JOINT CIRCULAR

PROVIDING INSTRUCTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL SINGLE-WINDOW SYSTEM

Pursuant to the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13 dated June 23, 2014;

Pursuant to the Decree No. 36/2012/ND-CP dated April 18, 2012, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of Ministries and Ministry-level bodies;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 215/2013/ND-CP dated December 23, 2013, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

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

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 21/2013/ND-CP dated April 3, 2013, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 63/2012/ND-CP dated August 31, 2012, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

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Minister of Finance, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment and Minister of Health hereby promulgates the Joint Circular providing instructions for implementation of the national single-window system.

Section 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Circular provides instructions for implementation of the national single-window system under the provisions of the Law on Customs No. 54/2014/QH13 and the Government's Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP dated January 21, 2015, prescribing details and measures for implementation of the Law on Customs regarding customs procedures, customs inspection, supervision and control, including:

1. Regulations on the list of administrative procedures implemented through the national single-window system (hereinafter referred to as single-window administrative procedures) in the Appendix I hereto, promulgated by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Health.

2. Regulations on procedures for provision of information and receipt of provided information, notification of results of implementation of administrative procedures in the electronic form; criteria and formats of electronic documents used for implementing single-window administrative procedures referred to in clause 1 of this Article.

3. Regulations on the mechanism for collaboration and information exchange for implementation of single-window administrative procedures.

4. Other matters relating to single-window administrative procedures mentioned in clause 1 of this Article shall be subject to regulations contained in specialized legislative documents.

Article 2. Subjects of application

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2. Organizations or individuals carrying out the import, export or international transit of goods; organizations or individuals having rights and obligations related to the export, import and international transit of goods, who choose the methods for implementation of administrative procedures through the national single-window portal.

Article 3. Interpretation

For the purposes of this Circular, terms used herein shall be construed as follows:

1. National single-window portal referred to in clause 1 of Article 7 in the Decree No. 08/2015/ND-CP means an integrated information system constituted by a customs clearance system administered by a customs authority, an information system administered by the Ministry of Science and Technology and other information systems (hereinafter referred to as specialized document processing system).

2. Single-window administrative procedure handling entity (hereinafter referred to as processing entity) means a unit or body controlled or appointed by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, or the Ministry of Health, which deals with or licenses administrative procedures referred to in clause 1 of Article 1 herein.

3. Single-window administrative document comprises electronic documents enclosed according to regulations of specialized legislative documents with respect to specific administrative procedures in an electronic or documentary form.  

4. Electronic document means provided information, processing results or notification created, sent, received and stored by electronic means in order to implement single-window administrative procedures.

5. Declarant means an organization or individual implementing single-window administrative procedures defined in clause 1 of Article 1 herein.

6. System user means persons, referred to in clause 1 of Article 10 herein, who are granted permission to access the national single-window portal.

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Article 4. Implementation of the national single-window system

1. Single-window administrative procedures and information exchanges between processing entities through the national single-window portal shall be carried out according to the following steps:

a) Declarants or processing entities send information about single-window administrative procedures to the national single-window portal;

b) The national single-window portal receives and forwards information to specialized processing systems;

c) Processing entities receives, handles information, responds with the status of sent information, processes and informs information processing results on the national single-window portal;   

d) The national single-window portal replies with the status of information received/processed, informs information processing results to declarants and relevant specialized information processing systems.

2. The decision-making procedures on the national single-window system shall be implemented as follows:

a) Processing entities under the control of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Health, process received information, grants licenses, certificates and confirmation letters for exports or imports to declarants, and sends licenses, certificates or confirmation letters or informs other processing results to customs authorities via the national single-window portal;

b) Customs authorities issue final decisions on customs clearance of exports, imports or in-transit goods based on licenses, and on processing results that processing entities send to customs clearance systems of customs authorities through the national single-window portal. 

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Electronic transactions performed on the national single-window system (hereinafter referred to as electronic transactions) shall include:

1. Declaring, receiving or responding with information concerning the document processing in order to implement administrative procedures on the national single-window portal.

