Vietnam: Can the investor choose an audit contractor?

According to Clause 1 Article 10 of the Circular No. 09/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam: “Where an audit of the financial statement of the completed project is required prior to verification and approval by the approving person; the investor shall select an audit contractor to conduct the audit of financial statement of the completed project as stipulated in regulations of laws on bidding and sign the audit agreement as stipulated in contract laws. Investors, independent audit contractors and relevant agencies shall comply with clause 2 and 3 of this Article.”

Mr. Duan asked, if the contractor selection plan of the whole project has been approved by the investment decider, there is an audited bidding package, can the investor actively choose an audit contractor according to the approved bidding plan or must the consent and permission of the person approving the final settlement be made to select an audit contractor?

According to current regulations, the approval level for the procurement plan is usually the level that approves the cost estimate. Currently, many investors, based on the contractor selection plan, have actively selected the audit contractor without consulting the person approving the settlement, is there any influence or mistakes? When the Investor submits the Audit Fee Payment Dossier, the State Treasury does not accept the payment of audit fees because it has not been approved by the person approving the settlement (in writing) even though the bidding plan has been approved, is there any mistake?

The Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam would like to answer this question as follows:

According to Point b Clause 1 Article 12 of Decree No. 63/2014/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, one of the conditions for making a bid invitation document and a contractor selection organization is to have an approved contractor selection plan.

Accordingly, the organization of contractor selection must comply with the above provisions. The investor shall base on the contractor selection plan approved by the competent person to organize the contractor selection without having to consult the competent person before organizing the contractor selection. The investor is responsible for performing the tasks during the contractor selection process according to the provisions of Article 74 of the Bidding Law.

According to the Government Portal

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE