Tender procedures in Uzbekistan

Jun 15
3 min read

Under Uzbek law, state customers are generally required to procure goods, works and services through public procurement procedures. In this very short article, we have highlighted the key points of tender procedures in Uzbekistan to be considered before deciding to bid.

Pursuant to Article 30 of the Law, the following procurement methods may be used:

Electronic store;
Simplified procedure for low-value procurements;
Reverse auction (auction for reduction of the starting price);
Request for the best proposals;
Tender;
Two-stage procurement;
Direct contracting;
Other competitive procurement methods authorized by decrees and resolutions of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan or resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers.

According to Article 19 of the Law, the following entities qualify as state customers:

1. Budget customers:

State authorities and institutions;
Budget-funded organizations;
Recipients of budget funds allocated for procurement procedures;
State trust funds;
Other funds established within budget organizations.

2. Corporate customers:

Legal entities in which the state owns 50% or more of the charter capital;
Legal entities in which organizations specified above collectively own 50% or more of the charter capital;
Legal entities in which entities controlled by such organizations collectively own 50% or more of the charter capital.

In practice, the most frequently used procurement procedures are the Request for the Best Proposals (“Selection”) and Tender procedures. The key differences and similarities are indicated in the table below:

Criteria	Public procurement types
Criteria	“Selection”	“Tender”
Threshold for corporate customer	up to 860 000 USD	more than 860 000 USD
Threshold for state customer	up to 206 000 USD	more than 206 000 USD
Type of bidding process	Electron (online)	Electron (online)
Bidding platform	etender.uzex.uz	etender.uzex.uz
Length of announcement	at least 5 business days	at least 12 business days
Conclusion of the Center (“NAPU”)	n/a	mandatory
Minimum number of complying bids	2	2
Evaluation period	up to 10 business days	up to 45 business days
Public discussion of award	2 business days	n/a
Deadline for contract conclusion	10 business days upon announcement of results	10 business days upon announcement of results

In addition, the Law permits certain procurements to be carried out through direct contracting without conducting procurement procedures. These include, among others:

Procurement from a sole supplier included in the Register of Sole Suppliers;
Procurement directly authorized by presidential decrees, presidential resolutions or resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers;
Procurement necessary to address emergency situations;
Appointment of advocates or representatives for court proceedings;
Procurement of intellectual property rights and products that can only be supplied by the copyright holder or exclusive rights holder;
Procurement of goods, works and services with state-regulated prices or tariffs;
Travel-related purchases, including airline, railway and public transport tickets and accommodation expenses;
Post-warranty maintenance, spare parts procurement, software support and enhancement services where alternative suppliers are unavailable;
Storage, import and export of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances;
Procurement required to prevent or eliminate epidemics, diseases or other emergency circumstances;
Procurement necessary to eliminate the consequences of natural disasters, technological accidents and equipment failures affecting the operations of a state customer;
Procurement of vouchers for sanatoriums, health resorts, children's camps and tickets for cultural events;
Procurement of new vehicles, special machinery and agricultural equipment from domestic manufacturers or their authorized dealers and distributors;
Additional works and services not exceeding 10% of the original contract value (subject to statutory exceptions);
Procurement of aviation equipment, aircraft, aircraft engines, spare parts and aviation-related software by aviation enterprises;
Expenditures connected with official visits of the President of Uzbekistan, foreign heads of state and government, members of parliament and international delegations;
Procurement financed from the reserve fund of the Cabinet of Ministers and certain parliamentary allocations;
Procurement of food products for healthcare institutions, educational institutions, social care facilities and similar establishments;
Medical examination, treatment, surgical procedures and rehabilitation services;
Educational programs and specialist training abroad organized by the “El-Yurt Umidi” Foundation, including engagement of foreign scholars and experts;
Telecommunications, internet and broadcasting services procured from existing contractual service providers.

Whether you require comprehensive end-to-end legal support throughout the procurement process or representation in procurement disputes and court proceedings or need legal memorandum on any other related issue, our team is ready to assist.