Removing difficulties and obstacles in the implementation of information technology projects using state budget funds.

Process for implementing investment projects applying information technology.

According to the Resolution, the process for implementing information technology application investment projects using state budget funds shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Government Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP dated September 5, 2019, regulating the management of information technology application investment using state budget funds, and Government Decree No. 82/2024/ND-CP dated July 10, 2024, amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP, except for regulations on design steps; authority for project appraisal and design appraisal; time for appraisal and investment decision; total investment amount, project budget, and specific regulations for internal software projects, which shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of this Resolution.

Regarding design steps, the Resolution stipulates that design shall be carried out in one or two steps: One-step design includes detailed design; Two-step design includes basic design and detailed design.

In the case of one-step design, the detailed design and cost estimate of the economic-technical report are prepared during the investment preparation phase instead of the basic design and total investment of the feasibility study report. In the case of two-step design, the detailed design must conform to the approved basic design in terms of the overall model, logical model, and physical model of the system or system components (if any).

There are three types of projects that apply one-step design, including: (a) Projects using development investment funds from the state budget to purchase spare parts, replacements, and supplements of commercial hardware and software equipment belonging to existing information systems; purchasing equipment that does not require installation; purchasing commercial software; purchasing individual hardware equipment; (a) Purchasing hardware, software, and databases that are not part of the activities stipulated in Clause 24, Article 3 of Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP. The design content shall comply with the provisions of Point b, Clause 1, Article 27 of Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP. (b) Projects using development investment funds from the state budget or recurrent expenditure funds from the state budget to invest in information systems, hardware, software, and databases as stipulated in Clause 24, Article 3 of Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP with a total investment not exceeding VND 20 billion. (c) Projects using development investment funds from the state budget or recurrent expenditure funds from the state budget that do not fall under the cases stipulated in Point b above, if the investor deems it possible to design in one step, shall report to the competent authority to decide on investment and allow the implementation of one-step design.

The resolution also specifies the projects to which the two-step design method can be applied, including: projects that do not fall under the cases for applying the one-step design method mentioned above, or projects specified in point b above, but where the competent authority deciding on the investment requires the implementation of the two-step design method.

Group A projects are not required to submit basic design or detailed design for appraisal by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Regarding the authority to appraise projects, the Resolution stipulates that for projects using development investment funds from the state budget, the project appraisal agency is determined according to the provisions of the Law on Public Investment.

For projects using recurrent expenditure funds from the state budget, the competent authority deciding on investment and procurement shall establish an appraisal council or assign a specialized agency under its authority to organize the project appraisal.

Regarding the authority to appraise the basic design in the case of a two-step design process, and the detailed design in the case of a one-step design process, Group A projects are not required to submit the basic design or detailed design to the Ministry of Science and Technology for appraisal.

For projects under the authority of ministries and central agencies deciding on investment and procurement, the specialized information technology unit under the competent authority deciding on investment and procurement shall appraise the basic design and detailed design of the project.

For projects under the authority of local investment and procurement decisions, the specialized information technology unit under the Provincial People's Committee shall appraise the basic design and detailed design of the project.

Project appraisal shall not exceed 30 working days for Group A projects, and not exceed 20 working days for Group B and C projects.

Regarding the time for appraisal and investment decision-making, the Resolution stipulates the project appraisal time (including design appraisal time) from the date the appraisal agency receives a complete and valid dossier as follows:

Not exceeding 30 working days for Group A projects, of which the design appraisal time shall not exceed 15 working days.

Not exceeding 20 working days for Group B and C projects, of which the design appraisal time shall not exceed 10 working days.

The timeframe for deciding on project investment, from the date the competent authority receives a complete and valid application, is no more than 5 working days for Group A projects; and no more than 3 working days for Group B and C projects.

