The new decree on public procurement, which came into force on September 1, is a major reform that should have a significant impact on transparency and national preference in public procurement in Morocco. So what is it?
Abdelbasset Mohandis, Chartered Accountant, Auditor, deciphers in a statement to MAP, how this system should guarantee greater transparency in the management of public procurement while improving the effective implementation of national preference.
Greater transparency
The new decree n° 2.22.431 introduces a series of measures aimed at improving the transparency of public procurement. In detail, Mr. Mohandis cited certain measures including:
– The filing and withdrawal of tenders and tenders from competitors are carried out electronically in the public procurement portal;
– The opening of the bids and the evaluation of the tenders of the submitted competitors are carried out electronically;
– An obligation for public purchasers to publish contract notices on an electronic portal accessible to the public;
– An obligation for tenderers to provide more detailed information on their tenders, in particular on their qualifications and experience;
– An obligation for public purchasers to justify their decisions to award contracts.
– The introduction of the simplified open call for tenders, when the estimated amount of the contract is equal to or less than 1,000,000 dirhams excluding taxes, with the following specificities:
° The publication of the simplified open invitation to tender on the public procurement portal and in at least one newspaper;
° The advertising period is set at least 10 days before the date scheduled for the bid opening session;
° The competitor’s technical file does not include the reference certificates or the declaration of the load plan;
° The reduction in the number of members of the tender commission (chairman and a member designated by the contracting authority, a representative of the General Treasury of the Kingdom or a representative of the Minister in charge of finance, as the case may be.
– The requirement of prior competition by the publication of the purchase notice on purchase order on the public procurement portal. Thus, the contracting authority is required to publish a notice of purchase on a purchase order on the public procurement portal for a period which may not be less than 48 hours.
– The redefinition of the most economically advantageous offer:
° For contracts for works, supplies and services other than studies: the lowest financial offer in relation to the reference price;
° For service contracts relating to study services: the offer having obtained the best technical and financial score.
A greater national preference
The new decree also reinforces the principle of national preference in public procurement. The principle of national preference stipulates that public buyers must give preference to Moroccan companies when awarding public contracts, he said.
In this sense, the expert cited a series of measures introduced by this new system, which should reinforce this principle:
– An obligation for public buyers to reserve part of public contracts for Moroccan companies. Indeed, the contracting authority is required to reserve 30% of the estimated amount of the contracts that it intends to launch, for each budget year, for very small, small and medium-sized enterprises established in Morocco, including young innovative companies, cooperatives, unions of cooperatives and auto-entrepreneurs;
– An obligation for public buyers to give preference to Moroccan companies when they are at a level of price and quality with foreign companies.
– The introduction of the national call for tenders reserved only for competitors established in Morocco and when the estimated amount of the contract is less than or equal to:
° 10,000,000 dirhams excluding taxes for works contracts;
° 1,000,000 dirhams excluding taxes for supply and service contracts.
The clarification that the consultation regulations established by the contracting authority provides in particular for the fixed rate of 15% to be applied within the framework of the national preference granted to companies established in Morocco.
* For works, supply and services contracts other than studies, the financial offer presented by the competitor not established in Morocco is:
– reduced by 15%, when the amount of this offer is the closest by default to the reference price and there are offers presented by competitors established in Morocco that are lower than this reference price;
– increased by 15%, when the amount of this offer is the closest by excess to the reference price, in the event of the absence of offers lower than this reference price;
– increased by 15%, when the amount of this offer is the closest by default to the reference price, in the event that the offers presented by competitors established in Morocco are higher than this reference price.
* For service contracts relating to studies, the financial offer presented by the competitor not established in Morocco increased by a percentage set at 15%.
Competitors not established in Morocco are required to associate Moroccan experts in a proportion which may not be less than 20% of the experts mobilized for the performance of services relating to information systems, except in the event of the unavailability of these experts. nationals.
LNT with Map
