Decree No. 20/2006/NĐ-CP detailing the Commercial Law on trading commercial inspection services

DECREE

Detailed regulations on commercial service activities under the Commercial Law regarding commercial inspection services

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THE GOVERNMENT

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

Pursuant to the Law on Trade dated June 14, 2005;

At the proposal of the Minister of Trade,

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree provides detailed regulations on commercial service activities under the Commercial Law regarding commercial inspection services within the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Article 2. Applicability

This Decree applies to traders engaged in commercial inspection services established in accordance with Vietnamese law.

Article 3. Principles for Implementing Inspection Services commercial inspection

1. Commercial inspection services shall be carried out upon agreement between the parties or at the request of one of the parties involved in a contract related to goods or services requiring inspection; at the request of individuals, organizations, or at the request of state agencies.

2. Commercial inspection services shall be conducted based on the principles of independence, objectivity, scientific accuracy.

3. Commercial inspection services shall not be carried out if such services are related to the interests of the inspection business itself and its inspectors.

Article 4. State Management Authority over Commercial Inspection Service Activities

a) Issuing or proposing to the Government to issue, amend, or supplement legal normative documents related to commercial inspection service activities within its authority;

c) Directly inspecting and auditing commercial inspection service activities when necessary;

d) Resolving complaints and reports, handling according to its authority violations of laws concerning commercial inspection service activities.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government agencies within their respective authorities shall implement state management over commercial inspection service activities.

Article 5. Foreign Traders Engaged in Commercial Inspection Services

1. Foreign traders establishing businesses to engage in commercial inspection services in Vietnam in accordance with Vietnamese investment laws, consistent with commitments under international treaties to which Vietnam is a party, may conduct inspections and issue Inspection Certificates in accordance with the business scope recorded in the Business Registration Certificate or equivalent documents as stipulated by current laws.

2. The implementation of commercial inspection services under the authorization of foreign traders as provided for in Article 267 of the Commercial Law shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Section 3, Chapter II of this Decree. 

Chapter II

INSPECTORS, BUSINESS SEALS, AND AUTHORIZED INSPECTION

Section 1

INSPECTOR

Article 6. Recognition of Appraisers

1. A commercial trader operating (business enterprise director) appraisal services shall issue a decision to recognize appraisers for individuals who meet the criteria stipulated in Article 259 of the Commercial Law and shall be responsible under the law for their own decisions.

2. Only those individuals with a recognition decision from a commercial trader operating appraisal services may carry out appraisal activities assigned by such a commercial trader.

Article 7. Rights and Obligations of Appraisers

When carrying out appraisal activities assigned by a commercial trader operating appraisal services, appraisers have the following rights and obligations:

1. Independently perform the assigned appraisal and must refuse to conduct the appraisal when it relates to their own interests.

2. Conduct the appraisal in a truthful, objective, scientific, timely, and accurate manner according to legitimate requirements agreed upon with the requesting party.

3. Have the right to request necessary information and materials related to the assigned appraisal work.

4. Have the right to refuse interference from any individual or organization that would lead to inaccuracies or untruthfulness in the appraisal service they are performing.

5. Truthfully reflect the results of the appraisal in the Appraisal Certificate and sign the Appraisal Certificate.

6. Have the responsibility to keep confidential information and materials related to the appraisal results as requested by the client.

7. Be responsible under the law and to the commercial trader operating appraisal services for the accuracy of the appraisal results.

Section 2

PROFESSIONAL MARK IN THE APPRAISAL CERTIFICATE

Article 8. Signature and Professional Stamp

1. The signature in the Appraisal Certificate is specified as follows:

a) The signature of the authorized representative of the commercial trader operating appraisal services on the right side below the Appraisal Certificate;

b) The signature of the appraiser on the left side below the Appraisal Certificate.

2. A commercial trader operating appraisal services shall pay registration fees when registering professional stamps; the fee amount and management and usage regulations shall be implemented according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance.

1. The documents for professional stamp registration of commercial traders operating appraisal services include:

a) An application form for professional stamp registration issued by the Ministry of Commerce;

c) A sample of the professional stamp in the Appraisal Certificate that the trader intends to register.

1. Within ten working days from the date of receiving a complete set of documents for registering a business seal as prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 10 of this Decree, the Department of Commerce (Department of Commerce and Tourism) where the trader registers their business shall be responsible for registering the business seal used in the certification report of the trader in the Business Seal Registration Book and notify the trader in writing.

2. In case of not accepting the registration of the business seal, within ten working days from the date of receiving a complete set of documents, the Department of Commerce (Department of Commerce and Tourism) must respond in writing and specify the reasons.

1. The removal of the business seal registration from the Business Seal Registration Book shall be carried out by the business seal registration authority in the following cases:

a) A trader operating commercial inspection services ceases operations or changes their business sector;

b) A trader has their Business Registration Certificate revoked or Investment License revoked;

c) The trader or authorized representative of the trader commits serious violations of the law in inspection activities.

