Decision No. 01/2003/QD-BKHCN dated January 30, 2003 of the Ministry of Science and Technology promulgating the Regulation on quality management, industrial property and technology transfer, applicable to motorcycles, motorcycle engines and spare parts manufactured and/or assembled at home and imported

DECISION

PROMULGATING THE REGULATION ON QUALITY MANAGEMENT, INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, APPLICABLE TO MOTORCYCLES, MOTORCYCLE ENGINES AND SPARE PARTS MANUFACTURED AND/OR ASSEMBLED AT HOME AND IMPORTED

THE MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Pursuant to the Ordinance on Goods Quality of December 24, 1999;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 22/CP of May 22, 1993 on the tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (now the Ministry of Science and Technology);

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 86/CP of December 8, 1995 prescribing the assignment of responsibilities for the State management over goods quality;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 147/2002/QD-TTg of October 25, 2002 on the mechanism for administration and management of the import, export, manufacture and assembly of motorcycles and their spare parts in the 2003-2005 period;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s directions in Official Dispatch No. 1665/CP-KTTH of December 25, 2002 on the enhancement of the management of quality and tax calculation prices of imported motorcycles, motorcycle engines and spare parts;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s directions in Official Dispatch No. 1699/CP-KTTH of December 31, 2002 on the application of measures to manage the import, manufacture, assembly and circulation of motorcycles in 2003;

At the proposals of the general director of the General Department of Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control, the director of the National Office of Industrial Property and the director of the Office for Technological and Environmental Evaluation of Investment Projects,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To promulgate together with this Decision the Regulation on quality management, industrial property and technology transfer, applicable to motorcycles and motorcycle engines and spare parts manufactured and/or assembled at home and imported.

Article 2.- The General Department of Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control, the National Office of Industrial Property and the Office for Technological and Environmental Evaluation of Investment Projects shall organize, guide and inspect the implementation of this Decision.

Article 3.- This Decision takes effect 15 days after it is published on the Official Gazette.

Article 4.- The General Department of Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control, the National Office of Industrial Property and the Office for Technological and Environmental Evaluation of Investment Projects, the concerned agencies and organizations and enterprises engaged in the manufacture, assembly and import of motorcycles and motorcycle engines and spare parts shall have to implement this Decision.

REGULATION

ON QUALITY MANAGEMENT, INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER, APPLICABLE TO MOTOR-CYCLES, MOTORCYCLE ENGINES AND SPARE PARTS MANUFACTURED AND/OR ASSEMBLED AT HOME AND IMPORTED
(Promulgated together with the Science and Technology Minister’s Decision No. 01/2003/QD-BKHCN of January 30, 2003)

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1.1. This document applies to the following subjects:

- Enterprises manufacturing and/or assembling motorcycles.

- Enterprises manufacturing and/or assembling motorcycle engines and spare parts.

- Enterprises importing motorcycles in complete units, motorcycle engines and spare parts (including knocked down engine components).

1.2. This document prescribes the contents of and procedures for quality management, industrial property and technology transfer, applicable to motorcycles, motorcycle engines and spare parts manufactured and/or assembled at home and imported.

1.3. Only motorcycles and motorcycle engines, which are manufactured and/or assembled at home and imported and satisfy all the requirements of the quality management, industrial property and technology transfer prescribed in this Decision, shall be registered for inspection according to the regulations of the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

1.4. The registration for inspection of quality of motorcycles and motorcycle engines manufactured at home shall comply with the regulations of the Ministry of Communications and Transport, and under the responsibility assignment by the Prime Minister in Clause 5, Article 2 of his Decision No. 147/2002/QD-TTg of October 25, 2002.

1.5. Enterprises manufacturing and/or assembling motorcycles, motorcycle engines and spare parts, including knocked down engine components, shall announce the quality standards for their products according to the provisional Regulation on announcement of goods quality standards, promulgated together with Decision No. 2425/2000/QD-BKHCNMT of December 12, 2000 of the Minister of Science, Technology and Environment (now the Ministry of Science and Technology).

1.6. Motorcycles, motorcycle engines and spare parts, manufactured and/or assembled at home, which are on the list of products subject to the compulsory application of Vietnamese standards, must be announced by the manufacturing and/or assembling enterprises as being compatible with the standards under the provisional Regulation on announcement of standard-compatible goods, promulgated together with Decision No. 2424/2000/QD-BKHCNMT of December 12, 2000 of the Minister of Science, Technology and Environment (now the Ministry of Science and Technology).

1.7. The agencies in charge of the State management over quality shall organize the inspection of the announcement of quality standards and standard-compatible goods by the enterprises manufacturing and/or assembly motorcycles, motorcycle engines and spare parts, and handle violations thereof according to the provisions of law.

