Decree No. 17/2025/NĐ-CP Amending and supplementing certain articles of decrees detailing some provisions and measures for implementing the Bidding Law

DECREE

Amending and supplementing certain articles of Decrees detailing certain provisions and measures to implement the Law on Bidding

 and the Government Organization Law dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant toThe Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Government Organization Law and the Local Administration Organization Law dated November 22, 2019;The Law on Bidding dated June 23, 2023;

Pursuant toThe Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Planning Law, Investment Law, Public-Private Partnership Investment Law, and the Law on Bidding dated November 29, 2024;

Pursuant toThe Government issues this Decree amending and supplementing certain articles of Decrees detailing certain provisions and measures to implement

At the proposal of the Minister of Planning and Investment;

Article 1. Amending and supplementingAppendix 9 (Webform)

Article 1 of Decree No. 23/2024/NĐ-CPdated February 27, 2024, of the Government detailing certain provisions and measures to implement the Law on Bidding regarding the selection of investors for projects that must be tendered according to the laws governing industries and sectorsSupplement Clause 3a following Clause 3 of Article 1 as follows:

"3a. Selection of investors in special cases shall be carried out in accordance with the corresponding provisions of the Decree of the Government detailing certain provisions and measures to implement the Law on Bidding concerning the selection of investors for investment projects involving land use."

Article 2. Amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 24/2024/NĐ-CP

dated February 27, 2024, of the Government detailing certain provisions and measures to implement the Law on Bidding regarding the selection of contractors

1. Amending and supplementing Point g of Clause 1 of Article 1 as follows:

"g) Clause 2 of Article 29 regarding the selection of contractors in special cases;"

2. Supplementing Article 2a following Article 2 as follows:

"Article 2a. Procedures and formalities for implementingClause 5 of Article 3 of the Law on Bidding

Prior to signing international treaties or foreign loan agreements containing different bidding regulations or not provided for in the Law on Bidding, the Government decides on the application of bidding regulations according to the following procedures and formalities:

1. Before negotiations, the project management agency sends the lead negotiation agency a document proposing the application of contents different from or not provided for in the Law on Bidding. The content of the proposal includes:

a) Provisions of the financier or international organization with contents different from or not provided for in the Law on Bidding;

b) The necessity and impact assessment of applying the provisions set forth in point a of this clause.

2. The lead negotiation agency seeks opinions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and other relevant agencies on the proposal to apply contents different from or not provided for in the Law on Bidding along with the content of the international treaty or foreign loan agreement. Agencies solicited for their opinions respond in writing to the lead negotiation agency within five working days from the date of receipt of the request and related documents.

3. Prior to signing the international treaty or foreign loan agreement, the lead negotiation agency submits to the Government for consideration and decision on the application according to the provisions of the financier or international organization of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member."

3. Supplementing Clause 12 following Clause 11 of Article 12 as follows:

"12. Contractors are responsible for paying the fees stipulated in Clause 11 of this Article. If the contractor fails to pay the fees within the payment deadline, the contractor's account will be suspended temporarily, and the contractor will not be able to conduct transactions on the National E-Bidding System until the payment obligation is fulfilled."

4. Amending and supplementing certain points and clauses of Article 16 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Point b of Clause 2 as follows:

"b) Content and scope of work, number of consultants, time frame, capability, experience of consultant experts, salary levels of consultant experts as prescribed by law (if applicable), and other factors.

The labor management ministry shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to issue regulations on the salary levels of domestic consultant experts to serve as the basis for determining the bid package price under this provision;"

b) Amending and supplementing Point đ of Clause 2 as follows:

"đ) Results of the valuation conducted by an organization with the function of providing valuation services or by a valuation review committee as prescribed by law (if applicable);"

c) Amending and supplementing Point a of Clause 4 as follows:

"a) Approved state budget estimates for the fiscal year or projected state budget estimates for the current fiscal year or projected state budget estimates for subsequent years for procurement for the next year or multiple years; projected legitimate financial sources for the current fiscal year or projected legitimate financial sources for subsequent years for procurement for the next year or multiple years;"

d) Supplementing Clause 7 following Clause 6 as follows:

"7. For approved estimates pursuant to Point d of Clause 3 of Article 23, Point c of Clause 8 of Article 39 of the Law on Bidding, and Clause 2 of Article 131 of this Decree, if industry-specific laws provide for the preparation and approval of estimates, such preparation and approval shall be carried out in accordance with those laws; if there are no such provisions, the project owner or the agency or entity authorized by the competent authority to approve the estimate shall carry out the approval of the estimate."

5. Supplementing Points đ, e, g, and h following Point d of Clause 1 of Article 18 as follows:

"đ) A bidder withdraws the bidding documents or request for proposal after the closing date and during the validity period of the bidding documents or request for proposal;

e) A bidder does not submit the original bid guarantee as required by the project owner or the tenderer, or does not submit cash, cashier’s check, bid bond, or insurance bond as prescribed by the Law on Bidding;

g) A bidder does not implement the performance guarantee measure;

h) The bidder refuses or does not confirm acceptance of the award of the contract within a maximum period of three working days from the date the tender inviter invites the bidder to confirm acceptance of the award of the contract on the National Public Procurement System for simplified online bidding.

6. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 20 as follows:

“1. Information on the selection of bidders shall be publicly posted on the National Public Procurement System. The project owner shall be responsible for posting information about bidders who violate regulations, bidders who fail to maintain their reputation when participating in tenders, bidders whose contracts have been terminated due to the bidder's fault, and bidders prohibited from participating in procurement activities according to the law on public procurement on the National Public Procurement System. In cases where such information needs to be amended, the project owner shall implement the amendment, attach the decision to amend, clearly state the reasons for the amendment, and bear responsibility for the amended information.”

7. Supplement some clauses of Article 22 as follows:

a) Supplement Clause 3a following Clause 3 as follows:

“3a. Contract negotiations (if applicable) for packages of goods procurement, construction, non-advisory service provision subject to international bidding, mixed packages, and packages subject to restricted bidding as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 22 of the Public Procurement Law.”

b) Supplement Clause 6 following Clause 5 as follows:

“6. Public procurement activities prior to those prescribed in Article 42 of the Public Procurement Law shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures and formalities prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 3a, and 4 of this Article. The completion, signing, and management of implementation of the contract as prescribed in Clause 5 of this Article shall only be carried out after the project has been approved for investment.”

8. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 24 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point b Clause 1 as follows:

“b) The approved plan for selecting bidders.

