The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Finance answered reporters' questions on the revision of the "Complaints Handling Measures for Government Procurement Suppliers"
9 January 2018 Source: Department of Treaty and Law
To further standardize the behavior of questioning and complaining about government procurement，Protect the legitimate rights and interests of parties involved in government procurement activities，Ministry of Finance on the Handling of Complaints against Government Procurement Suppliers (Ministry of Finance Order No. 20，Order No. 20) has been amended，The name of the regulation was amended，Promulgated the Measures for Questioning and Complaining about Government Procurement (Ministry of Finance Order No. 94)，Hereinafter referred to as the Measures)，Effective from March 1, 2018。Recently, the relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Finance accepted an interview with reporters on relevant issues。
Q: Please brief us on the background of the Measures。
A: Since the Government Procurement Law came into effect on January 1, 2003, a government procurement legal system has been gradually formed, which is led by the Government Procurement Law and its implementing regulations and is based on a number of departmental rules。Since the promulgation and implementation of Decree No. 20 in 2004, it has effectively prevented and corrected improper and illegal acts in government procurement, protected the legitimate rights and interests of parties involved in government procurement, and achieved good results。However, with the development of the economy and society and the deepening of the reform of the government procurement system, Order No. 20 has not fully met the needs of current laws and regulations and actual supervision。In order to implement the requirements of the report of the 19th National Congress of the Party on adhering to the comprehensive rule of law，We will improve regulatory relief measures for government procurement，Promote the transformation of government procurement management from "heavy approval, light supervision" to "strengthen post-event supervision"，We will further safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of suppliers and a fair and just market order，Ensure the continuous release of market vitality，Order No. 20 has been revised by the organization of our ministry，We will work hard to build a transparent government and transparent finance。
Q: What are the highlights of this revision？
A: The Measures have a total of 6 chapters and 45 articles, 14 new, 1 deleted and 29 revised compared with Decree No. 20。Major revisions include:
The first is to amend the name of the regulation and add a special chapter to stipulate the challenge procedure。The name of the regulations has been amended in the Measures，A chapter on "Raising and responding to challenges" has been added，The qualifications of the challenged suppliers, the contents of the letter of challenge and the reply to the challenge, the processing period of the challenge, the processing method and other related aspects were regulated，In practice, the purchaser and the procurement agency refuse to accept the question letter issued by the supplier during the legal question period, and do not reply to the question according to law，The corresponding legal responsibility has been clarified。
The second is to supplement and refine the relevant provisions of the government Procurement Law and regulations。The Measures make it clear that procurement agencies shall reply to questions within the scope of authorization;It provides for participation in government procurement activities in the form of consortia，The complaint shall be submitted jointly by all suppliers of the consortium;The supplier is required to challenge the evaluation process, the winning bid or the result of the transaction，The purchaser and the procurement agency may organize the original review committee to assist in answering questions;The contents of the complaint should be improved，And the handling methods of the financial department when the content of the complaint does not meet the requirements;Supplementary provisions of the financial department to organize cross-examination of the relevant requirements，The consequences of the complainant and the respondent failing to provide relevant evidentiary materials as required，Circumstances under which the financial department should reject the complaint;It specifies the time required for inspection, testing, appraisal, expert review and material correction by the complainant that is not included in the complaint processing period，And the handling method of the financial department if the complaint is true。
Third, further strengthen openness and transparency, improve procurement efficiency, and ensure fairness and justice。The Measures provide that the financial department shall publish information such as the contact person, contact telephone number and correspondence address for accepting complaints in the designated government procurement information release media，Further improve transparency and optimize services;Suppliers' challenges to the same part of the procurement process are properly regulated，To improve procurement efficiency and administrative effectiveness;It is clear that the potential supplier has legally obtained the procurement documents that it can challenge，The document can be challenged;For the contents of the complaint that do not meet the requirements, the provisions of the rectification period are added，To fully safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of suppliers。
