Circular No. 16/NN-TT provides detailed regulations and guidance on the implementation of the Plant Quarantine Regulations.

 

CIRCULAR

ISSUED BY THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE NUMBER 16-NN/TT ON DECEMBER 20, 1980 REGULATING SPECIFICALLY AND GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLANT QUARANTINE REGULATION

To implement the Plant Quarantine Regulation (hereinafter referred to as the regulation) issued with Decree No. 214-CP dated July 14, 1980 of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Agriculture hereby regulates specifically and guides implementation as follows.

I. REGARDING GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 2 of the regulation, hereby promulgates the list of plant pests and diseases subject to quarantine of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Annex No. 1 attached hereto) including those types of pests and diseases that are dangerous and not present in our country or newly present on a limited scale, having the potential to spread between regions within the country and from abroad into our country.

This list will be amended and supplemented depending on the development of pest and disease situations.

2. The items, means, and tools subject to plant quarantine (listed in Article 3 of the regulation) include the following:

a. Food crops, industrial crops, fruit trees, food plants, animal feed plants, ornamental plants, forest plants, medicinal plants, etc., and parts of these plants such as buds, flowers, seeds, fruits, branches, leaves, roots, tubers, graft eyes, etc., in unprocessed form, whether fresh or dry, which have the potential to carry pests and diseases are all subject to plant quarantine.

Rice, peanuts, bran, rice husk, flour, cookies made from flour (rice cakes, biscuits, etc.), cotton fiber, cotton yarn, jute yarn, hemp yarn, herbal medicines, wooden goods, bamboo goods, rattan goods, and similar items, although they are processed products, still retain the potential to carry pests and diseases and thus remain subject to plant quarantine.

Preserved sweets, canned goods, fabrics, clothing, herbal medicines made into pills or soaked in alcohol, and similar items are processed products that no longer have the potential to carry pests and diseases and therefore are not subject to plant quarantine.

b. Pest samples, disease spores, weeds, soil taken for research purposes, seedling pots, soil adhering to other means and tools, etc.

c. Means and tools used for producing, processing, storing, and transporting the aforementioned items such as fields, gardens, orchards, forests, factories, machinery, equipment, ships, aircraft, warehouses, docks, packaging materials, and cargo supports, etc.

d. Livestock, poultry, wild birds, wild animals, or their fur, skin, and products derived from animal products that have the potential to carry weeds or plant-damaging insects and plant products are all subject to plant quarantine.

3. The content of plant quarantine (recorded in Article 4 of the regulation) includes the following measures:

a. Detection: Investigating pests and diseases on means and tools; inspecting and sampling items for analysis and identification.

b. Prevention: Not importing items produced in areas currently experiencing outbreaks; not transporting items suspected of being infected with quarantine pests, diseases, or weeds (hereinafter referred to as infected items) to areas without outbreaks; only processing, transporting, storing, and using such items under certain conditions. Isolating and returning infected items to their place of origin, etc.

c. Eradication: Using physical, chemical, biological, or mechanical methods, including destroying infected items, etc.

4. Depending on the situation, the person holding items, means, and tools (hereinafter referred to as the item holder) subject to plant quarantine must implement one or more of the plant quarantine measures listed above for their items, means, and tools.

The item holder must also implement plant quarantine measures for packaging materials, cargo supports, and transportation means for their items.

In the following cases, the plant quarantine authority of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam shall organize the implementation of handling measures, and the costs for implementing these measures shall be borne by the item holder:

a. Items, means, and tools without a holder or whose holder cannot be present and has not delegated anyone, such as mail packages where the recipient is far from the first post office; items, means, and tools washed ashore; items dropped from airplanes, etc.

b. Lots of items, means, and tools severely infected requiring immediate handling to prevent the spread of infection, but due to some reason, the item holder (or means and tool holder) does not promptly handle them.

II. REGARDING THE ORGANIZATION OF PLANT QUARANTINE WORK

A. PLANT QUARANTINE AT PORTS OF ENTRY

1. Technical requirements for quarantine locations (recorded in Article 6 of the regulation) are that the location must have conditions to prevent, detect, block, and eliminate pests and diseases, quarantine objects, from outside entering the lot of items or spreading from the lot of items to the outside.

