Circular No. 26/2013/TT-BGTVT stipulates responsibilities and handling of violations for organizations, officials, civil servants, and employees in the Transport Industry assigned tasks to ensure inland waterway traffic order and safety in the exploitation of mineral resources within port waters and maritime channels.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on responsibilities and handling of violations for organizations, officials, civil servants, and employees in the transportation sector assigned tasks related to ensuring traffic order and safety on inland waterways

Pursuant to the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic dated April 26, 2004;

Pursuant to the Law on Public Officials and Civil Servants dated November 13, 2008;

Pursuant to the Civil Servant Law dated November 15, 2010;

Pursuant to Decree No. 34/2011/ND-CP dated May 17, 2011 of the Government on disciplinary measures against civil servants;

Pursuant to Decree No. 27/2012/ND-CP dated April 6, 2012 of the Government on disciplinary measures against public officials and the responsibility for compensation and repayment of public officials;

Pursuant to Decree No. 107/2012/NĐ-CP dated December 20, 2012 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport.

Based on the proposal of the Director of the Department of Traffic Safety;

The Minister of Transport issues this Circular regulating responsibilities and handling of violations for organizations and officials, civil servants, and employees in the transportation sector assigned tasks related to ensuring traffic order and safety on inland waterways,

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular regulates responsibilities and handling of violations for organizations and officials, civil servants, and employees in the transportation sector assigned tasks related to ensuring traffic order and safety on inland waterways, including: managing and maintaining inland waterways; specialized inspection of inland waterway traffic; announcing and issuing permits for inland waterway port and wharf operations; issuing permits for inland waterway transport operations and managing inland waterway port and wharf activities.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to organizations and officials, civil servants, and employees in the transportation sector assigned tasks related to ensuring traffic order and safety on inland waterways (hereinafter referred to as officials, civil servants, and employees).

Chapter II
RESPONSIBILITIES OF ORGANIZATIONS, OFFICIALS, AND CIVIL SERVANTS

Article 3. Responsibilities of the Directorate of Inland Waterway Transport

1. Organizing propaganda, dissemination, and implementation of legal documents concerning the assurance of traffic order and safety on inland waterways.

2. Regularly inspecting and urging agencies and units to fulfill their tasks related to ensuring traffic order and safety; promptly correcting errors and strictly dealing with violations of professional ethics by officials, civil servants, and employees.

3. Equipping means and equipment for work related to ensuring traffic order and safety on inland waterways; requiring officials, civil servants, and employees to comply with labor safety regulations on inland waterway vessels.

4. Regularly organizing training sessions for officials, civil servants, and employees on traffic safety, inspection, supervision, and administrative violation handling in the field of inland waterway traffic.

Article 4. Responsibilities of Provincial Departments of Transport

1. Organizing propaganda, dissemination, and implementation of legal documents concerning the assurance of traffic order and safety on inland waterways within their jurisdiction.

2. Regularly inspecting and urging units to fulfill their tasks related to ensuring traffic order and safety within their jurisdiction; promptly correcting errors and strictly dealing with violations of professional ethics by officials, civil servants, and employees within their authority.

3. Providing sufficient means and equipment for work related to ensuring traffic order and safety on inland waterways; requiring officials, civil servants, and employees to comply with labor safety regulations on inland waterway vessels within their jurisdiction.

4. Regularly organizing training sessions for officials, civil servants, and employees on traffic safety, inspection, supervision, and administrative violation handling in the field of inland waterway traffic.

5. Reporting monthly to the Directorate of Inland Waterway Transport on the situation of ensuring traffic order and safety on inland waterways within their jurisdiction.

Article 5. Responsibilities of the Inland Waterway Harbor Supervision

The Inland Waterway Harbor Supervision shall perform its duties in accordance with the Law on Inland Waterway Transport, Circular No. 34/2010/TT-BGTVT dated November 8, 2010 issued by the Minister of Transport regarding the organization and operation of the Inland Waterway Harbor Supervision, and Circular No. 25/2010/TT-BGTVT dated August 31, 2010 issued by the Minister of Transport regarding the management of inland waterway port and wharf activities, specifically as follows:

1. Carry out inspections according to the prescribed procedures to ensure compliance with laws and regulations on transport and environmental protection by vessels, crew members, drivers; cargo handling equipment; port construction, inland waterway wharfs, channels, signaling systems within the port and inland waterway wharf areas.

2. Timely and accurately inform vessel and ship movements entering and leaving the port and inland waterway wharf about channel conditions.

3. Impose administrative penalties for violations by organizations and individuals in accordance with the provisions of the law on the scope of responsibility, procedures, formalities, authority, forms, and levels of fines; properly store inspection and administrative penalty case files as required by law.

4. Collect fees and charges correctly from the designated entities at the prescribed rates; strictly implement the regulations on fee collection and payment procedures; records and receipts must be clearly and specifically recorded without erasures.

5. When performing official duties, harbor supervisors must wear appropriate uniforms, badges, and nameplates; maintain a serious posture and demeanor.

Article 6. Responsibilities of the agency issuing permits

1. Organize the public disclosure of administrative procedures related to the processing of applications and issuance of permits according to the hierarchical division so that relevant organizations and individuals are aware.

2. Assign specific and clear tasks to each department and individual staff directly involved in the process of handling requests from relevant organizations and individuals; ensure sufficient personnel with the necessary qualifications, skills, and abilities to handle applications; provide necessary conditions to support the application processing and permit issuance work.

3. Check the processing of information in applications and permit issuance for the correct target, with signatures; collect fees and implement storage and preservation of applications as required.

