Law on Bidding number 61/2005/QH11

LAW

BIDDING

BASED ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM IN 1992 AS AMENDED AND COMPLEMENTED BY RESOLUTION NO. 51/2001/QH10 DATED DECEMBER 25, 2001 OF THE TENTH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SESSION 10;

THIS LAW REGULATES BIDDING.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of application

THIS LAW REGULATES BIDDING ACTIVITIES TO SELECT CONTRACTORS PROVIDING CONSULTANCY SERVICES, PURCHASING GOODS, AND INSTALLATION WORK FOR TENDER PACKAGES UNDER THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS:

1. PROJECTS USING STATE CAPITAL AT 30% OR MORE FOR DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, INCLUDING:

a) NEW INVESTMENT CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, EXPANSION AND UPGRADE OF ALREADY INVESTED PROJECTS;

b) INVESTMENT PROJECTS FOR PROCUREMENT OF ASSETS INCLUDING EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY THAT DO NOT REQUIRE INSTALLATION;

c) REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROJECTS, INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROJECTS, URBAN AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING PROJECTS;

d) SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROJECTS, TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROJECTS;

đ) OTHER PROJECTS FOR DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES;

2. PROJECTS USING STATE CAPITAL FOR PROCUREMENT OF ASSETS TO MAINTAIN THE REGULAR OPERATIONS OF STATE ORGANIZATIONS, POLITICAL ORGANIZATIONS, POLITICAL-SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS, PROFESSIONAL-SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS, SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS, PROFESSIONAL-SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS, AND POPULAR MILITARY UNITS;

3. PROJECTS USING STATE CAPITAL FOR PROCUREMENT OF ASSETS TO SERVE THE MAJOR REPAIR AND OVERHAUL OF PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT CHAINS, CONSTRUCTIONS, AND FACTORIES ALREADY INVESTED BY STATE ENTERPRISES.

Article 2. Applicability

1. DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS PARTICIPATE IN BIDDING ACTIVITIES FOR TENDER PACKAGES UNDER THE PROJECTS PROVIDED FOR IN ARTICLE 1 OF THIS LAW.

2. ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS RELATED TO BIDDING ACTIVITIES FOR TENDER PACKAGES UNDER THE PROJECTS PROVIDED FOR IN ARTICLE 1 OF THIS LAW.

3. ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS WITH PROJECTS OUTSIDE THE SCOPE OF REGULATION OF THIS LAW MAY APPLY THIS LAW.

Article 3. APPLY THE BIDDING LAW, RELATED LAWS, INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS, AND INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS

1. BIDDING ACTIVITIES MUST COMPLY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS LAW AND THE PROVISIONS OF RELATED LAWS.

2. IN CASES WHERE THERE ARE SPECIFIC PROVISIONS ON BIDDING IN OTHER LAWS, SUCH PROVISIONS SHALL BE APPLIED.

3. FOR PROJECTS USING OFFICIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE (ODA) FUNDS, BIDDING SHALL BE IMPLEMENTED BASED ON THE CONTENT OF INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS TO WHICH THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM IS A PARTY OR INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS SIGNED BY AUTHORITIES WITH COMPETENT AUTHORITY OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM.

Article 4. Definitions

In this Law, the following terms shall be understood as follows:

1. STATE CAPITAL INCLUDES STATE BUDGET CAPITAL, LOAN CAPITAL GUARANTEED BY THE STATE, STATE INVESTMENT DEVELOPMENT LOAN CAPITAL, STATE ENTERPRISE INVESTMENT DEVELOPMENT CAPITAL, AND OTHER CAPITAL MANAGED BY THE STATE.

2. BIDDING IS THE PROCESS OF SELECTING CONTRACTORS MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE INVITING PARTY TO PERFORM TENDER PACKAGES UNDER THE PROJECTS PROVIDED FOR IN ARTICLE 1 OF THIS LAW ON THE BASIS OF ENSURING COMPETITION, FAIRNESS, TRANSPARENCY, AND ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY.

3. BIDDING ACTIVITIES INCLUDE THE ACTIVITIES OF THE PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS OF SELECTING CONTRACTORS.

4. PROCEDURE FOR IMPLEMENTING BIDDING INCLUDES PREPARATION FOR BIDDING, ORGANIZATION OF BIDDING, EVALUATION OF BIDDING DOCUMENTS, REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF BIDDING RESULTS, ANNOUNCEMENT OF BIDDING RESULTS, NEGOTIATION, COMPLETION, AND SIGNING OF CONTRACTS.

5. DOMESTIC BIDDING IS THE PROCESS OF SELECTING CONTRACTORS MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE INVITING PARTY WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF DOMESTIC CONTRACTORS.

6. INTERNATIONAL BIDDING IS THE PROCESS OF SELECTING CONTRACTORS MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE INVITING PARTY WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF FOREIGN CONTRACTORS AND DOMESTIC CONTRACTORS.

7. Project IS A SET OF PROPOSALS TO IMPLEMENT PART OR ALL OF THE WORK TO ACHIEVE A CERTAIN GOAL OR REQUIREMENT WITHIN A SPECIFIED TIMEFRAME BASED ON A DEFINED SOURCE OF FUNDS.

8. AUTHORIZED PERSON IS THE PERSON WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO DECIDE ON THE PROJECT ACCORDING TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE LAW. FOR PROJECTS WITH STATE CAPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS FROM STATE ENTERPRISES AT 30% OR MORE, EXCEPT FOR PROJECTS USING 100% STATE CAPITAL, THE AUTHORIZED PERSON IS THE BOARD OF MANAGEMENT OR THE AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CAPITAL CONTRIBUTING PARTIES.

9. Project sponsors IS THE PERSON WHO OWNS THE CAPITAL OR IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING AND IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT AS PROVIDED FOR IN CLAUSE 7 OF THIS ARTICLE.

10. INVITING PARTY IS THE PROJECT OWNER OR SPECIALIZED ORGANIZATION WITH ENOUGH CAPABILITY AND EXPERIENCE USED BY THE PROJECT OWNER TO ORGANIZE BIDDING ACCORDING TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE BIDDING LAW.

11. CONTRACTOR IS AN ORGANIZATION OR INDIVIDUAL WITH LEGAL QUALIFICATIONS AS PROVIDED FOR IN ARTICLES 7 AND 8 OF THIS LAW.

12. Main contractor IS THE CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBLE FOR PARTICIPATING IN BIDDING, SUBMITTING A BID, SIGNING AND IMPLEMENTING THE CONTRACT IF SELECTED (HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AS THE BIDDING CONTRACTOR). A BIDDING CONTRACTOR PARTICIPATING INDEPENDENTLY IS CALLED AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR. A CONTRACTOR JOINING A BIDDING TEAM WITH ONE OR MORE OTHER CONTRACTORS IS CALLED A JOINT-VENTURE CONTRACTOR.

13. CONSULTANCY CONTRACTOR IS THE CONTRACTOR PARTICIPATING IN BIDDING TO PROVIDE PRODUCTS MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF KNOWLEDGE AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE AS PROVIDED FOR IN CLAUSE 34 OF THIS ARTICLE.

14. SUPPLIER CONTRACTOR IS THE CONTRACTOR PARTICIPATING IN BIDDING FOR TENDER PACKAGES FOR THE SUPPLY OF GOODS AS PROVIDED FOR IN CLAUSE 35 OF THIS ARTICLE.

15. CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR IS THE CONTRACTOR PARTICIPATING IN BIDDING FOR TENDER PACKAGES FOR INSTALLATION WORK AS PROVIDED FOR IN CLAUSE 36 OF THIS ARTICLE.

16. EPC CONTRACTOR IS THE CONTRACTOR PARTICIPATING IN BIDDING TO IMPLEMENT THE EPC TENDER PACKAGE AS PROVIDED FOR IN CLAUSE 21 OF THIS ARTICLE.

