Circular No. 04/2004/TT-BBCVT guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Government Decree No. 142/2004/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 2004 on administrative penalties for violations concerning postal services, telecommunications, and radio frequency.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Certain Provisions of Decree No. 142/2004/NĐ-CP

dated July 8, 2004, of the Government on Administrative Sanctions for Violations Relating to Postal Services, Telecommunications, and Radio Frequency

The Decree No. 142/2004/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 2004, of the Government on Administrative Sanctions for Violations Relating to Postal Services, Telecommunications, and Radio Frequency;

Pursuant to the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance 2002;

Pursuant to Decree No. 134/2003/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2003 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance 2002;

These Circulars provide guidelines for implementing certain provisions of Decree No. 142/2004/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 2004, of the Government on Administrative Sanctions for Violations Relating to Postal Services, Telecommunications, and Radio Frequency (hereinafter referred to as the "Decree") regarding acts of administrative violations and the imposition of sanctions for such violations in the field of postal services, telecommunications, and radio frequency.

On the basis of Decree No. 90/2002/NĐ-CP dated November 11, 2002 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications;

The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications hereby issues the following guidelines:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

2. Applicability:

Every individual and organization in Vietnam; foreign individuals and organizations conducting activities related to postal services, telecommunications, and radio frequency in Vietnam who commit administrative violations as prescribed in the Decree and guided by these Circulars, except for cases specified in Point 3, Section I of these Circulars.

第二条 组织和实施奖励工作的支出水平，如政府第152/2025/NĐ-CP号决定关于分级授权和奖励领域的分权规定

3. Cases Not Subject to Administrative Sanctions:

3.1- Foreign individuals and organizations entitled to immunity from administrative sanctions under the provisions of the Ordinance on Privileges and Immunities for Diplomatic Missions, Consular Posts, and International Organizations' Representative Offices in Vietnam;

3.2- Individuals who have not reached the age of 14 at the time of committing the administrative violation;

3.3- Cases as provided for in Clause 5, Article 3 of the Decree;

3.4- Expiration of the statute of limitations for imposing administrative sanctions as stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 5, Article 4 of the Decree;

3.5- Acts of violation with criminal indications.

4. Principles of Imposing Sanctions:

The principles of imposing administrative sanctions for administrative violations relating to postal services, telecommunications, and radio frequency shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations 2002 (hereinafter referred to as the "Ordinance"), Article 3 of Decree No. 134/2003/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2003 detailing certain provisions of the Ordinance, and Article 3 of the Decree.

II. ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS RELATING TO POSTAL SERVICES,

TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND RADIO FREQUENCY

1. The imposition of sanctions for administrative violations prescribed in Clause 1, Article 6; Clause 1, Article 8; Clauses 1, 2, and 3, Article 9; Clause 1, Article 10; Clause 1, Article 11; Clause 1, Article 12; Clause 1, Article 17; Clause 1, Article 18; Clause 1, Article 26; Clause 1, Article 27 of the Decree shall be applied as follows:

1.1- Warning sanction shall be imposed on minor administrative violations committed for the first time, with mitigating circumstances, or on administrative violations committed by juveniles aged between 14 and 16 years old.

The warning sanction shall be decided in writing.

1.2- Fine sanctions shall be imposed on other administrative violations except those specified in point 1.1 above.

2. The administrative violation prescribed in point e, Clause 2, Article 6 of the Decree shall apply to:

Individuals and organizations changing or moving the positions of mailboxes, equipment, and facilities of the public postal network without permission from the competent authority managing them.

3. The administrative violation prescribed in point đ, Clause 3, Article 6 of the Decree shall apply in the case where:

Individuals, organizations, and businesses providing courier services use the phrase

"Vietnam Post" for the purpose of production and business operations without permission from Vietnam Post Corporation. 4. The administrative violation prescribed in point b, Clause 1, Article 7 of the Decree shall apply to:

4.1- Employees of Vietnam Post Corporation or courier service businesses holding mail, parcels, and packages without delivering or delaying delivery to service users;

4.2- Individuals who have contracted with businesses to perform the task of delivering mail, parcels, and packages without delivering or delaying delivery to service users.

5. The administrative violation prescribed in Clause 2, Article 7 of the Decree is guided as follows:

5.1- Individuals without authority who commit violations shall be subject to administrative sanctions as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 7 of the Decree.

5.2- Individuals with authority who are performing official duties and commit violations shall be disciplined according to the regulations on civil servants and officials.

6. The administrative violation prescribed in point a, Clause 3, Article 7 of the Decree shall apply to:

Individuals and organizations delaying, refusing, or evading the execution of decisions by state authorities with jurisdiction regarding the requisition of means and equipment for transporting and circulating official documents, materials, mailbags, parcels, and packages during emergencies such as storms, floods, natural disasters, fires, or other catastrophes.

