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# Guyana's Law Requires a Supplier to Be on the Register Before Bidding. The Register for Contracts Below G$15 Million Is Not Taking New Names.
- URL: https://www.lacaribenanews.com/guyana-bidders-register-below-15m-closed-procurement-act-2026/
- Published: 2026-10-16T11:47:46.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-25T05:19:04.000Z
- Description: The Procurement (Amendment) Act 2019 created a register of bidders and requires a supplier to apply at least seven days before bidding. On 16 October 2026 the portal for contracts above G$15 million was accepting new accounts. The portal below that figure was not.
- Author: Theon Alleyne
- Tags: Procurement, Guyana, Small Business, Analysis

**Quick summary:** The Procurement (Amendment) Act 2019 created a register of bidders and requires a supplier to apply at least seven days before taking part in procurement. On 16 October 2026 the Administration's registration portal for contracts above G$15 million was accepting new accounts. The portal for contracts below that figure was not.

By LCN Business Desk

Guyana's procurement system runs two bidder registration portals. One of them is open.

## What does the law require?

A register, and an application at least seven days before bidding.

The Procurement (Amendment) Bill was read a second time by then Finance Minister Winston Jordan and passed by the National Assembly in May 2019\. [Kaieteur News reported the clauses](https://kaieteurnewsonline.com/2019/05/16/procurement-amendment-gives-small-businesses-preferential-treatment-for-certain-projects-nptab-to-keep-register-of-bidders/?ref=lacaribenanews.com) at the time.

A new section 4A provided for a register of bidders, described as "appropriate to enable a procuring entity to identify suppliers and contractors that are suitable to participate in any of that procuring entity's procurement proceedings", and gave the Finance Minister power to make regulations on the duties and functions of the Registry. Under it, suppliers and contractors apply to join the register at least seven days before they intend to participate in procurement proceedings.

A new section 3A was inserted in the same amendment: "Procuring entities shall only procure from small businesses approved under the Small Business Act, goods, works and services, as specified by regulations made by the Minister with the advice of the Public Procurement Commission or the National Board."

So two approvals stand between a small Guyanese firm and a state contract in the reserved categories. Approval as a small business under the Small Business Act, and entry on the bidders register.

## What do the two portals show?

One open, one closed.

| Portal                               | Band                         | State on 16 October 2026                                                                                                                           |
| ------------------------------------ | ---------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| \`bidders.npta.gov.gy/registration\` | Contracts above G$15 million | Open. A new-registration form accepts an account, then runs through email confirmation, application, owners, dealerships, contracts and documents  |
| \`bidders.npta.gov.gy/under15M\`     | Contracts below G$15 million | "Registration Period Closed. New registrations are currently not being accepted. Existing users can still log in to view their application status" |

Source: the National Procurement and Tender Administration's own bidder registration portals, read on 16 October 2026.

The lower portal carries the heading "Bidder Registration Form 2026" and warns bidders who qualify for the upper band not to register in it. The Administration's news page publishes no notice setting out the registration period for either band, and its most recent item is dated February 2021.

## What sits inside the band that is closed?

The small business set-aside, and the margin of preference that goes with it.

The Small Business (Amendment) Act, Act No. 4 of 2021, provides for small businesses to access at least 20 per cent of government procurement of goods, services and works. The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board's then Chairman, Tarachand Balgobin, set out the mechanics to Sunday Stabroek in March 2021: a 5 per cent margin of preference in the bidding documents, against a statutory ceiling of 10 per cent, with the Small Business Bureau's database of registered small businesses as the gateway.

He also gave the scope, and it is the part that matters here.

| Category      | Ceiling for the set-aside and preference |
| ------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Goods         | G$3,000,000 and below                    |
| Capital works | G$7,000,000 and below                    |

Source: NPTAB Chairman Tarachand Balgobin, Sunday Stabroek, 7 March 2021.

Both ceilings sit inside the band below G$15 million. A firm bidding for reserved work registers through the lower portal.

## What was promised for the end of this year?

A single integrated system, with the register expanded.

President Irfaan Ali told a press conference on 18 August 2026 that the Finance Secretary was leading work to have the e-procurement system "fully completed and integrated" before the end of the year, in three components: a digital bills register, an e-tender lifecycle module, and an e-marketplace.

