 
 provisions of Article 30; 
 
  (j) the grounds for choosing the selection procedure in the case of the 
 procurement of services; 
   (k) explanation of the reasons for the application of the respective method in the 
 case of using the procurement proce dures requesting direct submission of 
 bids for the services; 
   (l) explanation of the reasons for the restrictions in the case of the procurement 
 procedures where the Contracting Authority restricts the participation of  suppliers; 
 
  (m) summary of the received inquiri es and requests to provide explanations 
 regarding the pre-selection documents or tender documents, the respective 
 responses and summary explanations for each amendment introduced in the 
 above documents. 
 
 (2) The information specified in Paragraph (1 ) Letters (a) and (b) shall be provided upon 
request of any party upon acceptance of the bid or completion of the procurements procedure which 
did not result in the conclusion of a procurements contract.  
(3) The information specified in Paragraph (1) Letters (c) to (h) and (m) shall be 
provided on the request of the suppliers who have  submitted their bids or applications for pre-
selection and upon acceptance of the bid or completi on of the procurement procedure which did not 
result in the conclusion of a procurements contr act. Excepting the cases where the request comes from 
the court, the Contracting Authority shall not di sclose the information specified in Paragraph (1) 
Letters (c) to (e) and (m), if the disclosure of su ch information is contrary to the law and state 
interests, or if it might prejudice the lawful commercia l interests of the parties or be harmful for fair 
competition.  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 58  
 
CHAPTER IX 
SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES AND LEGAL RESPONSIBILITY 
 
SECTION 1. SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES 
 
Article 71. The right of appeal  
 (1) Any supplier who believes that the Cont racting Authority has injured the supplier’s 
lawful rights during the procurements procedure be cause of the decision made or the procurements 
procedure applied with infringements of the law a nd resulting in the actual o threatening damage for 
the supplier, may challenge in due course provided fo r in this law the relevant decision made or the 
procedure applied by the Contracting Authority.   (2) The subject of the appeal may not be:  
  (a) the choice of the procedure for the selection of the bids for advisory services; 
   (b) the restrictions on the participati on in the procurements procedure provided 
 for in Article 15 Paragraph (1); 
   (c) the decision to reject all bids; 
 
  (d) the lack of a reference to this law or other laws and regulations regarding the 
 procurements procedure, or the lack of a note regarding the right of appeal. 
  (3) Appeals regarding the RFP, invitati ons to tender and tender documents may be 
submitted prior to the opening of the bid envelopes by the Contracting Authority. 
 
Article 72. Submission and examination of appeals 
 
 (1) The Supplier may submit a substantia ted claim to the Agency regarding the 
Contracting Authority’s actions, decisions or appl ied procedures within 10 calendar days after it 
becomes aware of the circumstances which are the grounds for the appeal. 
  (2) The Agency shall not ex amine claims submitted upon expiry  of the term provided for 
in Paragraph (1) hereof.  
 (3) The claim must be submitted in writing and it must specify: 
   (a) the supplier’s complete name and the name and first name of its 
 representative, the document (in copy) confirming the representative’s  authority, the registered office and contact details; 
 
  (b) the Contracting Authority’s name, registered office and contact details; 
   (c) the essence of the claim and its grounds with indication of the claimant’s 
 lawful rights and interests injured during the procurement procedures; 
 
  (d) he list of the documents attached to the claim. 
  (4) Based on the examination of the claim, the Agency may:    (a) initiate, if applicable, the pro cedure for settlement of the dispute in 
 negotiation;  GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
 Page 59 
 
 
   (b) accept the claim in its integrity or in part;    (c) reject the claim in its integrity or in part;  
  (d) request re-evaluation of the bids; 
   (e) take other measures to settle the dispute according to the law.   (5) The dispute underlying the claim may be  settled amicably, on the suggestion of the 
Agency and/or the supplier participating in the procurement procedures, with the invitation of all 
suppliers involved in the procedure of challenge. The amicable settlement of the dispute shall be 
formalized and confirmed via drawing of the respect ive protocol, which is signed by all participants. 
  (6) Where the dispute is not settled amicably within 10 calendar days after registration of 
the claim according to the provisions of Paragra ph (5) hereof, within 20 calendar days after 
submission of the claim the Agency shall issue a substantiated decision specifying the measures 
which must be taken to redress the situation in the case the claim is found valid in its integrity or in 
part.   (7) The Contracting Authority shall be oblig ed to repair the damage incurred to the 
supplier due to the illegal actions confirmed by the definitive decision of the competent courts, illegal 
decisions or application of illegal procedures; however , the liability shall not include lost profits or 
missed opportunities to obtain benefits.  
Article 73. Claim examination procedures 
 
 (1) The Agency shall notify the Contracting Authority and all suppliers participating in the procurements procedure about the essence of the claim promptly upon its receipt.   (2) The Agency may request from the Contrac ting Authority to submit within 5 working 
days all documents necessary for the examinatio n of the respective claim and, if necessary, 
explanations in writing with comments to the submitted claim. 
  (3) The supplier or the public authority whose interests are or might be injured by the claim may participate in the pr ocedure. The supplier which has not participated in the claim 
examination procedure may not submit claims regarding similar issues at a later stage. 
 
