The UPSG is the Unit of FONAFIFO that holds the designation of Institutional Procurement Office and therefore the competence to conduct administrative procurement procedures for the fulfillment of its purposes and objectives.
The operation of the Institutional Procurement Office shall be in accordance with the provisions of Chapter XV, Operation of Institutional Procurement Offices of the Public Sector, of the Regulation to the Administrative Procurement Law, as well as with the provisions of the "Regulation for the Operation of Institutional Procurement Offices of Government Ministries" issued in Executive Decree No. 30640-H of June 27, 2002, and amended by Executive Decree No. 31483-H of August 19, 2003.
The UPSG shall be headed by an Institutional Procurement Officer, who is responsible for the organization and proper functioning of that unit in accordance with the legal system and attending to the institutional hierarchical scope, provisions, procedures, and internal controls. They shall exercise Supervisory functions and their appointment shall be made according to the requirements and rules of the Civil Service Regime.
The UPSG shall have, as a minimum, the organizational structure provided for in the "Regulation for the Operation of Institutional Procurement Offices of Government Ministries" issued in Executive Decree No. 30640-H of June 27, 2002, and amended by Executive Decree No. 31483-H of August 19, 2003. It shall have at least the following Coordinator roles:
| Programming and Control | Procurement | Storage and Distribution | The previous structure may be strengthened to resolve institutional needs.
The UPSG shall have the following functions and responsibilities:
a. To program, coordinate, and conduct the institutional administrative procurement management, within the framework established by the legal system.
b. To use the SICOP, Merlink, or any other corresponding technology platform, for the processing of administrative procurement procedures.
c. To prepare and publish, in the first month of each budget period, the Procurement Program of FONAFIFO.
d. To verify, prior to initiating administrative procurement procedures, that the following prerequisites have been met:
i. Existence of budget content.
ii. Availability of the initial decision to contract (Procurement Request), which must contain the information described in Article 8 of the Regulation to the Administrative Procurement Law.
iii. The requirement must be included in the Annual Procurement Program (except for the exceptions provided in the Administrative Procurement Law and its Regulation).
e. To determine the type of procedure that corresponds according to the contractual object and its amount (Public Tender (Licitación Pública), Abbreviated Tender (Licitación Abreviada), Direct Procurement (Contratación Directa), Public Auction (Remate), Auction (Subasta) or another considered pertinent and legally applicable).
f. To prepare the activity schedule for each contractual procedure, establishing the deadlines for each stage.
g. To prepare the tender documents (carteles), based on the technical information received from each Requesting Unit and including the formal conditions and requirements applicable according to the current regulations on administrative procurement matters.
h. To issue, in a timely manner, the modifications, extensions, and clarifications that must be made to the tender documents, either ex officio or at the request of a party.
i. To address objections (recursos de objeción) to the tender documents, as well as appeals for revocation (recursos de revocatoria) against award acts in procurements, with the support of the Requesting Units and, if necessary, with the support of the DAJ. The approval of the final decision corresponds to the Award Committee. The attention to appeals must be carried out within the deadlines established in the Administrative Procurement Law and its Regulation.
j. To conduct the hearings and prior visits, when they have been included in the tender documents. Without prejudice to the participation of the Requesting Unit in such hearings.
k. To compile an administrative file, physical or electronic, for each procurement procedure, in which the integrity of the information and the chronological order of incorporation of the documentation it contains is maintained.
l. To schedule and preside (when applicable according to the type of procurement) over the acts of opening offers, from which minutes will be drawn up, unless the CompraRed system, Merlink, or another that must be used, generates a report based on the electronic information.
m. To carry out the formal analysis of the offers.
n. To request from the Requesting Units the technical analysis of the offers and to verify, as far as possible, that this has been carried out following the principles and current regulations on administrative procurement matters.
o. To request timely corrections (subsanaciones) of the offers from the bidders.
p. To coordinate with the other units the fulfillment of the deadlines and/or necessary requirements at each stage of the administrative procurement procedure.
q. To apply, taking into account the results of the formal analysis and the technical analysis of the offers, the offer evaluation parameters established in the tender documents.
r. To prepare a report with the recommendation for award, declaration of unsuccessful (infructuoso), or declaration of deserted (desierto), as applicable, attaching a proposed agreement, and to present it to the Award Committee so that said Committee makes the final decision.
s. To prepare and send the response to the hearings granted by the CGR during the processing of appeals and objections, with the support of the Requesting Units and, if necessary, with the collaboration of the DAJ.
t. To manage before the CGR any request for authorization or procedure required in administrative procurement procedures for the acquisition of goods and services, in coordination with the Requesting Unit (when applicable).
u. To manage before the DAJ the internal approval of contracts, when applicable.
v. To manage before the CGR the approval (refrendo) of contracts, when applicable.
w. To keep control of the maximum processing times for each administrative procurement procedure.
x. To coordinate with the awardees the formalization of the contracts, according to the agreed terms and the deadlines established in the regulations.
x (sic. i). To prepare and communicate the purchase orders corresponding to the award(s) made, marking the start of execution, unless in the SICOP system, Merlink, or another that must be used, an electronic communication is made, which in any case must be verified by the UPSG.
y. To notify the Requesting Units of the start of contract execution (when applicable).
z. To maintain control of the bid bonds (garantías de participación) and performance guarantees (garantías de cumplimiento) provided in administrative procurement procedures for acquiring goods and services, including ensuring that the guarantees do not expire during the granted term, are renewed and updated in a timely manner, as well as verifying and determining the appropriateness of their return. The custody of the guarantees must be carried out by the DFC.
aa. To obtain from the Requesting Units the acceptance of the awarded goods and services. In applicable cases, the UPSG may carry out the acceptance of the awarded goods or services.
bb. To receive and verify in each case that the awardees deliver the awarded goods within the established contractual deadline; otherwise, to assess and take the appropriate measures.
cc. Once the goods or services have been accepted, to carry out the asset tagging (plaqueo) and registration of the corresponding goods and their distribution to the Requesting Units.
dd. To process contractual modifications, considering the reasons substantiated by the requesting area for that purpose and the applicable regulations. Its approval shall correspond to the Award Committee.
ee. To process requests for price adjustment and review (reajuste y revisión de precios) according to the provisions of the regulations.
ff. To manage before the DFC the payment for goods and services that have been accepted.
gg. To maintain an updated record of goods (Institution's assets) using the platform defined for this (Sibinet or another that must be used) and to attend to the queries, directives, and/or guidelines issued on this matter by the DGBCA.
hh. To prepare, obtain approval, and send the reports on administrative procurement matters required to be submitted to the different competent bodies (CGR, Ministry of Finance, or others).
ii. To request the updating of this Regulation, according to the modifications that occur in administrative procurement matters as a result of the enactment of laws, decrees, regulations, and circulars issued by the competent bodies.
jj. To issue recommendations, guidelines, provisions, or others on administrative procurement matters, which contribute to institutional contractual management and, as a result, promote improvements in budget execution (subject to prior approval at the corresponding level).
kk. Any other function, consistent with its competence, that is assigned to it.
(Thus amended by ordinary session No. 10-2015 of December 15, 2015)