2. In the event of removal of the business seal registration, the trader operating commercial inspection services shall be responsible for returning the business seal to the business seal registration authority.

3. The business seal registration authority shall be responsible for recovering the business seal and publicly announcing this recovery.

Section 3

DELEGATION OF INSPECTION

Article 13. Delegation Contract for Inspection

The delegation contract for inspection must be established in writing or by another form having equivalent legal effect as provided by law.

Article 14. Inspection Certificate in the Case of Delegation of Inspection

In the Inspection Certificate issued by the delegated trader, it must clearly state "Performed on behalf of (specify the name of the delegating trader)" and affix the business seal of the delegated trader as stipulated in Article 8 of this Decree.

Article 15. Re-delegation

1. The party being delegated may only redelegate to a third party if agreed upon by the delegating party or as provided by law.

2. The re-delegation contract must comply with the form of the initial delegation contract.

3. The scope of re-delegation may not exceed the scope of the initial delegation.

Article 16. Rights and Obligations of the Delegating Party for Inspection

1. The delegating party for inspection has the following rights:

a) To request the inspected party to perform in accordance with the terms of the delegation contract for inspection;

b) To request the inspected party to provide full notification about the performance of the work under the delegation contract;

c) To claim compensation for damages if the inspected party breaches the obligations stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 17 of this Decree.

2. The delegating party for inspection has the following obligations:

a) To provide necessary information and documents to serve the inspection requirements;

b) To bear responsibility for the inspection results to the requesting party;

c) To pay service fees and other costs as agreed in the delegation contract for inspection;

d) To fulfill financial obligations as prescribed by Vietnamese law.

 Article 17. Rights and Obligations of the Inspected Party

1. The inspected party for inspection has the following rights:

a) To request the delegating party for inspection to provide necessary information and documents to serve the inspection according to the delegation contract for inspection;

b) To hire domestic and foreign experts to perform inspection services; to temporarily import and re-export technical equipment to perform inspection tasks;

c) To receive service fees and other costs as agreed in the delegation contract for inspection.

2. The inspected party for inspection has the following obligations:

a) To perform the work according to the delegation contract and inform the delegating party about the performance of that work;

b) To preserve and maintain the documents and equipment provided for the performance of the delegation;

c) To keep confidential the information known during the performance of the delegation;

d) To compensate for damages resulting from breaching the obligations stipulated in points a, b, and c of this clause;

e) To provide the inspection certificate according to the delegation contract.

Article 18. Appraisal at the request of state agencies

1. When there is a request for appraisal, state agencies shall select (in writing) commercial traders operating commercial appraisal services that meet the conditions and standards stipulated by the Commercial Law and are suitable for the specific requirements of the appraisal to fulfill their own appraisal requests.

2. State agencies requesting the appraisal are responsible for paying the appraisal fee to the commercial trader providing commercial appraisal services according to the agreement between both parties based on market prices at the time of the appraisal request.

Section 4

ENFORCEMENT OF VIOLATIONS IN THE ACTIVITY COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS OF COMMERCE APPRAISAL SERVICES

Article 19. Acts violating laws on commercial operations of commerce appraisal services

1. Commercial traders conducting commerce appraisal services and appraisers who commit the following violations shall be subject to administrative penalties or criminal liability追究法律责任，具体依照法律规定：

a) Engaging in appraisal services without meeting the conditions stipulated by law;

b) Providing appraisal services outside the scope registered in the Business Registration Certificate or Investment Permit;

c) Recognizing appraisers for individuals who do not meet the criteria specified in Article 259 of the Commercial Law;

đ) Conducting appraisals in cases where the appraisal is related to the interests of the commercial trader providing appraisal services and the appraiser;

e) Failing to comply with the requirements of state agencies during inspections and audits conducted in accordance with the law;

g) Providing appraisal services to foreign traders without a power of attorney contract for service provision;

h) Violating other provisions of this Decree.

2. In cases where commercial traders providing commerce appraisal services or appraisers cause material damage to the interests of related organizations or individuals due to violations, in addition to being held accountable administratively, civilly, or criminally, they must also compensate for damages in accordance with the law.

Article 20. Competence and procedures for handling violations

The competence and procedures for handling violations as stipulated in Article 19 of this Decree shall be carried out in accordance with current legal regulations.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 21. Effective Date

1. This Decree takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

2. This Decree replaces Government Decree No. 20/1999/NĐ-CP dated April 12, 1999, on commercial operations of goods appraisal services.

3. Previous regulations on commercial operations of commerce appraisal services that conflict with the provisions of this Decree are hereby abolished.

Within three months from the effective date of this Decree, commercial traders providing commerce appraisal services prior to the effective date of this Decree shall be responsible for registering business seals in accordance with the provisions of this Decree.

Article 23. Implementation Organization

Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committees are responsible for guiding the implementation of this Decree./.