Main provisions of the Draft Law

Main provisions of the Draft Law official translation LAW ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT 13 August 1996, No. I-1491 Revised version of the Law as of 3 December 2002 No. IX-1217 (as amended by 16 December 2003 No. IX-1894) Vilnius Article 1. Revised Version of the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Public Procurement The Law on Public Procurement of the Republic of Lithuania shall be amended and set forth to read as follows: "LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT CHAPTER I GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1. Scope of the Law 1. This Law establishes the procedure of public procurement, the rights, obligations and responsibility of participants in the procurement procedures, as well as the procedure for the control of public procurement and settling of disputes. 2. The provisions of the Law have been harmonised with the EU legal  acts referred to in the annex to the Law. Article 2. Definitions 1. “Open procedure (simplified open procedure)” means the procedure when any interested supplier may submit a tender. 2. “Tenderer” is a supplier that submitted a tender. 3. “Electronic means” means wire, fax or other telecommunication terminal equipment designed for data transmission. 4. “Usual commercial practice” means a practice when the contracting authority procures supplies, services or works following the procurement rules laid down by it and the public procurement principles set forth in this Law from a supplier that offers the lowest price or gives the most economically advantageous proposal. 5. “Candidate” is any supplier seeking an invitation to take part in a restricted or a negotiated procedure. 6. “Statement of confidentiality” is a statement made in writing by a member or expert of the public procurement commission or any other person whereby such member or expert or other person 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 contracting authority participating in the procurement procedure. 7. “Pre-qualification selection” means 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 submit their tenders. 8. “Impeccable reputation”  means individuals other than those listed below: 1) persons who were convicted of a serious offence or an offence against the civil service, or of economic or financial offences, irrespective of whether the conviction has expired or not; 2) persons who were convicted of a deliberate offence, if the conviction has not expired; 3) persons who violated 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 corruption offence; 6) persons who have been convicted under the Code of Administrative Violations of Law for the violation of public procurement procedure. 9. “Negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice (simplified negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice)” means the procedure in which the contracting authority negotiates the contract terms and conditions with one or several invited suppliers. 10. “Declaration of impartiality” means a written statement given by a member or expert of the public procurement commission declaring his impartiality with respect to the suppliers. 11. “Request” means a document whereby the supplier expresses his willingness to take part in the procurement procedures. 12. “Tender” means a document submitted by the supplier offering to supply products, provide services or perform works under the terms fixed by the contracting authority. 13. “Tender security and security for the performance of the public procurement contract” means the method of ensuring the fulfilment of an obligation laid down by the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania. 14. “Contract documents” means documents describing the objective of procurement and contract terms and conditions that are published or presented by the contracting authority to the suppliers; these documents include a contract notice, an invitation to tender, technical specifications, draft contract and other documents and explanations to these documents. 15. “Design contest (simplified design contest)” means the procurement procedures which enable the jury to select a supplier/suppliers who submitted the best plan or design (usually for area planning, building planning, architecture and engineering or data processing), with or without the award of a prize, a bonus or other award, and then invite such supplier to participate in the procurement procedures. 16. “In writing” means any expression in a form of writing. It includes information that is transmitted and stored by electronic means, provided the security of the contents is ensured and the signature is identifiable. 17. “Restricted procedure (simplified restricted procedure)” means the procedure in which tenders may be submitted only by those suppliers who were invited by the contracting authority. 18. “Negotiated procedure with publication of a contract notice (simplified negotiated procedure with publication of a contract notice)” means the procedure in which all suppliers may submit a request to participate, and the contracting authority negotiates the terms of contract with all or only with the selected suppliers. 19. “Technical specification” means contract documents containing technical requirements to be met by the goods, services or works offered by the suppliers. 20. “Supplier (supplier, service provider, contractor)” is any economic entity who may be either a natural person, or a private legal person, or a public legal person or any group of such persons which is able to offer or is offering goods, services or works. 21. “Public procurement of works ” means 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 Annex I of this Law, or the execution, by whatever means, of work corresponding to the requirements specified by the contracting authority. Work means the outcome of building or civil engineering, works taken as a whole that is sufficient of itself to fulfil an economic and technical function. The objective of procurement is to award a public sales-purchase contract. 22. “Public procurement of services” means public procurement having as its object A- and B-type services listed in Annex II to this Law, as well as procurement having as its object the supplies and services listed in Annex II of this Law, where the value of such services exceeds that of supplies, or procurement having as its object services listed in Annex II of this Law and works listed in Annex I of this Law, where these works are incidental to the principal object of the services contract. The objective of procurement is to award a public sales-purchase contract. 23. “Public procurement” (hereinafter referred to as “procurement”) means the procurement of supplies, services or works performed by the contracting authorities subject to the rules set forth in this Law. The objective of procurement is to award a public sales-purchase contract. 