Discusses the legal requirements for selling to the host government, including whether the government has agreed to abide by the WTO Government Procurement Agreement or is a party to a government procurement chapter in a U.S. FTA. Specifies areas where there are opportunities.
Last Published: 7/26/2019

The current Law on Public Procurement has been in effect since 2015 and the Government is currently working on amending the Law to further improve it. The law seeks to modernize the public procurement system in Montenegro and harmonizes it with international obligations to spur economic growth and improved service.  The law prescribes policies for the public procurement of goods and services; introduces greater transparency and integrity into the process; establishes entities to administer the system efficiently; and offers equitable access to government contracts for the private sector.  The law applies to all investments financed by the budget, payments guaranteed by the government, or funds secured by loans taken by the government. According to the law, such purchases are made via public tenders published in the Official Gazette. The Public Procurement Directorate (PPD) is responsible for reviewing whether the procurement is done in conformity with the law, while the Public Procurement Commission (within the PPD) is in charge of bidder protection. The law defines the “best offer” as the offer with the lowest price which also complies with the tender’s specifications.  Any other criteria must be prescribed in the bidding documents. 

While there is a full legal and regulatory infrastructure in place to conduct public procurement, U.S. companies have complained in numerous cases about irregularities in the procurement process at the national level, and maintain there is an inability to meaningfully challenge decisions they believe were made erroneously.  In multiple cases, the institution offering the tender adjusted the requested specifications for the tender just days before the submission deadline, putting U.S. companies at a significant disadvantage.

Public procurement is conducted jointly by the Public Procurement Directorate, the Ministry of Finance (as the main line ministry for the procurement area), and the State Commission for Control of Public Procurement Procedures in the protection of rights area.  The Public Procurement Directorate began operations in 2007 while the State Commission for the Control of Public Procurement Procedures Control was established in 2011.  The State Commission takes decisions in the form of written orders and conclusions made at its meetings.  The decisions are made by a majority of present members. The State Commission’s Rules of Procedure specify the method for this work.  The Law of Public Procurement entered into force in 2011.  The Administrative Court oversees cases involving public procurement procedures.

The U.S. restored Normal Trade Relations (most-favored nation status) with Montenegro in 2003.  This status provides improved access to the U.S. market for goods exported from Montenegro.   The U.S. Government has approved Montenegro's request to be a designated beneficiary developing country under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which provides duty-free access to the U.S. market in various eligible categories (jewelry, ores, stones, many agricultural products etc.)
Montenegro became the 156th member of World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2011.

Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks. Please refer to “Project Financing” Section in “Trade and Project Financing” for more information. 

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.