The official newspaper Umm Al-Qura has disclosed information about the control of government agencies in Saudi Arabia that enter into contracts with companies that do not have a regional headquarters in the Kingdom.
Government agencies are not permitted, in carrying out their work and securing their purchases, to enter into contracts with companies that do not have a regional headquarters in the Kingdom, or any related party, except in accordance with its provisions.
The control measures contained in the decision determine the cases in which public authorities will be allowed to enter into contracts with companies that do not have a regional headquarters in the Kingdom, provided that business and purchases, the estimated value of which does not exceed one million rials, or which are carried out for outside the Kingdom are excluded from the application of these control measures.
The Ministry of Investment, in consultation with the Ministry and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, on the basis of agreed standards and controls, prepares a list of companies that do not have a regional headquarters in the Kingdom. The list is updated periodically or as needed.
And Article Six stated: “Without prejudice to what is required by the provisions of the law applied by public authorities in carrying out their work and securing their purchases, the control does not prevent companies not having a regional headquarters in the Kingdom, or any related party from filing proposals for any public competition offered by any of these agencies, provided that these organizations do not accept applications from these companies or related parties, except in one of two cases. Case 1: There is no more than one technically acceptable bid, and Case 2: A bid submitted by a company with no regional headquarters in the Kingdom or a relevant party is the best bid after an overall evaluation from a technical point of view and financially less than 25% or more of the value second best offer.
Article 7 of the control provides that public authorities may not invite companies that do not have a regional headquarters in the Kingdom, or any related party to participate in the limited competitions they offer, except in one of two cases: a competitor, except for companies that are not it has a regional headquarters in the Kingdom to conduct business, provide necessary procurement or have an emergency that can only be dealt with by inviting companies that do not have a regional headquarters in the Kingdom. .
The Articles oblige government agencies that have contracted with any company that does not have a regional headquarters in the Kingdom or a related party, in accordance with the provisions, to prepare a report including the reasons that prompted them to enter into a contract and provide a common Audit Office and the Office of Value for Money and state projects with a copy, within a period not exceeding 30 working days from the date of signing the contract.
