Circular No. 02/2007/TT-BBCVT detailing certain contents of Decision No. 169/2006/QĐ-TTg dated July 17, 2006, and Decision No. 223/2006/QĐ-TTg dated October 4, 2006, of the Prime Minister on investment and procurement of information technology products for agencies and organizations using state budget funds and funds with a state budget origin.

CIRCULAR

Detailed guidelines for certain contents of Decision No. 169/2006/QĐ-TTg dated July 17, 2006, and Decision No. 223/2006/QĐ-TTg dated October 4, 2006, of the Government on investment and procurement of information technology products by agencies and organizations using state budget funds and funds with state budget origin.

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Pursuant to Decree No. 90/2002/NĐ-CP dated November 11, 2002, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

Pursuant to Decision No. 169/2006/QĐ-TTg dated July 17, 2006, of the Prime Minister stipulating investment and procurement of information technology products by agencies and organizations using state budget funds (hereinafter referred to as Decision 169) and Decision No. 223/2006/QĐ-TTg dated October 4, 2006, of the Prime Minister amending certain provisions of Decision 169/2006/QĐ-TTg (hereinafter referred to as Decision 223).;

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications provides detailed guidelines for certain contents of Decision 169 and Decision 223 of the Prime Minister on investment and procurement of information technology products by agencies and organizations using state budget funds as follows:

I.  On the scope of application

The scope of application of Decision 169 and Decision 223 includes state agencies, public institutions of the State, political organizations, political-social organizations, agencies and units under armed forces (collectively referred to as agencies and organizations), excluding enterprises owned, controlled, or enjoying special privileges or monopolies by the State.

II.  Criteria for prioritized information technology products

Information technology products produced domestically that are prioritized according to Decision 169 and Decision 223 include those listed in The Catalogue of Information Technology Products Already Produced Domesticallyor in The Catalogue of Open Source Software Meeting Requirements for Use in State Agencies issued by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, or products meeting the following criteria (collectively referred to as domestically produced information technology products).

1. For hardware computer products and electronic products

Regarding product origin:

- The product is researched and manufactured entirely within the territory of Vietnam; or

- The product is assembled, modified, or upgraded within the territory of Vietnam, where these activities contribute at least 25% of the product's value, or create stable employment for at least 50 Vietnamese workers, including R&D staff, quality control personnel, engineers, and direct production workers.

Regarding product quality:

The product must meet the following criteria:

a) The product has been certified as conforming to National Technical Standards (NTS) or international standardization organization standards. The certification must be a technical requirement standard; or

The organization or enterprise producing the product holds an ISO 9001 certificate. Component parts and technologies applied in the production process have clear origins and sources;

b) The supplier clearly lists the responsibilities and warranty conditions for the product, allowing customers and regulatory authorities to review and monitor implementation.

2. For software products and digital content

Regarding product origin:

- The product is developed in Vietnam by Vietnamese organizations or enterprises, or foreign organizations or enterprises legally operating in Vietnam in the software manufacturing industry and digital content industry; or

- The product is manufactured abroad but is modified, upgraded, or localized through Vietnamese adaptation to meet Vietnam’s usage requirements, creating stable employment for at least 30 Vietnamese workers.

Regarding quality requirements:

The product must meet the following criteria:

a) The organization or enterprise developing the product holds an ISO 9001 or CMM/CMMI level 3 or higher certificate, or an equivalent quality management system certificate from Vietnam or abroad;

b) The supplier clearly lists the responsibilities and warranty conditions for the product, allowing customers and regulatory authorities to review and monitor implementation.

3. For information technology services

The service must meet the following criteria:

- The service is provided by Vietnamese organizations or enterprises, or foreign organizations or enterprises legally operating in Vietnam in the corresponding field of information technology services, and meets the functional and service provision requirements stipulated by law;

- The organization or enterprise providing the service has at least three years of experience in providing similar information technology services, or holds an ISO 9001 certificate or an equivalent quality management system certificate from Vietnam or abroad regarding service provision activities.

4. For open source software products

Open source software products must meet the following criteria:

- The product is developed in Vietnam by Vietnamese organizations or enterprises, or foreign organizations or enterprises legally operating in Vietnam in the software manufacturing and digital content industries;

- The product is confirmed by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications or an authorized body designated by the Ministry to have functions, features, and quality meeting the requirements for use in state agencies;

- The total investment cost for purchasing the product (including licensing fees, installation and setup costs, user guidance, and warranty) is equal to or lower than the corresponding costs for closed-source software of the same type; or the investment in purchasing open source software brings greater benefits to the investor in terms of technological control, compatibility, scalability, and security compared to closed-source software.

III. On the approval process for importing goods for domestic products that have already been produced.

In cases where it is necessary to purchase imported goods for information technology products that have been produced domestically as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 2 of Decision No. 169/2006/QĐ-TTg, relevant agencies must comply with the following approval procedures:

1. The project investor shall prepare a detailed explanatory dossier on the necessity to purchase imported goods to submit to the competent authority for project approval and send for comments to the specialized agency specified in Clause 2 of this Section. The dossier includes:

- Technical explanation documents specific to the project requiring the purchase of imported goods;

- Documents and grounds for comparing the ability of imported products to meet requirements with domestically produced information technology products;

- Other documents related to the project as prescribed by law.

2. The specialized agency is understood as follows:

- For central agencies, the specialized agency is the unit responsible for information technology within that agency. In cases where the agency does not have a specialized unit for information technology, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications acts as the specialized agency for the project investor to seek opinions from;

- For local agencies, the specialized agency is the Department of Posts and Telecommunications.

3. Within ten working days from the date of receipt of the explanatory dossier from the project investor, the specialized agency mentioned in Clause 2 of this Section must issue a response document to be sent to the project investor and the competent authority for project approval, clearly stating its opinion on the proposal to purchase imported goods and providing explanations for its opinion.

4. The head of the competent authority for project approval shall base their decision to approve the proposal to purchase imported goods on the document issued by the specialized agency mentioned in Clause 3 of this Section and the explanatory dossier of the project investor, and shall bear direct responsibility for the decision to permit the procurement of imported products.

IV. Implementation

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of signature.

2. During implementation, if any issues arise or difficulties occur, organizations and individuals are requested to report them to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications for prompt resolution./.