Circular No. 37/2009/TT-BNNPTNT guiding activities in the technical standard field under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for activities in the technical standard field under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

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Pursuant to Decree No. 01/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

Pursuant to the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to Decree No. 127/2007/NĐ-CP dated August 1, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations;

Pursuant to Circular No. 21/2007/TT-BKHCN dated September 28, 2007 of the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding the development and application of standards;

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development guides activities in the technical standard field as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular guides the planning, drafting, construction, review, supplementation, replacement, and proposal for cancellation of national standards in fields under the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 2. Applicability

Article 1. This Circular applies to Departments, Bureaus, and organizations and individuals related to the process of developing, reviewing, promulgating, and applying national technical standards within the management scope of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 2. In cases where international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party provide different provisions from this Circular, the provisions of such international treaties shall be applied.

Article 3. Objects of National Standards

1. Production, processing, harvesting, initial processing, preservation, transportation of agricultural and forestry products, salt, livestock and poultry slaughter.

2. Plant and animal breeding.

3. Agricultural and forestry materials, fertilizers, livestock feed.

4. Plant protection, veterinary medicine, plant and animal quarantine.

5. Water conservancy works, dyke systems.

6. Services in the agriculture and rural development sector.

7. Safety and hygiene of aquatic products, exported seafood, aquaculture feed, veterinary drugs for aquatic animals, chemicals, biological preparations used in aquaculture, aquatic animal breeding.

8. Safety and hygiene during production processes from cultivation, harvesting, processing, preservation, transportation of aquatic products.

9. Fishing gear, equipment requiring strict safety requirements in the aquaculture industry.

10. Services in the aquaculture sector.

Chapter II

NATIONAL STANDARDS PLANNING AND PROGRAMS

Article 4. Planning for the Construction of National Standards

1. Planning for the construction of national standards under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (hereinafter referred to as agricultural standards planning) must be systematic, synchronized, and consistent with the national economic and social development strategy; the development strategies and plans of various sectors and other areas of activity.

2. The contents of agricultural standards planning include: specialized industries, fields, and objects that need to develop national standards; the total number of national standards for each specialized industry, field, and object; implementation timeline; resources to meet the requirements of national standard construction at each stage; measures to implement.

3. Drafting and Approving Agricultural Standards Planning

a) Based on the development strategies and plans of specialized industries, the Departments in charge organize the drafting of preliminary agricultural standards planning in their assigned management fields;

Preliminary specialized industry planning includes the contents specified in Section 1 of Appendix I attached to this Circular;

Send draft agricultural standards planning to relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals and announce on the website or magazine/publication of the Department and the Ministry to solicit opinions. The solicitation period for draft opinions shall be at least thirty days from the date of sending the draft;

Compile, process feedback, complete the draft Agricultural Standards Planning and submit it to the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment.

b) The Department of Science, Technology, and Environment:

Compiles the draft Agricultural Standards Planning based on the draft specialized industry planning of the Departments and submits it to the Ministry for transfer to the Ministry of Science and Technology for examination and approval;

The draft Agricultural Standards Planning includes the contents specified in Section 2 of Appendix I attached to this Circular.

Article 4. The approved Agricultural Standards Planning may be adjusted or supplemented according to needs or changes in the direction and strategy of national economic and social development and the development strategies and plans of the sector. The procedures and formalities for adjusting and supplementing the Agricultural Standards Planning are carried out in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 5. Five-year plan for national standard development

1. The five-year plan for national standard development in the agricultural sector must be consistent with the approved industry standard planning; meet the needs of production and business development, state management requirements, international integration; and be appropriate to the level of scientific and technological development of the country.

2. The contents of the five-year plan for national standard development in the agricultural sector include: specific fields and objects that need to develop national standards; types of standards; the number of national standards to be developed; implementation time; funding sources and anticipated budget; proposing agencies, organizations, and individuals.

