A Review of Tender Act in Comparison with the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement

Government procurement constitutes an important part of the economic activities of the Country. To combat corruption, to create equal opportunities for all suppliers of goods and services, to obtain goods and services with good quality and price and to achieve transparency in government procurement, the new Tender Act was approved by the Expediency Council in early 2005. This legislation is particularly significant for replacing tens of various regulations which were applicable in different government bodies. In this article, the principles and objectives of the Tender Act are first discussed. Then, the standards and safeguards mentioned in this act are compared with the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization in order to assess to what extent the generally acceptable international standards in respect of government procurement have been respected in this Tender Act.