Directive No. 1435/1998/CT-BKHCNMT on the implementation of Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP of the Government dated August 15, 1998 regarding inspection and supervision of enterprises.

DIRECTIVE

Regarding the implementation of the Government's Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP on inspection and supervision work for enterprises

On August 15, 1998, the Government issued Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP on inspection and supervision work for enterprises to address overlapping, repetitive, arbitrary, and burdensome inspections of enterprises, while also ensuring that enterprises operate in accordance with the law, effectively, and strengthening legal compliance in business activities.

To implement the Government's Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP, when conducting inspection and supervision work within the scope of state management under the Ministry, the Minister of Science, Technology, and Environment instructs:

1. Heads of units directly under the Ministry with inspection and supervision functions and Directors of Provincial Departments of Science, Technology, and Environment must directly lead the thorough dissemination of the spirit and content of the Decree among their staff and inspectors; actively coordinate to develop plans for inspection and supervision according to their state management functions as assigned, apply the correct procedures and authorities stipulated for issuing decisions, timeframes for conducting inspections and supervision, and be responsible for inspection and supervision activities in the field of enterprise management in accordance with the provisions of the Government's Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP.

It is strictly prohibited to conduct inspections and supervision of enterprises without a decision from a competent state agency; arbitrarily expanding the scope of inspection and supervision targets, using fake documents, or violating regulations on inspection and supervision procedures.

2. To implement the above Decree correctly, units directly under the Ministry and Directors of Provincial Departments of Science, Technology, and Environment need to carry out the following tasks:

a. For units directly under the Ministry:

- Annually, during the planning period, units must develop plans for inspection and supervision according to the state management functions prescribed by the Ministry, including plans for inspecting and supervising enterprises, to be submitted to the Ministry Inspectorate before October 30 of the previous year for consolidation and submission to the Minister for approval in accordance with Article 10 of Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP.

- Inspection and supervision of enterprises must be based on plans approved by the Minister (except for extraordinary inspections and supervision as stipulated in Article 16 of Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP). All inspections must have an Inspection Decision issued by the competent authority as specified in Article 13, and all supervision must have a Decision issued by the competent authority as specified in Article 23 of Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP. Upon completion of inspections and supervision, a conclusion report must be sent to the Ministry Inspectorate.

- Regularly, by the 25th day of the last month of each quarter, units must submit to the Ministry (through the Ministry Inspectorate) the results of inspections and supervision of enterprises in the quarter and the plan for the next quarter for consolidation and submission to the competent authority as specified in Article 13 of Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP.

b. For Provincial Departments of Science, Technology, and Environment under central cities:

- Annually, when developing plans for science, technology, and environmental activities, they must develop plans for inspection and supervision in the fields of state management of the Department at enterprises, to be submitted to the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment (through the Ministry Inspectorate) before October 30 of the previous year for consolidation and processing in the overall inspection and supervision activities of the sector for enterprises nationwide.

- Based on comments on the plans for inspection and supervision of enterprises from the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment, the Provincial Departments of Science, Technology, and Environment must further refine their plans for inspection and supervision of enterprises to be decided by the People's Committee of the province/city.

- Based on the general program and plan of the province/city, the Director of the Department has the responsibility to review and approve the specific plan of the Department Inspectorate for inspection and supervision of enterprises to avoid overlap in content and more than once a year for the same enterprise. Inspections and supervision must have a written decision from the competent authority, ensuring procedures as stipulated in Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP. The Director of the Department signs the decision for inspection and supervision, and the Head of the Department Inspectorate signs the inspection decision in the field of state management of the Department as stipulated in Articles 13 and 23 of the Decree.

- The Department Inspectorate of Science, Technology, and Environment, as the main body for inspection and supervision work of the Department, is responsible for consolidating the development of plans, organizing implementation, and reporting on inspection and supervision work in the fields of state management of the Department.

- Regularly, by the 25th day of the last month of each quarter, Provincial Departments of Science, Technology, and Environment must submit the results of inspections and supervision of enterprises in the quarter to the Ministry (through the Ministry Inspectorate) and the plan for the next quarter for consolidation and reporting to the Minister.

3. Responsibilities of the Ministry Inspectorate of Science, Technology, and Environment:

To ensure that inspections and supervision are carried out in accordance with Articles 3 and 31 of Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP, avoiding overlaps between inspection teams in the scope of state management of the Ministry, units directly under the Ministry, and provincial departments for enterprises, the Ministry Inspectorate is responsible for consolidating and comparing plans for inspection and supervision in the fields of state management of units directly under the Ministry and provincial departments of science, technology, and environment at enterprises. If the inspection and supervision plans of units directly under the Ministry and provincial departments do not overlap in content for the same enterprise, then before the 5th day of the first month of the quarter, they will be notified again for units and provincial departments to organize implementation. In case of overlap (the Ministry, units directly under the Ministry, and provincial departments all have plans for inspection and supervision on the same content for the same enterprise), the Ministry Inspectorate will report to the Minister for consideration and designation of a unit to conduct the inspection and supervision.

The Head of the Ministry's Inspectorate is responsible for assisting the Minister, under the guidance of the State Auditor General, to inspect and urge the implementation of this Decree, promptly draw lessons and propose solutions to the Minister for resolving issues arising in the inspection and supervision work concerning enterprises within the scope of the Ministry’s state management authority, subordinate units of the Ministry, and Departments.

During the process of implementing Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP, depending on the actual situation arising, subordinate units of the Ministry, Departments of Science, Technology, and Environment shall promptly reflect the situation to the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment (through the Ministry's Inspectorate) to report to the Minister of Science, Technology, and Environment for resolution.