TOP 20 Questions Related to Bid Security That Contractors Need to Know (Part 2)

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DauThau.info has compiled 10/20 frequently asked questions met regarding bid security in the article: TOP 20 Questions Related to Bid Guarantees Contractors Need to Know (Part 1). Continuing from that content, in this article, DauThau.info will continue to answer the remaining 10 questions to help contractors better understand the regulations and important notes on bid security, specifically as follows:

Question 11: If a contractor's bid is canceled due to collusion, is the bid security refunded?

Reply: According to the provisions of point a, clause 9, Article 1 Law No. 90/2025/QH15 Is there a specific regulation regarding whether a contractor whose bid is canceled due to collusion is entitled to a refund of their bid security? Specifically:

“b) The contractor or investor commits acts violating the provisions of Article 16 of this Law or violates the law on bidding leading to the cancellation of the bid;

Reference to Clause 4, Article 16 Bidding Law 2023 as follows:

“4. Fraud includes the following acts:

a) Fake or falsify information, records, and documents in competition contractor;

b) Intentionally providing untruthful or biased information and documents in expressions of interest, pre-qualification documents, investment project registration documents, bid documents, and proposals in order to distort the results of contractor or investor selection.”

Thus, a contractor who wins a bid but commits one of the fraudulent acts in bidding will have their bid canceled. And if the bid is canceled in this case, the contractor will not be reimbursed the bid security as stipulated.

Question 12: What is the bid security amount in the tender documents for a construction package?

Reply: Based on Clauses 2 and 4 of Article 14 of the 2023 Bidding Law, the specific provisions on bid security are as follows:

“2. Bid security is applied in the following cases here:

a) Open bidding, restricted bidding, competitive bidding for packages of non-consulting services, procurement of goods, construction and mixed packages;

b) Open bidding, limited bidding for investor selection fourth.

...

4. Based on the scale and nature of each project, business investment project, specific bidding package, the bid security level in bid documents is specified as follows:

a) From 1% to 1.5% of the bid package price applies to construction and mixed packages with a bid package price not exceeding 20 billion VND, and procurement packages for goods and non-consulting services with a bid package price not exceeding 10 billion VND;

b) From 1.5% to 3% of the bid package price applies to bid packages not falling under the cases specified in point a of this clause;

c) From 0.5% to 1.5% of the total investment capital of the business investment project applied to the investor selection.”

Construction package. Based on the scale and nature of the construction package, the bid security amount in the tender documents is determined as follows:

• From 1% to 1.5% of the bid package value applies to construction packages with a bid package value not exceeding 20 billion VND.
• From 1.5% to 3% of the bid package price applies to bid packages not falling under the cases specified in point a, clause 4, Article 14 of the 2023 Bidding Law.
• From 0.5% to 1.5% of the total investment capital of the business investment project applied to the investor selection.

Question 13: Will the bid security be refunded if the procuring entity requests clarification of the bid documents but the bidder intentionally fails to provide supporting documents?

Reply: According to point a, clause 9, Article 1 of Law No. 90/2025/QH15, the regulations on bid security are as follows:

“b) The contractor or investor commits acts that violate the provisions of Article 16 of this Law or violate the law on bidding leading to the cancellation of the bid;”

Reference to point c, clause 3, Article 16 of the Bidding Law 2023 stipulates as follows:

“c) Contractors and investors with capacity and experience who participated in the bidding and met the requirements of the tender documents but intentionally failed to provide documents to prove competence and experiencewhen requested by the bidding party to clarify the bid documents or when requested to compare documents in order to facilitate one party winning the bid.”

Thus, the bid security will not be refunded when a contractor with the capacity and experience who has participated in the bidding and met the requirements of the tender documents intentionally fails to provide documents to prove their capacity and experience when requested by the tendering party to clarify the tender documents or when requested to compare documents in order to create conditions for another party to win the bid.

Question 14: Is the bid security requirement applicable to joint venture bidders?

Reply: According to Clause 7, Article 14 of the 2023 Bidding Law, there are provisions as follows:

“7. Case consortium participating in the tender, each member of the consortium may provide a separate bid guarantee or agree to one Each member is responsible for providing bid security for themselves and for other members in the consortium. The total value of the bid security shall not be less than the value required in the tender documents. If any member of the consortium violates the provisions of Clause 9 of this Article, the bid security of all members in the consortium shall not be refunded.”