2. Receiving and forwarding declared information from the national single-window portal to specialized processing systems.

3. Receiving processing results sent from specialized processing systems to the national single-window portal.

4. Exchanging information between specialized processing systems through the national single-window portal.

Article 6. Single-window administrative documents

1. Classification of electronic documents:

Electronic documents shall be comprised of the followings:

a) Information declared in the following forms, e.g. declaration forms, application forms, registration forms, registration confirmation forms or others, used for implementing administrative procedures named in the list of single-window administrative procedures; 

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c) Informing acceptance or rejection or requiring any amendment or supplement to information provided on the national single-window system.

2. Legal value of electronic documents:

a) Electronic documents shall have the same value as paper documents;

b) Electronic documents must be prepared according to criteria or samples of Ministries intended for single-window administrative procedures as provided in the Appendix I hereto; 

c) Sending, receipt, storage and legal value of electronic documents shall be subject to legislative regulations on electronic transactions and other provisions of relevant legislation;

d) Electronic documents must fully conform to requirements of specialized laws as to single-window administrative procedures;

dd) Electronic documents must bear digital signatures of competent persons regulated by specialized laws with respect to single-window administrative procedures in the event that declarants register their use of digital signatures;

e) Creation of electronic documents and transformation of electronic documents from paper documents and vice versa shall be subject to laws on electronic transactions or specialized laws with respect to single-window administrative procedures prescribed in clause 1 of Article 1 herein.

3. Electronic documents converted from paper documents such as photocopied (scanned) documents shall be published by Ministries according to provisions laid down in clause 4 of Article 13 herein for the purpose of implementation of single-window administrative procedures.

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Article 7. Registration of accounts held by users of the national single-window portal

1. In case declarants have already been granted accounts used for signing in existing specialized processing systems, they may choose to use one of these accounts to log in the national single-window portal.  In order to use these accounts, declarants must access the national single-window portal at www.vnsw.gov.vn and must register these accounts on the national single-window portal by providing information requested in the Form I in the Appendix III hereto. The administrator or the national single-window portal shall be responsible for instructing declarants to use accounts used for logging in the national single-window portal in case they face any issues that may arise.

2. In case declarants have not yet been granted user’s accounts by Ministries, user’s accounts on the national single-window portal shall be registered as follows:

a) Declarants sign in the national single-window portal at www.vnsw.gov.vn and enter document information on the national single-window portal by providing information requested in the Form I in the Appendix III hereto. Within 01 working day of receipt of document information provided on the national single-window portal, the administrator of the national single-window portal checks and verifies information provided by declarants. In case submitted documents are refused or are insufficient, the administrator of the national single-window portal shall be responsible for sending electronic notifications (clearly stating reasons) to declarants.    In case submitted documents are sufficient and fully meet requirements, the administrator of the national single-window portal shall have to inform acceptance of declarants’ documents by sending electronic mails; inform user's names and passwords to declarants;

b) After granting new accounts to declarants, the national single-window portal sends new user’s account information to specialized processing systems.

3. If users are public officers or servants working for affiliates of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Health, accounts shall be granted to users on the national single-window portal according to the following procedures:  

a) Ministries compile the list of user’s accounts to be granted on the national single-window portal, clearly specifying full names, titles, workplaces and rights to use functions administered by respective Ministries on the national single-window portal according to the form provided by the administrator of the national single-window portal on that portal, and send written notifications to the administrator of the national single-window portal;

b) Within duration of 05 working days, after consulting technical requirements, in order to ensure system security and safety, the administrator of the national single-window portal considers the number of accounts that Ministries require to be granted, agrees to user's accounts requested by Ministries and informs about default account names and passwords in writing to Ministries.    If the number of new accounts is fewer than the number of accounts requested by Ministries, the administrator of the national single-window portal should give clear explanations in its written notifications sent to Ministries.  

Section 2: REGULATIONS ON THE NATIONAL SINGLE-WINDOW PORTAL

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1. Comply with specialized laws or legislation on protection of state secrets, protection of trade secrets and confidential business information with respect to electronic transactions performed on the national single-window portal.

