Circular No. 32/2010/TT-BGTVT on drafting, reviewing, promulgating, reviewing, and systematizing traffic administrative regulations.

 CIRCULAR

Provisions on drafting, reviewing, promulgating, examining, and systematizing legal normative documents on transport

legal regulatory documents on transportation

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Pursuant to the Law on Legislative Acts of 03 June 2008;

Pursuant to Decree No. 24/2009/NĐ-CP dated March 5, 2009, of the Government detailing and providing measures for implementing the Law on Legislative Documents;

Pursuant to Decree No. 63/2010/NĐ-CP dated June 8, 2010 of the Government on administrative procedure control;

Pursuant to Decree No. 51/2008/NĐ-CP dated April 22, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

Pursuant to Decree No. 122/2004/NĐ-CP dated May 18, 2004 of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of legal departments of Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government, and state-owned enterprises;

The Minister of Transport shall stipulate provisions on drafting, reviewing, promulgating, examining, and systematizing legal normative documents on transport as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates on:

1. Establishing a program for drafting normative legal documents on transport (hereinafter referred to as normative legal documents);

2. Drafting, reviewing, and promulgating normative legal documents;

3. Examination and systematization of legal normative documents.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the establishment of Programs for the development, drafting, reviewing, promulgating, examining, and systematizing legal normative documents.

Article 3. Regulatory Legal Documents

1. A normative legal document is a document that has all the following elements:

a) Issued by state agencies or jointly issued according to their authority, form, procedure, and process prescribed by law;

b) Contains general rules of conduct, has general binding force, and is guaranteed by the State for the purpose of regulating social relations.

Article 2. Regulatory legal documents specified in this Circular include:

a) Laws, ordinances, resolutions drafted by the Ministry of Transport and submitted to the Government for the Government to submit to the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly;

b) Decrees and decisions drafted by the Ministry of Transport for submission to the Government and the Prime Minister for promulgation;

c) Circulars issued by the Minister of the Ministry of Transport;

d) Joint circulars between the Minister of Transport and other Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court, Prosecutor General of the Supreme People's Procuracy.

3. The contents of the Circular issued by the Minister of Transport include:

a) Detailed regulations implementing laws, resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances, resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, decrees of the President, decrees of the Government, and decisions of the Prime Minister;

b) Regulations on technical standards, economic-technical norms of the transport sector;

c) Measures to implement state management functions in the transport sector and other matters assigned by the Government.

4. Circulars of the Minister of Transport promulgating national technical standards in the field of transport shall be issued in accordance with the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations and guiding documents for the implementation of the Law.

5. Administrative documents issued by state agencies with competent authority but lacking the elements prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article shall not be considered legal normative documents, specifically:

a) Resolutions of the Government to decide issues regarding tasks and solutions for directing and managing economic and social development during each period; approving programs and projects; programs for drafting decrees, and similar issues.

b) Decisions of the Prime Minister to approve programs and projects; allocate socio-economic targets to agencies and organizations; establish universities; establish temporary steering committees, councils, and commissions to perform tasks within a specified time frame; award commendations, disciplinary actions, job transfers; appoint, dismiss, remove from office, accept resignation, temporarily suspend the work of cadres and civil servants; and similar issues.

c) Directives of the Prime Minister to urge the implementation of laws and legal normative documents.

d) Decisions and directives of the Minister to approve programs and projects; approve charters of associations and non-governmental organizations; adjust internal operating regulations of agencies and organizations; launch campaigns; direct administrative management; urge and inspect the implementation of laws and legal normative documents; and similar issues.

Administrative documents issued by General Departments, Bureaus without the elements of legal normative documents prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article and not conflicting with legal normative documents.

Article 4. Establishment of Programs for Drafting Legal Normative Documents

1. Annually, Departments, the Office of the Ministry, the Inspectorate (hereinafter referred to collectively as Departments); General Departments, Bureaus, Institutes, Schools, Information Technology Centers (hereinafter referred to collectively as Bureaus); enterprises, and other agencies and organizations under the Ministry shall base their functions and actual needs to propose the drafting of legal normative documents for subsequent years, submitting to the Ministry (through the Department of Legal Affairs) at the following times:

a) Before February 1st for draft laws of the National Assembly and ordinances of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly;

b) Before June 10th for decrees of the Government and decisions of the Prime Minister, circulars of the Minister;

The application dossier for proposing the drafting of legal normative documents shall comply with the provisions of Article 5 of this Circular.

Clause 2. Agencies, organizations, and individuals not falling under the scope defined in Clause 1 of this Article have the right to propose the development of regulatory legal documents to the Ministry of Transport for consideration and decision.

3. Agencies and organizations under the Ministry must undertake the following tasks before submitting proposals to the Ministry for the drafting of laws, ordinances, and decrees: organizing the collection of opinions from relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals in the industry on the proposal to draft laws, ordinances, and decrees; publishing explanatory notes on the proposal to draft laws, ordinances, and decrees and preliminary impact assessment reports of the document on their electronic information websites for at least 20 days to allow agencies, organizations, and individuals to provide feedback; leading and coordinating with relevant agencies and organizations to research and improve the application dossier for proposing the drafting of laws, ordinances, and decrees based on the feedback received.

a) Taking the lead and coordinating with relevant agencies and organizations to compile and draft proposals for constructing legal normative documents; reporting to the Government Inspectorate leadership responsible for the construction of legal normative documents; organizing meetings to review drafts; submitting to the Chief Inspector of the Government for decision-making, including assigning tasks to the main drafting unit, coordinating units, submission deadlines, and issuance deadlines.

