Circular No. 68/2009/TT-BNNPTNT guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP dated April 24, 2009 of the Government on administrative penalties for violations in the field of veterinary medicine.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Certain Provisions of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP dated April 24, 2009

of the Government concerning administrative penalties in the field of veterinary science

_____________________

Pursuant to the Veterinary Law dated April 29, 2004;

Pursuant to the Administrative Violations Handling Law 2002 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Administrative Violations Handling Law 2008;

Pursuant to Decree No. 01/2008/ND-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 Decree No. 128/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 16, 2008 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations 2002 and the Ordinance Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations 2008;

Pursuant to Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP dated April 24, 2009 of the Government regarding administrative penalties in the field of veterinary science;

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development provides detailed guidelines for certain Articles of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP dated April 24, 2009 of the Government regarding administrative penalties in the field of veterinary science as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

2. Applicability:

This Circular details the form, statute of limitations, authority, procedure, and process for administrative penalties (hereinafter referred to as "VPHC") in the field of veterinary science and some VPHC behaviors in the field of veterinary science.

第二条 组织和实施奖励工作的支出水平，如政府第152/2025/NĐ-CP号决定关于分级授权和奖励领域的分权规定

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals in Vietnam; foreign organizations and individuals engaged in activities related to the field of veterinary science within the territory of Vietnam.

Article 2. Application of Provisions of Related Decrees in Administrative Penalties in the Field of Veterinary Science

1. When imposing administrative penalties in the field of veterinary science, the authority with the power to impose penalties must apply the forms and levels of penalties prescribed in Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP dated April 24, 2009 of the Government on administrative penalties in the field of veterinary science (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP). In cases where the administrative violation behavior is not stipulated in Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP, then the forms and levels of penalties prescribed in other Decrees of the Government on administrative penalties in fields of state management related to this area shall be applied.

2. The imposition of penalties for violations concerning prohibited goods; trading in smuggled goods; violating labeling regulations; trading in counterfeit goods; trading in counterfeit labels, packaging of goods; trading in expired goods shall be carried out according to the provisions of Articles 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 26 of Decree No. 06/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 16, 2008 of the Government on administrative penalties in commercial activities (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 06/2008/NĐ-CP).

3. For administrative penalty behaviors related to measurement, product quality, the authority with the power to impose penalties may apply the provisions of Decree No. 54/2009/NĐ-CP dated June 5, 2009 of the Government on administrative penalties in the field of standards, measurement, and product quality.

4. In addition to the Decrees mentioned in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article, the authority with the power to impose administrative penalties in the field of veterinary science has the right to apply the forms and levels of penalties prescribed in other Decrees of the Government on administrative penalties in fields of state management related to this area.

Time Limit for Administrative Penalties

1. The statute of limitations for administrative penalties in the field of veterinary science is one year, counted from the date the administrative violation was committed, that is, the day the administrative violation was discovered and the authority with the power to impose penalties recorded it in accordance with the law against the violator.

2. Administrative violations related to exporting, importing animals, animal products, veterinary drugs; producing, trading in counterfeit veterinary drugs have a statute of limitations of two years, including:

a) Violation of regulations on quarantine of animals, animal products for export, import, temporary import for re-export, temporary export for re-import, transfer of customs checkpoints, transit through the territory of Vietnam is stipulated in Article 14 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP;

Violation of regulations on importing veterinary drugs, raw materials for veterinary drugs is stipulated in Article 20 of Decree 40/2009/NĐ-CP;

Trading in counterfeit veterinary drugs is stipulated in Clause 7, Article 24 of Decree No. 06/2008/NĐ-CP.

Chapter II

FORMS OF ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES IN THE FIELD OF VETERINARY SCIENCE

Article 4. Forms of Principal Punishments

1. Form of Warning Punishment:

a) The form of warning punishment shall only be applied to administrative violations where Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP stipulates the form of warning punishment for such acts and when there are mitigating circumstances such as first-time violation, small scale, insignificant; violation due to backwardness, lack of knowledge about legal provisions on such violations.

