Circular No. 01/2013/TT-BNNPTNT amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 14/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated March 29, 2011 on inspection and evaluation of agricultural material production and business establishments and forest, fishery products, and replacing some forms issued pursuant to Circular No. 53/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated August 2, 2011 amending and supplementing Circular No. 14/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated March 29, 2011.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 14/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated March 29, 2011 on the inspection and evaluation of agricultural production and business facilities and forest and aquatic products, and replacing some forms issued together with Circular No. 53/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated August 2, 2011
Amending and supplementing Circular No. 14/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated March 29, 2011

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Pursuant to Decree No. 01/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; Decree No. 75/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 10, 2009 of the Government amending Article 3 of Decree No. 01/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2008 of the Government;

Pursuant to the Food Safety Law 2010 and Decree No. 38/2012/NĐ-CP dated April 25, 2012 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Food Safety Law;

Pursuant to the Product Quality Law 2007 and Decree No. 132/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2008 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Product Quality Law;

Pursuant to the Standardization and Technical Regulation Law 2006 and Decree No. 127/2007/NĐ-CP dated August 1, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Standardization and Technical Regulation Law;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Quality Management of Agricultural, Forestry, and Aquatic Products,

amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 22/2019/TT-BNNPTNT dated November 30, 2019 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development guiding certain provisions of the Livestock Law on the management of breeds and breeding products of livestock. Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 14/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated March 29, 2011 on the inspection and evaluation of agricultural production and business facilities and forest and aquatic products, and replacing some forms issued together with Circular No. 53/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated August 2, 2011, amending and supplementing Circular No. 14/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated March 29, 2011.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some Articles of Circular No. 14/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated March 29, 2011 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the inspection and evaluation of agricultural production and business facilities and forest and aquatic products (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 14/2011/TT-BNNPTNT) as follows:

1. Amending Point b, Point c Clause 4 Article 13 as follows:

"b) In case of regular or surprise inspections

- For facilities classified as Category B: Notify the facility about its classification and the frequency of future inspections;

- For facilities classified as Category C: Notify the facility that it does not meet the conditions and require specific measures for improvement from the facility that has not met the criteria (Category C) for the inspected product group. Depending on the severity of the violations, the inspection authority may propose administrative penalties according to regulations, while deciding on a deadline for rectification and organizing a re-inspection. If the facility fails to rectify, the inspection authority will revoke the Certificate of Food Safety Conditions issued to the facility and notify the competent authority to request the revocation of the business registration certificate of the facility.

c) Issuing the Certificate of Food Safety Conditions to facilities producing and trading forest and aquatic products classified as Category A or B according to Article 13a of this Circular."

2. Supplementing Article 13a as follows:

"Article 13a. Procedures and formalities for issuing, revoking, and reissuing the Certificate of Food Safety Conditions in the production and trade of forest and aquatic food products (hereinafter referred to as the Food Safety Certificate)

food of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic origin (hereinafter referred to as the Food Safety Certificate)

1. The authority issuing the Food Safety Certificate:

The agency assigned the task of inspecting, evaluating, and classifying facilities producing and trading forest and aquatic food products according to Article 5 of Circular No. 14/2011/TT-BNNPTNT has the authority to issue the Food Safety Certificate.

2. The Food Safety Certificate is valid for three years from the date of issuance. The model of the Food Safety Certificate is specified in Appendix 1 attached to this Circular.

3. Documents required for applying for the Food Safety Certificate include:

a) Application form for the Food Safety Certificate according to the model at Appendix 2 attached to this Circular;

b) Copy of the Business Registration Certificate or Investment Certificate with the business scope of producing and trading food products or establishment decision;

c) Description of the facility's infrastructure, equipment, and tools ensuring food safety conditions according to Appendix 3 attached to this Circular;

d) List of facility owners and persons directly involved in producing and trading food products who have been trained in food safety knowledge by relevant quality and food safety management agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, confirmed by the facility;

đ) List of facility owners and persons directly involved in producing and trading food products who have been certified as healthy by health centers at district level or higher;

e) Food Safety Certificate (for cases where there is a change or addition of information on the Food Safety Certificate).

