Modifications to the Public Procurement Law Regulations in Costa Rica

Important Modifications To The Regulations Of The General Law On Public Procurement Announcements And In Force According To Gazette No. 217 Scope No. 186 Of November 19, 2024 In Decree No. 44745-H

Article 6. Contracting between public law entities

Before

Contractual activity carried out between public law entities is exempt from the application of ordinary procedures, provided that the following requirements are met:

a) Verify that the contractual object is within the legal powers of the entity to be contracted.

b) Certify in the electronic file the suitability of the public entity in relation to the object to be contracted.

c) Ensure that the contracted entity performs at least seventy percent (70%) of the provision of the contractual object, which will be calculated taking into account the nature and characteristics of said object, and may be determined in accordance with the deliverables, phases, objectives, among other elements, as determined by the Administration in accordance with the previous studies and the respective identified services. Under no circumstances may the substantial services defined in the contract be subcontracted.

d) Ensure that contracts with third parties are only related to specialized and accessory matters. For any type of subcontracting, ordinary procedures must be observed. established in the General Law on Public Procurement.

e) Technically define, in the specifications, the object to be contracted so that the goods, works or services that the public contractor will provide are duly reflected. The power to modify is subject to the regulations of the General Law on Public Procurement.

f) Conduct a market study, in accordance with the provisions of article 44, paragraph d) of this Regulation, which considers potential suitable public and private agents and, in a reasoned manner, sets out the reasons why the public agent is chosen to be hired.

Consultations with public and private agents must be carried out under the same terms and timeframes established by the Administration, both in the market study and in the respective contract, which must be included in the file.

In case of doubt regarding the application of this exception, the respective entity must resort to the ordinary procedures provided for in the General Law on Public Procurement and the public entity interested in contracting may participate as another bidder in the respective competition.

After

The contractual activity carried out between public law entities is exempt from the application of ordinary procedures, provided that the following requirements are met:

a) Verify that the contractual object is within the legal powers of the entity to be contracted.

b) Accredit in the electronic file the suitability of the public entity in relation to the object to be contracted.

c) Guarantee that the contracted entity performs at least seventy percent (70%) of the provision of the contractual object, which will be calculated taking into account the nature and characteristics of said object, and may be determined in accordance with the deliverables, phases, objectives, among other elements, as determined by the Administration in accordance with the previous studies and the respective identified services. Under no circumstances may the substantial services defined in the contract be subcontracted.

d) Guarantee that contracts with third parties are referred only to specialized and accessory issues of the excepted contractual activity. The contracted public entity may not contract with third parties unless procedures established under the General Law on Public Procurement are considered appropriate.

e) Technically define, in the specifications, the object or contract so that the goods, works or services to be provided by the public contractor are duly reflected. The power to modify is subject to the regulations of the General Law on Public Procurement. f) Conduct a market study, following the provisions of article 44, section d) of this Regulation, which considers the potential public and private agents to be suitable and, in a reasoned manner, explain the reasons why the public agent is chosen to be contracted.

Consultations with public and private agents must be carried out in the same terms and timeframes established by the Administration, both in the market study and the respective contract, which must be stated in the file.

In case of doubt regarding the application of this exception, the respective entity must resort to the ordinary procedures provided for in the General Law on Public Procurement. The public entity interested in contracting may participate as another bidder in the respective tender.

Article 26. Hours enabled for the use of the system

Before

All days and hours will be considered business days for actions in the unified digital system, except those that by provision of law have been declared non-business days, or when the Administration has a specific time or days to carry out a certain action in accordance with the provisions of the General Law of Public Administration Law No. 6227 of May 2, 1978. Actions submitted on non-business days will be understood to have been filed on the following business day.

After

Enabled hours for the use of the system. All days and hours are considered enabled. for actions in the unified digital system. In the event of interruption of the operation of the unified digital system, whether due to maintenance, a duly documented failure, unforeseen circumstances or force majeure, the Public Procurement Directorate may, utilizing a reasoned act, declare the suspension of the calculation of the terms of the contracting procedures. Such suspension will apply to all system users as of the communication that the Directorate will make to this effect.

Article 36. Notification in the unified digital system

Before

In the case of notification to the permanent electronic address and/or subsidiary means, the supplier or subcontractor will be notified on the business day following the communication.

The notification will be valid when it is entered into one of the indicated media, either at the permanent electronic address and/or at the subsidiary media. It will be the user’s responsibility to comply with the verification mechanisms established in the platform that guarantee the ownership of the registered notification media, as well as that they are active.

By virtue of the above, any impossibility of making the notification to the electronic address due to the omission of said verifications will not be attributable to the user institution or to the unified digital system.

