Circular No. 02/2025/TT-BNNMT on the retention period for files and documents in the agriculture and environment sector

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the retention period for records and documents

in the fields of agriculture and environment

Pursuant to the Law on Archives dated June 21, 2024;

Pursuant to the Law on Dikes dated November 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Law on Biodiversity dated November 13, 2008;

Pursuant to the Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine dated November 25, 2013;

Pursuant to the Law on Prevention and Control of Natural Disasters dated June 19, 2013, amended and supplemented by Law No. 60/2020/QH14;

Pursuant to the Law on Veterinary Medicine dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Meteorology and Hydrology dated November 23, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Marine Resources, Environment, and Islands dated June 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Water Resources dated June 19, 2017;

Pursuant to the Law on Fisheries dated November 21, 2017;

Pursuant to the Forestry Law dated November 15, 2017;

Pursuant to the Law on Crop Production dated November 19, 2018;

Pursuant to the Livestock Breeding Law on November 19, 2018;

Pursuant to the Law on Surveying and Mapping dated June 14, 2018;

Pursuant to the Environmental Protection Law dated November 17, 2020;

Pursuant to the Law on Water Resources dated November 27, 2023;

Pursuant to the Land Law dated January 18, 2024, amended and supplemented by Laws No. 43/2024/QH15, No. 47/2024/QH15, and No. 58/2024/QH15;

Pursuant to the Law on Geology and Minerals dated November 29, 2024;

Pursuant to Decree No. 35/2025/NĐ-CP dated February 25, 2025 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

At the proposal of the Director of the Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development issues this Circular stipulating the retention period for records and documents in the fields of agriculture and environment.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Article 1. This Circular stipulates the retention period for records and documents in the fields of agriculture and environment as provided for in Clause 5, Article 15 of the Law on Archives.

Article 2. This Circular applies to units under and affiliated with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development of provinces and centrally-administered cities, agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the implementation of regulations on the retention period for records and documents in the fields of agriculture and environment (hereinafter referred to as agencies and organizations).

Article 3. Application of provisions on the retention period for records and documents

Clause 1. The retention period for records and documents is the necessary time required to store records and documents formed during the operation of agencies and organizations.

Clause 2. The retention period for determining the value of records and documents (including paper records and electronic records) shall not be lower than the retention period prescribed in this Circular.

Clause 3. For records and documents formed before the effective date of this Circular and already specified with a retention period in other regulatory documents, they shall continue to be implemented according to those regulatory documents.

In cases where the retention period for records and documents has not been specifically defined, agencies and organizations shall base their determination on the Law on Archives and the corresponding record and document groups in this Circular.

Article 4. Groups of records and documents and the retention period for records and documents in the fields of agriculture and environment

Clause 1. The groups of records and documents in the fields of agriculture and environment include:

Group 1. General records and documents.

Group 2. Records and documents on crop production and plant protection.

Group 3. Records and documents on animal husbandry and veterinary medicine.

Group 4. Records and documents on fisheries and fishery inspection.

Group 5. Records and documents on forestry and forest protection.

Group 6. Records and documents on water resources management and construction of irrigation works.

Group 7. Records and documents on dike management and natural disaster prevention and control.

Group 8. Records and documents on cooperative economy and rural development.

Group 9. Records and documents on food quality and safety, processing, and market development.

Group 10. Records and documents on poverty reduction and new rural area construction.

Group 11. Records and documents on land management.

Group 12. Records and documents on water resource management.

Group 13. Records and documents on geology and mineral resources.

Group 14. Records and documents on the environment.

Group 15. Records and documents on climate change.

Group 16. Records and documents on meteorology and hydrology.

Group 17. Records and documents on surveying, mapping, and geographic information.

Group 18. Records and documents on remote sensing.

Group 19. Records and documents on the sea and islands.

Clause 2. The groups of records and documents and the retention period for records and documents in the fields of agriculture and environment are detailed in the Appendix attached to this Circular.

Article 4. Effective date

Article 32. Responsibilities of Agencies

Article 5. This Circular abolishes Article 13 of the Technical Regulations and Economic-Technical Norms on the Work of Collecting, Storing, Preserving, and Providing Information and Data on Natural Resources and the Environment issued together with Circular No. 03/2022/TT-BTNMT dated February 28, 2022 by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

State-owned enterprises that have been assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to conduct offshore wind power project surveys before the effective date of this Circular shall continue to implement according to the assigned documents; any new matters arising after the effective date of this Circular shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

Article 6. The Director of the Ministry's Office, heads of agencies and organizations as stipulated in Article 1 shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular.

Article 7. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, agencies, organizations, and individuals are advised to report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for timely amendments and supplements./.