Decision No. 90/QD-KL Issuing the Rules on Management and Use of Forest Inspection Hammers

Pursuant to …;

OF THE MINISTRY OF FORESTRY NUMBER 90/QĐ-KL JANUARY 25, 1983

ISSUING THE REGULATIONS ON MANAGEMENT AND USE OF FOREST INSPECTION HAMMERS

THE MINISTER OF FORESTRY

Pursuant to Decision No. 35-CP dated February 9, 1981 of the Council of Ministers on the tasks, powers, responsibilities of the Minister and the functions of the Ministry in certain areas of state management;

Pursuant to Decision No. 88-HĐBT dated September 24, 1981 of the Council of Ministers on the establishment of forest nurturing funds, and Circular No. 10-TT/LB dated March 13, 1982 of the Joint Ministry of Forestry-Finance-National Bank guiding the implementation of Decision No. 88-HĐBT mentioned above;

Pursuant to Decision No. 1101-QĐ/LB dated October 23, 1981 of the Joint Ministry of Forestry-Finance on the collection of forest nurturing fees;

At the proposal of the Director of the People's Forest Inspection Bureau.

Pursuant to …;

Article 1. - Now hereby promulgates with this decision the Regulations on Management and Use of Forest Inspection Hammers. Assign the people's forest inspection system to implement the stamping of forest inspection hammer marks on all types of timber extracted from forests and trees planted by collectives and individuals on forest land.

Article 2. - From April 1, 1983, the stamping of forest inspection hammer marks on timber will be uniformly implemented throughout the country according to the Regulations on Management and Use of Forest Inspection Hammers promulgated with this decision.

Article 3. -Heads of relevant bureaus, departments, institutes, companies, forestry industrial associations, central forestry farms, provincial forestry departments, forest inspection bureaus, and district forest inspection stations shall be responsible for implementing this decision.

RULES

MANAGEMENT AND USE OF FOREST INSPECTION HAMMERS

(Issued together with Decision No. 90-QĐ/KL
dated January 25, 1983 of the Ministry of Forestry)

PART I

PURPOSES OF USING THE FOREST INSPECTION HAMMER MARK

Article 1. - All types of round timber (with a small end diameter of 25 cm and length of 1 meter or more) extracted from natural forests, planted forests, and trees planted by collectives and individuals on forest land when harvested must be inspected and stamped with a forest inspection hammer mark.

Article 2. - The purpose of stamping with a forest inspection hammer mark is:

- To strictly manage the harvesting and use of timber, contributing positively to forest protection.

- To identify the origin of the harvested timber.

- To certify that the harvested timber is legal.

- To detect illegal timber for appropriate handling.

Article 3. - The forest inspection hammer is cast uniformly for use in all provinces and cities nationwide. The hammer stamp is circular with a diameter of 32 mm, within which there are letters KL and a serial number indicating the code of the district or station of the people's forest inspection (abbreviated as KLND) or forest product control (abbreviated as KSLS) at the local level.

Chapter II

RESPONSIBILITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR MANAGEMENT AND USE OF THE FOREST INSPECTION HAMMER BY FOREST INSPECTION AUTHORITIES AT ALL LEVELS

Article 4- The National Forest Inspection Bureau uniformly directs the management and use of forest inspection hammers in accordance with these regulations.

Upon the proposal of the Director of the Provincial Forest Inspection Bureau, the Director of the National Forest Inspection Bureau examines and signs the decision to issue hammers, specifying the quantity and serial numbers of hammers according to the network of district and station forest inspection authorities or forest product control at various locations.

Article 5. - The Director of the Provincial Forest Inspection Bureau is responsible for managing the use of hammers in their locality, signing the decision to assign hammers to managers at each district and station forest inspection authority or forest product control; informing forestry business units and related agencies such as courts, prosecution offices, police, and finance departments about the use of forest inspection hammers for convenient coordination of work.

Article 6. - The Director of the District Forest Inspection Bureau or forest product control, according to the decision of the Provincial Forest Inspection Bureau, conducts the handover of hammers to hammer managers. For the Director of the Provincial Forest Inspection Bureau, after issuing the decision to assign hammers, they simultaneously hand over the hammers to the hammer managers. When handing over hammers, a handover record must be established.

, Clause 1, Clause 2 Article 7a of this Regulation.- Hammer managers can only use hammers while performing duties and within the scope of their district; they must stamp hammers according to prescribed procedures, keep records of hammer stamping in a logbook, and report the results of hammer stamping to the Director; they may not use hammers for other purposes, must store hammers in locked boxes; they must not lose or damage hammers, if a hammer is lost, a record must be immediately established with confirmation of the reason for loss signed by the Director. Hammer managers must directly stamp hammers and supervise the stamping process.

In case the hammer manager is absent, if necessary, the Director of the District Forest Inspection Bureau or forest product control establishes a temporary delegation record to delegate management and use of hammers to another forest inspector in the unit. The person delegated to manage and use hammers can only use them for designated tasks and within the delegated period; upon expiration, they must return the hammers.