After

In the case of notification to the permanent electronic address and/or the subsidiary means, the supplier or subcontractor will be notified on the same day of the
communication provided that it is carried out on a business day and time within the official hours of the Administration. Actions presented on non-business days will be understood as filed on the following business day .

The notification will be valid when it enters one of the indicated means, not to the permanent electronic address and/or the subsidiary means. It will be the user’s responsibility to comply with the verification mechanisms established in the platform that guarantee the ownership of the registered notification means, and that they are active. By v the above, any impossibility of carrying out the notification to the electronic address due to the omission of said verifications will not be attributable to the user institution or to the unified digital system. According to the provisions of article 26 of this Regulation, in the event of interruption of the operation of the unified digital system, whether due to maintenance, due to a duly documented failure, or due to reasons of chance or force majeure, the supplier or subcontractor will be notified on the business day following the communication.

Article 55. Incorporation of strategic public procurement criteria in the specifications

Before

Contracting entities must promote the inclusion of social, economic, environmental, cultural, quality and innovation criteria in the specifications, taking into account the particularities of the contractual object and the market, as well as the objectives defined in the National Public Procurement Plan and its Action Plan.

For the application of these criteria, the guidelines issued by the Public Procurement Authority must also be respected. However, the Administration has the discretion to define the weighting that it will grant to each criterion, provided that the sum of these does not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the total assessment pre-established in the specifications and without prejudice to the fact that other criteria may be considered as admissibility requirements, in order to comply with the provisions of article 40 of the General Law on Public Procurement .

Any strategic public procurement criteria provided for in other legal or regulatory provisions that are intended to be applied must comply with the criteria pre-established in article 21 of the General Law on Public Procurement and must be considered in that twenty-five percent (25%) corresponding to the strategic public procurement criteria.

The above is done in order to ensure that the specifications also contain other evaluation factors that guarantee the satisfaction of the public interest in the acquisition of the good, work or service.

After

Contracting entities must promote in the specifications, based on market possibilities and the technical documentation prepared for this purpose, as well as the grounds of the initial decision, the inclusion of social, economic, environmental, cultural, quality and innovation criteria, provided that they are pertinent and applicable, taking into account the particularities of the contractual object underlife cycle and market conditions, as well as the objectives defined in the National Public Procurement Plan and its Action Plan. The inclusion of strategic public procurement criteria for the evaluation of offers must comply with the provisions of article 58 of this Regulation.

To apply these criteria, the guidelines issued by the Public Procurement Authority must also be respected. The Administration must determine the admissibility requirements that exist on strategic criteria according to issued regulations. In the tender evaluation system, the Administration must technically and legally justify the determination of the evaluable strategic criteria, with the weighting that the contracting entity will give to each criterion being discretionary; the sum of these cannot exceed Twenty-five percent (25%) of the total valuation pre-established in the specifications.

The Administration that does not incorporate strategic criteria in the contracting, must prove a motivated justification of the total or partial non-application of strategic criteria in the contracting file.

Any strategic public procurement criteria provided for in other legal or regulatory provisions intended to be applied must meet the criteria pre-established in article 21 of the General Law of Public Procurement and must be considered in that twenty-five percent (25%) corresponding to the strategic public procurement criteria.

The above is to ensure that the specifications also contain other evaluation factors, which guarantee the satisfaction of the public interest in the acquisition of the good, work or service.

The strategic criteria in innovative public procurement will not be subject to the percentage indicated above, and these must be determined in attention to the solution that is required to be contracted.

Article 96. Evaluation system

Before

In accordance with the value for money principle, the combination of eligibility clauses and evaluation factors must ensure the acquisition of the best good, work or service at the lowest price in accordance with the provisions of article 40 of the General Law on Public Procurement.

Consequently , the most suitable offer will be the one that meets the eligibility conditions and obtains the best evaluation, on the understanding that, when establishing the eligibility conditions, the quality and functionality of the good, work or service tendered must be ensured .

The delivery time, financial capacity, or other important requirements of the contract, including those related to strategic public procurement, must in principle be regulated as eligibility conditions.

In the evaluation system, rigid percentage assignments will not be made . In the event that evaluation factors specific to strategic public procurement are included, these as a whole may not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the total valuation pre-established in the specifications, including, where applicable, the percentage provided for in the first paragraph of article 23 of the General Law on Public Procurement, that provided for in article 55 of this Regulation , as well as those provided for in other legal and regulatory provisions in force. The above in order to ensure that the specifications also contain other evaluation factors that guarantee the satisfaction of the public interest in the acquisition of the good, work or service.

