The Riigikogu adopted a draft act increasing the values of simplified procurement thresholds
On 16 June 2026, the Riigikogu adopted a draft Public Procurement Act that changes the rules for public procurements below the international threshold and increases the values of simplified procurement thresholds.
Simplified procurement thresholds will increase
The amendments increase the values of simplified procurement thresholds. As a result, the simplified procurement threshold for supplies and services will rise from 30,000 euros to 50,000 euros. The public procurement threshold for works, service concession contracts, supplies or services in the defence and security sector, and supplies or services by contracting entities in the network sector will also rise from 60,000 euros to 100,000 euros, and the threshold for public procurements for works organised by contracting entities in the defence and security sector and the network sector will rise from 300,000 euros to 500,000 euros.
The national public procurement threshold will disappear
The amendments provide that in future the Public Procurement Act will have two thresholds instead of three (the international threshold, the national public procurement threshold and the simplified procurement threshold), meaning that the national public procurement threshold will disappear. Thus, in future the act will contain the international threshold, which arises from EU directives, and the simplified procurement threshold. As a result, a simplified procurement threshold will be established for certain types of procurement, such as social and special services, to which only the national public procurement threshold previously applied.
Checking exclusion grounds in mini-competitions
The new regulation changes the rules for checking exclusion grounds in the case of framework agreements at the international threshold. The law in force until now required a contracting authority to check tenderers' exclusion grounds each time a mini-competition was organised under a framework agreement and the value of the mini-competition exceeded the simplified procurement threshold. The new procedure makes the check mandatory only if the estimated value of the mini-competition also exceeds the international threshold. For all mini-competitions below the international threshold, the contracting authority may decide whether or not to provide for checking exclusion grounds in the public procurement documents.
Full reverse procedure in public procurements
The amendment creates a new voluntary option for contracting authorities to conduct a so-called full reverse procedure in public procurements in order to identify the most economically advantageous tender. This means that the contracting authority may first identify the most economically advantageous tender and only then check its compliance, the tenderer's qualification and the absence of exclusion grounds. If the first tender proves unsuitable, the contracting authority moves on to the next ones. However, the full reverse procedure cannot be used in public procurements where tenders are compared against each other and points are awarded according to ranking.
Making the application of voluntary exclusion grounds optional
The amendments abolish the contracting authority's obligation to check and consider all voluntary exclusion grounds listed in the law in every public procurement. With the amendment, the contracting authority can decide already at the start of the public procurement which voluntary exclusion grounds are relevant for the specific public procurement and set out only those in the public procurement documents.
Limiting the possibility to pay tax arrears to once in a procurement procedure
The amendment specifies the procedure for handling tax arrears as an exclusion ground. It introduces a stricter self-cleaning measure compared with the current procedure. The contracting authority is obliged, once during the same procurement procedure, to offer an applicant and tenderer, or a subcontractor through the tenderer and an economic operator on whose resources the tenderer relies, a deadline for paying or scheduling tax arrears.
The planned amendments will enter into force on 1 November 2026. The proceedings on the draft in the Riigikogu can be viewed here.