Thus, in this case, the members of the joint venture contractor can provide bid security individually or agree that one member will be responsible for providing bid security for that member and the remaining members in the joint venture.

Question 15: Is a bid guarantee not issued by a bank appropriate?

Reply: Pursuant to point d, clause 2, Article 26 Decree 214/2025/ND-CP has the following provisions:

“d) Yes bid guarantee with value, validity period and beneficiary unit meeting the requirements of the invitation documents Bid security. In cases where bid security is required in the form of a guarantee letter or insurance certificate, the guarantee letter or insurance certificate must not violate any of the following: having a lower value or a shorter validity period than required by the tender documents, incorrect beneficiary name, lack of valid signature, signed before the tender documents are issued, or containing conditions detrimental to the investor. The guarantee letter or insurance certificate must be signed and stamped (if any) by the legal representative of a domestic credit institution or a branch of a foreign bank established under Vietnamese law, a domestic non-life insurance company, or a branch of a foreign non-life insurance company established under Vietnamese law. For insurance packages, bidders are not allowed to present insurance certificates issued by themselves. For pre-bidding packages as stipulated in Article 42 of the Law on Bidding, bidders are not required to provide bid security. bid but must commit within bid form about responsibility for participating in bidding;”

Thus, according to current regulations, bid security does not necessarily have to be issued by a bank. In addition to a guarantee letter from a credit institution or a branch of a foreign bank established under Vietnamese law, the contractor may also use a guarantee insurance certificate issued by a legally licensed non-life insurance company to secure the bid, provided it fully meets the requirements of the tender documents and legal regulations.

Question 16: In which cases is a bid guarantee considered invalid?

Reply: The bid guarantee is invalid when it falls into one of the following 6 cases:

• Has a value lower than required in the tender notice;
• The validity period is shorter than required in the tender documents;
• Incorrect beneficiary name. The beneficiary name here is the name of the bidding party (please note that it is the bidding party, not the investor).       
• No valid signature;  
• Sign before investor/bidder issues bidding documents;   
• Contains conditions that are disadvantageous to the Investor/Tenderer (including failure to fulfill commitments according to the template).

Question 17: If a contractor fails to negotiate successfully, will their bid security be returned?

Reply: In case negotiations are unsuccessful, the bidder will be refunded the bid security.

Question 18: Is a bid security required for open bidding for a consulting package to prepare an economic-technical report for a construction investment project?

Reply: Based on point a, clause 2 and clause 3, Article 14 of the 2023 Bidding Law, the following is stipulated:

“2. Bid security is applied in the following cases here:

a) Open bidding, restricted bidding, competitive bidding for non-consulting service packages, goods procurement, construction and mixed packages;

b) Open bidding, limited bidding for investor selection fourth.

Thus, for Consulting service packagePreparation of economic and technical reports for construction investment projects within the scope of the Law on Bidding does not require contractors to provide bid security as stipulated above.

Question 19: Bid guarantees are implemented in the following forms which?

Reply: Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 14 of the 2023 Bidding Law, there are specific provisions as follows: 

“1. Contractors and investors must implement one of the following measures to ensure their bidding responsibilities within the time specified in the tender documents:

a) Deposit;

b) Submit letter of guarantee of domestic credit institutions, branches of foreign banks established under Vietnamese law;

c) Submit a guarantee insurance certificate from a domestic non-life insurance company or a branch of a foreign non-life insurance company established under Vietnamese law.”

Question 20: In what cases are bid guarantees applied?

Reply: According to Clause 2, Article 14 of the 2023 Bidding Law, there are provisions regarding the cases where bid security can be applied, specifically:

“2. Bid security is applied in the following cases here:

a) Open bidding, limited bidding, Competitive bidding for non-consulting service packages, goods procurement, construction and mixed packages;

b) Open bidding, limited bidding for investor selection fourth.”

Above are the TOP 10 remaining questions in TOP 20 questions related to bid security that DauThau.info wants to send to Dear businesses, in order to support a more effective process of understanding and participating in bidding.

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