Public procurement and other regularity audits in the federal administration

In 2018 and 2019, the Belgian Court of Audit examined a selection of public procurement contracts awarded by Federal State departments or institutions for the purchase of goods, services or supplies and the lease of buildings intended as diplomatic posts. It often noticed that the files submitted were incomplete and that a public procurement procedure had not been conducted or that the rules related to the contract notice and duration, the call for competition, the statement of the reasons on which decisions are based, the exclusion and regularity of bids or the implementing rules of the contract had not been observed. As regards rental costs, the departments appeared to lack a high-performance follow-up system and the way they charged these costs to the budget was little transparent. The Court recommends the departments to promote compliance with the legal and regulatory provisions on public contracts and to develop the internal control in this matter.