3. The establishment, approval, adjustment, and supplementation of the five-year national standard development plan shall be carried out in the following steps:

a) Drafting the five-year plan

In the second quarter of the last year of the five-year period, the Departments in charge coordinate with relevant organizations and individuals to draft the five-year national standard development plan for their specialized field based on production requirements, state management, and the approved industry standard planning (if applicable).

The draft of the five-year national standard development plan for the specialized field and its explanatory notes shall include the contents stipulated in Section 1 of Appendix II attached hereto;

Send the draft of the five-year national standard development plan for the specialized field to relevant organizations and individuals and announce it on the website or magazine/publication of the Department and the Ministry to solicit opinions. The opinion solicitation period shall be at least thirty days from the date of sending the draft;

Compile and process the feedback opinions, complete the draft along with the explanatory notes, and submit them to the Science, Technology, and Environment Department for consolidation and submission to the Ministry to transfer to the Ministry of Science and Technology for review and approval.

b) Adjustment and supplementation of the plan

The five-year plan for national standard development in the agricultural sector may be adjusted or supplemented upon the proposal of the Departments;

The adjustment and supplementation of the five-year plan shall be carried out according to the procedures stipulated in Point a Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 6. Annual plan for national standard development

1. Developing the annual plan

The annual plan for national standard development in the agricultural sector must be consistent with the five-year plan. The annual plan includes proposals for new development, modification, supplementation, replacement, and abolition of national standards;

a) In the second quarter of each year, based on the five-year plan and production and management requirements, organizations and individuals propose technical standard development tasks to the specialized management Department according to the division stipulated in Article 12 of this Circular; the Departments in charge coordinate with related parties to organize the development of the plan for the next year;

The contents of the annual plan for national standard development include: the name of the national standard to be developed arranged by standard field; the name of the organization drafting the draft; implementation time; method of drafting the draft (acceptance of international standards; new development; modification, supplementation); anticipated budget and funding source; proposing agency, organization, or individual for standard development; The draft plan for national standard development for the next year is prepared according to the model prescribed in Section 1 of Appendix III attached hereto;

The project for developing national standards is established according to the model prescribed in Appendix IV attached hereto;

Send the draft plan to relevant agencies, units, and organizations and announce it on the website or magazine/publication of the Department and the Ministry to solicit opinions. The opinion solicitation period shall be at least thirty days from the date of sending the draft;

Compile and process the feedback opinions and complete the draft plan along with the project for each national standard submitted to the Science, Technology, and Environment Department.

b) The Science, Technology, and Environment Department consolidates the plan, submits it to the Ministry for review and approval by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

2. Implementing the annual plan

a) Based on the approved annual plan for national standard development, the Departments in charge organize its implementation;

Regularly every six months, or as required by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Departments report to the Ministry on the situation and results of the plan's implementation;

b) The Science, Technology, and Environment Department compiles and reports to the Ministry on the situation and results of the implementation.

3. Adjusting and supplementing the plan

a) The annual plan for national standard development may be adjusted or supplemented upon written proposal by the Departments;

b) The adjustment and supplementation of the annual plan for national standard development must be completed before July 1st of the plan year;

c) The Science, Technology, and Environment Department compiles and submits to the Ministry for approval by the Ministry of Science and Technology;

d) In special cases, due to urgent state management requirements or production and business needs, the procedures and formalities for adjusting and supplementing the national standard development plan shall be carried out according to the decision of the Minister of Science and Technology.

Chapter III

PROCEDURES AND FORMALITIES FOR NATIONAL STANDARD DEVELOPMENT

Article 7. The steps for drafting national standard proposals

1. Step 1: Establishing the Drafting Board

Depending on specific conditions, organizations and units assigned the main responsibility to draft national standards must establish a Drafting Board to develop the national standard proposal.

