Circular No. 54/2014/TT-BNNPTNT dated December 30, 2014 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recognizing other good agricultural practices eligible for incentives for agriculture, forestry and aquaculture

THE MISNISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Circular No.54/2014/TT-BNNPTNT dated December 30, 2014 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development recognizingother good agricultural practices eligible for incentives for agriculture, forestry and aquaculture

Pursuant to Decree No. 199/2013/ND-CP dated November 26, 2013 by the Government defining the functions, tasks, entitlements and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development;

Pursuant to the Law on Food safety;

Pursuant to Decision No.01/2012/QD-TTg dated January 09, 2012 by the Prime Minister on policies supporting the application of good agricultural production procedure in agriculture, forestry and aquaculture;

At the request of the General Director of Directorate of Fisheries, General Director of Directorate of Forestry, Directors of Department of Crop Production and Department of Livestock Production.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural development issues the regulations on the recognition of other good agricultural practices (GAPs) eligible for incentives for agriculture, forestry and aquaculture.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of adjustment

1. This Decree deals with the conditions and procedures for the recognition of other good agricultural practice (hereinafter referred to as other GAP) that may be applied to agriculture, forestry and aquaculture to enjoy the incentives prescribed in Decision No. 01/2012/QD-TTg dated 09/01/2012 by the Prime Minister on policies supporting the application of good agricultural production procedure in agriculture, forestry and aquaculture (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 01/2012/QD-TTg).

2. With regard to the other GAPs of which Vietnam is the member who does not compelled to follow the procedures for recognition prescribed in this Circular, organizations and individuals who apply such other GAPs may enjoy the incentives according to regulations in Decision No. 01/2012/QD-TTg.

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals whose activities are related to other GAP recognitions eligible for incentives to agriculture, forestry and aquaculture.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Circular, these terms below can be construed as follows:

1. Good agricultural practice(GAP)is the standard, process and norm including the criteria that the organizations, nations and regions issue and provide guideline for the manufacturers in order to assure the quality and food safety; trace and recall the origin of product; protect the environment, health, social security for the employees;

2. Other GAP recognition eligible for incentives (hereinafter referred to as other GAP recognition)is the evaluation and confirmation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development that the other GAP satisfies the conditions regulated in Article 5 of this Circular; organizations and individuals applying the conformable other GAP may enjoy the incentives as prescribe in Decision No. 01/2012/QD-TTg.

Article 4. Agencies receiving and handling the applications for other GAP recognition

1. The Directorate of Fisheries is the agency receiving and processing applications for other GAP recognition applied to aquaculture.

2. The Directorate of Forestry is the agency receiving and processing applications for other GAP recognition applied to forestry.

3. The Department of Crop Production is the agency receiving and processing applications for other GAP recognition applied to crop production.

4. The Department of Livestock production is the agency receiving and processing applications for other GAP recognition applied to livestock production.

Chapter II

OTHER GAP RECOGNITION

Article 5. Conditions for other GAP recognition

Other GAP shall be recognized if it meets these following conditions:

1. The other GAP is promulgated by a Vietnamese organization, international organization, country, area or a region outside of Vietnam (hereinafter referred to as organization promulgating other GAP)

2. The other GAP satisfies the criteria prescribed in Appendix I regarding aquaculture, Appendix II regarding forestry or Appendix III regarding crop and livestock production.

3. There are regulations for the recognition of the products produced by using such other GAP.

Article 6. Registration for other GAP recognition

Any of the following organizations and individuals may apply for other GAP:

1. Organizations promulgating other GAP.

2. Representative organizations of the organizations defined in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Organizations and individuals authorized by the organizations defined in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 7. Application for other GAP recognition

1. Organizations and individuals defined in Article 6 of this Circular shall submit directly or send by post an application for other GAP to a specialized agency affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development as defined in Article 4 of this Circular (hereinafter referred to as receiving body).