24. “Public procurement of supplies” means public procurement contracts involving the purchase, lease, rental or hire purchase, with or without option to buy, of supplies (raw material, products, equipment buildings and other items of any form), including siting and installation or other services necessary for preparing the supplies (products) for use. The objective of procurement is to award a public sales-purchase contract. 25. “Public sales-purchase contract” (hereinafter referred to as “public contract”) means contracts  for pecuniary interest concluded in writing between one or more suppliers and one contracting authority and having as their objects supplies of products, execution of works or provision of services. Article 3. 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 subparagraphs 2 of this paragraph;  4) any legal persons engaged in water, energy, transport or telecommunication activity, referred to in  Article 55(1) of this Law. 2. A public of 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 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, for more than 50 %, with state or municipal budget resources, or with other resources from state or municipal monetary funds, or with the resources of other public or private legal persons specified in this paragraph; 2) it is subject to management (supervision) by the state or local authorities, or other public or private legal persons  specified in  this paragraph; 3) it has an administrative, management or supervisory body, more than half of whose members are appointed by the state or local authorities or by public or private legal persons specified in this paragraph. 3. The Government of the Republic of Lithuania or an institution authorised by it must 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 hereof must ensure that the lists are updated on a regular basis.   Article 4. Main Principles of  Public Procurement and Compliance with them 1. Contracting authorities shall take all necessary steps to ensure compliance with the principles of equality of treatment, non-discrimination and  transparency. 2. The main goal of the procurement is to acquire supplies, services or works necessary for the contracting authority by following the principles referred to in paragraph 1 above, and making a rational and economic use of the resources allocated for this purpose. 3. Where a contracting authority grants special or exclusive rights to provide public services to another  body, which is not the contracting authority, the instrument granting these rights shall stipulate that the body in question must abide by the principles established in paragraph 1 of this Article when awarding contracts for supplies necessary for the provision of public services. Article 5. Confidentiality 1. Except in the cases provided for in the laws, the contracting authority and suppliers may not disclose any information the confidential nature whereof has been indicated by the contracting authority or supplier. 2. The contracting authority, members of the Public Procurement Commission, experts or other persons may not disclose any information in relation to the completed procurement procedures, where disclosure of such information would be contrary to the laws, would harm the legitimate commercial interests of the parties or prejudice fair competition. Article 6. Commencement  and Completion of the Procurement 1. 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 and telecommunications sectors; in negotiated or simplified negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice - upon sending invitations to tender to the candidate (candidates); or, in case of procurement following the usual commercial practice - when the contracting authority approaches a supplier (suppliers) requesting to offer prices and conditions for the purchase of supplies, services or works. 2. The procurement shall be completed: 1) upon conclusion of the contract (preliminary agreement) or selection of the winner in the design contest, who is not invited to participate in the further procurement procedure; 2) when all tenders are rejected; 3) when procurement procedures are terminated; 4) when no tenders or requests to participate are filed within the specified time limits; 5) the tender validity period expires and the contract is not concluded due to the reasons that are beyond the suppliers' control. 3. At any time before the award of the contract, upon receipt of the consent from the Public Procurement Office, the contracting authority shall have the right to terminate the simplified procurement procedures should the circumstances arise that could not have been predicted in advance (supplies, services or works are no longer needed, or there are no funds to pay for them). The consent of the Public Procurement Commission shall not be needed for terminating procurement procedures carried out  following the usual commercial practice. In cases where the value of such contract exceeds the thresholds specified in Article 10 of this Law, the contracting authority shall notify the Public Procurement Office of the termination of procurement procedure and request publication of a notice of termination in the Official Journal of the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities and in the supplement “Informaciniai praneðimai" (Information notices) to the official gazette “Valstybės žinios”. Article 7. Public Procurement Office 1. Public Procurement Office is an institution operating under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, which co-ordinates the activities of procurement, supervises compliance of procurement activities with this Law and the implementing  legislation, is governed by this and other laws, legal acts and international obligations of the Republic of Lithuania and its own regulations and is financed from the State Budget. Regulations of the Public Procurement Office shall be subject to approval by the Government. 2. Public Procurement Office shall fulfil the following functions: 1) draft and submit to the Government for approval public procurement legislation; 2) draft and adopt, within the scope of its competence, public procurement legislation; 3) supervise the compliance during public procurement procedures with the Law on Public Procurement and the requirements of related implementing legislation, carry out measures to prevent violations of the above laws; 4) approve the methodology of drawing up technical requirements of contract documents; 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, and communicate such information to the state or local authorities and the general public; 6) analyse and assess the procurement system and draw up proposals for its improvement; 7) organise the training of the contracting authorities’ public 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 the issues of procurement, maintain contacts with the relevant foreign institutions and international organisations; 10) specify the mandatory requirements for notices (pre-information notices, contract notices, invitations to tender, contract award  notices, contract performance results and other procurement notices); 11) approve the methods of calculating the estimated contract value; 12) approve the methods of determining pricing rules; 13) approve standard forms of procurement reports; 14) prepare and submit to the EU 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; 15) forward the notices of the contracting authority for publication in the Official Journal, as well as ensure publication of the notices and other relevant information submitted by the contracting authorities; 16) notify the EU Commission of the public contracts referred to in Article 9 (4) and Article 34 (4) of this Law; 17) file with the EU Commission a request for reconciliation referred to in Article 105 of this Law; 18) engage in other activities prescribed by legislation. 