2. Ensure accuracy, objectivity, adequacy and timeliness of electronic transactions performed on the national single-window portal.

Article 9. Functions of the national single-window portal

1. Receiving relevant electronic documents and information, validating digital signatures of declarants and those sent from processing entities.

2. Forwarding other electronic documents and information of declarants to specialized processing systems (including digital signatures, if declarants use digital signatures), storing information sent by declarants on the national single-window portal to serve searching and statistical purposes.

3. Receiving notifications from specialized processing systems.

4. Returning electronic documents to declarants (including digital signatures, if these systems use digital signatures).

5. Responding with processing results of Ministries to relevant specialized processing systems.

6. Storing the status of electronic transactions performed on the national single-window portal and storing electronic documents.

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Article 10. Authority and extent of access to the national single-window portal

1. Persons obtaining permission to access the national single-window portal shall include:

a) Organizations or individuals carrying out administrative procedures prescribed in Article 1 herein;

b) Customs authorities or entities directly or indirectly affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Ministry of Health;

c) State regulatory authorities not defined in point b of this clause that are allowed to use information available on the national single-window portal.

2. Extent and authority of access:

a) Organizations or individuals specified in point a of clause 1 of this Article may have access to the national single-window portal to declare information, receive feedbacks on information about processing of documents for implementation of single-window administrative procedures, get other single-window administrative documents and processing results with respect to single-window administrative procedures, and searching information available for the public on the single-window customs portal;

b) Persons specified in point b of clause 1 of this Article may have access to the single-window portal in order to receive information, process information and return processing results in the form of single-window administrative documents or other processing results with respect to single-window administrative procedures, and obtain other single-window administrative documents and processing results from relevant entities;

c) Persons referred to in point c of clause 1, subject to clause 2 of Article 25 herein.

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In case declarants use digital signatures for implementing single-window administrative procedures on the national single-window portal, they must comply with the following regulations:

1. Digital signatures that declarants use for carrying out single-window administrative procedures must be public ones granted to organizations, must have been registered with the administrator of the national single-window portal and must be certified compatible with the national single-window portal system.

2. Use of digital signatures and legal value of digital signatures shall be subject to the State’s regulatory framework on digital signatures and digital signature authentication service.

3. Before using digital signatures for carrying out single-window administrative procedures, users shall have to register them with the administrator of the national single-window portal. Information about digital signatures may be registered promptly after declarants finish applying for grant of user’s accounts. In case declarants have already possessed user’s accounts but have not yet registered their digital signatures or wish to register more digital signatures, they must sign in the national single-window portal by using their registered accounts and must fully enter all of the following information:

a) Name and tax identification number of the exporter or importer;

b) Full name, ID card or passport number, title (if any) of the holder of digital certificate;

c) Serial number of the digital certificate;

d) Validity period of the digital certificate.

4. Declarants shall have to re-register information defined in clause 3 of this Article with the administrator of the national single-window portal if registered information has been changed; the validity period of the digital certificate is extended; the key pair has been changed; the digital certificate is temporarily suspended.

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Article 12. Responsibilities of the administrator of the national single-window portal

1. Carrying out the technical management, maintenance and upgrade of hardware, network, security and safety systems designed for operating the national single-window portal, connecting the national single-window portal with specialized processing systems and users of the national single-window portal at the address www.vnsw.gov.vn.

2. Managing, operating, maintaining and upgrading the national single-window portal system to meet requirements of involved parties.

3. Managing accounts and granting accounts to users of the national single-window portal.

4. Providing necessary conditions for the national single-window portal to ensure continuous connections to specialized processing systems.   Ensuring that information technology infrastructure operates continually 24 hours per day and 7 days per week.

5. Informing specialized processing systems about plans to implement required procedures and the time of handling of failures in case the national single-window portal faces such failures.

6. Providing technical consultancy and assistance for specialized processing systems and declarants upon request.

Article 13: Responsibilities of Ministries

1. Providing necessary conditions for the national single-window portal to ensure continuous connections to specialized processing systems. 