17. Subcontractor IS THE CONTRACTOR PERFORMING PART OF THE WORK OF THE TENDER PACKAGE BASED ON AN AGREEMENT OR CONTRACT SIGNED WITH THE MAIN CONTRACTOR. A SUBCONTRACTOR IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR BIDDING PARTICIPATION.

18. DOMESTIC CONTRACTOR IS THE CONTRACTOR ESTABLISHED AND OPERATING UNDER VIETNAMESE LAW.

19. FOREIGN CONTRACTOR IS THE CONTRACTOR ESTABLISHED AND OPERATING UNDER THE LAW OF THE COUNTRY OF WHICH THE CONTRACTOR HOLDS CITIZENSHIP.

20. TENDER PACKAGE IS A PART OF THE PROJECT, IN SOME SPECIAL CASES, THE TENDER PACKAGE IS THE ENTIRE PROJECT; THE TENDER PACKAGE MAY INCLUDE SIMILAR PURCHASE ITEMS FROM MULTIPLE PROJECTS OR A SINGLE PURCHASE QUANTITY FOR REGULAR PURCHASES.

21. EPC TENDER PACKAGE IS A TENDER PACKAGE INCLUDING ALL DESIGN, EQUIPMENT SUPPLY, MATERIAL SUPPLY, AND INSTALLATION WORK.

22. INVITATION FOR PRE-QUALIFICATION DOCUMENTS ARE ALL DOCUMENTS INCLUDING REQUIREMENTS FOR CAPACITY AND EXPERIENCE OF CONTRACTORS AS LEGAL BASIS FOR THE INVITING PARTY TO SELECT A LIST OF CONTRACTORS TO INVITE TO BID.

23. PRE-QUALIFICATION APPLICATION DOCUMENTS ARE ALL DOCUMENTS PREPARED BY THE CONTRACTOR ACCORDING TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE INVITATION FOR PRE-QUALIFICATION DOCUMENTS.

24. INVITATION FOR BID DOCUMENTS is all the documentation used for open tendering or restricted tendering, including requirements for a tender package serving as a legal basis for contractors to prepare tender documents and for the tender inviter to evaluate tender documents with the aim of selecting the winning contractor; it serves as a basis for negotiation, completion, and signing of the contract.

25. Tender Documents is all the documentation prepared by the contractor according to the requirements of the tender invitation and submitted to the tender inviter as stipulated in the tender invitation.

26. Tender Package Value is the value of the tender package determined in the tender plan based on the total investment amount or total estimate, approved estimate, and current regulations.

27. Bid Price is the price stated in the bid form included in the tender documents by the contractor. In case the contractor provides a discount letter, the bid price is the price after the discount.

28. Proposed Winning Bid Price is the price proposed by the tender inviter based on the bid price of the selected winning contractor after correcting errors and adjusting discrepancies according to the requirements of the tender invitation.

29. Winning Bid Price is the price approved in the result of selecting the contractor serving as a basis for negotiation, completion, and signing of the contract.

30. Same Face Cost includes the bid price proposed by the contractor to implement the tender package after corrections and adjustments, plus necessary costs for operation, maintenance, and other costs related to the progress, quality, origin of goods or works within the tender package throughout its usage period. Same face cost is used for comparison and ranking of tender documents and is referred to as the evaluation price.

31. Contract is the signed document between the project owner and the selected contractor based on mutual agreement but must comply with the decision approving the result of selecting the contractor.

32. Tender Guarantee is the action of the contractor implementing one of the measures such as deposit, bond, or submitting a guarantee letter to ensure the responsibility of the tender bid during the specified period according to the requirements of the tender invitation.

33. Contract Performance Guarantee is the action of the contractor implementing one of the measures such as deposit, bond, or submitting a guarantee letter to ensure the responsibility of contract performance during the specified period according to the requirements of the tender invitation.

34. Consulting Services include:

a) Project preparation consulting services including planning report preparation, overall development scheme report, architectural report, preliminary feasibility study report, feasibility study report;

b) Project implementation consulting services including survey, design preparation, total estimate and estimate preparation, tender document preparation, tender document evaluation, construction supervision and installation equipment supervision;

c) Project management consulting services, financial arrangement, training, technology transfer, and other consulting services.

35. Goods includes machinery, equipment, raw materials, fuel, materials, consumer goods, and services that are not consulting services.

36. Construction and Installation includes works belonging to the construction and installation process of projects, project components, renovation, major repairs.

37. Tender Protest is the action of a participating contractor proposing a review of the selection result and issues related to the tendering process when they believe their rights and interests have been affected.

38. The National E-Government Procurement System is the information technology application system established by the state management agency for construction tenders to manage unified tender information for tender activities.

39. Tender Review is the inspection and evaluation conducted by the agency or organization with the function of review regarding the tender plan, tender invitation documents, and the selection result to serve as a basis for those with authority to consider and decide according to this Law. The review of the selection result does not involve re-evaluating the tender documents.

Article 5. Tender Information

1. The following tender information must be published in the tender newspaper and the electronic tender information website of the state management agency for tenders:

a) Tender Plan;

b) Preliminary tender invitation announcement, preliminary tender results;

c) Open tender invitation announcement;

d) List of contractors invited to participate in the tender;

đ) Selection result;

e) Information on handling violations of tender laws;

g) Current tender-related regulatory documents;

h) Other relevant information.

2. The information prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, after being published in the tender newspaper and the electronic tender information website, may also be published on other mass media for convenience in access by organizations and individuals interested.

The Government shall provide detailed regulations on tender information.

Article 6. Tender Plan

1. The tender plan must be approved in writing by the authorized person after approving the investment decision or simultaneously with the investment decision in cases where conditions are met to serve as a legal basis for the project owner to organize the selection of contractors, except for packages that need to be implemented before the investment decision. The person approving the tender plan must bear legal responsibility for their decision.

2. A tender plan must be prepared for the entire project; in cases where conditions are not met and it is truly necessary, a tender plan can be prepared for some packages to be implemented ahead of time.

3. In the tender plan, the number of packages and the content of each package must be clearly stated. The content of each package includes:

a) Name of the package;

b) Package value;

c) Source of funds;

d) Method of selecting contractors; tender method;

đ) Time for selecting contractors;

e) Contract form;

g) Contract execution time.

4. The division of the project into packages must be based on technical characteristics, implementation sequence, ensuring the integrity of the project, and reasonable package scale. Each package has only one tender invitation document and is tendered once. A package is executed under one contract; if the package consists of several independent parts, it can be executed under one or more contracts.

Article 7. Legality of the Contractor as an Organization

A contractor as an organization has legality when meeting the following conditions:

1. Business registration certificate, investment certificate issued in accordance with the law or a decision on establishment for organizations without business registration in the case of domestic contractors; or a registration of operation issued by the competent authority of the country where the contractor holds citizenship in the case of foreign contractors;

2. Independent economic accounting;

3. Not being concluded by the competent authority to have an unhealthy financial situation, facing bankruptcy or unable to pay debts; undergoing liquidation;

Article 8. The legitimate status of a contractor who is an individual

An individual contractor has legitimate status when meeting all of the following conditions:

1. Full capacity for civil acts according to the laws of the country where the individual is a citizen;

2. Legal registration of activity or relevant professional certification issued by the competent authority;

3. Not being pursued for criminal responsibility.

Article 9. Requirements for the tenderer and the bidding expert team

1. Individuals participating in the tenderer must meet all of the following conditions:

a) Understanding the law on bidding;

b) Having knowledge about project management;

c) Having appropriate expertise in accordance with the requirements of the tender package in technical, financial, commercial, administrative, and legal fields;

d) Having language proficiency that meets the requirements for international bidding packages or packages under projects using ODA funds.

