Polish public procurement in one paragraph
All Polish public contracts from 170,000 PLN follow the Public Procurement Law (Prawo zamówień publicznych, PZP), in force since 2021 and last consolidated in May 2026. Above the EU thresholds, buyers use the EU procedures and publish on TED. Between 170,000 PLN and the EU thresholds, almost all of them use a simpler national procedure called basic mode (tryb podstawowy). The Public Procurement Office (UZP) runs the national platform and supervises the system, and the National Appeal Chamber (KIO) hears challenges. Competition is thin: Polish tenders drew 2.9 bids on average in 2025, and over half of above-threshold tenders got just one.
Where Polish tenders are published
| Where | What’s on it |
|---|---|
| e-Zamówienia (ezamowienia.gov.pl) | The national platform run by the UZP. It hosts the Public Procurement Bulletin (BZP), with every notice from 170,000 PLN up to the EU thresholds: 142,424 contract notices in 2025. Many buyers also run the whole procedure on it. |
| TED (the EU’s Official Journal) | Every contract above the EU thresholds. These notices are also searchable on e-Zamówienia. |
| Buyers’ own platforms | Buyers may run the procedure on another tool, such as platformazakupowa.pl or Marketplanet. The tender documents (SWZ) name the tool, and you must submit through it. |
| Baza Konkurencyjności | Smaller purchases in EU-funded projects, which follow their own competition rules. |
Typically, Polish tenders give 15 days from publication to deadline. In basic mode, the minimum is just 7 days for supplies and services and 14 days for works, so alerts matter.
The thresholds in 2026
The PZP converts the EU thresholds into złoty at 4.31 PLN per euro for 2026 and 2027:
| Contract (excluding VAT) | Threshold |
|---|---|
| National threshold: below this the PZP doesn’t apply | 170,000 PLN |
| Supplies and services: central government | 603,400 PLN (€140,000) |
| Supplies and services: other public buyers | 930,960 PLN (€216,000) |
| Supplies and services: utilities, and defence and security | 1,861,920 PLN (€432,000) |
| Social and other specific services | 3,232,500 PLN (€750,000) |
| Works | 23,291,240 PLN (€5,404,000) |
Utilities and defence buyers follow the PZP only from the EU thresholds. Below 170,000 PLN, buyers follow their own rules, though the sanctions ban on Russian- and Belarusian-linked firms applies at every value.
How contracts are procured
- Basic mode (tryb podstawowy): between 170,000 PLN and the EU thresholds, in three variants: without negotiation, with optional negotiation, or with mandatory negotiation. Used for 92% of below-threshold contracts.
- Open tender (przetarg nieograniczony): anyone can bid. Used for 92% of above-threshold contracts. Minimum time to bid: 35 days, or 30 days with electronic submission, which is the norm.
- Restricted tender, negotiated procedure with notice, competitive dialogue, innovation partnership: candidates apply first (at least 30 days), and those selected then bid.
- Single-source award (z wolnej ręki) and negotiation without notice: only in specific cases.
- Framework agreements: up to 4 years, unless a longer term is justified.
What you submit
Declarations first. Above the EU thresholds you submit the JEDZ, Poland’s version of the European Single Procurement Document. Below them, you submit a declaration in the form the buyer sets. You confirm you don’t fall under the exclusion grounds and that you meet the conditions. The winner then provides the evidence.
Documents from foreign firms. Instead of the Polish criminal-record, tax, social-security and company-register extracts, you provide your home country’s equivalents. Criminal-record documents can be at most 6 months old, and the others at most 3 months. Where your country issues no equivalent, a sworn declaration or one made before a notary will do.
Exclusion grounds. The mandatory grounds include criminal convictions, including of managers; tax and social-security debts confirmed by a final decision; and collusion. On contracts of €10 million or more (€20 million for works), a bidder must also be able to identify its beneficial owner. Optional grounds apply only if the notice names them. Since April 2026, buyers must also reject offers containing ICT products from vendors designated high-risk under Poland’s cybersecurity law.
Bid security (wadium): up to 3% of the contract value above the EU thresholds, and up to 1.5% below them. It can be cash or a bank or insurance guarantee submitted as an electronic original.
Language and signature. Procedures are run in Polish, and foreign documents need a Polish translation unless the buyer accepts another language. Above the EU thresholds, your bid must carry a qualified electronic signature, or it is void. Below them, Polish trusted-profile and e-ID signatures are also accepted, but these need a Polish personal number. A foreign company in practice uses a qualified signature from an EU trust service provider.
How bids are assessed
Public-sector buyers can’t use price as the only criterion, or give it more than 60% weight, unless the specification sets quality standards for the main elements. In practice, price alone still decided 45% of above-threshold awards in 2025. If your price is 30% or more below the buyer’s estimate (plus VAT) or the average of the other bids, the buyer must ask you to explain it.
The contract can’t be signed for 10 days after the award notice above the EU thresholds, or 5 days below them. That is also your window to appeal to the National Appeal Chamber (KIO). Appeals cost 7,500 to 20,000 PLN depending on the contract type and value, and since March 2026 hearings can be held online. Proceedings are in Polish only.
Getting paid
- Payment: within 30 days of the invoice at most, or 60 days for public healthcare bodies, with statutory interest on late payment.
- Instalments: contracts longer than 12 months must be paid in instalments or with an advance, and the final payment can’t exceed half the price.
