Procuring Entity

A procuring entity is a government body or other entity that conducts a procurement covered by an applicable procurement agreement. The agreement identifies it in its schedules or annexes. The Canada–Peru TPP text, for example, defines a procuring entity as an entity listed in Annex 15-A.

In practice, the procuring entity is the buyer. It publishes the notice, issues the solicitation documents, evaluates bids and awards the contract. The term appears in the government procurement chapters of Canada's trade agreements and in Canadian tender forms. A CanadaBuys tender notice uses the field "Name of Procuring Entity" and, in that notice, names Toronto Metropolitan University.

How trade agreements identify a procuring entity

Trade agreements do not cover every buyer or every purchase. The agreement lists the entities it applies to, and those listed entities act as procuring entities for covered procurements. The agreement also sets which goods, services, thresholds and exceptions fall inside its rules. Being named in an annex is what makes a buyer a procuring entity in the trade-agreement sense.

This means the label is tied to coverage. A buyer that is not listed in the relevant annex or schedule is not a procuring entity under that agreement, and the agreement's tendering rules do not apply to its purchases.

Duties assigned to the procuring entity

The agreements assign specific duties to the procuring entity. Under CETA, a notice of intended procurement must include the name and address of the procuring entity, along with the information needed to contact it and obtain the procurement documents.

The Canada–Colombia agreement sets out two further duties:

• A procuring entity must generally publish a notice inviting suppliers to submit tenders or, where applicable, applications to participate.
• A procuring entity must use open tendering unless the agreement's stated exceptions apply.

The procuring entity in negotiated requests for proposals

The Office of the Procurement Ombudsman describes the negotiated request for proposals (NRFP) as a non-binding tendering format. It permits a procuring entity to negotiate aspects of a proposed contract, including the solution, the work approach and the price, after initial evaluation and ranking. In that format the procuring entity holds the authority to run the negotiation and decide how it proceeds within the solicitation's terms.

Procurement authority in NATO procurement

NATO documents do not use the term procuring entity. They use the closely related term procurement authority, defined in the NATO procurement policy as a NATO or national body procuring goods, works and services using NATO funds. Procurement authorities include host nations, user nations, NATO budget holders, and NATO agencies acting as procurement agents or delivering common-funded capabilities.

The NATO procurement procedure establishes the rights and responsibilities of the procurement authority and vendors through contract signature. NATO competitive procurement is open to eligible vendors from participating nations.

What it means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

Start by identifying the procuring entity named in the tender notice. Then check three things:

• Whether that buyer is listed in the annex or schedule of an agreement that applies to the purchase.
• Whether the solicitation falls within that agreement's thresholds, exclusions and exceptions.
• What the notice requires, including deadlines, eligibility conditions, technical requirements, certifications and any security requirements.

Treat the named procuring entity as your official contracting contact, and direct questions and submissions to it as the solicitation instructs. For NATO-funded work, follow the NATO procurement procedure and submit your bid to the responsible NATO or national procurement authority.