2. Depending on the nature and complexity of the tender package, the composition of the bidding expert team includes experts in technical, financial, commercial, administrative, legal fields, and related fields. Members of the bidding expert team must meet all of the following conditions:

a) Holding a certificate from a bidding course;

b) Having relevant expertise related to the tender package;

c) Understanding specific contents corresponding to the tender package;

d) Having at least three years of work experience in fields related to the economic and technical content of the tender package.

Members of the bidding expert team do not necessarily need to participate in the tenderer, and vice versa.

3. In cases where the investor has sufficient personnel meeting the conditions stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, they may act as the tenderer themselves. If the investor does not have sufficient personnel or the personnel do not meet the conditions stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, they shall select, in accordance with the provisions of this Law, a consulting organization or a professional bidding organization with adequate capacity and experience to act as the tenderer on their behalf. In all cases, the investor must be responsible for the process of selecting contractors in accordance with the provisions of this Law and sign a contract with the winning contractor after negotiating and completing the contract.

Article 10. Conditions for participating in bidding for a tender package

Contractors participating in bidding for a tender package must meet all of the following conditions:

1. Legitimate status as prescribed in Articles 7 and 8 of this Law;

2. Only allowed to participate in one bid package for one tender package as an independent contractor or as a consortium. In the case of a consortium, there must be a written agreement among members specifying clearly the head of the consortium, common responsibilities, and individual responsibilities of each member for the work within the tender package;

3. Meeting the requirements stated in the tender announcement or invitation letter of the tenderer;

4. Ensuring competition in bidding as prescribed in Article 11 of this Law.

Article 11. Ensuring competition in bidding

1. Contractors participating in bidding for tender packages under the project specified in Article 1 of this Law must ensure the following competitive requirements:

a) A contractor providing feasibility study reports cannot participate in bidding for technical design services of the project, a contractor who has participated in the technical design of the project cannot participate in subsequent bidding steps, except for EPC packages;

b) Contractors participating in bidding must be independent in organizational structure, not dependent on the same management agency, and financially independent from the contractor preparing the tender documents and evaluating the bid packages;

c) Supervision contractors must be independent in organizational structure, not dependent on the same management agency, and financially independent from the contractor implementing the contract;

d) Contractors participating in bidding for tender packages under the project must be independent in organizational structure, not dependent on the same management agency, and financially independent from the project's investor.

2. The provisions of Clause 1 of this Article must be implemented no later than three years according to the roadmap prescribed by the Government, starting from the date this Law takes effect.

The Government shall provide detailed regulations on ensuring competition in bidding.

Article 12. Prohibited actions in bidding

1. Giving, receiving, or demanding any valuable items from individuals and organizations related to the process of selecting contractors, implementing contracts leading to dishonest and non-objective actions in deciding on the selection of contractors, signing, and implementing contracts.

2. Using personal influence to affect, intervene, or intentionally report false or dishonest information that distorts the results of selecting contractors, signing, and implementing contracts.

3. Colluding or conspiring between the tenderer and the contractor, between the state management agency and the tenderer and the contractor to change tender documents, colluding with the appraisal and inspection agencies affecting collective interests, national interests.

4. Organizations or individuals participating in both evaluating tender documents and reviewing the results of selecting contractors for the same tender package.

5. Stating brand name or origin requirements for goods in the tender documents for goods procurement, construction, or EPC packages.

6. Participating in bidding as a contractor for a tender package for which they are the tenderer.

7. Dividing a project into tender packages contrary to the provisions of Clause 4 of Article 6 of this Law.

8. Contractors participating in bidding to supply goods or construction for a tender package provided by themselves as consultancy services, except for EPC packages.

9. Disclosing the following tender-related documents and information:

a) Contents of the tender documents before the issuance time as prescribed.

b) The contents of the bidding documents, notebooks, minutes of the bid evaluation meetings, comments and evaluations by experts or consulting contractors for each bidding document before announcing the contractor selection results;

c) Requests for clarification of bidding documents by the tender inviter and the responses from the bidders during the evaluation of bidding documents before announcing the contractor selection results;

d) Reports of the tender inviter, reports of the expert team, reports of the consulting contractor, and reports of relevant professional agencies during the bidding, evaluation, and review process before announcing the contractor selection results;

đ) The results of the contractor selection before being permitted to announce according to regulations;

e) Other bidding-related documents that are stamped with confidentiality seals as prescribed by laws on confidentiality;

10. Arranging for biological parents, in-laws, spouse, children (both biological and adopted), daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, and full siblings to participate in tenders where the person acts as the tender inviter or is a member of the expert team for bidding, the expert team for reviewing the results of contractor selection, or the person approving the results of contractor selection;

11. Violating capital management regulations, causing difficulties in the procedures for issuing, settling, and finalizing payments under contracts signed between the project owner and the contractor;

12. Colluding among two or more contractors to ensure one contractor wins the bid in the same tender, between the contractor implementing the tender and the supervising consultant, or between the contractor implementing the tender and the agency or organization tasked with accepting the completion results;

13. Participating in tenders for projects in which the agency or organization has worked within one year from the date of leaving such agency or organization;

14. Allowing another contractor to use their qualifications to participate in the tender or transferring the contract to another contractor after winning the bid;

15. Using bidding complaints to obstruct the bidding process and contract signing, or obstructing other contractors from participating in the tender;

16. Applying contractor selection methods that are not open bidding when not meeting the conditions stipulated in Articles 19 to 24 of this Law;

17. Organizing a tender when the funding for the tender package has not been determined, leading to arrears in the contractor's funds;

Article 13. INTERNATIONAL BIDDING

1. International tendering shall be conducted in the following cases:

a) Tender packages belonging to projects using ODA funds where the financier requires international tendering;

b) Tender packages for purchasing goods that cannot be produced domestically;

c) Tender packages where domestic contractors cannot meet the requirements of the tender invitation or have organized domestic tenders but failed to select a winning bidder;

2. In case a foreign winning bidder does not comply with the joint venture commitments or uses a Vietnamese subcontractor (if declared in the bidding documents) with the volume and value allocated to the Vietnamese contractor, such bidder will be disqualified;

3. Foreign winning bidders implementing tender packages in Vietnam must comply with the Government of Vietnam’s regulations on managing foreign contractors;

Article 14. Preferential treatment in international tendering;

The beneficiaries of preferential treatment in international tendering include:

1. Contractors established and operating in Vietnam under the Enterprise Law and Investment Law;

2. Joint venture contractors when a member of the joint venture as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article undertakes work valued at over 50% of the service consultancy, construction, or EPC tender package;

3. Contractors participating in tender packages for supplying goods where the production cost in Vietnam accounts for 30% or more;

The Government shall provide detailed regulations on preferential treatment in international tendering;

Article 15. Bidding Currency;

1. The bidding currency is specified in the tender invitation documents based on the principle of one currency for a specific quantity;

2. During the evaluation of bidding documents, the conversion to the same currency for comparison must be based on the exchange rate between the Vietnamese Dong and foreign currencies as stipulated in the tender invitation documents;

3. Domestic costs must be quoted in Vietnamese Dong;

Article 16. Language in Tenders;

The language used in tender invitation documents, bidding documents, and communication materials between the tender inviter and bidders for domestic tenders is Vietnamese; for international tenders, it is Vietnamese and English;

Article 17. Costs in Tenders;

1. Costs related to preparing bidding documents and participating in tenders are the responsibility of the contractor;

2. Costs related to the contractor selection process are included in the total investment amount or total budget estimate of the project;

3. Tender invitation documents are sold to contractors;

The Government shall provide detailed regulations on costs in tenders;

Chapter II

SELECTION OF CONTRACTORS;

Section 1

FORMS OF CONTRACTOR SELECTION;

Article 18. Open Tendering;

1. Contractor selection for tender packages under projects stipulated in Article 1 of this Law must apply open tendering, except for cases stipulated in Articles 19 to 24 of this Law;

2. For open tendering, there is no limit on the number of contractors participating. Before issuing the tender invitation documents, the tender inviter must announce the tender according to Article 5 of this Law so that contractors can obtain information about participation. The tender inviter must provide tender invitation documents to contractors who wish to participate in the tender. The tender invitation documents must not contain any conditions aimed at limiting contractor participation or creating advantages for one or several contractors, thereby causing unfair competition;

Article 19. Restricted Tendering;

1. Restricted tendering shall be applied in the following cases:

a) At the request of foreign financiers regarding the funds used for the tender package;

b) Tender packages with high technical requirements or specialized technical characteristics; research and experimental tender packages where only a few contractors can meet the tender requirements.

