Answers of Information Services to questions asked by the journalist Valya Akhchieva

On 10 June 2023, the Ministry of Electronic Governance forwarded questions from the journalist Valya Akhchieva for answers. We are publishing the questions and the answers of Information Services.

Within the meaning of the law, is the state-owned company Information Services an administrator or an integrator of various information systems?

Pursuant to the current legislation there is no legal entity called "state-owned company". Information Services is a joint-stock commercial company registered under the Commercial Act, with 99.5% state participation in the capital, and is a public company pursuant to the Public Companies Act.

According to § 45, paragraph 1 of the Transitional and Final Provisions to the Act on Amendment and Supplement to the Electronic Governance Act, the system integration under Chapter One "a", Section IV of the Act is carried out by Information Services. Pursuant to § 45, paragraph 2 of the Transitional and Final Provisions to the Law on Amendment and Supplement to the Electronic Governance Act, the contracting authorities, designated by an act of the Council of Ministers shall, in the performance of their functions related to the system integration activities, assign the performance of these activities to Information Services. On this basis, the Council of Ministers took Decision No 727 of 2019 on the designation of the administrative bodies which, in the performance of their functions related to system integration activities, assign the performance of these activities to the system integrator - Information Services, as amended and supplemented by Decisions No 358 and No 419 of the Council of Ministers of 2020, Decisions No 203, No 371, No 466 and No 471 of the Council of Ministers of 2021, Decisions No 127, No 139, No 447, No 522, No 736, No 960 and No 977 of the Council of Ministers of 2022, Decisions No 126 and No 298 of the Council of Ministers of 2023.

By Decision No 481 of the Council of Ministers of 14 July 2020 were adopted the "Guidelines for unification of the practice of definition and implementation of system integration activities under article 7c of the Electronic Governance Act", which regulate the scope, organisation and implementation of system integration activities.

In the European Union, state structures with identical functions are: in Italy - Sogei - Società Generale d'Informatica S.p.A. (a commercial company owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which focuses only on the public sector - for all activities related to computer technology - and acts as a central purchasing authority); in Poland - Centralny Ośrodek Informatyki (a specialised structure established by the Minister of the Interior and Administration to carry out public tasks in the field of electronic services, computerisation, telecommunications and ICT, as well as information management; it provides services to the public sector and other structures); In Austria - Bundesrechenzentrum (BRZ) (commercial company owned by the federal government, which can perform all kinds of activities and IT services in the administration - the company is the most important and large provider with a market share of about 55 %; it provides services to the public sector and other structures); in Croatia - APIS IT - commercial company owned by the Republic of Croatia and the city of Zagreb, which can perform all kinds of activities involving information systems, system integration, IT solutions, shared access to information resources, consultancy services, maintenance of central registers, consolidation of the public information infrastructure and creation of a private cloud of public administration, etc., focusing only on the public sector, which acts as a central purchasing authority; in Germany - BWI GmbH, ITZBund, IT-Systemhaus - commercial company and specialized entities (which are not administrative bodies) of the ministers of defence and finance and the employment agency – they carry out all kinds of activities and IT services, BWI GmbH works for the Bundeswehr and ITZBund is the administration's main partner; BWI GmbH and ITZBund provide services only to the public sector, and ITSystemhaus – to other structures, too; in Estonia: the Riigi Infosüsteemi Amet (RIA) - a specialised entity with management and public functions to the Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications, which develops national IT systems and ensures national cybersecurity and the functioning of the secure e-state; it manages the state network and ensures secure e-elections, digital identity, provides services to the public sector and to other structures; in Portugal - the Centro de Gestão da Rede Informática do Governo (Ceger), a specialised entity (which is not an administrative body) to the Prime Minister or to a member of the Government to whom it is delegated; it provides all necessary ICT support for government needs and provides services only to the public sector.

Who controls the business of this company?

Pursuant to the effective laws the business of Information Services is subject to control on various grounds: as a commercial company Information Services is subject to control by all state control bodies (NRA, NSSI, General Labour Inspectorate), as a public enterprise – to control by the Ministry of Electronic Governance pursuant to the Public Companies Act and its implementing regulations and pursuant to the Public Sector Internal Audit Act, pursuant to the Public Sector Financial Management and Control Act, pursuant to the State Financial Inspection Act, pursuant to the Court of Accounts Act and the Independent Financial Audit Act, and as a contracting authority – by the Public Procurement Agency. In 2021, the company was audited by the NRA, Large Taxpayers and Insurers Directorate for the period 2015 - 2020, which included audits of public procurement contracts. During the audit no violations of tax legislation were found.

