International experience in organizing procurement activities. International experience in building a public procurement system. Foreign and domestic experience of orders for government needs
Considering and analyzing the whole range of problems facing specialists in state and municipal procurement in Russia, we often ask ourselves the question: how are things going abroad, how perfect the legislation is, what difficulties foreign suppliers and government customers face, and is there any point in adopting someone else's experience ...
Andrey KHRAMKIN, Director of the Institute for Public Procurement of the Civil Registry Office, Chairman of the Association of Public Procurement Experts
At the moment, there are several documents that are the regulatory framework for public procurement in different countries. Considering them, it is possible to identify the features of the legislation in the field of public procurement in these states.
UNCITRAL Model Law "On the Procurement of Goods (Works) and Services"
The UNCITRAL Model Law "On the Procurement of Goods (Works) and Services" adopted in 1994 at the 27th session is the document that has accumulated all the available international experience and practical developments in the field of both government and public procurement in a market economy. United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. This law was developed by the United Nations as a model for building a modern effective market model for placing government orders and was intended primarily for the countries of Eastern Europe with a transitional type of economy, as well as for developing countries.
The main objectives of the UNCITRAL Model Law are to maximize competition, ensure fair treatment of suppliers, and increase transparency and objectivity in public procurement. The law is recommended to be applied in all cases of public procurement, with the exception of procurement related to ensuring national defense and security.
The basic provisions of this document include:
1. In terms of openness and transparency - keeping records of procurement in writing (reporting must reflect all significant measures taken by government customers during tenders and other procurement methods), as well as public notification of both the intention of government customers to conclude government contracts and and about the signing of these contracts.
2. In terms of qualifications - clear regulation of possible requirements for the qualifications of suppliers, the procedure and procedures for studying qualifications, as well as the procedure for conducting prequalification.
3. In terms of procedures - open tender as the main method of procurement; in addition to an open tender, a closed tender, a request for quotations and a purchase from a single source for simple products are provided; two-stage tenders, competitive negotiations, request for proposals for the procurement of complex products and consulting services.
4. The open tender procedure provides for the publication of a notice; sending the terms of the tender to potential suppliers (tender documentation); preparation of bids, including changes and clarifications; submission of competitive applications; the public procedure for the opening of bids; evaluation of applications; acceptance of applications and entry into force of the supply agreement. The law also describes the procedures for other procurement methods, a fairly detailed definition is given to the procurement procedures for services (two-stage tenders, request for proposals and competitive negotiations).
5. Regarding the resolution of disagreements between the parties, the law provides for the right of the supplier (contractor) to appeal the placement of a state order with the procuring organization, as well as in an administrative or judicial procedure.
It can now be argued that the UNCITRAL Model Law has played its role as a model law. The current legislation of the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and other countries of the CIS and Eastern Europe is based on the provisions and approaches of this document.
WTO Government Procurement Agreement
The second most important international document is the multilateral Agreement on Government Procurement, adopted as a result of the Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations in 1994. It is one of the elements of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) and is concluded by countries within the framework of participation at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The signing of the Agreement on Government Procurement is not a prerequisite for the country's accession to the WTO, but in the last decade a steady trend has emerged: the leading WTO member countries (USA, EU countries, Canada, Israel, Japan, Switzerland) consider the signing of this document in the course of bilateral negotiations with the applicant countries a sine qua non. However, by May 2008, only 39 out of 152 WTO member countries had signed the Government Procurement Agreement.
The agreement should facilitate the opening of national public procurement markets and provide suppliers from the countries that signed this document with conditions for participation equal to national suppliers. The objectives of this document are to develop international trade, prohibit discrimination against foreign suppliers, ensure transparency of legislation and applicable procurement procedures. Thus, government customers should not provide any individual suppliers or groups of suppliers (formed on a national or other basis) with preferential conditions for receiving government orders. It is prohibited to establish technical requirements for purchased products that restrict international trade; technical requirements for purchased goods, works or services should be based on international standards.
The Government Procurement Agreement defines three types of government procurement procedures: open, selective and limited. The procedures are open, in which any interested supplier of goods or services can submit an application. Selective procedures are defined as procedures in which only suppliers that have received a proposal from the contracting authority are entitled to submit an application. Restricted procedures are actions in which the contracting authority comes into contact with suppliers of goods or services individually, strictly on the terms established by the agreement.
Bidding and other procurement procedures must comply with certain rules. In particular:
it is prohibited to provide any suppliers or supplier groups with information about the conduct of public procurement on preferential terms;
the publication of information on the conduct of tenders should be carried out including in international publications in one of the official languages \u200b\u200bof the WTO;
qualification requirements should be uniform for all suppliers participating in procurement procedures;
when holding an auction, the period for preparing tender applications should not be less than 40 days, in other cases - not less than 25 days;
requirements for the content of bidding documents (tender documentation) are established;
the conditions for the submission and opening of tender bids have been determined, ensuring the observance of the publicity and safety of proposals;
a number of other conditions were adopted aimed at ensuring competition and transparency of the public procurement process.
Experience of the United States of America
The overall coordination of US public procurement activities is carried out by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, which was created in 1974 as an advisory body to the Department of Management and Budget, and in 1988 became an independent permanent government body. ...
All purchases conducted by federal purchasing agencies are governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR1), developed in 1984, which describes all stages of procurement, from planning to the management of concluded government contracts (up to their completion). The declared goal of FAR is compliance by all agencies conducting procurement for federal government needs, a unified procurement policy and the use of unified procurement rules. FAR's mission is to provide all government customers with products with the best price / quality ratio (price / cost), taking into account the limited time for procurement.
In accordance with the FAR, the following procedures are applied when placing a US government order:
—Open trades;
-two-stage bidding;
-conduct of negotiations;
-simplified procurement methods.
Simplified Acquisition Methods, which are not found in other countries, are used with a small contract value (up to $ 100 thousand) and in total should not exceed $ 5 million per year. At the same time, a ban is imposed on the artificial fragmentation of the purchase volume. Simplified methods include:
request for price quotes (Price Quotations);
the use of corporate purchasing plastic cards for especially small purchases - up to $ 2,500 (Governmentalwide Commercial Purchasing Card);
placing purchase orders (Purchase Orders);
use of framework agreements (Blanket Purchase Agreement) for regular purchases of a wide range of products ( typical example - stationery and other consumables for the work of offices, as well as the supply of spare parts for customers' motor vehicles), etc.
The formation and placement of US government orders is carried out in two main areas: for the current support of activities (material and technical supply) and procurement according to the profile of the work of a particular government body (primarily research and development and development work, as well as capital investments).
The United States uses special government regulations to track national defense and security purchases. This view a government order is placed on the basis of a special document - an addition to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation - Supplement (DFARS). These guidelines are used by the US Department of Defense and other agencies when purchasing purely military products.
The issues of the current provision of the needs of the US federal authorities are resolved centrally, through a special organization - the General Services Administration (GSA), thanks to which customers can purchase a wide range of goods, works and services, "uniform and standard" for all departments, regardless of their profile. State customers are offered a choice of more than 4 million product names, centrally purchased by the General Services Administration. At the same time, one of the important tasks of GSA is to reduce the cost of implementing the procurement procedures themselves. Thus, GSA's expenditures for procurement in 2002 amounted to 2.07% of the total expenditures for ongoing procurement, and in 2004 and 2005 they were decreased to 1.75%.
European Union experience
The significant share accounted for by public procurement and the large number of member countries, determined by different levels of development and capacity of the public sector, required a specific legislative approach to regulating the placement of public orders in the European Union. Today, the placement of government orders in the EU is regulated, depending on the volume and other conditions, by three levels of legislative regulation: international, EU and national legislation.
The international regulation of procurement by the European Union primarily includes the requirements of the previously mentioned Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization. Under the regulation at the level of the European Union, a number of legal acts are in force that provide uniform conditions for conducting purchases for state needs. It should be noted that the period from 2004 to 2006 was a transitional one, when two types of documents operated in parallel - “old” directives and “new” ones replacing them.
Fundamental changes in the regulation of public procurement in the European Union are aimed at improving the regulatory framework and suggest:
... exclusion from the scope of general legislation on public procurement of certain sectors of the economy that are traditionally natural monopolies (water supply, energy, transport and postal services);
introduction of more flexible procedures into procurement practice, in particular, competitive negotiation procedures, as well as the conclusion of framework agreements;
taking into account new forms of organizing and conducting business: concessions and other forms of partnership between the private and public sector;
introduction of e-procurement.
The EU views public procurement as a tool not only to meet the current activities of public administration, but also to implement social policy. In particular, the communiqué "On the legislation of the European Community in the field of public procurement and the use of public procurement for social policy" indicates that when concluding contracts for the supply of products for state and public needs, it is necessary to take into account social goals. It is especially noted that the implementation of social programs is possible within the framework of existing legislation and the practice of its application. The main approaches to the implementation of a social approach in procurement are also indicated, including:
development of relevant technical specifications and contract terms, including requirements for working conditions;
the right choice of suppliers;
exclusion from the number of suppliers of those whose activities do not comply with the legislation in the field of the social sphere;
using additional social criteria when choosing suppliers.
