Circular No. 09/2015/TT-BTTTT stipulates the management and organization of support activities through the National Humanitarian Electronic Information Portal (Portal 1400) to assist in overcoming difficulties caused by natural disasters, fires, and patients suffering from serious illnesses.

CIRCULAR

Provisions on management and organization of support activities email Cfor national humanitarian electronic informationa

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Pursuant to the Law on Telecommunications dated November 23, 2009;

Pursuant to Decree No. 25/2011/NĐ-CP dated April 6, 2011, issued by the Government, detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Telecommunications;

Pursuant to Decree No. 64/2008/NĐ-CP dated May 14, 2008 of the Government on fundraising, receiving, distributing, and using voluntary contributions to assist people in overcoming difficulties caused by natural disasters, fires, serious accidents, and patients with severe diseases;

Pursuant to Decree No. 30/2012/NĐ-CP dated April 12, 2012 of the Government on organization and operation of social funds and charitable funds;

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 Telecommunications Administration,

The Minister of Information and Communications issues this Circular providing for management and organization of support activities through the National Humanitarian Electronic Portal.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular provides for management and organization of sending, receiving, and transferring support donations from telecommunications subscribers (hereinafter referred to as support activities) through the National Humanitarian Electronic Portal (hereinafter referred to as Portal 1400) to assist people in overcoming difficulties caused by natural disasters, fires, serious accidents, and patients with severe diseases; to support humanitarian and charitable activities in accordance with the law and to serve important political and social events of the country at the request of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Article 2. Scope of Application

This Circular applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals related to management and organization of sending, receiving, and transferring support donations through Portal 1400.

Article 3. Principles of Support Activities Through Portal 1400

1. Agencies and organizations (hereinafter collectively referred to as agencies) organize support activities and take the lead in implementing fundraising campaigns for telecommunications subscribers to send support donations (hereinafter referred to as fundraising campaigns) in accordance with the provisions of the law on fundraising, receiving, distributing, and using voluntary contributions for humanitarian and charitable purposes.

2. Portal 1400 is a telecommunications equipment system established by the Ministry of Information and Communications to receive donation messages from telecommunications subscribers nationwide; it operates without profit-making objectives based on cost recovery; operates independently; ensures accuracy, transparency, openness, and convenience.

3. Telecommunications enterprises provide an additional convenient and quick channel for support activities by offering messaging services through Portal 1400 to telecommunications subscribers on a commercial basis with reasonable profits.

4. Telecommunications subscribers contribute support donations through Portal 1400 voluntarily with unlimited number of donation messages for each fundraising campaign.

Chapter II

PROVISIONS ON THE OPERATION OF PORTAL 1400

Article 4. Connection Requirements

Portal 1400 must meet the following connection requirements:

1. Connect to telecommunications enterprises with sufficient capacity and quality of transmission to ensure the quality of messaging services as prescribed.

2. Connect to the data collection and processing system of the Telecommunications Administration to facilitate state management of telecommunications.

Article 5. Data Management Requirements

Portal 1400 must ensure the ability to manage, collect, store, and process data about services and message values through Portal 1400 accurately and promptly to:

1. Reconcile and settle data with agencies organizing support activities, telecommunications enterprises, and provide necessary information about Portal 1400 operations to the Ministry of Information and Communications upon request.

2. Receive and respond to information; receive and resolve complaints about support activities through Portal 1400 for telecommunications subscribers.

Article 6. Service Short Message Numbers

1. The service short message numbers from number 1400 to number 1409 as prescribed in the Telecommunications Number Planning Scheme issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications shall be used to provide short message services through the 1400 Gateway as follows:

a) Number 1400 shall be used for receiving encouraging, sharing, and慰问短信；

b) Number 1401 shall be used for significant national political and social events as specified by the Ministry of Information and Communications for each fundraising campaign;

c) Numbers from 1402 to 1409 shall be used to send support messages through the 1400 Gateway. Each short message service number corresponds to a value in Vietnamese Dong, which shall be determined by the organization conducting the support activities in coordination with Vietnam Television Corporation (hereinafter referred to as VTC Corporation) according to Clause 2, Article 7 of this Circular.

