CVC withdraws guidelines on public procurement as Centre issues new manual

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has withdrawn all its past guidelines on public procurement procedures after the Centre issued fresh manuals on it, officials said on Wednesday.

The move is aimed at having a single authoritative source of reference as procurement executives had complained of problems over the presence of guidelines by multiple organisations in this regard, they said citing an official communique.

The CVC has been issuing various guidelines on public procurement from time to time, and so far, 72 circulars containing issue-specific guidelines had been issued, it said.

Apart from the guidelines issued by CVC, the Department of Expenditure (DoE), Government of India, has also been issuing guidelines on public procurement, including manuals on procurement of goods, works and consultancy and other services, the notice issued by the probity watchdog said.

On other occasions, various other organisations such as NITI Aayog and the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade have also issued guidelines on public procurement, it said.

"CVC after deliberations with DoE and within the organisations has come to the logical conclusion that it would only be appropriate if public procurement guidelines are issued from D/o Expenditure," the notice said.

Due to multiple organisations issuing guidelines, procurement executives were facing problems in having a single authoritative source of reference, it said.

The DoE in collaboration with CVC has now updated "manual on procurement of goods", "manual on procurement of works" and "manual on procurement of consultancy & other services", wherein all the CVC guidelines on public procurement have been merged, the notice said.

These updated manuals of DoE have been uploaded on the anti-corruption watchdog's website and "all the earlier guidelines of CVC on public procurement have been withdrawn," it said.

"There have been concerns raised by many stakeholders over the presence of multiple guidelines by different organisations for procurement of goods and services. The new manuals will check them and add to the government's efforts in ensuring ease of business," a government official said, requesting anonymity.

Central government organisations procure goods and services worth thousands of crores annually. A dedicated portal - Government e-marketplace or GeM - has also been set up to ensure transparency and efficiency in procurement.

These three updated manuals were released by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba in the office of Central Vigilance Commission on July 1, 2022, in the presence of central vigilance commissioner and finance secretary, it said.

Secretaries of various ministries/departments, heads of public sector undertakings/public sector banks, officials of CVC, officials of DoE etc. were also present, the undated notice said.

All the organisations have been asked to update/align their procurement guidelines/manuals in line with these manuals of the DoE and upload them on their website at the earliest for easy access of their officials and other stakeholders, it added.