The same document provides for the implementation of environmental policy when placing government orders:
development of relevant technical specifications;
the use of certain raw materials and materials;
use of specific technological processes;
selection of appropriate suppliers;
recommendations for evaluating proposals and choosing the best proposal taking into account environmental requirements.
The procurement of the countries belonging to the European Union continues to be carried out by the government in accordance with national legislation. However, this takes into account not only the national procurement rules, but also the legislation and recommendations of the European Community set out in the previously mentioned directives.
Experience of international financial institutions
Of considerable interest is the experience of procurement at the expense of public funds by the so-called international financial institutions (IFIs) - large international non-profit organizations whose activities are aimed at developing certain sectors of the economy of different countries or regions of the world. MFIs accumulate significant amounts of funds (received through contributions from participants, as well as through commercial activities - as a rule, the provision of resources is carried out on the principles of lending, that is, on repayable
on a paid basis) and implement large international commercial and non-commercial projects.
Since projects are financed from funds of international financial institutions, the rules for spending these funds, including the rules for conducting procurement, are established by the IFIs. It is customary to refer to these rules in agreements with IFIs on the provision of credit resources. Since such agreements have international status, the IFI procurement rules are applied, and not the national rules and procedures for the procurement of products for government needs.
Among the most famous MFIs are:
The World Bank Group, which includes the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association and a number of other structures;
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development;
Asian Bank for Reconstruction and Development - for suppliers registered in Asia;
various foundations (Soros Foundation, Know-How Foundation, USAID, etc.) and a number of other organizations.
When implementing any project, there is a need for certain goods, works and services purchased on the free market. For example, computers are needed to organize office activities, pumps and treatment equipment are needed to modernize the city's water supply system, construction work requires engineering supervision services.
Of all the currently existing IFIs in Russia, the most famous are the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. According to the World Bank, by May 2008, 25 projects were operating in our country for a total of about $ 10 billion, financed from its funds.
The rules for the procurement of goods and works in projects financed by the World Bank are spelled out in the Procurement Guidelines for IBRD Loans and IDA Credits (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines) and provide for the following procurement methods:
international competitive bidding (International Competitive Bidding);
National Competitive Bidding;
international closed bidding (Limited International Bidding);
request for quotes (Shopping);
purchasing from a single source (Direct Contracting).
The Guidelines clearly define the timing of individual procedures, the sequence of actions in the event of certain circumstances, the rights and obligations of the parties in any possible situation, and the procedure for holding international competitive bidding as the most difficult method of procurement is described in the most detail.
With the reduction in the volume of government borrowing in Russia, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) begins to play an increasing role, which provides funds not only to the government, but also to the non-state sector of the economy. In this regard, the EBRD microcredit program for private business entities is of particular importance, including without the provision of government guarantees. Russia is the largest client of the EBRD (the volume of the bank's financial obligations in our country is about 38% of all its financial obligations). Procurement rules for EBRD projects are formulated in a separate document - Procurement rules for projects financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
It can be said that the procurement methods used by international financial institutions, as well as the rules for their selection and procedures within the framework of their projects, are in many respects similar to the rules and procedures described in the UNCITRAL Model Law “On Procurement of Goods (Works) and Services”. Thus, the international community actively uses competitive technologies for concluding contracts for the supply of goods, performance of work and provision of services when spending public funds, whether it be taxpayers' funds (public procurement of developed countries) or participants of international financial institutions (procurement under projects of the World Bank, EBRD etc.). The general understanding is that competitive procurement helps to reduce the cost of purchasing goods, works and services, provides greater efficiency in spending and reduces the level of corruption when placing orders from public or public funds.
Modern foreign experience in the development of public procurement
V.V. Pokrovskaya
Doctor of Economics, Professor (MEO State University - Higher School of Economics),
EA. Uskova
Consultant to the Ministry of Economy of the Moscow Region
The experience of Western countries with a developed market infrastructure shows that the system of public procurement has naturally become an integral part of the sphere of internal trade in certain types of products and services and one of the mechanisms for maintaining competition and a liberal way of doing business. The objective basis for the existence and progressive development of the public procurement system in the national economy of many countries is the fact that in the process of fulfilling their target functions, individual government departments and organizational structures of any of them are forced to face the problem of material and technical support both for the implementation of state and municipal programs, and and to carry out their current activities. As a rule, it is solved by purchasing the necessary material and intangible resources, goods, works and services through purchases, called state, in the process of specially organized competitive bidding.
The competitive mechanism, especially for bulk purchases, allows achieving several solutions - reducing the cost of the required
to the product customer, to ensure a higher level of transparency and accountability in the sale and purchase process and ultimately to resist corruption.
Despite the fact that in Russia the volume of purchases of products from the state seriously exceeds the volume of purchases of even large companies and organizations, the public procurement system has not yet received proper development. The main negative circumstances that hinder the active use of public procurement in domestic practice are departmental disunity and the lack of a unified methodology in conducting competitive tenders, the inconsistency of the legislative framework on regulatory issues, the lack of qualified specialists and the institution responsible for the proper organization of tenders and awarding contracts and, of course, high level of corruption. According to experts, 70-90% of all state purchases in Russia are carried out with various kinds of violations. At the same time, their share in the expenditure side of the federal budget now reaches about 40%, the number of tenders is increasing, as is the number of contracts concluded based on their results, exceeding 100 thousand.
in year. However, for state purchases outside of tenders (from a single supplier), there are 2.5 times more of them.
The study of a significant period of foreign practice in the use of the public procurement system indicates that its emergence and further development is closely related to the strengthening of the role of the state, the transformation and improvement of the forms of government. Despite the fact that in developed countries by now the goals of public procurement and the mechanisms of their organization have undergone significant changes, two of their characteristic features have remained unchanged. First of all, this is the nature of the interaction between the state and representatives of the business community in the system of contractual relations regarding the procurement of goods, works or services, as well as the principle of their payment - from the state budget.
A prerequisite for a significant increase in the physical and cost volumes of public procurement in the second half of the last century in most countries, especially European ones, was the problem of the need to restore and build large national infrastructure facilities. This, in turn, required significant state financial investments and intensive involvement in this process of various economic entities from among the manufacturers and suppliers of products, works and services. In addition, the experience of working with business structures in the field of state defense orders, accumulated by the governments of individual countries (USA, Germany, Great Britain, Japan), as well as achievements in the field of communication technologies, made it possible to transfer its positive aspects to the system of relations in the area of \u200b\u200bpublic procurement in the field of civil engineering.
Thus, this period was the beginning of an active stage in the development of public procurement processes in Western countries. At the same time, in most of them, the basic principles of the functioning of the market economy were formed - the market for the means of production appeared and competitive conditions were created, the business sector, including small and medium-sized businesses (SME), developed and expanded rapidly.
An important stage in the development of the system of public procurement abroad was the next ten-year period, which was characterized by the exit of processes in this area of \u200b\u200bactivity outside the national markets. At the same time, the first special interstate directives were adopted on the regulation of public procurement within the countries of the European Union (1971, 1976). Somewhat later, in 1981, the GATT Agreement "On Public Procurements" came into force, which was aimed at facilitating the access procedures for foreign companies supplying products to national markets to participate in tenders.
The current stage of development of the public procurement system in international practice, starting from the 90s of the XX century, is characterized by new features. This is largely due to manifestations of the globalization of the world economy and the liberalization of economic activity, which could not but affect the change in the role and functions of the state, including in the field of government orders in industrialized countries. A noticeable phenomenon has become the fact that the state is now an active subject of market relations, actively participating in production, trade, investment, innovation and socio-economic processes through the system of public procurement. In addition, state purchases abroad themselves have become one of the main instruments for the implementation of long-term and large-scale on-farm programs - in the construction of power plants, transport networks, oil and gas pipelines; creation of large industrial facilities, reclamation work, as well as in the framework of social and educational projects.
From this period onwards, the term “public procurement system” was used in relation to public procurement in Western countries. At the same time, the principles of economy and efficiency in the processes of spending funds for these purposes have acquired particular importance. The prerequisites for this were the realization by the national governments of a number of developed states of the complex and interconnected nature of the public procurement processes, including in the system of relations between their participants.
In the process of evolutionary development, the public procurement system in the practice of developed countries has turned from a means of meeting the current needs of state and municipal structures and solving problems of ensuring national defense into one of the most important tools for regulating the economy. The experience gained indicates that their advantage is expressed in the increased independence and initiative of the enterprises-suppliers in market conditions management. First of all, this was due to the fact that in such a situation the state in the public procurement system acts as an equal economic entity and a participant in the competitive process.
Modern foreign practice in the field of public procurement shows that the necessary acquisitions by the state through the state
orders are carried out mainly to solve problems to meet current government needs for certain types of goods, works and services. In addition, in order to replenish the state food reserve through government orders and implement individual investment projects, funds from international financial organizations (IBRD, EBRD), as well as foreign regional development banks are used.
