Members of the Legislative Assembly approved the new Public Procurement Law proposed by the Central Government through the Ministry of Finance of El Salvador.
The new regulation will replace the Law on Acquisitions and Contracts of the Public Administration (LACAP), which has been regulating the planning, awarding, contracting, monitoring, and settlement of works, goods, and services that the State must undertake since May 2000.
The Public Procurement Law will restructure and establish new provisions for the administrative contracting regime, as well as implement the use of technology to "facilitate" the operational management of government purchases.
The law will apply to natural and legal persons, both domestic and foreign, who offer or contract with the Public Administration, participating individually or jointly in the contracting processes carried out by the institutions.
Excluded from the law will be funds from other states, banking services, image rights concessions, energy and drinking water services, real estate, parametric insurance, memberships, and strategic projects of public utility.
One of the highlighted points is the implementation of a Single Registry of State Suppliers (RUPES), where individuals who wish to participate in all procurement processes, except for emergency, urgency, or low-value purchases, will be registered.
Institutions that establish the future regulations of the law must obtain certification and accreditation for the anti-bribery standard under international quality management parameters. The rest of the entities must have a Compliance Officer.
Additionally, the law creates the National Public Procurement System, which will comprise the essential elements for the administration, implementation, operation, coordination, and monitoring of public procurement.
This system will be composed of the new National Directorate of Public Procurement (DINAC), which will be the governing body for public procurement at the national level, in accordance with the powers granted by the law, its future regulations, and norms.
The LACAP required the establishment of the Institutional Procurement and Contracting Unit, which will be replaced by the Public Procurement Unit (UCP), responsible for managing the procurement processes in each state entity. The UCP will also be part of the National System.
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-Written by the Torres Legal Team.