CIRCULAR

ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BORDER TRADE PROMOTION PROGRAM

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 189/2007/ND-CP of December 27, 2007, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;
Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 1374/QD-TTg of August 6, 2010, on funds for the implementation of the 2010 border trade promotion program;
After reaching agreement with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade provides for the implementation of the border trade promotion program as follows:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. Scope of regulation: This Circular provides for the elaboration, management and implementation of the border trade promotion program (below referred to as the program).

2. Subjects of application: This Circular applies to units responsible for implementing the program's schemes (below referred to as implementing units), management agencies and organizations and individuals participating in the program implementation.

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1. The program implementation funds comply with the Prime Minister's Decision No. 1374/QD-TTg of August 6, 2010, on funds for the implementation of the 2010 border trade promotion program.

2. The program will be implemented from the effective date of this Circular through the end of the second quarter of 2011.

Article 3. Implementing units and units participating in the program implementation

1. Implementing units must satisfy the following conditions:

a/ Being an organization of any economic sector lawfully set up with the legal entity status;

b/ Having a plan approved by the Minister of Industry and Trade.

2. Units participating in the program implementation arc legal-person-status organizations of any economic sector Vietnamese traders and business households as prescribed by Vietnamese law.

Chapter II

SUPPORT CONTENTS. PRINCIPLES AND LEVELS

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1. To publish 3 bilingual handbooks (in Vietnamese-Chinese, Vietnamese-Lao and Vietnamese-Khmer) providing information on border gates for goods export, customs procedures, the entry and exit of persons and vehicles involved in goods export, modes of payment, tax and charge policies, regulations on goods designs, medical, animal, plant and aquatic quarantine, goods quality inspection and other necessary information when exporting goods via these border gates. The following costs will be fully supported:

a/ Survey and data collection costs;

b/ Publication costs;

c/ Costs for distributing these handbooks to concerned organizations and individuals of Vietnam and the bordering countries according to the Industry and Trade Ministry's instruction.

2. To publish 3 bilingual manuals on "Vietnamese goods and businesses" (in Vietnamese-Chinese. Vietnamese-Lao and Vietnamese-Khmer) providing information on Vietnamese goods and distribution networks and Vietnamese enterprises doing business in China, Laos and Cambodia. The following costs will be fully supported:

a/ Survey and data collection costs;

b/ Publication costs;

c/ Costs for distributing these manuals to concerned organizations and individuals of Vietnam and the bordering countries under the Industry and Trade Ministry's instruction.

3. To distribute publications on the Party's and Government's guidelines and policies on trade in border, mountainous and island areas; analyses and writings on trade development in border, mountainous and island areas; experiences and models of enterprises and business households, the market situation and the production of goods in border, mountainous, deep-lying, remote, ethnic minority and island areas. The following costs will be fully supported:

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b/ Publication costs;

c/ Costs for distributing these publications to concerned organizations and individuals of Vietnam and the bordering countries under the Industry and Trade Ministry's instruction.

4. To survey and evaluate the sale of Vietnamese goods in border markets, border-gate economic zones and border gates. The following costs will be fully supported:

a/ Costs for survey and data collection (elaborating plans, making survey outlines and questionnaires, printing documents, questionnaires and forms, organizing survey skill training courses and processing survey results).

b/ Costs for synthesizing, evaluating, reporting and publicizing survey results under the Industry and Trade Ministry's direction.

5. To train and foster cooperative officers and managers and traders in border, mountainous and island areas in the knowledge on and skills of management of border markets and border-gate economic zones, product sale in border, mountainous and island areas and the implementation of the Government's policies. The following costs will be fully supported:

a/ Costs for trainers;

b/ Costs for compiling and printing training materials for trainees;

c/ Costs for hiring training equipment.

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To organize small- and medium-sized Vietnamese goods fairs (with the participation of about 30 enterprises) for 2 or 3 days in border, mountainous, deep-lying and remote districts. The following costs will be supported:

a/ Organizing costs (for venue lease, communication, advertising, ceremonies. electricity, water, environmental cleaning, fire and explosion prevention and fighting, security and order assurance, management and attendants), calculated in lump sums guided by the Ministry of Finance;

b/ Costs for kiosk lease and goods transportation of enterprises, calculated in lump sums guided by the Ministry of Finance.

