Chương I Thông tư 01/2024/TT-BKHĐT: Quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Circular provides guidelines for provision and publishing of information on selection of contractors and forms of bidding documents, including:

a) Forms of preparation, appraisal and approval for contractor selection master plan, contractor selection plans with respect to projects, procurement cost estimates according to regulations in Article 1 and Article 2 of the Law on Bidding;

b) Forms of bidding documents on Vietnam national e-procurement system with respect to consulting service, non-consulting service, procurement, construction, drug procurement packages within the scope of the Law on Bidding under domestic competitive bidding, limited bidding and shopping according to single-stage one-envelope procedure, single-stage two-envelope procedure.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. Organizations and individuals related to selection of contractors that fall within the scope of Article 1 of this Circular.

2. Organizations and individuals engaged in selection of contractors that are not regulated in Article 1 of this Circular but choose to apply regulations of this Circular. In this case, implementation procedures shall follow the Instruction Manual on Vietnam National E-Procurement System.

Article 3. Definition of terms

1. ”Vietnam National E-Procurement System” (hereinafter referred to as “the System”) refers to a information technology system built and managed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment at the address http://muasamcong.mpi.gov.vn in accordance with regulations laid down in Clause 18 Article 4 of the Law on Bidding.

2. “National Enterprise Registration Information System” refers to a system of dedicated information about enterprise registration specified in Clause 2 Article 3 of the Government's Decree No. 01/2021/ND-CP dated January 04, 2021 on enterprise registration.

3. Abbreviations in this Circular and on the System include:

a) E-TBMST: online invitation for prequalification applications;

b) E-TBMQT: online invitation for EOI (expression of interest);

c) E-TBMT: online invitation to bid, online notice of proposed procurement;

d) E-HSMQT: online EOI request;

dd) E-HSQT: online EOI;

e) E-HSMST: online document on prequalification;

g) E-HSDST: online application for prequalification;

h) E-HSMT: bidding documents used in e-competitive bidding, e-limited bidding or e-shopping;

i) E-HSDT: bid package used in e-competitive bidding, e-limited bidding or e-shopping;

k) E-HSDXKT: e-technical proposal;

l) E-HSDXTC: e-financial proposal;

4. “Electronic document” refers to document or information that is successfully sent, received or stored on the System, including:

a) Information about the project;

b) Contractor selection master plan; contractor selection plan;

c) E-TBMQT, E-TBMST, E-TBMT, invitation to bid, invitation for prequalification applications, invitation for EOI;

d) Shortlist;

dd) E-HSMQT, E-HSQT, E-HSMST, E-HSDST, E-HSMT, E-HSDT, EOI request, prequalification document, bidding documents; contents that clarify E-HSMST, E-HSMQT, E-HSQT, E-HSDST, E-HSMT, E-HSDT, E-HSDXKT, E-HSDXTC, EOI request, prequalification document, bidding documents;

e) Joint venture or consortium agreement;

g) Record on the bid opening, records on the opening to E-HSDXKT, E-HSDXTC;

h) Reports on evaluation of E-HSQT, E-HSDST, E-HSDT;

i) Contractor selection result;

k) Proposal for result of selection of contractors and problems regarding the process of e-selection of contractors;

l) Other electronic documents in the System;

5. “Improper information” refers to information published on the System by entities specified in Article 2 of this Circular against regulations of the law on bidding and other relevant laws.

6. “Public digital certificate” in the System refers to a digital certificate granted by a public certification authority or a specialized certification authority of the Government

7. “Instruction manual” refers to an electronic document published on the System to instruct users to perform transactions on the System.

8. “Organization participating in the System” (hereinafter referred to as “participant”) refers to an agency or organization that applies for participation in the System with one or several roles as follows:

a) Investor;

b) Procuring entity;

c) Bidder;

d) Regulatory unit;

dd) Training center for bidding.

9. “Account of the participant” (hereinafter referred to as “participation account”) refers to an account granted by the Vietnam National E-Procurement Center to the participant to perform one or several roles specified in Clause 8 of this Article.

10. “Task - specific account” refers to an account created by the participation account to perform a specific task on the System.

11. “E-GP project management enterprise” is an Investment and Development of National E Procurement System Company Limited established by the Investor (FPT Information System Co., Ltd) in accordance with regulations of the BOT contract of the e-GP project. The E-GP project management enterprise and the Vietnam National E-Procurement Center (hereinafter referred to as “Center") shall be responsible for organizing and operating the System according to Article 52 of the Law on Bidding.

12. “BOT contract of the e-GP project” refers to a contract signed between the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Investor (FPT Information System Co., Ltd) for investment, design, construction, operation, maintenance, upgrading and transfer of the System in the form of public-private partnership.