1.8. Motorcycles, motorcycle engines and spare parts manufactured and/or assembled at home and imported must comply with the provisions of the industrial property legislation.

1.9. Enterprises manufacturing and/or assembling motorcycle engines must have contracts for technology transfer from their foreign or domestic partners that have researched and succeeded in manufacturing motorcycle engines up to the Vietnamese standards or foreign standards equivalent to the Vietnamese standards.

II. REGARDING THE QUALITY MANAGEMENT

1. Contents and procedures for managing motorcycle quality

1.1. For motorcycles manufactured and/or assembled at home:

Motorcycle-manufacturing and/or -assembling enterprises shall have to:

- Publicly announce the quality standards for motorcycles.

- Publicly announce the motorcycle products which are compatible with the Vietnamese Standards (VNS) on motorcycles as prescribed at Point 1.6, Part I of this document.

- Make registration for quality inspection at the registration agencies according to the regulations of the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

1.2. For imported motorcycles in complete units:

1.2.1. For motorcycles in complete units imported from a partner that has implemented the agreement on mutual recognition, their quality shall be determined according to quality certificates of the competent agency or organization of the exporting party recognized by the two parties (the foreign partner and the Vietnamese party).

1.2.2. For motorcycles in complete units imported from the countries which have signed with Vietnam agreements on mutual recognition regarding the certification results, the customs clearance for motorcycles when being imported into Vietnam shall be effected by means of quality certificate for each lot of motorcycles, granted by the certifying agency or organization of the exporting country already recognized by the two parties.

1.2.3. Motorcycles in complete units imported from other countries which have not yet signed agreements on mutual recognition with Vietnam shall be subject to quality inspection according to the regulations of the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

The customs offices shall base themselves on quality certificates of the registration agency of the Ministry of Communications and Transport to carry out the customs clearance procedures for those motorcycle lots.

The list of foreign agencies and organizations of the above-said exporting countries, which grant quality certificates for imported motorcycles in complete units and the enclosed forms of certificates and specimens of certification stamps and seals shall be widely notified to the concerned agencies and enterprises.

2. Contents and procedures for managing quality of motorcycle engines

2.1. For home-made engines

Enterprises manufacturing and/or assembling engines shall have to:

- Publicly announce the quality standards for engines and engine details.

- Publicly announce the products being engines and engine details, which are compatible with the Vietnamese Standards (VNS) as prescribed at Point 1.6, Part I of this document.

- Make registrations according to the regulations of the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

2.2. For imported engines

2.2.1. For imported engines in complete units

Imported engines in complete units shall be treated like imported motorcycles in complete units.

2.2.2. For imported knocked down engine components

Knocked down motorcycle engine components imported into Vietnam must have clear origins, including: names and addresses of manufacturers or suppliers, quality certificates of the competent agencies or organizations, slips of quality test by testing organizations recognized by the competent recognizing agencies of the exporting countries or quality certificates or testing records by the manufacturers or suppliers recognized by the competent recognizing agencies of the exporting countries.

Enterprises shall only be allowed to import knocked down motorcycle engine components of the manufacturing establishments already certified as having quality management systems according to ISO 9000 or QS 9000 or equivalent quality management systems applicable to the field of motorcycle engine manufacture and assembly. For special cases, the Ministry of Science and Technology shall consider them in detail and decide.

Enterprises shall have to send documents on origins of components and copies of certificates of the above-said quality management systems to the Ministry of Science and Technology for examination. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall have to notify them to the concerned agencies for coordinated management. Border-gate customs offices shall base themselves on examination conclusions of the Ministry of Science and Technology to permit the customs clearance of imported knocked down engine details. The registration agency of the Ministry of Communications and Transport shall base itself on such list to manage quality according to the regulations of the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

Engines assembled from imported knocked down components and home-made components must be subject to registration for inspection according to the regulations of the Ministry of Communications and Transport.

3. Contents and procedures for managing quality of motorcycle spare parts

3.1. For home-made motorcycle spare parts

Enterprises manufacturing motorcycle spare parts shall have to:

- Publicly announce the quality standards for spare parts.

- Publicly announce the products being motorcycle spare parts which are compatible with the Vietnamese Standards (VNS) as prescribed at Point 1.6, Part I of this document.

3.2. For imported motorcycle spare parts

They shall comply with the regulations applicable to imported knocked down engine components specified at Point 2.2.2, Section 2, Part II of this document.

