Decision No. 144/2006/QD-TTg On the application of quality management systems according to the TCVN ISO 9001:2000 standard to the operations of administrative state agencies

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the application of the quality management system according to the TCVN ISO 9001:2000 standard

in the operations of administrative state agencies

__________________________

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Science and Technology.

Pursuant to …;

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of application

This Decision stipulates the application of the quality management system according to the TCVN ISO 9001:2000 standard in administrative state agencies, including contents related to the establishment, implementation, and evaluation of the quality management system, as well as certification issuance for administrative state agencies.

Article 2. Applicability

1. This Decision applies to the following administrative state agencies:

a) Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and agencies under the Government (excluding those specified in Clause 2 of Article 2 of this Decision);

b) People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities, People's Committees of districts, counties, towns, and provincial-level cities;

c) Specialized agencies under the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities.

2. Administrative state agencies in the defense and security sectors may apply this quality management system to meet their operational requirements according to the guidance of their superior managing agencies.

3. It is encouraged that People's Committees of communes, wards, towns, public service agencies directly serving state management, and other state units (institutes, schools, hospitals, etc.) establish and implement the quality management system according to this Decision.

Article 3. The objective of applying the quality management system according to the TCVN ISO 9001:2000 standard

The quality management system according to the TCVN ISO 9001:2000 standard (hereinafter referred to as the quality management system) is implemented through the establishment and execution of reasonable work process procedures consistent with legal regulations, thereby creating conditions for the heads of administrative state agencies to control the internal process of handling tasks within their agencies. Through this, the quality and effectiveness of management work and public service provision will gradually be improved.

Article 4. Implementation period

From 2006 to 2010, the administrative state agencies specified in Clause 1 of Article 2 of this Decision must complete the application of the quality management system.

Chapter II

CONTENTS ON THE APPLICATION OF THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Article 5. Steps for implementing the application of the quality management system

The application of the quality management system is carried out through four basic steps as follows:

Step 1. Establishing the quality management system

Based on the TCVN ISO 9001:2000 standard and the guidance documents of the Ministry of Science and Technology, administrative state agencies establish a set of documents, procedures, and reasonable work processes to fulfill their assigned functions and tasks.

Step 2. Implementing the established quality management system

After completing the documents and procedures according to the provisions of Step 1 and obtaining approval from agency leadership, these documents and procedures become effective and are applied throughout the agency’s operations.

These documents and procedures are regularly reviewed and supplemented based on practical application experiences and internal assessment results to align with the actual operational situation of the agency.

Step 3. Evaluating and issuing certificates for the quality management system

a) After effectively applying the issued documents, the agency leadership requests a certification organization to conduct an evaluation and confirm the level of compliance of the quality management system with the TCVN ISO 9001:2000 standard.

The activities of evaluation and the operating conditions of the certification organization conducting the evaluation of the administrative agency's quality management system are regulated in Article 7 of this Decision;

b) After completing the evaluation, the certification organization needs to submit the evaluation report to the Certification Issuing Agency (as specified in Article 8 of this Decision) for review and issuance of the quality management system certificate.

Step 4. Maintaining and improving the quality management system

The maintenance and improvement of the quality system are ongoing activities of administrative agencies after establishing, implementing, and receiving certification for the quality management system. These activities aim to ensure that the quality management system is continuously reviewed, supplemented, modified, and improved in line with the progress of administrative reform.

Article 6. Consulting activities, operating conditions, and requirements for consulting organizations and consultants

1. Consulting activities are advisory and assistance activities provided by independent consulting organizations or consultants to administrative state agencies in establishing and implementing the quality management system.

2. Operating conditions and requirements for consulting organizations

Consulting organizations can provide consulting services when they meet the following conditions:

a) They are enterprises, scientific and technological organizations, or other entities with the capability and professional experience in quality management system consulting, established in accordance with the law;

b) They have a quality management system compliant with the TCVN ISO 9001:2000 standard;

c) They have at least two consultants meeting the conditions specified in Clause 3 of this Article;

d) They have registered to participate in consulting activities with the Ministry of Science and Technology and received confirmation.

3. Operating conditions and requirements for consultants

Independent consultants can provide consulting services when they meet the following conditions:

a) Graduated from university;

b) They have been trained in quality management systems;

c) Received training and obtained a certificate for public administration management;

d) They have good moral character; they have full civil capacity;

đ) They have registered to participate in consulting activities with the Ministry of Science and Technology and received confirmation.

Article 7. Evaluation activities, certification issuance, maintenance, and post-certification supervision of the quality management system

1. Evaluation activities

The evaluation of the quality management system in administrative state agencies is conducted by certification organizations, aiming to systematically and objectively examine and analyze to determine the degree of compliance of the system being implemented with the requirements stipulated in the TCVN ISO 9001:2000 standard.

