Public tenders in Qatar: platforms, thresholds and rules

At a glance

Law: قانون تنظيم المناقصات والمزايدات (القانون رقم 24 لسنة 2015)
Oversight: وزارة المالية
Central portal: Monaqasat (مناقصات)

Thresholds

Tenders below this value may be restricted to registered micro, small and medium enterprises	QAR 5,000,000
Below this tender value, national micro companies are exempt from bid and performance bonds, and MSMEs pay no tender document fee	QAR 5,000,000
Bid bond may be waived for tenders below	QAR 500,000

Law and buyers

Qatar is not an EU member; public procurement follows Law No. (24) of 2015 Regulating Tenders and Auctions, amended in 2018 and by Law No. (17) of 2024, and its Executive Regulations issued by Cabinet Decision No. (16) of 2019, amended notably in 2022. The law covers ministries, other government bodies, authorities and public institutions. Excluded are QatarEnergy, the Qatar Investment Authority, and confidential contracts of the armed forces, police and National Cyber Security Agency, plus bodies exempted by Cabinet decision. Each government entity has its own tenders and auctions committee of five to seven members, with observers from the Audit Bureau and the Ministry of Finance's procurement department. The Ministry of Finance regulates procurement, classifies contractors and suppliers and runs the central portal.[1][2][6]

Where tenders are published

Government entities must announce their tenders, bid opening results and awards on the unified state procurement website, Monaqasat (monaqasat.mof.gov.qa), operated by the Ministry of Finance; final decisions on acceptance, exclusion, award or cancellation must be published there within two working days of approval. Tenders may also be announced through other channels. Contractors, suppliers and service providers are classified by the Ministry of Finance into categories and specialisations according to their financial and technical capacity, and the classification certificate number is part of the technical bid. Classification carries a fee; micro and small companies pay half. QatarEnergy, which falls outside the law, uses its own Mushtaryat supplier portal, and several other state bodies have separate registration.[1][2][3][4]

Procedures and thresholds

The default method is the public tender (المناقصة العامة). By reasoned decision the entity may instead use a two-stage tender for purchases without detailed specifications, a limited tender (المناقصة المحدودة) among classified firms on approved lists or pre-qualified firms, a practice or negotiated procedure (الممارسة) among at least three suppliers in urgent cases, a design competition (المسابقة), or a direct agreement (الاتفاق المباشر) in emergencies or for unique supplies. A tender cannot be converted into a practice or direct agreement after bids are in. Tenders below QAR 5 million may be restricted to classified micro, small and medium enterprises. Small purchases below a ceiling set per entity by the Prime Minister can be made without going through the committee.[1][2]

Documents and language

Bids are submitted in two sealed envelopes: a technical bid with the bid bond, a copy of the classification certificate, the commercial registration number, a tax clearance certificate and the technical documents, and a financial bid with prices and, where applicable, a local value certificate or plan. Foreign companies not classified in Qatar may be accepted with a classification certificate or equivalent from their home country, attested by the Qatari embassy there. Documents are drafted in Arabic or English, with an Arabic summary when in English; bids are submitted in Arabic unless the committee accepts another language with an Arabic summary. The bid bond is up to 5% of the estimated value, and the winner provides a performance bond of at least 10% of the contract value from a local or approved bank.[1][2][5]

Deadlines, award and challenges

The bid period for a public tender must be at least 15 working days from the announcement, although the committee may shorten it before launch in the public interest. Bids stay valid for 90 days, and the committee must decide within the first 60 days of validity. The award goes to the best bid, normally the lowest priced compliant offer; where local value applies, preference goes to the lowest financial result after applying the bidder's local value percentage, and preference rules for national products apply. Any bidder can file a grievance against the award with the Dispute Resolution Committee at the Ministry of Finance, chaired by a judge, within five working days after the award is announced on the portal. The committee decides within five working days and the award cannot be completed meanwhile; its decisions can be appealed to the administrative circuit of the Court of Appeal.[1][2][5][6]

