Joint Circular No. 58/2015/TTLT-BCT-BKHCN dated December 31, 2015 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Science and Technology on management of domestically-produced and imported steel quality

JOINT CIRCULAR

On quality management of domestically produced and imported steel[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 Government’s Decree No. 127/2007/ND-CP of August 1, 2007, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 132/2008/ND-CP of December 31, 2008, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Product and Goods Quality;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 95/2012/ND-CP of November 12, 2012, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

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;

The Minister of Industry and Trade and the Minister of Science and Technology promulgate the Joint Circular on quality management of domestically produced and imported steel.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. Scope of regulation:

a/ This Joint Circular provides quality management of domestically produced and imported steel products (classified according to HS codes) specified in Appendices II and III to this Joint Circular;

b/ This Joint Circular does not regulate:

- Steel products produced for import or export under export processing contracts, temporarily imported and then re-exported, in transit or border-gate transfer, or produced under contracts on production of goods for export; and steel products imported by export processing enterprises or enterprises operating in export processing zones for use as materials for export production;

- Steel products specified in other legal documents;

- Steel products serving security or national defense purposes;

- Domestically produced and imported steel products used in national important projects and works or Prime Minister-approved projects and works;

- Domestically produced and imported steel products serving domestic manufacture specified in Appendix I to this Joint Circular.

 2. Subjects of application:

a/ Steel producers, importers and users;

b/ Agencies performing the state management of steel quality;

c/ Designated conformity assessment bodies;

d/ Other related agencies, organizations and individuals.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

1. Announced applicable standard means a collection of compulsory technical specifications prescribed in this Joint Circular and other necessary requirements on steel products announced by a steel producer or importer (based on national standards, regional standards, foreign standards, international standards or in-house standards).

2. Goods lot means a definite-quantity collection of domestically produced or imported steel products which have the same name, grade, trademark, category and technical properties and are produced by a single producer.

3. Other terms referred to in this Joint Circular are specified in the Law on Product and Goods Quality and the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations.

Chapter II

PROVISIONS ON STEEL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Article 3. Announcement of applicable standards and application of nondestructive testing methods

1. The standard applicable to a steel product shall be announced before such product is sold to the market.

2. For steels classified according to HS codes specified in Appendix II to this Joint Circular:

a/ In case a steel producer or importer announces to apply an in-house standard,   technical requirements imposed by the in-house standard must not be lower than those prescribed in a relevant Vietnam’s national standard;

b/ In case of unavailability of a relevant Vietnam’s national standard, technical requirements imposed by the in-house standard must not be lower than those prescribed in a relevant national standard of the exporting country or international standard;

c/ In case of unavailability of a relevant national standard of Vietnam or the exporting country or a relevant international standard, the in-house standard must meet the requirements specified in Clause 4 of this Article.

3. For steels classified according to HS codes prescribed in Appendix III to this Joint Circular:

Importers and producers shall announce a relevant national standard of Vietnam or the exporting country as applicable standard.

4. An announced standard must cover the following fundamental criteria of steel products:

a/ Criteria on dimension, appearance and mechanical and physical properties:

- Geometric dimensions: diameter/thickness, width; length;

- Appearance: surface, rolled edges;

- Mechanical and physical properties:

+ Yield point; tensile strength; relative elongation; or,

+ Yield point; tensile strength; relative elongation; bending strength; or,

+ Yield point; tensile strength; hardness limit; bending strength.

- For coated/plated products: to additionally announce coating/plating thickness and adhesion.

b/ Chemical criteria:

- For all steel products, to announce the content of 5 chemical elements: C, Si, Mn, P and S;

- For stainless steel products, to additionally announce the content of Cr and Ni;

- For alloy steel products, to additionally announce at least the content of one alloying element (according to the category of alloy steel registered by producers or importers).

