Circular No. 2-NN/KNKL/TT guiding the implementation of Government Decree No. 07/CP on plant variety management

CIRCULAR

for use Implementing Decree 07/CP of the Government on seed management

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Pursuant to Article 25 of Decree No. 07/CP dated February 5, 1996 of the Government on Seed Management, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development guides the specific implementation of this Decree as follows:

Chapter I:

GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Terms related to seeds and genetic resources mentioned in the Decree are explained and further specified as follows:

a) Seeds within the scope of this Decree include materials used for crossbreeding, selection, propagation, and production in agriculture and forestry: seeds, tubers, fruits, roots, stems, branches, leaves, seedlings, buds, shoots, flowers, cell tissues, spores, and fungal threads.

b) Original seeds (also called author seeds, in forestry referred to as mother trees) must be recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development before they can be propagated further for large-scale production.

c) Pure-line seeds are those propagated from original seeds or reselected from production seeds according to the pure-line seed production process and meeting the quality standards of pure-line seeds.

Hybrid combinations used in production are also referred to as seeds (hybrid seeds). The seeds of hybrid seeds cannot be used as seeds for subsequent generations.

2. The subjects implementing Decree 07/CP of the Government on seed management are organizations and individuals, both domestic and foreign, operating in the fields of gene conservation; seed research and development; testing, recognizing new seeds; producing, trading, importing and exporting seeds; state management of seeds, quality control, and seed usage on the territory of Vietnam.

Chapter II:

MANAGEMENT AND USE OF GENETIC RESOURCES

1. Genetic resources used for developing new seeds and utilized in agricultural and forestry production are national assets managed uniformly by the State. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Department of Science and Technology and Product Quality) manages genetic resources nationwide.

2. Depending on the type of seed material for agricultural and forestry crops, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Department of Science and Technology and Product Quality) will assign scientific research institutions or provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development (referred to as provincial level) to conserve (with separate documents specifying the list of seed materials and management levels).

3. All genetic resources of agricultural and forestry crop seeds introduced into Vietnam under any form must report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Department of Science and Technology and Product Quality) regarding their origin, quantity, types, and storage location. Permission from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is required before exploitation and utilization.

4. The conservation, exploitation, utilization, and exchange of genetic resources shall be carried out in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Chapter III:

SELECTION, TESTING, REVIEW, AND RECOGNITION OF SEEDS

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Department of Science and Technology and Product Quality) oversees the state management of seed selection, testing, and trial production. Each year, the Scientific Council of the Ministry reviews new agricultural and forestry crop seeds, seed plants, seed gardens, or seed forests, or converted seed forests to submit to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for recognition decisions.

2. All newly developed or imported agricultural and forestry crop seeds must undergo testing or trial production before being put into production. Organizations or individuals with new seeds must apply for testing or trial production and register with the Department of Science and Technology and Product Quality. The Department of Science and Technology and Product Quality designates the unit to conduct testing or trial production. Testing and trial production costs are borne by the organization or individual submitting the seeds according to regulations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

3. When transferring seeds recognized for a specific ecological region to another region, they must undergo trial production. If seeds currently in large-scale production exhibit defects causing damage to production, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development issues a decision to suspend production.

4. For seeds not yet recognized, permission from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is required to produce a certain amount of seeds.

5. Organizations or individuals with new agricultural and forestry crop seeds may register with the Ministry of Science and Technology and Environment to retain copyright as prescribed by law.

Chapter IV:

PRODUCTION, TRADING, IMPORTING AND EXPORTING SEEDS

1. Organizations or individuals producing seeds for sale must have a permit from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Plant and Forest Extension Service) issues permits for organizations under central management and organizations or individuals from foreign countries or joint ventures with foreigners producing seeds in Vietnam. Provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development issue permits for organizations or individuals under provincial management.

2. Organizations or individuals producing seeds must ensure the following conditions:

a. Having specialized staff knowledgeable about seed production techniques.

b. Meeting the necessary conditions for seed production.

c. Only producing recognized types of seeds. If producing local seeds, a permit from the competent authority at the local level (Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) is required.

d. Producing strictly according to the technical procedures specified for each grade and type of seed.

