Circular No. 07/2001/TT-BCA guides the implementation of Government Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP dated April 25, 2001 on the management of security service business operations.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP dated April 25, 2001 on the management of security service business activities

concerning the management of security service business activities

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On April 25, 2001, the Government issued Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP on the management of security service business activities to uniformly implement the aforementioned Decree. The Ministry of Public Security hereby provides guidelines for implementation as follows:

I. ON THE SCOPE OF REGULATION OF THE DECREE

1. Security service business activities as defined in Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP include the following areas:

a) Human protection involving activities to ensure the safety of life, health, dignity, and personal rights of the persons hired for protection under contracts;

b) Property and goods protection involving activities to ensure the safety of lawful property and goods of organizations and individuals hired for protection under contracts;

c) Production and repair of special technical equipment and systems specifically used for security service activities.

2. Objects and targets listed in the State's directory that are under the responsibility of military forces and people's public security forces to guard and protect with arms, and objects designated by the Government to be guarded and protected by security forces of agencies and enterprises do not fall within the scope of regulation of Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP and this Circular, but shall be implemented according to the relevant laws applicable to each object.

3. Prohibited acts as stipulated in Article 4 of Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP include:

a) Equipping various types of weapons and auxiliary tools as prescribed in Decree No. 47/CP dated August 12, 1996 of the Government on the management of weapons, explosives, and auxiliary tools, and Circular No. 05/TT-BNV (C13) dated September 29, 1996 of the Ministry of Home Affairs (now the Ministry of Public Security) guiding the implementation of Decree No. 47/CP of the Government for security service activities;

b) Establishing enterprises to conduct secret investigation activities (using people or technical means to secretly monitor and collect information related to the activities of agencies, organizations, and individuals); these secret investigation activities may be secret from both the target being investigated and other people, or only secret from the target being investigated while being open to others;

c) Exploiting security service activities to infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of agencies, organizations, and individuals, or to protect illegal actions; threatening, obstructing others from reporting illegal actions, or hindering, opposing public servants in the performance of their duties.

II. CONDITIONS FOR ESTABLISHING ENTERPRISES AND ORGANIZATIONS, AND CONDUCTING SECURITY SERVICE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES

1. Only enterprises established and registered for business in accordance with Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP, this Circular, and other relevant laws may engage in security service business activities.

2. According to Article 9 of the Enterprise Law and Clause 2 of Article 2 of Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP, the following agencies, organizations, and individuals are not allowed to establish or manage enterprises engaged in security service business activities:

a) State agencies and units of the People's Armed Forces using state assets or public funds to establish enterprises for profit-making purposes for their own agencies or units;

b) Civil servants as defined by the Civil Servant Law;

c) Officers, non-commissioned officers, soldiers, and professional military personnel in agencies and units of the People's Army; officers, non-commissioned officers, soldiers, and defense industry workers in agencies and units of the People's Public Security;

d) Leaders and managers in state-owned enterprises, except those appointed to represent the state's capital contribution in other enterprises;

đ) Minors; adults who are restricted or deprived of civil capacity;

e) Owners of private enterprises, general partners of limited partnerships, Directors (General Directors), Chairpersons, and members of the Board of Management, Contractual Partners of enterprises declared bankrupt, are not permitted to establish enterprises or act as enterprise managers for a period of one to three years from the date of bankruptcy declaration, except in cases provided for in the Bankruptcy Law;

g) Foreign organizations and individuals, overseas Vietnamese; enterprises with foreign investment or overseas Vietnamese investment;

h) Individuals currently under criminal prosecution or serving sentences of imprisonment, corrective labor without detention, residence prohibition, probation, or suspended sentences, or individuals prohibited by the court from engaging in security service business activities;

i) Individuals subject to other administrative measures: community education, administrative supervision, placement in educational facilities, placement in medical facilities, placement in juvenile correctional schools;

k) Individuals with prior convictions for intentional offenses that have not been expunged; individuals previously subjected to other administrative measures that, according to law, are not considered unprocessed administrative violations.

3. Agencies, organizations, and individuals mentioned in Point 2 of Section II of this Circular are not allowed to directly carry out security service activities.

4. Foreign individuals and overseas Vietnamese may directly engage in certain production and repair activities of special technical equipment specifically used for security service activities (as experts, technical workers, or other direct production activities), but they are not allowed to work as security guards to perform human, property, and goods protection activities as stipulated in Article 1 of Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP and guided by this Circular.

III. DOCUMENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR REGISTERING SECURITY SERVICE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES, ADDING SECURITY SERVICE BUSINESS OPERATIONS

1. The establishment, registration, addition of security service business operations, opening branches, representative offices, expanding scale, and geographical scope of operation must comply with the provisions of the Enterprise Law, Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP, and the guidance provided in this Circular.

2. In the application file for issuing a business registration certificate or supplementing the business operation industry of security services, there must be a "Certificate of Compliance with Security and Public Order Conditions" to operate security service business issued by the Provincial Police Department or the Municipal Police Department under the Central Government.

3. The competent state authority shall only issue a business registration certificate or permit the supplementation of the business operation industry of security services when the application file for issuing a business registration certificate or supplementing the business operation industry of security services contains a "Certificate of Compliance with Security and Public Order Conditions" to operate security service business issued by the Provincial Police Department or the Municipal Police Department under the Central Government.

IV. DOCUMENTS AND PROCEDURES FOR ISSUING THE CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH SECURITY AND PUBLIC ORDER CONDITIONS

1. The application file for issuing the Certificate of Compliance with Security and Public Order Conditions includes:

a) An application form for issuing the Certificate of Compliance with Security and Public Order Conditions to operate security service business (according to Model BV1 issued together with this Circular);

b) The application file for issuing a business registration certificate or the application for supplementing the business operation industry of security services.

For foreign-invested enterprises that have been permitted to operate before the issuance of Decree No. 14/2001/ND-CP, they must provide a copy of the Investment License, a copy of the Company Charter approved by the competent state authority (when submitting a copy, the original must be presented for verification);

c) Regulations on the organization and operation of the enterprise, which must clearly stipulate the organizational structure of the enterprise, scope, territory, methods, and measures for conducting security service business operations; recruitment, training, and management of security personnel;

d) A list and curriculum vitae (with photographs and confirmation from the Police Station of the place where the permanent residence is registered) of the founders and those expected to hold key positions in the enterprise (Chairman of the Board of Directors; General Director, Deputy General Director; Director, Deputy Director).

For foreign-invested enterprises that have been permitted to operate prior to the issuance of Decree No. 14/2001/ND-CP, the application file must include a personnel declaration form (Model BV2 issued together with this Circular), a photocopy of the passport (when submitting a photocopy, the original passport must be presented for verification) of the head or legal representative of the enterprise. If it is a joint venture, the application file must also include a curriculum vitae (with photographs and confirmation from the Police Station of the place where the permanent residence is registered) of Vietnamese nationals holding key positions in the enterprise.

2. Competence and procedures for issuing the Certificate of Compliance with Security and Public Order Conditions:

a) The Administrative Management Police Department of Public Order - Provincial Police Department or Municipal Police Department under the Central Government shall receive the application file and examine and issue the "Certificate of Compliance with Security and Public Order Conditions" to operate security service business for enterprises whose main office is located in their jurisdiction (except for the guidance provided in Point 14, Section V of this Circular).

During the examination and issuance of the Certificate of Compliance with Security and Public Order Conditions, the Administrative Management Police Department of Public Order must coordinate with relevant departments of the Provincial Police Department or Municipal Police Department to ensure that the issuance of the Certificate of Compliance with Security and Public Order Conditions is thorough and in accordance with the law.

b) Within fifteen days from the date of receiving a complete application file, the police department responsible for receiving the file must study the file comprehensively and fully examine all conditions related to security and public order concerning the people and organizations operating the business applying for registration or supplementary business operation industry of security services to issue the Certificate of Compliance with Security and Public Order Conditions to the applicant (according to Model BV3 issued together with this Circular).

The "Certificate of Compliance with Security and Public Order Conditions" to operate security service business shall be issued in two copies (one copy to be included in the application file for business registration, and one copy to be kept at the enterprise, branch, or representative office for presentation during inspections).

In cases where the conditions for security and public order are not met or the application file is incomplete, the police department responsible for receiving the file must notify the applicant in writing of the reasons or request additional documentation.

c) The person applying for the Certificate of Compliance with Security and Public Order Conditions must pay the prescribed fee according to the Ministry of Finance's regulations.