5. Nondestructive testing methods may be applied in quality assessment of the following steel products:

a/ Steel products of a thickness of 10 mm or greater; solid steel bars with a diameter of 50 mm or greater;

b/ Steel angles, steel shapes and corrugated steel;

c/ Steel products in a closed box pass, of a width exceeding 150 mm and a thickness of 4 mm or greater, not in coils and without pattern in relief.

Article 4. Provisions on quality management of domestically produced steel

1. Domestic steel producers shall announce standards applicable to their steel products. Announced standards must comply with Article 3 of this Joint Circular.

2. The labeling of goods must comply with the Government’s Decree No. 89/2006/ND-CP of August 30, 2006, on goods labels; and the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 09/2007/TT-BKHCN of April 6, 2007, guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 89/2006/ND-CP, and the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 14/2007/TT-BKHCN of July 25, 2007, supplementing Circular No. 09/2007/TT-BKHCN.

Article 5. Provisions on quality management of imported steel

1. Steel product importers shall announce standards applicable to imported steel products. Announced standards must comply with Article 3 of this Joint Circular.

2. Imported steel products shall be subject to assessment of their conformity with announced standards by a designated conformity assessment body.

3. The labeling of goods must comply with Clause 2, Article 4 of this Joint Circular.

4. A dossier of announcement of the standard applicable to an imported steel product must comprise:

a/ The text of the quality standard announced as applicable to the steel product;

b/ The standard conformity certificate issued by a designated certification body or the certificate of inspection of standard conformity issued by a designated inspection body for the imported goods.

5. For steels classified according to HS codes specified in Section 2, Appendix III to this Joint Circular, the following papers are additionally required:

a/ A written certification of the need to import steel, issued by the provincial-level Industry and Trade Department of the locality where the importer registers its/his/her operation, certifying the importer’s need to import steel to directly serve mechanical production and processing and commitment not to use imported steel to produce steel products conformable to the national technical regulation on concrete-reinforcing steel (QCVN 07:2011/BKHCN). Such written certification is valid for 6 months from the date of issuance;

b/ A steel import declaration, certified by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (the Heavy Industry Department), which is valid for 1 month from the date of certification.

If violating their commitments or declarations, importers shall take responsibility in accordance with the customs and tax laws. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (the Heavy Industry Department) shall suspend the certification of declarations for violators until their violations are remedied.

Article 6. Order and procedures for certifying the need to import steel

1. An organization or individual shall submit directly or send by post to the provincial-level Industry and Trade Department of the locality where it/he/she registers operation a set of dossier of application for certification of the need to import steel for mechanical production and processing and commitment not to use imported steel to produce steel products conformable to the national technical regulation on concrete-reinforcing steel. A dossier must comprise:

a/ An application for certification of the need to import steel for mechanical production and processing in a quantity suitable to the capacity of the applicant’s production or processing line within a certain period of time as declared and commitment not to use imported steel to produce steel products conformable to the national technical regulation on concrete-reinforcing steel;

b/ A certified copy of the applicant’s business registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate or investment certificate;

c/ An explanation about the applicant’s physical foundations (area of workshops and warehouses, and technological lines) and production capacity, categories of products and demand for steel for use as production materials (ton/year), which is signed and sealed by the applicant’s representative.

2. In case the dossier is complete and valid, within 5 working days, the provincial-level Industry and Trade Department shall check the dossier and issue a written certification. In case the dossier is incomplete or invalid, the provincial-level Industry and Trade Department shall issue a written notice to the applicant for dossier completion.

Within 5 working days after the dossier is modified or supplemented according to regulations, the provincial-level Industry and Trade Department shall issue a written certification and send it by post to the applicant right on the date of issuance.

Article 7. Order and procedures for certifying steel import declarations

1. An organization or individual shall submit directly or send by post to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, 54 Hai Ba Trung, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, 3 steel import declarations (made according to the form provided in Appendix IV to this Joint Circular).

