Decision No. 02/2002/QD-BTM On the issuance of regulations on export award examination

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the issuance of regulations on export award assessment

__________________ 

THE MINISTER OF TRADE

Pursuant to Decree No. 95/CP dated December 4, 1993 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Trade;

Pursuant to Decision No. 195/1999/QĐ-TTg dated September 27, 1999 of the Prime Minister on the establishment, utilization, and management of the Export Support Fund;

After reaching consensus with the Ministry of Finance,

Pursuant to …;

Article 1. This Decision promulgates the regulations on export award assessment attached hereto.

Article 2.The competent agencies of the Ministry of Trade and related ministries and sectors, and direct exporters shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

Article 3.This Decision takes effect fifteen days from the date of signature and applies to awards for achievements in export activities starting from 2001. This Decision replaces previous Decisions issued by the Ministry of Trade regarding the regulations on export award assessment.

Chapter 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. These regulations stipulate the assessment of export awards from 2001 according to Decision No. 195/1999/QĐ-TTg dated September 27, 1999 of the Government.

Article 2. Annually, the Ministry of Finance will allocate export awards (from the Export Support Fund) to traders who meet the standards set forth in these regulations, based on the decision of the Minister of Trade.

Article 3. Products proposed for export award assessment are those not prohibited by the State for export (excluding crude oil and products exported under tariff quotas or indices assigned through government contracts). Export value is calculated based on the FOB price of formal exports and informal exports (excluding temporary imports for re-export, transshipment goods, and goods exchanged under specific provisions).

Article 2. The competent agencies of the Ministry of Trade and related ministries and sectors, and direct exporters shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

Chapter 2 OBJECTS, STANDARDS FOR AWARD ASSESSMENT AND AMOUNT OF AWARDS

Article 4. Individuals, legal entities, cooperatives, and households (hereinafter referred to as traders) established and operating in accordance with Vietnamese laws, which have achieved direct export results meeting the standards specified in Article 5 below, shall be eligible for awards under these regulations.

Article 5. Standards for award assessment:

Standard 5.1 - Exporting a product (or a type of product) manufactured in Vietnam for the first time to foreign markets, added to the list of Vietnamese export products (not including products or types of products that the trader has exported to foreign markets for the first time), and/or exporting to new foreign markets (one or more new markets for a product or type of product) with an annual export value of at least $100,000. For mountainous and island provinces, the annual export value must be at least $50,000. Achievements in each product category are assessed separately, not combined with the total export value of multiple products of the trader for award purposes. Standard 5.2 - Exporting effectively with the total export value of the trader in the following year being higher than the previous year by the prescribed percentage, initially applying a growth rate of 20%, and the absolute increase must be at least $400,000, while for mountainous and island areas, it is 15% with an absolute increase of at least $200,000. Standard 5.3 - Exports of high-quality products that have won medals at international exhibitions or fairs held abroad or have been certified or confirmed in writing by international organizations for product quality. Standard 5.4 - Exporting processed or manufactured products using domestic raw materials accounting for 60% or more of the value or products produced employing a significant number of workers as stipulated by current state regulations such as handicrafts, agricultural, forestry, aquatic, and livestock products, garments, footwear, etc., with the annual export value of the trader for these categories reaching at least $10 million. For handicrafts, fruits, and pork, the annual export value must reach at least $3 million. Standard 5.5 - Exporting products outside quota limits or assigned indices with an annual export value of at least $50 million. For traders meeting standards 5.4 and 5.5 from the second year onwards, they must also achieve the growth rate as specified in standard 5.2 to be eligible for awards.

Article 6. Forms and levels of rewards:

In addition to certificates of merit awarded by the Ministry of Commerce (in cases where merchants have particularly outstanding achievements, the Minister of Commerce shall propose)

6.1. Merchants meeting standard 5.1 (Article 5) shall be rewarded with 1% of the export turnover calculated in Vietnamese dong based on the FOB value, according to the average transaction rate in the inter-bank foreign exchange market at the time of evaluation, but not exceeding a maximum of 150 million Vietnamese dong for each case.

6.2. Merchants meeting standards 5.2, 5.4, 5.5 (Article 5) shall be ranked separately for each standard divided by product groups, and for each standard, the top ten merchants with the highest performance will be selected for rewards ranging from 50 to 100 million dong per merchant for each standard. The remaining merchants will be given encouraging rewards at lower levels, but the reward amount shall not exceed 50% of the lowest level of the top ten merchants with the highest performance.

6.3. Merchants meeting standard 5.3 (Article 5) shall be rewarded with 40 million dong for each case receiving a medal or certificate confirming the quality of goods.

6.4. In cases where merchants meet multiple standards, each standard will be considered for reward separately, but the total monetary reward shall not exceed 300 million dong.