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3. Synchronizing lists of relevant data and codes, administered by specialized processing systems under their respective jurisdiction, with the national single-window portal in the event that these lists and codes need to be synchronized in order to ensure sound operation of the national single-window portal system.

4. Setting criteria for communication and sample formats of electronic documents under the jurisdiction of each Ministry.

5. Presiding over the building, management and operation of information technology systems under their respective jurisdiction.

6. In case of any failure of a specialized processing system of a Ministry, informing the administrator of the national single-window portal about plans to implement required procedures and the time of handling of failures.

7. Informing email addresses of Ministries, names of information receiving entities and telephone numbers to the administrator of the national single-window portal in order to receive information and notifications in case of system failures or where necessary. Managing electronic mailboxes intended for receiving information about system failures and developing plans to take prompt actions.

Article 14. Information and data safety assurance

1. The administrator of the national single-window portal shall take responsibility to ensure information and data safety of transactions performed on the national single-window portal. Data management and backup shall be carried out at specialized processing systems. Ministries connected to the national single-window portal shall be responsible for applying measures to ensure safety for information sent to the national single-window portal.

2. Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for applying professional and technical measures necessary to protect security for the national single-window portal, ensuring the correct, timely and effective sharing of information and data with entities or persons specified herein. 

3. Users shall be responsible for accuracy and adequacy of information and data provided on the national single-window portal in accordance with regulations laid down in specialized legislative documents with respect to administrative procedures related to such provision of information or data.

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In case failures or errors resulting in exchange and provision of information in electronic form occur,

1. The administrator of the national single-window portal must immediately inform declarants and regulatory authorities involved in a proper and electronic form by using the address registered with the administrator in accordance with clause 7 of Article 13 herein.   

2. Processing entities shall inform declarants in writing or via electronic mails via the addresses given in declarant’s registration forms in order to complete procedures currently implemented on the national single-window portal.

3. During the period of handling of failures, administrative procedures shall be carried out in other forms in accordance with laws in force.

Section 3: PROCEDURES FOR DECLARATION, RECEIPT, EXCHANGE AND RESPONSE ON THE NATIONAL SINGLE-WINDOW PORTAL

Article 16. Declarants, and their rights and obligations

1. Declarants specified in clause 5 of Article 3 herein shall include:

a) Customs declarants;

b) Domestic or foreign entities and persons involved in management, production, business and use of animal feeds within the territory of Vietnam; owners or authorized representatives of owners of plant quarantine articles imported, in transit and transported domestically; declarants of exported animal product quarantine; signatories of applications for CITES permits; domestic or foreign organizations and individuals involved in the management, production, business and use of aquatic feeds within the territory of Vietnam; exporting seafood businesses or entities and persons exporting seafood shipments; fertilizer importing tradespersons; 

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d) Vietnamese tradespersons and other entities or persons importing medical equipment for free sale in Vietnam; organizations and individuals importing food, food additives, food processing aids, instruments and materials for wrapping and storing food; organizations and individuals importing cosmetics; chemical and medical test equipment manufacturing, trading, importing and distributing businesses submitting applications for marketing authorization of quick food test kits in Vietnam; organizations and individuals engaged in exporting and importing finished medicines.

2. Declarants shall be vested with the following rights:

a) Receive support for training of users given by the administrator of the national single-window portal and processing entities and information necessary to access, declare information and use useful functions of the national single-window portal; 

b) Receive assurance of information safety, protection of trade secrets and confidential business information from the administrator of the national single-window portal and processing entities;

c) Receive information about the processing of documents used for implementation of single-window administrative procedures from processing entities;

3. Declarants shall take on the following obligations:

a) Comply with laws on criteria and formats of information provided according to technical requirements for specific single-window administrative procedures;

b) Comply with laws on digital signatures with respect to electronic transactions in which digital signatures are required;

c) Pay taxes, fees, charges and remit other receipts in accordance with law;

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dd) Keep the archives of single-window administrative documents (even including duplicate copies thereof) in accordance with laws on electronic transactions and specialized legislative documents; provide electronic documents and/or paper documents relating to exports, imports, in-transit goods, means of transport upon entry or exit or in transit, for processing entities to serve the purposes of inspection and audit within their competence;

e) Meet information technology and technical requirements set forth in specialized laws in order to carry out single-window administrative procedures;

g) Bear responsibility before law for declared information upon implementing single-window administrative procedures.

