Decision No. 292/2005/QĐ-BTM on the issuance of the Regulation on receiving, circulating, processing, and storing documents within the Ministry of Trade.

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the issuance of the Regulation on receiving, circulating, processing

 and archiving documents within the Ministry of Trade

_____________________________

 

THE MINISTER OF TRADE

 

Pursuant to Decree No. 29/2004/NĐ-CP dated January 16, 2004 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Trade;

Pursuant to Decree No. 110/2004/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2004 of the Government on archival work;

Pursuant to Decree No. 111/2004/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2004 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the National Archives Law;

At the proposal of the Director of the Ministry's Office, the Head of the Legal Department, and the Head of the E-commerce Department,

 

DECISION:

 

Article 1. This Decision promulgates the Regulation on receiving, circulating, processing and archiving documents within the Ministry of Trade.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 3The Director of the Ministry's Office, Heads of units under the Ministry, and all officials and civil servants of the Ministry of Trade are responsible for implementing this Decision./.

 

REGULATIONS

 

Regulation on receiving, circulating, processing and archiving documents within the Ministry of Trade

(issued together with Decision No. 292/2005/QĐ-BTM dated February 25, 2005)

of the Minister of Trade)

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of application

Article 1. This Regulation stipulates the procedures for receiving, circulating, and processing incoming documents; issuing, managing, and archiving documents within the Ministry of Trade.

Article 2. The procedures for receiving, circulating, processing incoming documents; issuing, managing, and archiving classified documents shall be carried out in accordance with current laws and this Regulation.

Article 3. The procedures for receiving, circulating, processing incoming documents; issuing, managing, and archiving documents related to quota allocation for textile and garment exports shall be implemented in accordance with the Regulation on handling matters related to quota allocation for textile and garment exports issued together with Decision No. 1700/2004/QĐ-BTM dated November 19, 2004 of the Minister of Trade.

Article 2. Applicability

This Regulation applies to all units and officials, civil servants, and staff members under the Ministry of Trade.

Article 3. Definitions

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

Document means all types of official letters, documents in the form of normative legal documents (Laws, Ordinances, Orders, Resolutions, Decrees, Decisions, Directives, Circulars), administrative documents (Individual Decisions, Individual Directives, Press Releases, Notifications, Programs, Plans, Proposals, Projects, Reports, Minutes, Petitions, Contracts, Official Letters, Telegrams, Certificates, Delegations, Invitations, Introductions, Leave Requests, Travel Permits, Receipts, Submission Forms, Transfer Forms), specialized documents, and documents from political organizations and social-political organizations sent to the Ministry of Trade or sent from the Ministry of Trade.

Unit under the Ministry refers to Departments, Bureaus, Commissions, Inspection of the Ministry, and the Ministry's Office.

Unit's archivist is a specialist of a unit under the Ministry assigned specifically or concurrently to handle the unit's archiving work.

eMOT network is the internal trade ministry network with the internal address http://emot.

MOT network is the website of the Ministry of Trade on the Internet with the address http://www.mot.gov.vn.

Article 4. Objectives of the Regulation

This Regulation is issued to:

1. Enhance transparency, timeliness, and promptness in the receipt and processing of official letters.

2. Strengthen direct leadership of the Ministry's Leadership and coordination between the Ministry's Office and units under the Ministry of Trade.

3. Establish scientific working habits and styles among officials and civil servants under the Ministry of Trade.

4. Ensure the quality and effectiveness of work and provide good public services.

Chapter II

PROCEDURE FOR RECEIVING AND PROCESSING INCOMING DOCUMENTS

Article 5. Receiving incoming documents

1. All incoming documents to the Ministry of Trade from different sources must go through the Administrative Department to complete registration procedures. Units under the Ministry that have legal personality organize their own independent archiving to directly receive incoming documents to their units.

2. The Administrative Department is responsible for receiving and opening incoming documents according to general legal regulations and this Regulation.

