In September 2025 Bangladesh issued the Public Procurement Rules 2025 (PPR 2025), replacing the old 2008 rules and aligning with updated procurement laws. The new framework is designed to modernize government purchasing, boosting transparency, efficiency and competition. In preparing PPR 2025, the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) led extensive consultations – involving ministries, agencies, private-sector suppliers, women entrepreneurs and development partners – to ensure the reforms address real needs. Below are some of the main differences and new features in PPR 2025, described in plain language.
- Mandatory
e‑GP and Digital Tendering: PPR 2025 requires all
suitable public tenders to be run through the electronic Government
Procurement (e‑GP) portal.
This change ends decades of manual paperwork in government bidding.
Even the smallest procurements now must use the e‑GP system, which
streamlines the process and creates an auditable digital record.
The rules also add modern tools like online reverse auctions for standard
goods.
These digital measures are expected to speed up purchasing, reduce discretion
by officials, and make it easier for anyone to track tenders online.
- Fairer
Price Evaluation: The outdated “±10% price band”
for local bids has been abolished.
Under PPR 2008, any bid outside 10% of the government estimate was
automatically rejected – a rigid rule that often led to bid-rigging. In
PPR 2025, bids are instead checked by a transparent weighted formula: it
blends the official estimate, the average of valid bids and recent market
prices.
This formula-based approach judges whether a low bid is realistic,
reducing gaming of the system. In short, there is no arbitrary price cap
now; competition will be governed by international-standard evaluation
methods rather than a crude margin.
- Greater
Transparency and Oversight: New disclosure and
oversight measures aim to crack down on corruption. Winning bidders must
now list the actual beneficial owners of their companies on
contract awards.
This helps prevent “front” or shell companies from hiding real
beneficiaries. PPR 2025 also creates a Debarment Board (with an appeals
Review Committee) to blacklist firms or individuals who break the rules.
Other changes include mandatory standard tender documents, and rules
requiring outside experts on bid-evaluation committees. Together these
steps – public ownership disclosure, a debarment process, and more
hands-on oversight – are designed to make procurement accountable to
citizens and the private sector.
- Structured
Planning and Common Procedures: All government
buyers must now publish an Annual Procurement Plan (APP) on the e‑GP
portal,
improving predictability for suppliers. Agencies also have to set a
procurement strategy in advance,
so purchasing aligns with development goals. The rules enforce clear
timelines (for example, final awards must be issued within the bid
validity period, which is now up to 150 days).
Crucially, PPR 2025 standardizes processes across all departments:
everyone uses the same categories, tender steps and approval levels.
This uniformity means suppliers no longer face a different procedure at
every ministry, cutting red tape and confusion.
- New
Categories and Flexible Methods: PPR 2025
recognizes “Physical (non-consulting) Services” as a separate procurement
category (alongside works, goods and consultancy).
This formal distinction – for things like maintenance, security or IT
services – allows more tailored rules. The scope of limited tender
(closed bidding) is also expanded for small jobs, letting agencies quickly
invite a shortlist of pre‑qualified suppliers. For certain projects (like
foreign-funded IT contracts), the rules even encourage joint ventures
between Bangladeshi and international firms to foster knowledge transfer.
New methods like online reverse auctions (mentioned above) give buyers
more ways to find the best deal. Altogether, these adjustments add
flexibility to the procurement toolkit.
- Sustainability
and Inclusive Growth: For the first time, PPR
2025 formally introduces sustainable public procurement.
Environmental and social factors must be considered in buying decisions
wherever relevant. The new rules also include special provisions to help
women-owned enterprises, small and medium firms, and startups to compete
in public tenders.
Procurement is aligned with Bangladesh’s broader development goals – for
example, the rules explicitly defer to Public-Private Partnership (PPP)
policy when buying PPP projects. By embedding sustainability and
inclusion, PPR 2025 aims to use the government’s purchasing power in support
of national priorities.
In summary, PPR 2025 overhauls the 2008
rules with a focus on digital processes, transparency and efficiency. Major
changes – mandatory e‑GP, removal of old price caps, disclosure of real owners,
new oversight bodies, and more – move Bangladesh toward international best
practices.
As these reforms roll out, government officials, suppliers and civil society
alike will need to adapt. What do you see as the biggest opportunity or
challenge under the new rules? Stakeholders are encouraged to participate in
upcoming training sessions and share feedback to help PPR 2025 deliver on its
promise of fairer, faster procurement.
Sources: Key
features of PPR-2025 are summarized by the Bangladesh Public Procurement
Authority and reported in the Business Standard and Financial Express (see linked references). These sources highlight the effective date, mandatory
e-GP, removal of the ±10% cap, and other reforms in accessible terms.
PPR, 2025 becomes effective |
Business
https://www.bssnews.net/business/316903
PPR-2025: A step towards
transparent governance | The Financial Express
https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/editorial/ppr-2025-a-step-towards-transparent-governance
New features of Public
Procurement Rules 2025
https://www.dorpatra.com/ppr/ppr-2025-what-is-new
Public Procurement Rules 2025 and
2008
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