Nghị định 73/2019/NĐ-CP quy định quản lý đầu tư ứng dụng công nghệ thông tin sử dụng nguồn vốn ngân sách nhà nước

DECREE

ON MANAGEMENT OF STATE INVESTMENT IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Information Technology dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Law on Bidding dated November 26, 2013;

Pursuant to the Law on Public Investment dated June 13, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on State Budget dated June 25, 2015;

At the request of the Minister of Information and Communications;

The Government promulgates a Decree on management of state investment in information technology application.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

1. This Decree provides for the management of information technology application (hereinafter referred to as “IT application”) activities:

a) IT application projects funded by the state budget for covering development investment expenditures;

b) IT application activities funded by the state budget for current expenses.

2. For an IT application project funded by various sources among which funding from the state budget accounts for at least 30% or the highest proportion of the total investment, the provisions of this Decree shall be complied with.

3. Regarding the IT application activities in Clause 1 of this Article carried out by Vietnamese diplomatic missions, the Government’s provisions shall be complied with on the basis of the proposals and recommendations of such diplomatic missions and in a manner that suits the characteristics of each project and law of the host country.

4. Regarding PPP IT application projects, regulations on investment made in the public-private partnership form shall be complied with.

5. This Decree is not applicable to IT application activities classified as national secrets.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. This Decree is applicable to regulatory bodies, organizations and individuals participating in or relating to the management of state investment in IT application.

2. Organizations and individuals relating to investment in IT application funded by other sources of funding are encouraged to comply with the regulations of this Decree.

Article 3. Definitions

For the purposes of this Decree, the terms below shall be construed as follows:

1. “economic-technical report for IT application project” (hereinafter referred to as “economic-technical report”) means an IT application project feasibility study report (hereinafter referred to as “feasibility study report”) prepared in case a project is carried out according to the 01-step design procedures.

2. “database” means a collection of information/data organized for the purpose of access, use, management and update via electronic means.

3. “information technology service that is available on the market” (hereinafter referred to as “available IT service”) means an information technology service provided upon demand without waiting for design, processing or manufacture; with its price and technical/technological features and functions publicized on the portal/website of an organization/individual or via other means accessible to many people. 

4. “information technology services that are unavailable on the market” means a service provided according to specific requirements imposed by an organization/unit. The organization/unit hires another organization/individual to establish, expand or upgrade an infrastructure, software and/or database system to meet the specific requirements imposed by the organization/unit. After such system or any item of such system is completed, the organization/individual shall manage and operate it to provide the service to the lessee or request the lessee to manage and operate it itself within a specific period of time.

5. “ IT application project” means a set of activities concerning considering or investing in capital for purchasing or leasing of information technology services, establishing, expanding or upgrading an infrastructure, software or database system for the purpose of development, maintenance and  improvement of  product and service quality and operational efficiency within a certain period of time. In the preparation phase, an IT application project is presented via a pre-feasibility study report, guidelines proposal report, feasibility study report or economic-technical report.

6. “designer's supervision" means inspection, explanation or settlement of difficulties, changes and unanticipated problems to ensure the installation, setup and adjustment of materials, information technology equipment and commercial software, or build, development, upgradation and expansion of internal-use software and databases in conformity with the detailed design, and protection of the copyright on the detailed design according to regulations.

7. “project completion dossier” means a compilation of documents related to the process of investment in IT application that needs to be archived upon the official use of the project’s product or work item.

8. “software testing” means the testing of software’s ability to meet technical requirements or user requirements via techniques and equipment.

9. “software expansion” means modifying the software to enhance its available functions in order to satisfy a number of additional user requirements or business requirements in a software operating environment.

10. “software upgradation” means modifying and enhancing the performance, safety and security of the available software to optimize its ability to process user requirements and minimize all risks in a software operating environment.

11. “software development” (or “software build”) means processing and producing software to meet the requirements of an organization/user or for commercial purposes. Software development takes place in a production environment or development environment.

12. “open-source software” means software provided together with its source code. The user is not required to pay royalties for the source code but is required to comply with international regulations on use of open-source software.

13. “internal-use software” means the software built, developed, upgraded and expanded according to specific requirements of an organization or a software user for the purpose of meeting specific requirements imposed by such organization or software user.

14. “commercial software” means available software with its price and description of technical/technological features and functions publicized on the portal/website of an organization/individual or via other means accessible to many people.

15. "IT application project quality management” (hereinafter referred to as “quality management”) means management of the process of survey; design; execution and execution supervision; testing or trial operation; commissioning and transfer to ensure the requirements on product and project quality.

16. “IT application cost management” means management of the total investment, cost estimate, cost norms and unit price of IT application.

17. “appraisal” means inspection and evaluation by an investment decision maker, investment project owner, information technology authority or any other competent authorities during the preparation and execution of a project to provide the bases for consideration and approval decision.  

18. “inspection” means specialized examination and evaluation by a competent and experienced organization/individual during the investment preparation and investment to provide the bases for the appraisal.

19. “basic design” means a compilation of descriptions and preliminary design diagrams of infrastructure, software and database systems and other contents that are required to show the design plan. A basic design may contain one or more items of investment in IT application.

20. “detailed design” means a compilation of descriptions, diagrams and descriptions of design contents and other technical requirements.

21. “overall model for information system” means a top-level model of an information system. This model sufficiently presents the architecture and layers/components of an information system such as users, operation, application, data and IT infrastructure (including information safety) and their relationships and external systems that interact, integrate, connect and share information with such system.  

22. “logical model for information system” means a model showing the overall model at the detailed level. The logical model shows the processing procedures of the system’s components and of the system with other relevant systems to satisfy the system’s technical requirements and produce the desired results.

23. “physical model for information system” means a model showing the logical model at the detailed level. This model presents the information system’s design based on the logical model and chosen design procedures, including information on the solutions, technical specifications, equipment and tools used (if any) that are conformable with the applied standards and technical regulations.

Article 4. Implementation of regulations on incentives for investment in and leasing and purchase of domestically manufactured information technology products and services

IT application activities within the scope of this Decree shall be carried out in a manner that gives priority to the investment in and leasing and purchase of domestically manufactured information technology products and services.

The Ministry of Information and Communications shall promulgate the specific criteria for determination and announcement of the list of domestically manufactured IT products and services whose development, leasing and purchase are prioritized; list of shared open-source products qualified for use in state agencies; list of enterprises whose products meet the criteria for giving priority to investment, leasing and purchase. For specialized-use software, the Ministry of Information and Communications shall cooperate and reach an agreement with relevant Ministries before promulgation of criteria.

Article 5. Compliance with E-Government Architecture and assurance of data connectivity and sharing

1. Formulation, appraisal and approval of investment guidelines, investment decisions, designs and execution of IT application projects must comply with applicable Vietnam, ministerial or provincial E-Government Architectures.

2. Projects for establishment of national databases and databases of ministries and central and local bodies stipulated in the Law on Information Technology must ensure data connectivity and sharing according to regulations.

Chapter II

MANAGEMENT OF IT APPLICATION PROJECTS

Section 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 6. Management of IT application projects suitable for their characteristics and funding sources

1. IT application projects funded by the state budget for covering development investment expenditures shall be managed according to the Law on Public Investment and regulations on cost and quality management prescribed in Section 2 herein.

2. For IT service leasing projects funded by the state budget for covering development investment expenditures (hereinafter referred to as “leasing projects”), procedures and power are specified in the Law on Public Investment and regulations on cost and quality management prescribed in Section 3 herein.

3. For a project with an information technology product or service that is currently unavailable on the market, if necessary, the investment project owner shall consider and request a competent authority to choose an organization or individual to consider and propose technical and technological solution or plan; develop and test the product or service. Such organization or individual shall incur all costs (if any). After successful testing and determination of technical and technological plans and costs, investment project owners shall proceed with investment procedures as prescribed by law. 

4. For a project in another field that contains IT application items, cost and quality management for such IT application items shall comply with the regulations of this Decree.

Article 7. Project classification

Based on its importance and size, a project may be classified as a project of national importance, group A project, group B project or group C project according to the criteria prescribed in the Law on Public Investment.   

Article 8. Investment project owners

1. Investment project owners are entities or organizations assigned to directly manage IT application projects. To be specific:

a) Units managing and using products of projects or units specializing in information technology that act as investment project owners;

b) Ministries, central bodies and People's Committees at all levels that concurrently act as investment project owners;

c) Project management boards established by ministries, central bodies or People’s Committees at all levels that act as investment project owners provided that such project management boards have a legal status and are qualified for executing projects.

2. If a project is funded by various sources, the investment project owner shall be elected by the capital contributors or the representative of the party with the highest stake.

Section 2. MANAGEMENT OF IT APPLICATION PROJECTS

Subsection 1. INVESTMENT PROCEDURES AND PREPARATION

Article 9. Procedures for investment in IT application projects

1. Procedures for investment in an IT application project comprise the following phases:

a) Investment preparation;

b) Investment realization;

c) Investment completion.

