Decree No. 78/2018/ND-CP Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 127/2007/ND-CP dated August 1, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations.

DECREE
Amending and supplementing supplementing some provisions of Decree No. 127/2007/ND-CP
dated August 1, 2007 of the Government detailing
implementation of certain articles of the Law on Technical Regulations and Standards.

_____________________________

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

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

Pursuant to the proposal of the Minister of Science and Technology;

The Government promulgates this Decree amending and supplementing some provisions of Decree No. 127/2007/ND-CP dated August 1, 2007 of the Government detailing implementation of certain articles of the Law on Technical Regulations and Standards.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some Articles of Decree No. 127/2007/ND-CP dated August 1, 2007 of the Government detailing implementation of certain articles of the Law on Technical Regulations and Standards as follows:

1. Supplementing Article 2a as follows:

"Article 2a. General requirements for developing technical regulations and standards

1. Developing standards

a) Must involve representatives of management agencies, associations, enterprises, scientific and technological organizations, consumers, and related experts.

b) Shall comply with the principle of consensus-based work through public and democratic discussion and contribution of opinions.

2. Developing technical regulations

a) National technical regulation systems (QCVN) and local technical regulation systems (QCĐP) must ensure consistency, synchronization, and compliance with international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory or participant.

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, provincial People's Committees under central cities shall approve plans for developing QCVN and QCĐP within their jurisdiction according to Articles 29, 60, and 61 of the Law on Technical Regulations and Standards, after obtaining the opinion of the Ministry of Science and Technology to ensure the consistency and synchronization of the system.

The Ministry of Science and Technology shall provide comments on plans for developing QCVN and QCĐP within ten working days from the date of receipt of the proposal letter from the agency drafting the plan.

b) Prioritize developing technical regulations that regulate groups of similar objects based on technical characteristics and management requirements.

c) Specify management measures and limit levels of product, goods, service, process, and environmental technical characteristics directly serving state management needs to ensure safety, hygiene, health, environment; protect animals and plants; protect national security interests and legitimate rights and interests of consumers; respect the freedom of production and business of organizations and individuals.

d) Content of national technical regulations may refer to other national technical regulations, national standards, international standards, regional standards, and foreign standards.

đ) In cases where international standards, regional standards, or foreign standards are referred to for technical requirements, the issuing authority must ensure the availability of Vietnamese versions of the referenced documents for individuals and organizations to consult upon request.

e) When developing technical regulations, review provisions on equivalent recognition and ensure compliance with international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory or participant.

In cases where technical regulations have the potential to create technical barriers in international trade, the issuing authority must submit draft technical regulations to the Ministry of Science and Technology for international consultation in accordance with relevant international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory or participant."

2. Amending and supplementing Clause 5 of Article 3 as follows:

"5. Ministries and sectors when using funds from annual science and technology development budgets to develop draft national standards, shall prioritize organizations of science and technology, associations, and enterprises as the main organizers of the development. In cases where organizations or individuals use their own funds to research and develop national standards or support the research and development of technical regulations, they shall enjoy preferential treatment in implementing science and technology tasks in accordance with the Law on Science and Technology."

3. Supplementing Article 4a as follows:

"Article 4a. Developing, reviewing, and publishing national standards

Procedures and processes for developing, reviewing, and publishing national standards shall be carried out in accordance with Article 17 of the Law on Technical Regulations and Standards. In cases where ministries or ministerial-level agencies organize the development of national standards, the procedures and processes for developing, reviewing, and publishing national standards shall be conducted in accordance with Article 17 of the Law on Technical Regulations and Standards and the following steps:

1. The ministry or ministerial-level agency or the agency assigned the task of developing national standards shall establish an editorial board (hereinafter referred to as the editorial board) to implement the development of draft national standards;

2. The editorial board shall organize an assessment of the current situation, study technical documents; conduct sampling analysis, testing, and trials (if necessary) to determine the technical indicators and requirements of the draft standard;

3. After completing the draft, the editorial board shall report to the ministry or ministerial-level agency to send the draft standard for wide-ranging opinions from relevant agencies, organizations, individuals, and members of the corresponding national standard technical committee; notify about the solicitation of opinions on the department's or ministerial-level agency's website and related organizations' websites.

