Circular No. 16/2021/TT-BTNMT on establishing economic and technical norms within the scope of management under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the establishment of economic and technical norms

 within the scope of management under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

On the basis of Law on Legislative Regulatory Documents dated June 22, 2015; Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Law on Legislative Regulatory Documents dated June 18, 2020;

Decree No. 34/2016/NĐ-CP dated May 14, 2016 of the Government detailing some provisions and measures for implementing the Law on Enacting Regulatory Legal Documents;

Decree No. Decree No. 154/2020/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2020 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 34/2016/NĐ-CP dated May 14, 2016 of the Government detailing some provisions and measures for implementing the Law on Enacting Regulatory Legal Documents;

Decree No. Decision No. 36/2017/NĐ-CP dated April 4, 2017 of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

At the proposal of the Director of the Planning and Finance Department and the Director of the Legal Affairs Department;

The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment issues this Circular to regulate the establishment of economic and technical norms within the scope of management under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular regulates the establishment of economic and technical norms within the scope of management under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, including: drafting, approving, adjusting the Program for establishing economic and technical norms; establishing, reviewing, promulgating economic and technical norms; contents and technical presentation methods of economic and technical norms.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the activities of establishing economic and technical norms within the scope of management under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms shall be understood as follows:

1. Economic and technical norms (hereinafter referred to as norms) are the necessary levels of consumption of labor, materials, tools, energy, fuel, machinery, and equipment required to complete a unit of product (or a specific volume of work) under specific conditions of an activity or public service within the scope of management under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

2. Machinery and equipment are fixed assets, both tangible and intangible, as defined by laws on fixed assets (excluding factories and land use rights), which workers use to produce products.

3. Tools are labor tools classified as non-fixed assets that do not meet the criteria for fixed assets as defined by law, which workers use during the process of producing products (pliers, hammers, wrenches, protective clothing, and similar tools), and whose value is allocated to production costs over a short period according to regulations issued by the Minister of Finance.

4. Materials, energy, fuel are inputs consumed in a production process to create products.

Article 4. Principles for Establishing Norms

1. Compliance with national technical standards and regulations, technical procedures published and issued by competent state authorities for a production process or product creation, and meeting general structural requirements for various types of norms; ensuring progressiveness, consistency, and continuity (if applicable).

2. Norms are established based on actual production practices, ensuring stability over a certain period; when there are changes in technology, legal provisions, or they no longer meet practical requirements, norms must be adjusted or newly established.

3. Product norms between similar fields within the scope of management under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment must ensure consistency.

4. Ensuring centralized and unified work in establishing norms; encouraging and promoting the initiative of agencies, units, organizations, and individuals participating in establishing norms within the scope of management under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

5. Ensuring accurate and comprehensive accounting of necessary consumption levels to complete a stage of work or produce a product according to national technical standards and regulations, technical procedures published and issued by competent state authorities.

Article 5. Budget for establishing standard rates

1. The budget for establishing standard rates is allocated from the state budget or other lawful sources.

2. The establishment, allocation, and management of the budget for establishing standard rates shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and other relevant laws.

Chapter II
PROCEDURE FOR ESTABLISHING STANDARD RATES

Section 1

 ESTABLISHMENT, APPROVAL, AND AMENDMENT

PROGRAM FOR ESTABLISHING STANDARD RATES

Article 6. Basis for establishing the Program for Establishing Standard Rates

1. The list of public services using the state budget in the field of natural resources and environment issued by the competent state agency.

2. The five-year socio-economic development plan of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

3. Programs, projects, and plans of fields under the management of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment approved by the competent state agency.

Article 7. Establishment of the Program for Establishing Standard Rates

1. The Program for Establishing Standard Rates within the scope of management of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall be organized to be established in the last year of the five-year plan period; at the latest before July 15 of the last year of the plan period, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and organizations, individuals shall submit proposals to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for consideration and consolidation.

2. Units under the direct management of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall review and consolidate the list of programs for establishing standard rates in their assigned fields according to Model No. 01 issued together with this Circular, and send it to the Department of Planning and Finance for consolidation and submission to the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment before July 30.

3. The Program for Establishing Standard Rates must be submitted for comments from ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial People's Committees; in cases where the proposal for establishing standard rates is not appropriate and needs revision or supplementation, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall instruct related management units to incorporate, explain, and perfect the Program for Establishing Standard Rates before August 31.

Article 8. Approval of the Program for Establishing Standard Rates

1. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment shall approve the Program for Establishing Standard Rates before September 30 of the last year of the plan period.