2. Tasks in the investment realization and investment completion phases may be carried out in order or alternatively depending on the specific conditions of each project and confirmed by the investment decision maker. 

3. It is encouraged to execute mixed contracts for projects on build, development, upgradation and expansion of internal-use software. Depending on each project’s characteristics and size, the investment decision maker shall consider and decide on suitable contracts and be answerable to the law for the project’s efficiency.

If a mixed contract is carried out, the project shall be executed under the contract.

4. Contractor selection and contract negotiation and conclusion shall comply with the regulations of the law on bidding and relevant legal documents.

Article 10. Design procedures

1. Depending on the size and characteristics of each specific IT application project, the design procedures may include 01 step or 02 steps. To be specific:

a) 01-step design means detailed design;

b) 02-step design includes basic design and detailed design.

2. The 01-step design is applied to the following IT application projects unless the investment decision maker finds that it is necessary to use the 02-step design. To be specific:

a) Projects for procurement of backup or substitute hardware devices of current technical infrastructure systems, or procurement of non-installed equipment and commercial software;

b) Projects for investment in and expansion or upgradation of infrastructure, software and database systems with the total investment of under VND 15 billion;

c) Projects for investment in and expansion or upgradation of infrastructure, software and database systems if it is considered qualified for creating a detailed design and determining a cost estimate.

For the cases prescribed in Points a, b and c of this Clause, the detailed design and cost estimate of the economic-technical report shall be made during the investment preparation phase instead of the basic design and total investment of the feasibility study report.

3. The 02-step design shall be applied to other IT application projects, excluding the projects prescribed in Clause 2 herein.

If the 02-step design is applied, the detailed design must be consistent with the approved basic design in terms of overall, logical and physical models or components of information systems (if any).

Article 11. Investment preparation

1. Investment preparation shall focus on:

a) Formulation, appraisal and issuance of decisions on project investment guidelines;

b) Survey;

c) Formulation, appraisal and issuance of decisions on project investment.

2. The investment project owner shall determine survey tasks, carry out surveys and prepare feasibility study reports or economic-technical reports or hire an organization or individual to perform such tasks. A consultancy or consultant may carry out a survey and prepare a feasibility study report or economic-technical report concurrently.

3. The investment preparation phase ends when the project is approved by the investment decision maker.

Article 12. Formulation, appraisal and issuance of decisions on project investment guidelines

1. Procedures for and competence in formulation, appraisal and issuance of decisions on project investment guidelines shall comply with regulations on public investment.

Any unit assigned to prepare pre-feasibility study reports and investment guidelines proposal reports shall directly prepare such reports or hire an organization or individual to do so.

2. Contents of pre-feasibility study reports and investment guidelines proposal reports are specified in the Law on Public Investment. The preliminary total investment specified in pre-feasibility study reports and investment guidelines proposal reports shall be determined according to the comparison method, expert method or quotation or combined methods or approved IT application plan.

3. For projects in other fields that contain IT application items, contents of pre-feasibility study reports and reports on proposal of guidelines on investment in IT application items are specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 13. Determination of survey tasks and organization of survey

1. Survey tasks include:

a) Survey objectives;

b) Scope of survey;

c) Planned survey types;

d) Planned time of survey.

2. Survey tasks must be approved by the investment project owner and suitable with the requirements of each type of survey and serve as the basis to carry out surveys.

Article 14. Reports on survey findings

1. A report on survey findings shall contain

a) Name of the approved survey task;

b) Characteristics and size of investment;

c) Procedures, methods and equipment (if any) for the survey;

d) Data and findings of field surveys. For internal-use software, a description of user requirements is required;

dd) Analysis of data and evaluation of survey findings;

e) Proposed technical – technological solutions (if any) serving the creation of basic or detailed design (if an additional survey is conducted or the project requires an economic-technical report);

g) Conclusions and recommendations;

h) Relevant appendixes illustrating survey findings (if any).

2. The report on survey findings must undergo inspection and commissioning by the investment project owner and serve as the basis for formulation of basic or detailed design (if the project requires an economic-technical report).

3. Organizations and individuals determining survey tasks and/or carrying out surveys must be answerable to investment project owners and the law for quality of their tasks; compensate for damage (if any) in case of failure to carry out approved survey tasks and other violations leading to damage.

Article 15. Commissioning of survey findings

1. Grounds for commissioning of survey findings include:

a) Surveying contract (if an organization or individual is hired to carry out the survey);

b) Approved survey tasks;

c) Reports on survey findings.

2. The commissioning shall focus on:

a) Evaluation of survey quality in comparison with survey tasks;

b) Inspection of forms and quantity of reports on survey findings;

c) Commissioning of survey workload under the concluded contract.

3. Commissioning results must be made into a record.

Article 16.  Preparation of project feasibility study reports

1. The basic design constitutes a part of the project feasibility study report.

2. Contents of a project feasibility study report are specified in the Law on Public Investment. For an IT application project, the following contents shall be specifically presented:

a) Evaluation of compliance with the Vietnam, ministerial or provincial E-Government Architecture;

b) Analysis and selection of a technological, technical or equipment plan, including the plan to ensure data connectivity and sharing with the relevant infrastructure, software or database system; IPv6 readiness requirements or system upgrading solutions to ensure IPv6 readiness if there is any content related to activities in the Internet environment;  

c) Basic design of the chosen plan.

Article 17. Main contents of basic design

1. A basic design must:

a) Comply with the approved IT application program or plan and applicable Vietnam, ministerial or provincial E-Government Architecture;

b) Comply with the applied technical regulations or standards;

c) Include main specifications, functions and features;

d) Ensure that the total investment is determinable.

2. Main contents of a basic design include:

a) Regarding description:

- Description of project requirements;

- List of applied technical regulations and standards;

- Description of overall, logical or physical model of the system or other components of the system (if any) and main investment items of the project according to the chosen plan, ensuring that internal and external connections and Internet connections (if any) of the system, sizing of basic technical specifications and quantity of equipment are visible;

- Preliminary workload for construction, equipment and technical requirements; preliminary workload for training in use, management, operation and other relevant tasks;

- Description of technical requirements of internal-use software as prescribed in Article 18 herein.

b) Regarding preliminary diagram:

- Documents on the state of infrastructure and other conditions; preliminary diagram of construction and installation (for network construction, installation of information technology equipment and accessories);

- Preliminary diagram showing the connection with relevant infrastructure, software and database systems.

c) Main contents of a basic design for items of or a project for procurement of backup or substitute hardware devices of current infrastructure systems, or procurement of non-installed equipment and commercial software include:

- List of hardware devices, commercial software and technical requirements of equipment;

- Data on weight of hardware devices and commercial software.

Article 18. Description of technical requirements to be satisfied by internal-use software

Technical requirements to be satisfied by internal-use software must be described in a manner that facilitates the determination of the costs of internal-use software build, development, upgradation and expansion. The description shall contain at least:

1. Name of the software.

2. Basic specifications:

a) Business processes that need computerizing (organization and operation of processes, products of business processes, transactions of business processes);

b) Participants in business processes and their connections (humans, resources, equipment for business processes and other supporting factors);

c) List of user requirements.

3. Non-functional requirements:

a) Requirements on database;

b) Requirements on information safety;

c) Requirements on processing time and processing complexity levels of software;

d) Requirements on setup, infrastructure, connection and safe operation and use;

dd) System restrictions, including environmental restrictions and dependence on foundation systems;

e) Requirements on IPv6 readiness (for operations in the Internet environment);

g) Other non-functional requirements.

Article 19. Total investment

1. Total investment is the total estimated amount of investment stated in the investment decision and serves as the basis for investment project owners to formulate plans and manage funds during investment in a project.

2. Total investment includes:

a) Construction costs:

- Costs of purchase and installation of informational technology network and network accessories and other costs of network installation;

- Other relevant direct costs of construction.

b) Equipment costs:

- Costs of purchase of information technology equipment, including equipment requiring installation and setup, equipment not requiring installation and setup, auxiliary devices and peripheral equipment, commercial software, internal-use software and other equipment; costs of equipment transportation and insurance; tax and fees related to purchase of equipment;

- Costs of database establishment; standardization and transfer for the purpose of data input; input of data to databases;

- Costs of equipment installation; software setup; inspection and adjustment of equipment and software;

- Costs of providing training in system use; costs of providing training in system management and operation for officials (if any);  

- Costs of use, support, management and operation of products or work items of a project prior to commissioning (if any).

c) Project management costs, including costs of organizing project management from preparation to completion, commissioning, and putting project’s products to use, and costs of investment supervision and evaluation;

d) Investment consultancy costs, including costs of carrying out surveys and preparing pre-feasibility study reports, investment guidelines proposal reports, feasibility study reports or economic-technical reports; investigation and research for preparation of pre-feasibility study reports, investment guidelines proposal reports, feasibility study reports or economic-technical reports and selection of solutions; inspection of project efficiency and feasibility; formulation and modification of detailed design; calculation and adjustment of cost estimate; inspection of detailed design and cost estimate; compilation of request for proposals, pre-qualification documents, bidding documents; assessment of proposals, pre-qualification applications and bid packages; establishment of norms and unit price; inspection of material and equipment quality; evaluation of product quality; conversion of investment; supervision of project execution and performance of other consultancy tasks;   

dd) Other costs, including fees and charges; insurance (excluding equipment insurance costs prescribed in Point b of this Clause); testing or trial operation; auditing; verification and approval of investment statements; installation and leasing of connections; charges for registration and maintenance of domain names; costs of leasing of IT services; costs of price appraisal and other specific costs;

e) Cost contingency, including contingency for price slippage during the process of project execution, contingency for additional works and temporary amounts (if any).

