Viljandi adopts new city procurement rulebook

The Viljandi city government has adopted a new municipal procurement procedure (Viljandi linna hankekord, regulation no. 22 of 2 November 2026)Riigiteataja governing how the city government and its administered institutions plan, run and follow up public procurements. Adopted under § 9(1) of the Public Procurement Act (Riigihangete seadus) and the city council's 2018 delegation, it repeals the previous rulebook of 12 February 2024Riigiteataja and enters into force on the third day after its publication in Riigi TeatajaRiigiteataja.

The procedure applies together with the Public Procurement Act and covers procurements organised in the name of the city by a structural unit, service or administered institution, provided the task follows from law or a council mandate and the budget carries the fundsRiigiteataja. Responsibility for proper organisation sits with the head of the organising unit. Purchases that must be concluded urgently because of a crisis or an unforeseeable emergency beyond the contracting authority's control fall outside the procedure.

Planning centres on an annual procurement plan. It lists procurements whose estimated value exceeds 15,000 euros excluding VAT for goods and servicesRiigiteataja and 20,000 euros excluding VAT for worksRiigiteataja, based on the development plan and the city budget, and records for each the procedure type, estimated value, performance period, responsible persons, budget classifier, signatory and expected announcement month. Unit heads submit their planned procurements to the chief procurement specialist within two weeks of the budget's adoption; the specialist compiles the plan in agreement with the finance director, the city government approves it within four weeks and it is published in the procurement register, updated at least twice a year. Functionally connected or similar purchases within one budget year must be bought under one contract, and splitting purchases into parts to stay below thresholds is restricted.

Procurements above the 15,000/20,000-euro lines run as e-procurements in the national procurement environment, and documents drawn up in the register need no separate registration in the city's document system. Below those lines a proposal may go to a single person, and the price must be reasonable and reasoned. Where a direct purchase is not used for below-threshold buying, written documentation of the procurement is not required, though the responsible person may request quotes or record an independent price comparison in the e-invoice centre. Small procurements run through the register carry a bidding deadline of at least five days, and all participants must be treated equally.

A written contract is mandatory above 15,000 euros for goods and servicesRiigiteataja and 20,000 euros for worksRiigiteataja, and the statutory standstill period applies except to the defined small procurements. Above the simplified-procurement threshold contracts are signed by the mayor or the supervising deputy mayor; below it, by the unit head, who may also require a written contract at lower values or waive one in an unforeseen emergency. Each contract gets a named performance supervisor who tracks deadlines, volume and quality, certifies acceptance, channels sanction information to the legal service and reports closure data for the register. Amendments costing the city more than 20,000 euros extra, or lacking budget cover, are decided by the city government; the rest by the unit head, with the chief specialist formalising the change.

The rulebook further sets procedures for social and special services, design contests with a jury ranking, conflict-of-interest prevention with mandatory recusal, dispute handling by the legal service and supervision of compliance by the city secretary.

Legal basis: Viljandi Linnavalitsus regulation no. 22 of 2 November 2026 (Viljandi linna hankekord), adopted under Riigihangete seadus § 9 lg 1 and Viljandi Linnavolikogu regulation no. 29 of 27 September 2018, taking into account Riigihangete seadus § 9 lg 4.