First-time violation in the field of veterinary is a case where organizations and individuals have not been administratively punished in the field of veterinary before or have been administratively punished in the field of veterinary but more than one year has passed since the completion of the administrative punishment decision or from the date the statute of limitations for enforcing the administrative punishment decision expired without reoffending.

b) When punishing violations specified in Clause 1, Article 9, Clause 1, Article 17, Clause 1, Article 24, Clause 1, Article 27 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP, the authority responsible for punishment bases on the degree of violation and the background of the violator to apply either warning punishment or monetary fine.

2. Form of Monetary Fine:

a) Monetary fine is applied within the prescribed fine range for such administrative violation.

b) In the field of veterinary, the amount of fine ranges from 50,000 VND to 40,000,000 VND for a single administrative violation.

Article 5. Forms of Additional Punishments

1. Confiscation of objects and means used for committing administrative violations is an additional form of punishment, applied together with principal punishments. In the field of state management of veterinary, specific cases subject to confiscation of objects and means are stipulated in Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP.

While implementing administrative punishment, the authority responsible for punishment may not arbitrarily apply the additional punishment of confiscation of objects and means used for committing administrative violations if the Government decree does not provide for it.

2. Suspension of the right to use licenses and certificates in the field of veterinary is an additional form of punishment, applied together with principal punishments in cases where individuals and organizations seriously violate regulations on the use of licenses and certificates.

Suspension of the right to use licenses and certificates can be applied for a limited period or indefinitely and is stipulated for specific administrative violations, depending on the nature and degree of the violation.

3. In addition to the principal punishments and additional punishments mentioned above, organizations and individuals committing administrative violations may also be subject to one or more remedial measures provided for in Clause 3, Article 7 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP.

Remedial measures must be applied together with principal punishments, except in cases where the authority responsible for administrative punishment exceeds the time limit for issuing the administrative punishment decision as stipulated in Article 56 of the Administrative Violations Handling Ordinance 2002. In cases where no administrative punishment decision is issued, the authority responsible for punishment may still apply the remedial measures provided for in Clause 3, Article 7 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP against the violator.

Organizations and individuals violating regulations must bear all costs to implement remedial measures.

Chapter III

SOME ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS IN THE FIELD OF VETERINARY

Article 6. Acts Violating Regulations on Disease Prevention, Treatment, and Epidemic Control for Animals

1. Violations of regulations on disease prevention and treatment for terrestrial animals:

a) The act violating point c, Clause 2, Article 9 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is understood as the act of failing to comply with the provisions on veterinary hygiene conditions, disease reporting, vaccination, quarantine of animals, and clinical diagnosis as stipulated in the Regulation on Animal Disease-Free Zones and Safe Animal Production Facilities issued together with Decision No. 66/2008/QĐ-BNN dated May 26, 2008 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

b) The act violating Clause 6, Article 9 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is understood as the act of discarding diseased or dead animals into the environment, ponds, lakes, canals, rivers, streams, or other natural water sources without properly disposing of them according to regulations. The determination of animals infected with dangerous infectious diseases is based on the results of clinical diagnosis by veterinary staff or authorized veterinary agencies conducted at the location of the violation without the need for non-clinical testing results.

2. Violations of regulations on epidemic control for terrestrial animals:

a) The act violating point b, Clause 2, Article 10 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is understood as the act of using transportation means that do not meet veterinary hygiene standards to transport animals for compulsory slaughter, which could cause animal feed or waste to spill during transportation, or transporting diseased animals from transportation means that have been inspected and approved by authorized veterinary agencies to un-inspected, un-sanitized, or un-disinfected transportation means, or stopping or parking transportation means in unauthorized locations, allowing diseased animals to come into contact with healthy animals on the way to designated slaughterhouses.

b) The act violating point d, Clause 3, Article 10 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is understood as the act of using vehicles that are not specialized for animal transportation or using specialized vehicles that do not meet veterinary hygiene standards as prescribed, or failing to sanitize and disinfect transportation means or slaughter sites that do not meet veterinary hygiene conditions, or failing to sanitize and disinfect after slaughter according to the guidance of veterinary agencies.

c) The act violating point e, Clause 3, Article 10 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP includes the following acts:

Slaughtering, handling diseased or suspected diseased animals, or animal products carrying pathogens listed in the List of Diseases Requiring Disease Announcement, not in the designated location, not in accordance with regulations;

Not burying or burning diseased or suspected diseased animals, or carcasses of animals that died from disease and are required to be disposed of according to regulations, not buried to the correct depth, not using the correct technique, burial sites near natural water sources, drinking water sources;

Not treating burial or burning sites according to the guidance of authorized veterinary agencies.

