[1] This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.

[2] Please note that some documents relating to rectifications or modifications to Appendices I to IV to the GPA 2012 are temporarily restricted (i.e. those circulated in the GPA/MOD/* series). They are automatically derestricted upon certification of such changes in the Appendices (see paragraph 2(d) of the Decision of the Committee on Government Procurement (CGP)) of 8 October 2002 on the Procedures for the Circulation and Derestriction of Documents of the CGP (_GPA/72 (23/10/2002)).

[3] Each Party has an obligation to collect and report to the CGP statistics on its contracts covered by the GPA 2012. Each report must cover one year and be submitted within two years of the end of the reporting period (GPA 2012 - Art. XVI:4). See also Article XIX:5 of the GPA 1994 and the CGP Decision on a Uniform Classification Systems for Statistical Reporting (_GPA/4 (10/07/1996) and _GPA/W/17 (15/05/1996)).

[4] In accordance with the CGP Decision on Modalities for Notifying Threshold Figures in National Currencies, each Party is required to notify the value of the thresholds contained in its coverage schedule (Appendix I) and specified in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) into its own national currency (_GPA/1, Annex 3 (05/03/1996)). The thresholds expressed in national currencies are fixed for a period two years.

[5] Each Party is under an ongoing non-periodic obligation to inform the CGP of any changes to its laws and regulations relevant the GPA 2012 and in the administration of such laws and regulations (GPA 2012 - Art. XXII:5). Under certain conditions and in cases of non-substantive changes, the CGP Decision on "Notification Requirements under Articles XIX and XXII of the Agreement" provides flexibility to submit notifications on an annual basis (_GPA/113 – Annex A to Appendix 2 (02/04/2012)). See also Article XXIV:5(b) of the GPA 1994.

In addition, a 1996 CGP Decision (_GPA/1/Add.1 (27/06/1996)) requires that each Party to the Agreement submit the complete texts of their basic legislation on government procurement in the original language and a summary of this legislation and other relevant legislation in one of the official WTO languages to the WTO Secretariat. In addition, Parties are required to provide responses to the checklist of issues regarding their national legislation and institutional arrangements.

[6] Parties are under an ongoing non-periodic obligation to notify the CGP of any proposed modification and rectification to coverage (Appendix I) (Art. XIX:1 of the GPA 2012). Under certain conditions, the CGP Decision on "Notification Requirements under Articles XIX and XXII of the Agreement" provides flexibility to submit notifications every two years (_GPA/113 – Annex A to Appendix 2 (02/04/2012)).

Parties affected by a proposed modification may notify the Committee of any objection to the proposed modification. A modifying or any objecting party may institute arbitration procedures to facilitate resolution of objections by submitting a notification to that effect (Article XIX of the GPA 2012 and the Committee's Decision on Arbitration Procedures (_GPA/139 (23/06/2016))).

See also the Interim CGP Decisions related to modifications and rectifications to the Appendices to the GPA 1994 before its entry into force (Decision of 17/01/1994 - _GPA/IC/3 (28/10/1994) and GPA/IC/2 – Annex 1 - (04/08/1994); _GPA/IC/W/3 (04/08/1994); and Decision of 29/06/1994 - GPA/IC/M/1 – Annex 2 (10/08/1994)).

[7] The GPA 2012 requires that Parties provide information on the media they use for the publication of procurement-related information, such as government procurement legislation, procurement notices, etc. The information is contained in various Appendices of the Agreement. Each party is under an ongoing non-periodic obligation to promptly notify the CGP of any modification to the Party's information listed in Appendix II, III or IV to the GPA 2012 (Art. VI:3 of the GPA 2012).

[8] Notification procedures during the period of co-existence of the GPA 1994 and GPA 2012 (i.e. from 06/04/2014 to 31/12/2020): With respect to notifications concerning national implementing legislation and statistics, a consensus emerged in the CGP that those Parties for whom the GPA 2012 had come into effect need not make parallel notifications under the GPA 1994. A similar practice had been implemented for the notifications of thresholds in national currencies, except where different threshold values applied under the GPA 1994 and the GPA 2012. The above understanding also did not apply with respect to modifications to coverage (Appendix I) and of information on the procurement system listed in Appendix II, III, and IV, which remain subject to notification requirements under both the GPA 1994 and the GPA 2012. See para. 5.2 of _GPA/134 (16/11/2015).