Circular No. 72/2010/TT-BNNPTNT on inspection and handling of legal normative documents related to agriculture and rural development

CIRCULAR

Rules on inspection and handling of regulatory legal documents

concerning 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; Decree No. 75/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 10, 2009 of the Government amending Article 3 of Decree No. 01/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2008 of the Government;

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

Pursuant to the Law on Issuing Legal Regulatory Documents of People's Councils and People's Committees dated December 3, 2004;

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. 40/2010/NĐ-CP dated April 12, 2010 of the Government on inspection and handling of regulatory legal documents,

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development hereby stipulates rules on inspection and handling of regulatory legal documents concerning agriculture and rural development as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular prescribes the procedures, formalities, responsibilities of agencies, units, organizations, and individuals in inspecting regulatory legal documents and handling documents that show signs of violating laws concerning agriculture and rural development.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the work of inspecting and handling regulatory legal documents concerning agriculture and rural development.

Article 3. Documents subject to inspection and handling

1. Circulars issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; Joint Circulars issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development

together with other Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court, and Procurator General of the Supreme People's Procuracy.

2. Resolutions of the People's Council; decisions, directives of the People's Committee at provincial level; Circulars issued by the Minister, Head of a ministerial-level agency containing provisions related to state management in the field of agriculture and rural development.

3. Documents containing legal norms issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development but not issued in the form of a Circular of the Minister.

Documents having the format and content of regulatory legal documents (such as Circulars) and documents having the format not being regulatory legal documents but containing legal norms (such as Letters, Notifications, Regulations, Rules, Bylaws, Programs, Plans, and other administrative documents) issued by the Heads of units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 4. Methods of inspecting documents

1. Self-inspection for documents specified in Clause 1 and Clause 3 of Article 3 of this Circular.

2. Inspection within authority for documents specified in Clause 2 of Article 3 of this Circular; thematic, territorial (at the issuing agency) or sectoral, field-based inspections.

3. Inspection of documents upon receipt of notifications, requests, recommendations from agencies, organizations, individuals or when organizations, individuals themselves discover documents showing signs of violating laws as specified in Article 3 of this Circular.

Article 5. Content of document inspection

The content of document inspection involves reviewing, evaluating, and concluding on the constitutionality and legality of the inspected document according to the following aspects:

1. Basis for issuing the document and legal basis serving as the foundation for issuing regulatory legal documents are those regulatory legal documents with higher legal validity currently in effect or signed for issuance but not yet effective at the time of issuance but will be effective before or at the same time as the issued document, including:

a) Regulatory legal documents of higher-level state agencies stipulating the functions and tasks of the issuing agency;

b) Regulatory legal documents of higher-level state agencies stipulating issues within the scope of regulation of the document.

2. Regulatory legal documents are issued within authority, including formal and substantive authority:

a) Formal authority: The agency or person authorized to issue the document can only issue it in accordance with the prescribed form (name) of the regulatory legal document for that agency or person;

b) Substantive authority: The agency or person can only issue documents with content appropriate to their authority permitted by law or assigned, delegated. This authority is determined in documents of higher-level state agencies stipulating assignment, delegation, regulations on specific state management functions, tasks, and powers of each agency, each level, each sector for each field.

3. The content of the document must comply with current legal provisions, specifically:

a) Circulars and Joint Circulars issued or jointly issued by the Minister, Head of a ministerial-level agency must be consistent with the Constitution, laws, resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances, resolutions, joint resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, decrees, joint resolutions of the Government, decisions of the Prime Minister, and circulars of other Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies regarding the fields managed by those Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies;

b) Resolutions of the Provincial People's Council must be consistent with the Constitution, laws, resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances, resolutions, joint resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, decrees, joint resolutions of the Government, decisions of the Prime Minister, and circulars, joint circulars of the Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies (hereinafter referred to collectively as central government agencies' documents).

c) Decisions, Directives of the Provincial People's Committee must be consistent with central government agencies' documents and consistent with Provincial People's Council documents.

