Circular No. 14/2021/TT-BTP detailing the implementation of certain provisions of Government Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP dated February 12, 2020 on inspection and disciplinary measures in the enforcement of laws on administrative violations.

CIRCULAR

Detailed Implementation of Certain Provisions of Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP

dated February 12, 2020, of the Government on inspection and disciplinary handling

in the Implementation of Laws on Administrative Offense Handling

______________________

                                                   

Pursuant to the Law on Handling Administrative Offenses dated June 20, 2012; Pursuant to Decree No. 01/2022/NĐ-CP dated November 30, 2022 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of National Defense; Decree No. 03/2025/NĐ-CP dated February 28, 2025 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 01/2022/NĐ-CP dated November 30, 2022 of the Government; the Law on Administrative Offense Handling dated November 13, 2020;

Pursuant to Decree No. 96/2017/NĐ-CP dated August 16, 2017, issued by the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

Pursuant to Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP dated February 12, 2020, of the Government on inspection and disciplinary handling in the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling;

Pursuant to Decree No. 118/2021/NĐ-CP dated December 23, 2021, issued by the Government, detailing certain provisions and measures to implement the Law on Handling Administrative Violations;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Administrative Violation Management and Legal Supervision;

The Minister of Justice issues this Circular detailing the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP dated February 12, 2020, of the Government on inspection and disciplinary handling in the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

2. Applicability:

a) This Circular details the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP dated February 12, 2020, of the Government on inspection and disciplinary handling in the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP) regarding inspection authority; adjustment of inspection plans; inspection deadlines; publicizing inspection conclusions, results, and the handling of follow-up actions based on inspection conclusions concerning the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling;

b) The Minister, Heads of ministries equivalent to ministries, Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels, and heads of agencies and units with authority to handle administrative violations shall self-inspect the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling within their own agencies and units, inspect persons with authority to handle administrative violations under their management, and are not required to follow the procedures and formalities stipulated in this Circular and Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP.

第二条 组织和实施奖励工作的支出水平，如政府第152/2025/NĐ-CP号决定关于分级授权和奖励领域的分权规定

Agencies, organizations, and individuals specified in Article 2 of Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP.

Article 2. Inspection Authority for the Implementation of Laws on Administrative Violation Handling

The inspection authority for the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling according to Article 6 of Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP is specifically as follows:

1. The Minister, Head of a ministry equivalent to a ministry shall inspect the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling within the scope of their industry and field of management nationwide; the General Director of the Vietnam Social Security shall inspect the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling within the scope assigned to organize and implement.

Example: The Minister of Industry and Trade shall inspect the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling within the scope of their industry and field of management nationwide (Market Management Bureaus in provinces and centrally-administered cities, Provincial People's Committees in provinces and centrally-administered cities...).

2. The Minister of Justice shall inspect the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling by ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, the Vietnam Social Security, and provincial-level People's Committees (hereinafter collectively referred to as provincial level) and agencies managing persons with authority to handle administrative violations.

3. The Minister of Justice assists the Government in inspecting the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling by the Supreme People's Court and the State Audit Office as provided for in Article 17 of the Law on Administrative Violation Handling.

4. The Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level shall inspect the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling by the following agencies:

a) Specialized agencies under the People's Committee at the provincial level, People's Committees at the district, town, and city levels under centrally-administered cities (hereinafter collectively referred to as district level), and People's Committees at the commune, ward, and town levels (hereinafter collectively referred to as commune level) within the scope of their territorial management;

b) Agencies under central agencies organized vertically located on the local territory listed in Clause 6 of this Article.

For central agencies organized vertically located in one province but whose scope of operation involves multiple provinces, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level where the vertically organized agency has its headquarters has the authority to inspect matters related to the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling within the scope of their territorial management.

5. The Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level shall inspect the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling by the following agencies:

a) Specialized agencies under the People's Committee at the district level and People's Committees at the commune level within the scope of their territorial management;

b) Agencies under central agencies organized vertically at the same level within the scope of their territorial management listed in Clause 6 of this Article.

6. Heads of agencies and units under central agencies organized vertically managing persons with authority to handle administrative violations, including: Public Security; Border Guard; Coast Guard; Customs; Fisheries Surveillance; Tax; Market Management; Civil Execution Agency; State Treasury; State Bank; Central Statistical Organization System; Social Insurance; and other agencies and units under central agencies organized vertically as prescribed by law shall inspect the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling by subordinate agencies and units.

