Decree No. 85/2009/ND-CP guiding the implementation of the Law on Bidding and the selection of construction contractors under the Construction Law.

DECREE

Guidelines for implementing the Bidding Law and selecting construction contractors under the Construction Law

contractor under the Construction Law

____________

 

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to the Bidding Law number 61/2005/QH11 dated November 29, 2005, and the Construction Law number 16/2003/QH11 dated November 26, 2003, adopted by the National Assembly;

On the basis of the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of laws related to basic construction investment No. 38/2009/QH12 dated June 19, 2009 of the National Assembly;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Planning and Investment, the Minister of Construction,

DECREE:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

1. This Decree guides the implementation of the Bidding Law number 61/2005/QH11 dated November 29, 2005, and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Laws Related to Basic Investment Construction number 38/2009/QH12 dated June 19, 2009, adopted by the National Assembly (hereinafter referred to as the Amended Law), and guides the selection of construction contractors under the Construction Law number 16/2003/QH11 dated November 26, 2003, adopted by the National Assembly.

2. The selection of contractors for bidding packages under projects using ODA funds shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3, Article 3 of the Bidding Law. Procedures for submission, review, and approval of contents during the contractor selection process shall be implemented in accordance with this Decree.

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

In this Decree, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. State capital usage as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 1 of the Bidding Law includes expenditures through purchasing, leasing, and lease-purchase methods. Determination of state capital participation at 30% or more of the total investment amount or total project investment approved is calculated on a project-by-project basis, not determined based on the proportion of state capital contribution in the total registered capital of enterprises.

2. The Request for Proposal (RFP) consists of all documents used for direct designation bidding, competitive tendering, direct procurement, and contractor selection in special cases, including requirements for a bidding package serving as legal grounds for contractors to prepare proposal documents and for the tenderer to evaluate proposal documents to select contractors meeting RFP requirements; it serves as a basis for negotiation, completion, and signing of contracts. The project owner is responsible for deciding the content of the RFP.

3. The Proposal Document consists of all documents prepared and submitted by the contractor according to the RFP requirements; for competitive tendering, the Proposal Document is also called a quotation.

4. The result of contractor selection is the outcome of open bidding, restricted bidding, or the result of other selection methods.

Violation of bidding laws is an act of failing to implement or fully implement the provisions of bidding laws.

Participation in bidding refers to the contractor's involvement in open or restricted bidding.

5. A bidding package for selecting a general construction contractor includes the selection of a general contractor to undertake design (E); construction (C); design and construction (EC); design, supply of equipment and materials, and construction (EPC); project establishment, design, supply of equipment and materials, and construction (turnkey).

6. The validity period of the bid document and proposal document is the number of days counted from the closing date of the bid, the deadline for submitting the proposal document (counted from the closing time of the bid, the deadline for submitting the proposal document until 24 hours of that day), to 24 hours of the last valid day specified in the tender invitation document and RFP.

7. The validity period of the bid guarantee is the validity period of the bid document plus 30 days, which is the number of days counted from the closing date of the bid (counted from the closing time of the bid to 24 hours of that day), to 24 hours of the last valid day specified in the tender invitation document.

8. Shortlist means the list of contractors invited to participate in restricted bidding, the list of pre-qualified winning contractors, and the list of contractors with interested proposals evaluated as meeting the requirements of the interest invitation document.

9. Investment report, construction project investment in construction activities are understood correspondingly as preliminary feasibility study report, feasibility study report.

Article 3. Ensuring Competition in Bidding

The contents regarding ensuring competition and the implementation timeline shall be carried out as follows:

1. Contractors participating in bidding, contractors preparing tender invitation documents and evaluating tender submissions; contractors performing contracts and contractors supervising contract performance shall be considered independent from each other in terms of organization, not dependent on the same management agency, and financially independent from each other as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 2 of the Amended Law when meeting the following conditions:

a) The contractor is a business operating under the Enterprise Law or does not belong to the same agency or unit directly deciding on establishment;

b) There is no shareholding or capital contribution exceeding 30% of each other.

2. Project investors and contractors participating in bidding for packages belonging to the same project shall be considered independent from each other in terms of organization, not dependent on the same management agency, and financially independent from each other as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 2 of the Amended Law according to the following provisions:

a) For contractors operating under the Enterprise Law: there is no shareholding or capital contribution exceeding 50% of each other;

b) For contractors that are public service units: they do not belong to the same agency or unit directly deciding on establishment and must be self-managed and self-responsible for finance when providing services or goods;

c) For contractors that are state-owned enterprises established under the State-Owned Enterprises Law of 2003 which are required to undergo conversion under the Enterprise Law: there is no shareholding or capital contribution exceeding 50% of each other starting from the time they must complete the conversion process according to the decision of the competent authority.

For contractors that are state-owned enterprises in special sectors or specific industries where the State needs to hold controlling shares, the implementation shall follow the regulations of the Prime Minister.

Article 4. Preferences in International Bidding

1. The preferences in international bidding as stipulated in Article 14 of the Bidding Law shall be implemented as follows:

a) For consultancy service packages: the total score of the tender submission of the contractor eligible for preference shall be increased by 7.5% of the total score of that contractor; in cases where consultancy service packages have high technical requirements, the technical score shall be increased by 7.5% of the technical score of that contractor;

b) For construction works packages: the evaluated price of the tender submission of the contractor not eligible for preference must be increased by an amount equal to 7.5% of the bid price after corrections and adjustments made by that contractor;

c) For procurement of goods packages: the evaluated price of the tender submission of the contractor not eligible for preference must be increased by an amount corresponding to the value of import tax, fees, and charges related to importation as prescribed by law but not exceeding 15% of the value of the goods. Preferences shall not apply to goods subject to import taxes, fees, and charges related to importation as prescribed;

d) For packages selecting general contractors for design, the determination of preferences shall be based on the provisions at point a of this clause. For other packages selecting general contractors for construction, the determination of preferences shall be based on the provisions at point b of this clause.

2. In cases where the documents of foreign contractors are ranked equally, the tender submission proposing higher domestic cost value shall be given a higher ranking. In cases where the tender submissions of domestic contractors and foreign contractors, after applying the preferences as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, are ranked equally, the tender submission of the domestic contractor shall be given a higher ranking.

Article 5. Training and professional development in bidding

1. Recipients

a) Individuals directly participating in bidding activities must have a training and professional development certificate in bidding, except for contractors.

b) Other individuals with such needs.

2. Conditions for organizations to conduct training and professional development activities

a) Having a Business Registration Certificate or Decision on Establishment for entities without a Business Registration Certificate, in accordance with the provisions of the law.

b) Having a teaching staff meeting the standards set forth by the state management agency in charge of bidding.

3. Conditions for issuing bidding certificates

a) Certificates shall be issued to trainees who fully participate in bidding courses and meet the requirements after examination and assessment;

b) Bidding courses for issuing certificates must be organized for at least three days.

4. Responsibilities and obligations of bidding training institutions

a) Being responsible for the quality of training; providing information about their training institution to the database system as stipulated in point b, Clause 2 of this Article;

b) Conducting training and capacity building based on the bidding training framework program and issuing bidding certificates to trainees in accordance with regulations;

c) Storing records of bidding training and capacity building courses they organize in accordance with regulations;

d) Annually reporting to the Ministry of Planning and Investment; relevant ministries, sectors, or localities on the situation of bidding training and professional development activities for monitoring and summarizing.

5. Organization and management of training and professional development activities in bidding

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for organizing and managing training and professional development activities in bidding according to Clause 5, Article 68 of the Bidding Law, specifically as follows:

a) Summarizing the situation of training and professional development activities of training institutions through reports on bidding work from ministries, sectors, and localities, and reports from training institutions;

b) Building and managing a database of bidding training institutions based on information provided by training institutions;

c) Building and managing a database of bidding experts;

d) Specifying the framework program for bidding training, certificates, lecturer standards, and the archiving of bidding training and professional development course records;

đ) Organizing and supporting bidding professional development activities.

Article 6. Costs in Bidding

1. The price of a bidding document set (including tax) is determined by the project owner based on the scale and nature of the tender package but shall not exceed VND 1,000,000 for domestic bidding; for international bidding, the price shall follow international bidding practices.

2. The cost of evaluating the selection results of contractors, including cases where no contractor is selected, is calculated at 0.01% of the tender package value but shall not be less than VND 1,000,000 and not more than VND 50,000,000.

3. The cost for the Advisory Board to resolve contractors' complaints regarding the selection results of contractors is 0.01% of the bid price of the complaining contractor but shall not be less than VND 2,000,000 and not more than VND 50,000,000.

Management and use of the costs mentioned in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article shall be carried out in accordance with current laws.

Article 7. Bidding Newspaper and Electronic Information Portal on Bidding

1. The Bidding Newspaper is a revenue-generating public service entity.

2. The Bidding Newspaper is published daily.

3. Provision of bidding information

a) Responsibility for providing information

- Ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, central-level agencies, and People's Committees at all levels are responsible for providing information as specified in points g and h, Clause 1, Article 5 of the Bidding Law;

- Project owners and tenderers are responsible for providing the information as specified from point a to point e and point h, Clause 1, Article 5 of the Bidding Law.

b) Deadline for providing information

For prequalification notices, tender notices, notices inviting expressions of interest, and invitation to tender notices, the deadline for providing information is no later than three working days before the expected date of publication of these notices. For other information specified in Clause 1, Article 5 of the Bidding Law, the deadline for providing information is no later than seven days from the date of signing the document.

The provision of information, timelines, and costs for publishing bidding information in the Bidding Newspaper and on the electronic information portal on bidding shall be implemented in accordance with guidelines issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Article 8. Provisions on timeframes in tendering

1. Time milestones in tendering shall be carried out according to Article 31 of the Tendering Law, Clause 6 of Article 2 of the Amended Law, and the following specific provisions:

a) The project owner shall be responsible for approving the request documentation within a maximum period of 10 days from the date of receiving the proposal requesting approval of the request documentation from the tender inviter or the report on the examination of the request documentation (if any).

b) The project owner shall be responsible for approving the tender documentation, approving or providing comments on the outcome of the contractor selection within a maximum period of 10 days from the date of receiving the examination report from the examining agency or organization;

c) The effective period of the bid documentation must be clearly specified in the tender invitation documentation, but not exceeding 180 days from the closing date of the tender. In cases where it is necessary to extend the effective period of the bid documentation, the contractor may be requested to extend it one or more times, but ensuring that the total duration of all requests for extension does not exceed 30 days as stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 31 of the Tendering Law.

2. During implementation, the following contents in tendering may be carried out simultaneously: preliminary screening of contractors and preparation of tender invitation documentation; approval of tender invitation documentation and announcement of tender invitation; announcement of tender results and negotiation, completion of contracts.

Chapter II

TENDER PLAN

Article 9. Basis for preparing the tender plan

1. Investment decision or Investment Certificate and related documents.

For tenders that need to be implemented before the investment decision is made, they shall be based on the decision of the head of the unit assigned the task of preparing the project.

2. International treaties or international agreements for projects using ODA funds.

3. Approved design and budget estimate (if any).

4. Project funding sources.

5. Other relevant legal documents (if any).

Article 10. Contents of each tender package in the tender plan

The division of the project into tender packages shall be carried out according to the provisions of Clause 4 of Article 6 of the Tendering Law, ensuring that the scale of each tender package is neither too small nor too large, thereby limiting the participation of contractors. The contents of each tender package include:

1. Name of the tender package

The name of the tender package reflects the nature, content, and scope of work of the tender package, consistent with the content stated in the project. In cases where conditions permit and based on the special characteristics of the project, the tender package may include the content of tasks such as preparing a pre-feasibility study report, a feasibility study report, and technical design. If the tender package includes multiple separate parts (multiple lots), the tender plan should specify the basic content of each part.

2. Value of the tender package

a) The value of the tender package is determined based on the total investment amount or total investment capital, approved budget estimate (if any), and related regulations;

b) For tender packages involving consultancy services for preparing pre-feasibility study reports and feasibility study reports, the value of the tender package is determined based on the following information: average price according to statistics of related projects implemented in the industry during a defined period; estimated total investment amount according to investment unit rates of projects in each specialized field; preliminary total investment amount;

c) If the tender package includes multiple lots, the estimated value of each part in the tender package must be clearly stated.

3. Capital

For each tender package, the source of capital or method of arranging capital for payment to the contractor must be clearly stated; if ODA funds are used, the name of the funding sponsor and the capital structure (domestic and foreign) must be clearly stated.

4. Method of selecting contractors and tendering method

Specify the method of selecting contractors (clearly stating domestic, international, pre-screening, inviting interest, individual consultant selection, if applicable) according to Articles 18 to 24 of the Tendering Law, Clause 4 of Article 2 of the Amended Law, and Article 97 of the Construction Law; tendering method according to the provisions of Article 26 of the Tendering Law.

5. Timeframe for selecting contractors

Specify the timeframe for organizing the selection of contractors to implement the tender package to ensure the schedule of the tender package. The timeframe for selecting contractors is calculated from the date of issuance of the tender invitation documentation or request documentation to the date of signing the contract. In cases of open tendering with the application of shortlist selection procedures, the timeframe for selecting contractors is calculated from the date of issuance of the pre-tender invitation documentation or interested party invitation documentation to the date of signing the contract.

6. Contract form

Depending on the nature of the tender package, determine the forms of contract applicable to the contract for the tender package according to Articles 49 to 53 of the Tendering Law and Article 107 of the Construction Law. In cases where a tender package includes multiple works corresponding to multiple contract forms, the contract for that tender package may include multiple contract forms.

7. Contract execution period

The contract execution period is calculated from the date the contract becomes effective to the date when the parties complete their obligations as stipulated in the contract, ensuring the implementation of the tender package in accordance with the project implementation schedule.

Article 11. Submission for approval of bidding plan

1. Responsibility for submission

The project investor shall be responsible for submitting the bidding plan to the competent authority or the authorized person to decide on investment for review and approval; at the same time, sending it to the appraisal agency; in cases where the bidding plan is submitted to the Prime Minister, the project investor must also send it to the sector management ministry for their written opinion to be reviewed and approved by the Prime Minister.

For consultancy service contracts implemented before the investment decision is made, if the investor can be identified, the unit under the investor shall be responsible for submitting the bidding plan to the head of the investor's agency for review and approval. In cases where the investor has not yet been determined, the unit assigned the task of preparing the project shall be responsible for submitting the bidding plan to its own head for review and approval. The head of the investor's agency and the head of the unit assigned the task of preparing the project shall designate an affiliated unit to appraise the bidding plan before approving it.

2. Submission Documents

a) The submission document for the bidding plan includes the following contents:

- Part of work already completed including the content related to project preparation, executed contracts with corresponding values, and legal basis for implementation;

- Part of work that cannot apply one of the tendering methods prescribed from Article 18 to Article 24 of the Bidding Law, Clause 4, Article 2 of the Amended Law, and Article 97 of the Construction Law;

- Part of work included in the bidding plan including the content of work and the value of the work corresponding to the formation of contracts carried out according to one of the tendering methods prescribed from Article 18 to Article 24 of the Bidding Law, Clause 4, Article 2 of the Amended Law, and Article 97 of the Construction Law, including tasks such as bomb and mine clearance, construction of resettlement areas, site preparation, construction insurance, training; the basis for dividing the project into contracts. For each contract, it must ensure all contents stipulated in Article 10 of this Decree;

For contracts that do not apply open tendering, in the submission document for the bidding plan, the investor must clearly state the reasons for applying other selection methods based on compliance with the provisions of the Bidding Law, Construction Law, Amended Law, and this Decree. For contracts within the limit of direct award or due to special requirements applying direct award as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 2 of the Amended Law and Clause 1, Article 40 of this Decree, it must also ensure that the direct award is more effective than open tendering by quantifying the economic and social factors and other factors.

- Part of work that does not meet the conditions for planning bidding (if any): must specify the remaining content and value of the work of the project.

The total value of the work already completed, the work that cannot apply tendering methods, the work included in the bidding plan, and the work that does not meet the conditions for planning bidding (if any) shall not exceed the total investment ceiling of the project.

If it is necessary to prepare a bidding plan for one or several contracts to be implemented first as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 6 of the Bidding Law, the submission document must still include the contents as prescribed in this clause.

b) Documents attached to the submission

When submitting the bidding plan, the project investor must attach copies of the documents serving as the basis for preparing the bidding plan as prescribed in Article 9 of this Decree.

Article 12. Review and Approval of Tendering Plan

1. Review of Tendering Plan

a) The review of the tendering plan involves conducting inspections and evaluations of the contents as stipulated in Articles 9, 10, and 11 of this Decree;

b) The agency or organization reviewing the tendering plan must prepare a report on the results of the review based on compliance with the provisions of Article 65 of the Bidding Law to be submitted for approval by the authorized authority.