Fourth, the relevant powers and responsibilities of the financial sector have been clarified。In response to the unclear rights and responsibilities of the financial department, the Measures make it clear that if the complaint is found not to meet the legal conditions for acceptance after investigation, the financial department should reject the complaint。Order No. 20 stipulates that the financial department shall "transfer the complaint not under the jurisdiction of the department to the department with jurisdiction", and the "Measures" amend it to "shall inform the complainant in writing within 3 working days to file a complaint with the department with jurisdiction".。
Fifth, we will bring effective practices into the scope of the Measures。In 2012, our department has made provisions for practical problems: cross-regional joint procurement projects，When multiple financial departments have received complaints，Different levels of budget are handled by the financial department at the highest level;Same budget level，By the financial authority that first received the complaint;The response to the challenge leads to a change in the bidding or transaction result，The purchaser or purchasing agency shall report the relevant information to the financial department for the record。From the practical situation, the effect is better, "Measures" absorbed the content。
Sixth, make technical improvement with reference to the existing law and judicial interpretation。Order No. 20 does not clearly stipulate foreign-related and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan-related evidence and period calculation, and local practices are inconsistent in practice。With reference to the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Evidence in Administrative Proceedings, the Measures regulate the requirements for evidence involving foreign interests and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.With reference to the civil procedure law, the period calculation is clearly stipulated。
Q: What specific measures are stipulated in the Measures to further promote law-based procurement by purchasers？
A: Purchasers and procurement agents are the organizations and implementors of government procurement activities, and their behavioral norms directly affect the standardization level of the entire government procurement activities。The Measures regulate the raising and replying to challenges, clearly strengthen the obligations of purchasers and agencies in replying to challenges, prohibit them from refusing to accept the letter of challenge, and specify the obligations of purchasers and procurement agencies in the complaint handling stage to reply, and ensure the implementation of the obligation through reasonable responsibility clauses。These measures are conducive to promoting purchasers and procurement agencies to improve the standardization level of government procurement behavior and enhance their subject awareness of procurement according to law。
Q: What specific measures are provided for in the Measures to further protect the legitimate rights and interests of suppliers？
A: The Measures provide for the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of suppliers: the scope of potential suppliers is clearly defined;The financial department is required to publish information such as the contact person, contact phone number and correspondence address for accepting complaints in the designated government procurement information release media，Further improve transparency and optimize services，Reduced supplier complaint costs，Facilitate suppliers to lodge complaints in accordance with the law;The provisions on the time limit for correction of the contents of the complaint that do not meet the requirements are added;It clarifies the service and announcement obligations of various documents in the process of responding to questions and handling complaints。Therefore, the implementation of the Measures can give greater protection to the legitimate rights and interests of suppliers from both procedural and substantive aspects, so as to ensure the fairness, justice and openness of the challenge complaint process。
Q: What specific measures are stipulated in the Measures to optimize the allocation of regulatory resources and improve administrative efficiency？
A: The Measures clarify the specific handling procedures for complaints, such as acceptance conditions, time limits and handling methods, especially the calculation of time limits and periods, which is highly operable and conducive to timely and standardized handling of complaints。At the same time, the Measures make provisions on limiting the abuse of complaints by suppliers。On the whole, the implementation of the Measures will further improve the efficiency of the financial sector in performing its supervision and management duties in government procurement。
Q: The Measures will come into effect on March 1, 2018. How does the Ministry of Finance plan to implement them？
A: In order to implement the Measures, we will actively carry out the following work: First, carry out extensive publicity work。The Measures have been widely publicized through the portal website of the Ministry of Finance, China Financial News, China Government Procurement News, China Government Procurement Magazine, Government Procurement Information Newspaper and other media, taking the initiative to answer questions and clarify doubts, and respond to the concerns of all parties。Second, make every effort to do a good job in training。Prepare interpretation materials, hold training courses, conduct special training for central units and local financial departments, explain and explain the key contents of the revision in detail, and help accurately understand and grasp the content and requirements of the Measures。Third, we will promptly introduce relevant supporting policies and systems。Formulate and issue a series of supporting normative documents such as government procurement question letter model and complaint model in a timely manner。At the same time, the current relevant normative documents are cleaned up to maintain consistency。
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