The digital bills register, he said, will expand the existing register to capture beneficial ownership, Guyana Revenue Authority and National Insurance Scheme compliance status, contractor classification by size, past performance, and any debarments or suspensions for every contractor, supplier and consultant.

On the reserved share, the President said the government is targeting 25 to 30 per cent of procurement for small and medium-sized enterprises, "in line with practices utilised internationally". The statutory figure under Act No. 4 of 2021 is at least 20 per cent.

One component is already running. \`eprocure.gov.gy\`, linked from the Administration's own homepage, publishes procurement opportunities filtered by type and bid opening date.

## What is the system publishing meanwhile?

A salvage award of G$1,034,000,000, among others.

The Administration's tenders awarded table records contract 211/2026/34, Maritime Administration Department, awarded to BK International Inc. for "Salvaging of Wreck MV Barima (Off Devonshire Castle Flats, Essequibo Coast) on 'NO CURE NO PAY BASIS'", at G$1,034,000,000, by national competitive bidding, with three bidders, opened on 6 October 2026.

The three bids for that work were reported in [Three Firms Bid to Raise the MV Barima](https://www.lacaribenanews.com/mv-barima-salvage-bids-nptab-forensic-evidence-2026/), which set out the tender's requirement that the wreck survive as evidence.

## Why does the register matter?

Because Guyana has a record of statutory registers that are created and then not made available.

More than forty companies have had local content plans approved under the Local Content Act without the state publishing which ones, reported in [Guyana Approved Local Content Plans for More Than Forty Companies](https://www.lacaribenanews.com/guyana-local-content-plans-2026-no-public-register-2026/). The publication duty under that Act was examined in [The Chamber Asked for More Information on Oil Contracts](https://www.lacaribenanews.com/guyana-local-content-plan-publication-gcci-smith-monitoring-2026/), and what the set-aside is worth to a small Guyanese firm was set out in [Timothy Tucker's Guyana Development Bank Playbook for MSMEs](https://www.lacaribenanews.com/timothy-tuckers-guyana-development-bank-playbook-for-msmes/).

A register that exists in statute, is a condition of bidding, and is closed to new applicants in the band where the reserved work sits, is a different instrument from the one the Act describes.

### What the title card shows

Every data point on the article's title card, in text.

- **G$15 million.** The threshold dividing the Administration's two bidder registration portals.
- **Closed.** The state of the portal for contracts below that threshold on 16 October 2026, which states that new registrations are not being accepted.
- **7 days.** The minimum period before participation within which a supplier or contractor must apply to join the register, under section 4A inserted by the Procurement (Amendment) Act 2019.
- **20 per cent.** The share of government procurement of goods, services and works to which small businesses are to have access under the Small Business (Amendment) Act, Act No. 4 of 2021\. The President has named a target of 25 to 30 per cent.
- **G$3m and G$7m.** The ceilings for goods and capital works to which the set-aside and the 5 per cent margin of preference apply, per the NPTAB Chairman in 2021.

## Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Procurement (Amendment) Act 2019 require?

It inserted a new section 4A providing for a register of bidders, under which suppliers and contractors apply to join at least seven days before they intend to participate in procurement proceedings, and gave the Finance Minister power to make regulations on the Registry. A new section 3A provides that procuring entities shall only procure from small businesses approved under the Small Business Act for goods, works and services specified by regulations.

What is the state of the registration portals?

On 16 October 2026 the portal for contracts above G$15 million was accepting new registrations. The portal for contracts below G$15 million displayed "Registration Period Closed" and stated that new registrations are not being accepted, while existing users can still log in to view their application status.

What share of procurement is reserved for small businesses?

At least 20 per cent of government procurement of goods, services and works, under the Small Business (Amendment) Act, Act No. 4 of 2021\. President Irfaan Ali said on 18 August 2026 that the government is targeting 25 to 30 per cent.

Which contracts does the set-aside apply to?

The then Chairman of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board said in March 2021 that the set-aside and the 5 per cent margin of preference apply to goods valued at G$3,000,000 and below and capital works at G$7,000,000 and below. Both sit within the band below G$15 million.

What was promised for the end of 2026?

A fully completed and integrated e-procurement system in three components: a digital bills register expanded to capture beneficial ownership, tax and insurance compliance, contractor size, past performance and debarments; an e-tender lifecycle module; and an e-marketplace.