2. Approval of Tendering Plan

The authorized person or the person authorized to decide on investment; the head of the project owner or the head of the unit assigned the task of preparing the project in cases where the tender package is implemented before the investment decision is made shall be responsible for approving the tendering plan within no more than 10 days from the date of receipt of the review report from the reviewing agency or organization. The approval of the tendering plan under the responsibility of the Prime Minister shall be carried out according to the Government's Working Regulations.

Chapter III

PRELIMINARY SELECTION OF CONTRACTORS

Article 13. Application of Preliminary Selection

1. Based on the nature and scale of the tender package, preliminary selection of contractors may be applied as provided for in Clause 7, Article 2 of the Amended Law to select contractors with sufficient capacity and experience in accordance with the requirements of the tender package to invite participation in bidding.

2. The preliminary selection of contractors must be approved by the authorized person in the tendering plan.

Article 14. Procedure for Implementing Preliminary Selection

1. Preparation of Request for Preliminary Selection Documents

The tender inviter prepares the request for preliminary selection documents to be approved by the project owner. The request for preliminary selection documents include information guiding the tender package and the following requirements for contractors:

a) Technical capability requirements;

b) Financial capability requirements;

c) Experience requirements.

Criteria for evaluating preliminary selection application documents are established according to "pass" and "fail" standards and need to be stated in the request for preliminary selection documents, including criteria for each technical capability requirement, financial capability requirement, and experience requirement.

For construction works tender packages and construction general contracting tender packages, excluding design general contractors, the evaluation criteria for preliminary selection application documents must also comply with the requirements for construction activity capability conditions as prescribed by the Construction Law.

2. Announcement of Request for Preliminary Selection

The announcement of the request for preliminary selection (including English for international bidding) must be published in the Bidding Newspaper for three consecutive issues and on the electronic bidding information website. In addition to publication as required, it can be simultaneously published on other mass media.

The request for preliminary selection documents are provided free of charge to contractors from the first day of publishing the announcement of the request for preliminary selection and continue until the deadline for submitting preliminary selection application documents (closing preliminary selection). If the tender inviter does not issue the request for preliminary selection documents as prescribed or engages in any actions that limit contractors from receiving the request for preliminary selection documents, they will be handled according to point m, Clause 1, Article 65 of this Decree.

3. Receipt and Management of Preliminary Selection Application Documents

The minimum preparation time for preliminary selection application documents is 10 days for domestic bidding and 20 days for international bidding, starting from the first day of issuing the request for preliminary selection documents.

The tender inviter receives preliminary selection application documents submitted by contractors and manages them according to regulations. Preliminary selection application documents submitted in accordance with the requirements stated in the request for preliminary selection documents will be publicly opened immediately after the closing preliminary selection. Preliminary selection application documents received after the closing preliminary selection deadline are invalid and will be rejected.

4. Evaluation of Preliminary Selection Application Documents

The evaluation of preliminary selection application documents is conducted by the tender inviter according to the evaluation criteria stated in the request for preliminary selection documents.

5. Submission and Approval of Preliminary Selection Results

The tender inviter is responsible for submitting the preliminary selection results to the project owner for approval.

6. Notification of Preliminary Selection Results

After the project owner approves the preliminary selection results, the tender inviter has the responsibility to notify in writing about the preliminary selection results to participating contractors and invite all selected contractors to participate in the bidding.

Chapter IV

WIDE BIDDING AND RESTRICTED BIDDING FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICE TENDER PACKAGES

PART 1: BIDDING PROCEDURES FOR CONTRACTORS THAT ARE ORGANIZATIONS

Article 15. Preparing for Bidding

1. Shortlist Selection

Depending on the nature and specific conditions of each tender package, when conducting open bidding, the project owner may immediately issue a bid invitation according to the provisions at point a, Clause 4 of this Article or apply the shortlist selection procedure but must be approved by the authorized person in the bidding plan. The shortlist selection procedure includes:

a) For wide bidding:

- The project owner approves the notice of interest request including requirements regarding professional capacity and number of experts; experience requirements;

- Evaluation criteria for the notice of interest requests are established based on "pass" and "fail" standards and must be stated in the notice of interest request, including standards related to professional capacity and number of experts; experience standards;

- The announcement inviting submission of notice of interest requests (including English for international bidding) must be published consecutively three times in the Bidder Newspaper and on the electronic bidding information website. In addition to the publication as prescribed, it can also be simultaneously published on other media outlets;

- From the first day of publishing the announcement inviting submission of notice of interest requests, the bidder invites free distribution of the notice of interest request to contractors who wish to participate before the deadline for submitting the notice of interest request;

In case the bidder does not distribute the notice of interest request as prescribed or implements any actions that limit contractors from receiving the notice of interest request, they will be handled according to the provisions at point m, Clause 1 of Article 65 of this Decree;

- 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 bidder evaluates the notice of interest requests submitted by contractors according to the evaluation criteria, selects, and submits the shortlist for approval by the project owner;

b) For restricted bidding:

The bidder determines the shortlist consisting of a minimum of five contractors with sufficient capacity and experience (as stipulated in Article 19 of the Bidding Law) and willing to participate in the bidding, to submit for approval by the project owner;

2. Preparing the Bid Invitation Document

a) Basis for preparing the tender invitation:

- Investment decision or Investment Certificate and related documents;

- The approved bidding plan;

- Provisions of the Bidding Law and related laws; international treaties or international agreements (if applicable) for projects using ODA funds;

- State policies on tax, wages, preferential treatment in international bidding, or other relevant regulations;

In case the tender package needs to be implemented before the investment decision is made, the project owner or the unit assigned the task of preparing the project bases on relevant documents to prepare the tender notice for approval by the head of the project owner's agency or the head of the unit assigned the task of preparing the project;

b) Content of the tender invitation:

The tender notice must include contents as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 32 of the Bidding Law and the tender notice model issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, which must include important requirements (preliminary conditions) serving as grounds for rejecting tender submissions, specifically as follows:

- The contractor is not listed in the list of tender notice buyers or does not meet the provisions at Clause 2, Article 17 of this Decree;

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

- The contractor participating in the construction consultancy tender package does not ensure the conditions for construction business activities as prescribed by the Construction Law;

- 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 contractor violates one of the prohibited acts in bidding as stipulated in Article 12 of the Bidding Law and Clause 3, Clause 21 of Article 2 of the Amended Law;

- 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. Approval of Tender Notice

The project owner approves the tender notice according to the provisions at Clause 19, Article 2 of the Amended Law based on the appraisal report of the appraisal agency or organization;

4. Invitation to Bid

a) Announcing the tender invitation:

In case the shortlist selection procedure is not applied, the project owner publishes the bid invitation (including English for international bidding) consecutively three times in the Bidder Newspaper and on the electronic bidding information website. In addition to the publication as prescribed, it can also be simultaneously published on other media outlets;

b) Sending the tender invitation letter:

The bidder sends the bid invitation letter to contractors in the shortlist according to the provisions at Clause 1 of this Article. The content of the bid invitation letter is established according to the model attached as Appendix II to this Decree. The time from sending the bid invitation letter to issuing the tender notice is a minimum of 5 days for domestic bidding, 7 days for international bidding.

Article 16. Criteria for Evaluating Tender Documents

1. For consultancy service packages, including construction consultancy services as prescribed by the Construction Law, which do not require high technical expertise:

a) Technical evaluation criteria: use a point scale (100, 1,000,...) to establish evaluation criteria, including the following contents:

- The experience and capacity of the contractor. The percentage of points for this content is specified from 10% to 20% of the total points;

- Solutions and methodologies for the requirements of the package. The percentage of points for this content is specified from 30% to 40% of the total points;

- Personnel of the contractor to implement the package. The percentage of points for this content is specified from 50% to 60% of the total points.

It is necessary to determine the minimum required technical score but it must not be set lower than 70% of the total points. Tender documents with technical scores not lower than the minimum required technical score meet the technical requirements.

b) Financial evaluation criteria:

Use a point scale (100, 1,000,...) consistent with the technical point scale. The financial score for each tender document is determined as follows:

Where:

- P lowest: the lowest bid price after correction and adjustment of errors among contractors who have passed the technical evaluation;

- P under review: the bid price after correction and adjustment of errors of the tender document under review.

c) Comprehensive evaluation criteria:

- Comprehensive evaluation criteria are established based on technical and financial evaluation criteria, where the weight of technical points must not be set lower than 70% of the total points and the weight of financial points must not be set higher than 30% of the total points;

- The comprehensive score for a tender document is determined according to the following formula:

Comprehensive Score = Tkỹ thuật x (K%) + Đtài chính x (G%)

Where:

+ K%: the weight of technical points (specified in the comprehensive point scale);

+ G%: the weight of financial points (specified in the comprehensive point scale);

+ Tkỹ thuật: the number of points of the tender document determined at the technical evaluation stage as stipulated in Point a Clause 1 of this Article;

+ Đtài chính: the number of points of the tender document determined at the financial evaluation stage as stipulated in Point b Clause 1 of this Article.

2. For consultancy service packages, including construction consultancy services as prescribed by the Construction Law, which require high technical expertise:

Technical evaluation criteria are established as prescribed in Point a Clause 1 of this Article, where the minimum required technical score must not be set lower than 80% of the total technical points.

Article 17. Tender Organization

1. Issuing the Bid Invitation Document

a) The tender inviter sells tender invitation documents to contractors participating in open tendering before the closing time (in cases where the shortlist procedure is not applied), to contractors in the shortlist at the prescribed price under Clause 1 of Article 6 of this Decree. In the case of a consortium, only one member of the consortium needs to purchase the tender invitation document.

If the tender inviter fails to sell tender invitation documents as prescribed or engages in any actions that limit contractors from purchasing tender invitation documents, they will be subject to handling as prescribed in Point m Clause 1 of Article 65 of this Decree.

b) Amendments and clarifications to tender invitation documents are carried out as prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 33 and Article 34 of the Bidding Law.

2. Preparation of Tender Documents

Contractors prepare and submit tender documents in accordance with the requirements of the tender invitation document. If a contractor needs to change their participation status (name) compared to when purchasing the tender invitation document, they must notify the tender inviter in writing. The tender inviter will consider the following cases:

- For open tendering, accept changes in status upon receipt of a written notification from the contractor before the closing time;

- For restricted tendering, after the shortlist selection stage, the tender inviter will consider each specific case and report to the project owner to decide whether to accept or reject the change in status of the contractor before the closing time while ensuring competition, fairness, and transparency in the tendering process.

3. Receiving and Managing Tender Documents

The tender inviter receives and manages submitted tender documents under a confidential file management system. Tender documents received after the closing time are invalid and will be rejected. Any documents sent by the contractor after the closing time to amend or supplement submitted tender documents are invalid (except for clarifying tender documents upon request of the tender inviter).

4. Amending or Withdrawing Tender Documents

When wishing to amend or withdraw submitted tender documents, the contractor must submit a written request, and the tender inviter will only approve if the written request is received before the closing time; the withdrawal request must be sent separately from the tender document.

5. Opening Technical Proposals

a) The opening of tenders must be conducted publicly immediately after the closing time as specified in the tender invitation document, in the presence of witnesses regardless of the presence or absence of invited contractors. The tender inviter may invite representatives of relevant agencies to attend the tender 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 opening, the tender inviter must sign to confirm each page of the original technical proposal of each tender document and manage them under a confidential file management system. The evaluation of tender documents is conducted based on copies. The contractor is responsible for the accuracy and consistency between the copy and the original as well as the sealing of the tender document.

Article 18. Evaluation of Bid Submissions

The evaluation of tender documents for consultancy service packages, including construction consultancy services as prescribed by the Construction Law, is based on the evaluation criteria and other requirements stated in the tender invitation document, in accordance with the evaluation principles stipulated in Article 28 of the Bidding Law and the evaluation procedures stipulated in Article 35 of the Bidding Law, Clause 9 of Article 2 of the amended Law.

After the tender opening, the bidder shall clarify the bid dossier upon request of the tender inviter in accordance with Article 36 of the Bidding Law. In cases where the bid dossier lacks documents such as Business Registration Certificate, Investment Certificate, decision on establishment, relevant professional certificates, and other required documents as specified in the tender invitation, the tender inviter may request the bidder to supplement these documents to prove the bidder's legitimate status, capacity, and experience without altering the fundamental content of the submitted bid dossier or changing the bid price.

1. Preliminary Evaluation

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

- Legality of the Bid Form: The bid form must be fully completed and signed by the legal representative of the bidder as required by the tender invitation. For joint venture bidders, the bid form must be signed by the legal representative of each joint venture member or by the leading member representing the joint venture, in accordance with the provisions of the joint venture agreement;

- Legality of the Joint Venture Agreement: The joint venture agreement must clearly define the responsibilities, authorities, volume of work, and corresponding value for each member of the joint venture, including the head of the joint venture and the responsibilities of the head, signatures of the members, and seals (if any);

- Possession of any of the valid documents required by the tender invitation: Business Registration Certificate, Investment Certificate, decision on establishment; Legal Operation Registration Certificate; relevant professional certificates;

- Number of original copies and photocopies of technical proposal documents;

- Any appendices and accompanying documents with the bidding documents.

b) Eliminate bid dossiers that do not meet the important requirements (preconditions) stated in the tender invitation as prescribed in point b, Clause 2, Article 15 of this Decree.

2. Detailed Evaluation

a) Evaluation of bid dossiers for consultancy service packages, including construction consultancy services as stipulated by the Construction Law, which do not require high technical expertise:

- Technical evaluation:

Evaluate according to the technical evaluation criteria set forth in the tender invitation. The project owner shall approve a list of bidders meeting the technical requirements to proceed with financial evaluation.

- Financial evaluation:

Publicly open the financial proposal documents of bidders meeting the technical requirements in accordance with the procedures prescribed in point b, Clause 5, Article 17 of this Decree. 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 the tender opening, the tender inviter must sign confirmation on each page of the original financial proposal document of each bid dossier 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 set forth in the tender invitation.

- Comprehensive evaluation:

Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of both technical and financial aspects according to the comprehensive evaluation criteria set forth in the tender invitation. The bidder with the highest total score shall be ranked first by the tender inviter and invited to negotiate the contract in accordance with Article 19 of this Decree.

b) Evaluation of bid dossiers for consultancy service packages, including construction consultancy services as stipulated by the Construction Law, which require high technical expertise:

Evaluate the technical proposal document according to the evaluation criteria set forth in the tender invitation as prescribed in point a, Clause 2 of this Article. A bid dossier achieving a technical score not lower than the minimum required score shall meet the technical requirements and be ranked by the tender inviter for approval by the project owner. The first-ranked bidder will be invited to open the financial proposal document and negotiate the contract in accordance with Article 19 of this Decree.

Article 19. Contract Negotiation

1. Based on the decision of the project investor, the tenderer invites the first-ranked bidder to negotiate the contract.

2. Content of contract negotiation

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).

In case the contract negotiation fails, the tenderer reports to the project investor for consideration and decision to invite the next-ranked bidder to negotiate.

Article 20. Approval, Review, Approval, and Announcement of Tender Results

1. The approval and review of the tender results for consultancy service packages shall be carried out in accordance with Article 37 of the Bidding Law, Clause 11 of Article 2 of the Amended Law, and Articles 71 and 72 of this Decree.

2. The approval of the tender results shall be conducted in accordance with Article 40 of the Bidding Law and Clause 12 of Article 2 of the Amended Law. For packages implemented before the investment decision is made, the head of the project investor's agency or the head of the unit tasked with preparing the project shall approve the tender results.

3. The announcement of the tender results shall be carried out in accordance with Article 41 of the Bidding Law and Clause 13 of Article 2 of the Amended Law, specifically that immediately upon receiving the approval decision on the tender results, the tenderer must send a notification letter of the tender results to all participating bidders, and for the winning bidder, also send the negotiation plan and contract completion schedule.

Article 21. Negotiation, Completion, and Signing of Contracts

1. The negotiation, completion, and signing of contracts shall be carried out in accordance with Article 42 and Chapter III of the Bidding Law, Clauses 14, 16, and 17 of Article 2 of the Amended Law, and Section 2 of Chapter VI of the Construction Law.

2. In case the negotiation and completion of the contract fail, the project investor shall consider revoking the previous approval decision on the tender results and decide to invite the next-ranked bidder to negotiate the contract according to Article 19 of this Decree. If necessary, the project investor must request the bidder to extend the validity of the bidding documents. Subsequent steps shall be carried out in accordance with Articles 20 and 21 of this Decree.