3. The Administrative Department will not process the receipt of documents that do not comply with the prescribed format and return them.

4. For confidential mail sent to the Ministry, the Administrative Department will follow specific regulations regarding the Confidential Mail Register and the person responsible for handling confidential mail registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Central Party Office.

5. The Administrative Department will not open the following envelopes:

a) Envelopes marked "Confidential," "Top Secret," "Absolutely Secret," and envelopes with the phrase "Only the named person on the envelope may open."

b) Personal letters.

c) Tender documents.

6. Officials and civil servants of units under the Ministry may not directly receive and process incoming documents that have not gone through the procedures stipulated in this Regulation (except personal correspondence and individual transaction papers).

7. Urgent documents received outside regular working hours must be recorded with the document number on the envelope, the sending agency name, and immediately reported to the Ministry's Office Leadership for instructions on forwarding to the responsible person. Other types of urgent documents should be received and stored in a locked cabinet by the duty officer to be handed over to the Administrative Department at the start of the next working day.

Article 6. Entering the Incoming Document Log at the Administrative Department

1. The Administrative Department enters the Incoming Document Log, stamps "incoming document" in the space below the summary or at the top of the document, and inputs information about the sender, number, date of issuance, summary, number, date of receipt by the Ministry, and other relevant data into the computer.

2. In the case of receiving confidential mail, the Administrative Department records it in the Confidential Mail Log according to specific regulations.

3. In the case of receiving envelopes marked "Confidential," "Top Secret," "Absolutely Secret," and envelopes with the phrase "Only the named person on the envelope may open," the Administrative Department only records the document number and outer envelope code in the confidential document log according to specific regulations.

Article 7. Transferring incoming documents

1. After completing the procedures specified in Article 6, the Administrative Department immediately transfers the incoming documents to the units or presents them to the Ministry's Office Leadership for processing as prescribed.

2. In the case of receiving confidential mail, the Administrative Department immediately transfers it to the General Department for presentation to the Ministry's Office Leadership or the Ministry Leadership.

3. In the case of receiving confidential documents, the Administrative Office shall transfer the envelope containing the document to the General Office for submission to the Leadership of the Ministry's Office or the Ministry's Leadership. The recipient of these types of documents shall, based on the level of importance of each document, return it to the Administrative Office for registration of incoming documents or retain it at their unit and bear responsibility for this.

4. In the case of documents bearing the marks "Urgent," "Very Urgent," "Immediate," or having instructions for expedited processing from the Ministry's Leadership, the Administrative Office or the General Office must immediately process the transfer to the address indicated on the document for handling.

5. The Administrative Office is responsible for transferring documents to the unit's clerical staff twice a day during the following periods:

- Morning from 10:00 to 11:00^hfrom 00 to 11^h00;

- From 14^hAfternoon from 14:00 to 15:00^h00.

Article 8. Handling Incoming Documents

1. In the case of documents within the authority to resolve of the Ministry's Leadership, the Ministry's Office Leadership shall submit them to the Ministry's Leadership within a period not exceeding one working day from the date of registration at the Administrative Office to seek guidance.

2. In the case of documents within the functions and tasks of units, the Ministry's Office Leadership shall send such documents to the relevant units within a period not exceeding one working day from the date of registration at the Administrative Office for resolution.

3. For documents received after 16:00, the time for transferring documents as stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 3 of this Regulation shall be moved to the morning of the next working day, except for immediate documents and those with scheduled delivery times.^h00, the time point for transferring the documents prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article shall shift to the morning of the next working day, except for urgent and scheduled documents.

4. In the case of secret telegrams, the Administrative Office shall immediately transfer them to the General Office for reporting to the Ministry's Office Leadership and the Ministry's Leadership. After completing the handling according to the Ministry's Leadership's instructions, the unit handling the telegram shall be responsible for returning the secret telegram to the Administrative Office for management under confidentiality regulations.

