Mexico: New Public Sector Procurement, Leasing and Services Law published

On April 16, 2025, the Federal Official Gazette published the decree issuing the new Public Sector Procurement, Leasing and Services Law, known as the Procurement Law. This law became effective the day after its publication and will repeal the previous Public Sector Procurement, Leasing and Services Law of January 2000.

The most relevant amendments with regards to the repealed legislation are listed below:

• Contracts between authorities: The exception of applying the Procurement Law in contracts between authorities is maintained, unless one of them must hire a third party. In this regard, it is established that the third party may not represent more than 30% of the value of the contract.
• Policies, bases and guidelines: Only the Anticorruption and Good Governance Ministry is entitled to issue them. However, it may authorize other authorities in specific cases.
• Unacceptable price and undesirable price: The Procurement Law redefines these concepts and establishes new evaluation criteria. 
  • Unacceptable price: 
    • When the amount offered exceeds the authorized budget.
    • When the amount offered exceeds 10% of the amount obtained from the average of the market research.
  • Non-acceptable price: That bid is 40% lower than the average for market research.
• Digital Store: The Digital Store of the Federal Government was created as an agile mechanism to acquire common goods and services, under framework agreements, as well as Procurement Law.
• Digital Platform for Public Procurement: The new Digital Platform for Public Procurement replaces CompraNet. Its objective is to modernize and automate the contracting cycle. It integrates all documents and procedures and allows the electronic signature of contracts.
• Social witnesses: The figure of social witnesses is included as representatives of civil society in order to review contracts and denounce irregularities.

• Public procurement procedures: The catalog of public procurement procedures is expanded as follows:

  

• Dispute resolution: Regarding the means of dispute resolution, procedural changes are introduced in the conciliation, non-conformity and sanction procedures, and the possibility of including arbitration clauses for those disputes arising between the parties due to the interpretation of contracts or issues derived from their execution is maintained, excluding arbitration in cases of administrative rescission or early termination of contracts.
• Relevant transitory regime: The Federal Executive must make the necessary amendments to the regulations of the law within a term not to exceed ninety business days from the date of entry into force of the law. Until then, the current regulations will continue to apply insofar as they do not oppose the new law. 
  
  The provisions related to the Digital Platform for Public Procurement will enter into force in accordance with the notices issued by the Anticorruption and Good Governance Ministry. The necessary modules must be fully operational within eighteen months following the entry into force of the law, and the platform in its entirety within a period of no more than thirty months.
  
  Procurement procedures in process at the date of entry into force of the law will continue to be processed in accordance with the provisions in force at the time of their initiation.
  
  The guidelines and provisions referred to in the law must be issued within a period not to exceed twelve months from the entry into force of the law. Within a period of no more than eight months, the policies, bases and guidelines to carry out contracting procedures must be issued, as well as to promote the standardization of public contracting, guide the use of the best conditions for the State and aspects of environmental sustainability(including the evaluation of technologies that allow the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency), which must be observed by the agencies and entities. Until then, the current provisions will continue to be used.
  
  The installation of the Strategic Procurement Committee must take place no later than thirty working days after the publication of the law. The list of goods and services to be contracted on a consolidated basis for fiscal year 2025 must be approved no later than sixty business days after its installation.