Circular No. 03/2015/TT-BTTTT provides detailed regulations and guidance on implementing certain Articles and Clauses of Government Decree No. 60/2014/NĐ-CP dated June 19, 2014, concerning printing activities.

CIRCULAR

Detailed regulations and guidance on implementation of certain Articles and Clauses of N |||of Decree No. 60/2014/CP- dated October 20, 2015 of June 19, 2014 of Cgovernment concerning printing activities

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Based on Decree No. 60/2014/ND-CP dated June 19, 2014 of the Government on printing activities;

Based on Decree No. 132/2013/ND-CP dated October 16, 2013 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Information and Communications;

At the proposal of the Director of the Publishing, Printing, and Distribution Department,

The Minister of Information and Communications issues this Circular to provide detailed regulations and guidance on implementation of certain Articles and Clauses of Decree No. 60/2014/NĐ-CP dated June 19, 2014 of the Government concerning printing activities.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular provides detailed regulations and guidance on implementation of certain Articles and Clauses of Decree No. 60/2014/NĐ-CP dated June 19, 2014 of the Government concerning printing activities (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 60/2014/NĐ-CP).

1. For administrative procedures within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Information and Communications as stipulated in Decree No. 60/2014/NĐ-CP and this Circular, the Publishing, Printing and Distribution Department shall be responsible for accepting applications and processing them according to its assigned functions, tasks, and authorities.

2. For administrative procedures within the jurisdiction of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to as Provincial People's Committee) as stipulated in Decree No. 60/2014/NĐ-CP and this Circular, the Department of Information and Communications shall be responsible for accepting applications and processing them according to its assigned functions, tasks, and authorities.

Article 3. Responsibility for organizing training and enhancing knowledge of laws and professional skills in printing activities.

1. The Publishing, Printing, and Distribution Department shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies and units to organize nationwide training and enhancement of knowledge of laws and professional skills in printing activities.

2. Provincial Departments of Information and Communications under centrally governed cities shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies and units to organize training on legal knowledge in printing activities at the local level.

1. Subjects implementing the reporting system and places to submit reports:

a) Central printing establishments must report in writing (using the prescribed form) to the Ministry of Information and Communications (through the Publishing, Printing and Distribution Department);

b) Local printing establishments must report in writing (using the prescribed form) to the Department of Information and Communications;

c) Photocopy service enterprises must report in writing (using the prescribed form) to the District (County, City) Culture and Information Office;

Photocopy service households must report when requested by competent state management agencies;

d) The Department of Information and Communications shall be responsible for compiling statistics and summarizing the situation of printing and photocopying activities, as well as state management work on printing and photocopying activities in the locality, and report in writing (using the prescribed form) to the Ministry of Information and Communications (through the Publishing, Printing and Distribution Department).

2. Data for the reporting period:

a) For the mid-year report, data should cover from January 1 to June 30 of the reporting year;

b) For the annual report, data should cover from January 1 to December 31 of the reporting year.

3. Deadline for submitting reports:

a) For the subjects specified in Points a, b, and c Clause 1 of this Article (excluding household photocopy service establishments), the mid-year report must be submitted no later than July 10 of the reporting year, and the annual report must be submitted no later than January 10 of the following year;

b) For the Department of Information and Communications, the mid-year report must be submitted no later than July 15 of the reporting year, and the annual report must be submitted no later than January 15 of the following year.

4. Form and method of submitting reports:

a) Reports must be presented in paper form with the seal and signature of the head of the agency or organization or the signature of the individual implementing the reporting system;

b) Submission of reports can be done through one or more methods: via postal service, fax, direct submission, or email over the Internet;

In case of submission via email over the Internet, the report must be in Word or Excel file format and accompanied by a scanned (PDF) version of the paper document for comparison and verification to ensure the accuracy of the reported information.

Article 5. Inter-agency organizations for preventing and combating violations of laws in printing activities as stipulated in Clause 7, Article 5 and Point d, Clause 1, Article 7 of Decree No. 60/2014/NĐ-CP

1. An inter-agency organization is an organization that coordinates the activities of relevant agencies to prevent and combat violations of laws in printing activities.

2. The central inter-ministerial organization (referred to as the Inter-Ministerial Team) consists of representatives from the Ministry of Information and Communications; the Ministry of Public Security; the Ministry of Industry and Trade; the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and other relevant ministries and sectors, established by the Minister of Information and Communications, and issued with regulations. The operating budget of the Inter-Ministerial Team is allocated from the budget of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

The Standing Office of the Central Inter-Agency Team is the Publishing, Printing and Distribution Department (Ministry of Information and Communications);

3. The local inter-ministerial organization (referred to as the Local Inter-Ministerial Team) is established, issued with regulations, and allocated a budget for operation by the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities.

Chapter II
PRINTING ACTIVITIES

A printing establishment performing one or more processes of plate-making, printing, and post-printing processing must have corresponding equipment for each process:

1. For the plate-making process: The printing establishment must have at least one of the following devices: film recorder, zinc engraver, printing mold maker.

2. For the printing process: The printing establishment must have a printing press.

3. For the post-printing processing process: The printing establishment must have a paper trimmer (cutting machine) and at least one of the following devices: book binding machine (stapling or sewing), cover insertion machine, combined coding machine, combined finishing production line, or suitable equipment for the processed product.

1. The identification of a printing establishment whose printing operation license is to be revoked must be carried out through inspection and audit work under the information and communication sector.

2. The competent authority conducting the inspection and audit at the printing establishment shall prepare a record. Within five working days from the date of preparing the record, the competent authority conducting the inspection and audit shall submit a report to the authority that issued the printing operation license.

