Joint Circular No. 10/2000/TTLT/BTM-BCA-BTC-BKHCNMT guiding the implementation of Directive No. 31/1999/CT-TTg dated October 27, 1999 of the Prime Minister on combating the production and sale of counterfeit goods.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Directive No. 31/1999/CT-TTg

dated October 27, 1999 of the Prime Minister on combating the production and sale of counterfeit goods

To implement Directive No. 31/1999/CT-TTg dated October 27, 1999 of the Prime Minister on combating the production and sale of counterfeit goods, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Science and Technology and Environment provide guidance on organizing implementation as follows: 

I- GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1- Combating counterfeit goods is the responsibility of all ministries, sectors, People's Committees at all levels, political and social organizations, enterprises, business households, and the entire population.

2- All acts of producing, processing, manufacturing, packaging, assembling, selling, storing, exporting, importing, transporting, advertising, marketing, promoting counterfeit goods upon discovery must be strictly handled according to the law. Counterfeit goods, tools, and equipment used for producing and selling counterfeit goods shall be confiscated (except in special cases with separate provisions). Individuals and entities involved in producing and selling counterfeit goods and substandard goods shall be subject to administrative penalties or criminal prosecution depending on the severity of the violation.

3- When imposing administrative penalties for the act of producing and selling counterfeit goods, the competent authority must base its decision on relevant Government Decrees concerning administrative penalties and comply strictly with the procedures, formalities, and jurisdiction stipulated in the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance.

4- If a case involves the crime of producing and selling counterfeit goods as defined in the Penal Code, the inspection agency discovering the violation shall transfer the dossier along with the evidence of the violation to the competent authority for criminal investigation and handling.

5- Strictly prohibit organizations and individuals from producing and circulating goods that do not meet quality standards. Quality standards include Vietnamese standards, industry standards, enterprise standards, or international standards which must be strictly adhered to. Organizations and individuals engaged in production and business must comply with laws regarding trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications, and product labeling regulations protected by the State.

6- This Circular does not regulate goods bearing counterfeit names recognized by consumers such as false teeth, fake antiques, artificial limbs, artificial flowers...

II- EXPLANATION OF SOME TERMS IN THIS CIRCULAR

1- Product label: Is a written, printed, drawn, or imprinted image, symbol directly applied or firmly attached to the product or packaging to convey essential information about the product.

2- Product trademark: Are signs used to distinguish products or services of different production and trading establishments. A product trademark can be a word, image, or combination thereof expressed in one or more colors.

3- Product name: Is the specific name of a product or commodity that reflects the nature of the product already standardized or familiar to consumers.

4- Geographical indication of origin: Is the geographical name of a country or locality used to indicate the origin of a product from that country or locality, provided that these products have unique characteristics based on distinctive and superior geographical conditions, including natural and human factors or both.

5- Industrial design: Is the external shape of a product expressed through lines, forms, colors, or combinations thereof, which are new to the world, serving as a model for the production of industrial or handicraft products.

III- COUNTERFEIT GOODS

Goods exhibiting any of the following signs shall be considered counterfeit:

1- Counterfeit quality or function.

1.1- Goods lacking utility value or having utility value inconsistent with their inherent nature, name, and intended use.

1.2- Goods containing unauthorized additives or fillers that alter their quality; lacking or having insufficient active ingredients, containing different active ingredients than those listed on the label or packaging; lacking or having insufficient effective components to produce the intended effect; containing different active ingredients than those listed on the packaging.

1.3- Goods lacking required raw materials or substituted with inferior raw materials or parts that do not meet established quality standards, causing adverse effects on production, human health, animal health, plant health, or the environment.

1.4- Goods included in mandatory standard application lists but failing to comply, causing adverse effects on production, human health, animal health, plant health, or the environment.

1.5- Goods not certified as meeting standards but using certification marks or conformity marks (for mandatory items).

2- Counterfeit trademarks, industrial designs, source, or origin of goods:

2.1- Goods bearing a trademark identical or similar enough to cause confusion with another person's protected trademark for the same type of goods, including trademarks protected under international treaties to which Vietnam is a party, without permission from the trademark owner.