2. When conducting restricted bidding, at least five contractors determined to have sufficient capacity and experience must be invited to bid; in cases where there are fewer than five contractors, the project owner must submit for review and decision by the competent authority on whether to continue organizing restricted bidding or apply another selection method.

Article 20. Direct Assignment

1. Direct assignment shall be applied in the following cases:

a) In case of force majeure due to natural disasters, enemy actions, or emergencies requiring immediate rectification, the project owner or the agency responsible for managing the works or assets may immediately assign a contractor to carry out the work; in this case, the project owner or the agency responsible for managing the works or assets must proceed with the direct assignment procedures in accordance with regulations within a period not exceeding fifteen days from the date of the direct assignment;

b) Bidding packages required by foreign sponsors;

c) Bidding packages belonging to national secret projects; urgent projects for national interests, security, and energy safety as decided by the Prime Minister when deemed necessary;

d) Bidding packages for purchasing various types of materials and equipment to restore, maintain, and expand the capacity of production equipment and technology chains that were previously purchased from a supplier and cannot be purchased from other suppliers due to the need to ensure compatibility of equipment and technology;

đ) Bidding packages for consulting services with a package value under five hundred million dong, procurement of goods and construction/installation works with a package value under one billion dong for development projects; procurement of goods with a package value under one hundred million dong for regular procurement budgets or projects; in cases where it is deemed necessary, bidding shall be organized.

2. When implementing direct assignment, a contractor determined to have sufficient capacity and experience to meet the requirements of the bidding package must be selected, and the direct assignment implementation process prescribed by the Government must be followed.

3. Before implementing the direct assignment specified in points b, c, d, and đ of Clause 1 of this Article, the budget estimate for the bidding package must be approved according to regulations.

Article 21. Direct Procurement

1. Direct procurement shall be applied when a contract for a bidding package with similar content was signed no more than six months prior.

2. When implementing direct procurement, the contractor previously selected through bidding may be invited to execute the bidding package with similar content.

3. The unit price for contents included in the bidding package subject to direct procurement shall not exceed the unit price of corresponding contents in the similar bidding package previously contracted.

4. Direct procurement may be applied to implement a similar bidding package within the same project or within another project.

Article 22. Competitive Quotation in Goods Procurement

1. Competitive quotation shall be applied in cases meeting the following conditions:

a) The bidding package has a package value under two billion dong;

b) The procurement content consists of commonly available goods on the market with standardized technical characteristics and equivalent quality.

2. When implementing competitive quotation, a request for quotation must be sent to contractors. Contractors must submit quotations directly, via fax, or through postal service to the tenderer. For each bidding package, there must be a minimum of three quotations from different contractors.

Article 23. Self-Execution

1. The self-execution form shall be applied in cases where the project owner is a contractor with sufficient capacity and experience to execute the bidding package within a project they manage and use.

2. When applying the self-execution form, the budget estimate for the bidding package must be approved according to regulations. The supervising entity for the execution of the bidding package must be independent from the project owner in terms of organization and finance.

Article 24. Selection of Contractors in Special Cases

In cases where the bidding package has unique characteristics that cannot apply the selection methods prescribed in Articles 18 to 23 of this Law, the project owner must develop a plan for selecting contractors ensuring competitive goals and economic efficiency and submit it for review and decision by the Prime Minister.

Section 2
GENERAL PROVISIONS ON BIDDING

Article 25. Conditions for Issuing Tender Documents

Tender documents shall be issued when the following conditions are met:

1. The bidding plan has been approved;

2. The tender documents have been approved;

3. The notice to tender or the list of contractors invited to participate in the bidding has been published in accordance with Article 5 of this Law.

Article 26. Bidding Methods

1. The single-envelope bidding method shall be applied to open bidding and restricted bidding for procurement packages of goods, construction works, and EPC contracts. Contractors submit bidding proposals including technical and financial proposals according to the requirements of the tender documents. The opening of bids shall be conducted once.

2. The two-envelope bidding method shall be applied to open bidding and restricted bidding for consulting service procurement. Contractors submit separate technical and financial proposals according to the requirements of the tender documents. The opening of bids shall be conducted twice; first, the technical proposals will be opened for evaluation, followed by the financial proposals of all contractors whose technical proposals meet the requirements being opened for comprehensive evaluation. In cases where the procurement package requires high technical standards, the financial proposal of the contractor with the highest technical score will be opened for consideration and negotiation.

3. The two-stage bidding method shall be applied to open bidding and restricted bidding for procurement packages of goods, construction works, and EPC contracts that involve new technology, complex, and diverse projects and shall be carried out in the following sequence:

a) In the first stage, based on the first stage tender documents, contractors submit technical proposals and financial plans but without bid prices; through discussions with each participating contractor, the second stage tender documents will be determined.

b) In the second stage, based on the second stage tender documents, contractors who participated in the first stage are invited to submit second stage bidding proposals including: technical proposals; financial proposals, which include bid prices; and bid security measures.

Article 27. Tender Guarantee

1. When participating in bidding for procurement packages of goods, construction works, and EPC contracts, contractors must implement bid security measures before the bid closing time. In cases where the two-stage bidding method is applied, contractors must implement bid security measures in the second stage.

2. The value of bid security shall be specified in the tender documents at a level determined based on the specific nature of each procurement package but not exceeding 3% of the approved procurement package price.

3. The validity period of bid security shall be equal to the validity period of the bidding proposal plus thirty days.

4. In cases where the validity period of the bidding proposal needs to be extended, the tenderer must request the contractor to extend the corresponding validity period of the bid security; in such cases, the contractor may not change the contents of the submitted bidding proposal, including the bid price, and must extend the corresponding validity period of the bid security. If the contractor refuses to extend the validity period of the bidding proposal, the tenderer must return the bid security to the contractor.

5. Bid security shall be returned to non-winning contractors within thirty days from the date of the bidding result announcement. For winning contractors, bid security shall be refunded after the contractor implements the performance bond in accordance with Article 55 of this Law.

6. Contractors shall not be entitled to receive back bid security in the following cases:

a) Withdrawing the bidding proposal after the bid closing time while the bidding proposal is still valid;

b) Within thirty days from receiving the winning bid notification from the tenderer, failing to proceed or refusing to proceed with negotiations, completing the contract, or having completed negotiations and contract completion but refusing to sign the contract without a legitimate reason;

c) Failing to implement the performance bond in accordance with Article 55 of this Law.

Article 28. Principles for Evaluating Bidding Proposals

1. The evaluation of bidding proposals must be based on the evaluation criteria and other requirements in the tender documents to ensure the selection of contractors with sufficient capacity, experience, and feasible solutions to implement the procurement package.

2. The evaluation of bidding proposals, in addition to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article, must also be based on the submitted bidding proposals and additional clarifying documents provided by the contractor.

