Decree No. 40/2004/ND-CP dated February 13, 2004 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Statistics Law

DECREE

DETAILING AND GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF THE STATISTICS LAW

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 26, 2003 Statistics Law;

At the proposal of the General Director of Statistics,

DECREES:

Article 1.- Scope of regulation

This Decree details and guides the implementation of a number of articles of the Statistics Law regarding information suppliers, the system of indices, the classification lists, the statistical reporting and survey regimes, the publication and use of statistical information, and the application of science and technology to statistical activities and statistics organization.

Article 2.- Statistical information-supplying organizations and individuals

1. Statistical information-supplying organizations and individuals include:

a/ State agencies at all levels;

b/ Non-business units;

c/ Political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-politico-professional organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations and professional organizations;

d/ Units of the people’s armed forces;

e/ Enterprises of all economic sectors and units attached to enterprises (branches, representative offices, dependent units);

f/ Cooperatives;

g/ Cooperation groups, individual business households or establishments;

h/ Households and individuals;

i/ Other Vietnamese organizations at home and abroad;

j/ Foreign organizations and individuals operating in the Vietnamese territory, excluding agencies, organizations and individuals enjoying diplomatic or consular privileges and immunities under the international agreements which Vietnam has signed or acceded to.

2. Information-supplying organizations and individuals shall be obliged to implement the statistical reporting regime; answer questions in the questionnaires to the persons conducting statistical surveys (hereinafter called statistical surveyors) or fill in the questionnaires and send them to the statistical survey-conducting agencies.

Article 3.- Application of science and technology to statistical activities

The State shall prioritize investments in the application of science and technology to statistical activities in order:

1. To apply information and communication technologies to activities of collecting, processing, synthesizing and publishing information, building statistical data banks.

2. To research into and apply sciences, technologies as well as advanced statistical methods to activities of surveying, reporting, synthesizing, analyzing and publishing statistical information.

3. To train statisticians in the application of science, information technology as well as advanced statistical methods.

Article 4.- Statistical information

Statistical information shall be collected and synthesized directly by the system of centralized statistics organizations from statistical information supplied by the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the Government-attached agencies, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuracy as provided for in Article 7 of the Statistics Law, including:

1. Statistical information directly collected by the system of centralized statistical organizations at the district and provincial levels and by the General Statistics Office.

2. Statistical information synthesized from the general statistical reports made according to the regimes promulgated by the Prime Minister and applied to the ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Government-attached agencies.

3. Statistical information supplied by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuracy to the General Statistics Office for synthesis in service of the general management by the State.

Article 5.- The system of national statistical indices

1. The system of national statistical indices is a combination of statistical indices which reflect the main socio-economic situation of the country and are used for collecting statistical information in service of the State and Party agencies and leaders at all levels in evaluating, forecasting the situation, formulating strategies and policies, and elaborating socio-economic development plans in each period, and meet other organizations’ and individuals’ demands for statistical information.

2. The system of national statistical indices shall serve as a basis for task assignment and coordination in the collection, synthesis, analysis and publication of statistical information, in the formulation of national statistical survey programs, general statistical reporting regimes and basic statistical reporting regimes.

3. The promulgated system of national statistical indices shall include the list of indices, major groups thereof, reporting periods and task assignment.

4. The General Statistics Office shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the Government-attached agencies, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuracy (hereinafter collectively referred to as ministries and branches) in, formulating the system of national statistical indices, then submit it to the Prime Minister for promulgation.

Article 6.- Competence to promulgate the statistical classification lists

1. The General Statistics Office shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the ministries and branches in, elaborating and submitting to the Prime Minister for promulgation the following statistical classification lists:

a/ The list of sectors of the national economy;

b/ The list of administrative units;

c/ The list of nationalities;

d/ The list of key products;

e/ The list of occupations;

f/ The list of education and training;

g/ Other statistical classification lists commonly applicable to many branches and domains.

2. The ministers and the heads of the ministerial-level agencies shall promulgate the specialized statistical classification lists in the branches or domains under their charge.

Article 7.- Statistical surveys

1. General statistical surveys to collect basic statistical information nationwide for long periods, on a large scale and with a wide scope covering many branches and many levels, using large forces and big funding.