Specifically:

a. The best import quarantine location is at the first border gate, airport, or first post office. If it is not possible to quarantine at these places, quarantine should be conducted elsewhere, but it is better to avoid bringing pests into the interior.

b. The best export quarantine location is at the last border gate. If quarantine cannot be conducted at these places, it should be conducted elsewhere from which the exported lot of items can be directly transported overseas (without changing quantity, volume, packaging, packing materials, and cargo supports, and without unloading along the way).

2. The procedures for importing goods include:

a. Based on the registration certificate for importing plant products, the Ministry of Agriculture issues a registered plant quarantine import certificate to the foreign trade importer. This certificate applies to one or more lots of items from one or more imports in each year, specifying the plant quarantine measures to be applied when importing these lots of items.

For non-foreign trade importers, the Plant Protection Department may exempt the registration procedure for specific cases upon examination.

b. Based on the declaration for plant quarantine inspection, the plant quarantine authority must complete the inspection accurately and quickly. Only in the following cases or similar cases can the deadline specified in Article 9 of the regulation be extended:

- The lot of items, means, and tools themselves do not meet the conditions for rapid inspection and sampling according to the prescribed technical procedures.

- The inspection, sampling activities encounter objective difficulties that cannot be overcome.

- There are many declarations at the same time, unable to quarantine in time, or the owner of the items does not request quarantine immediately after declaration.

c. The owner of the items, means of transport, and tools shall be issued a plant quarantine certificate by the Plant Quarantine Agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for consignments of items, means of transport, and tools listed in Clause 1, Article 2 of the Regulations which are not infected with pests and diseases, or are infected but have been properly treated.

3. The procedures for inspecting postal parcels or other imported items weighing less than five kilograms shall be carried out as stated in Point 2 above, but exempted from registration of plant quarantine import certificates and physical inspections if the Plant Quarantine Agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam deems that such consignments no longer pose a risk of carrying pests and diseases listed in Clause 1, Article 2 of the Regulations.

4. Those who bring hand luggage, food, flowers for condolences, or bouquets for gifts from abroad into Vietnam are exempted from the aforementioned procedures, but must declare or present them for on-site inspection when requested by the Plant Quarantine Agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and implement appropriate measures if their items are found to be diseased.

5. During transit through the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the owner of items subject to plant quarantine must comply with the measures stipulated in Article 10 of the Regulations, and also provide a plant quarantine certificate issued by the country of origin accompanying the consignment for presentation upon request by the Plant Quarantine Agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. In case there is no such certificate or unloading occurs en route, declaration must be made so that the Plant Quarantine Agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam can conduct quarantine and issue a certificate for further transportation.

6. When conveyances arrive from abroad or return to the territory, inland waters, and territorial seas of Vietnam, all persons on board must ensure that pests and diseases listed in Clause 1, Article 2 of the Regulations are not spread from those conveyances to the surroundings in any way, nor discarded or allowed to drift onto the mainland of Vietnam. If such incidents occur due to unforeseen circumstances, they must immediately report to the nearest Vietnamese authority. The person reporting or discovering such incidents shall promptly inform the Plant Quarantine or Plant Protection Agency for immediate action.

Only after being issued a certificate of inspection and approval by the Plant Quarantine Agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam may conveyances subject to plant quarantine enter ports or unload goods in inland waters and port areas. For air and land conveyances, the Plant Quarantine Agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam will decide on the quarantine procedures for these conveyances before unloading, depending on the specific routes and types of conveyances.

B. PLANT QUARANTINE IN DOMESTIC AREAS

1. Infested Areas (as specified in Article 14 of the Regulations) include territories where one or more pests and diseases listed in Clause 1, Article 2 of the Regulations exist and can spread directly through natural means.

2. The announcement of an infestation or its termination shall be made by the People's Committee of the district if the infested area is within one district; by the People's Committee of the province if it spans two or more districts; or by the Ministry of Agriculture if it covers two or more provinces. Such announcements are based on investigation results or verification and recommendations from the Plant Quarantine Agency, specifying the affected land areas, factories, warehouses, wharves, and the measures and deadlines for implementing them.

Announcements of infested areas shall be communicated to responsible organizations or individuals and posted at key points of entry and exit to those areas.

3. Monitoring of pests and diseases as specified in Article 13 of the Regulations in areas adjacent to border crossings or frequently receiving quarantined items from abroad, as well as from infested areas, in seedling production facilities, and other places likely to serve as sources of spreading regulated pests and diseases, must be conducted according to the procedures prescribed by the Plant Quarantine Agency.

