Circular No. 05/2018/TT-BKHĐT detailing the preparation of reports on the evaluation of bidding documents for tender packages organized to select contractors through the National Public Procurement System.

CIRCULAR

REGULATIONS ON THE PREPARATION OF EVALUATION REPORTS FOR BID DOCUMENTS IN PROCUREMENT PACKAGES SELECTED THROUGH THE NATIONAL PROCUREMENT NETWORK SYSTEM

Pursuant to the Law onof the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Home AffairsLaw on Procurement No. 43/2013/QH13 dated November 26, 2013;

Pursuant to Decree No. 63/2014/NĐ-CP dated June 26, 2014 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Procurement regarding the selection of contractors;

Pursuant to Decree No. 86/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 25, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Planning and Investment;

||| d) Establishing a national gender statistical database.policies The Ministry of Planning and Investment issued the Circular detailing the preparation of evaluation reports for bid documents in procurement packages selected through the National Procurement Network System.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular details the preparation of evaluation reports for electronic bid documents (E-Bid Documents) for procurement packages within the scope regulated by Article 1 of Law on Procurement No. 43/2013/QH13, which are organized to select contractors through the National Procurement Network System (hereinafter referred to as the System).

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals participating in or related to the activities of preparing evaluation reports for E-Bid Documents for procurement packages within the scope regulated by Article 1 of this Circular.

Article 3. Application of Evaluation Report Templates and Appendices

1. Template No. 01A: applicable to procurement packages for non-consulting services, goods procurement, construction works under a single-stage single-envelope method and evaluated according to process 01 specified in point a, Clause 6, Article 15 of Circular No. 04/2017/TT-BKHĐT.

2. Template No. 01B: applicable to procurement packages for non-consulting services, goods procurement, construction works under a single-stage single-envelope method and evaluated according to process 02 specified in point b, Clause 6, Article 15 of Circular No. 04/2017/TT-BKHĐT.

3. Template No. 02: applicable to procurement packages for goods procurement, construction works under a two-stage single-envelope method as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 29 and Clause 1, Article 32 of Circular No. 04/2017/TT-BKHĐT.

4. Template No. 03: applicable to procurement packages for consulting services as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 29 and Clause 1, Article 32 of Circular No. 04/2017/TT-BKHĐT.

5. For procurement packages belonging to projects using official development assistance funds, concessional loans arising from international treaties, agreements between Vietnam and sponsors, if approved by the sponsor, the preparation of evaluation reports for E-Bid Documents shall apply the Templates No. 01A, 01B, 02, and 03 issued together with this Circular.

6. The tenderer shall base the type of procurement package and the selection method to apply the relevant Record Forms and Petitions in the Appendices accompanying this Circular appropriately, specifically as follows:

a) Appendix 1A: Petition Requesting Approval of Technical Proposal Evaluation Results (for procurement packages under a two-stage single-envelope method);

b) Appendix 1B: Decision Approving List of Contractors Meeting Technical Requirements (for procurement packages under a two-stage single-envelope method);

c) Appendix 2A: Petition Requesting Approval of Contractor Ranking List (for procurement packages under a single-stage single-envelope method);

d) Appendix 2B: Petition Requesting Approval of Contractor Ranking List (for procurement packages under a two-stage single-envelope method);

đ) Appendix 3A: Minutes of Contract Negotiations (for procurement packages for non-consulting services, goods procurement, construction works);

e) Appendix 3B: Minutes of Contract Negotiations (for procurement packages for consulting services);

g) Appendix 3C: Comparison Result of Documentation (for all procurement packages);

h) Appendix 4: Petition Requesting Approval of Bid Selection Results;

i) Appendix 5: Commitment Statement.

Article 4. Time for Evaluating E-HSDT

1. The maximum time for evaluating E-HSDT is 45 days, from the bid opening date to the date when the tender inviter submits the bidding result approval to the project owner. The evaluation time does not include the review and approval period, including the technical proposal evaluation review period for the two-envelope bidding method. In necessary cases, the evaluation time may be extended but not exceeding 20 days and must ensure the project implementation schedule.

2. For small-scale tenders, the maximum time for evaluating E-HSDT is 25 days, from the bid opening date until the tender inviter submits the bidding result approval to the project owner. In necessary cases, the evaluation time may be extended but not exceeding 20 days and must ensure the project implementation schedule.

Article 5. Method of Evaluating E-HSDT

1. In cases where a bidder participates simultaneously in multiple tenders and is ranked first in this tender while winning one or more other tenders, the project owner and tender inviter must clarify the bidder's ability to implement the tender in terms of technical capacity and finance during the negotiation and contract completion process.

2. For the assessment of validity (excluding the guarantee and consortium agreement contents), the system automatically evaluates based on the bidder's commitment in the bid form. The bidder is responsible for the accuracy of the committed information. If the bidder is found to have made false commitments, the bidder will be considered fraudulent and will be handled according to Clause 1, Article 122 of Decree No. 63/2014/NĐ-CP.

