Chương V Luật đấu thầu 2023: Mua sắm tập trung; mua thuốc, hoá chất, vật tư xét nghiệm, thiết bị y tế, cung cấp sản phẩm, dịch vụ công.

Chapter V

CENTRALIZED PROCUREMENT; PROCUREMENT OF DRUGS, CHEMICALS, MEDICAL DEVICES, TEST EQUIPMENT; SUPPLY OF PUBLIC GOODS AND SERVICES

Article 53. Centralized procurement

1. Centralized procurement shall apply if the following requirements are met:

a) Goods or services are of similar categories and need to be procured in a large quantity to serve demands of one or some authorities, organizations and units.

In case a rare drug needs to be procured in a small quantity, the centralized procurement method may also be employed to ensure the supply of sufficient drugs for medical examination and treatment activities;

b) Goods or services to be procured are included in the list of goods and services to be procured through centralized procurement in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Power to issue lists of goods and services to be procured through centralized procurement:

a) The Minister of Health of Vietnam shall issue the list of drugs to be procured through national centralized procurement; the list of medical devices and test equipment to be procured through national centralized procurement in case of need;

b) The Minister of Finance of Vietnam shall issue the list of goods and services to be procured through national centralized procurement, except those included in lists issued by the Minister of Health of Vietnam as prescribed in Point a of this Clause;

c) Ministers, heads of ministerial agencies, governmental agencies, and other central-government agencies, Chairpersons of provincial People’s Committees, heads of state-owned enterprises and wholly state-owned enterprises shall issue lists of goods and services to be procured through centralized procurement (including lists of drugs, medical device and test equipment) within their jurisdiction, except those included in lists of drugs, goods and services to be procured through national centralized procurement issued by the Minister of Health of Vietnam or the Minister of Finance of Vietnam as prescribed in Points a and b of this Clause.

3. Centralized procurement must be conducted through competitive bidding. Direct contracting method may apply to procurement of a good which is included in a list of goods and services to be procured through centralized procurement but needs to be purchased immediately to serve epidemic and disease prevention and combat as prescribed in Point c Clause 1 Article 23 of this Law. The price negotiation method may apply to procurement of a good which is included in a list of goods and services to be procured through centralized procurement may be procured through if the price negotiation requirements laid down in Clause 1 Article 28 of this Law are satisfied.

4. Centralized procurement shall be conducted by the national centralized procurement unit or centralized procurement units of ministries, central-government agencies, local governments or enterprises adopting one of the following methods:

a) The centralized procurement unit shall conduct contractor selection and directly sign contract with the selected supplier;

b) The centralized procurement unit shall conduct contractor selection, and sign a framework agreement with one or some selected suppliers which shall be used as the basis for the entities in need of goods or services to sign contracts directly with such suppliers.

5. If regulatory authorities, organizations and/or units have need for the same good or service which is not included in the list of goods and services to be procured through centralized procurement, they shall aggregate their quantities of good or service in need to form a procurement package and appoint one of them or a qualified centralized procurement unit to execute this procurement package.

6. Centralized procurement units shall conduct contractor selection within the ambit of their assigned tasks or under contracts signed with entities in need of procurement of goods or services.

7. The Government shall elaborate this Article and stipulate the aggregation of procurement demands of private health facilities.

Article 54. Framework agreement

1. Framework agreement on centralized procurement means an agreement made between a centralized procurement unit and one or some selected suppliers for an undivided package or a part of a divided package.

2. Contents and conditions of the framework agreement shall be used as the basis for entering into each specific procurement contract.

3. The validity period of a framework agreement is specified in the contractor selection plan but shall not exceed 36 months. The selected supplier's bid must still remain valid at the time of signing the framework agreement.

4. In case of a consortium bidder, the framework agreement must bear signatures and seals (if any) of all members of the consortium.

Article 55. Selection of suppliers of drugs, chemicals, test equipment and medical devices

1. Health facilities may adopt one of the following methods to selection of suppliers of chemicals, test equipment and medical devices:

a) Selection of chemical or test equipment supplier whereby the selected supplier shall also provide medical devices serving the use of their supplied chemical or test equipment at the request of the employer; the supplier shall only transfer the rights to use medical devices to the health facility but retain ownership thereto;

b) Selection of supplier by quantity of technical services:

The selected supplier shall only supply chemicals, test equipment, medical devices, spare parts, accessories and relevant services serving the operation or use of medical devices in the quantity of technical services specified in the bidding documents or RFP issued by the employer or procuring entity, without providing personnel in charge of operating such medical devices.

The supplier shall only transfer the rights to use medical devices to the employer but retain ownership thereto. The package and bid price shall be determined on the basis of the quantity of technical services to be supplied. Duration of a contract shall not exceed 05 years;

c) Selection of supplier of medical devices, chemicals and test equipment: The selected supplier shall transfer the ownership to medical devices and chemicals, test equipment to the employer after the contract signed by and between the two parties becomes effective;

d) Selection of medical device supplier in accordance with regulations of law on bidding;

dd) Selection of supplier of chemicals and test equipment used for operating existing medical devices;

e) Selection of technical service supplier in accordance with the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment.

2. Regarding the procurement of drugs which are not covered by the health insurance fund or procurement of vaccines used in providing on-demand vaccination services, health facilities shall themselves decide the procurement of such drugs or vaccines in a manner that ensures openness, transparency, economic efficiency and accountability.

3. Where a private health facility fails to apply the provisions of this Law to its procurement of drugs, chemicals, test equipment and medical devices, it shall only be entitled to reimbursement by the health insurance fund of costs of such drugs, chemicals, test equipment and medical devices calculated according to the corresponding successful bid prices of provincial- or central-level public health facilities or a local health facility of same level of technical and operational procedures. If such reference successful bid prices are not available, the Government's regulations shall apply.

4. The Government shall elaborate this Article.

Article 56. Incentives in drug procurement

1. Incentives in drug procurement shall comply with Article 10 of this Law and the following provisions:

a) The employer shall decide whether to require inclusion of a domestic drug in bids if such drug can be manufactured by at least 03 domestic manufacturers satisfying technical requirements imposed by the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, and other quality and price requirements.

b) If a drug can be manufactured by at least 03 domestic manufacturers that fulfill EU-GMP requirements or EU-GMP-equivalent requirements as announced by the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, and also meet technical requirements imposed by the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, and other quality, price and supply capacity requirements, the inclusion of a domestic drug in bids shall be a requirement laid down in bidding documents or RFP.

2. The Ministry of Health of Vietnam shall announce the list of drugs mentioned in Point b Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 57. Selection of contractors for supply of public products and services

1. Public products and services are products and services which are essential for socio-economic development of a country or residential community or for assurance of national defense and security, and thus have to be maintained by the State in the following fields: education and training; vocational education and training; health; culture, sports and tourism; information and communications; science and technology; natural resources and environment; transport; agriculture and rural development; industry and trade; construction; labour, war invalids and social affairs; justice and other fields as prescribed by laws.

Public products and services include public utilities and public services.

2. Selection of contractors for supply of public products and services shall comply with the provision of this Law.

3. In addition to the contractor selection methods prescribed in Chapter II of this Law, the selection of contractors for supply of public products and services may also be conducted in the forms of order placement or task assignment according to the Government's regulations.