DECISION

ISSUING THE REGULATION ON REGISTRATION OF COMMODITY QUALITY OF THE SPECIALIZED AQUATIC PRODUCT SERVICE

THE MINISTER OF AQUATIC RESOURCES

Pursuant to Decree No. 50-CP of June 21, 1994 of the Government on the tasks, powers and organization of the Ministry of Aquatic Resources;
Pursuant to Decree No.86-CP of December 8, 1995 of the Government assigning the responsibility of State management over commodity quality;
Pursuant to Joint Circular No.02-TT/LB of May 24, 1996 of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment and the Ministry of Aquatic Resources guiding the implementation of Decree No.86-CP;
Pursuant to Circular No.03-TT/TCCB/LD of August 19, 1996 of the Ministry of Aquatic Resources providing guidance on the assignment and implementation of State management over the quality of aquatic commodities;
Pursuant to Decision No.2576/QD/TDC of October 28, 1996 of the Minister of Science, Technology and Environment issuing the Regulation on registration of commodity quality;
At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Science and Technology and the Director of the Department for Protection of Aquatic Resources,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To issue together with this Decision the "Regulation on Registration of Commodity Quality of the Specialized Aquatic Service".

Article 2.- The organizations and individuals that trade in goods listed as specialized aquatic products which are obliged to register their product quality and the agencies which register product quality shall have to implement this Decision.

Article 3.- The Director of the Department for Protection of Aquatic Resources is responsible for organizing and providing guidance for the implementation of this Decision. The Directors of the Department of Organization, Personnel and Labor, the Department of Science and Technology and the Ministerial Inspector are responsible for controlling the observance of the provisions of the Regulation on Registration of Commodity Quality of the Specialized Aquatic Product Service.

...

...

...

FOR THE MINISTER OF AQUATIC RESOURCES
VICE MINISTER




Nguyen Thi Hong Minh

REGULATION

 ON REGISLATION OF COMMODITY QUALITY OF THE SPECIALIZED AQUATIC PRODUCT SERVICE
(Issued together with Decision No.14-QD/KHCN of January 9, 1997 of the Minister of Aquatic Resources)

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- This Regulation provides uniform application of the content and procedure of quality registration of specialized aquatic products (hereafter referred to as SAP), and the issuance of the registration record thereof for the commodities annually listed for compulsory quality registration by the Ministry of Aquatic Resources.

...

...

...

1. Units producing, subcontracting processing, breeding aquatic products (including those operating under the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam),

2. Units operating as sole sale agents or general distributors for foreign companies in Vietnam,

3. Units dealing in packaging imported goods for distribution in Vietnam.

Article 3.- The agency which issues SAP quality license (hereafter referred to as issuing agency) is the Department for Protection of Aquatic Resources (DPAR) and the DPAR branch offices.

The DPAR shall issue SAP quality license for the units under the Central Government and for those set up under the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam. The DPAR can delegate its DPAR branch offices to issue SAP quality licenses for the producing and distributing units under the Central Government operating in localities.

The DPAR branch offices in the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall issue SAP quality licenses to the producing and distributing units under local governments and those delegated by the DPAR.

Article 4.- The registration and issuance of the quality license is provided for in a uniform way in the document called Special Aquatic Commodity Quality Registration License.

The effective time limit for a SAP quality license is 01 year. Upon its expiry, the unit must ask for a renewal of its license if it is to continue producing and distributing the commodities. The effective time limit for a quality license renewal is 01 year.

The SAP quality license is not valid as a substitute to:

...

...

...

- The quarantine certificate.

- The test record (for commodities which require tests before distribution).

Article 5.- The SAPs mentioned in Article 1 are allowed for distribution on the market only after having their quality registered in accordance with this Regulation.

The commodities which are not included in the list of compulsory quality registration may have their quality registered under this Regulation if their producing units voluntarily choose to do so.

Article 6.- Norms for SAP quality registration :

1. Vietnamese standards (VNS) and industry standards (IS), compulsory or not.

2. The regulations of the Ministry of Aquatic Resources and other concerned Ministries.

3. Other standards (including the unit�s standards and foreign standards) which are voluntarily applied by the unit.

4. The regulations on quality as mentioned in the contract of agent dealers for foreign countries or for imported commodities to be packaged and distributed in Vietnam.

...

...

...

Chapter II

CONTENT AND FORMALITIES OF QUALITY REGISTRATION

Article 7.- The dossier for commodity quality registration :

1. The dossier for first commodity quality registration is to be made into two sets, each comprising:

- A copy of the lawful business permit which allows the unit to produce and distribute the right commodity the quality of which is to be registered.

- The declaration on SAP quality registration made by the unit for each kind of its commodities (Form 01-TS/DKCL).

- A copy of the registered commodity norms and standards (except VNS and IS).

- Sample of product label bearing the seal of the registered unit.

- A copy of the test record containing the result of the examination, test and quality evaluation administered by the organization appointed by the Ministry of Aquatic Resources (for commodities which require test before being distributed, the list of which is to be provided by the Ministry of Aquatic Resources).

...

...

...

2. The content of the product label:

The product label must bear the characteristics, usage and origin of the commodity:

- Product�s name.

- Name of the producing unit.

- Address of the producing unit.

- Quality registration number.

- Characteristics of the packed commodity: specifications, main indications of their quality, volume and quantity.

- Warranty (if any).

- Date of production, expiry date (for commodities of limited duration).

...

...

...

- Name of the producing country and company.

- Name of the packaging unit.

Article 8.- The dossier for an extension of commodity quality registration consists of:

- The application by the unit requesting an extension of commodity quality registration (which contains a confirmation that no change has been made to the goods quality and label compared with the previous registration).

- The test record of the goods quality made within three months up to the application for extension.