3. Rights of the Public Procurement Office: 1) to be provided by the contracting authority with information relating to procurement; 2) to be provided by the contracting authority, Public Procurement Commission or its members as well as experts taking part in procurement procedures explications of procurement-related actions or decisions; 3) to present contract documents and tenders submitted by suppliers for additional expert examination; 4) upon ascertaining violations of law, to obligate the contracting authority to suspend or terminate procurement procedures, revoke or change the decisions or actions which are not in conformity with the requirements of this Law; 5) in the cases provided for in this Law to give consent to the contracting authority to reject all tenders, terminate procurement procedures as well as, upon the receipt of the supplier's  claim, make a decision not to suspend procurement procedures; 6) to take an administrative action in the manner prescribed by law against the persons who violate this Law. Article 8. Calculating the Value of Contracts 1. The value of public supply contracts shall be estimated at the beginning of the procurement procedure referred to in Article 6 (1) of this Law. 2. Contracting authorities may not split up the value of the contract with the intention of avoiding the application of the procurement procedure set forth in this Law. The contract maybe split up only if all parts of the contract so split will be subject to the same procurement procedure as chosen for the whole contract according to the provisions of this Law. 3. The choice of the method for calculating a contract may not be done with the intention of excluding them from the scope of this Law. 4. The value of public contracts for supplies or services  shall be calculated by applying the methods of calculating the contract value of supplies or services approved by the Public Procurement Office, and in case of works account shall be taken of all works necessary to complete the object concerned. 5. In the event the public supplies or services contract is awarded once in the current fiscal year or within 12 months from the start of the procurement without the possibility of extension, then the value of the procurement shall be the estimated value of the contract intended to award. 6. In the case of supply or service contracts which are regular in nature (i.e., several contracts within 12 months) or which are to be renewed within a given period, the contract value shall be calculated in one of the following ways: 1) the contract value shall be the actual value of similar procurement contracts defined in the methods for calculating the value of  procurement contracts for supplies or services, approved by the Public Procurement Office, and awarded during the preceding fiscal 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) or the estimated aggregate value of the similar procurement contracts defined in the methods for calculating the value of  procurement contracts for supplies or services, approved by the Public Procurement Office, awarded during the 12 months following the first delivery, or during the contract period if that is longer than 12 months. 7. Where a proposed supply contract provides for a possibility of extension (option), the basis for calculating the estimated contract value shall be the highest possible total of the purchase, inclusive of the option clauses. 8. In the case of contracts for the lease, rental or hire purchase, with or without option to buy, of goods, the estimated contract value shall be calculated as follows: 1) in the case of fixed-term contracts, if that term is less than or equal to 12 months, the total estimated value for the term of the 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 contracts without a fixed term or whose term cannot be defined, the monthly value of the contract multiplied by 48. 9. For the purposes of calculating the estimated contract value for services, the contracting authority shall take account of the following: 1) of the premium or any other remuneration payable, in the case of insurance services, 2) as regards banking or other financial services, of fees, commissions and interest as well as other types of remuneration payable into the bank, 3) of estimated value of services, where the public services contract is awarded to the winner of the design contest; 4) of the aggregate value of prizes, premiums or other forms of remuneration payable to the winners where service contracts are awarded after design contests. 10. In the case of contracts for services  not specifying the total price (i.e., specifying only pricing rules), the estimated contract value shall be calculated on the basis of: 1) in the case of fixed-term contracts, where their term is 48 months or less, the total contract value; 2) in the case of contracts of indefinite duration or with a term of more than 48 months, the monthly value of the contract multiplied by 48. 11. When calculating the value of public works contracts, account shall be taken of the estimated value both of the execution of the works and design (where the works are both executed and designed), and the supplies needed to carry out the works and made available to the contractor by the contracting authorities. 12. If proposed procurement of supplies of the same type may lead to several contracts being awarded at the same time, the value of the procurement shall be the total estimated value of these several contracts. 13. Where the works and services are procured by awarding several contracts at the same time, the values of these contracts, calculated according to the provisions of this Article, shall be added. The value of procurement so calculated shall apply for all lots. Whether or not this total amount is equal to or greater 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, VAT excluded,  is up to LTL 276,224 (EUR 80,000), in the case of service contracts, or LTL 3,452,800 (EUR 1,000,000) in the case of works contracts, if the total value of the lots is up to 20% of the total value of the contract. 