The unified digital system will automatically order the offers, so that the Administration will initially review the admissibility of the three offers that are potentially best scored, in order to generate efficiency and transparency in the process. The automated evaluation will not apply when additional evaluation elements are incorporated into the price that require a particular evaluation or when the Administration determines in a reasoned manner that its application is not convenient.

After

In accordance with the principle of value for money, through the establishment of eligibility clauses and evaluation factors, the acquisition of the best work or service must be ensured at the lowest price in accordance with the provisions of article 40 of the General Law on Public Procurement.

The most suitable offer will be the one that meets the eligibility conditions and obtains the best evaluation. The eligibility conditions must ensure the quality and functionality of the contractual object. .

The delivery time, financial capacity, or other important requirements of the contract, including those linked to strategic public procurement, must be regulated, in principle, as eligibility conditions.

The evaluation system may not assign rigid percentages. If evaluation factors specific to strategic public procurement are included, these as a whole may not exceed twenty-five percent (25%) of the total assessment pre-established in the specifications, including, where applicable, the percentages provided for in the first paragraph of article 23 of the General Law on Public Procurement and in article 55 of this Regulation, as well as those provided for in other legal and regulatory norms in force. The above is to ensure that the specifications also contain other evaluation factors, which guarantee the satisfaction of the public interest in acquiring the goods, work, or service. Each evaluation factor other than the price must be associated with an objective verification mechanism and be relevant to the contractual object under the life cycle and market conditions. The technical documentation prepared for this purpose that supports each factor must be incorporated into the contracting file.

The Administration must use automated evaluation when evaluation elements other than the price are not incorporated, unless the Administration reasonably determines that its application is not convenient. Through this evaluation, the unified digital system will automatically order the offers, so that the Administration will initially review the admissibility of the three offers that remain as potentially highest rated.

Article 151. Assumptions for minor bidding

Before

Minor tendering is the ordinary procedure of a competitive nature, which is applicable in the cases provided for in article 60 of the General Law on Public Procurement. In its processing, the requirements provided for in article 61 of the same Law must be met .

After

Minor bidding is the ordinary competitive procedure that proceeds in the cases provided for in article 60 of the General Public Procurement Law and its processing must comply with the requirements provided for in article 61 thereof.

When the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) acquires medical-surgical implements, medications, reagents and biologicals, raw materials, and packaging and conditioning materials required in medication production and the assumptions of Law No. 6974, Reform of the Law Constituting the Costa Rican Social Security Fund, of November 28, 1983, are not met, regardless of the amount, it may carry out minor bidding or may use the procedure corresponding to that which is regulated in the General Public Procurement Law, when this represents a better option to satisfy the public interest, applying, where applicable, the thresholds provided for in article 36 of said law.

When the CCSS uses minor bidding under the assumption indicated in section d) of article 60 of the General Law on Public Procurement, it will expressly establish in the specifications, when appropriate, according to the contractual execution modality to be implemented, the maximum consumption limit to define the applicable appeal regime.

Article 166. Emergency contracts

Before

When the Administration faces a situation classified as urgent, regardless of the causes that gave rise to it and to avoid injuries to the public interest, serious damage to people or irreparable damage to property, it may resort to emergency contracting.

For the configuration of this assumption, the generating event must be an extraordinary event, certain, present, caused by nature or by human action or omission, of an unforeseeable nature, the effects of which may cause imminent harm to the public interest, serious damage to people or irreparable damage to property, if an immediate remedy is not established .

In such situations, the Administration may contract the goods, works or services that are strictly necessary, both to prevent the effects of the event about to occur and to meet the requirements generated as a direct consequence of the event that occurred .

From the moment the event generating the urgency is specified, the Administration has a maximum period of one month to select the contractor and begin the execution of the contract, under penalty of expiration as regards the possibility of using this special procedure, in accordance with the provisions of article 66 of the General Contracting Law. Public.

The Administration must include in the electronic contract file the detailed justification on the basis of which it was determined that this special procedure should be used, as well as the parameter by which it intends to select the contractor. Errors or omissions that have originated in the planning phase may not be used as justification.

For this procedure, the Administration must invite at least three bidders through the unified digital system, unless the situation is better served with a single proposal, and in this case the special reasons that made it necessary must be accredited by means of an act signed by a competent official. If the selected contractor does not start on the indicated day, the second best qualified contractor will be selected immediately, following termination of the contract.

In cases of extreme urgency that threaten the continuity of the public service , the Administration may carry out the contracting in advance and subsequently create the file in the unified digital system. To do so, there must be a signed and justified authorization from the highest authority or from whom he delegates.

These contracts will be processed in the unified digital system within the module provided for this purpose, which will allow them to be carried out in an agile, transparent and easily visible manner for citizen control.

