On August 5, 2025, the amendment to the General Regulations of the Organic Law of the National Public Procurement System (the “Regulations”) was published in the Official Register. Below are the main regulatory changes introduced by this amendment to the Regulations, with the aim of providing contracting entities, suppliers, and other actors in the National Public Procurement System with a brief summary of the modifications that immediately affect the planning, processing, and execution of public procurement procedures.

1. Terminology and Regulatory Harmonization

• Replacement of the term “normalizados” with “estandarizados” throughout the entire text, in order to unify technical criteria.

2. Transparency and disclosure of information

• Expanded list of mandatory relevant information that must be published: includes needs assessments, questions and answers, committee minutes, communications from SERCOP, guarantees, purchase orders, supplementary contracts, payments, and delivery certificates, among others.
• Mandatory publication in all phases (preparatory, pre-contractual, signing, and execution), except in cases of justified confidentiality or under the special regime set forth in numeral 2 of Article 2 of the Organic Law of the National Public Procurement System

3. Principle of “best value for money”

• Formal and explicit incorporation of the principle of best value for money, requiring each entity to conduct a detailed analysis for the selection of the procedure and the evaluation of bids, giving due consideration to attributes such as quality, sustainability, innovation, and life-cycle costs, in addition to price.

4. Standard bidding documents and evaluation parameters

• SERCOP shall issue mandatory standard bidding documents for all procedures (except for minor amounts, electronic catalog, real estate acquisition, and emergencies).
• Express regulation of evaluation parameters, prohibiting bias and the use of discriminatory criteria.

5. Participation rules

• To participate in the procedures, minimum periods of legal existence are established for legal entities, determined according to the contract amount, starting from three years when the referential budget exceeds USD 500,000, and increasing progressively. Likewise, a minimum net worth is required, which legal entities must prove as a condition for submitting bids in such procedures.

6. Inclusion and productive preferences

• Consolidation of the beneficiaries of preferences (national producers, MSMEs, Popular and Solidarity Economy organizations, artisans, and family farming).

7. Special procedures and new mechanisms. New rules, incorporation, or expansion of the following procedures:

• It is established that, in the pre-contractual phase, institutions shall have a minimum period of 3 days and a maximum period of 8 days, counted from the action that concludes the bid qualification, bidding, or negotiation stage, to issue the award resolution. Once such resolution is issued, the entity must publish it within a maximum period of 1 day.
• Contracting of social communication services (with mandatory compliance with the percentages established in the Organic Law of Communication).
• Centralized procurement of school meals through corporate reverse auction and electronic catalog.
• Contracting of tourism promotion services for Ecuador.
• Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) modality, with the possibility of using international standard bidding documents.
• Clarification of the supplementary application of the rules of the common regime when the special regime does not contain specific provisions.

8. Reverse auction and electronic catalog

• Comprehensive reform of the reverse auction: grouping of heterogeneous items is prohibited, and at least two qualified bids are required to start the bidding process.
• Implementation of Best Offer and Large Purchase procedures with automated bidding in the electronic catalog.
• Recognition of the purchase order as an adhesion contract; possibility of nullifying it within 24 hours after its issuance.

9. Single Supplier Registry (RUP) and risk control

• SERCOP may change the status of suppliers in the RUP by order of the competent judicial authority.
• Creation of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Corruption Unit for financial controls and periodic evaluation of asset declarations of SERCOP officials.

10. Supplementary contracts and modifications

• New section with specific documentary requirements for supplementary contracts (item breakdowns, price analyses, plans, reports, and technical-legal-economic justifications).
• Procedure for application, rectification, reinstatement, and contracting following the prior report of the Comptroller’s Office.

11. Supervision, claims, and suspension of proceedings

• SERCOP may temporarily suspend a proceeding at the request of oversight bodies, a competent judge, or as a result of a supervision process
• Time limits and requirements are established for bidders’ claims and third-party complaints (including confidential ones).

12. Transitional Provisions

Proceedings in the preparatory or pre-contractual phase shall continue under the regulations in force at the time they were initiated; however, the entity may adopt the reform if it favors the principles of the Law.

We remain at your disposal to provide further details on this matter and to address any questions that may arise. Please do not hesitate to contact us; our team will be pleased to guide you and provide any information you may require. You can reach us through the following email addresses:

Andrés Becdach Fierro: abecdach@bustamantefabara.com

Luis Rivadeneira Pinargote: lrivadeneira@bustamantefabara.com