Circular No. 68/2012/TT-BTC on bidding for the procurement of assets to maintain the regular operation of state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-professional organizations, social organizations, and people's armed units.

CIRCULAR

Article provides for tendering to purchase assets to maintain regular operations of state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-professional organizations, social organizations, and people's armed units.

Political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-professional organizations, social organizations, and people's armed units.

social organizations, occupational social organizations, people's armed units

___________________________

 

Pursuant to the State Budget Law No. 01/2002/QH11 dated December 16, 2002;

Pursuant to the Law on State Asset Management and Use No. 09/2008/QH12 dated June 3, 2008;

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 Basic Construction Investment No. 38/2009/QH12 dated June 19, 2009;

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

The Minister of Finance promulgates this Circular amending and supplementing Clause 1, Article 15 and the attached forms of Circular No. 86/2013/TT-BTC dated June 27, 2013 of the Ministry of Finance concerning the application of preferential treatment regimes in customs administration for enterprises meeting the required conditions as follows:

Considering the proposal of the Director of the Administrative and Public Service Financial Department;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular providing for tendering to purchase assets to maintain regular operations of state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-professional organizations, social organizations, and people's armed units.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of application

State agencies, public institutions, public science and technology organizations, units under the people's armed forces, Party organizations of the Communist Party of Vietnam, political-socio organizations, socio-professional organizations, social organizations, when purchasing assets, goods, and services (excluding construction investment projects) to maintain regular operations from sources of funds as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Circular must conduct bidding in accordance with the provisions of this Circular and relevant laws.

Article 2. Scope of Regulation

1. Contents of asset procurement as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 1 of the Law on Bidding include:

a) Equipment and working tools as prescribed in Decision No. 170/2006/QĐ-TTg dated July 18, 2006 of the Prime Minister on the issuance of regulations on standards and quotas for equipment and working tools of agencies and state officials and civil servants;

b) Materials, tools, and equipment to ensure regular operation;

c) Machinery and equipment serving specialized work, ensuring labor safety, fire prevention, and firefighting;

d) Procurement of uniforms (including material procurement and tailoring);

đ) Information technology projects using non-profit funds as prescribed in Decree No. 102/2009/NĐ-CP dated November 6, 2009 of the Government on management of investment in information technology application using state budget funds; including IT products such as machines, equipment, accessories, software, and other IT products, services, installation, testing, and warranty (if applicable);

e) Transportation means: cars, motorcycles, ships, boats, and other transportation means (if applicable);

Printed products, documents, forms, publications, seals; cultural products, books, documents, films, and other products, services for propaganda, promotion, and specialized work;

h) Maintenance, repair, and service of machinery, equipment, working tools, transportation means; leasing office space and other assets; leasing transmission lines; insurance services; electricity, water, fixed telephone, and other services;

i) Consulting services (technology selection consulting, pre-bid evaluation consulting, and other procurement consulting services);

k) Industrial property rights, intellectual property rights (if applicable);

Other goods, assets, and services purchased to maintain regular operations of agencies and units.

The above goods, assets, and services are collectively referred to as assets.

2. Sources of funds for asset procurement include:

a) State budget funds allocated by competent authorities in annual state budget expenditure plans of agencies and units;

b) Credit guaranteed by the state, other funds managed by the state (if applicable);

c) Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans at preferential rates (except where loan agreements or international treaties provide otherwise);

d) Donations and grants from individuals and organizations within and outside the country included in the state budget (except where procurement is required by the donor);

đ) Income from fees and charges used according to the law;

e) Funds from development activity funds, welfare funds of public institutions, and public science and technology organizations;

g) Other lawful income (if applicable).

Article 3. This Circular shall not apply to the following cases:

1. Procurement of materials and equipment under investment construction projects.

2. Procurement of special-purpose equipment and means for national defense and security.

Article 4. Forms of contractor selection

Include open tendering, selective tendering, direct award, direct procurement, competitive bidding, self-execution, and selection of contractors in special cases.

Based on a written notification approving the budget funds, contents of goods and services to be procured for one fiscal year or implementation phase for each type of goods and services by the competent authority, the Heads of agencies and units shall apply the forms of contractor selection for asset procurement in accordance with regulations. Strictly prohibit splitting tenders to implement procurement through non-tendering methods or selecting tendering forms that do not comply with regulations, or intentionally deciding on asset procurement, approving tender plans, tender documents, and contractor selection results without ensuring compliance with the authority stipulated in Chapter II of this Circular and the delegation at the unit level.

Chapter II

AUTHORITY IN TENDERING

Article 5. Authority to decide on asset procurement

1. The Minister, the Head of an agency equivalent to a Ministry, the head of other central agencies (hereinafter referred to as the Head of a central agency), and the Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels shall decide on asset procurement for agencies and units under their management according to current regulations.

The Head of a central agency shall base decisions or delegate authority to decide on asset procurement for agencies and units under their management based on actual circumstances.

Based on the delegation by the Provincial People's Council, the Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels shall decide on the delegation of authority to decide on asset procurement at agencies and units under their management according to current regulations.

2. The Heads of budgetary units at all levels shall decide on asset procurement within the scope delegated by the superior managing agency.

3. The Heads of public service organizations shall decide on asset procurement from the development fund for service activities and welfare fund in accordance with Clause a, Paragraph 3, Article 5 of Decree No. 43/2006/NĐ-CP dated April 25, 2006 of the Government detailing the rights of autonomy and responsibility for performing tasks, organizational structure, staffing, and finance for public service organizations; Paragraph 2, Article 41 of Decree No. 52/2009/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2009 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on State Asset Management and Usage and relevant laws and regulations of the superior agency.

4. The Heads of public science and technology organizations shall decide on asset procurement from the development fund for service activities and welfare fund in accordance with Paragraph 3, Article 8 of Decree No. 115/2005/NĐ-CP dated September 5, 2005 of the Government detailing the mechanism of autonomy and responsibility for public science and technology organizations; Paragraph 2, Article 41 of Decree No. 52/2009/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2009 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on State Asset Management and Usage and relevant laws and regulations of the superior agency.

5. The person authorized to decide on asset procurement as stipulated in Paragraphs 1, 2, 3, and 4 above, or specialized organizations with sufficient capacity and experience assigned by the person authorized to decide on asset procurement to organize tendering in accordance with the law on tendering shall be collectively referred to as the Tender Inviter.

Article 6. Authority to Approve Tendering Plans

The heads of central agencies; Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels; the heads of agencies and units with authority to decide on asset procurement as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular shall approve tendering plans within their procurement decision-making authority according to regulations.

Article 7. Authority to Approve Bidding Documents and Approval of Bid Results

The heads of central agencies, Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels; the heads of agencies and units with authority to decide on asset procurement as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular shall approve bidding documents and bid results within their procurement decision-making authority, or may delegate (or assign) such approval to subordinate levels depending on specific circumstances.

Chapter III

PROCUREMENT TENDERING PLAN FOR ASSETS

Article 8. Basis for Establishing Procurement Tendering Plans for Assets

1. Standards and quotas for equipment and working tools of agencies and civil servants, public officials, and employees; existing equipment that needs replacement, supplementary purchase, or new acquisition to meet work requirements.

2. Asset procurement decisions of competent authorities (as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular).

3. Proposals for equipping the entire sector approved by the Prime Minister (if applicable).

4. Availability of funding for asset procurement as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Circular.

5. Appraisal results from agencies with appraisal functions and tasks; organizations providing appraisal services or quotations.

Article 9. Content of Each Package in the Tendering Plan

Dividing asset procurement into packages must be based on technical characteristics, implementation sequence, ensuring synchronization in procurement, and reasonable package scale. Each package has only one bidding document and is tendered once. A package is executed under one contract, and if it includes several independent parts, it can be executed under one or more contracts. The content of each package includes:

1. Name of the package.

2. Package price.

When establishing and determining the package price in the tendering plan and bidding document, the inviting agency or unit must base it on at least one of the following documents:

a) Prices of goods to be purchased from at least three different suppliers in the area to serve as the basis for determining the package price; in cases where there are fewer than three suppliers in the area, prices from other areas can be referenced to ensure at least three quotations.

b) Approved budget estimate for the package (including: type of assets, quantity, unit price...);

c) Appraisal results from agencies with appraisal functions and tasks, and organizations providing appraisal service;

For goods and services requiring price appraisal according to detailed regulations issued by the Government to implement certain provisions of the Price Ordinance and related laws, there must be a price appraisal notification from the price management agency.

d) Market prices at the time of procurement, obtained from official information published by suppliers through the Internet;

đ) Price of similar goods procurement packages in the most recent period.

