Joint Circular No. 178/2015/TTLT-BTC-BNNPTNT-BTNMT-BYT guiding the implementation of the National Single Window Mechanism

JOINT CIRCULAR

GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL SINGLE WINDOW MECHANISM

Pursuant to the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13 dated June 23, 2014;

The Minister of Finance, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Minister of Health issue this Joint Circular guiding the implementation of the National Single Window Mechanism.

WHEREAS, Decree No. 215/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 23, 2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decree No. 199/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 26, 2013 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

This Circular guides the implementation of the National Single Window Mechanism as prescribed in the Customs Law No. 54/2014/QH13 and Decree No. 08/2015/NĐ-CP dated January 21, 2015 of the Government detailing and providing implementation measures for the Customs Law regarding customs procedures, inspection, supervision, and control concerning the following contents:

Pursuant to Decree No. 63/2012/ND-CP dated August 31, 2012 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

1. Regulations on the list of administrative procedures applying the National Single Window Mechanism (hereinafter referred to as single window administrative procedures) of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Health as set out in Appendix I attached hereto.

2. Regulations on the process of declaration and acceptance of information declarations, issuance of results of administrative procedures through electronic means; criteria and formats of electronic documents used to implement single window administrative procedures as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Circular.

Section 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

3. Regulations on coordination mechanisms and information exchange to implement single window administrative procedures.

4. Other issues related to single window administrative procedures as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Circular shall be implemented in accordance with specialized legal documents.

1. Agencies and units under or designated by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Health shall handle and issue permits for single window administrative procedures as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Circular.

2. Organizations and individuals engaged in export, import, and transit of goods; organizations and individuals having rights and obligations related to export, import, and transit of goods may choose to implement single window administrative procedures through the National Single Window Portal.

pursuant to Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree No. 08/2015/NĐ-CP is an integrated information system including the customs clearance system of the customs authority, the information system of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and other information technology systems (hereinafter referred to as specialized processing systems).

Article 2. Applicability

(hereinafter referred to as Processing Authority) is an agency or unit under or designated by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Health that has the function of handling and issuing permits for administrative procedures as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Circular.

includes electronic documents and accompanying documents according to the provisions of specialized legal documents for each administrative procedure in the form of electronic documents converted from paper documents, or paper documents.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

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

1. National Single Window Portalis information declared, processing results, and notifications created, sent, received, and stored electronically to implement single window administrative procedures.

2. Single window administrative procedure processing agencyis an organization or individual implementing single window administrative procedures as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Circular.

3. Single Window Administrative Filerefers to entities permitted to access the National Single Window Portal as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 10 of this Circular.

4. Electronic documentc) Processing Authorities receive, process information, provide feedback on the status of receipt and processing, and return processing results to the National Single Window Portal;

5. Declarantd) The National Single Window Portal provides feedback on the status of receipt/processing and processing results to the declarant and relevant specialized processing systems.

6. System usera) Processing Authorities under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Health handle, issue permits, certificates, and confirmations for exported, imported goods for the declarant and send permits, certificates, confirmations, or other processing results to the customs authority through the National Single Window Portal;

7. National Single Window Portal management unitis the General Department of Customs under the Ministry of Finance.

Article 4. Implementation of the National Single Window Mechanism

1. Administrative single window procedures and information exchange among agencies through the National Single Window Portal shall be carried out as follows:

a) The declarant and processing agencies send information on administrative single window procedures to the National Single Window Portal;

b) The National Single Window Portal receives and forwards the information to specialized processing systems;

b) The customs authority makes the final decision on the clearance of exported, imported, and transited goods based on permits and processing results of the Processing Authorities transferred to the customs clearance system of the customs authority through the National Single Window Portal.

2. Receive and transfer declaration information from the National Single Window Portal to specialized processing systems.

