Thông tư 03/2020/TT-BKHDT

CIRCULAR

PROCEDURES FOR INSPECTING USE OF STATE STATISTICAL FIGURES AND INFORMATION

Pursuant to the Law on Statistics dated November 23, 2015;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 94/2016/ND-CP dated July 01, 2016 on guidelines for some Articles of the Law on Statistics;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 95/2016/ND-CP dated July 01, 2016 on penalties for administrative violations against regulations on statistics;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 86/2017/ND-CP dated July 25, 2017 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Planning and Investment;

At the request of the General Director of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam;

The Ministry of Planning and Investment hereby promulgates a Circular on procedures for inspecting use of state statistical figures and information.

Chapter I

GENERAL

Article 1. Scope

This Circular provides for power, procedures, documents, contents and methods for inspection of use of state statistical figures and information belonging to the national statistical indicator system, provincial, district, commune-level statistical indicator systems, which have been announced by competent authorities.

Article 2. Regulated entities

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals that have the power to inspect the use of state statistical figures and information affiliated to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam and Statistics Offices of provinces and central-affiliated cities (hereinafter referred to as “provincial Statistics Offices”); organizations and individuals that use state statistical figures and information belonging to provincial, district, commune-level statistical indicator system, which have been announced by competent authorities.

Article 3. Definitions

1. “statistical indicator system” means a collection of statistical indicators reflecting characteristics of socio-economic phenomenon. Statistical indicator system includes the list and contents of statistical indicators. The list of statistical indicators includes codes, groups and names of indicators. Contents of statistical indicators include concepts, calculation methods, main groupings, announcement periods, sources of figures of statistical indicators and bodies responsible for collection and compilation.

2. “estimated statistical figures” mean statistical figures anticipating socio-economic phenomena currently happening, compiled from figures of past periods, updated from realities and figures of future periods, using professional methods for estimation.

3. “preliminary statistical figures” mean statistical figures reflecting results of socio-economic phenomenon adequately in a specific space and time but not being asserted and requiring further assessment and checks.

4. “official statistical figures” mean statistical figures reflecting results of socio-economic phenomenon adequately and accurately in a specific space and time that are processed, compiled, assessed and asserted.

5. “statistical information” means statistical data processed, compiled and analyzed according to statistical method, process and professional competence to reflect characteristics and attributes of study phenomenon. Statistical information includes statistical figures and tabular analysis of such figures.

6. “state statistical information” means statistical information produced by state statistics having legal value and announced by competent agencies.

Article 4. Inspection

An inspection of the use of state statistical figures or information shall be conducted in accordance with the following rules:

1. Comply with regulations of law on inspection.

2. Conduct the inspection in a prompt, specific, public, transparent and objective manner.

3. Adhere to the inspection contents and time specified in the approved inspection plan.

4. Do not obstruct occasional tasks of organizations and individuals that are the inspected entity.

Article 5. Standards to be satisfied by the chief and members of an inspectorate

1. The head of an authority or unit assigned to take charge of conducting an inspection shall select an official whose qualifications satisfy the inspection requirements to act as an inspectorate chief.

2. Members of an inspectorate are officials of affiliates of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam and provincial Statistics Offices.

3. Requirements to be satisfied by the chief and members of the inspectorate:

a) They must have good moral character and a strong sense of responsibility and be honest, righteous and objective.

b) They must be knowledgeable about statistics and inspection; capable of analyzing, assessing and consolidating issues concerning contents and fields to be covered by the inspection.

c) The official appointed as the chief of the inspectorate must be capable of instructing members to perform tasks; hold the principal official title or the equivalent or higher of any of the affiliates of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam or the division deputy dead title or higher of any of the affiliates of provincial Statistics Offices.

Chapter II

INSPECTION PROCEDURES

Section 1. FORMULATION AND APPROVAL OF INSPECTION PLAN

Article 6. Formulation and approval of the annual plan to inspect use of state statistical figures and information

1. According to the work plan and administrative requirements, the General Director of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam shall decide to unveil an annual plan to inspect the use of state statistical figures and information.

2. Procedures for formulation and approval of the annual plan to inspect the use of state statistical figures and information:

a) The General Director of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam shall propose an annual plan to inspect the use of state statistical figures and information to provincial Statistics Offices and affiliates of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam before October 30 of the year before the plan year.

b) Every provincial Statistics Office and affiliate of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam shall, within their jurisdiction, formulate an annual plan to inspect the use of state statistical figures and information to the General Director of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam before November 25 of the year before the plan year.

c) The General Director of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam shall consider approving the plan by December 15 of the year before the plan year.

d) In case the plan needs adjusting, every provincial Statistics Office and affiliate of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam shall submit an adjustment plan to the General Director of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam by June 10 every year for consideration and approval.

3. After the annual inspection plan or adjusted inspection plan is unveiled, they shall be sent to relevant individuals, organizations and units for cooperation purposes.