3. Funding source.

4. Method of selecting contractors and tendering method.

5. Timeframe for selecting contractors.

6. Contract form.

7. Contract execution timeframe.

Article 10. Submitting for approval of tender plans

1. Responsibilities for submission:

The head of the agency or unit (or the head of department, office, division) assigned by the superior agency or unit head (or their own agency or unit head) to purchase assets shall submit the tender plan for approval by the authorized person to approve tender plans as stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular for examination and approval; at the same time, send it to the appraisal agency or organization or department as specified in Article 37 of this Circular.

2. Documents for submission:

a) The submission document includes:

- Part on work already completed related to preparing tenders for asset procurement, previous packages with corresponding values (if any), and legal bases for implementation.

- Part on work that cannot apply one of the forms of selecting contractors as prescribed in Articles 12, 13, 14, 33, 34, 35, and 36 of this Circular. In particular, for packages not applying open tendering, the submission document must clearly state the reasons for applying other selection methods based on compliance with current tendering regulations and this Circular.

- Part on the tender plan including works formed into packages implemented according to one of the forms of selecting contractors as prescribed in Articles 12, 13, 14, 33, 34, 35, and 36 of this Circular.

b) Supporting documents accompanying the submission document:

When submitting the tender plan for asset procurement, draft Tender Documents and copies of documents serving as the basis for formulating the tender plan as stipulated in Article 8 of this Circular must be attached.

Article 11. Approving tender plans

After receiving complete documents on the tender plan and the appraisal report, the head of the agency or unit as stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular shall be responsible for approving the tender plan, and simultaneously approving the tender documents or requesting adjustments to the tender documents (if necessary) as the basis for subordinate organizations to implement.

The approval time for the tender plan shall not exceed 10 days from the date of receipt of complete submission documents and the appraisal report of the tender plan from the appraisal agency or organization.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION OF CONTRACTORS SELECTION APPLYING OPEN TENDERING, LIMITED TENDERING AND DIRECT ASSIGNMENT

LIMITED TENDERING AND DIRECT CONTRACTING

Article 12. Open tendering

1. Selection of contractors in asset procurement as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 2 of this Circular must all be conducted through open tendering except for cases prescribed in Articles 13, 14, 33, 34, 35, and 36 of this Circular.

2. When conducting open tendering, there is no limit on the number of contractors participating in the tender. If at the closing time there are fewer than 3 (three) contractors submitting tender documents, the Inviting Party must immediately report (directly, by phone, email, fax, or in writing) to the authorized decision-maker for asset procurement for consideration and resolution within a period not exceeding 4 hours in one of the following ways: Deciding to extend the closing time to increase the number of tender documents submitted or allowing the opening of tenders to proceed with evaluating the submitted tender documents.

In case of extension, the closing time, new submission deadline, and corresponding deadlines for bidders to make amendments or supplements to their documents in accordance with new requirements must be clearly defined.

In case of reporting by phone or directly, the Inviting Party must complete the formalities in writing within a period not exceeding 10 days from the closing time.

Article 13. Restricted Bidding

Restricted bidding shall be applied in the following cases:

1. At the request of foreign sponsors for the funds used for the tender package.

2. The tender package has high technical requirements or special technical characteristics, or has research and testing nature, and only a limited number of contractors can meet the requirements of the tender package.

3. The implementation of restricted bidding must be approved in the bidding plan. The tender inviter must invite at least five (5) contractors identified as having sufficient capacity and experience to participate in the bidding; in cases where there are fewer than five contractors, the head of the agency or unit with authority as stipulated in Clause 5 of this Circular shall examine and decide whether to continue organizing restricted bidding or apply another selection method.

Article 14. Direct Assignment

Direct assignment shall be applied in the following cases:

1. Procurement of goods to address emergencies caused by natural disasters, enemy actions, or situations requiring immediate rectification.

2. Tender packages due to the requirements of foreign sponsors.

3. Tender packages that involve national secrets and require direct assignment to ensure confidentiality as prescribed by laws on secrecy.

4. Procurement of goods that have been permitted by the Prime Minister for direct assignment.

5. Goods produced and supplied by a single manufacturer with a unified price nationwide.

6. Service consultancy tender packages with a value not exceeding 500,000,000 VND (five hundred million VND), and procurement asset packages within project plans or regular procurement budgets with a value not exceeding 100,000,000 VND (one hundred million VND); in cases deemed necessary, the head of the agency or unit with authority may decide to organize public bidding as prescribed.

7. Procurement of assets to restore, maintain, upgrade, or expand the capacity of equipment, production lines, infrastructure, or information technology software previously purchased from a single supplier and cannot be sourced from other suppliers due to compatibility issues or inefficiency, which would increase costs.

When implementing direct assignment, a contractor must be selected who is determined to have sufficient capacity and experience to meet the requirements of the tender package, and must comply with the procedures for direct assignment as stipulated in Article 32 of this Circular.

Section 1

PROCEDURES FOR WIDE AND RESTRICTED BIDDING FOR TENDER PACKAGES

CONSULTANCY SERVICES WHERE THE CONTRACTOR IS AN ORGANIZATION

Article 15. Preparing for Bidding

1. Selecting a list of contractors to invite to bid (shortlist). Depending on the specific nature and conditions of each tender package, when conducting wide bidding, the purchasing agency or unit may immediately issue a tender notice according to Clause 4 of this Article or apply the procedure for selecting a shortlist of consultancy contractors to invite to bid, but it must be approved in the bidding plan by the authorized person. The procedure for selecting a shortlist of consultancy contractors to invite to bid includes:

a) For wide bidding:

- The head of the purchasing agency or unit approves the prequalification document including requirements for professional capacity and the number of experts; experience requirements;

- Evaluation criteria for prequalification documents are established based on "pass" or "fail" standards and must be stated in the prequalification document, including standards for professional capacity and the number of experts; standards for experience;

- The announcement inviting submission of prequalification documents (including English for international bidding) must be sent for publication in the Bidding Newspaper for a minimum of three consecutive issues. In addition to the required publication, simultaneous publication on other mass media may also be conducted;

- From the first day of publishing the announcement inviting submission of prequalification documents, the tender inviter shall issue free prequalification documents to contractors interested in participating until the deadline for submitting prequalification documents. If agencies or units conducting procurement fail to issue prequalification documents as prescribed or engage in any behavior limiting contractors from obtaining prequalification documents, they will be subject to penalties under current regulations prohibiting participation in bidding activities;

- The time for contractors to prepare prequalification documents must be a minimum of ten days for domestic bidding and twenty days for international bidding, starting from the first day of issuing prequalification documents;

- The tender inviter evaluates the prequalification documents submitted by contractors according to the evaluation criteria, selects them, and submits the shortlist for approval by the head of the purchasing agency or unit.

b) For restricted bidding:

The tender inviter determines a shortlist consisting of at least five contractors with sufficient capacity, experience, and interest in participating in the bidding, and submits it for approval by the head of the purchasing agency or unit. In cases where there are fewer than five contractors, the purchasing agency or unit must submit for examination and decision by the head of the higher-level agency to either continue organizing restricted bidding or apply another selection method.

2. Preparing the tender invitation document:

a) Basis for preparing the tender invitation:

- A list of budget items approved by the authorized body;

- The procurement decision of the authorized agency and related documents;

- The approved bidding plan;

- Laws and regulations on bidding and related laws; international treaties or international agreements (if applicable) for projects using ODA funds;

- State policies on taxes, salaries, preferential treatment in international bidding, or other relevant provisions;

In cases where the tender package needs to be implemented before the procurement decision is made, the organization assigned to prepare the project shall establish the tender invitation document based on relevant documents and submit it for approval by the head of the project preparation agency.

b) Content of the tender invitation:

The tender invitation document must include contents as prescribed by the Law on Bidding and the tender invitation document template (issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment), including important requirements (preconditions) serving as grounds for rejecting tender proposals, specifically as follows:

- The bidder's name is not on the list of those purchasing the tender invitation documents, or the bidder changes its status (name) participating in the bidding compared to when purchasing the tender invitation documents, contrary to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 16 of this Circular;

- The bidder does not ensure legitimate status as prescribed in Article 7 of the Law on Bidding;

- There is no original bidding dossier;

- The bid proposal is not valid;

- The bidding dossier contains a non-fixed bid price or multiple bid prices;

- The validity of the bidding dossier does not meet the requirements stipulated in the tender invitation documents;

- The bidder appears in two or more bidding dossiers as the main contractor (independent contractor or member of a consortium);

- The bidder violates one of the prohibited acts in bidding as prescribed in Article 12 of the Law on Bidding and Clause 3, Article 2 of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Laws Related to Investment in Construction Projects;

