CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE MANAGEMENT AND USE OF FUNDS IN ANTI-FAKE GOODS ACTIVITIES

Materializing the Prime Minister’s directions in Directive No.31/1999/CT-TTg of October 27, 1999 on the combat against fake goods production and trading, the Ministry of Finance hereby guides in detail the management and use of funds in anti-fake goods activities, as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Funds in the anti-fake goods work include:

1.1. Allocations from the State budget according the approved annual estimates.

1.2. The whole amount of collected fines for administrative violations and proceeds from the sale of goods, material evidences and violation means confiscated in cases of fake goods handling, which are left by the State budget for anti-fake goods activities.

1.3. Financial assistance and voluntary contributions (if any) from organizations and individuals at home and abroad in service of anti-fake goods activities.

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2. Funds in the anti-fake goods work shall be received, managed and used on the following principles:

2.1. Fund allocated by the State budget according to the approved annual estimates (mentioned in Paragraph 1.1, Point 1, Part I) and support fund from the revenues earned in anti-smuggling activities in the concerned localities under decisions of the presidents of the provincial People�s Committees (mentioned in Paragraph 1.4, Point 1, Part I) shall be managed and used according to the current financial management regulations.

2.2. Funds being financial assistance and voluntary contributions from organizations and individuals at home and abroad to the agencies and units assigned the anti-fake goods task (mentioned in Paragraph 1.3, Point 1, Part I) shall be received and managed according to the current financial management regulations and used for such units’ anti-fake goods activities in line with the set objectives of the assistance and/or contributions.

2.3. Funds collected from anti-fake goods activities (mentioned in Paragraph 1.2, Point 1, Part I) are the State budget’s revenues fully left for use by the units in service of their anti-fake goods activities and shall be managed and used under this Circular’s guidance.

3. Forces with functions of inspecting, examining and handling fake goods mentioned in this Circular include:

+ The market management force;

+ The customs force;

+ The border guards;

+ The police force;

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II. GUIDANCE ON THE MANAGEMENT AND USE OF FUNDS EARNED FROM ANTI-FAKE GOODS ACTIVITIES

1. Concentrating revenues earned from anti-fake goods activities

1.1. Funds earned from anti-fake goods activities include:

- Amounts of administrative violation fines for acts of storing, transporting, trading in and producing fake goods collected under sanctioning decisions or decisions on settlement of complaints (if any) issued by the competent bodies as defined in the July 6, 1995 Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations and the documents guiding the implementation thereof.

- Money amounts earned from the handling of fake goods and material evidences confiscated and permitted to be re-circulated on the market under the competent State agencies’ handling decisions.

1.2. Opening of custody accounts to concentrate funds collected from anti-fake goods activities

The provincial/municipal Finance and Pricing Services shall open custody accounts (sub-account of revenues earned from anti-fake goods activities) at the provincial State Treasury. The finance bureaus of urban districts, rural districts, provincial capitals and towns (hereinafter referred collectively to as districts) shall open custody accounts at the district-level State Treasury to concentrate revenues earned from the anti-fake goods forces’ activities of investigating, detecting, arresting and handling fake goods. Revenues earned from anti-fake goods activities on custody accounts at the State Treasury shall not enjoy interest.

1.3. Remittance of money collected from anti-fake goods activities into custody accounts

All revenues collected from the handling of administrative violations in the anti-fake goods domain and from the sale of goods, which have been confiscated and permitted to be re-circulated (after subtracting arising expenses related to the transportation, loading and unloading, preservation and sale of such goods), shall be remitted into the custody accounts opened by the provincial-level and district-level finance agencies at the State Treasury in the localities where the cases took place, on the following principles:

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+ Amounts collected by the district-level anti-fake goods forces, which directly inspect, detect, arrest and handle fake goods, shall be concentrated into the custody accounts opened by the district finance agencies at the district State Treasury.

Money amounts collected from cases directly inspected, detected, arrested and handled by the central or provincial-level anti-fake goods forces at places far from localities, where the custody accounts are opened, shall be remitted into the State Treasury of districts where such cases took place. The district State Treasury shall have to make the entrusted collection of such amounts, then concentrate them into custody accounts opened by the provincial/municipal Finance and Pricing Services at the provincial/municipal State Treasury.

Where a case takes place in many localities or adjoining geographical areas, the place where the arrest is made shall serve as basis for the handling.

2. Distribution of revenue sources from custody accounts to the units taking part in the anti-fake goods activities

2.1. Basing themselves on the amounts collected and actually remitted into custody accounts (sub-accounts of revenues earned from anti-fake goods activities) opened at the State Treasury and requests of the violation handling units, the directors of the provincial/municipal Finance and Pricing Services shall propose the presidents of the provincial/municipal People’s Committees and the heads of the district Finance Sections shall propose the presidents of the district People’s Committees, to issue decisions on distribution of administrative violation fine amounts and proceeds from the sale of goods permitted to be re-circulated (if any) on the monthly or case-by-case basis, depending on the size of revenue sources, to the units that have handled the violations for use in anti-fake goods activities.

