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Public contracts - Poland

Updated 11/2010

Legal requirements

Regulations on public procurement apply to contracts whose value expressed in PLN is equivalent to more than EUR 14 thousand.

Polish law does not impose any limitations on access to public procurement by foreign entrepreneurs.

Publication of notifications on procurement and threshold amounts

The Contracting authority publishes notifications in the Public Procurement Bulletin, which is released in electronic form on the Public Procurement Office portal.  Notifications are placed in the PP (Public Procurement) Bulletin if the value of the contract exceeds EUR 14 thousand  but is less than EU thresholds which stand as follows:

  • for deliveries and services:
  • EUR 125 000 (for central government authorities);
  • EUR 193 000 (for the remaining standard contracting authorities);
  • EUR 387 000 (for sector contracting authorities);
  • for construction works:
  • EUR 4 845 000
  • Central Portal – Public Procurement Bulletin

Tenders Electronic Daily (TED) is an online version of the ‘Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Communities’, which publishes notifications on public procurement contracts exceeding the abovementioned threshold amounts.

Basic procedures

The following are the basic forms for awarding contracts:

  • open tender – a tender which, in response to a notification of public procurement, is open to all interested contractors,
  • restricted tender – a procedure for the awarding of a contract which, in response to a notification of public procurement, involves contractors submitting applications for participation in the tender, whilst the bids themselves are submitted by those contractors who have been invited to tender by the contracting authority,

It is only in the cases specified by the Public Procurement Act that the contracting authority may award a contract in accordance with the following procedures:

  • negotiation with notification – following a public procurement notification, the contracting authority invites the contractors admitted to participate in the procedure to submit an initial bid which does not include the price and then engages in negotiations with the contractors and  extends an invitation to submit a bid;
  • competitive dialogue – following a public procurement notification, the contracting authority engages in a dialogue with selected contractors and next invites them to submit their bids;
  • negotiation without notification – the contracting authority negotiates the terms of the public procurement contract with selected contractors  and then invites them to submit their bids;
  • direct contract agreement – the contracting authority awards a contract after negotiations with one contractor only;
  • price quotation – the contracting authority requests a price quotation from selected contractors and invites them to submit bids;
  • online auction – using an online application form that allows the data required to be entered during a direct connection with contractors. Contractors submit successive and increasingly favourable bids (progression), which are categorised automatically.

Types of contract

Public procurement procedures are procedures initiated by way of q public notification of procurement or by sending invitations to submit bids or by sending an invitation to negotiate with the purpose of selecting the bid of a contractor, with whom an agreement will be signed for the award of a public contract, or – when dealing with a direct contract agreement – negotiating the terms of such a contract. 

The following are the different types of public contract:

  • Public supply contract – the acquisition of items, rights and other goods, in particular on the basis of a contract of sale, supply, rental or lease;
  • Public service contract – this means the acquisition of all services which are not the subject of construction works or supplies, but are services defined under provisions issued on the basis of Article  2a of the Public Procurement Act – and also appear in the Regulation of the Prime Minister of 28 January 2010 concerning the list of priority and non-priority services (Journal of Laws, No 12 ( 68);
  • Text of the Regulation
  • Public works contracts – this means the performance, or design and performance, of construction works in the understanding of the Building Act, and the completion of a structure in the understanding of the Building Act, with the use of any resources, in accordance with the requirements of the contracting authority.

National public procurement authorities

The central government administration authority which deals with public procurement matters is the President of the Public Procurement Office, who:

  • draws up draft legislative acts on procurement;
  • takes decisions on individual matters as provided for by the Act;
  • issues an electronic version of the Public Procurement Bulletin, which contains notifications as specified by the Act; 
  • manages and announces on the Public Procurement Office website a list of organisations entitled to seek legal protection remedies;
  • manages, announces and updates on the Public Procurement Office website a list of contractors who had caused damage by failing to perform a contract or had performed a contract inadequately, providing such damage is validated by a court of law,  and strikes contractors off the list;
  • ensures that the legal protection remedies are functioning;
  • prepares training programmes, organises and inspires training on procurement;
  • prepares and disseminates examples of assessment criteria on the content of training;
  • disseminates specimen public procurement contracts, regulations and other documents used for the award of contracts; 
  • oversees compliance with the principles of the procurement system, and in particular controls the public procurement process in keeping with the Act;
  • disseminates the principles on ethics to those performing procurement system tasks;
  • strives to guarantee the uniform application of the provisions on procurement, whilst taking into account court judgments and the decisions of theConstitutional Court, and in particular disseminates the decisions of the National Board of Appeal, of the courts and of the Constitutional Court, in matters relating to procurement;
  • engages in international cooperation in matters relating to procurement;
  • analyses the functioning of the procurement system; 
  • draws up and presents to theCouncil of Ministers and the European Commission annual reports on the functioning of the procurement system;
  • presents to thePrime Minister annual information on the functioning of the National Board of Appeal, taking into account matters stemming from court judgments;  
  • proposes candidates for the office of President and Vice President of the National Board of Appeal;
  • requests the appointment of the discipline advocate at the National Board of Appeal;
  • takes steps towards computerising the public procurement system;  
  • •    submits to the European Commission by 31 March of each year the judgments of the National Board of Appeal concerning appeals lodged in the previous year relating to public procurement procedures  that were not declared null and void because of important public interests, as referred to in Article  192 of the Act, giving the grounds for such decisions.

