Icelandic Law on Public Procurement

Act of law - Public Procurement lays down rules on government procurement, the operation of a special government agency for that purpose, the rules of putting procurement up for tender and how bids should be processed.

The Act is designed to obligate the government to procure its goods and services at competitive terms and at the same time create an environment where bidders can compete fairly and equally for the government's business. The procurement rules are designed to conform to EEA standards, thus bringing Icelandic government procurement practices in line with other EEA countries.

Here you can download a pdf version of the Icelandic Laws on Public Procurement. (Opens in new window)

Contracts announcements

Please note that contract announcements on Ríkiskaup (Central Public Procurement) web are in Icelandic. Only some contract announcements that fall under the EEA regulations are in English. All contract announcements are published in the same place at the moment so it is necessary to browse through the entire column for the EEA announcements in English. To access further information on each announcement and the tender documents click on the heading or the "Lesa meira" icon.

All Icelandic EEA contract announcements are also published in english via SIMAP on the Tender Electronics daily web 

If you wish to receive further information about individual contracts, you can send us a request by this E-mail.

Bribery is a punishable offence

Ríkiskaup emphasises that active bribery towards a public official is a punishable offence by up to four years in prison according to (PDF file) Article 109 of the Icelandic General Penal Code no. 19/1940. Passive bribery by a public official carries a maximum sentence of up to six years in prison according to article (PDF file) 128 of the GPC. Both articles apply to domestic and foreign bribery. Iceland is a party to the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officals (in International Transactions which states that bribery undermines good governance and economic development, and distorts international competitive conditions.

About Ríkiskaup (Central Public Procurement)

Ríkiskaup (Central Public Procurement) operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs.

The role of Ríkiskaup (Central Public Procurement) is to handle procurement on supplies and services in domestic and foreign markets for state institutions and state corporations. Ríkiskaup examines joint needs for supplies and services and endeavours to co-ordinate procurement through framework agreements.

Ríkiskaup also provides commercial assistance and instructions concerning individual procurement as needed.

Ríkiskaup gives consultation, handles selling and purchasing of state property and collects information about the procurement needs of the state institutions and state corporations.