- Other important specific requirements of the bidding package;

A bidder violating any of the preconditions stipulated in the tender invitation documents will be disqualified and their bidding dossier will not be further considered;

3. Approving the tender invitation documents: carried out according to the provisions of Article 7 of this Circular;

4. Inviting bids:

a) Announcing the tender invitation:

In cases where the shortlist procedure is not applied, the head of the agency or unit deciding to purchase sends the tender invitation announcement for publication (including in English for international bidding) according to the Model Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment on the Bidding Newspaper and the Electronic Information Portal on Bidding for at least three consecutive issues. In addition to the publication as required above, it may also be published simultaneously on other mass media (if deemed necessary);

b) Sending the tender invitation letter:

The tenderer sends the tender invitation letter to the bidders listed to participate in the bidding as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article. The time from sending the tender invitation letter to issuing the tender invitation documents must be at least five days for domestic bidding and seven days for international bidding;

Article 16. Organizing Bidding

1. Issuing the tender invitation documents:

a) The tenderer sells the tender invitation documents to bidders participating in open bidding (in cases where the shortlist procedure is not applied) and to bidders in the shortlist at the selling price prescribed in Clause 3, Article 39 of this Circular before the closing time of the tender. For a consortium bidder, only one member of the consortium needs to purchase the tender invitation documents;

If the tenderer fails to sell the tender invitation documents as prescribed or engages in any act that restricts bidders from purchasing the tender invitation documents, they will be dealt with according to the current regulations prohibiting participation in bidding activities;

b) Amendments and clarifications to the tender invitation documents shall be carried out according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 33 and Article 34 of the Law on Bidding;

2. Preparing the bidding dossier:

The bidder prepares and submits the bidding dossier according to the requirements of the tender invitation documents. If the bidder needs to change its status (name) participating in the bidding compared to when purchasing the tender invitation documents, they must notify the tenderer in writing before the closing time. The tenderer will consider the following cases:

a) For open bidding, the change of status will be accepted upon receipt of the bidder's written notification before the closing time;

b) For restricted bidding, after the shortlist stage, the tenderer will consider each case individually and report to the head of the agency or unit purchasing for a decision on accepting or not accepting the change of status of the bidder before the closing time, but must ensure competition, fairness, and transparency in the bidding process;

3. Receiving and managing the bidding dossiers: The tenderer receives and manages submitted bidding dossiers under the "Confidential" file management system. Dossiers submitted after the closing time are invalid and will be rejected. Any documents sent by the bidder after the closing time to amend or supplement the submitted bidding dossier are invalid (except for clarifying the bidding dossier upon the tenderer's request);

4. Amending or withdrawing the bidding dossier: When wishing to amend or withdraw a submitted bidding dossier, the bidder must submit a written request, and the tenderer will only approve if they receive the bidder's written request before the closing time; the withdrawal request must be sent separately from the bidding dossier;

5. Opening technical proposals:

a) The opening of bids must be conducted publicly immediately after the closing time as specified in the tender invitation documents, in the presence of witnesses, regardless of whether the invited bidders are present or absent. The tenderer may invite representatives of relevant agencies to attend the bid opening ceremony;

b) The tenderer proceeds to open the technical proposals of each bidder in alphabetical order of the bidder's name and follows the following sequence:

- Checking the sealing;

- Open the dossier, read and record the following key information in the minutes:

+ Bidder's name;

+ Number of original and copied documents;

+ Validity period of the dossier;

+ Written request for amendment of the dossier (if any);

+ Other related information;

The bid opening minutes need to be signed and confirmed by representatives of the bidders, representatives of the tenderer, and representatives of relevant agencies attending;

After the bid opening, the tenderer must sign and confirm each page of the original technical proposal dossier of each bidding dossier and manage them under the "Confidential" file management system. The evaluation of the technical proposal will be based on the copies. The bidder is responsible for the accuracy and consistency between the copy and the original as well as the sealing of the bidding dossier.

Article 17. Evaluation of Bidding Documents

The evaluation of bidding documents shall be based on the evaluation criteria and other requirements stated in the bidding invitation, in accordance with the principles set forth in the Law on Bidding, the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of related laws on basic construction investment, and this Circular.

After opening the bids, the bidder shall clarify their bidding documents upon request from the tenderer as stipulated in Article 36 of the Law on Bidding. In cases where the bidding documents lack required documents such as Business Registration Certificate, Investment Certificate, Decision on Establishment, relevant professional certificates, and other documents requested in the bidding invitation, the tenderer shall require the bidder to supplement these documents to prove the bidder's legitimate status, capacity, and experience without altering the fundamental content of the submitted bidding documents or changing the bid price.

1. Preliminary Assessment:

a) Verify the validity of the technical proposal according to the requirements of the bidding invitation:

- The validity of the bid form. The bid form must be fully completed and signed by the legal representative of the bidder as required by the bidding invitation. For joint venture bidders, the bid form must be signed by the legal representative of each joint venture member, except when the joint venture agreement specifies that members authorize the lead member to sign the bid form.

- The validity of the joint venture agreement. The joint venture agreement must clearly define the responsibilities, authorities, workload, and corresponding value of each member, including the lead member, along with the lead member’s responsibilities, signatures of the members, and seals (if applicable).

- Possession of one of the valid documents as required by the bidding invitation: Business Registration Certificate, Investment Certificate, Decision on Establishment; Legal Operation Registration Certificate; relevant professional certificate.

- The number of original and photocopied technical proposal documents.

- Any appendices and accompanying documents with the bidding documents.

b) Eliminate bidding documents that do not meet important requirements (preconditions) specified in the bidding invitation.

2. Detailed Assessment:

a) Evaluation of bidding documents for consultancy service packages that do not require high technical expertise:

- Technical evaluation: Evaluate according to the technical evaluation criteria specified in the bidding invitation. The head of the agency or unit implementing procurement or the authorized body as provided in Article 5 of this Circular shall approve a list of bidders meeting the technical requirements to proceed with financial evaluation.

- Financial evaluation: Publicly open the financial proposals of bidders meeting the technical requirements in accordance with the procedures stipulated in Point b Clause 5 Article 16 of this Circular. The minutes of the financial proposal opening shall include the following main information:

+ Bidder's name;

+ Number of original and copied documents;

+ The bid price recorded in the bid form;

+ The technical points of bidding documents achieving the minimum required level or higher;

+ Other related information.

After opening the bids, the tenderer must sign confirmation on each page of the original financial proposal document of each bidding document and manage it under the confidential file management system. The financial evaluation shall be conducted based on copies, and the bidder shall be responsible for the accuracy and consistency between the original and copy as well as the sealing of the financial proposal document. The financial evaluation shall be based on the financial evaluation criteria specified in the bidding invitation.

- Comprehensive evaluation: Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of both technical and financial aspects according to the comprehensive evaluation criteria specified in the bidding invitation. The bidder with the highest total score shall be presented by the tenderer to the head of the purchasing agency or unit for approval by the authorized person as stipulated in Article 7 of this Circular to rank first and be invited to negotiate the contract as prescribed.

b) Evaluation of bidding documents for consultancy service packages requiring high technical expertise:

Evaluate the technical proposal according to the evaluation criteria specified in the bidding invitation. Bidding documents achieving a technical score not lower than the minimum required score shall be considered as meeting the technical requirements and ranked by the tenderer to present to the head of the purchasing agency or unit for approval by the authorized person as stipulated in Article 7 of this Circular. The first-ranked bidder will be invited to open the financial proposal and negotiate the contract as prescribed in Article 19 of this Circular.

Article 18. Reviewing, examining, approving, and announcing the tender results

1. The reviewing, examining, and approving of tender results shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Articles 5, 7, 37, and 38 of this Circular.

2. Announcing the tender results: immediately upon receiving the decision to approve the tender results, the tender inviter must send a notification of the tender results to all participating bidders; for the successful bidder, a negotiation plan and contract completion plan must also be sent. In the announcement of the tender results, there is no need to explain the reasons for non-successful bidders.

Article 19. Negotiating, discussing, completing the contract, and signing the contract.

1. Contents of contract negotiations

a) Detailed tasks and scope of work that the consulting contractor needs to perform;

b) Technology transfer and training;

c) Work schedule and personnel allocation;

d) Schedule;

đ) Personnel change resolution (if applicable);

e) Work conditions arrangement;

g) Consulting service costs;

h) Other contents (if necessary).

If contract negotiations fail, the tender inviter reports to the head of the purchasing agency or unit or the person authorized under Article 7 of this Circular to consider and decide on inviting the next-ranked bidder for negotiations.

2. The discussion and completion of the contract for signing with the successful bidder must be based on the following:

a) The approved tender results by the competent authority as stipulated in Articles 7 and 38 of this Circular;

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.