4. Issued documents must be presented in accordance with the prescribed format and technical requirements under current legal provisions.

5. The issued document must comply with all provisions regarding the procedures and formalities for drafting and issuing as prescribed by law. In cases where violations of the law are discovered during inspection, the competent authority conducting the inspection must examine the procedures and formalities for drafting and issuing the document to serve as the basis for handling the document and assessing and dealing with the responsibility of the agency or person who issued the unlawful document, as well as the agency or person responsible for advising on drafting, reviewing, examining, and approving the unlawful document, and recommend appropriate measures within their jurisdiction.

Article 6. Legal basis for determining the content that violates the law of the inspected document

The legal basis documents for determining the content that violates the law of the inspected document must satisfy the following conditions:

1. The document must have higher legal validity than the inspected document, issued by the competent authority.

In cases where the legal basis documents for determining the content that violates the law of the inspected document contain different provisions on the same issue, the document with higher legal validity shall be applied.

In cases where the legal basis documents for inspection are all issued by the same agency on the same issue but contain different provisions, the provision of the later-issued document shall be applied; for documents issued by ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies containing different provisions on the same issue, the document of the minister or head of the ministerial-level agency managing the relevant sector shall be applied.

2. The document must be currently effective or signed and approved but not yet effective at the time of inspection.

The inspection time of the document is the time when the competent authority signs and issues or approves the inspected document and generates the inspection authority's power and responsibility.

a) The document is currently effective at the time of inspection:

The effective date of the legal normative document is determined according to Article 78 of the Law on Enacting Legal Normative Documents and Article 51 of the Law on Enacting Legal Normative Documents of People's Councils and People's Committees.

At the same time, the legal basis documents for determining the content that violates the law of the inspected document must not have exceeded their validity period as stipulated in those documents; not been replaced by a new document from the same state agency that issued the original document; and not been annulled or abolished by the competent state authority.

A document that has been suspended from implementation or ceased to be effective according to Article 80 of the Law on Enacting Legal Normative Documents and Article 52 of the Law on Enacting Legal Normative Documents of People's Councils and People's Committees shall not be used as a legal basis for inspecting the document from the time it ceases to be effective until it resumes its effectiveness according to the decision of the competent state authority.

b) The document has been signed and issued but not yet effective at the time of inspection but must become effective before or at the same time as the inspected document, including:

- The document serving as the legal basis for issuing the inspected document;

- The document related to determining the content that violates the law of the inspected document.

Article 7. Sending and Receiving Inspection Documents

1. For documents prescribed in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Circular, within no more than three (03) working days from the date the document is signed and issued, the drafting unit shall be responsible for sending one (01) copy to the Legal Department for self-inspection as prescribed.

2. For documents prescribed in Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular, within no more than three (03) working days from the date the document is signed and issued, the Office of the People's Council, People's Committee of the province or the Office of the Ministry or agency equivalent to a ministry issuing documents related to agriculture and rural development shall be responsible for sending one (01) copy to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Legal Department) for inspection according to its authority.

3. In case of receiving notification from the competent authority inspecting the document or receiving requests, suggestions, complaints about documents issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development or units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showing signs of violation of laws, within no more than three (03) working days, the receiving unit shall be responsible for sending the notification and related documents (if any) or a written notification regarding the content of the suggestion, complaint, or request to the Legal Department.

4. When discovering documents showing signs of violation of laws as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 3 of this Circular, the Legal Department shall be responsible for organizing inspection and handling according to regulations.

Article 8. Files of Documents Showing Signs of Violation of Laws and Record of Handling Documents Showing Signs of Violation of Laws

1. The file of documents showing signs of violation of laws includes the following documents:

a) Inspection form of documents showing signs of violation of laws according to the model at Appendix 01;

b) The inspected document;

c) Legal basis documents to determine the content showing signs of violation of laws;

d) Notification letter on documents showing signs of violation of laws (if inspected according to authority) or report to the Minister on the content showing signs of violation of laws (if self-inspected).