Article 17. Declaration, revision and supplementation of declared information and submission of documents required upon implementation of single-window administrative documentation

1. Declaration, revision, supplementation of declared information may be carried out in either forms of creation of e-declaration information as follows:

a) Creating information declared according to criteria or formats of forms designed by Ministries, and according to data standards according to the instructions given by the administrator of the national single-window portal, and send such information to the national single-window portal;

b) Declaring information directly on the national single-window portal.

2. Revision and supplementation of declared information shall be subject to laws on relevant procedures.

3. Submitting documents as part of single-window administrative documentation:

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b) With regard to paper documents, declarants must send them in accordance with provisions laid down in specialized legislative documents.

Article 18. Receipt and response upon receipt of declared information

1. The national single-window portal receives information declared online within 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.

2. The national single-window portal receives declared information and sends responses about such information automatically to declarants and specialized processing systems.

Article 19. Processing of information and notification of information processing results

Processing entities shall assume the following responsibilities:

1. Receiving and processing declared information.

2. Responding with the status of receipt and processing of declared information to declarants and entities related to the implementation of procedures via the national single-window portal.

3. Responding with the receiving or processing status of declared information to declarants and entities related to the implementation of procedures via the national single-window portal.

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Article 20. Procedures for exchanging information between the national single-window portal and Ministries

1. The national single-window portal receives declared information with respect to documents prescribed in the Appendix II hereto and sends such information to respective specialized processing systems of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Health;

2. Specialized processing systems check adequacy and integrity of data contained in declared information, send responses to confirm whether information is received successfully or error notifications during the process of receipt of such information to the national single-window portal;

3. In case where specialized processing systems successfully receive declared information, processing entities must check adequacy and validity of declared information, and send replies to confirm whether such information is accepted or refused or needs to be changed or supplemented to the national single-window portal;

4. In case where processing entities accept declared information, processing entities must deal with single-window administrative documentation and must inform processing results to the national single-window portal;

5. The national single-window portal receives processing results from specialized processing systems, informs processing results to declarants and other relevant specialized processing systems;

6. Based on declared information, permits and other processing results with respect to single-window administrative procedures, sent from declarants and specialized processing systems, customs authorities handle customs documentations of customs declarants and send processing results to the national single-window portal;

7. The national single-window portal responds with processing results to declarants immediately after receipt thereof from customs authorities;

8. The national single-window portal provides customs declaration forms and processing results received from customs authorities to specialized regulatory authorities concerned in the event that administrative procedures of these authorities require submission of customs declaration forms or these authorities request submission of customs declaration forms and processing results related to procedures of supervisory authorities, received from customs authorities.

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Article 21. Principles of information exchange and provision

1. Information exchange and provision must be subject to laws and must fall within the scope of functions, duties and powers of specific stakeholders.

2. Information to be exchanged or provided must be used correctly and must serve professional purposes within the scope of functions and duties of information receivers.

3. Stakeholders shall be responsible for exchanging and providing information on time, in full and in a correct manner.

4. Stakeholders must exchange, provide, manage and use information in accordance with laws on protection of state secrets and other regulations on confidentiality protection under the respective management of Ministries. 

5. Information may be exchanged or provided between same-level stakeholders; where necessary, it may be possible to exchange information at different levels.

6. Information to be exchanged or provided between stakeholders must ensure consistency and compliance with laws on information exchanges between state regulatory authorities.

7. Affiliates of specific stakeholders prescribed in Article 26 herein that are authorized to act as presiding entities undertaking information exchange and provision must provide personnel and equipment conditions to ensure that information exchange and provision between stakeholders are smooth and timely.

