CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A NUMBER OF CONTENTS OF THE REGULATION ON CONCENTRATED PROCUREMENT OF ASSETS AND GOODS WITH THE STATE BUDGET, PROMULGATED TOGETHER WITH THE PRIME MINISTERS DECISION No. 179/2007/QD-TTg OF NOVEMBER 26, 2007

In furtherance of the Prime Ministers Decision No. 179/2007/QD-TTg of November 26, 2007, promulgating the Regulation on concentrated procurement of assets and goods with the state budget, the Ministry of Finance guides the implementation of a number of contents of this Regulation as follows:

I. SCOPE OF APPLICATION:

This Circular applies to ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, other central agencies, provinces and centrally run cities (below referred to as ministries, central agencies and localities for short) which procure, on a pilot basis, assets and goods with the state budget in accordance with the Regulation on concentrated procurement of assets and goods with the state budget, promulgated together with the Prime Ministers Decision No. 179/2007/QD-TTg of November 26, 2007 (below referred to as the Regulation promulgated together with Decision No. 179/2007/QD-TTg for short), including the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the State Bank, the Vietnam Institute of Social Sciences, and the provinces of Thai Nguyen, Gia Lai, Ha Tay, Can Tho, Dak Lak, Ca Mau and Bac Giang.

II. FUNDING SOURCES FOR CONCENTRATED PROCUREMENT OF ASSETS AND GOODS:

1. Competent agencies state budget allocations in annual state budget estimates of agencies or units.

2. State-managed aid and project capital allocated to units for the procurement of assets and goods. In case a foreign donor otherwise provides for the procurement of assets and goods with aid or project capital, that donors provisions prevail.

3. Other funding sources of units permitted by competent authorities for the procurement of new assets.

III. OBJECTS OF APPLICATION:

Assets and goods subject to concentrated procurement are stipulated in Clause 2, Article 3 of the Regulation promulgated together with Decision No. 179/2007/QD-TTg , specifically as follows:

1. Assets and goods used in agencies of the same system from the central to local level include:

a/ Cars of all kinds (cars of between 4 and 16 seats to be used for public duties, special-use cars, trucks and cars of over 16 seats);

b/ Special-use means of transport and special-use equipment to be used only for specific activities of a certain branch or domain such as medical equipment, educational equipment, ships (canoes) used in anti-smuggling activities, equipment and machinery for geological and mineral base surveys, etc.;

c/ Information technology equipment (computers, printers, etc.).

2. Ministers, heads of central agencies or presidents of Peoples Committees of provinces or centrally run cities (below referred to as provincial-level Peoples Committees for short) shall specify the list of assets and goods not stated at Point 1 of this Section, including:

- Curative medicines, medical equipment and instruments, textbooks, stationery; uniforms of employees in different branches;

- Fax machines, photocopiers, telephones and working equipment and facilities;

- Cars, special-use means of transport, special-use equipment and information technology equipment, for localities, ministries and central agencies without a system from the central to local level;

- Other synchronous and modern assets and goods to be procured in large quantities and values.

IV. FORMS OF PROCUREMENT:

1. Based on procurement and equipping requirements and characteristics of assets and goods of each type, each ministry, central agency or provincial-level Peoples Committee shall assign one of its attached units (the Finance-Administration Department, the Planning-Finance Department, the provincial-level Finance Service or a non-business unit with the function of procuring state assets, etc.) to procure and deliver assets and goods to agencies and units under and attached to that ministry, central agency or locality for direct management and use in accordance with Article 4 of the Regulation promulgated together with Decision No. 179/2007/QD-TTg .

In case a ministry has general departments, grade-I departments or equivalent bodies (below collectively referred to as general departments) organized with a system from the central to local level, the minister of that ministry shall consider and decide to assign the head of each general department to organize the concentrated procurement of assets and goods to serve the operation of units attached to that general department.

2. Units assigned to procure assets and goods have the following tasks:

a/ To work out plans on the concentrated procurement of assets and goods and submit them to ministers, heads of central agencies, presidents of provincial-level Peoples Committees or heads of authorized units for approval;

b/ To procure assets under plans approved by competent authorities and the provisions of the Bidding Law, the Governments Decree No. 111/2006/ND-CP of September 29, 2006, guiding the implementation of the Bidding Law and the selection of construction contractors under the Construction Law, and current guiding documents;

c/ To test upon take-over and hand over procured assets and goods and relevant dossiers and documents to agencies or units that will directly use those assets and goods under the plans approved by competent authorities.

