What does the new ZJN-3B bring?

The new ZJN-3B was adopted in July 2021 and will enter into force on January 1, 2022. The news and changes may seem small, but they are important for both providers and subscribers, so I suggest you review them below. Some things are simplified and unified, e.g. tender documentation can only be published on the public procurement portal, and some are stricter, e.g. a new offense for providers who do not report data related to subcontractors.

CHANGE OF LIMIT VALUES FOR THE USE OF ZJN-3B:

- for public procurement in the general field:

- An exception has been added for JN social and other special services - the limit of EUR 750,000 does not apply to the hiring of security guards and legal services/ in these cases, the general rules from the table above apply.

- Infrastructure area - does not change

SUBSCRIBER'S ANNOUNCEMENTS:

- Clients may no longer publish on their website, but only on the public procurement portal:

a) tender documentation (for example: municipalities, DRSI), with the exception of documentation that cannot be published on PJN due to the format/size of file protection;

b) lists of registered orders over EUR 10,000 (without VAT).

- Subscribers report registered orders over EUR 10,000 based on the actual value (without VAT) and no longer based on the estimated value.

- Communication of order records without a public procurement procedure:

• Until now: record orders,

• From 1/1/2022: registered orders + excluded lots according to paragraph 5. Article 73 of ZJN-3 (compound up to 20% of JN, maximum up to EUR 80,000) + exceptions according to Article 27, new item 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th.

- Municipalities and other municipal authorities are equal to public entities (institutions,...) regarding the obligation to publish a public contract in the Official Gazette of the EU for public contracts for goods and services - i.e. from EUR 214,000 (excluding VAT).

- Within 30 days from the finality - mandatory publication of the suspension of the procedure / rejection of all offers.

- Framework agreements - periodic (quarterly) reporting on each individual order has been abolished.

NEW RULES FOR OPENING OFFERS:

i) Bids are only opened electronically;

ii) There must be at least 1 hour from submission of bids to opening;

iii) The record of the opening is sent to the bidders in written form, if automatic electronic access to it is not guaranteed;

iv) The deadline for submission of offers is extended, if submission of offers is not possible due to non-functioning of electronic systems, by 2 working days (NMV) or 5 working days (other procedures) under the following conditions:

• The system does not work in the last 60 minutes before the deadline for submitting offers,

• The provider informs the client about this no later than 30 minutes after the deadline for submitting offers,

• The administrator of the electronic system confirms the malfunction of the system,

• The offeror failed to submit an offer,

• The bids received have not yet been opened.

CONDITION OF IMPUNITY:

- An extract from the criminal record is valid, which is not older than 4 months before the deadline for submitting bids or is obtained no later than 90 days after the deadline for submitting bids;

- Certified affidavits will likely still be required for foreign entities.

REMEDY OF ERRORS IN THE OFFER:

- Irrelevant and obvious errors can be overlooked (ie: no explanation/addition is required);

- Obvious bid errors can be corrected even if they affect a different order of bids (was not allowed until now).

ADDITIONAL EXCEPTIONS TO NOT USING ZJN-3:

• Tč. 15. – orders intended for resale or leasing to third parties;

• Tč. 16 – orders for goods for protocol purposes / promotions of the Republic of Slovenia (NOT – gifts);

• Tč. 17 – food orders;

• Tč. 18 – orders for audit services.

All exceptions have in common that the value does not exceed the value for publication in the Official Journal of the EU.

TERMINATION CLAUSE IN CONTRACT

Termination condition according to Article 67 for constructions - regardless of the reasons for termination (offences related to the work), the contract can remain in force for JN constructions, if the client notifies the contractor within 20 days of becoming aware of the violation.

LIST OF NEGATIVE REFERENCES:

• Change of name -> now: List with pronounced side sanctions of exclusion from public procurement procedures,

• by January 4, 2022, all entities registered under the Act on the Prevention and Employment of Illegal Work shall be deleted from the list of negative references,

• inclusion on the list is no longer mandatory in every case of finding a misdemeanor under ZJN-3 in court, but the court decides on this depending on the circumstances of the case/ it is no longer a fixed period, but within a maximum range of up to 3 years (goods/services) or 5 years (construction).

NEW PROCEDURES:

- NMV - is used up to the limit value for publication of JN in the Official Journal of the EU, i.e.:

General area:

Infrastructure area:

- Competitive procedure with negotiations - the client can place an order on the basis of the first offers without negotiations, if he reserved this in the invitation to submit offers in the case from point b) of the 1st paragraph. Article 44 of ZJN-3. It is a case when, for example, the open procedure ended unsuccessfully (without an admissible offer) and a competitive procedure with negotiations is carried out, and the client invited to the procedure all providers who meet the conditions for cooperation and no reasons for their exclusion are given.

TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION ABOUT MEMBERS, SHAREHOLDERS, RELATED PERSONS:

- The provider is no longer obliged to provide data according to ZJN-3, but the client's obligation according to the Money Laundering Prevention Act / in practice, I think there will be no significant changes on this topic in the tender documents / Failure to provide data for the provider is no longer a misdemeanor!

NEW OFFENSES:

- SUBSCRIBERS:

a) determines the price as the only criterion /namely: for computer, architectural, engineering, translation and consulting services and food ordering/

b) does not serve the decision by publishing it on the JN portal / administrative procedure - when it also publishes a notice for preliminary transparency /

- PROVIDERS:

a) NEW OFFENSE - When the client is not informed about (changes in) information regarding subcontractors during the execution of the contract.

b) NO MORE OFFENSES – failure to provide information on founders, shareholders and related persons.

- Limitation 3 years – subjective term, 6 years absolute limitation period

PROCEDURES BEGIN UNTIL 31.12.2021 - are completed according to the current rules.