Laws and Hansel
Hansel’s business activities are heavily regulated. The Act on a limited liability company called Hansel Ltd specifies Hansel’s duties and customers. The Hansel Act was amended together with the Act on Public Contracts reform, and the updated Act entered into force from the beginning of 2017. The law amendment clarified the company’s duties according to the definitions of the Act on Public Contracts with an addition that the company acts as the central procurement unit pursuant to the Act on Public Defence and Security Contracts.
The company’s duty is to work as a central procurement unit in accordance with the Act on Public Contracts, Act on Public Defence and Security Contracts and the Act on public contracts in special sectors:
- to provide central procurement and procurement support functions to its customers,
- to maintain procurement contracts and
- to provide its customers with expert and development services related to procurement.
Customers include government procurement units and soon also the regions
Hansel’s customers have been specified in the law. Its customers include government procurement units and separately identified institutions under public law and independent bureaux of the European Union. A decision was made in late 2016 to start preparing a law amendment, enabling Hansel’s services also to be used by the regional procurement units in accordance with the new Act on regional government.
Act on Public Contracts amended
The new Act on Public Contracts was discussed in Parliament in 2016, and it entered into force from the beginning of 2017. The law amendment derives from changes to Public Procurement Directives, and its purpose is to simplify procurement procedures and to use public funds more efficiently. The amendment’s objective is to improve the opportunities of SMEs to participate in procurements and to take better into account any corporate responsibility and innovation viewpoints.
The reform will have many effects of the procurement units’ operating practices and Hansel’s operations as the state’s central procurement unit. The key changes relate to the new tendering procedures, especially the introduction of electronic procurement solutions. The amended Act on Public Contracts will be discussed in several parts of this Annual Report, such as sections dealing with the fight against grey economy and the eNest project. The introduction of the electronic procurement service is explained by Kela.
Legal experts active parts of procurement expertise
Hansel’s legal team is keeping a keen eye on legal practice and will take into account any effects on procurement practices by changes in legal practice. Public procurements are not only affected by the Hansel Legislation and the Act on Public Contracts, but also, among others, the Energy Efficiency Act, the Act on common administrative e-service support services, and the Data Protection Directive. In addition to this, Hansel’s legal experts play a key role in making amendments to the general terms of public procurement (General Terms of Public Procurement in Supply Contracts, JYSE; or General Terms of Government IT Procurement, JIT). Both sets of terms were updated in 2016 due to amendments to the Act on Public Contracts.