14. The calculation of the value of a preliminary agreement shall be based on adding up the estimated value of all the contracts envisaged for the total term of the agreement. Article 9. Excluded Contracts 1. The following contracts shall be exempt from the application of this Law: 1) public contracts related to state secrets as they are defined by laws, or official secrets established by laws if the contracts are awarded by entities engaged in operational activities, where supply of products or services or performance of works must be accompanied by special security measures in accordance with the laws or regulations adopted by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania or when the protection of the basic interests of the state security 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, which ensure protection of state or official secrets as well as other interests of the state; 2) contracts awarded by the Lithuanian Army units stationed in foreign states under international agreements. The procedure for awarding contracts of this type shall laid down by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; 3) procurement or lease of land, the existing buildings or other immovables, or acquisition of the title thereto, except for the procurement of financial services related to the above procurement contracts - financial services shall be procured subject to the requirements this Law. The procedure of procurement or lease of land, existing buildings or other immovables, or acquisition of the title thereto shall be established by the Government; 4) repealed; 5) contracts awarded pursuant to other rules and for other purposes according to an international agreement concluded in conformity with the EC Treaty between Lithuania and one or more third countries, which are not EU members, and covering supplies, works, services intended for the  implementation or exploitation of a project by the signatory states; all agreements shall be communicated to the Commission; 6) contracts awarded pursuant to the particular procedure of an international organisation; [until 2004.05.01 7) contracts awarded pursuant to Article 296 of the EC Treaty. The procedure of procurement under the above provisions shall be set forth by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. [from 2004.05.01 7) contracts awarded pursuant to Article 296 of the EC Treaty. The procedure of procurement under the above provisions as well as the procedure sof compensation in the event of purchasing of arms, munitions, explosives or other military supplies hall be set forth by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. *8) contracts awarded according to other procedural rules pursuant to an international agreement concluded with respect to supplies, works, services intended for the implementation or use of the common project of the signatory states; *9) contracts awarded pursuant to the provisions of Article 121 of the Europe Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Lithuania, of the other part. The procedure for awarding the above contracts as well as the compensation procedure in the event of procurement of arms, munitions, explosives or other military supplies hall be set forth by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. 2. In case of public services contracts, the following service contracts shall be excluded form the scope of this Law: 1) employment contracts; 2) contracts for financial services connected with monetary, exchange rate, state debt management, treasury agency, foreign stocks management policies, as well as financial services in other activities in connection with the creation, issue, purchase, sale, assignment or transfer of securities and other financial instruments; 3) contracts for services provided by the Bank of Lithuania; 4) contracts for financial services provided by international financial institutions; 5) contracts for services of arbitration and reconciliation; 6) contracts for the acquisition of time for radio and television programme development, preparation for broadcasting, broadcasting of already developed radio and television broadcasts. The above procurement procedure shall be laid down by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; [until 2004.05.01 7) contracts for public fixed telephone services; [from 2004.05.01 7) repealed; 8) contracts for research and development services, except for those research and development services the benefit from which is used solely for business needs of the contracting authority and which are fully paid for by the contracting authority; 9) public service contracts awarded by another contracting authority which enjoys the relevant exclusive rights granted under the appropriate legal act  in line with the EU requirements. 3. The requirements of this Law shall not be applicable with respect to the following contracts awarded by the contracting authorities in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors: 1) contracts awarded for the purposes other than those referred to in subparagraphs 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 of Article 55 (2) or for such activities which are carried out in a third country and do not involve the physical use of networks and geographical area of the EU member states; 2) contracts awarded for the purpose of resale or lease of the procurement object to the 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) contracts awarded for the purpose of acquiring services from affiliated undertakings or when the services are acquired by an undertaking established by several contracting authorities for the purpose of carrying out activities specified in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of Article 55(2) of this Law, from one of the contracting authorities which established the undertaking or from one of its affiliated undertakings, provided that at least 80% of the average turnover of that undertaking with respect to services arising within the Community for the preceding three years derives from the provision of such services by affiliated undertakings. Where more than one undertaking affiliated with the contracting authority provides the same service or similar services, the total turnover in the Community deriving from the provision of services by those undertakings shall be taken into account; 4) contracts awarded for the purpose of delivering one or several telecommunication services, if other entities may offer the same services in the same geographical area under the same conditions; 5) contracts which contracting authorities engaged in the water management sector award for the purchase of water for production or supply of drinking water; 6) contracts which contracting authorities engaged in the energy sector award for the purchase of energy or fuel for the production of electricity or heat. The procedure for awarding contracts of this type shall be set forth by the Government. 4. The contracting authority must notify the Public Procurement Office of the contracts specified in paragraph 3 (1, 2, 4) above, provided the contracting authority regards the above contracts as excluded. The Public Procurement Office shall be responsible for communicating this information to the EU Commission upon its request. 