Article 7. Responsibilities of the agency managing inland waterways

1. Establish files for managing safety zones along inland waterways.

2. Organize the implementation of management and protection of inland waterway infrastructure.

3. Monitor the condition of damage to inland waterway infrastructure; organize regular inspections to promptly identify damages and violations concerning the protection of inland waterway infrastructure safety, and handle them according to their authority or propose to the People's Committees at various levels to handle them according to regulations.

4. Regularly inspect technical conditions monthly, quarterly, and annually; conduct spot checks after each flood, typhoon, or other unusual impacts.

5. Conduct counts and draw traffic volume charts; monitor and draw water level charts.

6. Prepare accident tracking forms, record losses due to accidents, and determine initial causes of each accident. Coordinate with public security agencies and local authorities to resolve traffic accidents according to their authority.

7. Route traffic, organize traffic flow, prevent collisions; establish files for obstructions, track the results of obstruction removals.

8. Ensure traffic control; monitor weather, hydrological conditions, floods, typhoons, infrastructure incidents, and report and handle them according to regulations.

9. Update relevant data on inland waterway infrastructure and safety zones along inland waterways as required.

Article 8. Responsibilities of units maintaining inland waterway works

Implement in accordance with the provisions stipulated in Article 9 of Circular No. 17/2013/TT-BGTVT dated August 5, 2013, issued by the Minister of Transport on management and maintenance of inland waterway works.

Article 9. General responsibilities for officials, civil servants, and employees

1. Shall be responsible to their direct superiors and under the law for performing assigned tasks.

2. Shall fully perform assigned tasks and comply strictly with relevant regulations, standards, and technical norms during the performance of duties.

3. Ensure honesty, objectivity, accuracy, and timeliness when performing tasks.

4. Shall comply with regulations on conduct rules and professional ethics when interacting with inspected and audited entities.

5. Shall not abuse positions and powers to harass or act contrary to regulations.

Article 10. Responsibilities of Inspectors and persons assigned to perform specialized inspection tasks

1. Inspectors and persons assigned to perform specialized inspection tasks must strictly adhere to legal provisions on inspections and related laws while performing official duties.

2. Conclusions regarding organizations and individuals engaging in violations must be based on legal provisions.

3. Administrative penalties imposed on organizations and individuals violating the law must be in accordance with legal provisions concerning scope of responsibility, procedures, authority, forms, and levels of penalty; records of inspection and administrative penalty cases must be stored in compliance with regulations; strict adherence to reporting systems for inspection results must be maintained.

4. While performing official duties, Inspectors and persons assigned to perform specialized inspection tasks must wear appropriate uniforms, badges, and nameplates; maintain a serious demeanor and respect for inspected entities, without affecting the normal operations of such entities.

5. Inspectors and persons assigned to perform specialized inspection tasks must refuse to participate in inspection teams and independently carry out inspections if their parents, spouses, children, full brothers, full sisters, or half-siblings are the inspected entities or hold leadership positions in inspected agencies or organizations.

Chapter III

FORMS OF HANDLING VIOLATIONS BY ORGANIZATIONSSTAFF,

CIVIL SERVANTS, OFFICIALS

Article 11. Handling Violations by Officials, Civil Servants, and Employees

Officials, civil servants, employees, Inspectors, and persons assigned to perform specialized inspection tasks who are tasked with ensuring inland waterway traffic safety and order and violate any provisions of this Circular shall be subject to disciplinary action according to the level of their position and the severity of the violation, as stipulated in Decree No. 34/2011/NĐ-CP dated May 17, 2011, of the Government on disciplinary measures for civil servants, Decree No. 27/2012/NĐ-CP dated April 6, 2012, of the Government on disciplinary measures for employees and compensation and restitution responsibilities of employees, Decree No. 41/CP dated July 6, 1995, of the Government detailing and guiding implementation of certain articles of the Labor Code on labor discipline and material responsibility, and Decree No. 33/2003/NĐ-CP dated February 4, 2003, of the Government supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 41/CP.

Article 12. Handling violations by superiors due to joint liability

The heads of agencies and units above the inland waterway management agency, inland waterway infrastructure maintenance units, Inland Waterway Transport Service, Traffic Inspectorate, and agencies assigned to perform specialized inspection functions shall be subject to handling according to the degree of joint liability as stipulated in Decree No. 34/2011/NĐ-CP, Decree No. 27/2012/NĐ-CP, and Decree No. 41/CP.

Article 13. Authority to handle violations

1. The Minister of Transport decides on the handling of violations against the Director General and Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration and other positions within their authority.

2. The Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities decides on the handling of violations against the Director and Deputy Director of the Department of Transport and other positions within their authority.

3. The Director General of the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration

a) Decides on the handling of violations by the heads of inland waterway management agencies, inland waterway infrastructure maintenance units, Inland Waterway Transport Services, District Inland Waterway Administration, professional advisory agencies, and traffic order and safety officers under the administration of the Bureau;

b) Proposes the competent authority to revoke the inspector's card of inspectors and the professional inspector's civil servant card of civil servants performing specialized inspection tasks who have committed violations.

4. The Director of the Department of Transport

a) Decides on the handling of violations by the heads of inland waterway management agencies, inland waterway infrastructure maintenance units, Inland Waterway Transport Services, professional advisory agencies, and traffic order and safety officers under the administration of the Department;

b) Proposes the competent authority to revoke the inspector's card of inspectors and the transport inspection card of individuals performing specialized inspection tasks who have committed violations.

Chapter IV
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 14. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from November 1, 2013.

Article 15. Responsibility for Implementation

The Head of the Ministry’s Office, the Head of the Ministry’s Inspectorate, Heads of Departments, the Director General of the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, Directors of the Department of Transport of provinces and centrally governed cities, heads of agencies and units, and related individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular./.