The Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications has issued Circular No. 40/2020/TT-BTTTT dated November 30, 2020, stipulating criteria for determining domestically produced information technology (IT) products and services that are prioritized for investment, lease, and procurement.
The Circular No. 40 aims to complete the legal framework on the policy of prioritizing investment, hiring, and procurement of domestically produced information technology products and services according to the tasks assigned in Article 4, Decree No. 73/2019/ND-CP dated September 5, 2019, of the Government regulating the management of investment in information technology application using state budget capital.
At the same time, the Circular also strives to promote the production and consumption of domestically produced materials and goods, contributing to the campaign “Vietnamese people give priority to using Vietnamese goods” of the Politburo.
The Circular’s change on IT products and services
The Circular No. 40 creates a market for domestically produced IT products and services, supports production and business activities of domestic enterprises, strives to gradually become independent of technology, actively design, process, create and manufacture products, take the initiative in creating new services, solutions, and business models.
The Circular also creates favorable conditions for state agencies to consult and learn information about products and services prioritized when investing, hiring, and purchasing IT products and services.
Accordingly, enterprises with IT products and services that meet the criteria of priority for investment, leasing, and procurement specified in the Circular (respectively in Articles 5,6,7,8,9) will be eligible for State agencies to give priority to investment, leasing, and procurement.
Important notes on the Circular for enterprises
To have a basis for state agencies to prioritize in the process of investing, hiring, and purchasing prioritized IT products and services, enterprises need to follow the steps specified in the Circular in Article 11.
Specifically, they will examine and self-evaluate their products and services against the criteria specified in Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 (depending on each type of hardware product, software, digital content, etc.) in the Circular. Furthermore, they need to disclose the information about priority IT products and services (which have met the criteria specified in the Circular) on their mass media or website using the form in Appendix I embedded with the Circular.

In addition, enterprises must fill in information about IT products and services and provide supporting documents as required in Appendix II of this Circular. Enterprises need to send information about their products and services to the Department of Information and Communications in the locality using the form in Appendix II attached to the above Circular (the information about priority products and services).
After the receiving and examining of the information sent by enterprises, the Department of Information and Communications will send information to the Ministry of Information and Communications.
The Ministry of Information and Communications will examine and announce the list of IT products and services prioritized for investment, hire, and procurement in state agencies according to the regulations.
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