5. An affiliated undertaking means any undertaking the annual accounts of which are consolidated with those of the contracting authority, or, where the annual accounts of the undertaking are not consolidated with those of the contracting authority pursuant to the laws of the Republic of Lithuania, any other undertaking directly or indirectly dependent on the contracting authority or undertaking over which any other undertaking may exercise, directly or indirectly, a dominant influence or which may exercise a dominant influence over the contracting authority or which, in common with the contracting authority, is subject to the dominant influence of another undertaking by virtue of ownership, financial participation, or the rules which govern it. Direct or indirect dominant influence shall be presumed, accordingly, to mean the holding of over 50% of capital, control of the majority of the votes or authority to appoint more than half of the members of the undertaking's managing bodies. Upon the request of the European Commission, the contracting authority shall provide it with information about procurement from affiliated undertakings: 1) company names of the affiliated undertakings; 2) the nature and value of the service contracts concerned; 3) such proof as may be deemed necessary by the Commission that the relationship between the undertaking to which the contracts are awarded and the contracting authority complies with the requirements of this Article. * Note. subparagraphs 8 and 9 of Article 9(1) shall be repealed as of the day of Lithuania's accession to the European Union. Article 10. International Threshold Values 1. The international threshold values net of VAT are fixed to be as follows: 1) LTL 448,864 (EUR 130,000) for public supply and service contracts, except those referred to in this paragraph, subparagraph 4, awarded or design contest is carried out by contracting authorities which are on the list of contracting authorities belonging to the central state administration system, approved by the Government or an institution authorised by it, whereas when contracts are awarded by the national defence authorities that are on the above list, this threshold value shall apply only to contracts involving products covered by the list of products approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania; 2) LTL 690,560 (EUR 200,000) when contracts for procurement of goods that are not on the list of goods approved by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania  are awarded by defence authorities, which are on the list of contracting authorities belonging to the state administration system,  approved by the Government or an institution authorised by it; 3) LTL 690,560 (EUR 200,000) where supplies and services are procured by contracting authorities other than those listed in the list of contracting authorities belonging to the central state administration system  approved by the Government or an institution authorised by it; 4) LTL 690,560 (EUR 200,000) where the public contract concerns telecommunications services of category 5 (codes 7524, 7525 and 7526) and research and development services of category 8 as listed in the list of A-type services in Annex II, and such contracts are awarded or design contests are carried out by all types of contracting authorities; 5) LTL 17,264,000 (EUR 5,000,000) for public works contracts. 2. The international threshold values net of VAT for the contracts awarded by contracting authorities operating the water, energy, transport or telecommunications sectors shall be as follows: 1) LTL 2,071,680 (EUR 600,000) where public supplies or services contract are awarded or the design contest is carried out by the contracting authority operating in the field of telecommunications; 2) LTL 1,381,120 (EUR 400,000) where public supplies or services contracts are awarded or the design contest is carried out by the contracting authorities operating in the field of water, energy or transport; 3) LTL 17,264,000 (EUR 5,000,000) for works contracts. Article 11. Peculiarities of Public Contracts 1. Public contracts other than those referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article, the value whereof is equal to or greater than the thresholds specified in  this Law, Article 10(1), shall be subject to the procurement rules set forth in Chapter II of this Law. 2. Contracts of the value equal to or greater than the thresholds specified in Article 10(2) and awarded by the contracting authorities operating in the water, energy, transport or telecommunications sectors shall be subject to the procurement rules set forth in Chapter III of this Law. 3. Where the contracting authority subsidises directly more than 50% of a works contract falling under group 45.2 of category 45 on the list in the Annex I to this Law, or a work contract relating to construction of hospitals and other health care institutions, facilities intended for sports, recreation and leisure, school and university buildings and buildings used for administrative purposes, it shall follow the provisions of this Law when procuring all works necessary for construction of the object concerned. 4. Where the contracting authority subsidises directly more than 50% of an individual contract concerning services that are procured in relation to the works contracts referred to in paragraph 3 above, then all such services contracts shall be awarded subject  to the provisions of this Law. 5. Where the procurement could be subject to the provisions both in Chapter II and Chapter III of this Law, whereas the objective of procurement cannot be divided, then such procurement shall be subject to the rules set forth either in Chapter II or Chapter III of this Law, depending on which purpose of the procurement is more important. 6. Where any lot of the procurement is subject to the provisions contained in Chapter III of this Law, while it is not possible to determine, in an objective manner, the provisions of which Chapter - II or III - should apply with respect to the remaining lots of the contract, such procurement shall be subject to the rules set forth  in Chapter III. 7. Public contracts the value whereof is below the international thresholds, as well as the public contracts referred to in this Law,  Article 8(13)  shall be subject to the procurement rules set forth in Chapter IV of this Law. 8. The peculiarities of public contracts for the procurement of B-type services listed in Annex II to this Law shall be specified in  Chapter IV. 9. Where B-type services listed in Annex II to this Law are procured together with A-type services listed in the same Annex II, and the value of such services exceeds the threshold fixed for 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. 10. Contracts whereby the concession is granted to the supplier shall be subject to the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Concessions. Article 12. 