Nghị định 45/2020/ND-CP

DECREE

ON ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES BY ELECTRONIC MEANS

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on E-Transactions dated November 29, 2005;

Pursuant to the Law on Information Technology dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Law on Cyber information Security dated November 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Law dated June 12, 2018;

At the request of the Minister, Chairman of the Office of the Government;

The Government hereby promulgates a Decree on administrative procedures by electronic means.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

1. This Decree provides for administrative procedures by electronic means.

2. This Decree is not applicable to administrative procedures carried out via the National Single-Window System and ASEAN Single-Window System and inspection of exports and imports.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. Authorities in charge of handling administrative procedures, namely:

a) Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Vietnam Social Security, general departments and equivalent, departments affiliated to ministries and ministerial-level agencies, and Vietnam’s embassies and consulates with responsibility for and competence in handling of administrative procedures and participation in handling of administrative procedures;

b) People’s Committees at all levels; specialized authorities affiliated to provincial and district-level People’s Committees; boards of management of industrial parks, export-processing zones, economic zones and hi-tech parks with responsibility for and competence in handling of administrative procedures

The regulatory bodies mentioned in Points a and b herein are collectively referred to as "competent authorities".

2. Officials and public employees of competent authorities, officers and non-commissioned officers of the army and officers and non-commissioned officers of public security forces (hereinafter collectively referred to as “officials and public employees”).

3. Organizations and individuals requesting to carry out administrative procedures by electronic means and other relevant organizations and individuals (hereinafter collectively referred to as “organizations and individuals”).

4. Public postal service providers; and organizations and individuals hired or authorized to carry out administrative procedures according to regulations of laws.

5. Banks and payment intermediaries providing electronic payment services.

6. Public service providers, state-owned enterprises and providers of other public services are encouraged to apply this Decree to provision of online public services to organizations and individuals.  

Article 3. Definitions

For the purposes of this Decree, the terms below shall be construed as follows:

1. “electronic means” refers to an environment in which information is created, provided, exchanged, collected, processed and stored via the Internet, computer networks, information systems and databases.

2. “administrative procedure by electronic means” (hereinafter referred to as “electronic administrative procedure”) means a process where a regulatory body or an organization or individual carries out all or a number of steps of an administrative procedure electronically via online public services. 

3. “electronic administrative procedure application” (hereinafter referred to as “electronic application”) includes electronic documents submitted to a competent authority by an organization or individual according to regulations or electronic documents transferred between competent authorities during receipt and handling of an administrative procedure.

4. “ e-transaction account” refers to the verified digital identity of an authorized official, public employee or regulatory body or an organization or individual used to access the national public service portal, a public service portal or a ministerial-level or provincial electronic single-window information system when carrying out an electronic administrative procedure and other activities as per the law.    

5. “platform for exchange of digital identities of the national public service portal” (hereinafter referred to as “digital identity exchange platform”) refers to a component that supports connection and authentication of digital identities of authorized officials, public employees and regulatory bodies, organizations and individuals and one-time access from the national public service portal to public service portals and ministerial-level or provincial electronic single-window information systems.

6. “electronic form” means an electronic administrative form or declaration.

7. “electronic copy” means an electronic photocopy or computer file of a physical document that fully contains the exact contents written in the master register or the physical document.

8. “issuance of an electronic copy based on the master register” means the process where the authority or organization managing a master register issues an electronic copy based on the master register. Such electronic copy fully contains the exact contents written in the master register.

9. “electronic copy certification” refers to the process where a competent authority or organization certifies an electronic copy as a true copy of a physical document based on such physical document.

10. “administrative procedure result digitalization” means the process where a state agency transforms the physical documents containing the result of a completed administrative procedure (hereinafter referred to as “physical administrative procedure result”) into electronic documents or digital information to ensure provision of electronic administrative procedures.

11. “electronic data store” of an organization or individual means the organization or individual’s separate electronic space in the national public service portal or a ministerial-level or provincial public service portal used for management and storage of electronic data related to the organization or individual’s administrative transactions.

Article 4. Rules of electronic administrative procedures

1. Electronic administrative procedures and other forms of administrative procedures shall have the same legal value as per the law.

2.Electronic administrative procedures shall be received and handled in a lawful, reasonable and scientific manner that ensures fairness, impartiality, transparency, information safety and close cooperation between competent authorities in the handling process.