 (4) The Agency shall leav e the claim without examina tion and issue the respective 
decision in its respect where:    (a) the claim is submitted upon expiry of the established term; 
 
  (b) the claim does not comply with th e requirements specified in Article 72 
 Paragraph (3). 
  (5) Where the claim does not comply with the requirements of Article 72 Paragraph (3), the Agency shall return the clai m to the claimant and give him 2 working days to rectify the 
non-compliances.  If the identified non-compliances are not rectified within the established term, the 
Agency shall leave the claim without examination and the claimant shall lose the right to submit a 
new claim.   (6) The Agency shall exam ine the claim and issue a decision regarding it within 
20 working days after its submission, based on the submitted documents or their examination in an GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
Page 60  
 
open meeting, with invitations given in writing to and the presence of at least the Agency’s 
representative, the claimant, the Contracting Authorit y and, if applicable, the winning bidder. During 
the examination of the claim the Agency may invite e xperts in the relevant area to give their opinions 
in writing and/or orally at the mee ting convened to examine the claim. 
 
 (7) Should any or the both parties to the dispute fail to appear at the announced meeting, 
the Agency may examine the claim and issue the respective decision based on the submitted 
documents.   (8) The Agency’s decision shall be communicat ed within 3 working days after it is made 
to the claimant supplier and to any other supplie r or public authority participating in the claim 
examination procedure. The claim and the decision shall be notified immediately to all the involved 
parties on condition of non-disclosure if such disclos ure is contrary to the legislation or public 
interests or if it might injure the lawful commerc ial interests of the parties or fair competition. 
 
 (9) The examination of the claim shall te rminate with the production of the respective 
protocol, where:    (a) the claim is left without examination in the cases provided for in 
 Paragraph (4); 
 
  (b) the claim is withdrawn by the claimant; 
   (c) the Contracting Authority accepts the claim as substantiated;    (d) the Agency decides to accept or reject the claim; 
 
  (e) the dispute underlying the claim is  settled amicably as per Paragraph (5) 
 Article 72. 
  (10) If the Agency fails to issue a decision w ithin the established term or if the supplier is 
not satisfied with the decision, the latter may app eal to the competent administrative court, and the 
Agency’s competence to settle the dis pute shall be terminated thereupon. 
 
Article 74. Suspension of the procurements procedure 
 
 (1) Upon receipt of the claim within the es tablished term the Agency may order, acting 
upon on the request of the claimant supplier or on its own initiative, to suspend the 
conclusion/execution of the public procurements contr act, if such claim is substantial and contains 
statements which are shown to confirm that:    (a) the supplier would suffer damage without such suspension;  
  (b) there exists a probability to satisfy the claim; 
   (c) the suspension would cause no damage to the parties involved in the 
 procurements procedure. 
 
 (2) The Agency shall order the suspension as  per Paragraph (1) till the examination of the 
claim is terminated for any of th e reasons specified in Article 73 Paragraph (9). Upon expiry of the 
suspension term specified herein the Contracting Authority must conclude the public procurements 
contract according to the requirements specified in Article 47.   GPA/ACC/MDA/1 
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 (3) The suspension shall no t apply where the Agency c onsiders that urgent public 
interests, such as:  national defense and security , operation of public institutions, provision of public 
services, require the continuation of the procurements.  
SECTION 2.  RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE INFRINGEMENT OF THE PUBLIC 
PROCUREMENT LAW 
 
Article 75. The forms of responsibility 
 
 The infringements of the public procurements legislation may result in the disciplinary 
(including the financial), civil, administrative a nd penal responsibility in conformity with the law. 
 
CHAPTER X 
CONCLUDING AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS 
 
Article 76. Coming into effect. Term inations. The Government’s obligations 
 
 (1) This law shall come into effect upon expiry of 3 months after its publication. 
  (2) As soon as this law comes into eff ect the Law on the procurement of goods, works 
and services for the state needs no. 1166-XIII of April 30, 1997 shall cease to be effective. 
 
 (3) The Government shall within 6 mont hs after the publication of this law: 
   Submit suggestions to the Parliament rega rding the actions needed to bring the other 
legislation in compliance with this law; 
 
  Bring its regulations in compliance with this law;    Ensure the development and approval of the regulations provided for in this law. 
 
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PARLIAMENT    Marian LUPU 
 
Chisinau, 13 April 2007  No. 96-XVI.  
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The Laws of the Republic of Moldova 96/13.04.2007 Law on public procurements //Monitorul Oficial 107-111/470, 27.07.2007  
 
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