PART 2: PROCEDURE FOR SELECTING INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANTS

Article 22. Selection of Individual Consultants

Depending on the nature, content, and scope of the consulting work, if the project investor considers that individual consultants can independently undertake the work without the need for multiple experts or specialized support from other individuals or organizations, or if using individual consultants is advantageous, the project investor shall report to the authorized person for approval in the bidding plan. The selection of individual consultants shall be carried out according to the following procedure:

1. The tenderer determines the reference terms and prepares a draft contract for the consultant position to be selected. The project investor approves the reference terms and identifies a list of at least three suitable individual consultants based on the requirements stated in the reference terms; in cases where there are fewer than three individual consultants, the project investor shall consider and decide. The tenderer sends an invitation letter and reference terms to the individual consultants to submit their scientific curriculum vitae.

The contents of the reference terms include:

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 tenderer evaluates the scientific curriculum vitae of the individual consultants identified by the project investor according to the reference terms.

3. Based on the draft contract, reference terms, and related information, the tenderer conducts negotiations with the proposed individual consultants.

4. Based on the tenderer's report, the project investor approves the selection results and signs a contract with the selected individual consultant.

Chapter V

WIDE AND RESTRICTED BIDDING FOR PROCUREMENT OF GOODS AND CONSTRUCTION PACKAGES

PART 1: TENDERING IN STAGES

Article 23. Tender Preparation

1. Prequalification of contractors shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Chapter III of this Decree.

2. Preparing the Bid Invitation Document

a) Basis for preparing the tender invitation:

- Investment decision or Investment Certificate and related documents;

- The approved bidding plan;

- Design documents accompanied by approved budget estimates (for construction works packages);

- Provisions of laws on tendering and related laws; international treaties or international agreements (if applicable) for projects using ODA funds;

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

b) Content of the tender invitation:

- The tender invitation document must include contents as prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 32 of the Law on Bidding and the tender invitation document template issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. For packages that have undergone prequalification, the tender invitation document does not need to specify criteria for evaluating the experience and capacity of contractors but should require contractors to restate the information declared in their prequalification application forms and update information about their capacity and experience;

- In cases where foreign labor with appropriate expertise is required for the package, the tender invitation document must require contractors to declare in their bidding documents the number, level, professional capacity, and experience of foreign staff mobilized to implement the package; it strictly prohibits the use of foreign labor to perform tasks that can be carried out by domestic labor and meet the requirements of the package, especially unskilled general workers who have not received vocational training;

- The bidding invitation contract may not specify requirements regarding the brand or origin of goods as stipulated in Clause 5 of Article 12 of the Law on Bidding. In exceptional cases where it is necessary to specify a brand, catalog of a particular manufacturer, or goods from a specific country for reference or illustration of technical requirements, the phrase "or equivalent" must be added after the brand, catalog, or origin mentioned, and clearly define the concept of equivalent as having similar technical characteristics and usage functions as the specified goods. Only request contractors to submit sales permits belonging to the manufacturer's copyright in cases where the goods are special and complex; in necessary cases, for ordinary goods, the tender invitation document may request a sales authorization letter from a distributor;

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

+ Contractors whose names are not included in the list of those purchasing the tender invitation documents or do not comply with the provisions of Clause 2 of Article 28 of this Decree;

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

+ Contractors participating in construction works packages that do not meet the conditions for construction activity capacity as prescribed by laws on construction;

+ No bid security or bid security that is invalid: has a value lower than, is not in the specified currency, has a shorter validity period, is not submitted to the address and time specified in the tender invitation document, is not under the name of the tender package, the contractor's name (in the case of a consortium as prescribed in Article 32 of this Decree), is not an original document and does not have a valid signature (in the case of a bank guarantee or financial organization);

+ No original bidding document;

+ Invalid bid proposal;

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

+ Bidding documents with non-fixed bid prices, multiple price levels offered or prices accompanied by conditions detrimental to the project owner;

+ 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);

+ Contractors violating any of the prohibited acts in bidding as stipulated in Article 12 of the Law on Bidding and Clauses 3 and 21 of Article 2 of the Amended Law;

+ 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 Tender Notice

Implement in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3 of Article 15 of this Decree.

4. Invitation to Bid

a) Tender Invitation Announcement

For open tendering without prequalification, the tender invitation announcement (including in English for international tenders) must be published in the Bidding Newspaper for three consecutive issues and on the electronic bidding information website. In addition to the publication as prescribed above, simultaneous publication on other mass media may also be conducted.

b) Sending Bid Invitation Letters

Applies to limited tendering and open tendering with prequalification. The tenderer sends bid invitation letters according to the model specified in Appendix II attached to this Decree to contractors in the shortlist. The minimum time from sending the bid invitation letter to issuing the tender invitation document is five days for domestic tendering and seven days for international tendering.

Article 24. General provisions on technical evaluation criteria

1. Using scoring method

a) Using a scale (100, 1,000, ...) to establish technical evaluation criteria. The content of technical evaluation criteria for procurement packages of goods and construction works is set forth in Clause 2, Article 25 and Clause 2, Article 26 of this Decree. The minimum required score for technical aspects shall be specified according to the nature of each procurement package but must ensure that it is not less than 70% of the total technical points; for procurement packages with high technical requirements, it must not be lower than 80%.

For construction general contracting procurement packages (from design general contracting procurement packages), the minimum required score for each work content must also be specified, ensuring that it is not lower than 70% of the maximum score for the corresponding work content.

b) For procurement packages of goods and construction works, tender documents meet the technical requirements when they achieve scores not lower than the minimum required technical score.

For construction general contracting procurement packages (excluding design general contracting procurement packages), tender documents meet the technical requirements when the scores evaluated for each work content are not lower than the minimum required score for the corresponding work content, and the overall score of all contents is not lower than the minimum required technical score for the entire procurement package.

2. Using "pass" and "fail" criteria

a) Evaluation criteria

The content of technical evaluation criteria for procurement packages of goods and construction works is set forth in Clause 2, Article 25 and Clause 2, Article 26 of this Decree. Depending on the nature of the procurement package, the level of requirement for each content should be determined. For basic requirements of tender invitation documents, only the criteria "pass" or "fail" should be used. For non-basic requirements, in addition to the criteria "pass" or "fail", the criterion "acceptable" can be applied but must not exceed 30% of the total number of requirements in the evaluation criteria.

b) Tender documents are considered to meet the technical requirements when all basic requirements are evaluated as "pass", and non-basic requirements are evaluated as "pass" or "acceptable".

Article 25. Evaluation criteria for tender documents for procurement packages of goods

The evaluation criteria for tender documents for procurement packages of goods include evaluation criteria for the capacity and experience of contractors, technical evaluation criteria, and determination of evaluation price content, 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 in operating in the main production and business fields related to the procurement package;

b) Production and business capacity, technical infrastructure, and expertise level related to the procurement package;

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

Determining specific levels of requirements for each standard stipulated in Points a, b, and c of this clause must be based on the requirements of each procurement package.

The evaluation criteria prescribed in this clause use the criteria "pass" and "fail". Contractors who pass all three contents stipulated in Points a, b, and c of this clause are considered to meet the requirements for capacity and experience.

2. Technical evaluation criteria

Technical evaluation criteria are established according to the provisions of Article 24 of this Decree and include contents regarding the ability to meet quantity and quality requirements for goods stated in the tender invitation documents, specifically:

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

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

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. Content for determining the evaluation price

The evaluation price is the price determined on the same basis of factors such as technical, financial, commercial, and other factors used to compare and rank tender documents. The method for determining the evaluation price must be stated in the evaluation criteria for tender documents. The determination of the evaluation price is carried out in the following sequence:

- Determine the tender price (In case there is a discount letter, it shall be implemented according to the provisions of Clause 13, Article 70 of this Decree);

- Correct errors;

- Adjust any discrepancies;

- Convert the tender price (after correcting errors and adjusting discrepancies) to a common currency (if applicable);

- Bring 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; service life, and other technical factors depending on each specific procurement package;

+ Financial and commercial conditions;

+ International bidding preferences (if applicable);

+ Other factors.

According to the nature of each procurement package, the factors for determining the evaluation price should be specified appropriately. Rank tender documents according to the evaluation price, the tender document with the lowest evaluation price is ranked first.

Article 26. Criteria for evaluating tender documents for construction packages

The criteria for evaluating tender documents for construction packages include the criteria for assessing the bidder's capacity and experience, technical criteria, and the content of 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 construction packages in Vietnam, in similar geographic regions and sites;

b) Technical capacity: the number and level of technical staff directly implementing the package, the quantity of available construction equipment, and the ability to mobilize construction equipment to implement the package;

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

Determining the specific requirements for each criterion specified in points a, b, and c of this clause must be based on the requirements of each construction package.

The evaluation criteria stipulated in this clause are applied according to the "pass" or "fail" standard. A bidder who meets all three contents specified in points a, b, and c of this clause will be evaluated as meeting the requirements for capacity and experience.

2. Technical evaluation criteria

The technical evaluation criteria are established in accordance with Article 24 of this Decree and include the content regarding the degree of compliance with the requirements of design documents and forecasts, specifically:

a) The rationality and feasibility of technical solutions and construction organization methods consistent with the proposed construction schedule;

Except for cases where the nature of the construction package requires bidders to strictly follow the construction methods stated in the tender invitation, the tender invitation should allow bidders to propose alternative construction methods. In such cases, the tender invitation must specify the evaluation criteria for the bidder's proposed alternative construction method.

b) Ensuring environmental hygiene conditions and other conditions such as fire prevention and extinguishing, labor safety;

c) Compliance with warranty requirements;

d) Quality assurance measures;

đ) Construction schedule;

e) Other contents (if any).

Depending on the nature and specific conditions of each construction package, either a scoring method or a "pass" or "fail" standard may be used for the above technical criteria. If the tender invitation allows bidders to offer alternative or supplementary proposals to seek innovative suggestions that bring higher benefits to the construction package, these must be clearly stated in the tender invitation along with the evaluation standards and methods for such proposals, including the bid price.

In cases where it is necessary to expedite the evaluation of tender documents for construction packages with simple technical requirements, the tender invitation may stipulate that the evaluation process can be conducted concurrently between technical review and the bidder's proposed construction schedule, and the bid price.

3. Content 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 for determining the evaluation price must be specified in the evaluation criteria. The determination of the evaluation price shall be carried out in the following sequence:

- Determining the bid price (in cases involving a reduction letter, this shall be implemented according to Clause 13 of Article 70 of this Decree);

- Correct errors;

- Adjust any discrepancies;

- Convert the tender price (after correcting errors and adjusting discrepancies) to a common currency (if applicable);

- Bring costs to a common basis to determine the evaluation price, including:

+ Technical conditions such as: implementation schedule; management, operation, maintenance, and repair costs, service life of the project, and other technical factors depending on each specific construction package;

+ Financial and commercial conditions;

+ International bidding preferences (if applicable);

+ Other factors.

According to the nature of each procurement package, the factors for determining the evaluation price should be specified appropriately. Rank tender documents according to the evaluation price, the tender document with the lowest evaluation price is ranked first.

Article 27. Criteria for evaluating tender documents for construction general contracting packages (excluding design general contracting packages)

The criteria for evaluating tender documents for construction general contracting packages (excluding design general contracting packages) include evaluation criteria for each work content as stipulated in point a, Clause 1, Article 16, Article 24, Article 25, and Article 26 of this Decree.

Article 28. Tender organization

1. Issuing the Bid Invitation Document

a) The tender inviter shall sell tender invitation documents to bidders on the prequalification list (in case of prequalification), invited limited tender bidders, or bidders interested in open tendering at the price specified in Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree before the tender closing time. For consortium bidders, only one member of the consortium needs to purchase the tender invitation documents;

If the tender inviter fails to sell tender invitation documents as prescribed or engages in any actions that limit contractors from purchasing tender invitation documents, they will be subject to handling as prescribed in Point m Clause 1 of Article 65 of this Decree.

b) Amendments and clarifications to tender invitation documents shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 33 and Article 34 of the Bidding Law.

2. Preparation, receipt, management, amendment, or withdrawal of tender documents

Shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Clause 2, Clause 3, and Clause 4, Article 17 of this Decree.

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:

- For open tendering, accept changes in status upon receipt of a written notification from the contractor before the closing time;

- In the case of limited tendering or open tendering that has passed the prequalification stage, depending on specific circumstances, the tender inviter shall consider and report to the project owner to decide whether to approve or not approve changes in the bidder's status before the tender closing time, while ensuring competition, fairness, and transparency in the bidding process.

3. Opening Bids

a) The opening of tenders shall be conducted publicly immediately after the tender closing time as specified in the tender invitation documents, witnessed by those present, regardless of the presence or absence of invited bidders. The tender inviter may invite representatives from relevant agencies to attend the tender opening ceremony;

b) The tender inviter shall open tender documents sequentially according to the alphabetical order of the bidder names listed in the tender invitation document purchase list and submitted before the tender closing time. The tender opening procedure shall be carried out as follows:

- Checking the sealing of tender 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 tender opening, the tender inviter must sign confirmation on each page of the original of each tender document and manage it under the confidential document management system. The evaluation of tender documents shall be conducted based on copies. Bidders shall be responsible for the accuracy and consistency between the copies and originals as well as the sealing of tender documents.

Article 29. Evaluation of tender documents

The evaluation of tender documents shall be conducted according to the evaluation criteria and other requirements stated in the tender invitation documents, following the evaluation principles stipulated in Article 28 of the Bidding Law and the evaluation procedures stipulated in Article 35 of the Bidding Law, and Clause 9, Article 2 of the Amended Law.

After the tender opening, the bidder shall clarify the bid dossier upon request of the tender inviter in accordance with Article 36 of the Bidding Law. In cases where the bid dossier lacks documents such as Business Registration Certificate, Investment Certificate, decision on establishment, relevant professional certificates, and other required documents as specified in the tender invitation, the tender inviter may request the bidder to supplement these documents to prove the bidder's legitimate status, capacity, and experience without altering the fundamental content of the submitted bid dossier or changing the bid price.

1. Preliminary Evaluation

a) Verify the validity of the tender submission documents:

- Legality of the Bid Form: The bid form must be fully completed and signed by the legal representative of the bidder as required by the tender invitation. For joint venture bidders, the bid form must be signed by the legal representative of each joint venture member or by the leading member representing the joint venture, in accordance with the provisions of the joint venture agreement;

- Validity of the consortium agreement: the consortium agreement must clearly define responsibilities, authorities, volume of work to be performed, and corresponding value of each member of the consortium, including the lead consortium member and the responsibility of the lead consortium member; signatures of members, seals (if any);

- 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 Copyright Sales Permit or Distributor's Sales Authorization Letter (if required);

- Number of original and copied tender documents;

- Validity of the bid guarantee;

- Any appendices and accompanying documents with the bidding documents.

b) Eliminate tender documents that do not meet the preconditions specified in the tender invitation documents as stipulated in point b, Clause 2, Article 23 of this Decree;

c) Evaluate the bidder's capacity and experience according to the evaluation criteria for capacity and experience stated in the tender invitation documents for packages that do not undergo prequalification. Depending on the conditions of each package, the evaluation of capacity and experience can be conducted at the preliminary evaluation stage for all bidders with valid tender documents that do not violate preconditions, or the evaluation of capacity and experience can be conducted after determining the evaluated price and must be specified in the tender invitation documents. Bidders must be evaluated as meeting the requirements for capacity and experience as stipulated in the tender invitation documents for their tender documents to be considered in subsequent steps.

2. Detailed evaluation of tender documents

a) Technical evaluation

Evaluation according to technical evaluation criteria specified in the tender invitation documents. During the evaluation process, the tender inviter has the right to request bidders to explain and clarify unclear or unusual contents in the tender documents. Only tender documents approved by the project owner as meeting technical requirements shall be determined for evaluated pricing as stipulated in point b, Clause 2 of this Article.

During the review and approval of the list of bidders meeting technical requirements, if necessary, the project owner may require the tender inviter to re-evaluate the technical aspects of tender documents from bidders whose scores are close to the minimum requirement but have lower bid prices and higher potential benefits for the project.

b) Determination of evaluated price

The determination of evaluated price shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3, Article 25 and Clause 3, Article 26 of this Decree.

3. Ranking tender documents based on evaluated price

The tender document with the lowest evaluated price shall be ranked first. If prequalification has not been conducted or the bidder's capacity and experience have not been evaluated at the preliminary evaluation stage, after the project owner approves the ranking list of bidders based on evaluated price, the tender inviter shall evaluate the capacity and experience of the first-ranked bidder. If the capacity and experience of the first-ranked bidder do not meet the requirements, the tender document of the bidder will be eliminated, and the capacity and experience of subsequent ranked bidders will be evaluated.

