Most of the University’s funds come from taxes, and staff must always ensure fairness, transparency, competitiveness and economic viability in any use of University money.

Kyushu University insists, on principle, that for these reasons, any member of staff wishing to purchase goods must first select the item required, and then implement the purchasing procedure via the accounting section of their department.

As an exception, however, faculty and administrative staff that have been allocated budgets, persons permitted to place orders within departments, and persons allocated subsidies, may place orders for less than 1.5 million yen worth of goods per time.

• ・Contract to purchase goods (research equipment, office supplies, leases, etc.)
• ・Service contract (repair of goods, maintenance of equipment, printing and bookbinding, etc.)
• * There is no authority to place orders for expenditure contracts worth 1.5 million yen or more, so a purchase request should be submitted to the administrative section of your department to request that a contract be concluded.

○Selection of goods for purchase

The person intending to use the goods (member of staff, etc.) must consider the objectives and conditions of use of the item, and survey the market in order to make a comparison of similar items, before deciding upon an item to purchase.

In selecting goods or deciding on specifications, ensure fairness and objectivity to be able to take accountability so that there will be no seemingly suspicious connection to a certain maker.

In principle, purchases of goods will be handled as below.

・Items costing 10 million yen or less

Once the item for purchase has been selected as described above, staff should request the accounts section to implement the purchasing procedure. There is no need to put in writing the reason why a particular item has been selected.

・Items costing more than 10 million yen but less than 20 million yen (*1)

Staff must put in writing the reason why a particular item has been selected (a model selection report). When requesting the accounts section to implement the purchasing procedure, this model selection report will be required.

However, when procuring a system composed of multiple items, it is necessary to prepare a specification document.

・Items costing at 20 million yen or more (*1)

According to the government procurement agreement, etc., (see below), the University is not permitted to purchase an item based on the manufacturer/model number or specify a brand. Rather than specifying a brand, the member of staff should implement a market survey based on the objectives and conditions of use of the item, and decide the minimum specifications required in the object to be purchased. This information should be compiled into a document listing the specifications.

○Deciding upon contract partners

In principle, the Contracts Section determines the counterparty for contracts concerning the sale of goods or the provision of services in accordance with the procedures below.

・Goods valued at less than 3 million yen

A survey is implemented of possible suppliers, and the contract partner is decided upon, in principle, through the collection of estimates.

• Goods valued from 3 million yen to 5 million yen

Information on the goods to be purchased is made publicly available on the Kyushu University website, among other methods, and quotations are solicited from suppliers wishing to sell the goods. The contract is concluded with the supplier offering the lowest price.

・Goods valued at more than 5 million yen but less than 20 million yen (*1)

Information on the goods to be purchased is made publicly available on Kyushu University website, and a tender process is conducted. The contract is concluded with the vendor that offers the lowest tender.

・Goods valued at 20 million yen or more (*1)

In accordance with the procedures under the Government Purchasing Agreement, etc. (described later), procurement information for the goods and services to be purchased will be made publicly available in the Official Gazette and on Kyushu University’s website, and a tender process will be conducted.

After receiving proposals for goods that meet the University's required specifications from vendors wishing to bid, the University will award the contract to the vendor offering the lowest price.

○Government Purchasing Agreement, etc.

Government purchasing is defined as the purchase or rental of goods or services by the government, a local government agency or a government-related agency.

The World Trade Organization (WTO), which has as its main aim the liberalization of trade, defined the Government Purchasing Agreement (ratified on 1st January 1996) and the Agreement on Government Procurement (ratified in April 2014), and dozens of countries and customs areas, including Japan, had agreed to become parties to, and abide by the regulations of, the agreement.

National university corporations are covered by the terms of this agreement.

(When purchasing takes place funded by subsidies awarded to individuals as Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology research funds, however, these terms do not apply.)

Note: Due to agreements and treaties, the government purchasing process requires far more complicated paperwork procedures to be undertaken than general purchasing. For this reason, it can take a significant amount of time before the item is delivered.
When putting together a research plan while applying for budget or competitive funding, it is necessary to remember that the procedures will take a significant amount of time.

In accordance with this agreement and the voluntary measures separately established by Japan, attention must be paid to the following points as specific requirements for compliance.

• 1. When purchasing items that cost 20 million yen or more (*1)
  • (1) Tenders must be invited by placing advertisements in official gazettes (including English language editions) to encourage tenders from as many businesses as possible.
  • (2) A designated period of time must be defined between the publication of advertisements in gazettes and the submission of tenders.
  • (3) Items for purchase may not be specified by manufacturer or model number, etc., but rather by the creation of a specifications document.
• 2. Furthermore, when purchasing items that cost 160 million yen or more (*2),
  • (1) When creating a specifications document proposal, market research must be done by gathering information from a broad range of official gazettes (including English language editions).
  • (2) The specifications document created in (1) above must be placed as an advertisement in official gazettes (including English language editions) to encourage tenders from as many businesses as possible.

Additionally, when necessary, the University may hold briefing sessions on bidding or on the contents of the specifications.
Furthermore, when proposals (technical specifications) that conform to the University's specifications are required, a technical review must be conducted to evaluate the contents of the proposals submitted by bidding vendors.

Example: Purchase of general goods (competitive purchase)

• *1, *2: These are base amounts for AY 2026 - 2027. The amounts are revised every two years.
• *2: Different value criteria apply to electronic communications equipment and medical technology products.

○Financial accounting system

A request to purchase the selected item should be done using the “financial accounting system.” Faculty members who have their own budgets allocated will be given an ID to allow them to use the system.