CIRCULAR

REGULATING AND PROVIDING GUIDANCE ON APPLICATION AND APPRAISAL PROCEDURES OF MACHINERY, EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, AND SUBSTANCES WITH STRICT OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, HYGIENE AND HEALTH REQUIREMENTS

In accordance with Government Decree No. 110/2002/ND-CP dated 27th December 2002 on amendments and supplements of some articles of Decree No. 06/CP dated 20 January 1995, regulating in detail some articles of Labour Code on labour safety, hygiene and health, after being consulted by the Ministries of Health, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other related bodies, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs regulates and provides guidance on application for operational licence and appraisal procedures of machinery, equipment, materials, and substances with strict occupational safety, hygiene, and health requirements as follows:

I. SCOPE AND SUBJECTS OF APPLICATION

Enterprises, companies, organizations and individuals (hereinafter referred to as units) using machinery, equipment, materials, and substances with strict occupational safety, hygiene, and health requirements (hereinafter referred to as objects) subject to the lists regulated by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs in Appendix No. 01 attached to this Circular, and by the Ministry of Health in the Appendix attached to Circular No. 05/1999/TT-BYT dated 27th March 1999 regulating the declaration, application, and issuance of licences towards substances with strict occupational hygiene and health requirements, shall apply for operational licence and appraisal before the machinery, equipment, materials, and substances with strict occupational safety, hygiene, and health requirements are used:

- Undertakings established and operating under the State Enterprise Law include: trading and manufacturing undertakings, undertakings of public interest, and undertakings of armed forces;

- Undertakings established and operating under the Enterprise Law include: limited liability companies, joint stock companies, partnerships, and private enterprises;

- Undertakings established and operating under the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam include: joint-venture enterprises, and enterprises with 100% foreign-invested capital;

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- Households, individual businesses, co-operative business groups, co-operatives and individuals;

- Administrative and non-productive bodies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-politic-trade organizations, and other social organizations including: units entitled to perform manufacturing, trading, servicing activities belonging to administrative and non-productive bodies, the Communist Party, unions, and self-financed public gatherings;

- Semi-state owned units, people-run units and private units working in culture, health, education, training, science, gymnastics and sport and other non-productive institutions;

- Clinics in communes, wards and towns;

- Foreign companies, organizations and individuals or international organizations located in Vietnam except for the cases operating under different regulations in international treaties in which Vietnam is a signatory or a supporting member.

II. APPRAISAL

Appraisal is the supervision, testing, and analysis of appraisal bodies to assess the level of safety of machinery, equipment, materials, and substances with strict occupational safety, hygiene, and health requirements as stipulated in the State’s occupational safety, hygiene, and health practice codes and standards.

The appraisal procedures are stipulated as follows:

1. As for the unit:

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b. To submit technical documents related to the objects appraised and to nominate a representative to witness the appraisal process;

c. To mitigate problems causing safety concerns related to the appraisal work.

2. As for the appraisal body:

a. To implement the appraisal within 10 working days from the receipt of request by the unit; however, in case the request from the unit cannot be executed within 5 working days after the receipt of the request, the appraisal body shall reply to the unit with a written notice clearly stating their rational behind the delay or inability;

b. To implement the appraisal on the objects in accordance with the appraisal procedures promulgated by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the State’s occupational safety, hygiene, and health practice codes and standards.

c. To write appraisal minutes and note down all the appraisal results in accordance with the object’s record;

d. If the object meets the strict occupational safety, hygiene, and health requirements to be put into operation, within 5 working days from the announcement of the appraisal minute, the appraisal body shall provide the unit with an appraisal result note (02 copies) in the form as specified in Appendix 2 attached to this Circular;

e. During the course of the appraisal, if the object is found to potentially lead to occupational problems or occupational accidents, the appraisal body shall stop the appraisal and report the unit for mitigating solutions;

f. During the course of the appraisal, if any of the appraisal procedures or the State’s occupational safety, hygiene, and health practice codes and standards are violated, leading to material losses to the unit, the material losses shall be compensated as regulated by the law.