2.2. Basing themselves on decisions of the presidents of the provincial People’s Committees (or the presidents of the district People’s Committees), the finance agencies of the same level shall transfer money from custody accounts to the beneficiary units’ accounts, and monitor the management and use thereof under the guidance in this Circular.

3. Guiding the use of funds earned from anti-fake goods activities

Units of the anti-fake goods forces shall use sources of fund they have received for the following purposes:

3.1. Providing support for expenses for investigation, pursuit and arrest, verification, test and expertise of goods.

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The unit leaders’ decisions on expenditure and expense accounting vouchers enclosed therewith shall constitute files of documents to be used in making final settlements with the finance agency according to the current regime. The leaders of the units assigned the anti-fake goods task shall take responsibility for their decisions.

3.2. Providing support for expenses for propagation, professional training and fostering, preliminary review and overall review of the anti-fake goods combat and organization of information.

Basing themselves on concrete plans of their own units and after balancing sources of fund earned from anti-fake goods activities against other sources of fund, the units’ leaders shall decide on the use of such source to make expenses for anti-fake goods work according to the current norms and regime of the State.

3.3. Information buying expenses

Information buying expenses shall be paid depending on the value of information sources and their effect on the related cases and within the prescribed limit for each informer and each case, as follows:

+ The maximum information buying expense level shall be 200,000 dong/informer/case.

+ In cases where there are many quality information sources concerning the same case, the maximum information buying expense level shall not exceed 1,000,000 dong/case.

The specific expense levels shall be decided by the leaders of the units assigned the anti-fake goods task, on the basis of proposal of the tasked official(s). The expense payment must ensure the informer’s safety and secrecy. In order to avoid negative phenomena, the payment of information buying money to the informer must be witnessed by the unit’s responsible person(s).

In cases where the bought information is neither valuable nor helpful, the information buying expense shall be cleared against rewards for other cases of the unit.

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Expense decisions of the units’ leaders and expense accounting vouchers enclosed with files and documents shall be used for making settlement with the finance agency according to the current regime.

3.4. Providing support for expenses for procurement, repair of means and tools in service of anti-fake goods work of the units.

The units’ leaders shall work out plans for procurement of facilities and equipment and repair of means with funds taken from revenues of anti-fake goods activities.

The procurement and repair of means and tools in service of anti-fake goods work shall strictly comply with the current financial management regime.

3.5. Providing support for over-time work allowances; allowances for officials and soldiers who are hit by accidents, get wounded or killed in harness or their families.

In cases where the source of fund allocated by the State budget according to the annual estimates is not enough to pay the night-shift and/or over-time work allowances; and allowances for officials and soldiers who are hit by accidents, get wounded or killed in harness or their families, the leaders of the concerned units may use sources of revenue from anti-fake goods activities to cover such allowances. Those expenses, stipulated by the State shall be made according to the regulations. Those not yet stipulated shall be proposed by the units’ leaders to the superior managing authorities for approval and implementation.

3.6. Paying rewards to organizations and individuals with meritorious achievements in taking part or coordinating with anti-fake goods units in the investigation, detection, arrest and handling of cases involved in the anti-fake goods work.

The presidents of the provincial People’s Committees shall guide the specific reward level for uniform implementation in their localities in such work.

The leaders of the units assigned the anti-fake goods task shall base themselves on the guidance of the presidents of the provincial People’s Committees to decide the specific rewards depending on the cases’ complexity and handling effectiveness as well as coordination results, and within the prescribed source of fund for payment of rewards, which has already been balanced against other expenses.

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The unit leaders shall be answerable to their superiors and held responsible before law for their decisions.

3.7. Remitting an amount to their superior authorities at the central level for directing the anti-fake goods work in the entire branch and organizing the coordination among inter-branch forces in the anti-fake goods work.

Such remittance amount shall not exceed 10% of the total revenues from anti-fake goods activities. The Finance Ministry shall authorize the heads of forces taking part in the anti-fake goods activities to consider and decide the appropriate specific remittance level.

The expenditure deducted from such remittance proportion shall be effected according to the above guidance and the State’s current financial management regime.

4. Accounting, book-keeping and settlement

The units taking part in the anti-fake goods activities shall have to open accounting books to monitor the anti-fake goods fund revenue and remittance, the reception, use and settlement of anti-fake goods funds; make financial reports and settlement reports according to the provisions of the State Budget Law and the current regulations on financial and accounting management.

The State Treasury’s units at all levels shall conduct the accounting of collection, remittance, entrusted collection and payment of anti-fake goods funds strictly according to the State Budget Contents and the current financial and accounting regime.

III. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular takes effect 15 days after its signing. Cases of storing, transporting, trading in and producing fake goods, which have been detected and seized but not yet handled by the effective date of this Circular shall be handled according to provisions of this Circular.

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Any difficulties and/or problems arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported by the concerned branches and levels to the Finance Ministry for study and additional guidance.

FOR THE FINANCE MINISTER
VICE MINISTER




Tran Van Ta