3. The outcome of the discussions and completion of the contract serves as the basis for the head of the purchasing agency or unit and the bidder to proceed with signing the contract.

4. If the discussion and completion of the contract fails, the head of the purchasing agency or unit or the person authorized under Article 7 of this Circular will review and revoke the previous approval of the tender results and decide to invite the next-ranked bidder for contract negotiations according to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article. In such cases, if necessary, the tender inviter must request the bidder to extend the validity of the tender submission. Subsequent steps shall be carried out in accordance with this Circular.

Section 2

PROCEDURE FOR SELECTING INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANTS

Article 20. Selection of individual consultants

Depending on the nature, content, and scope of the consulting work, if the tender inviter considers that an individual consultant can independently undertake the work without requiring multiple experts or specialized support from other individuals or organizations, or if using an individual consultant is beneficial, the tender inviter reports to the authorized person under Article 5 of this Circular for approval in the tender plan. The selection of individual consultants is conducted as follows:

1. The tender inviter determines the reference terms and prepares a draft contract for the consultant position to be selected, to be reviewed and approved by the authorized body under Article 5 of this Circular. The content of the reference terms includes:

a) A brief description of the project and work;

b) Requirements regarding the scope, volume, quality, and time of work execution;

c) Requirements regarding the consultant's capacity and qualifications;

d) Conditions and locations for performing the work; other necessary contents (if any).

2. The tender inviter selects at least three scientific curriculum vitae of suitable consultants corresponding to the requirements stated in the reference terms, to be submitted for review and approval by the authorized body; in case there are fewer than three consultants, the tender inviter reports to the authorized body for consideration and decision.

3. The tender inviter evaluates the suitability of the consultant based on the scientific curriculum vitae according to the reference terms to select a suitable consultant for review and decision by the authorized body.

4. Based on the draft contract, reference terms, and related information, the tender inviter conducts negotiations with the proposed selected consultant.

5. Based on the report of the tender inviter, the authorized body under Article 7 of this Circular approves the selection results and signs the contract with the selected consultant.

Section 3

PROCEDURE FOR OPEN AND LIMITED TENDERING FOR PROCUREMENT PACKAGES IN THE CASE OF STAGE TENDERING

ASSETS IN THE CASE OF STAGE TENDERING

Article 21. Preparation for bidding Bidding Regulations

1. Preliminary selection of contractors shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Chapter III of Decree No. 85/2009/NĐ-CP dated October 15, 2009 of the Government.

2. Preparing the Bid Invitation Document

a) Basis for preparing the tender invitation:

- A list of budget items approved by the authorized body;

- The procurement decision and related documents serving as the basis for the procurement decision;

- The approved bidding plan;

- Laws and regulations on bidding and related laws; international treaties or international agreements (if applicable) for projects using ODA funds;

- State policies on tax, wages, preferential treatment for domestic contractors, or other relevant regulations.

b) Content of the tender invitation:

- The tender documentation must include contents as prescribed by the Bidding Law and the tender documentation model issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. For tenders that have undergone preliminary selection, the tender documentation does not need to specify criteria for evaluating the contractor's experience and capacity but must require the contractor to restate information about their capacity and experience declared in the preliminary selection application.

- In cases where foreign labor with appropriate expertise is required for the tender, the tender documentation must require the contractor to declare in the bid submission the number, level, professional capacity, and experience of foreign staff mobilized to implement the tender; it strictly prohibits the use of foreign labor to perform work that can be done by domestic labor and meets the requirements of the tender, especially unskilled labor and labor without vocational training.

- The tender documentation may not specify brand names or specific origins of goods. In exceptional cases where it is necessary to mention a brand name, catalog of a particular manufacturer, or goods from a certain country to illustrate technical requirements, the phrase "or equivalent" must be added after the brand name, catalog, or origin mentioned, and clearly define the concept of equivalent as having similar technical characteristics and usage performance comparable to the specified goods. Only request the contractor to submit the Manufacturer's Sales Authorization in cases where the goods are special and complex; in necessary cases, for ordinary goods, the tender documentation may request an authorization letter from a distributor.

- The tender documentation must include important requirements (preliminary conditions) to eliminate bid submissions, specifically as follows:

+ The contractor is not listed in the list of tender documentation purchasers, has not registered to participate in the bidding;

+ The contractor does not meet the legitimate qualifications as stipulated in Article 7 and Article 8 of the Bidding Law;

+ There is no bid security or the bid security provided is invalid: its value is lower than required, not in the specified currency, has a shorter validity period, was not submitted to the address and time specified in the tender documentation, is not in the name of the contractor, is not an original document, and lacks a valid signature (in case of a bank guarantee);

+ There is no original bid submission, or the bid application is invalid;

+ The validity of the bid submission does not meet the requirements specified in the tender documentation;

+ The bid submission includes a total bid price that is not fixed, multiple price levels are quoted, or the price is accompanied by conditions detrimental to the procuring entity;

+ The contractor is named in two or more bid submissions as the main contractor (either as an independent contractor or as a member of a consortium);

+ The contractor violates any of the prohibited acts in bidding as stipulated in Article 12 of the Bidding Law and Clause 3 of Article 2 of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of laws related to basic construction investment;

+ Other important requirements specific to the tender.

A contractor violating any of the preliminary conditions specified in the tender documentation will be disqualified, and their bid submission will not be further considered.

3. Approval of the tender documentation: the authority to approve the tender documentation is as prescribed in Article 7 of this Circular.

4. Inviting bids:

a) Tender announcement: For open bidding without preliminary selection, it must be sent for publication of the tender announcement (including in English for international bidding) in the Bidding Newspaper for three consecutive issues and on the electronic bidding information website. In addition to the publication as prescribed, simultaneous publication may also occur through other mass media.

b) Sending the tender invitation letter: Applies to restricted bidding and tenders that have undergone preliminary selection. The tenderer sends the tender invitation letter according to the model guidelines (issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment) to contractors in the list invited to participate in restricted bidding or the list of contractors who passed the preliminary selection. The time from sending the tender invitation letter to issuing the tender documentation must be at least five days for domestic bidding and seven days for international bidding.

Article 22. Criteria for evaluating tender documents for procurement packages of assets

The criteria for evaluating tender documents for procurement packages of assets include criteria for assessing the capacity and experience of contractors, technical criteria, and the method of determining the evaluation price, specifically as follows:

1. Criteria for assessing the capacity and experience of contractors apply to procurement packages that do not conduct prequalification, including:

a) Experience in implementing similar procurement packages in Vietnam and abroad; experience operating in the main production and business fields related to the procurement package;

b) Production and business capacity, technical infrastructure, and the expertise level of relevant professionals;

c) Financial capacity: total assets, total liabilities, short-term assets, short-term liabilities, revenue, profit, value of ongoing contracts, and other indicators.

The specific requirements for each criterion stipulated in points a, b, and c of this clause shall be based on the requirements of each procurement package.

The evaluation criteria specified in this clause shall use the criteria "met" and "not met". A contractor meeting all three contents stipulated in points a, b, and c of this clause shall be considered to meet the requirements regarding capacity and experience.

2. Technical evaluation criteria: including contents related to the ability to meet quantity and quality requirements for goods stated in the tender invitation, specifically:

a) Characteristics and technical specifications of goods, production standards, and other contents;

b) The rationality and economic efficiency of technical solutions, organizational measures for supplying and installing assets;

c) Compliance with warranty requirements;

d) Geographic adaptability;

đ) Environmental impact and resolution measures;

e) Financial provision capability (if required);

g) Other commercial, financial, time implementation, and technology transfer training conditions (if applicable).

3. Contents for determining the evaluation price:

The evaluation price is determined on a common basis of technical, financial, commercial, and other factors used for comparing and ranking tender documents. The method of determining the evaluation price must be stated in the criteria for evaluating tender documents. The determination of the evaluation price is carried out in the following sequence:

a) Determining the bid price (In cases where there is a discount letter, corrections and adjustments for errors and discrepancies are made based on the bid price before deducting the discount value. In such cases, the absolute value of mathematical errors or discrepancies is calculated based on the bid price stated in the form);

b) Correcting errors.

c) Adjusting discrepancies.

d) Converting the bid price (after correcting errors and adjusting discrepancies) to a common currency (if applicable).

đ) Bringing costs to a common basis to determine the evaluation price, including:

- Technical conditions such as: implementation schedule, machine and equipment capacity and performance; electricity consumption, raw material and fuel consumption; operation, maintenance, and repair costs; lifespan, and other technical factors depending on each specific procurement package;

- Financial and commercial conditions;

- International bidding preferences (if applicable);

- Other factors.