Article 22. Information to be provided

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a) Electronic documents with respect to administrative procedures of the Ministry of Finance as prescribed in clause 1 of the Appendix II hereto;

b) Other processing results of customs authorities with respect to administrative procedures;

c) Information related to goods already customs-cleared or released upon the requests of Ministries.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall provide the national single-window portal with the following information:

a) Electronic documents with respect to administrative procedures of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as prescribed in clause 2 of the Appendix II hereto;

b) Other processing results of processing entities affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development with respect to administrative procedures.

c) Information about goods already obtaining permits or met with refusal to grant permits upon the requests of Ministries.

3. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall provide the national single-window portal with the following information:

a) Electronic documents with respect to administrative procedures of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment as prescribed in clause 3 of the Appendix II hereto;

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c) Information about goods already obtaining permits or met with refusal to grant permits upon the requests of Ministries.

4. Ministry of Health shall provide the national single-window portal with the following information:

a) Electronic documents with respect to administrative procedures of the Ministry of Finance as prescribed in clause 4 of the Appendix II hereto;

b) Other processing results of processing entities affiliated to the Ministry of Health with respect to administrative procedures;

c) Information about goods already obtaining permits or met with refusal to grant permits upon the requests of Ministries.

Article 23. Form of information exchange and provision

Online information exchange and provision shall take place in electronic form under the provisions of legislative documents specified in the Appendix II hereto. The administrator of the national single-window portal shall act as the entity presiding over receiving and processing information provided by Ministries for the purpose of implementation of single-window administrative procedures. In case any failure or technical error occurs or there is a lack of provided information exchange and provision functions in the system that lead to failure to exchange or provide information via an electronic system, stakeholders may temporarily use other forms such as emails or facsimiles, etc. or paper documents to serve such purposes of information exchange and provision.

Article 24. Intervals of statistics of information and deadlines for information exchange and provision

The administrator of the national single-window portal shall be responsible for providing information to presiding entities prescribed in Article 26 herein in accordance with the following particular regulations:

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2. Annual information: Making the statistics of information and data as from January 1 to December 31 and submitting the statistical report by January 20 in the subsequent month at the latest.

3. Spontaneous information: In case the National Assembly, the Government, the Steering Committee on the national single-window system, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Health, competent entities, or the ASEAN Secretariat, requests a report on or provision of information included in the list of indicators referred to in this Article or other relevant information at intervals and by the deadlines in contrast to those prescribed in clause 1 and clause 2 of this Article, the national single-window portal, Ministries, sectoral administrations and entities concerned must show their initiative in providing them upon the requests of these entities and must provide them to the national single-window portal and other relevant entities.   

Article 25. Information management and utilization

1. The Ministry of Finance shall provide the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Health, with log-in codes and passwords to have access to the national single-window portal at the address: www.vnsw.gov.vn. Entities shall be responsible for protecting confidentiality of these codes and passwords; using authority registered with the administrator of the national single-window portal for the purposes specified in the requests for grant of accounts.

2. Apart from entities promulgating this Joint Circular, the Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for sharing information with competent entities or persons for use of information available on the national single-window portal. In case where the Ministry of Finance uses information relating to the scope of management of Ministries on the national single-window portal for sending such information to competent authorities, it must obtain consent from the above-mentioned entities before providing official information to competent entities or persons for their use. Provision of information must ensure compliance with specialized laws on protection of state secrets and confidentiality of business information of businesses.

Article 26. Entities presiding over information provision and exchange activities

1. Ministries shall be responsible for assigning tasks to entities presiding over information provision and exchange activities under the provisions of this Circular.

2. Presiding entities prescribed in clause 1 of this Article shall be responsible for assigning leaders of entities and functional divisions to perform detailed tasks regarding information exchange, provision and management, and opening and registering with the administrator of the national single-window portal electronic mailboxes, facsimile numbers, telephone numbers and addresses for cooperative purposes.

Section 5: IMPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

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1. This Circular shall take effect after 45 days from the signature date.

2. Any query arising from implementation of this Joint Circular must be sent by presiding entities on time to relevant Ministries to seek their decisions on possible actions.

Article 28. Implementary responsibilities

The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Health, shall assume the following responsibilities:

1. Undertake implementation of this Circular and direct entities directly or indirectly put under their control to comply with regulations set forth herein.

