Chương I Thông tư 04/2024/TT-BTNMT: Quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

1. This Circular elaborates the implementation of Clause 1, Article 9 of the Law on Water Resources on appraisal and acceptance of results of baseline survey of water resources according to projects and schemes (hereinafter referred to as projects) using state budget sources and Clause 5, Article 83 of the Law on Water Resources on audit of compliance with the law on water resources.

2. The following activities do not fall into the scope of this Circular:

a) Audit activities of the People's Public Security Forces to prevent, detect, and combat violations of water resource laws;

b) Appraisal of and approval for project outlines; appraisal and acceptance of work items during project execution; appraisal of and approval for project final accounts; audit of construction, machinery, measuring equipment, and monitoring of water resources.

Article 2. Regulated entities

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals whose activities are related to Article 1 of this Circular within the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

For the purposes of this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. “audit plan” means a document defining audit tasks for one year issued by a competent regulatory agency to serve management requirements.

2. “audit conduct plan” means a plan to conduct an audit developed by the audit team leader and approved by the audit decision maker.

3. “audited entity” means an organization or individual that is audited in the audit decision.

4. “audit period” means a period during which an audited entity is evaluated if they has complied with legal regulations on water resources, has fulfilled their assigned duties, and has met professional and technical standards in the field of water resources.

5. “audit duration” means a period of time from the date of announcement of the audit decision to the date of completion of the audit visit.

6. “appraisal and acceptance of results of baseline survey of water resources” means the specialized appraisal and acceptance of projects that execute baseline survey of water resources on the basis of corresponding applications for appraisal and acceptance of project executing agencies.

7. “project leading agency of baseline survey of water resources” refers to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for baseline survey of water resources that are led by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment or the People's Committee of province or centrally affiliated city (hereinafter referred to as provincial People's Committee) for baseline survey of water resources that are led by the province.

8. “project executing agency” means an agency that is assigned by the project leading agency of baseline survey of water resources to execute the project.

Article 4. Funding

1. Funding for audit of compliance with laws on water resources: Ministries and provincial People's Committees shall balance and set aside funding from state budget estimates to ensure compliance with the Law on State Budget and relevant guiding documents.

2. The funding for appraisal and acceptance of results of baseline survey of water resources is determined in the total project estimate approved by the competent authority.