Decision No. 789/QD-VP on approving the Auction Regulation for the Exploitation and Distribution of Precious Stone Products

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the approval of the "Bidding Regulations for Exploitation and Division of Precious Stone Products"

___________________

THE MINISTER OF INDUSTRY

Pursuant to Decree No. 74/CP dated November 1, 1995 on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry;

Pursuant to Decree No. 65/CP dated October 13, 1995 of the Government promulgating the "Regulations on Management of Activities in the Precious Stones Sector";

Based on the proposal of the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Precious Stones and Gold Corporation,

Pursuant to …;

Article 1. Approves the "Bidding Regulations for Exploitation and Division of Precious Stone Products" submitted by Vietnam Precious Stones and Gold Corporation.

Article 2. The "Bidding Regulations for Exploitation and Division of Precious Stone Products" shall take effect from the date of issuance of this Decision. All previous regulations that conflict with these Regulations are hereby abolished.

Article 3. The Heads of the Ministry's Office, the Inspectorate, the Departments and Bureaus under the Ministry of Industry, the Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities, the Heads of central and local agencies concerned, and the General Director of Vietnam Precious Stones and Gold Corporation are responsible for disseminating, guiding, and implementing these Regulations.

 

REGULATIONS

Bidding for Exploitation and Division of Precious Stone Products
(Annexed to Decision No. 789/QD-VPCP dated March 19, 1996 of the Minister of Industry).

These Regulations stipulate the contents and procedures for bidding for exploitation and division of precious stone products applicable to all mining areas of precious stones assigned by the Government to Vietnam Precious Stones and Gold Corporation for management and exploitation, in accordance with the spirit of Decree No. 65/CP dated October 13, 1995 of the Government.

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Vietnam Precious Stones and Gold Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Corporation) is the tendering organization for exploitation (the tenderer). Entities and individuals participating in the bidding must be economic organizations and individuals of Vietnam meeting the conditions set forth in these Regulations (the bidders).

Article 2. The objects of the bidding are plots of land containing precious stones within the mining areas managed and organized for exploitation by the Corporation.

Article 3. The area of each plot of land for bidding is determined by the Corporation and announced by the Bidding Committee.

+ Each bidder may participate in bidding for multiple plots in one bidding session.

If a bidder participates in bidding for multiple plots, the bid deposit must be paid in full for those plots.

The bidding invitation package includes the following documents:

Article 4. 1 - Notice of Invitation to Bid

2 - Guide to Bidding

3 - Sample Bid Form

4 - Sample Contract for Exploitation and Division of Precious Stone Products

5 - General Information on the Results of Geological Survey of the Mining Area of the Plot for Bidding.

6 - Layout Diagram of Plots for Bidding.

Bidding price, bid price, and winning bid price.

Article 5. 1. Bidding Price

The bidding price is the minimum price level offered for each plot of land containing precious stones, determined according to a uniform unit price for all plots in each mining area and publicly announced in the notice of invitation to bid.

The bidding unit price is proposed by the Corporation and announced by the Bidding Committee in accordance with the spirit of Decree No. 65/CP dated October 13, 1995 of the Government.

2. Bid Price

The bid price is the price offered by the bidders.

A valid bid price is equal to or higher than the bidding price.

3. Winning Bid Price

The winning bid price is the highest valid bid price.

4. The period of exploitation and restoration of land for each bidding plot is determined by the Corporation and announced in the bidding invitation package.

4. Period of exploitation and return of land for each tender lot shall be determined by the Corporation and announced by the Tender Board in the tender invitation document.

Article 6. Bidding Conditions:

All economic organizations and individuals of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as units) are entitled to bid when they meet the following conditions:

1. Being a legal entity or natural person with sufficient legal capacity,

2. Accepting and complying with this bidding regulation,

3. Submitting the bidding fee and bidding deposit. The bidding fee shall not exceed two million Vietnamese dong for each bidding session. The bidding deposit equals five percent of the bid price, paid in cash, check, or bank guarantee from a specialized bank, or deposited in a frozen account.

The bidding fee and deposit must be submitted simultaneously when submitting the bidding application.

Article 7. The Tendering Board

The Bidding Committee is established by the Chairman of the Board of Management of the Corporation for each gemstone quarry area with the following composition:

A representative of the Corporation serving as Chairperson of the Committee;

A representative of the People's Committee of the province where the quarry is located;

A representative of the Ministry of Industry;

A representative of the Ministry of Finance.

The Bidding Committee is responsible for receiving bidding applications, opening bids, announcing the bidding results, and the winning unit.

II. PROCEDURE FOR ORGANIZING BIDDING AND SIGNING CONTRACTS FOR MINERAL EXPLORATION AND PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION

Article 8. Preparing the bidding invitation documents:

1. To organize the bidding, the Corporation must first prepare the documents stipulated in Article 4 of this bidding regulation.

2. In addition to the documents in the bidding invitation package, additional documents must be prepared to introduce to the bidding units upon request:

- Land use permit,

- Mining permit,

Article 9. Tender Announcement:

After completing all necessary conditions for bidding, the Corporation issues a public bidding announcement on mass media. The bidding announcement must be published at least thirty days before the bidding date.

