Opinion of the Ministry for Regional Development on Publication of Prior Information Notices

Amended text of § 29 par. 1 of the Act shall read as follows:

(1) At the beginning of calendar year, however, not later than within 30 days following the adoption of relevant budget, which the public contract is going to be reimbursed from, the contracting authority/entity shall make in an indicative manner known the public contracts which it intends to award over the following 12 months where the total estimated value of such contracts is equal to or greater than

a) EUR 750 000 in the case of public supply or public service contracts, to the exception of services referred to in Annex no. 1, or

b) EUR 5,000,000 in the case of public works contracts.

The amendment to the provision brings about a considerable change in the extent of compulsory publication of prior information notice. In view of the fact that the interpretation of the new text of § 29 par. 1 of the Act in not fully unequivocal, the Ministry for Regional Development as a central government authority in the field of investments policy, the following opinion on this issue:

• Financial thresholds referred to in § 29 par. 1 point a) and b) of the Act shall extend henceforth to individual public contracts;
• The obligation to publish prior information notice shall thus apply only to above-the-threshold public contracts, which the contracting authority/entity intends to award in a given calendar year in case that the estimated value of an individual public contract is equal to or greater than financial thresholds referred to in § 29 par. 1 point a) and b) of the Act;
• Public service contracts referred to in Annex No. 1 to the Act are not subject to the obligation to publish prior information notice;
• As from 1 January 2006 financial thresholds where the publication of prior information notice is compulsory shall amount to:

• EUR 750 000, i.e. CZK 23 487 331 for supplies,
• EUR 750 000, i.e. CZK 23 487 331 for services,
• EUR 5 000 000, i.e. CZK 156 582 209 for works

• The contracting authority/entity shall state in the form maximum of information which is available at the time of filling the prior information notice in; the notice, however, must contain data referred to in § 29 par. 2 and 3 of the Act compulsorily;
• The central address shall assign a registration number to the public contract, under which further notices concerning such a public contract are going to be published;The beginning of calendar year without closer specification shall be the time limit to make the prior information notice known; however, the notice shall be published not later than within 30 days following the adoption of relevant budget, which the public contract is going to be reimbursed; the relevant budget should be understood as that of relevant contracting authority/entity;
• The situation where the contracting authority/entity publishes prior information notice, however, for various reasons does not initiate award procedures (e.g. reasons for the award of public contract ceased to exist; changes in budget) in the course of the year shall not be breach of laws and regulations;
• The situation where the contracting authority/entity initiates award procedures to award public contract without publication of prior information notice and where the need of such a contract arises later during the year, and unless the contracting authority/entity could envisage the award of the contract at the time of publication of prior information notice, shall not be breach of laws and regulations either;
• The obligation to publish prior information notice shall not apply to public contracts the award of which was initiated in the year 2005, despite the fact their completion is supposed in the year 2006;
• The obligation to publish prior information notice shall not apply to public contracts which the contracting authority/entity intends to award in negotiated procedures without publication;
• Prior information notices published under this Act shall be considered to be regular prior information notices also after the entry of the new Act on Public Contracts into effect, which is expected in the 1 half of the year 2006.