WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONGPA/W/85
29 June 1999
(99-2689)
Committee on Government Procurement Original:  English
REVIEW OF THE AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT
Revision of Article IX
Submission by the United States
Introduction1. As we have noted in previous informal consultations, the United States believes that
Article IX of the GPA is excessively complicated and difficult to understand.  We believe thatrevision of this Article would contribute significantly to the Committee’s work to simplify and
improve the Agreement.
2. In our view, problems with Article IX as  currently drafted include the following:
• The Article uses many closely related but undefined terms to describe various types
of procurement notifications.  In particular, it does not define the terms "intended
procurement", "proposed procurement", and "planned procurement".
• The lists of information to be included in some of these types of procurement
notifications are redundant and, in some cases, unnecessarily burdensome.
• There are an excessive number of confusing cross-references to other paragraphs and
Articles.
Discussion
3. Attachment A provides suggestions for simplifying Article IX, for the Committee’s
consideration in the GPA review process.  To facilitate comparison, a reprint of the current text of
Article IX is also attached.
4. It is important to note that the changes suggest ed in Attachment A will likely have an effect
on other Articles in the Agreement which the Committee will need to consider.  For example,modifications to Article IX may have an impact on Article XI:3(a), which provides for the reduction
in the deadlines for the receipt of tenders if a separate advance notice has been published.
Article XI:3(a) refers to information contained in paragraph 8 of Article IX, which has been deleted
from the proposed modifications.
5. The suggested modifications are to streamline the Article in the following ways:
• By streamlining the requirements that must be included in a notice of intended
procurement, thus eliminating the need for different notice requirements amongAnnex 1, and Annexes 2-3 entities, except with respect to the notice requirementsGPA/W/85
Page 2
relating to the use of permanent lists of qualified suppliers in selective tendering
procedures.
• By eliminating the terms "notice of proposed procurement" and "notice of planned
procurement" from the Agreement, instead referring to all procurement opportunity
notices as "notices of intended procurement".
• By moving the paragraph relating to annual publication requirements for permanent
lists of qualified suppliers from Article IX:9 to Article VIII, where it is better suited.
6. The United States welcomes the views and comments of other delegations, and hopes that this
paper will contribute to the Committee’s discussion of the improvement and simplification of the
Agreement.GPA/W/85
Page 3
Attachment A
PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS TO THE WTO GPA
Article IX
Invitation to Participate Regarding Intended Procurement
1. Except as provided for in Article XV (provisions for the use of limited tendering procedures)
and paragraph 3 of this Article (provisions for the use of selective tendering procedures by Annexes 2
and 3 entities), entities shall publish a notice of intended procurement for each contract to be awarded.The notice shall be published in the appropriate publication listed in Appendix II.
2. Each notice of intended procurement shall contain the following information:
(a) a description of the intended procurement, including the nature and quantity of the
goods or services to be procured;
(b) the name and address of the procuring entity and other information necessary to
contact the entity and obtain all relevant documents relating to the contract;
(c) the procurement method that will used;
(d) the time-limits set for the submission of tenders and, if applicable, the time-limits for
the submission of applications to qualify for participation in the intended procurement
or for inclusion on a permanent list of qualified suppliers from which the tenders willbe accepted;
(e) the amount and terms of payment of any sum payable for the tender documentation;(f) an indication that the procurement is covered by the Agreement;  and(g) s summary of the notice in one of the official languages of the WTO, containing at
least the following information:
(i) the subject-matter of the contract;(ii) the time-limits set for the submission of tenders or an application to be
invited to tender;  and
(iii) the addresses from which documents relating to the contracts may be
requested.
3. Except as provided for in Article XV, Annexes 2 and 3 entities that maintain permanent lists
of qualified suppliers for selective tendering procedures will be considered to have met the notice
requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, if they:
(a) publish annually in one of the publications listed in Appendix III a notice which
contains the following information:GPA/W/85
Page 4
(i) an enumeration of all permanent lists of qualified suppliers from which such
procurements are made, including a description in as much detail as is
available, of the good or service to be procured;
(ii) the conditions to be fulfilled by suppliers in order to be included on those
lists;
(iii) the period of validity of those lists;  and(iv) a statement that the notice constitutes a notice of intended procurement;  and
(b) provide additional information in a timely manner which allows all those who have
expressed an interest to have a meaningf ul opportunity to assess their interest in
participating in the procurement.  This information shall include the information
contained in the notices referred to in paragraph 2, to the extent available.
4. If it becomes necessary to amend or re-issue the notice during the procurement process, the
amendment or the re-issued notice shall be given the same circulation as the original notice upon
which the amendment is based.  Any significant information given to one supplier with respect to a
particular intended procurement shall be given simultaneously to all other suppliers that have
expressed interest in that procurement in adequate time to permit those suppliers to consider such
information and to respond to it.