The hand-over and receipt of assets and goods to units that will directly use them must be recorded in writing according to the form set in the Finance Ministrys Circular No. 122/2007/TT-BTC of October 18, 2007, amending a number of contents of the Finance Ministrys Circular No. 43 TC/QLCS of July 31, 1996, which guides the receipt and hand-over of assets among administrative agencies, non-business units and economic organizations under decisions of competent agencies.

Dossiers and documents related to assets and goods handed over to units directly for use include:

A copy of the contract on asset and goods purchase and sale;

A copy of the receipt issued by the seller to the unit assigned to procure assets and goods;

Originals (if any) of the warranty card, technical dossier and use instructions.

d/ To make public the concentrated procurement of assets and goods according to Articles 9 and 10 of the Regulation promulgated together with Decision No. 179/2007/QD-TTg ;

e/ To sign contracts with suppliers and contact them for the warranty of products as contracted.

V. FORMULATION AND APPROVAL OF PLANS ON CONCENTRATED PROCUREMENT OF ASSETS AND GOODS ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 5 OF THE REGULATION PROMULGATED TOGETHER WITH DECISION NO. 179/2007/QD-TTg:

1. Annually, state agencies, public non-business units and project management units shall propose their needs for assets and goods for their operation while making annual state budget estimates and submit them to competent state agencies for approval in accordance with the state budget law, specifying the types and quantities of to-be-procured assets and goods.

2. Ministers, heads of central agencies or presidents of provincial-level Peoples Committees shall, based on competent state agencies regimes, criteria and norms on the use of assets; actual needs of attached agencies and units for assets and goods; schemes (if any) on the procurement of assets and goods approved by competent authorities; lists of to-be-procured assets and goods; and state budget expenditure estimates allocated by competent authorities, approve plans on the concentrated procurement of assets and goods according to Clause 2, Article 3 of the Regulation promulgated together with Decision No. 179/2007/QD-TTg .

3. A plan on the concentrated procurement of assets and goods contains the following:

a/ Types and quantities of assets and goods;

b/ Time of procuring assets and goods:

c/ Agencies or units that will directly use assets and goods;

d/ Funds for the procurement of assets and goods.

4. Based on approved plans on the concentrated procurement of assets and goods, ministers, heads of central agencies or presidents of provincial-level Peoples Committees shall allocate procurement estimates to units assigned to procure assets and goods in accordance with the state budget law and, at the same time, notify those estimates to agencies and units that will directly use those assets and goods for coordinated implementation.

If in 2008, administrative agencies, non-business units and project management units have been allocated state budget estimates for the concentrated procurement of assets and goods, ministers, heads of central agencies or presidents of provincial-level Peoples Committees shall decide to adjust the estimates of those agencies or units in order to allocate estimates to units assigned to procure assets and goods in accordance with the state budget law.

VI. PLAN ON CONCENTRATED PROCUREMENT OF ASSETS AND GOODS:

Contents of a plan on the concentrated procurement of assets and goods are stipulated in Clause 1, Article 6 of the Regulation promulgated together with Decision No. 179/2007/QD-TTg , specifically as follows:

1. For hi-tech, synchronous and modern assets and goods for which written opinions of concerned professional agencies or units are required before procurement bidding plans are submitted to competent authorities for decision:

a/ For information technology equipment, opinions of professional agencies or units in charge of information technology under ministries, central agencies or localities are required; if such a professional agency or unit does not exist within a ministry or central agency, opinions of the Ministry of Information and Communication are required;

b/ For medical equipment, opinions of the Ministry of Health (for central agencies), or provincial-level Health Services (for local agencies) are required;

c/ For educational equipment, opinions of the Ministry of Education and Training (for central agencies), or provincial-level Education and Training Services (for local agencies) are required.

Professional agencies or units shall be consulted through the gathering of their written opinions or invitation of their competent representatives to participate in the bidding council and the bidding consultancy experts team.

