Decree No. 94 of the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China -- Measures

The Measures for Questioning and Complaining about Government Procurement have been reviewed and approved by the Office of the Minister of Finance. It is hereby promulgated and shall come into force as of March 1, 2018.

　　Minister Xiao Jie

　　December 26, 2017

Measures for questioning and complaining about government procurement

Chapter I General provisions

Article 1 These Measures are formulated in accordance with the Government Procurement Law of the People's Republic of China, the Regulations on the Implementation of the Government Procurement Law of the People's Republic of China and other relevant laws and regulations in order to regulate the conduct of questioning and complaining about government procurement and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the parties participating in government procurement activities.

Article 2 These Measures shall apply to the raising and answering of government procurement questions and the filing and handling of complaints.

Article 3 Government procurement suppliers (hereinafter referred to as suppliers) shall adhere to the principle of honesty and credit in accordance with the law when raising questions and complaints.

Article 4 The government procurement question response and complaint handling shall adhere to the principles of law and regulations, equality of powers and responsibilities, fairness and justice, simplicity and efficiency.

Article 5 The Purchaser shall be responsible for the supplier's response to the question. Where the purchaser entrusts a purchasing agency to purchase, the purchasing agency shall make a reply within the scope of authorization.

The financial departments of the people's governments at or above the county level (hereinafter referred to as the financial departments) shall be responsible for handling complaints from suppliers according to law.

Article 6 The supplier's complaint shall be handled by the financial department at the same level according to the budget level of the purchaser.

Complaints about cross-regional joint procurement projects, where the purchaser belongs to the same budget level, shall be handled by the financial department agreed in advance of the procurement document; if not agreed in advance, the financial department that first received the complaint shall be handled; If the purchaser belongs to a different budget level, the financial department with the highest budget level shall be responsible for handling it.

Article 7 The purchaser and the procurement agency shall specify in the procurement documents the way to receive the letter of challenge, the contact department, the contact telephone number and the correspondence address and other information.

Financial departments at or above the county level shall publish information such as the way of accepting complaints, contact departments, contact telephone numbers and correspondence addresses in the government procurement information release media designated by financial departments at or above the provincial level.

Article 8 Suppliers may entrust agents to question and complain. The power of attorney shall state the name of the agent, the agency matters, the specific authority, the time limit and related matters. If the supplier is a natural person, it shall be signed by himself; If the supplier is a legal person or other organization, it shall be signed or sealed by the legal representative or the principal person in charge, and the official seal shall be affixed.

To raise questions and complaints, the agent shall submit a power of attorney signed by the supplier.

Article 9 In the form of a consortium to participate in government procurement activities, the complaint shall be jointly submitted by all the suppliers of the consortium.

Chapter Two: Question raising and reply

Article 10 Where a supplier considers that its rights and interests have been harmed by the procurement documents, the procurement process, the winning bid or the result of the transaction, it may, within 7 working days from the date of knowing or should have known that its rights and interests have been harmed, raise a question in writing to the purchaser or purchasing agency.

The procurement document may require the supplier to raise a challenge to the same part of the procurement procedure all at once within the statutory challenge period.

Article 11 The challenged supplier (hereinafter referred to as the challenged supplier) shall be the supplier involved in the procurement activities of the challenged project.

Where a potential supplier has obtained a procurement document that it can challenge in accordance with the law, it may challenge the document. Where a question is raised about the procurement document, it shall be raised within 7 working days from the date of obtaining the procurement document or the expiry of the time limit for the announcement of the procurement document.

Article 12 The supplier shall submit a letter of challenge and necessary supporting materials. The letter of challenge shall include the following:

(1) the supplier's name, address, postal code, contact person and telephone number;

(2) Questioning the name and number of the project;

(3) specific and clear questions and requests related to questions;

(4) factual basis;

(5) necessary legal basis;

(6) The date on which the challenge was raised.

If the supplier is a natural person, it shall be signed by himself; If the supplier is a legal person or other organization, it shall be signed or sealed by the legal representative, the principal responsible person or its authorized representative, and the official seal shall be affixed.

Article 13 The purchaser and the procurement agency shall not refuse to accept the challenge letter issued by the challenging supplier within the statutory challenge period, and shall reply within 7 working days after receiving the challenge letter, and notify the challenging supplier and other relevant suppliers in writing.

