Finance

Public procurement aims to ensure transparency, equal opportunities for bidders and obtaining the best possible products or services at the best possible price, while complying with established legal regulations and procedures.

The formation and execution of public contracts is regulated by the Public Contracts Code (CCP).

Decree-Law no. 78/2022, of November 7, amends Law no. 30/2021, of May 21, which approves special public procurement measures and amends the Public Procurement Code, approved in annex to Decree-Law no. 60/2018, of August 3, which simplifies the procedures necessary for the pursuit of research and development activities.

These changes mainly consist of allowing contracting entities to adopt invitation-based contracting procedures, without a notice in the Official Gazette. These procedures may only involve the economic agents invited to do so.

This law extends the term of this special regime, which was initially set to run until the end of 2022 and has been extended until the end of 2026. The areas of focus are essentially housing, information and knowledge technologies, the health sector and social support. This law also clarifies the special measures for pre-contractual procedures in relation to the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), which do not require a ministerial order.
_{in Bulletin of the Portuguese Bar Association}

With the publication of Decree-Law no. 223/2009, of September 11, the so-called transitional regime for the use of paper support in the submission of bids or applications was abolished, and as of November 1, 2009, the use of an electronic procurement platform for the formation of public procurement procedures became mandatory.

They take place entirely on the Electronic Public Procurement Platform adopted by the Municipality of Lisbon acinGov

It means integrating sustainability into all stages of public procurement by including environmental, social and economic sustainability criteria in the procedural documents.

Since the end of 2022, Lisbon City Council has been the first organization - public and private - in Portugal to obtain recognition for implementing the Sustainable Purchasing system through the ISO20400 Standard.