On February 12, 2026, the Legislative Assembly approved in its second debate legislative file No. 23,652, which adds a Subsection k) to both Articles 2 and 3 of the General Public Procurement Law (Ley General de Contratación Pública). These articles regulate, respectively, public actions completely excluded from the Law and procurements that are exempted from ordinary public procurement procedures. To become Law, it only awaits signature and enactment by the Executive Branch.

Specifically, memberships in international organizations and subscriptions to databases necessary for research and knowledge transfer are excluded from the scope of the Law. On the other hand, procurements carried out to provide continuity to research or community outreach (extensión) activities are exempted from the Law's ordinary procedures.

But what types of goods and services do public universities acquire for research and outreach activities? And why does this reform represent an opportunity for suppliers?

First, it is important to contextualize that research and outreach constitute part of what is known as the core substantive activities of universities, alongside teaching. These institutions develop all kinds of research projects, but they also possess specialized centers and laboratories that correspond to the different academic disciplines converging in the university space: health, engineering, agrifood, basic sciences, among others.

By way of example, for the development of research, universities purchase everything from raw materials or reagents for laboratory tests to machinery to analyze the quality of both animal feed and construction materials, medical equipment and supplies, and specialized cleaning products, among many others.

In turn, within outreach activities, continuous education modalities exist that require the expedient procurement of services for building maintenance (construction), specialized software packages, etc.

The original bill highlighted that more than 70% of scientific research in Costa Rica is conducted within public universities, which also have the capacity to generate revenue through the sale of goods and services linked to research projects, technological and scientific transfer, and outreach activities.

Under this scenario, the importation of goods and the offering of services that satisfy the different needs of scientific research will be bolstered by this statutory reform, which boosts the ordinary activity of universities while widening the array of possibilities to become a supplier for these higher education centers.

What Does the Law Expressly Exempt and How Does It Benefit Suppliers?

Now, natural persons or legal entities that offer goods and services to the public sector know that the planning of product purchases or the hiring of personnel who provide services is, on many occasions, impacted by the duration and uncertainty linked to public procurement procedures.

Scientific research has specific needs that must be met expediently, which this procedural exception seeks to resolve. However, this also benefits suppliers, who will experience greater legal certainty when planning the importation of certain products. Since exceptional procurement processes are authorized, a supplier can be invited directly, or a market study can be conducted to justify the need to bypass a competitive tender.

The foregoing saves time regarding appeal procedures (trámite de recursos), addressing corrections (subsanaciones), and objections from different bidders, among others. Nevertheless, one must remain attentive to how different universities might implement this reform in practice; for instance, whether it will be mandatory to register as a supplier for certain specialized goods and services or to comply with specific standards.

Finally, it should be noted that an exception to ordinary procedures does not imply the non-application of the core principles of public procurement. Likewise, it still requires the proper submission of technical and economic bids, as well as the adequate contractual execution of the commitments undertaken—without overlooking potential claims for economic sanctions or unpaid invoices.

For all these requirements, it is ideal to secure specialized legal counsel to back the operational success of your contractual activity.