Decree No. 32/2019/ND-CP on Assignment, Ordering or Bidding for Provision of Public Products and Services Funded by Recurrent State Budget

Issuance, legal basis and effect

Decree No. 32/2019/ND-CP was issued by the Government on 10 April 2019 in Hanoi, on the proposal of the Minister of Finance, principally on the basis of the Law on State Budget 2015, the Law on Bidding 2013 and the Law on Price 2012. Under Article 30, the Decree takes effect from 01 June 2019 and applies from the 2019 budget year. It provides transitional handling for public-career services and public-utility products and services using state budget that were assigned, ordered or tendered before that date, and amends/supersedes the prior regime on autonomy of public non-business units under Decree No. 16/2015/ND-CP dated 14 February 2015 (in particular Article 22) to the extent inconsistent with this Decree.

Scope and subjects of application

The Decree regulates assignment, ordering or tendering for provision of public products and services using state budget from recurrent expenditure. It distinguishes two groups: public-career services (dich vu su nghiep cong) and public-utility products and services (san pham, dich vu cong ich). Its subjects of application include ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Government-attached agencies (collectively referred to as ministries), other central agencies, People's Committees at all levels, public non-business units, other providers of public-career services, and producers/suppliers of public-utility products and services that use recurrent state budget.

List, funding source and method selection

Funding is from recurrent state budget cost estimates allocated to managing agencies. A list of public products and services funded by the state budget from recurrent expenditure is promulgated and periodically updated. The competent authority decides the method of provision under Article 7 and the Prime Minister's decision: assignment is applied where the service is on the list and only a public non-business unit can provide it under prescribed conditions; ordering is applied where economic-technical norms and unit price/price or subsidy levels exist and a capable provider is designated; otherwise bidding (open or limited bidding under the Law on Bidding) is applied. Article 8 provides for methods and competence to decide price, unit price and subsidy levels.

Conditions, contracts and budget implementation

Articles 9 to 21 set detailed conditions and procedures for each method. Assignment and ordering of public-career services require an approved cost estimate, satisfaction of capacity conditions, and an assignment decision or ordering contract; ordering of public-utility products and services similarly requires norms, prices and a contract. Contracts must specify name and volume of services/products, quality, price/unit price, duration, adjustment, acceptance and payment. Bidding complies with the Law on Bidding. Articles 22 to 25 govern formulation, allocation, execution and final settlement of cost estimates: estimates are included in annual budgets of managing agencies, allocated and assigned to providers, paid by the State Treasury on the basis of approved estimates, contracts/decisions and acceptance, and finally settled by the provider and the managing agency in accordance with the Law on State Budget.

Responsibilities, monitoring and transition

Articles 26 to 28 allocate responsibilities: ministries and central agencies and provincial-level People's Committees promulgate or amend lists, norms, unit prices and prices for products and services under their management; public non-business units and other providers/suppliers perform contracts, ensure quality and make settlement; managing ministries, central agencies and People's Committees organize inspection and monitoring of implementation. Article 29 provides transitional provisions for ongoing assignment, ordering or bidding contracts concluded before the effective date, which continue to be performed until expiry or as otherwise decided by the competent authority.