2. The approved Program for Establishing Standard Rates includes the following main contents:

a) Objectives and requirements;

b) Name of the standard rate (amended, supplemented, or newly established); implementing unit; time of issuance;

c) Implementation organization.

Article 9. Amendment of the Program for Establishing Standard Rates

1. Cases for amending the Program for Establishing Standard Rates:

a) Changes in technical standards, procedures, new policies affecting component standard rates or issues arising during the implementation of established standard rates;

b) Requirements for administrative management necessitating the addition of new standard rates or reduction of unnecessary ones;

c) Administrative agencies failing to implement the Program for Establishing Standard Rates due to force majeure.

2. The Program for Establishing Standard Rates shall be reviewed periodically in the third year following the approval by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment; other cases shall be decided by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

a) After two years of implementing the Program for Establishing Standard Rates, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and provincial People's Committees shall review the Program for Establishing Standard Rates approved by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, and submit proposals for amendments and supplements to the relevant management units under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment before July 15 for consolidation;

b) The procedure for amending the Program for Establishing Standard Rates shall be carried out in accordance with Article 7 of this Circular.

3. In special cases, amendments and supplements to the Program for Establishing Standard Rates outside the time specified in Clause 2 of this Article, organizations and individuals shall submit proposals to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for consideration and decision on the amendment of the Program for Establishing Standard Rates.

Article 10. Plan for Implementing the Program to Establish Norms

1. Based on the Program to Establish Norms approved by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, state management units under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment assigned to lead the establishment of norms shall be responsible for issuing the Plan for Implementing the Program to Establish Norms within a period not exceeding ten days from the date the Program to Establish Norms is approved by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

2. The Plan for Implementing the Program to Establish Norms of state management units under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall specifically and detailedly cover the contents prescribed in Clause 2, Article 8 of this Circular; including the specific list of detailed economic and technical norms, the time for establishing norms, and the expected time for submission for issuance.

Article 11. Report on the Implementation Status and Results of the Program to Establish Norms

1. State management agencies assigned to lead the establishment of norms shall implement a regular annual reporting system or ad hoc reports on the status and results of establishing norms and send them to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for consolidation, monitoring, or reporting to competent authorities.

2. Annual reports on the implementation status of the Program shall be sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment before November 30.

Section 2

 ESTABLISHING, REVIEWING AND ISSUING NORMS

Article 12. Conditions for Establishing Norms

1. Conditions for establishing norms:

a) Belonging to the list of public services using state budget funds in the field of state management of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued by competent authorities;

b) Work or products have been announced or issued national technical standards or regulations by state authorities;

c) Work or products (or similar products) have been implemented and completed, ensuring sufficient basis to determine necessary costs.

2. Norms for work or products that have been completed shall be established when meeting all conditions stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article simultaneously.

Article 13. Procedure for Establishing Norms

1. Prepare a list of tasks for the norm-establishing mission, ensuring clear representation of unit of measurement, meeting technical and technological requirements, and main conditions and measures for implementation.

2. Determine the components of work carried out according to steps or sub-tasks of work meeting technical requirements from preparation to completion.

3. Calculate and determine labor costs, tools, equipment, materials, energy, fuel, and machinery and equipment usage.

4. Establish detailed norms for each step based on labor costs, tools, equipment, materials, energy, fuel, and machinery and equipment usage.

Article 14. Reviewing and Issuing Norms

1. The review and issuance of norms shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 32/2016/TT-BTNMT dated November 7, 2016, issued by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment on the establishment and issuance of legal documents within the scope of state management of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 32/2016/TT-BTNMT).

2. The dossier for reviewing draft Circulars for issuing norms shall comply with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 30 of Circular No. 32/2016/TT-BTNMT and include a trial unit price calculation table for each type of product based on the draft norms and in accordance with guidance on preparing budget estimates, compared with actual costs or unit prices of products already having norms.

Chapter III
CONTENT AND TECHNICAL PRESENTATION OF NORMS

Article 15. Contents of standards

1. Labor standards.

2. Tool standards.

3. Material consumption standards.

4. Energy consumption standards.

5. Fuel consumption standards.

6. Machinery and equipment usage standards.

Article 16. Labor standards

1. Labor standards refer to the necessary labor time consumed by direct workers to produce one product (or perform one step of work or a specific task) and the paid rest time according to current laws. Direct labor standards include technical labor and service labor (general labor).

a) Technical labor is specialized labor trained in professional skills related to natural resources and the environment, as well as other relevant professions as prescribed by law.

