Circular No. 11/2009/TT-BTNMT stipulates the acceptance work and review of projects and reports in the field of geology and mineral resources.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the acceptance of construction results and the review of projects and reports in the field of geology and mineral resources

MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

Pursuant to Decree No. 25/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 4, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;
Pursuant to Decree No. 160/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2005 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Minerals and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Minerals, and Decree No. 07/2009/NĐ-CP dated January 22, 2009 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 160/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2005 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Minerals and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Minerals;
Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;
Pursuant to Circular Joint No. 40/2009/TTLT-BTC-BTN&MT dated March 5, 2009 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment guiding the preparation of budget estimates, management, use, and settlement of expenses for economic public services related to tasks in the field of geology and mineral resources;
Considering the proposal of the Director of the Vietnam Geological and Mineral Resources Department,

c) Enterprises may be granted permission for no more than one block out of the total three dual-frequency blocks (FDD) B

Chapter 1.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the work of accepting construction results and reviewing projects and reports in the field of geology and mineral resources, including basic geological surveys, basic geological surveys on mineral resources, and other tasks in the field of geology and mineral resources implemented with state budget funds (hereinafter referred to collectively as geological projects).

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular shall apply to state management agencies for mineral resources; organizations conducting basic geological surveys, basic geological surveys on mineral resources, and other relevant organizations and individuals.

Article 3. Responsibilities for Accepting and Reviewing Geological Projects

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall uniformly manage the state administration of the work of accepting and reviewing geological projects; organize the implementation of the work of accepting and reviewing geological projects carried out by units under its jurisdiction; direct, guide, and inspect localities and ministries and sectors in implementing the work of accepting and reviewing geological projects.

2. The Vietnam Geological and Mineral Resources Department shall assist the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment in managing the state administration of the work of accepting and reviewing geological projects; prepare technical regulatory documents regarding inspection, acceptance, and review of geological projects to be submitted to the Minister for promulgation; directly implement the work of accepting and reviewing geological projects carried out by units under its jurisdiction.

3. People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities, ministries, and sectors shall guide and direct the implementation of the work of accepting and reviewing geological projects carried out by their respective localities, ministries, and sectors.

4. Departments of Natural Resources and Environment of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall be responsible for carrying out the work of accepting and reviewing geological projects within their managed localities.

Chapter 2.

ACCEPTANCE OF GEOLOGICAL CONSTRUCTION RESULTS

PART 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS ON THE ACCEPTANCE WORK

Article 4. Levels of Acceptance and Evaluation of Acceptance Results

1. Acceptance is divided into two levels, including basic level acceptance and management level acceptance for projects.

a) Basic level acceptance is conducted by the unit implementing the project. The results of basic level acceptance serve as the basis for organizing acceptance at the management level.

b) Management level acceptance is carried out by the agency approving the project or the agency entrusted with management (hereinafter referred to collectively as the management agency). The results of management level acceptance serve as the basis for payment and settlement of project funds.

2. Acceptance results are evaluated at three levels: satisfactory, unsatisfactory, and failed. In cases where quality requirements are met, the acceptance body confirms the quantity completed; in cases where requirements are not met, the acceptance body must clearly identify the content requirements and deadlines for supplementary completion or the proportion of work accepted; in cases where requirements are not met, the acceptance body must clearly identify the reasons, quantities to be canceled, and recommend measures for handling.

Article 5. Requirements for Acceptance Work

1. Confirmation of the accuracy, honesty, and scientific nature in collecting, processing, and summarizing original data and materials according to current procedures and regulations.

2. Confirmation of the rationality, accuracy, and economic-technical effectiveness of applied technical methods and technologies; the volume of geological works completed.

3. Confirmation of the reliability and accuracy of geological investigation results; new geological and mineral discoveries; conclusions on geological and mineral characteristics and economic-technical features of the subject under investigation.

4. Evaluation of the implementation of labor policies, financial regulations, and economic-technical norms and current unit prices.

5. Evaluation of the extent to which assigned objectives and tasks have been completed, economic-technical indicators, and the economic effectiveness of achieved results.

6. Acceptance must be based on relevant technological processes; standards; technical regulations; economic-technical norms and current unit prices related to the project.

PART 2. BASIC LEVEL ACCEPTANCE

Article 6. Basis for Conducting Basic Level Acceptance Work

1. Legal documents related to determining the objectives, tasks, plans, and budgets for the year, including: approved geological project; decision on allocating plans and budget expenditures for the year; approved budget estimates; other directive, adjustment, and supplementary documents.

