Chương III Luật tiếp cận thông tin 2016: Cung cấp thông tin theo yêu cầu

Chapter III

PROVISION OF REQUESTED INFORMATION

Section 1. GENERAL REGULATIONS ON PROVISION OF REQUESTED IFNROMATION

Article 23. Information provided upon request

1. Information subject to mandatory disclosure as regulated in Article 17 of this Law may be provided upon request in the following cases:

a) Information is not yet released within its disclosure period as regulated;

b) Information whose disclosure period expires as regulated by the law;

c) Information which is being disclosed publicly but the applicant for such information fails to access it due to the force majeure.

2. Information concerning trade secrets, personal secrets and privacy or family secrets shall be provided upon request if conditions relating to the provision of such information have been satisfied as regulated in Article 7 of this law.

3. Information concerning the life, activities, production and business of the applicant for such information shall be provided if it is not classified in types of information regulated in Article 17 of this Law and Clause 2 of this Article.

4. Apart from types of information prescribed in Clause 1, Clause 2 and Clause 3 of this Article, state agencies shall, within the ambit of their functions, tasks and powers, and depending on their actual conditions, may provide other information that they generate or manage.

Article 24. Methods of request for information

1. Applicants may submit their request for information by one of the following methods:

a) Directly or authorize another person to come the competent state agency to request for information.

Receiver of request for information shall guide the applicant to fill all contents regulated in Clause 2 of this Article in the information request form.

If the applicant for information is an illiterate or disabled who is unable to fill the information request form, the receiver of request for information shall assist such applicant in completing required contents of the information request form.

b) Submit information request forms electronically, by fax or by mail.

2. The information request form is made in Vietnamese language and consists of the following main contents:

a) Full name; residence or address; ID number, number of Citizen Identity Card of Passport of the applicant; fax number, telephone number and email address (if any);

b) Requested information which includes name of document/record/paper;

c) Method of providing information;

d) Reasons and purposes of requesting information.

3. In case of request for information regulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 7 of this Law, letter of assent made by relevant entity must be enclosed to the information request form.

4. The information request form must apply the government’s form.

Article 25. Methods of providing information upon request

1. Requested information shall be provided under one of the following methods:

a) Requested information is directly provided at the head office of the requested agency;

b) Requested information may be provided electronically, by fax or mail.

2. The requested agency shall provide information in the method as requested by the applicant and in conformity with the nature of the requested information and such agency's capacity, unless otherwise prescribed by law.

Article 26. Receipt of request for information

1. State agencies shall receive requests for information and enter them into their records of information provided upon request.

2. If contents of the information request form regulated in Clause 2 Article 24 of this law are incomplete, the information-providing agency shall guide the applicant to supplement it.

3. If the state agency receives a request for information which is not within the ambit of its functions and tasks, it must notify and guide the applicant to contact the agency in charge of providing such information.

Article 27. Response to request for information

While receiving a valid request for information, the state agency in charge of providing information shall inform the applicant of time-limit, location and method of providing information; actual fees for printing, duplicating, photocopying, sending requested information by post or fax (if any), and method and period for making such payment of fees; and provide requested information in conformity with procedures stated in this Chapter.

Article 28. Refusal of request for information

1. State agencies may refuse to provide information in the following cases:

a) Requested information is the one regulated in Article 6 of this Law; or the applicant fails to meet information-related conditions regulated in Article 7 of this Law;

b) Requested information is the one regulated in Article 17 of this Law, except for the cases regulated in Clause 1 Article 23 of this Law;

c) Requested information is not within the ambit of their tasks;

d) The information has been provided twice to the applicant, except for the case where such applicant gives legitimate reasons;

dd) Requested information is beyond the capacity or causes adverse influence on normal activities of the state agency;

e) The applicant for information fails to make required payment of fees for printing, duplicating, photocopying and sending information by post or fax.