In general, public procurement costs in most developed countries are covered from the state or territorial budgets, special government and extra-budgetary funds formed from tax and other types of revenues, including revenues from the activities of government agencies themselves. Sources of financing for public procurement abroad are shown using the example of Germany in Figure 1.
Picture 1
Sources of financing for public procurement in Germany
Meanwhile, one of the problems in terms of a real assessment of the volume of national public procurement is the absence of a separate item for accounting for their financing in the composition of the expenditure side of the state budget of most countries. In international practice, it is customary to estimate the total volume of public procurement based on the cost of services produced in the public sector, that is, on the basis of costs incurred in connection with the performance by government agencies of their target functions, including the acquisition of inventory items necessary for this. Their aggregate size is usually calculated on the basis of government intermediate or final consumption data.
The problem is aggravated by the lack of a unified methodology for determining the value of public procurement, a typical classification of the product range, and, most importantly, an information base on reliable indicators of the state of the public procurement sector in the context of individual countries.
So, at the moment there are three sources of statistical information on the cost of national government orders. These are data from international economic organizations (IMF, UN, OECD, WTO, World and European Development Banks), specially authorized state bodies, as well as commercial companies supplying goods, works and services through public procurement. With varying degrees of detail and representativeness, they reflect the volume and structure of national public procurement. However, estimates show that their information base often turns out to be incomparable both in terms of the nomenclature and the total volume of purchases, which is due to a number of reasons.
Firstly, due to the fact that the understanding of public procurement in foreign practice is ambiguous,
for example, in EU countries they are associated with the acquisition of products and services for public purposes (public procurement), and in other countries they include procurement for state needs (government procurement). Moreover, the first of them is much broader, since it includes meeting the needs of not only state enterprises and institutions, but also utilities, and most realistically reflects the financial costs of the state for these purposes. That is why the value of the public procurement market in European countries, according to the Commission of the European Community (EEC), is usually higher than the OECD estimates, since they include only budgetary expenditures on the procurement of goods and services for public needs.
Secondly, the discrepancy in international statistics on the cost of public procurement in the context of countries is caused by the confidentiality of some information on government spending on the purchase of relevant products for the needs of the national army, its defense capability and security. Largely for this and other reasons, the IMF, for example, in its statistics takes into account the cost of military uniforms as part of budget allocations for the purchase of goods for government needs, and the OECD includes them in the item “payments to civil servants”.
As a result, according to foreign experts, by the end of the 90s of the twentieth century, the indicators of the share of government orders in 20 WTO member countries were underestimated by more than 11% .1
So, according to their own estimates, taking into account the values \u200b\u200bof 140 countries, the global public procurement market by the beginning of 2000 was estimated at 5.5 trillion dollars, which was equivalent to 82.3% of world exports of goods and services (Table 1). Of these, 4.8 trillion dollars (85.7%) accounted for countries in the OECD.
Table 1
Total world government procurement by the beginning of the 2000s, in trillion US dollars *
Indicators Amount% Cost of public procurement
Total Including:
Payments to civil servants Defense spending
World GDP 29.36 100.0 - - -
World trade 6.74 23.0 - - -
State purchases, - - 5.50 2.94 0.48
as% of world GDP - - 18.9% 10.2% 1.6%
* Compiled according to: Evenett S.J. Is there a case for new multilateral rules on transparency in government procurement? / Chapter III of “The Singapore Issues and The World Trading System: The Road to Cancun and Beyond”, 2003.
The part of public procurement open for international competitive trade was estimated at only $ 2.1 trillion, that is, 2.3 times less.2
Over the past 25 years, national purchases in the 15 most developed countries have increased by $ 4.4 trillion, i.e. more than 4 times. Moreover, the USA accounts for 46.5% (Table 2).
table 2
Dynamics of the value of public procurement in foreign countries for 1980-2005 *
^ "" \\ Years Countries The volume of government purchases, in billions of dollars 2005 to 1980, the number of times
1980 1990 2000 2003 2005
Austria 16.16 ** 32.42 33.27 38.32 45.26 2.80
Belgium 21.73 31.22 38.81 54.74 64.96 2.99
United Kingdom 120.71 221.37 302.17 430.54 551.10 4.57
Germany 150.08 251.41 262.83 330.71 365.33 2.43
Denmark 19.52 35.29 42.60 59.55 71.31 3.65
Ireland 4.84 8.59 16.02 28.26 36.04 7.45
Italy 78.05 231.17 195.21 280.28 331.23 4.24
Canada 65.29 150.09 158.08 201.27 258.17 3.95
Luxembourg 1.05 1.93 2.97 4.65 5.93 5.65
Netherlands 39.11 59.88 73.74 112.77 127.04 3.25
Norway 14.20 29.86 35.91 53.48 64.19 4.52
France 144.94 260.62 286.77 390.37 462.48 3.19
Switzerland 14.42 35.33 35.65 48.49 58.07 ** 4.03
Sweden 44.48 76.38 68.46 90.36 103.72 2.33
USA 567.9 1223.4 1871.5 2294.7 2596 4.57
Japan 124.39 339.51 702.92 609.31 647.05 ** 5.20
Total 1426.87 2988.47 4126.91 5027.8 5787.88 4.06
Notes to the table:
* Compiled from OECD data based on intermediate consumption methodology. ** Estimated indicators.
The competitive mechanism for placing orders for the purchase of goods, services, works for state needs at the present stage is more consistent with the market principles of economic regulation and plays an important role in the economic development of many developed countries. Although the state of the public procurement system itself significantly depends on the level of development of the national economy, the form of government and the specifics of budgetary policy, which has a significant impact on their physical and cost volumes. This interaction can be confirmed by the situation in the mid-90s. the previous century, developed in the EU countries. Carrying out on their ter-
the rhetoric of a pan-European policy of limiting budget expenditures led to a significant decrease in public procurement. As a result of the accompanying partial privatization and contracting of a number of non-core activities for state structures, the total financial costs for the production of public services and, accordingly, the size of state purchases decreased. Their share in GDP decreased by an average of 0.8%, or 35.3 billion euros (Table 3) .3 At the same time, privatization processes in most developed countries stimulated the emergence of a significant share of consulting services in public procurement - engineering, audit , managerial, etc.
Share of government purchases in the GDP of EU countries
Countries Share of public procurement in countries Change in share
EU, in% of GDP, public procurement in GDP, in%
1987 1994
Austria 11.7 11.6 - 0.1
Belgium and Luxembourg 12.7 6.5 - 6.2
UK 16.5 14.4 - 2.1
Denmark 11.6 11.0 - 0.6
Germany 9.9 13.5 3.6
Ireland 11.5 9.2 - 2.3
Netherlands 11.6 8.7 - 2.9
Finland 11.6 11.5 - 0.1
France 11.5 10.4 - 1.1
Sweden 11.7 14.6 2.9
Greece 15.7 7.3 - 8.4
Spain 10.4 9.7 - 0.7
Portugal 14.5 11.7 - 2.8
EU average 11.7 11.5 - 0.2
Source: Audet D. Quantifying the Size of Government Procurement / OECD Trade Directorate Report. -OECD, 2002.
Western practice demonstrates that the form of government also affects the degree of centralization of the national public procurement system and the level of its perfection, which in turn affects the ratio of the value of products purchased by enterprises and organizations of various
levels of government, and their commodity structure. Thus, a number of OECD countries with a centralized form of government are characterized by higher spending on public procurement at the government level as compared to regional and municipal structures.
In modern conditions, the national policy of foreign countries in the field of public procurement is largely influenced by international norms and rules, as well as by the activities of transnational corporations (TNCs) that seek to penetrate the markets of different countries, including through the system of government orders. In addition, the intensifying processes of integration into the world economic system have a significant impact on the development of government procurement within countries, pushing them to accelerate the liberalization of domestic markets.
At the present stage, in countries with developed market economies, the social function of the public procurement system has noticeably increased, which is expressed in life support and the provision of guaranteed services to various segments of the population, especially those who represent the so-called risk group.
In countries with the most developed market infrastructure, complementary functions of competitive procurement are clearly visible, which are focused on maintaining a stable economic situation in the domestic market, stimulating economic activity in certain industries and spheres, as well as administrative-territorial entities, for the development of innovations and R&D. All this, as Western practice shows, ultimately contributes to optimizing state budget expenditures and raising the level of national income.
A prerequisite for the manifestation of additional functions in the public procurement system is the significant interest of national and foreign business structures in obtaining a government order, especially as a general contractor. Taking into account that the state, represented by its structures, is the largest national buyer of the relevant types of products, obtaining a state contract by a supplier means, in fact, for any of them the possibility of ensuring production at the expense of the state budget and guaranteed sales of products. And then - the establishment in the domestic market of the predicted level of prices for purchased products, the systematic increase in the efficiency of work on the implementation of state contracts, and their size.
