Circular No. 33/2018/TT-BCT stipulates on Market Inspection Cards

 

CIRCULAR

REGULATIONS ON MARKET INSPECTION CARDS

Pursuant to the Market Management Law dated March 8, 2016;

Pursuant to Decree No.98/2017/NĐ-CP August 18, 2017, of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

The Prime Minister issues this Decision amending and supplementing certain Articles of Decision No.Decision No. 34/2018/QĐ-TTg August 10, 2018, of the Prime Minister on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Market Management General Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

At the proposal of the Director of the Market Management Department;

The Minister of Industry and Trade issues this Circular stipulating regulations on Market Inspection Cards.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular specifies the model of the card, procedures, and formalities for issuing the first time, reissuing, recalling, and temporarily suspending the use of Market Inspection Cards (hereinafter referred to as Cards).

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to market management agencies at all levels, civil servants working at market management agencies at all levels, and related organizations and individuals.

Article 3. Principles of Managing and Using Cards

1. The Card shall be used by market management officials to perform their duties in inspecting compliance with laws by organizations and individuals within the scope defined in Article 12 and Article 17 of the Market Management Ordinance according to the assigned territory or field.

2. Market management officials who are issued Cards shall be responsible for preserving and maintaining the Cards they are issued; they shall not erase, alter, or deface the Cards; nor shall they use the Cards for personal gain or to threaten or obstruct the lawful activities of organizations and individuals; in case of loss, they must immediately report to the head of the direct supervising agency.

3. Strictly prohibited are actions by market management civil servants and other organizations and individuals involving the production, storage, purchase, sale, forgery, borrowing, lending, pledging, mortgaging, or illegal use of Cards.

4. Civil servants without Cards or during the period when their Cards are recalled or temporarily suspended shall not issue inspection decisions or conduct market inspection activities.

6. In cases where from the date of issuance of the Card until the date when the official reaches retirement age according to regulations is less than five years, the issued Card shall have a validity period until the official retires according to regulations.

9. The cost of producing Cards shall be guaranteed by the State in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Chapter II

MODEL OF CARD, PROCEDURES AND FORMALITIES FOR ISSUING THE FIRST TIME, REISSUING, RECALLING AND TEMPORARILY SUSPENDING THE USE OF CARDS

Article 4. Model of Card

2. Model of Card and Description of Card

a) For Cards issued to market management officials according to Clause 1, Article 16 of the Market Management Ordinance: implemented according to Appendix 4 attached hereto;

b) For Cards issued to market management officials according to Clause 2, Article 16 of the Market Management Ordinance: implemented according to Appendix 5 attached hereto.

a) For the Card specified in point a, Clause 2 of this Article: affix the stamp of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the signature section of the issuer; affix one quarter of the embossed stamp of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the lower right corner below the color photograph of the cardholder;

b) For the Card specified in point b, Clause 2 of this Article: affix the stamp of the Market Management General Department on the signature section of the issuer; affix one quarter of the embossed stamp of the Market Management General Department in the lower right corner below the color photograph of the cardholder.

Article 5. Documents, procedures, and formalities for initial issuance of the Card

1. Initial issuance of Cards refers to the first time market management officials are issued Cards. Cases of initial issuance of Cards and criteria for initial issuance of Cards shall be carried out in accordance with Article 13 of the Market Management Ordinance.

2. Documents for initial issuance of the Card include:

a) A request for initial issuance of the Card;

b) A list of applicants for initial issuance of Cards according to Model 1 attached hereto;

đ) One (1) certified copy of the decision appointing the official to the market management cadre rank and one (1) certified copy of the professional training certificate according to the regulations of the Ministry of Industry and Trade for officials specified in point a, Clause 1, Article 13 of the Market Management Ordinance;

e) One (1) certified copy of the decision appointing the current leadership position and one (1) certified copy of the decision appointing the current cadre rank for officials specified in point b, Clause 1, Article 13 of the Market Management Ordinance;

3. Within fifteen working days from the date of receipt of complete and valid applications, the authorized person issuing the Card shall examine and decide on the issuance of the initial Card. If the Card is not issued or if it is necessary to extend the examination period, the authorized person issuing the Card must respond in writing and provide clear reasons. The maximum additional period that can be extended is five working days.

