Within the framework of the state procurement system, small-volume purchases are commonly called direct contracts with a supplier for small amounts. This method is popular with customers under 44-FZ, because it allows you to get the necessary goods and services in a short time and without unnecessary preparation. However, the direct choice of the contractor by the customer contradicts the very essence of the contract system, so the law imposes certain restrictions on it.
What purchases are considered small
In general, the price of a contract during a small purchase should not exceed 100 thousand rubles. But the number of such contracts cannot be infinite, otherwise customers would use only this method. The volume of small purchases in monetary terms should not exceed:
- 2 million rubles a year;
- 5% of the total volume of purchases per year, but at the same time be no more than 50 million rubles.
For certain categories of customers there is a higher limit for the price of a contract for small purchases - 400 thousand rubles. The rule applies to cultural institutions engaged in the conservation of heritage sites, educational and sports organizations, theaters, museums, circuses, planetariums, parks and similar institutions. The annual volume of small purchases of such organizations should not be more than half of the total volume of purchases and at the same time should not be more than 20 million rubles.
What and how to buy
There are practically no restrictions on procurement objects. This means that you can buy directly from the supplier any goods and services, provided that the amount of each contract does not exceed 100 thousand rubles.
In practice, this method is most often used for the periodic purchase of small quantities of goods or durable services. Among the objects of procurement of small volume are popular "consumables" used to provide for the life of the office: stationery, water, household chemicals and more. Also often resort to direct contracts, when the need for something arose urgently. For example, I needed to use the services of a service center to repair office equipment or a car.
Advantages and disadvantages
The biggest plus of small purchases is that they can be carried out very quickly. The customer does not need to prepare documents and spend time on conducting a competitive procedure. In addition, you can easily collaborate with trusted suppliers, thereby reducing the risk of contract failure.
Documentation of purchases up to 100 thousand rubles is also maximally simplified. In the procurement plan, small volumes are included in the total amount, without any detail. There is no need to publish a notice of such a procedure in the UIS. The customer has no other obligations: justify the price and terms of the contract, send data about it to the register, draw up a report.
There are also disadvantages, but to a greater extent for the entire scope of the state order than for a single customer. When making small purchases, the organization acts solely at its discretion. It is clear that this state of affairs does not contribute to the transparency of procurement activities. This makes it possible to implement corruption and other non-market mechanisms.
Another disadvantage is the lack of competition. There is no struggle between the participants, so there is no way to get the best deal conditions.
How are small purchases
The procurement procedure for small volumes is not regulated, therefore, each solves this issue independently. Statistics show that many organizations, if possible, conclude contracts with those suppliers with which they have already dealt. If you need to purchase a new object, then the procurement specialist studies the market and selects a supplier.
It should be noted that this is not the most effective approach, since it leads to a significant increase in overhead costs. Because of this, the real value of the acquired objects is often one and a half to two times higher than their stated price. Moreover, surveys show that only 1/3 of customers are completely satisfied with the quality of goods and services received as a result of small purchases.
It is believed that automation will help increase efficiency. One of its options is automated small-volume procurement systems, which are implemented in individual regions of Russia. These are trading platforms where suppliers and customers can find each other. For example, in Moscow, the Electronic Store platform was created, which is a subsystem of the EAIST urban trading system. The “Supplier Portal” is integrated with it, on which companies and individual entrepreneurs who wish to participate in public procurement are registered.
Artificial Crushing
The law does not limit the number of contracts for the purchase of a homogeneous product, provided that the established limits are not exceeded. Therefore, customers are often tempted to split one large contract into many small ones and conduct them under the guise of small purchases. On the one hand, there is no formal ban on this in the law. But on the other hand, regulatory authorities can recognize this approach as a violation. In practice, it all depends on the specific circumstances.
For example, an organization purchases software for internal accounting. The price of a full package exceeds 100 thousand rubles, so a competitive procedure must be carried out. However, the customer goes to the trick and acquires each module of the system separately. The price of each purchase is less than 100 thousand rubles, so the contracts are concluded directly with the supplier. Sometimes it comes to the point of absurdity: one customer thus concluded more than 50 small contracts for the purchase of individual modules of the information system. Their total value amounted to more than 5.5 million rubles. The FAS considered this a violation, arguing that each individual module is not an independent product and does not work without other elements. In fact, the customer wanted to purchase the entire software package, and deliberately split the purchase so as not to conduct a competitive procedure.
At the same time, if the customer breaks the contract for the supply of homogeneous goods with a total amount of 300 thousand rubles into 3 parts, and even distributes them in time, then such actions are unlikely to cause undue attention of controllers.
Do not confuse "small" concepts
As part of the procurement system, there is another similar concept - it is the purchase from small companies. If officially, then the subjects of small business and socially oriented non-profit organizations. Despite the similarity of wording, small purchases and purchases from small companies are completely different things that should not be confused.
For customers working under 44-FZ, the volume of purchases from small businesses is at least 15%. In contrast to purchases of up to 100 thousand rubles, such procedures are strictly regulated. The supplier must be determined in a competitive manner, the procedure is announced in the UIS, the contract price limit is also much higher. In addition, on a purchase from a small business, the customer is required to draw up a report once a year.
To summarize
So, small purchases are a convenient tool for the customer to quickly meet the needs for goods and services. They do not require any special preparation, but represent the usual conclusion of a contract with a selected supplier. The main thing is to fit into the statutory limits. Additional obligations, for example, to draw up a justification for the price or a report on the procurement of small volumes, the customer does not arise.
However, it must be remembered that this method of procurement is nevertheless provided by law as an exception, because it is not without reason that it is limited by the price of the contract. The main objective of the procurement system is to increase the transparency of the use of budget funds, and the implementation of non-competitive procedures, alas, does not contribute to this. Therefore, you need to use small purchases wisely so as not to attract excessive attention of regulatory authorities.