2. In a case of refusal to provide information, the state agency must specify its reasons in writing.

Section 2. PROCEDURES FOR PROVIDING REQUESTED INFORMATION

Article 29. Procedures for directly providing information at the head office of the information-providing agency

1. As for simple information which is available on request, applicants for such information may directly read, watch, listen, record, duplicate or take a photocopy of documents containing such information or request state agencies to immediately provide duplicates or copies thereof.

2. As for complex information which must be gathered from different units affiliated to the information-providing agency or the provision of which requires taking opinions of other agencies or units, the requested agency must, within 10 working days from the receipt of a valid request, direct the applicant for such information to read, watch, listen, record, duplicate or take a photocopy of documents containing such information or receive duplicates or copies thereof at its head office, or grant an official dispatch of its refusal to provide such information.

The requested agency may extend the above time-limit to consider, retrieve, gather, duplicate or settle the request for information provided that such extended time-limit shall not exceed 10 working days and such information-providing agency must grant a notice of extending the time-limit for providing information.

Article 30. Procedures for providing information electronically

1. Information may be provided electronically if the following requirements are satisfied:

a) Requested information must be the one which is stored in existing files and available to transmit electronically;

b) State agencies have qualified technical facilities to provide requested information electronically.

2. Electronic provision of information may be carried out in the following forms:

a) Attach and send files in email;

b) Provide one-time access code;

c) Provide links to access and download information.

3. As for simple information which is available on request, the requested agency must provide requested information within 03 working days from the receipt of a valid request.

4. As for complex information which must be gathered from different units affiliated to the requested agency or the provision of which requires taking opinions of other agencies or units, the requested agency must, within 03 working days from the receipt of a valid request, grant a written notice of the period for settling such request for information. The requested agency must, within 15 working days from the receipt of a valid request, provide requested information or grant a written notice of refusal to provide information.

The requested agency may extend the above time-limit to consider, retrieve, gather, duplicate or settle the request for information provided that such extended time-limit shall not exceed 15 working days and the requested agency must grant a notice of such extension within regulated period for providing information.

Article 31. Procedures for providing information by fax or mail

1. As for simple information which is available on request, the requested agency must provide requested information within 05 working days from the receipt of a valid request.

2. As for complex information which must be gathered from different units affiliated to the requested agency or the provision of which requires taking opinions of other agencies or units, the requested agency must, within 03 working days from the receipt of a valid request, grant a written notice of the period for settling such request for information. The requested agency must, within 15 working days from the receipt of a valid request, provide requested information or grant a written notice of refusal to provide information.

The requested agency may extend the above time-limit to consider, retrieve, gather, duplicate or settle the request for information provided that such extended time-limit shall not exceed 15 working days and the requested agency must grant a notice of such extension within regulated period for providing information.

Article 32. Taking action against inaccurate information provided upon request

1. If the state agency finds that the provided information is inaccurate, it must, within 05 working days from the date on which the provided information is discovered inaccurate, correct such information and re-provide the corrected information to the applicant, except for the cases regulated in Clause 3 of this Article.

2. If the applicant for information believes that the provided information is inaccurate, such applicant is entitled to request the information-providing agency to provide accurate information.

Within 15 days as of the receipt of request for correcting provided information, the information-providing agency shall verify the accuracy of the provided information and respond to the applicant. If the provided information is actually inaccurate, the information-providing agency must correct such information and re-provide information, except for the cases regulated in Clause 3 of this Article.

3. If communal people’s committees cannot verify the accuracy of information which is under their management, they must, within 05 working days from the date on which they find that provided information is inaccurate or receive request for correcting information, request the information-generating agency to verify it. Within 15 days as of the receipt of request for verifying information, the information-generating agency must verify its generated information and respond to communal people’s committees. If the provided information is actually inaccurate, the information-generating agency must enclose its accurate information to its response.

Within 03 working days from the receipt of response from the information-generating agency, communal people’s committees must correct the provided information or notify the applicant for information.