2. Step 2: Compiling the National Standard Proposal

The Drafting Board shall perform the following tasks:

a) Preparing for drafting the draft:

Collecting, compiling, and evaluating the implementation status of current regulatory legal documents related to the national standard development project;

Surveying and assessing the current situation related to the management object and main content of the national standard development project (if necessary);

Organizing research on information and materials related to the national standard development project;

Approving the detailed implementation outline of the national standard development project along with the framework of the national standard proposal content as stipulated in Article 13 of this Circular;

Other relevant tasks.

b) Implementing the compilation of the national standard proposal:

Compiling the proposal based on the approved content framework and writing an explanatory note for the proposal;

Organizing meetings, seminars, and soliciting opinions from experts and stakeholders regarding the national standard proposal;

Studying, adopting comments, revising the proposal, and posting it on the electronic news website to widely solicit opinions.

3. Step 3: Soliciting Opinions and Finalizing the National Standard Proposal

a) Sending the national standard proposal along with the explanatory note to relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals, while simultaneously announcing on the electronic news website (website) or magazine/publication of the specialized management agency and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to solicit opinions, with a minimum period of 60 days for soliciting feedback from the date of sending the proposal.

b) Based on the feedback received, the Drafting Board processes, adopts, finalizes the proposal, prepares the national standard proposal dossier according to Clause 5 of this Article, and submits it to the specialized management agency for acceptance.

4. Step 4: Reviewing the National Standard

a) The specialized management agency organizes the acceptance of the national standard project and sends the dossier to the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment for review.

b) The Department of Science, Technology, and Environment is responsible for reviewing, submitting the review results to the Ministry, and transferring the national standard proposal dossier to the Ministry of Science and Technology for evaluation and publication.

In case the national standard proposal does not meet the requirements of the Ministry of Science and Technology's review content, the relevant agencies are responsible for organizing the processing and finalization of the national standard proposal.

5. The national standard proposal dossier includes:

a) Decision assigning the task of drafting the national standard proposal, the approved national standard development project;

b) Report on the process of drafting the national standard proposal;

c) Completed national standard proposal based on acceptance comments (including both the draft text and electronic version), accompanied by an explanatory note; copies of original documents used as the basis for drafting the national standard proposal; other reference materials;

d) List of agencies, organizations, and individuals sent the proposal for soliciting opinions; summary and adoption of feedback comments accompanied by the feedback document;

đ) Letter requesting evaluation and publication of the standard proposal;

e) Acceptance minutes of the project (at the base level and at the Bureau), acceptance comment adoption document;

g) Other related documents and materials concerning the processing of acceptance comments (if any).

Article 8. Structure and Presentation of National Standards

The presentation and expression of the content of national standards shall be carried out in accordance with TCVN 1-2:2008.

Chapter IV

REGULAR REVIEW, AMENDMENT, SUPPLEMENTATION, REPLACEMENT, AND CANCELLATION OF NATIONAL STANDARDS

Article 9. Regular Review of National Standards

1. Annually, the Departments base on the list of national standards that have reached their three-year review period to include them in the annual plan for developing national standards and submit the list of national standards requiring review to the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment for consolidation and submission to the Ministry for review and approval by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

2. The Departments shall organize the implementation of regular reviews of national standards in the list according to the following steps:

a) Sending out for comments from relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals;

b) Compiling and processing feedback, preparing the review results file for national standards as the basis for developing the annual plan for developing national standards;

c) Preparing the review report and explanatory notes.

3. The regular review file for national standards includes:

a) The Department's proposal regarding the review results and recommendations;

b) The document incorporating feedback and the opinion letter from relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals;

c) Other related documents (if any).

4. The Department completes the review file and consolidates it into the review results to be included in the annual plan.

Article 10. Amendment, Supplement, and Replacement of National Standards

1. Amendments, supplements, and replacements of national standards must be included in the annual plan for developing national standards.

2. Amendments, supplements, and replacements of national standards shall be carried out according to the procedures and formalities stipulated in Article 7 of this Circular.

3. The result of amending, supplementing, and replacing national standards is the decision to publish the amended or supplemented national standard or to publish the new national standard to replace the old one.

