Circular No. 08/2012/TT-BTTTT detailing the implementation of Decision No. 65/2008/QD-TTg dated May 22, 2008 of the Prime Minister on the provision of universal postal services and Decision No. 72/2011/QD-TTg dated December 22, 2011 of the Prime Minister amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decision No. 65/2008/QD-TTg on the provision of universal postal services for the period from 2011 to 2013.

CIRCULAR

Detailed Implementation Guide for Decision No. 65/2008/QĐ-TTg dated May 22, 2008 of the Prime Minister on the provision of universal postal services and Decision No. 72/2011/QĐ-TTg dated December 22, 2011 of the Prime Minister amending and supplementing certain articles of Decision No. 65/2008/QĐ-TTg on the provision of universal postal services for the period from 2011 to 2013.

The Government on the provision of universal postal services and Decision No. 72/2011/QD-TTg dated December 22

2011 of the Prime Minister amending and supplementing certain articles of Decision No.

65/2008/QD-TTg on the provision of universal postal services for the period of 2011-2013

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Pursuant to the Law on Posts dated June 17, 2010;

Pursuant to Decree No. 47/2011/NĐ-CP dated June 17, 2011 of the Government detailing implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Posts;

Pursuant to Decree No. 31/2005/NĐ-CP dated March 11, 2005 of the Government on production and supply of public goods and services;

Pursuant to Decree No. 187/2007/NĐ-CP dated December 25, 2007 stipulating the functions, tasks, powers of the Ministry of Information and Communications; Decree No. 50/2011/NĐ-CP dated June 24, 2011 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 187/2007/NĐ-CP;

Pursuant to Decision No. 256/2006/QĐ-TTg dated November 9, 2006 of the Prime Minister on the issuance of the Tendering, Ordering, and Allocation Plan for the Production and Supply of Public Goods and Services Regulation;

Pursuant to Decision No. 41/2011/QĐ-TTg dated August 3, 2011 of the Prime Minister on the designation of enterprises to maintain and manage the public postal network, provide universal postal services, and international postal services;

Pursuant to Decision No. 65/2008/QĐ-TTg dated May 22, 2008 of the Prime Minister on the provision of universal postal services;

Pursuant to Decision No. 72/2011/QĐ-TTg dated December 22, 2011 of the Prime Minister amending and supplementing Decision No. 65/2008/QĐ-TTg dated May 22, 2008 of the Prime Minister on the provision of universal postal services;

Implementing the guidance of the Prime Minister in Official Letter No. 2405/TTg-KTN dated December 22, 2011 of the Prime Minister on the implementation of Decision No. 65/2008/QĐ-TTg on the provision of universal postal services;

The Minister of Education and Training issues this Circular to amend and supplement

The Minister of Information and Communications issues this Circular to detail the implementation of Decision No. 65/2008/QĐ-TTg dated May 22, 2008 of the Prime Minister on the provision of universal postal services and Decision No. 72/2011/QĐ-TTg dated December 22, 2011 of the Prime Minister amending and supplementing certain articles of Decision No. 65/2008/QĐ-TTg on the provision of universal postal services for the period from 2011 to 2013.

Article 1. Universal Postal Services

Universal postal services include basic mail services and mandatory postal services.

1. Basic mail service is a basic letter service, including postcards, with a single piece weight up to 02 kilograms (kg).

In this Circular, basic mail service refers to letter service, excluding additional postal services as specified in Point 1.2 Clause 1 of Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BBCVT dated January 3, 2007 of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications guiding certain contents of postal services provided by Vietnam Post and regardless of transportation methods.

Basic mail service includes:

Article 3. Public Utility Services in Newspaper Distribution Activities

b) International basic mail service from Vietnam to other countries;

c) International basic mail service from other countries to Vietnam.

2. Mandatory postal service is a postal service provided upon request of the State to serve economic and social development, ensure national defense and security; serve emergency work related to natural disasters, epidemics, and other mandatory postal services as decided by the Prime Minister. Mandatory postal services are clearly defined by the State regarding scope, beneficiaries, and duration of service enjoyment.

Article 2. Issuing Press through Public Postal Network

Types of newspapers specified in Clause 1, Article 2 of Decision No. 65/2008/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister shall be guaranteed to be issued through the public postal network according to the demand for purchasing newspapers from organizations and individuals based on the quality of service and postage rates prescribed by the State.

Article 3. Plan for Supplying Universal Postal Services and Issuing Press through Public Postal Network

1. For the year 2011:

a) The Ministry of Information and Communications does not assign a production volume plan for universal postal services; the production volume of universal postal services in 2011 will be determined based on the report on the results of supplying universal postal services by Vietnam Post Corporation and the statistical survey report on the production volume of universal postal services by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

b) Production volume of universal postal services in 2011: Vietnam Post Corporation is responsible for reporting to the Ministry of Information and Communications before June 27, 2012.

2. For the period 2012-2013: The Ministry of Information and Communications decides the plan for production volume of universal postal services and issuing types of newspapers each year in accordance with the actual situation of the postal market and the results of the previous year.

