Government Procurement Act 1997

Government Procurement Act 1997 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 An Act to give effect to the Agreement on Government Procurement and other international obligations of Singapore relating to procurements by the Government and public authorities, and for purposes connected therewith. [28/2004] [13 May 2002] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act is the Government Procurement Act 1997. Interpretation 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “Agreement on Government Procurement” means the Agreement by that name done at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994 and amended by the Protocol; “applicant” has the meaning given by section 12(1); “award”, in relation to a contract or tender, means to accept an offer made; “challenge proceeding” means any proceeding under Part 3; “Commissioner” means the Commissioner appointed under section 8(2) and includes an acting Commissioner appointed under section 8(9); “contracting authority” means a ministry or department of the Government, an Organ of State or a statutory board declared, by order made under section 4(1), as a contracting authority for the purposes of this Act; “Deputy Commissioner” means a Deputy Commissioner appointed under section 8(2); “document” includes an electronic record; “legal officer” has the same meaning as in the Government Proceedings Act 1956; “procurement” means procurement of goods or service or a combination of goods and service by any contractual means, such as purchase or lease, rental or hire‑purchase, with or without an option to buy the goods or service or combination of goods and service; “procurement subject to the Act” means a procurement declared, by order made under section 4(2), to be a procurement subject to this Act; “Protocol” means the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Government Procurement done at Geneva on 30 March 2012; “qualification of suppliers” means a process undertaken by a contracting authority to shortlist suppliers for a particular procurement, a particular type of procurement or procurement in general; “relevant Protocol State” means a country or territory declared, by order made under section 3, as a relevant Protocol State for the purposes of this Act; “relevant Protocol supplier”, in relation to a procurement subject to the Act, means — (a) a supplier who is a national of Singapore or of a relevant Protocol State that is specified in an order made under section 4(2) as one to which that procurement relates; (b) a supplier which is a company or an association or a body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, which is formed under the laws of Singapore or such relevant Protocol State and has its principal place of business in Singapore or such relevant Protocol State; or (c) a supplier, or supplier within a class of suppliers, specified under that order as a relevant Protocol supplier or class of relevant Protocol suppliers in relation to that procurement; “relevant State” means a country or territory declared, by order made under section 3, as a relevant State for the purposes of this Act; “relevant supplier”, in relation to a procurement subject to the Act, means — (a) a supplier who is a national of Singapore or of a relevant State that is specified in an order made under section 4(2) as one to which that procurement relates; (b) a supplier which is a company or an association or a body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, which is formed under the laws of Singapore or such relevant State and has its principal place of business in Singapore or such relevant State; or (c) a supplier, or supplier within a class of suppliers, specified under that order as a relevant supplier or class of relevant suppliers in relation to that procurement; “supplier” means a person who sought, or who seeks, or who would have wished, to be the person to whom a contract of procurement, being a procurement subject to the Act, is awarded; “Tribunal” means the Government Procurement Adjudication Tribunal established under section 8. [28/2004; 2/2014] Relevant State or relevant Protocol State 3. The Minister may, from time to time, by order in the Gazette, declare any country or territory as a relevant State or relevant Protocol State for the purposes of this Act. [2/2014] Application 4.—(1) The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, declare any ministry or department of the Government, Organ of State or statutory board as a contracting authority for the purposes of this Act. (2) The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, declare a procurement to be subject to the Act. (3) An order made under subsection (2) may identify the procurement by one or more of the following: (a) the means by which the procurement is undertaken; (b) the contracting authority undertaking the procurement; (c) the goods or service, or combination of goods and service, to be procured; (d) the value of the procurement. (4) An order made under subsection (2) may specify — (a) the method by which the procurement is to be valued; (b) the circumstances under which the procurement is not a procurement subject to the Act; (c) the grounds on which the contracting authority may exclude a procurement, or an act or measure to be taken in relation to a procurement, from the application of all or any of the regulations made under section 6; and (d) the effect of an exclusion referred to in paragraph (c). (5) An order made under subsection (2) — (a) must specify that the procurement is a procurement subject to the Act in relation to all or any of the following: (i) all relevant States or a specified relevant State; (ii) all relevant Protocol States or a specified relevant Protocol State; and (b) may specify any supplier or class of suppliers as — (i) a relevant supplier or class of relevant suppliers in relation to that procurement for the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of “relevant supplier” in section 2; or (ii) a relevant Protocol supplier or class of relevant Protocol suppliers in relation to that procurement for the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of “relevant Protocol supplier” in section 2. [28/2004; 2/2014] Certification by Minister 5.—(1) The Minister may issue a certificate certifying that a particular procurement is not a procurement subject to the Act by virtue of section 4(4)(b). (2) The Minister may issue a certificate certifying that a ground referred to in section 4(4)(c) exists in relation to a particular procurement or an act or measure in relation to a particular procurement. (3) A certificate issued under subsection (1) or (2) is conclusive evidence of the matters so certified.