REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA LAW ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT 13 August 1996 – No I-1491 (As last amended on 21 June 2011 – No XI-1494) Vilnius CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1. Purpose of the Law 1. This Law shall establish the procedure of public procurement, the rights, obligations and responsibility of entities of procurement, the procedure for exercising the control of public procurement and settling disputes. 2. The provisions of the Law have been harmonised with the EU legal acts presented in the Annex to this Law. Article 2. Definitions 1. Open procedure shall mean a procurement procedure whereby any interested supplier may submit a tender. 2. Common Procurement Vocabulary (hereinafter referred to as “CPV”) shall mean the classification system applicable to public procurement adopted by Regulation (EC) No 2195/2002 and ensuring that it complies with other valid classifications. In the event of varying interpretations of the scope of this Law, owing to possible differences between the CPV and accordingly the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities (EVRK), the national version of the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE Rev.1), or the Provisional Central Product Classification (hereinafter referred to as “CPC”) as indicated in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of this Law, the EVRK and CPC classifications shall take precedence. 3. Central purchasing body shall mean a contracting authority referred to in subparagraphs 1, 2 and 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 4 of this Law which: 1) acquires supplies and/or services intended for contracting authorities, or 2) awards public contracts or concludes framework agreements for works, supplies or services intended for contracting authorities. 4. Central portal of public procurement shall mean an information system managed by the Central Procurement Office and intended for: 1) providing electronic means for submitting and managing procurement notices and reports; 2) providing electronic means for conducting public procurement procedures; 3) publishing information about public procurement on the Internet. 5. Tenderer shall be a supplier that submitted a tender. 6. Negotiated procedures shall mean a procurement procedure whereby the contracting authority consults the suppliers of its choice and negotiates the terms of contract with one or more of these. 7. Dynamic purchasing system shall mean a completely electronic process for making commonly used purchases, the characteristics of which, as generally available on the market, meet the requirements of the contracting authority. The use of the dynamic purchasing system shall be limited in duration. The system shall be open throughout its validity to any supplier concerned, provided it satisfies the qualification requirements set forth by the contracting authority and has submitted an indicative tender that complies with the specifications. 8. Electronic auction shall mean a repetitive process involving an electronic device for the presentation of new prices, revised downwards, and/or new values concerning certain elements of tenders. It occurs after an initial full evaluation of the tenders, enabling them to be ranked using automatic evaluation methods. Consequently, certain service contracts and certain works contracts having as their subject-matter intellectual performances, such as the design of works, may not be the object of electronic auctions. 9. Electronic means shall mean using electronic equipment for the processing (including digital compression) and storage of the data transmitted and received by wire, by radio, by optical means or by other electromagnetic means. 10. (Repealed as of 15 September 2008) 11. Candidate shall be any supplier seeking an invitation to take part in a restricted or a negotiated procedure or the competitive dialogue. 12. Statement of confidentiality shall be a statement made in writing by a member or expert of the public procurement commission or any other person whereby he undertakes not to furnish information to third parties, where disclosure of such information would be contrary to the requirements of this Law or public interests or would harm the legitimate interests of the suppliers and/or contracting authority participating in the procurement procedure. 13. Competitive dialogue shall mean a procurement procedure in which any supplier may request to participate and whereby the contracting authority conducts a dialogue with the selected candidates with the view to developing one or more suitable alternatives meeting its requirements, on the basis of which the selected candidates are invited to submit tenders. 14. Pre-qualification selection shall mean a procurement procedure whereby the contracting authority selects, on the basis of the qualification criteria laid down in the contract documents, candidates eligible to be invited to participate in the further procurement procedure. 15. Small value public procurement (hereinafter referred to as small value procurement) shall mean a simplified procurement procedure where there is at least one of the following conditions: 1) the contract value net of VAT is less than LTL 100000 for supplies or services, or less than LTL 500000 for works; 2) the similar supplies, services or works shall be procured by awarding a separate contract (contracts) having the same subject-matter at the same time in the form of separate lots, if the total value of the contracts is up to 10% of the total value of the same type of contracts for simplified procurement of supplies or services and less than LTL 100000 (net of VAT), or up to 1.5% of the value of a contract for simplified procurement of works with the same subject-matter and less than LTL 500000 (net of VAT). 16. Impeccable reputation shall mean individuals other than those listed below: 1) persons convicted of a serious and grave crime, or of a crime against the economy and business practice, the financial system or the civil service and public interest, irrespective of whether the conviction has expired or has been expunged; 2) persons convicted of a premeditated crime, if the conviction has not expired or been expunged; 3) persons in breach of the requirements of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Adjustment of Public and Private Interests in the Public Service; 4) persons who abuse alcohol, narcotic, toxic or psychotropic substances; 5) persons convicted by an effective court judgement of a criminal act of a corruptive nature; 6) persons who have been imposed a penalty (except for a warning) under the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Lithuania for a violation of the public procurement procedure, and the penalty is still in effect; 7) persons in breach of the norms of the Code of Conduct for Politicians of the Republic of Lithuania; 8) persons in breach of the norms of the Code of Conduct for Civil servants of the Republic of Lithuania. 17. Declaration of impartiality shall mean a written statement given by a member or expert of the Public Procurement Commission or another person declaring his impartiality with respect to the suppliers. 18. Request shall mean the willingness as expressed by the supplier to take part in the procurement procedures. 