Article 4. Application of forms and Appendices

1. Forms of preparation, appraisal and approval for master plan for selection of contractors include:

a) Form No. 01A used to make a proposal for the master plan for selection of contractors;

b) Form No. 01B used to make a report on appraisal of the master plan for selection of contractors;

c) Form No. 01c used to make a decision on approval of the master plan for selection of contractors;

If it is necessary to change some contents included in the approved master plan for selection of contractors, only the changes have to be submitted, appraised and approved.

2. Forms of preparation, appraisal and approval for the contractor selection plan include:

a) Form No. 02A used to make a proposal for the contractor selection plan;

b) Form No. 02B used to make a report on appraisal of the contractor selection plan;

c) Form No. 02C used to make a decision on approval of the contractor selection plan;

If it is necessary to change some contents included in the approved plan for selection of contractors, only the changes have to be submitted, appraised and approved. Regarding tasks which cannot be included in the contractor selection plan, when these tasks can be included in the contractor selection plan, only such tasks have to be submitted, appraised and approved and other tasks that were approved are not required to be re-submitted, re-appraised and re-approved During the execution of the contract, if there is any change to the package execution duration in comparison with that included in the approved plan for selection of contractors, it is not required to adjust the contractor selection plan.

3. Regarding construction package:

a) Form No. 3A used to make E-HSMT applying the form of competitive bidding, limited bidding or shopping method according to single-stage one-envelope procedure;

b) Form No. 3B used to make E-HSMT applying the form of competitive bidding or limited bidding method according to single-stage two-envelope procedure;

c) Form No. 3C used to make E-HSMST.

4. Regarding procurement package (including centralized procurement);

a) Form No. 4A used to make E-HSMT applying the form of competitive bidding, limited bidding or shopping method according to single-stage one-envelope procedure;

b) Form No. 4B used to make E-HSMT applying the form of competitive bidding or limited bidding method according to single-stage two-envelope procedure;

c) Form No. 4C used to make E-HSMST.

5. Regarding non-consulting service package:

a) Form No. 5A used to make E-HSMT applying the form of competitive bidding, limited bidding or shopping method according to single-stage one-envelope procedure;

b) Form No. 5B used to make E-HSMT applying the form of competitive bidding or limited bidding method according to single-stage two-envelope procedure;

c) Form No. 5C used to make E-HSMST.

6. Regarding consulting service package:

a) Form No. 6A used to make E-HSMT applying the form of competitive bidding or limited bidding method according to single-stage two-envelope procedure;

b) Form No. 6B used to make E-HSMQT.

7. Regarding drug procurement package:

a) Form No. 7A used to make E-HSMT applying the form of competitive bidding according to single-stage one-envelope procedure;

b) Form No. 7B used to make E-HSMT applying the form of competitive bidding according to single-stage two-envelope procedure;

8. Regarding evaluation reports:

a) Form No. 8A used to make report on evaluation of E-HSDT according to the process 01 prescribed in Point a Clause 1 Article 28 of this Circular for non-consultancy service, procurement or construction package adopting single-stage one-envelope procedure;

b) Form No. 8B used to make report on evaluation of E-HSDT according to the process 02 prescribed in Point a Clause 1 Article 28 of this Circular for non-consultancy service or procurement package adopting single-stage one-envelope procedure;

c) Form No. 8C used to make report on evaluation of E-HSDT for non-consultancy service, procurement or construction package adopting single-stage two-envelope procedure;

d) Form No. 8D used to make report on evaluation of E-HSDT for consultancy service package adopting single-stage two-envelope procedure;

9. Appendices:

a) Appendix 1A: Proposal for approval of the result of evaluation of E-HSDXKT (with regard to a package adopting single-stage two-envelope procedure);

b) Appendix 1B: Decision on approval of the list of bidders satisfying technical requirements (with regard to a package adopting single-stage two-envelope procedure);

c) Appendix 2A: Document collation result (with regard to all packages);

d) Appendix 2B: Contract negotiation record (with regard to non-consulting service, procurement, construction or mixed package applying contract negotiation according to regulations in point d Clause 1 Article 43 of the Law on Bidding);

dd) Appendix 2C: Contract negotiation record (with regard to consulting service package);

e) Appendix 3: Proposal for approval of the result of selection of contractors;

g) Appendix 4: Commitment;

h) Appendix 5: Registration of information on legal documents on bidding;

i) Appendix 6: Notification of information about foreign contractor selected in Vietnam;

k) Appendix 7: Notification of actions against violations of the bidding law;

l) Appendix 8: Violations against regulations on Clause 3 Article 44 of the Law on Bidding.

10. The selection of contractors for projects which are funded by the official development assistance (ODA) or concessional loans of foreign donors under international conventions to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory (hereinafter referred to as “international conventions") or foreign loan agreements shall comply with regulations in Clause 5 Article 3 of the Law on Bidding. Roles of organizations and individuals submitting, appraising and approving contractor selection master plan, contractor selection plans, E-HSMQT, E-HSMST, E-HSMT and contractor selection results shall comply with the Law on Bidding and its guiding documents; contents of the contractor selection master plan, contractor selection plans, E-HSMQT, E-HSMST and E-HSMT shall be consistent with international conventions or foreign loan agreements. If the international convention or foreign loan agreement mandates that regulations issued by the donors be applied and the donors grant approval, the master plan or plan for selection of contractors, E-HSMT, E-HSMQT, E-HSMST, report on evaluation of E-HSDT, E-HSQT or E-HSDST shall be prepared, appraised and approved using the forms specified in Clauses 1 through 9 of this Article.

