Expert team and appraisal team according to the Bidding Law 2023
During the bidding process, to help the investor/bidder choose a suitable contractor, the role of the expert team and appraisal team is very important. Below are things to know about expert teams and appraisal teams according to the latest regulations of the Bidding Law 2023, effective from January 1, 2024.
- Member of the Expert Group and appraisal team
Members of the expert group and appraisal team as prescribed in Clause 1, Clause 2 and Clause 3, Article 19 of the Bidding Law 2023 are people who must have at least 03 years of experience in one of the fields related to the legal, technical and financial content of bidding packages, business investment projects and:
- Expert group: established or assigned by the investor or bidding consulting unit (for contractor selection) or the bid solicitor (for investor selection) to perform one or the following tasks:
· Prepare request for expression documents, pre-qualification documents, bidding documents, request documents;
· Evaluate expressions of interest, prequalification applications, bidding documents, proposal documents and registration documents for investment projects;
· Perform other tasks in selecting contractors and investors.
- Appraisal team: established or assigned by a competent person, investor or bidding consulting unit to inspect and review compliance with legal regulations for one or the following contents:
· Overall plan for contractor selection, contractor selection plan;
· Documents of invitation for interest, invitation for prequalification, invitation to bid, request documents, results of invitation for interest, results of invitation for prequalification and results of contractor and investor selection.
Regarding the number of members, the law does not specifically stipulate but only sets experience requirements for those in the expert group and bidding appraisal team. Therefore, based on the scale, nature and complexity of the bidding package, the investor/bidding consultant/bidder can decide on the number of members participating in the expert group and bidding appraisal group.
2. Responsibilities of expert groups and appraisal teams
| Expert team Article 80 of the Bidding Law 2023 | Appraisal team Article 81 of the 2023 Bidding Law |
| – Prepare request for expression documents, prequalification documents, bidding documents, and request documents. – Evaluate applications of interest, applications for prequalification, applications for registration of implementation of business investment projects, bidding documents, and proposals; Propose to the bidding party a plan to handle situations in case situations arise during bidding (if any). – Keep relevant information and documents confidential during the process of selecting contractors and investors. – Provide relevant information and documents and explain the implementation of responsibilities specified in this Article at the request of competent persons, investors, bid solicitors, inspection and examination agencies, and state management agencies on bidding activities. – Perform other responsibilities according to the provisions of this Law and other relevant laws. | – Act independently and objectively when conducting appraisals. – Request the investor and the bidding party to provide all relevant documents. – Keep relevant information and documents confidential during the appraisal process. – Provide relevant information and documents and explain the implementation of responsibilities specified in this Article at the request of competent persons, investors, inspection agencies, state management agencies on bidding activities. – Be responsible before the law, competent persons, and investors for appraisal results and assigned tasks according to the provisions of this Article. – Perform other responsibilities according to the provisions of this Law and other relevant laws. |
- Does the expert team need a bidding certificate?
Previously, Clause 1, Article 16 of the 2013 Bidding Law, Clause 1, Article 116 of Decree 63/2014/ND-CP and Article 14 of Decree 30/2015/ND-CP stipulated that individuals participating in expert groups need to have a certificate of practice in bidding activities, except in cases where individuals meet the following conditions: Have a certificate of training in bidding; Have professional qualifications related to the bidding package; Understand the respective specific contents of the bidding package; Have at least 03 years of experience in the field related to the economic and technical content of the bidding package. In special cases where opinions from specialized experts are needed, these experts are not required to have a bidding training certificate. The 2023 Bidding Law stipulates this content and there is no new guiding document, so currently it still applies according to the provisions of Decree 63/2014/ND-CP.
- Does the appraisal team need a bidding certificate?
Similar to the expert group, previously, Clause 1, Article 16 of the 2013 Bidding Law stipulated that individuals participating in bidding activities needed to have a bidding practice certificate. At the same time, Clause 1, Article 4 of Circular 19/2015/TT-BKHDT [3] stipulates that members participating in the appraisal team must have a bidding training certificate and a bidding practice certificate according to the law.
The Bidding Law 2023 has regulations on this content and there is no new guiding document, so currently it still applies according to the provisions of Circular 19/2015/TT-BKHDT.
- Can the bidding expert group prepare bidding documents?
Article 19 of the Bidding Law 2023 stipulates:
An expert group consisting of qualified and experienced individuals is established or assigned by the investor or bidding consulting unit for contractor selection, by the bidding party for investor selection, to perform one or more tasks: prepare documents inviting interest, documents inviting pre-qualification, bidding documents, documents of requirements; Evaluate applications of interest, applications for prequalification, bidding documents, proposals, and registration documents for business investment projects; Perform other tasks during the process of selecting contractors and investors.
Accordingly, preparing bidding documents is one of the tasks that the expert team is assigned by the investor/bidding consulting unit/bidder to perform. Therefore, the bidding expert team is allowed to prepare bidding documents.
See Decree No. 63/2014/ND-CP here