19. Tender shall mean the totality of the documents submitted by the supplier in writing and the data submitted by electronic means or an orally made offer to supply products, provide services or perform works under the purchasing terms fixed by the contracting authority. 20. Tender security and security for the performance of the public purchase-sale contract shall mean the method of ensuring the fulfilment of an obligation laid down by the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania. 21. Contract documents shall mean the documents presented by the contracting authority to the suppliers and the data submitted by electronic means describing the objective of procurement and contract terms and conditions: a contract notice, an invitation to tender, technical specifications, descriptive documents, draft contract, other documents and clarifications (fine-tuning) of these documents. 22. Period of deferment of conclusion of a contract (hereinafter referred to as a “period of deferment”) shall mean a period of 15 days which commences from the dispatch of a notice of the award of the contract from the contracting authority to interested candidates and interested tenderers and during which the contract may not be concluded. 23. Framework agreement shall mean an agreement between one or more contracting authorities and one or more suppliers, the purpose of which is to establish the terms governing contracts to be awarded during a given period, in particular with regard to price and, where appropriate, the quantity envisaged. 24. Design contest shall mean a procurement procedure which enables the contracting authority to acquire, mainly in the fields of territorial planning, architecture and engineering or data processing, a plan or design submitted for the contest and selected by the jury. The tenderers may be awarded prizes or payments. 25. Written or in writing shall mean any expression of information consisting of words or figures which can be read, reproduced and subsequently communicated. This term shall include information which is transmitted and stored by electronic means. 26. Restricted procedure shall mean a procurement procedure in which any supplier may request to participate and whereby only those suppliers invited by the contracting authority may submit a tender. 27. Interested tenderer shall mean any tenderer, with the exception of a tenderer who has been permanently eliminated from the procurement procedure, i.e., he has been notified of rejection of his tender, and whose elimination due to the expiry of the period of limitation cannot be subject to appeal or on the validity of whose elimination a court has passed an effective judgement. 28. Interested candidate shall mean any candidate, with the exception of a candidate whom the contracting authority has notified of rejection of his tender until the dispatch of a notice of the award of the contract to interested tenderers. 29. Supplier (supplier, service provider, contractor) shall mean any economic entity that may be either a natural person, or a private legal person, or a public legal person, other organisations and divisions thereof or any group of such persons, which is able to offer or is offering supplies, services or works. 30. Public procurement of works shall mean public procurement having as its object either the execution, or both execution and design, of works related to one of the activities referred to in Appendix 1 of this Law, or the execution, by whatever means, of work corresponding to the requirements set by the contracting authority. Work shall mean the outcome of building works taken as a whole that is sufficient of itself to fulfil an economic or technical function. The objective of procurement shall be to award a public sales-purchase contract. 31. Public procurement of services shall mean public procurement having as its object A- and B-type services listed in Appendix 2 to this Law, as well as procurement having as its object supplies and the services listed in Appendix 2 of this Law, where the value of such services exceeds that of the supplies, or procurement having as its object the services listed in Appendix 2 of this Law and the works listed in Appendix 1 of this Law, where these works are incidental to the principal object of the services contract. The objective of procurement shall be to award a public sales-purchase contract. 32. Public procurement (hereinafter referred to as “procurement”) shall mean the procurement of supplies, services or works performed by the contracting authority subject to the rules set forth in this Law, the object of which shall be to award a public sales-purchase contract. 33. Public procurement of supplies shall mean public procurement having as its object the purchase, rental, leasing (financial lease) or hire purchase, with or without option to buy, of supplies, also the services of delivery, siting, installation of the supplies purchased and other services necessary for preparing the supplies for use. The objective of procurement shall be to award a public sales-purchase contract. 34. Public sales-purchase contract (hereinafter referred to as a “public contract”) shall mean a contract for pecuniary interest concluded in writing, except in the case specified in paragraph 10 of Article 18 of this Law, where a public contract may be concluded orally, between one or more suppliers and one or more contracting authorities and having as its object the supply of products, the provision of services or the execution of works. Article 3. Main Principles of Public Procurement and Compliance Therewith 1. The contracting authority shall ensure, in the course of performance of procurement procedures and award of contracts, compliance with the principle of equal treatment, the principle of non-discrimination, the principle of mutual recognition, the principle of proportionality and the principle of transparency. 2. The goal of procurement shall be to award a public contract in compliance with the requirements set in this Law allowing to acquire for the contracting authority (to perform procurement by the authorising contracting authority) or third persons the necessary supplies, services or works making a rational use of the resources allocated for this purpose. 3. Where a contracting authority grants special or exclusive rights to carry out a public service activity to an entity other than such a contracting authority, the act by which that right is granted shall provide that, in respect of the contracts which it awards to third parties for supplies necessary for the provision of public services, the entity concerned must comply with the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of nationality. 