6.5. For enterprises with foreign investment capital, the commendation achievements will be calculated collectively for all combined standards.

Article 3. This Decision shall take effect fifteen days from the date of signing and apply to the commendation of achievements in export activities starting from 2001. This Decision replaces previous Decisions of the Ministry of Commerce regarding the Regulations on Awarding Exports.

REGULATIONS On awarding exports (Annexed to Decision No. 02/2002/QĐ-BTM dated January 2, 2002 of the Minister of Commerce)

Chapter 3 PROCEDURES FOR AWARDS AND REWARDS

Article 7. Based on the criteria stipulated in Article 5 of these Regulations, merchants applying for awards shall submit the following documents to the Ministry of Commerce:

Standard 5.1: - Export achievement report of the merchant according to Form No. 1. - Detailed explanation about the production process technology for new products (with photos or samples attached). - Export contracts and copies of customs declarations proving accurately and fully the value of the exported consignment being applied for the award. - Export effectiveness report calculated based on specific products being applied for the award. The main criterion for determining effectiveness is that the export of such products generates sufficient capital and profit (actual profit from the export after deducting total costs, post-tax expenses, etc., for exporting that type of goods). Standard 5.3: - Application for commendation and copies of certificates or documents certifying the quality of goods. Standard 5.2, 5.4, 5.5: - Achievement report of the merchant according to Form No. 2. - Annual export report of the merchant's product/country (according to the form issued by the General Statistics Office. If it is standard 5.2, then also submit the implementation report of the previous year). In cases where merchants apply for awards from two or more standards, only one report needs to be submitted. - Annual financial settlement report of the merchant. For barter transactions: Merchants shall submit an application for confirmation by the Ministry of Commerce according to Form No. 3. For enterprises with foreign investment capital: - Specific report on the implementation of export obligations recorded in the investment permit confirmed by the direct management agency (industrial park, provincial/municipal People's Committee...). Depending on the achievement, apply according to Forms No. 1 and 2. - Copy of the investment permit.

Article 8. To assist the Minister of Commerce in considering the decision on rewarding, there shall be a Reward Examination Council consisting of:

- The Deputy Minister of Commerce shall be the Chairman of the Council. - A leader from the Department of Import-Export Management, Ministry of Commerce shall be a permanent member. - A leader from the Department of Finance, Ministry of Finance shall be a member. - A leader from the Department of Planning and Statistics, Ministry of Commerce shall be a member. - A leader from the Department of Financial Accounting, Ministry of Commerce shall be a member. The Council shall organize specialists (each department represented in the Council shall nominate one to two specialists to participate) to assist the Council in reviewing and processing files submitted for examination by the Council.

Article 9. Based on the report recommending rewards from traders, the Reward Examination Council shall be responsible for checking and comparing with customs statistics and General Statistics Office data to examine and recommend the Minister of Commerce to decide on rewarding each trader meeting the prescribed standards. The deadline for submitting files is before April 30th every year.

The reward examination file shall be established in two copies sent to the Ministry of Commerce - 31 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi (clearly marked: name, address, phone number, fax, Vietnamese currency account number, bank opening the account): - One copy sent to the Department of Import-Export - One copy sent to the Department of Planning and Statistics

Article 10. The reward examination process shall be conducted in the second quarter of each year. Before announcing the decision to reward traders meeting the standard 5.1, the Reward Examination Council shall publicly notify the anticipated list of rewarded traders in the People's Army Newspaper and the Trade Newspaper.

Chapter 4 IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 11. The reward decision of the Ministry of Commerce shall be publicly announced in the Trade Newspaper. The Ministry of Commerce shall organize the presentation of awards to some outstanding traders.

Article 12. The Ministry of Finance shall transfer the reward amount according to the Decision of the Ministry of Commerce into the trader's account. The trader may transfer the awarded amount into their unit's reward fund and use the reward money for business development and/or distribute the reward among groups and individuals inside and outside the unit who have contributed to the achievement being rewarded.

Article 13. Annually, the Export Reward Examination Council shall prepare a budget for rewards and expenses for the Council's reward examination activities (such as reviewing reward examination files, printing documents, certificates of merit, publishing news on mass media, organizing reward examination meetings and annual summaries...) for the Ministry of Finance to consolidate and include in the general budget.

Article 14. The Ministry of Commerce requests relevant government agencies, provincial/municipal People's Committees under the central government, and central-level organizations of mass associations to inform traders under their management about the contents of this regulation, implement it, and simultaneously reflect any issues arising during implementation to the Ministry of Commerce. Amendments and supplements to this regulation shall be decided by the Minister of Commerce after consulting with the Ministry of Finance.