Participation in Public Procurement in Poland by a foreign company may seem like a complicated undertaking due to unfamiliarity with Polish law. In addition, foreign contractors often do not realize that they have the opportunity to participate in public procurements conducted in Poland. Nothing could be further from the truth, the Polish public procurement market is open to foreign entrepreneurs, which creates opportunities to expand their business horizons. In addition, it is not insignificant that public contracting authorities are a solvent partner.
Important for understanding the whole process of taking part as a foreign company in tender is to know the rules and sources of public procurements in Poland. The following information is intended to provide you with the basic but very useful knowledge of the public procurement market in Poland. So please keep in mind that any detailed issue shall be explained to you by an experienced attorney who will guide you through the entire process correctly.
WHERE TO FIND PUBLIC PROCUREMENT TENDERS IN POLAND?
To begin with please note that the basic legal act governing the award of public procurements in Poland is the Act of 11 September 2019 Public Procurement Law (PPL). The PPL is a comprehensive set of regulations covering, i.a. types of procurements, stages of preparation and conduct of the procurement procedure, requirements for public procurement agreements.
Information about public procurements can be found both on official tender platforms like www.ted.europa.eu , www.ezamowienia.gov.pl as well as on commercial platforms e.g. www.biznes-polska.pl, www.egospodarka.pl, www.eprzetargi.info.
Official tender sites are completely free of charge, while commercial sites are usually paid, but often offer tailored services for each contractor. The advantage of using official sites is that they are free, while the disadvantage is the necessity to search for them yourself. For commercial sites you need to pay, but they save you searching on your own. Contractors can receive notifications of tenders in the industries in which they are interested. This is a solution often chosen by contractors, as this is more convenient and ideally suited to the company and its field of activity.
WHAT DOCUMENTS DOES THE TENDER DOCUMENTATION CONSIST OF?
The public procurement is carried out via the online platform of the relevant contracting authority. On the procurement platform you will find the following documents:
- Terms of Procurement Specification (ToR, in Polish „Specyfikacja Warunków Zamówienia”, SWZ”)
The ToR is a document that contains detailed requirements for the subject matter of the procurement, lists the contractor’s criteria for participation in the tender, and includes a number of other requirements such as documentation, completion date, method of payment or guarantee. It is one of the most important documents that a contractor should be familiar with. It should also be carefully studied before participation.
- Description of the subject of the procurement
The document or set of documents constituting the detailed description of the material scope of the procurement (works, supplies or services)
- Draft of the procurement agreement provisions
The draft of the agreement setting out the principles for the performance of the procurement, including in particular the obligations of the parties, the principles for the settlement of remuneration, as well as liabilities of the contractor.
- Bid form, samples of statements and lists.
DOCUMENTATION CAN BE EXTENSIVE…. SO WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR?
As the tender documentation is usually extensive, it is important to know what to focus on. Of course, with public procurement there can be many things we should be familiar with, but here’s a nutshell of three pieces of information you should check first.
– DEADLINES – deadlines in public procurement are very short and you need to act quickly. Often there is less than a week’s time to submit an offer, where you have to gather documents and calculate the offer.
– CONDITIONS – before submitting a bid, it is worth knowing whether the conditions for taking part in the procedure require any special experience or financial background.
– DEPOSIT – a deposit is not mandatory, but contracting authorities often require it. NOTE: it must be deposited before the deadline for submission of tenders and must be maintained uninterruptedly until the expiry of the deadline for submission of tenders.
In summary, taking part in public tenders in Poland with the help of experienced lawyers is not too complicated and shouldn’t discourage you from submitting the offer. The Polish market offers amazing opportunities for growth and will definitely help your company to develop.
The cross-section is really huge, the conditions encouraging. The probability that you will find a public procurement perfect for your company is definitely high!
Should you have any questions please contact us at: office@legallysmart.pl. We will be more than happy to be your guide during all the proceedings.
