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Selling to the State in Paraguay: public procurement under Ley 7021/2022, supplier registry, thresholds, guarantees and protests

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

Paraguayan public procurement runs under Ley 7021/2022 and its regulation Decreto 2264/2024, administered by the national procurement agency DNCP through the SICP portal. Contracts above 5,000 daily minimum wages (PYG 585,385,000, about US$99,800) go to public tender; national tenders are open only to bidders domiciled in Paraguay, local branches included, and international tenders give a 10 percent preference to national labor and goods. Bidders must register as State suppliers, report beneficial owners, post a 5 percent bid bond and a 5 to 10 percent performance bond, and accept a 0.4 percent deduction from every invoice.

USD figures use PYG 5,868.31 per US dollar, the Banco Central del Paraguay reference quotation for 28 October 2026, retrieved on the verification date. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Contract value above which a public tender is required	5000 daily minimum wagesLey 7021/2022 art. 34, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Public tender threshold at the July 2026 daily minimum wage	585385000 PYGLey 7021/2022 art. 34; Res. MTESS 670/2026 art. 1, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Preference margin for national labor and goods in international procedures	10 %Ley 7021/2022 art. 33, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
National procedures open only to bidders domiciled in Paraguay	Yes; local branches allowed with own experience only textLey 7021/2022 art. 33, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Bid maintenance guarantee	5 % of bidLey 7021/2022 art. 51, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Performance guarantee	5 to 10 % of contractLey 7021/2022 art. 71, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum advance payment	30 % of contractLey 7021/2022 art. 62, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Contribution withheld from each invoice for the procurement system	0.4 %Ley 7021/2022 art. 63, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum amendment of amount and term	20 %Ley 7021/2022 art. 67, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum publication period, national public tender	15 calendar daysRes. DNCP 230/2025 art. 39, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum publication period, international public tender	30 calendar daysRes. DNCP 230/2025 art. 39, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum disqualification period	5 yearsLey 7021/2022 art. 150, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Daily minimum wage used for procurement thresholds	117077 PYGRes. MTESS 670/2026 art. 1, as of 2026-07-01 · in force
BCP reference rate	5868.31 PYG per USDBCP reference quotation, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Thresholds and procedures. Purchases are made through competitive procedures based on cost estimates: public tender (licitación pública) for contracts above the equivalent of 5,000 daily minimum wages, and small value tender (licitación de menor cuantía) below that amount for goods and services, preferably reserved for micro, small and medium enterprises. The daily minimum wage is the one for unspecified activities in the capital in force on the date of the call. Splitting contracts to avoid the right procedure is strictly prohibited. The DNCP can also use special procedures such as electronic reverse auctions and framework agreements.
Example: 5,000 x PYG 117,077 (daily minimum wage from 1 July 2026) = PYG 585,385,000. A PYG 700,000,000 IT contract must be a public tender; a PYG 400,000,000 one can be a small value tender. / The threshold is about US$99,750; a US$120,000 contract goes to public tender.Ley Nº 7021/2022 De suministro y contrataciones públicas, Art. 34 and 35, 2022-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. National and international procedures. National procedures are open only to bidders domiciled in Paraguay; international ones are open to domestic and foreign bidders and may be used only where a treaty or a multilateral loan agreement requires it, where a prior market study shows no national supply in the quantity, quality or price needed, or where a national call received no valid bids. Paraguayan branches of foreign companies may bid in national procedures, but only the branch's own capacity and experience since its formation counts, and if it wins it may use only machinery it owns or rents from companies domiciled in Paraguay. In international procedures non domiciled bidders must declare that their prices involve no dumping or subsidies and set up a domicile or local representative; bids that use Paraguayan labor or goods produced in Paraguay receive a 10 percent preference margin, subject to the minimum national content set by regulation. The regulation allows refusing bidders from countries that do not give Paraguayan suppliers reciprocal treatment.
Example: In an international tender, a foreign bid of PYG 1,000,000,000 and a bid with qualifying national content of PYG 1,080,000,000: with the 10 percent margin the national content bid is compared as if it were about PYG 981,818,000 (or the foreign bid as PYG 1,100,000,000), so it can win. / Foreign bid US$170,400 versus national content bid US$184,000: the 10 percent margin keeps the national content bid competitive. The exact method follows DNCP guidelines.Ley Nº 7021/2022; Decreto Nº 2264/2024, Ley 7021 art. 33; Decreto 2264/2024 art. 42 and 76, 2022-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Supplier registry and beneficial owners. Every individual, company or consortium (formed or by letter of intent) that wants to bid must register in the Registro de Proveedores del Estado, except in procedures excluded by regulation; registration is filed through the SICP with supporting documents and the supplier is then activated. Under DNCP Resolution 2939/2024, foreign companies may register without a Paraguayan domicile or local representative, which become required when they submit bids, and documents not in Spanish need a translation by a public translator registered in Paraguay. Bidders, suppliers, consultants and contractors must report their beneficial owners under Ley 6446/2019 and show proof of compliance on request; false declarations expose them to DNCP sanctions.
Cost to do it: The law and regulation set no registration fee; the costs are document legalisation and sworn translations, which are market priced.Ley Nº 7021/2022; Decreto Nº 2264/2024; Resolución DNCP Nº 2939/2024, Ley 7021 art. 22 and 60; Decreto 2264/2024 art. 33; Res. DNCP 2939/2024 art. 14, 2022-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. Publication periods. Minimum periods between publication on the SICP and bid opening, counted in calendar days from the day after publication, are: 15 days for a national public tender, 30 days for an international public tender, 9 days for a national small value tender and 15 days for an international small value tender. They are minimums and may be longer for complex purchases. For small value tenders, award must be decided within 10 calendar days of bid opening, extendable once, after which bidders may withdraw without consequence.Ley Nº 7021/2022; Resolución DNCP Nº 230/2025, Ley 7021 art. 37 and 47; Res. DNCP 230/2025 art. 39, 2022-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Guarantees, advances and the 0.4 percent contribution. Bids must be backed by a bid maintenance guarantee of 5 percent of the total bid, by bank guarantee from a bank authorised by the Central Bank or a surety policy from an authorised insurer (sworn declarations may be allowed in small value tenders). Contracts must secure any advance in full and performance with a guarantee of 5 to 10 percent of the contract value; consultancies instead need professional liability insurance of 10 percent. In public works, 5 percent of each payment is withheld as a repair fund, interest free, returned within 10 calendar days of final acceptance (extendable to 30). Advances may not exceed 30 percent of the contract value. Contracting bodies must withhold 0.4 percent of every invoice or works certificate, net of taxes, to fund the procurement systems.
Cost to do it: On a PYG 1,000,000,000 contract: bid bond PYG 50,000,000 (5 percent), performance bond PYG 50,000,000 to PYG 100,000,000, and a PYG 4,000,000 contribution withheld from invoices (0.4 percent), plus bank or insurer fees.
Example: PYG 1,000,000,000 works contract: PYG 50,000,000 held as repair fund across payments, PYG 4,000,000 withheld as contribution. / US$170,400 contract: bid bond US$8,520, performance bond US$8,520 to US$17,040, contribution US$682.Ley Nº 7021/2022, Art. 51, 62, 63 and 71, 2022-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. Changes, price adjustment and sanctions. Amendments must be in writing, approved by administrative act on the contract manager's reasoned opinion, signed by the highest authority, and may not exceed 20 percent of the original amount and term, separately or together; expired contracts cannot be amended. Prices may be adjusted where the contract provides or where CPI inflation published by the Central Bank exceeds expected inflation by 15 percent or more, and adjustments also work in the State's favour. Protests against calls and results are filed with the DNCP within the periods it sets, after which the right lapses. Breaches can lead to warnings, fines of 3 to 5 percent for procedures up to 5,000 daily minimum wages and 1 to 3 percent above that, and disqualification of 1 month to 5 years; unpaid fines are replaced by disqualification.Ley Nº 7021/2022, Art. 67, 70, 127, 149 and 150, 2022-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-28