Article 9. Posting Information about Incoming Documents on the eMOT Network

Depending on specific documents, the Ministry's Office shall take the lead and coordinate with the E-commerce Department to post information about incoming documents on the eMOT network.

Article 10. Directives for Handling Incoming Documents

1. Upon receipt of incoming documents submitted by the Ministry's Office Leadership, the Ministry's Leadership shall record their directives in the document.

2. After the Ministry's Leadership has provided directives, the General Office shall be responsible for recording the unit and individual assigned to handle the matter and the deadline for handling in a separate tracking book and immediately transferring these documents back to the Administrative Office to send to the respective units and individuals.

If the Ministry's Leadership instructs units and individuals to cooperate, the General Office shall be responsible for immediately sending copies of the document to those units and individuals.

3. The General Office shall enter data on the units and individuals assigned to handle matters and deadlines for handling into the eMOT network.

Article 11. Deadlines for Handling Incoming Documents

1. In the case of documents specifying a specific deadline for response, the unit assigned to handle the matter must submit to the Ministry's Leadership or provide a response before the requested deadline.

For documents requiring extremely urgent responses, the unit assigned to handle the matter may respond after the deadline but not more than four working hours later. If more time is needed to handle the document, the unit assigned to handle the matter must seek guidance from the Ministry's Leadership.

2. In the case of documents without a specified deadline for response, the handling deadline at the unit is as follows:

a) For issues that need to be handled within the functions and tasks of each unit, the unit must complete the response document for submission to the Ministry's Leadership for decision-making along with the supporting documentation within the latest deadline of three working days.

b) For issues that need to be handled within the functions and tasks of multiple units, the leading unit handling the matter must organize the collection of opinions from related units. Within five working days, the leading unit handling the matter must complete the response document for submission to the Ministry's Leadership for decision-making along with the supporting documentation.

c) For issues within the functions and tasks of units authorized by the Ministry's Leadership to sign on behalf of the Ministry according to the Ministry's Working Regulations, the deadline for completing and issuing the response document is three working days.

d) For issues that require handling with important content necessitating consultation with related organizations and individuals, the deadlines set out in Points a, b, and c of Clause 2 of this Article may be extended up to two times, each extension not exceeding five working days.

Any extension of the handling deadline for incoming documents must be approved by the Ministry's Leadership.

e) For issues that require handling with unique characteristics of the unit, the handling deadline is determined by the unit and must be approved by the responsible Ministry's Leadership.

3. For projects, programs, or issues involving multiple Ministries, the units shall implement according to the specific deadlines assigned by the Ministry's Leadership.

4. For normative legal documents, the drafting and review deadlines shall be carried out according to the Drafting and Review Regulations for Normative Legal Documents issued by the Ministry of Commerce pursuant to Decision No. 1117/2003/QĐ-BTM dated September 8, 2003, of the Minister of Commerce.

Chapter III

PROCEDURE FOR RECEIVING AND PROCESSING INCOMING DOCUMENTS

AT UNITS UNDER THE MINISTRY'S AGENCY

Article 12. Receiving Incoming Documents at Units Under the Ministry's Agency

1. After receiving documents transferred by the Administrative Office, the unit's clerk must sign for receipt in the Administrative Office's handover logbook.

2. The unit's clerk is responsible for registering incoming documents in the unit's incoming document logbook and immediately transferring them to the unit's leadership. Additionally, the unit's clerk must regularly compare incoming documents with the list of documents on the eMOT network to promptly identify and address any errors.

3. In the case of documents delivered to the wrong address, the unit's clerk must immediately return them to the Administrative Office for further processing and should not directly transfer them to another unit.

4. In the case of immediate or scheduled documents arriving at the unit, the unit's clerk must immediately transfer them or report to the unit's leadership for prompt handling.

Article 13. Assignment of Handling Incoming Documents at Units Under the Ministry's Agency

1. After receiving incoming documents from the unit's clerk, the unit's leadership is responsible for classifying and assigning staff to handle them on the same day.

