Information Provided to Suppliers

1. A procuring entity shall promptly inform participating suppliers of the entity’s contract award decisions and, on the request of a supplier, shall do so in writing. Subject to Articles 19.6.2 and 19.6.3, a procuring entity shall, on request, provide an unsuccessful supplier with an explanation of the reasons why the entity did not select its tender and the relative advantages of the successful supplier’s tender.

Publication of Award Information

2. Not later than 72 days after the award of each contract covered by this Chapter, a procuring entity shall publish a notice in the appropriate paper or electronic medium listed in Annex 19-8. If the entity publishes the notice only in an electronic medium, the information shall remain readily accessible for a reasonable period of time. The notice shall include at least the following information:

(a) a description of the goods or services procured;
(b) the name and address of the procuring entity;
(c) the name and address of the successful supplier;
(d) the value of the successful tender or the highest and lowest offers taken into account in the award of the contract;
(e) the date of award; and
(f) the type of procurement method used, and in cases where limited tendering was used in accordance with Article 19.12, a description of the circumstances justifying the use of limited tendering.

Maintenance of Documentation, Reports and Electronic Traceability

3. Each procuring entity shall, for a period of at least three years from the date it awards a contract, maintain:

(a) the documentation and reports of tendering procedures and contract awards relating to covered procurement, including the reports required under Article 19.12; and
(b) data that ensure the appropriate traceability of the conduct of covered procurement by electronic means.

Collection and Reporting of Statistics

4. Each Party shall collect and report to the Committee on Government Procurement statistics on its contracts covered by this Chapter. Each report shall cover one year and be submitted within two years of the end of the reporting period, and shall contain:

(a) for Annex 19-1 procuring entities:
(i) the number and total value, for all such entities, of all contracts covered by this Chapter;
(ii) the number and total value of all contracts covered by this Chapter awarded by each such entity, broken down by categories of goods and services according to an internationally recognised uniform classification system; and
(iii) the number and total value of all contracts covered by this Chapter awarded by each such entity under limited tendering;
(b) for Annexes 19-2 and 19-3 procuring entities, the number and total value of contracts covered by this Chapter awarded by all such entities, broken down by Annex; and
(c) estimates for the data required under sub-paragraphs (a) and (b), with an explanation of the methodology used to develop the estimates, if it is not feasible to provide the data.

5. If a Party publishes its statistics on an official website, in a manner that is consistent with the requirements of paragraph 4, the Party may, instead of reporting to the Committee on Government Procurement, provide a link to the website, together with any instructions necessary to access and use such statistics.

6. If a Party requires notices concerning awarded contracts, pursuant to paragraph 2, to be published electronically and if such notices are accessible to the public through a single database in a form permitting analysis of the covered contracts, the Party may, instead of reporting to the Committee on Government Procurement, provide a link to the website, together with any instructions necessary to access and use such data.