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.

Selling to Government

Hungary’s Public Procurement Act CXLIII was passed in 2015.  The law regulates only the various forms of procurement however, the national thresholds are always contained in the actual Budget Law. In case of a general, simplified procurement the national threshold for procurement of goods remains at HUF 8 million (Hungarian Forints), which amounts to approximately $29,000. For construction, the threshold is HUF 15 million ($55,000), and for services, HUF 8 million ($29,000). The national threshold for construction concessions amounts to HUF 100 million ($368,000) and HUF 25 million ($92,000) for services concessions.

In case of special simplified public procurement, the national threshold is HUF 50 million ($184,000) for procurement of goods and services, and HUF 100 million ($368,000) for construction investments.

The EU thresholds require open tenders (published in TED – Tenders Electronic Daily) for purchases of goods and services (except in R&D and telecom) exceeding   EUR 130,000 (about $152,913) when procured by Hungary’s Ministries, the Prime Minister’s Office, or the Centralized Public Procurement Agency (CPPA). For all other central or local government institutions, the open tender threshold for goods and services is EUR 200,000 (about $235,251). For construction and construction concessions, the threshold is EUR 5,000,000 (approx. $5,881,280) regardless of which public entity.

Hungary’s CPPA serves more than 1,000 institutions that receive financing from the Hungarian central budget. The CPA generally requires procuring agencies to select from a centralized list of specific products and vendors. Tender announcements and decisions by Hungary’s Commission of Arbitrators are published weekly in the “Kozbeszerzesi Ertesito” (Public Procurement Gazette, Hungarian language only). The Law on Public Procurement and related regulations, as well as Hungary’s list of certified suppliers for public procurement projects, can also be found at this Hungarian language website.  Information may also be found on the www.export.gov website, European Union-Selling to the Government article.

 

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.