2. In the case of documents received after 16:00, the classification and assignment of staff to handle them may be deferred until the start of the next working day, except for immediate and scheduled documents from government agencies.^h00, the classification and assignment of officers to handle the documents may be shifted to the beginning of the next working day, except for urgent and scheduled documents of state agencies.

Article 14. Transferring Incoming Documents to Assigned Staff for Handling

1. Immediately upon receiving instructions or assignments to handle incoming documents from the unit's leadership, the unit's clerk shall be responsible for updating information about the specialist assigned to handle the document and promptly transferring the document to that specialist.

2. The specialist must sign for receipt of the incoming document and process it in accordance with the Ministry’s and the unit’s Operating Regulations.

Article 15. Timeframe for handling incoming documents at units

1. The timeframe for handling incoming documents at units must comply with the processing deadlines for documents stipulated in Article 11 of this Regulation.

2. The timeframe for handling incoming documents under Clause 1 of this Article shall be calculated from the date the unit receives a valid file.

For invalid files, within one working day from the date of receipt of the incoming document, the main unit responsible for handling the document shall notify in writing the relevant organizations or individuals to supplement or redo the file. The processing time for the document in this case shall be calculated from the date the unit receives a complete and valid file.

Article 16. Statistics and monitoring of processing deadlines for documents

Weekly, the unit's clerk shall be responsible for compiling the situation of document processing at the unit and reporting to the unit's leadership, clearly stating the documents currently being processed or those that have exceeded their processing deadline along with the names of the unit's leadership and the specialists assigned to handle them.

Chapter IV

PROCEDURE FOR SUBMISSION, NUMBERING, SEALING,

ISSUANCE AND STORAGE OF DOCUMENTS

Article 17. Submission of documents for signature to the Ministry's Leadership

1. Documents submitted for signature by the Ministry's Leadership as prescribed in this Article do not include regulatory legal documents. The submission of regulatory legal documents for signature shall comply with the provisions of the Law on Enacting Regulatory Legal Documents, guiding documents, and the Code of Drafting and Reviewing Draft Regulatory Legal Documents issued together with Decision No. 1117/2003/QĐ-BTM dated September 8, 2003, by the Minister of Trade.

2. The unit entrusted with the main responsibility for handling the document must submit to the Ministry's Leadership the case resolution file within the prescribed time limit. The file for submitting documents for signature to the Ministry's Leadership includes:

a) A submission form signed by the unit's leadership responsible for handling the matter: The Model Submission Form for the Ministry's Leadership is promulgated together with this Regulation;

b) A draft of the document to be processed with the abbreviated signature of the unit's leadership at the end of the content section;

c) Other related documents listed in the submission form.

3. The unit's leadership signing the submission form shall be responsible for the level of confidentiality ("secret"), urgency ("urgent"), method of issuing the document, and the format for posting the document online as proposed by themselves.

Article 18. Receiving Files Submitted to the Ministry's Leadership

1. The General Department is responsible for receiving files submitted to the Ministry's Leadership and maintaining a separate record of all files submitted to the Ministry's Leadership.

2. The Secretary of the Minister and the specialists assisting the Deputy Minister are responsible for:

a) Checking the submitted files according to the prescribed procedures;

b) Verifying the content, format, and style of the document according to the regulations;

c) Verifying the level of confidentiality ("secret") and urgency ("urgent") of documents proposing such levels, and the format for posting the document online.

3. In cases where the files submitted to the Ministry's Leadership do not comply with the provisions of Article 17 of this Regulation or when the content and format of the document need to be revised; the General Department will return the file to the submitting unit to perfect the file before resubmitting to the Ministry's Leadership.

4. In cases where the files relate to expenditure or procurement matters within the purview of the Ministry's Office, the General Department must first submit them to the Ministry's Office Leadership before submitting them to the Ministry's Leadership.