3. The evaluation of bidding proposals must follow the procedures stipulated in Article 35 of this Law.

Article 29. Methods for Evaluating Bidding Proposals

1. The methods for evaluating bidding proposals must be reflected through the evaluation criteria in the tender documents. Evaluation criteria for bidding proposals include criteria for assessing capacity and experience in cases where prequalification is not applied; technical evaluation criteria; and comprehensive evaluation criteria for consulting service procurement packages or elements to determine costs on the same technical, financial, and commercial basis for comparing and ranking bidding proposals for procurement packages of goods, construction works, and EPC contracts.

2. For consulting service procurement packages, the scoring method shall be used to evaluate technical aspects. When establishing evaluation criteria, the minimum requirement level for technical aspects must be set but not lower than 70% of the total technical points; in cases where the procurement package requires high technical standards, the minimum requirement level for technical aspects must be set not lower than 80%. The establishment of evaluation criteria for comparing and ranking bidding proposals shall be carried out as follows:

a) For consulting service procurement packages that do not require high technical standards, a composite scoring scale shall be used to rank bidding proposals. In the composite scoring scale, the principle of the weight of technical points must not be less than 70% of the total points of the composite scoring scale. The bidding proposal of the contractor with the highest composite score shall be ranked first;

b) For consulting service procurement packages requiring high technical standards, the contractor with the highest technical score in the bidding proposal shall be ranked first for consideration of the financial proposal.

3. For procurement packages for goods purchase, construction works, and EPC packages, the scoring method or the pass/fail criteria method shall be used to evaluate technical aspects. When establishing technical evaluation standards using a point scale, the minimum technical requirements must be determined but must not be set lower than seventy percent of the total technical points; in cases of high technical requirements, the minimum requirement must not be set lower than eighty percent. For tender documents that have passed the technical evaluation, they shall be ranked based on cost on the same technical, financial, and commercial level. The tender document of the bidder with the lowest cost on the same level will be ranked first.

The Government shall provide detailed regulations on the evaluation of tender documents.

Article 30. Online Bidding

Online bidding is conducted through an online system. Announcements inviting bids, issuance of bid invitation documents, submission of tender documents, evaluation of tender documents, and announcements of the results of selecting contractors are carried out on the national bidding network managed by the competent state management agency for construction bidding.

The Government shall provide detailed regulations on the application of online bidding.

Article 31. Provisions on Timeframes in Bidding

Based on the nature of each bidding package, the person authorized to decide shall specify the timeframes for bidding as follows:

1. The preliminary qualification period for domestic bidding shall not exceed thirty days, and for international bidding, it shall not exceed forty-five days from the date of issuance of the prequalification document until the approved prequalification results are obtained.

2. The announcement inviting bids shall be issued at least ten days before the issuance of the bid invitation document.

3. The preparation period for tender documents shall be at least fifteen days for domestic bidding and thirty days for international bidding from the date of issuance of the bid invitation document until the closing date for submission.

4. The validity period of tender documents shall not exceed one hundred eighty days from the closing date; if necessary, the validity period may be extended but not more than thirty days.

5. The evaluation period for tender documents shall not exceed forty-five days for domestic bidding and sixty days for international bidding from the opening of bids until the investor reports the bidding results to the authorized person for review and decision.

6. The review period shall not exceed twenty days for each item concerning the bidding plan, bid invitation document, and selection results of contractors. For bidding packages within the Prime Minister's approval authority, the review period shall not exceed thirty days for each item concerning the bidding plan and selection results of contractors.

Section 3
PROCEDURE FOR IMPLEMENTING BIDDING

Article 32. Preparation for Bidding

1. Preliminary Qualification of Contractors

The preliminary qualification of contractors is carried out as follows:

a) Preliminary qualification of contractors is conducted prior to organizing the bidding process to select contractors with sufficient capacity and experience according to the requirements of the bidding package to invite them to participate in the bidding; for procurement packages for goods, EPC packages with a value of three billion VND or more, and construction works packages with a value of two billion VND or more, preliminary qualification must be conducted.

b) The procedure for preliminary qualification includes preparing the prequalification document; announcing the prequalification invitation; receiving and managing prequalification tender documents; evaluating prequalification tender documents; reporting and approving the prequalification results; announcing the prequalification results.

c) The evaluation criteria for prequalification tender documents must be stated in the prequalification document according to the model prequalification document prescribed by the Government, including technical capability criteria, financial capability criteria, and experience criteria.

2. Preparing the Bid Invitation Document

The bid invitation document is prepared according to the model prescribed by the Government and includes the following contents:

a) Technical Requirements:

For consulting service bidding packages, it includes requirements regarding knowledge and professional experience of experts (reference clauses).

For procurement packages for goods, it includes requirements regarding the scope of supply, quantity, quality of goods determined through characteristics, technical parameters, technological standards, production standards, warranty period, environmental requirements, and other necessary requirements.

For construction works bidding packages, it includes requirements according to the technical design documents accompanied by cost estimates, technical instructions, and other necessary requirements.

b) Financial and Commercial Requirements, including costs to implement the bidding package, bid prices, detailed price lists, delivery conditions, payment methods and conditions, sources of finance, tender currency, and terms specified in general and specific contract conditions.

c) Evaluation Criteria, Important Requirements, Preferential Conditions (if any), Taxes, Insurance, and Other Requirements.

3. Inviting Bids

The invitation to bid is carried out as follows:

a) Announcing the invitation to bid for open bidding.

b) Sending bid invitation letters for limited bidding or for open bidding with prequalification.

Article 33. Organizing Bidding

1. Issuing the Bid Invitation Document

The bid invitation document is issued to bidders participating in open bidding, to bidders listed in the invitation to participate in limited bidding, or to bidders who have passed the prequalification stage.

If the bid invitation document needs to be amended after issuance, the bidder must notify those who have received the bid invitation document at least ten days before the closing date.

2. Receiving and Managing Tender Documents

Tender documents submitted according to the bid invitation document must be received and managed by the inviter under the confidential document management regime.

3. Opening Bids

The bid opening must be conducted publicly immediately after the closing date for tender documents submitted according to the bid invitation document.

Key information in the tender documents of each bidder must be announced during the bid opening session and recorded in the bid opening minutes signed by representatives of the inviter, the bidder, and relevant authorities present.

Article 34. Clarifying the Bid Invitation Document

1. If a bidder needs to clarify the bid invitation document, they must submit a written request to the inviter for consideration and resolution.

2. The clarification of the tender documents shall be carried out by the tenderer in accordance with one or more of the following forms:

a) Sending a clarification document of the tender documents to bidders who have received the tender documents;

b) In case of necessity, organizing a pre-bid conference to exchange information on contents in the tender documents that bidders are unclear about. The content of the exchanges must be recorded in minutes and established as a clarification document of the tender documents to be sent to the bidders.

3. The clarification document of the tender documents prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article is part of the tender documents.

Article 35. Tender evaluation procedure

1. Preliminary evaluation of the bid documents to eliminate invalid bid documents that do not meet the important requirements of the tender documents.

2. Detailed evaluation of the bid documents shall be conducted in accordance with the following provisions:

a) Technical evaluation to determine bid documents that basically meet the requirements of the tender documents;

b) For procurement packages for goods, construction, and EPC contracts, determine costs on the same technical, financial, and commercial basis to compare and rank bid documents. For consultancy service procurement packages, conduct a comprehensive evaluation to compare and rank bid documents; for consultancy service procurement packages with high technical requirements, consider financial proposals from the bidder ranked first in terms of technical aspects.

Article 36. Clarification of bid documents

1. Bidders may not change or supplement bid documents after the bidding deadline.

2. After opening bids, bidders are responsible for clarifying their bid documents when requested by the tenderer. The clarification of bid documents shall be carried out through direct or indirect exchanges but must ensure that the basic content of the submitted bid documents is not changed, and the bid price is not altered. The content of the clarification of bid documents must be reflected in writing and preserved by the tenderer as part of the bid documents.

3. The clarification of bid documents can only be conducted between the tenderer and the bidder whose bid documents require clarification.