4. The level of government that announces an infested area shall organize temporary quarantine stations in necessary locations (as detailed in point c, Clause 2, Article 14 of the Regulations).

5. Cases where suspending the transport of diseased items significantly disrupts transportation, loading/unloading, circulation, and distribution activities, requiring the Plant Quarantine Agency to report immediately to competent authorities (as specified in Article 15 of the Regulations) include:

a. Suspending the transport of consignments prioritized as top priority in transportation plans by authorized bodies.

b. Suspension of transport causing complete disruption of operations at transportation, loading/unloading, circulation, and distribution facilities.

6. Apart from the provisions mentioned above, plant quarantine work in domestic areas shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Plant Protection Regulations promulgated by Decision No. 334-CP dated September 22, 1979 of the Council of Ministers.

C. FEES FOR PLANT QUARANTINE

(As specified in Section III, Chapter II of the Regulations).

With the agreement of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture now specifies details regarding plant quarantine fees (hereinafter referred to as quarantine fees) as follows:

1. Quarantine fees include the following costs:

a. Investigation and sampling of items, calculated based on the number of sample points specified in the plant quarantine sampling operation guidelines set by the Plant Protection Bureau. Each unit of quarantine fee is charged for every ten samples from the first to the tenth sample, and an additional 0.1 unit of quarantine fee is charged for each additional sample starting from the eleventh sample.

If sampling of items is not conducted, an inspection fee unit is calculated for areas under 500 square meters, and for areas over 500 square meters, an additional 0.1 inspection fee unit is calculated for every additional 100 square meters.

b. Analysis and appraisal: For each request for analysis and appraisal of insects, fungi, bacteria, viruses, weeds, etc., an inspection fee ranging from 8 to 12 units is charged, and for each general analysis and appraisal request (to conclude on the overall plant quarantine status), an inspection fee ranging from 10 to 15 units is charged, depending on the batch of items and the complexity of the analysis request.

c. Preparing records (both labor and materials) for each stage as well as for all stages during each plant quarantine procedure is charged at a rate of 0.5 to 1 inspection fee unit.

d. Shipping samples and traveling to conduct plant quarantine procedures are charged according to common freight rates and actual expenses incurred by the plant quarantine agency.

2. Each inspection fee unit is valued at 2 dong if the quarantine is carried out during regular working hours; at 2.50 dong if it is carried out outside regular working hours; and at 3 dong if it is carried out on holidays, weekends, or night shifts due to objective requirements.

The plant quarantine agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam may decide to collect quarantine fees from foreigners in rubles, dollars (US), pounds (UK), marks (West Germany) with each inspection fee unit valued at 20 dong, 25 dong; 30 dong (depending on whether the quarantine is carried out within or outside regular working hours) based on the exchange rate managed by the State Bank of Vietnam.

3. Importers pay the quarantine fee for imported items, exporters pay for exported items, and owners of means and equipment (if quarantine is conducted separately for means and equipment that do not contain items) pay for their respective means and equipment.

The quarantine fee must be paid immediately at the location where the payment is made, if the payer is the owner of postal items, parcels, or luggage sent along with passengers on transportation means; or paid later, if the payer is the owner of items not mentioned above.

The specific period for collecting plant quarantine fees is determined by the plant quarantine agency of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for each case and shall not exceed 15 days from the completion of the quarantine. Late collection of quarantine fees is considered a violation of the regulations.

4. Foodstuffs carried for personal consumption, wreaths for condolences, and bunches of flowers given as gifts are exempted from quarantine fees.

Postal items, parcels, and items sent via transportation means weighing less than 5 kilograms for gifts, donations for research, and batches of items under humanitarian aid are subject to reduced quarantine fees compared to the collection levels specified in Point I above.

III. REGARDING REWARDS AND PENALTIES

(Recorded in Chapter IV of the Regulations)

With the agreement of the Ministry of Finance, the following provisions are now established:

1. The provision of monetary rewards recorded in Article 20 of the Regulations only applies to those who have made significant contributions (if they are quarantine agencies or officers, they must have performed exceptionally) in preventing, detecting, and apprehending violations of plant quarantine regulations. The maximum amount of reward is 50% of the fine amount for the violation, and not exceeding 3,000,000 dong. The recipient of the reward receives the award in domestic currency.