3. Electronic administrative procedures shall revolve around organizations and individuals and have simple, understandable and easy-to-follow language and methods to facilitate administrative reform.

4. Do not request organizations or individuals to resubmit data currently managed by competent authorities or readily shared by other state agencies.

5. Maximize number of steps of administrative procedures that could be carried out electronically to save time, costs and effort of organizations, individuals and competent authorities.

6. Electronic administrative procedures shall not incur any fee or charge besides those required by law.

7. Comply with regulations of Vietnamese law and international conventions related to e-transactions to which Vietnam is a signatory.

Article 5. Rights, obligations and prohibited acts for organizations and individuals

1. Rights

a) Receive assistance when carrying out electronic administrative procedures;

b) Browse and download all electronic applications successfully sent from the national public services portal and ministerial-level or provincial public services portals and results of electronic administrative procedures;

c) Have applications, documents and results concerning electronic administrative procedures preserved and protected according to regulations of law;

d) Request competent authorities to confirm completion of electronic administrative procedures in writing to carry out other relevant activities under the law. Such request and confirmation must adhere to regulations of laws on access to information;

dd) Request competent authorities to share information and data obtained from the result of the organization or individual’s administrative procedure with other authorities to fulfill a request or serve the interest of such organization or individual.

e) Have the result of and application for an administrative procedure digitally signed by competent authorities, organizations and/or individuals recognized in e-transactions according to regulations of law;

g) Enjoy the rights stated in the Law on E-Transactions and Law on Information Technology and guidelines thereof, enjoy the rights and fulfill the responsibilities stated in Clause 1 Article 6 of the Government’s Decree No. 61/2018/ND-CP dated April 23, 2018 on implementation of the single-window system and interlinked single-window system in handling of administrative procedures.

2. Obligations

a) Provide e-transaction registration information for competent authorities promptly and accurately;

b) Manage and use e-transaction accounts in a manner that ensures safety and confidentiality;

c) Take responsibility for the accuracy and legitimacy of information declared when carrying out electronic administrative procedures;

d) Follow, update and give feedback on information related to e-transactions with competent authorities and follow the instructions and notifications from competent authorities;

dd) Comply with all regulations on electronic administrative procedures; and pay fees and/or charges and fulfill other financial obligations (if any) as regulated;

e) Take responsibility before the law for any violation against the regulations stated in Clause 3 herein and other regulations of relevant laws.

3. Prohibited acts

Organizations and individuals shall not commit any of the prohibited acts stated in Article 9 of the 2005 Law on E-Transactions, Article 12 of the 2006 Law on Information Technology, Article 7 of the 2015 Law on Cyberinformation Security, Article 8 of the 2018 Cybersecurity Law, Article 5 of the 2018 Law on State Secrets Protection and regulations in Clauses 2 and 3 Article 5 of the Government’s Decree No. 61/2018/ND-CP dated April 23, 2018 on implementation of single-window system and interlinked single-window system for handling administrative procedures.

Article 6. Obligations and prohibited acts for officials and public employees

1. Responsibilities

a) Provide instructions and assistance for organizations and individuals to carry out electronic administrative procedures;

b) Review applications and give feedback to organizations and individuals using the information that organizations and individuals register when carrying out electronic administrative procedures;

c) Use registered e-transaction accounts to access ministerial-level or provincial single-window information systems to monitor and handle electronic applications effectively and according to regulations;

d) Report to heads of competent authorities upon detection of misuse of information systems or signs of information security or safety breach for timely handling;

dd) Comply with the Law on Cyberinformation Security, Cybersecurity Law and regulations of relevant laws on personal information protection when collecting personal information of organizations and individuals;

e) Be proficient in the types of application software used for electronic administrative procedures.

2. Prohibited acts

a) Obstruct organizations and individuals in choosing to carry out administrative procedures by electronic means;

b) Request an organization or individual to submit the physical copy of a component of the electronic applications that has been digitally signed and recognized as legally valid for verification and/or inspection when receiving/handling administrative procedures;

c) Illegally interfere with electronic administrative procedures, including transmission, collection, processing, sending or notification of payments or application processing results; illegally interfere with or falsify data of applications, payments or results of administrative procedures; divulge information or copy data without permission;

d) Impersonate, steal or illegally use digital identities of organizations, individuals and competent authorities;

dd) Commit other acts prohibited by laws concerning operations of officials and public employees on digital environments.