The file of documents showing signs of violation of laws shall be stored at the Legal Department in accordance with the law on archiving.

2. The Legal Department shall be responsible for opening and managing the Record of Handling Documents Showing Signs of Violation of Laws to urge and monitor the handling of documents by relevant agencies within the prescribed time limit. The content of the Record of Handling Documents Showing Signs of Violation of Laws shall be implemented according to the guidance of the Ministry of Justice.

Chapter II

PROCEDURE AND PROCEDURES FOR INSPECTION AND HANDLING DOCUMENTS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF SELF-INSPECTION

Article 9. Procedure and Procedures for Inspection

1. Within ten (10) working days from the date of receipt of the document, the inspecting unit shall assign personnel to inspect the document.

2. The person inspecting the document shall be responsible for comparing the content of the inspected document with the legal basis documents to assess and conclude on the legality of the inspected document as prescribed in Article 5 of this Circular.

3. In case the inspected document does not show signs of violation of laws, the inspector shall sign and clearly indicate the date, month, and year in the upper right corner of the inspected document, and simultaneously establish the Inspection Form of Document according to the model at Appendix 02.

4. In case signs of violation of laws are discovered in the inspected document, the inspector shall establish the Inspection Form of Document according to the model at Appendix 01 and establish the "File of Documents Showing Signs of Violation of Laws" as prescribed in Article 8 of this Circular.

Article 10. Procedure for handling documents with signs of violation of laws

1. The Legal Affairs Department shall issue a notification to the main drafting unit regarding the illegal content of the document and propose a form of handling. The content of the notification includes: the name of the document being reviewed, the name and content of the legal basis document used to determine the illegal content of the reviewed document; opinions on the illegal content of the reviewed document; request the issuing unit or person to self-inspect the document.

2. Within ten (10) working days from the date of receipt of the notification from the Legal Affairs Department, the main drafting unit shall be responsible for organizing a self-inspection of the document according to the procedures stipulated in Article 9 of this Circular and report the results of the self-inspection to the Legal Affairs Department.

3. In case the self-inspection results of the Legal Affairs Department and the main drafting unit are not consistent, the Legal Affairs Department shall organize a meeting with the main drafting unit and related units. If the document with signs of illegality is a joint document, representatives of the legal affairs organization or relevant units of the agency co-signing the document shall be invited to participate.

a) When the meeting results are consistent regarding the illegal content and form of handling, the Legal Affairs Department shall be responsible for reporting to the Minister the results of the inspection meeting along with the file of the document with signs of illegality established according to the procedure stipulated in Article 8 of this Circular and the draft decision on handling for the Minister's consideration and decision. The report must clearly explain the necessity to revoke, abolish part or all of the illegal document; measures to remedy consequences (if any); time limit for handling; determination and proposal of forms of responsibility handling for the unit or individual drafting and issuing the illegal document;

b) When the meeting results are inconsistent regarding the illegal content of the document and form of handling, the Legal Affairs Department shall be responsible for reporting to the Minister about the inconsistency and proposing the Legal Affairs Department's opinion for the Minister's consideration and decision.

Article 11. Forms of Handling Documents with Illegal Content

1. In case the proposed form of handling is revocation, abolition of part or all of the content of the document, the Legal Affairs Department shall draft the decision on handling for submission to the Minister.

2. In case the proposed form of handling is amendment of part or replacement of all content of the document, the main drafting unit shall draft the amended or replacement document.

The drafting and issuance of documents for amendment, supplementation, or replacement must comply with the provisions of the law on promulgating normative legal documents and the regulations on drafting, reviewing, and promulgating normative legal documents of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 12. Announcing and Notifying the Results of Handling Documents with Illegal Content

1. The announcement of the results of handling documents with illegal content shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of Decree No. 40/2010/NĐ-CP.