In addition to monetary rewards, all achievements in implementing the Regulations are recognized and rewarded according to the general reward system of the State.

2. The authority responsible for imposing fines (recorded in Article 22 of the Regulations) has the right to allocate part of the collected fines for rewards and remit the remainder to the State Treasury.

3. Based on the violation report and the actual situation of the violation, the competent authority decides on the form and degree of punishment. The penalty notice is communicated to the person being punished.

4. The collection of fines from foreign violators is carried out according to the procedures for collecting quarantine fees stipulated in Section C, Part II of this Circular. The management of rewards and penalties must comply with the current regulations of the State.

5. Material compensation in cases of violation of the Regulations is implemented according to the material responsibility system (issued together with Decree No. 49-CP dated April 9, 1968 of the Council of Ministers) and the general regulations of the State.

6. Complaints and resolution of complaints regarding rewards and penalties in the implementation of the Regulations are carried out according to the general regulations and complaint procedures of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

IV.IMPLEMENTATION

1. The plant quarantine network includes:

a. The Plant Protection Department is responsible for plant quarantine work nationwide and its subordinate quarantine stations located at border gates and major transportation hubs, directly conducting export and import plant quarantine work at these locations and regional plant quarantine work around the station's area.

b. Organizations or dedicated staff members engaged in plant quarantine work at provincial and district levels, established by local authorities, and organizations authorized to conduct plant quarantine at production, processing, storage, transportation, delivery, border control, etc., established by the managing agency with the consent of the plant quarantine agency, to oversee plant quarantine work in their respective regions or facilities.

2. Management of professional and technical aspects of plant quarantine for the plant quarantine network from central to local levels (recorded in Article 26 of the Regulations) is carried out as follows:

a. Operations, procedures, record-keeping, documentation, and reporting systems for plant quarantine business are uniformly applied according to the regulations of the Plant Protection Department based on the Regulations and this Circular.

b. Local plant quarantine officers appointed or hired by the competent authority must have a certain level of expertise in plant quarantine as prescribed by the Plant Protection Department and must be confirmed by the higher-level plant quarantine agency.

Plant quarantine officers (hereinafter referred to as quarantine officers) both at the central and local levels must be confirmed by the Plant Protection Department for their professional and technical qualifications and issued a plant quarantine officer card.

c. For plant quarantine measures that, although not exceeding the levels of authority set forth in point 3 below, have significant impacts in various aspects (economic, political, diplomatic, defense, etc.), the subordinate level must obtain prior approval from the superior level before issuing the decision. In cases where it is not possible to seek opinions from the superior level immediately, the local government's opinions must be sought before issuing the decision, and the first opportunity should be seized to report to the superior level.

3. The detailed regulations and authority levels for the tasks and responsibilities of plant quarantine officers (as stipulated in Chapters III and IV of the Regulations) are as follows:

a. Inspectors and plant quarantine staff are assigned specific duties and authorities by the organization or plant quarantine officer.

b. Plant quarantine officers have duties and authorities as specified in Articles 18, 19, and Clause I of Article 22 of the Regulations, with some points further detailed as follows:

- They must wear uniforms, insignias, and plant quarantine identification cards according to the prescribed models and regulations. Only officers who possess all items as prescribed above are qualified to perform their duties.

- When entering places with plant quarantine objects, means, or tools (as specified in Clause 1 of Article 19 of the Regulations), in addition to uniforms and plant quarantine identification cards, they must also carry orders or letters of introduction from their own agency. The control of documents, inspection of the implementation of quarantine measures and procedures, investigation, and sampling of objects must strictly follow the procedures, operations, and regulations stipulated by the Plant Protection Department.

- The issuance of orders to halt transportation vehicles on waterways or roads (as specified in Clause 3 of Article 19 of the Regulations) can only be carried out on designated routes, for specific types of vehicles, and within a specified time frame, pursuant to decisions made by People's Committees at various levels and coordinated with local police stations.

Orders to stop transportation of infected consignments at bus stations, train stations, ports, and along roads (as specified in Article 15 of the Regulations) shall not exceed 24 hours.

Such orders to halt or stop transportation must not contravene traffic laws and other regulations promulgated by the State.