2. Statistical surveys to collect statistical information from organizations, households and individuals in the following cases:

a/ Statistical surveys to collect statistical information from organizations not required to implement the statistical reporting regime;

b/ Statistical surveys to supplement information from organizations required to implement the statistical reporting regime;

c/ Statistical surveys to collect information from individual business households or private business establishments, households and individuals;

d/ Statistical surveys to collect statistical information upon the appearance of unexpected demands.

Article 8.- National statistical survey programs

1. The promulgated national statistical survey programs include the list of surveys, duration and time of each survey, sponsoring agencies, coordinating agencies, survey cost estimates and funding sources.

2. The General Statistics Office shall assume the prime responsibility for summing up the demands for statistical surveys to be conducted every five years and every year by the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the Government-attached agencies, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuracy and surveys to be directly conducted by itself under the provisions of Article 11 of the Statistics Law, and, on this basis, to formulate the national statistical survey programs and submit them to the Prime Minister for decision, ensuring that the surveys comply with the State’s information collection requirements.

The ministries and branches must send their statistical survey demands to the General Statistics Office in the second quarter of the year preceding a five-year socio-economic development plan period and of every year.

3. The General Statistics Office shall have to monitor and examine the situation of implementation of the national statistical survey programs and report to the Prime Minister on the implementation results.

Article 9.- Statistical surveys outside the national statistical survey programs

Statistical surveys outside the national statistical survey programs shall be conducted in the following cases:

1. Irregular statistical surveys upon the occurrence of natural calamities, enemy sabotages, epidemics or in other unexpected circumstances.

2. Statistical surveys to collect information on the indices in service of the management demands of the ministries or branches in the domains under their charge, which have not yet been included in the system of national statistical indices.

3. Statistical surveys conducted by the provincial/municipal People’s Committees to collect statistical information of a unique nature in service of local management requirements, which has not yet been included in the system of national statistical indices.

Article 10.- Competence to decide on statistical surveys

1. The Prime Minister shall decide on general surveys on population and dwelling houses, general surveys on rural areas, agriculture and aquatic resources, general surveys of economic, administrative and non-business units, and other general surveys at the request of the General Director of Statistics.

The General Statistics Office shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the ministries, branches and provincial/municipal People’s Committees in, conducting general statistical surveys.

2. The General Director of Statistics shall decide on statistical surveys assigned to his/her Office in the national statistical survey programs as well as statistical surveys outside these programs as provided for in Article 9 of this Decree so as to collect information belonging to the system of national statistical indices.

3. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies or the heads of the Government-attached agencies shall decide on statistical surveys assigned to them in the national statistical survey programs as well as statistical surveys outside these programs as provided for in Article 8 and Article 9 of this Decree; then send the survey results to the General Statistics Office.

4. The provincial/municipal People’s Committee presidents shall, within the ambit of their tasks and powers, decide on statistical surveys provided for in Article 9 of this Decree; then send the survey results to the General Statistics Office.

Article 11.- Evaluation of statistical survey plans

1. The General Statistics Office shall have to evaluate the statistical survey plans of the ministries, branches or provincial/municipal People’s Committees as provided for in Article 13 of the Statistics Law, ensuring their uniformity, non-coincidence and non-repetition in statistics.

2. An evaluation-requesting dossier comprises a written request for evaluation and the draft statistical survey plan.

3. The evaluated contents include the surveying scope and surveyees, surveying units; questionnaire forms; surveying time and duration; surveying methodologies, methods of calculating and synthesizing survey indices.

4. The time limit for evaluation of statistical survey plans is 15 days as from the date of receipt of evaluation-requesting dossiers.

The statistical survey-deciding agencies shall study the evaluation opinions; revise and supplement the statistical survey plans to make them suitable to the professional statistical work before issuing decisions to conduct statistical surveys. After being issued, the survey decisions and survey plans must be sent to the General Statistics Office.

Article 12.- Funding for statistical surveys

1. The funding for statistical surveys shall be ensured by the State budget and incorporated in the budget estimates of the agencies as provided for in the State Budget Law (covering also other sources of funding donated by international organizations under programs or projects), depending on the scope and nature of each survey.