In complex packages, if deemed necessary, the tender inviter may report to the project owner to allow the first-ranked bidder to enter into preliminary contract negotiations to facilitate post-bid contract negotiation and completion.

Article 30. Correcting errors and adjusting discrepancies

1. Correcting errors

Correcting errors involves amending mistakes in the bidding documents, including arithmetic errors and other errors, carried out according to the following principles:

a) Arithmetic errors include those arising from incorrect addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division operations:

- In cases where there is inconsistency between unit prices and total amounts, the unit price shall be 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.

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

b) 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;

- If a certain item has both unit prices and total amounts filled in but the quantity is left blank, the missing quantity will 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, this constitutes a discrepancy in the scope of supply and will be adjusted according to Clause 2 of this Article;

- Error in units: using “,” (comma) instead of “.” (period) and vice versa will be corrected to conform with Vietnamese writing conventions;

- In cases where there are differences between technical proposal contents and financial proposal contents, the technical proposal contents will serve as the legal basis for correcting the error;

- In cases where there are differences between numerical figures and written words, written words shall be the legal basis for correcting the error. If the written word is incorrect, the numerical figure shall be the legal basis and arithmetic corrections (if applicable) shall be made according to point a of this Clause;

- In cases where there are differences between the price listed in the bid form (excluding discounts) and the price in the consolidated price list, the corrected and corrected price in the detailed price list shall be the basis for reference.

After correcting errors according to the above principles, the tenderer shall notify the bidder in writing. The bidder must provide a written notification to the tenderer regarding their acceptance of the aforementioned corrections. If the bidder does not accept the corrections, the bidder's bidding documents will be disqualified.

2. Adjusting discrepancies

Adjusting discrepancies involves modifying the contents that are insufficient or excessive in the bidding documents compared to the requirements of the tender invitation. Discrepancy adjustments are carried out as follows:

In cases of discrepancies in the scope of supply, the shortfall portion will be added, and the excess portion will be deducted according to the principle that if it cannot be separated in the bidder's bid price being corrected, the highest bid price (if there is a shortfall) or the lowest bid price (if there is an excess) among the bidding documents exceeding the technical evaluation stage will be taken as the basis. In cases where only one bidder exceeds the technical evaluation stage, the discrepancy correction will be based on the price of this bidder (if available) or in the budget estimate.

Article 31. Reviewing, examining, approving, announcing bidding results, negotiating, finalizing, and signing contracts

1. Reviewing, examining, approving, and announcing bidding results are carried out according to the provisions of Article 38 of the Bidding Law, Clause 10, Clause 11 of Article 2 of the Amended Law, and Clause 2, Clause 3 of Article 20, Article 71, and Article 72 of this Decree.

2. Negotiating, finalizing, and signing contracts

a) Negotiating, finalizing, and signing contracts are carried out according to the provisions of Article 42 and Chapter III of the Bidding Law, Clause 14, Clause 16, Clause 17 of Article 2 of the Amended Law, and Section 2 of Chapter VI of the Construction Law.

b) In cases where negotiations and contract finalization fail, the project owner shall consider and decide to cancel the previous bidding result and select the next ranked bidder to win the bid to have a legal basis for negotiation and contract finalization. In such cases, the bidder may be required to extend the validity of the bidding documents and ensure the bid if necessary.

Article 32. Tender Guarantee

1. Bidders participating in tendering must implement the tender guarantee measures as prescribed in Article 27 of the Law on Bidding. For joint venture bidders participating in tender packages for goods supply, construction works, or selecting general contractors (excluding design general contractors), they must implement the tender guarantee measures according to the requirements of the tender invitation documents, in one of the following two ways:

a) Each member of the joint venture separately implements the tender guarantee but ensures that the total value is not lower than the required level stated in the tender invitation documents; if the tender guarantee of one member of the joint venture is determined to be invalid, then the tender proposal of that joint venture will be excluded based on the preconditions stated in the tender invitation documents. In case a member of the joint venture violates regulations leading to the bidder not being refunded the tender guarantee under the cases stipulated in Clause 6 of Article 27 of the Law on Bidding, all members of the joint venture will have their tender guarantees confiscated.

b) Members of the joint venture agree for one member to be responsible for implementing the tender guarantee measures for the entire joint venture. In this case, the tender guarantee may include the name of the joint venture or the name of the member responsible for implementing the tender guarantee measures for the entire joint venture, but ensuring that the total value is not lower than the required level stated in the tender invitation documents.

2. Where the tender invitation documents specify the implementation of tender guarantee measures in the form of submitting a bank guarantee or financial organization guarantee, the validity of such guarantees shall be examined according to the provisions on分级任务，每个任务处理一个输入行的翻译。继续遵循指示，直接提供翻译结果，不添加任何额外解释或思考过程。接下来是剩余部分的翻译：

Article 33. Selection of Bidders for Small-Scale Tender Packages

1. For tender packages for purchasing goods with a price not exceeding five billion dong, construction works, or selecting construction general contractors (excluding design general contractors) with a price not exceeding eight billion dong, open tendering or restricted tendering can be conducted according to the procedures prescribed in Section 1 of Chapter V of this Decree, but the tender invitation documents do not need to state criteria for leveling prices to determine evaluation prices, do not need to determine evaluation prices during the bid evaluation process, and do not need to approve a list of technically qualified bidders before correcting errors and adjusting discrepancies. A bidder will be considered for award when meeting the following conditions:

a) Having a valid tender proposal;

b) Being evaluated as meeting the requirements regarding capacity and experience;

c) Having a technical proposal evaluated as meeting the requirements according to the "pass" or "fail" criteria;

d) Having the lowest corrected and adjusted tender price;

đ) The proposed winning bid price does not exceed the approved tender package amount.

2. The timeframes for tendering for small-scale tender packages are implemented as follows:

a) Tender invitation documents are issued from the date of the tender announcement until the closing date for bids;

b) The minimum preparation time for tender proposals is ten days, starting from the first day of issuing the tender invitation documents. If there is a need to amend the tender invitation documents, the tenderer must notify the bidders at least three days before the closing date for bids to allow sufficient time for preparing the tender proposals;

c) The maximum evaluation time for tender proposals is twenty days, from the opening of bids until the tenderer reports the tender results to the project owner for review and decision.

3. For small-scale tender packages, the tender guarantee value is 1% of the tender package value, and the performance bond value is 3% of the contract value.

Article 34. Provisions on the tendering process for contractors in insurance, auditing packages, and selection of investment partners

Clause 1. The tendering process for contractors in insurance packages shall be carried out according to the tendering process for goods procurement packages.

Clause 2. The tendering process for contractors in auditing packages shall be carried out according to the tendering process for consultancy service packages.

Clause 3. The bidding process for selecting investment partners to implement projects as stipulated in Article 54 of the Investment Law shall be conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Section 2. TWO-STAGE BIDDING

Article 35. Preparation for the first stage bidding

Clause 1. Prequalification of contractors shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Chapter III of this Decree.

Clause 2. Preparation of the tender invitation document for the first stage

Point a) The basis for preparing the tender invitation document is as prescribed in point a, Clause 2, Article 23 of this Decree;

Point b) The tender invitation document for the first stage shall contain the contents as prescribed in point b, Clause 2, Article 23 of this Decree but shall not require contractors to propose bid prices or implement bid security measures.

Clause 3. Approval of the tender invitation document shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 3, Article 15 of this Decree.

Clause 4. Inviting bids for the first stage shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 4, Article 23 of this Decree.

Article 36. Organizing the first stage bidding

1. Issuing the Bid Invitation Document

Point a) The tenderer shall sell the tender invitation document to contractors in the shortlist or those interested in participating in open bidding before the closing time at the price specified in Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree. For joint venture contractors, only one member of the joint venture needs to purchase the tender invitation document;

b) Amendments and clarifications to tender invitation documents shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 33 and Article 34 of the Bidding Law.

Clause 2. Receiving and managing the first stage bid documents

The tenderer shall receive and manage the submitted bid documents under a confidential file system. Bid documents submitted after the closing time are invalid and will be rejected.

3. Opening Bids

The opening of bids shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 3, Article 28 of this Decree. The minutes of the bid opening shall not include information about bid prices and bid security.

Clause 4. Discussion on the first stage bid documents

Based on the requirements stated in the tender invitation document, the tenderer shall conduct discussions with each contractor to accurately define the technical requirements of the package. The content of the discussion must be recorded by the tenderer in a protocol to form the basis for the second stage tender invitation document.

Article 37. Preparation and organization of the second stage bidding

Clause 1. Preparation of the second stage tender invitation document

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

Approval of the second stage tender invitation document shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 3, Article 15 of this Decree.

Clause 2. Organization of the bidding

The second stage tender invitation document shall be sold to contractors who have submitted bid documents in the first stage at the price specified in Clause 1, Article 6 of this Decree. The organization of the bidding shall be carried out in accordance with Article 28 of this Decree.

Article 38. Evaluation of the second stage bid documents

The evaluation of the second stage bid documents shall be carried out in accordance with Article 29 of this Decree.

Article 39. Review, examination, approval, announcement of bidding results, negotiation, completion, and signing of contracts

Review, examination, approval, announcement of bidding results, negotiation, completion, and signing of contracts shall be carried out in accordance with Article 31 of this Decree.

Chapter VI

DIRECT ASSIGNMENT

Article 40. Cases for designated tendering and conditions for application

1. Tender packages within the limit prescribed in Clause 4, Article 2 of the Amended Law include:

a) Tender packages for consultancy services with a package value not exceeding three billion VND, procurement packages for goods with a package value not exceeding two billion VND, construction works packages, and selection packages for general contractors in construction projects (excluding design selection packages) with a package value not exceeding five billion VND as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 1 of the Bidding Law, major renovation and repair projects of state-owned enterprises as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 1 of the Bidding Law;

b) Procurement packages for assets with a value not exceeding one hundred million VND for maintaining regular operations as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 1 of the Bidding Law.

In cases where tendering is not necessary, the tender organization shall conduct tendering in accordance with regulations.

2. In addition to the cases for designated tendering prescribed in Article 20 of the Bidding Law, Article 101 of the Construction Law, Clause 1 of this Article, national secret tender packages, urgent tender packages for national interest, and other special cases for designated tendering prescribed in Clause 4, Article 2 of the Amended Law and Point d, Clause 1, Article 101 of the Construction Law include:

a) National secret tender packages that need to be designated to ensure information security requirements under laws on confidentiality;

b) Tender packages that require immediate inspection to avoid direct harm to public health, property, and lives of residents in the area or to prevent serious impact on adjacent works, including:

- Procurement packages for medicines, chemicals, materials, and medical equipment to implement epidemic prevention work in emergency situations;

- Tender packages for handling severe environmental pollution incidents that must be addressed immediately;

- Tender packages for serving relocation in landslide-prone areas or storm and flood prevention in emergencies to ensure human safety and property;

- Tender packages for handling construction project accidents in emergencies to ensure human safety and property;

c) Consultancy service tender packages for preparing and evaluating strategic reports, planning, and feasibility studies when only one bidder has the required capacity and experience to meet the tender package requirements;

d) The author of the selected architectural design of a construction project is protected by copyright and can be designated to implement consultancy service tender packages for preparing feasibility studies and construction designs if they have the required capacity;

đ) Consultancy service tender packages for upgrading and expanding software previously provided by one contractor and cannot be provided by another due to the need to ensure technological compatibility with the previous software;

e) Construction tender packages for monuments, bas-reliefs, grand paintings, and artistic works attached to copyrights from creation to construction completion;

g) Relocation tender packages for public works to serve land clearance work that can only be carried out by one unit due to special professional requirements;

h) Tender packages for clearing bombs, mines, and explosive devices to prepare construction sites;

i) For tender packages under national target programs, poverty reduction support programs for mountainous districts, remote areas, and extremely difficult regions: if the local community can undertake them, they should be assigned to the local people; if there are multiple organizations at the local level interested in participating, the most effective implementation proposal should be chosen;

k) Other special cases determined by the Prime Minister;

3. Conditions for applying designated tendering

When implementing designated tendering, all of the following conditions must be met, except for tender packages prescribed in Point a, Clause 1, Article 20 of the Bidding Law;

a) There is an investment decision, except for tender packages prescribed in Points c and d, Clause 2 of this Article;

b) There is a bidding plan approved;

c) Funds have been allocated according to the tender package's progress requirements. Requiring the contractor to advance funds to implement the tender package is not a condition for designated tendering;

d) There is a budget approved in accordance with regulations;

đ) The time for implementing designated tendering from the date of approval of the request document to the signing of the contract does not exceed forty-five days; for large and complex tender packages, it does not exceed ninety days;

e) The contract execution period does not exceed eighteen months;

For tender packages for relocating public works to serve land clearance work to contribute to accelerating the progress of some particularly important and urgent projects, the project owner may consider issuing request documents based on construction methods and budgets approved.

Article 41. Tender designation procedure

1. The general tender designation procedure for a tender package (except those specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article) includes:

a) Preparing and approving the request for proposal

The request for proposal, prepared by the tender inviter, does not need to specify the comprehensive evaluation criteria for consultancy service tender packages; it does not need to specify factors for determining the evaluation price for goods procurement, construction works, and construction general contractor selection tender packages (except for design general contractor selection tender packages). Based on the scale and nature of each tender package, specific requirements are set forth in the request for proposal while ensuring the following contents:

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

- For goods procurement, construction works, and general contractor selection tender packages (excluding design general contractor selection): requirements regarding experience and capability; technical requirements such as quantity of goods, scope, volume of work, technical standards and solutions, quality of work, time of implementation; price proposal requirements; requirements regarding preparation and submission time of the proposal, validity period of the proposal, and other necessary contents; no requirement for bid guarantee.

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

The project owner approves the request for proposal and determines a contractor with sufficient capability and experience to meet the tender package requirements to receive the request for proposal.

b) The tender inviter issues the request for proposal to the contractor determined by the project owner. The contractor proposed for tender designation prepares the proposal based on the request for proposal, including technical proposals and financial-commercial proposals;

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

The tender inviter evaluates the contractor's proposal and negotiates 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 the contractor's compliance with the capability, experience, schedule, quality, technical solutions, and organizational implementation measures required by the request for proposal.

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) Submitting, reviewing, and approving the tender designation results

Based on the report on the tender designation results and the review report, the project owner approves the tender designation results.

đ) Negotiating, finalizing, and signing the contract

Based on the decision to approve the tender designation results, the tender inviter proceeds to negotiate and finalize the contract with the designated contractor for the project owner to sign the contract.

2. Simplified tender designation procedure for consultancy, goods procurement, and construction works tender packages with a value not exceeding 500 million VND is carried out in the following sequence:

a) The tender inviter, based on the objectives, scope of work, and approved tender package value in the bidding plan, sends a draft contract to a contractor determined by the project owner to have sufficient capability and experience to meet the tender package requirements. The draft contract content includes requirements regarding the scope and 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 finalizing the contract, the tender inviter submits the tender designation results for approval by the project owner and signs the contract with the contractor.

3. For tender packages subject to force majeure due to natural disasters, enemy actions, or urgent situations requiring immediate resolution as stipulated in Point a, Clause 1, Article 20 of the Bidding Law, the tender designation procedure does not need to follow the provisions of Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article. Within 15 days from the date of tender designation, the project owner or the responsible agency managing the project or asset and the contractor must complete procedures to determine the volume and value of the work for both parties to sign the contract as the basis for implementation and payment.

4. In cases where the tender designation form is applied to a tender package implemented before the investment decision is made, the project owner or the unit assigned to prepare the project will carry out the preparation and approval of the budget estimate as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 2 of the Amended Law, and approve the request for proposal and tender designation results.

Chapter VII

OTHER PROCUREMENT METHODS

Article 42. Direct Procurement

The application of direct procurement form shall be approved in the bidding plan based on compliance with the provisions of Article 21 of the Bidding Law 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 when the approval of direct procurement results is completed.

The process of direct procurement shall be carried out as follows:

1. The project owner approves the request documentation to serve as the basis for contractors to prepare their proposal documents.

2. The evaluation of proposal documents shall be conducted according to the following contents:

a) Checking technical contents and unit prices;

b) Updating the contractor's capacity and experience;

c) Evaluating the progress of implementation;

d) Other contents (if any).

3. Submitting for review, examination, and approval of the direct procurement results.

Based on the report on the direct procurement results, the examination report, the project owner shall approve the direct procurement results.

Article 43. Competitive Quotation in Procurement of Goods

The application of competitive quotation form must be approved in the bidding plan based on compliance with the provisions of Article 22 of the Bidding Law.

