Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Socialist ... (22019A0605(01))
INHALT
Voluntary Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on forest law enforcement, governance and trade
- VOLUNTARY PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT
- between the European Union and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on forest law enforcement, governance and trade
- Article 1
- Objective
- Article 2
- Definitions
- Article 3
- FLEGT licensing scheme
- Article 4
- Licensing Authority
- Article 5
- Competent authorities
- Article 6
- FLEGT licences
- Article 7
- Definition of “legally produced timber”
- Article 8
- Verification of legally produced timber
- Article 9
- Release of shipments covered by a FLEGT licence
- Article 10
- Independent evaluation
- Article 11
- Irregularities
- Article 12
- Date of operation of the FLEGT licensing scheme
- Article 13
- Application of the VNTLAS and other measures
- Article 14
- Supporting measures
- Article 15
- Stakeholder involvement in the implementation of this Agreement
- Article 16
- Social safeguards
- Article 17
- Market incentives
- Article 18
- Joint Implementation Committee
- Article 19
- Reporting and public disclosure of information
- Article 20
- Communication on implementation
- Article 21
- Territorial application
- Article 22
- Settlement of disputes
- Article 23
- Suspension
- Article 24
- Amendments
- Article 25
- Entry into force, duration and termination
- Article 26
- Annexes
- Article 27
- Authentic texts
- LIST OF ANNEXES
- ANNEX I
- PRODUCT COVERAGE: THE HARMONISED COMMODITY CODES FOR TIMBER AND TIMBER PRODUCTS COVERED UNDER THE FLEGT LICENSING SCHEME
- ANNEX II
- VIET NAM TIMBER LEGALITY DEFINITION
- INTRODUCTION
- STRUCTURE AND CONTENT OF THE LEGALITY DEFINITION MATRIX
- 1. Organisations
- 2. Households
- EXPLANATION OF ELEMENTS OF THE LEGALITY DEFINITION
- 1. Explanation of verifiers for land use rights and forest use rights
- 2. Harvesting timber from home gardens, farms and dispersed trees
- 3. Compliance with regulations on export
- 4. Definitions
- Principle
- Criterion
- Indicator
- Verifier
- Forest owner (forest title holder)
- Harvesting design statement
- Design unit
- Main harvesting
- Tree marking list
- Report on harvesting location and volume of harvested timber products
- Forest product packing list (“packing list”)
- List of anticipated timber to be harvested
- Entry and exit books
- Unprocessed timber products
- Salvage harvesting and salvage collection
- Legal timber product dossier (“timber product dossier”)
- Production forest
- Protection forest
- Special-use forest
- APPENDIX 1A
- APPENDIX 1B
- ANNEX III
- CONDITIONS GOVERNING THE RELEASE FOR FREE CIRCULATION IN THE UNION OF TIMBER PRODUCTS EXPORTED FROM VIET NAM AND COVERED BY A FLEGT LICENCE
- I. Lodging of the licence
- II. Checks concerning the validity of licence documentation
- III. Requests for additional information
- IV. Verification of the conformity of the licence with the shipment
- V. Verification prior to the arrival of the shipment
- VI. Other matters
- VII. Release for free circulation
- ANNEX IV
- FLEGT LICENSING SCHEME
- 1. General requirements and provisions for FLEGT licences
- 2. Technical specifications with regard to paper-based FLEGT licences
- 3. Copies of FLEGT licences
- 4. Licensing requirements for timber subject to the provisions of CITES
- 5. Licensing procedures
- 5.1. Licensing Authority
- 5.2. Timber product dossier for FLEGT licensing
- 5.3. Licensing steps
- Step 1: Application receipt
- Step 2: Application review
- Figure 1: FLEGT licensing procedure
- Step 3: Licensing decision
- 6. Validity, withdrawal and replacement of FLEGT licences
- 6.1. Validity and extension of validity of FLEGT licences
- 6.2. Withdrawal of FLEGT licences
- 6.3. Replacement of FLEGT licences
- 6.4. FLEGT licence re-application
- 7. Management of violations related to FLEGT licensing
- 8. Responsibility of the Licensing Authority
- APPENDIX
- FLEGT LICENCE FORM
- Template 1: FLEGT licence form
- Template 2: Form for the authorised attachment
- Notes for guidance on FLEGT licence
- ANNEX V
- VIET NAM TIMBER LEGALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM
- (VNTLAS)
- 1. INTRODUCTION
