Various entities – legal entities and natural persons, not only based in the Slovak Republic but also abroad, when conducting their business or other activities within the meaning of Slovak legislation and in order to comply with their legal obligations, have encountered or will encounter the obligation to register in the List of Economic Entities and the obligation to register in the Register of Public Sector Partners.
However, they are often required to fulfill the obligation to register in both the List of Economic Entities and the Register of Public Sector Partners at the same time, especially in public procurement procedures, in tender documents for specific public procurement as an interested party or tenderer.
In connection with the above, it often happens that for Slovak and foreign entities (without knowledge of the relevant legislation), these registers or registration obligations are interchangeable, or the entity considers the fulfillment of one registration obligation to be sufficient for the other.
The purpose of this article is to briefly explain the difference between these registers, their purpose, and the cases when it is necessary to fulfill the registration obligations in these registers in order to help entities easily and properly ensure the required registrations, both in the List of Economic Entities and in the Register of Public Sector Partners, in an administratively and financially undemanding manner. Find out more about our prices and services for registration in the RPVS.
List of Economic Entities
The legal regulation of the List of Economic Entities (hereinafter also referred to as “ZHS”) is contained in Act No. 343/2015 Coll. on Public Procurement and on Amendments and Supplements to Certain Acts (hereinafter also referred to as the “Public Procurement Act”). Under this legal regulation, the Public Procurement Office (hereinafter also referred to as “PPO”) maintains a list of economic operators who have demonstrated that they meet the conditions for participation in terms of personal status under the Public Procurement Act and who have applied for registration in the ZHS.
The ZHS is therefore a publicly accessible list on the ÚVO website containing basic information about economic operators.
According to Section 32 of the Public Procurement Act, only those who meet the following conditions of participation relating to personal status may participate in public procurement:
- nebol on, ani jeho štatutárny orgán, or a member of a statutory body, or a member of a supervisory body, or a proxy legally convicted of a criminal offense of corruption, a criminal offense against the financial interests of the European Communities, a criminal offense of legalizing proceeds from criminal activity, a criminal offense of establishing, organizing, or supporting a criminal group, a criminal offense of establishing, or supporting a terrorist group, terrorism and certain forms of participation in terrorism, human trafficking, a criminal offense related to business, or a criminal offense involving manipulation of public procurement and public auctions,
- has no outstanding social security contributions and no outstanding claims from a health insurance companyunder the specific regulations of the Slovak Republic and the country of its registered office, place of business or habitual residence,
- has no recorded tax arrears with the tax office and customs office under special regulations in the Slovak Republic and in the country of its registered office, place of business or usual residence,
- its assets have not been declared bankrupt, it is not undergoing restructuring, it is not in liquidation, nor has bankruptcy proceedings been suspended due to lack of assets or bankruptcy been cancelled due to lack of assets,
- it is authorised to supply goods, perform construction work or provide services,
- is not prohibited from participating in public procurement by a final decision in the Slovak Republic and in the country of its registered office, place of business or habitual residence.
The tenderer or interested party shall prove that it meets these conditions for participation by means of several documents, which must be provided for each public procurement procedure:
- a certified extract from the criminal record not older than three months,
- certified confirmation from the health insurance company and social insurance company not older than three months,
- certified confirmation from the locally competent tax office and locally competent customs office not older than three months,
- a certificate from the relevant court not older than three months
- documentary evidence of the right to supply goods, perform construction work or provide services corresponding to the subject of the contract and a sworn statement.
However, the tenderer or interested party is not required to prove that it meets the personal status conditions for participation if it can prove that it meets the personal status conditions for participation by being registered in the ZHS. In other words, if the tenderer is registered in the ZHS, it is not necessary to prove each of the personal status conditions for participation separately.
An entity is registered in the ZHS on the basis of an application for registration, together with all documents required by the Public Procurement Act. If the application for registration does not meet all the requirements or if not all the attachments have been enclosed, the ÚVO will ask the economic operator to supplement them within a specified period. The ÚVO shall register the economic entity in the ZHS within 15 days of receiving the complete application for registration, including all attachments.
If there is a change in the data kept in the ZHS, the economic operator is obliged to notify this change within 30 days of the date of the change and to provide current documents proving the change.
Registration in the ZHS is effective for all public contractors and contracting authorities, and the information contained therein does not need to be verified in public procurement procedures.
Registration in the ZHS is valid for three years.
Under the Public Procurement Act, registration in the ZHS is required:
- if the entity does not wish to prove that it meets the conditions for participation in terms of personal status in every public procurement procedure (registration in the ZHS is voluntary)
- if the entity wishes to participate regularly in public procurement procedures within the electronic contracting system (registration in the ZHS is mandatory)
Registration in the ZHS is subject to a fee of €50 for the submission of the application for registration and additional fees of €3.00 and €2.50 for the issuance of other confirmations. If you decide to authorize a third party to register on your behalf, you must also take into account the remuneration for these services, the amount of which you will agree upon.
Register of Public Sector Partners
The legal regulation of the Register of Public Sector Partners (hereinafter also referred to as “RPVS”) is contained in Act No. 315/2016 Coll. on the Register of Public Sector Partners and on amendments to certain acts (hereinafter also referred to as the “RPVS Act”).
Within the meaning of this legal regulation, the RPVS is a public administration information system that contains data pursuant to Section 4 of the RPVS Act and is administered and operated by the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic. Among other things, the RPVS contains data on public sector partners and their ultimate beneficiaries, and therefore the purpose of the RPVS is also to increase the transparency of legal relationships entered into by the public sector by revealing the ownership and management structures of entities “doing business” with the state, including local government.
