History of standard terms and conditions for ICT procurement in Finland

There is a long tradition for public-sector standard terms and conditions for ICT procurement contracts in Finland. The terms and conditions have been published as recommendations since 1998 and they are widely used, thus forming a de facto market standard for ICT-related public procurement contracts. The terms and conditions have been updated in roughly 10-year intervals.

The General Terms and Conditions of Government Procurement of Information Technology (VYSE 1998) and the related Special Terms and Conditions were published in 1998. VYSE 1998 included Special Terms and Conditions for Procurements of Equipment (VLAE), for Procurements of Standard Software (VVOE), for Procurements of Customised Application Software (VTSE), for Equipment and Software Maintenance Services (VHYE), for Facilities Management Services (VKÄE) and for Consulting Services (VKOE).

VYSE 1998 terms and conditions were updated in a project launched by the Ministry of Finance in 2006. The new Terms and Conditions of Government IT Procurement were adopted as a recommendation on 8 October 2007, and they were named “JIT 2007”. New Special Terms and Conditions for Services were introduced. Old VYSE 1998 Special Terms and Conditions for Equipment and Software Maintenance Services (VHYE) and the Special Terms and Conditions for Facilities Management Services (VKÄE) were abolished. As the previous VYSE 1998 had been mainly used by the government sector, JIT 2007 was directed to both government agencies and municipalities.

JIT terms and conditions were updated again in 2015, when Terms and Conditions of Public IT Procurement (JIT 2015) were published as a recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Information Management in Public Administration (JUHTA). JIT 2015 terms and conditions were more clearly than their predecessors directed to the whole public sector, including government agencies, bodies and funds, unincorporated state enterprises as well as municipalities and joint municipal authorities. The JIT 2015 recommendation included the General Terms and Conditions and eight sets of Special Terms and Conditions. Open-source software was emphasized as a relevant option for public sector applications. The previous JIT 2007 project terms were now divided into three appendices: Special Terms and Conditions for the Procurement of Client’s Application under Open Source Software Terms (JIT 2015 – Client’s Applications Open Source), Special Terms and Conditions for the Procurement of Client’s Application under Software Terms Other than Open Source (JIT 2015 – Client’s Applications Non-Open), and Special Terms and Conditions for Projects Implemented Using Agile Methods (JIT 2015 – Agile Methods). New Special Terms and Conditions for Services Delivered via a Data Network (JIT 2015 – Services via Network) were also introduced.

In addition to the terms and conditions, JIT 2015 also contained supporting material on open interfaces in information system or service procurement. This appendix was meant to help the contracting authorities to describe their requirements concerning open interfaces in more detail in the invitation to tender and in the agreement.

Later, in June 2018, Special Terms and Conditions for the Processing of Personal Data (JIT 2015 – Personal Data) were added to the JIT 2015 Terms and Conditions, taking into account the requirements of art. 28 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Smaller modifications to the other Special Terms and Conditions, based on the GDPR, were made accordingly.

JIT 2025 terms and conditions

On March 8, 2024, the Ministry of Finance established a working group with a mission to update the JIT 2015 terms and conditions by the end of the year 2024. Like the previous JIT working groups, also this working group consisted of representatives widely from both government sector and municipalities as well as from the private sector. The working group’s goal was to update the JIT terms to align with the current regulatory framework, particularly from the perspectives of the Finnish Information Management Act, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and sanctions legislation. Additionally, the terminology of the JIT terms and conditions was to be harmonized with the Finnish General Terms of Public Procurement in Service Contracts (JYSE Services) and in Supply Contracts (JYSE Supplies), when relevant. JYSE terms are directed for public procurement of other than ICT contracts.

The working group held 11 meetings and prepared the modifications to the JIT terms and conditions within the set time-limit. The new JIT 2025 terms and conditions were published on February 7, 2025. They are so far available in Finnish and in Swedish.

JIT 2025 consists of the following terms and conditions^{(1)Translation by author.}:

• General Terms and Conditions

• Special Terms and Conditions for the Procurement of Client’s Application under Open Source Software Terms

• Special Terms and Conditions for the Procurement of Client’s Application under Software Terms Other than Open Source

• Special Terms and Conditions for Services

• Special Terms and Conditions for Consulting Services

• Special Terms and Conditions for Procurement of Hardware

• Special Terms and Conditions for Services Delivered via a Data Network

• Special Terms and Conditions for Procurement of Expert Work.

The earlier JIT 2015 Special Terms and Conditions for Projects Implemented Using Agile Methods were no longer much used, and they were therefore replaced by the new Special Terms and Conditions for Procurement of Expert Work. These terms are intended to be used when procuring IT expert services, for example, when acquiring software developers or project managers for the client’s project. They are specifically intended for agile client projects where the results of the expert work are not based on solutions under the supplier’s intellectual property rights, and the work is primarily carried out in the client’s own application environment. The experts may, for example, work in a multi-supplier project. The new Special Terms and Conditions for Procurement of Expert Work are not meant to be used in project contracts where a specific agreed outcome is acquired from the supplier. The Special Terms and Conditions for the Procurement of Client’s Application, which include a more waterfall-like project approach, are meant for those situations.

The main updates for the General Terms and Conditions include e.g. updates to the price modifications and billing terms, terms for situations where the supplier or its subcontractor is subject to sanctions, new terms regarding the supplier’s duty to present proof on fulfilment of its employer obligations, and clarifications on how to calculate the contract value on which the damages are based on. Also, if the supplier has been found guilty of a prohibited restriction of competition between undertakings as stipulated in the Competition Act in relation to the procurement contract in question, the supplier must pay penalty fees and damages to the client.

In the General Terms and Conditions and in the Special Terms and Conditions for Services, terms regarding service personnel’s security clearances have been updated.

The Special Terms and Conditions for Procurement of Hardware have been updated to correspond better with the JYSE terms for procurements of goods, e.g. new clause setting requirements for the device characteristics has been introduced. Unless otherwise agreed, the device must be suitable for the purpose for which such devices are generally used or suitable for the specific purpose for which the device was intended to be used, if the supplier ought to have been aware of this purpose.

The Special Terms and Conditions for Services Delivered via a Data Network have been largely updated and modernised to be more suitable for procurement of software as a service (SaaS).

The JIT 2015 supporting material for requirements for open interfaces was abolished as outdated.

The JIT 2015 Special Terms and Conditions for the Processing of Personal Data was removed from JIT 2025, and it was replaced by two new documents, the JIT/JYSE Special Terms and Conditions for the Processing of Personal Data and the JIT/JYSE Description of the Processing Activities^{(2)Translation by author.}, which are common to both JIT and JYSE terms. These terms and conditions are no longer an attachment of JIT terms, nor JYSE terms, but instead independent documents which can be used in all procurement contracts regardless of whether the scope of procurement is ICT-related or not.

The new JIT 2025 General Terms and Conditions are publicly available on the Ministry of Finance’s web pages. They will also be available for public hearing in Finnish and in Swedish later during the year 2025.