Key Terms in the Law on Bidding

Key Terms in the Law on Bidding

1. Bid Solicitor (Inviting Party) means the agency with authority to approve investment policies or the agency authorized to decide on organizing bidding to select investors; or the unit assigned by the competent authority to organize the selection of investors.

2. Project Owner (Employer) means an agency or organization that owns capital, borrows capital, or is directly assigned to manage and use capital, to manage the implementation of the project; budget-using entities; budget-estimating entities directly using non-state budget funds for procurement; centralized procurement units.

3. Shortlist means the list of bidders who pass the prequalification in open bidding with prequalification; the list of bidders or investors invited to bid in restricted bidding; the list of bidders whose expressions of interest meet the requirements of the invitation for expressions of interest.

4. Consulting Services means one or several service activities, including: preparation and evaluation of planning reports, master development schemes, architecture; surveys, preparation of prefeasibility studies, investment policy proposals, applications for investment policy approval, feasibility studies, technical-economic reports, environmental impact assessments; surveys, design and cost estimation; bidding consultancy; appraisal and verification consultancy; supervision consultancy; project management consultancy; financial arrangement consultancy; auditing and other consulting services.

5. Non-Consulting Services means one or several service activities, including: logistics, insurance, advertising, test runs, satellite photography, printing, cleaning, communication, repair, maintenance, servicing, and other service activities not classified as consulting services under Clause 4 of the Law on Bidding.

6. Investment Project (hereinafter referred to as “project”) includes programs, projects, planning tasks in accordance with the law.

7. Procurement Estimate means the projected funding source for procurement within the budget estimate approved by the competent authority in respect of state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political–professional organizations, socio-professional organizations, social organizations, units of the armed forces, public service units, and other organizations and individuals; or projected funding sources for procurement within the lawful financial resources of state agencies and public service units.

8. Bidding means the process of selecting bidders to sign and perform contracts for providing consulting services, non-consulting services, procurement of goods, construction and installation, or selecting investors to sign and implement business investment project contracts on the basis of ensuring competition, fairness, transparency, economic efficiency, and accountability.

9. E-bidding means the conduct of bidding activities via the National E-Procurement System.

10. International Bidding means bidding activities open to both domestic and foreign bidders and investors.

11. Domestic Bidding means bidding activities open only to domestic bidders and investors.

12. Bid Price means the price offered by the bidder in the bid, covering all costs required to perform the package as specified in the bidding documents or request documents.

13. Proposed Winning Bid Price means the bid price of the bidder proposed for award, after correction of errors, adjustment of deviations in accordance with the bidding documents or request documents, minus any discounts (if applicable).

14. Contract Price means the value recorded in the contract between the project owner and the bidder.

15. Package (Bid Package) means a part or the entirety of a project or procurement estimate, which may consist of similar procurement contents belonging to multiple projects, or a one-time procurement volume, or procurement volume for a certain period in respect of procurement estimates or centralized procurement.

16. Mixed Package means a package in one of the following cases: design and supply of goods (EP); design and construction (EC); supply of goods and construction (PC); design, supply of goods, and construction (EPC); preparation of project, design, supply of goods, and construction (turnkey).

17. Goods include machinery, equipment, raw materials, fuels, materials, supplies, spare parts; products; means of transport; consumer goods; medicines, chemicals, testing supplies, medical equipment; commercial software.

18. National E-Procurement System means the information technology system established and managed by the state agency in charge of bidding, for the purpose of unified management of bidding information and conducting e-bidding.

19. Invitation for Expressions of Interest / Invitation for Prequalification means all documents used in the form of open bidding with an expression of interest or prequalification stage, including requirements on capacity and experience of bidders, serving as a basis for the project owner to prepare the shortlist of prequalified bidders or bidders whose expressions of interest are deemed responsive. In the case of investor selection, it means all documents used for projects requiring determination of the number of interested investors under the laws on land, sectoral management, including preliminary requirements on capacity and experience of investors.

20. Expression of Interest / Prequalification Application means all documents prepared and submitted by bidders to the project owner in response to the invitation for expressions of interest or prequalification. In the case of investor selection, the project registration dossier means all documents prepared and submitted by investors in response to the invitation for expressions of interest.

21. Bidding Documents means all documents used in open bidding, restricted bidding, competitive offers, including requirements for a project, package, or business investment project, serving as a basis for bidders and investors to prepare their bids and for the project owner to evaluate such bids.

22. Request for Proposals (RFP) means all documents used in direct contracting, direct procurement, price negotiation, including requirements for a package, serving as a basis for bidders to prepare proposals and for the project owner to evaluate such proposals.

23. Bid / Proposal means all documents prepared and submitted by bidders or investors to the project owner in accordance with the bidding documents or request documents.

24. Competent Person means the person authorized to decide investment for projects, or the head of the agency/unit directly superior to the project owner in respect of procurement estimates under the law. In the case of investor selection, the competent person means the head of the agency authorized to approve investment policy under the Law on Investment or the agency authorized to decide on organizing bidding to select investors.

25. Investor means an organization or individual participating in bidding, submitting bids in its own name, and directly signing and implementing the contract if selected. An investor may be an independent investor or a consortium investor.

26. Bidder means an organization, individual, or a combination of organizations and/or individuals in the form of a consortium pursuant to a consortium agreement, participating in bidding, submitting bids in its own name, and directly signing and implementing the contract if selected. In case of a consortium, the consortium agreement must clearly state the responsibilities of the lead member and the joint and separate responsibilities of each member with respect to the entire scope of the package.

27. Subcontractor means an organization or individual contracting with the main bidder to perform construction, consulting, non-consulting, related services of the goods package, or works under a mixed package.

28. Special Subcontractor means a subcontractor performing important works of the package as proposed by the bidder in the bid/proposal, based on requirements on capacity and experience set out in the bidding/request documents.

29. Foreign Bidder / Foreign Investor means an organization established under foreign laws or an individual of foreign nationality participating in bidding.

30. Domestic Bidder / Domestic Investor means an organization established under Vietnamese laws or an individual of Vietnamese nationality participating in bidding.

31. Bid Closing Time means the deadline for submission of expressions of interest, prequalification applications, bids, or proposals.

32. Validity Period of Bids / Proposals means the number of days stipulated in the bidding documents or request documents, counted from the bid closing time until the last effective day, as specified in the bidding/request documents. From the bid closing time until 24:00 of the bid closing date is counted as one day.

33. Construction and Installation (Works) means activities relating to the construction and installation of works and work items.

📌 Legal basis:

• Article 4, Law on Bidding 2023

• Point a Clause 3 Article 1; Point c Clause 3 Article 1; Clause 50 Article 1; Point d Clause 3 Article 1 of the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Bidding, the Law on Investment in the form of Public-Private Partnership, the Law on Customs, the Law on Value Added Tax, the Law on Import and Export Tax, the Law on Investment, the Law on Public Investment, and the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets

• Circular No. 15/2024/TT-BKHDT providing templates of bidding documents for selection of investors to implement PPP projects, business investment projects; provision and publication of information on PPP investment, investor selection bidding on the National E-Procurement System