3. Local Committee on Contracts
3.1
In a UNHCR office in the field, the Representative may request Headquarters to approve the establishment of a Local Committee on Contracts, particularly in the early stages of an emergency operation and when required goods or services are known to be available locally or regionally. The authority to establish a Local Committee on Contracts must be obtained from Headquarters, which will normally stipulate the purpose, the geographic, time and financial limits, the necessity to apply the relevant rules and procedures and, if applicable, the necessity to consult the Supply and Transport Section or the Programme and Technical Support Section on the prices and sources of supply of commodities and/or services available in the region. The Committee will be chaired by the Representative or by a formally designated alternate, and will be composed of at least three professional staff members. If there is no quorum, the matter will be referred to the Committee on Contracts at Headquarters. The Local Committee on Contracts will consider quotations subject to the same conditions as set out in paragraph 1.9 above.
3.2
All requests for the establishment (or the extension of the period of validity) of a Local Committee on Contracts should be sent via the Desk to the Chairman of the Committee on Contracts who will check the criteria and the justifications provided, and, if appropriate, request the Secretary of the Committee on Contracts to prepare an authorizing communication. The authorizing communication should be cleared by the relevant Regional Bureau and the Chief of the Supply and Transport Section, and be authorized by the Chairman of the Committee on Contracts. Requests for the establishment of a Local Committee on Contracts must include a full justification as well as information on the requested time and financial limits, and must also confirm that the goods or services being sought are available locally or regionally and that the requisite minimum number of professional staff would be available to act as Members of the Local Committee on Contracts. Requests must include the names of three members and three alternate members.
3.3
The Representative shall appoint a secretary to the Local Committee on Contracts to receive submissions to the Committee, to schedule meetings and secure the relevant documentation, to conduct required correspondence, to maintain the Committee's files and to prepare and distribute minutes of the Committee's proceedings.
3.4
Copies of the minutes and proceedings of each meeting of the Local Committee on Contracts, together with a Tabulation of Bids form and copies of the contracts entered into or purchase orders placed (and any amendments to these) must be forwarded to the Secretary of the Committee on Contracts at Headquarters who will present these to the Chairman and Members of the Committee on Contracts for their comments. The minutes must contain a summary of the discussion, the reasons for decisions taken, details regarding the contractor or supplier selected and the potential costs involved.