The draft tender documents may be prepared after the plan for selecting bidders has been approved, or they may be prepared during the preparation of the plan for selecting bidders but must be approved after the plan for selecting bidders has been approved;”

b) Amend and supplement Point d Clause 3 as follows:

“d) Provide bid security with value, duration of validity, and beneficiary meeting the requirements of the tender documents. In cases where bid security is provided in the form of a bank guarantee or insurance bond certificate, the bank guarantee or insurance bond certificate shall not violate any of the following situations: having a lower value, shorter duration of validity than required by the tender documents, incorrect beneficiary name, lacking a valid signature, signed before issuance of the tender documents, accompanied by conditions detrimental to the project owner or tender inviter. The bank guarantee or insurance bond certificate must be signed and stamped (if applicable) by a representative of a domestic credit institution or a foreign bank branch established under Vietnamese law, a domestic non-life insurance company, or a foreign non-life insurance company branch established under Vietnamese law. For insurance packages, bidders participating in the tender shall not present an insurance bond certificate issued by themselves. For tenders prior to those prescribed in Article 42 of the Public Procurement Law, bidders are not required to implement bid security measures but must commit in their bid proposal regarding their responsibility to participate in the tender;”

9. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 30 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point b Clause 4 as follows:

“b) Bidders meeting technical requirements shall be considered and evaluated financially using either the lowest price method or the evaluated price method. The bidder with the lowest bid price after corrections and adjustments (if any) minus any discount value (if any) and determined preference (if any) (for the lowest price method) or the lowest evaluated price (for the evaluated price method) shall be ranked first. Discount letters that are not disclosed in the tender opening minutes will not be considered or evaluated.

If only one bidder meets the technical requirements, there is no need to determine a ranking list of bidders. The project owner does not need to approve the ranking list of bidders.”

b) Amend and supplement Clause 5 and Clause 6 as follows:

“5. The evaluation team prepares a report on the evaluation of tender proposals to be reviewed by the tender inviter. The report on the evaluation of tender proposals includes the following contents:

a) Evaluation results for each tender proposal;

b) List of bidders considered and ranked, and the ranking order;

c) List of bidders not meeting the requirements and excluded, reasons for excluding bidders;

d) Comments on competitiveness, fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency in the process of selecting bidders. In cases where competitiveness, fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency are not guaranteed, the reasons and proposed measures for handling must be clearly stated;

đ) Contents of the tender documents that are inconsistent with the provisions of the law on public procurement or contents that may lead to unclear or different interpretations during implementation or may distort the outcome of selecting bidders (if any); proposed measures for handling.

For packages of goods procurement, construction, non-advisory service provision subject to international bidding, mixed packages, and packages subject to restricted bidding as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 22 of the Public Procurement Law, in cases where contract negotiations are applied, the tender inviter shall invite the first-ranked bidder to negotiate the contract in accordance with Article 43 of this Decree.

6. Based on the report on the evaluation of tender proposals, the results of contract negotiations (if any), the tender inviter prepares a report proposing approval of the outcome of selecting bidders to be submitted to the project owner for approval in accordance with Article 31 of this Decree. The report proposing approval of the outcome of selecting bidders includes the following contents:

a) Evaluation results for each tender proposal;

b) List of bidders considered and ranked, and the ranking order of bidders;

c) Results of contract negotiations (if any);

d) List of bidders not meeting the requirements and excluded; reasons for excluding bidders;

đ) Name of the bidder proposed as the successful bidder, the proposed winning bid price, type of contract, time to implement the package, and time to implement the contract;

e) Comments on the competitiveness, fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency in the process of selecting contractors. In cases where competitiveness, fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency are not guaranteed, the reasons must be clearly stated and measures to address the situation proposed;

g) Contents of the tender invitation that are inconsistent with the provisions of the Law on Bidding, leading to unclear or different interpretations during implementation, or potentially resulting in distorted selection outcomes (if any), and proposals for handling measures;

h) Matters requiring attention (if any).”

10. Add Clause 8 following Clause 7 of Article 34 as follows:

“8. The bidding activities prior to those stipulated in Article 42 of the Law on Bidding shall be carried out according to the procedures and formalities prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of this Article. The completion, signing, and management of the execution of the contract as prescribed in Clause 7 of this Article shall only be implemented after the project has been approved for investment.”

11. Amend and supplement Point b of Clause 3 of Article 42 as follows:

“b) The specialized team prepares the report on the evaluation of tender documents to be submitted to the tenderer for review in accordance with Clause 5 of Article 30 of this Decree. The investor does not need to approve the ranking list of contractors. In case of applying contract negotiations, the tenderer invites the first-ranked contractor to negotiate the contract in accordance with Article 43 of this Decree.”

12. Amend and supplement Clause 6 of Article 43 as follows:

“6. Based on the report on the results of the evaluation of tender documents and the results of contract negotiations (if any), the tenderer prepares a proposal to approve the outcome of the contractor selection in accordance with Clause 6 of Article 30 of this Decree.”

13. Add Clause 8 following Clause 7 of Article 59 as follows:

“8. The bidding activities prior to those stipulated in Article 42 of the Law on Bidding shall be carried out according to the procedures and formalities prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of this Article. The completion, signing, and management of the execution of the contract as prescribed in Clause 7 of this Article shall only be implemented after the project has been approved for investment.”

14. Amend and supplement Point b of Clause 1 of Article 61 as follows:

“b) The approved plan for selecting bidders.

The draft tender invitation may be prepared after the plan for selecting contractors has been approved, or it can be prepared during the preparation of the plan for selecting contractors but must be approved after the plan for selecting contractors has been approved;"

15. Amend and supplement Points a and c of Clause 2 of Article 76 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point a as follows:

"a) Prepare the request for proposal:

The contents of the request for proposal include: summary information about the project, procurement budget, tender package; instructions on preparing and submitting the proposal; criteria for evaluating the capacity and experience of the contractor; technical evaluation criteria; determination of the designated tender price; contract conditions.

Use pass/fail criteria to evaluate the capacity and experience and technical evaluation for construction works, goods procurement, non-advisory services, and mixed packages; use scoring criteria to evaluate the technical aspects for advisory services. The request for proposal must clearly specify the code, brand, origin, and specific requirements related to technical specifications and services (if any);"

b) Amend and supplement Point c as follows:

"c) Identify the prospective contractor to be invited to submit the request for proposal:

Based on the scale and nature of the tender package and preliminary information about potential contractors capable of implementing the tender package, the investor identifies one prospective contractor to be invited to submit the request for proposal; there is no need to assess the capacity and experience of the prospective contractor when identifying this contractor.

A prospective contractor who meets the eligibility criteria specified in Points a, b, c, d, e, g, and i of Clause 1 of Article 5 of the Law on Bidding is eligible to be invited to submit the request for proposal; for individual traders, they must meet the eligibility criteria specified in Points a and b of Clause 2 and Points d and e of Clause 1 of Article 5 of the Law on Bidding. For goods procurement tenders, individual or group individuals bidding their innovative products must meet the eligibility criteria specified in Clause 3 of Article 5 of the Law on Bidding. If relevant laws require contractors participating in bidding and executing contracts to be independent from other organizations and individuals, such regulations must be followed."