Depending on the nature of each procurement package, appropriate factors for determining the evaluation price shall be specified. Tender documents are ranked according to the evaluation price, with the tender document having the lowest evaluation price being ranked first for recommendation of award.

Article 23. Tender organization Bidding Regulations

1. Issuing the tender invitation documents:

a) The tender inviter shall sell tender invitation documents to bidders on the pre-bidder shortlist (in case of prequalification), limited bidding bidders, or widely invited bidders with the required purchase price before the bid closing time. For consortium bidders, only one member of the consortium needs to purchase the tender invitation documents.

If the tenderer fails to sell the tender invitation documents as prescribed or engages in any act that restricts bidders from purchasing the tender invitation documents, they will be dealt with according to the current regulations prohibiting participation in bidding activities;

b) Any modification and clarification of the tender invitation documents shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulations on bidding.

2. Preparation, receipt, management, modification, or withdrawal of tender submission documents: Shall be implemented according to the provisions of Clauses 2, Clause 3, and Clause 4 of Article 16 of this Circular.

In case a bidder needs to change their participation status (name) in the bidding compared to when purchasing the tender invitation documents, they must notify the tender inviter in writing. The tender inviter will consider the following cases:

a) For open bidding, the change of status will be accepted upon receipt of the bidder's written notification before the closing time;

b) For limited bidding or widely invited bidding that has passed the prequalification stage, depending on specific circumstances, the tender inviter will review and report to the head of the procurement agency or unit for a decision on whether to accept or reject the bidder's status change before the bid closing time while ensuring competition, fairness, and transparency in the bidding process.

3. Opening Bids

a) The opening of bids shall be conducted publicly immediately after the bid closing time at the location and time specified in the tender invitation documents, in the presence of witnesses, regardless of the presence or absence of invited bidders. The tender inviter may invite representatives from related agencies to attend the bid opening ceremony.

b) The tender inviter shall open the tender submission documents of each bidder listed in the tender invitation document purchaser list and submitted before the bid closing time in alphabetical order of the bidder's name. The bid opening procedure shall be carried out as follows:

- Checking the sealing of the tender submission documents.

- Opening, reading, and recording in the bid opening minutes the following main information:

+ Bidder's name;

+ Number of original and copied tender submission documents;

+ Validity period of the tender submission documents;

+ Bid price stated in the bid proposal form and any discount (if applicable);

+ Value and validity period of the bid guarantee;

+ Request for amendment of the tender submission documents (if applicable).

+ Other related information.

The bid opening minutes need to be signed and confirmed by representatives of the tender inviter, bidders, and representatives of related agencies attending the event.

After the bid opening, the tender inviter must sign and confirm each page of the original tender submission documents and manage them under the "Confidential" file management system. The evaluation of tender submission documents will be conducted based on copies. Bidders are responsible for the accuracy and consistency between the copies and originals of the tender submission documents as well as the sealing of the documents.

Article 24. Evaluation of tender submission documents Bidding Regulations

The evaluation of tender submission documents shall be conducted according to the criteria and other requirements stipulated in the tender invitation documents, in accordance with the principles and procedures set forth in the Bidding Law, the Amended Law, and this Circular.

After the bid opening, bidders are responsible for clarifying their tender submission documents upon request from the tender inviter as prescribed. If the tender submission documents lack necessary documents such as Business Registration Certificate, Investment Certificate, Establishment Decision, relevant professional certificates, and other required documents, the tender inviter will require the bidder to supplement the documents to prove their legitimate status, capability, and experience without changing the fundamental content of the submitted tender submission documents or altering the bid price.

1. Preliminary Assessment:

a) Verify the validity of the tender submission documents:

- Validity of the bid proposal form: The bid proposal form must be fully completed and signed by the authorized representative of the bidder as required by the tender invitation documents. For consortium bidders, the bid proposal form must be signed by the authorized representative of each consortium member, except where the consortium agreement specifies that other members authorize the lead member to sign.

- Validity of the consortium agreement: The consortium agreement must clearly define the responsibilities, authorities, workload, and corresponding value of each consortium member, including the lead member and the lead member's responsibilities; signatures of the members, seals (if any);

- Possession of one of the types of documents required by the tender invitation documents: Business Registration Certificate, Investment Certificate, Establishment Decision, or Legal Operation Registration Certificate; Manufacturer's Sales License or Distributor's Sales Authorization (if required);

- Number of original and copied tender submission documents;

- Validity of the bid guarantee;

- Any appendices and accompanying documents with the bidding documents.

b) Eliminate tender submission documents that do not meet the prerequisite conditions stipulated in the tender invitation documents as provided for in Point b, Clause 2, Article 21 of this Circular;

c) Evaluate the bidder's capability and experience according to the criteria for evaluating capability and experience specified in the tender invitation documents for tenders that do not conduct prequalification. Depending on the conditions of each tender, the evaluation of the bidder's capability and experience can be conducted at the preliminary evaluation stage for all bidders with valid tender submission documents that do not violate the prerequisite conditions, or the evaluation of capability and experience can be conducted after determining the evaluated price and must be specified in the tender invitation documents. Bidders must meet the requirements for capability and experience stipulated in the tender invitation documents for their tender submission documents to be considered in subsequent steps.

2. Detailed evaluation of tender submission documents:

a) Technical evaluation:

Evaluation according to the technical evaluation criteria specified in the tender invitation documents. During the evaluation, the tender inviter has the right to request bidders to explain and clarify unclear or unusual contents in the tender submission documents. Only tender submission documents approved by the authorized person as stipulated in Article 7 of this Circular and meeting the technical requirements will be determined for evaluated pricing as provided for in Point b, Clause 3 of this Article.

b) Determination of evaluated price: The determination of the evaluated price shall be carried out according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 22 of this Circular.

3. Ranking of tender submission documents according to the evaluated price:

The bid with the lowest evaluated price shall be ranked first. In cases where prequalification has not been conducted or the bidder's capacity and experience have not been assessed at the preliminary evaluation stage, the procuring entity shall assess the capacity and experience of the first-ranked bidder after the head of the agency or unit implementing the procurement approves the list of ranked bidders based on their evaluated prices. If the capacity and experience of the first-ranked bidder do not meet the requirements, the capacity and experience of subsequent ranked bidders shall be assessed.

In complex tender packages, if necessary, the procuring entity may report to the project owner for permission to allow the first-ranked bidder with the lowest evaluated bid to engage in preliminary contract negotiations to facilitate final contract negotiations after the award result is announced.

Article 25. Correcting Errors and Adjusting Deviations

1. Correcting Errors:

Correcting errors involves rectifying mistakes in the bid documents, including arithmetic errors, other errors, and unit confusion, and shall be carried out according to the following principles:

a) For arithmetic errors, which include inaccuracies in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division operations:

- Where there is inconsistency between unit prices and total amounts, the unit price shall serve as the legal basis for correcting the error. If the unit price is incorrect but the quantity, volume, and total amount are correct, the total amount shall serve as the legal basis for determining the unit price;

- Where there is inconsistency between the consolidated price table and the detailed price table, the detailed price table shall serve as the legal basis for correcting the error.

b) For other errors:

- Where the total amount column is filled without corresponding unit prices, the unit price shall be supplemented by dividing the total amount by the quantity;

- Where there are unit prices but the total amount column is left blank, the total amount shall be supplemented by multiplying the quantity by the unit price;

- Where a certain item has both unit prices and total amounts but lacks quantities, the missing quantity shall be supplemented by dividing the total amount by the unit price of that item. If the supplemented quantity differs from the quantity stated in the tender invitation, it shall be considered a deviation in the scope of supply and adjusted according to Clause 2 of this Article;

- For unit confusion, using a comma (,) instead of a period (.) and vice versa shall be corrected to conform to Vietnamese writing conventions.

Arithmetic errors shall be calculated based on the absolute value total, regardless of whether the bid price increases or decreases after correction.

After correcting errors according to the above principles, the procuring entity shall notify the bidder in writing. The bidder must provide a written notification to the procuring entity accepting the corrections mentioned above. If the bidder does not accept the corrections, the bid document will be disqualified.

2. Adjusting Deviations:

Adjusting deviations involves modifying contents that are missing or excessive in the bid documents compared to the requirements of the tender invitation. Deviation adjustments shall be made as follows:

a) Where there are deviations in the scope of supply, the missing portion shall be added and the excess portion subtracted. If the bid price cannot be separated during the correction process, the highest quoted price for the missing portion (if missing) and the lowest quoted price (if excess) among the bid documents that have passed the technical evaluation stage shall be used;

b) Where only one bidder has passed the technical evaluation stage, the deviation correction shall be made based on the price of this bidder (if available) or within the budget estimate.