Chapter II

PROCEDURE FOR HANDLING OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES BY ELECTRONIC MEANS

Article 7. Account registration

1. Accounts used to carry out electronic administrative procedures may be registered via the national public service portal or ministerial-level or provincial public service portals or using digital identities provided by digital identity providers connected with or integrated into the digital identity exchange platform.

2. Only electronic applications sent from registered accounts may be received and handled.

Article 8. Account sign-in

1. The organization or individual shall access the national public service portal or ministerial-level or provincial public service portals to sign into their account and have their identity authenticated.

2. Assurance levels upon account sign-in

a) Level of assurance of the digital identity that an organization or individual uses to sign in (hereinafter referred to as “identity assurance level”) shall be determined based on verification of the digital identity’s information provided by the organization or individual via automatic comparison with the information and data currently managed by the system or connected or shared; or comparison with the proof directly provided by the organization or individual;

b) Level of authentication assurance when a user signs in (hereinafter referred to as “authenticator assurance level”) shall be determined based on at least one authentication factor of the organization or individual.

3. Organizations and individuals that have signed in and had their identities authenticated successfully on the national online public service portal may directly sign into ministerial-level or provincial public service portals or systems providing relevant public services via the one-time access mechanism.

4. Online public service developers and providers shall determine the authenticator assurance levels that are applicable to administrative procedures. In case the authenticator assurance level has more requirements than the identity assurance level, the organization or individual shall provide additional authentication factors on the national online public service portal or ministerial-level or provincial public service portals according to the instructions from competent authorities.  

Article 9. Electronic application preparation and submission

1. Regulations on electronic application preparation and filling of electronic forms by an organization or individual at the request of online public service providing systems:

a) Fill in the given electronic forms;

b) Upload valid electronic documents or cite documents from the organization or individual’s electronic data store;

c) Digitally sign the electronic forms and/or documents upon request. Request for the digital signature must be announced before the organization or individual submits the electronic application. Digitally signed components of the electronic application and physical documents with valid signatures shall have the same legal value.

2. The organization or individual shall submit the completed electronic application and electronic forms to the competent authority. With the organization or individual’s permission, the information system will retain and use the information and data recorded to automatically fill in electronic applications and electronic forms the next time the organization or individual applies for an administrative procedure.

Article 10. Request for issuance of legally valid electronic copies

1. For documents yet to be digitalized or retained or have their information connected or shared with the national public service portal, public service portals and ministerial-level or provincial single-windows information systems, organizations and individuals may request competent authorities to issue the electronic copies of such documents by any of the following methods:

a) Request for issuance of an electronic copy based on the master register;

b) Request for electronic copy certification.

2. In case an organization or individual requests for issuance of an electronic copy based on the master register, the authority managing the master register shall digitally sign and issue the electronic copy based on the master register to the requester. Competence in issuance of electronic copies based on master registers and organizations and individuals holding the right to request such issuance are provided for by regulations of laws on issuance of copies based on master registers.

An electronic copy issued based on the master register may be used in place of its authentic copy in transactions unless otherwise provided for by law.

3. If an organization or individual requests for certification of an electronic copy, competence in certification, certification location and required documents, responsibilities of the requester and person authorized to certify the copy, certification time and extension thereof, charges and other costs and retention requirements are provided for by regulations of laws on certification. The certification procedure is as follows:

a)  The applicant shall present the authentic copy of the copy to be certified.

If the authentic copy is issued, notarized or recognized by a foreign competent authority, it must undergo consular legalization as per the law before it can be used for certification, except for the cases in which consular legalization is exempt according to international conventions to which Vietnam is a signatory or the principle of reciprocity.

b) The person certifying the copy shall inspect and photograph the authentic copy, write the words denoting that the copy being certified is a true copy, add the digital signatures of themselves and the competent certification authority, and update the certification book.

An electronic copy certified according to regulations of this Decree may be used in place of its authentic copy in transactions unless otherwise provided for by law.

4. Every authority with competence in issuance of an electronic copy shall send the digitally signed electronic copy to the electronic data store of the organization or individual on the national public service portal. In case the organization or individual does not have an account on the national public service portal, such authority shall email the digitally signed electronic copy to the organization or individual.