The contents of the plan include the following main items:

a) Production volume of universal postal services as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Circular. The unit of measurement for the plan index is piece (letter).

b) Production volume of types of newspapers as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 2 of Decision No. 65/2008/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister. The unit of measurement for the plan index is sheet (newspaper).

3. Responsibilities of Vietnam Post Corporation (Vietnam Post):

a) Vietnam Post Corporation is responsible for building and reporting to the Ministry of Information and Communications the plan for supplying universal postal services, including the following contents:

- Plan for production volume of universal postal services;

- Plan for production volume of mandatory postal services (if any);

- Plan for issuing types of newspapers as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 2 of Decision No. 65/2008/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister;

- Plan for implementing state regulations on the quality of universal postal services;

- Business production and financial plan of the enterprise annually (to be submitted together with the plan for supplying universal postal services).

b) Reporting time (with detailed explanation of reported indices): In 2012, report before June 25, 2012; in 2013, report before July 20, 2012.

Vietnam Post Corporation must submit reports according to the reporting forms specified in Appendixes 1 and 2 of this Circular and relevant legal provisions.

Article 4. Quality of Universal Postal Services and Press Issuance

The quality of universal postal services and press issuance through the public postal network shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Decision No. 50/2008/QĐ-TT dated November 12, 2008 of the Ministry of Information and Communications on the issuance of "National Technical Standards for Universal Postal Services".

Article 5. Determining the amount of subsidy for Vietnam Post:

The amount of subsidy for the period 2011-2013 for Vietnam Post Corporation to provide public postal services shall be the budget approved by the Prime Minister. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall determine the specific annual subsidy amount.

Article 6. Ordering the provision of public postal services

1. The ordering contract for providing public postal services includes the following contents:

a) Name of product, public postal service;

b) Volume of public postal service;

c) Quality of public postal service;

g) Contract value: according to the subsidy allocation for Vietnam Post as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular;

h) Time of implementation;

i) Scope and location of service provision;

k) Advance payment, acceptance, and settlement methods;

l) Responsibilities and obligations between the ordering agency and the contracted enterprise;

m) Handling violations of the contract.

2. The ordering contract for providing public postal services specifies the penalty mechanism based on the results of the contract regarding volume and quality of services according to current state regulations.

3. For the content of the contract concerning the volume of public postal services in 2011: it shall be implemented according to Clause 1 of Article 3 of this Circular.

4. The Ministry of Information and Communications orders Vietnam Post Corporation to provide public postal services annually. The signing time for the ordering contract in 2011 and 2012 shall be in June 2012. As for the ordering contract in 2013, the signing time shall be before December 31, 2012.

5. The advance payment and final settlement mechanism for the implementation of the ordering contract shall follow the guidance of the Ministry of Finance.

6. During the implementation of the ordering contract, Vietnam Post Corporation shall have the responsibility to report to the Ministry of Information and Communications

a) The situation of implementing the plan to provide public postal services ordered by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

b) The situation of implementing production and business plans and financial plans.

The reporting forms shall be in accordance with the Appendices of this Circular.

Article 7. Acceptance and liquidation of the annual contract for providing public postal services:

1. Time to conduct acceptance and liquidation of the contract:

a) For 2011: acceptance of the contract performance results shall be completed no later than August 2012.

b) For the period 2012-2013: in April each year, the Ministry of Information and Communications shall conduct acceptance of the previous year's contract performance results and liquidation.

2. Basis for acceptance and liquidation of the contract:

a) The ordering contract for providing public postal services that has been signed, and any supplementary agreements (if any);

b) Reports on the contract performance results of Vietnam Post Corporation regarding:

- The scale of maintaining the public postal network to ensure the provision of public postal services as per the ordering contract;

- Statistical reports on the volume of public postal services provided during the year.

c) Reports on the results of inspections and supervision of the volume and quality of public postal services by state agencies as prescribed by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

3. Value of contract settlement:

The value of the settlement for the ordering contract for providing public postal services shall be determined based on the contract value and adjustments due to the following reasons:

a) Adjustment in case the State increases the postage rates for universal postal services, including:

- Domestic basic letter service;

- International basic letter service from Vietnam to other countries.

When the State increases the postage rates for universal postal services compared to the rates issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications under Circular No. 13/2009/TT-BTTTT dated March 30, 2009 on postal service rates, the contract value at liquidation will be adjusted downward. The reduction amount will be calculated as follows:

Adjusted contract value = Approved subsidy amount by the Prime Minister - Additional revenue from increased postage rates.

Where:

Additional revenue from increased postage rates = Annual service volume under the contract / 12 months x average rate difference x number of months applying new rates.

Average rate difference = Average domestic and international outbound universal postal service rates under new rates - Average domestic and international outbound universal postal service rates under old rates (based on the most recent survey data of the Ministry of Information and Communications).

b) Handling contract ordering violations (if any).

Article 8. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from the date of issuance and applies to the management of public postal service provision from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2013.

2. The provisions detailed in Circular No. 17/2009/TT-BTTTT dated May 27, 2009 on the implementation of Decision No. 65/2008/QĐ-TTg dated May 22, 2008 of the Prime Minister on public postal service provision for the period 2011-2013 shall cease to be effective from the date this Circular takes effect./.