No. 116/2014/ND-CP

Ha Noi, December 04, 2014

DECREE
PROVIDING DETAILED REGULATIONS ON SEVERAL ARTICLES OF THE LAW ON PLANT PROTECTION AND QUARANTINE

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

Pursuant to the Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine dated November 25, 2013;

At the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

The Government promulgates this Decree providing detailed regulations on several articles of the Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine.

Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Decree provides detailed regulations and guidance on the implementation of Article 9, Article 17, Article 21 and Article 35 of the Law on Plant Protection and Quarantine regarding specialized plant protection and quarantine agencies; declaration of plant pest outbreaks; funding for pest control; suspension of export and import; and prohibition of export and import of articles subject to plant quarantine.

Article 2. Regulated entities

This Decree applies to domestic organizations and individuals, and foreign organizations and individuals, that are involved in plant protection and quarantine activities in Viet Nam.

Article 3. System of specialized plant protection and quarantine agencies

1. The central specialized plant protection and quarantine agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has the function of advising and assisting the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in state management and in organizing law enforcement in the fields of prevention and control of organisms harmful to plants; plant quarantine; and management of plant protection products nationwide.

2. The provincial specialized plant protection and quarantine agency of a province or centrally run city (hereinafter collectively referred to as provincial level), under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, assists the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in advising the provincial-level People’s Committee on state management and in organizing law enforcement in the fields of prevention and control of organisms harmful to plants; domestic plant quarantine; and management of plant protection products within the province or centrally run city, and is subject to professional direction by the central specialized plant protection and quarantine agency.

3. The district-level specialized plant protection and quarantine agency of a district, urban district, town or provincial city (hereinafter collectively referred to as district level), under the provincial specialized plant protection and quarantine agency, performs assigned tasks within the district-level locality and coordinates with the Division of Agriculture and Rural Development in assisting the district-level People’s Committee in state management in the fields of prevention and control of organisms harmful to plants; domestic plant quarantine; and management of plant protection products within the district-level locality.

4. Local specialized plant protection and quarantine agencies operate in accordance with guidance issued by the Minister of Home Affairs and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Chapter II
DECLARATION OF PLANT PEST OUTBREAKS AND PEST CONTROL FUNDING

Article 4. Conditions for declaring a plant pest outbreak

1. For an organism harmful to plants that is not a plant quarantine pest and is not an unknown harmful organism, the following two conditions must be satisfied:

a) The harmful organism has increased abnormally in number, affected area and level of damage compared with the average of the two consecutive years immediately preceding the time of outbreak declaration and according to forecasts by the provincial-level or higher specialized plant protection and quarantine agency; it poses a risk of rapid spread over a large area, seriously affecting production, the environment and people’s lives, and exceeds the control capacity of plant owners;

b) Management measures against the harmful organism have been applied by plant owners under the guidance of the specialized plant protection and quarantine agency but have not been effective, and urgent measures must be applied, compelling plant owners and relevant organizations and individuals in the outbreak area to strictly implement them for a specified period in order to quickly control and extinguish the outbreak.

2. For a plant quarantine pest or an unknown harmful organism: when such pest or organism is detected as having appeared in or entered the territory of Viet Nam, posing a risk of population establishment and wide spread, and urgent measures must be applied, compelling plant owners and relevant organizations and individuals in the outbreak area to strictly implement them in order to quickly surround and thoroughly handle the plant quarantine pest or unknown harmful organism.

Article 5. Order and procedures for declaring a plant pest outbreak

1. Order and procedures for declaring a plant pest outbreak:

a) Based on Article 4 of this Decree, the central specialized plant protection and quarantine agency shall report to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; the provincial specialized plant protection and quarantine agency shall submit to the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for reporting to the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee on the pest situation, factual data proving that the conditions for outbreak declaration are met and the necessity of declaring the outbreak, and shall propose the scope of the outbreak declaration and control measures;

b) The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall, based on the report of the head of the central specialized plant protection and quarantine agency, decide on outbreak declaration; the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall, based on the report of the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, decide on outbreak declaration;

c) Where necessary, the person competent to declare the outbreak shall establish an advisory council to obtain opinions. The council shall be chaired by the person competent to declare the outbreak or his/her deputy; the head of the central specialized plant protection and quarantine agency or the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall act as vice-chair; members shall include representatives of relevant agencies and organizations and experienced experts in the field of plant protection. The advisory council shall review the report of the specialized plant protection and quarantine agency and propose to the competent person the outbreak declaration, the scope of the outbreak declaration and control measures.