16. Amend and supplement Points a and c of Clause 2 of Article 77 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point a as follows:

"a) Prepare the request for proposal:

The contents of the request for proposal include: summary information about the project, procurement budget, tender package; instructions on preparing and submitting the proposal; criteria for evaluating the capacity and experience of the contractor; technical evaluation criteria and lowest price determination; contract conditions.

Use pass/fail criteria to evaluate the capacity and experience and technical evaluation for construction works, goods procurement, non-advisory services, and mixed packages; use scoring criteria to evaluate the technical aspects for advisory services. The request for proposal must clearly specify the code, brand, origin, and specific requirements related to technical specifications and services (if any);"

b) Amend and supplement Point c as follows:

"c) Identify the list of prospective contractors to be invited to submit the request for proposal:

Based on the scale and nature of the tender package and preliminary information about potential contractors capable of implementing the tender package, the investor identifies at least three prospective contractors to be invited to submit the request for proposal; there is no need to assess the capacity and experience of the prospective contractors when identifying these contractors.

Prospective contractors to be invited to submit the request for proposal must meet the eligibility criteria specified in Points a, b, c, d, e, g, and i of Clause 1 of Article 5 of the Law on Bidding; for individual traders, they must meet the eligibility criteria specified in Points a and b of Clause 2 and Points d and e of Clause 1 of Article 5 of the Law on Bidding. For goods procurement tenders, individual or group individuals bidding their innovative products must meet the eligibility criteria specified in Clause 3 of Article 5 of the Law on Bidding. If relevant laws require contractors participating in bidding and executing contracts to be independent from other organizations and individuals, such regulations must be followed."

17. Amend and supplement the beginning of Clause 3 of Article 78 as follows:

"3. The tender designation for packages within the tender designation limit as prescribed in point m, Clause 1, Article 23 of the Bidding Law must be approved in the plan for selecting contractors and implemented according to the simplified tender designation procedure. A contractor proposed for tender designation must have legitimate qualifications as stipulated in points a, b, c, d, e, g, and i, Clause 1, Article 5 of the Bidding Law; for individual businesses, they must have legitimate qualifications as stipulated in points a, b, Clause 2 and points d, e, Clause 1, Article 5 of the Bidding Law. For procurement packages involving goods purchase, individual or group individuals bidding on their innovative products may be proposed for tender designation if they meet the legitimate qualifications as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 5 of the Bidding Law. In cases where relevant laws require that contractors participating in bids and performing contracts must be independent from other organizations and individuals, such requirements must be followed. The simplified tender designation procedure shall be carried out as follows:"

18. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 79 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point b Clause 1 as follows:

“b) Approving the tender invitation documents:

The approval of the tender invitation documents is based on the proposal for approval, without the need for a review of the tender invitation documents.”

b) Amend and supplement point đ, Clause 3 as follows:

“đ) Ranking of contractors is conducted according to the provisions in the tender invitation documents (if there are more than one contractor). The contractor with the lowest bid price after corrections and adjustments (if any), minus any discount value (if any) and determined preference (if any) is ranked first under the lowest evaluated bid price method or has the lowest evaluated bid price under the evaluated bid price method.”

c) Amend and supplement Clause 4 as follows:

“4. Submitting, approving, and publicly announcing the results of selecting contractors:

The submission, approval, and public announcement of the results of selecting contractors shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 31 of this Decree, without the need for a review of the selection results.”

19. Amend and supplement some points and clauses of Article 80 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Point b of Clause 2 as follows:

“b) Approving the request documents:

The approval of the request documents is based on the proposal for approval, without the need for a review of the request documents.”

b) Amend and supplement Clause 6 as follows:

“6. Submitting, approving, and publicly announcing the results of direct procurement:

The submission, approval, and public announcement of the results of direct procurement shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 31 of this Decree, without the need for a review of the procurement results.”

20. Amend and supplement Article 82 as follows:

“Article 82. Cases and authority to decide on applying the selection of contractors in special circumstances

1. Tender packages implementing national political tasks pursuant to resolutions, conclusions, and directives of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and leading cadres of the Party and State regarding project implementation, tender packages which cannot be implemented according to requirements if one of the forms of selecting contractors prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law is applied.

2. Tender packages when implemented have requirements to ensure national defense, security, foreign relations, border territories, and cannot apply one of the forms of selecting contractors prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law.

3. Tender packages belonging to projects, procurement budgets with one or several special conditions regarding procedures, criteria for selecting contractors, conditions for signing and implementing contracts, including:

a) Tender packages purchasing medicines and vaccines that are still in the trial phase and have specific requirements from manufacturers regarding purchase conditions, payment, guarantees, assurances, and other conditions during contract implementation;

b) Tender packages purchasing medicines, vaccines, and medical equipment through international organizations;

c) Tender packages purchasing domestically produced vaccines for the Expanded Immunization Program when only one domestic manufacturer produces them;

đ) Selecting lawyers and law firms providing legal services to protect the rights and interests of the Vietnamese State and state agencies in applying anti-dumping measures against foreign countries at investigation agencies, judicial bodies, domestic, foreign, or international dispute resolution agencies;

đ) Tender packages for specialized training for state agencies and public service units directly implemented abroad by foreign training institutions; purchasing air tickets for domestic and international business trips; tender packages for specialized vocational training and development for civil servants, public officials, and employees when it is necessary to invite authorized agencies or units with training functions assigned by competent authorities;

e) Tender packages implementing political tasks assigned by the Party and State, including: propaganda in print media, online media, radio, television, and other mass communication means when the agency or unit responsible for the budget directly signs contracts with these agencies to implement; cooperation in film production, film production; tender packages of central party agencies and government-affiliated units purchasing information from foreign news agencies and press organizations, printing publications to promote the policies and guidelines of the Party and State;

g) Tender packages producing programs linked to implementation ideas; organizing artistic performances serving political tasks;

h) Tender packages providing printing services, supplying stamps, receipts, seals according to the law on tax and customs management; tender packages purchasing working dogs, dog training, purchasing drugs, explosives, samples of drug-laced explosive materials for dog training;

i) Tender packages for valuation and consulting on asset prices related to criminal cases requiring urgent implementation according to the requirements of competent investigative agencies;

k) Tender packages providing services for organizing conferences, seminars, congresses, training sessions (providing accommodation, meals, transportation for delegates; equipment rental, conference hall, meeting room, and related services) with the requirement to centrally arrange accommodation and meals for delegates and must be implemented urgently."

