Joint Circular No. 28/2010/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN guiding the management and use of funds for state inspection activities on product and commodity quality.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing and using funds for state inspection activities related to product and commodity quality

 state inspection activities related to product and commodity quality

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Pursuant to the Law on State Budget dated December 16, 2002;

Pursuant to the Law on Product Quality dated November 21, 2007;

Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, promulgated by the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;

Pursuant to Decree No. 132/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2008 of the Government detailing a number of provisions of the Law on Product Quality;

To unify the management and use of funds for state inspection activities related to product and commodity quality as prescribed by the Law on Product and Commodity Quality and Decree No. 132/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2008, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly issue guidelines for managing and using funds for state inspection activities related to product and commodity quality as follows:

Chapter I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Thông tư này quy định chi tiết khoản 4 Điều 38 Luật Thủy sản số 18/2017/QH14 đã được sửa đổi, bổ sung tại điểm c khoản 21 Điều 14 Luật số 146/2025/QH15.

These guidelines provide instructions on managing and using funds for state inspection activities related to product and commodity quality (developing inspection plans, conducting inspections, handling inspection results), including: state inspection of product quality during production; state inspection of imported commodity quality; state inspection of exported commodity quality; state inspection of commodity quality circulating in the market; state inspection of commodity quality during use.

State inspection activities related to product and commodity quality shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on product and commodity quality. The procedures, formalities, and contents of state inspection activities related to product and commodity quality shall be implemented according to the guidance documents issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology and other ministries and sectors responsible for state inspection of product and commodity quality.

Thông tư này áp dụng đối với tổ chức, cá nhân có liên quan đến hoạt động kinh doanh đối tượng thủy sản nuôi chủ lực trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam.

State inspection agencies responsible for product and commodity quality, state agencies responsible for reviewing and re-evaluating product and commodity quality, and the production and service provision processes evaluated by conformity assessment organizations or subject to other quality management measures by production and business organizations include:

a) Departments and General Directorates performing state management functions over product and commodity quality or other agencies under the Ministry assigned to carry out state inspection tasks related to product and commodity quality;

b) Specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government performing state management functions over product and commodity quality at the local level.

Article 2. Sources of funds for implementing state inspection activities related to product and commodity quality include

1. Funds allocated from the state budget for state inspection activities related to product and commodity quality are included in the annual budget estimates of the units. Depending on the type of quality inspection activity, the competent authority shall assign tasks or place orders in accordance with current regulations with the agencies and units responsible for quality inspection work. Based on the budget estimate granted by the competent authority and based on the annual or emergency plan for state inspection of product and commodity quality, the heads of state inspection agencies related to product and commodity quality have the responsibility to allocate funds to implement state inspection tasks related to product and commodity quality in line with the progress of task implementation.

2. Sponsored and supported funds from other organizations and individuals (if any).

3. Recovered funds retained in accordance with Clause 2, Article 6 of this Circular.

4. Other legitimate sources of funding.

Chapter II SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 4. Contents of Expenditure

The contents of expenses for state inspection activities on product and commodity quality include:

1. Renting experts outside the agency or independent conformity assessment organizations to conduct conformity assessments of product and commodity quality (if applicable);

2. Sampling, testing, and appraisal costs, including: Purchase costs for test samples (including purchasing samples for quality surveys and samples for inspection and handling violations related to quality), rental costs for loading and unloading samples, and transporting samples (rental for loading and unloading, and transportation only applies to bulky goods with large weight and volume or goods with fire and explosion risks such as gasoline, hazardous chemicals, etc.);

3. Costs for purchasing tools, equipment, specialized vehicles, and portable testing systems for rapid field inspections of product and commodity quality; protective equipment costs for quality inspectors; personal protective clothing costs for quality controllers;

4. Purchasing materials and chemicals for rapid testing, purchasing sampling and sample storage equipment;

5. Renting testing equipment; paying testing and certification fees to conformity assessment organizations;

6. Sample management costs (storage warehouse ensuring preservation conditions until the disposal period has not been reached);