Article 11. Procedures for receipt and handling of administrative procedures by electronic means

1. The national public service portal or ministerial-level or provincial public service portal shall automatically inspect the application in terms of the technical aspect upon receipt. If the application meets all component and technical requirements, the applicant shall be automatically notified of the application’s successful submission and the time of official receipt of the application.

2. An official or public employee shall access the ministerial-level or provincial single-window information system and inspect the submitted application. Such inspection includes:

a) Inspection of accuracy of information written in forms via information and data in information systems and databases readily connected and shared with the national public service portal, ministerial-level or provincial public service portal and ministerial-level or provincial electronic single-window information system;

b) Inspection of the digital signature to ensure authentication, validity, accuracy and integrity of each component of the application submitted or cited and components submitted per electronic authentication requirements; the digital signature shall be inspected as prescribed by the Law on E-Transactions.

3. After the inspection, if the application is adequate, the official or public employee shall receive and assign an identifying number to the application and process it following the procedure stated in Chapter III of the Government’s Degree No. 61/2018/ND-CP dated April 23, 2018 and relevant regulations of laws. If the application is inadequate or fails to meet any requirement, the official or public employee shall inform the applicant via the applicant's account on the national public service portal, ministerial-level or provincial public service portal or another contact channel registered by the applicant and provide instructions on how to amend the application according to requirements once for the applicant.

4. The official or public employee shall notify the applicant of official receipt of the application or request the applicant to amend the application within 08 working hours from the time of receipt on the system.

5. With the applicant’s permission, the information and components of the application mentioned in Clause 2 herein shall be retained in the applicant’s electronic data store after the competent authority receives and verifies such information and components.

Article 12. Amendments to electronic applications

1. Organizations and individuals shall amend their applications on the national public service portal or ministerial-level or provincial public service portals at the request of competent authorities.

2. Methods for making amendment to electronic applications:

a) Create the amending information based on the required criteria and format and send it to the national public service portal or ministerial-level or provincial public service portal;

b) Declare directly on the national public service portal or ministerial-level or provincial public service portal.

c) Amendments to electronic applications and/or information shall be recorded. The application number of an application that has been amended shall remain the same.

Article 13. Online fulfillment of financial obligations arising from administrative procedures

1. Organizations and individuals shall pay fees, charges and/or taxes and fulfill other financial obligations (if any) arising from administrative procedures via the online payment function of the national public service portal or ministerial-level or provincial public service portals or via other methods as prescribed by law.

2. Methods for authentication in online fulfillment of financial obligations on the national public service portal:

a) One-time sign in based on the connection between the national public service portal and the ministerial-level or provincial public service portal, public service provider and payment systems of banks and payment intermediaries; 

b) Using an account of a bank or payment intermediary if not signing in using an account of the national public service portal.

3. Payment deadlines and rates of fees, charges and other financial obligations (if any) are provided for by the Law on Fees and Charges and relevant legislative documents.

4. State budget contribution documents digitally signed by a bank or payment intermediary and information on successful state budget contribution shall be sent to the state budget contributor, competent authorities and relevant authorities and organizations (if any) to proceed to the next steps of the administrative procedure.

5. Documents used for information exchange between competent authorities, persons fulfilling financial obligations and banks or payment intermediaries are provided for by regulations of laws on administrative procedures pertaining to State Treasury.

6. Fees for online payment services are stipulated by regulations of banks or payment intermediaries unless otherwise provided for by law.

7. Responsibilities of banks or payment intermediaries:

a) Provide solutions for online payment of fees, charges and taxes and fulfillment of other financial obligations arising from administrative procedures for competent authorities via connection/integration with the online payment function of the national public service portal or ministerial-level or provincial public service portals;

b) Publish the online payment fee rate of each specific case before organizations and individuals make payments;

c) Publish the payment process and method of organizations and individuals on the national public service portal and ministerial-level or provincial public service portals to provide the basis for cooperation in settlement of payments, trace requests and complaints between relevant parties;

d) Crosscheck daily to ensure consistency of data on transactions between banks and/or payment intermediaries and between banks or payment intermediaries and competent authorities; relevant parties shall identify the cause and cooperate in handling if there is any discrepancy;

dd) Do bookkeeping and settle fulfillment of financial obligations arising from administrative procedures adequately according to regulations of laws;

e) Regularly review and inspect, and promptly detect and remedy incidents caused by system’s technical issues or errors made by staff of banks or payment intermediaries; cooperate with relevant authorities and units in identifying the cause and producing solutions to ensure safe and continuous management and operation of online payment systems on the national public service portal or ministerial-level or provincial public service portals.

g) Ensure quality of online payment services and information security during electronic administrative procedures as per the law;

h) Cooperate with competent authorities in resolving difficulties and fulfilling trace requests of organizations and individuals.