After

When the Administration faces a situation classified as urgent, regardless of the causes that originated it and to avoid injuries to the public interest, serious damage to persons or irreparable damage to personal or real property, it may resort to emergency contracting.

For the configuration of this assumption, the generating fact must be a certain, present event, caused by nature or by human action or omission, the effects of which may cause imminent harm to the
public interest, serious damage to persons or irreparable damage to material objects.

In such situations, the Administration may contract the goods, works or services strictly necessary to meet the emergency immediately.

Those goods, services or works that are not used to meet the emergency may not be contracted or use this procedure.
The situation generating the urgency will be considered to have been specified when the person competent to promote the emergency procedure is informed of the situation that has occurred.

The Administration must incorporate into the electronic contracting file the detailed justification on the basis of which it was determined that this special procedure should be used, as well as all the parameters which will be used to select the contractor.

For this procedure, the Administration must invite at least three bidders through the unified digital system, unless the situation is better served with a single proposal or the market does not have that number of bidders, in which case the special reasons that made it necessary must be accredited using an act signed by a competent official. If the selected contractor does not start on the indicated day, the second best qualified will be selected immediately, after the termination of the contract.

In the event of an urgent Administration that threatens the continuity of the service, the Administration may carry out the contracting in advance and subsequently, create the file in the unified digital system, for
which there must be an authorization signed and sent by the highest ranking official or by whom he delegates.

These contracts will be processed in the unified digital system within the module provided for this purpose, enabling them to be carried out in an agile, transparent, and easily visualized way for citizen control.

Article 168. Special procedure for INS, ICE and their competing companies, JASEC and ESPH

Before

The National Insurance Institute (INS) and its competing corporations and the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) and its competing companies, the Administrative Board of the Electric Service of Cartago (JASEC) and the Public Services Company of Heredia (ESPH), may use the special procedure regulated in article 68 of the General Public Procurement Law, regardless of the amount of the contract, to acquire goods, works and services for generating, installing and operating networks, providing, acquiring and marketing telecommunications and infocommunications products and services, as well as other information products and services and others in convergence, when the goods, works and services, due to their great complexity or specialized nature, can only be obtained when there is a limited number of suppliers or contractors, or for reasons of economy and efficiency duly accredited for the due attention of the public interest and the application of ordinary procedures is not adequate.

For the purposes of applying the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the following shall be understood as:

a) High complexity or specialised nature, those objects which, based on their particular characteristics and their infrequent demand, give them an exceptional character from a technical point of view. The high complexity or specialised nature must be accredited by means of a reasoned administrative act, issued by the competent technical unit.

b) Limited number of suppliers, those acquisitions where the market does not offer more than five potential suppliers with the capacity to offer the required object, which must be accredited in the unified digital system by the competent technical unit.

c) Economy and efficiency, when in accordance with the value for money principle the economic advantages are reliably accredited and it is demonstrated that the proposed goals will be achieved with the least use of resources.

To resort to the application of this procedure, in all cases a reasoned act signed by the superior or by whom he delegates must be available and in the same way it must be recorded in said act that the application of the ordinary procedures is not appropriate.

In the case of the National Insurance Institute (INS) and its competing corporations, they may use the special procedure regulated in article 68 of the General Law on Public Procurement, regardless of the amount of the contract when contracting insurance intermediation services and the auxiliary services provided for in article 18 of the Insurance Market Regulatory Law, Law No. 8653 of July 22, 2008.

After

The Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) and its competing companies, the Administrative Board of the Electric Service of Cartago (JASEC) and the Public Services Company of Heredia (ESPH), may use the special procedure regulated in article 68 of the General Law of Public Procurement, regardless of the amount of the contract to acquire goods, works and services intended to generate, install and operate networks, provide, acquire and market telecommunications and infocommunications products and services, as well as other information products and services and others in convergence, when the goods, works and services, due to their great complexity or specialized nature, can only be obtained when there is a limited number of suppliers or contractors, or for reasons of economy and efficiency duly accredited for the due attention to the public interest and the application of ordinary procedures is not appropriate.

For the application of the provisions of the previous paragraph, the following shall be understood as:

a) High complexity or specialized nature are those objects which, based on their particular characteristics and their infrequent demand, give them an exceptional character from the technical point of view. The high complexity or specialized nature must be accredited by means of a reasoned administrative act, issued by the competent technical unit.

b) Limited number of suppliers for acquisition is where the market does not offer more than five potential bidders with the capacity to offer the required object, which must be accredited in the unified digital system by the competent technical unit.

c) Economy and efficiency apply, when under the value for money principle the economic advantages are reliably accredited, and it is demonstrated that the proposed goals will be achieved with the least use of resources.