2. Each fundraising campaign through the 1400 Gateway may only use one short message service number. One short message service number shall not be used simultaneously for multiple fundraising campaigns.

Article 7. Value of Support Messages

1. The value of support messages sent through the 1400 Gateway includes the support value of the message and the cost of the short message service to the 1400 Gateway:

a) The support value of the message shall be set by the organization conducting the support activities in coordination with VTC Corporation for each fundraising campaign and corresponding short message service number;

b) The cost of the short message service to the 1400 Gateway is the fee that the telecommunications subscriber must pay to the telecommunications enterprise to send a support message through the 1400 Gateway.

2. The support value of each message sent through the 1400 Gateway shall not be less than 5,000 (five thousand) Vietnamese Dong and not more than 20,000 (twenty thousand) Vietnamese Dong.

3. The short message service to the 1400 Gateway shall be accounted for together with the short message service (SMS) of the telecommunications enterprise. The cost of the short message service to the 1400 Gateway (including connection fees for the short message service to the 1400 Gateway) shall be the cost of the short message service (SMS) established and issued by the telecommunications enterprise based on the cost of the short message service of the enterprise in accordance with regulations on managing telecommunications tariff rates.

4. The connection fee for the short message service to the 1400 Gateway shall be issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications and paid by the telecommunications enterprise to VTC Corporation in accordance with regulations on managing telecommunications tariff rates.

Chapter III

REGULATIONS ON SUPPORT ACTIVITIES THROUGH THE 1400 GATEWAY

Article 8. Registration for Organizing Support Activities Through the 1400 Gateway

An agency wishing to organize support activities through the 1400 Gateway must complete registration procedures to obtain approval to open the 1400 Gateway for implementing fundraising campaigns. A request to open the 1400 Gateway will be approved if it meets all the following requirements simultaneously and fully:

1. The agency registering to organize support activities through the 1400 Gateway is:

a) Agencies and organizations as stipulated in Articles 4 and 5 of Decree No. 64/2008/ND-CP dated February 14, 2008, of the Government on voluntary contributions for disaster relief, firefighting, serious accidents, and patients with severe diseases, operating nationwide in accordance with the law; or

b) Charitable funds as stipulated in Decree No. 30/2012/ND-CP dated April 12, 2012, of the Government on the organization and operation of social funds and charitable funds, operating nationwide in accordance with the law; or

c) Other cases as prescribed by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

2. The purpose of organizing support activities is consistent with the scope of regulation prescribed in Article 1 of this Circular.

3. There is a plan for organizing support activities that complies with the provisions regarding the operation of the 1400 Gateway and the technical and operational capacity of the 1400 Gateway and telecommunications enterprises.

4. The time for organizing support activities complies with the provisions of Article 9 of this Circular.

Article 9. Duration of Support Activities through Portal 1400

1. The duration of support activities for each fundraising campaign through Portal 1400 shall not exceed sixty (60) days from the date the Portal 1400 opens to serve the fundraising campaign. In special cases, written approval from the Ministry of Information and Communications is required.

2. Each agency may not conduct two (2) fundraising campaigns through Portal 1400 with the same program content within one year. In special cases, written approval from the Ministry of Information and Communications is required.

Article 10. Procedures for Registering Support Activities through Portal 1400

1. The registration dossier includes:

a) A request form to organize support activities through Portal 1400 according to Model 01/ĐĐN attached to this Circular;

b) A certified copy (if submitted via postal service), or a copy (accompanied by the original for verification if submitted directly at the address receiving the dossier) of the Decision establishing the agency or organization;

c) A plan for organizing support activities through Portal 1400.

2. The plan for organizing support activities through Portal 1400 must include at least the following contents:

a) Purpose of the fundraising campaign;

b) Start and end dates of the fundraising campaign;

c) Plan for using the number of SMS services and the value of the supporting messages;

d) Specific communication plan to mobilize citizens and telecommunications subscribers to participate in the support activity.

