CIRCULAR

Guidelines for categorizing and evaluating cooperatives

Based on the Law on Cooperatives number 23/2012/QH13 dated November 20, 2012;

Based on the Law on Legislative Acts of the State number 80/2015/QH13 dated June 22, 2015;

Based on the Law on Credit Organizations number 47/2010/QH12 dated June 16, 2010 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Credit Organizations number 17/2017/QH14 dated November 20, 2017;

On the basis of Decree number 193/2013/NĐ-CP dated December/11/2013 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Cooperatives and Decree number 107/2017/NĐ-CP dated November/9/2017 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree number 193/2013/NĐ-CP dated December/11/2013;

Article 1. Scope

At the proposal of the Director of the Cooperative Development Department;

The Minister of Planning and Investment issues this Circular guiding the categorization and evaluation of cooperatives.

Chapter 1.GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.Scope of regulation and applicable subjects

Thông tư này quy định chi tiết khoản 4 Điều 38 Luật Thủy sản số 18/2017/QH14 đã được sửa đổi, bổ sung tại điểm c khoản 21 Điều 14 Luật số 146/2025/QH15.

This Circular guides the categorization and evaluation of cooperatives and cooperative unions (hereinafter referred to collectively as cooperatives) operating in all sectors and fields of the economy.

Thông tư này áp dụng đối với tổ chức, cá nhân có liên quan đến hoạt động kinh doanh đối tượng thủy sản nuôi chủ lực trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam.

a) Cooperatives established and operated according to the Law on Cooperatives number 23/2012/QH13 adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on November 20, 2012.

b) Organizations and individuals related to the establishment, organization, operation, and termination of cooperatives.

c) For People's Credit Funds and Cooperative Banks, the evaluation shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam.

Article 2.Principles of categorizing and evaluating cooperatives

1. Accurately reflecting the nature of cooperatives as stipulated in the Law on Cooperatives;

2. Consistent with the characteristics of the industry and field of business activities; Reflecting accurately the main activities of the operating cooperatives;

3. Specific and clear criteria.

Chapter 2.CATEGORIZATION OF COOPERATIVES

Article 3.Categorizing cooperatives based on products and services provided to members

Based on the products and services provided to members, cooperatives are categorized as follows:

1. Production-serving cooperatives are cooperatives established with the aim of providing input products and services, processing, and marketing output products and services for members to support their economic activities. Members are both owners and users of the products and services of the cooperative.
2. Consumption-serving cooperatives are cooperatives established with the aim of providing products and services to meet the consumption needs of members. Members are both owners and consumers of the products and services of the cooperative.
3. Employment-creating cooperatives are cooperatives established with the aim of creating employment opportunities for members. Members are both owners and workers within the cooperative.
4. Mixed cooperatives are cooperatives that operate towards two or more of the above objectives.

Article 4.Categorizing cooperatives based on member size

Based on the number of members, cooperatives are categorized as follows:

1. Super-small member-size cooperatives are cooperatives with fewer than 50 members;
2. Small member-size cooperatives are cooperatives with 50 to 300 members;
3. Medium member-size cooperatives are cooperatives with 300 to 1,000 members;
4. Large member-size cooperatives are cooperatives with more than 1,000 members;

Article 5.Categorizing cooperatives based on total capital

Based on total capital, cooperatives are categorized as follows:

1. Super-small capital cooperatives are cooperatives with total capital under VND 1 billion;
2. Small capital cooperatives are cooperatives with total capital from VND 1 billion to under VND 5 billion;
3. Medium capital cooperatives are cooperatives with total capital from VND 5 billion to under VND 50 billion;
4. Large capital cooperatives are cooperatives with total capital from VND 50 billion and above.

Article 6.Categorizing cooperatives based on industry

Based on the registered business industry, cooperatives are categorized according to the first-level economic sectors as defined in the Prime Minister's Decision on the issuance of the Vietnamese Economic Sector System.

Chapter 3. EVALUATION OF COOPERATIVES

Article 7.Evaluation Criteria for Cooperatives

Cooperatives are evaluated based on 15 criteria, with a maximum total score of 100 points and divided into three groups:

1. Financial criteria, with a maximum of 30 points, including 4 criteria:

1. Criterion 1: Capital of the cooperative;
2. Criterion 2: Assets of the cooperative;
3. Criterion 3: Production and business results of the cooperative in the year;
4. Criterion 4: Establishment of Funds of the cooperative.

2. Management, governance, and capacity criteria, with a maximum of 30 points, including 5 criteria:

1. Criterion 5: Compliance with laws in the organization and operation of the cooperative;
2. Criterion 6: Resolution of disputes and complaints;
3. Criterion 7: Level of management and operational staff;
4. Criterion 8:  Regime and policies for members and workers;

d) Criterion 9: Degree of application of scientific and technological progress, brand building, and value chains.

3. Member, member benefits, and community criteria, with a maximum of 40 points, including 6 criteria:

1. Criterion 10: Degree of member participation in the cooperative;
2. Criterion 11: Member benefits;
3. Criterion 12: Products and services provided by the cooperative to its members;
4. Criterion 13: Information, communication, and training work;

          d) Criterion 14: Positive impact on the community;

5. Criterion 15: Awards received by the cooperative in the year.

Article 8.Methods of Evaluation and Classification of Cooperatives

1. Annually, the Board of Directors of the cooperative organizes self-evaluation and scores the cooperative according to the criteria specified in Appendix 1 of this Circular. The Supervisory Board (or supervisor) checks the results of the self-evaluation according to the guidance model at Appendix 2.
2. Based on the self-evaluation results agreed upon by the Board of Directors and the supervisory board (supervisor), cooperatives are classified as follows:

1. Excellent: Total evaluation score from 80 to 100 points;
2. Good: Total evaluation score from 65 to under 80 points;
3. Average: Total evaluation score from 50 to under 65 points;
4. Weak: Total evaluation score under 50 points;

3. In cases where newly established cooperatives have not operated for at least 12 months or cooperatives have been inactive for more than 3 months in a year, evaluation and classification will not be conducted.

Article 9.Reporting System

1. At the latest by December 15 each year, cooperatives submit their self-scoring sheet to the cooperative registration authority according to the model in Appendix 2 along with the report on the cooperative's operations according to the model in Appendix I-19 of Circular No. 07/2019/TT-BKHĐT dated April 8, 2019, amending and supplementing certain articles of Circular No. 03/2014/TT-BKHĐT dated May 26, 2014, issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment guiding the registration of cooperatives and the reporting system on the operations of cooperatives.
2. At the latest by December 18 each year, the cooperative registration authority at the district level compiles and reports the classification and evaluation results of cooperatives in the district to the provincial cooperative registration authority.
3. At the latest by December 21 each year, the provincial cooperative registration authority compiles and reports the classification and evaluation results of cooperatives in the province to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
4. The Ministry of Planning and Investment, the provincial and district-level cooperative registration authorities compile and send the results to relevant agencies at the same level.

Chapter 4. IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 10.Effectiveness

This Circular takes effect from April 1, 2020.

Article 11.Implementation

1. In accordance with the provisions of this Circular, cooperatives, organizations, and individuals related to cooperatives shall conduct evaluations and classifications of cooperatives in line with their own needs.

2. The Minister, Heads of Ministries equivalent to ministries, agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall direct the implementation of the guidance provided in this Circular. Any difficulties arising during implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for study and appropriate amendments./.