Article 8. Units and individuals permitted to harvest timber must present for inspection and coordinate with the forest inspection authority regarding the time and location for inspecting and stamping timber. Within two days of receiving notification from the unit or individual, the forest inspector must be present to stamp the hammer.

Chapter III

STAMPING PROCEDURES

Article 9. - For timber harvested under the plan of state-owned forestry units (forestry farms, cooperatives... harvesting for the forestry sector), the place for stamping the hammer is warehouse 1; for timber harvested by units outside the forestry sector, the place for stamping the hammer is the concentrated logging site; for timber harvested by individuals and households under the household forestry products system, the hammer stamping takes place at the stump.

When stamping the hammer, the forest inspector must inspect and measure the harvested timber, and the person harvesting or a representative of the harvesting unit must be present. After each stamping session, a record confirming the inspected timber must be established to facilitate subsequent procedures for collecting forest nurturing fees.

For illegal timber, a timely record must be established to take appropriate measures.

Article 10. - The hammer stamp is placed on the cross-section of the round timber or on the trunk of the tree at a point 50 cm away from the cross-section. In the case of stamping the hammer on the trunk, before stamping, the bark must be peeled off and smoothed at the point where the stamp will be placed, forming a square area of 15 cm. The hammer stamp must be clear and visible on the wood, especially the serial number of the district or station.

All round timber before being sent to the sawmill or sawn at the stump must have a forest inspection hammer stamp (sawmills may not accept unmarked timber).

Article 11. - For legally harvested timber, two hammer marks shall be affixed, with one hammer mark at each end of the log, and only once. In cases where the hammer mark becomes blurred, an additional hammer mark may be affixed adjacent to it.

Article 12. - For illegal timber, a record shall be made without affixing hammer marks. After the timber has been processed, hammer marks shall be affixed as for legally harvested timber.

Chapter 4

REGISTRATION OF HAMMER SUBMISSIONS, REPLACEMENTS, AND MANAGEMENT STAFF CHANGES

Article 13. - During implementation, the head of the People's Forest Protection Bureau, the head of the provincial city People's Forest Protection Station, when necessary, may decide on changes to hammer management staff, hammer submissions, and replacements. When changing the hammer number or changing hammer management staff, units must report to the People's Forest Protection Bureau and notify relevant agencies such as courts, prosecution offices, police, finance departments, and local forestry business units.

Article 14- The decision to submit and return the hammer is made when the previous station or post that was assigned the hammer is dissolved.

The decision to replace the hammer is made when:

- The hammer is damaged, the letters and numbers are worn out, or broken so that they cannot be read when affixed to timber.

- The hammer is lost.

- Old hammers must be submitted for storage at the People's Forest Protection Bureau.

- The decision to change hammer management staff is made when the hammer manager is reassigned to other duties, transferred, or disciplined.

CHAPTER V.TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT, WORKING MEANS, AND MATERIAL SUBSIDIES

Article 15. Those tasked with forest product inspections shall be fully equipped with technical working tools such as paper, notebooks, ballpoint pens, rulers, scales, flashlights, batteries, paint, hammer storage cabinets, etc.

Article 16- Those directly responsible for affixing forest inspection hammer marks (each hammer group must have at least two people measuring, counting timber, recording in notebooks, and affixing hammer marks) shall enjoy all benefits as those engaged in mobile forest product supervision.

Article 17- In addition to the above benefits, those directly affixing forest inspection hammer marks in the forest shall receive a subsidy calculated based on the number of trees marked with hammer marks in a day, with 0.50đ (five cents) per tree. When economic conditions change, the People's Forest Protection Bureau will report to the Ministry for a decision to adjust the subsidy accordingly.

The subsidy for hammer inspectors is paid by the People's Forest Protection Station from the forest protection service fund, based on the quantity of trees marked with hammer marks, confirmed by the head of the People's Forest Protection Station, and in accordance with the financial settlement procedures.

CHAPTER VI. REWARDS AND DISCIPLINE

Article 18. Those who achieve outstanding results in implementing the regulations on hammer management and usage, or who detect violations of these regulations, shall be rewarded according to the current general reward system.

Article 19- Anyone violating the provisions of this regulation, depending on the nature of the act and the severity of the violation, shall be subject to administrative discipline, administrative fines, or criminal responsibility under current laws.

In addition to the aforementioned penalties, violators must also compensate for losses caused by their violations, and illegal timber may be confiscated.

CHAPTER VII. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 20. Nationwide uniform hammer marking for forest inspection began on April 1, 1983. All existing local forest inspection hammer marks in circulation shall lose their validity from April 1, 1983 onwards.

Article 21- Hammer marks affixed to timber to indicate the specific symbols of forest farms, forest product purchasing stations, and forest product companies shall only serve as indicators of origin and must not be circular with the letters "KL" like the face of the forest inspection hammer mark.

Article 22. - The Director of the People's Forest Protection Bureau is responsible for guiding and inspecting this regulation.

Article 23- Any supplementation or amendment to this regulation shall be stipulated by the Minister of Forestry.