How to win a tender in Qatar

Qatari ministries buy under Law No. 24 of 2015 on Tenders and Auctions and publish on Monaqasat. Bids go in two envelopes: a technical bid with the bid bond, classification certificate and technical documents, and a financial bid with prices and, where it applies, a local value (ICV) certificate. The technical bid works as a gate; among compliant bids the award normally goes to the lowest price, and since the 2022 amendments to the executive regulations the comparison uses the lowest price after applying the bidder's local value percentage, with preference for national products. Your ICV score, based on past contracts and the plan in your bid, can therefore change the ranking. Ask questions through the inquiry channel and deadline stated in the tender documents, and write in Arabic unless the committee accepts another language. Bids fail on a missing or wrong bid bond, an outdated classification or an incomplete envelope. Tenders below QAR 5 million can be reserved for qualifying SMEs. A grievance against the award goes to the Ministry of Finance dispute committee within five working days of the award being announced on Monaqasat.[1][2][3][5]

Secure the right Ministry of Finance classification before the tender opens.
Check the technical envelope list item by item, including the exact bid bond.
Add a valid ICV certificate to the financial bid where the tender asks for it.
Submit inquiries through the channel and by the date in the tender documents.
Watch Monaqasat for the award and file any grievance within five working days.

Clarification round: Inquiries (istifsarat) on Monaqasat

How TenderRender helps you in Qatar

TenderRender does the work behind each step above. Your team checks and refines.

1
Research the buyer
Brings together the buyer's earlier awards, policies and contracts, so your bid fits this buyer's situation in Qatar.
2
Ask questions
Finds unclear points and risks in the documents and drafts questions about them for the clarification round: Inquiries (istifsarat) on Monaqasat.
3
Write per criterion
Drafts a first version per award criterion, in the language of the tender, with citations to your own documents.
4
Review
Scores your bid per award criterion the way an evaluator would, with concrete improvements.
5
Fill in forms
Fills in the declarations, price schedules, questionnaires and Excel annexes from your own data and earlier bids, with a source per answer.
6
Submit
Builds a checklist of everything you need to submit on Monaqasat (مناقصات) and prepares the documents ready to sign.

Tender search covers the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany; in Qatar you upload the documents from Monaqasat (مناقصات) and TenderRender works with them the same way.

Teams writing or reviewing with TenderRender won 49% of their completed tenders. How this was calculated

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Tips for bidders

Apply for Ministry of Finance classification early, as most tenders ask for the certificate number and a decision can take 15 working days after a complete file. If you are a foreign company, plan how you will meet the rule that at least 30% of the contract value is sourced from the local market, covering materials, transport, security, catering and other local services, with priority for SMEs; payments depend on proof. Prepare a local value plan, since it can change the financial ranking. Budget for a bank guarantee confirmed by a Qatari bank. Check whether the buyer is covered by the law at all, because QatarEnergy and some other state bodies run their own procedures.[1][2][4][5]

Platforms in Qatar

This country does not publish on TED, so there are no shares. These are the platforms from our market map, public ones first.

Monaqasat
Qatar's Ministry of Finance portal: companies must be classified to bid in government tenders; a local value certificate becomes mandatory from early 2027.
How it works →Website

PublicCommercial

Frequently asked questions

Where are public tenders in Qatar published?

On Monaqasat (monaqasat.mof.gov.qa), the unified state procurement website of the Ministry of Finance. QatarEnergy publishes on its own Mushtaryat portal.[3][4]

Do I need to register to bid?

In most cases you need a classification certificate from the Ministry of Finance, which places contractors, suppliers and service providers in categories by capacity. Unclassified foreign companies can be accepted with an equivalent certificate from their home country attested by the Qatari embassy.[1][2]

What are the thresholds?

Tenders below QAR 5 million may be reserved for micro, small and medium enterprises, and the bid bond can be waived for tenders below QAR 500,000. The ceiling for small purchases without the committee is set per entity by the Prime Minister.[1][2]

Can foreign companies bid?

Yes, subject to the tender terms. Non-Qatari companies performing work or services in Qatar must source at least 30% of the contract value locally, except for consultancy services.[1][2]

In which language must I bid?

Bids are submitted in Arabic. The committee may accept documents in another language if they come with an Arabic summary, and tender documents are often in English with an Arabic summary.[1][2]

How much time do I have to submit a bid?

At least 15 working days from the announcement of a public tender, unless the committee shortens it before launch in the public interest.[2]

What bonds are required?

A bid bond of up to 5% of the estimated value, valid for 120 days, and a performance bond of at least 10% of the contract value from the winner. National micro companies are exempt from both in tenders below QAR 5 million.[1][2]