The bidding information with respect to packages of the projects specified in this Clause is encouraged to be published in the Vietnam Public Procurement Review Journal and item “vốn khác” (other funds) on Vietnam National E-Procurement System.

11. Regarding projects/packages containing information of state secrets as per the Law on Protection of State Secrets, such information is not required to be provided or published as per this Circular. The information of state secrets shall be managed as per the law on protection of state secrets.

Article 5. Formats of attachments

1. A file published on the System shall meet the following conditions:

a) It is possible to open or read the file by common software including MS Office or Open Office; PDF; AutoCAD, Photoshop; built-in image viewer. The texts shall be in a Unicode font;

b) It is possible to compress, decompress and open the file by software including: ZIP, RAR or 7ZIP. In case of the compressed file, the file shall have the format specified in Point a of this Clause after decompression;

c) It is not infected, broken or damaged and no password is required.

2. If it is impossible to open or read the file attached to the EOI request, E-HSMQT, document on prequalification, E-HSMST, bidding documents or E-HSMT since it fails to meet the conditions specified in Clause 1 in this Article or for other reasons, the procuring entity shall republish EOI request, E-HSMQT, document on prequalification, E-HSMST, bidding documents, E-HSMT.

3. If the file attached to E-HSDT, E-HSQT or E-HSDST fails to meet the conditions specified in Clause 1 of this Article, leading the fact that it cannot be opened or read, the file will not be evaluated anymore.

Article 6. Technical handling in case of system failure beyond control

1. In case of system failure, the deadlines for submission of bids and the deadlines for clarification of E-HSQT, E-HSDST, E-HSDT of packages of e-selection of contractors that occur during the period from the beginning time of system failure to 02 hours after the System is restored shall be automatically deferred to 06 hours after the system restoration time.

2. If the new deadline for submission of bids and deadline for clarification of E-HSQT, E-HSDST, E-HSDT according to regulations Clause 1 of this Article 1 fall within the period ranging from after 17h00 and before 11h00 of the next day, they shall be automatically deferred to 11h00 in the next day.

3. If the deadline for submission of bids is automatically deferred as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, the evaluation of E-HSQT, E-HSDST, E-HSDT shall be carried out on the basis of the deadline for submission of bids indicated in the E-TBMQT, E-TBMST, E-TBMT before the system failure time.

4. In case the System cannot operate due to failure and it takes a long time to restore the System, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall give notification on the System of methods for organizing selection of contractors throughout the failure and restoration duration, including offline selection of contractors.

Article 7. Management of account and use of digital certificate

1. Creation of task - specific account:

The participation account shall create and distribute power to the task - specific account corresponding to roles of the participant specified at Points a, b, c, d and dd Clause 8, Article 3 of this Circular; lock, unlock; reset password, authentication form, login authentication device for the task - specific account.

2. Use of digital certificate on the System:

a) The participant that is issued with a digital certificate when participating in the System shall register to use the digital certificate according to the Instruction Manual. Digital certificate on the System is the digital certificate issued to the participant;

b) The digital certificate is used to create digital signature and authenticate the participant;

c) Registration of use of, change in and cancellation of information on the digital certificate of the participant shall be made on the System according to the Instruction Manual;

d) The participant shall be responsible for assurance about the accuracy of the digital certificate used on the System.

Article 8. Sending and receiving e-documents on the System

1. E-documents specified in Clause 4, Article 3 of this Circular shall have their legal validity recognized and serve as the basis for comparison and authentication of information for evaluation, appraisal, inspection, audit and disbursement according to regulations of law.

2. The sending time and receiving time of e-documents shall be determined according to the real time recorded on the System. Electronic documents that are successfully sent shall be stored on the System.

3. When the user sends an e-document on the System, the System shall respond to the user whether the submission is successful or unsuccessful.

4. The participant that makes successfully registration on the System shall be entitled to export the status of its e-documents and other information on the System. The information on transaction history shall be used to settle disputes (if any) that arise from sending and receiving e-documents on the System.

5. The organization or individual in charge of inspection, supervision, audit and disbursement shall not require a physical copy if an electronic copy of the same document can be found on and exported from the System, unless the original copy is necessary for confirmation.

Article 9. Information technology infrastructure requirements

Participants shall meet requirements for infrastructure of information technology specified in Clause 14 Article 78, Clause 3 Article 79 and point a Clause 3 Article 82 of the Law on Bidding and detailed instructions in the Instruction Manual.