Vietnam: Order of settlement of disputes over electricity sale contract

Pursuant to Article 26 of Circular No. 27/2013/TT-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, settlement of disputes over electricity sale contract shall be conducted according to the following order:

- Step 1: Before requesting the settlement from the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam or the Department of Industry and Trade, the parties shall have to conduct their own negotiations.

- Step 2: Where the negotiations fail, either party has the right to send a written request for settlement from the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam or the Department of Industry and Trade under its authority.

- Step 3: Within 05 working days after receiving the request for settlement of dispute, the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam or the Department of Industry and Trade shall inform the relevant parties of receipt of settlement of dispute and require the relevant parties to provide dossiers and documents; perform the actual inspection (in case of necessity), verify and complete such dossiers. In case of denying the request for settlement of dispute, the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam or the Department of Industry and Trade shall reply in writing stating the reasons.

- Step 4: Within 20 working days after receiving the valid dossier, the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam or the Department of Industry and Trade shall hold a meeting for reconciliation and reach a conclusion of settlement of the dispute. For complex cases, the organization of meeting for reconciliation and conclusion of settlement of dispute must not exceed 40 working days after receipt of valid dossier.

- Step 5: If either party does not agree with the conclusion of the Electricity Regulatory Authority of Vietnam or the Department of Industry and Trade, it has the right to refer the dispute to the commercial arbitration or initiate a lawsuit at the Court for settlement.

View full text at Circular No. 27/2013/TT-BCT of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, effective from December 15, 2013.

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