7. Transition and entry into force. Ley 7021/2022 repealed the former public procurement law (Ley 2051/2003) and its amendments, and entered into force on publication of its regulation. Procedures started and contracts signed before that date stay under the law in force at the time of the call. Decreto 2264/2024 is the current regulation and repealed the earlier regulatory decrees 9537/2023 and 9823/2023.Ley Nº 7021/2022; Decreto Nº 2264/2024, Ley 7021 art. 158, 159 and 160; Decreto 2264/2024 art. 235, 2022-12-09 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Procedure	Value	PYG	USD at 5,868.31	Minimum period before bid opening
Public tender, national	Above 5,000 daily minimum wages	Above 585,385,000	Above about 99,750	15 calendar days
Public tender, international	Above 5,000 daily minimum wages	Above 585,385,000	Above about 99,750	30 calendar days
Small value tender, national	Below 5,000 daily minimum wages	Below 585,385,000	Below about 99,750	9 calendar days
Small value tender, international	Below 5,000 daily minimum wages	Below 585,385,000	Below about 99,750	15 calendar days

Procurement thresholds and minimum publication periods (verified 28 October 2026, daily minimum wage PYG 117,077)

Worked example

A foreign software company wants to bid for a PYG 2,347,324,000 (US$400,000) ministry contract, above the PYG 585,385,000 public tender threshold.
If the call is national, it can only bid through a Paraguayan entity or branch, and a branch can cite only its own local track record.
If the call is international (for example because no national supplier can meet the specification), it registers in the supplier registry, appoints a local domicile or representative at bid stage, and posts a 5 percent bid bond of PYG 117,366,200 (US$20,000).
On award it posts a performance bond of 5 to 10 percent (PYG 117,366,200 to PYG 234,732,400) and receives payments net of the 0.4 percent contribution, PYG 9,389,296 (US$1,600) over the contract, before taxes.

Step by step

Register in the Registro de Proveedores del Estado through the SICP, with legalised and translated corporate documents and the beneficial owner filing under Ley 6446/2019.
Monitor the SICP for the annual procurement programmes and calls; note whether each call is national or international.
Line up a Paraguayan bank guarantee or surety policy for the 5 percent bid bond.
Submit the bid electronically within the publication period; file any protest with the DNCP within the periods it sets.
Sign the contract within the regulatory period (failure means loss of the bid bond and possible sanctions), post the performance guarantee and manage invoices, withholdings and amendments within the 20 percent cap.

Common traps

Most purchases are national procedures, closed to non domiciled companies; a foreign parent's experience does not count for its Paraguayan branch.
Fractioning a contract to stay under the PYG 585,385,000 public tender threshold is prohibited and the threshold moves with every minimum wage adjustment.
The 0.4 percent contribution is withheld on top of tax withholdings, so price it in.
Price adjustment needs an inflation surprise of 15 percent or more over expected inflation, or a contractual formula; in a low inflation economy most fixed price contracts are not adjusted.
Refusing to sign after award forfeits the bid bond and is reported to the DNCP for sanctions.
PPP tenders follow Ley 7452/2025, not this law; see the public private partnerships page.

Sources

← Public private partnerships in Paraguay: the 2025 PPP law (Ley 7452), sectors, fiscal caps, tenders and private initiativesAcquiring a Paraguayan company: merger control, share transfer reporting, the 15 percent INR on share sales, employees and licences →

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