The competitive form of procurement, as you know, allows you to maximize budget savings. According to experts, in developed countries it reaches an average of 14-16% of the initial price of production and up to 30% in developing countries.4 In some situations, these values \u200b\u200bcan be even higher. Thus, according to the OECD, in Italy, the achievement of the European standard for the state to hold open tenders for the purchase of cars for high-speed trains led to a decrease in their cost by 30%. The Brazilian government saves up to 20% of the budget after the introduction of the Dutch-type auction procedure in electronic form on the Internet. In Colombia, through the use of open government tenders, it was possible to reduce government spending on the purchase of military goods by 47% .5
The study of international experience in the field of public procurement convinces that they are capable of becoming a source of growth for the national economy. For developing countries, this situation is an alternative to borrowing and financial assistance from foreign financial funds. In particular, OECD studies show that in 37 out of 39 developing countries, a decrease in the level of prices in the process of public procurement by only 10% leads to budget savings in an amount comparable to the volume of external financial assistance in the form of loans and credits through international credit organizations.6
The stimulating function of public procurement in the economies of developed countries entails the solution of several problems. First, the state gets the opportunity to demand from national companies in the process of fulfilling a future order, pre-established technical parameters of the purchased products, to use innovative technological and other achievements. At the same time, the desire of the producers of goods and services themselves to introduce the most modern production and management technologies and R&D allows them to achieve a higher level of product competitiveness. Foreign practice shows that orders placed in such industries, in particular in aircraft and instrument making, are able to stimulate the development of innovations.
Secondly, public procurement makes it possible to select the most competitive representatives from among the manufacturers and suppliers of specific goods and services, as well as executors of work within the framework of the tender. In the long term, these processes lead to savings in public budget resources and the efficiency of their use. At the national level, it also contributes to the strengthening of export potential, industrial restructuring and the development of the marketing system. The possibility of combining orders and deliveries of scientific and technical products for the needs of individual government customers leads to the productive use of R&D. In general, this leads to an increase in national income.
The stimulating innovative role of public procurement is also manifested in the fact that the state, acting as a customer, is also the “first buyer” of new types of products and samples of experimental products that have not yet become serial. In this case, the government unwittingly shares the risks and benefits of technological projects jointly with manufacturers, often participating in promising developments from their initial stage to production testing of prototypes of products. Western practice of the last period shows that the cost of innovative developments acquired by the state, especially in such areas as health care, education, energy and the environment, transport services, is annually about 435 million euros in the EU countries and 49 billion dollars in the United States. These figures are equivalent to 5-15% of the total public procurement in these countries. 7
Thanks to the stimulating function of public procurement, the state strengthens the processes of developing competition in the domestic market, promoting the activity of small and medium-sized businesses by providing them with certain benefits. At the same time, these consequences go beyond the scope of a separate state contract, since, in turn, they stimulate them to conduct tenders in the future for the selection of subcontractors and subsuppliers for the execution of the state order.
In most developed countries, potential executors of public procurement planning processes, represented by producers of goods and services, are involved. As a result, this
makes it possible to adapt the size of government contracts to priority production facilities and structures, the scale of their activities, taking into account the cyclical nature of production.
In addition, the state, as the largest consumer of the products of a number of national industries and the customer of various types of work for public and state needs, significantly affects the level of prices for products purchased through the public procurement system. This influence is especially noticeable in those spheres of activity where the state is the only buyer of goods or services. For example, in cases of acquisitions for the needs of national defense and security, basic scientific research or the provision of social services. Public procurement volumes often determine the limits of production in individual sectors. Government structures also get the opportunity to influence the size and structure of the income of industry firms executing government contracts and even the level of wages of their employees.
Public procurement abroad plays an important role in the employment of the population, having a significant impact on the regional policy of placing government orders on the territory of individual countries. This is manifested in the fact that national companies operating in the least developed regions, such as Canada, have the preferential right to conclude government contracts. Receiving large orders stimulates the creation of new jobs here.
Comparison of positions on the system of implementation of public procurement of different countries allows us to say that the most complete manifestation of its functions occurs in the United States and some countries of the European Union. The role of the sphere of public procurement in the US economy, called the Federal Contract System (FCC), is so great that a government contract for goods, services and R&D in accordance with the law is accepted by American commercial banks as a security document, the execution of guarantees under which is provided by the US Federal Reserve System. In addition, in the United States, practical
tic of cooperation of production, economic and technological capabilities of various firms and companies on the basis of government contracts, especially for the implementation of military orders, as well as for the implementation of scientific, technical, socio-economic and environmental programs. Every year, about 100 US federal departments and, above all, its scientific and technical complex place multibillion-dollar orders through government procurement to meet government needs.
The significance of the public procurement system in the United States is confirmed by the following facts. Thus, about 240 thousand American companies act as executors of government orders for the supply of civilian and military goods. In securing only one contract, for example, for the supply of complex technical aviation equipment on terms of industrial cooperation - about a hundred. Almost 12.5% \u200b\u200bof the country's working-age population (or about 16.5 million people) are directly or indirectly employed in the field of government orders. Of these, about 100 thousand work in the structures of federal customers.
US government agencies are the largest buyers of products manufactured in certain industries. According to experts, they purchase over 81% of artillery equipment, up to 26% construction works and repair and maintenance services, aircraft equipment and spare parts; about 19% of transport equipment, 15% of ophthalmological and photographic equipment, scientific and technical equipment, control systems and information services.8
In addition, the most noticeable regulatory and stimulating function of the public procurement system in the US agro-industrial complex. In particular, the US government sets target fixed “support prices” at which it has the right to purchase agricultural products in order to guarantee national farms a minimum level of income for expanded reproduction. The purchased products are then sold by the government at market prices, which can be either above or below the fixed price level. Farms as executors of state
purchases, within the framework of advance payments, they receive additional profit in the form of the difference between the selling price and the purchase price if the first of them is exceeded. Likewise, the US government has implemented a special public procurement policy to promote large populated counties in states with high unemployment rates.
In the EU countries, unlike the United States, the development of the public procurement system is actively pursued towards the liberalization of national markets and stimulating growth industrial production... Practice shows that, to a certain extent, public procurement affects the well-being of the population of the European region due to the effect of smoothing and equalizing the incomes of their individual categories. Consistent work to improve public procurement in the EU contributed to an increase in the level of international trade of the participating countries and a reduction of almost 30% in the level of prices for products purchased by government agencies, as well as smoothing price imbalances within the markets of the participating countries.9
At the same time, in the process of improving public procurement here, many European companies have accumulated significant experience of cooperation with the state precisely in the area of \u200b\u200bensuring government orders, including in the direction of improving production technologies and searching for new types of products. Since 2001-2003, within the framework of the European Commission, steps have been taken to stimulate state purchases of new types of technological and innovative products. Particularly relevant are innovative public procurement in healthcare, pharmaceutical industry, energy, environmental protection, transport, technical security and communication using digital technologies.
The benefits are justified, first of all, by significant savings in R&D funds, as well as by reducing risks. In addition, these processes are accompanied by the development of a competitive environment, unification of standards and technical solutions in the region.
Currently, in the EU countries in key industrial areas that are highly dependent on government orders, for example, in the industry
high technologies and heavy engineering, government purchases are used to stimulate investment.
As in the United States, public procurement is also actively used in the practice of EU countries as a tool to support agricultural producers. However, the principle of its use in these countries is somewhat different. For example, in European countries, state-guaranteed prices are set at a comparatively higher level, which provide medium and large farmers with the opportunity to receive a certain level of income. In addition, they are often used to determine the ceiling level of prices for imported products and the amount of export subsidies.
In some European countries, in particular, in Great Britain, the practice of public procurement has been most developed in order to stimulate knowledge-intensive industries, primarily those associated with the release of certain most significant types of products to ensure the defense capability and effectiveness of the healthcare sector. This, in turn, leads to an increase in the level of competition in the struggle for obtaining government orders.10 However, the experience of the same Great Britain shows that the effect of government procurement on the productivity of industrial sectors can be not only positive, but also negative, provided that preferences are unjustifiably given to enterprises developing their production exclusively depending on the volume of government orders. These actions ultimately lead to a decrease in the efficiency and competitiveness not of enterprises, but of entire industries, since in this situation there is a process of substitution of private investment at the expense of public funds in the absence of competition called the "dependency effect".
Special functions of public procurement are performed in countries with economies in transition in the process of establishing a market economy. For them, the effective functioning of the public procurement system contributes to a certain extent to the achievement of the level of stability of the national economy. There are prerequisites for establishing balanced proportions of supply and demand in individual commodity markets. The necessary insurance
inventory and contingency funds, and competitive conditions.
At the same time, information open, transparent and competitive public procurement systems not only attract a larger number of bidders in the form of national and foreign companies, but also stimulate the inflow of investment capital, provide access to loans and grants from international organizations and development assistance agencies. All this contributes to a more successful and painless transition to a market economy for the states of this group.