2. Documents assigning construction tasks, including: task assignment forms, task assignment decisions, construction decisions.

3. Original materials, analysis results, compiled documents, maps, and explanatory reports established during project implementation according to current regulations.

4. Related files, contracts, and other vouchers; types of economic and financial ledgers and statistical forms established according to current regulations.

Article 7. Content of Basic Level Acceptance Work

1. The project implementation unit must accept 100% of the quantity and quality of each individual work item completed. Acceptance must be conducted regularly or periodically every month, quarter, or six months to promptly accept the quantity of work items completed according to the approved budget.

2. For drilling, trench, tunnel, well, and accompanying works (pumping and testing water; geophysical measurement and sampling of structures; filling structures; remedying structure failures); temporary works serving construction must be accepted immediately upon completion of construction. The on-site acceptance ratio of the aforementioned types of works shall not be less than 25% of the completed work volume.

3. Acceptance results of each individual work item and products are established according to Form No. 1/NT, No. 2/NT, and No. 3/NT attached to this Circular.

4. At the end of each acceptance period or annual acceptance, the project implementation unit must establish an acceptance result report accompanied by a summary table of accepted quantities.

5. Basic level acceptance files include: Acceptance minutes, individual work item and product acceptance forms; acceptance result report.

Article 8. Procedure, formalities for acceptance inspection and responsibility of the basic-level acceptance unit

1. Procedure and formalities:

a) The project director proposes acceptance inspection in writing;

b) Based on the written proposal for acceptance inspection from the project director, the head of the implementing unit informs the project director of the acceptance plan and organizes the acceptance inspection.

c) Depending on each item or group of items of work, at each acceptance period, the head of the implementing unit may assign suitable management and technical staff to carry out the acceptance work.

d) The head of the implementing unit, based on the results of the basic-level acceptance inspection, requests the supervisory authority to organize the supervisory-level acceptance inspection.

2. Responsibilities of the acceptance authority

The head of the implementing unit is responsible under the law and to the immediate superior supervisory authority regarding the accuracy and objectivity of the results of the basic-level acceptance inspection.

SECTION 2. SUPERVISORY ACCEPTANCE INSPECTION

Article 9. Basis for conducting supervisory-level acceptance inspection work

1. Documents, materials, and files stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular.

2. Written report on the results of geological task implementation during the acceptance period by the implementing unit. The report must be signed by the project director; signed by the head of the implementing unit and stamped according to regulations.

3. Basic-level acceptance inspection file as prescribed in Article 7, Clause 5 of this Circular.

Article 10. Content of supervisory-level acceptance inspection work

1. Review reports on the achievement of assigned objectives and tasks; reports on results and basic-level acceptance inspection files conducted by the unit.

2. Acceptance of quality of various types of work: conducting sampling inspections of some items of work. The items of work selected for sampling inspection must have typical and representative characteristics of each type of work or are key items of work. Sampling inspections must be carried out by an independent unit from the implementing project and can be conducted before convening the acceptance inspection board meeting.

3. Determination of quantities of completed items of work: based on reviewing the reports on results and basic-level acceptance inspection files, inspecting the quality of items of work through sampling, the acceptance board recognizes or does not recognize the quantities of completed items of work.

4. Determination of the appropriateness of unit prices with specific construction conditions: the board examines actual construction conditions, compares them with approved project construction conditions to determine unit prices according to specific construction conditions.

5. Determination of the value of implementation: the value of implementation recognized and proposed for payment is determined according to Joint Circular No. 40/2009/TTLT-BTC-BTN&MT dated March 5, 2009, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment guiding the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of public economic funds for tasks in the field of geology and mineral resources.

6. Establishing minutes and acceptance certificates for items of work inspected through sampling (forms No. 4/NT, No. 5/NT, and No. 6/NT); the acceptance minutes are accompanied by the Quantity Value Completion Table (forms No. 7/NT and No. 8/NT).

Article 11. Procedure, formalities for acceptance inspection and responsibility of the management-level acceptance authority

1. Procedure, formalities:

a) The head of the unit implementing the project proposes acceptance in writing

b) The head of the management agency or the head of the unit authorized to establish the Acceptance Board shall notify the implementing unit of the acceptance plan.

c) The Board conducts acceptance according to the contents stipulated in Article 10 of this Circular.

d) A meeting of the Acceptance Board is held to discuss and approve the acceptance minutes.