3. Within five working days from the date of receiving the request from the competent authority as specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the Publishing, Printing and Distribution Department or the Department of Information and Communications must issue a notice requiring the printing establishment to rectify the cause leading to the revocation of the printing operation license within thirty days.

After the thirty-day period, if the printing establishment fails to rectify the cause leading to the revocation of the printing operation license, the Director of the Publishing, Printing and Distribution Department or the Director of the Department of Information and Communications shall issue a decision to revoke the printing operation license and require the printing establishment to return the issued license.

4. Procedures for revoking the printing operation license in cases specified in Points b, c, and d of Clause 2, Article 13 of Decree No. 60/2014/ND-CP.

The Director of the Publishing, Printing and Distribution Department or the Director of the Department of Information and Communications must issue a decision to revoke the printing operation license and require the printing establishment to return the issued license in the following cases:

a) Six months from the date of issuance of the printing operation license, if the printing establishment has not invested sufficient equipment and has not submitted copies of purchase or lease-purchase certificates for equipment as stipulated in Point c, Clause 2, Article 12 of Decree No. 60/2014/ND-CP.

b) More than twelve months from the date of issuance of the printing operation license, if the printing establishment has not been operating.

c) The printing establishment ceases operations, splits, merges, dissolves, or goes bankrupt.

The head of the printing establishment must organize the retention and management of files for plate-making, printing, and post-printing processing for twenty-four months from the date of signing the printing contract. The files to be retained include:

1. Original foreign printing processing permit issued by the Publishing, Printing and Distribution Department or the Department of Information and Communications for foreign printing products.

2. Original contract for plate-making, printing, and post-printing processing or the printing order form as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 16 of Decree No. 60/2014/ND-CP.

3. Manuscript (sample) of the printed product already stamped or signed by the organization or individual placing the print order, kept in one of the following formats: manuscript on regular paper; printed manuscript on offset paper; printed manuscript on film; electronic manuscript stored in a CD, CD-ROM, USB, hard drive, or other data storage device.

4. Documents related to the printed product as stipulated in Articles 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22 of Decree No. 60/2014/ND-CP.

5. Record book for managing received plate-making, printing, and post-printing processing products, fully recorded with relevant information.

1. Film recording, zinc plate recording, and mold-making machines for printing plates (pre-printing stage) are specialized machines serving the printing plate production process.

2. Digital printing machines with a speed exceeding 50 A4 pages per minute or with a print size larger than A3.

3. Offset, flexo, gravure printing machines; screen printing machines.

4. Paper cutting machines, book folding machines (paper folding), book binding machines (stapling or sewing), cover insertion machines, combined finishing machines (from two processes onwards).

5. Color photocopiers, printers with color photocopy functions.

1. Usage of printers with color photocopy functions as specified in Point b, Clause 1, Article 30 of Decree No. 60/2014/ND-CP shall be as follows:

a) Printers with color photocopy functions having a speed of 50 pages per minute or more can only be used for production in printing establishments meeting the conditions for printing operations.

b) Printers with color photocopy functions having a speed of 50 pages per minute or less can be used for production in printing establishments meeting the conditions for printing operations and can also be used as color photocopiers as specified in Point a, Clause 2, Article 30 of Decree No. 60/2014/ND-CP.

2. Registration for usage

Before using color photocopiers or printers with color photocopy functions, such machines must be registered with the local Department of Information and Communications. The registration dossier includes:

a) Application form for machine usage according to the prescribed model;

b) Certified copy for verification against the original or certified copy if sent via postal service, along with the import permit for the machine issued by the Publishing, Printing, and Distribution Department; legal entity qualification documents of the organization registering the machine; purchase contracts and invoices or lease purchase documents for the machine;

c) Transfer request form (for already registered machines) with confirmation from the Department of Information and Communications where the machine was originally registered.

3. Transfer of machines

Organizations using color photocopiers or printers with color photocopy functions must submit a dossier to the Department of Information and Communications where the machine was originally registered when transferring the machine. The dossier includes:

a) Transfer request form according to the prescribed model (two copies);

b) Certified copy for verification against the original or certified copy if sent via postal service, along with legal entity qualification documents of the organization receiving the transferred machine;

c) Original confirmation of machine registration;

d) Within five working days from the date of receipt of the transfer request form, the Department of Information and Communications must confirm the transfer form, return one copy to the requesting organization, retain one copy in the file, and update the machine registration data, in case of non-confirmation, a written response stating the reasons must be provided.

4. Disposal of machines Organizations using color photocopiers or printers with color photocopy functions must notify the Department of Information and Communications where the machine was originally registered in writing when disposing of the machine, and simultaneously return the registration confirmation certificate.

Chapter III
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Attached to this Circular is 01 appendix containing 24 forms to be used in printing activities.

Article 12. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from May 1, 2015.

2. The following legal normative documents shall cease to be effective from the date this Circular takes effect:

a) Circular No. 04/2008/TT-BTTTT dated July 9, 2008, issued by the Minister of Information and Communications guiding the implementation of certain contents of Decree No. 105/2007/NĐ-CP dated June 21, 2007, of the Government on printing activities of products that are not publications;

b) Circular No. 22/2010/TT-BTTTT dated October 6, 2010, issued by the Minister of Information and Communications stipulating the organization and operation of printing activities; amending and supplementing some provisions of Circular No. 04/2008/TT-BTTTT dated July 9, 2008, and Circular No. 02/2010/TT-BTTTT dated January 11, 2010, both issued by the Minister of Information and Communications.

3. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, please reflect them in writing to the Ministry of Information and Communications for consideration and resolution./.