l) Bids for services related to foreign affairs work for welcoming international delegations visiting and working in Vietnam in accordance with the laws on diplomatic protocol; bids for purchasing foreign gifts for Party and State leaders and Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and agencies under the Government going abroad on official business, and for welcoming international delegations visiting and working in Vietnam;

m) Bids for purchasing services from international credit rating companies; bids for purchasing international cross-border payment services (including accompanying equipment) exclusively provided by the global financial messaging service SWIFT; bids for purchasing services from international financial information-service providers and trading platforms;

n) Bids for providing meals, school meals, or purchasing food, raw materials, and fuel inputs for providing meals and school meals for boarding students at public educational institutions;

o) Bids for purchasing goods and services that can only be produced or supplied by one production or supply entity; bids for purchasing goods and services with unified prices set by the State including electricity, water, gasoline, diesel, environmental sanitation fees, fixed-line telephone charges, maintenance of fixed-line telephone switchboards, and similar goods and services;

p) Bids belonging to projects or procurement budgets requiring immediate implementation according to the Government's Resolution, Decision, Directive, or notification of the Government's leadership opinion, where applying any of the tender selection methods prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law would not ensure timely completion;

q) Bids belonging to projects requiring immediate implementation to ensure connectivity and synchronization among works within the project according to the Government's Resolution, Decision, Directive, or notification of the Government's leadership opinion, where applying any of the tender selection methods prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law would not ensure effective management, operation, and continuous functioning of synchronized works;

r) Bids for consulting reviews of pre-feasibility study reports or feasibility study reports for projects decided or approved by the National Assembly;

s) Bids belonging to other projects or procurement budgets with special conditions regarding procedures, tender selection criteria, contract signing conditions, and contract execution conditions that do not fall under any of the cases specified in points a, b, c, d, đ, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, and r of this clause;

4. Authority to decide on the application of tender selection methods in special cases:

a) The Minister, Head of a ministerial-level agency, agency under the Government, or other central agency (hereinafter referred to as the Head of a Central Agency), and the Chairman of the People's Committee of a province shall decide and bear responsibility for applying tender selection methods in special cases for bids belonging to projects or procurement budgets as stipulated in Clause 1, Clause 2, and point s of Clause 3 of Article 82 of this Decree;

b) The Minister of Health shall decide and bear responsibility for applying tender selection methods in special cases as stipulated in points a, b, and c of Clause 3 of Article 82 of this Decree;

c) The Chairman of the National Tender Evaluation Council shall decide and bear responsibility for applying tender selection methods in special cases as stipulated in point r of Clause 3 of Article 82 of this Decree;

d) The person authorized for the project or procurement budget shall decide and bear responsibility for applying tender selection methods in special cases as stipulated in points d, đ, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, p, and q of Clause 3 of Article 82 of this Decree.";

21. Amend and supplement Article 83 as follows:

"Article 83. Procedures and formalities for selecting contractors in special cases

1. For bids falling under the cases specified in Clause 1, Clause 2, and point s of Clause 3 of Article 82 of this Decree:

a) Based on the proposal for applying tender selection methods in special cases submitted by the agency or unit, the Head of a Central Agency or the Chairman of the People's Committee of a province shall assign another agency or unit to review.

b) The dossier includes: the proposal report, the draft decision of the head of the central agency, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, and related documents and materials. The proposal report on selecting contractors in special cases shall include the following contents: basic information about the project, procurement budget, tender package (project name, procurement budget, tender package; source of funds, total investment cost of the project, procurement budget value, tender package price; expected implementation time; other necessary contents); for tender packages specified in Clause 1, Article 82 of this Decree, an explanation of the necessity and reasons if applying one of the forms of contractor selection prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law cannot be implemented according to the directives, conclusions, and guiding documents of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and the leading cadres of the Party and State; for tender packages specified in Clause 2, Article 82 of this Decree, an explanation of the necessity and conditions that must be ensured regarding one or several factors related to national defense, security, foreign affairs, border territory, and reasons why one of the forms of contractor selection prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law cannot be applied; for tender packages specified in Point s, Clause 3, Article 82 of this Decree, an explanation of the necessity and special conditions for one or several aspects concerning the bidding process, procedures, criteria for selecting contractors, conditions for signing and implementing contracts, and reasons why one of the forms of contractor selection prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law cannot be applied; the draft plan for selecting contractors shall include the main contents: the bidding process, procedures, and other related contents to meet the special conditions of the tender package under the project, procurement budget ensuring the selection of contractors with sufficient capacity, experience, implementable and effective solutions. The draft decision of the head of the central agency, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall include the contents as stipulated in this point.

c) During the review process, ministries, agencies at the level of ministries, government agencies, other central agencies, and provincial people's committees send the dossier to seek opinions from relevant ministries and agencies on the content within their administrative management scope (if necessary) for tender packages specified in Clause 1 and Point s, Clause 3, Article 82 of this Decree; seek opinions from one or more Ministries: National Defense, Public Security, Foreign Affairs on the necessity and conditions that must be ensured regarding one or several factors related to national defense, security, foreign affairs, border territory, and the opinions of other related agencies (if necessary) for tender packages specified in Clause 2, Article 82 of this Decree.

d) Based on the opinions of the agencies stipulated in Point c of this clause, the agency or unit assigned the task of reviewing shall prepare a review report including the following contents: evaluation of the necessity and reasons for applying the selection of contractors in special cases; opinions on the plan for selecting contractors in special cases and the draft decision of the head of the central agency, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee in the case of recommending approval; recommend the head of the central agency, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee to approve or not approve the application of the form of selecting contractors in special cases.

đ) Based on the application dossier and the review report, the head of the central agency, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall consider and decide to approve or not approve the application of the form of selecting contractors in special cases. The decision of the head of the central agency, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall include the following contents: approval of the application and the plan for selecting contractors in special cases for the tender package under the project, procurement budget; responsibilities of the authorized person, the project owner, the tender inviter, and related agencies during the organization of the selection of contractors; other requirements during the implementation of the tender package under the project, procurement budget (if any).

2. For tender packages falling under the cases prescribed in Point a and Point b, Clause 3, Article 82 of this Decree:

a) The Minister of Health shall assign subordinate agencies to prepare the dossier for applying the selection of contractors in special cases, while assigning other agencies to organize the review.

b) The dossier includes: the proposal report, the draft decision of the Minister of Health, and related documents and materials. The proposal report on selecting contractors in special cases shall include the following contents: basic information about the project, procurement budget, tender package (project name, procurement budget, tender package; source of funds, total investment cost of the project, procurement budget value, tender package price; expected implementation time; other necessary contents); an explanation of the necessity and special conditions for one or several provisions stipulated in Clause 1, Article 29 of the Bidding Law, and reasons why one of the forms of contractor selection prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law cannot be applied; the draft plan for selecting contractors in special cases shall include the main contents: the bidding process, procedures, and other related contents to meet the special conditions of the tender package under the project, procurement budget ensuring the selection of contractors with sufficient capacity, experience, implementable and effective solutions.

c) Based on the application dossier and the review report, the Minister of Health shall consider and decide to approve or not approve the application of the form of selecting contractors in special cases.

