The Comptroller-General’s Department has issued measures to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) gain access to government auctions, aiming to deter large firms disguised as SMEs from participating in them, says comptroller-general Kulaya Tantitemit.
She said the department has measures that support SMEs competing in government auctions, offering them priority. In bids for government projects, if the SME’s offer is higher than that of a large enterprise by no more than 10%, the project owner must select the SME bid. This rule helps SMEs gain greater access to government procurement and promotes their future growth.
The department also improved its terms and conditions by stipulating that the total annual value of projects for entrepreneurs bidding as SMEs must not exceed the annual income of the entrepreneur.
For example, if an entrepreneur has an annual income of 300 million baht and enters a bid for a first project with a value of 250 million baht and a second project with a value of 250 million baht, this exceeds their annual income. If this entrepreneur won bids for both projects, the second project would not be selected.
According to the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion, to qualify as an SME entrepreneurs must have an annual revenue of no more than 500 million baht.
In fiscal 2022 (October 2021 to September 2022), government agencies procured products and services from SMEs worth 488 billion baht, with the highest level from medium-sized enterprises valued at 237 billion baht, accounting for 48.5% of the total, followed by small enterprises at 207 billion, accounting for 42.4%, and micro enterprises with 44.7 billion or 9.15%.
For SME rankings by type of procurement, construction was No.1, amounting to 228 billion baht or 46.6% of the total. Second was the purchase of goods worth 174 billion baht (35.7%), followed by outsourcing services worth 78.2 billion (16%), and other goods and services amounting to 8.15 billion (1.70%).