Mr. Hung asked whether, when participating in online bidding, contractors are required to submit physical copies of bidding documents to the investor or contracting party.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment responded to this issue as follows:

According to the regulations in Clause 1, Article 9 of Circular No. 08/2022/TT-BKHDT, electronic documents specified in Clause 5, Article 3 of this Circular have legal validity, serving as a basis for reference, comparison, and authentication of information for evaluation, appraisal, inspection, auditing, and disbursement as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 85 of Decree No. 63/2014/ND-CP.

As stated in Clause 1, Article 26 of Circular No. 08/2022/TT-BKHDT, contractors are responsible for the accuracy of the information provided in the webform and attached documents during the bidding process. Contractors enter information as required by the E-HSMT (Electronic Document Management System for Bidding) and attach the required documents to form the E-HSDT (Electronic Bidding Documents).

Therefore, contractors submit the E-HSDT through the National Bidding System and do not need to submit physical copies of bidding documents when participating in online bidding.

Specialist teams or contracting parties must evaluate the E-HSDT based on the electronic documents submitted by the contractors.