Circular No. 12/2009/TT-BGTVT detailing the archival work of the Ministry of Transport

CIRCULAR

Regulations on archival work of the Ministry of Transport

_____________________

BASED ON the National Archives Law No. 34/2001/PL-UBTVQH dated April 4, 2001;
BASED ON the Government Decree No. 111/2004/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2004 detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the National Archives Law;
BASED ON the Government Decree No. 110/2004/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2004 on archival work;
BASED ON the Government Decree No. 51/2008/NĐ-CP dated April 22, 2008 stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;
The Minister of the Ministry of Transport hereby provides detailed regulations on archival work of the Ministry of Transport as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular specifies in detail the sources of documents submitted to the Ministry of Transport Archive (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry Archive), archival collection activities, file management, document management, utilization services, deadlines for submitting documents to the Ministry Archive and historical archives, and procedures for destroying expired archival documents of the Ministry of Transport.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to units under the Ministry's agencies (Departments, Inspectorate, Ministry Office), General Departments, Bureaus, Institutes, Project Management Boards, Flood Control and Search and Rescue Steering Committees, subordinate units, and organizations and individuals utilizing and using archival documents.

Article 3. Working files and archival files

1. "Working files" are systematic collections of related documents, letters, papers concerning a matter or issue formed during the process of monitoring and resolving work within the scope of the unit's functions and responsibilities, from the beginning to the end of the matter.

2. "Archival files" are systematic collections of documents, letters, papers with political, economic, cultural, national defense, and security significance formed during the operation of the Ministry and its subordinate units that have been processed and resolved.

Article 4. Archival Documents

Archival documents must be original copies recorded on paper, film, photographs, motion picture films, audio tapes, video discs, audio discs, or other information carriers; in cases where original copies are unavailable, they may be replaced by legally certified copies.

Chapter II

ARCHIVAL COLLECTION AND FILE MANAGEMENT

Article 5. Sources of documents submitted to the Ministry Archive

Sources of documents submitted to the Ministry Archive include:

1. Documents of the Ministry Office:

a) Documents of the Minister and Deputy Ministers;

b) Documents of the Ministry Office leadership;

c) Documents of meetings and conferences of the Ministry leadership;

d) Annual conference files of the transport industry including: Meeting call notices, meeting organization documents, meeting organization plans, opening remarks, main reports at the conference, discussion reports, speeches by higher-level leaders (if any), conference resolutions, minutes of the conference, notices of conference results, photographic, audio, or video materials about the conference (if any);

đ) Original documents of the Ministry including: Circulars, Directives, Decisions, Notifications, Reports, various transaction letters, telegrams, faxes, accompanied by books or computer disks listing the types of documents mentioned above;

e) Documents of the following departments: Information and Propaganda, Accounting.

2. Documents of the Inspectorate.

3. Documents of the Department of Planning and Investment.

4. Documents of the Finance Department.

5. Documents of the Infrastructure Department.

6. Documents of the Traffic Safety Department.

7. Documents of the Legal Affairs Department.

8. Documents of the Transport Department.

9. Documents of the Science and Technology Department.

10. Documents of the Environment Department.

11. Documents of the International Cooperation Department.

12. Documents of the Cadre and Civil Service Department.

13. Documents of the Flood Control and Search and Rescue Steering Committee.

14. Other documents, including:

a) Film, photo, motion picture, microfilm, audio and video recording materials, and other information carriers of subordinate units of the Ministry with usage and exploitation value;

b) Completion files of infrastructure construction projects of groups A, B, and C not classified by project management boards.

Article 6. Responsibility for Collecting and Managing Archival Documents

1. The Minister of Transport shall decide on the selection of office documents to be submitted to the Ministry's Archive, current archival documents to be submitted to the Historical Archive based on the proposal of the Director of the Ministry's Office and subordinate units, and at the same time decide to remove documents with no value for destruction according to the proposal of the Appraisal Board.

2. Annually, the Department of Archives - Ministry's Office shall be responsible for:

a) Drafting plans for collecting records and documents;

b) Coordinating with units and individuals within the Ministry to determine records and documents to be collected;

c) Guiding units and individuals in preparing records and documents for submission and compiling them into a "Record of Submitted Records and Documents";

d) Preparing storage facilities and equipment to receive documents;

đ) Organizing the receipt of documents and drafting a "Handover Record of Documents." The "Record of Submitted Records and Documents" and "Handover Record of Documents" shall be prepared in two copies according to a unified model guided by the National Archives and Records Administration. The unit or individual submitting records and documents to the Department of Archives - Ministry's Office shall retain one copy of each type.

The "Record of Submitted Records and Documents" is attached as Appendix 1; the "Handover Record of Documents" is attached as Appendix 2 issued together with this Circular.