Technical labor standards are the necessary time consumed by direct technical labor to complete one product (or to perform one step of work or a specific task), including: off-job labor and on-job labor, paid rest time according to current laws.

b) Service labor (general labor) is simple labor for transporting equipment, materials, specimens, guiding, and other activities during the production process to create products.

2. Components of labor standards include:

a) Work content: listing and describing the work content, basic operations, and main operations to perform the work;

b) Determining standard conditions (difficulty levels): identifying basic factors such as terrain, topography, transportation, weather, geology, and other conditions related to performing the work; determining difficulty levels different from standard conditions;

c) Staffing: describing the job positions of each worker at each stage and cycle of the work until the product is created. Based on this, determine the number and rank of specific workers to perform each content of each stage of the work within the labor cycle until the product is completed;

d) Standards: the necessary direct labor time to complete one product; the unit of measurement is individual workdays or group workdays/one unit of product. Off-job labor levels, if the work involves service labor (general labor), are expressed as fractions, where the numerator is the technical labor level (measured in group workdays, individual workdays); the denominator is the general labor level (measured in single workdays). Labor standards are determined separately for off-job and on-job work.

3. Workdays include individual workdays and group workdays; the working time for one workday is 08 hours for regular work and 06 hours for heavy, hazardous, dangerous, and particularly heavy, hazardous, dangerous work.

a) Individual workday (individual workday): is the workday determined for one direct worker performing one step of work to create a product;

b) Group workday: is the workday determined for a group of direct workers producing one product or performing one step of work to create a product;

c) Paid rest time for direct workers includes: leave, additional leave based on seniority (if applicable), holidays, meeting and training breaks, which amount to 34 days out of a total of 312 working days in one year.

4. Determining additional labor consumption compared to standard conditions, including natural factors such as terrain, topography, transportation, geology, weather. The degrees of impact on performance (time consumption) differ by 10% to 20%, with some cases not exceeding 30% of adjacent types, categories, and groups.

5. Off-job work labor levels when work must be stopped due to weather phenomena are specifically defined in the content of the standards and applied according to relevant laws.

Article 17. Standard for Tools and Equipment

1. Determine the necessary tool requirements at each stage of the production process until the product is completed.

2. Identify the list, type, and function of tools and equipment according to the usage needs at each stage of the production process until the product is completed.

3. Determine the service life of tools and equipment to serve as the basis for determining the usage standard:

a) Tools and equipment: list and service life as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance;

b) Types of personal protective equipment: service life of each type as stipulated by current laws;

c) Other tools and equipment (glassware, porcelain, plastic, wood, metal): service life from 12 months to 36 months.

4. Determine the standard for tools and equipment: the consumption of tools and equipment used to produce one unit of product under standard conditions.

5. The standard for tools and equipment is calculated corresponding to the labor standard that uses tools and equipment.

Article 18. Material Consumption Standard

1. Determine the necessary material requirements at each stage of the production process until the product is completed.

2. Identify the list and type of materials according to the usage needs at each stage of the production process until the product is completed.

3. Determine the material consumption standard: the level of consumption for each type of material to produce one unit of product or a step in the work process that produces the product.

Article 19. Energy Consumption Standard

1. Determine the necessary energy requirements at each stage of the production process until the product is completed.

2. Identify the list and type of energy according to the usage needs at each stage of the production process until the product is completed.

3. Determine the energy consumption standard: determined based on the power of machinery, equipment, tools, and energy-consuming devices and the time required to produce one unit of product or a step in the work process that produces the product. For electricity, additional line loss not exceeding 5% is included.

Article 20. Fuel Consumption Standard

1. Determine the necessary fuel requirements at each stage of the production process until the product is completed.

2. Identify the list and type of fuel according to the usage needs at each stage of the production process until the product is completed.

3. Determine the fuel consumption standard: set according to the power of machinery, equipment, tools, and fuel-consuming devices and the time required to produce one unit of product or a step in the work process that produces the product.

Article 21. Machinery and Equipment Usage Standard

1. Determine the necessary machinery, equipment, and software requirements at each stage of the production process until the product is completed.

2. Identify the list, type, function, and power of machinery, equipment, and software according to the usage needs at each stage of the production process until the product is completed. For machinery and equipment using electricity or fuel, the consumption rate of each type must be determined.

3. Determine the machinery and equipment usage standard: calculated based on the number of machine shifts directly used to produce one unit of product or a step in the work process that produces the product.

4. Determine the service life of machinery and equipment: for machinery and equipment classified as fixed assets, the service life is as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

5. Determine the machinery and equipment usage standard to produce products or steps in the work process that produce the product: calculated corresponding to the labor standard that uses machinery and equipment.