Article 37. Approval of winning bid for consultancy service tendering

A consultancy bidder will be considered for approval of winning bid if they meet all of the following conditions:

1. Having valid bid documents;

2. Having a technical proposal including capacity, experience, solutions, and personnel evaluated as meeting the requirements;

3. Having the highest combined score in technical and financial aspects; in cases where the procurement package has high technical requirements, having the highest technical score;

4. Having a proposed winning bid price not exceeding the approved procurement package price.

Article 38. Approval of winning bid for goods procurement, construction, and EPC tendering

A bidder providing goods, construction, or implementing an EPC contract will be considered for approval of winning bid if they meet all of the following conditions:

1. Having valid bid documents;

2. Being evaluated as meeting the requirements in terms of capacity and experience;

3. Having a technical proposal evaluated as meeting the requirements according to a point system or pass/fail criteria;

4. Having the lowest cost on the same basis;

5. Having a proposed winning bid price not exceeding the approved procurement package price.

Article 39. Review and audit of tender results

1. The tenderer must prepare a report on the tender results for the project owner to submit to the competent authority for review and decision-making and send it to the agency or organization responsible for auditing.

2. The agency or organization assigned the task of auditing is responsible for preparing an audit report on the tender results based on the project owner's report to submit to the competent authority for review and decision-making.

Article 40. Approval of tender results

1. The competent authority is responsible for reviewing and approving the tender results based on the report on the tender results and the audit report on the tender results.

2. In cases where there is a winning bidder, the approval document of the tender results must include the following contents:

a) Name of the winning bidder;

b) Winning bid price;

c) Contract form;

d) Contract performance period;

đ) Any other necessary contents (if any).

3. In cases where there is no winning bidder, the approval document of the tender results must clearly state that no bidder won the bid and cancel the tender to select a bidder in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Article 41. Notification of tender results

1. The notification of tender results shall be made immediately after the competent authority's decision to approve the tender results.

2. In the notification of tender results, there is no need to explain reasons to non-winning bidders.

Article 42. Negotiation, completion, and signing of the contract

1. The negotiation and completion of the contract for signing with the winning bidder must be based on the following:

a) Approved tender results;

b) A contract template filled with specific information of the procurement package;

c) Requirements stated in the tender documents;

d) Contents stated in the bid documents and explanations clarifying the bid documents of the winning bidder (if any);

đ) Contents that need to be negotiated and completed between the tenderer and the winning bidder.

2. The results of negotiations and completion of the contract serve as the basis for the project owner and the winning bidder to sign the contract.

3. If negotiations and completion of the contract fail, the project owner must report to the competent authority for consideration of selecting the next-ranked bidder. If the next-ranked bidders also do not meet the requirements, the project owner must report to the competent authority for consideration and decision.

Section 4
CANCELLATION OF TENDER AND DISQUALIFICATION OF BID DOCUMENTS

Article 43. Cancellation of tender

1. Cancellation of tender shall be applied in one of the following cases:

a) Change in investment objectives and scope already stated in the tender documents;

b) Evidence showing collusion between the tenderer and bidders;

c) All bid documents basically do not meet the requirements of the tender documents;

d) Evidence showing collusion among all bidders affecting the interests of the tenderer.

2. Based on the decision of the competent authority, the tenderer is responsible for notifying participating bidders of the cancellation of the tender.

Article 44. Financial responsibility when cancelling the tender

1. In cases where the cancellation of the tender is not due to the fault of the bidder, the tenderer is responsible for compensating participating bidders for their tender participation costs based on current State regulations and standards, except in cases where the tender is cancelled due to no bidder meeting the requirements of the tender documents.

2. In case of canceling the bidding due to changes in investment objectives or scope, the compensation costs shall be decided by the competent authority and taken from the project's budget. In cases where cancellation is due to other reasons caused by the bidder's fault, the relevant individuals within the bidder shall bear the responsibility for payment.

3. In case of canceling the bidding due to collusion between the bidder and one or more contractors, the relevant individuals shall bear the responsibility for compensating the other contractors for their costs.

Article 45. Disqualification of Bidding Documents

Bidding documents shall be disqualified in the following cases:

1. Failure to meet the important requirements of the bidding invitation;

2. Failure to meet technical requirements based on evaluation criteria;

3. Arithmetic errors with an absolute total value exceeding 10% of the bid price, except for consultancy service contracts or where the contractor does not accept arithmetic errors discovered by the bidder;

4. Deviations with an absolute total value exceeding 10% of the bid price, except for consultancy service contracts.

Chapter III

CONTRACT

Article 46. Principles for Contract Formation

1. The contract must comply with the provisions of this Law and related laws.

2. In the case of a joint venture contractor, the contract signed with the project owner must have signatures from all participating members of the joint venture.

3. The contract price may not exceed the winning bid price, except as provided for in Clause 4 of this Article.

4. In cases where additional work volume or quantity of goods outside the scope of the bidding invitation leads to the contract price exceeding the winning bid price, such situations must be reviewed and decided upon by the competent authority.

Article 47. Contents of the Contract

1. Object of the contract.

2. Quantity, volume.

3. Specifications, quality, and other technical requirements.

4. Contract price.

5. Form of the contract.

6. Time and progress schedule.

7. Conditions and methods of payment.

8. Acceptance and handover conditions.

9. Warranty for purchased goods and construction installation content.

10. Rights and obligations of the parties.

11. Liability for breach of contract.

12. Duration of the contract's validity.

13. Other contents according to each form of the contract.

Article 48. Forms of Contracts

1. Lump-sum form.

2. Unit-price form.

3. Time-based form.

4. Percentage form.

Article 49. Lump-Sum Form

1. The lump-sum form is applied to works whose quantities and volumes are clearly defined.

2. The contract price remains unchanged throughout the contract period. The project owner pays the contractor the exact amount stated in the contract when the contractor fulfills its obligations under the contract.

Article 50. Unit-Price Form

1. The unit-price form is applied to works that do not yet have sufficient conditions to accurately determine quantities or volumes.

2. The project owner pays the contractor based on the actual quantities or volumes completed, using the unit prices specified in the contract or adjusted unit prices accepted according to Article 57 of this Law.

Article 51. Time-Based Form

1. The time-based form is applied to complex research works, design consultancy, construction supervision, training, and instruction.

2. The project owner pays the contractor based on the actual working months, weeks, days, or hours, using the remuneration rates for experts specified in the contract or adjusted remuneration rates accepted according to Article 57 of this Law.

Article 52. Percentage Form

1. The percentage form shall be applied to ordinary and simple consultancy works.

2. The contract price shall not change throughout the performance period of the contract. The contract price shall be calculated as a percentage of the value of the project or the volume of work. The investor shall pay the contractor the exact amount stated in the contract when the contractor fulfills its obligations under the contract.

Article 53. Multiple Sub-contracts within a Main Contract

In cases where a main contract includes one or more sub-contracts under the forms of contracts stipulated in Articles 49, 50, 51, and 52 of this Law, the payment principles specified in the corresponding articles shall apply.

Article 54. Signing the Contract

1. The contract shall be signed based on the following documents:

a) Results of negotiations and completion of the contract;

b) Decision approving and notification of the tender selection results;

c) Tender documents and explanatory materials clarifying the tender documents of the selected bidder;

d) Tender invitation documents.

2. The signing of the contract must ensure the following conditions:

a) The tender documents of the selected bidder remain valid;

b) Information about the technical and financial capacity of the bidder updated at the time of signing the contract must meet the requirements of the tender invitation documents.

Article 55. Contract Performance Guarantee

1. The successful bidder must implement measures to guarantee the performance of the contract before the contract becomes effective, except for consultancy service procurement areas and self-execution forms.

