Accordingly, the Ministry of Industry and Trade abolished 01 central-level administrative procedure and announced 01 new provincial-level administrative procedure on considering and awarding the titles of "People's Artisan" and "Meritorious Artisan" in the field of handicrafts.

For provincial-level administrative procedures on considering and awarding the titles of "People's Artisan" and "Meritorious Artisan" in the field of handicrafts, the specific implementation process is as follows:

1. Implementation sequence

- Individuals specified in Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 43/2024/ND-CP dated April 19, 2024 of the Government detailing the consideration and awarding of the titles "People's Artisan", "Meritorious Artisan" in the field of handicrafts (abbreviated as Decree No. 43/2024/ND-CP), themselves or authorize in writing in accordance with the provisions of law another individual to prepare a dossier to propose the consideration and award of the titles "People's Artisan", "Meritorious Artisan" in the field of handicrafts, and send directly or by post or online 01 set of dossiers within the time specified in the Plan for consideration and award of the titles "People's Artisan", "Meritorious Artisan" to the Department of Industry and Trade where the individual proposes to be considered for the award.

- The agency receiving the application is responsible for checking the validity and completeness of the documents and papers in the application according to regulations and responding in writing within 10 days from the date of receipt of the application. In case the personal application is invalid and needs to be supplemented or edited, the agency receiving the application will guide the individual to complete the application. Within 15 days from the date of receiving the application, the individual completes and submits the application to the receiving agency.

- Specialized agencies propose to establish Councils to consider and award the titles of "People's Artisan" and "Excellent Artisan" in the field of handicrafts for each awarding time, including: Provincial and centrally-run city Councils (collectively referred to as Provincial Councils), ministerial-level specialized Councils, and State-level Councils.

* Awarding procedure at the Provincial Council:

- Publicize the list of individuals proposed for award consideration on the media of the province and centrally-run city (Newspaper, Electronic Information Portal, Radio and Television Station, etc.), at least 15 days before the Council meeting;

- Organize file appraisal and selection:

+ Review the content of documents in the file, consider the individual's compliance with the standards for each title as prescribed in Decree No. 43/2024/ND-CP;

+ Organize the actual assessment of individuals proposed for the title "People's Artisan" or "Meritorious Artisan" at the production facility;

+ Receive and process recommendations from organizations and individuals (if any) and conduct secret ballots to select individuals who meet the criteria to propose for the title of "People's Artisan" or "Meritorious Artisan" to submit to the specialized council at the ministerial level;

+ Publicly announce the selection results on the media of the province and centrally-run city (Newspapers, Electronic Information Portals, Radio and Television Stations, etc.), for at least 15 days;

+ Send a written report on the selection results of the Provincial Council together with 01 set of documents specified in Clause 1, Clause 2, Article 12 of Decree No. 43/2024/ND-CP with the electronic file of the documents (except for documents containing state secrets) to the specialized Council at the ministerial level within the time specified in the Plan for considering and awarding the titles of "People's Artisan" and "Meritorious Artisan";

+ Notify in writing the selection results to the individual who submitted the application.

2. How to do it

- Directly to the Department of Industry and Trade;

- By post;

- Online.

3. Components and number of documents

- Profile components:

+ Declaration of achievements proposed for consideration of awarding the title "People's Artisan" according to Form No. 01 and Declaration of achievements proposed for consideration of awarding the title "Meritorious Artisan" according to Form No. 02 in the Appendix attached to Decree No. 43/2024/ND-CP;

+ Have one of the following documents proving contributions to preserving, transmitting and teaching the profession: Video tapes or discs or photos describing the skills and techniques being held or certified copies in case the individual submits the application by post, photocopy (with original for comparison) in case the individual submits directly the certificate or decision to award the Order, Medal, Prize, Certificate of Merit or other relevant documents.

- Number of documents: 01 set

4. Resolution period

The time for organizing the activities to consider and award the titles of "People's Artisan" and "Meritorious Artisan" in the field of handicrafts at the Provincial Council shall not exceed 90 days.

5. Subjects performing administrative procedures: Individuals who are Vietnamese working in the field of handicrafts.

6. Administrative procedure performing agency:

- Competent authority to decide: Provincial Council.

- Direct implementing agency: Department of Industry and Trade

7. Results of administrative procedure implementation : Written notification of selection results to individuals who submitted application documents.