3. For perennial industrial crops and fruit trees, only recognized seeds (by vegetative or sexual reproduction as specified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for each type of tree) may be propagated.

4. Seeds for afforestation using budget funds must be of the correct type according to the prescribed seed structure and origin.

5. Organizations or individuals wishing to obtain a permit to trade in agricultural and forestry crop seeds (issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment or the People's Committee of the province) must undergo review by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reviews organizations under central management and organizations or individuals from foreign countries or joint ventures with foreigners in Vietnam.

Provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development review organizations or individuals under provincial management.

6. Organizations or individuals trading in seeds must ensure the following conditions:

a. Have specialized staff knowledgeable about seed varieties.

b. Have storage facilities; have equipment to check and determine seed quality.

7. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development manages the import and export of agricultural and forestry seed varieties nationwide.

All forms of import and export of agricultural and forestry seed varieties must be permitted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Agricultural Extension Agency and Forestry Extension Agency are the agencies responsible for managing the import and export of agricultural and forestry seed varieties, tasked with monitoring, compiling, proposing, and processing applications for the import and export of such seed varieties to be signed by the Ministry.

Documents for requesting import and export of seeds include:

- Application for import and export of seeds.

- Business license for importing and exporting seeds.

- Contract for import and export of seeds.

- If it is an entity under provincial management, a proposal from the Provincial People's Committee must be included.

For entities that do not issue import and export licenses, after receiving comments from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Trade will issue import and export licenses.

The import and export of planting seeds must comply with the Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine.

8. Organizations and individuals granted production, business, and import/export licenses for seed varieties must operate in accordance with the provisions of the license and annually report to the issuing authority on their production, business, and import/export activities of agricultural and forestry seed varieties.

9. Seed varieties of agricultural and forestry circulating in the market must pass quality inspection and be accompanied by a quality certification certificate; they must have product labels and packaging consistent with the specifications registered with the competent authority.

Seed sellers are responsible for the quality of the seeds to the users; they must compensate for losses caused by substandard seeds.

10. Organizations and individuals engaged in selling seed varieties still within the period of copyright protection must pay fees as stipulated.

Chapter V:

INSPECTION, TESTING AND ISSUANCE OF SEED CERTIFICATES

1. Seed varieties of agricultural and forestry introduced into production and business must have certificates confirming that they have passed field inspections and quality testing.

Imported seeds must undergo quality testing. Only those meeting the specified quality standards can be issued certificates.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Department of Science, Technology and Product Quality) performs state management functions regarding inspection, testing, and issuance of seed quality certificates nationwide. These state management functions are delegated as follows:

a. At the central level: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Department of Science, Technology and Product Quality) is responsible for:

- Organizing the network of inspections and tests at the central level and in major agro-forestry ecological regions.

- Submitting to the Ministry for promulgation of guidelines on the content of inspections, tests, and issuance of seed quality certificates.

- Organizing training and instruction for inspection and testing personnel nationwide.

- Conducting inspections, tests, and issuing quality certificates for seed varieties of organizations directly managed by the central government and foreign individuals or joint ventures.

b. At the provincial level: The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for:

- Establishing a seed inspection and testing unit subordinate to the department.

- Conducting inspections, tests, and issuing quality certificates for seed varieties of organizations and individuals under provincial management.

- In provinces and centrally-administered cities where there are regional stations established by the Ministry or nearby provinces authorized to conduct inspections and tests, the issuance of quality certificates must be signed by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

3. Fees for inspections, tests, and issuance of seed quality certificates must be paid by organizations and individuals possessing seeds according to regulations set by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with agreement from the Ministry of Finance.

4. Organizations and individuals responsible for inspecting and testing seeds who incorrectly determine seed quality, causing damage to users or seed import/export traders, must compensate for the damage.

Chapter VI:

SEEDS FOR NATURAL DISASTER PREVENTION

1. Annually, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development collaborates with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to develop plans for natural disaster prevention seeds to be submitted to the Government for approval.

