Mr Jean-Pierre Gennotte - Federal Public Service Pers & Org / Federal e-procurement Service

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1 Example 191: E-tendering platform (Belgium) Title of good practice Priority Area Inspired by The Belgian e-tendering platform Public Procurement Belgium Contact person Mr Jean-Pierre Gennotte - Federal Public Service Pers & Org / Federal e-procurement Service Description of the good practice The Belgian Federal Public Service P&O and the Federal Public Service for IT have set up an e-tendering platform, implementing one of the modules of the larger eprocurement project. The Belgian e-tendering Platform is an open, secure, inter-operable and re-configurable system where contracting authorities and economic operators can perform multiple tasks related to the submission and opening of electronic tenders, based on open European standards, EC Directives and Belgian legislation. The main target groups are the Belgian federal contracting authorities and all economic operators throughout the world interested in the Belgian public market. The target group can also be extended to other levels of public governments such as regions and local authorities. Belgian e-tendering is a sub-project of the eprocurement project which aims at dematerialising the procedures in the field of Public Procurement by They keystone of the eprocurement project is its modularity. The FPS P&O will gradually implement the eprocurement modules one by one, allowing us to adapt to the Belgian law undergoing some major changes. It also provides an opportunity to take advantage of the lessons learned in other EU countries allowing us to better align the functionalities with business requirements. This approach also allows better time and budgetary management and results in contracts that are easier to manage.

2 The second module of the eprocurement project is the e-tendering module. It allows the submission of electronic tenders and the electronic opening. The end result is a publicly published official report with some information on the opening session. The e-tendering application is completely based on EC Directives 2004/18/EC and the Belgian law and the Royal Decree of 28 February 2004, laying down some rules for electronic submission. To sign a tender, an economic operator needs to sign electronically and therefore e-tendering is also based on the Belgian law concerning the electronic signatures (9 July, 2001). e-tendering is a web-based application, completely based on open source components. It uses J2EE technology with apache, tomcat, mysql, etc. It is based on open standards such as HTML, TSA, XML, SSL, OCSP, PKCS12, etc. The application implements the use of the Belgian e-id card, which gives Belgian economic operators the possibility to sign their documents easily. Foreign economic operators can use a valid and qualified certificate which can be exported. The e-tendering application is in its implementation phase. From 2008, the etendering application will be automatically linked with the new publication application e-notification which will (if the contracting authority allows it) activate the use of e-tendering. It will then be available for all the federal contracting authorities and other parties involved. What impact does this good practice have These egovernment solutions will decrease the burden for businesses regarding submitting information to public authorities. What effect does this good practice have on the image/irritation of administrative costs?

3 The fact that Belgian economic operators can easily sign their documents and foreign economic operators can use a valid and qualified certificate which can be exported, lowers the irritation factor. What can be said about the implementability of this good practice in other situations or in other Member States? Transferability This kind of web-based tool can easily be implemented in a number of Member States. Implementation costs Although egovernment solutions tend to be costly in the implementation phase, we expect that the return on investment will be high in terms of reduced burden for businesses. Success factors Political sponsorship: alignment between different political levels; IT interfaces need to be aligned.

4 What lessons that can be learned from this good practice The overall goals of any e-procurement program should be: Limit a potential "digital divide" across society; Reduce the expenses of goods and utilities, simplify the buying procedures and improve the transparency, efficiency and the effectiveness of public sector purchases; Provide a better service for both buyers and suppliers; Improve the transparency, the visibility and therefore accountability of public sector contracting; Minimise transaction costs through standardisation and to obtain scale economics in selected purchasing areas. In the overview below the egovernment good practice is mapped against the generic process of implementing legislation, showing (in bright blue shade) exactly where in this process this good practice can add value. Legislative proces Draft new law Consultation of Stakeholders Final text law Information about the new law Getting acquainted with law and IO Understanding of new law Familiarisation with information obligation Designing information material Training members and employees about the IO Gathering data Retrieving relevant information from existing data Adjusting existing data Producing new data Capturing data Buying equipment and supplies Filling in forms and tables,including record keeping Copying Filing the information Exchanging information Submitting the information Holding meetings (internal and external) Inspecting and checking Figure 1: Mapping of the good practice against the generic process of SCM activities