2. The value of the performance guarantee shall be specified in the tender invitation documents and shall not exceed 10% of the contract price; in cases of high risk prevention, the performance guarantee value must be higher but not exceeding 30% of the contract price and must be approved by the competent authority.

3. The validity period of the performance guarantee must extend until the warranty obligation is transferred (if applicable).

4. The bidder shall not reclaim the performance guarantee in cases of refusal to perform the contract after it has become effective.

Article 56. Warranty

Contracts containing provisions on goods procurement and construction installation shall include warranty terms. The warranty period, warranty amount, and other warranty contents specified in the contract must comply with legal regulations.

The Government shall specify detailed regulations on warranties for goods procurement and construction installation content in contracts.

Article 57. Amending the Contract

1. Contract amendments shall only apply to unit price contracts, time-based contracts, and shall be implemented according to the following provisions:

a) In cases where the State changes tax and wage policies directly affecting the contract price, such adjustments shall be made according to these policies from the date they take effect;

b) In cases where there is an increase or decrease in quantity during the contract execution process within the scope of the tender invitation documents and not due to the bidder's fault, the calculation of the increased or decreased value must be based on the contract unit price;

c) In cases where fuel, material, and equipment prices listed in the contract, which are controlled by the State, have significant fluctuations directly impacting the contract execution, a report must be submitted to the competent authority for review and decision.

2. Contract amendments shall only apply during the contract execution period as stipulated in the signed contract and must be reviewed and decided by the competent authority. The adjusted contract price shall not exceed the budget estimate, total budget estimate, or tender package price approved in the bidding plan, except in cases approved by the competent authority.

3. In cases where reasonable additional works outside the scope of the tender invitation documents arise, the investor shall negotiate with the contracted bidder to calculate and supplement the additional works and report to the competent authority for review and decision. If the negotiation fails, the additional work content will form a new tender package and proceed with selecting the bidder according to the provisions of this Law.

Article 58. Payment of Contracts

The contract price and specific terms regarding payment recorded in the contract serve as the basis for the project owner to pay the contractor.

Article 59. Supervision of Implementation, Acceptance, and Termination of Contracts

1. The supervision of contract implementation shall be carried out in accordance with the following provisions:

a) The project owner is responsible for supervising the contractor in the performance of the contract;

b) Individuals assigned the task of supervising contract implementation must ensure impartiality, honesty, objectivity, have sufficient capacity, experience, and specialized knowledge to perform their duties, and must bear responsibility before the project owner and the law for the performance of their tasks;

c) If the consulting contractor supervises construction negligently or colludes with the construction contractor to confirm incorrect quantities or quality of works, the consulting contractor and the construction contractor must compensate for losses and be subject to handling according to Article 75 of this Law and relevant laws;

d) Community residents participate in monitoring tendering activities as prescribed by the Government.

2. Contract acceptance shall be carried out in accordance with the following provisions:

a) Partial or full contract acceptance must be conducted in accordance with the contents of the signed contract;

b) Individuals participating in the acceptance process must ensure impartiality, honesty, objectivity, have sufficient capacity, experience, and specialized knowledge, and must bear responsibility under the law for the performance of their tasks.

3. The termination of contracts must be completed within forty-five days from the date when the project owner and the contractor fulfill their obligations under the contract; in cases where the tender package is truly complex, the contract termination period may be extended but not exceeding ninety days.

Chapter IV

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES IN TENDERING

Article 60. Responsibilities of the Authorized Person

1. Approving the tender plan.

2. Approving or authorizing the approval of the tender invitation documents.

3. Approving or authorizing the approval of the selection results of contractors.

4. Deciding on handling situations during tendering.

5. Resolving complaints during tendering.

6. Handling violations of tendering laws as stipulated in Article 75 of this Law and other relevant laws.

7. Bearing legal responsibility for their decisions.

Article 61. Rights and Obligations of the Project Owner

1. Deciding on matters related to prequalification of contractors.

2. Approving the list of contractors participating in the tender.

3. Establishing a tender expert team; selecting a consulting organization or a professional tendering organization as prescribed by this Law to act as the tender inviter.

4. Approving the list of contractors meeting technical requirements and ranking lists of contractors.

5. Approving the direct award results for cases specified in point a and point đ Clause 1 Article 20 of this Law.

6. Being responsible for the requirements set for direct award packages.

7. Being responsible for the content of the contract, signing the contract with the selected contractor, and fulfilling commitments made in the signed contract with the contractor.

8. Bearing legal responsibility for the contractor selection process as prescribed by this Law.

9. Compensating related parties for damages caused by their own fault according to the law.

10. Providing information to the tender newspaper and the tender electronic information website.

11. Resolving complaints during tendering.

12. Securing tendering documents according to the provisions of this Law.

Article 62. Rights and Obligations of the Tender Inviter

1. The tender inviter has the following rights and obligations:

a) Preparing for tendering, organizing tendering, evaluating tender documents according to the provisions of this Law;

b) Requesting contractors to clarify tender documents during the evaluation process;

c) Summarizing the contractor selection process and reporting to the project owner on the preliminary qualification results and contractor selection results;

d) Negotiating and finalizing the contract based on approved contractor selection results;

đ) Preparing contract content for the project owner to review and sign the contract;

e) Ensuring honesty, objectivity, and fairness during the tendering process;

g) Compensating related parties for damages caused by their own fault according to the law;

h) Providing information to the tender newspaper and the tender electronic information website;

i) Resolving complaints during tendering;

k) Securing tendering documents according to the provisions of this Law.

2. In cases where the tender inviter is the project owner, in addition to the rights and obligations prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, they must also comply with the provisions of Article 61 of this Law.

Article 63. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Science and Technology Rights and Obligations of the Tender Expert Team

1. Evaluating tender documents in accordance with the requirements of the tender invitation documents and the evaluation criteria stated in the tender invitation documents.

2. Securing tendering documents according to the provisions of this Law during the execution of their tasks.

3. Retaining their opinions.

4. Being honest, objective, and fair during the evaluation of tender documents and reporting the evaluation results.

5. Compensating related parties for damages caused by their own fault according to the law.

6. Fulfilling other rights and obligations as prescribed by law.

Article 64. Rights and Obligations of Contractors

1. Participating in tendering as an independent contractor or a joint venture contractor.

2. Requesting the tender inviter to clarify the tender invitation documents.

3. Fulfilling commitments under the contract with the project owner and commitments to subcontractors (if any).

4. Making complaints, lodging appeals, and filing reports during tendering.

5. Adhering to the provisions of the law on tendering.

6. Ensuring honesty and accuracy during the tendering process, complaints, appeals, and reports.

7. Compensating related parties for damages caused by their own fault according to the law.

Article 65. Rights and Obligations of Appraisal Agencies

1. Conduct activities independently, in accordance with the provisions of this Law and relevant laws when conducting appraisals.

2. Request the project owner or tender inviter to provide all related documents.

3. Maintain confidentiality of related documents during the appraisal process.

4. Be honest, impartial, and fair during the appraisal process.

5. Reserve opinions and be responsible for their appraisal reports.

6. Fulfilling other rights and obligations as prescribed by law.

Chapter V

MANAGEMENT OF TENDERING ACTIVITIES

Article 66. Contents of State Management on Tendering

1. Enact, disseminate, guide, and organize the implementation of legal documents and policies on tendering.

2. Train and enhance officials and civil servants involved in tendering work.

3. Summarize, evaluate, and report on the implementation of tendering activities.

4. Manage the tendering information system nationwide, including the tendering newspaper, the tendering electronic information website, and the national tendering network.

5. International cooperation on tendering.

6. Inspect, audit, resolve complaints, appeals, and accusations in tendering, and handle violations of tendering laws according to the provisions of this Law and relevant laws.