2. Within 5 working days, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (the Heavy Industry Department) shall consider and make certification in the steel import declaration. In case the declaration is not conformable, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (the Heavy Industry Department) shall issue a written notice to the declarant for modification. Within 5 working days after receiving the declaration already modified  according to regulations, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (the Heavy Industry Department) shall make certification and send by post the declaration back to the declarant right on the date of certification.

Article 8. Designation of conformity assessment bodies

1. The testing, inspection and certification of conformity of quality of domestically produced and imported steel prescribed in Appendices II and III to this Joint Circular shall be conducted by designated testing laboratories, inspection bodies or certification bodies.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall designate steel quality testing laboratories, specifically:

a/ For domestic testing laboratories: The designation order and procedures must comply with the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 09/2009/TT-BKHCN of April 8, 2009, guiding requirements, order and procedures for designation of conformity assessment bodies, and Circular No. 11/2011/TT-BKHCN of June 30, 2011, amending and supplementing a number of provisions of Circular No. 09/2009/TT-BKHCN;

b/ For foreign testing laboratories: To evaluate the actual testing capacity of testing laboratories in foreign countries according to the order and procedures prescribed in the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 26/2013/TT-BKHCN of November 15, 2013 (Circular No. 26/2013/TT-BKHCN) or recognize test reports/mill test reports of overseas testing laboratories on the basis of agreements of mutual recognition of conformity assessment results.

3. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall designate steel quality inspection bodies and steel quality certification bodies. The requirements, order and procedures for designating inspection bodies and certification bodies must comply with the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 09/2009/TT-BKHCN of April 8, 2009, and Circular No. 11/2011/TT-BKHCN of June 30, 2011, amending and supplementing a number of provisions of Circular No. 09/2009/TT-BKHCN.

4. Requirements on designated testing laboratories

a/ For domestic testing laboratories:

- Having registered for testing operations according to the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 08/2009/TT-BKHCN of April 8, 2009, guiding the requirements, order and procedures for registration of conformity assessment operations, and Circular No. 10/2011/TT-BKHCN of June 30, 2011, amending and supplementing a number of provisions of Circular No. 08/2009/TT-BKHCN;

- Having developed, applied and maintained a quality management system for  testing labs according to Vietnam’s national standard TCVN ISO/IEC 17025:2007 or international standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005;

b/ For foreign testing laboratories: meeting the requirements specified in Article 6 of Circular No. 26/2013/TT-BKHCN.

5. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall recognize test reports/mill test reports of an exporting country’s testing laboratory on electromagnet and magnetic permeability criteria of imported electrotechnical sheet steel if:

a/ The testing laboratory has been accredited as being conformable to standard ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and has obtained an accreditation certificate from an accreditation organization being a signatory of the Agreement on Mutual Recognition of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) or  the Asian Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC);

b/ The importer submits a copy of the accreditation certificate, which remains valid, enclosed with a document stating the scope of accreditation (containing its “true-copy” mark) to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for consideration and decision.

Chapter III

STEEL QUALITY INSPECTION

Article 9. Order, procedures and content of inspection of quality of domestically produced steel

The quality inspection of domestically produced steel products must comply with the Law on Product and Goods Quality and Article 4 of this Joint Circular.

Article 10. Order, procedures and content of quality inspection of imported steel

The quality inspection of imported steel products shall be conducted as follows:

- Step 1: conformity assessment of steel quality by a designated conformity assessment body.

- Step 2: state inspection of steel quality.

1. Conformity assessment of steel quality by a designated conformity assessment body:

a/ In case the importer chooses to apply the method of imported goods lot-based conformity assessment:

The assessment of conformity for a goods lot shall be conducted by a designated certification body or inspection body according to method 7 (testing and assessing lots of products and goods) prescribed in the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012, on standard conformity announcement, technical-regulation conformity announcement and methods for assessment of conformity with standards and technical regulations. Expenses for conformity assessment for imported goods lots must comply with Clause 15, Article 12 of the Law on Products and Goods.

b/ In case the importer chooses to apply the method of conformity assessment in the exporting country:

