Small and medium enterprises will no longer be requested to present a bid-bond when submitting an offer for Government tenders below €120,000. Moreover, no performance guarantee will be needed for those tenders whose value does not exceed €10,000.

These new conditions, which will come into force on October 1, were announced this morning by Small Business Minister Chris Cardona during a news conference.

Dr Cardona said that the aim was to make it easier for small companies to bid for Government tenders, especially those with no or little experience. He said that the Contracts Department would be issuing guidelines which would include further revisions, meant to facilitate the participation of SMEs in public procurement.

He said that the Government intended to invest in the Electronic Public Procurement System to facilitate public tendering processes.

Training would also be provided for SMEs interested to learn more about this system. A free direct mailing system would also be launched through which SMEs would be alerted about Government tenders.

Dr Cardona said that when it was economically viable, public tenders would be issued in different lots so as to have a large number of SMEs participating.

He warned that companies would have to ensure that no substandard working conditions were offered.