V. RESPONSIBILITIES OF ENTERPRISES OPERATING SECURITY SERVICE BUSINESS

1. At least ten days before commencing operations, the head of the enterprise, the head of the branch, or the representative office must notify in writing the Administrative Management Police Department of Public Order - Provincial Police Department or Municipal Police Department under the Central Government where the main office of the enterprise is located or where the branch or representative office is situated about the location of the main office, the operational area, and the commencement date of operations. At the same time, the following documents must be submitted:

a) For enterprises, a copy of the business registration certificate or the supplementary business operation industry of security services (confirmed by the competent state authority), a list of members of the leadership board and employees of the enterprise (which must clearly state the full name, year of birth, nationality, place of origin, and place of permanent residence of these individuals) must be attached.

b) For branches or representative offices, a copy of the "Certificate of Compliance with Security and Public Order Conditions" to operate security service business, a copy of the business registration certificate or the supplementary business operation industry of security services of the enterprise; a copy of the registration certificate for the branch or representative office (copies of the aforementioned documents must be confirmed by the competent state authority), a list of members of the leadership board and employees of the branch or representative office (which must clearly state the full name, year of birth, nationality, place of origin, and place of permanent residence of these individuals) must be attached.

2. The head of the enterprise must comply with all legal provisions on the organization and operation of security service businesses and shall be responsible under the law for all activities of their enterprise; they are responsible for reporting the number of branches, representative offices, locations of branches and representative offices, and implementing quarterly periodic reports on the situation of security activities related to public order to the police agency that issued the "Certificate of Sufficient Conditions for Public Order" to operate security services; they must comply with inspections, guidance, and fulfill the requirements of the competent police agency.

3. The head of the branch or representative office shall be responsible before the General Director (Managing Director) of the enterprise and shall be responsible under the law for all activities of the branch or representative office under their supervision; they are responsible for reporting to the Social Order Management Police Department - Provincial Public Security Agency regarding the situation of the enterprise's operations related to public order; they must comply with inspections, guidance, and fulfill the requirements of the competent police agency.

4. In cases where an enterprise registers to operate in one province/city but sends employees to another province/city for regular security service activities, they must notify in writing at least ten days before commencing operations about the location, time, and method of security service activities, and simultaneously submit a list of employees who will work in that province/city to the Social Order Management Police Department - Provincial Public Security Agency of the destination province.

5. In cases where there is a change in the head of the enterprise (Director, Managing Director, Chairman of the Board of Directors), the person being replaced must meet the conditions stipulated in Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP and the guidelines set out in this Circular. Simultaneously, within fifteen days from the date of the decision changing the head, the enterprise must send copies of the appointment decision along with the curriculum vitae (with photo and confirmation from the local police station of the place of permanent residence registration) of the appointed person to the Social Order Management Police Department - Provincial Public Security Agency that issued the "Certificate of Sufficient Conditions for Public Order" for security service operations.

6. In cases where the "Certificate of Sufficient Conditions for Public Order" is lost, a request must be made in writing to the police agency that issued the certificate to obtain a replacement.

In cases where an enterprise goes bankrupt, is dissolved, or ceases to operate security services, it must return the "Certificate of Sufficient Conditions for Public Order" for security service operations to the police agency that issued the certificate.

7. When changing the headquarters of the enterprise or the location of branches or representative offices, the enterprise must notify in writing within fifteen days of the change to the Social Order Management Police Department - Provincial Public Security Agency where the enterprise headquarters or branch/representative office is located.

8. Security personnel must wear identification badges on the left chest while performing duties and carry the "Security Personnel Certificate" issued by the enterprise director to present when necessary. They are also responsible for preserving and protecting these documents and may not lend them to others. Upon ceasing to be security personnel, they must return the identification badge and security personnel certificate to the enterprise.

9. The model of the identification badge and the security personnel certificate is specified as follows:

b) Security Personnel Certificate: Size 10 x 6 cm, front side blue background, red text; back side white background, black text and according to the following model:

11. Security personnel, while performing duties, upon discovering incidents related to public order occurring in the protected area such as fire, explosion, accidents causing injury or death, disruption of public order, or other acts violating the law with signs of criminal activity, must immediately report to the nearest police agency, organize protection and maintain the scene, provide first aid to victims (if any), and take necessary measures to minimize damage.

12. The import and export of special technical equipment specifically used for security service activities must have the written approval of the National Police before applying to the competent state agency for permission to import or export such equipment.

13. Enterprises producing special technical equipment specifically used for security service activities must clearly mark the name and address of the production facility on the product and register and retain samples at the police agency that issued the "Certificate of Sufficient Conditions for Public Order" before supplying to the market.

