Circular No. 11/2016/TT-BKHCN dated June 28, 2016 of the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding the registration of gas preparation establishments

CIRCULAR

Guiding the registration of gas preparation establishments[1]

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

Pursuant to the November 21, 2007 Law on Product and Goods Quality;

Pursuant to the November 11, 2011 Law on Measurement;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 19/2016/ND-CP of March 22, 2016, on gas trading;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 20/2013/ND-CP of February 26, 2013, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology;

At the proposal of the Director General of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality and the Director of the Legal Department,

The Minister of Science and Technology promulgates the Circular guiding the registration of gas preparation establishments.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.Scope of regulation

This Circular guides the registration of establishments that prepare gas in Vietnam, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), and compressed natural gas (CNG).

Article 2.Subjects of application

1. This Circular applies to:

a/ Gas wholesalers and traders that prepare gas (below collectively referred to as traders);

b/ Measurement and quality state management agencies and other related state agencies, organizations and individuals.

2. This Circular does not apply to traders that import, produce or prepare gas for their own needs without marketing their gas products as registered with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Article 3.Principles of gas quality management

1. For LPG products regulated by national technical regulation QCVN 8:2012/BKHCN on liquefied petroleum gas (below referred to as the national technical regulation) issued by the Minister of Science and Technology:

Traders producing, preparing or importing gas shall implement quality control measures stated in the national technical regulation before marketing their products.

2. For LNG and CNG products not regulated by the national technical regulation:

Traders producing, preparing or importing gas shall announce applied standards before marketing their gas products and ensure that the quality of these gas products conforms with the announced standards. Their announced standards must comply with the law on standards and technical regulations.

Chapter II

ORDER AND PROCEDURES FOR REGISTRATION OF DOMESTIC GAS PREPARATION ESTABLISHMENTS

Article 4.Dossier for registration of a gas preparation establishment

1. For grant of a new certificate, a dossier must comprise:

a/ A written request for registration of gas preparation establishment, made according to form 1-DDK in the Appendix to this Circular;

b/ The enterprise registration certificate (for gas producers) or gas import and export eligibility certificate granted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (for gas import and export businesses);

c/ The process, procedures and documents proving that the establishment, application and maintenance of the quality management system comply with national standard TCVN ISO 9001:2008 or of the specialized oil and gas quality management system comply with standard ISO/TS 29001:2013.

A trader that already possesses a certificate of conformity with national standard TCVN ISO 9001:2008 or with standard ISO/TS 29001:2013 issued by a certification organization satisfying the conditions prescribed by the law on product and goods quality shall submit a copy of this certificate.

d/ A written description of the capacity of the gas preparation establishment, containing the following basic information:

- Names of finished gas products prepared at the establishment; written announcement of applied standard and quality certificate conformable with the written announcement for these finished gas products;

- Gas preparation method used and appropriate tanks and equipment;

- A statement of the types, quality and origin of materials and additives used for preparing finished gas products;

- Capacity of the existing laboratory of the gas preparation establishment. A trader that has no laboratory capable of testing all quality indicators according to the relevant national technical regulation and announced applied standard shall, within 1 year after obtaining a gas import and export eligibility certificate, install testing equipment for inspecting gas quality according to the relevant national technical regulation and announced standard.

Pending the installation of testing equipment, the trader may sign a service contract with a testing organization that satisfies the conditions prescribed by the law on product and goods quality and has proper technical capacity in a relevant field for inspecting and testing gas quality according to the relevant national technical regulation and announced applied standard. This contract shall be included in the registration dossier.

When the relevant national technical regulation is modified or replaced, the trader shall install testing equipment under the guidance of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality;

- A plan for quality control of gas products in the course of preparation, which must specify the process of inspection, process of testing, process of gas preparation, schedule of quality self-inspection and testing of each lot of gas products; and technical documents;

- Regulations on safety inspection of machinery, equipment and technology lines to detect and timely deal with signs of unsafety throughout the process of gas preparation;

- Regulations on fire prevention and fighting and environmental protection under the laws on fire and explosion prevention and fighting and environmental protection.

2. For modification of a certificate of a gas preparation establishment, a dossier must comprise:

a/ A written request for modification of a certificate of a gas preparation establishment, made according to form  3-DDK-DCBS in the Appendix to this Circular;

b/ A written description of the capacity of the gas preparation establishment (regarding to-be-modified contents), containing the following basic information:

- Names of finished gas products prepared at the establishment; written announcement of applied standard and quality certificate conformable with the written announcement for these finished gas products;

- Gas preparation method used and appropriate tanks and equipment;

- A statement of the types, quality and origin of materials and additives used for preparing finished gas products;

- Capacity of the existing laboratory as stated at Point d, Clause 1 of this Article;

- A plan for quality control of gas products in the course of preparation, which must specify the process of inspection, process of testing, process of gas preparation, and schedule of quality self-inspection and testing of each lot of gas products; and technical documents (for to-be-modified contents).

3. For re-grant of a certificate to a gas preparation establishment, a dossier must comprise:

a/ A written request for re-grant of a certificate to a gas preparation establishment, made according to form 4-DDK-CL in the Appendix to this Circular;

b/ A report on gas preparation activities within the validity duration of the certificate (up to the time of making the request);

c/ The damaged original certificate (if any), in case the certificate is damaged.

4. Ninety days before a certificate expires, if wishing to continue gas preparation activities, a trader shall make a dossier as required in the case of application for a new certificate prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, and send it to the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality.

