Circular No. 21/2010/TT-BKH detailing the examination of tender invitation documents and request documents.

 CIRCULAR

||| Detailed regulations on the review of tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents

___________________________

Pursuant to the Law on Bidding No. 61/2005/QH11 dated November 29, 2005;

Pursuant to the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Laws Related to Investment in Construction Projects No. 38/2009/QH12 dated June 19, 2009;

Pursuant to Government Decree No. 85/2009/NĐ-CP dated October 15, 2009 guiding the implementation of the Bidding Law and the selection of contractors under the Construction Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 116/2008/ND-CP dated November 14, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Planning and Investment;

The Ministry of Planning and Investment hereby provides detailed regulations on the review of tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the review of tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents for packages of projects and procurement budgets within the scope regulated by the Bidding Law.

Article 2. Applicability

The subjects to which this applies are agencies, organizations, and individuals responsible for reviewing tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents as prescribed in Article 59 of Decree No. 85/2009/NĐ-CP, including agencies, organizations, and individuals assigned tasks or consulting contractors (organizations or individuals) selected according to the laws on bidding to review tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents (hereinafter referred to as the reviewing agency or organization).

An organization that has participated in preparing tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents shall not participate in reviewing tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents for the same package.

Article 3. Content of Review

The content of the review of tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents includes:

1. Documents serving as the basis for preparing tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents in accordance with the laws on bidding and other relevant laws.

2. The content of tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents based on ensuring the following principles:

a) Tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents are prepared according to the Model issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (hereinafter referred to as the Guidance Model). In cases where tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents contain modifications or supplements to mandatory contents in the Guidance Model, the reviewing agency or organization must examine the explanatory document of the tender inviter or consulting contractor preparing the tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents (hereinafter referred to as the document preparation unit) to ensure compliance with the provisions of the laws on bidding;

b) Tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents (for competitive bidding) shall not include conditions that limit the participation of bidders or create advantages for one or several bidders, thereby causing unfair competition;

c) The content of tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents must be consistent with the project, procurement budget, and bidding plan already approved, consistent with the nature and requirements of the bidding package.

3. Any missing, unclear, or inconsistent contents of tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents with the objectives, scope of work, implementation time of the project, procurement budget, and the content of the bidding package in the bidding plan, laws on bidding, and other related laws.

4. Any differing opinions (if any) of individuals from the document preparation unit.

5. Other Contents (if any).

Article 4. Requirements for Members of the Reviewing Agency or Organization

Members of the reviewing agency or organization (including individual consultants) must meet the following conditions:

1. Hold a certificate for attending a bidding course;

2. Have expertise relevant to the bidding package;

3. Have at least three years of experience working in fields related to the assigned tasks; in cases involving bidding packages implemented in remote, mountainous, or particularly difficult areas, only one year of experience is required;

4. Have language proficiency meeting the requirements for international bidding;

5. Not be an individual who has participated in preparing tender invitation documents and request for proposal documents for the same bidding package.

Article 5. Procedure for reviewing tender invitation documents and request documents

1. The entity preparing the tender invitation documents and request documents shall submit these documents to the project owner for review and approval (usually one set), while sending one set of copies of the tender invitation documents and request documents to the reviewing agency or organization.

When submitting the tender invitation documents and request documents for review, the entity preparing these documents must attach relevant legal documents, including:

a) Approval documents for the project or budget estimate (for regular procurement);

b) Approval documents for the bidding plan or adjusted bidding plan (if applicable);

c) Design documents (including the approval decision on design if available) along with the approved budget estimate (for construction and installation contracts);

d) Other relevant legal documents (if applicable).

2. The reviewing agency or organization shall prepare and submit a report on the review to the project owner according to the Model Review Report for Tender Invitation Documents and Request Documents issued together with this Circular, and at the same time send it to the entity preparing the tender invitation documents and request documents.

When submitting the review report to the project owner, the reviewing agency or organization must attach the following documents:

a) A document from the reviewing agency or organization requesting the entity preparing the tender invitation documents and request documents to supplement materials and provide explanations (if applicable);

b) Supplemental materials and explanations provided by the entity preparing the tender invitation documents and request documents (if applicable);

c) Minutes of the review meeting conducted by the reviewing agency or organization (if applicable);

d) Reservations made by members of the reviewing agency or organization (if applicable).

3. The maximum period for reviewing tender invitation documents and request documents is twenty days, and for contracts under the approval authority of the Prime Minister, the maximum period is thirty days. The review period starts from the date when the reviewing agency or organization receives all required documents as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article until the date of submission of the review report on the tender invitation documents and request documents.

