Conditions for settlement of petitions in bidding activities in Vietnam under the Law on Bidding 2023

Conditions for settlement of petitions in bidding activities in Vietnam under the Law on Bidding 2023 (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. Conditions for settlement of petitions in bidding activities in Vietnam under the Law on Bidding 2023 

Conditions for settlement of petitions in bidding activities in Vietnam according to Article 90 of the Law on Bidding 2023 are as follows:

- In order to be put into consideration, petitions for review of issues that arise before the publishing of contractor/investor selection result must meet the following conditions:

+ Petitions for review of bidding documents may be submitted by authorities or organizations having interest in the package or investment project; petitions for review of other issues concerning the contractor/investor selection process shall only be filed by bidders or investors participating in the bidding;

+ The petition must bear signature and seal (if any) of the petitioner’s lawful representative or be digitally signed and submitted through VNEPS;

+ The petition must be submitted to the entity in charge of settling the petition prescribed in Clause 1 Article 91 and Clause 1 Article 92 of the Law on Bidding 2023 before the contractor/investor selection result is published.

- In order to be put into consideration, petitions for review of the contractor/investor selection result must meet the following conditions:

+ The petition must be filed by the bidder or investor participating in the bidding (petitioner);

+ The petition must bear signature and seal (if any) of the petitioner’s lawful representative or be digitally signed and submitted through VNEPS;

+ The issue in the petition has not been included in any other lawsuit, complaint or denunciation filed by the petitioner;

+ The issue in the petition must directly concern the petitioner's bid evaluation results;

+ The petition settlement fee is paid by the petitioner to the standing assistance section of the chairperson of the petition settlement advisory board (hereinafter referred to as “standing section”) before or at the same time when the petition is submitted;

+ The bidder and the investor must submit their petitions to the employer/competent person and the procuring entity/competent person respectively within the time limit specified in Clause 2 Article 91 of the Law on Bidding 2023.

- The person in charge of settling the petition shall inform the petitioner in writing in case their petition is rejected because the conditions specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 90 of the Law on Bidding 2023 are not fulfilled.

2. Procedures for settlement of petitions arising from contractor selection in Vietnam

Procedures for settlement of petitions arising from contractor selection according to Article 91 of the Law on Bidding 2023 is as follows:

- Settlement of petitions for review of issues that arise before the notice of contractor selection result is published shall be subject to the following provisions:

+ The bidder, authority or organization (petitioner) shall send their petition to the employer before the contractor selection result is published on VNEPS;

+ The employer shall send a written response to the petitioner within 07 working days from the receipt of the petition;

+ In case the petitioner disagrees with the petition settlement result or does not receive any response from the employer upon the expiration of the time limit specified in Point b of Clause 1 of Article 91 of the Law on Bidding 2023, the petitioner shall be entitled to send their petition to the competent person within 05 working days from the prescribed deadline for petition settlement or from the day on which the employer’s response is received;

+ The competent person shall send a written response to the petitioner within 05 working days from the receipt of the petition.

- Petitions for review of the issues that arise after the notice of contractor selection result is published shall be settled according to one of the following processes:

+ The bidder (petitioner) shall send their petition to the employer within 10 days from the day on which the contractor selection result is published on VNEPS. The employer shall send a written response to the petitioner within 07 working days from the receipt of the petition.

In case the petitioner disagrees with the petition settlement result or does not receive any response from the employer upon the expiration of the time limit specified in this Clause, the petitioner shall be entitled to send their petition to the competent person through the standing section within 05 working days from the prescribed deadline for petition settlement or from the day on which the employer’s response is received.

The competent person shall issue a decision on settlement of the petition for review of the contractor selection result within 05 working days from the receipt of the written opinion from the petition settlement advisory board;

+ The bidder (petitioner) shall send their petition to the competent person through the standing section within 10 days from the day on which the contractor selection result is published on VNEPS. The competent person shall issue a decision on settlement of the petition for review of the contractor selection result within 05 working days from the receipt of the written opinion from the petition settlement advisory board.

- The time limit for settling a petition prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 91 of the Law on Bidding 2023 starts on the day on which the administrative section of the person in charge of settling the petition receives the petition or when the petition is sent through VNEPS.

- Where necessary, the petition settlement advisory board shall, based on the received petition, request the competent person to consider suspending the signing or execution of the contract.

If the request of the petition settlement advisory board is accepted, within 05 working days from its receipt, the competent person shall provide the employer with a written notice of suspension of contract signing or execution in which the suspension duration must be clearly stated.

- A written response shall contain conclusions on the issue in the petition. If the petition is found to be true, remedial measures and implementation time limit (if any) must also be specified in the written response.

The petitioner shall have their paid petition settlement fee reimbursed. If the petition is found to be false, the written response shall contain detailed explanations. In this case, the paid petition settlement fee shall not be reimbursed.

- If the petitioner disagrees with the decision on petition settlement issued by the competent person or employer, they shall be entitled to initiate Court proceedings.

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