3. Units shall be responsible for collecting and submitting valuable records within the prescribed time limit into the Ministry's Archive.

Article 7. Time Limit for Submitting Documents to the Ministry's Archive

1. After completing the processing of archival documents of Departments, Inspectors, and the Ministry's Office, staff members must establish records, arrange documents into files according to regulations, and submit them to the Ministry's archive within one year from the date of completion of the work. The submission of records and documents shall take place in March each year; if the work has not been completed, it must be reported to the Ministry's Office and a list for submission in the following year must be established.

2. Before retiring, leaving the job, or transferring to another position, staff members must hand over all records and documents to their unit or successor.

3. Documents issued by the Ministry and stored in the Ministry's Office must be submitted for archiving once after three months to serve research and use.

4. In cases where units are divided or merged, the management and submission of documents to the archive shall be the responsibility of the head of the unit before division or merger or transferred to the new unit's head.

5. In cases where agencies, organizations are dissolved, or enterprises go bankrupt, before ceasing operations, the heads of these agencies, organizations, or enterprises must manage and submit archival documents to the higher-level archive.

6. Photographic and film documents; microfilm; audio and video recordings, and other documents: Within three months from the end of the work.

7. For final acceptance records of infrastructure transport projects classified as groups A, B, and C without classification, the submission period starts three months after the project is completed and handed over for use.

Article 8. Time Limit for Submitting Documents to the Historical Archive

1. The Ministry's Office shall be responsible for collecting historical records and documents to be submitted to the National Archives Centers II and III. The components of the submitted documents are based on the guidance document number 319/LTNN-NVTW dated June 1, 2004, issued by the National Archives and Records Administration; the submission period for the Historical Archive is based on Decree No. 111/2004/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2004, of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the National Archives Law.

2. Administrative documents, scientific research documents, application of science and technology documents, basic construction documents: The submission period for records and documents to the Historical Archive is ten years from the year the documents were submitted to the Ministry's Archive.

3. For final acceptance records of infrastructure transport projects classified as group A; based on the guidance document number 115/TTIII-TT dated August 17, 2004, issued by the National Archives Center III - National Archives and Records Administration regarding the submission of final acceptance records of group A projects, the submission period starts three months after the project is completed and handed over for use.

4. Film, photographic, cinematographic documents; microfilm; audio and video recordings, other documents: The submission period for records and documents to the Historical Archive is two years from the year the documents were submitted to the Ministry's Archive.

Article 9. Preservation of archival records

1. Archival records must be safely stored in an archive warehouse. The archive warehouse must have sufficient equipment, preservation devices, and conditions to ensure the safety of archival materials such as shelves, cabinets, disaster prevention and fire protection measures; moisture control, mold, insect, and rodent damage prevention.

2. Particularly rare and valuable archival records must be preserved under special conditions.

3. Standards for various types of archive warehouses and preservation procedures shall be implemented in accordance with the regulations of the state archive agency.

Article 10. Destruction of Documents

1. The destruction of documents that have lost their value must be carried out according to the procedures prescribed by the state archive agency and must ensure the complete destruction of all information contained in those documents.

2. The Director of the Ministry's Office shall report to the Minister on the destruction of records and documents that have lost their value at the Ministry's Archive Warehouse. The Director of the unit shall report to the Head of the unit on the destruction of records and documents that have lost their value within the unit. The destruction of documents that have lost their value shall be documented in a file. The file on the destruction of documents that have lost their value includes:

a) A request for the destruction of documents that have lost their value;

b) Decision to establish the Council to determine the value of records and documents;

c) List of documents that have lost their value;

d) Description of documents that have lost their value;

đ) Index of records and documents retained;

e) Minutes of the Council meeting to determine the value of records and documents to be destroyed;

g) Minutes of the destruction of records and documents and the review document of the State Archives and Records Administration;

h) Decision to destroy records and documents that have lost their value by the authorized person;

i) The file on the destruction of records and documents that have lost their value must be kept for at least twenty years from the date of destruction. For accounting documents, the Council evaluating and determining the value of accounting records must conduct an inventory, evaluation, and classification of each type of accounting document, prepare the "List of Accounting Documents to be Destroyed" and "List of Accounting Documents to be Stored for Over 20 Years" in accordance with Decision No. 218/2000/QĐ-BTC dated December 29, 2000 of the Ministry of Finance.

The minutes of the destruction of documents are attached as Appendix 3; the list of destruction of records and documents that have lost their value is attached as Appendix 4 issued together with this Circular.

3. Members of the Council to determine the value of records and documents of the Ministry of Transport include:

a) Chairman of the Council: Director of the Ministry's Office;

b) Member of the Council: Representatives of units holding documents;

c) Secretary of the Council: Representative of the Head of the Archive Department, Ministry of Transport Office.