2.2- Goods bearing signs or packaging bearing signs identical or similar enough to cause confusion with protected trade names or protected geographical indications.

2.3- Goods or parts of goods having an exterior appearance identical to a protected industrial design without permission from the industrial design owner.

2.4- Goods bearing signs falsely indicating the source or place of manufacture or assembly of the goods.

3- Counterfeit labels:

3.1- Goods bearing labels identical or similar to those of other establishments that have been published.

3.2- Information on the label not matching the quality of the goods, aimed at deceiving consumers.

3.3- Content on the label being erased, altered, or incorrectly dated to deceive customers.

4- Types of printed materials used in the production and consumption of counterfeit goods:

4. Types of printed publications used in the production and distribution of counterfeit goods:

4.1- Types of trademarks, product stickers, product labels, brand name samples, and product packaging that show signs of infringement such as being identical or similar enough to cause confusion with labels of the same type, registered brand names, industrial designs, or protected geographical indications.

4.2- Types of invoices, certificates, stamps, tickets, money, publications, and other counterfeit cultural products having monetary value.

IV- SUBSTANDARD GOODS

Goods exhibiting any of the following characteristics shall be considered substandard goods:

1- Goods possessing utility and functionality but whose quality indicators or composition components are not fully disclosed on the product label or in advertising and marketing as stated, without causing harm to production, human health, animal health, plant health, or the environment.

2- Goods having one or more mandatory quality standards below the minimum quality level announced, without causing harm to production, human health, animal health, plant health, or the environment.

3- Goods whose actual quality is lower than what is stated on the product label or in announced advertisements, without causing harm to production, human health, animal health, or plant health.

4- Reconditioned or repaired old goods falsely represented as new for the purpose of deceiving customers and sold at the price of new goods.

5- Goods that have been adulterated with impurities or other materials altering their quantity, without causing harm to production, human health, animal health, plant health, or the environment.

V- INSPECTION AND HANDLING OF COUNTERFEIT GOODS

1- Inspection Targets:

- Counterfeit and substandard goods within the scope of inspection and handling under this Circular include domestically produced goods, processed, assembled, packaged goods stored in warehouses, on sale, in transit, displayed for promotion, offered for sale, and exported or imported goods.

2- Areas to Focus on Inspection:

- Land border crossings, airports, seaports, river ports, and border lines.

- Locations where counterfeit labels, packaging, and publications are printed.

- Sites for producing, processing, assembling counterfeit goods, and places storing counterfeit goods.

- Wholesale distribution points and channels for counterfeit goods.

- Retail outlets and transportation means for counterfeit goods.

3- Allocation of Inspection Areas and Coordination Content

3.1 - Allocation of Areas:

- Customs forces and Border Guard forces are responsible for organizing anti-counterfeiting efforts for exported and imported goods through border gates, land borders, and sea areas according to their respective tasks.

- Market management forces are responsible for:

+ Inspecting and supervising the production and sale of counterfeit and substandard goods in the domestic market.

+ Leading the coordination with specialized inspection forces and other functional forces against counterfeit and substandard goods in the area.

- Police forces are responsible for:

+ Investigating and uncovering networks and groups involved in the production and sale of counterfeit goods, especially fake documents, invoices, stamps, money, and publications with monetary value.

+ Cooperating with functional forces to inspect and supervise anti-counterfeiting efforts in various sectors and levels when requested.

- Specialized inspection forces are responsible for organizing inspections and supervision against counterfeit goods within their jurisdiction, while coordinating with other functional forces to conduct inspections and supervision when required.

3.2- Coordination Content:

- Cooperation in exchanging and providing information on:

+ The situation of counterfeit goods, patterns, and methods of operation of producers and sellers of counterfeit goods.

+ Policies, plans related to anti-counterfeiting work of the industry and localities.

- Cooperation in inspection and supervision activities to detect, prevent, and handle violations:

+ Developing joint inspection and supervision plans and schemes.

+ Assigning staff to participate in inspections and supervision.

+ Providing support in terms of equipment, funding, and creating favorable conditions for inspections and supervision.

+ Conducting verification, investigation, collection of evidence, appraisal, and evaluation of counterfeit goods.

