Circular No. 09/2017/TT-BNV Amending and supplementing certain articles of Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BNV dated August 31, 2012, issued by the Minister of Home Affairs guiding the organization and operation of villages and residential wards

 CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BNV dated August 31, 2012 of the Minister of Home Affairs guiding the organization and operation of villages and residential wards

On the basis of the Ordinance on Implementation of Democracy in Communes, Wards, and Towns dated April 20, 2007;

Pursuant to the Law on Legislative Documents dated June 22, 2015;

Pursuant to the Ordinance on Implementing Democracy at Communes, Wards, and Towns dated April 20, 2007 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and Joint Resolution No. 09/2008/NQLT-CP-UBTWMTTQVN dated April 17, 2008 of the Government and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee guiding the implementation of Articles 11, 14, 16, 22, and 26 of the Ordinance on Implementing Democracy at Communes, Wards, and Towns;

Pursuant to Decree No. 34/2017/NĐ-CP dated April 3, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Home Affairs;

At the proposal of the Director of the Local Administration Department, Ministry of Home Affairs;

The Minister of Home Affairs issues this Circular amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BNV dated August 31, 2012 of the Minister of Home Affairs guiding the organization and operation of villages and residential wards.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BNV dated August 31, 2012 of the Minister of Home Affairs guiding the organization and operation of villages and residential wards

1. Clause 4 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 4. Organization of villages and residential wards

1. Each village shall have a Village Head and Deputy Village Head; each residential ward shall have a Ward Chief and Deputy Ward Chief.

2. Villages and residential wards may have clusters of households and self-management organizations in accordance with the provisions of the law.”

a) A customs declaration form for imported goods according to the information criteria specified in Model No. 01 - Declaration Form for Imported Goods attached as Appendix I to Circular No. 39/2018/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2018, issued by the Minister of Finance.

“Article 5. Activities of villages and residential wards

1. The community in villages and residential wards shall discuss and vote to decide matters within the scope of their authority as prescribed by the law on implementing democracy at communes, wards, and towns; they shall directly decide on policies and contributions for building infrastructure and public welfare facilities within the commune, village, or residential ward, funded entirely or partially by the people, and other self-management activities within the community in accordance with the law; participate in discussing and deciding on matters concerning the village, residential ward, and commune as prescribed by the law; comply with and implement decisions that have taken effect. Participate in drafting and implementing village and residential ward covenants and regulations to ensure full democratic participation, transparency, and openness in village and residential ward activities; participate in self-management to maintain security, public order, social safety, and environmental hygiene; preserve and promote good cultural traditions in the locality, and prevent social evils.

2. Comply with the Party's guidelines and policies and laws of the State according to the rights and obligations of citizens; implement the leadership of the village or residential ward party branch; participate in and respond to mass movements and campaigns initiated by the Vietnam Fatherland Front and political-social organizations.

3. Elect, appoint, and remove Village Heads and Ward Chiefs. Participate in the election and removal of members of the People's Supervisory Board and Community Investment Oversight Board at the commune and ward level as prescribed by law.

4. The activities of villages and residential wards as stipulated in this Article shall be carried out through village and residential ward meetings.”

3. Article 7 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 7. Conditions for establishing new villages and residential wards

The establishment of new villages and residential wards must meet the following conditions:

1. Conditions:

a) Household size:

- For villages: In the northern delta, central region, and Central Highlands, there must be at least 400 households; in the southern region, there must be at least 500 households; in mountainous and island areas, there must be at least 200 households;

- For residential wards: in the delta area, there must be at least 500 households; in mountainous and island areas, there must be at least 300 households.

b) Other conditions:

Villages and residential wards need to have essential socio-economic infrastructure suitable to the actual conditions of the locality to serve community activities and ensure a stable life for residents.

2. For special cases:

a) In border areas, on isolated islands far from the mainland, where new clusters of households are formed for border protection purposes, the conditions and scale of household numbers may be lower than the general provisions mentioned above.

b) For villages and residential wards that have been established for a long time due to encroachment, migration, or free migration (if any), it is necessary to transfer management between commune administrative units to facilitate community activities and living without changing the administrative boundaries of the commune, then the conditions, procedures, formalities, and documents shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions for establishing and dissolving villages and residential wards; if they do not meet the scale stipulated in this Circular, the merging of clusters of households shall be carried out in accordance with Article 9 of Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BNV dated August 31, 2012 mentioned above of the Minister of Home Affairs.”