4. The annual inspection/adjusted inspection shall be registered using the Form No. 01 enclosed herewith.

Article 7. Irregular inspection of use of state statistical figures and information

The General Director of General Statistics Office of Vietnam shall conduct an irregular inspection of the use of state statistical figures and information if it is found that the organization or individual using state statistical figures and information belonging to the provincial, district or commune-level statistical indicator system announced by a competent authority is suspected of violating regulations of law on use of state statistical figures and information or at the request of the General Director of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam or provincial Statistic Office.

Section 2. CONDUCTING INSPECTION

Article 8. Formulation and approval of detailed inspection decision

1. According to the approved annual inspection plan, the General Director of General Statistics Office of Vietnam or Director of the provincial Statistics Offices shall issue a detailed decision to inspect the use of state statistical figures and information within his/her power.

2. The head of the unit assigned to take charge of the inspection shall develop a draft detailed inspection decision and submit it to the authority that has the power to issue the inspection decision for approval.

3. The inspection decision shall be made using the Form No. 02 enclosed herewith.

Article 9. Formulation and approval of detailed inspection plan

1. Within 3 working days from the date on which the detailed inspection decision is issued, the chief of the inspectorate shall prepare a detailed inspection plan and submit it to the authority that has the power to issue the detailed inspection decision for approval. In the case of an irregular inspection, the aforementioned time limit shall not exceed 1 working day.

2. The detailed inspection decision or detailed inspection plan that has been approved shall be sent to the inspected entity and relevant organizations and individuals at least 5 working days prior to the inspection (except for irregular inspection).

3. The detailed inspection decision shall be made using the Form No. 03 enclosed herewith.

Article 10. Time limit for inspection

1. The inspectorate shall inspect the inspected entity at their premises or place where the inspection and verification are carried out within 7 working days; in complicated case, the aforementioned time limit may be extended but must not exceed 10 working days.

2. The chief of the inspectorate shall submit an application form for extension to the authority that has the power to issue the detailed inspection decision. The authority shall, according to the application form submitted by the chief and opinions of the relevant unit, decide the extension.

3. The extension decision shall be made using the Form No. 08 enclosed herewith.

Article 11. Formulation of inspection proposal

1. The chief of the inspectorate shall formulate an inspection proposal and submit it together with the detailed inspection plan.

2. An inspection proposal includes:

a) An overview of the inspected entity.

b) A specific condition report enclosed with documents relating to the inspection contents.

c) Specific result of performance of each task specified in the inspection plan; assessment of performance results according to the archived documents.

d) Recommendations (if any).

Article 12. Notification of detailed inspection decision and plan

1. Within 10 days from the date on which the detailed inspection decision is issued, the chief of the inspectorate shall notify the detailed inspection decision and plan to the inspected authority.

2. The inspectorate’s chief shall take charge of notifying the detailed inspection decision and plan, specifying tasks, powers and working methods of the inspectorate, members of the inspectorate, rights and responsibilities of the inspected entity, expected working scheme and other contents related to the inspection.

3. The head of the inspected entity or authorized person shall report inspection contents according to the proposal requested by the inspectorate. After receiving the report, the inspectorate’s chief may request the inspected authority to supplement or complete it.

Article 13. Scope and contents of the inspection

1. The inspectorate has the power to inspect the use of state statistical figures and information of national statistical indicators, provincial, district and commune-level statistical indicators as announced by competent authorities.

2. Inspection contents:

a) Accuracy and conformity of statistical figures/information used versus statistical figures/information announced;

b) Information sources to be extracted from.

Article 14. Collection of information and documents on inspection contents

1. During the inspection, the inspectorate’s chief and members shall request the inspected entity to provide information and documents on the inspection contents. The management and use of information and documents collected during the inspection shall comply with regulations of law.

2. The transfer of information and documents shall be made into a record.

3. The information and document transfer record shall be made using the Form No. 09 enclosed herewith.

Article 15. Inspection and verification of information and documents

1. The inspectorate’s chief and members shall consider the information and documents collected to clarify the inspection contents; request responsible persons and persons concerned to provide explanation for unclear issues; if it is necessary to carry out inspection and verification to make sure that the assessment is conducted in an objective and accurate manner, the inspectorate’s members shall notify the chief for decision.

2. Inspection and verification methods

The inspectorate shall inspect figures and information according to the inspection contents specified in the detailed inspection decision.

a) Regarding each inspection content, the inspectorate shall compare figures and information provided by the inspected entity with those announced by the competent authority.

If the inspected entity cites information from an authority that does not have the power to announce statistical figures and information or from a product that is not an official statistical product of the authority that has the power to announce statistical figures and information, the inspectorate shall determine the sources of information.

If the inspected entity cites information from an authority in the centralized statistical system that does not have the power to announce statistical such figures and information or from an official statistical product of the authority in the centralized statistical system that does not have the power to announce such statistical figures and information other than those provided by the competent authority, the inspectorate shall notify the authority issuing the detailed inspection decision in writing.

b) The absolute difference and relative deviation (if any) of each figure, information and indicator shall be determined.

c) Upon comparison, it is required to correctly determine each type of figure/information (preliminary, estimated and official one) at the time of announcement and time when the inspected entity uses figures and information.

