Government Procurement Act
(CHAPTER 120)

(Original Enactment: Act 14 of 1997)

REVISED EDITION 1998
(30th May 1998)
An Act to give effect to the Agreement on Government Procurement and other international obligations of Singapore relating to procurements by the Government and public authorities, and for purposes connected therewith.
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[13th May 2002]
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Short title and commencement
1.  This Act may be cited as the Government Procurement Act and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.*
*  This Act came into operation on 13th May 2002 (S 214/2002).
Interpretation
2.  In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —
“Agreement on Government Procurement” means the Agreement by that name done at Marrakesh on 15th April 1994;
“award”, in relation to a contract or tender, means to accept an offer made;
“challenge proceeding” means any proceeding under Part III;
“Commissioner” means the Commissioner appointed under section 8(2) and includes an acting Commissioner appointed under section 8(9);
“contracting authority” means a ministry or department of the Government, an organ of State or a statutory board declared, by order made under section 4(1), as a contracting authority for the purposes of this Act;
“Deputy Commissioner” means a Deputy Commissioner appointed under section 8(2);
“document” includes an electronic record;
“legal officer” has the same meaning as in the Government Proceedings Act (Cap. 121);
“procurement” means procurement of goods or service or a combination of goods and service by any contractual means, such as purchase or lease, rental or hire purchase, with or without an option to buy the goods or service or combination of goods and service;
“procurement subject to the Act” means a procurement declared, by order made under section 4(2), to be a procurement subject to the Act;
“qualification of suppliers” means a process undertaken by a contracting authority to shortlist suppliers for a particular procurement, a particular type of procurement or procurement in general;
“relevant State” means a country or territory declared, by order made under section 3, as a relevant State for the purposes of this Act;
“relevant supplier”, in relation to a procurement subject to the Act, means —
(a)a supplier who is a national of Singapore or of a relevant State that is specified as one to which that procurement relates in the order made under section 4(2) declaring that procurement as one subject to the Act;
(b)a supplier which is a company or an association or a body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, which is formed under the laws of Singapore or such relevant State and has its principal place of business in Singapore or such relevant State; or
(c)a supplier, or supplier within a class of suppliers, specified under that order as a relevant supplier or class of relevant suppliers in relation to that procurement;
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“supplier” means a person who sought, or who seeks, or who would have wished, to be the person to whom a contract of procurement, being a procurement subject to the Act, is awarded;
“Tribunal” means the Government Procurement Adjudication Tribunal established under section 8.
Relevant State
3.  The Minister may, from time to time, by order published in the Gazette, declare any country or territory as a relevant State for the purposes of this Act.
Application
4.—(1)  The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, declare any ministry or department of the Government, organ of State or statutory board as a contracting authority for the purposes of this Act.
(2)  The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, declare a procurement to be subject to the Act.
(3)  An order made under subsection (2) may identify the procurement by one or more of the following:
(a)the means by which the procurement is undertaken;
(b)the contracting authority undertaking the procurement;
(c)the goods or service, or combination of goods and service, to be procured;
(d)the value of the procurement.
(4)  An order made under subsection (2) may specify —
(a)the method by which the procurement is to be valued;
(b)the circumstances under which the procurement is not a procurement subject to the Act;
(c)the grounds on which the contracting authority may exclude a procurement, or an act or measure to be taken in relation to a procurement, from the application of all or any of the regulations made under section 6; and
(d)the effect of an exclusion referred to in paragraph (c).
(5)  An order made under subsection (2) —
(a)shall specify that the procurement is a procurement subject to the Act in relation to all relevant States or a specified relevant State; and
(b)may specify any supplier or class of suppliers as a relevant supplier or class of relevant suppliers in relation to that procurement for the purposes of paragraph (c) of the definition of “relevant supplier” in section 2.
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Certification by Minister
5.—(1)  The Minister may issue a certificate certifying that a particular procurement is not a procurement subject to the Act by virtue of section 4(4)(b).
(2)  The Minister may issue a certificate certifying that a ground referred to in section 4(4)(c) exists in relation to a particular procurement or an act or measure in relation to a particular procurement.
(3)  A certificate issued under subsection (1) or (2) shall be conclusive evidence of the matters so certified.