What it does not mean
Not every public body is a contracting authority for every purchase; check the applicable law and the buyer record.
In practice in Portugal
In Portugal the buyer is an entidade adjudicante: the State, the autonomous regions, local authorities, public institutes, public foundations and public associations, plus bodies governed by public law that are created to meet needs of general interest without an industrial or commercial character, and are financed mostly by, controlled by or have a board mostly appointed by public entities (CCP, Article 2(1) and (2)).
A concurso público notice goes to the Diário da República (CCP, Article 130(1)), and to the Official Journal of the EU when EU rules require it (Article 131(1)).
In practice in Spain
The LCSP names two things that notices sometimes mix up. The poder adjudicador is the public-sector entity that counts as a contracting authority under the Act (Article 3(3)); the órgano de contratación is the body that signs contracts on its behalf (Article 61(1)).
Each órgano de contratación runs a perfil de contratante, a web page with its notices and contract documents, open to all without identification (Article 63(1)).
What you see on the notice
- BASE: an announcement names the buyer under “Entidade emissora” and a contract record under “Entidades adjudicantes”, each with the tax number in brackets.
- PLACSP: the detail page opens with “Contracting Party” (English interface): the body's name and its place in the public-sector tree, for example a town council.
- TED: section “1. Buyer” gives the official name and the “Legal type of the buyer”, such as local authority or body governed by public law.
How Sinal shows it
Shown as the buyer on a notice or award record in the Calls & Awards feed.
- Every notice drawer has a Buyer section; selecting it opens the buyer's own drawer with its other notices and awards.