Mr. Phan Huy Binh asked the authorities to guide the following situation: The bid solicitor sent a letter inviting the first-ranked contractor to negotiate the contract by post. The time the contractor receives the invitation to negotiate the contract is December 10, 2021 and the time to request the contractor to be present for negotiation is 8:00 a.m. on December 15, 2021.

However, the invited bidders did not attend at the time and place stated in the invitation letter (during the period from December 10, 2021 to December 15, 2021, the procuring entity did not receive any proposals. about delaying the negotiation, in any form (in writing, email, phone,...).

Mr. Binh asked, is it wrong for the bid solicitor to invite the first ranked bidder to compare documents and negotiate the contract through the application to clarify the bid on the National Procurement Network? Has the bid solicitor reported to the investor and invited the next ranked bidder to negotiate the contract? Should we continue to send invitations to the first ranked bidder?

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

Clause 5, Article 40 of Decree No. 63/2014/ND-CP stipulating that in case of unsuccessful negotiation, the bid solicitor shall report to the investor for consideration and decision to invite the next ranked contractor to negotiate; in case negotiations with the next ranked bidders fail, the bid solicitor shall report to the investor for consideration and decision to cancel the bid according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 17 of the Bidding Law.

Accordingly, in the case of the COVID-19 epidemic, some localities implemented social distancing according to Directive No. 16/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister (in case of force majeure), leading to the contractor not being able to attend the meeting. Next to contract negotiation, the bid solicitor and the contractor can negotiate and compare documents online.

In case the contractor fails to conduct online negotiation or the social distancing period has expired, the contractor still fails to negotiate or refuses to conduct contract negotiation within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the contract. If the bid solicitor is notified of the invitation to negotiate a contract, the bidder will not be refunded the bid security value.

The bid solicitor shall report to the investor for consideration and invite the next ranked contractor to negotiate the contract as prescribed in Clause 6, Article 19 of Decree No. 63/2014/ND-CP.

According to the Government Newspaper