Article 5.Methods of dossier submission

A gas trader shall make 1 dossier set as prescribed in Article 4 and may submit it:

1. Directly at the head office of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality. In this case, the papers referred to at Points b and c, Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular are not required to be certified but shall be submitted together with their originals for comparison;

2. By post. In this case, certified copies of the papers referred to at Points b and c, Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular shall be submitted; or,

3. Via the portal of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality, using the online public services.

Article 6.Order of grant of a certificate to a gas preparation establishment

1. Grant of a new certificate

a/ A new certificate shall be granted to a trader that registers for gas preparation for the first time;

b/ If the dossier of application is proper, within 5 working days after receiving it from the trader, the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall examine it and grant a certificate, made according to form 2.GCN in the Appendix to this Circular, to the trader’s gas preparation establishment, which shall be valid for not more than 5 years from the date of its grant;

c/ If the dossier is incomplete as prescribed in this Circular, within 3 working days after receiving it from the trader, the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall send a written request to the trader for supplementing the dossier.

After 30 days from the date of sending a written request for supplementation of the dossier, if the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality receives no reply explaining why the trader fails to supplement the dossier, it shall send a written notice of refusal to grant a certificate, stating the reason. After receiving such refusal, if still wishing to carry out gas preparation activities, the trader shall make 1 dossier set as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular;

d/ If the dossier is complete but contains improper contents or upon request of a competent state agency or when receiving information or reports on violations relating to the dossier, within 20 days after receiving the dossier, the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall conduct physical appraisal at the trader’s gas preparation establishment. If the appraisal is to be prolonged for technical reasons or external factors, the appraisal team shall report it to the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality for consideration and decision on extension of the appraisal duration for another 7 working days at most. Expenses for appraisal shall be borne by the trader under current regulations.

Within 5 working days after receiving a written record of physical appraisal and implementation of remedial measures (if any), the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall grant a certificate, made according to form 2.GCN in the Appendix to this Circular, for the trader’s gas preparation establishment, which shall be valid for not more than 5 years from the date of its grant.

If the appraisal shows unsatisfactory results, within 5 (five) working days, the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall issue a written notice stating the reason to the trader.

2. Modification of a certificate

a/ A certificate shall be modified upon the occurrence of any of the following changes in a trader’s gas preparation establishment:

- Change of the address of the gas preparation site;

- Change of the kind of gas prepared (including change of the announced applied standard);

- Change of technological equipment for gas preparation (enclosed with documents specifying the change).

b/ The order and procedures for dossier appraisal must comply with Clause 1 of this Article;

c/ The validity duration of a modified certificate must be as the same as that of the original one.

3. Re-grant of a certificate

a/ A certificate shall be re-granted to a trader whose certificate remains valid but is lost, mislaid or damaged;

b/ Within the validity duration of the certificate, the trader that wishes to be re-granted a certificate shall make 1 dossier set for certificate re-grant as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular and send it to the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality;

c/ Within 5 working days after receiving a proper dossier, the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall check the dossier and re-grant a certificate. The validity duration of a re-granted certificate must be as the same as that of the original one. If the dossier is improper, the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall issue a written reply stating the reason.

Article 7.Suspension of validity and invalidation of certificates of gas preparation establishments

1. The Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall consider and suspend the validity of the certificate of a gas preparation establishment for a definite period in the following cases:

a/ The trader violates regulations on measurement at the gas preparation establishment;

b/ The gas preparation establishment fails to fully implement the gas quality control plan;

c/ Gas products distributed by the gas preparation establishment are detected to fail to meet the quality requirements prescribed by the relevant national technical regulation or announced applied standard;

d/ The trader’s gas import and export eligibility certificate is suspended;

dd/ The trader fails to comply with the provisions of Point a, Clause 2, Article 6 of this Circular.

2. The Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall guide the order and procedures for suspension of validity or invalidation of certificates of gas preparation establishments and, depending on the severity of violations, consider the invalidation of a certificate in the following cases:

a/ The trader fails to satisfy the import and export conditions and gas production and processing conditions;

b/ The trader’s gas import and export eligibility certificate is revoked by a competent agency;

c/ The trader repeatedly commits violations of regulations on measurement and quality in gas trading activities.

Chapter III

RESPONSIBILITIES OF GAS PREPARATION TRADERS AND RELATED STATE AGENCIES

Article 8.Responsibilities of gas preparation traders

1. To comply with and implement the provisions of this Circular.

2. To market only gas products that satisfy the quality requirements prescribed in this Circular.

3. To submit to competent agencies’ inspection and examination of their gas preparation activities.

4. In December every year or upon request, to report to the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality on gas preparation activities regarding:

- Prepared gas products;

- Volume of prepared gas;

- Consumption situation;

- Difficulties, problems and petitions.

5. To preserve their registration dossiers in accordance with this Circular.

Article 9.Responsibilities of the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality

1. To guide the order and procedures for suspension of the validity and invalidation of certificates of gas preparation establishments in accordance with this Circular.

2. To designate conformity assessment organizations that are capable of performing gas-related conformity assessment according to the relevant national technical regulation and this Circular.

3. To receive and appraise dossiers and grant certificates to gas preparation establishments. To suspend the validity of or invalidate certificates of gas preparation establishments of traders.

4. To inspect and examine gas preparation activities in accordance with this Circular.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 10.Effect

This Circular takes effect on January 1, 2017.

Article 11.Organization of implementation

1. In case legal documents, national technical regulations, standards or documents referred to in this Circular are amended, supplemented or replaced, the amending, supplementing or replacing ones shall apply.

2. The science and technology inspection agency and other inspection agencies defined by the law on handling of administrative violations shall, within the ambit of their functions, tasks and powers, conduct inspection and handle administrative violations in gas preparation activities.

3. The Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality shall guide and organize the implementation of this Circular.

4. Any problems arising in the course of implementation of this Circular should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Science and Technology for consideration and settlement or amendment and supplementation of relevant regulations.

For the Minister of Science and Technology
Deputy Minister
TRAN VIET THANH

* The Appendix to this Circular is not translated.-