a) Leading and coordinating with relevant agencies and organizations to compile and review proposals for drafting legal normative documents from agencies, organizations, and individuals; preparing a tentative Program for drafting legal normative documents of the Ministry of Transport (hereinafter referred to collectively as the Program); reporting to the Deputy Minister responsible for legal normative document drafting work to convene meetings to discuss the tentative Program; seeking opinions from Deputy Ministers; submitting to the Minister for signing the Decision to issue the Program, which assigns tasks to the Deputy Minister responsible, the agency in charge of drafting the document, the advisory agency, the coordinating agency, the submission deadline, and the promulgation deadline.

b) Leading and coordinating with relevant agencies and organizations to finalize the application dossier for proposing the drafting of laws, ordinances, and decrees (except in cases where the decree details the implementation of laws, resolutions of the National Assembly; ordinances, resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly; decrees of the President) to submit to the Minister for signing letters requesting the Ministry of Finance's opinion on the rationality of the proposed financial resources and the Ministry of Home Affairs' opinion on the rationality of the proposed human resources.

c) Chair and coordinate with relevant agencies and organizations to revise and perfect the dossier to submit for the Minister's signature of a letter requesting the drafting of laws and ordinances to be sent to the Ministry of Justice before March 1st of the first year of the National Assembly term (for dossiers requesting the drafting of laws and ordinances according to the National Assembly term) or at least 105 days before March 1st of the year preceding the year in which they are expected to be submitted to the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly (for annual dossiers requesting the drafting of laws and ordinances based on the program for the entire National Assembly term) or at least 105 days before March 1st of the year preceding the year in which they are expected to be submitted to the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly (for annual dossiers not included in the program for the entire National Assembly term).

d) Chair and coordinate with relevant agencies and organizations to revise and perfect the dossier to submit for the Minister's signature of a letter requesting the drafting of decrees to be sent to the Government Office and the Ministry of Justice before August 1st of the preceding year, while also sending it to the Department Office for consolidation into the Department's Annual Work Program to be submitted to the Government Office.

5. In cases where management requirements necessitate the issuance or amendment of regulatory legal documents not included in the Program, the agency, organization, or individual shall submit the dossier requesting the Ministry (through the Legal Affairs Department) to supplement the Program. The dossier requesting the supplementation of the Program shall be implemented in accordance with Article 5 of this Circular. The Legal Affairs Department shall be responsible for researching and advising the Ministry Leadership to consider and supplement the Program.

6. In cases where it is necessary to change the Program, within a period of 60 days prior to the draft decree, decision of the Prime Minister, and 30 days prior to the draft circular of the Minister compared to the time stipulated in the Program, the drafting agency and the advisory agency shall unify their opinions and report to the Ministry. The Legal Affairs Department shall be responsible for researching and advising the Ministry Leadership to decide on changing the Program.

Article 5. Dossier for Requesting the Drafting of Regulatory Legal Documents

The dossier for requesting the drafting of regulatory legal documents of the agencies and organizations specified in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular includes:

1. An explanatory memorandum on the proposal to establish regulatory legal documents containing the following contents:

a) For the explanatory memorandum regarding the request for drafting laws and ordinances, it must clearly state the name of the document; the necessity of issuing the document; the scope of regulation and application; the main contents of the document; the basic policies of the document and the policy objectives, measures to implement the policy, positive and negative impacts of the policy; the anticipated resources and conditions to ensure the drafting of the document; the guiding principles for drafting and the preparation process for the drafting.

b) For the explanatory memorandum regarding the request for drafting decrees and circulars, it must clearly state the name of the document, the basis for issuance, the necessity of issuing the document, the scope of regulation and application; the main contents of the document; the basic policies of the document; the priority bases for issuing the document.

2. Preliminary impact assessment report (for requests to draft laws, ordinances, and decrees). The content of the preliminary impact assessment report is stipulated in Article 17 of this Circular.

3. A draft of the main drafting agency, the advisory agency, the coordinating agencies, the Deputy Minister in charge, the issuing agency, the time for submitting the detailed outline, the time for submitting the draft document (at each level), and the time for issuance.

4. Compilation of comments from agencies, organizations, and individuals on the explanatory memorandum regarding the request to draft laws, ordinances, and decrees, and comments from related agencies (main drafting agency, advisory agency, coordinating agency).

Article 6. Legal basis, format, and technical presentation of regulatory legal documents issued by the Minister

1. The legal basis for issuing circulars includes laws, resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances, resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, decrees of the Government, decisions of the Prime Minister, and joint circulars issued by the Minister of Transport together with other Ministers, Heads of agencies at the ministerial level, the President of the Supreme People's Court, and the Procurator General of the Supreme People's Procuracy.

2. The format and technical presentation of the document shall be carried out according to the provisions in Appendices 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this Circular, using the Vietnamese Unicode character set, TCVN 6909:2001.

3. Regulatory legal documents issued by the Minister shall follow the model specified in Appendices 3 and 4 of this Circular, numbered sequentially each year, and marked with specific symbols for each type of document as follows:

a) Circular: Number:        /year of issuance/TT-BGTVT;

b) Joint Circular: Number:         /year of issuance/TTLT/BGTVT-B….

Article 7. Authority to sign and issue or submit draft regulatory legal documents

1. The Minister signs to issue regulatory legal documents as stipulated in points c and d, Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular; signs the Memorandum to the Government and the Prime Minister regarding draft regulatory legal documents as stipulated in points a and b, Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular.

2. In case the Minister is absent, the Minister delegates authority to the Deputy Minister in charge of the relevant field to sign the documents specified in Article 1 of this provision.

Article 8. Budget for drafting, reviewing, and systematizing regulatory legal documents

1. The budget for drafting, reviewing, and systematizing regulatory legal documents is provided from the state budget, included in the annual operating budget of the agency or organization. The budget for drafting, reviewing, and systematizing regulatory legal documents includes funds for the following activities:

a) Researching proposals for drafting documents;

b) Drafting the planned program for drafting documents;

c) Investigating, researching, and surveying during the drafting process;

d) Drafting documents;

đ) Impact assessment of documents;

e) Organizing opinions on project drafts and document drafts;

g) Reviewing and commenting on draft projects and draft documents;

h) Translating documents into foreign languages and ethnic minority languages;

i) Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of documents;

k) Reviewing and systematizing documents, codifying legal regulations.