In cases where international organizations, pharmaceutical manufacturers, vaccine producers, medical equipment suppliers have specific regulations on sales conditions, contract signing conditions (if any), advance payments, and payment terms as binding conditions for providing medicines, vaccines, medical equipment, such regulations shall be implemented according to the provisions of those international organizations and manufacturers.

3. For tender packages falling under the cases prescribed in point c, Clause 3, Article 82 of this Decree:

a) The Minister of Health shall assign agencies and units under its direct management to undertake the responsibilities of the project owner in ordering vaccines;

b) The project owner shall base on the expanded immunization plan, estimate the quantity and type of vaccines needed to be purchased, the supply time for vaccines (which may include ordering vaccines for more than one year); the estimated unit price; the tender package price and other necessary contents, prepare a report requesting approval of the tender selection plan, submit it to the Ministry of Health for examination and approval. In case of ordering for multiple years, the value of procurement must be forecasted for each year. The submitted documents shall include: the report, the draft decision approving the tender selection plan by the Minister of Health, and related documents and materials;

c) Based on the report from the project owner and the audit report, the Minister of Health shall examine and decide to approve the tender selection plan;

d) Based on the approved tender selection plan, the project owner shall approve the order decision and sign a contract with domestic vaccine manufacturers to produce and supply vaccines for the Expanded Immunization Program;

đ) Before December 31 of each year, vaccine manufacturers shall prepare a dossier of pricing plans corresponding to the quantity supplied in that year for the Expanded Immunization Program, submit it to the Ministry of Health for sending to the Ministry of Finance for examination, approval, and announcement of the maximum vaccine price;

e) Based on the maximum vaccine price announced by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health shall decide to approve specific prices but not exceeding the maximum price. The annual contract payment value shall be based on the quantity of vaccines supplied and the specific price approved by the Ministry of Health;

4. For tender packages falling under the cases prescribed in point d, Clause 3, Article 82 of this Decree:

a) The agency or unit primarily responsible for resolving construction disputes shall organize the establishment of criteria, reference clauses, and control mechanisms for legal practice organizations and lawyers to determine a list (of no less than three) of legal practice organizations and lawyers expected to be hired; only select into the list reputable and experienced legal practice organizations and lawyers;

b) The agency primarily responsible for resolving disputes shall negotiate service contracts for legal services with the most advantageous legal practice organizations and lawyers based on the established criteria, reference clauses, and control mechanisms for legal practice organizations and lawyers in the dispute;

c) The head of the agency or unit primarily responsible for resolving disputes shall approve and announce the results of selecting legal practice organizations and lawyers;

d) The agency or unit primarily responsible for resolving disputes shall complete and sign service contracts for legal services with legal practice organizations and lawyers;

5. For tender packages falling under the cases prescribed in points đ, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, and o, Clause 3, Article 82 of this Decree, except for the provisions of Clause 6 of this Decree:

a) Prepare, examine, and approve the tender selection plan;

For tender packages falling under the cases prescribed in point 1, Clause 3, Article 82 of this Decree, within ten days from the start date of the tender package, the project owner must complete the procedures stipulated herein;

b) Negotiate contracts with contractors determined to have sufficient capacity and experience;

c) Approve and publicize the results of selecting contractors;

d) Complete and sign contracts with contractors;

The contract must include all relevant contents relating to requirements regarding the scope, content of work to be performed, time of performance, quality standards to be achieved, and the contract value;

đ) The publication of information about the tender selection plan, the results of selecting contractors, and other bidding-related information shall be carried out according to the provisions of Articles 7 and 8 of the Bidding Law;

For the case prescribed in point n, Clause 3, Article 82 of this Decree, if a public education institution located in an area with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions as defined by investment laws, the head of the public education institution may independently decide on providing school meals or purchasing food, raw materials, and fuel inputs to ensure cost-effectiveness and accountability based on accounting records and documents as prescribed by law without having to follow the procedures stipulated herein;

For the case prescribed in point o, Clause 3, Article 82 of this Decree, the project owner shall complete and sign contracts with suppliers according to the provisions of point d herein without having to follow the procedures stipulated in points a, b, c, and đ herein;

Those with authority, the project owner, and the tender inviter shall fulfill the responsibilities prescribed in Articles 77, 78, and 79 of the Bidding Law;

6. For tender packages for purchasing air tickets for domestic and international business trips as prescribed in point đ, Clause 3, Article 82 of this Decree:

a) For international business trips, based on the approved work plan and flight route, the agency or unit assigned the budget and task of purchasing air tickets shall obtain at least two quotations from two different ticket agents (or one quotation from a ticket agent of at least two different airlines, including the national airline of Vietnam) for the same flight route to consider, compare, and select the air ticket supplier based on the following requirements: direct flights, suitable with the work schedule; the total amount of money spent on tickets (including taxes and surcharges), travel expenses, and waiting time at the airport being the lowest. The head of the agency or unit assigned the budget and task of purchasing air tickets shall sign a contract with the supplier ensuring the principles of economy and efficiency and bear responsibility for their decisions. In case of changing the flight route abroad due to work needs, the head of the agency assigned the budget shall decide on purchasing tickets based on the proposal of the head of the business trip delegation;

b) For domestic business trips:

The head of the agency or unit assigned the budget and task of purchasing air tickets shall sign a contract with the supplier ensuring the principles of economy and efficiency and bear responsibility for their decisions;

c) The purchase of airline tickets for domestic and international business trips for groups in accordance with points a and b of this clause does not require the establishment, review, or approval of a tender selection plan.