Article 26. Submitting for review, examining, approving, announcing the bidding results, negotiating, perfecting and signing contracts

1. Submitting for review, examining, approving, and announcing the bidding results shall be carried out in accordance with Article 38 of the Bidding Law and Articles 37 and 38 of this Circular.

2. Negotiating, perfecting and signing contracts shall be carried out in accordance with Article 42 of the Bidding Law and Clause 14, Clause 16, Clause 17 of Article 2 of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Laws Related to Basic Construction Investment.

Section 4

PROCEDURE FOR OPEN AND LIMITED TENDERING FOR PROCUREMENT PACKAGES IN THE CASE OF STAGE TENDERING

 ASSETS IN THE CASE OF TWO-STAGE BIDDING

Article 27. Scope of Application

The two-stage bidding method shall apply to open bidding and selective bidding for procurement packages involving goods with new, complex, and diverse technology.

Article 28. Preparing for the First Stage of Bidding

1. The prequalification of bidders shall be conducted in accordance with Chapter III of Decree No. 85/2009/NĐ-CP dated October 15, 2009 of the Government.

2. Preparation of the first stage tender documents:

a) The basis for preparing the tender documents shall be in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 15 of this Circular;

b) The first stage tender documents shall contain the contents stipulated in this Circular but shall not require bidders to propose bid prices or implement bid security measures.

3. Approval of the tender documents shall be carried out in accordance with Article 7 of this Circular.

4. Issuing the first stage tender shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 4 of Article 21 of this Circular.

Article 29. Organizing the First Stage of Bidding

1. Issuing the tender invitation documents:

a) The tenderer shall sell the first stage tender documents to shortlisted bidders or bidders who wish to participate in open bidding before the closing time at the prescribed tender document selling price. For consortium bidders, only one member of the consortium needs to purchase the tender documents;

b) Amendments and clarifications of the tender documents shall be carried out in accordance with the Bidding Law and Article 25 of this Circular.

2. Receiving and managing the first stage bid documents: The tenderer shall receive and manage the submitted bid documents under the "Confidential" file management system. Bid documents submitted after the closing time are invalid and will be rejected.

3. Opening bids: The bid opening process shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 3 of Article 23 of this Circular. The minutes of the bid opening shall not include information on bid prices and bid security.

4. Discussion on the first stage bid documents: Based on the requirements stated in the tender documents, the tenderer shall conduct discussions with each bidder to accurately define the technical requirements of the package. The content of the discussions must be recorded in minutes to form the basis for the second stage tender documents.

Article 30. Preparing, Organizing the Second Stage of Bidding and Evaluating Bid Documents

1. Preparation of the second stage tender documents:

In the second stage tender documents, detailed technical requirements, financial requirements (including bid prices), commercial requirements, and requirements for bid security measures must be clearly defined.

Approval of the second stage tender documents shall be carried out in accordance with Article 7 of this Circular.

2. Organizing the second stage of bidding:

The second stage tender documents shall be sold to bidders who have submitted first stage bid documents at the prescribed price as stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 39 of this Circular. The organization of the second stage of bidding shall be carried out in accordance with Article 23 of this Circular.

3. Evaluation of bid documents in the second stage 2

The evaluation of second stage bid documents shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures stipulated in Article 24 of this Circular.

Article 31. Submission, review, approval, and announcement of tender results

Submission, review, approval, and announcement of tender results shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions set forth in Articles 5, 7, 37, and 38 of this Circular.

Section 5

PROCEDURE FOR DIRECT ASSIGNMENT

Article 32. Procedure for direct assignment

1. The general procedure for direct assignment for a procurement package (except those specified in Clauses 2, 3, 4, and 5 of this Article) includes:

a) Preparation and approval of the Request for Proposal.

The Request for Proposal, prepared by the Tender Inviter, does not need to specify the overall evaluation criteria for consultancy service packages; it also does not need to specify factors for determining the evaluated price for asset procurement packages. Based on the scale and nature of each package, specific requirements are set forth in the Request for Proposal while ensuring that the following contents are included:

- For consultancy service packages: requirements regarding capability standards, number of experts; contractor experience; requirements regarding content, scope, and quality of work; requirements regarding time and location of performance; price proposal requirements; requirements regarding preparation and submission time of the proposal, validity period of the proposal, and other necessary contents;

- For asset procurement packages: requirements regarding experience and capability; technical requirements such as quantity of goods, scope, volume of work, technical standards and solutions, quality of work, implementation time; price proposal requirements; requirements regarding preparation and submission time of the proposal, validity period of the proposal, and other necessary contents; no requirement for tender guarantee.

Technical requirements assessment is conducted based on "pass" or "fail" criteria and is reflected in the Request for Proposal.

The head of the agency or unit responsible for procurement approves the Request for Proposal and identifies a contractor with sufficient capability and experience to meet the package requirements.

b) The Tender Inviter issues the Request for Proposal to the contractor identified by the head of the agency or unit responsible for procurement. The contractor proposed for direct assignment prepares the proposal based on the Request for Proposal, including technical and financial-commercial proposals.

c) Evaluation of proposals and negotiation on the contractor's proposals.

The Tender Inviter conducts an evaluation of the contractor's proposals and negotiates on the contractor's proposals according to the requirements in the Request for Proposal. During the evaluation process, the Tender Inviter may invite the contractor to negotiate, explain, clarify, or modify and supplement necessary information in the proposal to demonstrate compliance with the Request for Proposal's requirements regarding capability, experience, schedule, quality, technical solutions, and organizational implementation measures.

A contractor proposed for winning the direct assignment must satisfy all of the following conditions:

- Having sufficient capability and experience as stipulated in the Request for Proposal;

- Having a technical proposal assessed as meeting the Request for Proposal's requirements based on evaluation criteria;

- Having a proposed direct assignment price not exceeding the approved budget for the package.

d) Submission, review, and approval of the direct assignment result.

On the basis of the report on the direct assignment result and the review report, the person authorized to approve or the person delegated authority pursuant to Articles 5, 7, 37, and 38 of this Circular.

đ) Negotiation, completion, and signing of the contract.

Based on the decision approving the direct assignment result, the Tender Inviter proceeds to negotiate and complete the contract with the assigned contractor for the head of the agency or unit responsible for procurement to sign the contract.

2. Simplified procedure for direct assignment for consultancy packages with a package value not exceeding VND 500,000,000 (five hundred million dong); asset procurement packages subject to direct assignment with a package value from over VND 100,000,000 (one hundred million dong) to not more than VND 500,000,000 (five hundred million dong) shall be implemented as follows:

a) The Tender Inviter bases on the objectives, scope of work, and approved package value in the bidding plan and sends a draft contract to a contractor determined by the project owner to have sufficient capability and experience to meet the package requirements. The draft contract content includes requirements regarding the scope, content of work to be performed, implementation time, quality of work to be achieved, and corresponding value;

b) Based on the draft contract, the Tender Inviter and the contractor proposed for direct assignment proceed to negotiate and complete the contract as the basis for signing the contract;

c) After negotiating and completing the contract, the Tender Inviter submits the result of the direct assignment to the authorized person for approval and signs the contract with the contractor.

3. Procurement direct assignment procedure for asset procurement packages with a package value not exceeding VND 100,000,000 (one hundred million dong) under the condition that the procurement content consists of commonly available goods on the market to serve daily recurring activities of agencies and units (including small purchases of new assets, replacement of damaged assets; spare parts, tools, equipment for regular operations; maintenance, repair services for machinery, equipment, working vehicles, transportation means; purchases to meet urgent needs):

a) In cases where the package value ranges from VND 20,000,000 (twenty million dong) to not more than VND 100,000,000 (one hundred million dong): the purchasing agency or unit obtains quotations from at least three different contractors (direct quotations, via fax, or through postal service) as the basis for selecting the best contractor. The selection result must ensure the optimal supplier of goods and consulting services in terms of quality, price, and other requirements (if any) such as supply deadlines, warranty requirements, training, transfer, without distinction between local or non-local contractors.

b) In the case where the tender package has a value below VND 20,000,000 (twenty million dong): The head of the agency or unit decides on procurement in a suitable and effective manner and bears full responsibility for their decision; at the same time, they must ensure that invoices and supporting documents are complete in accordance with the relevant laws; if conditions permit, the head of the agency or unit procuring assets shall decide to implement according to the guidelines for tender packages valued from VND 20,000,000 to not exceeding VND 100,000,000 as stipulated above.

