In Package X, there are 2 contractors, A and B, participating. After the evaluation, Contractor A meets all the requirements, with a bidding price approximately 12% lower than Contractor B's, and is invited for negotiation. During the negotiation, there is a document from the investigating agency indicating signs of personnel fraud by Contractor A (not key personnel as required by construction law) to win bids in other packages not related to Package X.

Mr. Diep Nang Vu (Ninh Thuan) asked whether the inviting party, not detecting signs of fraud by Contractor A in Package X, can continue negotiations with Contractor A. If delayed, it will affect the project implementation timeline and disbursement.

In the event of suspending negotiations with Contractor A and inviting Contractor B for negotiations, will the negotiated contract price be based on Contractor A's bidding price or Contractor B's (because Contractor A did not violate in the contract negotiations)?

Regarding this issue, the Ministry of Planning and Investment responded as follows:

For packages issued before January 1, 2024, the selection of contractors is conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Bidding Law No. 43/2013/QH13 and Decree No. 63/2014/NĐ-CP of the Government.

Under Article 5, Clause 1 of the Bidding Law of 2013, one of the conditions for a contractor to have valid qualifications is not being in the period of being prohibited from bidding.

According to the regulations in Clause 4 of Article 89 of the Bidding Law; Clause 1 of Article 122 of Decree No. 63/2014/NĐ-CP, fraud is one of the prohibited behaviors in bidding, and individuals or organizations engaging in fraud will be prohibited from participating in bidding activities for 3 to 5 years.

Based on Point a, Clause 3; Point a, Clause 4 of Article 90 of the Bidding Law, the authority issuing decisions to prohibit participation in bidding for projects, procurement plans within its management scope, the decision on handling violations must be sent to the organization, individual being processed and related agencies, organizations, while also being sent to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for monitoring and aggregation. The list of contractors prohibited from participating in bidding activities is publicly posted on the National Bidding Network System.

Therefore, in the case where a contractor has been prohibited from bidding by the authority due to fraudulent behavior as mentioned above, the contractor does not have valid qualifications to participate in bidding. In addition, handling situations in bidding is carried out in accordance with Article 117 of Decree No. 63/2014/NĐ-CP of the Government.