Considering the experience of different countries in the field of public procurement, the competitive factor cannot be ignored. As you know, it manifests itself in this area during the period of tenders, when companies, enterprises and firms are forced to objectively fight for the acquisition of the right to sell their products and receive government orders. The level and nature of competition in the public procurement system, as foreign experience shows, is influenced to a large extent by existing problems within the framework of agency relations between the state and its representatives represented by various departments. They are also generated by the largely limited measure of participation of government officials in the decision-making processes on the allocation and use of budgetary funds for public procurement and weak interest in the results of the auction. Largely for this reason, in the field of public procurement, objective prerequisites are initially created for the development of corruption among civil servants, especially at the stage of awarding contracts for the supply of goods, services and performance of work. Even in developed countries, the damage from corruption in the field of public procurement, expressed in the overestimation of the cost of government contracts, is more than 30% of the amount of budgetary expenditures under these items. Such facts are confirmed, for example, by the results of audits by the German Audit Chamber in 2001-2002. for the issuance of government orders for construction work.11
That is why the level of corruption of officials and the degree of its perception by bidders serve as an objective obstacle to obtaining a contract in the field of public procurement. Closely related to this are the processes of
lobbying the interests of individual supplier companies by civil servants responsible for making decisions on the award of government contracts.
The principle of free competition in national government procurement markets is limited by the so-called “tied” government procurement, that is, due to the preferences of the funding body. Such a veiled form of "sympathy" in relation to individual supplying companies, as a rule, manifests itself on the part of foreign funds and foreign organizations interested in attracting those firms that are representatives of the donor country to the execution of government orders.
Guided by this, the government structures of individual countries often restrict their participation in public procurement.
As international practice shows, government customers give preference to national suppliers when concluding government contracts based on psychological principles, as well as the absence of a language barrier. Other objective factors limiting the access of non-resident enterprises to the public procurement system include the rules in the field of trade exchange, labor remuneration, indexation of utility tariffs, product safety, public health and environmental protection, specific to each individual country. An obstacle to the participation of foreign suppliers in public procurement may be restrictions on current settlement and foreign exchange transactions arising from the system of state regulation of the national economy.
The defining moment of access to the markets of foreign manufacturers is the nature of the national policy in the field of public procurement in individual countries, which contradicts the principles of market competition and openness. In particular, the use of a stimulating and social function in the mechanism of public procurement serves as an objective prerequisite for a protectionist policy in this area. Other constraints include national security requirements and compliance and enforcement.
maintenance of internal economic interests. For example, individual states impose embargoes on the purchase of products from certain countries as a response to discrimination against their national suppliers or in protest against the political regime of these states.
Thus, in the US public procurement system, the Department of Defense approved a special list and volumes of products that are priority and extremely important for maintaining the defense capability of the state in emergency situations. These types of products cannot be purchased from foreign manufacturers, regardless of the participation of the US government in international trade agreements.
The study of foreign practice of public procurement showed that in some cases government organizations prefer to purchase goods or services of national production based solely on political decisions. For example, in the framework of major projects. This is due to both patriotic motives and the desire of government structures to demonstrate to citizens targeted spending taxpayer funds.
Protectionist measures in the field of public procurement abroad are quite often implemented through closed bidding procedures or procurement from only a single source and lead to the complete elimination of foreign participants from among competitors in the struggle for obtaining government contracts. Others boil down to providing cost advantages to national suppliers and manufacturers of products. So, in the conditions of using preferential price adjustments, a foreign competitive bid is recognized as the winner only if its cost is several percent lower than the minimum price of the national supplier.
One of the hidden discriminatory measures is the limited access of foreign suppliers to information on public procurement, including by distorting it in relation to the timing and methods of notification. The application of such measures simultaneously enables resident companies to be better prepared
get involved in bidding and obtaining a government contract. The discriminatory measures also include the requirements of technical specifications oriented only to national standards. They can become an insurmountable barrier for foreign manufacturers. This is the case, for example, in countries such as the Federal Republic of Germany and the Netherlands, where national standards in technical specifications are aimed at discriminating against foreign suppliers.
Most developed countries block the access of foreign participants, supporting national producers by providing them with preferences in the field of public procurement. For example, despite the official absence of a protectionist policy in Japan, in practice, government contracts there are rarely awarded to foreign companies: this is due to the fact that, first of all, the business reputation and mental affinity of national partners are assessed here. In Canada, protectionism in the implementation of major national projects is mainly associated with patriotic motives and the government's desire to demonstrate respect for taxpayers' funds. Italy has a code of so-called “Alba” laws, which represents the interests of national suppliers. Its provisions prohibit making government purchases of certain types of products from those companies that are not included in the register of suppliers of products for government agencies.
Most often, in foreign practice, in order to evaluate competitive bids, discounts are applied to the prices of products of national suppliers. For example, in the same Canada, offers of bidders are compared only after such discounts have been applied. In the United States, American companies have a pre-emptive right to conclude a contract with the state, provided that their price is no more than 6% higher than the offer of foreign suppliers. The same practice takes place in Israel and the EU countries.
The practice that has developed in the West also makes it possible to single out a number of specific measures of discrimination against foreign suppliers based on the patronage of national companies in the public procurement system. Among them:
0 provisions for the transfer by the general contractor of a certain part of the order to other contractors as part of a government contract for the purpose of, for example, the development of small businesses headed by women (USA)
0 compensation received from foreign suppliers as a condition for the award of a contract in cases where the head contractor guarantees the purchase of a certain part of the product from national suppliers (Canada, Israel);
0 requirements for the use of building materials only of national production (USA) in the construction, reconstruction or repair of objects.
In addition, in the practice of developed countries, a selective approach is also used to attract bids. For example, again in Canada, in cases of targeted procurement to support specific national sectors or in the implementation of regional development policies, only national companies are invited to public procurement. This applies to representatives of small businesses and densely populated regions with a high share of unemployment. At the same time, foreign experts believe that in a number of cases a certain “closedness” of the public procurement market in relation to foreign bidders is a justified and effective national strategy.12
First, preferences to national suppliers are advisable in the conditions of an oligopoly market. On the basis of the expansion of domestic demand and the resulting increase in supply, the marginal costs of manufacturing and purchasing the corresponding products of national production are reduced.
Secondly, the application of the policy of protectionism is advisable when purchasing products from those industries in which national producers are not competitive in comparison with foreign companies. This is due to fears of abuse of the price advantage by foreign suppliers. Their offer prices may turn out to be somewhat lower than their current level in the domestic market of the buying country. In such conditions, preferences to national suppliers will stimulate foreign manufacturers to reduce them.
Foreign experience in the public procurement system shows that a certain degree of discrimination in this area is justified financial performance due to the redistribution of contributions to the state budget: the profit received by national counterparties as part of the execution of government contracts is returned again in the form of tax revenues, while financing of foreign supplies, in fact, represents investments in the economies of other countries.
At present, in the practice of Western countries, there are two types of financial preferences: premiums to national companies for winning the auction or for the supply to the public sector of products manufactured in the own territory of the state customer's country. In the first case, incentives may apply not only to national manufacturers, but also to intermediary enterprises, including assembly companies operating on the basis of imported components and finished products. It is possible to minimize these risks by establishing a high level of import duties, as well as creating a favorable investment climate for the transfer of production complexes of foreign firms to the country of the state customer.
Preferences based on the country of origin of goods seem to us more preferable in the context of liberalization of international trade. At the same time, the budgetary risks associated with the possibility of switching foreign firms to carry out re-export speculative operations with products manufactured in the country of the state customer can be compensated for by high volumes of public procurement, which provide national producers with a higher income when directly concluding a state contract, and not by engaging intermediaries. trade and sales organizations. In addition, through the creation of a centralized purchasing authority within the country. It is possible to combine large-scale volumes of procurement needs of various government agencies and interact directly with national producers. Thus, several tasks are being solved simultaneously, including those of saving state budget expenditures by eliminating the premiums of intermediary organizations.
The study of foreign restrictive practice in the field of public procurement indicates the inappropriateness of significant preferences in market conditions. In the United States, a ban on the purchase of foreign products cost the Government of the country $ 100 million annually and led to an increase in the level of purchase consumer prices. At the same time, maintaining each job in the American metallurgical industry cost consumers of its products, both public and private, $ 1 million.At the same time, the benefits obtained per job, on average, were estimated to be no more than $ 60,000. ...
A similar practice took place in Canada in the second half of the twentieth century, where the implementation of such a protectionist policy in the public procurement system turned out to be for buyers of footwear products, for example, additional costs in the range of 53-69 thousand dollars a year as a result of the preservation of jobs there. At the same time, the average annual income per one job was no more than 7 thousand dollars. 13
Ultimately, such measures not only led to additional costs, but also adversely affected the domestic pricing policy, causing higher prices and inflation. In addition, the problem of retaining jobs was not solved, and in some cases it was solved by reducing the number of employees in other sectors of the economy. This confirms the conclusion about the ineffective role of protectionism as an alternative to structural policy.