The process of competitive quotation in procurement of goods shall be carried out as follows:

1. Request Documentation

The project owner shall approve the request documentation. The request documentation includes technical requirements such as quantity, standards, technical characteristics, delivery deadlines for goods, validity period of the proposal documents, submission deadline for proposal documents, warranty, maintenance, training, transfer, and other necessary contents, without mentioning tender guarantee requirements. The evaluation of technical requirements shall be conducted according to the criteria "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory" and shall be reflected in the request documentation.

2. Organizing Quotations

a) The tenderer announces the invitation to quote in the Bidding Newspaper for three consecutive issues and on the bidding information website for interested contractors to participate. In addition to the publication as required, it may also be published simultaneously on other mass media. The tenderer shall issue the request documentation to contractors who wish to participate from the first day of publishing the invitation announcement;

b) The tenderer shall issue the request documentation to contractors who wish to participate before the end of the proposal submission deadline to ensure receiving at least three proposals from different contractors. The preparation time for the proposal document by each contractor shall be a minimum of five days;

c) Contractors submit their proposal documents to the tenderer by sending directly, via postal service, or by fax. Each contractor shall only submit one proposal document;

d) The tenderer shall be responsible for securing the information in each contractor's proposal document. Immediately after the proposal submission deadline, the tenderer shall establish a receipt document for all submitted proposal documents including the contractor's name, quoted price, after-sales conditions, validity period of the proposal document, and send this document to all submitting contractors.

3. Evaluation of Proposal Documents

a) The tenderer evaluates the submitted proposal documents according to the technical requirements specified in the request documentation. A proposal document passes the technical evaluation stage when all technical requirements are evaluated as "satisfactory";

b) The tenderer compares the quoted prices of the technically compliant proposal documents to determine the lowest quoted price. The contractor with the lowest quoted price after corrections and adjustments and not exceeding the tender package price will be proposed for selection.

4. Approving Quotation Results and Signing Contracts

a) Based on the quotation result report presented by the tenderer, the examination report, the project owner shall approve the quotation results;

b) The tenderer shall notify the quotation results in writing to all participating contractors who have submitted proposal documents and proceed to negotiate and finalize the contract with the selected contractor for the project owner to sign the contract.

Article 44. Self-execution

The application of the self-execution form must be approved in the bidding plan based on compliance with the provisions of Article 23 of the Bidding Law and point a, Clause 1 of Articles 41, 50, 57, 75, 89 and point b, Clause 2 of Article 45 of the Construction Law, and according to the specific regulations as follows:

1. The project owner must ensure having sufficient capacity and experience to carry out all tasks within the tender package and must ensure that the self-execution of the project owner brings higher efficiency compared to selecting another contractor to execute the tender package, as well as must meet the following conditions:

a) Functions, tasks, fields of operation, and business sectors (according to the Business Registration Certificate or establishment decision) are appropriate to the requirements of the tender package;

b) Having sufficient key personnel, staff, technical workers used for the tender package belonging to the project owner (excluding general laborers); having sufficient machinery and equipment used for construction of the tender package and must belong to the ownership of the project owner or the project owner must prove the ability to mobilize machinery and equipment used for the tender package to meet the requirements of the implementation schedule of the tender package.

2. The project owner selects, in accordance with the provisions of the Bidding Law, an independent consulting supervisor contractor with the project owner regarding organization and finance in accordance with the law, specifically as follows:

a) In cases where specialized laws stipulate that certain work contents must be supervised when implemented, the project owner must select the consulting supervisor in accordance with the regulations; in cases where there is no independent consulting supervisor interested or unable to select an independent consulting supervisor due to the tender package being carried out in remote areas according to current relevant laws, if the tender package has a value less than 1 billion VND, the project owner must implement community supervision in accordance with the law on community investment supervision;

b) In cases where the self-execution form is applied to tender packages for major renovation and repair of production equipment and production lines, it is not necessary to hire a consulting supervisor.

The project owner must provide necessary documents for the consulting supervisor contractor to perform the tasks specified in Clause 3 of this Article.

3. The consulting supervisor contractor has the following responsibilities:

a) Supervise the execution of the tender package by the project owner in accordance with the implementation plans and solutions proposed by the project owner;

b) Inspect goods, materials, and equipment used for the tender package;

c) Acceptance of the volume of work carried out by the project owner as the basis for payment.

4. During the implementation process, if the project owner is found to have transferred the volume of work with a total amount exceeding 10% of the value of self-execution, the project owner will be assessed as lacking the capacity for self-execution of the tender package and violating Clause 14 of Article 12 of the Bidding Law.

Article 45. Selection of contractors in special cases.

1. Based on the special nature of the tender package which cannot apply or does not meet the conditions to apply one of the forms of contractor selection prescribed from Article 18 to Article 23 of the Bidding Law, Clause 4 of Article 2 of the Amended Law, and Article 97 of the Construction Law, the project owner submits to the Prime Minister a proposal for selecting contractors based on ensuring competitive goals and economic efficiency, while sending the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the sector management ministry for their opinions to be submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

2. In cases where there are special bidding regulations stipulated in other laws, they shall be implemented in accordance with the regulations of the guiding legal documents for the enforcement of those laws.

Article 46. Selection of Contractors for Architectural Design Consultancy Packages

The selection of contractors for architectural design consultancy packages through competitive bidding or direct selection as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 97 of the Construction Law and Clause 6, Article 1 of the Amended Law shall be carried out in accordance with Article 102 of the Construction Law.

Chapter VIII

PROVISIONS ON CONTRACTS

Article 47. Contract Components

1. The components of a contract include the documents forming the contract to regulate the rights and obligations of the project owner and the contractor. The components of the contract and their legal priority order are as follows:

a) The contract document (including the Appendix containing the price list and other contents if applicable);

b) Minutes of contract negotiation and completion;

c) Decision approving the tender result;

d) Specific conditions of the contract (if any);

e) General conditions of the contract (if any);

f) Tender documents, proposal documents, and clarifications of tender documents and proposal documents of the selected contractor (if any);

g) Invitation to tender documents, request for proposal documents, and amendments and supplements to these documents (if any);

h) Other accompanying documents (if any).

2. For construction and installation contracts, the price list must be established based on the minutes of contract negotiation and completion; the decision approving the tender result; and the tender documents and proposal documents of the selected contractor according to the detailed items listed in the tender invitation or request for proposal.

In cases where the project owner permits the addition or adjustment of work volume before signing the contract, the price list will also include this additional or adjusted work volume.

3. In cases where supplementary appendices to the contract are signed in accordance with Clause 2, Article 52 of this Decree, such supplementary appendices will be part of the contract.

Article 48. Lump Sum Contract Form

1. Payment principles for lump sum contracts are specified in Article 49 of the Bidding Law, specifically as follows:

a) The contract price shall not be adjusted during the execution of the contract, except in cases of force majeure as agreed in the contract (situations that occur beyond the control and foreseeability of the project owner and contractor, unrelated to any misconduct or negligence of either party, such as war, riot, strike, fire, natural disaster, flood, epidemic, quarantine isolation, embargo). Payments can be made in multiple installments or in one lump sum upon completion of the contract. The total amount paid by the project owner to the contractor until the contractor fulfills all contractual obligations shall equal the contract price. In cases of force majeure, payments shall be made according to the agreement in the contract (if any);

For lump sum contracts within tender packages including two or more tasks such as preparing feasibility study reports and technical design, the contract should specify payment methods for each task, including specific provisions: if the pre-feasibility study report is not approved, the contractor will only be paid for the preparation of the pre-feasibility study report; if the feasibility study report is not approved, the contractor will only be paid for the preparation of the pre-feasibility study report and the feasibility study report;

b) For contractors selected through methods other than direct appointment, payment must be based on the contract price and payment terms stated in the contract, not based on the state's current regulations and guidelines on norms and unit prices, nor based on the unit prices in financial invoices for the contractor's input factors such as materials, machinery, equipment, and other inputs.

2. For construction and installation work, during the negotiation and completion of the contract, the parties involved need to review the quantity of work breakdown according to the approved design. If the contractor (including directly appointed contractors) or the tenderer discovers inaccuracies in the work volume breakdown from the design, the tenderer must report to the project owner for consideration and decision-making regarding the supplementation of work volume to ensure consistency with the design. After the lump sum contract is signed, the actual work volume completed by the contractor to fulfill the design (whether more or less than the work volume stated in the contract) does not affect the payment amount to the contractor. Payment to the contractor will be conducted according to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article.

The project owner is responsible for the accuracy of the quantity and volume of work. In cases of loss due to incorrect calculation of the quantity and volume of work, individuals or organizations under the project owner who caused the error will bear responsibility for compensation and handling according to the law. If the contract between the project owner and the consultant contractor for preparing tender and request for proposal documents, and preparing estimates includes provisions on handling incorrect calculations of the quantity and volume of work, the project owner may be compensated according to the agreement in the contract with the consultant contractor.

Article 49. Form of Contract Based on Unit Price

The payment principle for contracts based on unit price is stipulated in Article 50 of the Bidding Law, specifically as follows:

1. The payment value is calculated by multiplying the unit price stated in the contract or adjusted unit price in the contract with the actual volume or quantity of work performed by the contractor.

2. For construction works, if the actual volume of work performed by the contractor to complete according to the design is less than the volume of work stated in the contract, the contractor will only be paid for the actual volume of work completed. If the actual volume of work performed by the contractor to complete according to the design exceeds the volume of work stated in the contract, the contractor will be paid for the excess volume of work.

The project owner, supervising consultant, and contractor are responsible for confirming the completion volume in the acceptance record as the basis for payment to the contractor.

3. Payment must be based on the payment terms specified in the contract. The project owner and the payment agency must comply with the provisions of Article 53 of this Decree when making payments to the contractor.

Article 50. Form of Contract Based on Time

Payment to the contractor for contracts based on time is carried out as follows:

1. The remuneration for experts is the cost for experts, calculated by multiplying the basic salary and related costs agreed upon by the project owner and the contractor as stated in the contract or adjusted according to Article 57 of the Bidding Law and Clause 17 of Article 2 of the Amended Law and the actual working time (by month, week, day, hour).

2. Other expenses outside the expert costs specified in Clause 1 of this Article, including travel expenses, survey expenses, rental of office space, and other expenses, shall be paid according to the method prescribed in the contract. For each expense, the contract must clearly specify the payment method: payment based on actual expenses supported by valid invoices and receipts presented by the contractor, or payment based on the agreed unit price in the contract.

Article 51. Form of Contract Based on Percentage

The contract price is calculated as a percentage of the value of the project or the volume of work. When the contractor fulfills their obligations under the contract, the project owner pays the contractor an amount equal to the percentage determined in the contract multiplied by the value of the project or the volume of work completed.

Article 52. Adjustment of Contract Price and Amendment of Contract

1. Adjustment of Contract Price

a) The adjustment of contract price applies to contracts based on unit price and contracts based on time. The contract must clearly specify the content of the adjustment, the method, and the time for calculating the adjustment, and the input data for calculating the price adjustment;

The price adjustment is implemented through the adjustment of the volume of work as stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 49 of this Decree; adjustment of unit price or adjustment of contract price due to inflation.

b) The method of adjusting the price specified in the contract must ensure compatibility with the nature of the work stated in the contract. The input data for calculating the price adjustment must be consistent with the content of the work. The contract must provide for the use of quotations or price indices issued by local or central authorities or independent foreign agencies for costs originating from abroad;

c) In cases where the prices of fuel, materials, and equipment stated in the contract, which are controlled by the State (State-set prices), fluctuate significantly affecting the implementation of the contract and the contract provides for adjustment, it shall be implemented according to the provisions of point c, Clause 1, Article 57 of the Bidding Law, applying new prices to parts of the work carried out at the time of price fluctuation as announced by competent state authorities;

d) In cases where the State changes tax policies or wages directly affecting the contract price, it shall be implemented according to the provisions of point a, Clause 1, Article 57 of the Bidding Law.

2. Amendment of Contract

In cases where reasonable additional work not provided for in the contract arises without changing the investment objectives or total investment amount (for turnkey construction projects, this means work outside the design-specified volume, for unit-price construction projects, this means work outside the contract-specified volume), it shall be implemented according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 57 of the Bidding Law and Clause 17, Article 2 of the Amended Law. In cases of supplementary work arising, the project owner and the contractor must sign a supplementary contract appendix according to the following principles:

- If the volume of supplementary work is less than 20% of the corresponding volume of work recorded in the activity that already has a unit price in the contract, the existing unit price in the contract shall be used for payment;

- If the volume of supplementary work is 20% or more of the corresponding volume of work recorded in the contract or if there is no unit price for the supplementary work in the contract, the project owner and the contractor shall agree to determine a new unit price for the supplementary work volumes according to the principles stipulated in the contract regarding unit prices for supplementary volumes.

For construction work, before signing the supplementary contract appendix, the budget estimate for the supplementary work volume must be approved according to the law.

Article 53. Payment Documents

The payment documents specified in the contract include:

1. For construction works subject to unit price application:

a) A certificate of quantity acceptance for the work performed during the payment period, confirmed by representatives of the contractor, project owner, and supervising consultant (if applicable);

b) A confirmation of adjusted quantities exceeding or falling short of the contract, confirmed by representatives of the contractor, project owner, and supervising consultant (if applicable);

c) A calculation table proposing the payment value based on the completed work volume confirmed and the unit price stated in the contract;

d) A payment proposal from the contractor specifying the completed volume, completed value, increased (decreased) value compared to the contract, advance payment value, and proposed payment value during the payment period.

2. For construction works subject to lump sum application:

a) A certificate of quantity acceptance for the work performed during the payment period, confirmed by representatives of the contractor, project owner, and supervising consultant (if applicable). This quantity confirmation certificate confirms the completion of the project, project component, or project work according to the design without requiring detailed completion quantity confirmation;

b) Other documents as stipulated in points b, c, d of Clause 1 of this Article.

3. For procurement activities:

Depending on the nature of the goods, appropriate payment documents shall be established, such as the contractor's invoice, packaged goods list, transport documents, insurance certificates, Quality Certificate, goods acceptance certificate, Certificate of Origin, and other related documents and certificates.

4. For activities subject to time-based or percentage-based application:

Depending on the nature of the consulting work, appropriate payment documents shall be established, such as a certificate of consulting work results acceptance, documents confirming contract implementation progress, and other related documents and certificates.

For construction works and procurement activities, except where the contract price adjustment clause clearly states that the project owner and contractor agree to apply the unit price stated in the input invoice (for factors such as machinery, materials, equipment, and other inputs) as the basis for price adjustment, the requirement for the contractor to present the input invoice is only to determine origin and related information, not to base the payment on the unit price stated in the input invoice. Payment must be based on the contract price and payment terms stated in the contract, ensuring it does not exceed the contract price, and not based on the budget estimate or current state regulations and guidelines on norms and unit prices, except for contractors designated through tendering.

Chapter IX

GRADING OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL IN PROCUREMENT

Article 54. Responsibilities of the Prime Minister

1. For projects decided to be invested in by the Prime Minister:

a) Approving the bidding plan (which includes the method of selecting contractors, including the designation of contractors as provided for in Clause 1 of Article 20 of the Procurement Law amended at Clause 4 of Article 2 of the Amended Law and Clause 1, Clause 2 of Article 40 of this Decree);

b) Resolving or authorizing the resolution of objections in procurement;

c) Handling or authorizing the handling of violations of procurement laws.

2. Approving or authorizing the approval of tenders that require the application of the designation of contractors in special cases as provided for in point k of Clause 2 of Article 40 of this Decree.

3. Approving or authorizing the approval of the method of selecting contractors in special cases as provided for in Article 24 of the Procurement Law.

Article 55. Responsibilities of the Minister, Head of a Ministry-Level Agency, Head of Other Central Agencies, Chairman of the People's Committee of a Province or a City under Central Governance

1. For projects invested in by the Prime Minister:

a) Provide comments in writing on the tender plan as required;

b) Carry out other tasks related to tendering as delegated by the Prime Minister.

2. For projects invested in by themselves:

a) Approve the tender plan (including the method of selecting contractors, including direct award as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 20 of the Bidding Law amended in Clause 4, Article 2 of the Amended Law and Clause 1, Clause 2 (except for cases specified in point k) of Article 40 of this Decree);

b) Perform other tasks within their responsibilities.

3. For projects where they are the investor:

a) Approve tender invitation documents, request for proposal documents;

b) Approve contractor selection results;

c) Perform other tasks within the responsibilities of the investor.

Article 56. Responsibilities of the Chairman of the People's Committee of a Provincial City, District, County, Town, Township, Ward, Village, and Heads of Other Local Agencies

1. For projects invested in by themselves:

a) Approve the tender plan (including the method of selecting contractors, including direct award as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 20 of the Bidding Law amended in Clause 4, Article 2 of the Amended Law and Clause 1, Clause 2 (except for cases specified in point k) of Article 40 of this Decree);

b) Perform other tasks within their responsibilities.