2. Annual planning:

a) Based on the plan for drafting regulatory legal documents of their own agency and current regulations, the main drafting agency (Department, Bureau) shall take the lead and coordinate with the agency responsible for submitting the document to draft the annual budget plan for drafting, reviewing, and systematizing regulatory legal documents.

b) Before June 10 each year, Departments and Bureaus shall send the annual budget plan for drafting, reviewing, and systematizing regulatory legal documents to the Legal Affairs Department and the Finance Department, and simultaneously include it in their own agency's annual budget plan sent to the Ministry (for Departments) or sent to the Ministry Office (for Bureaus).

3. Based on the approved budget estimate for drafting, reviewing, and systematizing regulatory legal documents by the Ministry of Transport after receiving comments from the Ministry of Finance, the Finance Department shall take the lead and coordinate with the Legal Affairs Department to advise the Minister on the proposed allocation of the budget estimate for agencies and organizations.

For the work of drafting circulars by the Minister, the main drafting agency shall balance within the annual regular expenditure budget allocated by the Ministry of Transport and other sources of funding (including costs for drafting, advising on submission, and reviewing documents).

4. The expenditure for drafting, reviewing, and systematizing regulatory legal documents shall be implemented in accordance with guidelines from the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, and the Office of the Government.

5. The Finance Department is responsible for leading and coordinating with competent financial authorities to timely allocate the budget estimate for drafting, reviewing, and systematizing regulatory legal documents.

6. Agencies and organizations participating in drafting regulatory legal documents may use supplementary funds from domestic and foreign projects of organizations and individuals in accordance with the law to supplement the budget for drafting regulatory legal documents and perfecting the legal system.

7. Payment and settlement of the budget for drafting, reviewing, and systematizing regulatory legal documents shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations.

Article 9. Responsibilities of the head of the agency primarily responsible for drafting legal documents and the agency providing advice on submitting draft legal normative documents

1. Shall be responsible before the Minister for the content, quality, and progress of drafting legal documents.

2. Shall take the lead and coordinate with related agencies and organizations to prepare draft detailed regulations and guidance documents (if applicable).

3. Shall report in writing or via email to the Ministry (through the Legal Department) on the progress of drafting legal normative documents on the 23rd of each month for the Legal Department to compile, report to the Minister, Deputy Minister in charge of legal normative document construction work, and send to the Ministry Office for inclusion in the Ministry's briefing report.

Article 10. Reporting on Drafting and Issuing Legal Normative Documents

1. Monthly and quarterly, the Legal Department shall report to the Deputy Minister in charge of legal normative document construction work on the results of drafting and issuing legal normative documents and the tasks for the following month or quarter.

2. At six months and year-end, the Legal Department shall compile the results of implementing the Program for Constructing Legal Normative Documents and report to the Minister.

3. Quarterly, the Legal Department shall compile and submit to the Ministry Leadership for signature a report on the situation, progress, and difficulties encountered during the drafting of laws, ordinances, and decrees primarily drafted by the Ministry of Transport, to be sent to the Ministry of Justice (for law and ordinance projects) and to the Government Office (for decree drafts).

4. Annually, the Legal Department shall compile and submit to the Ministry Leadership a draft report on the Ministry’s drafting and issuing of legal normative documents to be sent to the Ministry of Justice, while also sending it to the Ministry Office for inclusion in the draft report on the implementation of the Government's Work Program to be signed by the Minister and submitted to the Government Office.

Chapter II

||| DRAFTING LEGAL INSTRUMENTS

Article 11. Agencies Primarily Responsible for Drafting Legal Normative Documents

Agencies primarily responsible for drafting legal normative documents include the Bureaus and Departments directly tasked with drafting legal normative documents related to their functions and responsibilities as assigned by the Minister.

Article 12. Agencies Providing Advice on Submitting Draft Legal Normative Documents

1. Draft legal regulatory documents must be reviewed by the designated advisory agencies before submission to the Minister.

2. Agencies providing advice to the Minister on submitting draft legal normative documents include the Departments and the Bureau of Construction Management and Quality Control of Transportation Works and the Bureau of Health in Transportation, as specified below:

a) The Legal Department: draft laws, ordinances, resolutions of the National Assembly and Standing Committee of the National Assembly on transportation; decrees, decisions of the Government and Prime Minister, circulars of the Minister on transportation, as assigned by the Ministry Leadership;

b) Planning-Investment Bureau: regulatory legal documents on strategy, planning for industry development, planning and investment work, statistics, import and export in the field of transport;

c) The Cadre Organization Department: legal normative documents concerning the functions, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry and its subordinate organizations; training and cadre development; labor, wages, and policies for workers; commendation and reward work within the transportation sector;

d) The Transport Department: legal normative documents concerning transport, transport support services, cooperatives, and security in the transportation sector;

đ) The Science and Technology Department: legal normative documents concerning scientific and technological activities, standards, measurement, quality control, intellectual property rights, technical management, product quality, industrial goods under the transportation sector;

e) Finance Bureau: regulatory legal documents on finance, management and use of state assets in the transport industry;

g) International Cooperation Bureau: regulatory legal documents in the field of international cooperation on transport;

h) The Infrastructure Department: legal normative documents concerning infrastructure management in transportation;

i) The Environment Department: legal normative documents concerning environmental protection, energy conservation, and efficiency in the transportation sector;

k) Traffic Safety Bureau: regulatory legal documents on traffic safety;

l) The Ministry Inspectorate: legal normative documents concerning inspection, complaints, and accusations in the transportation sector;

m) Ministry Office: regulatory legal documents on archival and clerical work;

n) The Bureau of Construction Management and Quality Control of Transportation Works: legal normative documents concerning construction management and quality control of transportation works; labor safety during transportation construction;

o) The Bureau of Health in Transportation: legal normative documents concerning preventive health care; primary health care networks; occupational disease prevention; workplace hygiene and health standards for transportation vehicle operators and workers in special sectors of the transportation industry.