7. Measures to ensure information security prescribed in Clause 4, Article 7 of the Decree are guided as follows:

Measures to ensure information security that Vietnam Post Corporation is responsible for applying when transporting and exploiting bags and packages of specialized postal networks include: prioritizing exploitation and transportation of mailbags, parcels, and packages; applying measures to ensure postal safety and confidentiality of information throughout all stages of exploitation and transportation.

8. The administrative violation prescribed in point a, Clause 2, Article 8

of the Decree shall apply to: Employees of Vietnam Post Corporation or courier service businesses illegally opening or tampering with the contents of mail, parcels, and packages of service users during the exploitation and transportation of mailbags, parcels, and packages.

9. The administrative violation prescribed in point a, Clause 3, Article 9 of the Decree shall apply in the following cases:

9.1- Senders adding or swapping items or goods on their own initiative after employees of service-providing enterprises have completed the inspection procedures for the contents of parcels and packages;

9.2- Employees of service-providing enterprises colluding with senders to add or swap items or goods within parcels and packages. In this case, administrative sanctions will be imposed on both the employee of the enterprise and the sender.

10. The administrative violation prescribed in point b, Clause 3, Article 9 of the Decree shall apply in the following cases:

10. The acts violating the provisions set forth in point b, Clause 3, Article 9 of the Decree shall be applied in the following cases:

10.1- Individuals or organizations that obstruct, hinder, or create difficulties for service users when they legally use postal services or courier services.

10.2- Individuals or organizations that obstruct, hinder, or create difficulties for Vietnamese postal enterprises or courier service businesses when these enterprises provide postal services or courier services to service users in accordance with the provisions of the law.

11. The violation stipulated in point e, Clause 3, Article 9 of the Decree shall be handled as follows:

When cash or foreign currency is discovered in letters, parcels, or packages sent from abroad to Vietnam, the authorized person who imposes penalties shall prepare a record of the violation and issue a decision on administrative penalty. In cases where, within one year, this penalty decision cannot be delivered to the violator because the violator does not come to collect it and their address cannot be determined, or due to other objective reasons, the person who issued the penalty decision shall issue a decision to suspend the execution of the main penalty form, except for the confiscation of the contraband items (cash, foreign currency) as provided for in Clause 3, Article 22 of Decree No. 134/2003/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2003 of the Government, and proceed to transfer the amount of cash or foreign currency into a temporary holding account opened at the State Treasury according to Section e, Point 1.1, Chapter III of Circular No. 72/2004/TT-BTC dated July 15, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management and handling of confiscated items and means seized into the state treasury due to administrative violations.

12. The violation stipulated in point a, Clause 4, Article 9 of the Decree shall be handled as follows:

12.1- Individuals or organizations that lose letters, parcels, or packages of service users sent through public postal networks or courier networks without handling and resolving them in accordance with the law, in addition to being penalized as stipulated herein, the individuals or organizations violating must also compensate for losses (if any) to the service users in accordance with the law;

12.2- Individuals or organizations that lose letters, parcels, or packages of Party and State agencies, people's armed forces sent through dedicated postal networks shall not be subject to administrative penalty as stipulated herein but shall be transferred to the Public Security Organs for investigation and handling.

13. The violation stipulated in point d, Clause 3 and Clause 7, Article 9 of the Decree shall be handled as follows:

13.1- The act of sending or receiving in letters, parcels, or packages items or substances causing fire, explosion, danger, substances or materials causing hygiene issues, environmental pollution applies only to letters, parcels, or packages accepted for delivery by Vietnamese postal enterprises or courier service businesses;

13.2- In cases where letters, parcels, or packages sent from abroad to Vietnam contain prohibited import goods, explosive, flammable, dangerous, unhygienic, environmentally polluting items, the authorized person shall immediately prepare a record of administrative violation at the place of discovery and carry out confiscation or destruction of the contraband items according to Article 61 of the Ordinance.

14. The violation stipulated in point b, Clause 1, Article 10 of the Decree shall be applied in the following circumstances:

Vietnamese postal services or postal service agency selling stamps during the issuance period at prices other than those printed on the stamp face, except for canceled stamps;

The provision stipulated in point b, Clause 1, Article 10 of the Decree shall not apply to individuals or organizations selling various types of stamps for collection purposes.

15. The violation stipulated in point a, Clause 2, Article 10 of the Decree shall be applied to:

Individuals or organizations circulating stamps that have been officially withdrawn by competent authorities, except in cases where stamps have expired their issuance period.