To resort to the application of this procedure, in all cases, a reasoned act signed by the superior or by someone he delegates must be available and recorded in said act that the application of the ordinary procedures is not appropriate.

Article 170. Contracting of technology for competing institutions and companies

Before

The Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) and its competing companies, as well as the Administrative Board of the Electric Service of Cartago (JASEC), the Public Services Company of Heredia (ESPH), the National Insurance Institute and its competing corporations when the contracting of technology is referred to the services contemplated in sections a) and b) of article 68 of the General Public Procurement Law, the National Bank of Costa Rica, the Bank of Costa Rica, the Popular and Communal Development Bank, Correos de Costa Rica and any other competing institution determined by the legislator, may use the special procedure regulated in article 68 of the General Public Procurement Law, when contracting the acquisition, maintenance, updating or leasing of technological equipment for computing, hardware and software and development of computer systems, subject to the following terms:

a) Open technologies that guarantee the interoperability of equipment and systems must be contracted. Any limitation on the acquisition of technology with open standards must be supported by a reasoned act signed by the respective technical head and by the manager.

b) When the object of the contract is the acquisition of parts of technology whose purpose is to be added to an existing one in the organization whose useful life has been completed, a reasoned act signed by the respective technical head and by the manager must be included. The same act must state the reasons why it is not convenient to acquire new equipment or systems, especially if their replacement could be more economical.

This procedure is not applicable to expand equipment, goods or services that have been donated to the Administration prior to the acquisition process.

In the contracts that are signed under article 70 of the General Law on Public Procurement, there must be service level agreements in accordance with the needs of the Administration and said contracts must include the appropriate clauses that guarantee the confidentiality of the information, the migration of the systems and the information contained in the processing sites of third parties.

After

The institutions and their competing companies or corporations indicated in article 68 of the General Public Procurement Law and any other competing institution determined by the legislator, may use the special procedure regulated in article 68 of the General Public Procurement Law when contracting the acquisition, maintenance, updating or leasing of technological equipment for computing, hardware and software and development of computer systems, provided that these contracts are directly or indirectly related to the provision of competing services defined as such by the law governing each company or institution, subject to the following terms:

a) Open technologies that guarantee the interoperability of equipment and systems must be contracted. Any limitation on acquiring technology with open standards must be supported by a reasoned act signed by the respective technical head and the superior.

b) When the object of the contract is the acquisition of technology items whose purpose is to be added or one already existing in the organization whose useful life has expired, a reasoned act signed by the respective technical head and the superior must be available. The same act must state why it acquiring new equipment or systems, especially if their replacement could be more economical, is inconvenient.

This procedure does not apply to expanding equipment, goods, or services that have been donated to the Administration before the acquisition process.

In contracts signed under Article 70 of the General Law on Public Procurement, there must be service level agreements in accordance with the needs of the Administration and said contracts must include the appropriate clauses to guarantee the confidentiality of the information, the migration of systems and the information contained in third-party processing sites.

Article 239. Generalities

Before

The Administration may use any contractual figure not expressly regulated in the legal system, either because they constitute mixed figures of types of contracts already regulated or because their regulatory basis comes from the customary application of rules arising in private law and, consequently, lack legal regulation and even a uniform name. It will be understood that it lacks express regulation when it deals with any contractual figure, including procedures, that are not contemplated in the legal system or do not comply with those provided for in the General Law on Public Procurement.

In order to issue a regulation that includes a contractual figure in the terms of the previous paragraph, the following conditions must be met, which must be accredited to the Public Procurement Directorate, by the head of the institution promoting the regulation or by whomever he delegates:

a) At least the scope of the business figure is delimited. To this end, the distribution of risks and obligations in the legal transaction must be clear.

b) The basic conditions for its use are met, such as the Administration being one of the parties and imposing the content of the contractual relationship, as well as the object attending to the satisfaction of a public need.

c) The principle of legality and the principles of public procurement are respected.

d) It complies with the relevant requirements and procedures set forth in the General Law on Public Procurement.

e) Its use is suitable for achieving the public interest sought with the contract, all of which must be accredited in the respective file.

f) The figure is constituted as more advantageous with respect to other typical contractual figures provided in the legal system, all of which must be regulated in the regulations for each open type. The file drawn up for this purpose must include a favourable opinion from the entity’s Legal Department in relation to the proposal made for the development of the figure and the details of the justification for resorting to said contractual figure.

g) The Administration’s commitment to obtain the authorisations and other requirements provided for in the legal system, when it involves indebtedness.