4. For units under the Ministry, members of the Council to determine the value of records and documents include:

a) Chairman of the Council: Head of the unit;

b) Member of the Council: Director of the unit's Office, representatives of units holding documents;

c) Secretary of the Council: Staff member responsible for archive work in the unit.

5. The Council operates as follows:

a) Each member of the Council reviews the documents specified in point c, đ Clause 2 of this Article; for the list of documents that have lost their value, it is necessary to check the actual documents;

b) The Council discusses collectively and votes by majority;

c) Approve the minutes and submit them to the head of the agency or organization for decision.

Chapter III

EXPLOITATION AND USE OF ARCHIVAL MATERIALS

Article 11. Organization for serving the exploitation of archival documents

The Ministry's Office has the responsibility:

1. Organize means and conditions to serve the work of searching and exploiting archival documents effectively;

2. Organize the publication and introduction of archival documents, establish statistical directories to serve the exploitation work;

3. Develop plans for equipment to serve exploitation and organize their implementation.

Article 12. Exploitation of archival files and documents

1. Staff members, civil servants, and officials of the Ministry when coming to exploit archival files and documents must have the approval of the head of the managing unit, be allowed to read on-site, obtain certified true copies, photocopies, or borrow for work purposes for archival files, administrative documents including: Archival files, Decisions, Circulars, Directives, Notifications, Press Releases, Programs and Plans, Proposals, Reports, Minutes, Petitions, Telegrams, and legal normative documents.

2. Agencies, organizations, and individuals, except those mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article, when exploiting and using archival documents at the Ministry's Archives for official purposes must submit a request letter or an introduction letter from their workplace agency or organization; for personal purposes, they must submit an application for using archival documents with confirmation from their workplace agency or organization or local authorities where they reside, and present identification such as ID card, passport, or other identity documents; in case of research topics, they must provide a research outline.

3. The Director of the Ministry’s Office permits the exploitation and use of documents and signs certified true copies of archival documents; the Archive Department directly implements services for the exploitation and use of documents.

4. In cases where archival documents listed in the "Confidential" directory are exploited, the agreement of the Minister is required.

5. Staff members and civil servants taking archival documents out of the office must report to the unit leader. It is absolutely forbidden to take archival documents of the office home as personal documents or use them for purposes contrary to the interests of the state, the rights and legitimate interests of organizations and individuals.

6. Staff members and civil servants of the office taking documents from the Ministry's Archives abroad for work must obtain the approval of the Minister of Transport.

Article 13. Ensuring information security of documents

1. The Ministry's Office is responsible for coordinating with the Information Technology Center to monitor and manage databases on the website, document management programs, and archival document management programs of the Ministry of Transport;

2. Only provide legal normative documents of the Ministry on the Government network and database services for staff and civil servants of the Ministry to handle work on the Local Area Network (LAN); do not provide "Confidential" information databases on the Internet.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Responsibilities of the Ministry's Office

1. The Director of the Ministry's Office assists the Minister in organizing the implementation of archival file and document management work, guiding the organization in collecting, submitting, using, and exploiting archival documents according to this Circular; disseminating, guiding, supervising the implementation of regulations stipulated in this Circular, and reporting annually to the Minister.

2. The Archive Department under the Ministry's Office is a specialized archive business unit, tasked with assisting the Director of the Office in drafting directive documents, guiding the implementation of systems and regulations on archival work; developing annual investment budget plans for archival activities for review by Ministry leadership. The functions and tasks of the Archive Department are defined in Decision No. 3566/QĐ-BGTVT dated November 25, 2008 of the Minister of Transport on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport's Office.

Article 15. Responsibilities of the Ministry's advisory agency

1. Implement this Circular within the agency.

2. Staff members involved in archival work shall be responsible for collecting, managing, ensuring safety, and facilitating the exploitation and utilization of archival documents of the Ministry.

3. Staff members from other units within the agency who access archival materials shall be responsible for complying with this Circular.

Article 16. Responsibilities of other units under the Ministry of Transport

1. The General Director, Directors, Institute Heads, Project Management Board General Managers, and Heads of subordinate units under the Ministry shall be accountable to the Minister for the implementation of state management tasks regarding file and document archival work in their respective units.

2. Based on general national regulations, this Circular, and the actual conditions at their facilities, Heads of units shall be responsible for developing and implementing this Circular within their units, while also being responsible for closely and regularly coordinating with the Ministry's Office Archives Department on technical matters.

Article 17. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect forty-five days from the date of signature. The Head of the Ministry's Office, the Inspector General of the Ministry, Heads of Departments, General Directors of General Departments, Directors of Departments under the Ministry, Heads of agencies, organizations, and individuals related to this matter shall be responsible for enforcing this Circular.

During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, units are requested to report them to the Ministry's Office for consolidation and reporting to the Minister for consideration to supplement and amend this Circular./.