2. Provide necessary conditions to ensure that administrative procedures are implemented smoothly and by the prescribed deadline.

3. Issue the public notices of administrative procedures under their respective jurisdiction which clearly describe the numbers, components and types of documents (e.g. electronic documents, paper documents converted into electronic ones and paper documents) included in single-window administrative procedures.

4. Ensure accuracy, timeliness, safety and confidentiality of information exchanged and provided in accordance with laws in force./.

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PP. MINISTER
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
DEPUTY MINISTER





Do Hoang Anh Tuan

PP. MINISTER
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
DEPUTY MINISTER




Nguyen Thanh Long

PP. MINISTER
MINISTRY OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
DEPUTY MINISTER




Nguyen Linh Ngoc

APPENDIX I

LIST OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES TESTING THE NATIONAL SINGLE-WINDOW SYSTEM
(To the Joint Circular No. 178/2015/TTLT-BTC-BNNPTNT-BTNMT-BYT dated November 12, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Ministry of Health)

1. Single-window administrative procedures of the Ministry of Finance comprise electronic customs procedures intended for:

a) Goods exported or imported under goods sale and purchase contracts;

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c) Goods imported or exported in the form of import of input materials for production of exported goods;

d) Imports or exports of export processing businesses;

dd) Goods imported or exported for execution of investment projects;

e) Goods traded in the form of temporary import and re-export;

g) On-spot imports or exports;

h) Goods already exported but returned;

i) Goods already imported but returned;

k) Exports or imports moved to other checkpoints.

l) Imports or exports of enterprises offered preferential policies in the state management of customs;

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2. Single-window administrative procedures of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development:

a) Grant of CITES permits;

b) Registration for grant of imported aquatic feed quality certificates;

c) Grant of permits for import of agricultural plant varieties;

d) Grant of permits for import of fertilizers;

dd) Grant of phytosanitary certificates of imported, in-transit and domestically transported plants;

e) Registration of pre-certification inspection of quality of imported animal feeds;

g) Issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary certificates for exported animal products;

h) Certification of shipments of exported seafood produced at facilities in the priority list.

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3. Single-window administrative procedures of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment:

a) Registration for cross-border transportation of hazardous wastes;

b) Confirmation of registration for import of HCFC substances;

c) Confirmation of registration of import of polyon readily mixed with HCFC-141b;

d) Confirmation of registration for export of HCFC substances.

4. Single-window administrative procedures of the Ministry of Health:

a) Procedures for import of cosmetics already issuing notifications of approval in Vietnam;

b) Procedures for import of finished drugs obtaining marketing authorization numbers in Vietnam (except those containing addictive or psychotropic substances and drug precursors);

c) Permits for import of medical equipment;

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dd) Certificates of marketing authorization for kits designed for quick tests of imported food.

APPENDIX II

LIST OF ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS
(To the Joint Circular No. 178/2015/TTLT-BTC-BNNPTNT-BTNMT-BYT dated November 12, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Ministry of Health)

1. Electronic documents used for implementing single-window administrative procedures of the Ministry of Finance comprise the followings:

a) E-customs declaration forms;

b) Decisions on customs clearance, release of goods or movement of goods to storage facilities.

2. Electronic documents used for implementing single-window administrative procedures of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development comprise the followings:

a) Registration forms for pre-certification inspection of quality with endorsement received from the Department of Livestock Production; certificates of quality/notices of failure to meet quality standards or other processing results of the Department of Livestock Production;

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c) Registration forms for quarantine of exported animals and animal products; sanitary and phytosanitary certificates of animals; notices of acceptance or refusal or requests for revision or supplementation of quarantine registration information; notices of fail and requests for the second sampling; notices of inconformity with veterinary sanitation requirements; 

d) CITES permits or written documents stating refusal to grant CITES permits;

dd) Registration forms for pre-certification inspection of quality with endorsement received from the Directorate of Fisheries; certificates of quality/notices of failure to meet quality standards or other processing results of the Directorate of Fisheries;

e) Permits for import of agricultural plant varieties;

g) Permits for import of fertilizers;

h) Certificates of food safety and hygiene for exported seafood shipments.