4. For the purpose of the award of contracts, the contracting authority shall apply to suppliers from other EU Member States (hereinafter referred to as the “Member States”) conditions as favourable as those which it grants to the suppliers of third countries in implementation of the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Government Procurement. Article 4. Contracting Authority 1. A contracting authority shall be: 1) any state or local authority; 2) any public or private legal person meeting the conditions set forth in paragraph 2 of this Article; 3) any association of authorities specified in subparagraph 1 and/or of public or private legal persons referred to in subparagraph 2 of this paragraph; 4) any legal persons engaged in water, energy, transport or telecommunication activity referred to in subparagraphs 2-4 of paragraph 1 of Article 70 of this Law. 2. A public or private legal person (with the exception of state or local authorities) shall be deemed to be a contracting authority, if all or part of its activities is intended for meeting the needs of general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character, and meets at least one of the following conditions: 1) the activities thereof are financed, by more than 50%, with state or municipal budget resources, or with resources of other state or municipal funds, or with the resources of other public or private legal persons specified in this paragraph; 2) it is subject to control (management) by the state or local authorities, or other public or private legal persons specified in this paragraph;   3) it has an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the state or local authorities or by the public or private legal persons specified in this paragraph. 3. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania or an institution authorised by it shall approve the lists of contracting authorities (including military units and services of the national defence system). 4. The institution which approves the lists specified in paragraph 3 of this Article must ensure that the lists are updated on a regular basis. The institution shall notify the European Commission on a regular basis of any changes in the lists. 5. A contracting authority shall be registered with the Central Portal of Public Procurement in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Central Procurement Office and shall submit the following data accumulated and stored in the Register of Legal Entities: the name, code, also its type code as a contracting authority specified according to the List of Contracting Authorities’ Type Codes approved by the Director of the Central Procurement Office. In the event of a change in the submitted data, the contracting authority shall update the appropriate data not later than within five working days from the appearance of new information. Article 5. Suppliers 1. If the candidates or participants have the right to provide a certain service, supply goods or perform works under the laws of the Member State in which they are established, they must not be rejected only on the ground that, as required under the laws of the Member State in which the contract of procurement is awarded, they must be natural or legal persons. However, in the case of public supply contracts, public service or public works contracts, legal persons may be requested to indicate in the request to participate or tender the names and professional qualifications of the staff to be responsible for the performance of the contract in question. 2. The request to participate or tender may be submitted by a group of economic entities. Where such a group is willing to submit a request to participate or a tender, the contracting authority may not demand that the group acquire a certain legal form, however, after the contracting authority makes a decision to award a public contract to the selected group, it may be required to acquire a certain legal form if this is necessary for a proper performance of the public contract. Article 6. Confidentiality 1. Without prejudice to the requirements set forth by laws, in particular those concerning the obligations relating to the publication of awarded contracts and to the information to candidates and tenderers set out in Articles 41, 74, 79 and paragraph 4 of Article 86 of this Law, the contracting authority, the Public Procurement Commission, the members or experts thereof and other persons shall not disclose to third parties information forwarded to it by suppliers which they have designated as confidential.  Such information includes, in particular, technical or trade secrets and the confidential aspects of tenders. At the request of the tenderers, the contracting authority must provide them with access to other tenderers’ tenders, with the exception of the information which the tenderers have designated as confidential. 2. The contracting authority referred to in subparagraph 4 of paragraph 1 of this Law may, in providing technical specifications to suppliers, assessing their qualification, performing pre-qualification selection of candidates and concluding contracts, set forth the requirements which would protect the confidential nature of the information provided by it. Article 7. Planning of Procurement. Commencement and Completion of Procurement 1. The contracting authority, with the exception of diplomatic missions, consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania abroad and missions of the Republic of Lithuania to international organisations, shall draw up and approve the plans of public procurement planned to be carried out during the current budget year and shall publish in the Central Portal of Public Procurement and on its website, if any, on an annual basis not later than by 15 March, and in the event of adjustment of these plans – without delay, a summary of the public procurement to be carried out during that year indicating the name, address of the contracting authority, contact data, the name and code of the subject-matter of the contract, the anticipated amount or volume (if possible), the anticipated date of commencement of procurement, manner of procurement, the duration of validity of the contract to be concluded, also shall publish in advance draft technical specifications of the procurement of large scope and relevance. The summary of public procurement and the draft technical specifications shall be published and the comments and proposals regarding these drafts shall be assessed in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Public Procurement Office. 2. The procurement shall commence upon receipt by the Public Procurement Office of a notice of procurement submitted by the contracting authority, or a prior call for competition submitted by the contracting authority operating in the water, energy, transport or postal services sectors; in negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice – upon sending invitations to tender to the candidate (candidates); in case of the procurement governed by Chapter IV of this Law – when the contracting authority approaches a supplier (suppliers) requesting to submit a tender (tenders). 3. Procurement (or procurement of a lot) shall be completed: 1) upon conclusion of a contract (framework agreement) or selection of the winner in the design contest; 2) when all requests to participate or tenders are rejected; 3) when procurement procedures are terminated; 4) when no requests to participate or tenders are filed within the specified time limit; 5) the tender validity period expires and the contract is not concluded due to the reasons that are beyond the suppliers’ control; 6) all suppliers withdraw their tenders or refuse to conclude the public contract. 