The assessment of conformity of steel products shall be conducted by a designated certification body according to method 5 (testing typical samples and assessing production process; supervising through testing samples taken at production places or from the market in combination with assessing production process) prescribed in the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012, on standard conformity announcement, technical-regulation conformity announcement and methods for assessment of conformity with standards and technical regulations, specifically:

- The receipt and examination of dossiers, making of assessment plans and programs and organization of assessment shall be conducted on the basis of contracts signed with the registering organization or individual and reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Science and Technology. After receiving a report from the certification body, when necessary, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Science and Technology shall assign persons to supervise the certification body’ assessment and certification activities in the exporting country. Expenses for such supervisors shall be paid by certification bodies at the levels prescribed in the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 102/2012/TT-BTC of June 21, 2012, providing business trip allowances for state cadres and civil servants on overseas short-term business trips funded by the state budget.

- To assess quality management systems, take typical samples at production places according to regulations, send typical samples for testing and assess the conformity of typical samples. In case the results of assessment of quality management systems and testing of typical samples are satisfactory, the certification body shall grant a certificate, which is valid for 3 years, to the organization or individual.

- Upon completion of the assessment process, the certification body shall keep the assessment dossier and report assessment results to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

- Within the validity duration of the granted certificate, the certification body shall conduct supervisory assessment through testing samples taken at production places or from the market (at the border gate of importation) together with assessment of production process at least once every 12 months. Supervisory assessment results shall serve as a basis for the certification body to maintain or suspend the validity of, or invalidate, the granted certificate.

2. Order and procedures for state inspection of quality of imported steel:

a/ An organization or individual shall submit 1 set of dossier of state inspection of quality of imported steel to the state inspection agency at the place where it/he/she carries out customs procedures. A dossier must comprise:

- A registration for state inspection of quality of imported steel, made according to the form provided in Appendix V to this Joint Circular;

- Copies (bearing the organization’s or individual’s seal) of the contract, packing list, invoice, bill of lading and certificate of origin;

- A copy (bearing the organization’s or individual’s seal) of the standard conformity assessment certificate of imported steel granted by a designated certification body or inspection body;

- For steels classified according to HS codes prescribed in Section 2, Appendix III to this Joint Circular, the dossier must also include a steel import declaration certified by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and a copy of the written certification of the need to import steel issued by a provincial-level Industry and Trade Department;

b/ If the dossier is complete and valid, within 3 working days after receiving it, the inspection agency shall issue a notice of imported goods’ satisfaction of quality requirements, made according to the form provided in Appendix VII to this Joint Circular.

c/ If the dossier is incomplete, the inspection agency shall state insufficient documents in a dossier receipt made according to the form provided in Appendix VI to this Joint Circular and request the importer to complete the dossier within 25 working days. Past the above-said time limit, if the importer still fails to complete the dossier, it/he/she shall send a document to the inspection agency clearly stating the reason and time for completion.

In case the importer fails to complete the dossier within the prescribed time limit, within 3 working days after the deadline for dossier completion, the inspection agency shall send to the importer and customs office a notice of imported goods’ non-satisfaction of quality requirements according to the form provided in Appendix VII to this Joint Circular, clearly stating “the dossier of the goods lot is incomplete”.

d/ In case papers of an imported steel lot are unconformable with the import dossier or announced applicable standards, within 3 working days, the inspection agency shall issue a notice of imported goods’ non-satisfaction of quality requirements, made according to the form provided in Appendix VII to this Joint Circular, clearly stating the reason, and send it to the importer and customs office.      

3. The customs office shall base itself on the results of inspection of imported goods to carry out customs clearance procedures or handle the case in accordance with the Customs Law.

For steels classified according to HS codes provided in Section 2, Appendix III to this Joint Circular, a steel import declaration certified by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (the Heavy Industry Department) and a copy of the written certification of the need to import steel made issued by a provincial-level Industry and Trade Department are additionally required.

