News

New changes to the value of contracts required to be advertised in the Official Journal of the European Journal (OJEU).

The European Commission has announced the new thresholds for European procurement for the period from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2017. Public contracts with an estimated value exceeding these thresholds must, in principle, follow the European procurement process according to the applicable regulations.

Procurement regulations set out the rules by which public bodies must abide when carrying out the process of advertising contracts; the EU Thresholds indicate the value for the tendering of goods, works or services which must be advertised through the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU).

The threshold amounts are adjusted every two years based on the average daily value of the Euro and they show a decrease from the previous period. For example, a Local Authority contract for a service or the supply of goods had to be over the value £172,514 to be advertised in OJEU, the new Thresholds means it will require to be advertised in the OJEU over the value of £164,176.  The amounts are exclusive of VAT and make a distinction between central and local authorities.

But help is on hand for Scottish SMe’s– why not attend the Supplier Development Programme’s free workshops and webinars providing you with support on how to tender and bid better.

The new thresholds apply to all public contracting authorities, this includes central government departments, their executive agencies, non-departmental public bodies, and the wider public sector ( such as local authorities,  the NHS, Emergency Services as well as Housing Associations to name a few).

 Read the Scottish Procurement Policy Note including details of the EU Threshold values.