3. In addition to the provisions in Clause 2 of this Article, advisory agencies shall have the responsibility to advise the Minister on draft legal normative documents stipulating responsibilities and violations for agencies, organizations, and individuals related to transportation activities within their assigned fields and other legal normative documents assigned by the Minister.

Article 13. Establishment of Drafting Board, Editorial Team, Drafting Team

1. The agency advising on the main document shall coordinate with the agency primarily responsible for drafting the document and the Legal Affairs Department to submit to the Minister for signing the Decision to establish the Drafting Board and the Editorial Team for laws, ordinances, decrees.

2. In cases where necessary, the agency advising on the main document shall coordinate with the agency primarily responsible for drafting the document and the Legal Affairs Department to submit to the Deputy Minister in charge for signing the Decision to establish the Drafting Team for Circulars issued by the Minister.

3. The composition, principles of operation, and responsibilities of the Drafting Board, Editorial Team, and Drafting Team shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Articles 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and Article 25 of Decree No. 24/2009/NĐ-CP dated March 5, 2009, of the Government detailing and providing measures to implement the Law on Issuing Legal Normative Documents.

Article 14. Procedure for Drafting Legal Normative Documents

1. The agency primarily responsible for drafting the document shall organize a review of the implementation of the law; conduct surveys and assess the current status of social relations; study information and materials related to the content of the draft document; evaluate the impact before drafting the document (for law projects, ordinances, and decrees); organize the detailed outline drafting, report to the Deputy Minister in charge for approval before drafting the document; evaluate the impact of administrative procedures; organize the drafting of the document, send the draft document to solicit opinions from entities directly regulated by the document, agencies, organizations, individuals within the industry, and relevant specialized associations in the field of Transport (by letter, email, or other appropriate forms). Depending on the nature and content of each document, the time limit for responding shall be specified, but at least seven working days from the date of receipt of the request for comments. After the specified period, if the agency, organization, or individual asked for their opinion does not provide feedback, it will be considered as agreeing with the draft document. For agencies, organizations, and individuals under the Ministry of Transport, they must provide responses.

2. In cases where the agency primarily responsible for drafting the document is a Directorate:

After implementing the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article, the Directorate primarily responsible for drafting the document shall study, incorporate opinions received, and revise the draft legal normative document to submit to the Ministry.

3. In cases where the agency primarily responsible for drafting the document is also the advisory agency:

After implementing the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article, the advisory agency shall study, incorporate opinions received, revise the draft document, and follow the provisions of Clause 2 of Article 16 of this Circular.

Article 15. Documents Submitted to the Ministry for Draft Legal Normative Documents Primarily Drafted by the Directorate

1. For draft regulatory legal documents submitted to the Government, Prime Minister, the documents submitted to the Ministry include:

a) The Directorate's submission to the Ministry for the draft legal normative document, clearly stating the necessity of issuance, scope of regulation, applicable subjects, drafting process, main content of the document, differing opinions, reference materials;

b) The revised draft regulatory legal document after incorporating opinions from relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals in the industry;

c) Draft detailed regulations and implementation guidelines (if applicable);

d) Draft Report on the Impact Assessment of Administrative Procedures (if there are provisions on administrative procedures) according to the model prescribed in Appendices 6, 7, and 8 of this Circular;

đ) Summary of opinions from agencies, organizations, individuals, and entities directly affected by the document (including explanations on the adoption of opinions and copies of the opinions);

e) Detailed explanation about the project, draft, and pre-draft impact assessment report in accordance with Article 17 of this Circular.

2. For draft legal normative documents submitted to the Minister for issuance, the documents submitted to the Ministry include:

a) The Directorate's submission to the Ministry requesting issuance of the legal normative document, clearly stating the necessity of issuance, scope of regulation, applicable subjects, drafting process, main content of the document, differing opinions, reference materials;

b) The revised draft regulatory legal document after incorporating opinions from relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals in the industry;

c) Draft Report on Impact Assessment of Administrative Procedures (if there are provisions on administrative procedures);

d) A summary of opinions from agencies, organizations, individuals, and directly affected entities (accompanied by an explanation of the adoption of comments and copies of the comments).

Article 16. Procedure for receiving documents and revising draft regulatory legal documents prepared by the Bureau to be submitted to the Ministry

1. When the Bureau prepares and submits a draft regulatory legal document to the Ministry, the Ministry's leadership assigns the task to the agency responsible for submitting the draft document in accordance with Article 12 of this Circular.

2. The agency assigned the task to submit the draft document shall implement the following provisions:

a) Within no more than five working days from the date of receipt of the draft regulatory legal document, the agency responsible for submitting the draft document must request comments on the draft regulatory legal document in accordance with this clause, except in cases where there are valid reasons and approval from the Ministry's leadership.

b) For draft regulatory legal documents submitted to the Government and the Prime Minister: send the draft regulatory legal document to the Information Technology Center for publication on the Ministry of Transport’s electronic information website at least 60 days before signing the document; send the Impact Assessment Report to the Information Technology Center for publication on the Ministry of Transport’s electronic information website at least 30 days before signing the document; request comments from other advisory agencies (by written letter, email, or other appropriate means); incorporate comments, revise the draft document, and report to the Deputy Minister in charge to request comments from relevant Ministries, sectors, provincial People's Committees, the Administrative Procedure Supervision Agency under the Government Office (for draft documents containing administrative procedures), the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and specialized transport associations (for draft documents related to the rights and obligations of businesses and citizens); compile comments, incorporate them, and revise the draft document; incorporate comments, revise the Impact Assessment Report prior to drafting into the Impact Assessment Report during the drafting process; send it to the Legal Department for review; compile the file and send it to the Ministry of Justice for review.

c) Documents sent to Ministries, sectors, provincial People's Committees, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry include:

- Draft Memorandum to the Government and the Prime Minister according to the model specified in Appendix 5 of this Circular;

- Draft regulatory legal document;

- Impact Assessment Report of the draft document.