Article 11. Cancellation of National Standards

1. Based on the results of regular reviews, the Department prepares a cancellation request file for national standards and submits it to the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment for consolidation and submission to the Ministry for review and cancellation by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

2. The cancellation request file for national standards includes:

a) The national standard being proposed for cancellation;

b) The cancellation request document of the specialized management department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

c) A summary of opinions from relevant units, organizations, and individuals regarding the cancellation of national standards during the review process;

d) An explanatory note (reasons, legal basis, scientific basis);

đ) Other related documents (if any).

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 12. Assignment of Tasks

1. Specialized Management Departments

a) Quality Management Department of Forestry and Aquatic Products: general regulations on quality management of forestry and aquatic products; wholesale fish markets; safety and hygiene of aquatic products and exported seafood;

b) Aquaculture Department: aquaculture; aquatic seedlings; feed, raw materials for feed production, additives, biological preparations, water quality for aquaculture; aquaculture environment;

c) Fisheries Resources Exploitation and Protection Department: fishing; technical safety and environmental aspects of fishing vessels and fish ports; anchorage areas for fishing vessels; construction and repair of fishing vessels, production of safety equipment and mechanical equipment for installation and use on fishing vessels; conservation, protection, and development of fisheries resources;

d) Agricultural and Forest Product Processing and Salt Industry Department: conditions of processing, preliminary processing, transportation, and storage facilities for agricultural, forest, and aquatic products and salt; salt products; machinery and equipment in agriculture; conditions ensuring quality and food safety for agricultural and forest products and salt;

đ) Crop Production Department: seeds, crops, fertilizers; ensuring product quality, food safety, environment, and services during crop production;

e) Plant Protection Department: plant quarantine, plant protection, pesticides and raw materials for pesticides, pesticide production and packaging, preservatives for agricultural and forest products;

g) Livestock Department: livestock breeding seeds, livestock feed and raw materials for feed, preservatives used in livestock feed, biological preparations for livestock breeding; livestock breeding, livestock industry-specific supplies, environment in livestock breeding, conditions ensuring quality and food safety in livestock breeding; services during livestock production;

h) Forestry Department: forest development, forest utilization, forestry seedlings, forest products, and goods;

i) Forest Protection Department: forest management and protection;

j) Animal Health Department: prevention and control of animal diseases; animal quarantine; veterinary drugs and raw materials for veterinary drugs; veterinary hygiene conditions;

k) Water Resources Department: exploitation, use, and protection of water conservancy works; water supply and drainage; water management in water conservancy works;

l) Construction Project Management Department: construction of water conservancy projects;

m) Dike Management and Flood and Storm Prevention Department: dike management, flood and storm prevention work;

2. The Department of Science, Technology, and Environment compiles the five-year and annual plans of the Ministry, allocates funds, and reviews technical standard construction projects submitted to the Ministry for review by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

3. Organizations and individuals are responsible for coordinating with specialized departments in planning and organizing the development of national technical standards.

Article 13. Responsibility for Implementation

Responsibilities of Specialized Departments in the Field of Standards

a) Responsible for compiling five-year and annual plans, reviewing, amending, supplementing, replacing, and proposing the cancellation of national technical standards; approving project outlines, budgets, and finalizing technical standard projects in assigned fields;

b) Implementing the standard work plan assigned by field and reporting periodically every six months and annually or at any time to the Ministry;

c) Participating in international cooperation activities related to the implementation of national standardization work;

2. The Department of Science and Technology collaborates with departments and related organizations and individuals in the dissemination of standards.

Article 14. Funding for activities in the field of technical standards

1. Funding for standard implementation work includes: drafting five-year plans and annual plans; reviewing; converting; developing standards; issuing and disseminating;

2. Funding for standard implementation work is allocated from the state budget for annual science and technology activities and other funding sources of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; contributions from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 15. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of signature; previous provisions contrary to this regulation are abolished.

During the implementation of this Circular, if there are any issues, agencies, organizations, and individuals shall promptly report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for study and amendment./.