If a project is executed across multiple locations or overseas, costs of transport of equipment and workers shall be aggregated with each of the costs prescribed in Points a, b, c, d, dd and e of this Clause. 

If there has been no norm for the costs prescribed in Points a, b, c, d, dd and e of this Clause or such costs have not yet been determinable, such costs shall be temporarily calculated to be added to the total investment.

3. Total investment shall be calculated and determined during the preparation of a feasibility study report in a manner that conforms to the contents of the feasibility study report and basic design. 

If the project requires an economic-technical report, its cost estimate shall be prepared instead of the total investment. Such cost estimate shall be calculated according to the workload specified in the detailed design and provisions of Article 28 herein.

4. Total investment shall be determined according to one of the following methods:

a) Determination according to the basic design of the feasibility study report: The construction costs shall be calculated according to the basic weight specified in the basic design, other estimated weights and prices of materials, equipment and services in conformity with the market price; the equipment costs shall be calculated according to the quantity and types of equipment suitable with IT application solutions, price of equipment on the market and other relevant factors (if any); the costs of build, development, upgradation and expansion of internal-use software shall be calculated by applying the comparison method or expert method or cost calculation methods or according to quotations or by combining various methods; the costs of project management and investment consultancy and other costs shall be determined by preparing cost estimate or provisionally calculated according to its percentage (%) in the total construction costs and equipment costs; and the cost contingency shall be determined as regulated in Clause 5 of this Article;

For the IT application activity that involves using a new technology, the costs constituting the total investment may be determined according to quotations (if any).

b) Determination according to data obtained from the executed projects with similar economic-technical criteria. For this method, the data of the similar projects must be converted to those at the time of preparation of the feasibility study report and the cost items not specified in the total investment shall be adjusted suitably;

c) Combining the methods prescribed in Point a and Point b of this Clause.

5. Cost contingency for additional works shall be calculated according to the total amount of the costs prescribed in Points a, b, c, d and dd of Clause 2 herein. Cost contingency for price slippage shall be calculated according to the duration of project execution with due account taken of domestic and international price fluctuation.

Article 20. Competence in and procedures for appraisal of basic designs of projects

1. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall appraise basic designs of group A projects, excluding projects for procurement of backup or substitute hardware devices of current infrastructure systems, or procurement of non-installed equipment and commercial software.

If necessary, other ministries and central and local bodies may consult the Ministry of Information and Communications on basic designs of projects that are appraised by the units prescribed in Clause 2 and Clause 3 herein.

2. Units specializing in information technology affiliated to provincial People's Committees shall appraise basic designs of projects whose investment is decided by chairpersons of People’s Committees at all levels, excluding projects whose basic designs are appraised by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

3.  Units specializing in information technology affiliated to investment decision makers shall appraise basic designs of projects, excluding those whose basic designs are appraised by the Ministry of Information and Communications or within the appraisal competence prescribed in Clause 2 herein.

4. In case a unit that appraises a basic design is also an investment project owner, such unit shall establish an appraisal council to appraise the basic design or the investment decision maker shall assign another specialized unit to appraise the basic design.

5. The appraisal council or body specializing in investment management shall appraise projects according to regulations of the Law on Public Investment (hereinafter referred to as “the unit in charge of organizing project appraisal”) and:

a) Submit the basic design dossier to the competent units prescribed in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 herein to obtain comments on such basic design (except cases where the investment project owner is also the unit that appraises the basic design);

b) Obtain comments from relevant bodies and units (if necessary).

6. The units that appraise basic designs prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 herein shall send the appraisal comments to the units in charge of organizing project appraisal.

Article 21. Documents about and contents of appraisal of basic designs

1. Documents submitted by the unit in charge of organizing project appraisal to obtain basic design appraisal comments include:

a) A report on survey findings;

b) The basic design;

c) Other relevant legal documents and  documents.

01 set of documents shall be sent.

2. The basic design shall be appraised within 20 days for group A projects; within 15 days for group B projects and within 10 days for group C projects from the date of receipt of the satisfactory documents.

3. The appraisal of a basic design shall focus on:

- Conformity of components and specifications of the basic design with legal regulations, including basic design descriptions, basic design diagrams, survey documents and other documents according to relevant regulations;

- Conformity of the basic design with the IT application planning, program or plan;

- Compliance of the basic design with the Vietnam, ministerial or provincial E-Government Architecture;

- Suitability of the selected technological plan, technique and equipment;

- Conformity of the basic design with standards, technical regulations and basic requirements on technical functions and features;

- Suitability of the basic design for data connection and sharing with relevant infrastructure, software and database systems.

Article 22. Competence, procedures and contents of appraisal of detailed designs of IT application projects that require economic-technical reports

1. Main contents of an economic-technical report include:

a) Evaluation of compliance with the Vietnam, ministerial or provincial E-Government Architecture;

b) Analysis and selection of a technological, technical or equipment plan, including analysis and selection of the plan to ensure data connectivity and sharing with relevant infrastructure, software and database systems; IPv6 readiness requirements or system upgrading solutions to ensure IPv6 readiness if there is any content related to activities in the Internet environment; 

c) Detailed design dossier and cost estimate according to Articles 27 and 28 herein;

d) Other contents of an economic-technical report that are the same as those of a feasibility study report as prescribed in the Law on Public Investment.

2. Competence in and procedures for appraisal of the detailed design of an IT application project that requires an economic-technical report

a) The appraisal council or body specializing in investment management shall appraise projects according to provisions of the Law on Public Investment (hereinafter referred to as “units in charge of organizing appraisal”), submit the detailed design dossier to the competent units prescribed in Points a, b, c, d and dd herein to obtain comments on such detailed design, and obtain comments from relevant bodies and units (if necessary);

b) The Ministry of Information and Communications shall appraise detailed designs of group A projects, excluding projects for procurement of backup or substitute hardware devices of current technical infrastructure systems, or procurement of non-installed equipment and commercial software.

If necessary, other ministries and central and local bodies may consult the Ministry of Information and Communications on detailed designs of projects that are appraised by the units prescribed in Points c and d herein;

c) Units specializing in information technology affiliated to provincial People's Committees shall appraise detailed designs of projects whose investment is decided by chairpersons of People’s Committees at all levels, excluding projects whose detailed designs are appraised by the Ministry of Information and Communications;

d) Units specializing in information technology affiliated to investment decision makers shall appraise detailed designs of projects, excluding projects whose detailed designs are appraised by the Ministry of Information and Communications or within the appraisal competence prescribed in Point c herein;

dd) In case a unit that appraises a detailed design is also an investment project owner, such unit shall establish an appraisal council to appraise the detailed design or the investment decision maker shall assign another specialized unit to appraise the detailed design;

e) The units that appraise detailed designs prescribed in Points b, c, d and dd herein shall send the appraisal comments to the units in charge of organizing appraisal.

3. Contents of appraisal of detailed designs and cost estimate shall comply with Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 29 herein.

Article 23. Project modification

Modification of IT application projects funded by the state budget for covering development investment expenditures shall be carried out according to regulations of the law on public investment.

Subsection 2. INVESTMENT REALIZATION

Article 24. Tasks in investment realization phase

Tasks in the investment realization phase include:

1. Conducting an additional survey (if necessary).

2. Reaching an agreement on use of national digital resources and frequencies (if an agreement on use of digital resources and frequencies is required).

3. Preparing, appraising and approving detailed design documents, except the case in which the project requires an economic-technical report.

4. Selecting contractors and executing contracts.

5. Carrying out inspection and supervision of contract execution.

6. Managing project execution.

7. Carrying out testing or trial operation.

8. Transferring products and work items of the project.

9. Providing training in use, support, management, operation and development.

10. Carrying out commissioning.

11. Preparing documents about completion and retaining project dossier as prescribed by law.

Article 25. Additional surveys

1. Every investment project owner shall consider and decide additional surveys.

2. The tasks serving additional surveys shall be established according to Clause 1 of Article 13 herein.

3. Contents of a report on additional survey findings and contents of commissioning of additional survey findings are specified in Article 14 and Clause 2 of Article 15 herein.

4. The report on additional survey findings must undergo inspection and commissioning by the investment project owner and serve as the basis for formulation or modification of the detailed design or basic design of the feasibility study report.

Article 26. Formulation of detailed designs

1. Every investment project owner shall formulate the detailed design and cost estimate or hire an organization or individual to do so.