14. For foreign-invested enterprises that have been authorized by the competent state agency to operate security service businesses prior to the issuance of Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP.

a) They must prepare a dossier to apply for the "Certificate of Sufficient Conditions for Public Order" to operate security service businesses according to the guidelines at Point 1, Section IV of this Circular, and send it to the Social Order Management Police Department - Ministry of Public Security for consideration and issuance of the certificate.

a) Shall prepare an application dossier to obtain a certificate of eligibility for security and public order conditions to engage in security service business in accordance with the guidance provided at Point 1, Section IV of this Circular, and submit it to the Administrative Police Management Bureau under the Ministry of Public Security for consideration and issuance of such certificate.

The Department of Administrative Management for Social Order under the Ministry of Public Security shall be responsible for organizing the issuance of the "Certificate of Compliance with Security and Order Conditions" for foreign-invested enterprises to operate security service businesses in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP and the general procedures and guidelines stipulated in this Circular.

b) Continue operating normally until the expiration date specified in the business license in accordance with the business activities, scope, and operational area confirmed by the competent state agency in the Investment License and the Company Charter;

c) Not be eligible for extension of the Investment License, addition of security service business activities, or expansion of the scope and operational area beyond those specified in the Investment License or the Company Charter;

d) Must comply strictly with the provisions of Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP and the guidelines set forth in this Circular, as well as other relevant laws; strictly adhere to inspections and guidance from the competent state agencies.

VI. INSPECTION AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROVISIONS ON SECURITY AND ORDER FOR SECURITY SERVICE BUSINESS OPERATIONS

1. Inspection Content: The authorized public security agency may only inspect issues related to security and order during the organization and operation of security service businesses, specifically as follows:

a) Inspect security and order conditions during the organization and operation of security service businesses;

b) Inspect procedures and documents related to security and order during the organization and operation of the enterprise;

c) Inspect compliance with legal provisions on security and order during the operation of the enterprise and security personnel;

d) Inspect the content and training programs for professional training of security personnel in security service businesses and other institutions permitted by the competent state agency to conduct such training functions.

2. Inspection Authority:

a) The Department of Administrative Management for Social Order under the Ministry of Public Security shall be responsible for guiding and directing inspection work on compliance with legal provisions on security and order for security service operations nationwide and directly conducting inspections when necessary.

b) The Provincial Public Security Departments' Administrative Management for Social Order under the Ministry of Public Security shall be responsible for inspecting compliance with legal provisions on security and order for security service operations within their respective localities.

Inspections shall be conducted annually according to a specific plan and content that must be notified to the heads of enterprises before the inspection takes place.

In cases where violations of the law are discovered, spot inspections may be conducted, but after completing the inspection, the results must be reported to the head of the enterprise and the Provincial Public Security Director regarding the inspection results.

Strictly prohibit the abuse of inspection work to cause inconvenience, harassment, or obstruction of legitimate business operations.

Police officers must wear appropriate uniforms in accordance with the Internal Regulations of the People's Public Security Force when conducting inspections.

3. Handling Violations: All acts violating provisions on security and order in the organization and operation of security service businesses must be promptly identified, halted, and dealt with strictly in accordance with the law.

In cases of serious violations of security and order conditions in the organization and operation of security service businesses, in addition to being handled according to the law, the "Certificate of Compliance with Security and Order Conditions" may also be revoked.

The revocation of the "Certificate of Compliance with Security and Order Conditions" shall be decided by the public security agency that issued the certificate or by a higher-level public security agency.

VII. IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

1. The General Bureau of Investigation shall be responsible for directing, guiding, and inspecting the implementation of Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP and this Circular; establishing uniform forms and files for the people's police force to manage security and order for security service business operations.

2. The Provincial Public Security Directors shall be responsible for advising and proposing to the Chairman of the People's Committee at the same level and coordinating with relevant agencies to effectively manage security service business operations in their provinces/cities, directing the Provincial Public Security Departments' Administrative Management for Social Order to take the lead and coordinate with relevant units to properly manage security and order for security service business operations.

3. Based on the provisions of Decree No. 14/2001/NĐ-CP and the guidelines in this Circular, the Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces/cities shall direct functional agencies and People's Committees at all levels to implement the legal provisions on the organization and management of security service business operations in their localities.

4. It is requested that Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government agencies, within their respective functions, tasks, and authorities, cooperate with the Ministry of Public Security in managing and inspecting security service business operations.

6. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of signature.

7. The Heads of General Bureaus, Commanders of the General Guard Corps, Heads of Departments, and Chiefs of Units under the Ministry of Public Security, and the Provincial Public Security Directors, according to their respective functions, tasks, and authorities, shall be responsible for implementing, guiding, inspecting, and urging the implementation of this Circular.

Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Public Security (through the General Bureau of Investigation) for timely guidance.