Transparency of public procurement as a result of efficiency of electronic auctions

Abstract

The present article deals with the history and reasons for the formation of the Public Procurement Institute, the mechanism of legal regulation of the designated institute, and the features of the functioning of electronic auctions and the ProZorro e-procurement system. Three leading principles of public procurement on the Internet are identified, which are to combine state control with commercial activity of electronic platforms, accessibility to the procurement process and the unique partnership between the authorities, business and the public. The public procurement procedure was considered. There are four stages of the tender: 1) publication in the electronic system of the announcement of the procurement procedure; 2) the auction process; 3) determining the winner of the auction; 4) signing of the contract with the winner and its subsequent uploading to the electronic procurement system. The advantages and disadvantages of e‐procurement are investigated, the main achievements of the ProZorro electronic system are identified. Limits of authority in the activities of the competent authorities, such as the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, the State Treasury Service of Ukraine, the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine and the State Audit Service of Ukraine, in the sphere of control of public procurement was analyzed. Particular attention was paid to the monitoring platform “DoZorro”, which allows to detect violations in the procurement procedures, evaluate a specific procurement and submit a complaint or comment on it, as well as to analyze auctions conducted by a specific customer. Special attention is paid to existing public procurement violations and the procedure for their detection and counteraction through the authorities of justice and control. The problematic issues, which are the primary tasks of the legislator in the field of public procurement, were highlighted. A proposal was made to improve the work of the control authorities by establishing the accountability of officials in the absence of a proper response to identified violations and directing legislative changes to simplify the procurement process.