4. Having received the consent of the Public Procurement Office, the contracting authority may at any time before the award of the contract terminate the procurement procedure should unforeseen circumstances arise. The consent of the Public Procurement Office shall not required in the event of termination of the procurement procedures governed by Chapter IV of this Law. Article 8. Public Procurement Office 1. The Public Procurement Office shall be a body operating under the Ministry of Economy which implements the public procurement policy and supervises compliance with this Law and the implementing legislation, is governed by this Law and other laws, legal acts and international commitments of the Republic of Lithuania and its own regulations and is financed from the state budget. The Public Procurement Office shall be a public legal entity having its bank account and a seal with the Lithuanian state emblem and its name inscribed therein. The regulations of the Public Procurement Office shall be subject to approval by the Ministry of Economy. The Director of the Public Procurement Office shall be recruited and dismissed by the Minister of Economy in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Civil Service. 2. The Public Procurement Office shall fulfil the following functions: 1) within the limits of its competence, draft and/or adopt legal acts regulating procurement; 2) carry out prevention of violations of this Law and related secondary legal acts, control compliance of contracting authorities with the requirements of these legal acts and the terms and conditions of the awarded public contracts in procuring the required supplies, services or works and ensure appropriate planning of procurement, performance of public contracts, also assess the results of performance of the public contracts; 3) examine administrative cases within the limits of its competence; 4) provide methodological assistance, draw up the recommendations necessary for implementing the Law on Public Procurement, lay down guidelines; 5) collect, store and analyse information about public procurement, whether intended or in process, as well as about the awarded public contracts and the contract performance results, also establish violations of the public procurement procedure, the character of the violations and the related decisions and penalties. Provide such information, except for confidential information, to state and municipal institutions and agencies and publish it; 6) analyse and assess the procurement system and draw up proposals for its improvement; 7) organise the training of the contracting authorities’ civil servants or employees responsible for procurement and train the said persons; 8) offer consultations to contracting authorities and suppliers or make arrangements for their consulting on issues of procurement; 9) when deciding on the issues of procurement, maintain contacts with the relevant foreign institutions and international organisations; 10) approve the forms of simplified procurement notices and specify the requirements for submitting the notices; 11) approve the methods of calculating the contract value; 12) approve the forms of procurement reports and set forth requirements for submitting the reports; 13) prepare and submit to the European Commission, within the time limits and in the form set by the Commission, annual statistics on procurement of supplies, services and works as well as any other information that may be requested; 14) forward the notices of contracting authorities to the Office of Official Publications of the European Union for publication as well as ensure publication of other notices and information submitted by the contracting authorities; 15) present to the European Commission the information specified in Article 97 of this Law about a violation of EU law; 16) present to the European Commission the information specified in paragraph 5 of Article 951 of this Law about decisions taken by court; 17) administer the Central Portal of Public Procurement; 18) (Repealed as of 2 March 2010); 19) functions prescribed by other legal acts. 3. Rights of the Public Procurement Office: 1) to independently select the contracting authorities subject to inspection, the manner of inspecting, its scope and time; 2) to obtain from the contracting authority the information relating to procurement or performance of a public contract and the documents required for performance of the functions of the Public Procurement Office, also to temporarily, for a period not exceeding 30 days, seize from the contracting authority the original copies of these documents under a statement of the seizure of the documents; 3) where there is a ground for believing that the documents relating to procurement or performance of the contract have been forged, to hand the originals of these documents over to law enforcement institutions; 4) to be provided by the contracting authority, the Public Procurement Commission or its members as well as experts taking part in procurement procedures with clarifications of procurement-related actions and decisions; 5) to present contract documents and tenders submitted by suppliers for additional expert examination; 6) if suspecting violations of this Law and other legal acts relating to implementation thereof or acting in compliance with the principles of fairness and reasonableness, to place the contracting authority under the obligation to suspend procurement procedures until the Public Procurement Office evaluates the documents and decisions of the contracting authority, and in the event of establishing these violations – to place the contracting authority under the obligation to terminate the procurement procedures, amend or annul the unlawful decisions or actions; 7) in the cases specified by this Law, to issue consent for the contracting authority to terminate procurement procedures or amend the terms of the contract; 8) to take an administrative action in the manner prescribed by laws of the Republic of Lithuania against the persons who violate this Law; 9) upon establishment of violations of this Law or possible violations of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Competition, possible manifestations of corruption, to forward the material for further investigation to law enforcement institutions or to the Competition Council of the Republic of Lithuania; 10) upon establishment of violations of this Law and other legal acts relating to implementation thereof and in defence of the public interest, to refer to court for nullification of the contract and/or imposition of alternative sanctions. 4. The Public Procurement Office shall be independent and impartial in its decision-making. The Public Procurement Office shall be held liable for the unlawful decisions it takes. Article 9. Calculation of the Value of the Intended Procurement 1. The value of the intended procurement shall be the value of the public contracts intended to be awarded by the contracting authority calculated on the basis of the total amount payable, net of VAT, including any form of option and any renewals of the contract. Where the contracting authority provides for prizes and/or other payments to candidates or tenderers, it must take them into account when calculating the value of the intended procurement. The value of procurement shall be calculated at the beginning of the procurement procedure referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 7 of this Law. 2. The contracting authority may not split up the procurement with the intention of avoiding the application of the procurement procedure set forth in this Law. 3. The choice of method used to calculate the value of procurement may not be made with the intention of avoiding the provisions of this Law on the choice of methods of procurement and carrying out of procurement procedures. 4. The value of the intended procurement of supplies, services or works shall be calculated according to the methods of calculating the value of procurement approved by the Public Procurement Office. 