5 Example 192: Introduction of implicit declaration on oath (Belgium) Origin of best practice example Member State Belgium Region, community, if applicable Responsible authority - Federal Public Service Chancellery of the Prime Minister Description of best practice example (including, if possible, the following information) - title of the initiative Introduction of implicit declaration on oath - substantive area Public Procurement - objective(s) Candidates for a tender don t have to prove that they comply with certain legal requirements. The simple fact that they introduce an offer is an implicit declaration on oath that the candidate complies with the legal requirements. The contracting authority checks in government databases whether the winning candidate complies with the legal requirements - related EU law Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public work contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts - related national / regional / local law if applicable - detailed description of best practice and its effects incl. (to the extent possible): main elements, effect on beneficiaries (who, how many, how often etc.), improvements to former practice, date of implementation, - Royal Decree of 8 January 1996 concerning public procurements for public work contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts - Circular of 23 April 2007 on the implicit declaration on oath concerning the personal condition within the scope of the quantitative selection Enterprises who wants to compete in a public procurement, have to comply with certain legal requirements: - Not being in state of bankruptcy - Correct payment social security contributions - Correct payment of taxes - In order to prove this, candidates had to provide in official documents. Since 2007, enterprises can declare implicitly (by introducing an offer) that they comply with the requirements. The tendering authority checks if winning candidate comply with the requirements, using an application, called telemarc, to interrogate the authentic sources.

6 duration of procedure, costs of procedure, e-government elements, quantifications of cost reductions where possible - any other information you would like to add Contact person Website For further information Dominique de Vos Administrative Simplification Agency dominique.devos@premier.fed.be

7 Example 193: Regulation on the award of public contracts (Germany) Origin of best practice example Member State Region, community, if applicable Responsible authority - title of the initiative - substantive area Germany Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology ( Description of best practice example (including, if possible, the following information) Regulation amending the Regulation on the award of public contracts (Public Procurement Regulation VgV) Public procurement law - objective(s) Substantial procedural simplifications for companies and authorities (especially with regard to self-declarations by candidates/tenderers) - related EU Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council law of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service - related national / regional / local law if applicable - detailed description of best practice and its effects incl. (to the extent possible): main elements, effect on beneficiaries (who, how many, how often etc.), contracts Public Procurement Regulation - VgV The Regulation implements the amended public procurement rules on works contracts, professional service contracts, and supply and service contracts. Procedures under these rules have been simplified and streamlined. One major simplification for companies taking part in the tendering process is an improved procedure for proving eligibility. This has been achieved for professional service contracts, and supply and service contracts by including a basic requirement for candidates/tenderers to provide a self-declaration to prove eligibility. Additional proof is only required in exceptional circumstances and must be justified in the documentation supplied by the contracting authority. This will substantially reduce the administrative burden on contracting authorities and contractors. Restructuring of the rules has made them more user-friendly and led to more efficient and costeffective procedures. Reduction in costs: EUR 265 million a year.

8 improvement s to former practice, date of implementati on, duration of procedure, costs of procedure, e- government elements, quantificatio ns of cost reductions where possible - any other information you would like to add Contact person Website 1 /oeffentliche-auftraege.html Ramboll s cost assessment report (commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology) is available from this link. For further information Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology; Department IB6, Hans-Peter Müller (hanspeter.mueller@bmwi.bund.de) 1

9 Example 194: Reduction of documentation requirements for all bidders except lowest bidder (Greece) Secretary-General, Yannis Drimousis Ministry of Economic Affairs, Competitiveness and Shipping In the Public Contracts sector provisions have been drafted (Presidential Decree 118/07) whereby traders can submit individual assessment data and some selection data through a formal statement as laid down in Law 1599/1986, instead of the complete supporting documents. Only the lowest bidder is required to submit complete supporting documentation

