Procedural changes within the framework of the new public procurement law and participation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the market

Abstract

High requirements of contracting authorities in relation to contractors, a high degree of formalization of procedures and high costs of participation in proceedings constitute the main barriers for the participation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the public procurement market. Change in the legislator’s approach to the analyzed area of law by moving away from the strictly purchasing instrument model towards a tool that enables the achievement of efficiency of spending public funds by ensuring their wider impact (among others, as a part of supporting entrepreneurs from the SME sectors) is the basic assumption of the new Public Procurement Law. Within the framework of this article, the implemented legal solutions were analyzed and compared with barriers indicated by entrepreneurs as the reasons for the lack of their participation in public tenders. The conducted research enabled to evaluate the rightness of the adopted solutions in the theoretical aspect and formulate conclusions in relation to their potential and practical effectiveness.