If the preliminary statistical figures are announced, such figures will replace estimated statistical figures from the date of announcement, except for the inspected entity’s documents clearly specify “số liệu ước tính” (“estimated figures”). If the official statistical figures are announced, such figures will replace preliminary or estimated statistical figures from the date of announcement, except for the inspected entity’s documents clearly specify “số liệu sơ bộ” (“preliminary figures”) or “số liệu ước tính” (“estimated figures”).

d) Sources of statistical figures and information to be cited by the inspected entity, including name of the document or product shall be correctly determined to have figures and information as the basis for comparison.  

dd) If the statistical figures and information used by the inspected entity are sourced from the regulatory authority that announces and disseminates them ultra vires, the inspectorate shall notify the authority issuing the detailed inspection decision in writing.

3. The results of inspection and verification of information and documents on inspection contents shall be documented or made into an inspection record.

4. The inspection record shall be made using the Form No. 04 enclosed herewith.

Article 16. Application of remedial measures to inspection

1. Penalties for administrative violations against regulations on use of state statistical figures and information shall be imposed as prescribed in the Government’s Decree No. 95/2016/ND-CP dated July 01, 2016.

2. The administrative violation record shall be made using the Form No. 05 enclosed herewith.

Section 3. END OF INSPECTION

Article 17. Responsibility and time limit for submission of reports

15 days after the end of the inspection, the inspectorate's chief shall send a report on inspection results. If it is necessary to seek consultation with relevant authorities and units, a report on inspection results shall be sent within 20 working days from the end of the inspection.

The inspectorate’s chief shall take responsibility for the accuracy, truthfulness and objectiveness of the notification. If issues concerning other tasks still arise, the inspectorate’s chief shall seek consultation with relevant organizations and individuals to make sure that the inspection results are accurate and objective.

Article 18. Contents of reports and report receiving authorities

1. A report on inspection results shall specify all inspection contents specified in the detailed inspection decision, including:

 - An overview of the inspected entity.

- Results of inspection of each content: The report shall indicate advantages, limitations, deficiencies and violations (if any) discovered during the inspection; name of individuals/units shall be clearly specified.

- Characteristics and degree of deficiencies and violations; reasons therefor, responsibilities of relevant organizations and individuals.

- Assessment of performance of tasks and compliance with regulations of law on statistics by the inspected entity and organizations and individuals related to inspection contents.

- Proposed remedial measures against violations (if any) committed by relevant organizations and individuals.

- Proposed amendments to policies.

2. Report receiving authorities

The inspectorate shall submit the report on inspection results to the authority issuing the detailed inspection decision for instructions and remedial actions; and to the unit providing inspection and supervision advice to the authority issuing the detailed inspection decision. To be specific:

a) The chief of the inspectorate established by the General Director of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam shall submit the report to the General Director of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam and to the Department of Legal Affairs and Statistical Inspection.

b) The chief of the inspectorate established by the Director of provincial Statistics Office shall submit the report to the Director of provincial Statistics Office and to the Office assigned by the Director to provide inspection and supervision advice.

3. The report on inspection results shall be made using the Form No. 06 enclosed herewith.

Article 19. Responsibility for processing inspection results

The General Director of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam and Directors of provincial Statistics Offices shall consider inspection results and proposals sent by the inspectorate's chief for processing or provide advice on processing thereof within their power.

Article 20. Notification of inspection results

1. Within 15 working days from the date on which the inspection result report is received, the authority issuing the detailed inspection decision shall send a notification of inspection results.

 2. The notification of inspection results shall be sent to the inspected entity and their supervisory authority (except for the case where the inspected entity is a Ministry, ministerial agency, governmental agencies or central government authority of associations), authority managing the individual that is an inspected entity and authority that has the power to impose penalties for administrative violations against regulations on statistics with respect to violations (if any) committed by the inspected entity.

3. The report on inspection results shall be made using the Form No. 07 enclosed herewith.

Article 21. Making complaints about and denunciations of inspection results

Within 30 working days from the date on which the notification of inspection results is received, the inspected entity is entitled to make complaints about or denunciations of inspection results in accordance with regulations of law on complaints and denunciation.

Article 22. 6-month and annual final reports on inspection results

1. Before June 10 and November 25, every provincial Statistics Office shall prepare a 6-month and annual final reports on results of inspection of the use of state statistical figures and information to the Department of Legal Affairs and Statistical Inspection affiliated to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.

2. The Department of Legal Affairs and Statistical Inspection affiliated to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam shall submit a consolidated report on results of inspection of use of state statistical figures and information to the General Director of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION CLAUSE

Article 23. Effect and implementation

1. This Circular comes into force from June 01, 2020.

2. In the cases where any of the legislative documents referred to in this Circular is amended or replaced, the newest one shall apply.

3. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (the General Statistics Office of Vietnam) for consideration./.