7. For tenders falling under the cases specified in points p and q of Clause 3 of Article 82 of this Decree:

a) On the basis of the application documents for special case tender selection proposed by the project investor, the authorized person shall entrust another agency or unit to conduct the review.

b) The documents include: the proposal, draft decision of the authorized person, and related documents and materials. The proposal for special case tender selection includes the following contents: basic information about the project, procurement budget, and tender package (project name, procurement budget, tender package; source of funds, total investment of the project, procurement budget value, tender package value; expected implementation time; other necessary contents); for tenders specified in point p of Clause 3 of Article 82 of this Decree, an explanation on the necessity of the tender within the project and procurement budget that requires urgent implementation to ensure timely completion of the tender and project in accordance with the Government's Resolution, Decision, Directive, or notification of the Government's leadership opinion, reasons why applying any of the tender selection methods prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law would not guarantee timely progress; for tenders specified in point q of Clause 3 of Article 82 of this Decree, an explanation on the necessity of the tender within the project that requires immediate implementation to ensure connectivity and synchronization between works within the project in accordance with the Government's Resolution, Decision, Directive, or notification of the Government's leadership opinion, reasons why applying any of the tender selection methods prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law would not guarantee effective management, operation, and continuous functioning of the works; the draft special case tender selection plan mainly includes: procedures and related contents to select contractors meeting the specific conditions of the tender within the project and procurement budget to ensure the selection of contractors with sufficient capacity and experience, feasible and effective implementation solutions. The draft decision of the authorized person includes the contents stipulated in point d of this clause.

c) During the review process, the authorized person sends the documents to seek opinions from relevant ministries and agencies regarding matters within their administrative management scope (if necessary).

d) Based on the application documents and the review report, the authorized person considers and decides to approve or disapprove the application for special case tender selection method. The decision of the authorized person includes the following contents: approval of the application and special case tender selection plan for the tender within the project and procurement budget; responsibilities of the project investor, tender inviter, and related agencies during the tender organization process; other requirements during the implementation of the tender within the project and procurement budget (if any).

8. For tenders falling under the case specified in point r of Clause 3 of Article 82 of this Decree:

a) The inter-ministerial expert team determines the consulting firm with sufficient capacity and experience according to the law to immediately undertake the consulting work and submit it to the Chairman of the National Tender Review Board for approval.

b) Within fifteen days from the date the Chairman of the National Tender Review Board approves, the inter-ministerial expert team must complete the procedures, including: preparing and sending the draft contract to the consulting firm, specifying the scope, content of the work to be performed, implementation period, quality standards to be achieved, and corresponding value for negotiation and completion of the contract; conducting negotiations and completing the contract; submitting the results of the consulting firm selection to the Chairman of the National Tender Review Board for approval; preparing to sign the contract with the selected consulting firm. The contract is signed among three parties, including representatives of the National Tender Review Board, the project investor (project sponsor or agency tasked with preparing the project), and the selected consulting firm.

9. For tenders falling under the cases specified in Clause 2, points a, b, and s of Clause 3 of Article 82 of this Decree, the proposal for special case tender selection must clearly state the reasons why none of the tender selection methods prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law can be applied; for tenders falling under the cases specified in Clause 1, points p and q of Clause 3 of Article 82 of this Decree, the proposal for special case tender selection must clearly state the reasons why applying any of the tender selection methods prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law would not meet the requirements; for tenders falling under the cases specified in points c, d, đ, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, and r of Clause 3 of Article 82 of this Decree, there is no need to explain the reasons why none of the tender selection methods prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law cannot be applied."

22. Amend and supplement Clause 2 of Article 88 as follows:

"2. For centralized procurement not belonging to State-owned enterprises' investment projects or enterprises wholly owned by State-owned enterprises, the person deciding or the person entrusted to decide centralized procurement in accordance with Article 91 of this Decree at the higher level of the centralized procurement unit shall perform the responsibilities of the authorized person prescribed in Article 77 of the Bidding Law."

23. Amend and supplement Clause of Article 97 as follows:

a) Amending and supplementing Clause 2 as follows:

"2. The criteria for evaluating prequalification documents, interested party documents, and bidding documents shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Articles 23, 24, 35, 36, 60, and 61 of this Decree. Prequalification documents, interested party documents, and bidding documents are considered valid when the bidder is not in a state of being temporarily suspended or terminated from participating in the System."

b) Supplement Clause 5a following Clause 5 as follows:

“5a. Contract negotiations shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3a of Article 22, Clause 5 of Article 30, Clause 5 of Article 34, Article 43, Clause 5 of Article 59, and Article 69 of this Decree.”

24. Amend and supplement some Points of Clause 3 of Article 98 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point a and Point b as follows:

“a) Procurement packages for purchasing goods and non-advisory services with a package value not exceeding VND 500 million for procurement budgets, except in cases stipulated in sub-item d of this point;"

b) Procurement packages for purchasing goods and non-advisory services with a package value not exceeding VND 1 billion for projects;"

b) Supplement Point d following Point c as follows:

“d) Procurement packages for purchasing goods divided into parts (excluding medicines) to be sold at retail within the premises of public health facilities, where each part is a single item with a value not exceeding VND 1 billion for procurement budgets.”

25. Amend and supplement some Points and Clauses of Article 101 as follows:

a) Amend Point a of Clause 1 as follows:

“Specific requirements regarding origin, code, brand name, manufacturer, technical specifications of goods, delivery time, warranty period, and other necessary contents (if any) for procurement packages for purchasing goods; scope of work, technical requirements, implementation time, completion time of services, and other necessary contents (if any) for procurement packages for non-advisory services. Delivery time and service completion time must ensure compatibility and not limit the participation of bidders in accordance with Point k of Clause 6 of the Law on Bidding;"

b) Amend Clause 3 as follows:

“3. Bidders participate in online bidding directly on the National Public Procurement Network to bid for the contents specified in the tender announcement and bid according to the deadline set out in the tender announcement. From the second bid onwards, the bid price of the bidder shall not be lower than 90% of the lowest displayed price on the National Public Procurement Network.”

c) Supplement Point c following Point b of Clause 5 as follows:

“c) Based on the results of online bidding on the National Public Procurement Network, the tenderer invites the first-ranked bidder to confirm acceptance of the contract on the National Public Procurement Network. The invited bidder has the responsibility to confirm acceptance of the contract. In case the bidder refuses or does not confirm within a maximum of three working days from the date the tenderer invites the bidder to confirm acceptance of the contract on the National Public Procurement Network, the bidder's name will be publicly disclosed on the National Public Procurement Network, their account will be locked for a period of six months from the date the Ministry of Planning and Investment receives the proposal from the project owner, and they will be evaluated in terms of their reputation in participating in bids. The tenderer will then invite the next-ranked bidder to confirm.”

d) Amend Clause 6 as follows:

“6. Submitting, approving, and publicly announcing the selection results of bidders:

Based on the bidder’s confirmation of acceptance of the contract, the submission, approval, and public announcement of the selection results of bidders shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 31 of this Decree.”

26. Amend Clause 1 of Article 102 as follows:

“1. Online procurement must be approved in the plan for selecting bidders and shall apply to goods and services in procurement packages with a package value not exceeding VND 300 million; procurement packages for goods and services in projects with a package value not exceeding VND 1 billion.”

27. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 126 as follows:

“1. The Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for organizing the review of the overall plan for selecting bidders and the plan for selecting bidders within the approval authority of the Prime Minister.”

28. Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 2 of Article 128 as follows:

“a) Legal basis for preparing the plan for selecting bidders:

Examine the appropriateness and completeness of the legal basis for preparing the plan for selecting bidders and any necessary notes (if any).

For pre-bid tenders, the preparation of the plan for selecting bidders shall be carried out before the signing of international agreements, loan agreements with foreign countries for projects using ODA funds, preferential loans from foreign countries, or before the project is approved for investment in accordance with Article 42 of the Law on Bidding.”

29. Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 4 of Article 130 as follows:

“a) Documents for review and approval include:

A request for approval of the selection results of bidders from the tenderer, which must clearly state the tenderer's opinion on the comments, proposals, and recommendations of the expert team;"

Report on the evaluation results of bidding documents and proposal documents by the expert team;"

Minutes of contract negotiation (if any);"

Minutes of document verification (if any);"

Copies of relevant documents: Tender invitation documents, request for proposal documents, bid opening minutes, bidding documents, proposal documents of bidders, and other related documents; if a technical qualification list of bidders has already been reviewed, only the minutes of financial proposal opening and copies of financial proposal documents of technically qualified bidders need to be submitted."

30. Amend and supplement some Clauses of Article 131 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 5 as follows:

“a) Allow extension of the bid closing time by a minimum of five days to increase the number of bidders submitting interested party documents, prequalification documents, and bidding documents;"

b) Amend and supplement Points a, b, and d of Clause 22 as follows:

“a) Contract penalties as stipulated in the contract;"

b) Confiscate the value of the performance guarantee of all members of the consortium in the case where the remaining work of the consortium members violates the contract and is separated into individual tender packages according to the provisions of point đ clause this. In the case where the remaining work of the consortium members violating the contract is assigned to other members according to point d clause this, only the consortium member violating the contract will have its performance guarantee confiscated;

d) The work portion of the violating contractor may be assigned to the remaining contractors to perform if these contractors have the necessary capacity and experience;

c) Amend and supplement Clause 24 as follows:

“24. For a consortium contractor, in the event that during the implementation of the contract it is necessary to accelerate the progress compared to the signed contract (requiring modification of the contract) or due to objective conditions not attributable to the contractor (natural disasters, typhoons, floods, scarcity of construction materials, delayed handover of the construction site, changes in geological conditions and other objective conditions not attributable to the contractor), leading to failure to meet the progress requirements or due to force majeure affecting the contract progress, the project owner and the contractor may agree to adjust the scope of work among the consortium members in accordance with the progress or shortened progress. In this case, the project owner must ensure that the member undertaking the additional work has the necessary capacity and experience to carry out such work and that the adjustment of the scope of work among the consortium members does not aim at subcontracting the work.”

d) Supplement Clauses 28a, 28b, 28c, and 28d after Clause 28 as follows:

“28a. For construction and installation tenders, non-advisory service tenders, and advisory service tenders subject to pre-tendering as stipulated in Article 42 of the Bidding Law, in the case where the approved project includes contents leading to an increase in the tender price (or budget estimate if the budget estimate is approved after the approval of the bidding plan) by 30% or more, or changes in important technical evaluation criteria or changes in the project level specified in the tender documents already issued, the project owner shall cancel the tender in accordance with the provisions of point b clause 1 Article 17 of the Bidding Law; in the case where the approved project does not lead to an increase in the tender price or budget estimate by 30% or more, does not change important technical evaluation criteria, or the project level specified in the tender documents already issued, and the selected tender has been awarded to a successful bidder, the project owner may amend and supplement the volume of work, complete, and sign a contract with the contractor.

For procurement tenders for goods subject to pre-tendering as stipulated in Article 42 of the Bidding Law, in the case where the approved project includes contents leading to an increase in the volume of work by 20% or more, or changes in the type of goods specified in the tender documents already issued, the project owner shall cancel the tender in accordance with the provisions of point b clause 1 Article 17 of the Bidding Law; in the case where there is no increase in the volume of work by 20% or more, or changes in the type of goods specified in the tender documents already issued, and the selected tender has been awarded to a successful bidder, the project owner may amend and supplement the volume of work, complete, and sign a contract with the contractor.

28b. For divided tender packages, in the case where the winning bid price of one part exceeds 30% of the corresponding value of that part in the budget estimate, the tenderer shall request the contractor to clarify the factors constituting the bidding cost and consider the following aspects:

a) Technical and economic factors related to production processes or service provision;

b) Market prices determined through market analysis and consultation as provided for in Clause 3 Article 15 of this Decree;

c) The origin of goods and services determined in accordance with the law.

If the clarification meets the conditions stipulated in points a, b, c of this clause and Clause 4 Article 27 of this Decree, the tender submission of the contractor will still be accepted as a winner.

28c. In the case of a tender package with special characteristics and applying the direct award method or selecting a contractor in special circumstances, if foreign contractors require binding conditions that they will only sign a contract when not required to register on the National Public Procurement Network System, then when publishing the selection results, the project owner does not need to require foreign contractors to register.

28d. For tender packages organized through online selection of contractors, in the case where during the evaluation of tender submissions, before the selection result is obtained, a contractor named in the opening bid record is locked out according to the law on public procurement, the tender submission of the contractor will not be further reviewed or evaluated.

đ) Amend and supplement Clause 29 as follows:

“29. Except for the cases prescribed from Clause 1 to Clause 28d of this Article, when unexpected situations arise, the project owner shall examine and decide on handling the situation based on ensuring competition, fairness, transparency, economic efficiency, and accountability.”

31. Replace the phrase "The scope of design work in EPC, EP, EC tender packages under investment construction projects as stipulated in this clause may be basic design or conceptual design; EPC, EP, EC tender packages shall not be formed if detailed design or two-stage design as prescribed by construction laws is available" with the phrase "EPC, EP, EC tender packages shall be formed based on basic design or conceptual design; if detailed design is available, EPC, EP, EC tender packages shall not be formed" in Clause 3 Article 3.

32. Replace the phrase "in the case of more than one quotation, the average price of the quotations shall be taken" with the phrase "in the case of more than one quotation, the average price of the quotations may be taken" in point d clause 2 Article 16.

33. Supplement the phrase "For tenders subject to pre-tendering as stipulated in Article 42 of the Bidding Law, contractors are not required to provide bid security but must commit in their tender submission to the responsibility of participating in the tender" in point a clause 4 Article 35.

Article 3. Amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 115/2024/NĐ-CP dated September 16, 2024 of the Government detailing certain provisions and measures to implement the Law on Bidding regarding the selection of investors for investment projects using land.

1. Amending and supplementing Point d Clause 1 Article 1 as follows:

“d) Clause 2 Article 34a and Clause 4 Article 35 concerning the selection of investors in special cases, methods of selecting investors;”.

