Bulgaria’s government proposes a ban on in-house procurement procedures

The caretaker government approved changes to the Public Procurement Act, which provide for the abolition of in-house procedures in public procurement. This was announced by caretaker Finance Minister, Rositsa Velkova, at a briefing at the Council of Ministers on October 26.

Before the start of the cabinet meeting, caretaker Prime Minister Galab Donev said that the in-house procurement had become an emblem of siphoning off funds.

The amendments to the Public Procurement Act prohibit the contractor from subcontracting the procurement, providing for sanctions for violating the ban. The cabinet also adopted a package of tax laws, Velkova further announced.

The government approved the establishment of an agency with investigative functions that will check the high levels of power.

The agency will be headed by a management of five people with a five-year term, who will rotate for a year at the chairmanship. Two of them will be nominated by the National Assembly, one by the President and one each by the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court.

If the Prosecutor's Office refuses to launch an investigation into the agency's probe, it will have the right to appeal to the court.