8. Responsibilities of competent authorities:

a) Integrate and synchronize information and data related to requests for fulfillment of financial obligations arising from administrative procedures of organizations and individuals with the national public service portal or ministerial-level or provincial public service portals intra vires;

b) Cooperate with banks or payment intermediaries in connection, integration and launch of online payment services for financial obligations arising from administrative procedures within their respective competences; crosscheck regularly to ensure consistency of data between parties, which shall identify the cause and cooperate in handling if there is any discrepancy;

c) Publish contacts points for cooperation with commercial banks, payment intermediaries and relevant authorities and units on the national public service portal and ministerial-level or provincial public service portals, which provides the basis for cooperation in settlement of payments, trace requests and complaints;

d) Regularly review and inspect and promptly detect and remedy incidents caused by system’s technical issues or errors made by officials and public employees; cooperate with relevant authorities and units in identifying the cause and producing solutions to ensure safe and continuous management and operation of online payment systems on the national public service portal or ministerial-level or provincial public service portals;

dd) Ensure quality of online payment services and information security during electronic administrative procedures as per the law;

9. State Treasury shall connect, integrate and share data with the national public service portal to facilitate online fulfillment of financial obligations arising from administrative procedures.

Article 14. Administrative procedure results

1. The competent authority shall announce the administrative procedure result to the organization or individual according to regulations of specialized legislative documents and announce such result electronically to the organization or individual in the electronic data store of the organization or individual. In case the organization or individual authorizes another entity to carry out the administrative procedure, the result shall be announced in compliance with the authorization agreement.

2. Administrative procedure results written on physical documents and in electronic formats shall have the same legal value.

3. Requirements for an electronic administrative procedure result:

a) It fully reflects the required contents of the administrative procedure result; 

b) It bears the digital signature of the competent authority;

c) Data integrity, authenticity, non-repudiation and compliance with regulations of the Law on E-Transactions are ensured;

d) It is synchronized with the organization or individual’s electronic data store on the national public service portal using the following code format:

Application number-KQ(n)

In which n is the serial number of each result for administrative procedures with multiple results.

Article 15. Annulment of results of electronic administrative procedures

1. In case the result of an administrative procedure expires, the competent authority shall mark and record the expiration time and annul such result in databases, information systems and electronic data stores of the organization or individual and notify relevant authorities.

2. Annulled results of electronic administrative procedures shall be retained for competent authorities to browse for a period required by specialized laws

3. Upon annulment of the result of an electronic administrative procedure, any physical document converted from such result shall become invalid.

Article 16. Electronic data stores

1. Any organization or individual with an e-transaction account on the national public service portal or a ministerial-level or provincial public service portal may be provided with an electronic data store on such portal.

2. The electronic data store on the national public service portal shall be used for management and storage of the following data or links to the following data:

a) Basic information on the enterprise provided or updated by the national enterprise database; or basic information on the individual provided or updated by the national residential database;

b) Results or links to results of administrative procedures that are within the competence of the ministry, ministerial-level agency or local government;

c) Components of applications for administrative procedures successfully received and handled by competent authorities and permitted to be retained by the organization or individual;

d) Electronic copies based on master registers or certified electronic copies issued by competent authorities;

dd) Information readily available on the ministerial-level or provincial public service portal and synchronized with the national public service portal.

3. The electronic data store of the organization or individual on the ministerial-level or provincial public service portal shall be used for storage of the following information or links to the following information:

a) Basic information on the enterprise provided or updated by the national enterprise database or basic information on the individual provided or updated by the national residential database after the connections with these databases are established;

b) Components of applications for administrative procedures that are successfully received and handled, and results of administrative procedures that are within the competence of the ministry, ministerial-level agency, local government or system manager.

4. Information stored in the organization or individual’s electronic data store on the national public service portal or a ministerial-level or provincial public service portal shall be analyzed automatically and used to assist the organization or individual with:

a) Automatically filling electronic forms;

b) Supporting, informing about and/or suggesting administrative procedures that meet the organization or individual’s needs.