16. The violation stipulated in point c, Clause 2, Article 10 of the Decree shall be applied to:

Individuals or organizations collecting various types of banned stamps in Vietnam for the purpose of propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, defaming the system, violating morals, customs, inciting ethnic hatred.

17. Emergency and assistance service numbers specified in point b, Clause 1, Article 12 of the Decree include:

Police call number (113); fire call number (114); medical emergency call number (115); local telephone directory inquiry call number (116) and other numbers of relevant agencies as prescribed by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

18. The violation stipulated in point d, Clause 3, Article 12 of the Decree shall be applied:

In cases where telecommunications enterprises cease or temporarily cease providing telecommunications services to change network configuration, equipment, system equipment, reset phone numbers, increase switch capacity without prior notice to service users as required by law.

No penalty shall be imposed in cases of cessation or temporary cessation of service due to technical faults or force majeure.

19. The violation stipulated in point c, Clause 3, Article 13 of the Decree shall be understood as follows:

The act of disseminating viruses, spam emails, and programs harmful to telecommunications networks that pose a risk of network congestion or shutdown.

20. The violation stipulated in point d, Clause 2, Article 17 of the Decree shall be understood as follows:

The act of organizations or individuals operating or using radio frequency transmission equipment under false station names, call signs, or identification numbers of other licensed radio stations.

21. The violation stipulated in point g, Clause 2, Article 17 of the Decree shall be applied:

Administrative penalties shall be imposed on each frequency for the act of transmitting incorrectly on frequencies already specified in the Radio Frequency License.

22. The violation stipulated in point b, Clause 3, Article 17 of the Decree shall be applied to:

Individuals or organizations using personnel without professional certificates recognized by competent authorities to operate radio frequency transmission equipment that require such certificates.

23. The violation stipulated in point đ, Clause 3, Article 17 of the Decree shall be interpreted as follows:

Equipment that does not meet the technical standard requirements as prescribed by competent state agencies shall be equipment without appropriate electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) conformity labels (for equipment required to have such labels), equipment that does not comply with technical standards as stipulated by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications or the regulations of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam or international regulations recognized by Vietnam.

24. The provision at point b, Clause 3, Article 18 of the Decree shall be understood as follows:

A private telecommunications network, a dedicated telecommunications network, or a radio frequency broadcasting, television transmission, or other wireless telecommunication receiving/transmitting channel with nationwide scale shall be networks or stations granted Radio Frequency Operating Licenses by competent state agencies for operation throughout the country.

25. The violation of the provision at point a, Clause 1, Article 20 of the Decree shall apply to:

Individuals or organizations importing telecommunications equipment or producing domestic telecommunications equipment for circulation in the Vietnamese market or connecting telecommunications equipment to telecommunications networks without Telecommunications Conformity Certificates and Electromagnetic Compatibility Conformity Certificates or where these certificates have expired for more than thirty days.

Point a, Clause 1, Article 20 of the Decree does not apply to distribution systems, dealerships, stores, or users.

III. PROCEDURES AND AUTHORITY FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES

1- The procedures for applying primary penalties (warnings or fines) shall be carried out according to the provisions of Article 32 of the Decree.

2- In cases where an individual commits multiple administrative violations, if the form and level of penalty applicable to each violation all fall within the authority of one level, that level shall issue the penalty decision. If at least one violation involves a form and level of penalty within the jurisdiction of a higher level, the entire case file must be transferred to the higher authority for penalty; if there is a violation within the jurisdiction of another agency, a separate case file on that violation must be established and transferred to the relevant authority for penalty.

3- When multiple individuals collaborate to commit one or more administrative violations, it is only necessary to establish a joint record and issue a joint penalty decision; in which, the form and level of penalty for each individual must be clearly recorded. All these individuals will have the aggravating circumstance of organized violation.

4- In cases where the administrative violator cannot be identified, administrative penalties shall be imposed on the organization. After implementing the penalty decision, the penalized organization must identify the individual responsible for causing the administrative violation to determine the legal liability of the violator according to the law.

5- The procedures for confiscation and handling of evidence and means of administrative violations shall be carried out according to the provisions of Articles 60 and 61 of the Ordinance.

The management and handling of confiscated assets and means transferred to the State Treasury due to administrative violations shall be implemented according to Circular No. 72/2004/TT-BTC dated July 15, 2004, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the management and handling of confiscated assets and means transferred to the State Treasury due to administrative violations.

6- The Director of the Inspectorate of the specialized inspection agency under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications specified at points b, c, d, Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree No. 75/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 26, 2003 of the Government on the organization and operation of Postal, Telecommunications, and Information Technology Inspection has the authority to impose administrative penalties according to Clause 2, Article 28 of the Decree.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

This Circular shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

During implementation, any difficulties should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications for review, supplementation, and amendment.