+ Implementing decisions on penalties or enforcement of penalty decisions.

- Cooperation in handling complex cases involving counterfeit goods. In case of disagreement on measures to handle violations, report to the 31 Steering Committee at the locality or central level for decision.

- Cooperation in rewarding organizations and individuals who contribute to detecting, combating, and handling violations related to counterfeit goods.

- Cooperation with legitimate production and business establishments and owners of industrial property rights to identify counterfeit goods.

4- Products: Including types of goods listed in Section III and substandard goods in Section IV of this Circular, focusing on inspecting and handling the following types of goods:

- Processed foodstuffs, food additives, beverages.

- Cosmetics.

- Medicines, vaccines, and products for disease prevention and treatment in humans.

- Agricultural and aquatic supplies: seedlings, breeding stock, livestock feed, veterinary drugs, vaccines, plant protection chemicals, fertilizers, biological products for crop cultivation and animal husbandry.

- Invoices, certificates, money, certificates, publications, artworks, and other publications.

- Construction materials, machinery parts, fuel, raw materials, transportation vehicles.

5- Appraisal and Evaluation of Counterfeit and Substandard Goods:

5.1- When counterfeit or substandard goods are discovered during inspection, functional forces must record them in a protocol and handle violations according to regulations. If there is insufficient evidence to confirm they are counterfeit or substandard, samples must be taken and sent to competent state agencies for appraisal and evaluation according to regulations.

5.2- Competent agencies are responsible for appraising and evaluating samples of goods and publications when requested by inspection and control agencies.

5.3- During the reorganization of the appraisal and evaluation agencies under the Ministry of Science and Technology and Environment, the Ministry of Commerce (Quality Management and Measurement Bureau), the Institute of Forensic Science and Technology under the Ministry of Public Security, and other agencies recognized to be responsible for appraising and evaluating counterfeit and substandard goods as specified in Point 1, Sections III and IV of this Circular, shall conduct such activities based on samples sent by anti-counterfeiting inspection agencies at various levels within the time limit prescribed by law and shall be responsible for the results and conclusions of their work.

5.4- The Intellectual Property Office under the Ministry of Science and Technology and Environment, and the Science and Technology Departments of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall have the responsibility and authority to appraise and evaluate counterfeit goods as specified in Point 2, Section III of this Circular.

5.5- Relevant agencies shall carry out appraisals and evaluations of counterfeit goods as specified in Point 4, Section III of this Circular.

6- Handling Counterfeit Goods:

6.1- Re-exporting outside the territory of Vietnam for imported counterfeit and substandard goods undergoing customs procedures according to decisions made by competent authorities.

6.2- Organizing destruction in accordance with current State regulations:

- Goods and items that have no usable value.

- Goods that do not meet the minimum quality standard and cause harm to production or human life, animal health, plant health, and the environment.

- Various types of stickers, seals, labels, product packaging, invoices, certificates, money, and publications identified as counterfeit.

6.3- Circulation is permitted subject to compliance with the following conditions:

- Goods that have usable value but must remove all elements violating the law (such as labels, packaging that violate the law...) and widely inform consumers.

- Processing and manufacturing again to ensure the legality of the goods when circulated or utilizing them as raw materials.

VI- COSTS AND MEANS TO COMBAT COUNTERFEIT GOODS

1- Functional forces responsible for inspecting and combating counterfeit goods shall be provided and utilize funds to serve anti-counterfeiting efforts, including:

- Customs forces.

- Border Guard forces.

- Police forces.

- Market Management forces.

- Specialized Inspection forces.

2- Funds to serve anti-counterfeiting efforts include:

- State budget allocated according to the approved annual budget.

- All fines from administrative penalties and proceeds from the sale of confiscated goods, evidence, and means of transportation in cases involving counterfeit goods retained by the state budget for anti-counterfeiting activities.

- Voluntary contributions (if any) from organizations and individuals both domestically and internationally.

- A portion of support from revenue generated from anti-smuggling efforts in the area.

