Dhaka:Finance and Planning Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today introduced a bill in Jatiya Sangsad seeking to amend the public procurement law. The proposed revision aims to enhance accountability and competitiveness within the government's purchasing system.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the bill seeks to protect local industries, foster competition in public procurement, expand contract provisions, and modernize procedures under the open tendering method. The proposed law includes provisions for ratio-based evaluation of goods, works, and services, known as the "Rated Criteria" concept, to promote sustainable procurement.
The amendment also proposes special provisions to encourage participation from new, micro and small enterprises, women, and disadvantaged bidders in government procurement. Additionally, it suggests employing the limited tendering method to ensure balanced resource distribution, clarifying professional misconduct provisions, and maintaining alternative procurement arrangements for urgent purchases.
The parliamentary standing committee had previously scrutinized the Public Procurement (2nd amendment) Bill, 2026 within two working days after it was referred by the House. The bill was introduced following the prior promulgation of the Public Procurement (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 by the past interim government, which removed the price cap in tender evaluation.
Opposition lawmaker Mohammad Nazibur Rahman of Pabna-1 raised concerns about the circumstances that led the interim government to promulgate the ordinance bypassing parliament. In response, Chowdhury assured that the bill would be passed through the parliamentary process and that the ordinance's promulgation was part of a constitutional procedure.
Since its inception in 2006, the Public Procurement Act has undergone six amendments. The draft of the current amendment was earlier published online by the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) and Planning Ministry's Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) to gather public input. The amendment received approval in principle and final form at the 26th Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on November 2.