The sequence of a public expenditure
In Greek public accounting a contract cannot be put out to tender until the funds have been secured. The process has three steps, and the first two are public before the tender appears.
- Primary requestThe department with the need (the technical service, the procurement unit, a hospital clinic) drafts a request for the expenditure: what is needed, why, at what estimated value and under which CPV code. The request is recorded in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ right after it is signed and receives an ΑΔΑΜ with the REQ prefix.
- Budget commitment decisionThe authorising officer of the body (the mayor, the hospital director, the minister or the delegated organ) approves the expenditure and commits the corresponding appropriation in the budget. The procedure is governed by Presidential Decree 80/2016. The decision is posted in Διαύγεια and the approved request is recorded in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ, again with the REQ prefix.
- Tender documents or invitationOnly now can the authority issue the tender documents or the direct award invitation. This is the moment most suppliers learn about the purchase.
Time passes between the first and the third step: approval by a collective body, drafting of the documents, approval of terms. In the GOVADI platform's data that interval is often weeks and, for many authorities, months.
What the request contains
A primary request in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ includes the contracting authority and its unit, the title of the expenditure, the CPV code, the estimated value, the funding source and often a technical report or specifications as an annex. In other words, it contains almost everything a supplier needs to decide whether it is interested, before any tender documents exist.
The budget commitment decision in Διαύγεια adds the budget code being committed and confirms that the funds actually exist. A request without a budget commitment may never proceed. A request with a budget commitment almost always ends in an award.
Why it matters to a supplier
At the tender stage the terms are locked. Specifications, award criterion, selection criteria and timetable are given, and the only thing left is to price. At the request stage none of that has been finalised.
- You can inform the department. Talking to an authority about the market and the available solutions before the tender is legitimate and common. Departments often do not know what the market offers and write specifications based on the previous contractor.
- You can plan. You know that in two months you will need stock, staff or a bank guarantee, before the 15-day window opens.
- You ask to be invited. For expenditures below 30,000 euros, which will close by direct award, the request is the only chance to get on the list of operators who will receive the invitation.
- You take part in the consultation. For larger purchases authorities often publish the technical specifications for public consultation in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ (DIAB prefix) before the tender. Supplier comments at that stage change specifications.
Where and how to find them
Requests are searched in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ by selecting the request as the type of act, with filters for CPV code, contracting authority or date. Budget commitment decisions are searched in Διαύγεια by the act type "Ανάληψη Υποχρέωσης" and an authority filter. The ΚΗΜΔΗΣ guide describes the search in detail.
The difficulty is not access, it is volume. Contracting authorities record hundreds of thousands of requests a year, with free-text titles and not always correct CPV codes. Manually monitoring the requests of dozens of authorities in five CPV categories takes daily work that most companies cannot spare.
Annual planning
Beyond individual requests, many authorities approve their procurement planning at the start of the year together with the budget and the technical programme. Those decisions are posted in Διαύγεια and give the picture of the whole year: which categories, what amounts, which funding. For municipalities the technical programme and the budget are approved by the municipal council usually in November and December of the previous year. The rest emerges from the budget commitments during the year.
The GOVADI platform's early signals are exactly this: every budget commitment and every request matching your CPV codes, the moment it is posted. You see the funds before they become a tender and follow them until the notice is published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the primary request?
The request of a department of the contracting authority to make an expenditure, with the subject, the CPV code and the estimated value. It is recorded in ΚΗΜΔΗΣ with the REQ prefix before any tender notice or invitation.
What is the budget commitment?
The decision by which the authorising officer approves the expenditure and commits the corresponding appropriation in the budget, under Presidential Decree 80/2016. It is posted in Διαύγεια and is a precondition for the award procedure to proceed.
How long before the tender is the request published?
The law sets no fixed interval. In the GOVADI platform's data the interval from primary request to tender notice is usually weeks and for some authorities months, depending on the approvals required.
Does every request mean a tender will follow?
No. A request may not be approved or funded. Once a budget commitment decision follows, however, the expenditure is committed in the budget and the award almost always follows.
May I contact the authority before the tender?
Yes. Informing the contracting authority about the market and the available solutions before the procedure starts is legitimate, and the law expressly provides for preliminary market consultations. What is not allowed is shaping specifications to favour a specific supplier.