Unidas Podemos demands to promote measures to reduce commercial delinquency in public contracts

MADRID, 23 (EUROPA PRESS)

Unidas Podemos has registered a non-legal proposal in Congress demanding measures to reduce commercial delinquency in public contracts, among which is the creation of a State Observatory of Delinquency.

The proposal, which will be discussed in the Finance Committee and to which Europa Press has had access, asks the Government to guarantee the deployment of “timely” tools that allow Public Administrations, subsidy management entities and contracting bodies to guarantee compliance of the measures to combat delinquency in commercial operations included in the Law of Public Sector Contracts and in the Law of Subsidies.

On a second point, the ‘purples’ urge the Government to expedite the work related to the creation and regulation of the State Observatory of Private Delinquency, within the framework of the State Council for Small and Medium Enterprises, thus complying with the mandate contained in Law 18/2022, of September 28, on the creation and growth of companies.

AVERAGE 100 DAYS OF DELAYS

And it is that, the confederal group has warned that the average term of payment to the companies awarded public contracts is 100 days, compared to the 60 days established by the Law to combat delinquency in commercial operations.

According to the latest study on late payment prepared by the Multisectoral Platform Against Late Payment, the late payment situation in Spain is “serious” and it is a phenomenon that mainly affects SMEs and the self-employed, since large companies “hold a position of power over the supplier, especially if it is an SME”.

The purple formation recalls that public procurement “has a very relevant weight in the economic activity of our country.” In fact, the level of spending on public procurement in 2021 reached 11.49% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 22.71% of total public spending in Spain; percentages that will foreseeably increase with the execution of the European Next Generation EU funds.

However, United Podemos warns, as denounced in the report to which they refer, the effectiveness of the measures approved so far by the Government of which it is a part “is little or nil”, for which reason it is necessary to develop the appropriate mechanisms to ensure compliance with the standard.