Add the following to the list of requirements for qualification procedures under Article VIII:
Entities maintaining permanent lists of qualified  suppliers with a duration of more than three
years shall publish annually in one of the publ ications listed in Appendix III a notice
containing the information referred to in sections (i) through (iii) of Article IX:3.GPA/W/85
Page 5
Attachment B
AGREEMENT ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT (1994)
(CURRENT TEXT)
Article IX
Invitation to Participate Regarding Intended Procurement
1. In accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3, entities shall publish an invitation to participate for all
cases of intended procurement, except as otherwis e provided for in Article XV (limited tendering).
The notice shall be published in the appropriate publication listed in Appendix II.
2. The invitation to participate may take the form of a notice of proposed procurement, as
provided for in paragraph 6.
3. Entities in Annexes 2 and 3 may use a notice of planned procurement, as provided for in
paragraph 7, or a notice regarding a qualification system, as provided for in paragraph 9, as an
invitation to participate.
4. Entities which use a notice of planned procurement as an invitation to participate shall
subsequently invite all suppliers who have expressed an interest to confirm their interest on the basis
of information which shall include at least the information referred to in paragraph 6.
5. Entities which use a notice regarding a qualification system as an invitation to participate
shall provide, subject to the considerations referred  to in paragraph 4 of Article XVIII and in a timely
manner, information which allows all those who ha ve expressed an interest to have a meaningful
opportunity to assess their interest in participating in the procurement.  This information shall include
the information contained in the notices referred to in paragraphs 6 and 8, to the extent such
information is available.  Information provided to  one interested supplier shall be provided in a
non-discriminatory manner to the other interested suppliers.
6. Each notice of proposed procurement, referred to in paragraph 2, shall contain the following
information:
(a) the nature and quantity, including any options for further procurement and, if
possible, an estimate of the timing when such options may be exercised;  in the caseof recurring contracts the nature and quantity and, if possible, an estimate of the
timing of the subsequent tender notices for the products or services to be procured;
(b) whether the procedure is open or selective or will involve negotiation;
(c) any date for starting delivery or completion of delivery of goods or services;
(d) the address and final date for submitting an application to be invited to tender or for
qualifying for the suppliers' lists, or for receiving tenders, as well as the language or
languages in which they must be submitted;
(e) the address of the entity awarding the contract and providing any information
necessary for obtaining specifications and other documents;GPA/W/85
Page 6
(f) any economic and technical requirements, financial guarantees and information
required from suppliers;
(g) the amount and terms of payment of any sum payable for the tender documentation;
and
(h) whether the entity is inviting offers for purchase, lease, rental or hire purchase, or
more than one of these methods.
7. Each notice of planned procurement referred to in paragraph 3 shall contain as much of the
information referred to in paragraph 6 as is availa ble.  It shall in any case include the information
referred to in paragraph 8 and:
(a) a statement that interested suppliers should express their interest in the procurement
to the entity;
(b) a contact point with the entity from which further information may be obtained.
8. For each case of intended procurement, the entity shall publish a summary notice in one of the
official languages of the WTO.  The notice shall contain at least the following information:
(a) the subject-matter of the contract;
(b) the time-limits set for the submission of tenders or an application to be invited to
tender;  and
(c) the addresses from which documents relating to the contracts may be requested.
9. In the case of selective tendering procedures, entities maintaining permanent lists of qualified
suppliers shall publish annually in one of the publications listed in Appendix III a notice of the
following:
(a) the enumeration of the lists maintained, including their headings, in relation to the
products or services or categories of products or services to be procured through the
lists;
(b) the conditions to be fulfilled by suppliers with a view to their inscription on those lists
and the methods according to which each of those conditions will be verified by theentity concerned;  and
(c) the period of validity of the lists, and the formalities for their renewal.
When such a notice is used as an invitation to participate in accordance with paragraph 3, the notice
shall, in addition, include the following information:
(d) the nature of the products or services concerned;(e) a statement that the notice constitutes an invitation to participate.
However, when the duration of the qualification system is three years or less, and if the duration of
the system is made clear in the notice and it is also made clear that further notices will not beGPA/W/85
Page 7
published, it shall be sufficient to publish the notice once only, at the beginning of the system.  Such a
system shall not be used in a manner which ci rcumvents the provisions of this Agreement.
10. If, after publication of an invitation to participate in any case of intended procurement, but
before the time set for opening or receipt of tenders as specified in the notices or the tenderdocumentation, it becomes necessary to amend or re-issue the notice, the amendment or the re-issued
notice shall be given the same circulation as the original documents upon which the amendment is
based.  Any significant information given to one supplier with respect to a particular intended
procurement shall be given simultaneously to all other suppliers concerned in adequate time to permit
the suppliers to consider such information and to respond to it.
11. Entities shall make clear, in the notices referred to in this Article or in the publication in
which the notices appear, that the procurement is covered by the Agreement.
__________