Decree No. 14/2000/ND-CP On Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Tender Regulation Issued Together with Decree No. 88/1999/ND-CP dated September 1, 1999 of the Government

DECREE

Regarding amendments and supplements to certain provisions of

The Tendering Regulation issued together with Decree No. 88/1999/NĐ-CP

dated September 1, 1999 of the Government

________________________

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Government Organization Law dated September 30, 1992;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Planning and Investment, the Minister of Construction, the Minister of Finance,

DECREE:

Article 1. Now amending and supplementing some Articles of the Tendering Regulation issued together with Decree No. 88/1999/NĐ-CP dated September 1, 1999 of the Government as follows:

"1. The purpose of the national high school examination is to use the examination results for recognizing high school graduation; provide information to evaluate the quality of secondary education; provide data as a basis for university and vocational education admissions."

Article 1. The Tendering Regulation shall be applied to select contractors for investment projects in Vietnam, and must be organized and implemented in Vietnam.

1. Clause 3 of Article 4 is amended and supplemented as follows:

3. Direct Assignment:

Direct tendering is a form of directly selecting a contractor that meets the requirements of the tender package to negotiate a contract.

This form may only be applied in the following special cases:

a) In case of force majeure due to natural disasters, enemy attacks, accidents requiring immediate rectification, the project owner (the person entrusted by the competent authority to manage and implement the project) is permitted to immediately designate a unit with sufficient capacity to promptly carry out the work. Within ten days from the date of the direct tender decision, the project owner must report to the competent authority or the relevant authority on the content of the direct tender; if the competent authority or the relevant authority finds that the direct tender decision does not comply with regulations, they must promptly address it.

b) Tender packages with research and testing nature, national secrets, security secrets, defense secrets decided by the Prime Minister.

For tender packages designated for bidding as provided in this point belonging to national key projects decided on investment policy by the National Assembly and investment decisions by the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister delegates responsibility for deciding to the project proponent but must comply with the Bidding Regulation.

For tender packages subject to direct tendering under Category A projects, the Prime Minister delegates the authority to the Minister, head of a ministry equivalent to a ministry, agency under the Government, Board of Directors of State-owned Corporations established by the Prime Minister (Corporation 91), Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities to decide.

When directly tendering the tender packages mentioned in Clause 2 of Article 1 of this Decree, the person authorized to decide on direct tendering shall bear legal responsibility for their decision.

If it is deemed unnecessary to directly tender, then the tender shall be organized according to regulations. Strictly prohibited is the arbitrary division of projects into smaller tender packages for direct tendering.

The Ministry of Finance shall specify detailed regulations on direct tendering for the procurement of office supplies, materials, equipment, and working tools for state agencies, mass organizations, state enterprises; ordinary office supplies, materials, equipment, and working tools for armed forces.

d) Tender packages with other special characteristics required by the funding agency, due to technical and technological complexity or urgent needs of the project, decided by the investment decision-making authority based on the assessment report of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, written opinions of the funding agency, and related agencies.

đ) The portion of the state budget allocated for projects of public institutions to perform tasks related to economic development planning, industry development planning, overall urban and rural construction planning, which have been assigned by state authorities with the appropriate authority, do not need to be tendered but must have specific contracts and deliver products in accordance with regulations.

e) Tender packages for consulting services to prepare feasibility studies for investment projects do not need to be tendered, but the investor must select a consultant suitable for the project requirements.

In cases of direct tendering as stipulated in points a, b, c, and d of this clause, the following three items must be clearly defined:

- Reason for direct tendering;

- Experience and technical and financial capacity of the proposed direct tendering contractor;

- Value and quantity approved by the competent authority or higher authority as the basis for direct tendering (for construction tender packages, there must be approved design and estimate according to regulations).

In cases where immediate action is needed to mitigate the effects of natural disasters, enemy attacks, or accidents, the project owner must determine provisional quantities and values, then establish complete tender documents and estimates according to regulations as the basis for settlement.

2. Clause 2 of Article 10 is amended and supplemented as follows:

2. Foreign contractors participating in international tenders in Vietnam for construction must form a consortium with Vietnamese contractors or commit to using Vietnamese subcontractors, but must clearly define the scope of work, quantity, and corresponding unit prices between the parties.

4. Point a of Clause 2 of Article 44 is amended and supplemented as follows:

a) Enterprises belonging to various economic sectors with headquarters or branches located in a province or city may participate in tenders for investment projects in that area. For limited tenders, at least three contractors must be invited to participate; if fewer than three contractors participate, additional contractors outside the locality must be invited to participate in the tender.

Local contractors will be given priority in winning bids if their tender documents are rated equally with those of other contractors.

5. Point c of Clause 3 of Article 52 is amended and supplemented as follows:

c) Approving the basic contents of the tender process:

- For tender packages belonging to Category A projects and equivalent projects specified in points b, c, d, đ, e, g of Clause 1 of Article 51 of the Tendering Regulation issued together with Decree No. 88/1999/NĐ-CP dated September 1, 1999 of the Government (hereinafter referred to as the Tendering Regulation).

- For tender packages belonging to Category B, C and equivalent projects, except for projects of state-owned enterprises entitled to make investment decisions according to points a, b, c, d, đ, e, g of Clause 1 of Article 51 of the Tendering Regulation.

6. Article 53 is amended and supplemented as follows:

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7. Article 56 is supplemented with Clause 5 as follows:

5. During the bid evaluation process, from the time of opening the tender documents to the time of announcing the tender results, information specified in Clause 2 of Article 56 of the Tendering Regulation shall not be published on mass media.

8. Delete Clause 4; Clause 2 of Article 61 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

2. The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead in coordinating with relevant ministries and sectors to be responsible for guiding and supervising the implementation of tendering for the procurement of materials, goods, and working tools for state management agencies, mass organizations, and state-owned enterprises; and the procurement of ordinary materials, goods, and working tools for armed forces from state budget funds.

Article 2. This Decree takes effect fifteen days from the date of signature.

Article 3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead in coordinating with ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government agencies to guide and supervise the implementation of this Decree.

Article 4. Ministers of ministries, heads of ministerial-level agencies and government agencies, Chairmen of provincial and municipal people's committees under the central government, Boards of Directors of State-owned Corporations, and related organizations shall be responsible for implementing this Decree.