Making the electronic government procurement (e-GP) compulsory for all public agencies, the government on September 28 issued the Public Procurement Rules (PPR) 2025, replacing the 2008 version.
It has also removed the ±10 per cent price cap on work procurement, which existed in the PPR 2008.
The government agencies currently functioning outside the e-GP system are now bound to procure goods, works, and services according to the new rules.
The new PPR also has an indication to shift towards the sustainable procurement system, which will facilitate quality products and services in the government system, according to Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) officials.
BPPA issued the PPR 2025 under the purview of the Public Procurement (Amendment) Ordinance 2025.
Its officials said the new PPR had been prepared to strengthen governance as well as ensure transparency, efficiency, and competition in public procurement practices.
One of the major changes in the public procurement law and rules is that the government has made disclosing the actual beneficial owner of contract awards mandatory.
Other changes include formal introduction of the sustainable public procurement (SPP), requirement for a procurement strategy, recognition of physical services as a distinct procurement category, expansion of framework agreements and negotiations, establishment of a debarment board, and clear provisions on asset disposal.
To ensure inclusiveness and technical soundness, the BPPA governing board earlier formed a technical working group comprising representatives from ministries, major procuring agencies, national procurement trainers, and the BPPA itself to formulate the PPR, officials said.
Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) Secretary Md Kamal Uddin said this was a great step forward in the efforts to ensure competition and fairness in the public procurement process.
BPPA Chief Executive Officer SM Moin Uddin said the new rules were a landmark in the country's history of public procurement reforms.
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