The Ministry of Science and Technology shall organize the public announcement of the list and contact addresses of members of national standard technical committees on the website of the agency.

The period for soliciting opinions on the draft shall be at least 60 days from the date of sending the draft; in urgent cases related to health, safety, and the environment, the period for soliciting opinions may be shortened but not less than 30 days.

Organize specialized meetings with the participation of relevant parties to discuss and contribute opinions on the draft;

4. The editorial board shall compile and process opinions; complete the final draft, prepare the draft standard file according to regulations and send it to the ministry or ministerial-level agency for examination of the file and content of the draft standard before submitting it to the Ministry of Science and Technology for review in accordance with the assigned task;

5. The National Standardization, Metrology, and Quality Control Agency shall assist the Minister of Science and Technology in organizing the review of draft national standards in accordance with Article 18 of the Law on Technical Regulations and Standards;

6. The ministry or agency at the ministerial level shall be responsible for leading the development of national standards, and shall be responsible for incorporating, processing comments, and perfecting the draft national standard and related files based on the review results, to be submitted to the Ministry of Science and Technology within 120 days from the date of the review notification. In case the deadline mentioned above is exceeded, the draft national standard must be reviewed again.

7. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall examine and publish the national standard based on the review results and the completion results of the draft national standard and related files after the review.

4. Amend Points d and đ of Clause 1, Article 5 as follows:

"d) A list of agencies, organizations, and individuals to whom the draft is sent for comments; a summary and incorporation of comments attached to the comment document. The content of incorporating comments must clearly explain the scientific and practical basis for each non-incorporated or non-agreed content;

đ) A letter requesting the review and publication of the national standard from the ministry or agency at the ministerial level, which must include confirmation of the completeness of the draft national standard file."

5. Amend Clause 2, Article 9 as follows:

"2. The Minister of Science and Technology shall organize the review of the draft national technical regulation according to the provisions of Article 33 of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations.

In case the national technical regulation is developed for managing products and goods in Group 2, the Minister or head of the agency at the ministerial level shall issue the national technical regulation after reaching consensus with the Minister of Science and Technology on management measures for products and goods in the technical regulation to ensure that unnecessary technical barriers are not created for production, business, and trade activities."

6. Amend Points d and đ of Clause 1, Article 10 as follows:

"d) A list of agencies to which the draft is sent for comments; a summary and incorporation of comments attached to the comment document, including comments from relevant ministries and sectors;

đ) A letter requesting the review from the ministry or agency at the ministerial level, which must include confirmation of the completeness of the draft QCVN file."

7. Amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 23 as follows:

"1. The ministry or agency at the ministerial level shall implement the development and issuance of national technical regulations for fields under their state management functions assigned by the Government, specifically as follows:

a) Ministry of Health

- Public health; food safety, food additives, food processing aids, functional foods, drinking water, potable water, vaccines, and medical supplies and the working environment; household chemicals, insecticides, disinfectants;

- Medical examination, treatment, care, rehabilitation, aesthetic services, and forensic identification in the healthcare sector;

- Medicines, raw materials for medicines, pharmaceuticals, traditional medicine, cosmetics;

- Medical equipment;

- Occupational safety and hygiene for factors in the working environment, excluding radiation and radiological factors;

- Occupational safety for medical equipment with strict requirements for occupational safety;

- Services in the healthcare sector.

b) Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

- Production, cultivation, processing, harvesting, storage, transportation of agricultural, forestry, aquatic products, salt, livestock slaughter, poultry slaughter;

- Plant, animal, and aquatic seedlings;

- Agricultural and forestry supplies, livestock feed; aquaculture feed; environmental treatment products in livestock farming and aquaculture; fertilizers;

- Pesticides, veterinary drugs, plant and animal quarantine;

- Water conservancy works, rural clean water supply, dyke construction, disaster prevention;