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 shall formulate the tasks for the authorised entity and give 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 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 contract. Article 13. Procurement Commission 1. For arranging and executing procurement, the contracting authority must, or, if the usual commercial procedure is followed, may appoint the Public Procurement Commission (hereinafter - Commission), set its tasks and grant it the powers required for the fulfilment of said tasks. Should the contracting authority decide to authorise another contracting authority to perform these acts for it, these acts shall be performed by the authorised entity. The Commission shall work according to the work regulations approved by the founder, shall be responsible to the founder, and shall execute only the tasks or assignments of the founder that are given in writing. The contracting authority which forms the Commission shall be liable for its actions. 2. The Commission shall be formed on the instruction (order) of the contracting authority of at least 3 natural persons. The members of the Commission, except for the Chairperson, may also be employed on a contract basis. The Commission shall function on behalf of the contracting authority within the scope of the powers granted to it. The Commission shall function from the day of adoption of the decision concerning its formation until the fulfilment of all tasks given by the founding authority in writing, or until the decision to terminate the procurement is taken. The Commission shall adopt decisions at the meetings by a simple majority vote, voting by open ballot. In the event of a tie, the Chairperson of the Commission shall have a casting vote. The Commission’s decisions shall be recorded in the minutes. The minutes shall specify the reasons of the Commission's decision, give explanations  and the opinion of each Commission member. The minutes shall be signed by all the members present at the Commission meeting. The Chairperson of the Commission shall be either the head of the entity which formed the Commission or a person authorised by him. When appointing the Commission members, regard must be had to their knowledge in the area of economics, technology, and legislation as well as their cognisance of this Law and other legal acts regulating public procurement. Only persons with impeccable reputation may be appointed members or Chairperson of the Commission. The entity which forms the Commission shall have the right invite experts. 3. Except in cases prescribed by the legal acts of the Republic of Lithuania, the Commission members and the experts invited by the contracting authority shall be prohibited from providing third persons with any information concerning the contents of the tenders submitted by suppliers. 4. Every Commission member and expert may take part in the work of the Commission only upon signing the declaration of impartiality and the statement of confidentiality. 5. Commission members and experts shall be held liable for their work under the laws of the Republic of Lithuania. Article 14. Communication and Information Exchange 1. All communication and information exchange between the contracting authority and suppliers may be performed by letter, by fax, by electronic means in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article, by telephone under the circumstances referred to in paragraph 5, 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 and of all information supplied by economic entities are preserved, and that the contracting authorities examine the content of tenders only after the expiration of the time-limit fixed for submitting them. 3. The means of communication chosen must be generally available (i.e., all suppliers can use them) and thus not restrict economic entities' access to the procurement procedures. 4. In case electronic means are chosen for communication and information exchange purposes, the following rules shall apply: 1) the technical characteristics of the tools to be used for communicating by electronic means must be compatible with the information and communication technology products in general use, and may not unreasonably restrict the possibilities of the economic entities to take part in the procurement procedure; 2) the information so communicated, including the measures serving to protect the contents from unauthorised access, must be accessible to the interested parties (contracting authority, suppliers); 3) the receipt of requests and tenders must be confirmed by the contracting authority; 4) a candidate or tenderer must submit, before expiry of the time limit laid down for receipt of tenders, the documents in proof of his qualifications specified in the contract which may not be transmitted by electronic means of communication. 5. Requests for participation in procurement procedures may be filed in writing or submitted by telephone. Where requests for participation are submitted by telephone, a written confirmation must be sent before expiry of the time limit fixed for their submission. 6. Contracting authorities shall have the right to request that requests for participation in procurement procedures submitted by fax must be confirmed by post or by electronic means. Any such requirement, together with the deadline for sending confirmation by post or electronic means, must be stated by the contracting authority in the contract notice. Article 15. Contract 1. The contracting authority shall offer the contract of procurement to the supplier whose tender is recognised as the successful tender in accordance with the provisions of this Law. In the event only one supplier was invited to take part in the negotiated procedure, the contract shall be awarded to such supplier, provided that he meets qualification requirements laid down by the contracting authority. The supplier shall be invited to conclude the contract by a written notice informing him that his tender has been recognised as the successful tender, or as the acceptable tender in case of the negotiated procedure with one supplier, and be indicated the date by which he is to arrive and conclude the procurement contract. 2. If the supplier, who has been given a proposal of contract award, refuses the award in writing or fails to present security for the performance of the procurement contract prescribed by contract documents or fails to come to sign the procurement contract by the date specified by the contracting authority, or refuses to conclude the contract under the conditions laid down in the contract documents, or a group of legal entities fails to establish a legal person as prescribed in paragraph 4 of this Article, he shall be considered to have refused the award of the procurement contract. In such event the contracting authority shall propose awarding the contract to the supplier whose tender in the descending order of tenders is next after that of the successful tenderer who refused the contract award. 