5. In the event that a public supply or service contract is awarded once in the current financial year or within 12 months from the commencement of procurement without the intention to extend it, the value of the procurement shall be the value of the contract intended to award. 6. Where supply or service contracts are regular in nature (i.e., several contracts within 12 months) or are to be renewed within a given period, the value of the intended procurement shall be calculated in one of the following ways: 1) the value of the intended procurement shall be the actual value of the supplies or services contracts of the same type awarded during the preceding financial year or the preceding 12 months adjusted, if possible, to take account of the changes in quantity or value which would occur in the course of the 12 months following the initial contract; 2) the contract value of the intended procurement is the total estimated value of the supplies or services contracts of the same type awarded during the 12 months following the first delivery, or during the contract period if that is longer than 12 months. 7. Where procurement involves procurement of supplies and services, the value of the intended procurement shall be the aggregate value of the supplies and services irrespective of their share of the contract. The estimated value shall also include the value of siting and installation of the supplies. 8. The value of supplies or services which are not necessary for the performance of a particular works contract may not be added to the value of the works contract when to do so would result in avoiding the application of the law to the procurement of supplies or services of a certain value. 9. Where the intended public contract provides for a possibility of extension of the public contract, the basis for calculating the contract value shall be the largest amounts of the supplies or services to be purchased under the contract, including the amounts to be purchased upon extension of the public contract. 10. In the case of contracts for the rental, leasing (financial lease) or hire purchase of supplies, the contract value shall be calculated as follows: 1) in the case of fixed-term public contracts, if that term is less than or equal to 12 months, the total value of the intended contract or, if the term of the contract is greater than 12 months, the total value of the intended contract, including the estimated residual value (value at which the goods are bought); 2) in the case of public contracts without a fixed term or the term of which cannot be defined, the monthly value of the public contract shall be multiplied by 48. 11. For the purposes of calculating the value of the intended procurement of services, the contracting authority shall take account of the following: 1) in the case of procurement of insurance services: the premium payable or any other remuneration payable to the insurer; 2) in the case of procurement of banking or other financial services: the fees, commissions and interest and other forms of remuneration payable for the services; 3) in the case of awarding of the services contract to the winner of the design contest: the estimated value of the services to be procured, including all prizes and/or other payments to tenderers; 4) in the case of awarding of the services contract to the winner of the design contest, where the winners or tenderers are awarded prizes or other payments: the total value of such prizes or other payments, including the estimated value of the services contract which may be awarded by negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice according to paragraph 3 of Article 56 of this Law, except in the cases when the contracting authority indicates in the contract notice that such a public contract will not be awarded. 12. In the case of the intended services contracts which do not indicate a total price (i.e., specifying only pricing rules), the value of procurement shall be calculated on the basis of: 1) in the case of fixed-term contracts, if that term is equal to or less than 48 months, the total value of the intended public contract; 2) in the case of contracts without a fixed term or with a term of the intended public contract of more than 48 months, the monthly value of the intended public contract shall be multiplied by 48. 13. When calculating the value of procurement of works, account shall be taken of the estimated value of both the execution of the works and design (where the works are both executed and designed), and the supplies necessary for executing the works and placed at the contractor’s disposal by the contracting authority. 14. Where the works being executed have the same object or similar services are purchased over the financial year or within 12 months from commencement of procurement or services are procured by awarding several public contracts in the form of separate lots, the value of the procurement shall be the total estimated value of all such lots calculated in compliance with the provisions of this Article. The value of procurement so calculated shall apply to all lots. Whether or not the value of procurement is not less than the applicable international threshold, the contracting authority may apply the provisions of the procedure laid down in Chapter IV of this Law to any lots, where the value of any of the lots, net of VAT, is less than LTL 276224 (EUR 80000) for services or similar supplies, or LTL 3452800 (EUR 1000000) for works, provided that the aggregate value of those lots does not exceed 20% of the aggregate value of the lots as a whole. 15. With regard to framework agreements or dynamic purchasing systems, the value of procurement shall be determined taking into consideration the maximum estimated value net of VAT of all the contracts envisaged for the term of the framework agreement or the dynamic purchasing system. Article 10. Exclusion from the Scope of this Law 1. This Law shall not apply to: Version of subparagraph 1 before 21 August 2011: 1) the contracts related to a state secret or an official secret as defined by laws, where supply of products or services or performance of works shall be accompanied by special security measures in accordance with the laws or legal acts adopted by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania or when the protection of the basic interests of state security or the classified information of foreign states, the EU or international organisations that has been transmitted to the Republic of Lithuania so requires. The procedure for awarding contracts of the type shall be set by the Government of Lithuania pursuant to the basic provisions of this and other Laws, the international treaties of the Republic of Lithuania and the underlying and implementing decisions of international organisations, the basic provisions of the EU legal acts which ensure protection of state or official secrets as well as other interests of the state; Version of subparagraph 1 after 21 August 2011: 1) the contracts which must be subject to special requirements for protection of information as specified by laws of the Republic of Lithuania or legal acts of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; 2) the contracts awarded pursuant to other procedural rules and under an international agreement concluded in conformity with the principles stipulated by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union