III. REGARDING INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

1. Enterprises manufacturing and/or assembling motorcycles and motorcycle spare parts shall have to produce one of the following documents before being considered as having protected trademarks:

a/ Certificates of registered trademarks, with the enterprises being trademark owners; or

b/ The National Office of Industrial Property’s certification that trademarks are protected in Vietnam under the Madrid Agreement, with the enterprises being trademark owners; or

c/ Trademark license contracts already registered with the National Office of Industrial Property, with the enterprises being licensees.

2. Activities of importing motorcycles in complete units and/or motorcycle spare parts, manufacturing or ordering the manufacture of motorcycle spare parts at home, assembling parts into complete motorcycles, putting into circulation (sale or distribution) spare parts and motorcycles in complete units must comply with the provisions of the industrial property legislation.

Enterprises directly engaged in the above-said activities shall have to secure that they do not violate the industrial property rights (over inventions, utility solutions, industrial designs or trademarks) of other entities.

3. When carrying out the procedures to apply for permits for import, manufacture or assembly of motorcycles, enterprises must have written commitments not to violate the industrial property rights currently protected, and bear legal liabilities for their infringements, if any, according to the regulations.

IV. REGARDING THE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

1. Contents of technology transfer contracts shall comply with the Government’s Decree No. 45/1998/ND-CP of July 1, 1998 detailing the technology transfer and Circular No. 1254/1999/TT-BKHCNMT of July 12, 1999 of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (now the Ministry of Science and Technology) guiding the implementation of the Government’s Decree No. 45/1998/ND-CP of July 1, 1998 detailing the technology transfer.

2. Contracts for transfer of technologies for manufacturing or assembling motorcycle engines from foreign countries into Vietnam and contracts for domestic technology transfer must be evaluated, approved or registered according to the current provisions of the legislation on technology transfer.

V. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. Regarding the quality management

1.1. Enterprises shall organize the public announcement of goods quality standards as well as standard-compatible goods according to the current regulations and strictly observe the announced standards. The enterprises’ previous public announcements, which are no longer compatible with the Vietnamese Standards prescribed in the list of motorcycles, motorcycle engines and spare parts subject to the compulsory application of the Vietnamese Standards, shall become void, and the enterprises shall have to make once again the public announcement in an appropriate manner.

1.2. Within seven days after publicly announcing the quality standards and standard compatibility, enterprises shall have to send such written announcements to the Ministry of Science and Technology (the General Department of Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control) and the Services of Science, Technology and Environment (the Sub-Departments of Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control) of the provinces or centrally-run cities where the enterprises are headquartered.

1.3. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall assign the General Department of Standardization, Metrology and Quality Control to organize the inspection of enterprises’ activities of announcing quality standards and standard compatibility of motorcycles, motorcycle engines and spare parts manufactured and assembled at home.

2. Regarding the industrial property

2.1. In order to ensure that no violation of the industrial property legislation is committed and no industrial property dispute occurs, enterprises shall have to inspect the legal status of industrial property objects (trademarks, industrial designs, inventions, utility solutions) related to motorcycles and motorcycle spare parts right from the stage of preparation (preparation for the signing of contracts for spare part import, preparation of conditions for manufacturing or ordering the manufacture of spare parts at home and for assembling motorcycles).

2.2. Information on industrial property objects protected in Vietnam shall all be published on the Industrial Property Gazette and recorded in the Industrial Property Register (kept at the National Office of Industrial Property). Then, all enterprises can themselves consult such information source to know whether the industrial property objects related to their components and assembled products are protected or not, and if they are protected, to whom they belong. If enterprises cannot solve by themselves that problem, they may use reference services of the National Office of Industrial Property.

2.3. In cases where the examination results show that industrial property objects utilized for spare parts and assembled motorcycles are not protected in Vietnam, the import of spare parts and assembly of motorcycles shall not violate the industrial property legislation for the immediate future. In cases where they detect spare parts or motorcycles in complete units contain industrial property objects currently protected, enterprises shall have to promptly contact the industrial property owners for negotiation on signing of license contracts and registration of contracts with the National Office of Industrial Property.

3. Regarding the technology transfer

The form of technology transfer contracts and the procedures and dossiers for approving and registering contracts are prescribed in Circular No. 1254/1999/TT-BKHCNMT of July 12, 1999 of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (now the Ministry of Science and Technology) and Circular No. 11/2002/TT-BKHCN of November 29, 2002 of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

4. Periodically or extraordinarily, the Ministry of Science and Technology shall organize the inspection of the implementation of this Decision by enterprises manufacturing and/or assembling motorcycles, motorcycle engines and spare parts.

5. Enterprises violating the provisions of this document shall not be permitted to manufacture, assemble or import motorcycles, motorcycle engines and spare parts and shall be handled according to provisions of law.