- 2. SCOPE OF APPLICATION
- 2.1 Timber sources
- 2.1.1 Timber sources controlled by the VNTLAS
- 2.1.2 Timber in transit
- 2.2 Scope of control
- 2.2.1 Definition of Organisations and Households
- 2.2.2 Definition of government agencies
- 2.2.3 Definition of the Verification Authority and verification entities
- 2.3 Recognition by the VNTLAS of voluntary certification and national certification schemes
- 3. LEGALITY DEFINITION
- 3.1 Structure and content of the Legality Definition
- 4. DEVELOPMENT, VERIFICATION AND APPROVAL OF VERIFIERS AT ALL STAGES OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN
- 4.1 Definition of verifiers
- 4.1.1 Static verifiers
- 4.1.2 Dynamic verifiers
- 4.2 Development of verifiers
- 4.3 Verification and approval/certification of verifiers
- 4.4 Responsibilities of relevant actors
- 4.4.1 Responsibilities of Organisations
- 4.4.2 Responsibilities of Households
- 4.4.3 Responsibilities of government agencies
- 5. ORGANISATION CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM AND RISK-BASED VERIFICATION
- 5.1 Purpose of the Organisation Classification System
- 5.2 Criteria and risk categories
- 5.3 Implementation of the Organisation Classification System
- Figure 2. OCS procedure, methodology and responsibilities
- 5.3.1 Self-assessment and appraisal procedure and frequency
- 5.3.2 Classification results
- 5.4 Responsibilities of relevant actors
- 5.4.1 Responsibilities of Organisations
- 5.4.2 Responsibilities of government agencies
- 6. SUPPLY CHAIN CONTROL
- 6.1 Overview
- 6.2 Critical control points in the VNTLAS supply chain
- 6.3 Verification of timber sources entering the VNTLAS
- 6.3.1 Timber from main harvesting of domestic natural forest (critical control point 1a)
- 6.3.2 Timber from planted production and protection forests (critical control points 1c and 1d)
- 6.3.3 Timber from salvage harvesting and salvage collection (critical control points 1b, 1c and 1d)
- 6.3.4 Timber from home gardens, farms and dispersed trees (critical control point 1e(2))
- 6.3.5 Rubber wood from domestic sources (critical control points 1e(1) and 1e(2))
- 6.3.6 Handled confiscated timber (critical control point 1f)
- 6.3.7 Imported timber (critical control point 1g)
- 6.3.7.1 Due diligence and self-declaration requirements for importers
- 6.3.7.2 Handling of violations
- 6.3.7.3 Customs risk assessment system
- 6.3.7.4 Species risk categories
- 6.3.7.5 Risk associated with geographic origin of imported timber
- 6.3.7.6 Risk-based control and management of imported timber
- Figure 3. VNTLAS: Chart of timber import controls
- 6.4 Verification of timber at stages in the VNTLAS supply chain
- 6.5 Supply chain reporting requirements
- 6.6 Responsibilities of relevant actors
- 6.6.1 Responsibilities of Organisations and Households
- 6.6.2 Responsibilities of government agencies
- 7. VERIFICATION FOR EXPORT
- 7.1 General principles for the verification for export
- 7.1.1 Verification for export for Category 1 Organisations
- Figure 4. Verification for export – Category 1 Organisations
- Figure 5. Verification for export – Category 2 Organisations and Households
- 7.1.2 Verification for export for Category 2 Organisations
- 7.1.3 Verification for export for Households/individuals
- 7.2 Suspicion of risk and physical checks
- 8. FLEGT LICENSING
- 9. INTERNAL INSPECTION, COMPLAINTS AND FEEDBACK MECHANISMS
- 9.1 Internal inspection
- 9.2 Complaints, denunciations and feedback mechanisms
- 10. INDEPENDENT EVALUATION
- 11. MANAGEMENT OF VIOLATIONS
- 11.1 Management of violations
- 11.2 Record of violations
- 11.2.1 Database of violations of the Law on Forest Protection and Development
- 11.2.2 Databases of violations of other government agencies
- 12. DATA MANAGEMENT AND STORAGE
- 12.1 VNTLAS databases
- 12.2 Data-management and storage responsibilities
- 12.2.1 Responsibilities of Organisations and Households
- 12.2.2 Responsibilities of the Provincial FPD
- 12.2.3 Responsibilities of other local government agencies
- 12.2.4 Responsibilities of the Central FPD
- 12.2.5 Responsibilities of the Licensing Authority
- 12.2.6 Responsibilities of other central government agencies
- 13. INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR VNTLAS IMPLEMENTATION
