Scottish Ministers have made the Public Procurement (India Trade Agreement) (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 (S.S.I. 2026/104), adding the United Kingdom–India trade agreement to Scotland’s procurement schedules. The instrument comes into force on 24 March 2026 and includes transitional arrangements for procedures already under way.
Made on 19 February 2026 and approved by resolution of the Scottish Parliament in accordance with section 122(14) of the Procurement Act 2023, the Regulations rely on powers in section 91(1) of that Act. Ivan McKee signed the instrument on behalf of the Scottish Ministers at St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh.
The measure inserts the UK–India agreement, signed in London on 24 July 2025, into three regimes: the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 (Schedule 4A on international trade agreements), the Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 (Schedule 2A), and the Concession Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 (Schedule 5). This ensures consistent treatment across public contracts, utilities and concession arrangements.
Under the Scottish public procurement regulations, contracting authorities, utilities and concession grantors must treat economic operators from countries with which the United Kingdom has an international trade agreement no less favourably than UK operators. By listing the UK–India agreement in the relevant schedules, Indian suppliers obtain non‑discriminatory access to covered procurements, subject to each regime’s scope and thresholds.
The commencement and savings clause is tightly defined. The amendments do not apply to a procurement commenced before 24 March 2026. A procurement is regarded as commenced when the contracting body either publishes an advertisement seeking expressions of interest or offers, directly contacts a supplier to seek an expression of interest or offer, or responds to an unsolicited expression of interest or offer in relation to the intended contract.
For these transitional purposes, “contract” includes framework agreements and dynamic purchasing systems, and references to a contract award include the conclusion of a framework and the establishment of a dynamic purchasing system. Activity conducted solely as part of a design contest does not start a procurement for the contest’s subject‑matter.
Taken together, this means procedures advertised or otherwise initiated before 24 March 2026 continue under the pre‑amendment position, even if evaluation or award occurs later. Procurements first initiated on or after 24 March 2026 will apply the non‑discrimination obligations to Indian economic operators where the agreement’s coverage is engaged.
For frameworks and dynamic purchasing systems, the determinative moment is the conclusion of the framework or the establishment of the system. Mini‑competitions or call‑offs run under an existing framework are not identified in the instrument as separate commencements; in practice, bodies may therefore look to the framework’s original commencement date when assessing whether the amendment applies.
Contracting authorities should review their procurement pipelines to identify which procedures will first contact the market on or after 24 March 2026. Standard documents and eSourcing templates should be updated so that, where coverage applies, Indian suppliers receive equal treatment in participation, specifications and award criteria in line with the schedules now listing the UK–India agreement.
For suppliers in India, the change clarifies access rights to competitions under the Public Contracts, Utilities and Concession regimes from 24 March 2026 on equivalent terms to UK suppliers within the agreement’s scope. Publication routes, procedural time limits and remedies remain those set by the existing Scottish regulations.