The maximum time limit for Ministries, sectors, provincial People's Committees, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry to provide written comments is twenty working days from the date of receipt of the draft law, ordinance, decree.

d) Documents sent to the Administrative Procedure Supervision Agency under the Government Office include:

- Request for comments;

- Draft document containing administrative procedures;

- Impact Assessment Report of administrative procedures.

The maximum time limit for the Administrative Procedure Supervision Agency to provide written comments is twenty working days from the date of receipt of the complete set of documents for comments.

đ) For draft regulatory legal documents within the authority of the Minister to issue: send the draft regulatory legal document to the Information Technology Center for publication on the Ministry of Transport’s electronic information website at least 60 days before signing the document; request comments from other relevant advisory agencies; incorporate comments, revise the draft document, and report to the Deputy Minister in charge to seek comments from agencies, organizations, and individuals outside the transport sector (if necessary); incorporate comments, revise the draft document.

e) For regulatory legal documents containing administrative procedures, the agency responsible for submitting the document must also seek comments from the Ministry's Office at the same time as seeking comments from other advisory agencies.

The Ministry's Office must send its comments to the agency responsible for submitting the document no later than ten working days from the date of receipt of the complete set of documents for comments.

g) Send to the Legal Department for review.

3. Within no more than two working days from the date of receipt of the draft regulatory legal document sent by the advisory agency, the Information Technology Center is responsible for publishing it on the Ministry of Transport’s electronic information website and designing a link for the advisory agency to receive and respond to comments from agencies, organizations, and individuals.

Article 17. Impact Assessment Reports of Legal Documents

1. The impact assessment report on legal documents includes:

a) Preliminary impact assessment report on legal documents;

b) Impact Assessment Report before drafting legal documents;

c) Impact Assessment Report during the drafting process of legal documents (including Simple Impact Assessment Report and Comprehensive Impact Assessment Report);

d) Impact Assessment Report after implementing legal documents;

đ) Impact Assessment Report on administrative procedures (if there are provisions on administrative procedures).

2. Tasks for preparing the impact assessment report on legal documents:

a) Agencies and organizations under the Ministry that propose to draft laws, ordinances, decrees shall be responsible for conducting preliminary Impact Assessment Reports of legal documents; drafting draft Impact Assessment Reports on provisions regarding administrative procedures (if there are provisions on administrative procedures).

b) The agency in charge of advising and submitting proposals shall be responsible for leading and coordinating with the agency primarily responsible for drafting to conduct Impact Assessment Reports before and during the drafting process of legal documents; Impact Assessment Reports on provisions regarding administrative procedures (if there are provisions on administrative procedures);

c) Drafting agencies shall be responsible for leading and coordinating with advising agencies to conduct post-enactment impact assessments on legal documents in accordance with the law.

3. Contents of Impact Assessment Reports of Legal Documents

a) Preliminary Impact Assessment Report of Legal Documents: must clearly state the issues to be resolved and the objectives of the proposed policy, various solutions to address these issues; select the optimal solution to resolve the issue based on impact assessments on the economy, society, environment, legal system, impacts on citizens' basic rights and obligations, the compliance capacity of agencies, organizations, individuals, and other impacts.

b) Impact Assessment Report before drafting legal documents and Impact Assessment Report during the drafting process of legal documents:

- Simple Impact Assessment Report: must clearly state the issues to be resolved and the objectives of the proposed policy, various solutions to address these issues; select the optimal solution to resolve the issue based on specific impact assessments of measures to implement the basic policies of the draft legal document based on qualitative or quantitative analyses of costs, benefits, positive and negative impacts of each measure. The impact assessment focuses on economic, social, environmental, and legal system impacts; impacts on citizens' basic rights and obligations; compliance capacity of agencies, organizations, individuals, and other impacts.

- Comprehensive Impact Assessment Report: in addition to following the contents prescribed for Simple Impact Assessment Report, it must analyze qualitatively and quantitatively all impacts. A Comprehensive Impact Assessment Report must be prepared when the results of the Simple Impact Assessment Report indicate that the legal document may generate annual costs of 15 billion VND or more for the State, agencies, organizations, or businesses, individuals; the legal document may have significant negative impacts on certain groups in society; the legal document may affect a large number of businesses; the legal document may significantly increase consumer prices; the legal document has many differing opinions, is of public concern, and has a significant impact on common interests.

4. Preliminary Impact Assessment Report of Legal Documents must be signed and confirmed by the Minister when submitting the proposal document for drafting legal documents; Impact Assessment Report during the drafting process of legal documents must be signed and confirmed by the Minister when submitting the proposal document for review to the Ministry of Justice.

5. Impact Assessment Report on Administrative Procedures (if there are provisions on administrative procedures) includes the following contents:

a) The necessity of the administrative procedure;

b) The rationality of the administrative procedure;

c) The legality of the administrative procedure;

d) Compliance costs of the administrative procedure.

Chapter III

REVIEWING DRAFT REGULATORY LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Article 18. Authority for reviewing draft regulatory legal documents

1. For regulatory legal documents prescribed in points b, c, and d, Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular, which are drafted by advisory agencies and submitted to the Minister, they must be reviewed by the Legal Department before being sent to the Ministry of Justice for review or before being submitted to the Minister for consideration and issuance; if necessary, the Legal Department shall organize meetings or establish a Review Board comprising relevant Departments, Bureaus, and experts and scientists.