Article 7. Acts violating regulations on animal quarantine, animal products quarantine, slaughter control, and veterinary hygiene inspection

1. Violating regulations on animal quarantine and animal product quarantine circulating within the country:

The act violating point a, Clause 2, Article 12 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of transporting, trading in animals and animal products listed in the Animal Quarantine Object List but the consignor or the person controlling the means of transport cannot present the Animal Quarantine Certificate issued by the competent veterinary authority.

In case this violation occurs at a time when any district, town, city under province in the entire country has declared an outbreak of disease in that species of animal, the authorized administrative sanctioning authority must apply remedial measures to compel the destruction of animals and animal products if the consignor cannot prove their origin, specifically failing to present a certificate from the People's Committee of the commune regarding the origin of the animals and animal products.

2. The act violating point b, Clause 1, Article 13 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of transporting aquatic animal breeding stock out of production and business establishments without being quarantined and certified by the competent veterinary authority. If the breeding stock has been quarantined, the consignor must provide a copy of the quarantine certificate issued by the competent veterinary authority to the buyer when selling the breeding stock.

3. Violating regulations on export, import, temporary export for re-import, temporary import for re-export, transfer of customs checkpoints, and transit through Vietnam's territory of animal quarantine and animal product quarantine:

a) The act violating point a, Clause 1, Article 14 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of carrying animals and animal products with quantities exceeding the permitted limits; products of animal origin that have not undergone industrial processing; animals and animal products prohibited by international law from circulation or transportation, or failing to present a valid quarantine certificate issued by the national veterinary authority of the exporting country.

b) The act violating Clause 2, Article 14 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of failing to present a complete set of valid quarantine documents to the animal quarantine checkpoint authority for that consignment.

An incomplete set of quarantine documents may be:

Missing a quarantine certificate or having a quarantine certificate but lacking a signature; having a quarantine certificate but its contents do not match the actual species, quantity of animals or information about animal products such as date of production, expiration date...; contents being erased or altered; using a quarantine certificate not issued by the competent veterinary authority; missing one of the other related documents necessary for export, import, temporary import for re-export, temporary export for re-import, transfer of customs checkpoints, and transit through Vietnam's territory for that consignment.

c) The acts violating point e, Clause 3, Article 14 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP include:

Allowing animals undergoing quarantine isolation to come into contact with domestic animals;

Selling or using as breeding stock animals and animal products before the end of the quarantine isolation period;

Not vaccinating against diseases listed in the Vaccination Schedule for Animals during the quarantine isolation period;

Not complying with sampling for testing by the competent veterinary authority;

Not ensuring veterinary hygiene requirements during the quarantine isolation period.

d) The act violating Clause 8, Article 14 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of organizations and individuals bringing into Vietnam's territory without the approval document of the Department of Animal Health and without conducting quarantine on the following types of goods and items:

Disease specimens for diagnostic purposes or other uses;

Objects listed in the Quarantine Object List, including pathogens, parasites causing animal diseases, pathogenic microorganisms, hazardous chemicals, and other objects specified in Decision No. 45/2005/QĐ-BNN dated July 25, 2005 of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

e) The act of slaughtering animals and processing animal products of unknown origin as stipulated in point đ, Clause 2, Article 15 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of slaughtering animals without a quarantine certificate or without a certificate of origin from the commune veterinary office or without a vaccination certificate from the local veterinary authority; processing animal products without an import quarantine certificate or without a veterinary hygiene seal from the competent veterinary or quarantine authority.

g) The act violating Clause 5, Article 16 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of organizations and individuals trading in live aquatic animals and fresh animal products where the test results of the competent veterinary authority show bacterial contamination or residues exceeding permissible levels.