2. Decision-making on the National Single Window Mechanism shall be carried out as follows:

3. Receive processing results from specialized processing systems to the National Single Window Portal.

Electronic documents include:

Article 5. Electronic transactions on the National Single Window Mechanism

Electronic transactions on the National Single Window Mechanism (hereinafter referred to as electronic transactions) include:

1. Filing, receiving, and responding to information regarding the processing of administrative procedures through the National Single Window Portal.

a) Declaration information in the form of declarations, registration forms, registrations, confirmation registrations, or other types to implement administrative procedures within the list of single window administrative procedures;

b) Processing results of the Processing Authority in the form of clearance decisions, cargo release, or storage of goods, permits, certificates, confirmations, or other processing results corresponding to administrative procedures within the list of electronic documents as set out in Appendix II attached hereto;

4. Exchanging information between specialized processing systems through the National Single Window Portal.

Article 6. Administrative Procedures Single Window File

1. Types of electronic documents:

b) Electronic documents must be established in accordance with the criteria and format models established by the Ministries for single window administrative procedures as set out in Appendix I attached hereto;

e) The creation and conversion of electronic documents from paper documents and vice versa shall be carried out in accordance with laws on electronic transactions and specialized laws for single window administrative procedures as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Circular.

3. Electronic documents converted from paper documents such as scanned copies: shall be announced by the Ministries in accordance with Clause 4, Article 13 of this Circular to implement single window administrative procedures.

c) Notifications of acceptance, rejection, or requests to modify or supplement information filed on the Single Window Mechanism.

2. Legal validity of electronic documents:

a) An electronic document has the same value as a paper document;

b) Electronic documents must be established in accordance with the criteria and format models established by the Ministries for single-window administrative procedures as stipulated in Appendix I attached to this Circular;

c) The sending, receiving, storing, and legal validity of electronic documents shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on electronic transactions and other relevant laws;

d) Electronic documents must meet all requirements of specialized laws for administrative single window procedures;

d) Electronic documents must bear the digital signature of the authorized person in accordance with the specialized laws governing single window administrative procedures when the declarant registers to use a digital signature;

e) The creation and conversion of electronic documents from paper documents and vice versa shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on electronic transactions and specialized laws applicable to single-window administrative procedures as provided for in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Circular.

3. Electronic documents converted from paper documents such as scanned copies shall be published by the Ministries in accordance with Clause 4, Article 13 of this Circular to implement single-window administrative procedures.

4. Paper documents: The form, content, method of submission, and presentation of paper documents in the single-window administrative dossier shall comply with the provisions of specialized regulatory legal documents concerning such administrative procedures.

Article 7. Registration of user accounts for the National Single Window Portal

1. In cases where the declarant has been granted access accounts by Ministries to existing specialized processing systems, the declarant shall choose to use one of those accounts to access the National Single Window Portal. To use the access account, the declarant shall access the National Single Window Portal at the address www.vnsw.gov.vn and complete the registration of the account for use on the National Single Window Portal according to the information specified in Model I, Appendix III issued together with this Circular. The management unit of the National Single Window Portal shall be responsible for guiding the declarant on the use of the registered account to access the National Single Window Portal in case of any arising issues.

2. In cases where the declarant does not have a user account granted by Ministries, the registration of a user account on the National Single Window Portal shall be carried out as follows:

a) The declarant shall access the National Single Window Portal at the address www.vnsw.gov.vn and complete the registration of the dossier information on the National Single Window Portal according to the information specified in Model II, Appendix III issued together with this Circular. Within 01 working day from the date of receiving the declarant's dossier registration information on the National Single Window Portal, the management unit of the National Single Window Portal shall conduct verification and comparison of the declarant's information. In cases where the dossier is not approved or is incomplete, the management unit of the National Single Window Portal shall notify the declarant via email (specifying the reasons). In cases where the dossier is complete and meets all conditions, the management unit of the National Single Window Portal shall notify the declarant via email of the acceptance of the dossier; and provide the declarant's initial login name and password.

b) After issuing a new account to the declarant, the National Single Window Portal sends the new account information of the declarant to the corresponding specialized processing systems.

3. In cases where the user is an officer or civil servant of agencies or units under the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, or the Ministry of Health, the issuance of user accounts on the National Single Window Portal shall be carried out as follows:

a) Each Ministry shall compile a list of new user accounts required on the National Single Window Portal, specifying full name, position, place of work, and the functions within the Ministry’s jurisdiction on the National Single Window Portal according to the model provided by the management unit of the National Single Window Portal and send a notification letter to the management unit of the National Single Window Portal.

b) Within 05 working days, the management unit of the National Single Window Portal shall, based on technical requirements to ensure system security and safety, review the number of accounts requested by each Ministry, issue user accounts to the Ministries, and notify them in writing of the login name and default password. In cases where the number of newly issued accounts is less than the number requested by the Ministries, the management unit of the National Single Window Portal must specify the reasons in the notification letter sent to the Ministries.