Article 11. Provisions on application of the reduced inspection regime to imported steel

1. Designated certification bodies or inspection bodies may apply the reduced inspection regime after obtaining the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s notice of approval of application of the reduced inspection regime. Depending on the reduced inspection regime, there are 2 forms of reduced inspection as follows:

a/ Form 1: taking fewer samples (reducing the quantity of samples taken per imported goods lot) for conducting testing and conformity assessment according to announced applicable standards. This form of reduced inspection shall be applied to steel products of the same producer, which have been imported for 3 consecutive times and are subject to the same announced standard, of the same grade, and are assessed by the same conformity assessment body as meeting quality requirements. The period of application of the reduced inspection regime is 1 year from the fourth (4^th) import.

b/ Form 2: examining import dossiers against the actual state of the imported goods lot, supervising through testing samples (samples shall be taken at the border gate of importation) and assessing the conformity of testing samples with announced applicable standards. This form of reduced reduction shall be applied to:

- Steel products of the same producer which have been imported for 10 consecutive times and are subject to the same announced applicable standard, of the same grade, and are assessed by the same designated certification body as meeting quality requirements. The period of application of the reduced inspection regime is 2 years from the eleventh (11^th) import.

- Lots of imported steel products which have been tested by testing laboratories in foreign countries (which do not operate in Vietnam) recognized or designated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade according to current regulations and test reports/mill test reports are satisfactory according to this Joint Circular.

2. Order and procedures for reduced inspection of imported steel:

a/ A steel importer that meets the requirements specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall make 1 set of dossier of application for quality inspection of imported steel according to the reduced inspection regime and send the dossier to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for consideration and processing. A dossier must comprise:

- An application for quality inspection according to the reduced inspection regime, made according to the form provided in Appendix VIII to this Joint Circular;

- The importer’s enterprise registration certificate (for importers that make registration for the first time): 1 copy bearing the importer’s “true-copy” stamp);

- A written certification of the number of times of consecutive inspection (corresponding to the form of reduced inspection registered for application) at a designated certification body or inspection body, made according to the form provided in Appendix IX to this Joint Circular.

b/ Within 3 working days after receiving a complete and valid dossier, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall consider and give its answer about application of the reduced inspection regime to imported steel. A notice of approval of application of the reduced inspection regime shall be made according to the form provided in Appendix X to this Joint Circular.

c/ Based on the management agency’s notice of approval of application of the reduced inspection regime, the importer and designated certification body or inspection body shall conduct reduced inspection according to Clause 3 of this Article.

3. Provisions on reduced inspection

a/ For form 1 prescribed at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article:

- Based on the notice of approval of application of the reduced inspection regime (below referred to as notice) of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the steel importer and designated certification body or inspection body mentioned in the notice shall conduct reduced inspection for imported goods lots. Expenses for conformity assessment for imported goods lots according to the reduced inspection regime shall be paid by the steel importer according to Clause 15, Article 12; and Clause 2, Article 19, of the Law on Products and Goods Quality.

The sampling for reduced inspection must comply with Section 3.1.22 of Vietnam’s national standard TCVN 7790-1:2007: process of taking samples for qualitative inspection - Part 1: sampling programs determined according to acceptable quality limit (AQL) for inspection of each goods lot.

- During the process of reduced inspection, if a goods lot does not meet quality requirements, the certification body or inspection body shall assess the conformity of the goods lot according to the order and procedures prescribed in Article 10 of this Joint Circular and, at the same time, send a report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for the latter to consider invalidating the application of the reduced inspection regime.

- The reduced inspection regime shall not be applied to imported goods lots with an abnormal increase in volume or quantity (increase by 1.5 times the average volume or quantity of 3 goods lots consecutively imported after making the dossier of registration for application of the reduced inspection regime).

b/ For form 2 prescribed at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article:

- Based on the notice of approval of application of the reduced inspection regime (below referred to as notice) of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the steel importer and designated certification body or inspection body mentioned in the notice shall examine dossiers of imported goods lots.             

