On June 25, 2025, the National Assembly passed the Law amending and supplementing some articles of the Law on Bidding, the Law on Investment in the form of public-private partnership, the Law on Customs, the Law on Value Added Tax, the Law on Export Tax, Import Tax, the Law on Investment, the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Management; use of public assets ("Law No. 90") with many adjustments to continue to support businesses in production and business activities.
1. Amending and supplementing the Law on Bidding – State enterprises are allowed to proactively select contractors for bidding packages not using state budget capital:
1.1. State-owned enterprises are not required to apply the Bidding Law in all cases
Law No. 90 amends the Law on Bidding on the principle of empowering state-owned enterprises to decide on their own procurement and bidding activities; accordingly, only the selection of contractors using state budget capital must comply with the provisions of the Bidding Law; In the rest, for the selection of contractors not using state budget capital, State enterprises are entitled to make their own decisions based on ensuring publicity, transparency, efficiency and accountability.
Thus, Law No. 90 has clearly "delineated" the use of budget capital under the Law on the State Budget and the use of capital invested by the State in enterprises, capital from retained profits of state enterprises under the Law on Management and Use of State capital invested in production and business at enterprises. In essence, this principle applies not only to state-owned enterprises but also to public non-business units. This creates initiative for state-owned enterprises and public non-business units in using their capital, and at the same time indirectly improves the management responsibility for these units.
1.2. Adjustment of forms of contractor selection
Law No. 90 regulates the forms of contractor selection based on inheriting the provisions of the Law on Bidding 2023, but is divided into groups of contractor selection forms depending on the nature of that form (contractor appointment, bidding, and other forms). In addition, Law No. 90 also adds a new form of contractor selection, which is ordering. Accordingly, Ordering is a form of direct delivery to organizations, businesses, and individuals providing goods and services in the following cases:
- Public products and services, public non-business services;
- Goods and services in strategic fields; key and important scientific research projects and tasks, foundation industries, spearhead industries, energy infrastructure, digital infrastructure, green transportation, national defense, security, human resource training associated with technology transfer, key digital technology;
- Products and goods resulting from special scientific, technological, and innovation tasks under the law on science, technology, and innovation
- Goods and services are ordered following the law on the management of sectors and fields.
1.3. Promoting scientific, technological, and innovation activities
Law No. 90 supplements and adjusts some regulations to promote scientific, technological, and innovation activities, including:
a. Supplementing regulations allowing presiding organizations and individuals to decide on their own the selection of contractors to supply goods and services to perform scientific, technological, and innovation tasks for the presumptive expenditure of scientific, technological, and innovation tasks using all or part of the state budget.
b. expand incentives in the selection of contractors, investors who are creative start-up individuals (previously only applicable to creative start-up enterprises), and some related subjects such as innovative start-up support organizations recognized by competent agencies; innovation center, research and development center....
c. science and technology enterprises (including innovative start-up enterprises, innovation centers, creative start-up support organizations following the law on science, technology and innovation; hi-tech incubators, hi-tech enterprise incubators, hi-tech enterprises, enterprises newly established from investment projects on production of hi-tech products per law) are not required to prove the ability to arrange equity when participating in bidding.
1.4. Adjustment of some issues related to bidding activities
Law No. 90 also regulates some issues related to bidding activities as follows:
a. The investor is no longer a bid solicitor
Law No. 90 has narrowed the scope of application compared to the Law on Bidding 2023 in the direction that there are only two cases in which the Bidding Law is compulsorily applied, namely (+) the selection of contractors using state budget capital and (++) the selection of investors for investment projects. For the selection of contractors using state budget capital, the bid solicitor must be decided by a competent state agency (not the investor) to ensure the principle of objectivity when using the state budget; Therefore, in essence, in both cases, the investor does not have the status of the bid solicitor. The regulation in the direction of abandoning the investor status of the bid solicitor follows the scope of application of Law No. 90.
b. Allow the application of investor designation.
Accordingly, the Investor Designation is applied to business investment projects that need to be implemented in the following cases: projects proposed by investors for which the investor has the right to own or use strategic technology; The project needs to continue to select investors who have previously deployed digital infrastructure and digital platforms to ensure compatibility, synchronization and technical connectivity; business investment projects need to accelerate the progress, promote socio-economic development, and ensure the national interests proposed by investors according to regulations.
c. The investor is entitled to consider and decide in case the contract is amended to change the contract performance time but not exceed the project execution time or exceed the approved bidding package price (including provisions) but does not exceed the total investment and procurement estimates, instead of having to ask for opinions and obtain approval from competent persons as previously prescribed.
2. Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment: simplifying the process of implementing public-private partnership ("PPP") investment projects
Law No. 90 stipulates the direction of simplifying the PPP project implementation process as follows:
a. only projects under the competence to decide on investment policies of the National Assembly or the Prime Minister must make and appraise pre-feasibility study reports; for the remaining projects, Law No. 90 does not require the preparation of a pre-feasibility study report (the pre-feasibility study report can be replaced by an investment policy proposal report or a feasibility study report can be made immediately without any other policy report).
b. not having to carry out the procedures for deciding on investment policies for PPP projects not using state capital, PPP projects on science, technology, and innovation as prescribed, PPP projects applying high technology, projects applying O&M contracts, etc. The project applies the type of BT contract paid with the land fund.
c. permitting the appointment of investors to implement specific projects, including: projects proposed by investors in which investors have the right to own or use strategic technologies; The project needs to continue to select investors who have previously deployed digital infrastructure and digital platforms to ensure compatibility, synchronization and technical connectivity; The project needs to accelerate the progress, promote socio-economic development, ensure the national interests proposed by the investor and approved by the competent authority.
d. Investors are not required to establish PPP project enterprises.
i. Previously, investors were required to establish PPP project enterprises to sign and perform PPP contracts; however, the current Law No. 90 allows the investor not to establish a PPP project enterprise but must independently manage and account the revenue and expenses of the PPP project with other business activities of the investor in some cases, including:
+ Investors are state-owned enterprises.
+ Projects applying BT contracts, science and technology PPP projects.
+ The project has a total investment equivalent to that of the group B and group C project,s following the law on public investment.
ii. Allow PPP project enterprises to do business outside the scope of PPP project contracts (previously, PPP project enterprises were only established with the sole purpose of signing and implementing PPP projects) when they meet the following conditions: approved by the lender; reports on management and independent accounting of revenues and expenses of PPP projects with other business activities in PPP project enterprises; other business activities do not affect the rights, obligations and responsibilities of investors and PPP project enterprises in PPP project contracts.
e. Supplementing a case of premature termination of PPP project contracts is the case where science, technology and innovation products created by PPP project enterprises have implemented the mechanism of sharing the decrease in revenue in the first 03 years after the time of operation. business, but the actual revenue is still lower than 50% of the expected revenue in the financial plan.
f. Investors have the right to transfer shares and contributed capital to other investors; members of the joint venture investor have the right to transfer shares and contributed capital to each other or to investors other than the joint venture when the PPP project has not yet completed the construction of the works.
g. Supplementing and adjusting the revenue reduction sharing mechanism
i. Accordingly, when the actual revenue is lower than the revenue in the financial plan in the PPP project contract with the rate in the frame from less than 90% to less than 75%, the State shares with investors and PPP project enterprises 50% of the difference between the revenue in the financial plan and the actual revenue. The share of the revenue reduction is applied when the following conditions are met:
- The project applies BOT contracts, BTO contracts, and BOO contracts.
- Changes in relevant planning, policies, and laws reduce revenue.
- Having a financial plan to adjust the price and charge of public products and services in the price bracket or adjusting the contract term of PPP projects to 50 years, but not ensuring the minimum turnover.
- The State Audit has audited the decrease in revenue.
At the same time, the sharing of revenue reduction with the above conditions is also applied to the science and technology PPP project, in the first 03 years after the time of operation and business and allows the application of 100% of the reduced difference between the actual revenue and the revenue in the financial plan when the actual revenue is lower than the revenue in the financial plan chief.
ii. For BOT projects in the field of roads with contracts signed before January 1, 2021, the State shall share with investors and PPP project enterprises the difference between the revenue in the financial plan and the actual revenue. The share of the revenue reduction is applied when the following conditions are met:
- The project is affected by changes in planning, policies and relevant laws of the State, after applying adjustment measures as prescribed by law and calculating and adjusting road service charges, project contract term, but the actual revenue of the last 03 years is less than 75% of the revenue in the financial plan in PPP project contracts and financial plans are still ineffective;
- The project contract has not stipulated the content of applying the mechanism of sharing the increase and decrease in revenue.