5. Units under the Ministry's agency may not directly submit files to the Ministry's Leadership without going through the General Department.

Article 19. Submitting Draft Outgoing Documents to the Ministry's Leadership

1. After checking the submitted files according to the provisions of Article 17 of this Regulation, the General Department shall submit them to the Ministry's Leadership within no more than one day.

2. The Ministry's Leadership shall examine and resolve the submitted documents in accordance with the Ministry of Trade's Operating Regulations and this Regulation.

3. The General Department shall notify and return the entire file for signature to the unit in charge of processing in the following cases:

a) The Ministry's Leadership agrees and authorizes the unit's leadership to sign and issue the document.

b) The Ministry's Leadership provides guidance on the submission form to further improve the content, request additional opinions from related agencies, or seek additional opinions from other Ministry's Leadership.

c) The Ministry's Leadership makes direct amendments to the draft.

d) The submission form to the Ministry's Leadership does not clearly reflect the views of the specialist and the unit's leadership on the matter submitted.

4. If they agree with the content of the document, the Ministry's Leadership shall sign the document, sign the submission form, and decide on the level of confidentiality and the format for posting the document online as proposed in the submission form.

Article 20. Numbering and Sealing of Outgoing Documents

1. After the Ministry's Leadership signs the document, the General Department shall immediately notify the unit so that the specialist directly handling the document can collect the file, obtain the number, make copies, and seal the document according to the regulations.

2. For documents signed and issued by the unit's leadership to resolve matters within their functional responsibilities and authorized by the Ministry's Leadership, the specialist directly handling the document shall be responsible for obtaining the number, making copies, and sealing the document according to the regulations.

3. When bringing the document to the Administrative Affairs Department for sealing, the specialist directly handling the document must present the approved submission form. The Administrative Affairs Department will conduct a final check on the format and style of the document, assign the number, date, month, and apply seals indicating the level of confidentiality ("secret") and urgency ("urgent") as requested in the submission form. The Administrative Affairs Department will only seal documents with abbreviated signatures as stipulated in Point b, Clause 2, Article 17 of this Regulation and presented with the submission form. In cases of documents signed by the Bureau level, there is no need to present the submission form.

4. The Administrative Affairs Department will not pre-number documents. In necessary cases requiring pre-numbering, the main unit responsible for handling the matter must consult with the Ministry's Office Leadership and obtain written approval from the Ministry's Office Leadership. The main unit responsible for handling the matter shall bear responsibility for pre-numbering the document.

Article 21. Issuance of Outgoing Documents

1. The specialist assigned to handle the document shall coordinate with the Administrative Affairs Department to process the issuance of the document to the recipient address.

2. The Administrative Affairs Department is responsible for issuing the Ministry's documents to the recipient address.

In cases where the document bears a seal indicating urgency or urgent requirements of the signer, the Administrative Affairs Department must act immediately.

In case the document bears a stamp indicating the level of "confidentiality," the Administrative Office must send it according to the confidentiality regime.

3. In cases where the recipient needs to directly receive the document:

a) If the recipient is a business entity, the person receiving the document must have a valid letter of introduction from that business entity. The business entity shall be responsible for the authenticity of the Letter of Introduction and the person introduced.

b) If the recipient is another agency or organization, the person receiving the document must present identification proving they are a member of the agency or organization receiving the document.

In both cases, the person directly receiving the document must sign for receipt in the Administrative Office's document delivery logbook.

Article 22. Archive outgoing documents

All outgoing documents must be carefully archived according to the following locations: Administrative Office, main unit's office, coordinating units, and the direct handling staff.

Article 23. Post information about outgoing documents on the Ministry of Commerce’s network

1. After issuing the document, based on the proposal to post the document on the network submitted by the presenting unit and approved by the Ministry's leadership:

- The issuing unit posts the outgoing document on the eMOT network.

