Circular No. 12/2007/TT-BVHTT guiding the implementation of Decree No. 56/2006/NĐ-CP on administrative penalties for violations in cultural and information activities.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing Decree No. 56/2006/NĐ-CP on administrative penalties in cultural and information activities.

Regarding administrative penalties in cultural and information activities.

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Pursuant to Decree No. 63/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 11, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Culture and Information;

Pursuant to Decree No. 56/2006/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2006 of the Government on administrative penalties in cultural and information activities;

The Ministry of Culture and Information hereby issues this Circular to provide detailed guidance on certain behaviors specified in Decree No. 56/2006/NĐ-CP for administrative penalties as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

b) In cases where funds from organizations and individuals within and outside Vietnam are used for victim support work and victim support benefits, such activities shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance and the donor; in cases where there is no agreement between the donor or their authorized representative and the Ministry of Finance regarding the expenditure level, the expenditure level prescribed in this Circular shall apply.

When deciding on an administrative penalty, the competent authority or person authorized to impose such penalties must determine that an administrative violation in cultural and information activities is an intentional or negligent act by organizations or individuals violating state management regulations in the field of culture and information without reaching the level of criminal prosecution and according to the Administrative Violation Handling Law and Decree No. 56/2006/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2006 of the Government (hereinafter referred to as the Decree), then it must be subject to an administrative penalty. If there is behavior prescribed in this Decree but not violating state management regulations, then such behavior will not be penalized.

For example, Clause 4, Article 26 of the Decree stipulates a fine of from VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 for selling or renting video tapes or discs without a permit from the competent state management agency regarding culture and information (subpoint a) or transferring a permit to another organization or individual or using another organization's or individual's permit to sell or rent video tapes or discs (subpoint b); the Cinema Law dated June 29, 2006 does not stipulate that selling or renting video tapes or discs requires a permit from the competent state management agency regarding culture and information. Therefore, from the date the Cinema Law takes effect, the behaviors prescribed in subpoints a and b of Clause 4, Article 26 of the Decree do not violate state management regulations and thus will not be subject to administrative penalties.

2. Principles of Penalty Application

a) A person who commits multiple administrative violations shall be subject to separate penalties for each violation, with the total penalty being the sum of the penalties for all violations.

For example, if a person sells or rents video tapes or discs without labels or with false labels, or sells or rents video tapes or discs containing obscene content, they will be subject to two penalties under subpoint b, Clause 5 and subpoint c, Clause 6 of Article 26 of the Decree.

b) Multiple persons jointly committing an administrative violation shall each be subject to a penalty.

For example, if multiple people drink alcohol in a karaoke room, each person will be subject to a penalty under subpoint b, Clause 1 of Article 38 of the Decree.

3. Specific Application of Behaviors

In the Decree, there are many administrative violations with similar general content but different specific contents. When imposing penalties, the specific behaviors must be applied. If there is no specific behavior, the general behavior shall be applied.

Article 21 of the Decree provides for the following three behaviors:

- Behavior "Publishing publications containing false information," stipulated in subpoint b, Clause 1;

- Behavior "Publishing maps showing incorrect administrative boundaries," stipulated in subpoint c, Clause 1;

- Behavior "Publishing maps showing incorrect national sovereignty," stipulated in subpoint a, Clause 2;

All three behaviors have the general content of containing false information, but the specific false content differs. When imposing penalties, the most appropriate specific behavior must be applied.

For example, if Publishing House A publishes a map without the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands or without Phu Quoc Island, it will be subject to a penalty under subpoint a, Clause 2 of Article 21 of the Decree.

4. Procedures for destroying cultural products that need to be destroyed

The destruction of harmful cultural products shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 2, Article 61 of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance 2002 and Article 73 of Decree No. 56/2006/NĐ-CP.

When destroying cultural products, the organization or entity responsible for destruction must announce the decision to destroy. After destroying the cultural products, members of the handling committee must sign to confirm in the record. The record of destruction of cultural products must clearly state the type of cultural product, quantity, method of destruction, or include an attached list for retention at the organization.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Provisions in the field of press and information

a) Behavior "Failure to publish corrections as required," stipulated in subpoint a, Clause 3 of Article 9 of the Decree applies to cases where corrections were not made within the required time limit and there are no valid reasons;

b) "Cases where other laws provide otherwise," stipulated in subpoints a and b, Clause 1 of Article 10 of the Decree refers to situations involving suspects or defendants in criminal cases that have been initiated or brought to trial;

c) "Spreading outdated customs," stipulated in subpoint c, Clause 3 of Article 10 refers to the press spreading outdated customs contrary to cultural norms such as rolling on the road, hiring mourners, scattering money on the street, or other outdated customs during funerals, weddings, or festivals;

