If an economic operator wishes to participate regularly in public procurement, it is advantageous for them to register on the list of economic operators, as during the period of validity of the registration, they will not be required to submit the full set of required documents for each contract or demonstrate their eligibility to enter into contracts or framework agreements in public procurement. However, do not confuse this with registration in the public sector partner registry.
By registering an entity in the List of Economic Operators (ZHS), each supplier obtains the status of a qualified supplier and also fulfills the requirement for trading on the Electronic Marketplace.
We consider it important to note that registration of an entity in the List of Economic Operators does not replace the obligation to register the entity in the Public Sector Partner Register.
What is the List of Economic Operators?
The ZHS is a publicly accessible information list maintained in accordance with Act No. 343/2015 on Public Procurement, as amended, by the Public Procurement Office (UVO), which is available on the UVO website and, pursuant to Section 155, contains:
a) the business name or name of the economic operator,
b) the address of the registered office, place of business, or residence of the economic operator,
c) the scope of business,
d) the organization’s identification number, if assigned,
e) the registration number,
f) a list of documents pursuant to Section 153(2),
g) a list of persons authorized to act on behalf of the economic operator and the manner of their action.
Who is considered an economic operator?
An economic operator, within the meaning of Section 2(5)(a) of the Public Procurement Act, is a natural person, a legal entity, or a group of such persons that supplies goods to the market, performs construction work, or provides a service.
Foreign entities (with their registered office or place of business outside the territory of the Slovak Republic) are also registered in the ZHS; however, the registration process is more complex in that all documents and attachments required for registration must be obtained from foreign registers, along with an official translation of the relevant document into the Slovak language.
Registration in the List of Economic Operators
To register an entity in the ZHS, the conditions for participation regarding personal status under Section 32(1)(a) through (f) and Sections 2, 4, and 5 of the Public Procurement Act must be met, and an application must be submitted.
The conditions for registration in the ZHS are as follows:
1. Neither the entity, nor its statutory body, nor a member of the statutory body, nor a member of the supervisory body, nor a proxy has been lawfully convicted of the criminal offense of corruption, the criminal offense of harming the financial interests of the European Communities, the criminal offense of money laundering, the crime of establishing, organizing, or supporting a criminal group, the crime of establishing, organizing, or supporting a terrorist group, the crime of terrorism and certain forms of participation in terrorism, the crime of human trafficking, a criminal offense whose elements are related to business activities, or the criminal offense of manipulation in public procurement and public auctions.
This condition is demonstrated by a criminal record extract for the legal entity or natural person applying for registration in the ZHS and a criminal record extract for the person(s) who are members of the statutory body, members of the supervisory body, or authorized signatories of the economic entity—an original or a certified copy.
2. The entity has no outstanding social insurance premiums, and the health insurance company has no overdue claims against it under specific regulations in the Slovak Republic or in the country of its registered office, place of business, or habitual residence.
This condition is demonstrated by a confirmation from the Social Insurance Agency and the health insurance company.
3. The entity has no recorded tax arrears with the tax office and customs office under specific regulations in the Slovak Republic or in the country of its registered office, place of business, or habitual residence.
To meet this condition, it is necessary to submit a confirmation from the locally competent tax office and customs office.
4. The entity’s assets have not been declared bankrupt, it is not undergoing restructuring, it is not in liquidation, nor have bankruptcy proceedings against it been suspended due to lack of assets or bankruptcy proceedings canceled due to lack of assets.
Compliance with this condition must be demonstrated by submitting a confirmation from the relevant district court, commercial registry department (liquidation, bankruptcy, restructuring).
5. The entity is authorized to supply goods, perform construction work, or provide services.
In the case of a natural person – entrepreneur, an extract from the Trade License Register must be submitted, and if the entrepreneur is a business entity, an extract from the Commercial Register must be submitted.
6. The entity is not subject to a ban on participation in public procurement confirmed by a final decision in the Slovak Republic or in the country of its registered office, place of business, or habitual residence.