2. The Legal Affairs Department shall take the lead and coordinate with related units to announce the results of handling documents with illegal content.

Chapter III

PROCEDURE AND PROCEDURES FOR INSPECTION AND HANDLING DOCUMENTS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF INSPECTION ACCORDING TO AUTHORITY

Article 13. Procedures and formalities for inspection

1. The Legal Affairs Department shall be responsible for organizing the inspection of the document referred to in Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular according to the authority of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. The procedures and formalities for inspecting documents shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of this Circular.

Article 14. Procedure for handling documents showing signs of violation of laws

In case a document shows signs of violation of laws, the Legal Affairs Department shall coordinate with relevant units regarding the content that violates the law in the document.

After reaching consensus on the content that violates the law in the document, the Legal Affairs Department shall be responsible for establishing a file on the document containing illegal content and reporting it to the Minister. The report to the Minister shall clearly state: the name of the document being inspected, the legal basis for the inspection, the opinion of the Legal Affairs Department, and recommendations for handling methods.

Article 15. Notification requesting the issuing agency to self-inspect and handle documents containing illegal content

Based on the instructions of the Minister, the Legal Affairs Department shall draft a document to be submitted to the Minister for notification to the issuing agency to self-inspect and handle the document according to the regulations. The content of the notification includes: the name of the document being inspected, the name and content of the document serving as the legal basis for determining the illegal content of the inspected document; opinions on the illegal content of the inspected document; request the agency or person issuing the document to self-inspect and handle it according to the law.

Article 16. Handling the results of inspections

Within thirty (30) working days from the date of receipt of the notification about the document containing illegal content, if the competent agency or person issuing the document does not handle it or the handling result does not comply with the legal regulations, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall handle it as follows:

1. Submit a document to the Minister, head of a ministerial-level agency, or the Prime Minister to suspend the implementation, revoke, or abolish part or all of the illegal document issued by the Ministers or heads of ministerial-level agencies.

2. Recommend the Prime Minister to suspend the implementation of resolutions of provincial People's Councils that violate the Constitution, laws, resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances, resolutions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, decrees, decisions of the President, or documents issued by the Government, the Prime Minister, or circulars issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development concerning the management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

3. Issue a decision to suspend the implementation and recommend the Prime Minister to revoke or abolish part or all of the decisions or directives of provincial People's Committees that violate the documents issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 17. Organizing inspections of documents by topic, locality, or sector

1. Responsibilities of the Legal Affairs Department

a) Advise on building plans and contents for inspecting documents by topic, locality, or sector to be submitted to the Minister for approval; notify the agency with the document to be inspected and organize the implementation of the plan.

b) Submit to the Minister for signing the decision to establish the Inspection Team for inspecting documents by topic, locality, or sector.

c) Take the lead in implementing activities for inspecting documents by topic, locality, or sector.

2. Responsibilities of the Inspection Team

a) The Inspection Team for inspecting documents by topic, locality, or sector shall cooperate with the agency or locality where the document to be inspected is located to inspect the document according to the plan.

b) Report to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the agency with the document to be inspected on the results of the document inspection by the Inspection Team.

3. Responsibilities of the agency with the document to be inspected

a) The agency with the document to be inspected shall be responsible for preparing the contents and requirements according to the plan for inspecting documents by topic, locality, or sector of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

b) Prepare necessary conditions to serve the inspection and handling of documents by the Inspection Team.

4. Procedures and formalities for inspecting documents by topic, locality, or sector

a) The Inspection Team shall send a document notifying the plan, schedule, and necessary requirements for inspection to the agency with the document to be inspected at least ten (10) working days before conducting the inspection.

b) The agency with the document to be inspected shall review, list the documents, and self-inspect the documents according to the guidance of the Inspection Team. At the same time, the agency with the document to be inspected shall submit one (01) copy of the document to the Inspection Team for preliminary inspection before the direct inspection at the agency with the document to be inspected.

c) The Inspection Team shall conduct a direct inspection at the agency with the document to be inspected; the agency with the document to be inspected shall be responsible for arranging staff to work with the Inspection Team, reporting the results of the self-inspection, and providing materials when requested.

d) Upon completion of the inspection, the head of the Inspection Team and the leader of the agency with the document to be inspected shall sign the working record to unify the results of the document inspection.