3. Address and deadline for submitting the registration dossier

a) The registration dossier must be sent to Vietnam Television Corporation (VTC) at least fifteen (15) working days before the start of the fundraising campaign.

b) For dossiers requesting the use of Portal 1400 for important national political-social events, the registration dossier must be sent to the Telecommunications Authority at least twenty (20) working days before the start of the fundraising campaign.

4. Time Limit and Processing Procedure for Documents

a) Within five (5) working days from the date of receipt of a valid dossier, Vietnam Television Corporation (VTC) is responsible for reviewing the dossier; issuing a Decision to open Portal 1400 to serve the fundraising campaign, and sending the Decision to open Portal 1400 to the main organizing agency of the fundraising campaign and related telecommunications enterprises.

If the request to open Portal 1400 is rejected, Vietnam Television Corporation (VTC) will issue a written response to the main organizing agency of the support activity and clearly state the reasons for rejection.

b) For dossiers requesting the use of Portal 1400 for important national political-social events, within ten (10) working days from the date of receipt of a valid dossier, the Telecommunications Authority is responsible for reviewing the dossier, presenting it to the Ministry of Information and Communications for consideration and decision. Based on the approval of the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Telecommunications Authority will issue a Decision to open Portal 1400 to serve the fundraising campaign, send the Decision to open Portal 1400 to the main organizing agency of the fundraising campaign, related telecommunications enterprises, and Vietnam Television Corporation (VTC).

In case of rejecting the request to open Portal 1400, the Telecommunications Authority will issue a written response to the main organizing agency of the support activity and clearly state the reasons for rejection.

5. The Decision to open Portal 1400 to serve each fundraising campaign shall include the following basic contents:

a) Name of the agency organizing the fundraising campaign through Portal 1400;

b) Opening and closing times of Portal 1400;

c) Number of SMS services and corresponding value of the supporting message;

d) Content (syntax) of the supporting message.

e) Other relevant information (if any).

Article 11. Organizations providing messaging services through the 1400 Portal

Telecommunications enterprises, upon receiving the Decision to open the 1400 Portal, shall be responsible for:

a) Opening and closing messaging service numbers on the telecommunications network according to the opening and closing times of the 1400 Portal.

b) Providing messaging services through the 1400 Portal, while sending confirmation messages that the support message has been received to the telecommunications subscriber.

c) Deducting the value of support messages sent through the 1400 Portal (the support value of the message plus the cost of the messaging service) from the telecommunications subscriber's account.

Article 12. Reconciliation of data and payment of support funds

1. The reconciliation of data and payment of support funds for the fundraising campaign through the 1400 Portal shall be carried out by Vietnam Television Corporation (VTC) Group and telecommunications enterprises based on the number of messaging services according to the monthly billing data of the telecommunications enterprise's billing system and the 1400 Portal. In case of discrepancies, the billing data of the telecommunications enterprise's system shall prevail.

2. The amount of support funds is the total amount collected for each messaging service number during the fundraising campaign through the 1400 Portal. The amount collected for each messaging service number is determined as the product of the number of support messages multiplied by the support value of each message corresponding to the messaging service number.

3. In the event that a telecommunications subscriber sends a support message with incorrect syntax to a messaging service number of a fundraising campaign through the 1400 Portal currently being implemented, the telecommunications enterprise shall deduct the cost of the messaging service but shall not deduct the support value of the message from the telecommunications subscriber's account, and simultaneously send a message to the telecommunications subscriber informing them of the incorrect syntax of the support message.

4. After the time specified for closing the 1400 Portal according to the Decision to open the 1400 Portal, if the telecommunications enterprise does not close the messaging service number through the 1400 Portal and the telecommunications subscriber continues to send messages, the telecommunications enterprise shall not deduct money from the telecommunications subscriber's account and must notify the telecommunications subscriber about this matter.

5. Within thirty (30) days from the date of the monthly billing data extraction by the telecommunications enterprise, VTC Group and telecommunications enterprises must complete the reconciliation of data regarding the support funds of the fundraising campaign.