- They may decide on plant quarantine measures where the direct cost of implementing such measures does not exceed 3,000 dong.

c. Plant quarantine officers directly responsible for plant quarantine work at the district level and above, in addition to the authorities and duties mentioned above, also have the right:

- To impose fines up to 100 dong or 200 dong (if at the provincial level or equivalent).

- To transfer or destroy infected goods valued up to 1,000 dong or 2,000 dong (if at the provincial level or equivalent).

- To decide on plant quarantine measures where the direct cost of implementing such measures does not exceed 5,000 dong or 10,000 dong (if at the provincial level or equivalent), or up to 20,000 dong (if the head or deputy head of a plant quarantine station under the Plant Protection Department or equivalent), if the cost exceeds 20,000 dong, then it must be decided by the Director of the Plant Protection Department or reported to a higher level for decision.

d. The Director of the Plant Protection Department organizes, directs, and manages professional plant quarantine work from central to grassroots levels, confirms and issues plant quarantine identification cards, issues certificates for imported plant quarantine registration, and details points not specified in the Regulations and Circular to effectively implement plant quarantine work nationwide.

The above are some detailed provisions guiding the implementation of the plant quarantine regulations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, effective from the date of issuance. Previous regulations contrary to these Regulations and this Circular are hereby abolished.

 

LIST

OBJECTS OF PLANT QUARANTINE OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

It is prohibited to import seeds, seedlings, ornamental plants, agricultural trees, forest trees, and agricultural and forestry products infected with pests listed in this group or produced in areas affected by such pests into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

GROUP I

A. INSECTS

1. Mediterranean Fruit Fly Ceratitis Capitata Wied.

2. American White Moth Hyphantria cunea Drury.

3. Colorado Potato Beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say.

4. Bean Weevil Pachymerus pallidus Olivier.

5. White-banded Coconut Bug Pantomorus leucoloma Dojean.

B. DISEASES

6. Rice Nematode Ditylenchus angustus (Butler) Filipjev

7. Potato Nematode Hétérodera rostochiensis Wollnerber

8. Sweet Potato Black Rot Cesratótomella fimbriata Elliot et Halsted.

9. Potato Wilt Synchytrium endobioticum (Shielb) Perc.

10. Corn Stewarts' Wilt Bactérium stewarti EF Smith.

11. Citrus Blight Deuterophoma Tracheiphila Pétri.

GROUP II

Seeds, seedlings of ornamental plants, agricultural trees, forest trees, and agricultural and forestry products infected with pests listed in this group must undergo fumigation and other quarantine measures to prevent their spread before being transported into the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

A. INSECTS

12. Cotton Boll Weevil Anthonomus grandis Beh.

13. Citrus Mealybug Pseudolacaspis pentagoma Targ.

14. Citrus Fruit Fly Tétradacus citri Ch.

15. Long-tailed Mealybug Leucaspis japonica Chu.

16. Comstock Mealybug Pseudococcus comstocki Kuw.

17. Confused Flour Beetle Tribolium confusum Duval.

18. Japanese Beetle Popillia japonica Newn.

19. Peach Fruit Borer Carposina sasakii Mats.

20. Apple Fruit Borer Lapeyresia molesta Busch.

21. Larger Grain Borer Trogoderma granaria Everts

22. Potato Tubercle Moth Gnorimoschema operculella Zell.

23. Soybean Seed Beetle Acanthoscelides obtectus Say.

24. Apple Mealybug Aspidiotus perniciosus Comst.

25. Large Horned Beetle Caulophilus latinasus Say.

26. Flat Red Mealybug Ceroplastes ruscit L.

27. Pink Bollworm Pestaloptera Gossypiella Raumd.

28. Coffee Berry Borer Stephanoderes hampei Ferr.

29. Granary Weevil Calandra granaria L.

B. DISEASES

30. Texas Root Rot Phymatotrichum omnivorum (shoer) Duggar.

31. Potato Powdery Scab Spongospora subterranea (Wallr) Legerh.

32. Tomato Crown Gall Corynebacterium michiganense (M. F. Smith)
Jensen.

33. Wheat black smut disease Tilletia indica Mitra.

34. Cotton Verticillium wilt Verticilium alboatrum Reinke et Berth.

35. Cotton Fusarium wilt Fusarium vasinfectum Atk.

36. Rice sheath blight Ephelis oryzae Syd.

37. Corn smut Ustilago maydis (DC) Corda.

38. Citrus yellow quick decline.