Due to the fact that there is war beyond Poland’s eastern border and inflation in Poland is hitting record highs, it is becoming increasingly difficult to properly execute a public procurement contract. The solution seems to be to adapt contracts to the new reality, but given the restrictive regulations, this is not easy.

The President of the Public Procurement Office issued an important and long-awaited opinion on the possibility of amending public procurement contracts, stating that the armed conflict in Ukraine, its scope and cross-border economic consequences, are the basis for amending a procurement contract, particularly by changing the remuneration.

The President of the PPO also said that economic tendencies external to the parties to the contract and over which they have no control, such as a sudden economic downturn, reduced availability of raw materials, or a significant increase in material prices, in principle also constitute grounds for amending the contract.

The contractor’s remuneration may be changed, in principle, in order to restore the economic balance of the parties to the contract that existed at the time of its conclusion, which was distorted by certain events that occurred when the contract was being performed

The opinion applies to contracts whether entered into under the Public Procurement Law of 11 September 2019 or the Public Procurement Law of 29 January 2004.

The issued opinion is an opportunity for contractors who are having problems with the performance of the contract due to circumstances related to the war in Ukraine and record inflation. These contractors should submit requests for amendment of contracts to the contracting authorities.

In these requests, they should demonstrate that the outbreak of war in Ukraine or high inflation is detrimental to the performance of the contract, so that, for example, the contractor’s remuneration should increase or the time limit for the performance of the contract should be extended.