4. Procedures for Issuing the Food Safety Certificate:

a) The facility submits one set of application documents for the Food Safety Certificate to the authority issuing the Food Safety Certificate as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 13a of this Circular. The documents can be submitted through one of the following methods: direct submission, fax, email, electronic network (followed by submission of original documents); postal service;

b) Within three working days from the date of receipt of the application documents for the Food Safety Certificate from the facility, the authority issuing the Food Safety Certificate must examine the completeness of the documents and notify the facility in writing if the documents are incomplete;

c) Within fifteen working days from the date of receiving complete documents, the authority issuing the Food Safety Certificate shall review the inspection and evaluation reports of the facility conducted by the unit, or organize on-site inspections of food safety conditions at the facility (if necessary or in cases where the facility has not yet been inspected and evaluated). If the conditions are met, issue the Food Safety Certificate. If the Food Safety Certificate is not issued, provide a written response stating the reasons.

5. Revoking the Food Safety Certificate:

a) Production and trading facilities will have their Food Safety Certificates revoked in the following circumstances:

- Facilities with regular or surprise inspection results classified as Category C but without corrective measures within six months to reach Category A or B;

- The facility does not engage in production and business activities for the registered food category;

- The facility has a decision from the competent state agency regarding the change of business operations at the old facility;

- The facility has had its Food Safety Certificate revoked according to the law on administrative penalties in the field of food safety.

b) Authority to revoke the Food Safety Certificate:

The agency that has the authority to issue the Food Safety Certificate also has the authority to revoke the Food Safety Certificate.

6. Reissue of the Food Safety Certificate:

a) Six months before the expiration date of the Food Safety Certificate, the unit submits the application dossier for reissuing the Food Safety Certificate in cases of continued production and trade.

The dossier, procedures, and formalities for reissuing the Food Safety Certificate in this case are similar to those for issuing the Food Safety Certificate as stipulated in Clause 3 and Clause 4, Article 13a of this Circular.

b) In cases where the Food Safety Certificate still has validity but is lost, damaged, misplaced, or there is a change or addition of information on the Food Safety Certificate, the facility must submit a request for reissuance of the Food Safety Certificate according to Appendix 2 to the competent authority issuing the Food Safety Certificate for consideration.

Within five (5) working days from the date of receipt of the request for reissuance of the Food Safety Certificate from the facility, the competent authority issuing the Food Safety Certificate shall review the dossier and consider and reissue the Food Safety Certificate to the facility. The validity period of the reissued Food Safety Certificate will be the same as the expiry date of the previously issued Food Safety Certificate. If reissuance is not granted, the competent authority issuing the Food Safety Certificate must issue a notification with the reasons stated.

7. The Food Safety Certificates issued to agricultural, forestry, and aquatic product production and business facilities before the effective date of this Circular shall continue to be valid until their expiry date.

8. In cases where there are specific regulations on the procedures and formalities for issuing, revoking, and reissuing Food Safety Certificates for specialized agricultural, forestry, and aquatic product facilities, such specific regulations shall apply.

Article 2. Amend, supplement, and replace some inspection and evaluation forms (annexed to Circular No. 14/2011/TT-BNNPTNT and Circular No. 53/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated August 2, 2011 amending and supplementing Circular No. 14/2011/TT-BNNPTNT) for assessing conditions ensuring quality and safety of food products in agricultural inputs and agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products according to each category specified in Appendix 4 of this Circular.

Article 3. Effectiveness

1. This Circular takes effect from February 17, 2013

2. The issuance, revocation, and reissuance of the Food Safety Certificate for facilities engaged in the production, initial processing, and processing of vegetables and fruits; production and processing of tea: shall be carried out according to the provisions of Circular No. 59/2012/TT-BNNPTNT dated November 9, 2012 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the management of safe vegetable, fruit, and tea production.

3. The issuance, revocation, and reissuance of the Food Safety Certificate for facilities engaged in the production and trade of aquatic products: shall be carried out according to the provisions of Circular No. 55/2011/TT-BNNPTNT dated August 3, 2011 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the inspection and certification of aquatic product quality and safety.