GPA Threshold Values

GPA Threshold Values are the monetary cutoffs that determine whether a specific procurement contract falls within the disciplines of the WTO Government Procurement Agreement. Contracts at or above the relevant threshold must be procured using GPA-compliant procedures, including open advertising, non-discriminatory qualification, defined tender periods, and access for suppliers from all GPA parties. Contracts below the threshold remain outside GPA obligations, though domestic law may still impose procedural requirements.

What are GPA Threshold Values?

The GPA expresses its thresholds in Special Drawing Rights (SDR), the IMF's composite reserve currency. Each GPA party translates the SDR values into its own national currency using exchange rates that are recalculated and published every two years. This biennial revision means the thresholds in euros, pounds sterling, US dollars, and other currencies change periodically, even if the underlying SDR values remain stable.

The GPA sets different threshold levels depending on the type of entity and the nature of the contract:

Central government entities (Annex 1). The threshold for goods and services contracts is SDR 130,000, which for the EU and UK typically corresponds to approximately EUR 140,000 and GBP 138,760 (subject to biennial revision). Construction services contracts carry a higher threshold of SDR 5,000,000.

Sub-central entities (Annex 2). The threshold for goods and services is SDR 200,000 (approximately EUR 215,000 and GBP 213,477). Construction services again carry the SDR 5,000,000 threshold.

Other entities, including utilities (Annex 3). The threshold for goods and services is SDR 400,000, and for construction services SDR 5,000,000.

For the EU, these GPA thresholds broadly align with the thresholds set in Directive 2014/24/EU for public sector contracting authorities and Directive 2014/25/EU for utilities. In practice, EU Directive thresholds are periodically recalculated to align with the GPA SDR figures, so they move in step.

Why it matters for bidders

A contract just below the GPA threshold may still be advertised nationally or in TED as a matter of domestic law, but foreign suppliers from GPA parties have no treaty right to be considered. Understanding the threshold tells you whether your cross-border access rights are legally enforceable in a particular procurement or whether access is discretionary on the buyer's part.

For UK suppliers post-Brexit, knowing the UK's own GPA threshold values (which the UK Cabinet Office publishes) is equally important when targeting EU contracts, because the UK's schedule under the GPA gives UK suppliers access rights to EU contracts at or above EU thresholds, and vice versa.

Aggregation rules are also GPA-relevant: contracting authorities cannot artificially split contracts below the threshold to avoid GPA obligations. If a requirement is genuinely unitary, its full estimated value determines whether the threshold is met.

Example

A Belgian management consultancy wants to bid on a Canadian federal government services contract. Canada is a GPA party and has scheduled its federal departments in Annex 1. The contract is estimated at CAD 250,000. At current exchange rates, this exceeds the SDR 130,000 central government services threshold when converted to SDR. The procurement is therefore GPA-covered, and the Belgian firm has a treaty right to compete on the same terms as Canadian suppliers. If the contract were estimated at CAD 50,000, it would fall below the threshold and the GPA would not apply.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often do the euro and sterling threshold values change?

The SDR-denominated values are renegotiated by GPA parties periodically. The currency conversions are updated every two years. The European Commission publishes the updated euro thresholds in the Official Journal of the EU; the UK Cabinet Office publishes sterling equivalents. Practitioners should always verify the current figures before classifying a contract as above or below threshold.

Does the threshold apply to the total contract value or the annual value?

The threshold applies to the estimated total value of the contract, including all options and renewals. For framework agreements, the threshold is applied to the maximum aggregate value of all contracts expected to be awarded under the framework during its entire duration. Buyers cannot structure a multi-year framework to stay below threshold by reference to a single year's spend.

Are there different thresholds for different sectors?

Yes. The main distinction is between central government, sub-central, and utilities, as set out above. Some GPA parties have also negotiated sector-specific carve-outs or higher thresholds for particular categories of services in their General Notes (Annex 7). Defence procurement may be partially or fully excluded depending on the party's schedule.