- Food safety and hygiene for products, processes, and services in primary production (agriculture, livestock farming, harvesting, fishing, salt making), collection, preliminary processing, slaughter, processing, storage, transportation, import, and sale of agricultural, forestry, aquatic, and salt products under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

- Fishing gear, equipment requiring strict safety requirements in the fisheries industry;

- Occupational safety and hygiene (excluding machines, equipment, and supplies with strict safety requirements) for: agricultural, forestry, aquatic products, salt; livestock, poultry, animals; agricultural, forestry, and aquaculture supplies; fertilizers; products in agriculture, forestry, and aquaculture production, processing, storage, transportation; agricultural, forestry, and aquaculture supplies; pesticides, veterinary drugs; water conservancy works, dykes;

- Occupational safety for machines, equipment, and supplies with strict safety requirements in the group of agricultural, forestry, salt, and aquaculture machines, equipment, and supplies;

- Services in the agriculture and rural development sector.

c) Ministry of Transport

- Transportation vehicles; loading and unloading equipment, specialized construction equipment, containers used in road, rail, inland waterway, maritime transport, and equipment for exploration, exploitation, and transportation at sea;

- Infrastructure transport projects;

- Transport operation sector; - Traffic safety sector;

- Occupational safety and hygiene (excluding machines, equipment, and supplies with strict safety requirements) for: various types of transportation vehicles, loading and unloading equipment, specialized construction equipment in transportation (excluding equipment for defense and security purposes and fishing vessels); technical equipment in the transport sector; equipment for exploration, exploitation at sea;

- Occupational safety for machines and equipment with strict safety requirements in the following groups: transportation vehicles required to undergo inspection according to laws in the transport sector; loading and unloading equipment, specialized construction equipment in transportation; equipment for exploration, exploitation at sea;

- Services in the transport and transportation sector.

d) Ministry of Construction

- Civil construction projects, residential buildings, and office buildings;

- Building materials;

- Architecture, urban planning, rural planning;

- Urban infrastructure projects;

- Urban transportation projects;

- Occupational safety and health in establishing technical measures and organizing construction works;

- Occupational safety for machinery, equipment, and materials with strict requirements for occupational safety used in construction works;

- Services in the construction sector.

d) Ministry of Industry and Trade

- Industrial safety technology (safety for pressure vessels, lifting equipment, specialized industrial safety equipment); electrical safety in managing and operating electrical equipment; mining and oil and gas exploitation (excluding exploration and exploitation equipment and means on the sea);

- Chemical safety, industrial explosives, and industrial environment safety;

- Safety in mechanical production, metallurgy, electricity, energy, oil and gas exploitation, mineral extraction, chemicals (including pharmaceuticals);

- Consumer industry safety;

- Food industry safety and other processing industries;

- Occupational safety and health (excluding machinery, equipment, and materials with strict requirements for occupational safety) for: mechanical industry, metallurgy; power generation, transmission, and distribution; new and renewable energy; coal mining; oil and gas exploitation, processing, transportation, distribution, storage, and products, excluding exploration and exploitation equipment and means on the sea;

- Occupational safety for machinery, equipment, and materials with strict requirements for occupational safety in the following groups: industrial explosives; specialized pressure vessels and lifting equipment for specific industrial sectors; mining and oil and gas equipment, excluding exploration and exploitation equipment and means on the sea;

- Occupational safety and health for chemicals (including pharmaceuticals), excluding chemicals in vocational training facilities as stipulated in Point e Clause this and chemical workplace hygiene factors in the working environment as stipulated in Point a Clause this;

- E-commerce;

- Services in the industrial and trade sectors.

e) Ministry of Labor

- Invalids and Social Affairs

- Occupational safety and health for personal protective equipment for workers; tools and technical equipment in vocational training facilities; products, goods, and services not covered by Points a, b, c, d, đ, g, n, o, q Clause this;

- Occupational safety for machinery, equipment, and materials with strict requirements for occupational safety, excluding those specified in Points a, b, c, d, đ, g, n, o, q Clause this;