Depending on the circumstances, the authorized administrative sanctioning authority may allow the change of use purpose, such as feeding livestock, for live aquatic animals and fresh animal products contaminated with bacteria or residues exceeding permissible levels. The handling of animal products not meeting food safety standards must follow the guidelines of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 8. Acts violating regulations on veterinary drug management, biological preparations, microorganisms, chemicals for veterinary use, and aquatic animal health (hereinafter referred to collectively as veterinary drugs)

1. The act violating Clause 2, Article 18 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of producing a batch of veterinary drugs with physical, chemical, microbiological, moisture content criteria not meeting standards or one or more components of the drug having actual concentrations lower or higher than the allowable error range compared to the declared concentrations registered with the competent veterinary authority when registering for circulation or self-declaration according to the Product Quality Law.

2. The act violating Point b, Clause 4, Article 19 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of trading a type of veterinary drug with physical, chemical, microbiological, moisture content criteria not meeting standards or having one or more active ingredients with actual concentrations lower or higher than the allowable error range compared to the declared concentrations registered with the competent veterinary authority when registering for product circulation or declaration on the drug label.

3. The act violating Clause 3, Article 20 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of organizations or individuals importing a batch of veterinary drugs or raw materials for veterinary drugs with physical, chemical, microbiological, moisture content criteria not meeting standards or one or more components of the drug having actual concentrations lower or higher than the allowable error range compared to the declared concentrations registered with the competent veterinary authority when registering for product circulation or declaration on the drug label.

4. The act violating Point a, Clause 1, Article 21 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of organizations or individuals providing false information or advertising on the drug label, through media channels such as central or local radio, television, posters, leaflets, brochures... regarding the composition, efficacy, function, or quality of the drug that has been registered.

5. The act violating Clause 2, Article 23 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of producing or importing veterinary drugs that must be quality certified or standardized according to the law on standards and technical regulations but the production or import entity has not implemented certification or standardization, or the veterinary drugs do not comply with the declared standards or technical regulations and yet they have arbitrarily affixed quality certification labels on the products or advertised on media channels, newspapers, radio, television, leaflets, brochures... claiming to have undergone quality certification or standardization.

Article 9. Acts violating other regulations in the field of veterinary science

1. The act violating Point a, Clause 1, Point a, Clause 6, Point a, Clause 8, Article 24 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of persons holding a practice certificate engaging in veterinary practices outside the scope specified in their practice certificate issued by the competent veterinary authority.

2. The act violating Point b, Clause 5, Point a, Clause 7, Point a, Clause 9, Article 24 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of arbitrarily adding, deleting, or changing the original content of the practice certificate issued by the competent veterinary authority.

3. The act violating Point c, Clause 5, Point c, Clause 7, Point b, Clause 9, Article 24 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of falsely declaring or providing inaccurate information about professional qualifications, professional levels, or providing copies of certificates or diplomas not issued or certified by authorized authorities to obtain new or renewed practice certificates.

4. The act violating Point d, Clause 5, Point d, Clause 7, Point d, Clause 9, Article 24 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP is the act of individuals using a practice certificate not issued by the competent veterinary authority to practice.

Chapter IV

AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS, PROCEDURES AND PROCEDURES FOR IMPOSING ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS

Article 10. Competence to impose administrative penalties

1. The principle for determining the authority to impose administrative sanctions shall be carried out in accordance with Article 42 of the Administrative Sanctions Law, Article 15 of Decree No. 128/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 16, 2008 of the Government (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 128/2008/NĐ-CP) detailing certain provisions of the Administrative Sanctions Law 2002 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Administrative Sanctions Law 2008, and the provisions of Articles 29, 30, and 31 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP.

2. In cases where an individual commits multiple acts of administrative violations in the field of veterinary science, the authority to impose sanctions shall be determined as follows:

a) If the form and level of sanctions prescribed for each act all fall within the authority of the position stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Article 29 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP, then the authority to impose sanctions still belongs to that position.

b) In cases where the amount of fine, value of confiscated property, or one of the forms of sanctions or measures to mitigate consequences does not fall within or exceeds the authority of the person handling the case, that person must promptly transfer the case to the person with the appropriate authority to impose sanctions.

