- Govt to roll out e-Government Procurement and Disposal System.
- Also introduce Public Procurement Quarterly Monitoring Reports.
- Independent experts to assist in bid evaluation, validation, inspection.
ISLAMABAD: The government has informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that new public procurement rules will be promulgated by June 2026, eliminating any preferential treatment for State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), The News reported on Wednesday.
Following approval by the federal cabinet, the revised procurement rules will be formally notified, and all existing regulations will be updated accordingly. The new draft rules explicitly remove preferential treatment for SOEs, ensuring a level playing field in public procurement.
Under the proposed framework, mandatory third-party evaluation will be required for procurements exceeding Rs2 billion, while third-party validation will apply to contracts ranging from Rs500 million to Rs2 billion.
The reforms also provide for the formation of independent Grievance Redressal and Inspection Committees, as well as mandatory independent pre-shipment inspections of goods. The Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) will maintain a panel of independent experts to assist procuring agencies in bid evaluation, validation, inspection, and grievance redress processes.
The reforms aim to improve transparency and efficiency in the public procurement system by eliminating preferences for SOEs, restricting direct contracting and mandating the use of e-Government Procurement system for all procurement transactions within 12 months.
The government plans to roll out the e-Government Procurement and Disposal System (Epads) across all the federal government agencies and complete its integration with Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), government departments and other key databases — including tax records, Nadra and audit systems — by June 2027.
EPads will subsequently be rolled out across provincial governments, with full integration targeted for completion by December 2028.
The government will also introduce Public Procurement Quarterly Monitoring Reports covering both development and non-development expenditures to enhance oversight and accountability.
Standard Bidding Documents are being revised in line with global best practices and are expected to be finalised by June 2026. On the advice of PPRA, dedicated Procurement Cells (PCs) are being established across federal government procuring agencies. So far, 122 agencies have established such cells.
To ensure professionalisation in public procurement, government officials must obtain relevant certification before being appointed to Procurement Cells. In accordance with the PPRA Competency Framework, developed with technical assistance from the World Bank, specialised training programs have been introduced, including a Certificate in Procurement and a four-month Diploma in Procurement and Contract Management.
Since July 2024, a total of 2,205 individuals have received training on the PPRA regulatory framework and EPADS. Periodic revisions of the competency framework will incorporate lessons learned and be reflected in human resource evaluations.
For effective complaint resolution, PPRA has implemented procedures under the “Redressal of Grievance Regulations 2021”. All grievance decisions and orders will be published on the PPRA website. The complaint-handling function has been strengthened, with the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Wing receiving complaints, obtaining procurement data, conducting investigations and issuing findings along with advisories or corrective measures.
PPRA also plans to expand Epads’ capabilities, integrate procurement systems with tax, audit, and identity databases, and enhance the analytical capacity of its Monitoring and Evaluation Wing. Additional reforms under consideration include further revision of procurement regulations and standard documents, full integration of SOE procurement into Epads, advanced data analytics for risk-based audits, automated red flags to detect collusion and price anomalies and greater transparency in grievance redress through public disclosure.
When contacted, a PPRA official said that procurement reforms were launched in August 2024 after the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued 24 directives to bring structural improvements to the country’s procurement system. The official maintained that the reforms were not driven by the IMF. However, the IMF had highlighted weaknesses in the procurement framework in its Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment Report (GCD).