4. Supplement Article 7a following Article 7 as follows:

“Article 7a. Conditions for merging, dissolution, and classification of villages and residential wards

1. The organization shall implement the merger of small villages and residential wards to establish new villages and residential wards in accordance with the conditions stipulated in Clause 3, Article 1 of this Circular; at the same time, the merger must ensure other factors such as: Not changing the administrative boundaries of the commune; the villages and residential wards being merged are adjacent to each other, the terrain is not complexly divided, facilitating economic and social development, production, business operations, and stabilizing the lives of residents; more than 50% of voters or household representatives of the related villages and residential wards agree, ensuring the effectiveness of grassroots administration's population management work and the activities of the new village and residential ward. The method of soliciting voter opinions or household representative opinions is carried out according to the provisions of Article 14 of the Ordinance on Implementing Democracy in Communes, Towns, and Urban Districts dated April 20, 2007, of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of the Eleventh Session.

2. In cases where villages and residential wards are dissolved for land clearance or due to population resettlement and stabilization, or other cases decided by competent authorities, the relocation of residents, resettlement of the population, and resolution of related issues shall be implemented according to the Compensation and Resettlement Plan of the Project under land recovery cases or the Population Resettlement Scheme already approved by competent authorities.

3. Regarding the classification of villages and residential wards: Based on the provisions of Clause 3, Article 1 of this Circular, the People's Committee of the province shall establish criteria for classifying villages and residential wards to enhance the effectiveness of population management and implement appropriate policies in line with local realities.

5. Supplement Article 8a following Article 8 as follows:

“Article 8a. Procedures and documents for merging, dividing, dissolving, and naming, renaming, and deleting village and residential ward names

1. The procedures and documents for merging and dividing existing villages and residential wards to establish new villages and residential wards shall be implemented as prescribed in Article 8 of Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BNV dated August 31, 2012, of the Minister of Home Affairs guiding the organization and operation of villages and residential wards (establishment of new villages and residential wards based on the merger and division of existing villages and residential wards).

2. Converting villages into residential wards when establishing towns or townships from commune-level administrative units:

Based on the Resolution of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly regarding the establishment of towns and urban districts from commune administrative units, the People's Committee of the province shall prepare a Report for the Provincial People's Council to decide on converting villages into residential wards within towns and urban districts.

3. For cases of dissolving villages and residential wards:

After implementing the Compensation and Resettlement Plan of the Project under land recovery cases or the Population Resettlement Scheme and other cases decided by competent authorities, the People's Committee of the province shall prepare a Report accompanied by a List of related villages and residential wards to submit to the Provincial People's Council for decision on dissolution and deletion according to the law.

4. Naming and renaming villages and residential wards:

a) Naming villages and residential wards is carried out during the process of preparing the documents for establishing new villages and residential wards.

b) Renaming villages and residential wards shall be carried out in the following steps:

- The People's Committee of the commune shall prepare a dossier including: A Report and a Renaming Plan for the village and residential ward; soliciting opinions from all voters or household representatives in the village and residential ward on the renaming plan according to the provisions of Article 14 of the Ordinance on Implementing Democracy in Communes, Towns, and Urban Districts dated April 20, 2007, of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of the Eleventh Session;

- The People's Committee of the commune shall submit the Renaming Plan for the village and residential ward to the same-level People's Council for approval; based on that, it shall submit to the People's Committee of the district;

- The People's Committee of the district shall organize the review of the renaming dossier submitted by the commune People's Committee; prepare a report along with the dossier to send to the Department of Home Affairs for review and submit to the People's Committee of the province for consideration and submission to the Provincial People's Council for decision according to Clause 2, Article 19 of the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated June 19, 2015, of the Thirteenth National Assembly.

