Purchasing Limits

Statutory Requirements

The thresholds for contracts which must be competitively bid, which are governed by applicable sections of the Connecticut General Statutes (“C.G.S.”), are as follows..

Under $25,000
Competitive bidding or negotiation is not required in the case of minor purchases of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or less, excluding shipping and handling. However it is always a good practice to get more than one quote in a competitive market

Over $25,000
All purchases greater than $25,000 but less than or equal to $100,000 shall be made in the open market and, when possible, be based on at least three written quotations or bids from responsible and qualified sources of supply. Example if coming from an approved State or Cooperative contract only one quote is necessary

Over $100,000
Purchases that exceed $100,000 and not available through a competitively sourced contract must be based, when possible, on competitive bids or proposals obtained via a sealed bid process, except as provided in subsections 2.2, 2.4 and 2.5 of this manual.

Goods and services procurements estimated to exceed $100,000 must be advertised online on the State Contracting Portal for a minimum of five days

Exceptions provided in subsections 2.2, 2.4 and 2.5 of the procurement manual
Special note regarding emergency purchases: Competitive bidding or competitive negotiation is not required in the case of emergency purchases. Whenever an emergency exists by reason of extraordinary conditions or contingencies that could not reasonably be foreseen and guarded against, or because of unusual trade or market conditions, the chief executive officer (or designee) may, if it is for the best interest of the state, make purchases without competitive bidding. A statement of all emergency purchases made under the provisions of this subsection shall be set forth in the annual report of the chief executive officer.

Single Purchase

For purposes of determining the appropriate requisition and commitment authority for non-contract purchases the dollar value of a single purchase with a single vendor during a fiscal year shall be defined as: For one-time purchases, the cost of the entire purchase, including all individual products or services normally ordered at one time and related to the intended end use, and

For contracts, the total contract cost for the products, services and/or time frame covered.

No purchase shall be divided or subdivided for the purpose of bringing such purchase within a lower spending category. Where responsible planning and aggregation of recurring purchases can achieve cost savings, such purchases should be so executed by fiscal quarter or other longer time frame, where possible, and the sourcing requirements of the resulting expenditure level follow.