7. Travel and work-related expenses for inspection, arrest, escort, and protection of violators and evidence; destruction costs for evidence according to regulations;

8. Information dissemination and publicity costs on various media and electronic information websites about state inspections on product and commodity quality;

9. Costs for organizing and implementing violation handling activities such as inventory, sealing of non-compliant goods; re-inspection, supervision of the implementation of measures by inspection agencies;

10. Costs for organizing forces to cooperate in handling violations when necessary;

11. Conference and seminar costs on building plans and promoting quality inspection activities; meetings during the inspection process and at the end of inspection rounds;

12. Reward costs for organizations and individuals involved in inspection activities (if applicable) according to state regulations;

13. Costs for establishing databases (both hard copy and soft copy) on the situation of products and commodities requiring management;

14. International cooperation costs in quality inspection activities: Participation in international and regional warning organizations regarding product and commodity quality;

15. Other costs directly related to state inspection activities on product and commodity quality.

Article 4 FRAMEWORK FOR EXPENSES FOR STATE INSPECTION ACTIVITIES ON PRODUCT AND COMMODITY QUALITY

The use of funds to ensure state inspection activities on product and commodity quality shall be carried out in accordance with current financial expenditure regulations; due to the special nature of conducting state inspections on product and commodity quality, this Circular stipulates certain specific cost standards as follows:

1. Renting external experts or conformity assessment organizations with legal personality and independence to conduct quality inspection assessments of products and commodities (if applicable). The head of the agency assigned the task of state inspection on product and commodity quality decides based on the nature and content of the inspection and the available budget within the allocated plan.

The daily rate for experts serving as the basis for signing lump-sum contracts for participation in inspections shall not exceed 300,000 VND/day/person; in addition to the above remuneration, experts are reimbursed for accommodation rental costs at the inspection location, travel expenses (if any) according to the travel expense regulations applicable to administrative agencies and public service units.

The rent for conformity assessment organizations is implemented through contracts between the state inspection agency on product and commodity quality and the conformity assessment organization in accordance with the law, and payment is made according to the service price provided by the conformity assessment organization.

2. Sampling, testing, and appraisal costs, including: Purchase costs for test samples, testing and appraisal costs, purchase costs for sampling and sample storage equipment, purchase costs for raw materials for testing, rental costs for loading and unloading samples, and transportation costs. These expenses are settled based on actual expenditures or import prices plus relevant fees and taxes, with complete invoices and supporting documents as required by law. For cases involving rental for loading and unloading and transportation, the quality inspection agency must sign contracts with organizations and individuals to carry them out. For cases involving the purchase of equipment and raw materials for testing and appraisal, they must comply with relevant laws.

Determining the funding for purchasing product and commodity samples is carried out according to the principle that for products and commodities already circulating in the Vietnamese market, payments are made at market prices; for products and commodities not yet circulating in the market, payments are made at factory gate prices (for domestically produced products) or import prices plus relevant fees and taxes.

In cases where samples are purchased from business establishments without financial invoices; using materials, chemicals, and raw materials for inspection work without economic and technical norms issued by competent ministries and sectors, the head of the state inspection agency on product and commodity quality decides on the purchase of test samples, consumption quotas for materials, chemicals, and raw materials for these contents and bears responsibility for the legality and rationality of the decision.

Chapter III REVENUES FOR SAMPLING AND TESTING COSTS

Article 5. Contents of the revenues

1. For state inspection of product quality and goods in production and circulation on the market.

a) When the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality concludes that the producer or seller has violated the regulations on product and goods quality, the producer or seller must pay the sampling costs and testing costs for product and goods quality to the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality.

b) In cases where state inspections of product and goods quality are conducted to resolve complaints and denunciations:

The organization or individual making the complaint or denunciation has the obligation to provide initial information, documents, and evidence according to current regulations on complaints and denunciations so that the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality can have grounds to carry out subsequent inspection procedures.