5. Management, connection and sharing of data in electronic data stores shall be carried out in compliance with regulations on management, connection and sharing of digital data of state agencies, regulations on personal data protection and relevant regulations of law.

Article 17. Retention of applications for and results of electronic administrative procedures

1. Applications for and results of electronic administrative procedures shall be retained in compliance with regulations of specialized laws, as suitable to electronic retention capacity and in accordance with relevant regulations of laws on retention. Retention of electronic administrative procedure applications and results and retention of physical administrative procedure applications and results are equally valid.

2. Authorities and units in charge of retention of applications for and results of electronic administrative procedures must satisfy the requirements provided for in Clause 1 Article 15 of the Law on E-Transactions.

Article 18. Conversion of electronic administrative procedure applications and results into physical documents

1. Organizations and individuals may print their electronic administrative procedure applications and results and competent authorities may print electronic administrative procedure applications and results of organizations and individuals under their management from information systems to retain or compare information, present them for inspection of administrative procedure applications/results or provide them for organizations and individuals that wish to browse or verify information in accordance with the law.

2. Requirements for physical documents converted from electronic administrative procedure applications and results:

a) The physical documents fully reflect the contents of the electronic administrative procedure application and result; 

b) The physical documents contain the application for and result of the administrative procedure that has been handled on the information system and name of the information system or the information system’s management unit;

c) The physical documents contain the identifying numbers of the electronic administrative procedure application and result for browsing and verification purposes or name and signature of the applicant for the conversion;

d) The physical documents bear the seal of the authority or organization carrying out the conversion if the conversion is required by law or an agreement between transacting parties;

dd) The physical documents can be browsed at any time during normal operation of the information system.

3. The electronic administrative procedure application and result and the physical documents converted from such application and result are equally valid unless otherwise provided for by specialized laws.

4. An information system supporting production and handling of electronic administrative procedure applications and results must be capable of converting such applications and results into physical documents.

Chapter III

CONTROL OF PROVISION OF ELECTRONIC ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES

Article 19. Responsibility for assurance of provision of electronic administrative procedures

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and Vietnam Social Security shall develop and provide the following administrative procedures by electronic means:

a) Administrative procedures within their respective competences;

b) Administrative procedures production of solutions for nationwide centralized provision of which is assigned by competent authorities;

c) Groups of related administrative procedures under state management of multiple ministries.

2. People's Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities shall formulate and adopt solutions for assuring provision of electronic administrative procedures within their respective competences, excluding the administrative procedures mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 20. Contents of control of provision of electronic administrative procedures

1. Provision of electronic administrative procedures shall be subject to professional and technical control during their development and operation.

2. Professional control includes assessments of the necessity, reasonableness, lawfulness and efficiency of the procedure selection process, identity assurance level and authenticator assurance level of the procedure, adoption of solutions for handling the procedure by electronic means and review of provision of the procedure by electronic means.

3. Technical control includes assessments based on standards for system design; data connection and sharing; assurance of information safety and data integrity; system’s response time; data store capacity; error processing time; and user interface friendliness.

Article 21. Selection of administrative procedure groups and administrative procedures to be carried out by electronic means

An administrative procedure group or an administrative procedure may be prioritized to be carried out by electronic means if it meets any of the following criteria:

1. It has a large number of applications and/or high transaction frequency;

2. Components of its applications and input data have been digitalized by state agencies and readily available for connection and sharing;

3. Its applications have a large amount of components and/or the size of its electronic application is large;

4. It is a group of related administrative procedures that are within the competence of multiple ministries and local governments;

5. It is a group of administrative procedures that are within the competence of multiple units of a ministry or local government;

6. It is an administrative procedure group or an administrative procedure that is prioritized to be carried out by electronic means according to the direction of the Government or the Prime Minister.

Article 22. Formulation of list of prioritized electronic administrative procedures

1. On an annual basis, specialized authorities and units shall cooperate with the authority/unit managing administrative procedures of a ministry, ministerial-level agency, Vietnam Social Security or provincial People's Committee in reviewing the administrative procedures within their competence, which are mentioned in Article 19 and selected based on the criteria listed in Article 21 of this Decree, drawing up a list of administrative procedures that should be carried out by electronic means, gathering opinions of relevant authorities/units and affected entities and proposing such list to the head of the ministry, ministerial-level agency or Vietnam Social Security or Chairperson of the provincial People’s Committee for consideration and decision, which must clarify the schedule and plans for development and operation of the proposed administrative procedures.