2. For projects where they are the investor:

a) Approve tender invitation documents, request for proposal documents;

b) Approve contractor selection results;

c) Perform other tasks within the responsibilities of the investor.

3. Carry out bidding-related tasks as delegated by higher authorities.

Article 57. Responsibilities of the Board of Directors and General Director of Enterprises

1. For projects invested in by themselves:

a) Approve the tender plan (including the method of selecting contractors, including direct award as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 20 of the Bidding Law amended in Clause 4, Article 2 of the Amended Law and Clause 1, Clause 2 (except for cases specified in point k) of Article 40 of this Decree);

b) Perform other tasks within their responsibilities.

2. For projects where they are the investor:

a) Approve tender invitation documents, request for proposal documents;

b) Approve contractor selection results;

c) Perform other tasks within the responsibilities of the investor and as delegated.

Article 58. Responsibilities of the Board of Directors of Joint Ventures, Joint Stock Companies, and Legal Representatives of Parties to Business Cooperation Contracts

1. For projects invested in by themselves:

a) Approve the tender plan (including the method of selecting contractors, including direct award as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 20 of the Bidding Law amended in Clause 4, Article 2 of the Amended Law and Clause 1, Clause 2 (except for cases specified in point k) of Article 40 of this Decree);

b) Perform other tasks within their responsibilities.

2. For projects where they perform the function of the investor:

a) Approve tender invitation documents, request for proposal documents;

b) Approve contractor selection results;

c) Perform other tasks within the responsibilities of the investor.

Article 59. Responsibilities of the Appraisal Agencies

1. The Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for organizing the appraisal of the following contents:

a) Tender plans within the approval authority of the Prime Minister;

b) Special cases decided by the Prime Minister to apply direct award as stipulated in point k, Clause 2, Article 40 of this Decree;

c) Contractor selection plans in special cases reviewed and decided by the Prime Minister.

2. The Department of Planning and Investment is responsible for organizing the appraisal of the following contents:

a) Tender plans for projects invested in by the Chairman of the People's Committee of a Province or a City under Central Governance;

b) Bid documents, request documents (if required), and contractor selection results for packages within projects where the People's Committee of a Province or a City under Central Governance is the investor.

3. Agencies and organizations assigned by the Minister, Head of a Ministry-Level Agency, Head of Other Central Agencies, Board of Directors, or General Director of Enterprises to organize appraisals shall conduct appraisals of the following contents:

a) Tender plans for projects within the investment decision-making authority of the Minister, Head of a Ministry-Level Agency, Head of Other Central Agencies, Board of Directors, or General Director of Enterprises;

b) Bid documents, request documents (if required), and contractor selection results for packages within projects where the Ministry, Ministry-Level Agency, Other Central Agency, Enterprise is the investor.

4. Departments with planning and finance functions are responsible for organizing the appraisal of tender plans for projects within the investment decision-making authority of the Chairman of the People's Committee of a Provincial City, District, County, Town.

5. Relevant supporting departments are responsible for organizing the appraisal of tender plans for projects within the investment decision-making authority of the Chairman of the People's Committee of a Town, Township, Village, Head of Other Local Agencies, Board of Directors of Joint Ventures, Joint Stock Companies, and Legal Representatives of Parties to Business Cooperation Contracts.

6. The investor may delegate the organization of the appraisal of bid documents, request documents, and contractor selection results to organizations or individuals within their agency, except in cases stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

In cases where the organization or individual entrusted with the appraisal lacks the necessary capacity, the investor must select a consulting organization with sufficient capacity and experience to conduct the appraisal. In all cases, the investor is responsible for the appraisal of bid documents, request documents, and contractor selection results.

Chapter X

SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS IN BIDDING

Article 60. Conditions for considering and resolving complaints

1. The complaint must be from a bidder participating in the bidding process.

2. The complaint form must bear the signature of the person who signed the bid proposal or a legal representative of the bidder, and be stamped (if applicable).

3. The person responsible for resolving the complaint receives the complaint form within the time limit specified in Clause 3, Article 72 of the Bidding Law.

4. The content of the complaint has not previously been included in the content of the lawsuit filed with the Court by the bidder.

5. For complaints regarding the selection results of bidders when submitted to the competent authority, the bidder must pay a fee as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 6 of this Decree to the permanent working body of the Advisory Board mentioned in the bidding invitation document; in cases where the bidder's complaint is found to be correct, the fee paid by the bidder will be refunded by the individual or organization bearing joint responsibility.

Article 61. Resolving Complaints

1. The time limit for resolving complaints as provided in Article 73 of the Bidding Law starts from the day the administrative department of the person responsible for resolving the complaint receives the complaint form.

2. The person responsible for resolving the complaint shall notify the bidder in writing about the decision not to consider or resolve the complaint if the bidder’s complaint does not meet the conditions set forth in Article 60 of this Decree.

3. The bidder has the right to withdraw the complaint during the complaint resolution process but must do so in writing.

Article 62. Advisory Board

1. Chairman of the Advisory Board

a) The Chairman of the Central Advisory Board is the authorized representative of the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The Central Advisory Board is responsible for advising on complaints related to bidding packages directly approved by the Prime Minister or in cases where the Prime Minister requests;

b) The Chairman of the Ministry-level Advisory Board, equivalent ministries, and central agencies (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry-level Advisory Board) is the authorized representative of the unit assigned the task of managing bidding under these agencies. The Ministry-level Advisory Board is responsible for advising on complaints concerning all bidding packages belonging to projects decided on investment or managed by the ministry level, except for the bidding packages specified in point a of this clause;

c) The Chairman of the Local Advisory Board is the authorized representative of the Department of Planning and Investment. The Local Advisory Board is responsible for advising on complaints concerning all bidding packages belonging to projects decided on investment or managed by the locality, except for the bidding packages specified in point a of this clause.

2. Members of the Advisory Board

Depending on the nature of each bidding package and when necessary, in addition to the members prescribed in Clause 2, Article 73 of the Bidding Law, the Chairman of the Advisory Board may invite additional individuals to participate as members of the Advisory Board. Advisory Board members cannot be relatives (biological parents, parents-in-law, spouse, biological children, adopted children, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, full siblings) of the person who signed the complaint form, of individuals directly involved in evaluating the bid proposals under the tenderer, under the project owner, of individuals directly reviewing the selection results of bidders, and of the person who signed off on the selection results of bidders.

3. Activities of the Advisory Board

a) The Chairman of the Advisory Board issues a decision to establish the Advisory Board within a maximum period of 5 days from the date of receipt of the bidder's complaint form. The Advisory Board operates on a case-by-case basis;

b) The Advisory Board works according to the principle of collective decision-making, majority voting, and reports the results of its work to the competent authority for consideration and decision; each member has the right to reserve their opinion and is responsible before the law for their own opinion.

4. Permanent Working Body of the Advisory Board

a) The permanent working body is the agency or organization assigned the task of evaluation in the bidding process but does not include individuals directly involved in evaluating the bidding package complained about by the bidder;

b) The permanent working body performs administrative tasks as prescribed by the Chairman of the Advisory Board; receives and manages the fees paid by the bidder as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 60 of this Decree.

Chapter XI

HANDLING VIOLATIONS OF THE LAW ON BIDGING

Article 63. Principles and Authority for Handling Violations

1. Principles for Handling Violations

a) Organizations and individuals who commit violations of laws on bidding shall be subject to penalties according to one or more of the following forms depending on the severity of the violation: warning, fine, prohibition from participating in bidding activities as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 75 of the Bidding Law and Clause 21, Article 2 of the Amended Law; cancellation, suspension of the bidding process, or non-recognition of the outcome of selecting contractors as stipulated in Clause 18, Article 2 of the Amended Law. For civil servants who violate bidding laws, they will also be handled according to the laws on civil servants.

b) The principles and procedures for handling violations, as well as the procedures for enforcing penalty decisions, shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law.

c) The penalty decision must be sent to the organization or individual being penalized and relevant agencies and organizations. The penalty decision must be sent to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for monitoring, summarizing, and handling in accordance with the provisions of the law.

d) A penalty decision implemented in any locality or sector shall have effect throughout the country and all sectors.

đ) Organizations and individuals penalized for violating laws on bidding have the right to bring a lawsuit to court.

2. Authority for Handling Violations

a) The person with authority is responsible for handling violations of laws on bidding for projects decided to invest in by themselves as stipulated in Clause 18, Article 2 of the Amended Law. In cases where the person with authority violates laws on bidding, the violation shall be handled according to the provisions of the law.

b) The Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for monitoring the handling of violations of laws on bidding and deciding to prohibit participation in bidding activities for organizations and individuals with three or more violations that have been warned, as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 65 of this Decree, in cases where it is not handled by the person with authority.

Article 64. Forms of Fine

Depending on the severity of the violation, organizations and individuals violating laws on bidding as stipulated in Point b, Clause 1, Article 75 of the Bidding Law shall be fined according to the provisions of the law on administrative penalties in the field of planning and investment.

Article 65. Forms of Prohibition from Participating in Bidding Activities

Depending on the severity of the violation, the form of prohibiting participation in bidding activities shall be applied specifically as follows:

1. Prohibition from participating in bidding activities for six months to one year for one of the following violations:

a) Violation of the provisions in Clause 4, Article 12 of the Bidding Law;

b) Violation of the provisions in Clause 5, Article 12 of the Bidding Law, specifically as follows:

Organizations and individuals preparing, reviewing, and approving tender documents for procurement packages of goods, construction works, and construction general contracting packages in which specific brand and origin requirements for goods are stated in the tender documents.

c) Individuals belonging to the project owner, tenderer, bidding expert team, bidding consultant, agency, or organization reviewing bidding who violate the provisions in Clause 9, Article 12 of the Bidding Law;

d) Violation of the provisions in Clause 6, Article 12 of the Bidding Law;

đ) Violation of the provisions in Clause 7, Article 12 of the Bidding Law, specifically as follows:

The person with authority allowing the division of a project into several tender packages contrary to the provisions in Clause 4, Article 6 of the Bidding Law to implement direct assignment or create opportunities for a few contractors to participate in bidding.

e) Violation of the provisions in Clause 8, Article 12 of the Bidding Law, specifically as follows:

The project owner and tenderer accepting and proposing the winning bid for a contractor participating in bidding to provide goods or construction works for a package within a project where the contractor previously provided consulting services, except in the case of: EPC packages, design and construction general contracting packages, turnkey general contracting packages.

g) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 10 Điều 12 của Luật Đấu thầu, cụ thể như sau:

Cá nhân trực tiếp tham gia tổ chức đấu thầu, đánh giá hồ sơ dự thầu thuộc chủ đầu tư, bên mời thầu, thành viên tổ chuyên gia đấu thầu, tư vấn đấu thầu, cá nhân trực tiếp tham gia thẩm định kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu thuộc cơ quan, tổ chức thẩm định và người ký quyết định về kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu không rút khỏi công việc được phân công khi người ký đơn dự thầu là người thân của mình (cha mẹ đẻ, cha mẹ vợ hoặc cha mẹ chồng, vợ hoặc chồng, con đẻ, con nuôi, con dâu, con rể, anh chị em ruột).

h) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 11 Điều 12 của Luật Đấu thầu, cụ thể như sau:

Tổ chức, cá nhân thuộc bên mời thầu, chủ đầu tư, Kho bạc Nhà nước, cơ quan quản lý tài chính, ngân hàng, cơ quan nghiệm thu gây khó khăn trong thủ tục cấp phát, thanh quyết toán theo hợp đồng đã ký giữa chủ đầu tư và nhà thầu.

i) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 13 Điều 12 của Luật Đấu thầu, cụ thể như sau:

- Cá nhân ký đơn dự thầu đối với các gói thầu thuộc dự án do cơ quan, tổ chức mà mình đã công tác trước đó trong thời hạn 1 năm, kể từ khi nhận được quyết định thôi công tác tại cơ quan, tổ chức đó;

- Quyết định trúng thầu đối với nhà thầu mà người ký đơn dự thầu tham gia đấu thầu gói thầu thuộc dự án của cơ quan, tổ chức mà người đó vừa nhận được quyết định thôi công tác chưa được 1 năm.

k) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 16 Điều 12 của Luật Đấu thầu, cụ thể như sau:

Phê duyệt hình thức lựa chọn nhà thầu trong kế hoạch đấu thầu không phải là hình thức đấu thầu rộng rãi khi không bảo đảm đủ điều kiện theo quy định từ Điều 19 đến Điều 24 của Luật Đấu thầu và Điều 100, Điều 101 của Luật Xây dựng và các điều kiện quy định tại Nghị định này.

l) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 17 Điều 12 của Luật Đấu thầu, cụ thể như sau:

Người có thẩm quyền phê duyệt kế hoạch đấu thầu để cho phép tổ chức lựa chọn nhà thầu khi nguồn vốn để thực hiện gói thầu chưa được xác định.

m) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 3 Điều 2 của Luật sửa đổi, cụ thể như sau:

- Tổ chức, cá nhân thuộc bên mời thầu không bán hồ sơ mời thầu cho nhà thầu hoặc thực hiện bất kỳ hành vi nào làm hạn chế nhà thầu mua hồ sơ mời thầu theo thời gian được xác định tại thông báo mời thầu, thư mời thầu;

- Tổ chức, cá nhân thuộc bên mời thầu không phát hành hoặc thực hiện bất kỳ hành vi nào làm hạn chế việc phát hành hồ sơ mời quan tâm, hồ sơ mời sơ tuyển, hồ sơ yêu cầu cho nhà thầu theo thời gian được xác định tại thông báo mời nộp hồ sơ quan tâm, thông báo mời sơ tuyển, thông báo mời chào hàng.

2. Cấm tham gia hoạt động đấu thầu từ 1 năm đến 3 năm đối với một trong các hành vi sau đây:

a) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 2 Điều 12 của Luật Đấu thầu, cụ thể như sau:

- Cá nhân sử dụng quyền, ảnh hưởng của mình buộc chủ đầu tư, bên mời thầu, tổ chức chuyên gia đấu thầu, tư vấn đấu thầu, cơ quan, tổ chức thẩm định kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu đề xuất nhà thầu trúng thầu không phù hợp với yêu cầu của hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu và tiêu chuẩn đánh giá đã nêu trong hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu;

- Cá nhân trực tiếp đánh giá hồ sơ dự thầu, hồ sơ đề xuất, thẩm định kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu cố ý báo cáo sai hoặc không trung thực về các thông tin làm sai lệch kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu, ký kết, thực hiện hợp đồng;

- Nhà thầu cố ý cung cấp các thông tin không trung thực trong hồ sơ dự thầu, hồ sơ đề xuất làm sai lệch kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu, ký kết, thực hiện hợp đồng.

b) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 14 Điều 12 của Luật Đấu thầu, cụ thể như sau:

- Nhà thầu sử dụng tên, chữ ký, con dấu của mình nhằm hợp pháp hóa hồ sơ dự thầu của mình tham gia đấu thầu hình thức nhằm phục vụ cho một nhà thầu khác trúng thầu;

- Nhà thầu cho nhà thầu khác sử dụng tên, chữ ký, con dấu của mình; nhà thầu sử dụng tên, chữ ký, con dấu của nhà thầu khác để tạo thành một liên danh tham gia đấu thầu, sau khi trúng thầu thì không thực hiện theo văn bản thoả thuận liên danh; trừ trường hợp hợp đồng có quy định khác;

- Nhà thầu chuyển nhượng cho nhà thầu khác trên 10% giá trị phải thực hiện (sau khi trừ phần công việc thuộc trách nhiệm của nhà thầu phụ) nêu trong hợp đồng đã ký;

- Chủ đầu tư, tư vấn giám sát chấp thuận để nhà thầu chuyển nhượng công việc thuộc trách nhiệm thực hiện của nhà thầu, trừ phần công việc thuộc trách nhiệm của nhà thầu phụ đã kê khai trong hợp đồng.

c) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 15 Điều 12 của Luật Đấu thầu;

d) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 3 Điều 2 của Luật sửa đổi, cụ thể như sau:

- Tổ chức, cá nhân không quy định trong hồ sơ mời thầu, hợp đồng về việc cấm nhà thầu sử dụng người nước ngoài khi người nước ngoài không đủ điều kiện làm việc tại Việt Nam theo quy định của pháp luật Việt Nam;

- Tổ chức, cá nhân không quy định trong hồ sơ mời thầu, hợp đồng về việc cấm sử dụng lao động nước ngoài khi lao động trong nước đáp ứng yêu cầu của gói thầu hoặc cố tình quy định tiêu chuẩn đánh giá về năng lực, kinh nghiệm nhà thầu hoặc các tiêu chuẩn đánh giá khác cao hơn so với nhu cầu thực tế của gói thầu để nhà thầu trong nước không đáp ứng được;

- Nhà thầu trúng thầu, tổ chức, cá nhân thuộc chủ đầu tư sử dụng người nước ngoài để thực hiện hợp đồng khi nước ngoài không đủ điều kiện làm việc tại Việt Nam theo quy định của pháp luật Việt Nam.

