Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin (on the screen) addresses the Federation Council on July 11, 2007.
Photo: Dmitry Dukhanin
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Russia Toughens Auction Rules for Public Contracts
The Federation Council on Wednesday passed amendments to endorse new principles in selecting companies for public contracts. The amendments were initially to cover only state contracts for movies, paintings and books. The new bill will concern a broader range of goods, toughening requirements in selecting suppliers for public orders.
The Federation Council passed a second series of amendments to the public contracts bill. The amendments initially covered only state orders for movies, paintings, books and other works of art, but Wednesday’s amendments concern most of the state supplies.
Senators were pressing in the first reading for more auction requirements for the bidders such as work experience, business reputation or financial position. The new amendments allow only firms without tax debts to bid for contracts with authorities. In construction contracts, development companies have to meet certain qualification criteria.
The bill orders auction that would not focus not only on the lowest price but also on quality criteria. “State purchases may be more expensive now but the quality of goods is sure to be better,” says Andrey Sharonov, a spokesperson for the Economic Development and Trade Ministry.
Sergey Lisovsky was the only Senator to note that the bill “makes the law more prone to corruption. Other Senators favored the amendments. Former Soviet Prime Minister Nikolay Ryzhkov said the assembly’s task force would draft another series of amendments by fall. Among new proposals is a priority for Russian producers at public orders auctions.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of July 12, 2007
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