The RPVS primarily records public sector partners (i.e., entities that become public sector partners within the meaning of the RPVS Act) and persons who voluntarily register in the RPVS, even if they are not yet public sector partners.
Public sector partners are natural persons or legal entities:
- who receive funds from the state budget, from the budget of a state special-purpose fund, from the budget of a public institution, from the budget of a municipality, from the budget of a higher territorial unit, from European funds with the exception of the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund, from a legal entity established by law, with the exception of a chamber established by law, from a public enterprise, from a health insurance company, or receives state aid,
- which receives performance whose subject matter is property, rights to property or other property rights of the state, a public institution, a municipality, a higher territorial unit, a legal entity established by law, with the exception of a chamber established by law, or from a public enterprise or a health insurance company,
- which concludes a contract, framework agreement or concession contract under a special regulation,
- which is a healthcare provider that has concluded a contract with a health insurance company for the provision of healthcare,
- which is required to be entered in a register under a special regulation,
- to which a claim has been assigned or on the basis of which a claim against the state, a state fund, a public institution, a municipality, a higher territorial unit or a legal entity established by law, with the exception of a chamber established by law, is to be fulfilled, or
- which directly or through other persons supplies persons referred to in points 1 to 4 with goods or services or acquires property, rights to property or other property rights from them and at the same time knows or should know, taking into account all circumstances, that the performance provided by it or the property acquired rights to property or other property rights are related to a contract,
When assessing whether an entity is a public sector partner within the meaning of the above, financial limits are also taken into account. This means that in order for a natural person or legal entity to be considered a public sector partner, it is not sufficient to meet the defining criteria, but the financial limit condition must also be met – in the case of a one-off performance, the financial limit is EUR 100,000 and in the case of a recurring performance, the financial limit is EUR 250,000..
An entity cannot register itself in the RPVS; it can only be registered through an authorized person that it appoints itself – under the RPVS Act, an authorized person can only be a lawyer, notary, bank, branch of a foreign bank, auditor, or tax advisor with its registered office or place of business in the Slovak Republic. The public sector partner shall conclude a written agreement on the performance of the obligations of the authorized person for the public sector partner, on the basis of which the authorized person shall perform activities for the public sector partner.
The application for entry of data in the register shall be submitted by the authorized person on behalf of the public sector partner. If the application for registration does not meet the conditions laid down in the RPVS Act, the registering authority shall not make the registration. The registering authority shall notify the authorized person of this fact by means of a notice of refusal to make the registration. If the conditions for registration are met, the registering authority shall make the registration within five working days of receipt of the application for registration.
If there is a change in the data entered in the register concerning the ultimate beneficiary or a change in the ultimate beneficiary, the public sector partner is obliged to inform the authorized person without delay and is obliged to notify the registering authority within 60 days of the date on which the change occurred.
Registration shall take place on the day following the date of registration.
Registration in the RPVS shall be for an indefinite period.
Within the meaning of the Public Procurement Act, the contracting authority and the contracting entity may not conclude a contract, concession contract or framework agreement with
- a tenderer who is required to register in the RPVS and is not registered in the RPVS,
- a tenderer whose subcontractor and subcontractor are required to register in the RPVS and are not registered in the RPVS
Under the Public Procurement Act, the registration obligation therefore applies if the tenderer acquires the status of a public sector partner (meets the definition criteria and meets the financial limits in public procurement).
Registration in the RPVS is not subject to any court fees. However, it is necessary to take into account the remuneration of the authorized person for the performance of their activities, the amount of which is agreed upon.
Basic differences in relation to public procurement
ZHS RPVS
Legal regulation Act No. 343/2015 Coll. on public procurement and on amendments and supplements to certain acts Act No. 315/2016 Coll. on the register of public sector partners and on amendments and supplements to certain acts
Purpose to prove the conditions for participation in public procurement by candidates or interested parties to identify the final beneficiary of the entity
Obligation to register in public procurement The obligation to register applies only in the case of participation in public procurement via EKS, otherwise it is voluntary for the purpose of facilitating the verification of conditions for participation relating to personal status. The obligation to register applies in the case of public procurement if the entity becomes a public sector partner.
Person authorized to register economic operator or authorized representative of an economic operator authorized person on the basis of a written agreement on the performance of the duties of an authorized person for a public sector partner
Notification of changes within 30 days of the date of the change within 60 days of the date on which the change occurred
Validity 3 years for an indefinite period
Practical advice
- check well in advance whether the public procurement tender documents include an obligation to register in the ZHS or the RPVS
- Consult the obligations in public procurement with a person who is able and authorized to provide you with qualified information (e.g., a law firm) or an entity that deals with public procurement
- check the date by which the registrations must be completed so that you can take the necessary steps to complete the registration well in advance – ideally several weeks before the start of the registration process and securing the necessary attachments to the registration applications
- if you are required to register with the RPVS, find an authorized person who will ensure your registration with the RPVS in accordance with the law and agree on the terms and conditions for the authorized person's activities
- in the case of registration in the ZHS, decide whether it is more advantageous for you to register independently and individually obtain individual confirmations from all entities or to authorize a professional of your choice to perform these administratively demanding activities
- be prepared to provide the necessary cooperation at every stage of the registration process
- After registration in the ZHS and RPVS, remember that it is necessary to report any changes that need to be recorded in the ZHS or RPVS.
The law firm Hronček & Partners, s. r. o. is ready to provide you with comprehensive legal advice and services in connection with the obligation to register in the ZHS or RPVS in relation to public procurement, as well as to provide legal advice on the fulfillment of the obligations of registered entities after registration.