6. Article 10 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 10. Duties and powers of the Village Head and Ward Head

1. Duties:

a) Convening and chairing village and ward meetings; organizing the implementation of tasks within the village and ward that have been discussed and decided by the people; ensuring the activities of the village and ward in accordance with Clause 2, Article 1 of this Circular. Mobilizing and organizing the people to implement grassroots democracy and village regulations and conventions approved by competent authorities. Collecting, reflecting, and proposing to the commune-level authority to resolve legitimate petitions and aspirations of the people in the village and ward. Reporting promptly to the Commune People's Committee on violations of the law in the village and ward. Recording the results of direct decisions made by the village and ward people on village and ward matters; recording the results of discussions and voting on matters within the scope of the commune by the village and ward people; reporting the results to the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee.

b) Cooperating with the Mass Organization Work Board and political-social organizations in the village and ward to mobilize the people to participate in movements and campaigns initiated by these organizations.

c) Must report work results to the village and ward meetings at the mid-year and year-end.

2. Authorities:

a) Entitled to sign contracts for construction projects funded by contributions from villagers, which have been approved by the village meeting and comply with relevant regulations of all levels of authority.

b) Assigned tasks and powers to resolve matters of the Deputy Village Head and Deputy Ward Head; invited by the commune-level authority to attend meetings and provided with information and documents related to the management and operation of the village and ward; trained and instructed on the organization and operation of the village and ward.

7. Article 12 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 12. Procedures for electing, appointing, and dismissing Village Heads, Ward Heads, Deputy Village Heads, and Deputy Ward Heads

1. Procedures for electing, appointing, and removing the Village Head and Ward People's Group Head:

a) Based on consensus with the Branch Party Committee, the Mass Organization Work Board of the village and ward nominates a list for the village and ward meeting to elect the Village Head and Ward Head; at this meeting, voters may self-nominate or introduce candidates. Based on the election results, the Commune People's Committee decides to recognize the Village Head and Ward Head. The time for holding the election shall be implemented according to the regulations of the Provincial People's Committee.

b) The procedures for electing, appointing, and dismissing Village Heads and Ward Heads shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Section 2, Chapter 2 of the Joint Resolution No. 09/2008/NQLT-CP-UBTWMTTQVN dated April 17, 2008, of the Government and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front guiding the implementation of Articles 11, 14, 16, 22, and 26 of the Ordinance on Implementing Democracy at Communes, Wards, and Towns.

2. The election or appointment, dismissal of Deputy Village Heads and Deputy Ward Heads shall be regulated and guided by the Provincial People's Committee to ensure compliance with current laws.

3. Term of office of Village Heads, Ward Heads, Deputy Village Heads, and Deputy Ward Heads:

a) The term of office of Village Heads and Ward Heads is two and a half years or five years, as specified by the Provincial People's Committee, consistent with specific conditions in the locality. In cases of newly established villages or wards, or where there is a vacancy in the position of Village Head or Ward Head, the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee decides to appoint an interim Village Head or Ward Head to manage the operations of the village or ward until the villagers or household representatives elect a new Village Head or Ward Head within six months from the date of the decision to appoint an interim Village Head or Ward Head.

b) The term of office of Deputy Village Heads and Deputy Ward Heads shall be in line with the term of office of Village Heads and Ward Heads.

8. Article 14 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

“1. The Minister, Heads of Ministries equivalent to ministries, Heads of government agencies, Chairmen of provincial People's Committees under the central government, and related agencies, units, and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

4. The Chairman of the Commune People's Committee:

a) Deciding to appoint interim Village Heads and Ward Heads in cases stipulated in Point 3, Clause 7, Article 1 of this Circular.

b) Managing and directing the activities of Village Heads and Ward Heads within their jurisdiction in accordance with this Circular and the Regulation on the organization and operation of villages and wards issued by the Provincial People's Committee.

Article 2.

This Circular abolishes Articles 4, 5, 7, 10, 12, and Clause 4, Article 14 of Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BNV dated August 31, 2012, of the Minister of Home Affairs guiding the organization and operation of villages and wards.

Article 3. Effectiveness

1. This Circular takes effect from March 1, 2018.

2. During the implementation of this Circular, if there are any difficulties, organizations and individuals are requested to send their opinions to the Ministry of Home Affairs for study and resolution./.