Foreign trade news
and changes in legislation

The President of the Russian Federation has signed the Federal Law dated 5 April 2013 No. 44-FZ On Contract System in Procurement of Goods, Work, Services for Government and Municipal Needs.

It is to be reminded that the document is aimed to replace the currently effective Federal Law dated 21 July 2005 No. 94-FZ, by specifying more transparent, convenient, and efficient rules of dealing with government and municipal orders.

Thus, the new law obligates customers to draw up plans of purchases (for the time period of an act of respective budget being in effect) and annual schedules of purchases. A rationing shall be put in effect specifying requirements for purchasing goods, work, services including limit price thereof.

The above said measures are aimed to eliminate unjustified acquiring of luxury products and goods (services) of luxury range. In this respect, there has been specified an obligatory public consultation of purchases for the amount of more than 1 billion roubles.

In accordance with the law, apart from electronic and closed auctions there may be applied diverse types of bidding as well as inquiring about ratings (bids) and purchase from the only supplier. At the same time, there has been reserved an opportunity to enter into a contract with the only supplier if competition procedures for the placement of an order have not taken place (but with certain restrictions).

Besides, to fight with dumping there is imposed an obligation of participants in biddings and auctions to provide increased guarantees if the price proposed by them lowers less than the starting price by 25%.

At the same time, there is specified a prior qualification selection when carrying out the bidding for delivery of goods (work, services) of highly complex, innovative or specialized character.

It is also possible to enter into the life cycle contracts (for the delivery of goods and further maintenance, use, repair and disposal thereof). There is imposed a banking control which means that payments in the course of the performance of contract being monitored by bank will be recorded in the accounts opened therein.

When making purchases allowances will be granted not only for the entities of the Penal Enforcement System, organizations of invalids, and small businesses but for the socially orientated non-commercial organizations as well. In doing so Government customers shall give priority to innovative products.

One more novelty is the rule pursuant to which the electronic trading platforms shall return to bidders not only the securing guarantees provided by them but the income obtained therefrom as well.

Besides, to ensure the transparency of purchases there will be created a single generally available information system. In that system there will be placed plans of purchases, information on the implementation thereof, registers of the contracts made and bad faith suppliers, a library of model contracts, catalogues of goods (work, services), results of the monitoring and audit of purchases and many other things.

Finally, customers whose aggregate annual purchases exceed 100 mln. roubles must establish special contract divisions while other customers must appoint a contract administrator.

There is also specified a purchases monitoring and audit of results of the performance of contracts and public control over the purchases.

The law shall be effective from 1 January 2014 except for separate provisions thereof regarding which there are specified later time terms of coming into effect.

garant.ru, 8 April 2013

© Translated from Russian by V. Slavinskiy