Azerbaijan simplifies participation of non-resident suppliers in public procurement

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has approved a law amending the Law on Public Procurement, adopted by the Milli Majlis on July 13, Report informs.

The amendments establish a mechanism for exempting non-resident suppliers from the obligation to provide contract performance security and/or advance payment.

According to the amendments, foreign legal entities or individuals will be able to submit a substantiated request to the procurement commission for exemption from the obligation to provide these security guarantees.

Furthermore, during a sole-source procurement, if the procurement commission concludes that the foreign supplier is unable to provide such guarantees, the customer will submit a request to the authorized government agency within 10 business days.

Based on the proposals of the supervisory authority, the government agency should decide within 20 business days whether to exempt the supplier from providing security or deny it. If the same customer purchases the same item from this supplier within 12 months of the positive decision, no further decision will be required.