- If the conclusion of the complaint or denunciation is correct, the producer or seller must pay the sampling costs and testing costs for product and goods quality to the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality, and will be subject to legal sanctions.

- If the conclusion of the complaint or denunciation is incorrect, the complainant or denouncer must pay the sampling costs and testing costs for product and goods quality to the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality, and will be subject to legal sanctions.

2. For state inspection of imported product and goods quality.

a) In cases where the inspection agency suspects the results of conformity assessment by designated conformity assessment organizations (certification or appraisal fees paid directly by the importer to the conformity assessment organization), the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality conducts sampling and testing. If the test results show that the imported goods do not meet the applicable standards or technical regulations, the importer must pay the sampling costs and testing costs to the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality.

b) In cases where state inspections of product and goods quality are conducted to resolve complaints and denunciations: The organization or individual making the complaint or denunciation has the obligation to provide initial information, documents, and evidence according to current regulations on complaints and denunciations so that the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality can have grounds to carry out subsequent inspection procedures. If the conclusion of the complaint or denunciation is correct, the importer must pay the sampling costs and testing costs to the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality, and will be subject to legal sanctions. If the conclusion of the complaint or denunciation is incorrect, the complainant or denouncer must pay the sampling costs and testing costs for product and goods quality to the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality, and will be subject to legal sanctions.

Article 6. Responsibilities of the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality in collecting sampling and testing costs

1. Based on inspection conclusions, the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality has the responsibility to implement the collection and payment of the revenues stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular.

The collected revenues shall be monitored according to the following contents: Number of inspection conclusion documents requiring recovery of costs; name of unit, organization, or individual required to repay costs; amount to be paid (consistent with the actual sampling and testing costs incurred by the inspection agency).

In cases where the organizations or individuals mentioned in Article 5 of this Circular fail to fulfill their obligation to repay funds beyond the deadline specified in the notification from the inspection agency, the inspection agency shall transfer the file and recommend the competent authority to handle the matter according to the provisions of the law.

2. The state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality has the responsibility to open an account at the State Treasury branch for units, organizations, or individuals to repay the cost money. This fund is retained by the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality for continued expenditure on inspection activities in subsequent budget years. This fund is settled and reconciled with the state budget according to the current provisions of the State Budget Law.

3. At the end of the fiscal year, the state agency responsible for inspecting product and goods quality has the responsibility to report the situation of the above account together with the final settlement report of the state budget funds allocated for state inspection activities of product and goods quality to the superior management agency.

Chapter IV ESTABLISHING THE BUDGET AND SETTLING STATE INSPECTION COSTS

Article 7. Budget preparation and approval

Annually, state inspection agencies for product and commodity quality shall base on the national inspection plan for product and commodity quality within their assigned management areas to establish the budget for funding state inspection activities for product and commodity quality within their special tasks, to be submitted to the supervising agency for consolidation into the budget of the Ministry, sector, or locality for submission to the competent authority for approval in accordance with the regulations.

Article 8 MANAGEMENT AND USE OF FUNDS

1. State inspection agencies for product and commodity quality must comply with current regulations on the management and use of funds under the State Budget Law, guiding documents for implementing the State Budget Law, and specific provisions set forth in this Circular.

2. The National Treasury shall implement control over expenditures, disbursement, and settlement of funds for state inspection activities related to product and commodity quality according to current regulations and specific provisions set forth in this Circular.

Article 9. Settlement of Budget Expenditure

1. Funds allocated for state inspection activities related to product and commodity quality shall be utilized and settled in accordance with the State Budget Law and current guiding documents.

2. The use of funds for state inspection activities related to product and commodity quality must ensure complete and valid financial documentation in compliance with current financial regulations and the provisions set forth in this Circular.

Chapter V IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

Article 10. Provisions on implementation

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

2. During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies and units are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology for research and resolution.