2. For regulatory legal documents directly drafted or advised by the Legal Department and submitted to the Minister, the Legal Department shall organize meetings or establish a Review Board if deemed necessary.

3. The Legal Department shall be responsible for the content of the review as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 20 of this Circular.

Article 19. Documents for submitting draft regulatory legal documents for review

1. The documents submitted by advisory agencies to the Legal Department requesting review of draft regulatory legal documents include:

a) A letter requesting the Legal Department to review the draft regulatory legal document;

b) Draft Memorandum to the Government or Prime Minister, or draft Explanation Report of the advising Department, specifying the necessity for issuance, scope of regulation, applicable subjects, drafting process, main contents of the document, differing opinions on certain issues, reference materials;

c) Memorandum from the Bureau submitting the draft regulatory legal document to the Ministry;

d) Draft regulatory legal document revised by the advising agency according to Article 16 of this Circular;

đ) Comments on administrative procedures from the Ministry's Office;

e) Impact assessment report on administrative procedures: Administrative procedure evaluation form; Administrative application form evaluation form (if the administrative procedure specifies application forms); Administrative condition evaluation form (if the administrative procedure has conditions for implementation) according to the models specified in Appendices 6, 7, and 8 of this Circular;

g) Summary of comments from agencies, organizations, and individuals along with explanations on adopting comments and copies of documents containing comments from related agencies, organizations, and individuals, including explanations on comments from the advising Department regarding the Ministry's Office's comments on administrative procedures;

h) Differences between the Bureau primarily drafting the document and the advising agency submitting the draft (if any);

i) Detailed explanation and impact assessment report during the drafting process of the document;

k) Reference materials (if any).

2. Two sets of documents should be submitted to the Legal Department for review of draft regulatory legal documents, and ten sets should be submitted to the Ministry of Justice for review.

Article 20. Content and time limit for reviewing draft regulatory legal documents

1. The content of reviewing draft regulatory legal documents includes:

a) The necessity of promulgating the document;

b) Scope of application and regulated entities;

c) Compliance with the Party's guidelines, policies; constitutionality, legality, consistency, and coherence of the draft regulatory document within the current legal system;

d) Compatibility with international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party;

đ) Drafting techniques and legal language of the draft regulatory legal document;

e) Feasibility of the draft document, including the alignment between the provisions of the draft document and practical requirements, societal development levels, and implementation conditions;

g) Review of administrative procedures;

h) Solutions for issues with differing opinions.

2. The maximum time limit for the Legal Department to review draft regulatory legal documents is seven working days from the date of receiving complete documents as stipulated in Article 19 of this Circular; if a Review Board needs to be established, the above period may be extended but not exceed ten working days, except for justifiable reasons and with approval from the Ministry's leadership.

3. After reviewing the draft regulatory legal document, the Legal Department shall send the review document according to the model specified in Appendix 9 of this Circular to the advising agency submitting the draft document.

The primary advising agency shall coordinate with the drafting Bureau to adopt and explain the Legal Department's review comments, finalize the draft document, and compile the submission package for the Ministry's leadership to submit to the Ministry of Justice for review. The Ministry of Justice's maximum review period is twenty working days (for law, ordinance, and resolution projects), fifteen working days (for draft decrees), and ten working days (for draft Prime Minister decisions), from the date of receiving complete review documents.

4. After receiving the Ministry of Justice's review document, the primary advising agency shall coordinate with the Legal Department and the drafting Bureau to adopt the Ministry of Justice's review comments and finalize the draft document.

Chapter IV

ISSUANCE OF REGULATORY LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Article 21. Soliciting Opinions from Ministry Leaders on Draft Regulatory Legal Documents

1. The advisory agency responsible for submitting the draft document that has been revised following the review opinion of the Ministry of Justice (for draft regulatory legal documents submitted to the Government or the Prime Minister) or the review opinion of the Department of Legal Affairs (for draft circulars of the Minister) shall submit the draft document along with the application form prescribed in Appendix 10a and Appendix 10b, accompanied by the dossier specified in Articles 22 and 23 of this Circular, to solicit opinions from Ministry leaders (the Minister and Deputy Ministers).

2. Ministry leaders shall return their opinions to the advisory agency within no more than seven working days from the date of receipt of the application form for soliciting opinions, except in cases where Ministry leaders are absent due to official duties.

3. During the process of incorporating feedback, revising, and finalizing the draft regulatory legal document, the advisory agency responsible for submission shall coordinate with the Ministry's Office to organize at least one meeting chaired by a Deputy Minister and attended by relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals to unify the content of the draft document.

Article 22. Dossier for Advisory Agencies Submitting Draft Regulatory Legal Documents to the Minister for Approval

1. For draft legal normative documents submitted to the Government, Prime Minister, the submission files shall include:

a) A submission form for legal documents according to the model prescribed by the Ministry's Office;

b) The review document of the Ministry of Justice;

c) Draft Memorandum to the Government, Prime Minister (two copies);

d) Report on the impact assessment of administrative procedures;

đ) Document providing opinions on the provisions regarding administrative procedures from the Administrative Procedure Control Agency under the Government Office (if there are provisions on administrative procedures);

e) Revised draft regulatory legal document after receiving the review document from the Ministry of Justice;

g) Report explaining and incorporating opinions from Ministry leaders, review opinions, and comments from agencies, organizations, and individuals;

h) Detailed explanation and impact assessment report during the drafting process;

i) The review document of the Department of Legal Affairs;

k) Summary document attached to the document providing opinions from agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the matter;

l) Report summarizing the implementation of laws and evaluating the current social relations related to the main content of the project or draft document (for law and ordinance projects);

m) Application form for soliciting opinions from Ministry leaders.

