TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS RELATING TO PUBLIC PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS

TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS

RELATING TO PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 601.13

TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN

PROVISIONS RELATING TO PUBLIC

PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS

15th July, 2022

LEGAL NOTICE 203 of 2022, as amended by Legal Notice 79 of

2023.

The title of these regulations is the Temporary

Suspension of certain provisions relating to Public Procurement

Regulations.

Notwithstanding the provisions of regulation 259 of the

Public Procurement Regulations and regulation 179 of the Public

Procurement of Entities operating in the Water, Energy, Transport and

Postal Services Sectors Regulations (in so far as the said regulation

179 refers to regulation 259 of the Public Procurement Regulations),

these regulations provide for a temporary suspension of the

prohibition contained in the said regulations 259 and 179 (limitedly

to what is stated above), in view of the current hostilities in Eastern

Europe and are applicable solely to the conflict between Russia and

Ukraine, which temporary suspension may be granted by the Director

of Contracts only in accordance with strict conformity to these

regulations.

(1)

Requests for compensation shall be made to the

relative contracting authority, and may be entertained by the Director

of Contracts on condition that the public contract which refers to the

request

(a)

shall have been signed on or before the 30th

September, 2022;

(b)

was still in force on the date referred to in

paragraph (a); and

(c)

refers to specific items listed in any policy

document referred to in sub-regulation (2).

(2) The Director of Contracts may issue such policy

documents as may be required from time to time, in order to facilitate

and better regulate the compensation scheme referred to in these

regulations.

No request for compensation for supplies, works and, or

services delivered or rendered, as the case may be, prior to the 24th

February, 2022, shall be entertained. The relative contracting

authority shall transmit the request to the Director of Contracts only

TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS

RELATING TO PUBLIC PROCUREMENT

if it deems the request to be applicable, fair and reasonable in

accordance with the provisions of these regulations, and the decision

of the Director of Contracts shall be final.

Where the Director of Contracts awards compensation in

accordance with the provisions of these regulations, it shall be

specifically understood and agreed that such award shall not in any

way prejudice the contract conditions, and the temporary suspension

of the provisions shall only apply on an ad hoc basis. In addition

(a)

the Director of Contracts shall keep a full record

of any approved compensation, which shall be formalised

through an addendum in the contract documents; and

(b)

payment of such compensation shall be effected,

and shall be borne solely, by the contracting authority.

In awarding compensation in accordance with the

provisions of these regulations, the Director of Contracts shall be

guided by the provisions of public contracts, as applicable, as the term

is defined in the Public Procurement Regulations, as well as any

relevant provision contained in the said Public Procurement

Regulations and, or the Water, Energy, Transport and Postal Services

Sectors Regulations.

The provisions of these regulations shall expire on the

31st July 2023, and no request for compensation shall be accepted as

from the said date onwards. Consequently, on the said date, the

temporary suspension of the provisions which are the subject of these

regulations shall automatically lapse.