3- Funds to serve anti-counterfeiting efforts shall be used for the following purposes:

- Purchasing, repairing equipment and tools; expenses for apprehending, destroying, loading, storing, transporting goods and evidence; detecting, verifying, investigating, and handling violations; propaganda, training, summarizing, and concluding anti-counterfeiting efforts; organizing information, sources, purchasing tips to detect violations; testing, appraising, and evaluating; overtime allowances; assistance to officers and soldiers or their families injured, wounded, or killed while on duty; rewarding organizations and individuals who contribute to anti-counterfeiting efforts.

VII. IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

1- To organize the implementation of Directive No. 31-1999/CT/TTg dated October 27, 1999 of the Prime Minister on combating the production and sale of counterfeit goods and this Circular, Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall be responsible for:

1.1- The Ministry of Commerce:

- Taking the lead in organizing coordination among relevant ministries and sectors at the central level in directing anti-counterfeiting efforts.

- Taking the lead in organizing inspections and urging sectors and localities to implement anti-counterfeiting efforts.

- Proposing necessary policies and measures to combat counterfeits at different times, discussing and reaching consensus with ministries and general departments to recommend to the Prime Minister and direct localities accordingly.

- Requesting ministries and general departments to cooperate, provide manpower and means to promptly prevent and arrest major violations related to counterfeits or participate in inter-sectoral inspection teams when necessary.

- Organizing information, compiling reports on the situation and anti-counterfeiting efforts of sectors and levels in localities and nationwide to report to the Prime Minister and notify ministries and general departments.

- Regularly convening inter-ministry meetings to review experiences, draw lessons, and discuss cooperation measures for future direction.

1.2- The Ministry of Public Security:

- Investigating and discovering individuals and groups involved in large-scale production and sale of counterfeits, particularly focusing on goods that significantly impact national security and social order.

- Cooperating with market management forces and other specialized inspection forces to combat the production and sale of counterfeits, strictly punishing those obstructing public officials when required.

- Participating in guiding localities in anti-counterfeiting efforts.

1.3- The Ministry of Finance shall guide the management, use, and settlement of accounts for funds serving anti-counterfeiting efforts.

1.4- Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies, depending on their assigned tasks in anti-counterfeiting efforts, shall be responsible for:

- Directing anti-counterfeiting efforts within their respective areas of state administration and specific tasks assigned by the Prime Minister in the aforementioned Directive.

- Coordinating efforts with the Ministry of Commerce and relevant ministries and sectors to effectively combat counterfeits in specific industries, products, regions, and nationwide.

- Compiling counterfeit goods situations and anti-counterfeiting efforts in their sectors and reporting to the Ministry of Commerce for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister.

1.5 - The Vietnam Consumers' Standard Association and other social organizations: depending on their assigned functions and tasks, shall be responsible for assisting anti-counterfeit forces and mobilizing consumers to actively participate in the fight against counterfeit goods.

1.6 - People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities:

- Organize propaganda and dissemination of the Prime Minister's Directive and the Joint Circular guiding the implementation of the Prime Minister's Directive to businesses, production households, traders, and the public within their jurisdiction to participate in the fight against counterfeit goods and eliminate the evil of counterfeit goods.

- Direct relevant sectors and levels at the local level in the work of combating counterfeit goods within their jurisdiction.

- Organize coordination among sectors, levels, and functional forces at the local level to inspect, detect, prevent, and promptly handle violations related to the production, sale, import, and transportation of counterfeit goods.

- Regularly conduct mid-term reviews, summaries, and evaluations to draw lessons for guidance and planning for each period.

- Aggregate information on counterfeit goods and anti-counterfeit efforts within their jurisdiction and submit it to the Ministry of Trade for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister.

1.7 - For production and trading establishments:

- Organizations and individuals engaged in production and trade shall not produce or sell counterfeit goods. All organizations and individuals have the responsibility to proactively cooperate with competent authorities in the fight against counterfeit goods, providing information to inspection and control forces about counterfeit goods producers and trading points for timely prevention measures.

- Encourage organizations and individuals producing and assembling goods to use labeling methods to combat counterfeiting for their products. Enterprise anti-counterfeiting labels must not be identical or similar to those of state-issued imported goods labels.

This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of signature. During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, relevant sectors and localities should promptly report to the 31-TW Steering Committee and the Inter-Ministerial Office for resolution.