between the Republic of Lithuania and one or more third countries covering supplies, works, services intended for the implementation or exploitation of a joint project of the signatory States, where the contracting authority communicates such a contract to the Commission of the European Communities; 3) the contracts awarded according to procedural rules set by another Member State the application of which has been agreed in the contract concluded by the contracting authority and the authority of the said state and covering supplies, services or works intended for the implementation or exploitation of a joint project by the signatory States; Version of subparagraph 4 before 21 August 2011: 4) the contracts relating to the stationing of military elements of the Lithuanian Army units in foreign states under an international agreement. The procedure for such procurement shall be laid down by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; Version of subparagraph 4 after 21 August 2011: 4) the contracts relating to the stationing of military elements of the Lithuanian Army units in foreign states under an international agreement; 5) the contracts awarded pursuant to the particular procedure of international organisations; 6) procurement or rental of land, existing buildings or other immovable property or acquisition of the title thereto, by whatever financial means; however, financial service contracts concluded at the same time as, before or after the contract of acquisition and rental shall be subject to the requirements this Law. The procedure of procurement or rental of land, existing buildings or other immovable property or acquisition of the title thereto shall be established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; 7) the procurement the principal purpose of which is to provide the contracting authorities with a possibility to provide and operate public electronic communications networks or to provide to the public one or more electronic communications services. As used in this subparagraph, the terms ‘public communications network’ and ‘electronic communications service’ and the relating terms ‘network termination point’ and ‘public electronic communications service’ shall have the meaning indicated in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Electronic Communications; Version of subparagraph 8 before 21 August 2011: 8) the contracts awarded pursuant to Article 346 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The procedure of such procurement, also the procedures of compensation in purchasing of arms, munitions, explosives or other military supplies shall be laid down by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. Version of subparagraph 8 after 21 August 2011: 8) the contracts subject to the Law on Public Procurement in the Fields of Defence and Security and not subject to the Law on Public Procurement in the Fields of Defence and Security pursuant to provisions of Article 3 thereof. 2. In the case of procurement of services, this Law shall not apply to: 1) employment contracts; 2) financial services contracts in connection with money, exchange rate, state debt management, treasury agent, foreign stock management transactions or other policies in connection with transactions in securities or other financial instruments; 3) contracts for the services provided by the Bank of Lithuania; 4) contracts for the financial services provided by international financial institutions; 5) contracts for services of arbitration and conciliation; 6) contracts for the production of radio and television programmes, the services of their development, contracts for broadcasting time of the already developed programme material and radio and television programmes, where the procurement is performed by the broadcaster conforming to the requirements set forth by the contracting authority specified in subparagraphs 1, 2 or 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 4 of this Law. The concept ‘broadcaster’ as used in this Law shall be understood as it has been defined in the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Provision of Information to the Public. The procedure for such procurement shall be laid down by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; 7) contracts for research and development services other than those research and development services where the benefits accrue exclusively to the contracting authority for its use in the conduct of its own affairs and which are wholly remunerated by the contracting authority. The procedure for such procurement shall be established by the Government or an institution authorised by it; 8) the public service contracts awarded by the contracting authority to another contracting authority or to an association of contracting authorities on the basis of an exclusive right which they enjoy pursuant to an appropriate legal act which is compatible with the Founding Treaties of the European Union. 3. The requirements of this Law shall not apply to the following contracts awarded by the contracting authorities operating in the water, energy, transport or postal services sectors: 1) contracts awarded for the purposes other than those referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 70 of this Law or for the activities which are carried out in a third country and do not involve the physical use of networks or geographical area of the European Union. This provision shall not apply to any contracting authorities operating in the water, energy, transport or postal services sectors and complying with the requirements set forth in subparagraphs 1, 2 or 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 4 of this Law; 2) the contracts awarded for the purpose of resale or lease of the procurement object to third parties provided the contracting authority has no special or exclusive rights to resell or lease objects of such contracts, and other economic entities are free to resell or lease the procurement object under the same terms and conditions as the contracting authority; 3) (Repealed as of 1 September 2009); 4) (Repealed as of 1 September 2009); 5) the contracts which the contracting authorities engaged in the water management sector award for the purchase of water required for production, distribution or supply of drinking water; 6) the contracts which the contracting authorities engaged in the energy sector award for the purchase of energy or of fuels for the production of energy. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania shall lay down the procedure for such procurement, and the implementation and control of application thereof shall be ensured by an institution authorised by the Government; 7) the contracts awarded by the undertaking providing bus services to the public if the services provided are excluded from the scope of this Law as specified in subparagraph 4 of paragraph 2 of Article 70 of this Law;   8) the contracts awarded by the undertaking engaged in the water, energy, transport or postal services sectors, provided the European Commission publishes a notice in the Official Journal of the European Communities to the effect that the activity of the undertaking is directly effected by competition in the markets and entry of the markets is not precluded by any restrictions as specified in Article 71 of this Law. 4. (Repealed as of 1 September 2009) 5. The requirements of this Law shall not apply to procurement where the contracting authority awards a contract to an entity holding a separate status of a legal person which it controls as its own service or structural division and in which it is the sole member (or exercises the rights and duties of the state or a municipality as the sole member) and where the controlled entity derives at least 90% of the turnover over the past financial year (or within a time period from the establishment of the entity where the entity has carried out its activities for a period shorter than the financial year) from the activities intended to meet the needs of the contracting authority or to perform the functions of the contracting authority. With a view to ensuring control of such procurement, the contracting authority shall, when approving the plans of public procurement planned to be carried out during the current budget year as referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 7 of this Law, provide therein information on the procurement referred to in this paragraph and planned to be carried out and shall, within 30 days after the close of the reporting calendar year, submit to the Public Procurement Office in accordance with the procedure laid down by it reports on all the procurement procedures referred to in this paragraph and carried out during the calendar year. 6. The contracting authority must, at the request of the European Commission, notify it of any activity or product categories subject to provisions of subparagraphs 1 and 2 of paragraph 3 of this Article.   Article 11. International Threshold Values 1. International threshold values shall be public procurement threshold values established by Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors and by Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of public works contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts, adjusted by the European Commission and published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The international threshold values shall be exclusive of value-added tax (VAT). The contracting authority shall comply with international threshold values when performing procurement of supplies, services or works. 2. International threshold values and information on the adjusted international threshold values shall be published by the Public Procurement Office in the in the supplement Informaciniai pranešimai to the official gazette Valstybės žinios and in the Central Portal of Public Procurement. Version of paragraph 2 after 1 January 2012: 2. International threshold values and information on the adjusted international threshold values shall be published by the Public Procurement Office in the Central Portal of Public Procurement. Article 12. Peculiarities of Procurement 1. The peculiarities of the public contracts other than those referred to in paragraphs 2 and 9 of this Article, the value whereof is equal to or greater than international thresholds, shall be specified in Chapter II of this Law. 2. Contracts of the value equal to or greater than international thresholds awarded by the contracting authorities operating in the water, energy, transport or postal services sectors shall be subject to the provisions in Chapter III of this Law as well as the provisions of Chapters I and II of this Law to the extent they are not contrary to the provisions of Chapter III. A contract intended to cover several activities referred to in paragraph 2 of Article 70 of this Law shall be subject to the requirements of this Law applicable to the activity for which it is principally intended. 3. Where the contracting authority subsidises directly more than 50% of the value of works of the entire object referred to in the group of civil engineering structures in Appendix I of this Law, and the value of building work for hospitals, facilities intended for sports, recreation and leisure, school and university buildings and buildings used for administrative purposes, all the works necessary for the object concerned must be procured in compliance with this Law irrespective of whether that contract is awarded by one or more subsidised economic entities or the contracting authority itself awards that contract for or on behalf of those economic entities. The requirement shall apply regardless of the value of the contract. 4. Where the contracting authority subsidises directly more than 50% of the value of an individual contract for the services that are procured in relation to the works contracts referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article, all such services must be procured in compliance with this Law regardless of whether the contract is awarded by one or several subsidised economic entities or the contracting authority itself for the benefit or on behalf of the economic entities. The requirement shall apply regardless of the value of the contract. 5. Where the procurement can also be subject to the provisions of Chapter II and Chapter III of this Law, whereas the subject-matter of the contract cannot be divided, then such procurement shall be subject to the provisions of either Chapter II or Chapter III of this Law, depending on the principal sphere of application of the subject-matter of the contract. The contracting authority must comply with the above requirement irrespective of whether one or several public contracts are awarded. However, the choice of one or several public contracts may not be determined by the intention to avoid the application of the procurement procedure laid down by this Law. 6. Where the procurement can be subject to the provisions of Chapters II and III of this Law, while it is not possible to determine, in an objective manner, which is the principal sphere of application of the subject-matter of the contract, the procurement shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter II of this Law. 7. Where any lot of the procurement is subject to the provisions of Chapter III of this Law, while it is not possible to determine, in an objective manner, the application of the provisions of which Chapter II or III of this Law, the procurement shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter III of this Law. 8. The peculiarities of public contracts the value whereof is below the established international threshold values, as well as the public contracts referred to in paragraph 14 of Article 9 of this Law shall be specified in Chapter IV of this Law. 9. The peculiarities of public contracts for the procurement of B-type services listed in Appendix 2 of this Law shall be specified in Chapter IV of this Law. 10. Where B-type services listed in Appendix 2 of this Law are procured together with A-type services listed in Appendix 2 of this Law, and the value of such services exceeds the value of B-type services, the procurement procedure shall be chosen based on the provisions of paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of this Article, in other cases – the provisions of paragraphs 8 and 9 of this Article. 