- The E-commerce Department posts the document on the MOT network. The issuing unit is responsible for sending the document in file format to the E-commerce Department.

2. Documents signed by the head of the unit must be posted on the eMOT network by that unit.

3. Strictly prohibited from posting on the network any outgoing documents or information about such documents classified as confidential or those whose signatory has decided not to post them online. Individuals violating this provision will be disciplined under Article 28 of this Regulation or criminally prosecuted according to the law.

Article 24. Management and preservation of documents

1. Staff members are responsible for managing and preserving documents. Confidential files and materials must be stored in locked filing cabinets.

2. The management and use of confidential files and materials shall be carried out in accordance with current laws on state secrets protection and Decision No. 160/2003/QĐ-TTg dated August 4, 2003, of the Prime Minister regarding the list of top-secret and highly secret state secrets in the commerce sector, Decision No. 584/2003/QĐ-BCA dated August 25, 2003, of the Minister of Public Security regarding the list of confidential state secrets in the commerce sector, and the regulations on confidentiality of the Ministry of Commerce.

3. Staff members of the Ministry of Commerce's agencies may not disclose to organizations or individuals without responsibility any information about ongoing files and materials of the agency, comments and directives of the Ministry's leadership.

4. The archiving of files and materials of units under the Ministry of Commerce shall be implemented according to Decision No. 456/2002/QĐ-BTM dated April 19, 2002, of the Minister of Commerce promulgating the Regulations on clerical work and archives.

Chapter V

VIOLATION HANDLING AND IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

Article 25. Supervision and urging the processing of documents within the Ministry of Commerce

1. The Ministry Office is responsible for compiling the situation of document processing transferred to units, assisting the Ministry's leadership in urging units to process documents and handle tasks according to the leadership's directives.

2. Monthly, the Ministry Office is responsible for reporting to the Ministry's leadership on the situation of document processing by units under the Ministry and simultaneously informing related units at the regular departmental meetings.

Article 26. Incorporating feedback from relevant agencies

1. The E-commerce Department is responsible for establishing a special section on the MOT network to incorporate feedback from organizations and individuals related to the Ministry's document processing work.

2. The Ministry Office is responsible for consolidating feedback on the MOT network and reporting to the Ministry's leadership for handling.

Article 27. Disciplinary principles

The disciplinary measures against violations of this Regulation shall be carried out in accordance with the principles of the law on cadres and civil servants.

Article 28. Forms of Disciplinary Action

1. Cadres, civil servants, and employees of the Ministry of Commerce who violate provisions of this Regulation shall, depending on the nature and degree of violation, bear one of the following disciplinary forms:

a) Reprimand;

b) Warning;

c) Reduction in pay grade;

d) Reduction in pay grade;

d) Dismissal from office;

e) Compulsory termination of employment.

2. In cases where cadres, civil servants, and employees of the Ministry of Commerce violate provisions of this Regulation causing material damage to related organizations or individuals, they must compensate for the damage according to current laws on material liability for cadres and civil servants.

Article 29. Awards

Strict compliance with the provisions of this Regulation by cadres and civil servants is considered during the process of commendation and awarding by units and the Ministry, serving as one of the criteria for considering salary grade increases and conditions for being nominated for civil servant grade promotion exams.

Article 30. Implementation

1. The Ministry Office is responsible for directing the Administrative Office and the General Department to implement the provisions of this Regulation.

2. The Ministry Office coordinates with the E-commerce Department to inspect the posting of documents on the eMOT network by units.

3. Heads of units and the Organization and Cadre Affairs Department base their consideration of salary grade increases, civil servant grade transfer exams, or nominations for training on the results of strict compliance with the contents of this Regulation.

4. The E-commerce Department is responsible for ensuring the functionalities on the MOT and eMOT networks comply with the provisions of this Regulation.

5. Heads of units under the Ministry are responsible for developing their unit's operational procedures, disseminating, and implementing the provisions of this Regulation./.