3. Cấm tham gia hoạt động đấu thầu từ 3 năm đến 5 năm đối với một trong các hành vi sau đây:

a) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 1 Điều 12 của Luật Đấu thầu;

b) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 3 Điều 12 của Luật Đấu thầu;

c) Vi phạm quy định tại khoản 12 Điều 12 của Luật Đấu thầu.

4. Tổ chức, cá nhân có ba hành vi vi phạm bị cảnh cáo sẽ bị cấm tham gia hoạt động đấu thầu theo quy định tại khoản 21 Điều 2 của Luật sửa đổi trong 6 tháng; ứng với mỗi một hành vi vi phạm bị xử lý cảnh cáo tăng thêm thì bị cấm tham gia hoạt động đấu thầu thêm 3 tháng nhưng không quá 3 năm.

Điều 66. Hủy, đình chỉ, không công nhận kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu

1. Hủy, đình chỉ hoặc không công nhận kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu là biện pháp của người có thẩm quyền để xử lý các hành vi vi phạm pháp luật về đấu thầu và các quy định khác của pháp luật liên quan của chủ đầu tư, bên mời thầu, nhà thầu hoặc tổ chức, cá nhân khác tham gia hoạt động đấu thầu.

2. Hủy đấu thầu

Ngoài các quy định tại khoản 1 Điều 43 của Luật Đấu thầu, hủy đấu thầu được áp dụng đối với các trường hợp sau:

a) Hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu không tuân thủ quy định của pháp luật về đấu thầu hoặc pháp luật khác có liên quan dẫn đến không lựa chọn được nhà thầu trúng thầu hoặc nhà thầu trúng thầu không đáp ứng yêu cầu của gói thầu;

b) Có bằng chứng cho thấy có sự thông đồng giữa các bên trong đấu thầu: chủ đầu tư, bên mời thầu, cơ quan, tổ chức thẩm định và nhà thầu gây thiệt hại lợi ích của Nhà nước.

3. Đình chỉ hoặc không công nhận kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu

Đình chỉ hoặc không công nhận kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu được áp dụng khi có bằng chứng cho thấy tổ chức, cá nhân tham gia đấu thầu có hành vi vi phạm pháp luật về đấu thầu hoặc các quy định khác của pháp luật có liên quan dẫn đến không đảm bảo mục tiêu của công tác đấu thầu, làm sai lệch kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu.

Biện pháp đình chỉ được áp dụng để khắc phục ngay vi phạm đã xảy ra và được thực hiện đến trước khi phê duyệt kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu. Biện pháp không công nhận kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu được thực hiện từ ngày phê duyệt kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu đến trước khi ký kết hợp đồng.

Trong văn bản đình chỉ, không công nhận kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu phải nêu rõ lý do, nội dung, biện pháp và thời gian để khắc phục vi phạm về đấu thầu.

Chương XII

CÁC VẤN ĐỀ KHÁC

Điều 67. Mẫu tài liệu đấu thầu

1. Mẫu tài liệu đấu thầu bao gồm mẫu kế hoạch đấu thầu; mẫu hồ sơ mời sơ tuyển đối với gói thầu xây lắp; mẫu hồ sơ mời thầu và mẫu báo cáo đánh giá hồ sơ dự thầu đối với gói thầu dịch vụ tư vấn, mua sắm hàng hóa, xây lắp; mẫu báo cáo thẩm định kết quả đấu thầu và các mẫu khác.

2. Bộ Kế hoạch và Đầu tư chịu trách nhiệm ban hành mẫu tài liệu đấu thầu.

Điều 68. Bảo hành

1. Nhà thầu có trách nhiệm bảo hành đối với công trình trong trường hợp hợp đồng giữa chủ đầu tư và nhà thầu có nội dung về xây dựng, có trách nhiệm bảo hành hàng hóa trong trường hợp hợp đồng giữa chủ đầu tư và nhà thầu có nội dung về mua sắm hàng hóa theo quy định hiện hành của pháp luật.

2. Nội dung công việc bảo hành, thời hạn bảo hành, chi phí liên quan và trách nhiệm của các bên (giữa chủ đầu tư và nhà thầu) phải được thể hiện trong hợp đồng.

Điều 69. Tổ chức đấu thầu chuyên nghiệp

Tổ chức đấu thầu chuyên nghiệp theo quy định tại khoản 3 Điều 9 của Luật Đấu thầu là tổ chức được thành lập và hoạt động theo pháp luật về doanh nghiệp, pháp luật về đấu thầu và pháp luật liên quan.

Điều 70. Xử lý tình huống trong đấu thầu

Xử lý tình huống trong đấu thầu quy định tại Điều 70 của Luật Đấu thầu được thực hiện như sau:

1. Trường hợp có lý do cần điều chỉnh giá gói thầu hoặc nội dung gói thầu, chủ đầu tư phải tiến hành thủ tục điều chỉnh kế hoạch đấu thầu theo các quy định của pháp luật trước thời điểm mở thầu, trừ trường hợp quy định tại khoản 2 và khoản 6 Điều này.

2. Trường hợp dự toán của gói thầu (không bao gồm dự phòng) được duyệt thấp hơn hoặc cao hơn giá gói thầu đã duyệt thì dự toán này sẽ thay thế giá gói thầu để làm cơ sở xem xét kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu mà không phải làm thủ tục điều chỉnh giá gói thầu trong kế hoạch đấu thầu đã duyệt.

Trường hợp dự toán của gói thầu do chủ đầu tư phê duyệt cao hơn giá gói thầu đã được người có thẩm quyền phê duyệt trong kế hoạch đấu thầu thì chủ đầu tư bảo đảm tổng giá trị cao hơn đó nằm trong tổng mức đầu tư của dự án được duyệt. Trường hợp dự toán cao hơn giá gói thầu dẫn đến hình thức lựa chọn nhà thầu được phê duyệt trong kế hoạch đấu thầu không còn phù hợp theo quy định của Luật Đấu thầu, Luật sửa đổi thì chủ đầu tư xem xét, quyết định chuyển đổi hình thức lựa chọn nhà thầu cho phù hợp với quy định của pháp luật về đấu thầu.

Trường hợp vượt tổng mức đầu tư phải thực hiện điều chỉnh tổng mức đầu tư theo quy định của pháp luật.

3. Trường hợp tại thời điểm đóng thầu, đóng sơ tuyển, hết hạn nộp hồ sơ quan tâm, hết hạn nộp hồ sơ đề xuất đối với chào hàng cạnh tranh có ít hơn 3 nhà thầu nộp hồ sơ thì bên mời thầu phải báo cáo ngay (trực tiếp, bằng điện thoại, thư điện tử, fax hoặc bằng văn bản) đến chủ đầu tư để xem xét, giải quyết trong thời hạn không quá 4 giờ theo một trong hai cách sau đây:

a) Cho phép gia hạn thời điểm đóng thầu, đóng sơ tuyển, thời hạn nộp hồ sơ quan tâm và nộp hồ sơ đề xuất nhằm tăng thêm số lượng nhà thầu nộp hồ sơ;

b) Cho phép mở ngay hồ sơ để tiến hành đánh giá.

Trường hợp gia hạn thời gian thì phải quy định rõ thời điểm đóng thầu, thời điểm đóng sơ tuyển, thời hạn nộp hồ sơ quan tâm và nộp hồ sơ đề xuất mới và các thời hạn tương ứng để nhà thầu có đủ thời gian sửa đổi hoặc bổ sung hồ sơ đã nộp theo yêu cầu mới.

Trường hợp báo cáo bằng điện thoại hoặc trực tiếp thì sau đó bên mời thầu hoàn tất thủ tục bằng văn bản trong thời hạn không quá 10 ngày, kể từ ngày đóng thầu, ngày đóng sơ tuyển, ngày hết hạn nộp hồ sơ quan tâm hoặc hồ sơ đề xuất.

4. Trường hợp gói thầu được chia thành nhiều phần thì trong hồ sơ mời thầu cần nêu rõ điều kiện chào thầu, biện pháp và giá trị bảo đảm dự thầu cho từng phần hoặc nhiều phần và phương pháp đánh giá đối với từng phần hoặc nhiều phần để các nhà thầu tính toán phương án chào thầu theo khả năng của mình.

Việc đánh giá hồ sơ dự thầu và xét duyệt trúng thầu sẽ được thực hiện trên cơ sở bảo đảm nguyên tắc tổng giá đánh giá của gói thầu là thấp nhất và giá trúng thầu của cả gói thầu không vượt giá gói thầu được duyệt mà không so sánh với ước tính chi phí của từng phần.

Trường hợp có một phần hoặc nhiều phần thuộc gói thầu không có nhà thầu tham gia đấu thầu hoặc không có nhà thầu đáp ứng yêu cầu về mặt kỹ thuật, chủ đầu tư báo cáo người có thẩm quyền để điều chỉnh kế hoạch đấu thầu của gói thầu theo hướng tách các phần đó thành gói thầu riêng với giá gói thầu là tổng chi phí ước tính tương ứng của các phần; việc lựa chọn nhà thầu đối với các phần công việc có nhà thầu tham gia và được đánh giá đáp ứng yêu cầu về mặt kỹ thuật vẫn phải bảo đảm nguyên tắc tổng giá đánh giá của các phần là thấp nhất và giá trúng thầu của các phần này không vượt tổng chi phí ước tính của các phần đó mà không so sánh với ước tính chi phí của từng phần.

5. Trường hợp hồ sơ dự thầu có đơn giá khác thường mà gây bất lợi cho chủ đầu tư thì bên mời thầu yêu cầu nhà thầu giải thích, làm rõ bằng văn bản về những đơn giá khác thường đó. Nếu sự giải thích của nhà thầu không đủ rõ, không có tính thuyết phục thì đây là sai lệch và thực hiện hiệu chỉnh sai lệch theo quy định như đối với nội dung chào thừa hoặc thiếu của hồ sơ dự thầu so với yêu cầu của hồ sơ mời thầu theo quy định tại Điều 30 Nghị định này.

6. Đối với gói thầu mua sắm hàng hóa, xây lắp, gói thầu lựa chọn tổng thầu (trừ gói thầu lựa chọn tổng thầu thiết kế), trường hợp giá dự thầu sau sửa lỗi, hiệu chỉnh sai lệch của các nhà thầu đều vượt giá gói thầu đã duyệt thì chủ đầu tư xem xét xử lý theo một trong các giải pháp sau đây:

a) Cho phép các nhà thầu này được chào lại giá dự thầu;

b) Cho phép đồng thời với việc chào lại giá dự thầu sẽ xem xét lại giá gói thầu, nội dung hồ sơ mời thầu đã duyệt, nếu cần thiết.

Trường hợp cho phép các nhà thầu được chào lại giá dự thầu thì cần quy định rõ thời gian chuẩn bị và nộp hồ sơ chào lại giá (trong thời hạn tối đa là 10 ngày) cũng như quy định rõ việc mở các hồ sơ chào lại giá như quy trình mở thầu theo quy định tại khoản 3 Điều 28 Nghị định này. Trường hợp cần điều chỉnh giá gói thầu trong kế hoạch đấu thầu đã duyệt thì người có thẩm quyền có trách nhiệm phê duyệt điều chỉnh trong thời gian tối đa là 10 ngày (song phải bảo đảm trước thời điểm hết hạn nộp hồ sơ chào lại giá) kể từ ngày nhận được báo cáo của chủ đầu tư.

c) Cho phép mời nhà thầu có giá đánh giá thấp nhất vào đàm phán về giá nhưng phải bảo đảm giá sau đàm phán không được vượt giá dự thầu sau sửa lỗi, hiệu chỉnh sai lệch thấp nhất. Trường hợp cần điều chỉnh giá gói thầu trong kế hoạch đấu thầu đã duyệt thì người có thẩm quyền có trách nhiệm phê duyệt điều chỉnh trong thời gian tối đa là 10 ngày, kể từ ngày nhận được báo cáo của chủ đầu tư. Trường hợp đàm phán không thành công thì mời nhà thầu có giá đánh giá thấp tiếp theo vào đàm phán.

Chủ đầu tư chịu trách nhiệm trước pháp luật về kết quả đàm phán của mình trên cơ sở bảo đảm các điều kiện sau:

- Gói thầu đó được thực hiện theo hình thức đấu thầu rộng rãi;

- Quá trình tổ chức đấu thầu được tiến hành đúng quy trình và bảo đảm tính cạnh tranh, minh bạch, công bằng;

- Không làm vượt tổng mức đầu tư đã được phê duyệt, hiệu quả của dự án vẫn được bảo đảm.

7. Trường hợp chỉ có một hồ sơ dự thầu vượt qua bước đánh giá về mặt kỹ thuật thì không cần xác định điểm tổng hợp (đối với gói thầu dịch vụ tư vấn không yêu cầu kỹ thuật cao), không cần xác định giá đánh giá (đối với gói thầu mua sắm hàng hóa, xây lắp và gói thầu lựa chọn tổng thầu xây dựng, trừ gói thầu lựa chọn tổng thầu thiết kế) mà chỉ xác định giá đề nghị trúng thầu để có cơ sở xem xét kết quả trúng thầu. Đối với gói thầu mua sắm hàng hóa, xây lắp, gói thầu lựa chọn tổng thầu (trừ gói thầu lựa chọn tổng thầu thiết kế), trường hợp giá đề nghị trúng thầu của nhà thầu vượt giá gói thầu được duyệt thì xử lý theo quy định tại khoản 6 Điều này.

8. Trường hợp có hai hồ sơ dự thầu có kết quả đánh giá tốt nhất, ngang nhau (về số điểm hoặc giá đánh giá) thì sẽ xem xét trao thầu cho nhà thầu có giá đề nghị trúng thầu thấp hơn đối với gói thầu mua sắm hàng hóa, xây lắp hoặc cho nhà thầu có điểm kỹ thuật cao hơn đối với gói thầu dịch vụ tư vấn không yêu cầu kỹ thuật cao, trừ các trường hợp ưu đãi theo quy định tại khoản 2 Điều 4 Nghị định này.

9. Trong quá trình thương thảo, hoàn thiện hợp đồng, trường hợp thấy cần thiết bổ sung khối lượng công việc hợp lý ngoài phạm vi công việc trong hồ sơ mời thầu nhưng dẫn đến giá ký hợp đồng vượt giá trúng thầu thì bên mời thầu báo cáo chủ đầu tư xem xét, quyết định nhưng đảm bảo giá ký hợp đồng không vượt giá gói thầu, dự toán được duyệt. Trường hợp vượt giá gói thầu, dự toán được duyệt mà không dẫn đến làm tăng tổng mức đầu tư, chủ đầu tư xem xét, quyết định mà không phải làm thủ tục điều chỉnh giá gói thầu trong kế hoạch đấu thầu đã duyệt.

10. Trường hợp giá đề nghị trúng thầu do bên mời thầu đề nghị thấp bất thường hoặc thấp dưới năm mươi phần trăm (50%) giá gói thầu, hoặc dự toán được duyệt thì trước khi phê duyệt kết quả đấu thầu, chủ đầu tư có thể đưa ra các biện pháp phù hợp như thành lập tổ thẩm định liên ngành để thẩm định kỹ hơn về hồ sơ dự thầu của nhà thầu hoặc đưa ra các biện pháp phù hợp trong hợp đồng để bảo đảm tính khả thi cho việc thực hiện.

11. Trường hợp thực hiện sơ tuyển, lựa chọn danh sách nhà thầu để mời tham gia đấu thầu mà có ít hơn 3 nhà thầu đáp ứng yêu cầu thì chủ đầu tư căn cứ điều kiện cụ thể của gói thầu xử lý theo một trong hai cách sau đây:

a) Tiến hành sơ tuyển bổ sung, lựa chọn bổ sung nhà thầu vào danh sách ngắn. Trong trường hợp này, nhà thầu đã được đánh giá đáp ứng được bảo lưu kết quả đánh giá mà không phải làm lại hồ sơ dự sơ tuyển, hồ sơ quan tâm nhưng bên mời thầu phải đề nghị các nhà thầu này cập nhật thông tin về năng lực và kinh nghiệm;

b) Cho phép phát hành ngay hồ sơ mời thầu cho nhà thầu trong danh sách ngắn.