11. Contracts whereby a concession is granted to the supplier shall be subject to the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Concessions. Article 13. Reserved Contracts The contracting authority may, in contract documents, set terms providing for such contracts to be executed exclusively by social enterprises of the disabled or specify that execution of such contracts shall be restricted to the framework of protected job programmes where most of the employees are disabled persons. The contract documents, including a contract notice, must contain a reference to such contracts and the requirement to provide evidence that the supplier’s undertaking complies with the requirements of this Article (a document issued by the competent authority or a statement approved by the supplier shall be presented). Article 14. Authorising Another Contracting Authority to Award a Public Contract 1. The contracting authority may authorise another contracting authority (hereinafter referred to as the “authorised entity”) to organise and carry out the procurement procedures until the award of the contract. For this purpose, the contracting authority must formulate tasks for the authorised entity and grant all the powers necessary to carry out these tasks. The authorisation shall be executed following the procedure set forth in the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania. 2. The responsibility for the tasks assigned by the contracting authority to the authorised entity shall rest with the contracting authority, while the authorised entity shall be responsible for the execution of the tasks. The contracting authority shall be responsible for the conclusion and implementation of the public contract. Article 15. Centralised Purchasing 1. The contracting authority may also acquire supplies, services or works from or through a central purchasing body. 2. The contracting authority which purchases supplies, services or works from or through a central purchasing body shall be deemed to have complied with the requirements of this Law insofar as the central purchasing body has complied with it. 3. A decision concerning the establishment of central purchasing bodies, their legal form or the granting to the purchasing body of the right to perform the functions of the central purchasing body shall be taken by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania or an institution authorised by it and a municipal council. Article 151. Performance of Procurement by the Instruments Available of the Central Portal of Public Procurement The contracting authority, with the exception of diplomatic missions, consular posts of the Republic of Lithuania abroad and missions of the Republic of Lithuania to international organisations, must ensure that the procurement of supplies, services and works conducted by the instruments available to the Central Portal of Public Procurement (when in the case of awarding a contract, a contract notice (in the case of the negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice – an invitation to tender), other contract documents are submitted and the suppliers’ tenders are accepted by electronic means) constitutes in each calendar year at least 50% of the total value of the public procurement conducted by the contracting authority. Article 16. Public Procurement Commission 1. For the purpose of organisation and execution of procurement, the contracting authority must (in the case of small value procurement – may) form the Public Procurement Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “Commission”), set its tasks and grant it all the powers required for the performance of these tasks. Where the contracting authority authorises another contracting authority to organise and execute procurement for it, these acts shall be performed by the authorised entity. The Commission shall work according to the rules of procedure approved by the body which has formed the Commission, shall be accountable to it, and shall perform only the tasks and obligations imposed by the body in writing. The body which has formed the Commission shall be held liable for the actions of the Commission. 2. The Commission shall be formed on the instruction (by order) of the contracting authority or an authorised body of at least three natural persons. These persons may also be other than employees of the body forming the Commission. The head of the body which has formed the Commission or the employee or the employee of this body or of a body subordinate to it authorised by him shall be appointed Chairperson of the Commission. When appointing the Chairperson and members of the Commission, regard must be had to their knowledge in the area of economics, technology, and legislation as well as understanding of this Law and other legal acts regulating public procurement. Only persons of good repute may be the Chairperson and members of the Commission. The entity which forms the Commission shall have the right to invite experts for giving consultations on the issue requiring special knowledge or for evaluating the matter. The meetings of and the decisions adopted by the Commission shall be valid if attended by over a half of all the members of the Commission. 3. The Commission shall function on behalf of the body which has formed it within the scope of the powers granted to it. The Commission shall function from the day of adoption of a decision on its formation until completion of all the tasks given by the body which has formed it in writing, or until adoption of a decision on termination of the procurement. The Commission shall adopt decisions at a meeting by a simple majority vote in open individual voting. In the event of a tie, the Chairperson of the Commission shall have a casting vote. The Commission’s decisions shall be recorded in minutes. The minutes shall specify the reasons of the Commission’s decision, give explanations and the separate opinion of each member of the Commission. The minutes shall be signed by all the members present at the Commission’s meeting. 4. Except in the cases prescribed by the legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania, the members of the Commission and the experts invited by the body which has formed the Commission shall be prohibited from providing third parties with any information concerning the content of the tenders submitted by suppliers. 5. Each member and expert of the Commission may take part in the work of the Commission only upon signing a declaration of impartiality and a pledge of confidentiality. 6. A member and an expert of the Commission shall be held liable for their acts under laws of the Republic of Lithuania. Article 17. Communication and Exchange of Information 1. Communication and information exchange between the contracting authority and suppliers may be by post or by courier, by fax, by electronic means in accordance with provisions of paragraphs 4-6 of this Article, by telephone under the circumstances referred to in paragraph 8, or by a combination of those means, according to the choice of the contracting authority. 2. Communication and information exchange shall be carried out in such a way as to ensure that the integrity of data and the confidentiality of tenders. It is also imperative to ensure that the contracting authority examines the content of tenders (a design contest’s jury – a plan and design) only after the expiration of the time limit for their submission. 3. The means of communication chosen must be generally available and thus not restrict the suppliers’ access to the procurement procedures. 4. The tools to be used for communicating by electronic means. as well as their technical characteristics must be non-discriminatory, generally available and interoperable with the information and communication technology products in general use. 5. The following rules shall be applicable to devices for the electronic transmission and re …