Article 3. Issuance and adjustment of inspection plans for the implementation of laws on administrative violations

1. The agency authorized to issue inspection plans pursuant to Clause 2, Article 12 of Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP shall be responsible for coordinating with relevant agencies to conduct surveys before issuing inspection plans to avoid overlaps and conflicts, specifically as follows:

a) Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and the Vietnam Social Security within their respective duties and powers shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and other relevant agencies to conduct surveys and collect information to develop inspection plans;

b) People's Committees at all levels and central agencies organized vertically within their respective jurisdictions shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to conduct surveys and collect information to develop inspection plans;

c) The Ministry of Justice within its duties and powers shall coordinate with ministries, ministerial-level agencies, the Vietnam Social Security, the Supreme People's Court, and the State Audit Office to develop inspection plans and handle overlapping and conflicting inspection plans.

Inspection plans of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and central inspection authorities shall be sent to the Ministry of Justice (Department of Administrative Violation Handling and Law Enforcement Monitoring) within ten working days from the date of issuance for monitoring, coordination, and implementation.

2. In the following cases, the authority issuing the inspection plan may adjust the inspection plan:

a) There is overlap or conflict regarding the subjects, contents, or timing of inspections;

b) When natural disasters, fires, epidemics, or other force majeure events occur that affect the implementation of the inspection plan;

c) As directed by the head of the higher-level state management agency;

d) Other cases to ensure the effective implementation of the inspection plan.

3. If an inspection plan is found to have overlapping or conflicting subjects, contents, or timing with previously issued inspection plans, it shall be handled as follows:

a) The agency or unit issuing the subsequent overlapping or conflicting inspection plan must adjust the content of the plan;

b) Where overlapping or conflicting inspection plans are issued simultaneously, the plan that is sent to the inspected entity later must adjust its content.

4. Agencies and units are responsible for handling overlapping or duplicating content in inspection plans:

a) At the central level, agencies or units issuing overlapping or conflicting inspection plans shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice to handle them according to the principle set out in Clause 3 of this Article;

b) At the local level, provincial and district People's Committees shall take the lead and coordinate with agencies or units issuing overlapping or conflicting inspection plans to handle them according to the principle set out in Clause 3 of this Article.

5. The decision to adjust the inspection plan shall be sent to the inspected entity, related organizations, and individuals immediately after the authority adjusts the inspection plan.

6. In cases where the inspection plan needs to be adjusted, the Department of Administrative Violation Handling and Law Enforcement Monitoring under the Ministry of Justice, the legal department of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, organizations with equivalent functions and tasks, or departments managing the authority to handle administrative violations, the Department of Justice, and the Legal Division shall report to the authority specified in Article 6 of Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP for consideration and decision on adjusting the inspection plan.

7. The decision to issue an inspection plan, the decision to adjust an inspection plan, the inspection record, and the decision to inspect the implementation of the inspection conclusion shall be carried out according to Model No. 01, Model No. 02, Model No. 03, Model No. 05, and Model No. 11 of the attached annex on some forms in the inspection of the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling.

Article 4. Time limit for inspecting the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling

1. Suspension of inspection of the implementation of laws on administrative violations:

a) In the cases specified in points a and b Clause 2 Article 3 of this Circular, the inspection must be temporarily suspended;

b) The time during which the inspection is temporarily suspended shall not be counted towards the inspection period;

c) The head of the inspection team or the authorized person must report to the authority issuing the inspection decision for consideration and decision on suspending the inspection;

d) The document suspending the inspection shall be in the form of a Circular as prescribed by the Government regarding record-keeping work, stating clearly the reasons for suspension and the suspension period;

đ) The Circular suspending the inspection of the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling shall be sent to the inspection team, the inspected entity, and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals immediately upon issuance;

e) The inspection shall continue when the reasons for suspension no longer exist.

2. Cases requiring an extension of the inspection period as provided for in Clause 3 Article 13 Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP include:

a) The inspection belongs to one of the following situations: The administrative violation handling file contains many complex circumstances requiring verification and clarification; the inspected entity does not cooperate or creates difficulties for the inspection;

b) The inspection location is in remote, mountainous, island, or difficult-to-reach areas.

The extension period for each inspection under the situations stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article shall not exceed 07 (seven) working days.

3. At least 02 (two) working days before the end of the inspection period as prescribed, the head of the inspection team or the authorized person must report to the authority issuing the inspection decision for consideration and decision on extending the inspection period.

4. The decision to extend the inspection period shall be sent to the inspection team, the inspected entity, and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals immediately upon issuance.

5. The decision to extend the inspection period shall be implemented according to Model No. 04 in the Appendix of some inspection forms for the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling issued together with this Circular.