2. Decision on declaration of a plant pest outbreak:

a) The contents of the outbreak declaration decision include the plant pest, the affected subject, the scope of the outbreak declaration, outbreak control measures and the effectiveness of the decision;

b) Within 24 hours from the outbreak declaration, the outbreak declaration decision must be publicly announced on central and local mass media; the local government where the outbreak is declared must notify plant owners and relevant organizations and individuals in the locality for knowledge and implementation.

Article 6. Order and procedures for declaring the end of a plant pest outbreak

1. When a plant pest outbreak has been controlled and no longer poses a risk of causing serious damage, the central specialized plant protection and quarantine agency shall report the pest control results and propose declaration of the end of the outbreak to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; the provincial specialized plant protection and quarantine agency shall submit to the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for reporting the pest control results and proposing declaration of the end of the outbreak to the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee.

2. The report on pest control results and proposal for declaration of the end of the outbreak shall include: developments of the outbreak and forecast of the development trend of the harmful organism; measures to remedy consequences caused by the outbreak, stabilize life and restore production; sustainable management measures against the harmful organism; and legal, scientific and practical grounds for proposing declaration of the end of the outbreak.

3. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall, based on the report of the head of the central specialized plant protection and quarantine agency, decide to declare the end of the outbreak; the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall, based on the report of the Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, decide to declare the end of the outbreak.

4. Within 24 hours from the signing of the decision declaring the end of the outbreak by the competent person, the decision must be publicly announced on central and local mass media.

Article 7. Funding for plant pest control

1. Sources of funding for plant pest control: a) The state budget according to the current decentralization; b) Funds of organizations and individuals that own, use or directly manage plant owners; c) Contributions and sponsorship from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals, international organizations, and other lawful sources.

2. Persons eligible for state budget support for plant pest control funding: a) Plant owners whose plants are damaged by pest outbreaks or who are compelled to apply pest control measures at the request of competent state agencies; b) Persons participating in plant pest control.

3. Supported contents for plant pest control: a) Communication, training and organization of pest control; b) Vehicles, equipment and plant protection products used for pest control; c) Damage caused by pest outbreaks; d) Damage caused by the application of plant treatment measures at the request of competent state agencies and treatment costs.

4. Support levels for plant pest control: a) For supported contents for which state-prescribed norms and standards are available, expenditures shall comply with current regulations; b) For supported contents for which no norms or standards have been prescribed, the Minister of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development in submitting to the Prime Minister for decision the support levels from the central budget; the Chairperson of the provincial-level People’s Committee shall decide support levels from the local budget.

5. Use of state budget funding for plant pest control: a) Funding for local pest control shall be decided by People’s Committees at all levels using local budget contingency funds in accordance with the Law on State Budget. Where plant pest control funding arises in a large amount beyond the balancing capacity of the local budget, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall send a report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consolidation and submission to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision; b) Funding for pest control activities of central agencies shall be allocated from the central budget in accordance with the Law on State Budget.

6. Use of plant owners’ funding for plant pest control: expenses for pest control other than support funding from the state budget and sponsorship from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals, international organizations, if any.

7. Use of funding for plant pest control from contributions and sponsorship by domestic and foreign organizations and individuals, international organizations and other lawful sources: a) Contributions and sponsorship from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals that constitute state budget revenues shall be implemented in accordance with the Law on State Budget; b) Other lawful contributions and sponsorship shall be implemented according to the sponsor’s requirements.

Chapter III
SUSPENSION OF EXPORT AND IMPORT; PROHIBITION OF EXPORT AND IMPORT OF ARTICLES SUBJECT TO PLANT QUARANTINE

Article 8. Suspension of export and import of articles subject to plant quarantine (hereinafter referred to as articles)

1. Export of articles shall be suspended in the following cases: a) The articles pose a high risk of carrying plant quarantine pests of the importing country and no thorough treatment measure is available; b) The articles have violated the importing country’s regulations, the cause of violation has not been thoroughly remedied, and there is a risk of losing the export market.