4. For international tendering contracts, if the tender invitation documents and request documents are in both English and Vietnamese, the review will be conducted based on the English version. The entity preparing the tender invitation documents and request documents is responsible for the accuracy between the English and Vietnamese versions.

5. Based on the proposed amendments and supplements to the tender invitation documents and request documents by the reviewing agency or organization (if applicable), the project owner shall consider and decide whether to re-review the tender invitation documents and request documents after they have been revised and supplemented based on the first review report. If a re-review is requested, it shall be carried out according to the procedures specified in this Article.

Article 6. Model Review Report for Tender Invitation Documents and Request Documents

The Model Review Report for Tender Invitation Documents and Request Documents issued together with this Circular includes the following basic contents:

I. Basic Information

II. Summary of Review Results

III. Comments and Recommendations

In this Model, italicized text represents guidance and illustrative content that will be concretized by users based on the scale and nature of the contract. Any modifications or additions to the non-italicized part of this Model must be explained in writing by the reviewing agency or organization and must comply with legal provisions on tendering; the reviewing agency or organization shall bear legal responsibility for the modified or added content.

Article 7. Implementation Organization

1. This Circular takes effect from December 15, 2010.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, other central agencies, People's Committees at all levels, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

3. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, please send comments to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for timely consideration and adjustment.

 

MODEL REVIEW REPORT ___

[[RECORD TENDER INVITATION DOCUMENTS OR REQUEST DOCUMENTS]

(Issued together with Circular No. 21/2010/TT-BKH dated October 28, 2010 of the Ministry of Planning and Investment)

 

REVIEW REPORT ___

[RECORD TENDER INVITATION DOCUMENTS OR REQUEST DOCUMENTS]

Contract Package ___ [Record name of contract package]

Decree ___ [Record name of project or procurement budget]

Respectfully submitted to: ___ [Record name of project owner]

___ [Record name of reviewing agency or organization] amended and supplemented by Law No. 87/2025/QH15; ___ [Record name of project owner] assigned tasks in document number ___ [Record number and issuance date of document] to conduct the review ___ [Record tender invitation documents or request documents] contract package ___ [Record name of contract package] Decree ___ [Record name of project or procurement budget][1].

Based on the content ___ [Record tender invitation documents or request documents], ___ [Record name of reviewing agency or organization] has conducted the review ___ [Record tender invitation documents or request documents] of the above contract package from the date ____ month ___ year ___ to the date ____ month ___ year ___. The results of the review ___ [Record tender invitation documents or request documents] of the above contract package are summarized as follows:

I. BASIC INFORMATION

1. Overview of the project and contract package

This section outlines the general information about the project name, procurement budget estimate, project objectives, and the content of the tender package including the contents already approved in the bidding plan such as the tender package name, tender package price, contractor selection method, bidding method, contractor selection time, contract form, contract execution period, scope of work of the tender package.

2. Appraisal Agencies

This section also specifies the working method of the appraisal agency or organization, whether it works in groups or independently during the appraisal process, and the method for appraising the content of the tender invitation documents and request documents when one or more members have different opinions from the majority of other members.

This section needs to be attached with a list of appraisal team members, relevant certificates, and assignment of tasks for each member (if applicable).

II. SUMMARY OF APPRAISAL RESULTS

1. Legal Basis Review

The results of the review of the legal basis for the preparation ___ [Record tender invitation documents or request documents] are summarized according to Table 1 below:

Table 1

Note:

- Note ¹: For consultancy tender packages implemented before the project approval document or procurement budget estimate is issued, the relevant documents (if any) when preparing the tender invitation documents and request documents.

- Column [2] marks "X" in the corresponding cells for each document listed in column [1] that the appraisal agency or organization has received.

- Column [3] marks "X" in the corresponding cells for each document listed in column [1] that the appraisal agency or organization has not received (after requesting the unit preparing the tender invitation documents and request documents to supplement the documents).

Based on the documents submitted by the unit preparing the tender invitation documents and request documents, the appraisal results are summarized at Table 1, the appraisal agency or organization provides comments on the legal basis for the preparation of the tender invitation documents and request documents and necessary notes (if any).

