Slovakia Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in slovakia, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Selling to the Public Sector
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Selling to the Government

Slovakia is a founding member of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and is an original signatory to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Slovak Government joined the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. Government tenders are announced and published on the Slovak Office for Public Procurement website. The state authority is also the primary body to offer training on public procurement. Its responsibilities include legislative and regulatory authority, drafting and monitoring implementation of the Public Procurement Act, reviewing public procurement documents, conducting oversight and publishing statistics and guidance, updating online portals, and imposing financial penalties in case of Public Procurement Act violations.

The Slovak Office for Public Procurement maintains a List of Economic Operators. Companies are required to register and meet conditions to be put on the list, which is a pre-requisite for participation in Slovak public procurement tenders. To register, companies must submit several documents issued by Slovak or foreign government authorities; only originals or certified copies may be submitted. If Slovak or foreign government authorities do not issue required documents, then a company may submit self-declarations (affidavits). Slovakia was one of the first Central European countries to adopt an act on public procurement.

Public procurement legislation is frequently amended, and challenges remain to fair competition and eliminating corruption. Corruption is a major challenge in Slovakia. The Ministry of Justice maintains a Register of Public Sector Partners - a legally established list of public sector partners and beneficial owners. A public sector partner is a natural person or a legal entity that receives cash or a property from the state, local government, and other public sector entities above the statutory limit. In addition, all legal entities that enter into a contract, a framework agreement, or a concession contract under public procurement rules are required to be registered in the Register of Public Sector Partners.

Potential public tender opportunities for U.S. companies include the following sectors: energy, defense, ICT, e-health, and e-government.

U.S. companies bidding on foreign government tenders may also qualify for U.S. Government advocacy. Within the U.S. Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration, the Advocacy Center coordinates U.S. Government interagency advocacy efforts on behalf of U.S. exporters in competition with foreign firms in foreign government projects or procurement opportunities. The Advocacy Center works closely with a network of U.S. Commercial Service worldwide and inter-agency partners to ensure that exporters of U.S. products and services have the best possible chance of winning government contracts. Advocacy assistance can take many forms but often involves U.S. embassy or other U.S. government agency officials expressing support for U.S. exporters directly to the foreign government. Consult the Advocacy Center’s program web page on trade.gov for additional information.

Financing of Projects

Multilateral Development Banks and Financing Government Sales

Price, payment terms, and financing can be a significant factor in winning a government contract. Many governments finance public works projects through borrowing from the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB). The Guide to Doing Business with Multilateral Development Banks overviews how to work with MDBs. The International Trade Administration (ITA) has a Foreign Commercial Service Officer stationed at each of the five different Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs): the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; the Inter-American Development Bank; and the World Bank.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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