2. The funding for statistical surveys outside the national statistical survey programs shall be estimated by the Ministry of Finance after consulting the General Statistics Office as well as the concerned ministries and branches, and submitted to the Prime Minister for decision according to current regulations.

3. The funding for statistical surveys decided by the provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall be ensured by the local budgets.

4. The funding for statistical surveys must be estimated and sent to the finance offices for submission to competent authorities for consideration and decision.

5. The finance offices at all levels shall base themselves on the cost estimates of surveys to be conducted under the provisions of Article 8 and Article 9 of this Decree and Clause 1, Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article to ensure funding for such surveys, guide the management, use and settlement of such funding according to the provisions of the State Budget Law.

Article 13.- Rights and obligations of statistically surveyed organizations and individuals

1. Not to refuse to respond to, or obstruct the conducting of, the State’s statistical surveys.

2. To supply truthful and accurate statistical information by the deadlines requested by statistical surveyors.

Where surveys are conducted by indirect methods, the statistically surveyed organizations and individuals must fill in the questionnaires truthfully and completely and send them by the deadlines to the surveying agencies.

3. To be informed of the statistical survey decisions, purposes, requirements and duration.

4. To have the supplied information kept confidential as provided for by law.

5. To complain about, and denounce, acts of violating legislation on statistical surveys.

Article 14.- Implementers of basic statistical reporting regimes

Implementers of basic statistical reporting regimes are independent cost-accounting State-run enterprises, administrative agencies, non-business units, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-politico-professional organi-zations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations that use the State budget, foreign-invested enterprises and other agencies and units that are specified in each basic statistical reporting regime.

Implementers of basic statistical reporting regimes shall have to send basic statistical reports to the provincial/municipal Statistics Offices, their managing agencies and other agencies specified in the basic statistical reporting regimes.

Article 15.- Formulation and promulgation of basic statistical reporting regimes

1. The formulation of the basic statistical reporting regimes must be based on the assigned national statistical indices and satisfy the following requirements:

a/ The reported contents and reporting periods of different reporting regimes must not be coincidental;

b/ They satisfy the requirements of the general statistical reporting regimes and the branch or domain management requirements;

c/ Feasibility.

2. The General Statistics Office shall formulate and submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation the basic statistical reporting regimes for collecting statistical information for national statistical indices assigned to the General Statistics Office for implementation.

3. The ministers and the heads of the ministerial-level agencies shall promulgate the basic statistical reporting regimes for collecting statistical information for national statistical indices assigned to them for implementation as well as statistical indices in the branches or domains under their charge, which are other than the statistical indices mentioned in Clause 2 of this Article.

4. The Government-attached agencies shall formulate and submit to competent authorities for promulgation the basic statistical reporting regimes for collecting statistical information for national statistical indices assigned to them for implementation as well as statistical indices in the branches or domains under their charge, which are other than the statistical indices mentioned in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 16.- Formulation and promulgation of general statistical reporting regimes

1. The formulation of general statistical reporting regimes must be based on the system of national statistical indices and ensure the following requirements:

a/ Satisfaction of the socio-economic management requirements of the Government, ministries, branches and localities;

b/ The reported contents and reporting periods of different reporting regimes promulgated by the Prime Minister, ministries and branches must not be coincidental;

c/ Feasibility.

2. The General Statistics Office shall formulate and submit to the Prime Minister for promulgation the general statistical reporting regimes applicable to the ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Government-attached agencies.

3. The ministers or the heads of the ministerial-level agencies shall promulgate the general statistical reporting regimes pertaining to statistical indices in the branches or domains under their charge for application to the professional agencies of the People’s Committees of the provinces, centrally-run cities, rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals and provincial towns.

4. The Minister of Defense and the Minister of Public Security shall promulgate the general statistical reporting regimes in direct service of security and defense for exclusive application to units of the people’s armed forces.

5. The Government-attached agencies shall formulate and submit the general statistical reporting regimes pertaining to statistical indices in the branches or domains under their charge to competent authorities for signing for promulgation and application to the professional agencies of the People’s Committees of the provinces, centrally-run cities, rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals and provincial towns.

6. The agencies which implement the general statistical reporting regimes shall have to send general statistical reports to the statistics offices of the same level, which belong to the system of centralized statistics organizations, for data synthesis to meet the general management requirements of the State.

