Discusses the legal requirements for selling to the host government, including whether the government has agreed to abide by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement or is a party to a government procurement chapter in a U.S. FTA. Specifies areas where there are opportunities.

Guatemala’s Government Procurement Law requires most government purchases over Q 900,000 (about  USD 116,916) to be submitted for public competitive bidding.  Any government acquisition of goods, supplies or services that exceeds Q 90,000 (approximately USD 11,692) is subject to price quotation procedures, which also require public competition through Guatecompras. 

Since March 2004, government entities are required to use Guatecompras, an Internet-based electronic system to track GoG procurement processes.  GoG entities must also comply with GoG procurement commitments under CAFTA-DR.   Tender proceedings are public in the Republic of Guatemala.  Any party or person can track the development of any tender process or tenders already awarded at www.guatecompras.gt.

It is advisable for any foreign company interested in engaging in a commercial relationship to be associated with a local market participant.  Foreign companies can participate in government procurement modalities without a local business associate, but must show that the company has provisionally registered with the Mercantile Registry.  If the foreign company is awarded a public contract, it must demonstrate that it is properly registered to operate in the country through an authorized branch.  Although it is technically possible to provisionally register a company during the bidding process, in practice it is hard to complete the process before the deadline for submitting a bid.

Tender proceedings can only be excluded in expressly stipulated emergency cases in the Government Procurement Law.

Government procurements executed by one government administration are occasionally challenged, breached or unpaid by the subsequent administration.  In some of these cases, the U.S. Embassy can assist and service U.S. firms by encouraging the government to respect the legally binding executed agreements.

Guatemala is not a signatory to the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement.

Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks. Please refer to “Project Financing” Section in “Trade and Project Financing” for more information. 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.