5. In case a document showing signs of violation of laws is discovered, the Legal Affairs Department shall draft a Notification to be submitted to the Minister for consideration and issuance. The Notification shall be sent to the agency with the document to be inspected to self-inspect and handle it according to the law.

Chapter IV

PROCEDURES AND FORMALITIES FOR INSPECTION AND HANDLING DOCUMENTS UPON REQUEST OR RECOMMENDATION

Article 18. Procedure and formalities for inspection

1. The Legal Affairs Department and units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall be responsible for organizing inspections of documents upon receiving notifications, requests, or recommendations from agencies, organizations, individuals, or when they discover documents that appear to violate the law as stipulated in Article 3 of this Circular.

2. The procedures and formalities for inspecting documents shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of this Circular.

3. The file of documents containing illegal content, in addition to the documents mentioned in Article 8 of this Circular, shall also include notifications, requests, and recommendations from agencies, organizations, and individuals.

Article 19. Procedures and forms for handling illegal documents

1. For documents specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 3 of this Circular that contain illegal content, the form of handling shall be carried out according to the provisions of Article 11 of this Circular.

2. For documents specified in Clause 3 of Article 3 of this Circular that contain illegal content, the form of handling shall be as follows:

a) Documents issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development containing legal norms but not promulgated in the form of legal normative documents, the Legal Affairs Department shall draft a decision proposal to the Minister for the cancellation of the document.

b) Documents issued by units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with a format and content similar to legal normative documents or documents with a format that is not a legal normative document but containing legal norms, the issuing unit shall issue a document to cancel the illegally issued document.

c) In cases where it is necessary to replace documents specified in Clause 3 of Article 3 of this Circular, the drafting unit shall be responsible for drafting replacement documents to be submitted to the Minister for issuance in accordance with the law.

Chapter V

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR INSPECTION AND HANDLING OF DOCUMENTS

Article 20. Responsibilities of the Legal Affairs Department

1. Propose the Ministry to issue plans for inspecting documents of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and organize their implementation after approval.

2. Lead the organization of self-inspection of documents and inspection of documents within the authority of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

3. Organize training on document inspection and handling procedures for officials and civil servants of units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

4. Build and manage a team of cooperating inspectors for agricultural and rural development-related documents.

5. Monitor the results of inspecting and handling documents containing illegal content as prescribed.

6. Summarize and conclude the work of inspecting and handling documents.

7. Propose the Ministry to issue documents requesting People's Councils, People's Committees at provincial level, Ministries, and equivalent agencies to conduct self-inspections and handle documents related to agriculture and rural development and submit the results along with the issued documents to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Legal Affairs Department) for inspection within its authority.

Article 21. Responsibilities of units under the Ministry

1. Develop and implement annual inspection plans for documents of their units.

2. Inspect and handle documents within the scope of advisory and state management functions of their units that appear to violate the law as stipulated in this Circular.

3. Report on the work of inspecting and handling documents as required.

4. Provide relevant materials concerning documents that appear to violate the law upon request.

5. Assign the legal affairs department of the unit to be the focal point for document inspection and handling work within the unit. If there is no legal affairs department, the head of the unit shall be responsible for assigning an official to serve as the focal point for document inspection and handling work, assisting the head of the unit in performing tasks as prescribed in this Circular.

Article 22. Responsibilities of Heads of Units and Individuals Involved in Drafting Legal Documents Containing Provisions Contrary to Law

1. The Heads of Units under the Ministry, civil servants who have participated in drafting legal documents containing provisions contrary to law shall bear responsibility in accordance with the provisions of Articles 7 and 34 of Decree No. 40/2010/NĐ-CP.