The use of discriminatory measures in the field of public procurement, in particular, on the example of the US and EU defense industry, as well as the energy and telecommunications sectors of individual European states (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain), made it possible to identify a number of other negative consequences for the national economy. Among them:
0 indirect encouragement of non-competitive enterprises;
0 creating obstacles to the processes of international technological cooperation, investment in R&D, which leads to an economically unjustified increase in production capacity;
0 increase in financial costs of government agencies for public procurement in the context of insufficient volumes of products and services from national companies;
0 the emergence of imbalances in the commodity markets as a result of actual state subsidies of national producers and, as a consequence, unreasonably high prices.
In addition, the experience of using foreign trade restrictions in the field of public procurement in the United States, Canada, and European countries also testifies to the ineffectiveness of protectionist measures, which, in conditions of imperfect competition, lead to an increase in domestic prices, if applied together with the anti-inflationary policy of sustainable economic growth. The side effects of protectionism in the practice of public procurement in the EU countries influenced foreign trade processes, preserving barriers to the participation of foreign companies, which affected the competitiveness of European companies and manifested itself, in particular, in the following:
0 reduction of investments in the development of new technologies, marketing and production strategies on the part of national entrepreneurial structures;
0 difficulties in the formation of assortment specialization even for large companies in EU countries;
0 a decrease in the export potential of the EU states due to the orientation of national companies mainly on the domestic commodity market and the markets of developing countries.
In general, the negative consequences associated with the practice of protectionism in the public procurement systems of the leading European countries for the period of the late 90s of the XX century were estimated at 8-19 billion euros per year, which is 2-5% of their total public procurement costs (0, 3 - 0.7% of national GDP) .14
In particular, in the UK, as a result of the abandonment of the policy of granting privileges to national companies, in the system of public procurement of defense products, an annual budgetary savings of over 1 billion pounds was achieved. Art. This is equivalent to 10% of the total expenditures of the state budget for the purchase of equipment, and most importantly -
led to an increase in the competitiveness of export products of the defense industry. 15
Thus, the cross-country analysis showed that the protectionist measures that were in force in the twentieth century in a number of developed countries in order to protect and promote the development of the industrial base, significantly weakened their competitiveness: they caused stagnation of industrial development, a reduction in national income and an increase in price imbalances for the products of a number of industries. This was due to the fact that, while providing guaranteed orders for the national industry, the governments of individual countries did not envisage requirements and incentives for modernization and increased competitiveness, without which it is impossible to form a strong production base.
Nevertheless, the use of protectionism in the public procurement system is permissible if the state implements certain specific tasks related to ensuring national defense, stimulating the development of specific industries and territories, as well as maintaining the standard of living of social strata representing a risk group. However, it should have a strictly metered and economically justified nature and be combined with the implementation of a policy of information openness and transparency in the public procurement system.
Notes:
1 D. Audet. Quantifying the Size of Government Procurement / OECD Trade Directorate Report. - OECD, 2002.
3 Government Finance Statistics. Summary tables: Data 1995-2005. / Luxemburg: Office for official publications of the European Communities. 2006.
4 Formation of a market system of public procurement in Russia / Ed. V.I.Smirnova. -Kazan: NPO BusinessInfo-Service, 2000.
6 OECD 2002 Report on the Analysis of the Impact of Financial Aid on the Economy of Host Countries. - “World Development Indicators Online”.
The regulation of public procurement around the world is an object of close attention from legislators - after all, in this case, the buyer, that is, the state, is interested in the maximum efficiency of the process. One of the important directions in lawmaking around the world has become the struggle for fair competition, which, according to economic theory, should lead to lower prices. The main problem in the modern practice of public procurement is the "human factor", which generates corruption and dishonesty. This is not about episodic bribery of officials, but about the merging of power and business, as a result of which, along with competitive methods of choosing suppliers, lobbying began to play an important role. However, as they believe abroad, a well-developed regulatory framework and competent procurement administration may well reduce possible losses in efficiency to a minimum - the lobby turns into only one of the factors of choice, operating in circumstances “all other things being equal”.
In foreign procurement practice, the basic basic principles include: transparency - openness and availability of information on procurement; accountability and duprocess - strict adherence to procurement procedures under state and public control; open and effective competition - non-discrimination; fairness - equal opportunities for all procurement participants.
The principles of procurement and order placement generally accepted in world practice are formulated in the laws of individual countries and are fixed in a number of international documents, such as EU Directives, the Multilateral Agreement on Public Procurement within the WTO, documents of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Organization and others. Differences in the laws of individual countries are due to the priorities of the economic policy of one or another state. The degree of centralization of the economy has a significant impact. At the level of national legislation, there is a clarification, concretization of international provisions, taking into account the specifics of the state's economic policy. In a number of countries, industry-specific regulations are issued that allow, on the basis of general national legislation, to formulate specific provisions reflecting the specifics of a particular industry.
Current international public procurement law is based on the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law as well as the UNCITRAL Model Law Guidelines. The UNCITRAL Model Law “On the Procurement of Goods (Works) and Services” contains 57 articles, grouped into 6 chapters: general provisions; procurement methods and conditions of their use; bidding procedures; main procurement method; procedures used in procurement by alternative methods; appeal.
The Model Law is intended for those countries (governments) that consider it desirable to regulate the procurement of goods (works) and services and pursue the following objectives: to ensure maximum economy and efficiency of procurement; expansion and stimulation of participation in procurement of suppliers (contractors), regardless of nationality, which serves the development of international trade; encouraging competition between suppliers (contractors) in relation to purchased goods (works) or services; ensuring fair and impartial treatment of all suppliers (contractors); promoting objectivity and impartiality in the procurement process and public confidence in it; ensuring the transparency of procurement procedures.
The UNCITRAL Model Law places great emphasis on procurement methods and conditions of use.
Out-of-competition placement of orders, competitive placement of orders with a limited number of participants, using quotations, specifics of purchasing goods from a single source, etc. are considered. Typical requirements for the organization of attracting bids and applications for prequalification are presented. The order of submission and standard requirements for the composition of the tender documentation were considered. The law regulates the procedure and criteria for evaluating proposals. The procuring entity shall establish criteria for evaluating proposals and determine the relative importance of each such criterion and how they will be applied. Winner selection procedures may include: selection without negotiation (exclusively according to established evaluation criteria); selection through simultaneous negotiations; selection through alternate negotiations.
Public procurement and placement of orders in developed countries is based on generally accepted methods: competitive procedures (open, closed, two-stage, selective), procurement based on negotiations with several potential suppliers, purchases in a regular retail network (method of requesting quotations), procurement from a single source ...
Competitive procedures are the most widely used, which makes it possible to ensure equal conditions of access to government orders, openness and transparency of all procedures and selection criteria. The possibility of using other methods requires appropriate justifications.
Most of the developed countries, despite the long tradition of market economy, take into account international requirements in their national legislation.
According to German law, the state, acting as an economic entity, is obliged to comply with the same legal and economic principles as the representatives of the private sector of the economy. As a buyer (consumer), it competes with representatives of the private sector, monitors changes in the market together with them, and also informs the market about its needs by announcing tenders for the purchase of goods (services). The basis for the settlement of disputes is civil law. Proceeding from the requirement “to spend budget funds economically”, state institutions are obliged to give preference to economically profitable market proposals. This means that the state, like any other consumer, compares prices using open (public) tenders for the supply of goods (services). The procedure for holding tenders (tenders) and placing government orders are described in the regulatory documents on contracts for government orders developed by the country's Ministry of Economy.
The first US federal procurement law was passed in 1792. Since then, American law has evolved into the modern form of the federal contract system. The US government procurement mechanism is based on a set of laws and regulations called the Federal Procurement Rules (FAR). This document defines the principles of procurement policy and sets out and details numerous requirements regarding the order and procedures that must be followed by all federal agencies when making purchases and placing orders. Monitoring the uniform application of public procurement rules and coordinating rule-making in this area is entrusted to the Federal Procurement Policy Department. Interestingly, US federal law does not formally apply to the activities of the governments of individual states and other territorial units with an independent budget. There have been several attempts to unify procurement laws, but only a few states have brought their regulations in line with federal law, although the laws of all states are based on generally accepted principles.
Current UK competition law is based on the Competitive Procurement Guidelines. Under the United Kingdom Treasury, the “Central Procurement Organization” has been established as the central policy and oversight body. There is also a procurement strategy department in the government. Each ministry has a department for contract work. The Treasury delegates the authority to manage funds to line ministries, while spending is coordinated with the Treasury official in charge of the ministry. The Treasury Representative (Finance Inspector) ensures that expenditures are in line with budget allocations, each contract must be approved by him.
Protection of national suppliers
Significant changes have recently taken place in the legislation of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Their main goal is unification, that is, transferring the directives of the European Community to the legal basis of specific countries. From the point of view of potential suppliers of products / services, this process should enable them to participate in tenders in different countries (regardless of the nationality of the supplier) on equal terms. Approximately the same goals were set before the Russian lawmakers, who were developing Law No. 94-FZ.