The Public Procurement Office provides assistance to the President.

Legal protection remedies

Contractors, bid participants and other entities, providing that they have or had an interest in the contract and suffered or may suffer damage arising from violation of the provisions of the Public Procurement Act by the Contracting Authority, are eligible to legal protection remedies.

Informing the Contracting Authority

A contractor or bid participant may, within the deadline for lodging an appeal, inform the contracting authority that they have acted in a way that breaches the provisions of the Act or that they have neglected to carry out an action which by law they must perform, and against which there is no right of appeal.

In the event of recognising the legitimacy of the information provided the contracting authority shall repeat the action or shall perform the neglected action, and shall inform the contractors of this fact in the manner provided for under the Act for such actions.

Appeal

The right of appeal only applies to those actions of a contracting authority that are undertaken during a public procurement procedure and are contrary to the provisions of the Public Procurement Act, or the failure to carry out actions that  the contracting authority is obliged to carry out under the Act.

If the value of the contract is less than EU thresholds, appeals can only be lodged against the following actions:

  • choice of negotiation without notification, direct contract agreement or price quotation;
  • description of the way in which compliance with the conditions for participating in procedure will be evaluated;
  • exclusion of the appellant from procurement proceedings;
  • rejection of the appellant’s bid.

The appeal should indicate the action of the Contracting Authority, or the action that was neglected, which is seen as incompatible with the provisions of the Act; it should also contain a brief description of the charges, and specify what is being requested as well as the factual and legal circumstances justifying the appeal.

The National Board of Appeal, which works alongside the President of the Public Procurement Office, considers appeals relating to public procurement procedures.  Appeals are considered by a one-person Board.  The President of the Board may rule that a case be considered by three persons if it is particularly complex or will set an important precedent.   In such cases the President of the Board appoints a chairperson for the adjudicating Board from amongst its members.

Application to a court of law

Parties and participants to the procedure may appeal against the judgment of the Board through a court of law.  Appeals are lodged with the regional court which corresponds to the registered office or place of residence of the contracting authority.

  • Ministry of Justice – list of courts of law in Poland polski
 

Administrative procedures

Submission of bids

Deadlines for the submissions of bids and applications to participate in tender procedures vary depending on the type of procedure and the value of the contract.

Open Tender

If the value of the contract is lower than EU thresholds, the contracting authority sets a deadline for the submission of bids, taking into account the time required for their preparation and submission. The deadline cannot be shorter than:

  • 7 days from the day of the appearance of the tender notification in the Public Procurement Bulletin, in the case of supplies and services,
  • 14 days from the day of the appearance of the tender notification in the Public Procurement Bulletin, in the case of construction works.
  • If the value of the contract is equal to or exceeds EU thresholds, the deadline for the submission of bids cannot be shorter than:
  • 40 days from the day on which the tender notification was submitted to the EU Office for Official Publications by electronic means, in keeping with the format and procedures provided on the website specified in the Directive;
  • 47 days from the day on which the tender notification was submitted to the EU Office for Official Publications by other means.
  • If the value of the contract is equal to or exceeds EU thresholds and information about the contract was given in an initial notification, the contracting authority may specify a time period for the submission of bids no shorter than:
  • 22 days from the day on which the tender notification was submitted to the EU Office for Official Publications by electronic means, in accordance with the format and procedures provided on the website specified in the Directive;
  • 29 days from the day on which the notification was submitted to the EU Office for Official Publications by other means.

Restricted Tender

Deadlines for the submission of applications to take part in tender proceedings.

If the value of the contract is lower than EU thresholds, then the contracting authority shall set a deadline in the tender notification for the submission of applications to take part in tender proceedings, taking into account the time required for the preparation and submission of the required documents. The deadline cannot be shorter than 7 days from the day on which the notification appeared in the Public Procurement Bulletin.

If the value of the contract is equal to or exceeds EU thresholds, the deadline for the submission of applications to take part in the restricted tender cannot be shorter than:

  • 30 days from the day on which the tender notification was submitted to the EU Office for Official Publications by electronic means, in accordance with the format and procedures provided on the website specified in the Directive; 
  • 37 days from the day on which the tender notification was submitted to the EU Office for Official Publications by other means.

If there is an urgent requirement for the contract to be awarded, the contracting authority may specify a shorter deadline for the submission of applications to take part in a restricted tender:

  • the 30-day deadline may be reduced to a deadline of no less than 10 days;
  • the 37-day deadline may be reduced to a deadline of no less than 15 days.