4. For tender packages falling under cases of force majeure due to natural disasters, enemy actions, or emergencies requiring immediate resolution, the agency or unit procuring assets shall report to the competent authority specified in Article 5 for permission to implement in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3 of Article 41 of Decree No. 85/2009/NĐ-CP dated October 15, 2009 of the Government guiding the implementation of the Law on Bidding and the selection of construction contractors under the Construction Law.

5. In the case of applying direct assignment procurement for tender packages implemented before obtaining the procurement decision from the competent authority specified in Article 5 of this Circular, the head of the agency or unit assigned the task of preparing the project shall proceed to establish and approve the budget estimate, approve the request for proposal, and the result of the direct assignment procurement as prescribed.

Chapter V

OTHER PROCUREMENT METHODS

Article 33. Direct Procurement

b) In cases where funds from organizations and individuals within and outside Vietnam are used for victim support work and victim support benefits, such activities shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance and the donor; in cases where there is no agreement between the donor or their authorized representative and the Ministry of Finance regarding the expenditure level, the expenditure level prescribed in this Circular shall apply.

The application of direct procurement must be approved in the bidding plan based on compliance with the provisions of Article 21 of the Law on Bidding for contracts signed with contractors through open bidding or restricted bidding. The six-month period is calculated from the date of signing the original contract to the approval of the direct procurement results.

In the case of using a contract signed by another entity or when the total additional procurement value exceeds the value of the previously signed contract, it must be approved in writing by the direct superior prior to implementation.

2. Direct Procurement Process

a) The head of the agency or unit implementing procurement approves the request for proposal as the basis for the contractor to prepare the proposal;

b) The evaluation of proposals is carried out according to the following contents:

- Checking technical contents and unit prices;

- Updating the contractor's capacity;

- Evaluating the progress of implementation;

- Other matters (if any).

c) Submitting for review, examination, and approval of the direct procurement results: As stipulated in Articles 5, 7, 37, and 38 of this Circular.

Article 34. Competitive Quotation in Asset Procurement

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

a) Tender packages with a value below VND 2 billion;

b) Procurement content includes common assets (used by many people and with a stable supply source), readily available on the market (goods delivered immediately upon demand without having to place orders for design, manufacturing, production), with standardized technical characteristics (according to Vietnamese standards, basic standards, international standards, or foreign standards) and equivalent in quality (capable of substituting each other due to the same technical characteristics, usage features, and other attributes).

2. Implementation Process of Competitive Quotation

a) Request for Proposal:

The head of the agency or unit implementing procurement approves the request for proposal. The request for proposal includes technical requirements such as quantity, standards, technical characteristics, delivery deadlines, validity period of quotations, quotation submission deadlines, warranty, maintenance, training, technology transfer, and other necessary contents, without mentioning tender guarantee requirements. The evaluation of technical requirements is conducted according to "pass" or "fail" criteria and is reflected in the request for proposal.

b) Organizing Quotations:

- The tenderer must send information to publish three consecutive notices inviting quotations in newspapers for interested contractors to participate, specifically as follows:

+ For tender packages with a value from VND 500 million to less than VND 2 billion; published in the Bidding Newspaper and on the electronic bidding information website;

+ For tender packages below VND 500 million: published in a widely distributed newspaper within a sector or province or nationwide.

In addition to the publication as required, simultaneous publication may also occur on other mass media. The tenderer issues the request for proposal to contractors who wish to participate from the first day of publishing the notice inviting quotations;

- The tenderer issues the request for proposal to contractors wishing to participate before the deadline for submitting proposals to ensure receiving at least three proposals from three different contractors. The minimum preparation time for contractors to submit proposals is five days;

- Contractors submit proposals to the tenderer by sending directly, via postal service, or fax. Each contractor can only submit one proposal;

- The tenderer is responsible for securing the information in each contractor's proposal. Immediately after the proposal submission deadline, the tenderer prepares a receipt document for all submitted proposals including the contractor's name, quoted price, post-sale conditions, the validity period of the proposal, and sends this document to the contractors who have submitted proposals.

c) Evaluation of Proposals:

- The tenderer evaluates the proposals submitted according to the technical requirements of the request for proposal. A proposal passes the technical evaluation stage when all technical requirements are evaluated as "pass";

- The tenderer compares the quoted prices of proposals meeting the technical requirements to determine the proposal with the lowest quoted price. The contractor with the lowest quoted price after corrections and adjustments and not exceeding the tender package value will be recommended for selection.

d) Approving the Quotation Results: As stipulated in Articles 5, 7, 37, and 38 of this Circular.

Article 35. Self-execution:

1. The form of self-execution shall be applied in cases where the procurement decision-making unit has the capacity and experience to implement the tender package under its own management and use, ensuring higher efficiency than selecting another contractor to execute the tender package.

2. The application of the self-execution form must be approved in the bidding plan. When applying the self-execution form, the budget estimate for the tender package must be approved in accordance with regulations. The supervising unit overseeing the implementation of the tender package must be independent from the procurement decision-making unit in terms of organization and finance.

Article 36. Selection of contractors in special cases

1. For types of assets produced solely by one production facility, with a unified selling price set by the State (such as electricity, water...), fixed-line telephone charges, maintenance of fixed-line telephone switch systems: The head of the agency or unit directly implementing the contract shall sign a contract with the supplying unit to carry out the work.

2. In cases where it is necessary to select a contractor to provide services for organizing conferences, seminars, congresses, training sessions... (providing meals and accommodation for delegates; renting conference halls, meeting rooms, and related services such as decoration, ceremonial arrangements, drinking water...), due to practical requirements necessitating centralized accommodation for all delegates: The head of the unit shall base on the planned location of the conference to select and directly sign a contract with the service provider, ensuring suitability with the scale, nature, source of funds, economy, and effectiveness, and bear responsibility for their decision; at the same time, they must ensure complete invoices and supporting documents for settlement according to regulations.

3. For procurement to implement scientific and technological projects funded by the state budget:

a) For procurement contents assigned to the leading organization or individual of the project as stipulated in Point 1, Section II of Circular Joint No. 93/2006/TTLT/BTC-BKHCN dated October 4, 2006, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding the allocation system of project budgets for scientific and technological projects funded by the state budget, the leading organization or individual of the project shall independently decide on procurement in a suitable and effective manner and bear responsibility for their decision; at the same time, they must ensure complete invoices and supporting documents in accordance with the provisions of the law.

b) For procurement contents not assigned to the leading organization or individual of the project as stipulated in Point 2, Section II of Circular Joint No. 93/2006/TTLT/BTC-BKHCN dated October 4, 2006, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding the allocation system of project budgets for scientific and technological projects funded by the state budget, the provisions of this Circular shall be applied to implement.

4. In cases where it is impossible to select a contractor in accordance with Articles 12, 13, 14, 33, 34, and 35 of this Circular, the heads of central agencies and the Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities must develop a plan to select contractors ensuring competitive goals and economic efficiency and submit it for consideration and decision by the Prime Minister.

5. For procurement packages of assets that meet the conditions for applying the procurement forms prescribed in Articles 14, 33, 34, and 35 of this Circular, if agencies or units consider it necessary to organize bidding to ensure the goal of effectively managing and using the state budget, they shall organize the bidding process in accordance with regulations and report to the competent authority on the results of asset procurement.

Chapter VI

OTHER PROVISIONS

Article 37. Appraisal in Bidding

Appraisal in bidding includes: appraisal of bidding plans, appraisal of bidding invitation documents, and appraisal of contractor selection results.

1. Appraisal agencies, organizations, and units:

a) For procurement packages under the approval authority of the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee:

- The Department of Finance or relevant specialized department shall be responsible for leading the appraisal of bidding plans. The decision to entrust the Department of Finance or specialized department with the appraisal shall be made by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

- The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee decides or delegates the head of the directly purchasing unit to decide on the agency, organization, or unit responsible for appraising bidding invitation documents and contractor selection results.

b) For procurement packages under the approval authority of the head of central agencies, the head of central agencies shall decide on the agency, organization, or unit responsible for appraising bidding plans, bidding invitation documents, and contractor selection results.

c) For procurement packages where the purchasing decision-making authority has been delegated according to the provisions of Article 5 of this Circular, the head of the delegated agency or unit shall decide on the agency, organization, or unit responsible for appraising bidding plans, bidding invitation documents, and contractor selection results.

2. Appraisal of bidding plans

a) Content of appraisal: The agency, organization, or unit entrusted with the task of appraising bidding plans shall conduct inspections and evaluations of the contents as prescribed in Articles 8, 9, and 10 of this Circular.

b) Appraisal report: The agency, organization, or unit entrusted with the task of appraising bidding plans shall prepare an appraisal result report based on compliance with the provisions of Article 65 of the Bidding Law, to be submitted to the authorized person to approve the bidding plan as stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular.