2. The application shall include:

a) The application form for other GAP according to the form showed in Appendix IV enclosed herewith;

b) A letter of attorney in case of authorization prescribed in Clause 3 Article 6 of this Circular;

c) Authenticated copy of the other GAP promulgation document or the copy enclosed with the original for comparison; if the original document is in a foreign language, it shall be enclosed with a certified Vietnamese translation;

d) Authenticated copy of the newest version of other GAP or the copy document enclosed with the original document for comparison; if the original document is in a foreign language, it shall be enclosed with a certified Vietnamese translation;

dd) Authenticated copy of the regulation on other GAP recognition or the copy enclosed with the original copy for comparison; if the original copy is in a foreign language, it shall be enclosed with a certified Vietnamese translation;

e) The list of other GAP recognition bodies in Vietnam including their names, addresses, phones, faxes, email addresses enclosed with the copies of letters of attorney or licenses to provide recognition services in Vietnam.

Article 8. Procedures and time

1. If the application is submitted directly, the receiving body shall promptly notify the applicant of the validity of the application. If the application that is sent by post is invalid, the receiving body shall send a written notification to the applicant within 3 working days to request the applicant to complete the application.

2. Within 20 days from the day on which the valid application is received, the receiving body shall establish an Evaluation Boards with 3-5 members, including the representatives of Department of Science, Technology and Environment under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development to evaluate the registering document.

The Evaluation Board shall assess the conformity between the criteria of other GAP and the regulations in Appendix I, II, or III enclosed with this Circular, which is corresponding to the fields.

If the Evaluation Board concludes that the conditions for recognition are not fully satisfied, the receiving body shall consider, respond by writing, and provide explanation within 3 working days after getting the meeting minutes.

3. If the Evaluation Board concludes that the conditions for recognition are fully satisfied, within 5 working days, the receiving body shall consider and request the Department of Science, Technology and Environment to carry out an inspection before submitting documents to the Minister. The documents submitted to the Minister are:

a) A draft of the statement to the Minister specifying the necessity, the process and the summary of the evaluation result and the proposal for other GAP recognition;

b) The evaluation report of the receiving body;

c) The application for other GAP according to the regulations in Clause 2 Article 7 of this Circular;

d) The draft of the decision on other GAP recognition.

4. Within 5 working days from the day on which the valid application is received, the Department of Science, Technology and Environment shall submit the evaluation document to a receiving body.

5. Within 3 working days from the day the evaluation document is received, receiving body shall request the Minister to consider and recognize the other GAP. In case the other GAP is refused, the receiving body shall make a response in writing which contains explanation.

6. Within 3 working days from the day on which the Minister of Agriculture and Rural development signs the recognition decision, the receiving body shall post the decision on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and on their own website then notify the Services of Agriculture and Rural development.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 9. Responsibilities of organizations and individual

1. Directorate of Fisheries, Directorate of Forestry, Department of Crop Production, Department of Livestock production are responsible for:

a) Receiving, evaluating the application, requesting the Minister to sign the Decision allowing the entities to apply other GAP when the conditions prescribed in Article 5 of this Circular are satisfied so that the applicant can enjoy the incentives.

b) Making report on the application and implementation of the policy on the incentives for other GAP and submit to the Ministry.

2. The Department of Science, Technology and Environment is responsible for evaluating the applications for other GAP recognition transferred by the receiving body.

3. Service of Agriculture and Rural development is responsible for updating the other GAPs that is permitted in Vietnam as the basis for supporting the manufacturers applying other GAP in their provinces.

4. Organizations promulgating other GAP or organizations and individuals being representatives of other GAP in Vietnam are responsible for:

a) Implementing the regulations prescribed in this Circular and other relevant regulations of law;

b) Making reports on the change of other GAP contents, the regulation on other GAP recognition, the list of other GAP recognition bodies in Vietnam and submit to the specialized agencies affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural development.

c) Submitting annual reports on result of other GAP application and the implementation of the policy on the incentives as prescribed in Decision No. 01/2012/QD-TTg to a receiving body before December 15.

Article 10. Implementation provisions

1. This Circular takes effect on February 12, 2015

2. All difficulties arising on the course of implementation shall be reported to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Directorate of Fisheries, Directorate of Forestry, Department of Crop Production, Department of Livestock production) for considering, study, suggesting for amending and supplementing.

The Minister

Cao Duc Phat

* All appendices are not translated herein.