Article 17.- Evaluation of statistical reporting regimes

1. The General Statistics Office shall be responsible for conducting professional evaluation of the basic statistical reporting regimes and general statistical reporting regimes falling under the promulgating competence of the ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the Supreme People’s Court or the Supreme People’s Procuracy as provided for in Article 21 of the Statistics Law.

2. An evaluation-requesting dossier comprises a written request for evaluation, the draft statistical reporting regime, forms of reports, written explanations and instructions for implementation.

3. The evaluated contents cover the subjects of application of the reporting regime, the scope of data collection and synthesis, report forms, data sources, methods of calculating statistical indices, reporting periods, report-receiving places and requirements on the formulation of the reporting regimes as provided for in Clause 1 of Article 15 and Clause 1 of Article 16 of this Decree.

4. The evaluation time limit is 15 days as from the date of receipt of the written requests for evaluation.

5. The agencies promulgating the basic statistical reporting regimes or general statistical reporting regimes shall study the evaluation opinions, amend and supplement the reporting regimes to make them suitable to the professional statistical work before promulgating them. After being issued, the decisions to promulgate the reporting regimes, forms of reports, written explanations and instructions on the implementation of the reporting regimes must be sent to the General Statistics Office.

Article 18.- Rights to exploit and use statistical databases

1. The primary statistical database is a combination of information recorded in vouchers, journals, customs declarations, household status books, household registration books, receipt and payment vouchers, tax registration declarations, statistical questionnaires, financial statements and other statistical information entered into and stored in electronic information-carrying means and/or informatic networks.

2. The agencies belonging to the system of centralized statistics organizations shall have the right to access to, exploit, use, copy and record the primary database related to the system of national statistical indices of the general statistical reporting regime-implementing agencies of the same level for statistical purposes.

The agencies belonging to the system of centralized statistics organizations shall have to keep confidential statistical information exploited from the databases of the general statistical reporting regime-implementing agencies.

3. The general statistical reporting regime-implementing agencies shall have to supply the primary statistical databases to, and create technical conditions for, the agencies belonging to the system of centralized statistics organizations to exploit such databases.

4. The general statistical reporting regime-implementing agencies shall be supplied back by the agencies belonging to the system of centralized statistics organizations with general statistical information (statistical reports, statistical directories, electronic products and hypertext pages on the informatic networks…) and have the right to access to and exploit the general statistical databases related to the branches or domains under the management of the latter for statistical and management purposes.

5. The General Statistics Office shall reach agreement with the ministries and branches on regulations on exploitation of statistical databases stated in Clauses 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, which must suit the database conditions and the information technology advances.

Article 19.- Publicization of statistical information

1. Statistical information collected by the State statistics organizations must be publicized by the deadlines set for each content and each type of subject, excluding statistical information associated with the specific names and/or addresses of organizations or individuals, when the publication thereof is not yet permitted by such organizations or individuals, and statistical information listed as State secrets.

2. Competence to publicize statistical information

a/ The General Director of Statistics shall publicize statistical information belonging to the system of national statistical indices.

b/ The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies or the Government-attached agencies shall publicize statistical information in the branches or domains under their charge, other than those belonging to the system of national statistical indices. National statistical indices assigned to the ministries and branches for collection and synthesis must be sent to the General Statistics Office for evaluation and publication.

c/ The provincial/municipal People’s Committee presidents shall publicize statistical information specified in Clause 4, Article 10 of this Decree.

d/ Persons competent to publicize statistical information shall bear responsibility for the reliability of published statistical information.

3. Statistical information published by competent persons specified in Clause 2 of this Article shall be of legal validity. No organizations and individuals may modify or alter such statistical information or force other organizations or individuals to publish untruthful statistical information.

4. Deadlines for publication of statistical information are prescribed as follows:

a/ Annual statistical directories must be published in June of the subsequent year at the latest;

b/ General statistical information on the monthly and quarterly socio-economic situations must be published by the deadlines set for each type of report;

c/ The statistical survey results must be publicized by the deadlines set in the statistical survey plans.

5. Statistical information shall be publicized in the following forms and means: statistical directories, press conferences, written and electronic statistical products on the informatic networks and mass media.