2. For draft regulatory legal documents submitted to the Minister for issuance, the dossier includes:

a) A submission form for legal documents according to the model prescribed by the Ministry's Office;

b) Explanation report from the department responsible for preparing the submission;

c) Memorandum from the Bureau submitting the draft regulatory legal document to the Ministry;

d) The draft normative legal document revised after receiving the review document from the Legal Department;

đ) Document providing opinions on the provisions regarding administrative procedures from the Ministry's Office (if there are provisions on administrative procedures);

e) The review document of the Department of Legal Affairs;

g) Summary of opinions from agencies, organizations, individuals, and directly affected entities (accompanied by a report explaining the incorporation of opinions from Ministry leaders, review opinions, and other comments; copies of the comments);

h) Application form for soliciting opinions from Ministry leaders.

Article 23. Dossier for Advisory Agencies Simultaneously Submitting Draft Regulatory Legal Documents to the Minister for Approval

1. For draft regulatory legal documents submitted to the Government or the Prime Minister, the dossier shall be prepared according to the provisions of Clause 1 of Article 22 of this Circular.

2. For draft regulatory legal documents submitted to the Minister for signing and issuing, the dossier includes:

a) A submission form for legal documents according to the model prescribed by the Ministry's Office;

b) Report explaining the necessity of issuing the document, scope of regulation, applicable subjects, drafting process, main content of the document, issues with differing opinions, reference materials;

c) Revised draft regulatory legal document after receiving the review document from the Legal Affairs Department;

d) Document providing opinions on the provisions regarding administrative procedures from the Ministry's Office (if there are provisions on administrative procedures);

đ) Examination document of the Department of Legal Affairs;

e) Summary of opinions from agencies, organizations, individuals, and directly affected entities (accompanied by a report explaining the incorporation of opinions from Ministry leaders, review opinions, and other comments; copies of the comments);

g) Application form for soliciting opinions from Ministry leaders.

Article 24. Procedure for submitting draft regulatory legal documents to the Minister

Clause 1. The advisory agency submitting the draft document shall send the dossier to the Ministry's Office and be responsible for the content and format of the draft document.

Clause 2. Upon receiving the dossier for submission of the draft regulatory legal document, the Ministry's Office shall be responsible for checking the dossier and the format of the document; if the dossier is complete as prescribed in Article 22 or Article 23 of this Circular, it shall submit the Deputy Minister in charge for comments; if the dossier is incomplete or not in accordance with regulations, the Ministry's Office shall request the advisory agency submitting the draft document to supplement and complete the dossier.

Clause 3. After the Deputy Minister agrees with the draft regulatory legal document, the advisory agency submitting the draft document shall coordinate with the main drafting agency and the Ministry's Office shall report to the Minister for consideration, organize meetings before submitting the Minister for signing to promulgate the regulatory legal document or sign the Memorandum to the Government, Prime Minister; in case the Minister delegates authority to the Deputy Minister, the Ministry's Office shall submit the Deputy Minister for signing to promulgate the regulatory legal document or sign the Memorandum to the Government, Prime Minister.

In case the Deputy Minister does not agree with the draft document, the Ministry's Office shall return the dossier to the advisory agency submitting the draft document to coordinate with the main drafting agency to study and revise the draft document or retain their opinion accompanied by explanations, resubmit the dossier to the Ministry's Office for the Minister's consideration and decision.

Clause 4. The Ministry's Office shall be responsible for the dossier and the format of the document submitted to the Ministry's leadership.

Clause 5. The advisory agency submitting the draft document shall coordinate with the main drafting agency and be responsible for monitoring, providing additional explanations or performing other related tasks for the draft document until the document is signed and promulgated.

For draft documents submitted to the Government, Prime Minister, the advisory agency shall coordinate with the Legal Affairs Department and the main drafting agency to provide additional explanations or perform other related tasks for the draft document until the document is signed and promulgated.

Article 25. Signing to promulgate, submitting to the Government, Prime Minister and issuing the document

Clause 1. The Minister or the Deputy Minister in charge shall sign to promulgate the regulatory legal document (one original copy) and sign the Memorandum to the Government, Prime Minister for the draft regulatory legal document (two original copies) in accordance with Article 7 of this Circular.

Clause 2. At the latest within two working days from the date the Minister signs to promulgate the regulatory legal document or signs the Memorandum to the Government, Prime Minister, the Ministry's Office shall be responsible for printing, numbering, stamping, retaining one original copy, sending one original copy to the Government, Prime Minister (in case the Ministry submits to the Government, Prime Minister), sending the document to organizations and individuals according to "Recipient", returning the submission dossier to the advisory agency that submitted the draft document. For circulars signed by the Minister, the Ministry's Office shall send two copies to the Government's Office for publication in the Official Gazette and on the Government's electronic information website.

Clause 3. At the latest within two working days from the date the Minister signs to promulgate the circular, the advisory agency submitting the draft document shall be responsible for providing the soft copy of the circular to the Ministry's Office and the Legal Affairs Department through the Ministry's email system to send for publication on the Government's and the Ministry of Transport's electronic information websites.

Clause 4. At the latest within three working days from the date the Minister signs to promulgate, the circular must be sent to the National Assembly's Ethnic Council, relevant Committees of the National Assembly; the Department of Legal Documents Review (Ministry of Justice) and the Legal Affairs Department; for joint documents involving the Ministry of Justice, in addition to the aforementioned agencies, they must also be sent to the Legal Affairs Department (Government's Office) to implement legal document review procedures.

Clause 5. The Legal Affairs Department shall take the lead and coordinate with the Information Technology Center to publish regulatory legal documents on transportation on the Ministry of Transport's electronic information website and take the lead and coordinate with Departments and Bureaus to organize the dissemination and education of regulatory legal documents on transportation that have been promulgated.