The Chief Inspector of the Provincial Animal Health Service, the Chief Inspector of the Central Animal Health Service have the authority to impose administrative sanctions on acts of violation discovered during the performance of official duties and handle administrative violation cases transferred by specialized animal health inspectors or animal health officers in accordance with the law.

When applying the form of revoking the right to use a practice certificate, the authority imposing administrative sanctions shall seize the license and practice certificate and clearly record this in the decision on administrative sanctions. Within three days from the date of issuance of the administrative sanction decision, the authority imposing sanctions shall notify the issuing authority of the license and practice certificate about the application of the sanction form of revocation of the right to use the license and practice certificate against the violator.

5. When applying the form of confiscation of evidence and means of administrative violation (VPHC), the specialized veterinary inspector performing official duties has the authority to confiscate evidence and means used for VPHC with a value up to 2,000,000 dong as stipulated in point b, Clause 1, Article 29 of Decree 40/2009/NĐ-CP. The value of the evidence and means of VPHC is determined based on their actual value at the time and place where the VPHC occurred.

Article 11. Measures for temporarily holding evidence and means to prevent administrative violations:

1. Authority to temporarily hold evidence and means of VPHC:

a) Those authorized to temporarily hold evidence and means of VPHC in the field of veterinary include the positions specified in Article 46 of the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations.

b) A specialized veterinary inspector performing official duties has the right to issue a decision to temporarily hold evidence and means of VPHC if there is reasonable grounds to believe that if such items are not held temporarily, they may be disposed of or destroyed. Within 24 hours from issuing the decision to temporarily hold, the person issuing the decision must report to their direct superior who is one of those authorized to temporarily hold evidence and means of VPHC as stipulated in point a, Clause 1 of this Article and obtain written consent from that person. In cases where consent is not obtained from the positions specified in point a, Clause 1 of this Article, the person issuing the decision to temporarily hold must immediately revoke the decision and return the temporarily held evidence and means. When returning the evidence and means of VPHC, the authorized person must issue a decision according to the model attached as Appendix IV to this Circular.

2. Evidence and means of VPHC shall only be temporarily held when it is truly necessary to immediately stop the violation or to prevent potential adverse consequences for humans and animals, specifically:

a) Evidence of VPHC includes animals and animal products suspected of being diseased or carrying pathogens; animals and animal products of unknown origin or suspected animal products that do not meet veterinary hygiene standards; veterinary drugs, raw materials for veterinary drugs, biological preparations, microorganisms, chemicals used in veterinary medicine listed in the Catalogue of Prohibited Veterinary Drugs Circulation in Vietnam, suspected counterfeit or imitation veterinary drugs with expired use dates, not included in the Catalogue of Permitted Veterinary Drugs Circulation in Vietnam; other specific cases decided by the authorized administrative violation handler.

b) The application of measures to temporarily hold evidence and means of VPHC must comply strictly with the prescribed procedures and formalities. In cases where these regulations are not followed, causing material damage to the carrier or owner of goods, the officials responsible for causing the damage must bear responsibility for compensating the damaged party.

3. Procedures and formalities for temporarily holding evidence and means of VPHC:

a) Based on the decision to temporarily hold evidence and means of VPHC, the person issuing the decision must prepare a Record of Temporary Holding of Evidence and Means of VPHC. The record must contain all required information as prescribed and provide a copy to the violator. If the violator does not sign the record, the reason must be clearly stated. The record must follow the model issued along with Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP.

b) The person issuing the decision to temporarily hold evidence and means of VPHC is responsible for coordinating with local authorities or competent agencies at the location of the violation to arrange storage and preservation of the temporarily held evidence and means of VPHC. In cases where storage cannot be arranged or the evidence and means of VPHC cannot be moved to the storage location, the person issuing the decision to temporarily hold must take measures to prevent the violator from disposing of the evidence and means of VPHC and may request the owner of the means of transport to self-manage and watch over the means of transport and the VPHC carried or transported on it.

c) Within 10 days from the date of temporary holding of evidence and means of VPHC, the person issuing the decision to temporarily hold must handle the evidence and means of VPHC according to the measures recorded in the handling decision. In cases where confiscation measures are not applied, the evidence and means of VPHC must be returned to the violator or the owner of the evidence and means of VPHC.