đ) The management-level acceptance dossier includes: Progress report on task implementation including volume and budget estimate; Decision establishing the Acceptance Board; Minutes and acceptance certificates of inspected works and products; Acceptance minutes accompanied by the Volume Value Table of accepted work.

e) The acceptance minutes accompanied by the Volume Value Table of accepted work, confirmed by the head of the management agency, serves as the basis for payment and final settlement of the project funds.

2. Responsibilities of the acceptance authority

The head of the acceptance authority is responsible under the law and to the immediate superior management agency for the accuracy and objectivity of the management-level acceptance results.

Article 12. Organization of the Management-Level Acceptance Board

1. The Management-Level Acceptance Board is established by the head of the management agency or by the head of the unit authorized to accept, as appropriate.

2. The Board consists of a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary, and a number of members with expertise in management, technology, planning, and finance relevant to the project being accepted.

3. The Management-Level Acceptance Board shall conduct acceptance work when at least two-thirds (2/3) of the members as decided in the establishment of the Board are present.

Article 13. Tasks, powers, and responsibilities of the Management-Level Acceptance Board

1. Acceptance of annual construction results of geological projects.

2. The Board has the right to request the implementing unit and the Project Manager to provide all relevant documents and files for inspection and evaluation of the quality and volume of construction of the project.

3. The Chairman of the Board is responsible for reporting to the head of the management agency the results of the acceptance period and related recommendations concerning the geological project being accepted; he is responsible under the law and to the head of the management agency for the correctness and objectivity of the acceptance results.

4. Members of the Board are responsible under the law and to the Chairman for the content of the acceptance tasks assigned to them.

Chapter 3

GEOLOGICAL PROJECT REVIEW AND REPORT

Article 14. General provisions on geological project review and report

1. Review must be based on technological procedures; standards; technical regulations; economic and technical norms, current unit prices related to the project and report; decisions assigning and approving the project by competent authorities; and documents adjusting and supplementing the volume related to the project and report submitted for review.

2. Time limit for organizing review: not exceeding twenty-five (25) working days for projects; not exceeding thirty-five (35) working days for reports from the date of receipt of complete valid documents. In cases where the project or report requires revision, the review time is calculated from the date the implementing unit resubmits the project or report.

3. The result of the project and report review is one of the bases for the competent authority to consider approval, and simultaneously serves as the management-level acceptance result for the work of preparing the geological project and report.

Article 15. Documents and materials for review

1. Texts from the implementing unit requesting project review, geological report.

2. Documents assigning tasks by competent authorities:

a) For projects: copies of the Decision to open (or assign) tasks by competent authorities and guiding documents (if any); copies of the Decision appointing the Project Leader by competent authorities.

b) For reports: copies of the Decision approving the project by competent authorities and guiding, adjusting, supplementing documents (if any).

3. Annual acceptance certificates and payment confirmations of the State Treasury (for geological reports submitted for review).

4. Projects and geological reports for review include: project statements, geological reports, drawings, appendices, and other accompanying documents as prescribed for each type of project and geological report under current regulations, accompanied by a CD containing the project content and geological report. The project statement and geological report for review must be prepared in at least two (two) identical sets in terms of content and form. Drawings, appendices, and other accompanying documents must be prepared in one (one) set.

5. Summary of projects and geological reports (three copies). The summary reflects comprehensively and concisely the main contents of the projects and reports submitted for review. The summary is one of the working documents of the Review Board and will be duplicated according to the number of Board members as decided by the competent authority.

Article 16. Procedures and formalities for review

1. Management agencies receiving projects and geological reports are responsible for checking the completeness and validity of documents and guiding units to supplement them fully as stipulated in Article 15 of this Circular.

2. Heads of management agencies instruct specialized agencies to conduct reviews of projects and geological reports. The review content is reflected in the review documents according to Form No. 9/TĐ and Form No. 10/TĐ for projects; Form No. 11/TĐ and Form No. 12/TĐ for reports, attached to this Circular.

3. Based on the review results of specialized agencies as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article and the nature of each project and geological report, heads of management agencies issue one of the following decisions:

a) Decision to approve or submit to competent authorities for approval of projects and geological reports;

b) Decision to establish a Review Board to review projects and geological reports.

4. In cases where a Review Board is organized, heads of management agencies base their approval or submission for approval to competent authorities on the Review Board's review results of projects and geological reports.

5. Specialized agencies assigned to review projects and geological reports as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article are responsible for assisting the Review Board in performing its duties, powers, and responsibilities.

6. Implementing units are responsible for providing complete and timely documents, samples, or explanations as required by specialized agencies assigned to review as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article or as required by the Review Board to serve the review process.