Article 22. Methods for Establishing Norms

Depending on the specific nature of the work, depending on the specific type of product, and based on the professional capacity of the organization or individual establishing the norms, it shall be decided simultaneously or choose one of the following methods for establishing norms:

1. Statistical and Comprehensive Method: This method establishes norms based on collected materials (surveys, photography, time recording, and other similar methods) regarding labor time consumption, material consumption, and the actual time using various tools and equipment to complete the work or product that needs to establish norms.

2. Comparative Method: This method establishes norms based on existing norms of similar works or products that have been implemented in practice.

3. Experience-Based Method: This method establishes norms based on accumulated experience of norm establishment staff or technical workers who have implemented in practice.

4. Analytical Method: This method establishes norms based on scientific and practical foundations to analyze each content of the work, influencing factors, and necessary consumption of each process in the production cycle (including: survey analysis, calculation analysis).

5. Standard Method: This method establishes labor norms based on state standards and regulations regarding labor time and rest systems.

Article 23. Structure of Norms

1. The structure of norms includes general provisions and content of norms.

2. General provisions of norms must clearly specify: scope of regulation; applicable objects; basis for establishing and revising norms; abbreviations; general adjustment coefficients due to natural factors, socio-economic factors, and other provisions (if any).

3. Based on the requirements of the work needing to establish norms, the unit responsible for establishing norms shall apply Model No. 02 attached hereto to build the content of norms appropriately and conveniently for implementation.

Chapter IV
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 24. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from November 15, 2021, and replaces Circular No. 04/2017/TT-BTNMT dated April 3, 2017, issued by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment on establishing economic and technical norms in the natural resources and environment sector.

2. If the legal documents cited in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced by other legal documents, they shall be applied according to the amended, supplemented, or replaced legal documents.

Article 25. Responsibilities for Implementation

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government, provincial People's Committees, units directly under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Departments of Natural Resources and Environment, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

2. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, the relevant units, organizations, and individuals are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for consideration and resolution./.

Model No. 01. Proposal for Economic and Technical Norm Establishment Program

(Attached to Circular No. 16/2021/TT-BTNMT dated September 27, 2021, issued by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment)

PROPOSAL FOR ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL NORM ESTABLISHMENT PROGRAM FOR THE PERIOD OF YEAR...

Note:

(2) List: Detailed name of each norm.

(3) Necessity: Implementation of programs, tasks, projects. For proposed amended norms, the reasons for amendment should be clearly stated (policy mechanisms, national technical standards, technical regulations, or due to issues arising during implementation... and specifically the content adjusted according to the detailed list of economic and technical norms already issued).

(4) Legal Basis: Legal provisions for implementing tasks (Laws, Resolutions of the National Assembly, Standing Committee of the National Assembly, Decrees, Circulars, Decisions of the Government, Prime Minister).

(5) Scientific Basis: National technical standards, technical regulations.

Model No. 02. Structure of Economic and Technical Norms

(Attached to Circular No. 16/2021/TT-BTNMT dated September 27, 2021, issued by the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment)

ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL STANDARDS

(Name of issuing norm)

(Issued together with...)

Part I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Thông tư này quy định chi tiết khoản 4 Điều 38 Luật Thủy sản số 18/2017/QH14 đã được sửa đổi, bổ sung tại điểm c khoản 21 Điều 14 Luật số 146/2025/QH15.

Thông tư này áp dụng đối với tổ chức, cá nhân có liên quan đến hoạt động kinh doanh đối tượng thủy sản nuôi chủ lực trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam.

3. Basis for Establishing and Amending Economic and Technical Norms

4. Abbreviation Provisions

5. Provisions on Using Norms.

- Contents not included in the norms.

- General Adjustment Coefficients compared to standard conditions (if any).

- Weather Adjustment Coefficient

- Regional Coefficient...

6. Other Provisions (if any)

Part II
ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL STANDARDS

1. Product 1

1.1. Labor Norms

1.1.1. Work Content

1.1.2. Difficulty Classification (KK1, KK2...)

1.1.3. Staffing

Table No. 01

1.1.4. Norms

Table No. 02

1.2. Machinery and Equipment Usage Norms

Table No. 03

1.3. Tool Usage Norms

Table No. 04

1.4. Material Consumption Norms

Table No. 05

1.5. Energy Consumption Norms

Table No. 06

1.6. Fuel Consumption Norms

Table No. 07

…………………

2. Product 2...n: Establish similarly to Product 01.

Table No. ...

Note: All tables must be numbered sequentially from beginning to end in one set of norms (regardless of which section they belong to).