Article 10. Studying the bidding invitation documents:

Before deciding to participate in the bidding, the units are allowed to inspect the mining areas and bidding plots according to the guidance of the Corporation.

During the process of the bidding units studying the bidding invitation documents and inspecting the mining plots, the Corporation has the responsibility to answer questions or organize general exchanges with the bidding units if there are issues that need discussion and clarification in the bidding invitation documents.

Article 11. Submitting the bidding application:

1. The bidding application includes:

- A bidding application form provided by the Bidding Committee, clearly stating the bid price.

- An introduction to the bidder's qualifications (legal entity if it is an organization, natural person if it is an individual).

- An introduction to the bidder's capabilities (capital, equipment, technology, etc.).

2. The bidding application is sealed in an envelope and sent via postal service or directly delivered to the Bidding Committee at the address and deadline specified in the bidding invitation announcement. The Bidding Committee is responsible for preserving the bidding applications and shall not open them before the bidding date.

3. All costs related to researching and preparing the bidding application are borne by the bidding unit.

Article 12. Amending the bid price, withdrawing from the bidding:

After submitting the bidding application, if the bidding unit wishes to amend the bid price, it may submit an additional bidding application (clearly stating the new bid price) before the final deadline specified in the bidding invitation announcement. The bidding unit can amend the bid price one or multiple times, with the highest bid being considered the official bid. Additional bidding applications must be submitted to the Bidding Committee in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 11 of this regulation.

Any bidding application submitted or sent to the Bidding Committee after the final deadline specified in the bidding invitation announcement is deemed invalid.

Bidding units may withdraw from the bidding but must submit a withdrawal notice to the Bidding Committee at least twenty-four hours before the bidding date. Bidding applications will not be returned.

Article 13. Opening bids and selecting the winning unit:

1. The bid opening will be conducted publicly at the time specified in the bidding invitation announcement.

2. Bidding units have the right to attend the bid opening.

3. At the bid opening time, the Bidding Committee will publicly open the envelopes containing the bidding applications of the bidding units in the following steps:

- Checking the seals on the envelopes containing the bidding applications.

- Inspecting each application to determine the completeness of the documents in the application.

- After inspection, the Bidding Committee will read out the list of bidding units with valid bidding applications.

4. Evaluating the bid opening results and declaring the winning unit:

- The bidding unit with the highest bid price for the bidding plot is the winner of that plot.

- In case two or more bidding units offer the same bid price for a plot, the Bidding Committee will organize further bidding among those units until the highest bidder is selected. The format, time, and location are decided by the Bidding Committee.

After the bid opening and declaration of the winning unit, the Bidding Committee must prepare a Bid Opening Record, report the bidding results to the Board of Management and General Director of the Corporation.

- All bidding documents of the bidding units are kept together with the Bid Opening Record.

Article 14. Announcing the winning bid:

Within five days after the bid opening date, the Corporation must send a Winning Bid Notification to the winning unit along with a draft Exploration and Product Distribution Contract.

Article 15. Signing the Exploration and Product Distribution Contract:

1. Within thirty days after receiving the winning bid notification, the winning unit must pay fifty percent of the bid price to the Corporation before signing the Exploration and Product Distribution Contract with the Corporation. The Corporation will only sign the contract after receiving the aforementioned fifty percent payment from the winning unit.

The remaining bid price must be paid by the winning unit according to the agreement stated in the contract.

2. The signing of the Exploration and Product Distribution Contract must comply with the provisions of the law on economic contract signing and strictly follow the contents stipulated in Articles 12, 16, 18, 19, and 20 of the "Regulation on Managing Activities in the Gemstone Sector" issued with Decree No. 65/CP dated October 13, 1995 of the Government.

If the winning unit fails to pay fifty percent of the bid price within the time limit specified in Clause 1 of this Article, it will be considered as having withdrawn from the bidding.

Article 16. Refunding the bidding deposit:

Units that did not win the bid will have their bidding deposits refunded after the Bidding Committee announces the winning unit.

The bidding deposit of the winning unit will be counted towards the bid price.

A winning unit that withdraws from the bidding will not receive a refund of the bidding deposit.

Article 17. Transfer of exploration rights:

In the event that the winning bidder cannot continue to exploit the awarded land plot, they may transfer the exploitation rights to another entity meeting the conditions to continue performing the rights and obligations of the entity that has signed the product sharing exploitation contract with the Corporation, upon the Corporation's approval.

III. INSPECTION, AUDIT, AND PENALTY FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF BIDDING, SIGNING OF EXPLOITATION CONTRACTS FOR PRECIOUS STONE PRODUCTS, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SIGNED CONTRACTS

Article 18. Any acts of collusion, bribery, corruption, or favoritism in bidding, or disclosure of secrets in organizing bidding shall be handled according to the law.

Article 19. The Corporation is responsible for inspecting and supervising the precious stone exploitation activities of the winning bidders. If a winning bidder engages in fraud in reporting the exploited precious stone products or fails to comply with the terms of the contract, depending on the severity of the violation, their contract may be terminated, exploitation halted, mining rights revoked, or criminal responsibility pursued.

Article 20. This regulation takes effect from the date of issuance.