Review Body on Bid Challenges

I have recently been appointed as a Member of the Review Body on Bid Challenges (under the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement).

Established by the Hong Kong government in late 1998, the Review Body is a dedicated, independent and impartial body set up under Article XX of the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) whereby suppliers may challenge against alleged breaches of the GPA by procuring entities in relation to relevant procurements.

The terms of reference of the Review Body on Bid Challenges are:
(a) To receive from suppliers challenges made in respect of alleged breaches of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement by procuring entities arising in the context of relevant procurements in which they have, or have had, an interest;
(b) To conduct inquiries in respect of challenges made by suppliers in accordance with (a) above; and
(c) To make determinations and recommendations in accordance with the Rules of Operation of the Review Body on Bid Challenges.

The following Government and Non-Government Entities are subject to the GPA if their contracts of procurements exceed the values specified:

1. All Government bureaux and departments

For contracts above the value of -
130,000 SDR for procurement of products and services;
5,000,000 SDR for construction services

2. Non-Government public bodies including the Housing Authority and Housing Department, the Hospital Authority, the Airport Authority, the Mass Transit Railway Corporation Limited and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation

For contracts above the value of -
400,000 SDR for procurement of products and services;
5,000,000 SDR for construction services

(Special Drawing Rights (SDR) is an international currency unit set up by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Governments belonging to the IMF are permitted to draw upon it for gold or foreign currencies to settle their international payments. The current Hong Kong dollar equivalent to 1 SDR is about HK$11.52725).