Section 2

PROVISIONS ON THE NATIONAL SINGLE WINDOW PORTAL

Article 8. Principles of operation of the National Single Window Portal

1. Comply with the provisions of specialized laws, laws on state secrets protection, commercial secrets protection, business secrets protection for electronic transactions conducted on the National Single Window Portal.

2. Ensure the accuracy, objectivity, completeness, and timeliness of electronic transactions conducted through the National Single Window Portal.

Article 9. Functions of the National Single Window Portal

1. Receive electronic documents and related information, verify the digital signatures of declarants and processing agencies sent to the portal.

2. Transfer electronic certificates, other information of the declarant to the specialized processing system (including digital signatures in cases where the declarant uses digital signatures) while storing information from the declarant on the National Single Window Portal for the purpose of searching and statistics.

3. Receive notifications from the specialized processing system.

4. Return electronic certificates to the declarant (including digital signatures in cases where the specialized processing systems use digital signatures).

5. Provide feedback on processing results of Ministries to relevant specialized processing systems.

6. Store the status of electronic transactions conducted through the National Single Window Portal, store electronic documents.

7. Providing certain reporting and statistical functions according to requirements from processing agencies and declarants.

Article 10. Authority and level of access to the National Single Window Portal

1. The entities allowed access to the National Single Window Portal include:

a) Organizations and individuals implementing administrative procedures as stipulated in Article 1 of this Circular;

b) Customs authorities, units under and affiliated to Ministries: Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environment, Health;

c) State management agencies not mentioned in point b of this clause that exploit information from the National Single Window Portal.

2. Levels and authority of access:

a) Organizations and individuals as prescribed at point a, Clause 1 of this Article shall have access to the National Single Window Portal to declare information, receive feedback on the handling of files to implement single window administrative procedures, receive single window administrative certificates, other handling results of single window administrative procedures, and search for information published on the National Single Window Portal;

b) The subjects at point b, Clause 1 of this Article shall have access to the National Single Window Portal to receive information, process and return handling results in the form of single window administrative certificates or other handling results of single window administrative procedures, receive single window administrative certificates, other handling results of related agencies;

c) The subjects at point c, Clause 1 as prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 25 of this Circular.

Article 11. Use of Digital Signatures to Implement Single Window Administrative Procedures

In cases where the declarant uses digital signatures to implement single window administrative procedures on the National Single Window Portal, the declarant must comply with the following regulations:

1. The digital signature used by the declarant to implement single window administrative procedures is a public digital signature issued to organizations, registered with the Managing Unit of the National Single Window Portal and confirmed to be compatible with the National Single Window Portal system.

2. The use of digital signatures and their legal value shall be carried out in accordance with current national regulations on digital signatures and digital signature certification services.

3. Before using digital signatures to implement single window administrative procedures, users must register their digital signatures with the Managing Unit of the National Single Window Portal. Information about digital signatures can be registered immediately when the declarant applies for a user account. In cases where the declarant already has a user account but has not registered digital signature information or wishes to register additional digital signatures, the declarant accesses the National Single Window Portal with the registered account and enters all the following contents:

a) Name, tax code of the exporting and importing agency or organization;

b) Full name, identification number or passport number, position (if applicable) of the person receiving the digital certificate;

c) Serial number of the digital certificate;

d) Validity period of the digital certificate.

4. The declarant must re-register with the Managing Unit of the National Single Window Portal the information specified in Clause 3 of this Article in the following cases: registered information changes, certificate renewal, key pair change, temporary suspension of the certificate.

5. In cases where the declarant has registered the use of multiple digital signatures with specialized processing systems, the declarant has the right to choose to use one of the currently used digital signatures.

Article 12. Responsibilities of the National Single Window Management Unit

1. Manage technical operations, maintenance, upgrading of hardware systems, network systems, security systems to serve the operation of the National Single Window at the address: www.vnsw.gov.vn.

2. Manage, operate, maintain, and upgrade the National Single Window system to meet the requirements of relevant parties.

3. Manage and provide accounts for users of the National Single Window.

4. Ensure conditions for the National Single Window to continuously connect with specialized processing systems. Ensure that the information technology infrastructure system operates continuously for 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

5. Notifying specialized processing agencies of the implementation plan for procedures and time to resolve incidents in case of incidents at the National Single Window Portal.

6. Provide technical advice and support for specialized processing systems and declarants when requested.

Article 13. Responsibilities of Ministries

1. Ensure technical conditions of specialized processing systems to continuously connect with the National Single Window.