Deadlines for the submission of bids

If the value of the contract is lower than EU thresholds, the contracting authority sets a deadline for the submission of bids that takes into account the time required for the preparation and submission of the bids, but this deadline cannot be shorter than:

  • 7 days from the day of sending the invitation to submit bids, in the case of supplies and services;
  • 14 days from the day of sending the invitation to submit bids, in the case of construction works.

If the value of the contract is equal to or exceeds EU thresholds, the deadline for the submission of bids cannot be shorter than 40 days from the day on which the invitation to place bids was sent.  The contracting authority can specify a deadline  shorter than 5 days provided that the procurement terms of reference appear on their website from the day of publication of the contract notification in the Official Journal of the European Union to the expiry day of the deadline for the submission of bids.

If the value of the contract is equal to or exceeds EU thresholds and information about the contract was contained in an initial notification, the contracting authority can specify a deadline of no less than 22 days for the submission of bids.

If the value of the contract is equal to or exceeds EU thresholds and if there is an urgent requirement to award the contract, the contracting authority may specify a deadline for the submission of bids of no less than 10 days.

Negotiation with notification

Deadline for the submission of initial bids

The contracting authority specifies the deadline for the submission of initial bids, taking into account the time required for the preparation and submission of initial bids. The deadline cannot be shorter than 10 days from the day on which the invitation to submit initial bids was sent.

Deadline for the submission of bids

The contracting authority specifies the deadline for the submission of bids, taking into account the time required for the preparation and submission of bids. This deadline cannot be shorter than 10 days from the day on which the invitation to submit bids was sent.

Competitive dialogue

Deadline for the submission of applications requesting participation in a competitive dialogue.

If the value of the contract is lower than EU thresholds, the contracting authority sets a deadline in the tender notification for the submission of applications to take part in the proceedings, taking into account the time required for the preparation and submission of the required documents. This deadline cannot be shorter than 7 days from the day on which the notification appears in the Public Procurement Bulletin.

If the value of the contract is equal to or exceeds EU thresholds, the deadline for the submission of applications to take part in the restricted tender cannot be shorter than:

  • 30 days from the day on which the tender notification was submitted to the EU Office for Official Publications by electronic means, in accordance  with the format and procedures provided on the website given in the Directive;
  • 37 days from the day on which the tender notification was submitted to the EU Office for Official Publications by other means.

Deadline for the submission of bids

The contracting authority specifies the deadline for the submission of bids, taking into account the time required for the preparation and submission of bids. This deadline cannot be shorter than 10 days from the day on which the invitation to submit bids was sent.

Negotiation without notification

The contracting authority specifies the deadline for the submission of bids taking into account the time required for the preparation and submission of bids.

The Public Procurement Act does not specify the minimum deadline for the submission of bids.

Price quotation

The contracting authority specifies the deadline for the submission of bids taking into account the time required for the preparation and submission of bids.

The Public Procurement Act does not specify the minimum deadline for the submission of bids.

Resources

SIMAP (European Union public procurement portal) contains standard public procurement forms.

Information about training for entrepreneurs on the public procurement market in Poland is available in the KIGNET LEX section in the catalogue of services for entrepreneurs published by the National Chamber of Commerce and its network of regional chambers.

  • LEX polski

Check also the legislation on this topic in:

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Further help

The Public Procurement Network (PPN) is a network which is based on informal cooperation between European countries. For this reason it does not contain a formalised structure nor any concrete operating principles/procedures.

The only format which may be referred to when talking about the PPN is the so-called Executive Office and the Chairmanship/Presidency of the PPN, which is rotated and carried out on a voluntary basis by individual countries.

The role of the Presidency throughout the system involves the following:

  • coordinating the organisation of the next conference (conferences take place once a year) – the Executive Office supports the preparation of the conference programme;
  • PPN website administration; 
  • preparing a report on so-called Cross-border cases i.e. cases which involve availing oneself of PPN contact point intermediary services in order to resolve a dispute arising from the application of public procurement provisions for tenders taking place with the participation of contractors from other countries. 

For this reason no particular initiatives are expected from the Presidency. The purpose of the conference organised at the end of the Presidency is primarily to sum up the events of the past year (the cross-border cases report) and to permit officials from various countries to meet in order to exchange experiences, information about interesting solutions etc.  

However, during the year, between conferences, normal PPN activities are conducted, namely:

  • the settling of disputes and,
  • information exchange.

The results of these activities are presented during the conference in the form of a report.

Additionally, as part of activities connected with information exchange, countries can send questions to each other (so-called  Country surveys) on, for example, the manner of regulating a given matter under national law.   The Presidency, which is also responsible for PPN website administration, places answers obtained from other countries on the website; these constitute valuable comparative material for the participants of public procurement processes in the European Union.