Puerto Rico

Key Agency(ies):

The General Services Administration (GSA) is the central procurement authority for most Executive branch agencies, responsible for centralized purchasing of goods and nonprofessional services.
Under Puerto Rican law, each agency may have its own procurement regulations and processes.

Key Statute:

The GSA Act (Act No. 73-2019) centralizes procurement for Executive branch agencies.

Key Regulations:

Procurement Types/Highlights:

Bid Protests:

Regs Governing Bid Protests:

Each Agency’s regulations, GSA Uniform Regulation, and the Uniform Administrative Act (P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 3 § 9659)

Eligible Protesters:

Timeliness Rules:

Motion for reconsideration must be filed within 20 days after bid or RFP adjudication.
The agency must resolve the protest within 30 days. If not, the motion is deemed denied and the term for judicial review begins.

Protest Process:

The protester will file a motion for reconsideration with the agency.
The agency must then consider the motion within 30 days from its having been filed.
If the agency takes no action with respect to the motion within 30 days from its having been filed, then it shall be understood that the term for judicial review shall commence to run as of that date.
Typically, the reconsideration and judicial review do not stay the execution of the contract.

Appeals:

The term for judicial review before the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals is 20 days from the date the copy of the agency’s determination is filed in the administrative record.

Claims:

Contract disputes with the Puerto Rico government are heard by the courts of Puerto Rico, which apply the same rules of contractual interpretation as for private contracts.
A party may seek judicial review of an agency’s decision regarding a bid or contract dispute by filing with the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals within 20 days of the agency’s determination. The reconsideration and judicial review processes typically do not stay contract execution.

Suspension & Debarment:

Any person convicted of a certain crime (e.g., corruption, offenses against public service/funds, Anticorruption Code violations) is ineligible to contract or bid with Executive agencies for the statutory period (typically 10 years after sentence completion if not otherwise specified).
Contracts must include a termination clause for such convictions, and continuous disclosure is required.

Interesting/Distinctions:

Puerto Rico’s Preference Procurement Act provides significant advantages to Puerto Rican goods and services.
Each agency, municipality, and branch may have its own procurement regulations and processes.

*Not admitted to the District of Columbia Bar. Supervised by principals of the firm who are members of the District of Columbia Bar.