The Resolution also clarifies that the investor is allowed to independently adjust, appraise, and approve adjustments to the basic design (in the case of a two-step design) or detailed design (in the case of a one-step design) provided that the project's objectives, scale, implementation time, and outputs remain unchanged and do not exceed the approved total investment (in the case of a two-step design) or budget (in the case of a one-step design). The investor must comply with all design requirements when making design adjustments, bear full responsibility for the adjusted design, and submit the adjusted design to the competent authority for supervision.

Total investment, estimated budget for information technology application investment projects.

According to the Resolution, the total investment and project budget for information technology applications shall comply with the provisions of Articles 19 and 28 of Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP. Specifically, the method for determining certain costs shall follow the following regulations:

Construction costs; equipment costs (costs for purchasing information technology equipment; costs for creating databases; standardization and conversion for data entry and database creation; data entry for databases; equipment installation costs; software installation; equipment and software testing and calibration; user training costs; training costs for system administrators and operators (if any); costs for deployment, support, management, and operation of the product or work item of the project before acceptance and handover of the entire project product (if any)) shall be determined using the quotation-based costing method.

Project management costs (in the case of hiring consultants and excluding project investment monitoring and evaluation costs) and investment consulting costs (except when the investor undertakes the work themselves) are determined using the quotation-based costing method or the expert-based costing method.

Other costs (excluding independent audit costs, verification costs, and investment capital settlement approval costs) are determined using the quotation-based costing method.

The quotation-based costing method and the expert-based costing method are implemented according to the regulations and guidelines of the Ministry of Science and Technology on the preparation and management of investment costs for information technology applications using state budget funds.

Procedures for purchasing and leasing information technology services.

The resolution stipulates that four information technology application activities using recurrent expenditure from the state budget are to be procured and used in accordance with the laws on state budget, bidding laws, laws on the management and use of public assets, and other relevant laws, and do not require project planning or the preparation of a separate service procurement plan, including:

(1) activities as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 51 of Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP;

(2) activities of procuring, replacing, and supplementing hardware and commercial software (including updating commercial software licenses) belonging to existing information systems; procuring equipment that does not require installation; procuring commercial software (including updating commercial software licenses); procuring individual hardware equipment;

(3) Activities to upgrade and expand information systems, hardware, software, and databases using recurrent expenditure funds from the state budget that need to be implemented immediately due to changes in business processes as prescribed by legal documents;

(4) Activities to build, upgrade, and expand information systems, hardware, software, and databases using recurrent expenditure funds from the state budget that are urgent tasks requiring immediate implementation as directed in Resolutions of the National Assembly, Resolutions of the Government, Decisions, Directives, and notification documents of opinions of Government leaders, which, if applied under Article 51a or Clause 2 of Article 52 of Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP, would not guarantee completion on schedule.

The heads of ministries, central agencies, and provincial People's Committees decide on the application of the exemption from project and planning requirements for the procurement of information technology services for specific needs. Ministries, central agencies, and provincial People's Committees are responsible for inspecting and supervising budget-using units in the implementation of tasks to ensure economy, efficiency, and prevent losses, waste, and corruption. Budget-using units are responsible for managing and using funds to ensure they are used for the intended purpose, with quality and effectiveness in the performance of tasks.

The procurement of information technology services is carried out according to the provisions of Article 52 of Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP, in which some contents are implemented according to the provisions of this Resolution as follows:

- No explanation is required for the selection of the form of procurement of information technology services or investment/procurement.

- Estimated costs for IT services based on specific requirements as stipulated in Article 55 of Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP. In this estimate, the cost of hiring services is determined using the quotation-based costing method; management costs (in the case of hiring consultants), and consulting costs (except when the lead contractor performs the work themselves) are determined using the quotation-based costing method or the expert-based costing method; other costs (excluding costs for verification and approval of capital settlement) are determined using the quotation-based costing method.

The quotation-based costing method and the expert-based costing method shall be implemented according to the regulations and guidelines of the Ministry of Science and Technology on the preparation and management of investment costs for information technology applications using state budget funds.