The regulations issued by the Administration for such purposes must be previously consulted with the Public Procurement Directorate, so that it may present the recommendations it deems appropriate, in relation to the aspects of its competence. The opinion of the Public Procurement Directorate must be issued within a period of one month from the fulfilment of the aforementioned conditions and its recommendations will be binding, except for the decentralised administration, and it will establish the guidelines to be observed by the Administration.

After

The Administration may use any contractual terms not expressly regulated in the legal system in article 68 of the General Law on Public Procurement, independently as, for example, the case of mixed types of contracts already regulated or contracts in which their normative basis comes from the customary application of rules arising in private law and, consequently, lack legal regulation and even a uniform name. Any contractual concept that is not contemplated in the legal system will lack express regulation. Through the regulation of open types, it will not be possible to create new public procurement procedures.

a) At minimum, the scope of the business figure is delimited. For this purpose, the distribution of risks and obligations in the legal transaction must be clear.

b) The basic conditions for its use are met, such as the Administration being one of the parties and imposing the content of the contractual relationship, as well as the objective of attending to the satisfaction of a public need.

c) The principle of legality and the principles of public contracting are respected.

d) The suggested figure conforms to the pertinent requirements and procedures established in the General Law
of Public Contracting.

e) Its use is suitable for the achievement of the public interest sought with the contract, all of which must be accredited in the respective file.

f) The figure is established as more advantageous to other typical contractual figures provided in the legal system, all of which must be regulated in the regulations of each open type. In the file established for this purpose, a favorable opinion of the Legal Advisory of the entity must be included concerning the proposal raised for the development of the figure and the detail of the justification for resorting to said contractual figure.

g) The commitment of the Administration that it will obtain the authorizations and other requirements provided for in the legal system when it involves indebtedness.

The regulations that the Administration issues for such purposes must be previously consulted with the Public Procurement Directorate, so that it may present the recommendations it deems appropriate, concerning the aspects of its competence. The opinion of the Public Procurement Directorate must be issued within one month from the fulfillment of the aforementioned conditions and its recommendations will be binding, except for the decentralized Administration, and it will establish the considerations that the Administration must observe.

Article 276. Unilateral modification of the contract of goods and services

Before

The Administration may unilaterally modify its contracts of goods and services to adapt the provision that is the object of the contract, provided that this achieves a better satisfaction of the public interest , either by increasing or decreasing without exceeding twenty percent (20%) of the amount and the term of the original contract. Said percentage may not be exceeded under normal conditions under any circumstances.

For the modification to be admissible, the following conditions must be met: the following requirements:

a) The modification must respond to adaptations of the contractual object that the Administration unilaterally arranges, in order to better satisfy the public interest.

b) The modification may not substantially change the object or the nature of the contract.

c) Those aspects that technically should have been considered in the initial decision phase or prior to it may not be included as modifications.

d) The contract must be in the process of execution, with the contractual term in force.

e) A technical criterion must be issued, signed by the contract administrator, in which the need for the modification is established in relation to achieving a better satisfaction of the public interest.

f) The term of the contract may be modified by up to twenty percent (20%) of that established in the original contract, if this is necessary to comply with modifications ordered in accordance with the previous section and this is reflected in the critical path of the execution of the contract. This calculation does not include extensions to the execution period granted in accordance with article 105 of the General Law on Public Procurement, referring to delays caused by the Administration itself or by causes beyond the control of the contractor and originating from unforeseen circumstances or force majeure, duly accredited .

g) When the object is composed of independent lines, the ordinary modification percentage of twenty percent (20%) will be calculated on each of them and not on the general amount of the contract, without exceeding (20%) of the contract.
h) A technical report signed by the professional or professionals in charge of supervising the service must be available.

i) The amount recognized for the increase in the contract must be technically evaluated based on market prices for similar work, the prices contained in the contractor’s offer or another relevant element, all of which must be stated in a reasoned act. The modification must have prior authorization from the superior or from whom he has delegated that possibility. In case of a decrease, the contractor will have the right to be recognized for the expenses incurred to attend to the total execution of the contract, for this purpose he may file a claim for the unexecuted part, through the unilateral termination of the contract regulated in article 115 of the General Law of Public Contracting .

(j) The exceptional modification of up to a maximum of fifty percent (50%) in terms of the amount and term of the original contract, provided for in article 101 of the General Law on Public Procurement, constitutes the maximum limit for modification, such that this percentage includes twenty percent (20%) of ordinary unilateral modification . The exceptional modification must originate in circumstances of force majeure or fortuitous event duly accredited.

k) In the event that circumstances are classified as exceptional that are not technically so, the responsible professional or professionals will be imposed the administrative sanction provided for in article 125, paragraph v) of the General Law on Public Procurement.

