The key facts
- The bill allows repeated selection and electronic auctions to be deemed valid with the participation of a single supplier
- Deputies saw corruption risks and contradictions with the Civil Code
- The document was returned to the committee; a revised version is proposed to be presented next week
The bill sparked debate at its second reading
The bill on improving the public procurement system was considered at its second reading in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis on 13 October and was not approved. One of the key proposals concerns cases where only one supplier participates in a procurement. Under the current procedure, if one bid or no bids are submitted for the best-offer selection, the procedure is deemed failed, and the customer may announce a new selection or use another procurement method. The bill proposes allowing a repeated selection to be deemed valid even if a single supplier again participates — one that submitted an offer the first time — provided the procurement terms and evaluation criteria remain unchanged. Similar changes are proposed for tenders, and an electronic reverse auction on the starting price is planned to be deemed valid with a single participant.
Deputy Azimov: “This creates conditions for corruption”
Deputy Saidullo Azimov drew attention to the amendment to Article 61 of the law “On Public Procurement”. In his view, the requirement to keep the previous criteria in a repeated selection restricts competition and increases the likelihood of the same participant winning again. He gave the example of a school paper purchase with delivery within 15 days and an applicant’s charter capital of 1 billion sums: with a single bid, the customer could extend the deadline to a month or change the criteria to attract other participants, but under the new wording, after changing the conditions, the simplified procedure for completing a repeated selection would be unavailable. Azimov proposed allowing customers to revise the terms while retaining the possibility of a contract with a sole participant. Representatives of the relevant committee objected that keeping the criteria is needed to speed up procurement, that the open electronic platform ensures equal opportunities, and that a direct contract without announcing a procurement is not envisaged.
The speaker pointed to contradictions in the wording
Chairman of the Legislative Chamber Nurdin Ismoilov noted the wording under which a repeated selection with a single participant “may be deemed valid”: in his view, this leaves the decision to the discretion of the procurement organizer. He proposed making the norm mandatory. A question also arose about the supplier’s status: if the first procedure was declared failed due to a single bid, it is unclear whether this company can legally be considered a participant of the selection. The speaker warned that such uncertainty could lead to court disputes and stressed that “there must be no corruption mechanisms”.
Questions about auctions and the document’s return to the committee
Deputy Zafar Khudoyberdiev pointed out that the law defines an electronic auction as a competitive procurement method and asked whether the new norm contradicts this principle. Other participants in the discussion noted a possible contradiction with the Civil Code, under which tenders with a single participant are deemed failed. The developers explained that posting an announcement on an open platform already ensures equal opportunities, and that a mandatory requirement of several suppliers may create formal competition involving affiliated companies and lead to wasted time and money. After the discussion, Azimov again insisted on revising the provisions; the committee representative acknowledged that the remarks were conceptual in nature and could not be resolved with editorial amendments, and agreed to return the document. Ismoilov proposed presenting a revised version next week.
Other changes and the document’s history
Besides the rules for procurement with a single participant, the bill extends preferences in budget-funded procurement to local service providers and work contractors (rather than only domestic goods producers), provides for the creation of territorial commissions for reviewing complaints with a ban on members’ participation in cases of conflict of interest, and also changes the procedure for providing information on public procurement, including direct contracts, for budget execution reporting — the speaker demanded eliminating the discrepancy between the stated purpose and the content of the article. The amendments were submitted by the government on 13 August and adopted at first reading on 8 September; after revision, the document will again come before the Legislative Chamber. According to the publication, despite the reforms, almost half of public procurement in Uzbekistan is conducted through non-competitive methods.
