PPRA — Public Procurement Regulatory Authority

Type	Threshold	Method	Approval	Reference
Micro	< 100K	Direct purchase	Dept head	PPRA Rules 2004 – Micro Procurement
Minor	100K-500K	Quotation (3)	Dept head	PPRA Rules 2004 – Minor Procurement
Goods	500K-50M	NCB	Committee	PPRA Rules 2004 – NCB Goods Thre...
Works	500K-100M	NCB	Committee	PPRA Rules 2004 – NCB Works Thre...
Major Goods	> 50M	ICB	PPRA	PPRA Rules 2004 – ICB Threshold

Procurement Method	Threshold (PKR)	Requirements	Timeline	Reference
Direct Contracting	Up to 500,000	Single/two quotations, PPRA approval not needed	Immediate	PPRA – Direct Contracting Thresh...
Single Stage Two Envelope	Up to 100M	Technical + Financial bids, evaluation committee	30-60 days	PPRA – Single Stage Two Envelope
Two Stage Two Envelope	Above 100M	Pre-qualification + bidding	60-120 days	PPRA – Two Stage Two Envelope
National Competitive Bidding	Any amount	Open advertisement, 15-day publication	45-90 days	PPRA – NCB Procedures
International Competitive Bidding	Above 500M	IFC/World Bank guidelines apply	90-180 days	PPRA – ICB & Donor Funding Thres...
E-Procurement (EPADS)	All thresholds	Mandatory for ~700 agencies	Varies	PPRA EPADS V2.0 – Mandatory E-Pr...

Details & Regulations

AUDIT CERTIFIED — MAY 2026

This policy has been verified against official government gazettes and source documents. View Audit Log

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Federal → ProcurementPPRA — Public Procurement Regulatory Authority

Pakistan's apex regulatory body for public procurement. Essential for IT companies bidding on government contracts, software projects, and digital transformation tenders. PPRA — Rules & Regulations]

On this page: Overview · Legal Framework · Financial Thresholds · IT Bidding Guide · EPADS Portal · Compliance · Provincial PPRA · Resources

1. Overview

PPRA (Public Procurement Regulatory Authority) is an autonomous body established under the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002, operating under the Cabinet Division, Government of Pakistan.

Mission

Ensure transparency in public procurement
Promote accountability & efficiency
Regulate procurement by federal government organizations
Standardize bidding & contract award processes

Key Info

Headquarters: Islamabad
Phone: 051-9205601
Website: PPRA — Rules & Regulations
e-Procurement: PPRA e-PMS
EPADS Portal: epads.gov.pk

2. Legal Framework

Document	Description	Link
PPRA Ordinance 2002	Establishing law for PPRA	View ?
PPRA Rules 2004	Procurement rules & procedures	View ?
PPRA Regulations	Detailed procurement regulations	View ?
SBD Documents	Standard Bidding Documents	View ?
Policy Guidelines	Procurement policy directives	View ?
Circulars	Latest regulatory circulars	View ?

PPRA Official — crawled April 2026]

3. Financial Thresholds for Procurement Methods

Procurement Method	Estimated Cost (PKR)	Approval Level	Typical IT Use
Single Source	Up to 500,000	Head of Procuring Agency	Emergency software fixes
National Competitive Bidding (NCB)	500,001–10 Million	Procurement Committee	Most IT projects
International Competitive Bidding (ICB)	Above 10 Million	Board/Ministry level	Large ERP systems, infrastructure
Two-Envelope (Technical + Financial)	As specified in SBD	Evaluation Committee	Complex software development

PPRA Rules 2004, Rule 42; SBD for IT Services]

4. IT Company Guide to Government Bidding

? Why IT Companies Need PPRA Knowledge

Government IT spending in Pakistan is ~PKR 80B+ annually. All federal software, hardware, networking, and digital transformation projects go through PPRA-regulated procurement. Understanding the rules gives you a competitive edge.

Step-by-Step: Bidding on Government IT Tenders

Register on EPADS — epads.gov.pk (Electronic Public Agency Data System)
Monitor tenders — Active Tenders on EPMS
Download SBD — Standard Bidding Document for IT services from PPRA SBDs
Prepare bid — Technical proposal + Financial proposal (two-envelope for larger projects)
Submit — Online via EPMS
Track evaluation — Evaluation Results

Important: As of 2026, PPRA requires all bidding documents and evaluation reports to be uploaded to EPADS. PPRA Highlight — April 2026]

5. EPADS & EPMS → Digital Procurement

EPADS v2.0

Electronic Public Agency Data System — centralized database of all procurement agencies, vendors, contracts, and plans.

EPMS

Electronic Procurement Management System ✓ active tenders, bidding, evaluation, contract management. One-click tender submission.

6. Compliance Requirements for IT Vendors

FBR ATL status ✓ Active Taxpayer List membership required for bidding
PSEB registration — IT/ITeS companies should be PSEB-registered
SECP incorporation ✓ Must be a registered company (sole proprietorships have limited eligibility)
Financial capacity → Bank statements, audited accounts for 2-3 years
Technical experience — Project completion certificates from similar IT projects
Regulatory fee — Pay applicable PPRA Regulatory Fees
Blacklist check — Verify your company is not on the Active Blacklisted Firms list

ppra">7. Provincial Procurement Authorities

Each province has its own PPRA equivalent. If bidding on provincial government projects:

Province	Authority	Website
Punjab	Punjab PPRA	ppra.punjab.gov.pk
Sindh	Sindh PPRA	sppra.gov.pk
KP	KP PPRA	kppra.gov.pk
Balochistan	Balochistan PPRA	Contact Balochistan Finance Dept
AJK / GB	Regional PPRA	Contact respective administrations

8. Key Resources

PPRA Procurement Rules — IT-Specific Provisions

Key Rules for IT Procurement

Rule	Provision	IT Impact
Rule 12	Specifications must be generic, not brand-specific	Cannot specify "Microsoft Azure" — must say "cloud hosting with ISO 27001"
Rule 15	Preference for local manufacturers	PSEB-registered IT firms get 15% preference margin in evaluation
Rule 20	Bid security requirement	5% of bid value as earnest money (refundable)
Rule 35	Contract performance guarantee	10% of contract value as performance bond
Rule 40	Contract variations	Max 15% variation in scope/cost without re-tendering
Rule 42	Blacklisting	Breach of contract, corruption, or PECA violation can lead to 3-year blacklisting

E-Procurement & Key Links

PPRA e-PADS: Electronic procurement advertisement system — all tenders >PKR 500K must be published here
PPRA Complaint Registry: File procurement complaints online — mandatory 15-day resolution timeline
NITB Vendor Panel: Federal IT vendors must register separately with NITB
PSEB Preferred Vendor List: PSEB-registered firms get 15% preference under Rule 15
FBR Tax Clearance: Must produce active NTN and tax compliance certificate for tenders >PKR 2.5M

WHT on Govt IT Contracts: 7.5% (services) under ITO 2001 §153. This is adjustable against final tax liability.