Management of violations
Existing laws and regulations of Viet Nam apply for handling non-compliances with the LD and supply chain controls. Depending on the severity of the violation, administrative sanctions, suspension of activities and/or prosecution of the Organisation or Household may apply.
For Organisations: the record of violations is taken into account as one criterion under the OCS as specified in Section 5 and Table 2 of this Annex V. If Organisations have repeated administrative violations or criminal violations of the law related to forest protection and development and control of forest products, stricter sanctions shall be applied.
For Households: the record of violations is used as a basis for consideration of applying stricter sanctions if Households have repeated administrative violations or criminal violations of the law related to forest protection and development and control of forest products. It is required that any violations are addressed according to the procedures and time frame prescribed by laws and regulations of Viet Nam
Record of violations
If the systematic or random checks detect non-compliance within the timber supply chain, the Forest Protection Agency shall conduct additional verification.
In case of detecting violations, violation minutes are made by the Forest Protection Agency in accordance with the regulations.
Violations are recorded on a central violations database as described below. The record of violations includes violations of the law in forestry and other key sectors under the LD. Adequate records of violations and records of corresponding remedial actions are kept in relevant databases on the handling of violations recorded in the OCS database and taken into account in the verification process prior to FLEGT licensing.
i) Database of violations of the Law on Forest Protection and Development
This database, in which forest-related violations of the law by Organisations and Households at the national scale is continuously updated and integrated, is used to assess the legal compliance of all Organisations and Households, not only at their headquarter-based localities but also in other regions where they engage in forest production and business activities.
This database is managed by the Central FPD and is connected with Provincial FPD nationwide through an internet based platform.
ii) Databases on violations of other Government agencies
Information on non-compliances and violations stored on the portals or databases managed by other verification entities shall be considered in the OCS assessment process as also described under Section 12.2.6 below
Source: VPA/FLEGT