2. Manage technical operations, operation, maintenance, and upgrading of specialized processing systems.

3. Synchronize data categories and code tables between specialized processing systems under their management with the National Single Window when these data categories and code tables require synchronization to ensure proper system operation.

4. Develop criteria and formats for electronic documents within their respective management scope.

5. Lead in building, managing, and operating information technology systems within their management scope.

6. In case of incidents in the Ministry's specialized processing system, notify the National Single Window Management Unit about the implementation plan for procedures and time to resolve the incident.

7. Notify the email address of the Ministry, the name of the unit receiving information, and phone number to the National Single Window Management Unit to receive information and notifications in case of incidents or other necessary situations. Manage the email inbox to receive incident information and propose timely solutions.

Article 14. Ensuring Information Security

1. The National Single Window Management Unit is responsible for ensuring the security of information and data of transactions conducted on the National Single Window. Data storage and backup are carried out in specialized processing systems. Ministries connected to the National Single Window are responsible for applying security measures sent to the National Single Window.

2. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for applying necessary professional, technical measures to secure the National Single Window, ensuring accurate, timely, and effective sharing of information and data among agencies, organizations, units, and individuals as prescribed in this Circular.

3. Users are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information and data provided to the National Single Window in accordance with the provisions of specialized regulatory legal documents concerning administrative procedures.

Article 15. Handling Incidents

In case the national single window experiences incidents or errors that prevent electronic exchange and provision of information:

1. The National Single Window Management Unit immediately notifies the declarant and relevant management agencies through appropriate means and email according to the address notified to the National Single Window Management Unit as stipulated in Clause 7, Article 13 of this Circular.

2. Processing agencies notify the declarant in writing or via email according to the address registered in the declarant's information to complete ongoing procedures on the National Single Window.

3. During the incident resolution period, administrative procedures shall be conducted through other methods as prescribed by current laws.

Section 3

PROCEDURE FOR DECLARATION, RECEIPT, EXCHANGE AND FEEDBACKINFORMATION ON THE NATIONAL SINGLE WINDOW

Article 16. Declaration Maker, Rights and Obligations of the Declaration Maker

1. The declaration maker as prescribed in Clause 5, Article 3 of this Circular includes:

a) Customs declarant;

b) Organizations and individuals within Vietnam and abroad related to the management, production, business, and use of animal feed on the territory of Vietnam; the owner of the object or the authorized representative of the owner subject to plant quarantine for import, transit, and domestic transportation; the declarant of animal product export quarantine; the declarant implementing administrative procedures to apply for a CITES permit; organizations and individuals within Vietnam and abroad related to the management, production, business, and use of aquafeed on the territory of Vietnam; food processing establishments with exports and organizations and individuals exporting batches of food products; fertilizer importers;

c) Waste generators of CTNH or exporters representing waste generators; importers and exporters of ozone-depleting substances (HCFCs) and premixed HCFC-141b polystyrene;

d) Vietnamese traders and organizations and individuals importing medical equipment for circulation in Vietnam; organizations and individuals importing food, food additives, food processing aids, packaging materials, and containers for food; organizations and individuals importing cosmetics; enterprises producing, trading, importing, and distributing chemicals, testing equipment proposing to register for the circulation of rapid food test kits in Vietnam; organizations and individuals participating in the export and import of finished pharmaceutical products;

2. The declarant has the following rights:

a) Being trained by the National Single Window Management Unit and the handling agency to access, declare information, and use the facilities on the National Single Window Portal;

b) To have their information security, business, and trade confidentiality protected by the national single window management unit and processing agencies;

c) Receive information from processing agencies about the process of handling administrative procedures through the single window.

3. The declarant has the following obligations:

a) To comply with legal provisions regarding criteria and format of declared information according to technical requirements for each single window administrative procedure;

b) To comply with legal provisions regarding digital signatures for electronic transactions requiring the use of digital signatures;

c) Pay taxes, fees, and charges as prescribed by law.

d) Adhering to procedures ensuring the integrity, security, and confidentiality in the implementation of single window administrative procedures;

đ) Retaining administrative single window documents (including copies) in accordance with the laws on electronic transactions and specialized regulatory documents; providing electronic and/or paper documents related to exported, imported, transited goods, and vehicles exiting, entering, and transiting the country for the handling agencies to serve inspection and audit work according to their authority;

e) Meeting the requirements of information technology and technical standards set forth by specialized laws to implement single window administrative procedures;

g) Bear legal responsibility for the content of declared information when conducting single window administrative procedures.