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The application for operational licence of the objects is stipulated as follows: a mobile object shall be applied for operational licence at the Department of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs where the unit is headquartered; a stationary object shall be applied for operational licence at the Department of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs where the object is installed and operated. The application for operational licence takes place only once before the object is put into operation.

1. As for the unit:

a. Within 5 working days after the receipt of the appraisal result note, an application file shall be submitted to the local Department of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affair;

b. The application file for operational licence includes:

- An application form subject to Appendix 3 attached to this Circular;

- The object’s record as stipulated in the State’s occupational safety, hygiene, and health practice codes and standards; as for substances with strict occupational hygiene and health requirements and industrial explosive materials, there is a form subject to Appendix 4 attached to this Circular;

- An appraisal result note; or a copy of “Licence for use of industrial explosive materials” as for industrial explosive materials;

c. If the object’s ownership is transferred, re-application shall be carried out; if the technical data of the object applied are altered as a result of any upgrading or repairing to the object, re-appraisal and re-application shall be carried out.

2. As for the Department of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs:

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b. To implement the application procedures (the form of an application book is subject to Appendix 6 attached to this Circular) within 10 working days from the receipt of a valid application file; to sign and stamp on the section reserved for the application body in the object’s record (as for substances with strict occupational hygiene and health requirements and industrial explosive materials: to sign and stamp at the bottom of the brief record).

After all the above procedures are completed, the appraisal body shall provide the unit with an application certificate subject to Appendix 7 attached to this Circular, return the object’s record to the unit, and retrieve the receipt of the application file, which has been issued.

If the object is not qualified for the application, the appraisal body shall advise the unit in writing stating all reasons subject to Appendix 8 attached to this Circular.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

1. The unit is responsible:

a. To check all objects subject to application and appraisal under the unit’s management responsibility to implement the application and appraisal as regulated in this Circular;

b. To make an annual plan on the appraisal of objects so the appraisal body can be requested for object appraisal;

c. To fully and strictly administer and operate the object as regulated by the State’s standards and practice codes on occupational safety, hygiene and health;

d. If the validity of the usage period of an object applied and licensed for use has not expired before this Circular is valid, the object shall remain legitimate in use. Once the validity of the usage period expires, its application and appraisal shall be implemented as regulated in this Circular.

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a. To implement appraisal at the request of the unit in a timely manner;

b. To make a three-month report (before day 5 of the following quarter) to the Department of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs, where the object was applied for use, subject to Appendix 9 attached to this Circular.

3. The Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs is responsible:

a. To implement the application within its regulated jurisdiction by this Circular, creating favorable conditions for the unit to quickly complete the application procedures;

b. To inspect and supervise the appraisal and usage of the object under its management jurisdiction;

c. To uniformly administer application certificates as regulated in this Circular; to periodically make 6-month (before the 20th of July) and 1-year (before the 31st of January of the following year) reports to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs on the local application for operational licence and appraisal situation subject to Appendix 10 attached to this Circular.

4. The Bureau of Occupational Safety is responsible:

a. To help the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs with the State’s uniform administration on application and appraisal and setting forms of application certificates;

b. To circulate, guide, and supervise the implementation of this Circular;

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5. Ministries, Ministry-equivalent bodies, governmental institutions, Provincial and Municipal People’s Committees under the Centre are responsible for instructing, supervising, and accelerating progress for the units under their administration to implement the regulations of this Circular.

This Circular is valid 15 days after being published on the official gazette and supersedes Circular No.22/TT-LDTBXH dated 8th November, 1996 by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs providing guidance of declaration, application for usage and issuance of licences for machinery, equipment, materials and substances with strict occupational safety, hygiene and health requirements.

During the implementation course, any questions or problems that arise shall be addressed to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs for reviewing and solutions.

MINISTER




Nguyen Thi Hang