Article 6, Socialization, incentives for enterprises to invest in the development of export support services in border gates

To support costs incurred in 2010 (with lawful contracts and invoices and vouchers) by enterprises with approved investment schemes and projects to build storing yards, transportation, forwarding, warehousing systems and infrastructure systems to serve export activities in border gates. The following costs will be fully supported:

a/ Costs for data collection, documentation, topographical and geological surveys for the elaboration of construction investment projects;

b/ Costs for formulation of construction investment projects;

c/ Costs for administrative procedures and appraisal and approval work;

d/ Survey and design costs.

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1. To organize small- and medium-sized Vietnamese goods fairs (with the participation of about 30 enterprises) for 3 to 5 days in populous areas in the provinces bordering on Vietnam. The following costs will be fully supported:

a/ Costs for applying for permits from host countries' authorities;

b/ Organizing costs (including costs for venue lease, electricity, water, security maintenance and attendants) in lump sums guided by the Ministry of Finance;

c/ Publicity and advertisement costs.

2. To support enterprises in establishing and expanding Vietnamese goods distribution networks in provinces and cities bordering on Vietnam. The following costs will be fully supported:

a/ Administrative costs for opening representative offices in foreign provinces and cities on bordering Vietnam;

b/ Costs for placing advertisements in the mass media in border areas.

3. To support the Industry and Trade Ministry in organizing business people's visits to the provinces bordering on Vietnam for business exchange and market surveys. The following costs will be fully supported:

a/ Organizing costs: costs for transactions, printing documents, translation and business exchange;

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Article 8. Communication activities

To provide full support for costs for writing and publishing articles on border trade in the mass media of Vietnam and border provinces (of Vietnam and bordering countries).

Chapter III

PROCESS AND PROCEDURES FOR THE PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

Article 9. The program appraisal council

1. The program appraisal council shall be set up under the Industry and Trade Minister's decision.

2. The functions and tasks of the appraisal council shall be specified by the Industry and Trade Minister.

Article 10. Process of receiving and processing dossiers

1. Implementing units shall elaborate schemes according to the form issued together with this Circular (not printed herein) and send these schemes to the Mountainous Trade Department

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- telephone number: 04.22205447 - Fax: 04.22205521 Email: VTMMN®moit.gov.vn before December 31. 2010.

2. The Mountainous Trade Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall base itself on the criteria for selection of border trade promotion schemes to evaluate and synthesize the scheme contents for reporting to the appraisal council.

Article 11. Scheme selection criteria

1. Compatibility with practical needs of legal-entity-status organizations of all economic sectors, Vietnamese traders and business households as prescribed by Vietnamese law.

2. Conformity with orientations on the establishment and development of networks for distributing Vietnamese goods from production areas to border, mountainous and deep-lying areas while accelerating the export of goods into border provinces and countries.

3. Conformity with strategies and plans on the development of economic regions, branches and localities already approved by the Prime Minister.

4. Conformity with the program's contents specified in this Circular.

5. Feasibility in terms of implementation mode: implementation duration and schedule; and human and financial resources and physical and technical foundations.

Chapter IV

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Article 12. Approval of schemes

1. On the basis of the appraisal council's evaluation, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall promulgate a scheme-approving decision and assign the unit to implement the scheme.

2. In case many units register for the organization of a single activity, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall consider and select a suitable unit to implement the scheme.

Article 13. Examination and supervision

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall assume the prime, responsibility for, and coordinate with concerned agencies in. supervising and examining the implementation of schemes so as to ensure that the program will be effectively implemented in conformity with set requirements, objectives, contents and schedule and in accordance with law.

2. Implementing units shall provide sufficient documents and information relating to the implementation of their schemes and facilitate examination and supervision activities according to regulations.

Article 14. Evaluation of scheme implementation results

Implementing units shall make and send reports on the implementation of their schemes to the Ministry of Industry and Trade within 15 days after these schemes arc completed.

Within 10 working days after receiving reports on scheme implementation results from implementing units, the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall make a written record on evaluation of scheme implementation results.

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ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 15. Effect

This Circular takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 16. Implementation responsibilities

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade (the Mountainous Trade Department) shall assume the prime responsibility for. and coordinate with concerned agencies in, planning and implementing the program and approving, examining, supervising and synthesizing reports on program implementation results.

2. Implementing units shall implement schemes approved by the Minister of Industry and Trade in accordance with set objectives, contents, schedule and cost estimates and report implementation results to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance according to regulations.

3. Any problems arising in the process of implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for timely settlement-

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