3. Appraisal of bidding invitation documents

a) Contents of appraisal include:

- Checking the documents serving as the basis for preparing bidding invitation documents and request documents;

- Inspecting the contents of bidding invitation documents and request documents;

- Identifying missing, unclear, or non-compliant contents of bidding invitation documents and request documents with respect to project objectives, scope of work, implementation time, bidding laws, and related laws;

- Different opinions (if any) between organizations and individuals involved in preparing bidding invitation documents and request documents;

- Other contents if any.

b) The appraisal report shall include the following contents:

- Overview of the project and procurement package: main contents of the project and procurement package, legal basis for preparing bidding invitation documents and request documents;

- Summary of the main contents of the procurement package;

- Legal observations and comments on the remaining issues of bidding invitation documents and request documents, recommendations for modifications needed to approve bidding invitation documents and request documents;

- Other contents if any.

c) The agency, organization, or unit entrusted with the task of appraising bidding invitation documents shall conduct inspections and evaluations of the contents specified in point a above, carry out the appraisal, and prepare the report as prescribed in point b above, to be submitted to the authorized person to approve as stipulated in Article 7 of this Circular.

4. Appraisal of contractor selection results

a) Contents of appraisal include:

- Checking the documents serving as the basis for organizing the selection of contractors;

- Inspecting the procedures and timeframes related to organizing the selection of contractors as prescribed: time for publishing bidding information, issuing bidding invitation documents and request documents, preparation time for bidding proposals and submission proposals, tender closing time, opening time, evaluation time for bidding proposals and submission proposals;

- Inspecting the content of the evaluation of bidding proposals and submission proposals: evaluation minutes and individual expert evaluation comments, consolidated reports of the bidding expert team, evaluation by bidding consultants, professional bidding organizations (if any), compliance of the proposal evaluation with the requirements of bidding invitation documents and request documents and approved evaluation criteria, accuracy of the evaluation;

- Identifying unclear contents in the documents submitted for approval of contractor selection results;

- Different opinions (if any) among members of the bidding expert team, between bidding consultants and professional bidding organizations and the tenderer.

b) The appraisal report shall include the following main contents:

- Overview of the project and procurement package: main contents of the project and procurement package, legal basis for organizing the selection of contractors;

- Summary of the implementation process and recommendations of the approving agency regarding the contractor selection results;

- Legal observations and comments on the implementation process and recommendations of the approving agency;

- Opinions on the contractor selection results or measures to address cases where there is insufficient basis to conclude on the contractor selection results.

c) The agency, organization, or unit entrusted with the task of appraising contractor selection results shall conduct inspections and evaluations of the contents specified in point a above, carry out the appraisal, and prepare the report as prescribed in point b above, to be submitted to the authorized person to approve as stipulated in Article 7 of this Circular.

5. For assets requiring high or complex technical requirements, the agency, organization, or unit responsible for appraising bidding plans may hire consultants to appraise prices, technical features, legal bases, and other contents (if any) to ensure effective appraisal work.

6. The maximum appraisal period in bidding is 20 (twenty) days, starting from the date of receipt of complete and valid documents.

Article 38. Submitting, Approving, and Announcing the Results of Contractor Selection

1. The approval of the results of contractor selection shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 11, Article 2 of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Laws Related to Basic Investment Construction.

The dossier for submitting the approval of the results of contractor selection shall be implemented in accordance with Article 71 of Decree No. 85/2009/ND-CP dated October 15, 2009, guiding the implementation of the Bidding Law and the selection of construction contractors under the Construction Law.

2. The approval of the results of contractor selection shall be carried out in accordance with Article 40 of the Bidding Law and Clause 12, Article 2 of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Laws Related to Basic Investment Construction.

3. Announcing the results of contractor selection shall be carried out in accordance with Article 41 of the Bidding Law, Clause 13, Article 2 of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Laws Related to Basic Investment Construction, and Clause 3, Article 20 of Decree No. 85/2009/ND-CP dated October 15, 2009, guiding the implementation of the Bidding Law and the selection of construction contractors under the Construction Law.

Article 39. Revenue and Expenditure in Bidding Activities

1. The contents of expenditure in bidding include:

a) Expenditure on preparing tender documents and organizing bidding;

b) Expenditure on publishing tender notices (if applicable);

c) Expenditure on hiring reviews (if applicable);

d) Expenditure on the activities of the specialized team;

đ) Expenditure on the Advisory Board's activities to address contractors' complaints (if applicable);

e) Other expenditures serving bidding.

In cases where consultancy services must be hired during the preparation of tender documents and organization of bidding (consultancy for technology selection; consultancy for analyzing and evaluating tender documents...): if the consultancy fee is less than VND 500,000,000 (five hundred million dong), the agency or unit may implement through direct assignment; If the consultancy fee is VND 500,000,000 (five hundred million dong) or more, bidding shall be conducted.

2. Expenditure levels:

a) Expenditure on hiring reviews and publishing tender notices: according to actual contracts.

b) Expenditure on meetings of the specialized team, meetings to review bidding plans, meetings to review tender documents, meetings to review the results of contractor selection, meetings of the advisory board: apply the expenditure levels for organizing such meetings as stipulated in Circular Joint No. 44/2007/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated May 7, 2007, guiding the establishment and allocation of budgetary funds for scientific and technological projects funded by state budgets.

c) For expenditure items without specific expenditure levels prescribed by competent authorities, agencies or units purchasing assets are permitted to spend based on actual occurrences, ensuring reasonableness and legality, while adhering to invoice and voucher regulations and bearing responsibility for their expenditures.

3. Contents of revenue:

a) Revenue from selling tender documents: The tender inviter sells tender documents at prices determined by the head of the agency or unit organizing asset procurement based on the scale and nature of the tender package. For domestic bidding, the price of one set of tender documents shall not exceed VND 1,000,000 (one million dong). For international bidding, it shall be carried out in accordance with international practices.

b) In cases where contractors have objections regarding the results of contractor selection, the inviting agency or unit may collect fees from contractors to cover costs associated with reviewing and resolving these objections. The collection amount equals 0.01% of the bid price of the objecting contractor but shall be no less than VND 2,000,000 (two million dong) and no more than VND 50,000,000 (fifty million dong).

c) Revenue from bid guarantees as stipulated in Article 27 of the Bidding Law, and revenue from performance bond guarantees as stipulated in Article 55 of the Bidding Law.

4. Receipts: Use the receipt form (Form 27x) pursuant to Decision No. 19/2006/QĐ-BTC dated March 30, 2006, issued by the Minister of Finance concerning accounting systems for administrative and public service units.

5. Accounting: Since revenue from bidding activities does not belong to the state budget, it shall not be accounted for in the state budget; agencies and units shall reflect revenue and expenditure from bidding activities in other sources and consolidate them in their annual settlement reports.

6. Sources of funding to ensure the bidding process:

When agencies and units organize asset procurement, they may use the funding sources specified in Point a and Point b, Clause 3, Article 39 of this Circular to cover expenses for the bidding process and handling contractors' objections. If the funding sources specified in Point a and Point b, Clause 3, Article 39 of this Circular are insufficient to cover the bidding process expenses, the agencies and units may use their regular operational funds to make up the difference; any surplus can be supplemented to their operational funds.

Chapter VII

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 40. Guidance for Implementation

1. Ministers of Ministries, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government agencies, Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels, and heads of budgetary units at all levels are responsible for directing, organizing, and supervising the implementation of bidding for asset procurement to maintain the regular operations of units under their management; guiding the implementation of bidding within their agencies and units (if necessary) based on the principle of ensuring compliance with this Circular and relevant bidding laws.

2. For the procurement of national reserve goods, separate guidance from the competent authority shall be followed. In necessary cases, the provisions of this Circular may be applied.

3. For the supply of medicines in public health facilities, separate guidance from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance shall be followed.

4. Templates for bidding documents and other contents not specified in this Circular shall be implemented in accordance with the Bidding Law, the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Laws Related to Basic Investment Construction, Decree No. 85/2009/ND-CP dated October 15, 2009, guiding the implementation of the Bidding Law and the selection of construction contractors under the Construction Law, and other implementing guidelines.

Article 41. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from June 15, 2012, and replaces the following circulars: Circular No. 63/2007/TT-BTC dated June 15, 2007, guiding the implementation of bidding for asset procurement to maintain the regular operations of state agencies using state capital, and Circular No. 131/2007/TT-BTC dated November 5, 2007, amending and supplementing Circular No. 63/2007/TT-BTC dated June 15, 2007.

2. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, agencies and units are requested to report them to the Ministry of Finance for study and resolution./.