Unilateral modifications of the contract will also proceed when the sum of the original contract and the additional increase do not exceed the thresholds provided for in article 36 of the General Law on Public Procurement, for the contracting procedure in question.

The above with the exception of the provisions of article 60, paragraph d) of the General Law on Public Procurement.

The Administration must review the amount of the guarantees provided in order to make any relevant adjustments.

After

The Administration may unilaterally modify its contracts by increasing or decreasing the amount and term of the original contract by up to twenty (20%) provided that this achieves a better satisfaction of the public interest, and said percentage may be exceeded when exceptional circumstances are technically proven up to the maximum limit of (50%) of the original contract.

In order for the unilateral modification in which exceptional circumstances do not occur to be admissible, the following requirements must be proven in the file:

a) The modification must respond to adaptations of the contractual object that the Administration unilaterally arranges, with the purpose of better satisfying the public interest.

b) The modification may not substantially change the object or the nature of the contract.

c) The contract must be in the course of execution, with the contractual term in force.

d) A technical criterion must be issued, in which the need for the modification is established in relation to the achievement of better satisfaction of the public interest and the corresponding audit report.

(e) The term of the contract may be modified up to twenty percent (20%) of the period established in the original contract, if this is necessary to comply with modifications ordered within the previous paragraph and is thus reflected in the critical path of the execution of the contract. This calculation does not include extensions to the execution period granted in accordance with article 105 of the General Law of Public Procurement, referring to delays caused by the Administration itself or by causes beyond the control of the contractor and originated by fortuitous event or force majeure, duly accredited.

(f) When the object is composed of independent lines, the percentage of modification may not exceed twenty percent (20%) of each of them.

(g) The amount recognized for the increase in the contract must be technically evaluated based on market prices for similar work, the prices contained in the contractor’s offer or another relevant element, all of which must be stated in a reasoned argument for which the amount recognized must have prior authorization from the superior or from whom he has delegated this possibility. In the event of a decrease, the contractor will have the right to be recognized for the expenses incurred to attend to the total execution of the contract, for which purpose he may file an administrative claim for expenses incurred by the non-executed party.

In the case of a modification in which exceptional circumstances concur, the requirements contained in paragraphs a), b), c), d), g) above must be met, and as appropriate in relation to the modification of the percentage, the provisions of paragraphs e) and f); and additionally the following conditions must be accredited:

The modification with exceptional circumstances of up to a maximum of fifty percent (50%), as regards the amount and term of the original contract, provided for in article 1071 of the General Law of Public Procurement, constitutes the maximum modification limit, such that said percentage includes twenty percent (20%) of modifications in which there are no exceptional circumstances.

Those aspects that technically should have been considered in the phase of the initial decision or before it may not be included as modifications with exceptional circumstances, so this type of modification must originate in circumstances of force majeure or fortuitous event duly accredited.

Unilateral modifications to the contract, with or without exceptional circumstances, will only proceed when the sum of the original contract and the additional increase do not exceed the thresholds provided for in article 36 of the General Law on Public Procurement, for the contracting procedure in question, except for the provisions of article 60, paragraph d) of the General Law on Public Procurement.

The Administration must review the amount of the guarantees provided in order to arrange any adjustment that may be pertinent as a result of a unilateral modification to the contract.

Article 325. Requirements for the accreditation of Public Procurement Units

Before

For the accreditation of institutional purchasing units, at least the following information must be provided to the Public Procurement Directorate:
a) Law creating the purchasing unit or, failing this, the legal basis for the power to manage its purchases with functional independence .
b) Legal identification number. c) Budget code, if available. d) Organizational structure of the institutional supply in accordance with the Regulations for Institutional Supplies of the Government Ministries or the internal regulations on this matter when it comes to other Administrations .
e) That it has the trained and certified human resources to be part of the State Public Procurement System .
f) Indicate that the institutional supply has the technological and suitable means to carry out the contracting processes, through the unified digital system. g) The documentation and information that proves that it complies with the guidelines issued for this purpose by the Public Procurement Authority.

Once the information required in the previous sections has been received, the Public Procurement Directorate will carry out the technical-legal analysis in order to determine whether or not the accreditation of the institutional purchasing unit is appropriate.

If the required accreditation is not possible, the Public Procurement Directorate will inform the highest authority of said institution so that the corresponding disciplinary measures can be taken and will grant a peremptory period for the institutional purchasing unit to comply with the requirements established for this purpose, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Authority, with said purchasing unit being enabled for said period to continue with the processing of its contracting processes.