3. For non-advisory service tenders, goods procurement, and construction works, the assessment contents regarding incomplete contract history, financial performance results, annual average revenue, financial resource requirements, and similar contract experience of the bidder are automatically evaluated by the system based on the information declared by the bidder in the webform. The bidder is responsible for the accuracy of the declared information. If the bidder fails to declare the information or declares inaccurately, incompletely, or does not meet the requirements stated in the E-HSMT, the system will evaluate the bidder as failing in this content. Regarding similar contracts, if the expert team finds that the system's "pass" evaluation is inaccurate, the team has the right to re-evaluate to produce the final result for this content.

4. For financial evaluations, if the bidder does not declare information about goods or attach personnel-related documents in the E-HSDT as the basis for calculating benefits, the bidder will not enjoy such benefits.

Article 6. Expert Team

1. The expert team is established by the tender inviter or the bidding consultancy unit (in cases where consultancy services are hired). Each member of the expert team must comply with the provisions of Article 116 of Decree No. 63/2014/NĐ-CP. Each member of the expert team must submit a Commitment Form according to Appendix 5 to the tender inviter before commencing the E-HSDT evaluation.

2. The expert team leader issues the working regulations of the expert team, which includes the following main contents:

a) Specific assignment of tasks to each member;

b) Estimated completion time for the E-HSDT evaluation;

c) Working methods of the expert team;

d) Other necessary contents.

3. The tender inviter inputs the expert team list, attached with the decision to establish the expert team and the team's working regulations, into the System.

Article 7. Report on E-HSDT Evaluation

1. The system automatically extracts information related to the tender package and compiles evaluation results from the evaluation forms.

2. In addition to the contents regarding the E-HSDT evaluation results, the report on E-HSDT evaluation must clearly state the following contents:

a) The responsibilities of each member of the evaluation team according to the work assignment at Point a Clause 2 Article 6 of this Circular;

b) The handling method in case a member of the evaluation team has a different opinion from other members.

c) Reservations (if any).

Chapter II

EVALUATION PROCEDURE FOR E-HSDT

Section 1. ONE-STAGE ONE-BAG PROCESS

Article 8. E-HSDT Evaluation According to Procedure 01

1. Legality assessment (conducted online via webform):

a) The system automatically evaluates the contents: eligibility according to Clause 1 Article 5 of the Bidding Law No. 43/2013/QH13 based on the bidder's commitment in the E-HSDT and the content about the bidder not being named in two or more E-HSDTs as the main contractor.

b) The evaluation team assesses the legality of the bid guarantee and consortium agreement based on the attached scanned copy.

c) If the bidder is assessed as compliant with all legality requirements, they will be moved to the capability and experience assessment.

2. Capability and Experience Assessment (conducted online via webform):

a) The system automatically evaluates the contents: history of non-completion of contracts, financial performance results, average annual revenue, financial resources, experience in executing similar contracts based on the information declared by the bidder on the webform in the E-HSDT.

b) The evaluation team assesses the remaining contents outside those mentioned in Point a of this clause based on the information declared by the bidder on the webform in the E-HSDT.

c) If the bidder is assessed as compliant with all capability and experience requirements, they will be moved to the technical assessment.

3. Technical Assessment (not conducted online via webform - offline assessment):

The evaluation team conducts the technical assessment. After completing the assessment, the evaluation team only enters the assessment results into the webform on the System, without having to enter all the assessment information into the webform. The technical assessment content is attached to the evaluation report.

c) If the bidder is assessed as compliant with the technical requirements, they will be moved to the financial assessment.

4. Financial Assessment (not conducted online via webform - offline assessment):

The evaluation team conducts the financial assessment. After completing the assessment, the evaluation team only enters the assessment results into the webform on the System, without having to enter all the assessment information into the webform. The financial assessment content is attached to the evaluation report.

5. After completing the evaluation report on the System, the evaluation team prints the evaluation report and signs it, affixing the seal (if applicable). Based on the E-HSDT evaluation results of the evaluation team, the tenderer submits the ranked list of bidders for approval by the project owner.

6. After the ranked list of bidders is approved, the tenderer invites the first-ranked bidder to negotiate the contract. During the contract negotiation process, the tenderer is responsible for verifying the documents provided by the bidder against the information declared by the bidder in the E-HSDT and preparing a verification record according to Appendix 3C of this Circular. This verification record will be attached to the contract negotiation minutes.

7. In case discrepancies are found between the documents provided by the bidder and the information declared by the bidder in the E-HSDT after verification, leading to changes in the E-HSDT evaluation results, the tenderer requests the evaluation team to reassess the bidder. After the evaluation team completes the reassessment report, the tenderer submits the ranked list of bidders for reapproval by the project owner to serve as the basis for inviting the bidder to negotiate the contract as stipulated in Clause 6 of this Article. In this case, false declaration in the E-HSDT by the bidder will be considered fraudulent behavior according to Clause 4 Article 89 of the Bidding Law No. 43/2013/QH13.

Article 9. Evaluation of E-HSDT according to Procedure 02

1. Based on the bid opening record on the System, the first-ranked bidder in terms of price shall be evaluated according to the procedures stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of Article 8 of this Circular.