- Price indexation: every works, supplies or services contract longer than 6 months must include a clause adjusting the price when costs change, and the contractor must pass the adjustment on to its subcontractors.
- Performance security: usually up to 5% of the price, or 10% if justified, returned within 30 days of completion.
- Staff: for works and services, buyers must require that people doing specified tasks are employed under employment contracts.
- E-invoicing: Poland’s national e-invoicing system (KSeF) became mandatory in 2026, but foreign companies without a fixed establishment in Poland don’t have to use it.
Bidding from outside Poland, including from India
From the EU or EEA, you have the same rights as a Polish firm.
From a WTO Government Procurement Agreement country, such as the US, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Canada or Switzerland, you are treated equally for the contracts the agreement covers.
From anywhere else, you are excluded by default. Poland wrote the EU Court’s Kolin judgment into its law, effective 9 September 2025:
- A buyer must reject a bid from a company based in a country outside the EU that has no procurement agreement with it, and from any consortium that includes one, unless the notice or tender documents expressly allow such bidders.
- If the documents are silent, the UZP’s view is that such companies can’t be subcontractors or provide capacity to a bidder either.
- Even when a buyer lets them in, it can set less favourable conditions, such as extra evidence or an adjusted score, and the company can’t appeal to the KIO.
- Defence contracts have their own rules and are open by default only to EU and EEA firms and to countries with a specific agreement.
India falls into this group. It is an observer to the WTO agreement, not a party. The EU–India trade agreement concluded in January 2026 has no procurement chapter and isn’t yet in force.
In practice, for an Indian company:
- Read the documents first. Look in the notice and the SWZ for an express statement admitting third-country contractors. Without one, a bid from India will be rejected.
- Bid through an EU company. The rule looks at where the bidder is based, so an EU subsidiary with real operations isn’t caught. But buyers can still treat goods or services of Indian origin less favourably.
- Team up. A Polish or EU partner can bid, with you supporting its delivery, but check the documents allow non-EU subcontractors before naming yourself as one.
- Prepare the paperwork early: a qualified e-signature, Polish translations, and home-country certificates no more than 3 to 6 months old.
What changed in 2025–2026
- 9 September 2025: companies from countries without a procurement agreement with the EU are rejected by default and lose access to appeals.
- 1 January 2026: the national threshold rose from 130,000 to 170,000 PLN. New EU thresholds took effect, converted at 4.31 PLN per euro.
- February–April 2026: mandatory KSeF e-invoicing for Polish VAT taxpayers.
- 13 March 2026: KIO appeals can be heard online and filed electronically.
- 3 April 2026: offers containing ICT products from high-risk vendors must be rejected.
- 12 July 2026: a voluntary contractor certificate, valid for 1 to 3 years, can replace the usual company documents.
- Coming: a draft amendment would raise appeal fees and drop the automatic 30% low-price check, likely from 2027. The EU proposed a single Public Procurement Act on 9 September 2026. Neither is in force.
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Questions
Can Indian companies bid for Polish public contracts?
Only when the buyer expressly allows it. Since 9 September 2025, Polish law requires buyers to reject bids from companies based in countries outside the EU that have no procurement agreement with it, unless the notice or tender documents say otherwise. India is one of those countries: it is an observer to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement, not a party, and the EU–India trade agreement has no procurement chapter. Even when admitted, such a company can’t appeal to the National Appeal Chamber. An EU-based subsidiary isn’t caught by the rule, but Indian-origin goods or services can still be treated less favourably.
What is the threshold for the Public Procurement Law in Poland?
170,000 PLN excluding VAT, since 1 January 2026 (it was 130,000 PLN). Below it, public buyers follow their own internal rules. Between 170,000 PLN and the EU thresholds, most contracts use the simpler basic mode.
Do I have to bid in Polish?
Yes, as a rule. Procedures are run in Polish, and foreign documents must come with a Polish translation. In justified cases a buyer may accept bids in another language common in international trade, and the tender documents say so when it does.
What signature do I need to bid in Poland?
Above the EU thresholds, a qualified electronic signature is mandatory, or the bid is void. Below them, Polish trusted-profile and e-ID signatures are also accepted, but those need a Polish personal number, so a foreign company in practice uses a qualified signature from an EU trust service provider.
How much is the bid security (wadium)?
Buyers set it, up to 3% of the contract value above the EU thresholds and up to 1.5% below them. It can be paid in cash or given as a bank or insurance guarantee, submitted as an electronic original.
How quickly do Polish public buyers pay?
Within 30 days of the invoice at most, or 60 days for public healthcare bodies, with statutory interest for late payment. Contracts longer than 12 months must be paid in instalments or with an advance.
Sources
- Public Procurement Law (Prawo zamówień publicznych), consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 793
- UZP President’s notice on EU thresholds in PLN from 1 January 2026 (M.P. 2025 poz. 1247)
- UZP President’s report on the public procurement system in 2025
- UZP: 2025 report, analytical data
- UZP Legal Department: third-country contractors after the 2025 amendment (presentation, 5 December 2025)
- e-Zamówienia: the national procurement platform
- UZP: electronic signatures in procurement, regulation and practice
- Act on special measures against support for aggression on Ukraine, consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 514
- Ministry of Finance: KSeF questions and answers
- Court of Justice of the EU: Kolin, C-652/22, press release 183/24
- WTO: parties and observers to the Government Procurement Agreement
- European Commission: EU–India agreements, text of the agreements
This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.