Article 6. Documents, procedures, and formalities for reissuance of the Card

1. Cases for reissuance of the Card and conditions for reissuance for each case shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 14 of the Market Management Ordinance.

2. Documents for reissuance of the Card include:

a) A request for reissuance of the Card;

b) A list of applicants for reissuance of Cards according to Model 1 attached hereto;

d) Two (2) color photographs according to point d, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Circular;

d) One (01) certified copy of the Professional Development Certificate in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Industry and Trade for the case of requesting to reissue the Card as stipulated at point c and point d, Clause 1, Article 14 of the Market Management Ordinance;

e) One (01) copy of the old Card at the time of requesting to reissue it for the case of requesting to reissue it due to changes in information recorded on the Card or due to expiration of its usage period as stipulated at point a and point c, Clause 1, Article 14 of the Market Management Ordinance.

4. Within fifteen working days from the date of receiving a complete and valid application, the authorized person responsible for reissuing the Card shall examine and decide on the issuance of the Card. In case of non-issuance or necessity to extend the examination period for reissuing the Card, the authorized person responsible for reissuing the Card must respond in writing and specify the reasons. The maximum additional period that can be extended is five working days.

6. The usage period recorded on the Card remains unchanged when reissuing the Card according to point a and point b, Clause 1, Article 14 of the Market Management Ordinance, except in the case provided for in Clause 3, Article 10 of this Circular.

1. The documents for requesting the revocation of the Card include:

a) List of officials proposed to have their Cards revoked according to Model 3 attached to this Circular;

b) Relevant documents and papers related to cases where the Card is revoked as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 15 of the Market Management Ordinance.

2. Within five working days from the date of having grounds to determine the cases of officials whose Cards are to be revoked as stipulated at Clause 1, Article 15 of the Market Management Ordinance, the Director of the Provincial Market Management Department and the Heads of the subordinate units of the General Department of Market Management shall prepare a proposal to revoke the Cards and submit it to the General Department Director for examination and decision.

3. In case the Director of the Provincial Market Management Department and the Heads of the subordinate units of the General Department of Market Management fail to implement the proposal to revoke the Cards as stipulated at Clause 2 of this Article, the Head of the Cadre Organization Department under the General Department of Market Management shall inspect and propose to the General Department Director to examine and decide to revoke the Cards in accordance with the regulations.

4. Within five working days from the date of receiving a complete and valid application, the General Department Director shall issue a decision to revoke the Card or delegate the Provincial Market Management Department Director to directly revoke the Card for officials under his/her jurisdiction.

5. Within five working days from the date of receiving the revocation decision issued by the authorized person as stipulated at Clause 4 of this Article, the Provincial Market Management Department Director and the Heads of the subordinate units of the General Department of Market Management shall proceed to revoke the Cards of officials under their jurisdiction and submit a written report along with the revoked Cards to the General Department of Market Management.

6. For Cards that have been revoked, the General Department of Market Management shall cross-cut half (1/2) of the Card so that it is no longer usable. The cutting process shall be documented in a record.

7. In case an official has had his/her Card revoked as stipulated at point a, Clause 1, Article 15 of the Market Management Ordinance when requesting a new Card, the application procedures and formalities for issuing the Card shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 2 and Clause 3, Article 5 of this Circular.

8. The General Department Director shall propose to the Minister of Industry and Trade to examine and decide to revoke the Card for the case stipulated at Clause 1, Article 16 of the Market Management Ordinance.

Article 8. Documents, Procedures, and Formalities for Temporarily Suspending the Use of the Card

1. The documents for requesting the temporary suspension of the use of the Card include:

a) List of officials proposed to have their Cards temporarily suspended according to Model 3 attached to this Circular;

b) Relevant documents and papers related to cases where the use of the Card is temporarily suspended as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 15 of the Market Management Ordinance.

