Overview
A central purchasing body is a contracting authority that provides centralised purchasing activities and that may also provide ancillary purchasing activities. Centralised purchasing activities include acquiring supplies or services for contracting authorities, as well as awarding public contracts or concluding framework agreements for works, supplies, or services for contracting authorities.
Contracting authorities may acquire goods or services or both directly from a central purchasing body. Contracting authorities may also acquire works, goods and services, or any one or more of them, by using contracts awarded by a central purchasing body; using a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) operated by a central purchasing body, or by using to the extent permitted, a framework concluded by a central purchasing body.
The contracting authority is deemed to have complied with this regulation to the extent that the central purchasing body has complied with these obligations. However, the contracting authority remains responsible for ensuring that those parts of the procedure it conducts itself are compliant with the regulation; such as awarding a contract under a DPS which is operated by a central purchasing body, carrying out a mini-competition under a framework agreement concluded by a central purchasing body, placing a call-off contract without reopening competition with a supplier under a framework agreement concluded by a central purchasing body.
All procurement procedures conducted by a central purchasing body must be done using electronic means of communication.
Contracting authorities can award public service contracts for centralised purchasing activities to a central purchasing body directly, that is, without following the procedures as per this regulation.