3. When awarding the procurement contract, the price given in the successful tender, as well as the contract terms and conditions specified the contract documents may not be altered. 4. If the contract is awarded to a group of economic entities who submitted a tender under the joint activity agreement, the contracting authority may request that such group of economic entities acquire a certain legal form, where this is necessary in order to duly execute the procurement contract. The requirement for legal form may be set in the contract documents. If, when selecting the legal form, the contracting authority requests that the group of legal persons whose tender has been recognised as the successful tender establish a legal person, it shall conclude the  contract with the established legal person. Having established a legal person, the economic entities shall provide a security for the obligations of the legal person established by them, relating to the performance of the contract. A notice to the effect shall also be made in the contract documents. 5. After the award of the contract the contracting authority shall as soon as possible, but not later than within 3 working days dispatch a notice of the results of the award procedure to other tenderers. 6. The contract shall cover the following items: 1) rights and obligations of the parties; 2) the object of the contract - supplies, services or works, and their exact quantities or scope (if possible); 3) the price or pricing rules; 4) price and rates adjustment for inflation, if the term of the contract exceeds 1 year; 5) adjustment of the price and rates due to the changes in tax rates; 6) payment procedures; 7) deadlines for discharging obligations; 8) security for discharging obligations; 9) dispute settlement procedure; 10) procedure for termination of the contract; 11) the contract period; 12) provisions typical to the preliminary agreements, if relevant . 7. The contract of procurement shall be concluded in writing, except for the case specified in Article 99(4) of this Law. Article 16. Report on the Procurement Procedures 1. The contracting authority shall present a report to the Public Procurement Office on any contract awarded according to Chapters II, III and IV of this Law, including the cases where a preliminary agreement is signed, but excluding contracts awarded within the framework of preliminary agreement, contracts awarded applying the usual commercial practice and contracts awarded in accordance with the procedure established in Article 64(2) of this Law.. The report shall include: 1) the name, code, address, telephone number of the contracting authority; 2) the type of procedure; when the negotiated procedure is selected - the reasons for choosing it as indicated in Articles 44, 45, 58 and 65; 3) short description of the contract or preliminary agreement, and the contract value; 4) the names and addresses of the suppliers who submitted tenders; 5) the names of the candidates not invited to submit tender (to negotiate) as well as the reasons for refusal to invite; 6) the names of the tenderers whose tenders were rejected and the reasons for rejection; 7) description of tender evaluation and comparison procedure, and the conclusion of the Commission regarding the successful tender, the name of the successful tenderer and motives for the selection of that tender; 8) the share of funds that the successful tenderer intends to allocate to third parties subcontracted for the purpose of implementing the contract or the preliminary agreement, should such information be available to the contracting authority; 9) if the procurement procedures were terminated or in case of failure to award the contract for any other reasons, the reasons for the failure to awards the contract; 10) other information prescribed by the Public Procurement Office. 2. The report shall be drafted and delivered to the Public Procurement Office within 14 days after the date of finalising the procurement procedures. The Public Procurement Office shall forward the relevant information to the EU Commission. 3. The contracting authority shall furnish to the Public Procurement Office a report about the contracts. The contracting authority specified in subparagraphs 1, 2 and 3 of Article 3(1) of this Law shall furnish reports about the contracts awarded in the course of the financial year following the usual commercial practice, whereas the contracting authority indicated in subparagraph 4 of a 3(1) of this Law shall submit reports about all principal contracts awarded under preliminary agreements in one financial year and about the contracts awarded under Article 63(2) of this Law. Reports shall be submitted within 30 days after the end of the reporting financial year. 4. The contracting authority shall within 14 days submit to the Public Procurement Office a report about any executed or terminated contract, except for the contract awarded following the usual commercial practice or according to the procedure established in Article 64(2)- of this Law. 5. The report referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be obligatory even if the public contract concerns B-type services listed in Annex II of this Law. 6. The information specified in this Article,  paragraph 1, subparagraphs 1-4 shall be furnished to any person at his request. 7. The information specified in this a, paragraph 1, subparagraphs 5-9 shall be furnished to any candidate or tenderer at his request. 8. The report on the procurement procedures and the procurement reports shall be drawn up and submitted using standard forms approved by and complying with the requirements set by the Public Procurement Office. The date given in the reports shall be entered in  the computerised data base. Article 17. Preservation of Documents The performed procurement contracts, requests, tenders, contract documents and documents relating to examination and evaluation of requests and tenders, other procurement related documents shall be preserved in the manner prescribed by the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Archives. CHAPTER II CONTRACTS AWARDED BY STATE OR LOCAL AUTHORITIES, OTHER PUBLIC OR PRIVATE LEGAL PERSONS MEETING THE CONDITIONS OF ARTICLE 3(2) OF THIS LAW, ASSOCIATIONS OF ONE OR SEVERAL STATE OR LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND(OR) OTHER PUBLIC OR PRIVATE LEGAL PERSONS  MEETING THE CONDITIONS OF ARTICLE 3(2) OF THIS LAW SECTION ONE GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 18. Contract Notices 1. In cases referred to in this Law, the contracting authority shall: 1) publish a prior information notice of any planned procurement in cases referred to in this Article, paragraph 2; 2) publish a contract notice of each specific procurement, including the procurement for which a preliminary agreement is to be awarded; 3) publish a contract or a preliminary agreement award notice, as well as the notice of the design contest results. 