Public procurement in Serbia reaches EUR 6.5 billion in 2026, every second contract exempt from law

Since the beginning of this year, public procurement contracts in Serbia totaling 764 billion dinars (EUR 6.5 billion) have been concluded through just over 400,000 agreements. Of these, 57 percent are exempt from the provisions of the Law on Public Procurement, it was reported today.

The Open Data (Otvoreni podaci) database indicates that approximately 40 percent of procedures were conducted via the open procedure within the electronic public procurement system, a process used for procurement procedures valued at up to EUR 150,000 and construction works up to EUR 500,000. The deadline for bid submission is at least 15 days, whereas for procurement procedures exceeding these amounts, the deadline cannot be shorter than 30 days, reports Biznis.rs.

Data from the credit rating agency CompanyWall shows that there were 5,308 public contracting authorities in Serbia in 2024. This figure rose to 5,354 last year, while 4,616 contracting authorities have been recorded so far this year.

The number of bidders stood at 47,693 in 2024 and 47,419 last year, while 33,623 bidders have been recorded since the beginning of this year. According to data from Open Procurement Procedures (Otvorene nabavke), the total value of contracts concluded through public procurement in 2024 amounted to 1.418 billion dinars. This figure fell to 1.274 billion dinars last year, while in the current year, it has already exceeded 750 billion.

Today marks the final day in Serbia for consultations and the collection of comments regarding the Draft Action Plan for 2027, designed to implement the Public Procurement Development Program for the 2024–2028 period.

This process is being managed by the Public Procurement Office. In the Draft, the Office notes that the continuity in executing established activities, carried out through three preceding annual action plans for 2024, 2025, and 2026, has contributed to the further development of the public procurement system.

– All activities defined in this action plan are aimed at achieving the general and specific objectives of the Program, as well as further improving the public procurement system in Serbia, with the goal of meeting all benchmarks for the closure of Chapter 5 - Public Procurement – the Draft states.

As noted, the document lacks many precise parameters set as targets. For at least half of the indicators, 2026 is designated as the baseline year, a year for which data will only become available at its conclusion. Furthermore, there is no estimate of the necessary financial resources, as this will only be prepared following public consultations and the drafting of the final Action Plan proposal for 2027.

Milos Djordjevic, a legal advisor at Transparency Serbia, told Biznis.rs that the draft Action Plan, along with the Public Procurement Development Program for 2024–2028, acknowledges the issue of competition, specifically, the low average number of bids, and seeks to address it through several measures and activities.

– I believe this problem cannot be solved solely by changing regulations or implementing activities carried out by state authorities. Responsibility for the low level of competition also lies with individual contracting authorities and bidders. In the past, we have often seen positive examples, contracting authorities achieving high levels of competition when their public procurement officers are motivated to perform their work. Naturally, this is linked to their financial standing and general working conditions – Djordjevic stated.

Transparency Serbia has repeatedly warned that a key vulnerability within Serbia's public procurement system is the practice of circumventing the Law on Public Procurement, primarily through intergovernmental agreements and special laws (lex specialis) enacted for strategic projects.

The draft Action Plan for 2027, it is noted, introduces no new elements in this regard, as the content of the Action Plans is dictated by the Public Procurement Development Program for 2024–2028, which serves as the strategic document for this sector.

– Unfortunately, the Development Program fails to acknowledge the practice of circumventing the Law on Public Procurement, via intergovernmental agreements and special laws, as a key weakness or challenge within the system, even though Transparency Serbia highlighted this issue during the adoption process of the Development Program. Consequently, this draft Action Plan, much like its predecessors, offers no concrete solutions to curb such practices – he stated.

Transparentnost Srbija Beograd

COMPANYWALL DOO BEOGRAD

Transparency Serbia

Public Procurement Office

CompanyWall

Miloš Đorđević

public procurement procedures

Law on Public Procurement

exemption

Draft Action Plan for 2027 for implementation of Public Procurement Development Program for 2024 2028 period