- The contracting agency has negotiated with investors, project enterprises, and lenders on the rate of return on equity, loan interest rates, and debt repayment plans in the financial plan. In case the adjusted financial plan does not ensure feasibility, the mechanism of sharing the revenue reduction in this Article shall not be applied.
- The State Audit Office has audited the decrease in revenue and the amount of money the State shares in the decrease in revenue.
- The sharing of the revenue reduction specified in Clause 2 of this Article shall be carried out once and does not have to carry out procedures for adjustment of investment policies or project adjustments.
Thus, Law No. 90 creates more favorable conditions for enterprises when participating in PPP projects.
3. Customs Law: applying the priority mechanism for high-tech enterprises
Law No. 90 regulates in the direction of high-tech enterprises (including enterprises similar to newly established enterprises from investment projects on production of high-tech products; enterprises implementing strategic technology projects; enterprises implementing projects on production of key digital technology products, ...) may apply the customs priority regime if they meet the conditions for implementation of e-customs procedures and e-tax,...; bank receipts; have an internal control system; well comply with the provisions of the law on accounting and auditing without meeting the conditions for compliance with the law on customs and tax for 02 consecutive years and the annual export and import turnover reaches the prescribed level.
4. Law on Value-Added Tax: On-the-spot exports are subject to the tax rate of 0%
Law No. 90 supplements a group of goods subject to the 0% value-added tax rate as goods exported on the spot. This contributes to helping businesses increase exports of goods and promote the economy.
5. Law on Export Tax and Import Tax: Tax exemption for goods imported for the development of science, technology, innovation, and the digital technology industry
Accordingly, goods imported for the development of science, technology, innovation, and the digital technology industry, including:
- Imported goods are machinery, equipment, spare parts, special-use supplies, specialized scientific documents, books, and newspapers directly used for science, technology, innovation, and the digital technology industry.
- Goods imported to create fixed assets of investment projects for the development of science, technology, innovation, and the digital technology industry, following the law.
- Raw materials, supplies, and components imported for the production and research of science and technology organizations, hi-tech enterprises, and newly established enterprises from investment projects on the production of hi-tech products;
- Imported goods are raw materials, supplies, and components that have not yet been produced domestically and are directly used for the production of digital technology products; raw materials, supplies, and components are imported for research and trial production of the Research and Development Center.
6. Law on Investment: increase the authority to approve investment guidelines for provincial-level People's Committees
6.1. Some specific priority policies on investment
a. Law No. 90 supplements some groups of projects eligible for special investment incentives and supports, including:
- Investment projects on the production of key digital technology products, projects on research and development, design, production, packaging and testing of semiconductor chips, projects on construction of artificial intelligence data centers following the law on digital technology industry with a total investment capital of VND 6,000 billion or more, disbursement of at least VND 6,000 billion within 05 years from the date of issuance of the Investment Registration Certificate or investment policy approval.
- Training human resources in the fields of science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation.
- Investment in the development, operation, and management of infrastructure works; to develop public passenger transport in urban areas; the railway transport business; the railway industry, and railway human resource training.
At the same time, Law No. 90 also adds a new investment incentive area, which is a concentrated digital technology park.
b. Foreign investors may establish economic organizations to implement investment projects before carrying out procedures for granting and adjusting investment registration certificates for investment projects newly established innovation centers, research and development centers, investment projects on construction of large data center infrastructure, cloud computing infrastructure, mobile infrastructure of 5G or higher and other digital infrastructure in the field of strategic technology under the Prime Minister's decision, investment projects in the field of strategic technology, production of strategic technology products.
6.2. Increase the competence to approve investment guidelines of provincial-level People's Committees
Law No. 90 adjusts in the direction that the Prime Minister only has the authority to decide on investment policies for investment projects with betting business, casinos and nuclear power plant projects (the authority to approve this project previously belonged to the National Assembly); the remaining investment projects under the competence to decide on investment policies of the previous Prime Minister (such as investment projects requiring resettlement of 10,000 people or more in mountainous areas, 20,000 people or more in other regions; New construction investment projects: airports, airfields; runways of airports and airfields; passenger terminals of international airports; cargo terminals of airports and airfields with a capacity of 01 million tons/year or more...) are all brought back under the decision-making authority of the provincial-level People's Committee.
Separately, the provincial-level People's Committee also has the authority to decide on investment policies for investment projects on the construction of houses (for sale, lease, lease-purchase), urban areas, regardless of land use scale or population size.
Law No. 90 takes effect from July 1, 2025./.
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