Article 17. Declaration, Amendment, Supplement of Declaration Information, and Submission of Documents in the Administrative Single Window File

1. The declaration and amendment of declaration information may be carried out in one of the two forms of electronic declaration information creation as follows:

a) Creating declaration information according to the criteria and formats of forms established by Ministries; and according to data standards guided by the National Single Window Management Unit and sent to the National Single Window Portal;

b) Declaring directly on the National Single Window Portal.

2. The amendment and supplementation of declaration information shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of laws regarding related procedures.

3. Submission of documents in the single administrative procedure file:

a) For electronic documents, paper documents converted to electronic documents: The declarant submits electronic documents on the National Single Window Portal;

b) For paper documents: The declarant submits paper documents in accordance with the provisions of specialized regulatory documents.

Article 18. Receipt and Feedback of Declaration Information

1. The National Single Window receives electronic declaration information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

2. The National Single Window Portal implements the reception and feedback of declaration information automatically to the declarant and to specialized processing systems.

Article 19. Processing information and providing feedback on processing results

The processing agency has the responsibility:

1. To receive and process declaration information.

2. Provide feedback on the status of receiving and processing declaration information to the declarant and relevant agencies involved in the procedure through the National Single Window.

3. To deliver the processing results to the declarant and relevant agencies involved in the implementation of the procedure through the National Single Window Portal.

4. The time limit for processing and providing feedback on information by the processing agency shall be in accordance with the current laws regarding administrative procedures as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 1 of this Circular.

3. Amend Clause 3 Article 2 as follows:Article 20. Information exchange process between the National Single Window Portal and Ministries

1. The National Single Window Portal receives declarations for documents specified in Appendix II issued together with this Circular and forwards them to the specialized systems of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Health.

2. The specialized system checks the completeness and integrity of the declaration data, provides feedback on successful receipt of the declaration or reports errors during the receipt process to the National Single Window Portal.

3. In case the specialized system successfully receives the declaration, the processing agency verifies the completeness and validity of the declaration, provides feedback on acceptance or rejection or requests for modification and supplementation of the declaration to the National Single Window Portal.

4. In case the processing agency accepts the declaration, it processes the single window administrative file, provides feedback on the processing result to the National Single Window Portal.

5. The National Single Window Portal receives processing results from the specialized systems, delivers the processing results to the declarant and relevant specialized systems.

6. Customs authorities base their processing of customs files on declarations, permits, and other processing results of single window administrative procedures transferred by the declarant and specialized systems, and provide feedback on the processing results to the National Single Window Portal.

7. The National Single Window Portal immediately provides feedback on the processing results of the customs authority to the declarant upon receiving the processing results from the customs authority.

8. The National Single Window Portal provides customs declarations and processing results of the customs authority to related specialized management agencies when the administrative procedures of these specialized management agencies require submission of customs declarations or when these specialized management agencies request provision of customs declarations and processing results related to their procedures.

Section 4

MECHANISMS FOR COORDINATION AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE TO IMPLEMENT SINGLE WINDOW ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES

Article 21. Principles of information exchange and provision

1. Information exchange and provision must be carried out in accordance with the law and within the scope of functions, tasks, and authorities of each party.

2. Information exchanged and provided must be used for the correct purpose, serving operational activities according to the functions and tasks of the information recipient.

3. Parties exchanging and providing information have the responsibility to promptly, accurately, and fully exchange and provide information.

4. All parties exchanging, providing, managing, and using information must comply with the laws on state secrets protection and confidentiality regulations specific to each ministry's management sector.

5. Information exchanged and provided between peer-level parties; in necessary cases, exchanges at different levels may occur.

6. Information exchanged and provided between parties must ensure consistency and comply with legal provisions governing information exchange among state agencies.

7. The agencies and units designated as the focal points for information exchange and provision of each party as stipulated in Article 26 of this Circular must allocate personnel and means to ensure smooth and timely information exchange and provision among the parties.