2. Documents serving as bases for creating a detailed design include:

a) Project approval decision and approved feasibility study report, excluding projects that require an economic-technical report;

b) List of applied information technology standards and technical regulations;

c) Vietnam, ministerial or provincial E-Government Architecture;

d) A report on survey findings;

dd) A report on additional survey findings (if any) and other requirements (if necessary).

3. Every organization or individual in charge of creating a detailed design must carry out designer's supervision throughout the project’s product development and commissioning processes at the request of the investment project owner.

Every organization or individual in charge of creating a detailed design shall not use the name of another organization or individual in charge of creating a detailed design in any form.

4. Organizations/individuals in charge of creating detailed designs and making cost estimates must transfer detailed design documents to investment project owners in quantity sufficient for investment management and retention.

5. Approved detailed design dossiers must be retained according to regulations of the law on retention.

Article 27. Main contents of detailed design dossiers

1. A detailed design shall include

a) For network construction and installation of information technology equipment and accessories:

- Technical criteria applied to installation, setup, inspection and adjustment of  equipment;

- List of equipment to be installed and set up and its technical specifications;

- Data on workload for construction and installation of main and auxiliary investment items; workload for training in use, management, operation and other relevant activities;

- Instructions on methods for project execution (for cases of complex execution);

- Measures for safe operation and fire and explosion prevention (if any);

- Site plan;

- Diagrams and detailed descriptions of solutions for designs of network, connections, infrastructure, information safety, power supply, lightning arresters, cooling systems and calculation of connection bandwidth;

- Diagrams and descriptions of IP address planning;

- Equipment installation diagram, including location, distance and height of installation (if any); joining locations; data on materials for equipment installation;

- Diagrams of network construction, including wiring, installation of cable protector and surge protector devices, materials and equipment used in network installation, connection between network subsystems and connecting to outside systems by main measurements and materials;

- Route plans, angles for change of route direction, altitudes and coordinates of installation, main crossings on route, security corridor for route by main measurements and materials for route-based network installation (if any).

b) For items of or projects for procurement of backup or substitute hardware devices of current infrastructure systems, or procurement of non-installed equipment and commercial software:

- List of hardware devices, commercial software and technical requirements of equipment;

- Report on weight of hardware and commercial software.

c) For internal-use software:

- Contents of description of technical requirements of internal-use software for investment preparation phase;

- Analysis and description of software functions;

- Requirements on error count for syntax errors and logical errors in data processing and errors in control of accuracy of input data;   

- IPv6 readiness requirements or solutions for upgradation to ensure IPv6 readiness for operations in the Internet environment; compatibility with IPv6 or solutions for upgradation to ensure IPv6 readiness are encouraged for non-Internet connection cases;

- Aesthetic and technical requirements for program interfaces;

- Requirements on capacity of the officials participating in build, development, upgradation and expansion of software;

- Other non-functional requirements.

d) Detailed requirements on training in use, support, management and operation of project’s products or work items prior to commissioning (if any); requirements on warranty and maintenance.

2. The cost estimate determined according to Article 28 herein.

Article 28. Cost estimate

1. A cost estimate is the total costs of project execution determined in the investment realization phase for each specific project in a manner that conforms to the feasibility study report, detailed design and other required tasks.

a) Cost estimate is a part of the detailed design dossier; the approved cost estimate for specific investment items shall serve as the basis for bid pricing for cases of direct appointment of contractor or direct project execution and tasks carried out without any contract;

b) For mixed contracts, contract package estimate shall be determined based on the price in the concluded contract; 

c) If a typical design is employed, the cost estimate shall be determined according to the cost estimate of the typical design as prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 26 herein.

2. Contents of the cost estimate include construction costs, equipment costs, project management costs, investment consultancy costs, other costs and cost contingency.

a) Construction costs:

Construction costs shall be determined by making a cost estimate according to the norm and quota establishment methods provided for by the Ministry of Information and Communications and relevant regulations.

b) Equipment costs shall be determined according to quantity and types of equipment to be purchased and market price of such equipment. Costs of build, development, upgradation and expansion of internal-use software shall be determined according to the comparison method, expert method, cost calculation methods or quotations or by combining various methods. Costs of equipment installation and setup, database establishment, training in use, management and operation; costs of equipment transport and insurance; costs of use, support, management and operation of project’s products or work items prior to commissioning (if any) and other relevant costs (if any) shall be determined by preparing a cost estimate;

c) Project management costs and investment consultancy costs shall be determined in percentage or by preparing cost estimate;

d) Other costs include the costs not provided for in Points a, b and c herein and shall be determined by preparing a cost estimate or in percentage;

Cost contingency for additional works is expressed as a percentage (%) of the total amount of the costs prescribed in Points a, b, c and d herein. Contingency for price slippage shall be calculated according to the project investment duration.

3. Methods for cost estimate preparation, cost calculation and quota and unit price establishment of each period of time and methods for cost management shall be carried out according to announcements and guidelines of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

4. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall publicize the unit labor cost in cost management for investment in IT application.

5. Contents of the documents supporting cost calculation and methods for cost calculation for internal-use software and testing of internal-use software shall comply with guidelines of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Article 29. Organization of appraisal and approval of detailed designs and cost estimate

1. The appraisal of a detailed design shall focus on:

a) Conformity of components and specifications of the detailed design with legal regulations, including main contents of the detailed design, survey documents and other documents according to relevant regulations;

b) Conformity of the detailed design with the basic design in the approved feasibility study report and relevant regulations, excluding projects that require an economic-technical report;

c) Compliance of the detailed design with the applied standards and technical regulations;

dd) Compliance of the detailed design with the Vietnam, ministerial or provincial E-Government Architecture;

dd) Reasonableness of solutions and equipment (if any);

e) Suitability of measures for safe operation and fire and explosion prevention (if any).

2. The appraisal of a cost estimate shall focus on:

a) Conformity of the workload specified in the detailed design with the estimated workload

b) Suitability of economic-technical norms, expenditure limits and unit price; application of norms, unit price, calculation methods and relevant policies, and cost items in the cost estimate according to regulations.

3. The investment project owner shall organize the appraisal the detailed design and cost estimate and may hire a capable and experienced organization or individual to carry out such appraisal, which serves as the basis for appraising the investment project owner’s tasks, excluding projects that require an economic-technical reports.

4. Competence in approval of detailed designs and cost estimate

a) Investment project owners shall approve detailed designs and cost estimate for projects that employ the 02-step design procedures;

b) The detailed design and cost estimate shall be approved concurrently. The detailed design and cost estimate shall not be appraised separately.

5. The approved detailed design dossier shall be the basis for investment project owners to manage project quality and schedule and methods for organization of project execution. 

6. Organizations/individuals in charge of appraisal, inspection and approval of detailed designs and cost estimate must be answerable to the law for the results of their appraisal, inspection and approval.

7. If a modification to a project results in change to its detailed design and cost estimate, the investment project owner must organize the appraisal and approval of the changed contents as prescribed in this Article.

Article 30. Modification of detailed designs

1. An approved detailed design may be modified only in the following cases:

a) When a project is modified according to Article 23 herein and a request for design modification is submitted;

b) During project execution, unsuitable factors are detected which, if left unchanged, may affect the investment quality of the project, schedule, performance methods and investment efficiency of the project.

2. If the modification of a detailed design neither affects its technical/technological solutions, investment size and objectives nor exceeds the approved total investment, the investment project owner may directly modify such detailed design. For other cases, investment project owners must seek the appraisal and approval of the modified contents from investment decision makers.

3. For projects that require an economic-technical report, if the modification of detailed designs neither affects their investment size and objectives nor exceeds the total investment approved by investment decision makers, investment project owners may directly modify such detailed designs. For other cases, investment project owners must seek the appraisal and approval of the modified contents from investment decision makers.

4. Depending on the characteristics of each project, the investment project owner may hire an organization or individual to modify the detailed design and/or basic design.

Article 31. Cases of cost estimate modification

1. Investment project owners shall organize establishment of modified cost estimate for the cases prescribed in Article 23 and Clause 1 of Article 30 of this Decree.

2. If there is any change to the cost estimate structure (including cost contingency) without exceeding the approved total investment or cost estimate (for the project requires an economic-technical report), the investment project owner shall directly organize the modification of cost estimate of project’s investment items.

3. Depending on the characteristics of each project, the investment project owner may hire an organization or individual to prepare the modified cost estimate.

4. Contents of the modified cost estimate decided by the investment project owner or investment decision maker shall form a part of the detailed design dossier.

Article 32. Execution and execution supervision

1. Investment project owners shall directly carry out construction and installation of infrastructure systems, software installation and modification of materials and equipment or hire organizations/individuals to perform such tasks.

2. Project contractors shall be responsible for establishment of quality management systems suitable with the investment size at the request of investment project owners; and keeping a project diary.

3. The processes of construction and installation of infrastructure systems, software installation and adjustment of materials and equipment of projects must be supervised.

4. Investment project owners shall directly supervise project execution or hire organizations/individuals to perform such task.

5. Contents of project execution, supervision of project execution and project commissioning shall be carried out according to regulations of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Article 33. Schedule management

1. Before executing a project, a schedule must be drawn up. Such schedule must be consistent with the approved total schedule of the project.

