Specific principles and procedures have recently been published and entered into effect for procurements made within the scope of Article 3(b) of Public Procurement Law number 4734 ("Public Procurement Law"). These include (collectively described here as "the Principles and Procedures"):

  • Principles and procedures prepared by the Court of Accounts and published in Official Gazette number 29437 on 6 August 2015 ("Court of Accounts' Principles and Procedures").
  • Principles prepared by the Revenue Administration published in Official Gazette number 29424 on 24 July 2015 ("Revenue Administration's Principles").

 Article 3(b) of the Public Procurement Law states that (except for provisions related to prohibition and criminal matters) the Public Procurement Law will not apply to procurement of goods, services and works which the relevant ministry decides:

  • Relate to defense, security or intelligence.
  • Must be treated confidentially.
  • Require special security measures during performance of the contract, pursuant to legislation.
  • Involve cases in which the basic interests of the state's security must be protected.

The Public Procurement Law contains fundamental general principles which must be applied in all cases. However, for procurements which fall within the categories noted above, the relevant parts of the Principles and Procedures must also apply in addition to general principles.

The Court of Accounts and Revenue Administration respectively prepared the Principles and Procedures based on Article 4 of the Public Procurement Law, which requires relevant institutions to prepare principles and procedures relating to Article 3(b). The Principles and Procedures also outline implementation and establishment details.

The main differences between the Principles and Procedures, compared to general procurement procedures under the Public Procurement Law are:

  • The Court of Accounts must select either a negotiated or restricted procedure for public procurement of goods, services and constructions within the scope of the Court of Accounts' Principles and Procedures (Article 6 of the Court of Accounts' Principles and Procedures). However, the Revenue Administration must use a negotiated procedure for public procurement within the scope of the Revenue Administration's Principles (Article 6 of the Revenue Administration's Principles).
  • Direct procurement can be made in certain circumstances. Direct procurement means there is no public announcement and the administrative and technical requirements and prices are negotiated (Article 9 of the Court of Accounts' Principles and Procedures; Article 8 of the Revenue Administration's Principles).
  • Complaints can be made to the Court of Accounts about unlawful procedures or actions within the procurement process (Article 33 of the Court of Accounts Principles and Procedures). However, no appeals can be filed to the Public Procurement Authority regarding procurements made within the Court of Accounts' Principles and Procedures.
  • The Court of Accounts and the Revenue Administration will draft additional documents relating to supervision, inspection and acceptance. For matters which the Principles and Procedures do not specifically address, the Court of Accounts and the Revenue Administration must apply general provisions from the Public Procurement Law and the Public Procurement Contracts Law numbered 4753.

Please see this link for the full text of the Court of Accounts' Decision accepted by General Assembly Resolution numbered 5391/1, including Principles and Procedures, and this link for full text of the Council of Ministers' Decision accepted by Cabinet Decree 2015/7755, including the Principles (only available in Turkish).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.