Article 22. Content of information provision

1. The Ministry of Finance shall provide to the National Single Window Portal the following information:

a) Electronic documents for administrative procedures of the Ministry of Finance as specified in Clause 1 of Appendix II issued together with this Circular;

b) Results of other processing by customs authorities regarding administrative procedures;

c) Information related to goods that have been cleared and released at the request of the Ministries.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development provides the following information to the National Single Window Portal:

a) Electronic documents for administrative procedures of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as specified in Clause 2 of Appendix II issued together with this Circular;

b) Other processing results of the processing agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for administrative procedures.

c) Information related to goods that have been granted permission or refused permission at the request of the Ministries.

3. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment provides the following information to the National Single Window Portal:

a) Electronic documents for administrative procedures of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment as specified in Clause 3 of Appendix II issued together with this Circular;

b) Other processing results of the processing agency under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for administrative procedures;

c) Information related to goods that have been granted permission or refused permission at the request of the Ministries.

4. The Ministry of Health provides the following information to the National Single Window Portal:

a) Electronic documents for administrative procedures of the Ministry of Health as specified in Clause 4 of Appendix II issued together with this Circular;

b) Other processing results of the processing agency under the Ministry of Health for administrative procedures;

c) Information related to goods that have been granted permission or refused permission at the request of the Ministries.

Article 23. Forms of exchange and provision of information

The exchange and provision of information shall be conducted online in the form of electronic certificates in accordance with the provisions of the consolidated documents attached as Appendix II to this Circular. The National Single Window Portal management unit is responsible for receiving and processing information provided by Ministries to implement single window administrative procedures. In cases where technical failures or errors occur, or the system does not have the function of exchanging and providing information, leading to the inability to conduct such exchanges and provisions electronically, the relevant parties may temporarily use other forms such as email, fax, or paper documents to carry out the exchange and provision of information.

Article 24. Periods of statistical information and deadlines for the exchange and provision of information

The National Single Window Portal management unit is responsible for providing information to the lead units specified in Article 26 of this Circular, specifically as follows:

1. Monthly information: Statistics of information and data from the first day of the month to the last day of the month, to be provided no later than the twentieth day of the following month.

2. Annual information: Statistics of information and data from January 1st to December 31st, to be provided no later than January 20th of the following year.

3. Emergency information: In cases where the National Assembly, Government, National Steering Committee on the Single Window Mechanism, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Health, competent authorities, or ASEAN Secretariat request reports or provision of information within the scope of the information indicators prescribed in this Article or other related information but according to different periods of statistics and deadlines from those stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, the National Single Window Portal, relevant Ministries, and agencies shall proactively provide such information according to the requirements of these agencies, while also providing it to the National Single Window Portal and related agencies.

Article 25. Management and use of information

1. The Ministry of Finance provides the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Ministry of Health with access codes and passwords to extract information from the National Single Window Portal at the address www.vnsw.gov.vn. These agencies are responsible for securing the codes and passwords provided; using them only within the permissions registered with the National Single Window Portal management unit when requesting account issuance.

2. Apart from the agencies issuing this Joint Circular, the Ministry of Finance is responsible for sharing information with agencies and individuals authorized to use and exploit information from the National Single Window Portal. When the Ministry of Finance uses information related to the management scope of other Ministries on the National Single Window Portal to send to authorized agencies, it must obtain approval from these units before officially providing the information to authorized agencies and individuals. Information provision must comply with legal regulations concerning the protection of state secrets and business secrets of enterprises.

Article 26. Lead units implementing the provision and exchange of information

1. Ministries are responsible for assigning lead units to provide and exchange information in accordance with this Circular.

2. The lead units specified in Clause 1 of this Article are responsible for assigning specific leaders and functional departments to perform tasks related to information exchange, provision, and management, opening and registering with the National Single Window Portal management unit email boxes, fax numbers, phone numbers, addresses for coordination.

Section 5

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 27. Effective Date

1. This Circular shall take effect 45 days from the date of signature.

2. Any issues arising during implementation, relevant agencies and lead units must promptly report to the relevant Ministries for resolution.

Article 28. Responsibility for Implementation

The Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and Rural Development, Natural Resources and Environment, and Health are responsible for:

1. Organizing the implementation and directing subordinate agencies and units to strictly follow the provisions of this Circular.

2. Ensuring conditions for administrative procedures to be carried out smoothly and within deadlines.

3. Announcing administrative procedures within their respective management scopes, specifying the quantity, components, types of certificates (electronic certificates, paper certificates converted to electronic format, paper certificates) in the single window administrative file.

4. Ensuring the accuracy, timeliness, security, and confidentiality of exchanged and provided information in accordance with current laws.