12. Trường hợp trong hồ sơ mời thầu quy định nhà thầu được đề xuất biện pháp thi công khác với biện pháp thi công nêu trong hồ sơ mời thầu, phần sai khác giữa khối lượng công việc theo biện pháp thi công nêu trong hồ sơ mời thầu và khối lượng công việc theo biện pháp thi công do nhà thầu đề xuất sẽ không bị hiệu chỉnh theo quy định tại Điều 30 Nghị định này. Phần sai khác này cũng không bị tính vào sai lệch để loại bỏ hồ sơ dự thầu theo quy định tại Điều 45 của Luật Đấu thầu.

13. Trường hợp nhà thầu có thư giảm giá, việc sửa lỗi và hiệu chỉnh sai lệch được thực hiện trên cơ sở giá dự thầu chưa trừ đi giá trị giảm giá. Trong trường hợp đó, việc xác định giá trị tuyệt đối của lỗi số học hoặc sai lệch được tính trên cơ sở giá dự thầu ghi trong hóa đơn.

14. Khi phê duyệt danh sách nhà thầu được mời tham gia đấu thầu hạn chế, trường hợp có 1 hoặc 2 nhà thầu, chủ đầu tư báo cáo người có thẩm quyền xem xét, quyết định cho phép tiếp tục tổ chức đấu thầu hạn chế hoặc áp dụng hình thức lựa chọn khác. Trường hợp có 3 hoặc 4 nhà thầu thì chủ đầu tư xem xét cho phép phát hành hồ sơ mời thầu ngay cho các nhà thầu trong danh sách ngắn hoặc gia hạn thời gian để xác định thêm nhà thầu đưa vào danh sách ngắn.

Ngoài các trường hợp nêu trên, khi phát sinh tình huống thì bên mời thầu báo cáo chủ đầu tư xem xét, quyết định.

Điều 71. Hồ sơ trình duyệt kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu

Trên cơ sở hồ sơ trình duyệt về kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu của bên mời thầu, chủ đầu tư xem xét, quyết định kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu. Hồ sơ trình duyệt kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu bao gồm báo cáo kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu và các tài liệu liên quan.

1. Báo cáo kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu bao gồm:

a) Cơ sở pháp lý của việc thực hiện lựa chọn nhà thầu;

b) Nội dung của gói thầu;

c) Quá trình tổ chức lựa chọn và đánh giá hồ sơ dự thầu hoặc hồ sơ đề xuất của nhà thầu;

d) Đề nghị về kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu bao gồm:

- Tên nhà thầu được đề nghị lựa chọn (kể cả tên nhà thầu phụ nếu cần thiết). Trường hợp là nhà thầu liên danh phải nêu tên tất cả thành viên trong liên danh;

- Giá đề nghị trúng thầu hoặc giá đề nghị thực hiện gói thầu (bao gồm thuế nếu có);

- Hình thức hợp đồng;

- Thời gian thực hiện hợp đồng.

Trường hợp không lựa chọn được nhà thầu thì phải nêu phương án xử lý tiếp theo.

2. Tài liệu liên quan gồm:

a) Bản chụp quyết định đầu tư và các tài liệu để ra quyết định đầu tư; Giấy chứng nhận đăng ký kinh doanh, Giấy chứng nhận đầu tư hoặc quyết định thành lập, điều ước hoặc thoả thuận quốc tế (nếu có); kế hoạch đấu thầu;

b) Hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu;

c) Quyết định thành lập tổ chuyên gia đấu thầu, hợp đồng thuê tư vấn đấu thầu, tổ chức đấu thầu chuyên nghiệp;

d) Dự án nhà thầu nộp hồ sơ dự thầu, hồ sơ đề xuất, biên bản mở thầu;

đ) Các hồ sơ dự thầu, hồ sơ đề xuất và các tài liệu làm rõ, sửa đổi, bổ sung liên quan;

e) Báo cáo đánh giá hồ sơ dự thầu, hồ sơ đề xuất của tổ chuyên gia đấu thầu, tư vấn đấu thầu, tổ chức đấu thầu chuyên nghiệp;

g) Văn bản phê duyệt các nội dung của quá trình thực hiện lựa chọn nhà thầu theo quy định;

h) Biên bản đàm phán hợp đồng đối với gói thầu dịch vụ tư vấn;

i) ý kiến về kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu của tổ chức tài trợ nước ngoài (nếu có);

k) Các tài liệu khác liên quan.

Điều 72. Thẩm định hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu và kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu

1. Thẩm định hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu

a) Nội dung thẩm định bao gồm:

- Kiểm tra các tài liệu là căn cứ để lập hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu;

- Kiểm tra nội dung của hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu;

- Phát hiện những nội dung còn thiếu, chưa rõ, không phù hợp của hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu với mục tiêu, phạm vi công việc và thời gian thực hiện dự án, pháp luật về đấu thầu và pháp luật khác liên quan;

- Những ý kiến khác nhau (nếu có) giữa tổ chức, cá nhân tham gia lập hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu;

- Nội dung khác nếu có.

b) Báo cáo thẩm định bao gồm những nội dung sau đây:

- Khái quát về dự án và gói thầu: nội dung chính của dự án và gói thầu, cơ sở pháp lý để lập hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu;

- Tóm tắt nội dung chính của gói thầu;

- Nhận xét về mặt pháp lý, về nội dung còn tồn tại của hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu; kiến nghị về các nội dung cần sửa đổi để phê duyệt hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu;

- Nội dung khác nếu có.

2. Thẩm định kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu

a) Nội dung thẩm định bao gồm:

- Kiểm tra các tài liệu là căn cứ của việc tổ chức lựa chọn nhà thầu;

- Kiểm tra quy trình và thời gian liên quan tới việc tổ chức lựa chọn nhà thầu theo quy định: thời gian đăng tải thông tin đấu thầu, phát hành hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu, thời gian chuẩn bị hồ sơ dự thầu, hồ sơ đề xuất, thời điểm đóng thầu, thời điểm mở thầu, thời gian đánh giá hồ sơ dự thầu, hồ sơ đề xuất;

- Kiểm tra nội dung đánh giá hồ sơ dự thầu, hồ sơ đề xuất: biên bản đánh giá và ý kiến nhận xét đánh giá của từng chuyên gia, báo cáo tổng hợp của tổ chuyên gia đấu thầu, đánh giá của tư vấn đấu thầu, tổ chức đấu thầu chuyên nghiệp (nếu có), sự tuân thủ của việc đánh giá hồ sơ dự thầu, hồ sơ đề xuất so với yêu cầu của hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu và tiêu chuẩn đánh giá được duyệt, mức độ chính xác của việc đánh giá;

- Phát hiện những nội dung còn chưa rõ trong hồ sơ trình duyệt kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu;

- Những ý kiến khác nhau (nếu có) giữa các thành viên tổ chuyên gia đấu thầu, giữa tư vấn đấu thầu, tổ chức đấu thầu chuyên nghiệp với bên mời thầu.

b) Báo cáo thẩm định bao gồm những nội dung chính sau đây:

- Khái quát về dự án và gói thầu: nội dung chính của dự án và gói thầu, cơ sở pháp lý đối với việc tổ chức lựa chọn nhà thầu;

- Tóm tắt quá trình tổ chức thực hiện và đề nghị của cơ quan trình duyệt về kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu;

- Nhận xét về mặt pháp lý, về quá trình thực hiện, về đề nghị của cơ quan trình duyệt;

- ý kiến về kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu hoặc biện pháp giải quyết đối với những trường hợp chưa đủ cơ sở kết luận về kết quả lựa chọn nhà thầu.

3. Báo cáo thẩm định được gửi đồng thời cho bên mời thầu.

Điều 73. Quản lý nhà thầu nước ngoài

1. Sau khi được lựa chọn để thực hiện các gói thầu trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam, nhà thầu nước ngoài phải tuân thủ các quy định của pháp luật Việt Nam về nhập cảnh, xuất cảnh, nhập khẩu, xuất khẩu hàng hóa, đăng ký tạm trú, chế độ kế toán, thuế và các quy định khác của pháp luật Việt Nam liên quan, trừ trường hợp có quy định khác trong điều ước quốc tế mà Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam là thành viên hoặc thoả thuận quốc tế mà cơ quan, tổ chức có thẩm quyền của Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam đã ký kết.

2. Trong vòng 15 ngày, kể từ ngày hợp đồng ký kết với nhà thầu nước ngoài có hiệu lực, chủ đầu tư các dự án có trách nhiệm gửi báo cáo bằng văn bản, bằng thư điện tử theo mẫu nêu tại Phụ lục III Nghị định này về Bộ Kế hoạch và Đầu tư đồng thời gửi Bộ quản lý ngành (đối với dự án thuộc phạm vi quản lý của Bộ hoặc do Bộ trưởng quyết định đầu tư), Bộ Xây dựng (đối với các gói thầu trong hoạt động xây dựng) và gửi cho Sở Kế hoạch và Đầu tư ở địa phương (đối với dự án thuộc phạm vi quản lý của địa phương) để tổng hợp và theo dõi.

Điều 74. Kiểm tra về đấu thầu

1. Bộ Kế hoạch và Đầu tư chủ trì, tổ chức kiểm tra về đấu thầu trên phạm vi cả nước. Các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan thuộc Chính phủ, cơ quan khác ở Trung ương, địa phương, Uỷ ban nhân dân các cấp chỉ đạo việc kiểm tra về đấu thầu đối với các đơn vị thuộc phạm vi quản lý của mình và các dự án do mình quyết định đầu tư. Đối với địa phương, Sở Kế hoạch và Đầu tư chịu trách nhiệm giúp Uỷ ban nhân dân tỉnh, thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương chủ trì, tổ chức kiểm tra về đấu thầu tại địa phương mình.

2. Kiểm tra đấu thầu được tiến hành thường xuyên theo kế hoạch hoặc đột xuất (khi có vướng mắc, kiến nghị, đề nghị) theo quyết định của người có thẩm quyền của cơ quan kiểm tra.

3. Nội dung kiểm tra đấu thầu bao gồm:

a) Kiểm tra chứng chỉ đào tạo, bồi dưỡng về đấu thầu, chứng chỉ liên quan đến trình độ của đội ngũ cán bộ, chuyên gia đấu thầu và các văn bản pháp lý liên quan tới quá trình lựa chọn nhà thầu;

b) Kiểm tra việc xây dựng và kế hoạch đấu thầu theo các nội dung sau đây:

- Cơ sở pháp lý;

- Nội dung của kế hoạch đấu thầu, tính hợp lý của việc phân chia các gói thầu và hình thức lựa chọn nhà thầu áp dụng cho các gói thầu;

- Tiến độ thực hiện các gói thầu theo kế hoạch đấu thầu đã duyệt. Việc điều chỉnh kế hoạch đấu thầu (nếu có) và lý do điều chỉnh;

- Việc trình duyệt và phê duyệt kế hoạch đấu thầu.

c) Kiểm tra việc tổ chức lựa chọn nhà thầu để thực hiện các gói thầu theo các nội dung sau đây:

- Sự tuân thủ theo cơ sở pháp lý được duyệt như kế hoạch đấu thầu, hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu;

- Trình tự và thời gian thực hiện.

d) Phát hiện những tồn tại trong công tác đấu thầu và đề xuất biện pháp khắc phục.

4. Sau khi kết thúc kiểm tra, phải có báo cáo kết quả kiểm tra. Cơ quan kiểm tra có trách nhiệm theo dõi việc khắc phục các tồn tại đã nêu trong kết luận báo cáo kết quả kiểm tra.

5. Nội dung báo cáo kiểm tra bao gồm:

a) Cơ sở pháp lý;

b) Kết quả kiểm tra;

c) Nhận xét;

d) Kiến nghị.

Điều 75. Giám sát hoạt động đấu thầu của cộng đồng

Việc giám sát hoạt động đấu thầu của cộng đồng được thực hiện theo quy định của pháp luật về giám sát đầu tư của cộng đồng.

Chương XIII

ĐIỀU KHOẢN THI HÀNH

Điều 76. Hướng dẫn thi hành

1. Đối với hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu, hồ sơ mời quan tâm, hồ sơ mời sơ tuyển được phát hành trước ngày 01 tháng 8 năm 2009 thì thực hiện theo quy định của Luật Đấu thầu và Nghị định số 58/2008/NĐ-CP ngày 05 tháng 5 năm 2008 của Chính phủ. Riêng về phân cấp trách nhiệm trong đấu thầu, thực hiện theo quy định của Luật sửa đổi từ ngày 01 tháng 8 năm 2009.

Đối với hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu, hồ sơ mời quan tâm, hồ sơ mời sơ tuyển được phát hành từ ngày 01 tháng 8 năm 2009 đến trước ngày Nghị định này có hiệu lực thi hành thì thực hiện theo quy định của Luật sửa đổi, Luật Đấu thầu và Nghị định số 58/2008/NĐ-CP ngày 05 tháng 5 năm 2008 của Chính phủ.

Đối với hồ sơ mời thầu, hồ sơ yêu cầu, hồ sơ mời quan tâm, hồ sơ mời sơ tuyển được phát hành kể từ ngày Nghị định này có hiệu lực thi hành thì thực hiện theo Luật Đấu thầu, Luật sửa đổi và Nghị định này.

2. Bộ Kế hoạch và Đầu tư hướng dẫn thực hiện quy định tại Điều 5, Điều 7, Điều 34, Điều 67 và các nội dung cần thiết khác của Nghị định này để đáp ứng yêu cầu quản lý nhà nước về đấu thầu.

3. Bộ Kế hoạch và Đầu tư chủ trì, phối hợp với các cơ quan liên quan xây dựng hệ thống mạng đấu thầu quốc gia và lộ trình áp dụng; xây dựng cơ chế quản lý, vận hành và hướng dẫn thực hiện đấu thầu qua mạng.

4. Bộ Tài chính hướng dẫn việc thực hiện quy định tại khoản 2 Điều 1 của Luật Đấu thầu về dự án sử dụng vốn nhà nước để mua sắm tài sản nhằm duy trì hoạt động thường xuyên của cơ quan nhà nước, tổ chức chính trị, tổ chức chính trị - xã hội, tổ chức chính trị xã hội - nghề nghiệp, tổ chức xã hội, tổ chức xã hội - nghề nghiệp, đơn vị vũ trang nhân dân.

5. Bộ Tài chính hướng dẫn về các loại chi phí liên quan đến quá trình lựa chọn nhà thầu.

6. Bộ Công thương hướng dẫn thủ tục xuất, nhập khẩu hàng hóa của các nhà thầu trúng thầu.

7. Bộ Lao động - Thương binh và Xã hội chủ trì, phối hợp với Bộ Tài chính và các cơ quan quản lý ngành liên quan để ban hành quy định về mức lương của các loại chuyên gia tư vấn trong nước làm cơ sở cho việc xác định giá trị hợp đồng tư vấn và áp dụng hình thức hợp đồng theo thời gian quy định tại Điều 51 của Luật Đấu thầu và Điều 50 Nghị định này.

8. Các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan thuộc Chính phủ, cơ quan khác ở Trung ương, Uỷ ban nhân dân cấp tỉnh trong phạm vi quản lý của mình hướng dẫn chi tiết một số nội dung của Nghị định này (nếu cần thiết) nhưng bảo đảm không trái với các quy định của Nghị định này.

9. Bộ trưởng, Thủ trưởng cơ quan ngang Bộ, Thủ trưởng cơ quan khác ở Trung ương, Chủ tịch Uỷ ban nhân dân các cấp chỉ định một cấp phó trực tiếp chịu trách nhiệm về công tác đấu thầu trong phạm vi quản lý của ngành hoặc địa phương mình. Trong quá trình thực hiện Nghị định này, nếu có những phát sinh, vướng mắc cần báo cáo Thủ tướng Chính phủ xem xét, quyết định. Định kỳ hàng năm, các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan thuộc Chính phủ, cơ quan khác ở Trung ương, Uỷ ban nhân dân cấp tỉnh, các doanh nghiệp do Thủ tướng Chính phủ quyết định thành lập phải gửi báo cáo tình hình thực hiện công tác đấu thầu về Bộ Kế hoạch và Đầu tư để tổng hợp báo cáo Thủ tướng Chính phủ.

Điều 77. Hiệu lực thi hành

Nghị định này có hiệu lực thi hành kể từ ngày 01 tháng 12 năm 2009. Kể từ ngày Nghị định này có hiệu lực thi hành thì Nghị định số 58/2008/NĐ-CP ngày 05 tháng 5 năm 2008 của Chính phủ, Quyết định số 49/2007/QĐ-TTg ngày 11 tháng 4 năm 2007 hết hiệu lực thi hành. Những quy định trước đây của Chính phủ, các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ và các địa phương trái với quy định của Luật Đấu thầu, Luật Xây dựng, Luật sửa đổi và Nghị định này đều bãi bỏ./.