2. Prior information notice about any procurement, including procurement for which a preliminary agreement is to be awarded, shall be compulsory in the following cases: 1) where value of a supply or services contract to be awarded in the next 12 months,  estimated according to the provisions of Article 8 of this Law, is LTL 2,589,600 (EUR 750,000) or more; 2) where the estimated value of a public works contract is LTL 17,264,000 (EUR 5,000,000) or more. 3. A prior information notice about the contracts that the contracting authority intends to award shall contain the following: 1) for public supplies contracts - the nature of products concerned, the estimated total value and quantity of products to be procured in the next 12 months; the product CPA reference number; 2) for public service contracts - the category of services, the estimated total value of service  contracts to be awarded in the next 12 months;  CPA reference number of the services; 3) for public works contracts - the nature and scope of work, and estimated value of works concerned; 4) name, address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address of the contracting authority and address, if different from the contracting authority's address, at which additional information may be obtained; 5) information on whether the procurement concerned is subject to the WTO GPA; 6) the date of dispatch of  the prior information notice; 7) other information prescribed by the Public Procurement Office. 4. The contracting authority shall publish prior information notices without delay at the beginning of the financial year in case of supplies and services contracts, and, in case of public works contracts, immediately after making the decision to approve construction of objects. 5. Except in cases where the contract is awarded by way of negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice, the contracting authority shall publish a separate contract notice of every contract containing the following information: 1) name, address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address of the contracting authority where the technical specification and other support documents may be obtained, as well as the address, if different, of the service from which a copy of technical specifications and other support documentation may be obtained; 2) intended procurement of products, works or services; 3) type of the contract award procedure; 4) information that suppliers must submit their requests for participation in writing, as well as the deadline for submission of such requests; 5) the fee for contract documents where such fee has been fixed and the manner of payment; 6) where applicable, prohibition of variants; 7) final date fixed for receipt of tenders and the address to which they must be sent, the language or languages in which they must be drawn up; 8) list of documents, including the proof of the supplier’s qualification, to be appended to the tender; 9) in cases specified in this Law - criteria for selection of candidates; minimum number of candidates to be selected; 10) the date of dispatch of the contract notice (the date when the notice was dispatched from the Public Procurement Office); 11) any other information requested by the Public Procurement Office. 6. The contracting authority shall publish a contract award notice, as well as a notice about the results of the design contest as prescribed by Article 19 of this Law. Such notices shall be dispatched as soon as possible, but not later than within 48 days after the contract is awarded or the results of the design contest are announced. 7. The contract award notice shall not contain any confidential information, where release of such information would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, would harm the legitimate commercial interests of suppliers, or prejudice the free competition between them. The contract award notices, nevertheless, shall contain at least the same information as in the contract notice. 8. The Public Procurement Office shall fix the standard forms and requirements for notices. Article 19. Publication of Notices 1. Notices (prior information notices, contract notices, contract award notices or design contest reports ) shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, as well as in "Informaciniai praneðimai" (the information supplement to the official gazette "Valstybës žinios" and the website of the official gazette. 2. In addition, contracting authorities may publish contract notices in publications or websites other than those specified in paragraph 1 above. 3. The contracting authority shall submit to the Public Procurement Office all notices to be published in the publications specified in paragraph 1 above. The Public Procurement Office shall forward all notices conforming to the requirements of this Law for publication in the journals referred to in paragraph 1 above within 3 working days after receipt thereof, and inform the contracting authority concerned about the date and means of dispatch. The date of dispatch so established shall serve as the starting date for calculation of time limits for sending notices, and as the PIN or contract notice dispatch date. The contracting authority must keep the documents confirming the dispatch of notices specified in this Article at the fixed date. 4. Notices shall be submitted in the manner specified by the Public Procurement Office. 5. The notices may  not be published in other publications prior to the date of dispatch thereof  to the Office of Official Publications of the European Communities. The same notices published in different publications shall contain the same information. 6. In case of urgency, the contracting authority may request that the Public Procurement Office dispatch without delay the relevant notice to the Office of Official Publications of the European Communities by electronic means. 7. Contract notices shall be published in an official language of the Community as chosen by the contracting authority (this publication of the notice shall be considered as the authentic text). A summary of the notice shall be published in any other official language of the European Union. 8. The contracting authority shall also publish notices of public contracts the value whereof at the time of publication is below the international thresholds, but it is likely that the value of the contract or contracts awarded will increase above the thresholds as a result of the procurement procedures. Article 20. Contract documents 1. In contract documents the contracting authority shall give comprehensive information about the contract conditions and award procedures with the exception of the cases laid down in this Law. 2. The contract documents shall include: 1) instructions to suppliers (how to draw up tenders); 2) supplier qualification requirements, including qualification requirements for a group of individual suppliers who submitted one tender, or a group of suppliers acting under a joint activity agreement; 3) supplier q …