3. Electronic documents used for implementing single-window administrative procedures of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment comprise the followings:

a) Registration forms for cross-border transportation of hazardous wastes; notices of transportation in English language prepared using the forms regulated in the Basel Convention (http://www.basel.int/techmatters/forms-notif-mov/vCOP8.pdf); duplicate copies of contracts for treatment of hazardous wastes with hazardous waste treatment entities at importing countries; materials and papers related to information provided in the registration forms for the cross-border transportation of hazardous wastes; written documents stating approval or refusal of export of hazardous wastes;

b) Registration forms for import of HCFC substances; business registration certificates or investment certificates or business licenses; sales invoices and customs declaration forms for exported goods with confirmation of completion of customs procedures received from exporting tradespersons (applicable to the case where tradespersons import HCFC substances according to defined quotas but then export them (directly or in trust), and wish to continue import of these substances).  Certification of registration for import of HCFC substances for submission of application for permits or written documents stating refusal to provide confirmation of registration for import;

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d) Registration forms for export of HCFC substances; confirmation of registration for export of HCFC substances or written documents stating refusal to confirm export registration.

4. Electronic documents used for implementing single-window administrative procedures of the Ministry of Health comprise the followings:

a) Request forms for grant of permits for import of medical equipment; permits for import of medical equipment or notices of refusal to grant permits for import of medical equipment; notices of invalidation of permits for import of medical equipment already issued in certain cases prescribed in specialized laws;

b) Registration forms for inspection of imported food; certificates of conformance of food to import regulations or notices of inconformity of food shipments with import requirements;

c) Request forms for registration of marketing authorization for quick food test kits; certificates of marketing authorization for quick food test kits or notices of refusal to grant marketing authorization for quick food test kits;

d) Decisions to grant marketing authorization registration numbers;

dd) Notifications of grant of acknowledgement numbers of cosmetics.

5. Notices of acknowledgement (acceptance/rejection/request for amendments or supplements) of information declared on the national single-window system.

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REGISTRATION FORM FOR USER’S ACCOUNT ON NATIONAL SINGLE-WINDOW PORTAL
(To the Joint Circular No. 178/2015/TTLT-BTC-BNNPTNT-BTNMT-BYT dated November 12, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and Ministry of Health)

Form I – Registration information entries intended for declarants already holding accounts on specialized processing systems

No.

Description

Required  

Repeated

I

General information

...

...

...

1

Organization’s name (in Vietnamese)

X

2

Representative’s name

X

3

...

...

...

X

4

Email

X

5

Organization’s TIN

X

...

...

...

6

Scope of operation

X

II

Information about the account selected for use on the national single-window portal

1

...

...

...

X

2

Account granting entity

X

III

Digital signature information

...

...

...

1

Identity number

X

2

Name of the entity rendering digital certificate service

X

3

...

...

...

X

4

Valid from the date (dd/mm/yyyy)

X

5

Expire on the date (dd/mm/yyyy)

...

...

...

6

Public key

X

Form II – Registration information entries intended for persons signing up for new accounts

No.

Description

Required 

Repeated

...

...

...

General information

1

Organization’s name (in Vietnamese)

X

2

Organization’s name (in English)

...

...

...

3

Abbreviated name

4

Year of establishment

X

...

...

...

Organization’s address

X

6

Website

7

Telephone

...

...

...

8

Fax

9

Business registration number

X

...

...

...

Organization’s TIN

X

11

Scope of operation

X

12

Business license (image file format)

...

...

...

II

Information about legal representative

1

Full name

X

...

...

...

Telephone

X

3

Mobile number

X

4

Email

...

...

...

III

Digital signature information

1

Identity number

X

...

...

...

Name of the entity rendering digital certificate service

X

3

Name of the digital certificate holder

X

4

Valid from the date (dd/mm/yyyy)

...

...

...

X

5

Expire on the date (dd/mm/yyyy)

X

6

Public key

X

...

...

...