- Occupational safety and health for workers involved in chemical activities; management of chemical use in vocational training facilities;

- Safety for public recreational facilities;

- Services in the labor, invalids, and social affairs sector.

g) Ministry of Information and Communications

- Postal, telecommunications, electronic, information technology, and broadcasting networks, products, and services;

- Radio frequencies and radio transmitting and receiving equipment;

- Publishing, printing, and press products;

- Occupational safety and health (excluding machinery, equipment with strict requirements for occupational safety) for telecommunications construction projects; telecommunications, electronic, and information technology networks;

- Occupational safety for machinery, equipment with strict requirements for occupational safety in the telecommunications and radio transmitting and receiving equipment group;

- Occupational safety and health for radio frequencies in the working environment, excluding workplace hygiene factors for radio frequencies in the working environment as stipulated in Point a Clause this;

- Services in the information and communication sector.

h) Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

- Environment: ambient environmental quality; environmental monitoring; current environmental status assessment; strategic environmental assessment; environmental impact assessment; pollution control; waste management, import environmental management, and waste;

- Surveying, investigating, assessing, and inventorying natural resources: land, water, geology, minerals, climate, sea, and islands;

- Exploration, assessing quality, and reserves of water and mineral resources;

- Meteorology, hydrology, and climate change;

- Mapping and geographic information;

- Remote sensing;

- Services in the natural resources and environment sector.

i) Ministry of Education and Training

- Teaching aids and technical equipment used in schools;

- Services in the education and training sector.

k) Ministry of Finance

- Financial services (insurance, auditing, taxation, customs...);

- National reserve sector.

l) Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism

- Protection and promotion of cultural heritage value: preservation, restoration, and recovery of historical-cultural relics and scenic spots; archaeological exploration and excavation; management and protection of underwater cultural heritage; registration of antiquities, antiques, and national treasures;

- Materials for film products;

- Fine arts, photography, advertising;

- Equipment for physical training, sports competition, and tourism;

- Services in the culture, entertainment, sports, and tourism sector.

m) Ministry of Home Affairs

- Archival and record-keeping activities;

- Procedures for preserving archival records;

- Services in the archival and record-keeping sector.

n) Ministry of Defense

- Military means, equipment, weapons, ammunition, defense-related products, and defense works that are not classified as state secrets;

- Occupational safety and health for military means, equipment, weapons, ammunition, defense-related products, and defense works that are not classified as state secrets;

- Occupational safety for machinery, equipment, and materials with strict requirements for occupational safety specifically used for defense purposes;

- Safety and security in the military and defense sector.

o) Ministry of Public Security

- Fire prevention, firefighting, technical equipment, weapons, gear, explosives, support tools, and other products used by the People's Public Security forces that are not classified as state secrets;

- Occupational safety and health for technical equipment, weapons, ammunition, gear, support tools, explosives, and other products used by the People's Public Security forces that are not classified as state secrets;

- Occupational safety for fire prevention and firefighting machinery and equipment with strict requirements for occupational safety.

- Services in the field of security.

p) The Government Cryptographic Agency shall draft and submit to the Minister of National Defense for promulgation

- Civil cryptographic products and services.

q) The Ministry of Science and Technology: atomic energy, radiation and nuclear safety; product codes, barcodes, traceability; children's toys; motorcycle and bicycle helmets; household electrical and electronic equipment; fuel; steel; other products, goods, and services not specified in Points a, b, c, d, đ, e, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, p of this Clause and those within the defense, security, and national secret sectors;

- Occupational safety and health for nuclear reactors, nuclear materials, nuclear source materials, radioactive substances, and radiation equipment."

8. Supplement Clause 3 of Article 24 as follows:

"3. The content of published standards must ensure safety, hygiene, environment, human health, and property; it must not contravene corresponding technical regulations."

9. Repeal the provisions on conformity assessment organizations stipulated in Articles 16, 17, and 18 of this Decree.

Article 2. Effective Date

This Decree takes effect from July 1, 2018.

Article 3. Implementation Organization

The Minister, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities are responsible for enforcing this Decree./.