- Within the validity duration of the notice, the certification body or inspection body named in the notice shall conduct supervisory assessment at most once every 6 months. Expenses for supervisory assessment shall be paid by the steel importer according to Clause 15, Article 12; and Clause 2, Article 19, of the Law on Product and Goods Quality.

- If there are differences (inconformities) between documentary examination and physical inspection results of an imported steel lot, the designated certification body or inspection body shall assess conformity of the imported goods lot according to the order and procedures prescribed in Article 10 of this Joint Circular and, at the same time, send a report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for the latter to consider invalidating the application of the reduced inspection regime.

- If supervisory assessment results show that an imported steel lot does not conform with the announced applicable standard, the designated certification body or inspection body shall assess conformity of the imported steel lot according to the order and procedures prescribed in Article 10 of this Joint Circular and, at the same time, send a report to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for the latter to consider invalidating the application of the reduced inspection regime.

- The form of documentary examination shall not be applied to lots which are imported during the period of eligibility for documentary examination and show an abnormal increase in volume or quantity (increase by 1.5 times the average volume or quantity of 10 goods lots consecutively imported after making the dossier of registration for application of documentary examination).

4. Inspection and examination of quality of imported steel of steel importers eligible for application of the reduced inspection regime in conformity assessment of imported steel:

Based on information collected in the market, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall request in writing designated certification bodies and inspection bodies to coordinate with one another in conducting the state inspection of quality of steel products of relevant importers. Expenses for taking and testing samples must comply with Point dd, Clause 2, Article 9 of the Minister of Science and Technology’s Circular No. 27/2012/TT-BKHCN of December 12, 2012.

5. The reduced inspection regime shall not be applied to imported steel products with HS codes prescribed in the list provided in Appendix III to this Joint Circular.

In order to meet management requirements, the lists of steel products specified in Appendices I, II and III to this Joint Circular shall be amended and supplemented to suit realities.

Article 12. Handling of unconformable product lots

1. Domestically produced steel products shall be handled according to Article 30 of the Law on Products and Goods Quality and the Government’s Decree No. 80/2013/ND-CP of July 19, 2013, on sanctioning of administrative violations in the fields of standard, metrology and products and goods quality.

2. Imported products shall be handled according to Article 36 of the Law on Products and Goods Quality and the Government’s Decree No. 80/2013/ND-CP of July 19, 2013, on sanctioning of administrative violations in the fields of standard, metrology and products and goods quality.

Chapter IV

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 13. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Industry and Trade

1. To designate, inspect and supervise operation of designated steel quality testing laboratories.

2. To receive and process steel importers’ dossiers of registration for application of the reduced inspection regime and publish information on its e-portal; to examine the observance of certified steel import declarations. If detecting an organization or individual that violates the declaration, to notify the violations to customs offices and tax agencies for handling in accordance with the customs and tax laws.

3. To formulate annual plans on quality inspection of domestically produced steel (including also concrete-reinforcing steel) and imported steel.

4. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology and related organizations and individuals in, conducting quality inspection of domestically produced and imported steel.

5. When necessary, to supervise assessment and certification activities of designated certification bodies in exporting countries.

6. To amend and supplement the lists of steel products specified in Appendices I, II and III to this Joint Circular to meet management requirements.

7. To coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology in inspecting and supervising operation of certification bodies and assessment bodies designated by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Article 14. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Science and Technology

1. To designate, inspect and supervise operation of designated steel quality certification bodies and inspection bodies.

2. When necessary, to supervise assessment and certification activities of designated certification bodies in exporting countries. Based on supervision results, to decide to suspend, invalidate, or maintain the validity of, certification designation decisions.

3. To coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and related organizations and individuals in conducting quality inspection of domestically produced and imported steel.

4. To coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in inspecting and supervising operations of testing laboratories designated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Article 15. Responsibilities of customs offices

1. To allow customs clearance for goods only after importers provide notices of imported goods’ satisfaction of quality requirements as prescribed in this Joint Circular. For steels classified according to HS codes specified in Section 2, Appendix III to this Joint Circular, importers shall additionally provide a steel import declaration certified by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (the Heavy Industry Department) and a copy of the written certification of the need to import steel issued by the provincial-level Industry and Trade Department.

2. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with provincial-level Industry and Trade Departments and Science and Technology Departments in, handling imported steel lots which do not meet quality requirements in accordance with the Customs Law.

3. To supervise and make statistics on the import of steel specified in Appendices II and III to this Joint Circular and provide quarterly import data to serve state management.

Article 16. Responsibilities of provincial-level Industry and Trade Departments

1. To coordinate with provincial-level Science and Technology Departments in inspecting and examining quality of steel in their localities.

2. To coordinate with customs offices and provincial-level Science and Technology Departments in handling imported steel lots which fail to meet quality requirements in accordance with the Customs Law.

3. To certify the need to import steels classified according to HS codes specified in Section 2, Appendix III to this Joint Circular.

Article 17. Responsibilities of provincial-level Science and Technology Departments

1. To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with provincial-level Industry and Trade Departments in, inspecting and examining quality of steel in their localities.

2. To coordinate with customs offices and provincial-level Industry and Trade Departments in handling imported steel lots which fail to meet quality requirements in accordance with the Customs Law.

Article 18. Responsibilities of Standards, Metrology and Quality Departments

1. To receive and process dossiers of registration for state inspection of quality of imported steel according to this Joint Circular.

2. To assume the prime responsibility for conducting quality inspection of steel sold in areas under their management.

3. To summarize and report on results of registration for inspection of imported steel on a quarterly, biannual (before July 15), annual (before January 15 of the following year) or irregular basis when requested. Reports shall be sent to the Ministry of Science and Technology (the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (the Science and Technology Department).

Article 19. Responsibilities of steel producers and importers

1. To comply with and implement this Joint Circular.

2. To keep dossiers of announcement of standards applicable to steel.

3. To exercise the rights and perform the obligations prescribed in the Law on Product and Goods Quality.

4. To be subject to examination and inspection in accordance with law and comply with examination and inspection decisions of competent state agencies.

Article 20. Responsibilities of designated conformity assessment bodies

1. To comply with and implement this Joint Circular.

2. To exercise the rights and perform the obligations prescribed in the Law on Product and Goods Quality and relevant laws.

Within the validity duration of designation decisions, designated testing laboratories shall participate in proficiency testing or inter-laboratory comparison programs for steel testing at least once.

3. To notify agencies that have issued designation decisions of all changes that affect their capacity for registered testing, certification and inspection operation within 15 days after such changes occur.

4. Designated certification bodies, assessment bodies and testing laboratories shall summarize and report on conformity assessment results on a quarterly, biannual (before July 15), annual (before January 15 of the following year) or irregular basis when requested. Reports shall be sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (the Science and Technology Department) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (the Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality).

5. To be subject to examination and inspection in accordance with law and comply with examination and inspection decisions of competent state agencies.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 21. Effect

1. This Joint Circular takes effect on March 21, 2016, and replaces Joint Circular No. 44/2013/TTLT-BCT-BKHCN of December 31, 2013, of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Science and Technology, providing quality inspection of domestically produced and imported steel.

2. Decisions designating certification bodies, assessment bodies and testing laboratories and decisions granting exemption from quality inspection of imported steel in exporting countries (at-source inspection) of the Ministry of Industry and Trade or the Ministry of Science and Technology shall remain valid until the expiry dates stated therein.

Article 22. Implementation responsibility

1. Steel producers, importers and users; agencies managing steel quality, designated certification bodies, assessment bodies and testing laboratories and related organizations and individuals shall implement this Joint Circular.

2. In case a legal document referred to in this Joint Circular is amended, supplemented or replaced, the new document shall be complied with.

3. Any difficulties and problems arising in the course of implementing this Joint Circular shall be promptly reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Science and Technology for guidance.-

* All appendices to this Joint Circular are not translated.