The New Hungarian Public Procurement Act

Act No. CVIII of 2011 on public procurements (the New Act) was promulgated on 20 July 2011 to replace the former public procurement act that had been in effect since 2003. The New Act enters into force on 1 January 2012. Pursuant to the official interpretation to the New Act, the adoption of the new regulation became necessary due to the complex and non-transparent nature of the former public procurement act. The legislative interpretation also sets out that the New Act better serves the ultimate purposes of public procurements: spending public funds on a best value for money basis, transparency of such spendings and clarity of the relevant competition. Beyond these purposes, the New Act aims to improve the chances of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to successfully participate in the public procurement procedures and to decrease the go-round debts.