Article 17. Organization of the Appraisal Board

1. The Appraisal Board shall be established by the head of the management agency.

2. The Board shall consist of a Chairperson, one Vice-Chairperson, a Secretary, a number of specialized members, and experienced scientists in fields related to the project or report under appraisal.

3. Members of the implementing unit, authors, and those who implement the project or geological report under appraisal shall not participate in the Appraisal Board.

Article 18. Duties, Rights, and Responsibilities of the Appraisal Board

1. The Appraisal Board shall advise the head of the management agency on appraising projects and geological reports before submitting them for approval by competent authorities.

2. The Board has the right to request the implementing unit to provide documents or clarify issues related to the content of the project or geological report under appraisal; it may recommend necessary amendments and supplements to complete the project or report before submission for approval by competent authorities.

3. The Chairperson of the Board shall be responsible for reporting to the head of the management agency on the results of the appraisal and recommending approval or submitting the project or report for approval by competent authorities after the implementing unit has completed the project or report; the Chairperson shall be accountable under the law and to the head of the management agency regarding the results of the appraisal of projects and geological reports.

4. Board members shall be accountable under the law and to the Chairperson regarding the content of the appraisal assigned to them.

Article 19. Meeting of the Appraisal Board

1. Projects and geological reports shall be publicly appraised at the Board meeting when the following conditions are met:

a) There is a decision by the head of the management agency to establish the Appraisal Board for reviewing the project or geological report.

b) The project or geological report has complete valid files and meets the conditions stipulated in Article 15 of this Circular.

c) At least two-thirds (2/3) of the Board members are present according to the decision establishing the Board.

2. The head of the implementing unit, the Project Leader, or the Geological Report Leader must attend the appraisal meeting. In case the Project Leader or Geological Report Leader is absent, the head of the implementing unit must authorize another person to represent or directly present the project or report at the appraisal meeting.

3. The Appraisal Board shall conduct the appraisal of projects and geological reports in accordance with the general procedures and formats as follows:

a) The Project Leader or Geological Report Leader (or authorized representative) shall present the contents of the geological project for appraisal.

b) The specialized agency responsible for the appraisal shall present (in writing) the appraisal results concerning the project or geological report.

c) The Project Leader or Geological Report Leader shall explain the contents requested for clarification by the appraisal documents and answer questions from Board members for their consideration.

d) Board members shall review the project or geological report for appraisal along with related documents and prepare evaluation forms according to Form No. 13/TĐ (for projects) or Form No. 14/TĐ (for reports) attached to this Circular.

e) The Board shall draft, discuss, and approve the minutes of the appraisal of the project or geological report. The appraisal minutes shall be prepared according to Form No. 15/TĐ (for projects) and Form No. 16/TĐ (for reports) attached to this Circular.

4. The appraisal file includes: Decision to establish the Appraisal Board; appraisal documents, evaluation forms; minutes of the appraisal of the project or geological report.

Article 20. Conditions for submitting projects and reports for approval

1. Projects and geological reports that have been reviewed and supplemented or corrected in accordance with the minutes or review documents and are complete with all required files and documents as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article shall be submitted to the competent authority for approval.

2. The files and documents for submitting projects and geological reports for approval include:

a) A letter from the head of the implementing unit requesting approval of the project and geological report;

b) Minutes or review documents of the project and geological report;

c) Completed projects, geological reports, and accompanying drawings and appendices according to the minutes or review documents.

Chapter 4

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 21. Responsibility for storing acceptance and review files

1. Management agencies are responsible for organizing the storage of acceptance and review files of geological projects in accordance with the laws on archives.

2. Implementing units of geological projects are responsible for retaining acceptance and review files in the final settlement report of the geological report.

3. It is strictly prohibited to forge, alter, or lose acceptance and review files of geological projects.

Article 22. Costs of acceptance and review

1. The costs of basic-level acceptance are included in the management expenses of the unit and are structured into the unit price of geological works.

2. The costs of acceptance and review for projects and geological reports funded by the State budget are budgeted in the geological project and managed and used in accordance with current regulations.

Article 23. Effectiveness of Implementation

1. This Circular takes effect from September 25, 2009.

2. This Circular replaces the Regulation on Acceptance, Review, Examination, and Approval of Programs and Summary Reports of Mineral Resource Geological Investigation Programs issued together with Decision No. 57/1999/QĐ-BCN dated August 23, 1999, by the Minister of Industry.

3. It is encouraged for organizations and individuals to apply this Circular to geological projects implemented with other sources of funds.

4. In the course of implementation, if there are difficulties, units are advised to report to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for research and appropriate amendments.