Article 26. Translation of Legal Normative Documents

1. Except for cases where the content of the document pertains to state secrets, immediately after the legal normative document is published or signed into force, the agency responsible for drafting the document shall take the lead in coordinating with the drafting agency and the International Cooperation Department, the Legal Affairs Department to advise the Ministry's leadership on translating the document into English and possibly other foreign languages for the following documents:

a) Laws, resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances, and resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly;

b) Decrees of the Government, decisions of the Prime Minister, Circulars of the Minister that relate to or affect goods trade, services, and intellectual property.

2. For legal normative documents not covered under Clause 1 of this Article, if deemed necessary, the agency responsible for drafting the document shall advise the Ministry's leadership on translating the document into English and other foreign languages, except for cases where the content pertains to state secrets.

3. After completing the translation of the legal normative document into English as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the International Cooperation Department shall take the lead in coordinating with the Vietnam News Agency and the agency responsible for drafting the document to finalize the translation.

4. The Legal Affairs Department shall take the lead in coordinating with the International Cooperation Department and the Information Technology Center to post the translation on the Government’s and the Ministry of Transport’s electronic information websites within the latest period of 90 days from the date the legal normative document is published in the Official Gazette.

Article 27. Procedures for Issuing Legal Normative Documents Drafted by Agencies Under the Government and Submitted to the Minister of Transport for Signature Upon Assignment by the Prime Minister

1. The dossier for drafting regulatory legal documents submitted by agencies under the Government to the Minister of Transport includes:

a) A letter requesting the Ministry of Transport to issue a legal normative document, specifying the necessity of issuing it, the scope of regulation, the subjects of application, the drafting process, main contents, differing opinions, reference materials;

b) The revised draft regulatory legal document after incorporating opinions from relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals in the industry;

c) The legal review document of the legal institution of the agency under the Government;

d) A summary of opinions from agencies, organizations, individuals, and directly affected entities (accompanied by an explanation of the adoption of comments and copies of the comments);

2. Upon receiving the dossier drafted by the agency under the Government and submitted to the Minister, the Minister assigns tasks to the agency responsible for drafting the document according to Article 12 of this Circular.

3. Within fifteen working days from the date of receipt of the dossier drafted by the agency under the Government and submitted to the Ministry, the assigned agency responsible for drafting the document shall be responsible for researching, soliciting opinions from related agencies, submitting the draft document to the Legal Affairs Department for review and consolidation of opinions, revision of the draft document, and submission to the Minister for signature to issue. In case the conditions for issuance are not met, the agency responsible for drafting the document shall submit a reply document to the agency under the Government for the Minister's signature.

Chapter V

REVIEW, SYSTEMATIZATION, AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF LEGAL NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS AFTER IMPLEMENTATION

Article 28. Responsibility for Reviewing and Systematizing Legal Normative Documents

Departments and Bureaus have the responsibility to regularly review and systematize legal normative documents within their assigned areas. During the review and systematization process, when discovering illegal documents, those that are no longer suitable for current circumstances, Departments and Bureaus must promptly report to the Minister for consideration to suspend implementation, amend, supplement, replace, abolish, or revoke the document according to their authority or recommend the competent authority to suspend implementation, amend, supplement, replace, abolish, or revoke the document.

Article 29. Report on the work of reviewing and systematizing regulatory legal documents

1. Annually, the agency assigned to provide advisory services according to the field specified in Article 12 of this Circular shall take the lead and coordinate with Departments, Bureaus, agencies, and organizations under the Ministry to compile the results of reviewing and systematizing regulatory legal documents and submit them to the Legal Department on June 30 and December 31 for the Legal Department to compile and report to the Ministry's leadership.

2. Every six months, the Legal Department shall be responsible for taking the lead and coordinating with Departments and Bureaus to establish a list of documents that have ceased to be effective, submit it for the Minister's signature and promulgation, and publish it in the Official Gazette.

3. Every five years, the Legal Department shall be responsible for taking the lead and coordinating with Departments and Bureaus to systematize regulatory legal documents and laws issued by the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister, and the head of an agency at the ministerial level regarding transportation that are still in effect.

Article 30. Report on the Impact Assessment of Regulatory Legal Documents After Implementation

1. Three years after the date when a law, ordinance, or decree becomes effective, the agency primarily responsible for drafting shall be responsible for taking the lead and coordinating with the advisory agency and the Legal Department to organize an impact assessment of the document in practice, compare it with the impact assessment during the drafting stage to determine the rationality and feasibility of the provisions. Based on this, propose solutions to the Ministry to enhance the effectiveness of the document or improve the document.

2. The content of the report on the impact assessment of the document after implementation includes: analysis of actual costs, benefits, and other impacts; the degree of compliance with the document by groups subject to the document and proposals for enforcement measures or amendments and revocation of the document if necessary.

3. The draft report on the impact assessment of the document after implementation must be published along with relevant data and methods of calculating costs and benefits on the website of the primary drafting agency and the Ministry of Transport for at least 30 days to allow agencies, organizations, and individuals to provide comments.

4. The primary drafting agency shall take the lead and coordinate with the advisory agency and the Legal Department to finalize the impact assessment report based on feedback and submit it to the Ministry.

The advisory agency shall take the lead and coordinate with the primary drafting agency and the Legal Department to advise the Ministry's leadership to sign a letter sending the impact assessment report to the Ministry of Justice for compilation and reporting to the Government.

Chapter VII

EFFECTIVE DATE AND IMPLEMENTATION

Article 31. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of signing; the Circular No. 16/2009/TT-BGTVT dated August 5, 2009, of the Minister of the Ministry of Transport on drafting, reviewing, promulgating, reviewing, systematizing, inspecting, and handling regulatory legal documents on transportation is hereby repealed.

Article 32. Implementation Organization

1. The Director of the Ministry’s Office, the Inspector General of the Ministry, the Heads of Departments, the Directors of General Departments, Bureau Chiefs, heads of agencies and organizations, and related individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

2. The Head of the Legal Department shall be responsible for urging, inspecting, compiling, and periodically reporting every six months to the Minister on the implementation of this Circular./.