2. For a large-scale project that is executed for more than 01 year, its schedule must be drawn up for each phase, quarter and year.

3. Every contractor shall draw up a detailed execution schedule which contains various tasks provided that the schedule is consistent with the project’s approved total schedule.

4. In case certain phases of the schedule are extended, investment project owners, project supervising units (if any) and relevant parties shall be responsible for monitoring, supervising and modifying project schedule without affecting the total schedule.

5. It’s encouraged to speed up the project schedule provided that the investment quality is ensured.

Article 34. Testing or trial operation

1. Any product of an IT application project must be tested or undergo trial operation at at least one beneficiary before undergoing commissioning.

2. Depending on specific conditions, an investment project owner may:

a) Conduct a self-testing; or

b) Hire an independent organization or individual qualified for carrying out product testing.

3. Results of testing or trial operation must be recorded into a document. Such document is called a report on testing or trial operation results.

The report shall be the basis for parties participating in commissioning to carry out commissioning or for the investment project owner to request the contractor to continue modifying and completing the product.

4. After having been modified and completed, the product shall undergo testing or trial operation by the investment project owner. The testing or trial operation will be done if the product satisfies quality requirements.

Article 35. Commissioning and transfer of project’s products

1. Products or work items of an IT application project shall only be transferred to investment projects owner after undergoing commissioning. The investment project owner shall organize commissioning and transfer of project’s products or work items with the participation of consultancies/consultants, equipment providers, organizations/individuals in charge of project execution and relevant bodies and units (if any).

2. Depending on the characteristics of each project, the contractor may transfer each completed product or work item, constituent project or fully completed project to the investment project owner for official use.

The contractor must also transfer the following documents: completion dossiers, manuals, documents concerning management, operation and maintenance (if any) for completed products or work items; technical documents serving connection according to regulations (for projects involving data connection and sharing between ministries and central and local bodies). These documents must be specified in contracts and constitute a part of the completion dossier.

3. The investment project owner must submit a report on product or work item completion and list of product or work item’s completion dossiers to the competent units prescribed in Point b of this Clause to carry out supervision and inspection of the product or work item of the completed project and compliance with this Decree when necessary.

a) Time limit: within 10 days (for the project whose basic design is not appraised by the Ministry of Information and Communications) or within 20 days (for the project whose basic design is appraised by the Ministry of Information and Communications) starting from the date on which the project’s product or work item undergoes commissioning, is transferred and put to use, and the commissioning participants grant approval and sign the commissioning record;

b) Competent units:

- For projects whose basic designs are appraised by the Ministry of Information and Communications, investment project owners shall submit the report to the Ministry of Information and Communications;

- For projects whose investment are decided by chairpersons of People’s Committees at all levels, investment project owners shall submit the report to the unit specializing in information technology affiliated to the provincial People's Committee, excluding projects whose basic designs are appraised by the Ministry of Information and Communications;

- For other projects, investment project owners shall submit the report to the unit specializing in information technology with competence in appraisal of basic designs according to Clause 3 of Article 20 herein, excluding projects whose basic designs are appraised by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

4. For build/development or upgradation/expansion of internal-use software, contractors shall transfer:

a) Documents of each phase in the process of software build/development or upgradation/expansion according to the contents of concluded contracts;

b) The set of programs for software installation;

c) Program source code (if any);

d) Manuals, management and operation documents; documents concerning user training and training in management and operation; documents on maintenance procedures (if any); guidelines on technique and standards and regulations (if any);

dd) Technical documents serving connection according to regulations (for projects involving data connection and sharing between ministries and central and local bodies).

5. Dossiers and documents related to IT application projects must be retained by investment project owners according to regulations of the law on retention.

6. In case a project is discontinued due to force majeure reasons or the decision of the investment decision maker, the investment project owner shall organize commissioning of the completed tasks with the participation of design and consultancies/consultants and relevant bodies and units (if any).

Article 36. Compilation and retention of product or work item’s completion dossiers

1. The product or work item’s completion dossier must be fully compiled by the investment project owner before putting such product or work item to use.

2. The completion dossier shall be compiled once for the whole project if the products/work items of the project are put to use at the same time. In case products/work items of the project are put to use at different times, each product/work item may have a separate completion dossier.

3. The investment project owner shall organize the compilation of the completion dossier. Each contractor shall compile the completion dossier for the assigned product/work item; quantity of completion dossiers shall be decided by the investment project owner based on the agreement with the contractor and relevant parties.

4. Completion dossiers shall be retained according to regulations of the law on retention.

Subsection 3. INVESTMENT COMPLETION AND PUTTING PROJECT’S PRODUCTS TO USE

Article 37. Investment completion and putting project’s products to use

Tasks of this phase include:

1. Warranty on project’s products.

2. Statements of investment and approval of statements.

Article 38. Warranty on project’s products

1. Minimum warranty period for a product of a project shall start from the date on which its commissioning and transfer record is signed by the investment project owner or the date on which a project’s work item is put to use. To be specific:

a) A 24-month warranty period is applied to the product of a project of national importance or group A project;

b) A 12-month warranty period is applied to the product of a group B or group C project.

2. Minimum warranty provision is expressed as a percentage (%) of value of a project’s product. To be specific:

a) For products under 24-month warranty, the minimum warranty provision is 03%;

b) For products under 12-month warranty, the minimum warranty provision is 05%.

The contractor shall provide letter of bank guarantee of equivalent value to the investment project owner or other forms of guarantee accepted by the investment project owner.

The contractor shall only return the letter of guarantee upon the lapse of the warranty period and confirmation of completion of warranty from the investment project owner.

3. Responsibilities of parties for providing warranty

a) Investment project owners, regulatory bodies and units managing and using project’s products shall:

- Inspect and detect errors and damage and request contractors to repair, improve or replace. If a contractor fails to provide warranty, the investment project owner, regulatory bodies and units managing and using such product are entitled to hire another contractor to do so. Funding for such hiring shall be covered by the product’s warranty provision;

- Carry out inspection and commissioning of repair, improvement or replacement by contractors;

- Confirm the completion of warranty for project’s products.

b) Contractors shall:

- Organize repair, improvement or replacement immediately after being requested by the investment project owner and units managing and using project's products and incur all costs of such repair, improvement or replacement;

- Refuse to provide warranty if the damage is not caused by contractors; the investment project owner violate state management regulations resulting in project removal by state agencies; project’s products are used against procedures.

c) Contractors must compensate for any damage, accident or error that they cause to project’s products even after the warranty period and, depending on severity of the violation, may incur penalty as prescribed by law.

Article 39. Handling of property upon project completion

Property being a project’s results and property of service to project operation shall be handled as prescribed by law.

Article 40. Maintenance of project’s products

1. Project’s products must be maintained.

2. Responsibilities of bodies and units managing and using project’s products for maintenance are as follows:

a) Organization of maintenance of project’s products;

b) Determination of maintenance costs based on quotations;

c) Being answerable to the law if product quality deteriorates or there is any error due to lack of maintenance according to regulations. 

Article 41. Project payment and statements

Project payment and statements shall comply with legal regulations. Investment project owners or legal representatives of investment project owners shall be answerable to the law for the accuracy and legitimacy of quotations, workload and value to be paid for in payment dossiers.

Subsection 4. MANAGEMENT OF IT APPLICATION PROJECTS

Article 42. Project management methods

1. An investment decision maker shall choose to:

a) Directly manage a project if all eligibility requirements are satisfied;

b) Hire a consultancy to manage a project.

2. If an investment project owner directly manages a project, a project management board shall be established to act as the contact point for project management to assist the investment project owner.

For the project whose total investment is under VND 15 billion, the investment project owner may employ its personnel to manage and operate the projects or hire experienced and qualified persons to assist with project management instead of establishing a project management board.

Article 43. Responsibilities of investment project owners for project management

Responsibilities of investment project owners for project management are as follows:

1. Investment project owners shall be responsible for management of project execution, fulfillment of tasks and exercise of powers from investment preparation, investment realization to investment completion, commissioning, transfer and official use of project's products, ensuring efficiency and feasibility of projects and compliance with legal regulations, including the tasks assigned to project management boards or hiring of project management consultancies.

2. Every investment project owner shall submit reports on project supervision and evaluation and update project information on information systems for supervision and evaluation of investment in state investment programs and plans according to regulations.

3. If an investment project owner directly manages a project without establishing a project management board, its juridical person shall be used to directly manage the project. The investment project owner must decide to appoint project managers and assign tasks to such project managers, among whom are those directly in charge of project management. The appointed project managers may work on a part-time or full-time basis.    

4. If an investment project owner directly manages a project and establishes a project management board, such owner shall:

a) Delegate tasks and powers to the project management board in a manner that suits the investment project owner’s actual conditions and project requirements; clearly assign responsibilities of the investment project owner and the project management board; grant greater powers to the project management board in a manner that ensures duties are coupled with powers so as to minimize administrative procedures between the investment project owner and the project management board.

