Dubai: Law Number 12 of 2020 on Contracts and Warehouse Management in Dubai Government

Dubai: Law Number 12 of 2020 on Contracts and Warehouse Management in Dubai Government 

The Dubai Government recently has issued Law Number 12 of 2020 on contracts and warehouse management in Dubai government; the new Law aims to annul the provisions and amendments of Law Number 6 of 1997 on contracts of government departments in Dubai. Any other clauses that contradict this legislation have been done away with the introduction of the new Law. The Law is said to become effective on 1st January 2021. 

The Law aims to create a regulatory framework and set standards for procurement processes of government entities in line with the government’s vision to raise standards in this domain as per global benchmarks. The objectives of the new Law are as follows;

1. To develop an efficient system of government entities to raise procurement and warehouse management quality 
2. To create a unified system of procurement processes to achieve financial efficiency 
3. To integrate transparency and equal opportunities among suppliers 
4. Automation of procurement and warehouse management operations of government entities as part of the smart transformation objective
5. Outlining the responsibilities of Dubai’s Department of Finance, the Smart Dubai Government Establishment and all other units responsible for inventory management in government entities 
6. Authorizing the Dubai Department of Finance to create guidelines for;
   1. Governance of procurement 
   2. Asset and inventory management 
   3. Drafting policies and decisions related to unified procurement processes 
7. Authorizing the Smart Dubai Government Establishment to;
   1. Create a suitable online government system to manage contracts and inventory 
   2. Develop associated strategies and programs 
   3. Ensure proper operations, maintenance, and supervision of the system 
   4. Monitor compliance of government entity with the system 
8. Creating a Central Registry of Suppliers as part of an online network of the government for managing contracts and inventory 
9. Creation of an Inventory Valuation Committee to manage inventory and assets, as authorized by the Director-General 

The Law excludes commitments made by the government procurement departments to projects and programs supported by the government particularly those of Small and Medium Enterprises registered under the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Program for youth projects, covered under Law Number 23 of 2009 on the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment of SME Development.