On expediency of dividing public needs in the sphere of purchases of goods, works and services into general and intra-organizational ones

Introduction: the financial support of the public interest in the sphere ofprocurement is inextricably linked with the needs of the state in goods, works and services. At the same time, both state and municipal purchases include, as a rule, not only public needs aimed at performing the state functions, but also the needs of the existence and functioning of the customer as the executor of the state functions. Taking this into account, the purpose of the study is to assess the subject of the author’s hypothesis on the need to exclude the phrases “state and municipal needs” from the normative legal acts regulating the sphere of procurement, and enshrine at the statutory level a single general concept of “public needs”, as well as mandatorily divide them into general and intra-organizational ones. Methods: the methodological framework for the research consists of the following methods ofscientific knowledge: historicism, systematicity, analysis, synthesis and comparative law. The results of the analysis of the normative legal acts regulating the sphere of procurement, the doctrinal literature and real practice allowed us to establish that the budget financing provides the planned and approved customer needs for goods, works, services, which also include the functioning of the customer. The use of the concept of “needs” and their confusion under the name of “state and municipal needs”, do not correspond to the meaning of “need”, which is a form of realization of the state functions. The concept of “needs” is more often used, both in connection with the implementation of the will and desire of the subject, and the implementation of actions against his will and desire, when he/she is forced byexternal circumstances or certain forces. The concept of “needs”, as a rule, assumes the presence of the subject’s own will to achieve a certain goal associated with the need to ensure its existence and activity. Needs are the basis of the manifestation of the subject’s interest to achieve something, and the interest itself acts as a conscious need. Needs are not always directed to the interest of the subject. Conclusions: the study revealed that in order to unify the conceptual apparatus in the sphere of procurement, it is necessary to introduce and legalize a single concept of “public needs”, which will not only reflect its essence and content, but also contribute to the uniformity of its use by the state and municipal customers, state corporations and other customers involved in ensuring public needs. The division of “public needs” into general and intra-organizational ones will allow all stakeholders to clearly assess both the necessity for the declared needs and the amounts declared for funding from the budget. This, if it does not increase the efficiency of budget spending, will at least contribute to their optimization.