2. The procedures, formalities for examination, decision-making, and forms and degrees of handling against Heads of Units and civil servants who have participated in drafting legal documents containing provisions contrary to law shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Chapter VI

CONDITIONS FOR ENSURING THE WORK OF INSPECTION AND HANDLING LEGAL DOCUMENTS

Article 23. Database System Serving Inspection and Handling of Legal Documents

1. The Legal Affairs Department is the leading unit responsible for reviewing and systematizing legal regulatory documents issued by the National Assembly, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the President, the Government, and the Prime Minister concerning issues within the scope of management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as legal regulatory documents issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development or jointly issued, to build a database system serving the inspection and handling of legal documents.

2. The database system includes the following basic contents:

a) Legal regulatory documents reviewed to establish a legal basis for inspecting legal documents within the authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

b) Results of inspection and handling of legal documents.

c) Information on document audit operations;

d) Other information, materials, and data serving document audit work.

The database system includes documents and texts classified and arranged scientifically and computerized for ease of management, search, and use.

Article 24. Inspectors Collaborating in the Inspection of Legal Documents

1. Inspectors collaborating in the inspection of legal documents on agriculture and rural development are individuals selected from experienced experts in the field of drafting and inspecting legal documents on agriculture and rural development, contracted by the Legal Affairs Department to work under a piece-rate mechanism or a fixed-term contract, subject to management, guidance on professional matters, and performance of tasks according to the requirements of the Legal Affairs Department based on plans approved by the Ministry.

2. Inspectors collaborating in the inspection of legal documents shall receive inspection fees in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Article 25. Budget for Inspection and Handling of Legal Documents

1. The preparation of budget estimates, allocation, use, settlement, and finalization shall be carried out in accordance with Circular Joint No. 158/2007/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated December 28, 2007, of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice guiding the management and use of funds supporting the inspection of legal regulatory documents and amendments, supplements, or replacements thereof.

2. The Legal Affairs Department and units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall prepare budget estimates for inspection costs and submit them to the Financial Department for consolidation into the overall budget estimate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

3. The Financial Department shall be responsible for consolidating the financial needs of units into the annual budget estimate of the Ministry to submit to the Ministry of Finance for review.

Chapter VII

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 26. Reporting System

1. Every six months and annually, units under the Ministry shall be responsible for reporting to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (through the Legal Affairs Department) the results of their inspection and handling of legal documents according to Model 03 attached to this Circular. The report must be submitted before May 30 for the six-month report and before November 31 for the annual report.

2. The Legal Affairs Department shall consolidate the results of the inspection and handling of legal documents by units to build semi-annual and annual reports on the inspection and handling of legal regulatory documents, to be submitted to the Minister for consideration and issuance to the Ministry of Justice in accordance with regulations.

Article 27. Regarding competition, rewards, and disciplinary actions

1. The results and achievements obtained in performing assigned tasks related to document verification are among the criteria for competition assessment and rewards within the overall achievements of units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. Organizations and individuals who successfully complete their assigned tasks and have achievements in document verification and handling work shall be rewarded in accordance with the laws on rewards.

3. Organizations and individuals who violate the law in document verification and handling work as stipulated in Articles 33 and 37 of Decree No. 40/2010/NĐ-CP shall be subject to legal sanctions.

Article 28. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from March 1, 2011, replacing the regulations on document verification and handling stipulated in Chapter IV of Decision No. 90/2007/QĐ-BNN dated November 9, 2007, issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on the Regulations on Drafting, Issuing, Verifying, Handling, and Reviewing and Systematizing Legal Documents of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 29. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Department of Legal Affairs shall be responsible for guiding, monitoring, and urging the implementation of this Circular.

2. Heads of units under the Ministry shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular at their units.

3. People's Councils, People's Committees, Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall be responsible for implementing this Circular.

Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Department of Legal Affairs) for consolidation and reporting to the Minister for consideration and decision./.