The economic operator fulfills the last condition by submitting a sworn statement from persons authorized to act on behalf of the entity stating that it is not subject to a ban on participation in public procurement.
How to submit an application for registration in the list of economic operators
The application for registration may be submitted in paper or electronic form. For the paper version, all attachments to the application for registration in the ZHS must be submitted as originals or officially certified copies, and these documents must not be older than 3 months. Before submitting a paper application for registration in the ZHS, an administrative fee of 66.00 EUR must be paid. The application, along with the required attachments, must be delivered to the UVO either in person at the office’s reception desk or by mail to the office’s address.
When submitting the application electronically, the administrative fee is reduced to 33.00 EUR; however, both the application and its attachments must be signed with a qualified electronic signature by the applicant—the entrepreneur, the statutory representative of the economic entity, or a person authorized by them.
Under Act No. 177/2018 Coll. on Certain Measures to Reduce the Administrative Burden through the Use of Public Administration Information Systems and on Amendments to Certain Acts (the Anti-Bureaucracy Act), which introduced an obligation for public authorities to use data recorded in public administration information systems regarding economic entities with a registered office/place of business in the Slovak Republic, the UVO no longer requires the following documents:
- an extract from the Commercial Register; an extract from the Trade Register, or another document proving authorization to supply goods, perform construction work, or provide services from an economic entity registered in the Register of Legal Entities and Entrepreneurs;
- an extract or extracts from the criminal record of the economic entity, i.e., a legal entity with its registered office in the Slovak Republic; member(s) of the statutory body; member(s) of the supervisory body or authorized signatory(ies) (citizens of the Slovak Republic) of the economic entity, who shall provide the Office with the data necessary to request an extract from the criminal record by means of a completed application for an extract from the register;
- a confirmation from the Social Insurance Agency that the economic operator has no outstanding social insurance contributions;
- confirmations from health insurance companies that the relevant health insurance company has no overdue receivables against the economic operator;
- a confirmation from the locally competent tax office stating that the economic operator has no outstanding tax arrears;
- a confirmation from the locally competent customs office stating that the economic operator has no outstanding arrears with the customs office.
In this case, please note that the economic operator must have settled all possible arrears with the above-mentioned authorities.
The Public Procurement Office (UVO) will register the economic operator in the Public Procurement Register (ZHS) within 15 calendar days from the date of submission of the complete application for registration, including all attachments and confirmation of payment of the administrative fee. The Office also sends information about the registration to the entity’s electronic mailbox; alternatively, you can check the registration on the ÚVO website.
The registration in the ZHS is valid for 3 years, after which it is possible to submit a new application to the Public Procurement Office for re-registration; alternatively, within a period of no earlier than 60 days and no later than 30 days before the expiration of the original registration, it is necessary to submit an application for an extension of the registration’s validity, for which new, up-to-date attachments must be resubmitted.
Pursuant to Section 182(3)(e) of the Public Procurement Act, the Office shall impose a fine of up to 500 euros on an economic operator if it violates the obligation under Section 156(1). Pursuant to Section 156(1), the economic operator is required to notify the Office of the change within 30 days from the date of the change in data and to substantiate it with current documentation proving the change. When notifying a change to data maintained in the register of economic operators, the economic operator is not required to provide the document referred to in the first sentence if data from public administration information systems can be used. If an economic operator changes its address for electronic service of process or if it wishes to register on the electronic marketplace, it shall notify the Office.
The registration of a change in data is subject to an administrative fee of 16.50 EUR for a paper notification of the change or 8.00 EUR for an electronic notification.
The list of economic operators is available at: https://www.uvo.gov.sk/vestnik-a-registre/udaje-o-hospodarskych-subjektoch-vedene-uradom/zoznam-hospodarskych-subjektov-45e.html
Act No. 343/2015 Coll. on Public Procurement, see: https://www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-predpisy/SK/ZZ/2015/343/20210119