Current natural disaster prevention seeds in agriculture include rice, corn, beans, peanuts, various vegetables; in forestry, they include pine and eucalyptus seeds.

Based on the approved plan, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development assigns some seed companies to purchase, store, and circulate these seeds as prescribed.

2. At the provincial level, funds for natural disaster prevention seeds should be established.

The quantity, types, budget, purchasing and storage units are determined by the Provincial People's Committee.

Chapter VII:

POLICIES ON PLANT SEEDS

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development develops annual investment plans to be submitted to the State for approval to invest in enhancing technical infrastructure to ensure the operation of scientific institutions and state enterprises in performing tasks:

- Preserving genetic resources in stages: collection, introduction, storage, evaluation, utilization.

- Breeding and rejuvenating agricultural and forestry seed varieties.

- Testing and inspecting seed varieties.

- Managing the quality of plant seeds.

- Training specialized staff for tasks related to preserving genetic resources, breeding, testing, producing, and trading plant seeds.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, together with the Ministry of Finance, submit proposals to the State for policies on plant seeds:

- Reducing taxes to the lowest possible level for entities producing original seeds, primary seeds, newly recognized or imported seeds.

- Scientific institutions, research centers, producers, and traders are eligible for preferential credit loans.

- Reducing taxes to zero percent for all types of imported plant seeds.

- Subsidies for preserving original agricultural seeds and mother trees (forestry); establishing seed gardens and seed forests.

3. At provincial level: The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall develop specific guiding documents on the implementation of crop seed policies within the province for approval by the Provincial People's Committee.

4. Organizations and individuals that create new crop seeds or import beneficial seeds for production shall be rewarded according to regulations.

5. The State encourages and protects the legitimate and equal rights of organizations and individuals both inside and outside the country engaged in research, selection, importation, production, and trade of crop seeds on Vietnamese territory.

Chapter VIII:

STATE MANAGEMENT OF CROP SEEDS

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development assigns relevant Bureaus and Departments to implement state management over crop seeds. This state management function is divided as follows:

a. The Science, Technology and Product Quality Bureau:

- Drafting and submitting to the Ministry or joint Ministries for promulgation legal and regulatory documents on genetic resource management; technical procedures and standards for various types of seeds; regulations on testing and trial production of various crops; regulations on quality inspection, testing, and certification of crop seeds; procedures for registration, evaluation, issuance of patents, and recommendation of rewards for organizations and individuals with achievements in new crop seeds.

- Periodically or randomly inspecting the conservation, exploitation, and utilization of genetic resources.

b. The Agricultural Extension and Forestry Promotion Bureau and the Forestry Development Bureau:

- Drafting and submitting to the Ministry for promulgation or directly promulgating guiding documents to direct, guide, and inspect the implementation of state management over crop seeds.

- Managing the examination and revocation of permits related to the production, trade, and import/export of crop seeds.

- Developing plans, establishing seed systems, and investment plans for seed production.

- Establishing international cooperation projects in the field of crop seeds.

- Inspecting, auditing, or coordinating with provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development to inspect, audit, and handle violations concerning seed management nationwide.

- Assisting the Ministry in managing disaster-preparedness seed reserves.

2. Provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development shall perform state management functions over crop seeds within their provinces according to the contents stipulated in Article 31 of Decree No. 07/CP of the Government.

3. Organizations and individuals violating this Decree shall be subject to administrative penalties depending on the severity of the violation, and in serious cases, may face criminal liability and material compensation as prescribed by law.

4. Organizations and individuals involved in the production, trade, and import/export of crop seeds must comply with inspections and supervision by competent authorities listed in this Circular and in the Ordinance on Goods Quality and the Government's Decree on Inspection and Handling of Fake Goods Production and Trade.

Chapter IX:

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

All organizations and individuals operating in the seed sector on Vietnamese territory, regardless of economic component, must comply with this Circular.

This Circular takes effect from the date of signature. Previous regulations contrary to this Circular are abolished.

During implementation, if any difficulties arise, they should promptly report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for resolution.