Article 5. Publicizing the Inspection Conclusion on the Implementation of Laws on Administrative Violation Handling

1. The inspection conclusion must be publicized, except for contents in the inspection conclusion related to state secrets, military, national defense, national security, work confidentiality, and other contents that cannot be publicized as prescribed by law.

2. Contents of the inspection conclusion to be publicized must be built into an inspection conclusion announcement signed by the authorized inspector or the authorized person as provided for in Clause 3 Article 15 Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP. The inspection conclusion announcement includes the following contents:

a) Inspection content;

b) A general overview of achievements; existing problems and limitations; specific violations mentioned in the inspection conclusion;

c) Recommendations of the inspection team.

3. Within 10 (ten) working days from the date of signing the inspection conclusion, the authority issuing the inspection conclusion or the authorized person as provided for in Clause 3 Article 15 Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP shall be responsible for publicizing the inspection conclusion through one of the following methods:

a) Organizing a meeting to announce the inspection conclusion with participants including the decision maker or the authorized person, the inspection team, the inspected entity, and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals;

b) Publishing the full content of the inspection conclusion announcement on the agency's electronic portal or website. The publication period must be at least 30 (thirty) days;

4. If there are errors in the inspection conclusion or the inspection conclusion announcement that need correction, amendment, or supplementation, they must also be publicly announced according to the provisions of Clauses 1 and 3 of this Article.

5. The authority issuing the inspection conclusion or the authorized person as provided for in Clause 3 Article 15 Decree No. 19/2020/NĐ-CP shall be responsible for the content of the information published; correcting erroneous information within 01 (one) working day from the time of discovery or receipt of a request for correction.

6. Correcting erroneous information:

a) In case the agency's electronic portal or website publishes incorrect information as provided for in Clause 2 of this Article, it must correct the information in the correct section or position where the erroneous information was posted within 24 hours from the time of discovery or receipt of a request for correction;

b) The publication period must be at least 30 (thirty) days.

7. In case the publicizing of the inspection conclusion cannot be carried out within the time limit prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article due to force majeure, the person responsible for publicizing must report to their immediate superior and implement publicizing immediately after the force majeure has been resolved.

8. Any person violating the provisions of Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of this Article shall be subject to disciplinary action depending on the nature and degree of violation; if damage is caused, compensation must be made according to the law on state responsibility for compensation.

9. The inspection conclusion and the inspection conclusion announcement shall be implemented according to Model No. 06 and Model No. 07 in the Appendix of some inspection forms for the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling issued together with this Circular.

Article 6. Publicizing Results and Handling of Follow-up Implementation of Inspection Conclusions on Administrative Violation Handling

1. The person authorized to issue the inspection conclusion or the person entrusted with responsibility shall publicize the results and handling of follow-up implementation of the inspection conclusion, except for contents related to state secrets, military, national defense, national security, work confidentiality, and other contents that are not allowed to be disclosed according to the law.

2. Publicizing the results and handling of follow-up implementation of the inspection conclusion shall be carried out through notifications of the results and handling of follow-up implementation of the inspection conclusion signed by the authorized inspector or the person entrusted.

Notifications of the results and handling of follow-up implementation of the inspection conclusion shall be sent to the inspected entity, the inspection team, relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals immediately upon issuance.

3. Reports on the situation and results of implementing the inspection conclusion; reports on the results of follow-up implementation of the inspection conclusion; notifications of the results and handling of follow-up implementation of the inspection conclusion shall be prepared according to Model No. 08, Model No. 09, and Model No. 10 in the Appendix of certain forms for inspection of the implementation of laws on administrative violation handling issued together with this Circular.

Article 7. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from February 14, 2022.

Article 8. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Minister, Head of a ministry-level agency, General Director of the Vietnam Social Security, Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities, and relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular.

2. The Department of Administrative Violation Management and Law Enforcement Monitoring under the Ministry of Justice, legal affairs organizations under ministries and ministry-level agencies, legal affairs organizations or organizations with equivalent functions and tasks under agencies managing persons authorized to handle administrative violations, Departments of Justice, Judicial Departments shall assist the Minister, Head of a ministry-level agency, Chairman of the provincial and district People's Committees, and Heads of agencies managing persons authorized to handle administrative violations in organizing the implementation of this Circular.

3. During the process of implementation, if there are difficulties, obstacles, or new issues arising, it is recommended that agencies, organizations, and individuals promptly reflect these to the Ministry of Justice (through the Department of Administrative Violation Management and Law Enforcement Monitoring) for study, amendment, and supplementation as appropriate.