6. Within ten (10) working days after completing the reconciliation of data regarding the support funds of the fundraising campaign, VTC Group will coordinate with telecommunications enterprises to implement related financial procedures as prescribed by law and directly transfer the collected support funds into the account officially announced by VTC Group to the telecommunications enterprises.

7. Within five (5) working days after receiving the support funds transferred by the telecommunications enterprises, VTC Group will transfer the entire amount of received support funds into the account of the organization primarily responsible for organizing the fundraising campaign through the 1400 Portal.

Article 13. Responsibilities of the parties

1. The Telecommunications Department shall be responsible for:

a) Guide organizations and individuals related to implementing support activities through the 1400 Portal in accordance with the provisions of this Circular;

b) Develop and submit to the Ministry of Information and Communications for promulgation the connection fee for messaging services through the 1400 Portal;

c) Supervise, inspect, and monitor the operation of the 1400 Portal in accordance with the law;

d) Review and decide on the opening of the 1400 Portal for activities serving important political and social events of the country at the request of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

2. VTC Group shall be responsible for:

a) Directly investing, establishing, managing, operating, maintaining, and repairing the 1400 Portal;

b) Developing and issuing regulations for managing and operating the 1400 Portal in compliance with the provisions of this Circular and relevant laws;

c) Reviewing registration files of agencies and organizations conducting support activities through the 1400 Portal and issuing decisions to open the 1400 Portal in accordance with the regulations;

d) Reporting to the Telecommunications Administration the cost of connecting messaging services through the 1400 Portal on a non-profit basis, ensuring revenue covers expenses;

đ) Coordinate with telecommunications enterprises to implement the connection of the 1400 Portal to the messaging systems of telecommunications enterprises; carry out the connection of the 1400 Portal to the management system of the Telecommunications Administration as required;

e) Coordinate with telecommunications enterprises to reconcile data and pay support funds for the fundraising campaign through the 1400 Portal; promptly, fully, and accurately transfer all collected support funds to the agency organizing the support activity;

g) Coordinate with the agency organizing the support activity to organize communication activities;

h) Take the lead and coordinate with telecommunications enterprises to resolve complaints from telecommunications subscribers sending messages through the 1400 Portal;

i) Regularly report monthly and ad hoc as required to the Telecommunications Administration on the operation of the 1400 Portal according to Model 02/BC attached to this Circular.

3. Telecommunications enterprises shall be responsible for:

a) Providing messaging services through the 1400 Portal to telecommunications subscribers in accordance with the quality and tariff regulations for telecommunications services and the provisions of this Circular;

b) Implementing the connection of the enterprise's messaging system to the 1400 Portal in accordance with telecommunications connection regulations;

c) Opening and closing messaging service numbers through the 1400 Portal in accordance with the Decision to open the 1400 Portal;

d) Coordinating with VTC Group to reconcile data and promptly, fully, and accurately transfer all collected support funds to VTC Group;

đ) Coordinating with VTC Group to resolve queries and complaints from telecommunications subscribers sending messages to the 1400 Portal;

e) Reporting the situation of messages sent to the 1400 Portal as required by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

4. Agencies organizing support activities through the 1400 Portal shall be responsible for:

a) Taking the lead in organizing support activities through the 1400 Portal in accordance with the purpose, requirements, and scope permitted by law;

b) Registering to organize support activities through the 1400 Portal in accordance with the regulations;

c) Taking the lead in organizing communication activities about the fundraising campaign to provide the public with information on the purpose, significance, duration of the fundraising campaign, content (syntax) of support messages, value of support messages, etc.;

d) Transfer promptly, fully, and accurately the amount of support funds collected during the fundraising campaign through Portal 1400 to the beneficiaries as prescribed;

đ) Report to the Ministry of Information and Communications on the support activities conducted through Portal 1400 as required.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from June 15, 2015.

Article 15. Implementation

The Head of the Office, the Director of the Telecommunications Department, the Heads of agencies and units under the Ministry, the General Directors of the Multimodal Telecommunication Corporation, the General Directors and Directors of telecommunications enterprises, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

During implementation, if any difficulties arise, they should be reported promptly to the Ministry of Information and Communications for consideration and resolution./.