Appeal Authorities
Appeal authorities play a vital role in safeguarding the rights of public procurement participants. Given that the procurement process touches upon the interests of both parties (the buyer and the supplier), each side has its own procedures to defend its interests in case of disagreements.
Appealing the Buyer’s Decisions by the Supplier
A supplier can contest the actions/inactions/unlawful decisions of the buyer if they believe their rights have been violated. In such instances, a complaint against the illegal actions/inactions/unlawful decisions of the buyer is drafted, accompanied by the necessary evidence. The potential recipients of such complaints include:
- Committee of Internal State Audit of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, if the complaint concerns breaches in state procurement procedures that infringe upon the rights of the supplier.
- Anti-Corruption Service of the Republic of Kazakhstan, if the complaint pertains to suspicions of corrupt practices related to state procurement.
- Agency for Competition Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan, if there are suspicions about unreasonable restrictions on the supplier’s rights to participate in the procurement.
- Territorial Prosecution Authorities, which supervise the legality of the activities of state agencies.
Each of the aforementioned organizations has the right to conduct both scheduled inspections and unscheduled inspections based on complaints and appeals relevant to the appeal authority’s activity profile.
Lists of violations and complaint templates are available on the portal.
Upon conclusion of inspections, these organizations make decisions, which, however, can still be appealed by procurement participants.
Contesting the Decisions of Authorities by the Buyer or Supplier
If the buyer or supplier disagrees with the conclusions of the desk audit or the actions of its employees, they can submit an objection or complaint to the appellate commission at the authorized body for internal state audit.
- Objection: Refers to disagreements with the audit report or financial statement audit report, notice of the rectification of violations identified as a result of a desk audit by the authorized body for internal state audit.
- Complaint: Refers to contesting decisions, actions (or inactions) of the authorized body for internal state audit and (or) its officials.
Legal Acts
On the application of procurement legislation by courts
Responsible institutions
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Kazakhstan
The judiciary in the Republic of Kazakhstan operates on behalf of the Republic and is aimed at protecting the rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests of citizens and organizations. It ensures the enforcement of the Constitution, laws, other regulatory legal acts, and international treaties of the Republic.
sud.gov.kz/eng
Department of Appeals for Internal Government Auditing under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan
010000, Astana city, Mangilik El avenue 8, 'Government House,' entrance 4
gov.kz/memleket/entities/minfin/about/structure/departments/leadership/4304/1?lang=enFunctions and tasks
Appeals processes for disputes arising from challenging documents (decisions) issued as a result of internal government auditing and desk reviews, as well as actions (or inactions) by the authorized body for internal government auditing.
Appeals Committee for Audit Report Objections
Functions and tasks
Appeals processes for dispute resolution, complaint reviews, and objections; making decisions based on these reviews.
Objections can be filed with the Appeals Committee in accordance with the form in Appendix 5 to the Order of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 30.11.2015 No. 598 within the regulated period (within 10 working days from the presentation of the audit report).
The Appeals Committee under the Ministry of Finance can issue a written decision on the objection in the form of full/partial satisfaction of the objection or a refusal to satisfy the objection, providing justification for such a decision.
The decision taken by the Appeals Committee can be appealed in court in accordance with the requirements of the Administrative Procedural Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.