The Procurement Law of the People's Republic of China** (Draft Amendments for Solicitation of Comments) was released in 2020 and 2022 respectively. In terms of the content of the revision, I think the most "disruptive" is the composition of the bid evaluation committee.
Article 49 of the First Draft [Determination of Evaluation Experts] Procurement projects where the procurement needs are clear and the evaluation factors can be quantified through objective indicatorsThe purchaser shall determine the evaluation experts in the bid evaluation committee, negotiation team and evaluation team。For procurement projects where it is difficult to accurately describe the procurement needs and the evaluation factors need to be subjectively judged, the selection criteria and procedures for the evaluation experts shall be strictly reviewed.
Article 48 of the Second Draft [Composition of the Review Committee] The purchaser shall establish a review committee in accordance with law. The term "evaluation committee" as used in this Law includes the bid evaluation committee for bidding methods, the negotiation team for competitive negotiation and innovative procurement methods, the inquiry team for inquiry methods, and the evaluation team for framework agreement procurement methods. The judging committee may be composed entirely of representatives of the purchaserIt can also be composed of representatives of the purchaser and procurement review experts. If competitive negotiation and innovative procurement methods are adopted, a negotiation team shall be formed by the representative of the purchaser and the procurement review experts to be responsible for the negotiation and evaluation work.
The current procurement-related regulations: the review committee is composed of representatives of the purchaser and ** procurement review experts (hereinafter referred to as the review experts), and the review experts shall not be less than two-thirds of the total number of members.
That is to say, the current procurement legal system emphasizes more on the role of third-party review experts, while the revised procurement law emphasizes more on the role of Party A's purchaser's representative.
In the explanation of the "Procurement Law of the People's Republic of China ** (Draft Revisions for Solicitation of Comments)", the sixth point of the "main content of the revision" is also particularly emphasized: strengthening the main position of the purchaser. Expand the purchaser in the choice of procurement methods, procedures andAutonomy in the formation of a review committee, etcThe main responsibilities of the purchaser in terms of internal control management, demand management, policy functions, performance and acceptance are added.
Indeed, we continue to adjust the main position and role of the purchaser, and the current procurement legal system does not seem to allow the purchaser to give full play to its main role, because the "right to speak" of the purchaser in procurement activities is indeed relatively weak, and the procurement results often cannot meet their own procurement wishes.
However, if the draft amendment "strengthens the main position of the procurer" or even "the review committee may be composed entirely of representatives of the procurer", can the legislative purpose and purpose of procurement be implemented? In the first procurement activities, after strict examination and assessment, the evaluation experts who are now very "bullish" are afraid that they are going to withdraw from the historical stage?
My other "concern" is whether the policy level of the purchaser's representative will be up to the "expert" standard? Although Article 97 [Requirements for Personnel of Purchasers and Centralized Procurement Agencies] emphasizes: "Purchasers and procurement personnel of centralized procurement agencies shall have relevant professional qualities and professional skills, and meet the requirements of professional positions stipulated by the procurement supervision and management department." Purchasers and centralized procurement agencies shall strengthen the education and training of their staff; The professional level, work performance and professional ethics of procurement personnel are regularly assessed. Procurement personnel who fail to pass the assessment shall not continue to engage in procurement work. But the difficulty of organizing and implementing this "education and training" and "assessment" is probably greater than that of the current ** procurement review expert warehousing and re-employment examination, right?