4. The handling of evidence and means of VPHC after the expiration of the temporary holding period shall be implemented in accordance with Decree No. 70/2006/NĐ-CP dated July 24, 2006, on the management of temporarily held evidence and means under administrative procedures, and Decree No. 22/2009/NĐ-CP dated February 24, 2009, amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 70/2006/NĐ-CP dated July 24, 2006, on the management of temporarily held evidence and means under administrative procedures.

Article 12. Procedure and Formalities for Administrative Sanctions

1. The imposition of administrative sanctions in the veterinary field must comply with the procedures stipulated in the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations and Decree No. 128/2008/NĐ-CP:

a) Upon discovering an administrative violation in the veterinary field, the authorized official performing their duty must immediately cease the violation. Ceasing the violation in the veterinary field is evidenced by an administrative violation record. Within ten days from the date of issuing the administrative violation record, the authorized official imposing the sanction must issue a decision on administrative sanction; for cases involving complex circumstances, the deadline for issuing the decision on administrative sanction is within thirty days.

b) The authorized official imposing administrative sanctions shall apply aggravating circumstances when issuing decisions on administrative sanctions in the following situations:

Repeated violations: organizations or individuals committing an administrative violation in the veterinary field but which were not previously discovered, not sanctioned, or had not exceeded the statute of limitations for sanctions are considered to have committed repeated violations in the veterinary field.

Recidivism: organizations or individuals who have been sanctioned for a violation in the veterinary field, but within one year from the date of completion of the execution of the administrative sanction decision or from the date the statute of limitations for executing the administrative sanction decision expired, continue to commit a violation in the veterinary field shall be subject to aggravating circumstances of recidivism when issuing the administrative sanction decision.

c) For administrative violations in the veterinary field where the main form of punishment is a warning or a fine up to 200,000 dong, after ceasing the violation, the authorized official imposing administrative sanctions may impose the sanction through a simplified procedure and issue an administrative sanction decision on the spot according to the model specified in Appendix V issued together with Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP.

d) In cases where the person issuing the administrative sanction decision is a specialized veterinary inspector without the authority to directly affix a seal, the administrative sanction decision must be stamped with the seal of the Veterinary Office. The stamp must be placed at the top left corner where the name of the issuing administrative sanction decision agency, the number, and code of the administrative sanction decision are recorded.

đ) In cases where the fine is up to 200,000 dong, the violator may pay the fine on the spot to the person issuing the administrative sanction decision and receive a receipt for the fine issued by the Ministry of Finance, or pay the fine at the State Treasury as indicated in the administrative sanction decision.

Before the end of the working day, the person issuing the administrative sanction decision must hand over the administrative violation case file, the receipt for the administrative fine, and the fine amount to the responsible person in the unit for archiving the administrative sanction case file and returning the fine to the State Treasury.

e) For administrative violations with a fine exceeding 200,000 dong, the authorized official performing their duty must prepare an administrative violation record according to the prescribed model.

g) In cases where the fine amount is 10,000,000 dong or more for violators facing particularly difficult economic circumstances, and the violator has submitted a request to pay the fine in installments, which has been confirmed by the People's Committee of the locality where the violator resides, the person issuing the administrative sanction decision shall decide in writing to allow the violator to pay the fine in installments according to the procedures and formalities stipulated in Article 27 of Decree No. 128/2008/NĐ-CP.

Administrative sanction decisions in the form of warnings, fines imposed through a simplified procedure, administrative violation records, and administrative sanction decisions must ensure that all contents are fully recorded according to the models attached in Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP. An administrative sanction decision becomes effective from the date of issuance, except in cases where the decision specifies a different effective date. Within ten days from the date of receiving the administrative sanction decision, individuals or organizations subject to the sanction must comply with the decision.