2. In case the first-ranked bidder is found to meet the requirements specified in E-HSMT, the tenderer shall invite this bidder for contract negotiation. During the contract negotiation process, the tenderer is responsible for comparing the documents provided by the bidder with the information declared by the bidder in E-HSDT and prepare a document comparison record in accordance with Appendix 3C of this Circular. This document comparison record will be attached to the contract negotiation record.

If discrepancies are identified during the comparison process between the documents provided by the bidder and the information declared by the bidder in E-HSDT, leading to changes in the evaluation results of E-HSDT, the tenderer shall request the evaluation team to re-evaluate the bidder. In such cases, the bidder's non-truthful declaration in E-HSDT will be considered as fraudulent behavior as stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 89 of the Bidding Law No. 43/2013/QH13.

3. In case the first-ranked bidder does not meet the requirements of E-HSMT as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the tenderer shall proceed to evaluate the next-ranked bidder.

Section 2. ONE-STAGE TWO-BAG PROCEDURE

Article 10. Evaluation procedure of E-HSDT for procurement packages of goods and construction works

1. The evaluation of technical proposal submission (E-HSĐXKT) includes the assessment of validity; capacity and experience; technical assessment carried out according to the procedures stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of Article 8 of this Circular.

2. Bidders who pass the E-HSĐXKT evaluation stage will have their E-HSĐXTC opened. The E-HSĐXTC evaluation will be conducted according to the procedures stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 8 of this Circular.

3. After completing the technical proposal submission (E-HSĐXKT) and financial proposal submission (E-HSĐXTC) evaluation reports, the evaluation team will print the reports, sign them, and stamp them if necessary. Contract negotiations and document comparisons will be carried out according to Clauses 6 and 7 of Article 8 of this Circular.

Article 11. Evaluation procedure of E-HSDT for consultancy service procurement packages

1. The evaluation of technical proposal submission (E-HSĐXKT) includes the assessment of validity; technical assessment carried out according to the procedures stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 3 of Article 8 of this Circular.

2. Bidders who pass the E-HSĐXKT evaluation stage will have their E-HSĐXTC opened. The E-HSĐXTC evaluation will be conducted according to the procedures stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 8 of this Circular.

3. After completing the technical proposal submission (E-HSĐXKT) and financial proposal submission (E-HSĐXTC) evaluation reports, the evaluation team will print the reports, sign them, and stamp them if necessary. Contract negotiations and document comparisons will be carried out according to Clauses 6 and 7 of Article 8 of this Circular.

Section 3. CLARIFICATION OF E-HSDT, SUBMISSION, REVIEW, AND APPROVAL

Article 12. Clarification of E-HSDT

1. After the bid opening, the bidder is responsible for clarifying E-HSDT according to the tenderer's requirements. The clarification of E-HSDT shall be conducted directly on the System.

2. In case the tenderer requests the bidder to clarify E-HSDT on the System but the bidder has many documents that need to be supplemented and cannot be sent directly to the System, the bidder may send these documents to the tenderer via postal mail, direct delivery, fax, or email within the deadline specified in the tenderer's clarification request document.

Article 13. Submission, Review, and Approval

1. For procurement packages under the one-stage one-bag procedure:

a) For procurement packages evaluated according to Procedure 01, based on the evaluation report of E-HSDT by the evaluation team, the tenderer shall submit to the project owner for approval of the ranking list of bidders. In case only one bidder passes the financial evaluation stage, there is no need to approve the ranking list of bidders.

b) For procurement packages evaluated according to Procedure 02, there is no need to approve the ranking list of bidders. The ranking of bidders is based on the bid opening record.

c) Based on the contract negotiation, the tenderer shall submit to the project owner for approval of the bidding result. The project owner shall organize the review and approval of the bidding result.

2. For procurement packages under the one-stage two-bag procedure:

a) Based on the technical proposal submission (E-HSĐXKT) evaluation report by the evaluation team, the tenderer shall submit to the project owner for approval of the list of bidders meeting the technical requirements. The list of bidders meeting the technical requirements must be reviewed before approval;

b) Based on the financial proposal submission (E-HSĐXTC) evaluation report by the evaluation team, the tenderer shall submit to the project owner for approval of the ranking list of bidders. In case only one bidder passes the financial evaluation stage, there is no need to approve the ranking list of bidders.

c) Based on the contract negotiation, the tenderer shall submit to the project owner for approval of the bidding result. The project owner shall organize the review and approval of the bidding result.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Implementation Organization

1. This Circular takes effect from September 1, 2019.

2. Depending on actual circumstances, the Department of Bidding Management, Ministry of Planning and Investment may modify the forms in web form format on the System to facilitate the participation of parties in online bidding activities, reduce procedures, further enhance competition, fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency in bidding, while ensuring the effectiveness of state management in bidding.

3. Ministries, agencies at the level of ministries, agencies under the Government, central-level agencies, People's Committees at all levels, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular. In the course of implementation, if there are difficulties, the relevant ministries, agencies at the level of ministries, agencies under the Government, central-level agencies, People's Committees at all levels, and related organizations and individuals are requested to send their opinions to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for timely guidance./.