Article 67. Responsibilities and Authorities of the Government and the Prime Minister

1. The Government uniformly manages state affairs on tendering throughout the country.

2. The Prime Minister shall perform the following responsibilities and authorities:

a) Direct inspection work and resolve complaints in tendering according to the provisions of this Law and relevant laws on inspection;

b) Specify agencies and organizations to assist authorized persons in reviewing and approving tendering contents;

c) Decide on tendering contents stipulated in Article 60 of this Law for investment projects pursuant to the Resolution of the National Assembly;

d) Perform other responsibilities and authorities as prescribed by this Law and relevant laws.

Article 68. Responsibilities and Authorities of the Ministry of Planning and Investment

1. Bear responsibility before the Government for managing state affairs on tendering activities.

2. Appraise tender plans and results of contractor selection for packages under projects within the Prime Minister's authority to review and decide as specified in point c, Clause 2, Article 67 of this Law.

3. Construct and manage the tendering newspaper, the tendering electronic information website, and the national tendering network.

4. Serve as the focal point to assist the Government and the Prime Minister in international cooperation in the field of tendering.

5. Organize training and enhancement activities for officials and civil servants involved in tendering work.

6. Summarize, evaluate, and report on the implementation of tendering activities.

7. Resolve complaints within its authority in tendering.

8. Take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies in inspecting and auditing tendering activities nationwide.

9. Carry out other tasks on tendering assigned by the Government.

Article 69. Responsibilities and Authorities of Ministries, Equivalent Ministries, and People's Committees at All Levels

Within their respective powers and duties, ministries, equivalent ministries, and people's committees at all levels shall have the following responsibilities and authorities:

1. Implement management of tendering activities;

2. Organize training and enhancement activities for officials and civil servants involved in tendering work;

3. Summarize and evaluate the implementation of tendering activities;

4. Report on tendering activities as prescribed by the Government;

5. Resolve complaints in tendering according to the provisions of this Law;

6. Inspect and audit tendering activities;

7. Handle violations of tendering laws against organizations and individuals involved in tendering activities;

8. In cases where the Minister, Head of an equivalent ministry, or Chairman of a people's committee at any level is the authorized person, they must also perform responsibilities as prescribed in Article 60 of this Law.

Article 70. Handling Situations in Tendering

Handling situations in tendering must comply with the following principles:

a) Ensuring competition, fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency;

b) Based on approved tender plans, contents of tender invitation documents and tender submission documents of participating contractors;

c) The authorized person is the decision-maker for handling situations in tendering and bears legal responsibility for their decisions.

2. Groups of situations in tendering include:

a) Regarding preparation and organization of tendering, including adjustments to tender plans regarding package prices or other package contents; tender invitation documents; late tender submissions or low quantities; number of contractors participating in tendering.

b) Regarding evaluation of tender submission documents, including tender prices exceeding package prices; abnormal unit prices in tender submissions.

c) Regarding awarding tenders and signing contracts, including tender acceptance prices below 50% of package prices or approved budgets; two tender submissions having the best evaluation results but being equal; proposed contract prices exceeding approved tender acceptance prices.

d) Related procedures and sequences of tendering.

The Government shall specify detailed regulations on handling situations in tendering.

Article 71. Inspection of Bidding

1. Bidding inspection shall be conducted for organizations and individuals related to bidding activities to implement tender packages under projects as stipulated in Article 1 of this Law.

2. Bidding inspection is specialized inspection in the field of bidding. The organization and operation of bidding inspection shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on inspection.

Article 72. Handling of Complaints in Bidding

1. Bidder participants have the right to lodge complaints about the selection results of contractors and related issues during the bidding process.

2. The person responsible for handling bidder complaints in bidding is the tenderer, the project owner, and the authority. For complaints regarding the selection results of contractors, the authority shall resolve the bidder's complaint based on the Report of the Advisory Board on Complaint Resolution as prescribed in Article 73 of this Law.

3. For complaints about related issues during the bidding process that are not the selection results of contractors, the time limit for lodging complaints shall be calculated from the occurrence of the event until before the announcement of the bidding results. For complaints about the selection results of contractors, the maximum time limit for lodging complaints is ten days from the date of announcement of the bidding results.

Article 73. Procedure for Handling Complaints in Bidding

1. The handling of complaints about related issues during the bidding process shall be carried out according to the following provisions:

a) The tenderer shall be responsible for resolving bidder complaints in bidding within a maximum period of five working days from the date of receipt of the bidder's application. In cases where the tenderer cannot resolve the issue or the bidder disagrees with the tenderer's resolution, the bidder has the right to submit the application to the project owner for review and resolution in accordance with point b of this clause;

b) The project owner shall be responsible for resolving bidder complaints in bidding within a maximum period of seven working days from the date of receipt of the bidder's application. In cases where the project owner cannot resolve the issue or the bidder disagrees with the project owner's resolution, the bidder has the right to submit the application to the authority for review and resolution in accordance with point c of this clause;

c) The authority shall be responsible for resolving bidder complaints in bidding within a maximum period of ten working days from the date of receipt of the bidder's application. In cases where the authority cannot resolve the issue or the bidder disagrees with the authority's resolution, the bidder has the right to initiate legal proceedings in court.

2. The handling of complaints about the selection results of contractors shall be carried out according to the following provisions:

a) As provided in point a of Clause 1 of this Article;

b) As provided in point b of Clause 1 of this Article. However, in cases where the project owner cannot resolve the issue or the bidder disagrees with the project owner's resolution, the bidder has the right to simultaneously submit the application to the authority and the Chairman of the Advisory Board on Complaint Resolution for review and resolution in accordance with point c of this clause;

c) The Advisory Board on Complaint Resolution (hereinafter referred to as the Advisory Board) shall be responsible for requesting the bidder, the project owner, and relevant agencies related to the tender package to provide necessary information, documents, and opinions to form a Report on the work results. If necessary, the Advisory Board may directly work with related parties to clarify the issue. The maximum time limit for the Advisory Board to work until the Report on the work results is twenty days from the date of receipt of the bidder's application. The Advisory Board shall have a Chairman representing the state management agency on bidding, members including representatives of the authority and related professional associations. Within a maximum period of five working days from the date of receipt of the Advisory Board's Report on the work results, the authority must make a decision to resolve the bidder's complaint. In cases where the bidder disagrees with the authority's resolution, the bidder has the right to initiate legal proceedings in court.

3. When there is a complaint in bidding, the bidder has the right to immediately initiate legal proceedings in court. In cases where the bidder chooses not to initiate legal proceedings in court, the procedures shall be carried out in accordance with Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

The Government shall specify detailed regulations on complaint resolution and the operation of the Advisory Board.

Article 74. Complaints and Reports in Bidding

The filing of complaints and reports and the resolution of such complaints and reports in bidding shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the laws on complaints and reports.

Article 75. Handling Violations of Laws on Bidding

1. Organizations and individuals violating laws on bidding shall be subject to one or more of the following forms of handling:

a) Warning shall be applied to organizations and individuals who violate the provisions of the Bidding Law outside the cases stipulated in Article 12 of this Law;

b) Fine shall be imposed on organizations and individuals whose actions violate the Bidding Law causing damage to the interests of related parties;

c) Prohibition from participating in bidding activities shall be applied to organizations and individuals who violate the provisions of Article 12 of this Law.

2. Individuals violating the Bidding Law shall be subject to criminal penalties as prescribed by the laws on criminal matters if their actions constitute crimes.

3. Organizations and individuals violating the Bidding Law, in addition to being handled according to the provisions of Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, shall also have their violations published in the bidding newspaper and on the bidding electronic information website.

The Government shall specify in detail the handling of violations of laws on bidding.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 76. Implementation Guidance

The Government shall promulgate detailed regulations and provide guidance on the implementation of this Law.

Article 77. Effectiveness

This Law takes effect from April 1, 2006./.

This Law was passed by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the eleventh session, the eighth meeting, on November 29, 2005.