2. Content of ___ [Record tender invitation documents or request documents]

a) Summary of Appraisal Results on the Content of ___ [Write Tender Invitation Documents or Request Documents]

The appraisal results on the content ___ [Record tender invitation documents or request documents] are summarized at Table 2 (for procurement goods and construction installation tender packages applying open or selective bidding), send a text message Table 3 (for consultancy services tender packages applying open or selective bidding), or Table 4 (for tender packages applying direct award or direct purchase), or Table 5A (for procurement goods tender packages applying competitive bidding with a tender package value from 500 million dong to less than 2 billion dong, or Table 5B (for procurement goods tender packages applying competitive bidding with a tender package value under 500 million dong) below[2]:

- For procurement goods and construction installation tender packages applying open or selective bidding

Table 2

- For consultancy services tender packages applying open or selective bidding

Table 3

- For tender packages applying direct award or direct purchase

Table 4

- For procurement goods tender packages applying competitive bidding with a tender package value from 500 million dong to less than 2 billion dong

Table 5A

- For procurement goods tender packages applying competitive bidding with a tender package value under 500 million dong

Table 5B

Note:

General Guidelines for Filling in Tables 2, 3, 4, 5A, 5B

- (*): Depending on specific conditions, the appraisal agency or organization may detail the appraisal content into several sub-items corresponding to the content in the tender invitation documents and request documents to facilitate evaluation.

- Column [1]: Mark "X" in the corresponding cells for each item listed in column [1] if the appraisal agency or organization's review result on the content of the tender invitation documents and request documents complies with the legal provisions on bidding, related laws; is consistent with the project, procurement budget estimate, approved bidding plan, nature, and requirements of the tender package.

- Column [2]: Mark "X" in the corresponding cells for each item listed in column [1] if the appraisal agency or organization's review result on the content of the tender invitation documents and request documents does not comply with the bidding legal provisions, related laws, or is inconsistent with the project, procurement budget estimate, approved bidding plan, nature, and requirements of the tender package. In this case, the reasons for non-compliance with the legal provisions on bidding, related laws, or inconsistency with the project, procurement budget estimate, approved bidding plan, nature, and requirements of the tender package must be clearly stated in point b below.

b) Appraisal Opinion on the Content of ___ [Write Tender Invitation Documents or Request Documents]

Based on the documents submitted by the unit preparing the tender invitation documents and request documents, the appraisal results are summarized at Table 2, send a text message Table 3, send a text message Table 4, send a text message Table 5A, send a text message Table 5B, The appraisal agency shall provide comments on the contents of the tender invitation documents and request for proposal based on the laws on bidding, related laws, the project, procurement budget, approved bidding plan, nature, and requirements of the tender package, and other necessary notes (if any).

For the contents of the tender invitation documents and request for proposal that the appraisal agency assesses as non-compliant or unsuitable, the reasons for non-compliance or unsuitability shall be explained in this section. Non-compliant or unsuitable articles, clauses, points shall be specifically mentioned, corresponding to the page numbers in the tender invitation documents and request for proposal.

Based on the appraisal opinions, the appraisal agency may propose amendments to the non-compliant or unsuitable contents.

III. OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1. Observations on Contents ___ [Record tender invitation documents or request documents]

Based on the observations on the tender invitation documents and request for proposal as detailed above, the appraisal agency shall make general observations on the tender invitation documents and request for proposal. In this section, it is necessary to express agreement or disagreement with the contents of the tender invitation documents and request for proposal.

This section clearly states the reservations of the appraiser members during the appraisal of the tender invitation documents and request for proposal.

2. Recommendations

a) Where the tender invitation documents and request for proposal comply with the provisions of the laws on bidding, related laws, and meet the requirements of the tender package, project, procurement budget, the appraisal agency recommends the project owner to approve the tender invitation documents and request for proposal as follows:

Based on the proposal of ___ [Name of the entity preparing the tender invitation documents and request for proposal] to approve ___ [Record tender invitation documents or request documents] and the results of the appraisal, ___ [Record name of reviewing agency or organization] it is recommended ___ [Record name of project owner] price framework for power generation ___ [Record tender invitation documents or request documents] contract package ___ [Record name of contract package] Decree ___ [Name of the project or procurement budget].

b) Where the appraisal agency disagrees with the contents of the tender invitation documents and request for proposal, it shall report to the project owner for consideration and decision./.

 

 

[1] In case of hiring a consulting contractor for appraisal, the following content shall be used instead: Based on Contract No. ___ [Contract number] dated ___ [Date of signing the contract] between ___ [Record name of project owner] and ___ [Name of the consulting contractor] for the purpose of appraisal ___ [Record tender invitation documents or request documents] contract package ___ [Record name of contract package] under the project ___ [Name of the project].  

[2] For tenders applying special selection methods, the appraisal agency shall prepare a Summary Table based on the contents of the request for proposal.

2 For small-scale tenders, only the "Content Determining Evaluation Price" shall be appraised if required by the tender invitation documents.