The delegation of tasks and powers to the project management board must be specified in decision on establishment of project management board and documents on task and power delegation by investment project owners.

b) May assign multiple projects to a project management board if such board meets all eligibility requirements.

5. If a consultancy is hired, the investment project owner shall:

a) Appoint at least one head of a body/unit in charge of project execution management and assign tasks to specialized units affiliated to the investment project owner’s apparatus to advise and assist such head in fulfilling tasks and exercising powers of the investment project owner, and inspecting and supervising the execution of the contract with the project management consultancy so as to ensure that the project is executed according to a plan and on schedule, thereby ensuring its quality and efficiency;

b) Select and conclude a contract with the project management consultancy that is suitable for the tasks to be performed to assist the investment project owner with project execution management.

6. Other responsibilities according to regulations related to management of investment in IT application.

Article 44. Tasks and powers of project management boards and project management consultancies

1. If an investment project owner establishes a project management board, such project management board shall have the following tasks and powers:

a) The tasks assigned by the investment project owner shall be fulfilled and the powers authorized by the investment project owner shall be exercised. The project management board shall be answerable to the investment project owner and the law for the assigned tasks and authorized powers;

b) The project management board shall not establish affiliated project management boards or affiliated service providers to manage a project;

c) When a project management board is assigned to manage multiple projects, each project must be separately managed, supervised, recorded and promptly finalized after completion according to regulations;

d) If necessary, the project management board may hire capable and experienced organizations/individuals to participate in management and supervision of the tasks that the project management board is not qualified to perform with the approval of the investment project owner;  

dd) The project management board may contract foreign experienced and capable consultants/consultancies to manage the tasks that domestic consultancies are not yet qualified for or upon other special request. Such contract must be approved by the investment decision maker;

e) Project management tasks specified in Article 45 herein shall be performed;

g) Other responsibilities according to regulations related to management of investment in IT application.

2. If an investment project owner hires a project management consultancy (hereinafter referred to as “consultancy”), such consultancy shall have the following duties and powers:

a) The consultancy shall manage the project under the contract with the investment project owner. The project management consultancy contract must specify the scope of work and management contents; powers and responsibilities of the consultancy and the investment project owner; 

b) The consultancy shall be responsible for establishing its organizational structure and assign persons-in-charge to directly manage project execution under the contract with the investment project owner. The consultancy must provide written notifications of duties and powers of the persons-in-charge and organizational structure of the consultancy that directly manage the project to the investment project owner and to other contractors and relevant organizations and individuals;

c) The consultancy may hire capable and experienced organizations and individuals to carry out a number of project management tasks with the approval of the investment project owner in a manner that complies with the duties and powers specified in the contract with the investment project owner; 

d) Project management tasks shall be carried out according to the regulations in Article 45 of this Decree and the commitments in the contract; the consultancy shall compensate for any damage that it causes while managing the project; and hold other responsibilities according to regulations related to management of investment in IT application;

dd) Other responsibilities according to regulations related to management of investment in IT application.

Article 45. Contents of project management

Management of an IT application project shall focus on:

1. Carrying out procedures and tasks serving project execution.

2. Organizing the compilation and preparation of a detailed design dossier.

3. Organizing the compilation of request for proposals and bidding documents; and selecting contractors.

4. Negotiating and concluding contracts with contractors at the request of the investment project owner.

5. Managing quality, workload, schedule and costs of project execution, fire and explosion safety, prevention and control, operational safety and industrial hygiene at worksite.

6. Supervising project execution according to regulations and other consultancy tasks.

7. Organizing commissioning and transfer of project’s products; finalization, statement and fulfillment of concluded contracts at the request of the investment project owner.

8. Preparing a statement report upon completion and official use of the project.

9. Carrying out other tasks according to regulations related to management of investment in IT application.

Subsection 3. MANAGEMENT OF LEASING PROJECTS

Article 46.  Preparation of pre-feasibility study reports and investment guidelines proposal reports of leasing projects

1. The investment project owner shall prepare the pre-feasibility study report and investment guidelines proposal report of a leasing project or hire an organization or individuals to prepare such reports.

2. Contents of a pre-feasibility study report and investment guidelines proposal report of a leasing project are specified in the Law on Public Investment. To be specific:

a) Necessity of leasing of the IT service;

b) Preliminary determination of main items to be leased; objectives, contents, size, scope, location and user of the IT service;

c) Preliminary determination of requirements on quality of the IT service; preliminary technical and technological requirements to satisfy service quality requirements; requirements on connectivity with other information systems and applications;

d) Determining that the leasing period is sufficient to ensure stability, continuity and efficiency of use of the IT service;

dd) Preliminary determination of the total investment of the leasing project. The total investment of the leasing project shall be preliminarily determined according to the comparison method, expert method or quotations or a combination of various methods or the approved IT application plan.

Article 47. Contents of feasibility study reports of IT service leasing projects

1. The investment project owner shall prepare the feasibility study report of a leasing project or hire an organization or individual to prepare such reports. Contents of a feasibility study report of a leasing project are specified in the Law on Public Investment. To be specific:

a) State and necessity of leasing of the IT service;

b) Main items to be leased; objectives, contents and size, scope, location and user of the IT service;

c) Determination of requirements on quality of the IT service; technical and technological requirements to satisfy service quality requirements; requirements and conditions on connectivity with other information systems and applications; description of requirements on internal-use software; requirements on information and data safety and security and other requirements;

d) Determination and clarification of ownership of information and data acquired from use of the leased IT service and plan for management and transfer of such information and data to the lessee;

dd) Leasing period, schedule and timeline of build, development and establishment of the IT service;

e) Requirements on unanticipated incidents during use of the IT service;

g) Determination of the total investment of the leasing project prescribed in Clause 2 herein.

2. The total investment of a leasing project includes

a) Regarding the total investment structure

- Costs of leasing of the IT service;

- Costs of project management, including costs of organizing project management from preparation and guidelines approval phases to completion of leasing of the IT service, and costs of supervision and evaluation of investment in the project;

- Consultancy costs, including costs of conducting surveys and preparation of the pre-feasibility study report, guidelines proposal report and feasibility study report; project appraisal; bidding consultancy; execution supervision (if any) and other consultancy tasks;

- Other costs, including fees and charges, insurance costs; costs of audit, appraisal and approval of investment statements, price appraisal and testing or trial operation and other specific costs;

- Cost contingency.

b) Methods for cost calculation

- Costs of leasing of an IT service of a leasing project shall be determined according to the comparison method, expert method, quotation method, or cost calculation methods or a combination of various methods.

- Project management costs, consultancy costs and other costs shall be determined by preparing a cost estimate or calculated in percentage.

Based on the characteristics of each leasing project, the investment project owner shall choose a suitable method to determine the leasing costs and be responsible for such choice.

c) The Ministry of Information and Communications shall provide guidance on methods for calculation of the costs of leasing of IT services.

Article 48. Ownership of information and data acquired from leasing of IT services

Information and data acquired from IT service leasing shall be under the ownership of the lessee. Service providers shall ensure information security and safety and fully transfer the information and data to the lessee upon completion of the contract for IT service leasing. 

Article 49. Contract for IT service leasing and organization of testing or trial operation

1. Specific contents of the contract for IT service leasing shall comply with guidelines of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

2. IT services must undergo a test or trial operation according to the regulations of Article 58 of this Decree before official use.

Article 50. Leasing of shared information technology services

For IT services with similar characteristics and/or features that many affiliates require, the lessee shall consider and report leasing of shared IT services managed by ministries and central and local bodies to competent authorities.

Leasing of common IT services shall comply with this Decree and relevant provisions.

Chapter III

MANAGEMENT OF IT APPLICATION ACTIVITIES FUNDED BY STATE BUDGET FOR CURRENT EXPENSES

Article 51. Management of investment in IT application funded by state budget for current expenses

1. Investment in the following IT application funded by state budget for current expenses shall comply with regulations on goods procurement to maintain regular operation of bodies/units:

a) Procurement of backup or substitute hardware devices of current technical infrastructure systems;

b) Procurement of non-installed equipment and commercial software; maintenance and repair of infrastructure and software systems; operation management, management hiring and technical assistance for information systems and network security and information safety services;

c) Establishment and maintenance of database systems; maintenance of portals/websites;

d) IT application activities with a funding of under VND 200 million for establishment, expansion or upgradation of infrastructure, software and database systems;

dd) IT application activities funded by state budget for current expenses for immediate remediation from or timely response to natural disasters or fire, or fulfillment of incident response duties at the request of the National Assembly, the Government, and the Prime Minister or according to business requirements prescribed in legislative documents.  

2. Investment in IT application funded by state budget for current expenses from VND 200 million to VND 15 billion for establishment, expansion or upgradation of infrastructure, software and database systems shall comply with guidelines on establishment of outline and detailed estimate of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

3. Investment in IT application funded by state budget for current expenses with over VND 15 billion for establishment, expansion or upgradation of infrastructure, software and database systems shall comply with regulations on management of IT application projects as follows:

a) Project classification; project investment procedures; competence in design appraisal and approval; cost management and quality management shall comply with the regulations in Chapter II herein;  

b) Investment guidelines; competence in investment decision; and determination of the investment project owner shall comply with provisions on the state budget;

c) The unit in charge of project appraisal shall be the specialized unit affiliated to the investment decision maker.