2. Certification issuance, maintenance of the quality management system, and post-certification supervision

a) The issuance and revocation of the quality management system certification for administrative state agencies shall be carried out by the issuing authority (as stipulated in Article 8 of this Decision) based on reviewing the assessment results or post-certification surveillance results of the certifying organization.

Upon request, the certifying organization must conduct a quality management system assessment at the administrative state agency within no more than one month. After completing the assessment activity, the certifying organization must submit the assessment report and related documentation to the issuing authority for review. The administrative state agency will be issued the certificate if it meets the requirements;

b) After obtaining the quality management system certification, the administrative state agency is responsible for implementing, maintaining, and improving the quality management system and being subject to annual periodic evaluation and supervision;

c) The certifying organization conducts post-certification surveillance assessments and submits the surveillance reports to the issuing authority.

3. Requirements for certifying organizations

A certifying organization is an independent entity with sufficient capability to conduct evaluations and confirm that the quality management system of an administrative state agency complies with the requirements set forth in the TCVN ISO 9001:2000 standard.

The certifying organization must meet the following requirements:

a) Having legal personality;

b) Engage in the field of quality management system certification, established in accordance with the provisions of the law;

c) Possess a recognition certificate in compliance with the TCVN 5956:1995 standard or equivalent, issued by a legally recognized accreditation organization in Vietnam or an accreditation organization that is a member of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF);

d) Have at least two assessors with a bachelor's degree or higher, who have been trained and hold certificates for quality management system assessment, have been trained and hold certificates for administrative management training, possess good moral character, and have full civil capacity;

đ) Have registered to participate in certification with the Ministry of Science and Technology and obtained a confirmation certificate.

Article 8. Authority to issue and revoke certifications

The General Department of Standardization, Metrology, and Quality under the Ministry of Science and Technology issues and revokes quality management system certifications in compliance with the TCVN ISO 9001:2000 standard based on reviewing and appraising the assessment results or post-certification surveillance results of the certifying organization.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 9. 1. The funding for determining the degree of disability and issuing the Disability Confirmation Certificate is allocated in the annual budget estimate of the commune in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

Administrative state agencies prepare budgets for these activities. The funds for implementing these activities are allocated in the annual budget plans of ministries, sectors, and localities.

Article 10. Tasks of the Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government:

1. In the third quarter of 2006, identify and compile a list of agencies and subordinate units to build and implement the quality management system for the period from 2006 to 2010.

Organize the implementation of the quality management system in agencies and subordinate units, prioritizing those with direct involvement with many organizations and individuals, thereby drawing lessons to expand to other units; promptly reward organizations and individuals with outstanding achievements in applying the quality management system according to the law on competition and rewards.

2. Report periodically every six months and annually to the Prime Minister on the situation and results of implementing the application of the quality management system.

Article 11. Tasks of the Ministry of Finance:

Lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology to develop and guide specific financial expenditure regulations for the implementation of building, executing, evaluating, issuing certificates, maintaining, and supervising the quality management system.

Article 12. Tasks of the Ministry of Science and Technology:

1. Compile and disseminate specific guidance materials on building and implementing the quality management system; organize training for a team of consulting experts and quality management system assessors.

2. Supervise and guide the construction and implementation of the quality management system in ministries, sectors, and localities; report periodically every six months and annually to the Prime Minister on the situation of building and implementing the quality management system in administrative state agencies, along with recommendations for rewarding agencies, organizations, and individuals with outstanding achievements in this activity according to the law on competition and rewards; propose suggestions for necessary policies for the Prime Minister to consider and decide.

3. Specify procedures for issuing and revoking quality management system certifications, procedures for issuing registration certificates for consulting organizations, consulting experts, and certifying organizations.

Organize the issuance, monitoring, and supervision of the activities of consulting organizations, consulting experts, and certifying organizations, and publish a list of those who have received registration certificates for administrative state agencies to select from.

4. Lead and coordinate with the Government Office and the Ministry of Home Affairs to establish a multi-ministerial council to periodically review and evaluate the implementation of the quality management system in administrative state agencies.

Article 13. Tasks of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism:

Lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology and relevant agencies to organize information dissemination and publicity through mass media about the application of the quality management system.

Article 14. Tasks of the Ministry of Home Affairs:

1. Develop plans, programs, and organize training courses on administrative management skills for consulting experts and assessors as stipulated in this Decision.

2. Coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to mobilize international resources to implement this Decision.

Article 15. Tasks of the Government Office:

Assist the Prime Minister in checking the implementation of this Decision.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 16. This Decision takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Within twelve months from the date this Decision takes effect, administrative state agencies that already have quality management system certificates must complete the certificate conversion process according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Article 17. THE MINISTERS, HEADS OF GOVERNMENT-LEVEL MINISTRIES, HEADS OF GOVERNMENT-LEVEL AGENCIES, AND CHAIRMEN OF PROVINCE AND CITY PEOPLE'S COMMITTEES DIRECTLY UNDER THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENFORCING THIS DECISION./.