Article 20.- Use of statistical information

1. Statistical information already publicized by competent persons specified in Article 19 of this Decree constitutes a public asset. All organizations and individuals shall be equal in accessing to and using such statistical information.

2. The citation and use of statistical information already publicized by competent State agencies must be truthful and clearly state the sources of such information. It is strictly forbidden to use statistical information to harm the national interests or the interests of information-supplying organizations and individuals.

Article 21.- Statistics organizations of ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Government-attached agencies

1. Statistics organizations of the ministries or branches shall have to assist the ministers or the heads of the branches in performing the following tasks:

a/ Organizing statistical activities in service of the ministries’ or branches’ management requirements;

b/ Organizing, directing and guiding the statistical work of the ministries and the professional agencies of the provincial- and district-level People’s Committees in the domains under their charge;

c/ Conducting statistical surveys, implementing the basic statistical reporting regimes and the general statistical reporting regimes of the State.

2. The ministries, the ministerial-level agencies and the Government-attached agencies must have statistics sections to perform the statistical tasks of the ministries or branches; for the ministries, ministerial-level agencies or Government-attached agencies which have a big statistical workload, the Prime Minister shall decide on the establishment of statistics centers thereat.

3. Statistics organizations of the ministries or branches shall submit to the direct management and direction by the ministries or branches and to the professional guidance, direction, examination and inspection by the General Statistics Office.

Article 22.- Statistical work at communes, wards and townships

1. The People’s Committees of communes, wards or townships shall have to organize the statistical work and arrange professionally qualified persons to perform this work under the titles currently prescribed for officials and public employees of communes, wards and townships.

2. The statistical work at communes, wards or townships shall submit to the direct management and direction by the commune, ward or township People’s Committees and to the professional guidance by the district-level Statistics Offices.

3. Commune, ward or township officials or employees performing the statistical work shall have to assist the commune, ward or township People’s Committees in:

a/ Organizing the statistical work in service of the management requirements of the communes, wards or townships;

b/ Conducting statistical surveys and implemen-ting the State’s statistical reporting regimes.

4. Officials and employees performing the statistical work at communes, wards or townships shall be arranged within the prescribed payrolls of commune or ward officials and employees and enjoy the regimes and interests like other professionals at communes, wards or townships according to current regulations.

Article 23.- Statistical work at enterprises, administrative agencies and non-business units

1. Enterprises and administrative units (except ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Government-attached agencies), non-business units, units of the armed forces shall have their own statistics organizations or arrange officials to perform the statistical work.

2. The statistical work at enterprises, administra-tive agencies or non-business units shall submit to the direct management and direction by the units’ heads and shall have to assist the units’ heads in:

a/ Organizing the statistical work in service of the management requirements of the enterprises, agencies or units;

b/ Conducting statistical surveys and implemen-ting the State’s statistical reporting regimes.

3. Financial statements and statistical reports shall be sent to the Statistics Offices of the provinces or centrally-run cities where the units are headquartered.

Article 24.- Statistical surveys conducted by organizations and individuals outside the system of State statistics organizations

1. Organizations and individuals outside the system of State statistics organizations may conduct statistical surveys in service of scientific research, production and business within the scope of their respective functions and in their respective activity domains; if statistical surveys fall beyond the scope of their functions or their activity domains, the approval of the agencies performing the State management over such domains must be obtained.

2. Statistical surveys specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall be conducted on the principle of voluntariness of the surveyed organizations and individuals regarding the survey contents and time.

3. The results of statistical surveys mentioned in Article 1 of this Article shall not substitute statistical information already published under the provisions of Article 25 of the Statistics Law and Article 19 of this Decree.

4. Organizations outside the system of State statistics organizations, which conduct statistical surveys with the State budget, must send the survey results to the General Statistics Office.

5. Organizations and individuals outside the system of State statistics organizations are strictly forbidden to conduct statistical surveys that harm the national interests or the legitimate interests of organizations and individuals.

Article 25.- Examination, inspection and handling of violations of statistics legislation

Activities of examining, inspecting and handling violations of statistics legislation shall comply with current regulations.

Article 26.- Implementation provisions

1. This Decree takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. The General Director of Statistics, the ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the Government-attached agencies and the presidents of the People’s Committees or the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decree.