Article 14 Where the supplier raises questions about the evaluation process, the winning bid or the result of the transaction, the purchaser or the procurement agency may organize the original bid evaluation committee, competitive negotiation group, inquiry group or competitive consultation group to assist in answering the questions.

Article 15 A response to a challenge shall include the following:

(1) Questioning the name or name of the supplier;

(2) the date of receipt of the letter of challenge, the name and number of the project in question;

(3) the question, the specific content, factual basis and legal basis of the question reply;

(4) Inform the supplier of the right to complain according to law;

(5) Questioning the name of the respondent;

(6) The date of reply to the question.

The content of the reply shall not involve commercial secrets.

Article 16 Where the purchaser or procurement agency considers that the supplier's doubt is not established, or established but has not affected the winning bid or the result of the transaction, it shall continue to carry out procurement activities; If it is believed that the supplier's challenge is established and affects or may affect the winning bid or the transaction result, it shall be handled in accordance with the following circumstances:

(1) If the procurement documents are questioned, the procurement activities can be continued through clarification or modification according to law, and the procurement activities can be continued after clarification or modification of the procurement documents; Otherwise, the procurement documents shall be revised and the procurement activities shall be resumed.

(2) The procurement process, winning the bid or the result of the transaction raised doubts, qualified suppliers meet the legal number, can be selected from the qualified candidates for the bid or transaction suppliers, shall be determined separately according to law; Otherwise, procurement activities should be resumed.

If the response to the question leads to a change in the winning bid or the result of the transaction, the purchaser or purchasing agency shall report the relevant information in writing to the financial department at the same level.

Chapter III Filing of complaints

Article 17 Where the supplier is not satisfied with the reply of the purchaser or the procurement agency, or the purchaser or the procurement agency fails to make a reply within the prescribed time, it may file a complaint with the financial department as provided for in Article 6 of these Measures within 15 working days after the reply expires.

Article 18 When lodging a complaint, the complainant shall submit the complaint and necessary supporting materials, and provide copies of the complaint according to the number of the purchaser complained of, the procurement agency (hereinafter referred to as the respondent) and the suppliers related to the complaint. The complaint shall include the following contents:

(1) the name, correspondence address, postal code, contact person and telephone number of the complainant and the respondent;

(2) the statement of the question and the reply to the question and the relevant supporting materials;

(3) specific and clear complaints and complaints related to the complaints;

(4) factual basis;

(5) legal basis;

(6) The date on which the complaint was filed.

If the complainant is a natural person, it shall be signed by himself; If the complainant is a legal person or any other organization, it shall be signed or sealed by its legal representative, principal responsible person or authorized representative, and the official seal shall be affixed.

Article 19 The complainant shall file a complaint in accordance with the information content specified in Article 7, paragraph 2, of these Measures and in the manner specified therein.

The complainant shall meet the following conditions when filing a complaint:

(1) the complaint has been questioned in accordance with the law before it is filed;

(2) the content of the complaint complies with the provisions of these Measures;

(3) Filing a complaint within the validity period of the complaint;

(4) the same complaint has not been handled by the financial department;

(5) other conditions stipulated by the Ministry of Finance.

Article 20 The matter complained by the supplier shall not exceed the scope of the matter questioned, except the matter complained based on the content of the reply to the question.

Chapter IV Complaint handling

Article 21 After receiving the complaint, the financial department shall review it within 5 working days, and handle it in accordance with the following circumstances:

(1) If the content of the complaint does not meet the provisions of Article 18 of these Measures, it shall notify the complainant in writing within 5 working days after receiving the complaint. The notice of correction shall specify the matters requiring correction and a reasonable time limit for correction. Those who fail to make corrections within the time limit or still fail to comply with the provisions after making corrections shall not be accepted.

(2) If the complaint does not meet the conditions specified in Article 19 of these Measures, the complainant shall be informed in writing within 3 working days of the rejection, and explain the reasons.

(3) If the complaint does not belong to the jurisdiction of the department, the complainant shall be informed in writing within 3 working days to file a complaint with the department with jurisdiction.

(4) If the complaint meets the provisions of Article 18 and Article 19 of these Measures, it shall be accepted from the date of receipt of the complaint, and within 8 working days after receipt of the complaint, a complaint reply notice and a copy of the complaint shall be issued to the complainee and other parties related to the complaint.