2. When assets and goods are procured in the form of contractor designation under the provisions of the Bidding Law, the Governments Decree No. 111/2006/ND-CP of September 29, 2006, guiding the implementation of the Bidding Law and the selection of construction contractors under the Construction Law, and Point 3, Section III, Part II of the Finance Ministrys Circular No. 63/2007/TT-BTC of June 15, 2007, guiding the bidding for procurement of assets with state capital to maintain the regular operation of state agencies, the units assigned to procure assets and goods shall hire organizations with the price-appraisal function to appraise asset and goods prices and submit those prices together with plans on the concentrated procurement of assets and goods to ministers, heads of central agencies or presidents of provincial-level Peoples Committees for decision and approval.

3. Payment to suppliers of assets and goods shall be made under the provisions of law on payment of state budget expenditures and the contracts signed with the suppliers. For assets and goods subject to warranty and maintenance, depending on their value and type, the unit assigned to procure them shall agree on the to-be-retained sum for fulfilling the suppliers warranty and maintenance obligations; at the year-end (December 31), the unit shall transfer the sum retained in the year to its deposit account at the State Treasury for monitoring, accounting and settlement of state budget expenditures in the year. Upon the expiration of the warranty and maintenance duration, payment shall be made to the supplier who has fulfilled warranty and maintenance obligations.

VII. FORMS OF PROCURING ASSETS AND GOODS:

1. Heads of units assigned to procure assets and goods shall select forms of procurement under the provisions of the Bidding Law, the Governments Decree No. 111/2006/ND-CP of September 29, 2006, Section III, Part II of the Finance Ministrys Circular No. 63/2007/TT-BTC of June 15, 2007, and Point 1 of Circular No. 131/2007/TT-BTC of November 5, 2007, amending and supplementing Circular No. 63/2007/TT-BTC of June 15, 2007, guiding the bidding for procurement of assets to maintain the regular operation of state agencies with the state capital.

2. The division of procured assets and goods into bidding packages must be based on technical specifications and order of implementation and ensure synchrony in the procurement, rational size of a bidding package, warranty and provision of post-sale services by suppliers. The division of bidding packages for the purpose of application of non-bidding forms of procurement is prohibited.

VIII. FUNDS FOR CONCENTRATED PROCUREMENT OF ASSETS AND GOODS:

1. Units assigned to procure assets and goods may collect:

a/ Proceeds from the sale of bid invitation dossiers as specified at Item a, Point 3, Section VII, Part II of the Finance Ministrys Circular No. 63/2007/TT-BTC of June 15, 2007;

b/ Payments from contractors who file petitions concerning contractor selection results as specified at Item b, Point 3, Section VII, Part Il of the Finance Ministrys Circular No. 63/2007/TT-BTC of June 15, 2007;

c/ Amounts to assure bidding participation as provided for in Article 27 of the Bidding Law, and contract performance as provided for in Article 55 of the Bidding Law;

d/ Commissions from the procurement of assets and goods; the suppliers presents and sales promotion gifts (if any).

2. Funding sources for procurement of assets and goods:

The unit assigned to procure assets and goods may use the revenues specified at Point 1 of this Section to cover procurement expenses and settle the contractors petitions (if any). Particularly, the unit may use the revenues specified at Item c, Point 1 of this Section only when the contractor commits violations as provided for in Clause 6, Article 27 and Clause 4, Article 55, of the Bidding Law. If the revenues specified at Point 1 of this Section are not enough to cover bidding expenses, the unit may use its regular operation funds to make up for the deficit. If those revenues exceed bidding expenses, the difference may be added to the units operation funds.

IX. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION:

1. Ministries, central agencies and provincial-level Peoples Committees shall direct and examine the concentrated procurement of assets and goods in accordance with the Regulation promulgated together with Decision No. 179/2007/QD-TTg and the guidance of this Circular.

2. Units assigned to procure assets and goods shall report on the procurement situation and results to ministries, central agencies and provincial-level agencies for synthesis and report to the Ministry of Finance before January 31, 2009.

This Circular takes effect 15 days after its publication in CONG BAO. Problems arising in the course of implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Finance for study and coordinated settlement.