2. Import of articles shall be suspended in the following cases: a) The articles are imported from a country or territory posing a high risk of carrying plant quarantine pests of Viet Nam and no thorough treatment measure is available; b) The articles are imported from a country or territory where infection by a plant quarantine pest or an unknown harmful organism has been detected and the central specialized plant protection and quarantine agency has issued a notification of non-compliance with Viet Nam’s plant quarantine regulations; c) The articles are from a country or territory with official information on an outbreak of a plant quarantine pest of Viet Nam.

Article 9. Conditions for resumption of export and import of articles subject to plant quarantine

1. Conditions for resumption of export of articles: a) The articles have fully undergone measures guided by the competent specialized plant protection and quarantine agency; b) The articles have been inspected, supervised and certified as having effectively implemented measures to remedy the risks specified in Clause 1 Article 8 of this Decree.

2. Conditions for resumption of import of articles: a) The plant quarantine agency of the exporting country has reported and identified the cause of infection by the plant quarantine pest and has applied thorough treatment measures; b) The articles have been inspected, supervised and certified as having effectively implemented measures to remedy the risks specified in Clause 2 Article 8 of this Decree.

Article 10. Prohibition of export and import of articles subject to plant quarantine

1. Export of articles shall be prohibited in the following cases: a) The articles are on the list of articles banned from import by the importing country; b) There is no treatment measure for the articles that satisfies the importing country’s regulations.

2. Import of articles shall be prohibited in the following cases: a) The articles are imported from a country or territory determined to pose a high risk of carrying plant quarantine pests, threatening domestic agricultural production and national food security, and no thorough treatment measure is available; b) The articles have been subject to an import suspension measure but remedial measures have still not been applied, or have been applied but still fail to meet Viet Nam’s import plant quarantine regulations.

Article 11. Competence to suspend or prohibit export and import of plants, or to resume export and import of articles subject to plant quarantine

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall decide on suspension or prohibition of export and import, or resumption of export and import, of articles subject to plant quarantine in accordance with this Decree.

Article 12. Order and procedures for suspension or prohibition of export and import of articles subject to plant quarantine

1. Based on Article 8 and Article 10 of this Decree, the central specialized plant protection and quarantine agency shall identify the specific types of articles subject to suspension or prohibition of export or import, the reasons for suspension or prohibition of export or import with respect to a certain country or territory, and report to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall, based on the report of the central specialized plant protection and quarantine agency, consider and, where necessary, hold meetings to seek opinions from relevant ministries and sectors before deciding on suspension or prohibition of export or import of articles.

3. The decision on suspension or prohibition of export or import of articles must specify: a) The name of the articles, including scientific name; b) The name of the country or territory from which the articles are exported to Viet Nam or imported from Viet Nam; c) The reasons for suspension or prohibition of export or import, including legal and scientific grounds; d) The decision shall take effect after 02 months (60 days) from the signing date and, within 24 hours, must be officially announced on mass media and notified to the competent plant quarantine authority of the exporting country or territory.

Article 13. Order and procedures for resumption of export and import of articles subject to plant quarantine

1. Based on Article 9 of this Decree, the central specialized plant protection and quarantine agency shall inspect, supervise and certify the effective implementation of remedial measures and report to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development shall, based on the report of the central specialized plant protection and quarantine agency, consider and decide on resumption of export or import of articles.

3. The decision on resumption of export or import of articles shall take effect from the signing date and, within 24 hours, must be officially announced on mass media and notified to the competent plant quarantine authority of the exporting country or territory.

Chapter IV
IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 14. Effectiveness

1. This Decree takes effect from January 18, 2015.

2. The Regulation on plant protection and the Regulation on management of plant protection products promulgated together with Decree No. 58/2002/ND-CP dated June 03, 2002 of the Government; and Decree No. 02/2007/ND-CP dated January 05, 2007 of the Government on plant quarantine, cease to be effective from the effective date of this Decree.

Article 15. Implementation responsibility

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, and relevant agencies shall be responsible for implementing this Decree.

Recipients: Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party; Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers; ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Government-attached agencies; People’s Councils and People’s Committees of provinces and centrally run cities; relevant agencies; Archives: Clerical Office, KTN (3b).

ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT
PRIME MINISTER

Nguyen Tan Dung