- The dossier of the previous goods quality registration.

Article 9.- Formalities for the consideration and issuance of the first SAP quality registration:

1. Upon receiving the application dossier, the Registration Office shall base itself on the provisions consisted in Articles 6, 7 and 8 to consider and offer guidance for the unit to supplement the missing contents.

The registration office shall provide the applying unit an answer to its request within a period not exceeding 5 days after reception of the qualified dossier.

...

...

...

- Issue the SAP quality registration, put its seal in the SAP quality registration and the enclosed product label.

- Enter the registration into the registration record and book.

- Collect the required quality registration fee.

- Hand over to the applying unit a set of SAP registration dossier and place another set in archive.

3. In case the submitted dossier fails to meet the conditions for quality registration, the Registration Office shall notify the applying unit of the reasons therefore.

Article 10.- Formalities for extending SAP quality registration:

1. In case the conditions are adequate for an extension of the quality registration, the Registration Office shall define the extension limit, put its seal on the two sets of the dossiers of the previous SAP quality registration (one set for the unit and the other for archive) and hand over to the unit the dossier with extended SAP quality registration.

2. In case the submitted dossier fails to meet the conditions for an extended quality registration, the Registration Office shall inform the applying unit of the reasons therefore.

Article 11.- Regulations on the coding of the SAP quality registration:

...

...

...

- The first group consists of two capital letters "TS" (conventional code of the Ministry of Aquatic Resources) plus the abbreviated name of province (Appendix 1).

- The second group consists of the serial number of the registered commodities (four numeric figures) and the two last figures of the year of the registration, separated by a stroke (/).

Example:

- TS-0001/97 is the quality registration code for the first commodity registered by DPAR in 1997.

- TSAG-0020/97 is the quality registration code for the 20th commodity registered by the DPAR branch office in An Giang province in 1997.

Article 12.- Registration book and its publication:

Every three months the DPAR shall circulate widely the registration book of SAP quality registration (Form 02-TS/DKCL) which shall comprise the following contents:

- The information related to the production and business unit: address, telephone, fax...

- The information related to the commodities, the quality of which is registered: name, category, specifications, main quality indications, quality registration code, etc.

...

...

...

RESPONSIBILITY IN REGISTERING SAP QUALITY

Article 13.- The unit which registers the quality of its SAP:

1. Is responsible for registering the quality of its commodities which are listed as compulsory.

2. In case of a change in the commodity quality or label compared with the previous registration, the unit shall have to observe the steps specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 7.

3. Is only allowed to distribute the commodity the quality of which is equivalent to or exceeds the registered quality and which bears the registered label.

Article 14.- The Registration Office for SAP quality is responsible for:

1. Organizing, guiding and implementing the registration of commodity quality as specified in Article 1 of this Regulation within its jurisdiction.

2. Within the sphere of its responsibility, coordinating with the related agencies to control and handle in time violations of commodity quality registration in accordance with the current provisions of law.

3. Filing quarterly reports to the DPAR on the situation of commodity quality registration, the quality of the registered commodities and other related issues.

...

...

...

Chapter IV

HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 15.- The production and business units which produce aquatic commodities listed for compulsory quality registration shall be handled in accordance with law if found to have violated provisions of this Regulation.

Article 16.- The individuals who work for commodity quality registration offices and who are found to have violated provisions of this Regulation shall depending on the extent of his/her violation be subject to administrative sanctions or examined for penal liability.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 17.- This Regulation takes effect from February 1st, 1997. The earlier provisions which are contrary to this Regulation are now annulled.

The commodities which are not covered by this Regulation shall be subject to the regulations of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment stipulated in its Decision No 2576/QD-TDC of October 28, 1996.

Any amendments and supplements to the content of this Regulation shall be decided by the Minister of Aquatic Resources.

...

...

...

APPENDIX I

ABBREVIATED NAMES OF PROVINCES AND CITIES IN ALPHABET ORDER

1. AG: An Giang                        32. LA: Long An

2. BC: Bac Can                                     33. LC: Lai Chau

3. BD: Binh Duong                    34. LCa:Lao Cai

4. BD: Binh Dinh                       35. LD: Lam Dong

5. BG: Bac Giang                      36. LS: Lang Son

6. BL: Bac Lieu                          37. NA: Nghe An

7. BN: Bac Ninh                         38. NB: Ninh Binh

...

...

...

9. BT: Ben Tre                           40. NT: Ninh Thuan

10. BTh: Binh Thuan                   41. PT: Phu Tho

11. BV: Ba Ria - Vung Tau         42. PY: Phu Yen

12. CB: Cao Bang                     43. QB: Quang Binh

13. CM: Ca Mau                        44. QN:Quang Ninh

14. CT: Can Tho                        45. QNa:Quang Nam

15. DL: Dac Lac                                    46. QNg:Quang Ngai

16. DN: Da Nang                       47. QT: Quang Tri

17. DNa: Dong Nai                    48. SG: Ho Chi Minh City

...

...

...

19. GL: Gia Lai                          50. ST: Soc Trang

20. HB: Hoa Binh                       51. TB: Thai Binh

21. HD: Hai Duong                    52. TG: Tien Giang

22. HG: Ha Giang                      53. TH: Thanh Hoa

23. HN: Ha Noi                          54. TN: Thai Nguyen

24. HNa: Ha Nam                       55. TNi:Tay Ninh

25. HP: Hai Phong                     56. TQ: Tuyen Quang

26. HT: Ha Tinh              57. TTH:Thua Thien Hue

27. HTa: Ha Tay                         58. TV: Tra Vinh

...

...

...

29. KG: Kien Giang                    60. VP: Vinh Phuc

30. KH: Khanh Hoa                    61. YB: Yen Bai.-

31. KT: Kong Tum