After all, one of the laws of the world economy states that the losses of national consumers from the protectionist policy of the state are always higher than the benefits received by national producers. However, some countries, hoping to support their own industry, provide various kinds of preferences to local suppliers and contractors in public procurement. Of course, this practice is gradually decreasing, largely due to the activities of international organizations such as the WTO. But, most likely, they will not be able to completely move away from it soon.
In a number of countries, state regulation of international tender procedures is carried out in order to streamline the inflow of foreign entrepreneurial capital and protect the interests of local firms. For example, the right of local companies to priority in the price level is enshrined in legislation, that is, all other things being equal, the win is awarded to the local supplier, even if the price offered by him is higher than that of foreign participants. The price "handicap" for local players can range from 6% (USA, Canada) to 15% (Kuwait, India) and more. In a number of countries, those foreign participants who, in their proposals, do not provide for the transfer of part of the contract to local firms, are not allowed to bid; a list of works and services that a foreign contractor is obliged to transfer to local firms is determined. In many countries, participation of foreign companies in tenders is possible only through local agents or partners (Egypt, Oman). Sometimes foreign contractors are prohibited from importing equipment and materials produced by local industry, there is a rule of three times the number of local personnel over foreign for contracting facilities. In some countries, part of the government order is reserved for certain categories of suppliers, such as small businesses, organizations of persons with disabilities, institutions of the penitentiary system, etc. Large contracts are deliberately split into smaller ones to facilitate access to national producers. To overcome these limitations and increase the chances of winning orders, foreign companies have resorted to creating consortia with the participation of local firms.
In addition, the rights of bidders are expanding to complement the efforts of states to protect domestic producers. The practice of re-bidding is widely used in order to reduce the price. Along with the pricing policy, tender committees began to use more and more “credit competition” in the interests of customers, which makes it possible to compel tenderers to assume obligations to participate in lending and even finance construction costs. Often the credit and financial terms of tenders are the decisive criterion in determining the winner of the tender. In modern conditions, less explicit methods of restrictions, such as customs duties and non-tariff measures (standards, certificates, licenses, etc.), are increasingly used.
Thus, it can be noted that most countries use various methods to restrict access to their markets by foreign competitors. However, as an exception, one can cite Germany, whose legislation prohibits giving preference to national participants.
Australia and New Zealand do not have any specific government procurement legislation. At the same time, it is in these countries that competitive methods for the implementation of state orders are widely used, which are regulated by by-laws of the executive and administrative authorities (primarily the ministries of finance and the ministries of works, both at the federal and state levels). However, states and territories enjoy significant autonomy within the overall government procurement policy. Financial control over public expenditures is carried out through the Treasury (Ministry of Finance) on the basis of current legislation.
The public procurement organization scheme in force in France and Belgium provides for control over public expenditures at all stages (decision-making, calculation of cost estimates, analysis of the compliance of planned expenditures with budget possibilities, approval of expenditure documents, control of payment of contracts). France is characterized by the creation of special commissions that selectively check the correctness of the conclusion of contracts. Each department and local government will form its own procurement unit, which is responsible for concluding contracts and overseeing their execution.
It should be noted that in the United Europe, the integration requirements of the European Union are beginning to play an increasing role, which over the past 10 years has adopted several dozen different directives on procurement. As part of the ongoing unification of procurement rules, more and more attention is paid to uniform standards. Most European countries are gradually adjusting their legislation based on EU directives.
In the countries of Eastern Europe, which did not have a tradition of organizing competitive procurement, in the mid-1990s, laws and other regulations were adopted in accordance with the requirements of the UNCITRAL Model Law. On the way to the European Community, these countries had to harmonize their statutes concerning government orders with the norms of the Community legislation.
Government procurement is the procurement of goods and services by the government and state-owned enterprises (which provide socially important services: transport, water supply, communications, energy). They include a number of processes: needs assessment - supplier selection organization - final payment.
In general, the usual international principles governing the EU, WTO and other international organizations apply to public procurement. Public procurement in the world is increasingly seen as a central instrument for ensuring efficient and non-corrupt management of public funds. If you want to learn more about government procurement, then go to tender.uub.com.ua, where you can learn how to become a participant.
In this context, the requirement of "integrity" is put forward to the system of organization and functioning of the public procurement system. Its meaning is that countries should make every necessary effort to:
Public procurement procedures were transparent and provide for fair and equal treatment of all participants;
Public funds related to public procurement were used in accordance with the intended purpose and most efficiently;
The level of training and behavior of officials involved in the field of public procurement was in line with the objectives of their (procurement) organization;
The procurement system had to be able to respond to the challenges posed by specific procurement decisions, ensure accountability and provide for public scrutiny.
Thus, openness, accessibility of information, non-discrimination of suppliers regardless of their status and form of ownership, and procurement on a competitive basis with ensuring transparency at each stage of tenders (tenders) are the defining international principles for the organization and functioning of the public procurement system. Their implementation has become easier with the development of information and communication technologies, which provides real opportunities to minimize state and municipal costs and prevent corruption. The specific provisions of national laws providing for the implementation of the outlined principles vary, but their understanding is the same.
Competition means that supply contracts are awarded to a government by comparing bids from a certain number of suppliers to determine who can offer the most favorable terms. The principle of publicity is complemented by the principle of competition, as it ensures that suppliers can freely obtain information about the contract and offer their goods and services.
1The international experience of public procurement has become the subject of close attention not only of theorists, but also of practitioners in this field of activity, which is due to the need for a professional approach to the implementation of the norms and requirements of the Federal Law dated 05.04.2013 No. 44-FZ "On the contract system in the procurement of goods, works, services to meet state and municipal needs ”. Among the main goals of Federal Law No. 44-FZ, it is necessary to note the increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of meeting state and municipal needs. Achievement of the set goal is based on the principles of openness, transparency of information about the contractual system in the field of procurement; ensuring competition; professionalism of customers; stimulating innovation; unity of the contractual system in the field of procurement; responsibility for the effectiveness of meeting state and municipal needs; efficiency of procurement. The implementation of the above principles requires serious scientific and methodological support of the public procurement process in Russia. The article presents an analysis of the organization of public procurement in Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Ukraine and other countries. International experience of public procurement is of scientific interest and is partially disclosed in the studies of L. Davlyatina, A. Zakharov, A.N. Ladyagina, etc. The study of foreign experience is a necessary element of the scientific and methodological support of public procurement, which has become an urgent scientific and practical task. Analysis of purchases in Russia allows us to highlight the lack of scientific and methodological support for this activity as one of the factors of ineffective use of budget funds. The development of scientific and methodological support for public procurement, taking into account international experience, has acquired particular relevance now - during the transition to a contract system in the field of procurement of goods, works, services to meet state and municipal needs.
contract system
international experience
state procurements
1. Andreeva L.V. Procurement of goods for federal state needs: legal regulation... - M.: Walter Kluver, 2009 .-- S. 111.
3. Karanatova L.G. The impact of the state order on the enhancement of innovative activity in Russia: monograph. - SPb. : Publishing house SZAGS, 2011 .-- 180 p.
4. Guide to procurement: textbook. manual / ed. N. Dimitri, G. Peach, G. Spagnolo; per. from English. M.M. Forget, E.V. Khilinskaya, ed. I.V. Kuznetsova; Nat. issled. Institute "Higher School of Economics". - M.: Ed. House of the Higher School of Economics, 2013. - 659 p.
5. Smotritskaya I.I. The economy of public procurement. - M.: Book House "LIBROKOM", 2009. - 232 p.
6. Fitz A.Yu. Improving public procurement management in Ukraine // Regional economy and management: electronic scientific journal. - 2013. - No. 1 (33). - Access mode: http://region.mcnip.ru/
7. Galushchak M.P. State Purchased in Ukraine: Theoretical Aspect and Practical Problem // Galitskiy Ekonomichny Visnik. - 2011. - No. 1 (30). - S. 45-53.
8. National Bureau of Statistics of China official Website. - URL: http://www.stats.gov.cn/.
The public procurement system of the Russian Federation is in a state of transition to a contractual system in the field of procurement of goods, works, services to meet state and municipal needs, regulated by Federal Law No. 44-FZ dated 05.04.2013. Among the main goals of Federal Law No. 44-FZ, it is necessary to note the increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of meeting state and municipal needs. Achievement of the set goal is based on the principles of openness, transparency of information about the contractual system in the field of procurement; ensuring competition; professionalism of customers; stimulating innovation; unity of the contractual system in the field of procurement; responsibility for the effectiveness of meeting state and municipal needs; efficiency of procurement. The implementation of the above principles requires serious scientific and methodological support of the public procurement process in Russia.
In recent years, public procurement has become the subject of dissertation research, among which it is necessary to highlight the works of V. Nikiforova "Public procurement as a factor in the development of the regional complex" (2010); A.N. Ladyagin "International tenders in modern world economic relations" (2009); I.I. Smotritskaya "Transformation of the public procurement system in the Russian economy" (2009); N.N. Efremova "International experience in improving the efficiency of public procurement and its use in Russian practice" (2010); V.Yu. Kotelnikova "Institutional modernization of public procurement as a tool for ensuring economic security in Russia" (2012). But the research data are of a point nature and do not cover the entire spectrum of problems in the sphere of public procurement.