2. Supplementing Chapter IVa comprising Articles 44a and 44b following Chapter IV as follows:

“Chapter IVa

SELECTION OF INVESTORS IN SPECIAL CASES

Article 44a. Cases and authority to decide on applying the selection of investors in special cases

1. Projects requiring the guarantee of national interests, the implementation of national political tasks as directed in Resolutions, Conclusions, guiding documents of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and the leading cadres of the Party and State, which cannot be implemented according to requirements if applying one of the forms of investor selection prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 34 of the Law on Bidding.

2. Projects requiring the guarantee of national defense, security, diplomacy, border territory based on the opinions of the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which cannot be applied if using one of the forms of investor selection prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 34 of the Law on Bidding.

3. Projects with special requirements and conditions regarding investment procedures; land transfer, land lease, sea area transfer procedures; procedures, methods, standards for selecting investors, and contents of investment business project contracts, including:

a) Offshore wind power projects as provided for by laws on electricity;

b) Projects with urgent requirements that must be implemented immediately as directed in Government Resolutions, Decisions, Directives, and notification documents of Government leaders, which cannot ensure completion deadlines if applying one of the forms of investor selection prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 34 of the Law on Bidding.

c) Projects aimed at immediate implementation to ensure connectivity and synchronization between works within the project as directed in Government Resolutions, Decisions, Directives, and notification documents of Government leaders, which cannot ensure effective management, exploitation, and operation of synchronized and continuous works if applying one of the forms of investor selection prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 34 of the Law on Bidding.

d) Other projects with special requirements and conditions regarding investment procedures; land transfer, land lease, sea area transfer procedures; procedures, methods, standards for selecting investors, and contents of investment business project contracts that cannot apply open tendering or restricted tendering.

4. The competent authority to decide on applying the selection of investors in special cases for projects stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article.

Article 44b. Procedures and formalities for deciding on applying the selection of investors in special cases

1. Based on project implementation requirements, directives in Resolutions, Conclusions, and guiding documents of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and leading cadres of the Party and State (for projects stipulated in Clause 1 Article 44a of this Decree) or directives in Government Resolutions, Decisions, Directives, and notification documents of Government leaders (for projects stipulated in Points b and c Clause 3 Article 44a of this Decree), the person with authority shall instruct relevant agencies and units to prepare a dossier proposing the application of the selection of investors in special cases. The dossier includes the following documents:

a) A proposal to apply the selection of investors in special cases, including the following contents: Basic information about the project; explanation of the necessity and reasons for applying the selection of investors in special cases; detailed plan for selecting investors including main contents about the process and procedures for selecting investors, conditions for signing contracts, and other related contents to meet the special requirements of the project; proposals and recommendations;

b) Draft decision to apply the selection of investors in special cases, including contents as prescribed in Clause 5 of this Article;

c) Relevant legal documents.

2. The competent authority shall issue a document seeking opinions from relevant ministries and agencies on the necessity and reasons for applying the selection of investors in special cases, including:

a) The Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for projects stipulated in Clause 2 Article 44a of this Decree;

b) Relevant ministries and agencies for projects stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 3 Article 44a of this Decree (if necessary).

3. The agency whose opinion is sought shall send its opinion on the necessity and reasons for applying the selection of investors in special cases to the competent authority.

4. The person with authority shall assign an independent agency or unit from the agency or unit specified in Clause 1 of this Article to compile the opinions of related agencies and conduct an assessment of the dossier proposing the application of the selection of investors in special cases. The assessment report includes the following contents:

a) Evaluation of the necessity and reasons for applying the selection of investors in special cases as prescribed in Article 34a of the Law on Bidding;

b) Opinion on the plan for selecting investors in special cases and the draft decision of the competent authority in case of recommendation for approval;

c) Recommendation for the competent authority to approve or not approve the application of the form of selecting investors in special cases.

5. Based on the dossier proposal and the assessment report, the competent authority shall consider and decide to approve or not approve the application of the selection of investors in special cases. The decision of the competent authority includes the following contents:

a) Approval of the application of the form of selecting investors in special cases;

b) The selection plan for investors in special cases, including the following contents: The process and procedures for selecting investors and a progress tracking table for investor selection activities as stipulated in Article 12 of this Decree; conditions for signing and implementing contracts; other related contents to meet the specific requirements and conditions of the project, ensuring the selection of investors with sufficient capacity, experience, and implementation solutions that guarantee the effectiveness of the business investment plan, land use efficiency, and industry, sector, and locality development investment effectiveness;

c) Responsibilities of the tenderer and relevant agencies during the organization of investor selection;

d) Other requirements during the implementation of the project (if any).

6. The tenderer shall organize the selection of investors according to the approved plan. Based on the results of the investor selection and the signed project contract, the implementation of the business investment project shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VI of this Decree.”

Article 4. Amendment and supplementationpoint a, Clause 2, Article 3 of Decree No. 95/2020/NĐ-CP dated August 24, 2020 guiding the implementation of procurement under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership which has been amended and supplemented by some articles in Decree No. 09/2022/NĐ-CPdated January 12, 2022 guiding the implementation of procurement under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Free Trade Agreement between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the European Union, and the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland

Amend and supplement point a, Clause 2, Article 3 as follows:

“a) Signing the CPTPP Agreement on March 8, 2018; the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (hereinafter referred to as Member States of the CPTPP Agreement);”

Article 5. Implementation Provisions

1. This Decree takes effect from the date of issuance.

2. Transitional Provisions

a) For tenders that have been approved and issued tender notices, prequalification documents, tender documents, and request for proposals before January 15, 2025, continue to organize shortlisting, contractor selection, contract signing, and contract management in accordance with the Public Procurement Law No. 22/2023/QH15, Decree No. 24/2024/NĐ-CP, and detailed regulations and guidance documents.

b) During the period from January 15, 2025 to before the effective date of this Decree, the selection of contractors shall be carried out in accordance with the Public Procurement Law No. 22/2023/QH15, the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Planning Law, Investment Law, Public-Private Partnership Investment Law, and Public Procurement Law, and the relevant contents of Decree No. 24/2024/NĐ-CP that are consistent with the provisions of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Planning Law, Investment Law, Public-Private Partnership Investment Law, and Public Procurement Law.

c) For draft international treaties submitted by the State that have completed the review process of draft international treaties in accordance with the Law on International Treaties before the effective date of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Planning Law, Investment Law, Public-Private Partnership Investment Law, and Public Procurement Law, the leading negotiation agency shall submit to the Government to apply the provisions of the donor or international organization of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member regarding procurement that differs from or is not provided for in the Public Procurement Law based on the reviewed draft international treaty.