Article 52. Management of IT service leasing funded by state budget for current expenses

1. Leasing of available IT services shall comply with regulations on purchase of property, goods and services to maintain regular operation of regulatory bodies/units. Leasing price (calculated according to unit price of each service in use or unit price of each service’s product) shall be determined based on market price at the time of service leasing.

If the person with competence in deciding service leasing requires an IT service leasing plan, the plan shall be formulated as prescribed in Articles 53, 54, 55, 56 and 57 herein.

2. Leasing of IT services that are unavailable on the market (hereinafter referred to as “commissioned services”) shall comply with the regulations in Articles 53, 54, 55, 56, 57 and 58 herein.

3. For an IT service that is currently not available on the market, if necessary, the lessee shall consider and request a competent authority to choose an organization or individual to consider and propose a technical and technological solution and plan; and develop and test the service. Such organization or individual shall incur all costs (if any). After successful testing and determination of the technical and technological solution and costs, the lessee shall proceed with the procedures for IT service leasing as prescribed by law.

4. Procedures for cost estimate preparation and funding allocation for leasing of the IT services prescribed in clause 1 and clause 2 of this Article shall comply with regulations on the state budget.

5. Selection of providers for the IT services prescribed in clause 1 and clause 2 of this Article shall comply with regulations of the law on bidding.

6. The ownership of information and data acquired from IT service leasing is specified in Article 48 herein.

7. For IT services with similar characteristics and/or features that many affiliates require, the lessee shall consider and propose leasing of shared IT services managed by ministries and central and local bodies to competent authorities.

Leasing of shared IT services shall be carried out according to regulations of this Chapter and relevant provisions.

Article 53. Competence in appraisal and approval of plans for leasing of commissioned services

1. The head of a body or unit with competence in deciding purchase of property, goods and services to maintain regular operation of such body or unit as prescribed by law shall approve the plan for leasing of commissioned IT services (hereinafter referred to as “leasing plan”) according to their competence in deciding purchase of property, goods and services.

2. All leasing plans must be appraised before being approved.

a) The approving authority shall assign its specialized unit to appraise the leasing plan before granting approval (hereinafter referred to as “the unit in charge of appraisal”);

b) The unit in charge of appraisal shall gather comments on the leasing plan or request the approving authority to collect comments from units specializing in information technology;

c) If necessary, the persons with competence in approving the leasing plan shall request the unit that uses the budget to fulfill the task of service leasing (hereinafter referred to as "the unit in charge of service leasing") to select a capable and experienced organization or individual to inspect partial or total contents prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 56 herein.

Article 54. Formulation of leasing plans

1. The unit in charge of service leasing shall directly formulate a leasing plan according to the contents prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article or hire an organization or individual to do so.

2. A leasing plan shall include:

a) State and necessity of service leasing;

b) Main items to be leased; objectives, contents and size, scope, location and user of services;

c) Determination of requirements on quality of the IT service; technical and technological requirements to satisfy service quality requirements; requirements and conditions on connectivity with other information systems and applications; description of requirements on internal-use software; requirements on information and data safety and security and other requirements;

d) Determination and clarification of ownership of information and data acquired from provision of the IT service and plan for management and transfer of such information and data to the lessee;

dd) Leasing period, schedule and duration of build, development and establishment of the service; the leasing period must be sufficient (more than 01 year but no longer than 05 years) to ensure stability, continuity and efficiency of the service; cases where the leasing period is under 01 year must be approved by a person with competence in approving the leasing plan;

e) Requirements on unanticipated incidents during use of the IT service;

g) Cost estimate established according to Article 55 herein.

Article 55. Cost estimate of leasing of commissioned services

1. The cost estimate shall include:

a) Costs of service leasing;

b) Management costs, including necessary costs according to regulations for the unit in charge of service leasing to organize execution management;

c) Consultancy costs, including costs of surveys, preparation of the leasing plan; appraisal of the leasing plan; bidding consultancy; execution supervision (if any) and other consultancy tasks;

d) Other costs, including costs of audit; price appraisal; testing or trial operation and other specific costs;

dd) Cost contingency.

2. Methods for cost estimate calculation

a) Costs of service leasing shall be determined according to one of the following methods: Comparison method; expert method; quotation method; cost calculation methods or a combination of various methods.

b) Management costs, consultancy costs and other costs shall be determined by preparing cost estimate or calculated in percentage.

Based on the characteristics of service leasing, the unit in charge of service leasing shall choose a suitable method for determination of leasing costs and be responsible for such choice.

c) The Ministry of Information and Communications shall provide guidance on methods for calculation of service leasing costs.

Article 56. Appraisal and approval of leasing plans

1. An application for appraisal of a leasing plan includes:

a) An application for appraisal of the leasing plan, which is made using the specimen in Appendix III enclosed with this Decree;

b) The leasing plan;

c) Other relevant documents.

2. Duration of appraisal of a leasing plan

a) Duration of appraisal of a leasing plan shall be no later than 20 days starting from the date the unit in charge of appraisal receives the satisfactory application, excluding the time for amendment and completion of such application. The appraisal duration shall include the time for the unit in charge of appraisal to obtain comments according to Point b of Clause 2 of Article 53 and Clause 4 of this Article;

b) If amendment to or further explanation for the contents of a leasing plan is required, within 03 working days starting from the date of receipt of the application, the unit in charge of appraisal shall request the unit in charge of service leasing to make such amendment or provide such explanation.

3. Contents of appraisal of a leasing plan include:

a) Suitability of contents of the leasing plan prescribed in Article 54 herein;

b) Adequacy, reasonableness and conformity of expenditures specified in cost estimate for service leasing with actual requirements.

4. During the appraisal process, depending on the complexity of each task and content of each expenditure, the unit in charge of appraisal may gather comments on the leasing plan, request an approving authority to gather comments, or organize a consultancy conference to gather comments from relevant bodies and specialized organizations and individuals.

5. Records of the appraisal results shall serve as the basis for consideration and approval of leasing plans.

6. An application for approval of a leasing plan submitted to a person with competence in approving the leasing plan by the unit in charge of appraisal include:

a) An application for approval of the leasing plan;

b) A draft of decision on approval of the leasing plan, which is made using the specimen in Appendix IV enclosed with this Decree;

c) The leasing plan that has been completed based on appraisal comments;

d) A record of results of leasing plan appraisal;

dd) Comments of relevant organizations and units (if any);

e) Other relevant legal documents and documents.

7. Duration of leasing plan approval shall be no longer than 10 days starting from the date a person with competence in approving the leasing plan receives the satisfactory application.

Article 57. Modification of leasing plans

1. An approved leasing plan may be modified in the following cases:

a) There are unanticipated requirements on quality and quantity of services to be leased or changes to leasing period leading to increase or decrease of leasing costs;

b) There are new factors that improve the efficiency of service leasing;

c) Force majeure factors such as natural disasters, fire or other force majeure events that directly affect service leasing occur;

d) When an IT application program or plan modified by a competent authority directly affects the scope, contents, size and/or objectives of the leasing plan.

2. Modifications to a leasing plan shall not affect the plan’s objectives and size; shall not exceed the approved cost estimate. The unit in charge of service leasing may directly organize the appraisal and approval of such modifications.

If a modification to a leasing plan affects the plan’s objectives and size or exceeds the approved cost estimate, the unit in charge of service leasing must request the competent authority to consider and issue a decision. Modified contents must be appraised before being approved. Applications, procedures and duration for appraisal and approval of the modified leasing plan are the same as those for the appraisal and approval of the leasing plan.

3. Persons deciding to modify a leasing plan shall be answerable to the law for their decisions.

Article 58. Organization of testing and trial operation

1. A commissioned service must undergo testing or trial operation before official use to ensure that it meets the requirements of the leasing plan.

2. Depending on specific conditions, the unit in charge of service leasing may:

a) Conduct a self-testing; or

b) Hire an independent organization or individual qualified for carrying out testing.

3. Results of testing or trial operation must be recorded into a document. Such document is called a report on testing or trial operation results.

The report on testing or trial operation results shall be the basis for parties participating in commissioning to carry out commissioning and put the commissioned service to use or for the unit in charge of service leasing to continue modifying and completing the service. The leasing period of a commissioned service shall start from the time the service undergoes commissioning and is put to use.

4. After having been modified and completed, the commissioned service must undergo testing or trial operation by the unit in charge of service leasing. The testing or trial operation will be done if the service satisfies the requirements on service quality and technical and technological requirements.

Chapter IV

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR MANAGEMENT OF STATE INVESTMENT IN IT APPLICATION

Article 59. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Information and Communications

The Ministry of Information and Communications shall be responsible for:

1. Promulgating and providing guidance on legislative documents within its competence in management of state investment in IT application.

