Bidding Procedures

Thu Ky Luat would like to address your questions as follows:

According to the provisions of the Commercial Law 2005, the bidding process is carried out through the following steps:

Step 1: Invitation to bid

- The purpose of this step is to allow the inviting party to prequalify the bidders in order to select those capable of meeting the conditions set forth by the inviting party.- The bid invitation dossier must contain all the information: Invitation to bid announcement; Requirements related to the goods and services being tendered; Evaluation, comparison, ranking, and selection methods for bidders; Various instructions related to the bidding process.- In the case of open bidding, the inviting party is responsible for announcing it via public media or sending invitations to qualified bidders in the case of restricted bidding.

The bid invitation dossier must include the following main contents: Name, address of the inviting party; Summary of the bidding content; Deadline, location, and procedure for receiving the bid invitation dossier; Deadline, location, procedure for submitting the bid dossier; Instructions for reviewing the bid invitation dossier.

Step 2: Bidding.

- After the bid invitation announcement, merchants interested in the bid package may decide to participate in the bidding.- Upon submitting the bid dossier, the inviting party may require the bidder to submit a deposit, escrow, or bid guarantee in the form and under the conditions specified by the inviting party. The deposit, escrow rate is determined by the inviting party, but must not exceed 3% of the estimated total value of the tendered goods or services.

In case of withdrawal of the bid dossier after the bid submission deadline (i.e., at the bid closing time), non-signing of the contract, or refusal to perform the contract in case of winning the bid, the bidder will not be refunded the deposit or escrow.- The inviting party must keep the bid dossiers confidential. Additionally, organizations and individuals related to the organization, bidding, and bid evaluation must keep the bidding information confidential.

Step 3: Bid opening.

- Bid opening involves opening the bid dossiers at the predetermined time or, if no time was previously set, immediately after the bid closing.- Dossiers submitted on time must be publicly opened by the inviting party. Bidders have the right to attend the bid opening.

Dossiers submitted late will not be accepted and will be returned to the bidders unopened.- During the bid opening, the inviting party proceeds to check the validity of the bid dossiers. The inviting party may request bidders to clarify unclear contents in their dossiers. Requests and explanations of the bid dossiers must be made in writing.

Step 4: Evaluation and comparison of bid dossiers.

- Bid dossiers will be evaluated and compared according to each criterion predetermined by the inviting party, serving as the basis for comprehensive evaluation. These criteria are assessed using a points-based system or other methods fixed before bid opening.- During the evaluation and comparison of the bid dossiers, the inviting party may request bidders to clarify issues related to their dossiers. Requests and responses must be made in writing.

If the inviting party modifies any content in the bid invitation dossier, it must send the amended content in writing to all bidders at least ten days before the final submission deadline to allow bidders to complete their dossiers.

Step 5: Ranking and selection of bidders.

- Based on the evaluation results of the bid dossiers, the inviting party must rank and select the bidders according to the predefined method.

In cases where multiple bidders achieve equal scores, the inviting party has the right to select the contractor.

Step 6: Announcing bid results and signing the contract.

- Immediately after the bid results are available, the inviting party is responsible for notifying the bidders of the results.- The inviting party proceeds to finalize and sign the contract with the winning bidder based on the following:

Bid results;

Requirements stated in the bid invitation dossier;

Contents outlined in the bid dossier.

Therefore, according to current commercial law regulations, the bidding process goes through six basic steps. The law also specifically stipulates the responsibilities and rights of the inviting party and bidders at each step.

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