After

For the accreditation of institutional purchasing units, at least the following information must be provided to the Public Procurement Directorate:

a) Law creating the purchasing unit or, in its absence, the legal basis for the power to manage its purchases.

b) Legal identification number of the institution or body.

c) Budget code, if it has one.

d) Organizational structure of the institutional supply under the Regulations for Institutional Supplies of the Government Ministries or the internal regulations that guarantee internal control in public procurement.

e) Indicate that the institutional supply has the appropriate technological and human resources to carry out the contracting procedures through the unified digital system.

f) The documentation and information that proves that it complies with the guidelines issued for this purpose by the Public Procurement Authority.

g) Any other requirement established by the Public Procurement Authority through guidelines.

Once the information required in the previous sections has been received, the Public Procurement Directorate will carry out the technical-legal analysis to determine whether or not the accreditation of the institutional purchasing unit is appropriate. The results will be communicated to the highest authority.

If the purchasing units do not achieve sufficient merits to be accredited, the Public Procurement Directorate will grant a maximum period of one month. to the head of the department to present the action plan to achieve accreditation. The Public Procurement Department will issue the resolution granting the period provided for in the action plan, and the unit will be obliged to report the progress of this until its effective fulfillment.

If the corresponding actions are not carried out by the Administration whose purchasing unit could not be accredited, the Public Procurement Authority will be informed so that it can decide on the procedure in the specific case.

Transitional IV

Before

The Administration that, on the date of entry into force of the General Law on Public Procurement, was not incorporated into the unified digital system, officially established by the Ministry of Finance, and that due to an unforeseeable event or force majeure is unable to carry out its contracting procedures in said system, must prove this to the Public Procurement Directorate within one calendar month after its entry into force, justifying the reasons that support this situation in accordance with the provisions of article 16 of the aforementioned Law, providing justification for the public interest that is intended to be protected when making the request and attaching a schedule that demonstrates the actions to be taken for the gradual incorporation into the unified digital system, which must be adjusted to a maximum period of one year.

In the case of the Education Boards and Administrative Boards, the Ministry of Public Education, within the period of one calendar month provided for in the previous paragraph, will internally define the competent authority that will justify the impediment to the use of the unified digital system by the Boards. The request for exclusion from the use of the unified digital system for the procurement of the Boards must be made centrally, through a single request in accordance with the budgets of fortuitous event or force majeure provided for in article 16 of the Law of appointment, providing the justification of the public interest that is intended to be protected by submitting the request, attaching a single schedule with the actions that will be executed for the gradual incorporation into the unified digital system of all the Boards, which must be adjusted to a maximum period of one year. Said request must be managed within the same period provided for in the first paragraph of this transitional provision. The Public Procurement Directorate will issue a single authorization for temporary exclusion from the use of the unified digital system for the Boards under the same terms described in the previous paragraph, including the extension.

The centralized processing of the request may be used by those entities with similar characteristics to the Education Boards and Administrative Boards.

After

Once the reasons justifying the temporary exclusion from the use of the unified digital system have been proven, the Public Procurement Directorate, within one calendar month from or after the submission of the application, will issue a reasoned act to authorize, if applicable, the exclusion from its use, for up to one year. Likewise, the authorized period for the temporary exclusion from the use of the unified digital system may be extended for additional periods of one year for a maximum of four years, taking into account the entire authorized time or request of the interested institution where if the situation that gave rise to the request persists or circumstances are noticed that affect the originally presented schedule necessarily implying an extension to the period initially planned to achieve effective incorporation into the system. The request for an extension must be submitted one month before the expiration date and must contain the justification of the situation that has prevented the application from complying with the established schedule for its incorporation, the details of the progress made to date, the actions to be taken for the definitive incorporation into the system, including those responsible, the adjusted schedule, and the extension period requested.

In the case of the Education Boards and Administrative Boards, the Ministry of Public Education, within one calendar month provided for in the previous paragraph, will internally define the competent authority that will justify the impediment to the use of the unified digital system by the Boards. The request for exclusion from the use of the unified digital system for the acquisitions of the Boards must be made in a centralized manner, through a single request under the budgets of fortuitous events or force majeure provided for in article 16 of the Law of appointment, justifying the public interest that is intended to be protected by making the request, attaching a single schedule with the actions that will be executed for the gradual incorporation into the unified digital system of all the Boards, which must be adjusted to a maximum period of one year, unless actions that exceed this period are evident. Said request must be managed within the same period provided for in the first paragraph of this transitional provision. The Public Procurement Directorate will issue a single authorization for temporary exclusion from the use of the unified digital system for the Boards under the same terms described in the previous paragraph, including the extension.

The centralized processing of the request may be used by those entities with similar characteristics to the Education Boards and Administrative Boards.

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