Circular No. 34/2025/TT-BKHCN stipulates products and services of digital technology eligible for preferential treatment in the selection of contractors when leasing or purchasing with state budget funds.

CIRCULAR

REGULATIONS ON DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ELIGIBLE FOR BENEFITS IN CONTRACTOR SELECTION PROCEDURES FOR LEASING AND PROCUREMENT WITH STATE BUDGET FUNDS

These products and services are eligible for benefits in contractor selection procedures for leasing and procurement with state budget funds.

The regulations apply to digital technology products and services procured using state budget funds.

Pursuant to the Law on Digital Industry No. 71/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Law on Bidding No. 22/2023/QH15 amended and supplemented by Law No. 57/2024/QH15, Law No. 90/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 214/2025/NĐ-CP detailing certain provisions and implementing measures of the Law on Bidding regarding contractor selection;

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 55/2025/NĐ-CP stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology;

Based on the proposal of the Director of the Department of Information Technology Industry;

THE MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ISSUES THIS CIRCULAR REGULATING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ELIGIBLE FOR BENEFITS IN CONTRACTOR SELECTION PROCEDURES FOR LEASING AND PROCUREMENT WITH STATE BUDGET FUNDS.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

Article 1. This Circular details Clause 1, Article 31 of the Law on Digital Industry concerning digital technology products and services eligible for benefits in contractor selection procedures as prescribed by the law on bidding.

Article 2. In case international treaties to which Vietnam is a party provide different provisions from those set forth in this Circular, such treaty provisions shall be applied.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to agencies, organizations, enterprises, and individuals participating in or related to activities of leasing and procurement of digital technology products and services funded by state budget.

Article 3. Digital technology products and services eligible for benefits

Digital technology products and services eligible for benefits are those that simultaneously meet the provisions of Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article:

Clause 1. Digital technology products must be designed and owned, and digital technology services must be owned or have the right to provide under one of the following circumstances:

Point a. An organization or enterprise registered in this Circular is an enterprise established or registered for establishment in accordance with Vietnamese law and has its main office in Vietnam; and does not fall under the cases specified in Points a, b, and c of Clause 1, Article 23 of the Investment Law. If the provisions of Points a, b, and c of Clause 1, Article 23 of the Investment Law are amended, supplemented, or replaced, the new provisions shall be applied.

Point b. A Vietnamese individual.

Clause 2. There must be plans and commitments regarding technical support, warranty, maintenance, upgrade, and post-sales services.

Clause 3. Specific provisions corresponding to each type of digital technology product eligible for benefits are detailed in Articles 4 and 5 of this Circular.

Article 4. Specific Provisions for Digital Technology Hardware Products Eligible for Benefits

Clause 1. Digital technology hardware products eligible for benefits when they simultaneously meet the provisions of Points a and b of this Clause:

Point a. The design of digital technology hardware products (including requirement specifications, system architecture, detailed design, circuit diagrams, printed circuit board layout, integrated circuit layout design, and related technical documents) must be owned by a Vietnamese organization or enterprise or a Vietnamese individual. Ownership rights are established through self-designing, hiring others including Vietnamese individuals to design, or purchasing designs from other subjects.

Point b. The trademark attached to digital technology hardware products must be owned by a Vietnamese organization or enterprise or a Vietnamese individual.

Clause 2. A Vietnamese organization or enterprise or a Vietnamese individual must prove their ownership of the hardware design mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article by one of the following documents:

Point a. Patent certificate, utility model patent certificate, industrial design patent certificate, or Certificate of Registration of Integrated Circuit Layout Design issued by the competent authority of Vietnam for intellectual property rights or by a foreign competent authority.

Point b. Copyright registration certificate issued by the competent authority for copyright and related rights.

Point c. Other documents proving ownership of intellectual property rights and copyright objects as prescribed by law.

Clause 3. A Vietnamese organization or enterprise or a Vietnamese individual must prove their ownership of the trademark mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article by one of the following documents:

Point a. Trademark registration certificate issued by the competent authority for intellectual property rights.

Point b. Decision accepting international trademark registration protection in Vietnam.

Point c. Other lawful documents proving trademark ownership as prescribed by the law on intellectual property.

Article 5. Specific provisions for software products eligible for preferential treatment

1. Software products are eligible for preferential treatment if they meet one of the following conditions:

a) The design and development of the software product (including architecture, detailed design, source code, and related technical documentation) is owned by Vietnamese organizations, enterprises, or individuals who are Vietnamese citizens. In this context, intellectual property rights over the design, source code, and software product are established through self-execution of the design and construction of the source code, or by hiring others including Vietnamese individuals to execute the design and construction of the source code, or by purchasing the design and source code from other subjects.

b) The design and development of the software product (including architecture, detailed design, source code, and related technical documentation) is developed based on open-source code and is owned by Vietnamese organizations, enterprises, or individuals who are Vietnamese citizens, or are exploited or used with the design and source code.

2. Vietnamese organizations, enterprises, or individuals who are Vietnamese citizens must prove their ownership of the design and source code of the software product mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article using one of the following documents:

a) A certificate of copyright registration issued by the competent state agency responsible for copyright and related rights.

b) Other documents to prove ownership, exploitation rights, and usage rights for copyright objects according to the provisions of the law.

Article 6. Responsibilities of Vietnamese organizations, enterprises, and individuals with digital technology products and services eligible for preferential treatment

Vietnamese organizations, enterprises, or individuals with digital technology products and services eligible for preferential treatment must:

1. Ensure the quality of the digital technology products and services eligible for preferential treatment as publicly announced throughout the provision period of the preferred product.

2. Vietnamese organizations or individuals must independently prove compliance with the criteria specified in Article 3 of this Circular to be eligible for preferential treatment according to the bidding law regulations and bear responsibility for the accuracy of the provided information.

3. Provide and update information related to digital technology products and services eligible for preferential treatment on the National Information System for the Digital Technology Industry and on the official website of Vietnamese organizations, enterprises, or individuals.

Article 7. Transitional Provisions

Investment, leasing, procurement activities for digital technology products and services that meet the criteria and are announced according to Circular No. 40/2020/TT-BTTTT dated November 30, 2020, issued by the Minister of Information and Communications, specifying criteria for determining domestic-produced information technology products and services eligible for priority investment, leasing, and procurement, which have been approved and issued tender invitation documents, prequalification documents, tender documents, and request documents before the effective date of this Circular, shall continue to be implemented according to the approved contents, except where the provisions of this Circular are chosen to apply.

Article 8. Effectiveness and Responsibility for Implementation

4. In cases where legal normative documents cited in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced by other legal normative documents, the provisions of those amended, supplemented, or replacing documents shall apply.

2. Circular No. 40/2020/TT-BTTTT dated November 30, 2020, issued by the Minister of Information and Communications, specifying criteria for determining domestic-produced information technology products and services eligible for priority investment, leasing, and procurement, shall cease to be effective from the date this Circular takes effect, except as provided in Article 7 of this Circular.

3. Agencies and organizations using state budget funds for leasing and procurement of digital technology products and services are responsible for monitoring and supervising the updating of information related to digital technology products and services eligible for preferential treatment on the National Information System for the Digital Technology Industry.

4. The Department of Information Technology Industry (Ministry of Science and Technology) shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to organize guidance on the implementation of this Circular. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, they should be reported to the Ministry of Science and Technology (Department of Information Technology Industry) for prompt resolution.

5. The Director of the Office, the Head of the Department of Information Technology Industry, the Directors of Provincial Departments of Science and Technology under the Central Government, and related agencies, organizations, enterprises, and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular./.