In Qatar, the Government is the main end-user of a wide range of products and services. All government procurement contracts are subject to the provisions of bidding and tender regulations included in Law No. (8) of 1979. The Central Tenders Committee (CTC) of the Ministry of Finance is responsible for processing the majority of public sector tenders. The CTC applies standard tendering procedures and adheres to established performance norms. It also sets the standards for rules and regulations for bidding procedures. Information on CTC tenders may be obtained from the CTC office in Doha or on the internet at www.ctc.gov.qa. In tenders valued in excess of QR 100 million (USD 27 million), the CTC may invite and pre-qualify international firms to bid for a specific product or service. Technical bids submitted to the CTC are referred to the appropriate government end-user for short-listing. The CTC then opens the commercial bids and recommends the lowest priced technically qualified bidder to the entity concerned, who will make the final award decision. Enquiries about specific award decisions should be directed to the CTC.

Some governmental entities have internal tender committees. The Ministry of Energy and Industry and Qatar Petroleum process all tenders independently. Qatar Armed Forces and the Ministry of Interior are responsible for issuing tenders for classified materials and services. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture may tender consultant contracts valued at less than QR 3 million (USD 822,000) and works contracts valued at less than QR 1 million (US$ 274,000). Bid and performance bonds are required in the form of unconditional guarantees with a local bank. The standard bid bond is 5% and performance bond 10% of the contract. However, the above rate can be larger for certain projects. Foreign firms are not normally required to have a local agent for the bid process. However, by the time a contract is ready to be signed, participating foreign firms may need to have satisfied local agent requirements. The State Purchase Office (SPO), a division of the CTC, handles all local purchase orders (LPO's) for equipment and supplies required by various government ministries. The SPO handles bids worth hundreds of millions of dollars every year. The period for preparation of quotations is usually 30 days, but very often less than three weeks after the announcement of tenders.

Government contracts normally include arbitration clauses. Unless stated otherwise in the contract, the standard clauses stipulate that disputes emanating from government contracts will be subject to arbitration in Qatar. German firms may consider seeking, whenever possible, to reserve the right to appeal local arbitration decisions abroad. Foreign and local contractors are usually paid 20% of the contract awarded to them against unconditional bank guarantees. Further payments are made according to a standard payment schedule based on the progress of the project. It should be noted that the payment schedule almost always authorizes the Government to retain portions of payments due until after the completion and acceptance of the project. Foreign and local contractors may experience delayed payments, which do not accrue interest, usually due to bureaucratic red tape. Arabic is the official language in Qatar though English is widely used. Bids should be in Arabic unless the tender document specifically indicates that English is required or accepted. Specifications generally conform with British/European standards.