Título VI

The General Register of State Acquisitions is attached to the Ministry of Public Finance. Its purpose is to register individual or legal persons, national or foreign, so that they may be qualified as State contractors or suppliers, under the public procurement modalities established in this Law. The Register shall verify the financial and technical capacity, as well as the experience and specialty necessary to be a State contractor or supplier and related to the State business in question. It has interdisciplinary personnel and the necessary resources to fulfill its purposes with objectivity and quality.

The Register is responsible for the control, updating, validity, security, certainty and publicity of the information and rights of the registered persons. The Register is electronic and shall use updated technological means to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Law on Access to Public Information, Decree Number 57-2008 of the Congress of the Republic.

The Executive Branch, through the Ministry of Public Finance, shall issue the regulation of the Register, in which the respective fees to be charged to its users shall be established, which shall be for the exclusive use for its operation, strengthening and modernization. The General Register of State Acquisitions, through the Ministry of Public Finance, is empowered to enter into contracts and technical and financial cooperation agreements, which shall be public.

The General Register of State Acquisitions shall have:

a)The following characteristics:

i.It shall operate electronically the registration, modification, updating and cancellation of the information;

ii. It shall operate by means of registration of standard electronic forms, in accordance with the requirements established by the regulation. The notifications made by the Register shall be carried out electronically;

iii. It shall be organized by means of electronic books;

iv. It shall be organized by a personal electronic folio system;

v.It shall be provided with the indispensable security measures for electronic communications, including the electronic authentication or certification of the existence of the registrations;

vi. It shall be interconnected and in communication, for purposes of obtaining and cross-checking information with other entities and registers, including, but not limited to: the General Property Register, the General Commercial Register of the Republic, the Intellectual Property Register, the National Registry of Persons, the Unified Tax Register, the Registry of Legal Persons, the Judicial Branch, the National Institute of Statistics, the Guatemalan Institute of Social Security, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the General Comptroller's Office, the ministries and secretariats of State and the decentralized and autonomous entities, among others. It may require the necessary information from the different State entities, which shall be obliged to provide the information required by the Register, in the form and frequency as required of them, in accordance with the applicable legislation;

vii. It shall be equipped to collect the privative funds derived from the fees of the General Register of State Acquisitions; and,

viii. Any others established in this Law and its regulation.

b)The following functions:

i.To verify the technical and financial capacity of the persons registered in the Register. For such purpose it may require the necessary information and documentation, in accordance with the regulation;

ii. To process the requests for disqualification of suppliers or contractors in accordance with this Law and through the proceedings established in the regulation;

iii. To hear, process and decide the files it processes;

iv. To decide the conflicts arising from its functions, within the scope of its jurisdiction;

v.To impose the applicable sanctions in accordance with this Law and its regulation; and,

vi. Any others established for it by this Law and its regulation.

The Registrar of the General Register of State Acquisitions must have the following qualifications:

a)To be in full enjoyment of his civil and political rights;

b)To be an active collegiate professional, with at least ten (10) years of professional practice;

c)To enjoy recognized honorability;

d)Not to have been convicted of crimes involving lack of probity; and,

e)Any others that are common to public servants.

The Registrar is appointed by the Minister of Public Finance, for a period of five years; he acts with technical independence and shall coordinate with the General Directorate of State Acquisitions. Likewise, he is prohibited from practicing his profession outside his obligations within the General Register of State Acquisitions, except for teaching activity.

Grounds for removal of the Registrar. The Registrar of the General Register of State Acquisitions may be removed by the Minister of Public Finance when any of the following situations occurs:

a)Having been convicted by final judgment in a criminal trial. In the event that an order of preventive imprisonment is issued, he/she shall be temporarily disqualified from the exercise of his/her powers, functions and authority, and shall be temporarily replaced by the person designated by the Minister of Public Finance;

b)Having been declared by a competent tribunal in a state of interdiction or bankruptcy;

c)Suffering from a physical disability that permanently prevents him/her from exercising his/her functions;

d)Having committed fraudulent, illegal acts or acts clearly contrary to the functions of the General Register of State Acquisitions; and,

e)Having stood as a candidate for a popularly elected office.

The Register shall have, at a minimum, the following electronic books:

a)Register of prequalified contractors;

b)Register of prequalified consultants;

c)Register of suppliers; and,

d)Register of contracts.

The Registrar of the General Register of State Acquisitions may enable such other books as he considers appropriate.

In order for any person to participate in public quotations or public bidding, such person must be registered in the corresponding Register of prequalified persons. The same obligation applies to those covered by the exception cases provided for in this law.

Those who, through intent or bad faith, have given cause for the resolution, rescission, termination or nullity of contracts entered into with the State, as declared by a competent tribunal, may not be registered in the Register of prequalified persons.

Foreign companies may participate in any purchase modality established in this Law, with their provisional registration in the corresponding register. In any case, it is an indispensable requirement to prove definitive registration in the Register before the award.

* The institutions that supply to the Bank of Guatemala banknote forms, finished metallic coin and metals necessary for the minting of coin are exempted from this obligation, and from any other of a registry nature.

Each register shall update its entries in the month of January of each year, however interested parties may request their registration or update on any other date.

Each register shall function as determined by the regulation issued by each of the agencies, under whose responsibility they function.