2. Forms of supplementary sanctions and measures to remedy consequences:

For certain administrative violations specified in Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP, in addition to the main form of punishment, supplementary sanctions and remedial measures are also applied.

a) Form of supplementary sanction: revocation of the right to use veterinary practice licenses and certificates:

A license is a type of document issued by the competent veterinary authority to organizations or individuals allowing them to operate or engage in business activities in the veterinary field.

A veterinary practice certificate is a type of document issued by the competent veterinary authority to individuals allowing them to practice veterinary work in a specific field.

Duration of revocation of the right to use licenses and veterinary practice certificates: the maximum period for revocation with a fixed term does not exceed twelve months, while the period for revocation without a fixed term is twelve months or longer.

For types of licenses that the authorized official imposing administrative sanctions does not have the authority to revoke (such as business licenses issued by the Provincial Departments of Planning and Investment), the authorized official must submit a written recommendation along with the administrative violation case file to the licensing authority for handling.

For administrative violations where Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP specifies the revocation of the right to use licenses and veterinary practice certificates for a specific period (for example, three to six months), the authorized official must base the specific duration of the revocation on the nature and severity of the violation.

If an individual commits multiple violations, each of which is subject to the supplementary sanction of revoking the right to use licenses and veterinary practice certificates, the authorized official imposing sanctions will only apply the revocation of the right to use licenses and veterinary practice certificates for the violation specified in Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP with the longest revocation period.

b) Confiscation of evidence and means of administrative violations:

Confiscation of evidence and means of administrative violations is a supplementary form of punishment, applied alongside the main form of punishment. Procedures and specific cases subject to confiscation of evidence and means of violations are stipulated in Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP and other decrees on administrative sanctions in fields under state management.

When confiscating evidence and means of administrative violations, the authorized official must issue a confiscation decision according to the model specified in Appendix I issued together with this Circular.

The confiscation of evidence or means shall not be applied in cases where the evidence or means were wrongfully possessed or illegally used by the violator and must be returned to the rightful owner or lawful manager/user.

c) Measures to remedy consequences

Remedial measures are one of many forms of punishment that are applied alongside the principal form of punishment, aimed at thoroughly addressing the violation, eliminating the causes and conditions for recurrence, and remedying the consequences caused by the violation. When applying remedial measures that require the destruction of evidence of the violation, a committee must be established to oversee the destruction, and a record of destruction must be made according to the model set out in Appendix II attached hereto. In the field of veterinary medicine, in addition to the remedial measures prescribed in Clause 3, Article 7, Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP also stipulates certain specific remedial measures as follows:

Suspend the operation of the facility;

Compel the recall of veterinary drugs.

For violations specified in Point a, Clause 3 and Clause 4, Article 17 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP, the remedial measure is to suspend the operation of the facility if necessary to address the situation until the facility meets the required veterinary hygiene standards.

"Necessary" refers to situations where the facility seriously violates regulations on veterinary hygiene conditions, production and business environmental hygiene, with potential severe impacts on public health or the surrounding environment.

Depending on the severity of the violation and the state of non-compliance with veterinary hygiene conditions, the authorized authority imposing the penalty will decide the duration of the suspension of the facility's operations, while clearly stating the deadline by which the facility must fully rectify the veterinary hygiene conditions so that the competent veterinary authority can conduct inspections before allowing the facility to resume operations.

For violations specified in Clause 2, Article 18 and Clause 3, Article 20 of Decree No. 40/2009/NĐ-CP, the remedial measure is to compel the recall of veterinary drugs and raw materials for veterinary drugs.

The recall of drugs shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 02/2009/TT-BNN dated January 14, 2009, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, guiding procedures for recalling and handling veterinary drugs.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 13. Responsibility for Implementation

1. This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of issuance. Previous provisions contrary to this Circular are hereby abolished.

2. The Heads of the Agricultural and Rural Development Departments' Inspection Agencies, the Heads of the Veterinary Inspection Agency, and the Heads of Provincial and Municipal Veterinary Inspection Agencies are responsible for directing, guiding, urging, and inspecting the implementation of this Circular.

3. During the implementation of this Circular, if there are any difficulties, agencies, organizations, and individuals should report them to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for timely adjustment and supplementation./.