2. Office of the Government shall take charge and cooperate with ministries and provincial People’s Committees in reviewing and advising the Government and the Prime Minister on promulgation of lists of prioritized administrative procedures and administrative procedure groups under interdisciplinary management or within the competence of both a ministry and a local government.

Article 23. Procedures for formulation and adoption of solutions for assurance of provision of electronic administrative procedures

1. Authorities and units in charge of controlling administrative procedures shall cooperate with specialized bodies and units of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Vietnam Social Security and provincial People's Committees in reviewing connected administrative procedure groups and prioritized administrative procedures that have been approved; and simplifying components of applications via assessment of available data sources and information provision and integration readiness during handling of electronic administrative procedures using the following solutions:

a) Add to electronic forms information from the application’s components that could be inspected/verified due to data sharing/integration between information systems and databases. The applicant is not required to submit, upload or cite these components; 

b) Request the applicant to upload legally valid electronic copies and/or electronic authentic copies of documents containing results of previous administrative procedures and issued by competent authorities or to cite these documents;

c) Request the applicant to upload qualified electronic authentic copies of documents that do not contain administrative procedure results issued by competent authorities and take responsibility for the accuracy of these documents.

2. Procedure for and duration of handling of administrative procedures and other components of administrative procedures shall be simplified by application of information technology in receipt and handling of applications.

3. Identify technical solutions for handling of administrative procedure; solutions for identification and safety assurance levels of electronic authentication methods; solutions for use and sharing/integration of information with relevant public services and data sources; and other technical solutions.

4. Based on the simplification options and solutions mentioned in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, heads of ministries, ministerial-level agencies and provincial People's Committees shall direct provision of electronic administrative procedures in a manner that meets technical standards for interface, access, interaction, data sharing and connection, retention and security according to regulations.

5. A service shall be provided experimentally for 02 months and completed before it is officially put into use on a ministerial-level or provincial public service portal and the national public service portal.

Article 24. Review and assessment of provision of electronic administrative procedures

1. The authorities in charge of assurance of provision of electronic administrative procedures according to Article 19 of this Decree may review and assess provision of electronic administrative procedures.

2. Authorities and units in charge of controlling administrative procedures shall cooperate with specialized bodies and units of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Vietnam Social Security and provincial People's Committees in drawing up lists of existing electronic administrative procedures to be reviewed and assessed on the basis of:

a) Directions of the Government or the Prime Minister;

b) Decisions of Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities;

c) Feedback, propositions and assessment results concerning electronic administrative procedures from organizations and individuals.

3. Office of the Government shall review and assess provision of electronic administrative procedures independently for the following cases:

a) According to directions of the Government or the Prime Minister;

b) Groups of related administrative procedures within the competence of multiple ministries and local governments;

c) Administrative procedures integrated into or provided on the national public service portal that are regarded as complicated or difficult or affect business operations of business entities and people’s daily life.

4. Review and assessment of provision of electronic administrative procedures shall include administrative procedure review and assessment in accordance with regulations on administrative procedure control and assessment of solutions for assurance of provision of electronic administrative procedures.

5. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and Chairpersons of provincial People’s Committees shall direct improvement of provision of electronic administrative procedure based on review and assessment results.

Article 25. Administrative procedure result digitalization

1. For physical administrative procedure results currently managed or retained by competent authorities, Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, General Director of Viet Nam Social Security and Chairpersons of provincial People’s Committees shall direct digitalization of such results and retention of information and data in relevant information systems and databases intra vires.

2. Methods for administrative procedure result digitalization:

a) Photocopy and conversion of the physical administrative procedure result into files in information systems and databases;

b) Conversion of contents of the physical administrative procedure result into electronic data for retention in information systems and databases.

3. Requirements for administrative procedure result digitalization:

a) The electronic result fully reflects the contents of the physical administrative procedure result; 

b) The electronic administrative procedure result shall bear the digital signature of the individual, organization or authority carrying out (or in charge of) the digitalization or be authenticated by an authentication method decided by the competent authority;

c) The electronic administrative procedure result must have a mark denoting the digitalization.

4. A physical administrative procedure result and its digitalized version are equally valid unless otherwise provided for by specialized laws.