During the performance of its functions as a system integrator under article 7c of the Electronic Governance Act (EGA), when contracting system integration activities to third parties, Information Services acts as a public contracting authority under the Public Procurement Act in strict compliance with the effective laws. All procurement documents announced by the company are publicly available in the information system “Centralised Automated Information System – Electronic Public Procurements” managed by the Public Procurement Agency, at: https://app.eop.bg/today (for the procurements announced after 13.06.2020) and on the Buyer's Profile on the official website of the company and in the Public Procurement Register at https://www.aop.bg/ (for the procurements announced up to and including 13.06.2020). 98.5% of the public procurements announced by the company so far have been awarded with the "lowest price" award criterion. With regard to the subject of the public procurement for the supply of hardware, it is a mandatory requirement that the products supplied are new, unused, in the manufacturer's current production list and compliant with the Bulgarian standards for degree of protection and electromagnetic compatibility. As a result of this approach to the procurement of hardware and standard software in 2021, we have achieved the provision of optimal computer configurations in the administration at the best uniform prices for all, with savings of BGN 8.7 million for the administrative bodies (compared to the budgeted expenditure for the same equipment) and savings of over BGN 1.9 million (45% of the estimated cost) for 2,200 workstations for one administrative body alone. Decisions on public procurements announced by the company are subject to appeal to the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) under the Public Procurement Act. So far, out of the over 900 decisions issued on the open public procurements, two have been appealed, in both cases the proceedings before the CPC have been terminated (in one case - due to termination of the procedure following an internal error found within the company, and in the other - due to withdrawal of the appeal). There have been no reports to the law enforcement authorities regarding the public procurement contracts we have announced and the decisions adopted in relation to them.

The Integrated Management System for Quality, Information Security and IT Services of Information Services JCS implemented in the company is certified according to the international standards ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2013 and ISO 20000-1:2018 and is subject to audits performed by the internal auditors of the Internal Control and Standards Department (according to an approved annual plan) and by internationally certified external auditors of TÜV NORD SERV GmbH (within the framework of annual audits - control or recertification audits). 

As a provider of qualified authentication services under Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and authentication services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC, and the applicable European standards, Information Services undergoes an annual compliance audit performed by internationally certified external auditors from LSTI and is subject to inspections by the Communications Regulation Commission. Information on the internationally certified systems maintained and certificates held is publicly available at https://www.is-bg.net/bg/about, under the Quality section.

Pursuant to the Public Sector Financial Management and Control Act, the Company's operations are subject to audit by both the Internal Audit Department and the Internal Audit Unit of the Ministry managed by the Principal - until 30.12.2021, we were subject to audit by the Internal Audit Unit of the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, after which date audits by the Principal are the responsibility of the Ministry of Electronic Governance (MEG). In December 2022, the operations of Information Services as a national systems integrator and public contracting authority under the Public Procurement Act were subject to audit by the Internal Audit Unit of the MEG. The audit was completed without any reservations.

Information Services performs the functions of a system integrator assigned by the EGA and the strategic decisions of the government in full publicity and transparency, aiming to protect the public interest first and to ensure the highest quality at the best price conditions and guaranteed compliance with international standards for quality and security of the services provided. As a result of streamlining the processes of analysing the needs and requirements of administrations and defining the requirements for the implementation of public procurement, we have achieved significant savings in the spending of public funds.

Who determines the value of the software created? And who controls whether the work is done?

The determination of the estimated cost of system integration services and the activities that ensure their implementation is regulated in Section 5 of the Guidelines for unification of the practice of definition and implementation of system integration activities under article 7c of the Electronic Governance Act. The estimated value is determined by the administrative authority in cooperation with the system integrator on the basis of previous or existing contracts for identical or similar services/activities, taking into account the possible changes in market conditions. Where a particular service or activity is being procured for the first time or cannot be determined as specified, the estimated value is determined jointly by the administrative authority and the system integrator, ensuring economic, effective and efficient planning and spending of public funds to achieve the required quality. The determination of the estimated cost is based on specific requirements (technical parameters) for the planned Integrated Computer Systems, including functional and non-functional ones. The determination of the estimated cost of supply is based on a survey of leading manufacturers of the relevant inputs.

Control over the implementation of the works assigned under contracts for system integration is exercised by the administration - the contracting authority under the respective contract, as the signing of an acceptance and handover protocol for the implemented activities is a condition for payment to the system integrator. In cases where the subject of the award is the development, upgrading or implementation of information systems or electronic services, the technical specifications are accepted for implementation after certification of compliance by the Minister of Electronic Governance pursuant to article 58b, paragraph 1 of the Electronic Governance Act.

 What benefits have the employees of this company received in the last 5 years and what is the headcount number?

 Over the last 5 years, one-off additional payments have been made to staff for individual project performance in accordance with the Internal Salary Regulations as follows:

How many freelance contracts have been concluded and for what total amount?

Presently, the total number of freelance contracts in force for the company (Head Office and 26 branches) is 36, with a total value of BGN 17 900 per month and an average remuneration of BGN 497 per month with the subject - hygiene and technical maintenance of the buildings owned by the company.

*In 2021, the amount of the average monthly bonuses is higher compared to the other years due to the 3 national elections and the involvement of most of the staff in the preparation and implementation of the computer processing of the results.