Analysis of dissertations, monographs ("Protectionist policy in the public procurement market in Russia and abroad", EV Balatsky, AB Gusev, NA Ekimova (2007); "Procurement of goods and energy service needs: legal regulation" , L.V. Andreeva (2011); "State and municipal purchases: problems of applying civil sanctions", A.V. Delyakina (2012); "Development of the mechanism of interaction between business structures when using state orders", L.L. Lozenko ( 2011), etc.) indicates an insufficient theoretical basis for the development of the public procurement process in Russia, including little coverage of the international experience of public procurement.
International experience of public procurement is of scientific interest and is partially disclosed in the studies of L. Davlyatina, A. Zakharov, A.N. Ladyagina et al. The leading principles of international procurement are widely described in the literature as the principles of procurement, the main of which are openness and transparency of procurement to meet public needs; equal and fair treatment of all suppliers; economical and efficient use of budget funds. N.N. Efremova (2010) considers international public procurement as one of the forms of world trade, in which the buyer's task is to purchase a product or service with certain parameters or technical and economic characteristics. In the dissertation research N.N. Efremova proposes to borrow the Australian methodology of “effective spending” or the Canadian methodology of “best value” for assessing the effectiveness of public procurement. This experience undoubtedly deserves attention, but it is necessary to clearly understand the specifics of both approaches for the possibilities of borrowing certain provisions in the domestic practice of organizing public procurement.
Australia's public procurement sector is presented on a value for money basis in terms of transaction efficiency. At the same time, there is no exact calculation formula. This principle is a kind of concept for determining the effectiveness of procurement activities based on a comparison of the final cost and the recommended one. The DOFA Best Practices Guide notes that the value for money concept is a kind of requirement for procurement officials to achieve better results at every stage of the procurement process, taking into account not only the lowest price, but also the benefits, costs. based on the life cycle of goods. On the other hand, responsibility and authority for public procurement has been delegated to the heads of government ministries and organizations that carry out procurement. This state of affairs has led each ministry to develop its own recruitment standard; assessment of competence in procurement, etc. Back in 2000, the adequacy of this approach was questioned in the report "Monitoring the execution of contracts in the field of public services in Australia". It was noted in the report that the number of contracts that have not been verified by the state has increased. purchasing organizations noted the presence of trade secrets. As a result, contract enforcement has become one of the weakest areas of Australia's public procurement process. A number of steps have been taken to ensure that the Commonwealth Leadership Competitive Bidding and Contracting Management Guidelines ensure that consultation and guidance is provided on risk management throughout all phases of the contract life cycle.
With regard to the efficiency of public procurement in Canada, it should be noted that the concept of "best value" - value for money is seen as a kind of combination of price, technical benefit and quality. This combination of the highlighted aspects is determined by the procurement authority during the request for proposals and is established in the criteria for evaluating the requested proposals. The performed actions allow to form a base of assessment and negotiations between buyers and sellers. Ongoing reviews are underway by the Government of Canada to enhance the role of procurement in industrial and regional development. Implementation of national targets is carried out through the "Canadian Annual Procurement Strategy".
Thus, the experience of Australia and Canada, with all its originality, has a number of common drawbacks, the main one of which is the lack of an effective mechanism for assessing the compliance of the results with the stated objectives.
Of interest is the assessment of the effectiveness of public procurement in Argentina, which is based on three provisions: the introduction of pooled procurement (several public customers combine procurement); use of reference prices (control mechanism in case of insufficient level of competitive selection procedure); e-procurement.
In Belgium, the national law on government orders for work, supplies and services provides for control over government spending at all stages of procurement: decision making; calculation of cost estimates; analysis of the compliance of planned expenses with budgetary possibilities; sighting of expenditure documents; control of payment for contracts.
K. Ayazos notes that in Norway the annual volume of public procurement is 50 billion euros. The country participates in the European market as a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, which requires the organization of procurement activities in accordance with the laws of the EEC.
In Sweden, procurement is overseen by the Competition Authority, which changes procurement rules to promote effective competition.
In Denmark, government procurement policy is formulated by the Danish Competition Authority and the Danish Business and Construction Authority.
In Finland, government procurement is regulated by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy in cooperation with the Federation of Municipalities.
In China, government procurement is used to reduce the dependence of domestic producers on the conjuncture of world financial markets. China strictly regulates the forms of participation of foreign capital in the national economy and at the same time ensures openness to foreign countries regarding the flow of resources and goods. The public procurement policy in China consists of two directions: public procurement as a tool to reduce the technological and financial dependence of national production on foreign sources of resources and capital; government procurement as a mechanism to support national exports. This approach contributes to a high level of workload in production and avoids unemployment.
In Switzerland, purchases are regulated by cantonal, international and local laws. At the same time, equal access is provided for suppliers both from Switzerland and other countries that have a public procurement regime identical to the Swiss one. It should be noted that social issues have traditionally played an important role in the Swiss public procurement system.
E. Medyakova, describing the European public procurement system, notes that the experience of the United States was used to create a unified system of supranational legislation of the European Union. The author points out that the existing differences in the legislation of the countries of the European Union complicated the process of developing procedures and methods for conducting procurement for state needs, their information support.
Optimization of procurement for government needs while minimizing costs; ensuring equal conditions for competition when concluding a contract; compliance with publicity requirements; promoting fair and open business; assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises in obtaining government orders - these are the main goals of the European public procurement system, emphasized by E. Medyakova.
Zubar V.V. notes that the existing public procurement system in Ukraine is characterized by imperfection of the regulatory and methodological framework for managing the competitive procurement system, which allows unscrupulous customers to use many abuses that adversely affect the effectiveness of public procurement. At the same time, the author emphasizes that the clearly formulated goal of bringing national legislation closer to the EU regulatory framework within the framework of an associative agreement will not allow deviating from international principles and standards in the field of public procurement. V.V. Zubar writes that the priority direction of improving the public procurement system is the development and implementation of the concept of public procurement as a system of principles for increasing the efficiency of the functioning of state, regional and local structures and organizations based on the optimization of procurement processes. According to the scientist, such a concept should be implemented on the basis of a systematic approach and the presence of four conditions: a well-developed regulatory framework; a strong and competent monitoring and coordination body; effective training system for both customers and suppliers, information support.
Minyaylo A.I. (2011) considers public procurement in Ukraine as a factor in ensuring positive dynamics of economic growth from the standpoint of the institutional approach. At the same time, the public procurement system is presented as dynamic, constantly improving. But the introduction of new models of procurement management in Ukraine is associated with certain methodological difficulties. The research conducted by the scientist of scientific views on the problem of public procurement made it possible to reveal the regulatory function of public procurement in the system of regulation of the national economy. An analysis of the importance of public procurement as a macroeconomic regulator of the national economy has determined their impact on innovation processes in the development of scientific and technical, innovation, industrial and budgetary policies. A.I. Among the shortcomings in procurement in Ukraine, Minyailo notes the imperfection of the legislation, which leads to ambiguity in the interpretation of certain norms and rules for the distribution of budgetary funds, a conflict of interests in the field of public procurement; inappropriate use of funds during public procurement; insufficient openness and transparency of procurement.
A.Yu. Fitz (2013) notes that the issues of improving the public procurement management system in Ukraine in order to effectively use budget funds, place orders, etc., have become especially acute. The author writes that the incompleteness and instability of the structure of the current order placement law was assessed by the country's political leadership as the main reason for the difficult procurement situation. A.Yu. Fitz proposes the following principles for the formation of an effective public procurement system:
Strategic approach (strategic thinking), which provides for the application of a holistic strategy for the further development of the procurement system, and a systematic approach aimed at developing all essential components of the procurement system (legal framework; institutional mechanisms); procedural basis; trained personnel in the procurement system; civil society as a client of an efficient procurement system.
Thus, the international experience of public procurement is of undoubted interest for the development and implementation of new approaches to the organization of domestic public procurement. Analysis of purchases in Russia allows us to highlight the lack of scientific and methodological support for this activity as one of the factors of ineffective use of budget funds. The development of scientific and methodological support for public procurement, taking into account international experience, has acquired particular relevance now - during the transition to a contract system in the field of procurement of goods, works, services to meet state and municipal needs.
Reviewers:
Gladilina I.P., Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Professor of the Department of Management of State and Municipal Orders of the Moscow City University of Management of the Government of Moscow, Moscow.
Sokolov L.A., Doctor of Economics, Professor, Moscow City University of Management of the Government of Moscow, Moscow.
Bibliographic reference
Dyogtev G.V. INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT // Contemporary problems science and education. - 2013. - No. 6 .;URL: http://science-education.ru/ru/article/view?id\u003d10849 (date of access: 01/15/2020). We bring to your attention the journals published by the "Academy of Natural Sciences"