7. Duration of Temporary Suspension of the Use of the Card:

a) For cases prescribed in points a and b, Clause 2, Article 15 of the Market Management Ordinance, the suspension period for using the Card is from the time of discovering the violation to when the competent authority decides to handle the case, but not exceeding two months. In cases with complex circumstances, it may be extended but not exceeding four months from the date of discovering the violation;

b) For cases stipulated in point c of Clause 2, Article 15 of the Market Management Ordinance, the duration of the temporary suspension of the use of the Card is the period during which the civil servant is temporarily suspended from work for disciplinary review;

c) For cases stipulated in point d of Clause 2, Article 15 of the Market Management Ordinance, the duration of the temporary suspension of the use of the Card is twelve months from the date the disciplinary decision becomes effective;

d) For cases prescribed in point d, Clause 2, Article 15 of the Market Management Ordinance, the suspension period for using the Card is equal to the waiting time for the conclusion of the competent authority investigating, prosecuting, and adjudicating the violation. When convicted by an effective criminal judgment, the Card will be revoked according to the regulations on revoking the Card stipulated in Article 7 of this Circular.

8. When the suspension period for using the Card recorded in the decision of the competent authority expires, the Card will be returned to the officer if it still has a valid usage period after the return decision. If the suspended Card has expired, the procedure for issuing a new Card shall be carried out as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Head of the Market Management Team, the Heads of Departments under units directly under the General Department of Market Management shall be responsible for:

a) Timely compiling lists and sending written requests to the Director of the Provincial Market Management Department, the Heads of Units directly under the General Department of Market Management to propose to the competent authority to consider and decide on the issuance, reissuance, revocation, and temporary suspension of use of the Card for officers under their unit;

b) Monitoring and inspecting the preservation and use of the Card for officers under their unit as prescribed.

2. The Director of the Provincial Market Management Department, the Heads of Units directly under the General Department of Market Management shall be responsible for:

a) Timely reviewing and compiling lists and sending written requests to the Director of the General Department of Market Management for the issuance and reissuance of Cards within the scope of their management; ensuring the validity and completeness of the files for issuance, reissuance, revocation, and temporary suspension of use of the Card; timely reviewing and proposing the issuance of the Card for officers meeting the conditions for issuance of the Card;

b) Implementing the procedures and formalities for revocation, temporary suspension of use of the Card, and returning the temporarily suspended Card upon authorization; maintaining a record of management, issuance, initial issuance, reissuance, revocation, temporary suspension of use, and return of the temporarily suspended Card within the scope of their unit's management;

c) Monitoring and inspecting the preservation and use of the Card by officers under their unit's management; conducting inspections of the Cards issued to officers under their unit every three months. Inspection and handover of Cards must be recorded in a logbook or handover documents;

d) Proposing the competent authority to consider and decide on the revocation and temporary suspension of use of the Card when discovering violations by market management officers in their official duties, misuse of the Card, or other cases as prescribed;

đ) Taking the initiative in rotating, transferring, arranging, and deploying officers with Cards between subordinate units to ensure service for market inspection and control work;

e) Reporting to the General Department of Market Management on the management and use of Cards in their unit's management as prescribed.

3. The Director of the General Department of Market Management shall be responsible for:

a) Being accountable to the Minister of Industry and Trade for the unified management of Cards issued to market management civil servants as prescribed in this Circular;

b) Supervising, monitoring, inspecting, and compiling the implementation situation of this Circular and reporting to the Minister of Industry and Trade as prescribed;

c) Proposing amendments and supplements to this Circular to the Minister of Industry and Trade when necessary.

Article 10. Transitional Provisions

1. Within thirty working days from the date this Circular takes effect, the Directors of Provincial Market Management Departments, the Heads of Units directly under the General Department of Market Management must submit applications for reissuing Cards according to the new form prescribed in this Circular for officers under their unit's management to the General Department of Market Management.

2. The authority issuing the Card must complete the reissuance of Cards according to the new form before December 30, 2019. During the waiting period for the reissued Card according to the new form, the previously issued Card can continue to be used until its expiration date or December 30, 2019, whichever comes first, and must be recalled as prescribed.

3. The reissued Card according to the new form has a usage period of five years from the date of reissue, except as provided in Clause 6, Article 3 of this Circular.

Article 11. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from November 23, 2018;

2. This Circular replaces Circular No. 18/2016/TT-BCT dated August 31, 2016, issued by the Minister of Industry and Trade, which stipulates the market inspection card and amends and supplements some forms of inspection records and decisions used in market inspection and administrative penalty activities of the market management force.