2. Supervising, inspecting and promptly resolving difficulties and issues during leasing of IT services of regulatory bodies and units; submitting compiled reports on matters outside of state management competence of the Ministry of Information and Communications to the Prime Minister.

3. Supervising and inspecting programs of and plans for IT application, ensuring investment is made in a concentrated and effective manner according to the defined targets.

4. Organizing scheduled and ad hoc inspection of compliance with this Decree.

5. Requesting and urging provincial People’s Committees to supervise and inspect programs of and plans for IT application, ensuring investment is made in a concentrated and effective manner according to the defined targets; inspecting compliance with this Decree and regulations related to investment projects under ex officio management.

6. Reviewing quota systems under its management; amending and promptly promulgating legislative documents, suiting scientific and technological realities and advancements, ensuring thriftiness and preventing wastage.

7. Formulating and stipulating use of management systems for Vietnam E-Government architecture.

8. Other responsibilities as prescribed by relevant regulations on management of state investment in IT application.

Article 60. Responsibilities of other ministries and central and local bodies

Other ministries and central and local bodies shall be responsible for:

1. Providing guidance on the implementation of legislative documents on management of state investment in IT application under their management.

2. Supervising and inspecting IT application programs and plans under their management, ensuring investment is made in a concentrated and effective manner according to the defined targets.

3. Inspecting compliance with this Decree of organizations and individuals participating in management of state investment in IT application under their management.

4. Other responsibilities as prescribed by relevant regulations on management of state investment in IT application.

Article 61. Responsibilities of units specializing in information technology affiliated to provincial and district-level People’s Committees

1. Units specializing in information technology affiliated to provincial People’s Committees shall be responsible for

a) Proposing documents guiding the implementation of legislative documents on management of local investment in IT application funded by state budget to chairpersons of provincial People’s Committees for promulgation;

b) Providing guidance to district-level People’s Committees and organizations and individuals participating in management of local investment in IT application funded by state budget;

c) Assisting provincial People’s Committees in supervising and inspecting the implementation of local IT application programs and plans, ensuring investment is made in a concentrated and effective manner according to the defined targets;

d) Assisting provincial People’s Committees in inspecting compliance with this Decree and legal regulations related to management of local investment in IT application funded by state budget;

dd) Appraising basic designs according to Clause 2 of Article 20 herein;

e) Appraising detailed designs according to Point c of Clause 2 of Article 22 herein;

g) Reporting the implementation of IT application programs and plans, compliance with this Decree and legal regulations related to management of local investment in IT application funded by state budget to provincial People’s Committees.

2. District-level People’s Committees shall be responsible for

a) Providing guidance to commune-level People’s Committees and organizations and individuals participating in management of state investment in IT application under their management;

b) Inspecting compliance with this Decree and legal regulations related to management of state investment in IT application under their management;

c) Cooperating with units specializing in information technology affiliated to provincial People’s Committees in inspecting state investment in IT application upon request.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION CLAUSE

Article 62. Effect

1. This Decree takes effect from January 01, 2020.

2. This Decree supersedes the Government’s Decree No. 102/2009/ND-CP dated November 06, 2009 on management of state investment in information technology application and annuls the Prime Minister's Decision No. 80/2014/QD-TTg dated December 30, 2014 providing for the pilot leasing of information technology services in state agencies.

Article 63. Transitional provisions

1. The on-going IT application projects approved before the effective date of this Decree shall be carried out according to applicable regulations on management of IT service investment and leasing at the time of approval.

If the provisions of this Decree need to be complied with, competent persons shall consider and make decisions and ensure that tasks are uninterrupted.

2. For IT application projects approved before the effective date of this Decree that have not yet been executed or have been established and appraised but not yet approved before the effective date of this Decree, the following steps shall be taken according to this Decree.

Article 64. Responsibilities for implementation

1. Ministers, heads of ministerial agencies, heads of Governmental agencies, heads of other central bodies, chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities shall be responsible for the implementation of this Decree.

2. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Decree should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Information and Communications for consideration and instruction or a compiled report shall be submitted to the competent authority.

3. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall take charge and cooperate with relevant ministries and central bodies in providing guidance and organizing the implementation of this Decree./.

APPENDIX I

APPLICATION FOR APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL OF PROJECT
(Enclosed with the Government's Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP dated September 05, 2019)

APPLICATION FOR APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL OF [PROJECT NAME]

To: ………………………………………

Pursuant to the Law on Information Technology dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. …/ND-CP dated [date] on management of state investment in information technology application;

Pursuant to other relevant legal grounds;

The investment project owner would like to apply for appraisal and approval of [project name]. To be specific:

I. GENERAL INFORMATION ON PROJECT

1. Project name:

2. Investment project owner:

3. Consultancy preparing feasibility study report:

4. Necessity of investment in project:

5. Investment objectives:

6. Investment size:

7. Investment location:

8. Basic design:

a) Required basic design plan:

b) Basic design plan that allows investment project owner to make modifications in next design step:

9. Total investment:

Total:

In which:

- Construction costs:

- Equipment costs:

- Project management costs:

- Investment consultancy costs:

- Other costs:

- Cost contingency:

10. Capital sources and capital expected to be allocated according to schedule:

11. Project management method:

12. Project timeline:

13. Evaluation of project efficiency:

14. Evaluation of project feasibility:

15. Requesting competent authority to issue a decision on project:

16. Other contents:

II. APPLICATION FOR APPRAISAL

…..

APPENDIX II

DECISION ON PROJECT APPROVAL
(Enclosed with the Government's Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP dated September 05, 2019)

DECISION ON APPROVAL OF [PROJECT NAME]

NAME OF APPROVING INDIVIDUAL/ORGANIZATION

Pursuant to functions, tasks and organizational structure of …….;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. …/…/ND-CP dated [date] on management of state investment in information technology application;

Pursuant to other relevant legal grounds;

At the request of … in the application No. … dated [date] and appraisal report of ...... in the document No. … dated [date],

HEREBY DECIDES:

Article 1. The [project name] project is approved. To be specific:

1. Project name:

2. Investment project owner:

3. Consultancy preparing feasibility study report:

4. Investment objectives:

5. Investment size:

6. Investment location:

7. Basic design:

a) Required basic design plan:

b) Basic design plan that allows investment project owner to make modifications in next design step:

8. Total investment:

Total:

In which:

- Construction costs:

- Equipment costs:

- Project management costs:

- Investment consultancy costs:

- Other costs:

- Cost contingency:

9. Capital sources and capital expected to be allocated according to schedule:

10. Project management method:

11. Project timeline:

12. Plan for contractor selection (if any):

13. Other contents:

Article 2. Implementation.

Article 3. Responsibilities of relevant bodies for decision implementation.

APPENDIX III

APPLICATION FOR APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL OF PLAN FOR LEASING OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICE
(Enclosed with the Government's Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP dated September 05, 2019)

APPLICATION FOR APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL OF PLAN FOR LEASING OF [NAME OF LEASED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICE]

To: ……..

Pursuant to the Law on Information Technology dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. …/…/ND-CP dated [date] on management of state investment in information technology application;

Pursuant to other relevant legal grounds;

The person in charge of service leasing would like to apply for appraisal and approval of the plan for leasing of [name of leased service] with the following main contents: 

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Name of leased service:

2. Person in charge of service leasing:

3. Consultancy in charge of formulating leasing plan (if any):

4. Objectives:

5. Contents and size:

6. Location:

7. Cost estimate:

Total:

In which:

- Costs of leasing of information technology service:

- Management costs:

- Consultancy costs:

- Other costs:

- Cost contingency:

8. Capital sources:

9. Timeline (including schedule for build, development and establishment of information technology service and leasing period):

10. Other contents:

II. APPLICATION FOR APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL

……

APPENDIX IV

DECISION ON APPROVAL OF PLAN FOR LEASING OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICE (Enclosed with the Government's Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP dated September 05, 2019)

DECISION ON APPROVAL OF PLAN FOR LEASING OF [NAME OF LEASED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICE]

NAME OF APPROVING INDIVIDUAL/ORGANIZATION

Pursuant to functions, tasks and organizational structure of …….;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. …/…/ND-CP dated [date] on management of state investment in information technology application;

Pursuant to other relevant legal grounds;

Considering the request of … in the application No. … dated [date] and appraisal report of ...... in the document No. … dated [date],

HEREBY DECIDES:

Article 1. The plan for leasing of [name of leased information technology service] is approved. To be specific: 

1. Name of leasing of information technology service:

2. Person in charge of leasing of information technology service:

3. Consultancy in charge of formulating leasing plan (if any):

4. Objectives:

5. Contents and size:

6. Location:

7. Cost estimate:

Total:

In which:

- Costs of leasing of information technology service:

- Management costs:

- Consultancy costs:

- Other costs:

- Cost contingency:

8. Capital sources:

9. Timeline (including schedule for build, development and establishment of information technology service and leasing period):

10. Plan for contractor selection (if any):

11. Other contents:

Article 2. Implementation.

Article 3. Responsibilities of relevant bodies for decision implementation.