- 14. JOINT IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
- Figure 6. VNTLAS data management and storage
- APPENDIX 1A
- DEVELOPMENT, VERIFICATION AND APPROVAL OF LEGALITY VERIFIERS FOR ORGANISATIONS
- APPENDIX 1B
- DEVELOPMENT, VERIFICATION AND APPROVAL OF LEGALITY VERIFIERS FOR HOUSEHOLDS
- APPENDIX 2
- SUPPLY CHAIN CONTROL
- Introduction
- APPENDIX 3
- STANDARD FORM FOR SELF-DECLARATION OF IMPORTED TIMBER SOURCES
- A. General information
- B. Risk status of imported shipment
- C. Additional documentation
- C1. Primary products (e.g. HS Codes 4403, 4406, 4407)
- C1.1 Voluntary certification or national certification scheme recognised by the VNTLAS:
- C1.2 Harvesting permit/document:
- C1.3 Where the country of harvest does not require a harvesting document for the forest area this product is originating from, please provide the following additional information:
- C1.4 Where the harvesting document for this product is not available, please provide the following additional information:
- C2. Complex products (e.g. HS Chapters 44 and 94 excluding HS Codes 4403, 4406 and 4407)
- C2.1 Voluntary certification or national certification scheme recognised by the VNTLAS:
- C2.2 Where the harvesting permit/document is not available:
- D. Additional measures by the importer to mitigate any risk related to the legality of the timber in accordance with the relevant legislation in the country of harvest:
- D 1.1 Information on legal requirements for timber export in the country of harvest
- D 1.2 Risk identification and mitigation
- ANNEX VI
- TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE INDEPENDENT EVALUATION
- 1. Purpose and scope of the independent evaluation
- 2. Mandate and evaluation methodology of the Independent Evaluator
- 3. Capability requirements
- 4. Reporting requirements
- 5. Organisation of implementation
- 6. Confidentiality and report release
- ANNEX VII
- CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT OF THE OPERATIONAL READINESS OF THE VIET NAM TIMBER LEGALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM
- Purpose of the assessment
- Methodology for implementation of the assessment
- Assessment criteria
- Part 1
- Definition of legality
- Part 2
- Control of the supply chain
- 2.1. Timber use rights
- 2.2. Control of the supply chain
- 2.3. Quantities
- 2.4. Imported timber products
- Part 3
- Verification
- 3.1. Verification agencies
- 3.2. LD-based verification
- 3.3. Recognition of voluntary certification schemes, voluntary due-diligence systems and national certification schemes
- 3.4. Verification of system to control the supply chain
- 3.5. Non-compliance
- Part 4
- Licensing
- 4.1. Licensing Authority
- 4.2. Licensing procedures
- 4.3. Shipment-based licensing
- 4.4. Queries concerning issued FLEGT licences
- Part 5
- Independent evaluation
- 5.1. Organisation for implementation
- Part 6
- Mechanism for handling complaints
- ANNEX VIII
- PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Information to be published by Viet Nam
- 2.1 Legal information
- 2.2 Information on forest land use planning and forest land allocation
- 2.3 Information on forest management
- 2.4 Information on domestic timber production
- 2.5 Information from the database of violations of the Law on Forest Protection and Development of 2004 and information on timber trade violations from databases of violations of other government agencies
- 2.6 Information on processing
- 2.7 Information on investment and revenues
- 2.8 Information on trade
- 2.9 Information on the VNTLAS
- 3. Information to be published by the Union
- 4. Information to be published by the Joint Implementation Committee (JIC)
- 4.1 Minutes of meetings of the JIC and summaries of decisions
- 4.3 Information on the independent evaluation
- 4.4 Procedures guiding the functioning of the JIC
- 4.5 Overview of activities undertaken to implement this Agreement
- 5. Mechanisms and means to access information
- 6. Modalities for disclosure of information
- ANNEX IX
- FUNCTIONS OF THE JOINT IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE
- 1. Management of this Agreement
- 2. Monitoring and review of this Agreement
- 3. Management of the independent evaluation
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