Chapter IV

DUTIES OF MINISTRIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

Article 26. Duties of Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and General Director of Viet Nam Social Security

1. Direct formulation and adoption of solutions for assurance of provision of electronic administrative procedures within the competence of their ministries according to regulations in Clause 1 Article 19 of this Decree.

2. Promulgate plans for digitalization of unexpired administrative procedure results and direct such digitalization intra vires to ensure data connection and sharing in handling of electronic administrative procedures before December 31, 2025.

3. Publish lists of electronic administrative procedures within their respective competences and organize receipt and handling of such procedures on their respective public service portals.

4. Direct management, protection, periodical inspection, review and enhancement of measures to assure information safety and security for ministerial-level public service portals and single-window information systems, ensuring reliable, continuous and safe operation and timely handling of system incidents when handling of electronic administrative procedures.

5. Inspect electronic administrative procedures of assigned sectors/areas as per the law.

6. Direct assessment of quality of methods for handling of electronic administrative procedures provided by their ministries or by local governments intra vires. 

7. Promulgate communications plans for electronic administrative procedures to encourage organizations and individuals to apply for these procedures efficiently.

8. Provide suitable rewards and penalties for groups and individuals for performance of their assigned tasks intra vires.

9. Submit biannual reports on the progress and results of this Decree’s implementation following the guidelines of the Office of the Government to the Prime Minister before June 15 and December 15 of every year.

Article 27. Responsibilities of Chairpersons of provincial People’s Committees

1. Direct and organize receipt and handling of electronic administrative procedures within the competence of each province on the provincial public service portal in accordance with regulations in Clause 2 Article 19 of this Decree.

2. Organize assessment of quality of methods for handling of electronic administrative procedures by their provinces.

3. Promulgate plans and direct digitalization of unexpired administrative procedure results intra vires to ensure data connection and sharing in handling of electronic administrative procedures before December 31, 2025.

4. Announce list of electronic administrative procedures within the competence of each province and organize receipt and handling of such procedures on the public service portal of each province.

5. Direct management, protection, periodical inspection, review and enhancement of measures to assure information safety and security for provincial public service portals and single-window information systems, ensuring reliable, continuous and safe operation and timely handling of system incidents during handling of electronic administrative procedures.

6. Promulgate communications plans for electronic administrative procedures to encourage organizations and individuals to apply for these procedures efficiently.

7. Provide suitable rewards and penalties for groups and individuals for performance of their assigned tasks intra vires.

8. Submit biannual reports on the process and results of this Decree’s implementation following the guidelines of the Office of the Government to the Prime Minister before June 15 and December 15 every year.

Article 28. Office of the Government

Besides the tasks assigned in Clause 2 Article 22 and Clause 3 Article 24 of this Decree, the Office of the Government shall perform the following tasks:

1. Stipulate criteria for assessment of quality of methods for handling of electronic administrative procedures provided by ministries or local government.

2. Provide guidelines on information and data requiring integration, connection and synchronization for the purpose of facilitation of online fulfillment of financial obligations arising from administrative procedures on the national public service portal.

3. Assess efficiency and convenience of development and handling of electronic administrative procedures by ministries and local governments and integration of services on the national public service portal. 

4. Cooperate with the Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defense and Government Cipher Commission in ensuring information safety and security for the national public service portal.

Article 29. Ministry of Information and Communications

1. Provide guidelines for supervision and assessment of efficiency and extent of use of online public services.

2. Provide guidelines and assistance for integration of public digital signatures into online public services.

Article 30. Government Cipher Commission

1. Provide digital certificates and digital signature authentication for competent authorities to receive and handle administrative procedures.

2. Provide guidelines and assistance for state agencies to incorporate digital signatures and specialized digital signature authentication for the Government into electronic administrative procedures.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION CLAUSE

Article 31. Effect

1. This Decree comes into force from May 22, 2020.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, Governmental agencies and People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities shall review, modify, upgrade and complete the administrative procedures available electronically to satisfy the regulations of this Decree before December 31, 2020.

Article 32. Implementing responsibilities

1. Office of the Government shall take charge and cooperate with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Information and Communications in providing guidelines for implementation of this Decree and expediting and inspecting such implementation; and promptly report difficulties arising to the Prime Minister for resolution.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of Governmental agencies, chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities and relevant organizations, regulatory bodies and individuals shall implement this Decree./.