10 Example 195: Online platform for public procurement in Galicia (Spain) This example was taken from the 2011 report prepared for the Committee of the Regions, Administrative burden reduction at the local and regional level

11 Example 196: Proposal for a national public contracts database (Italy) Public contracts It is clear from the national legislation transposing EU directives, from tender procedures and, above all, from the measurement of administrative burdens that companies are frequently asked to provide more information than is required under Legislative Decree No 163/2006 (Code on public contracts for works, services and supplies implementing Directives 2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC). The total cost of providing this additional information not required by national or EU law has been measured at 234 million for companies of between 5 and 249 employees. This cost increases significantly when account is taken of the fact that the companies surveyed take part in 27 tenders a year on average and in most cases have to resubmit the same information. The total annual cost of preparing and submitting tender documentation for companies of between 5 and 249 employees is almost 870 million. On the basis of these findings, a proposal has been made in the bill on provisions on the prevention and punishment of corruption and illegality in public authorities, under examination by the Senate, to set up a national public contracts database. The database, which will be kept by the Supervisory Authority on public contracts for works, services and supplies, will contain documentation certifying that tendering companies comply with the general, technical/organisational and economic/financial requirements. The authorities will have to consult the database to check that the requirements are met. There is also a proposal for the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport to prepare standard templates for certifying that companies are eligible to take part in tendering procedures. Examples 197 and 198 follow on subsequent pages

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18 Example 199: Only winning bidder must submit complete documentation (Liuthania) Origin of best practice example Member State Region, community, if applicable Responsible authority Lithuania - Ministry of Economy Description of best practice example (including, if possible, the following information) - title of the initiative Submitting tender documents for public procurement only by the winning enterprise - substantive area Public procurement - objective(s) Reduction of administrative burdens for the tenderers - related EU law Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors; Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public work contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts; European Code of Best Practices Facilitating Access by SMEs to Public Procurement Contracts, SEC(2008) related national / Law on the Public Procurement regional / local law if applicable - detailed description of best practice and its effects incl. (to the extent possible): main elements, effect on beneficiaries (who, how many, how often etc.), improvements to former practice, date of implementation, In open procedures (except electronic auction, dynamic purchasing system and when award is made to the most economically advantageous tender for the contracting authority) and in simplified procurement procedures contracting authority may ask of tenderers to provide the declaration that they comply with the minimum levels of qualification requirements fixed by the contracting authority. And only the winner of the tender has to provide the full documentation. This provision was implemented in (valid from ).

19 duration of procedure, costs of procedure, e-government elements, quantifications of cost reductions where possible - any other information you would like to add - For further information Contact person Website Birute Maciunskiene Head of the Public Procurement Policy Division birute.maciunskiene@ukmin.lt

20 Example 200: Integrated form proving supplier meets public procurement requirements (Lithuania) This example was taken from the report by the 2009 Swedish Presidency of the EU, Better Regulation: Presentation of practical exercise on sharing good examples.

21 Example 201: Online publications of calls for tender in Vienna (Austria) This example was taken from the 2011 report prepared for the Committee of the Regions, Administrative burden reduction at the local and regional level

22 Example 202: Electronic Platform for Public Procurement in Madeira (Portugal) This example was taken from the 2011 report prepared for the Committee of the Regions, Administrative burden reduction at the local and regional level

23 Example 203: Online system for public procurement in Vila Nova de Poiares (Portugal) This example was taken from the 2011 report prepared for the Committee of the Regions, Administrative burden reduction at the local and regional level

24 Example 204: Uniform system for the public procurement of goods, services and construction work in Trnava (Slovakia) This example was taken from the 2011 report prepared for the Committee of the Regions, Administrative burden reduction at the local and regional level