8. Fees: Not specified

9. Name of declaration form:

- Declaration of achievements proposed for consideration for the title "People's Artist" according to form No. 1 (attached).

- Declaration of achievements proposed for consideration for the title "Meritorious Artisan" according to form No. 2 (attached).

10. Requirements and conditions for performing administrative procedures:

a) Individuals proposed for the title "People's Artist" must meet the following criteria:

The title “People's Artisan” in the field of handicrafts is awarded to individuals specified in Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 43/2024/ND-CP who have been awarded the title “Meritorious Artisan” in the field of handicrafts and meet the following criteria:

1. Be loyal to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; comply with the Party's guidelines, policies and laws of the State, regulations, rules and regulations of agencies, organizations and localities.

2. Have continuous or cumulative working time in the handicraft industry for 20 years or more.

3. Have good moral qualities, be exemplary in life; be dedicated and devoted to the profession; be admired and respected by colleagues and the people; be a typical representative of the cause of protecting and promoting the value of cultural heritage in the field of handicrafts of the whole country.

4. Have outstanding knowledge and skills, specifically:

a) After being awarded the title of "Excellent Artisan", the Artisan must directly design and manufacture 02 new products or works of high economic, technical and artistic value, meeting one of the following criteria: Winning second prize or higher in competitions related to handicraft products organized by competent authorities nationwide; being sent by the State of Vietnam to participate in activities in the field of handicrafts and achieving third prize or higher in the region or internationally; being recognized by competent state agencies as typical, evaluated and ranked at the national level in the field of handicrafts.

b) In case the "Meritorious Artisan" is over 70 years old and does not meet the criteria in Point a of this Clause, he/she must meet one of the following criteria: Being an ethnic minority (currently working and living stably in an ethnic minority area for 05 years or more); having 02 or more products or works selected as gifts from Party and State leaders to high-ranking foreign guests according to regulations on diplomatic protocol; selected by a national museum as an exhibit; used in the restoration of national historical - cultural relics (cultural symbolic works).

5. Having great contributions to protecting and promoting the value of cultural heritage in the field of handicrafts nationwide; possessing skills and secrets of the profession, teaching the profession to 150 or more individuals, except in the case of special handicrafts or 20 or more individuals currently working in the profession for over 10 years at production establishments or 01 or more individuals being awarded the title of "Excellent Artisan" by the State in the field of handicrafts".

b) Individuals proposed for the title "Meritorious Artisan" must meet the following criteria:

The title of “Excellent Artisan” in the field of handicrafts is awarded to individuals specified in Clause 1, Article 2 of Decree No. 43/2024/ND-CP who meet the following criteria:

1. Be loyal to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; comply with the Party's guidelines, policies and laws of the State, regulations, rules and regulations of agencies, organizations and localities.

2. Have continuous or cumulative working time in the handicraft industry for 15 years or more.

3. Have good moral qualities, be exemplary in life; be dedicated and devoted to the profession, be admired and respected by colleagues and the people; be a typical representative of the cause of protecting and promoting the value of cultural heritage in the field of local handicrafts.

4. Have outstanding knowledge and skills, specifically:

a) Directly design and manufacture at least 10 works and products of high economic, technical and artistic value.

b) Having products or works that meet one of the following criteria: Won second prize or higher in competitions related to handicraft products organized by competent authorities at the provincial level or third prize or higher nationwide; been sent by the State of Vietnam to participate in activities in the field of handicrafts and achieved third prize or higher at the regional or international level; been recognized by competent state agencies as typical, evaluated and classified at the national level in the field of handicrafts and fine arts; been selected by national and provincial museums as exhibits; been used as models for teaching in the field of handicrafts and fine arts at vocational training institutions and universities; been used in restoration projects of historical and cultural relics (cultural symbols) at the provincial and national levels.

5. Having great contributions in protecting and promoting the value of cultural heritage in the field of local handicrafts; possessing skills and secrets, and teaching the profession to 100 or more individuals, except in the case of special handicrafts or 15 or more individuals currently working in the profession for over 10 years at production establishments".

11. Legal basis of administrative procedures

- Law on Emulation and Commendation dated June 15, 2022;

- Law on Cultural Heritage dated June 29, 2001; Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Cultural Heritage dated June 18, 2009;

- Decree No. 43/2024/ND-CP dated April 19, 2024 of the Government detailing the awarding of the titles "People's Artisan" and "Meritorious Artisan" in the field of handicrafts.

Details of the Decision see here./.