"Spreading superstition and heresy," stipulated in subpoint c, Clause 3 of Article 10 of the Decree refers to the press spreading practices such as spirit possession, fortune-telling, calling spirits, divination, incantations, spreading prophecies...

d) Behavior "Publishing content not permitted to be disseminated but not reaching the level of criminal prosecution," stipulated in subpoint a, Clause 5 of Article 10 of the Decree refers to publishing content as stipulated in Article 10 of the Press Law but not reaching the level of criminal prosecution;

đ) Behavior "Defaming the reputation and dignity of journalists, obstructing journalists from performing their duties in accordance with the law," stipulated in subpoint a, Clause 3 of Article 12 of the Decree, is applicable when a journalist is defamed while performing their professional duties or is defamed due to matters related to their professional activities;

e) Behavior "Destroying journalists' media equipment," stipulated in subpoint b, Clause 3 of Article 12 of the Decree, is applicable when journalists' media equipment is destroyed while they are using it to perform their professional duties in accordance with the law;

g) Behavior "Failing to submit copies of press information products," stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 14 of the Decree applies when press information products have been issued but copies have not been submitted as required.

h) The act of "Storing harmful content information and images on computers at Internet service providers," as defined in Point d, Clause 3, Article 17 of the Decree, refers to storing information and images containing reactionary, pornographic, obscene, violent-stirring, superstitious, disrespectful to great men, ethnic groups, national heroes; dividing the whole national solidarity and other contents prohibited by law.

2. Provisions in the publishing field

a) The act of "Selling books, paintings, photos, calendars or renting books published or imported illegally," as defined in Point b, Clause 1, Article 19 of the Decree, applies to books (including sound and image discs accompanying books), paintings, photos, calendars published or imported illegally, including the following acts:

- Publishing without a permit from the state management agency for publication activities or without a decision to publish from the publisher's director as prescribed; publishing without a registration confirmation for publication plan issuance.

- Importing without a registration confirmation for import publication product list issuance;

b) The act of "Importing publication products with incorrect names in the registered import list," as defined in Point d, Clause 2, Article 20 of the Decree, applies to all publication products whose names do not match the registration confirmation for the import publication product list in one import (one consignment);

c) The act of "Publishing publication products without registering the publication plan," as defined in Point a, Clause 3, Article 20 of the Decree, applies to each publication product published without being registered in the publisher’s publication plan or registered but not confirmed by the state management agency for publication activities;

d) The act of "Publishing publication products without a publication decision from the publisher's director," as defined in Point b, Clause 3, Article 20 of the Decree, applies to each publication product that has not been decided to be published by the publisher's director;

đ) The act of "Publishing non-commercial materials without a publication permit from the state management agency for publication activities," as defined in Point c, Clause 3, Article 20 of the Decree, applies to the publication of each material not for business purposes without a publication permit issued by the state management agency for publication activities;

e) The act of "Publishing books requiring review without organizing a review," as defined in Point d, Clause 3, Article 20 of the Decree, applies to each book required to undergo a review according to regulations but not organized by the publisher;

g) The act of "Importing publication products for business without registering the import plan with the state management agency for publication activities," as defined in Point e, Clause 3, Article 20, applies to all publication products not yet issued a registration confirmation for the import publication product list for one import (one consignment).

h) The act of "Copying, reproducing press publications, banned publication products," as defined in Point b, Clause 1, Article 22 of the Decree, applies to press publications, publication products violating Article 10 of the Press Law, Article 10 of the Publication Law, or already subject to a decision to temporarily suspend distribution, confiscate, seize, ban circulation, destroy, but still copied, reproduced for use, dissemination, except for copying for the work needs of authorized management agencies.

i) The act of "Operating printing establishments for publication products as required to have a permit but lacking such a permit," as defined in Point b, Clause 5, Article 22 of the Decree, applies to penalize both copy shops that reproduce publication products in bulk like printed publication products.

3. Provisions in the film industry

a) Film "not permitted for circulation," as defined in Point a, Clause 3; Point a Clause 4; Point a Clause 5, Article 25; film "without a decision to allow distribution," as defined in Point c, Clause 4, Article 26 of the Decree is a film not approved by the competent state authority for cinema, issuing a decision to allow distribution or circulation;

b) Film "banned for circulation," as defined in Point c, Clause 3, Point c, Clause 4, Point d, Clause 5, Points a and c, Clause 6, Article 25; film "banned for distribution," as defined in Point a, Clause 6, Article 26 of the Decree is a film with content violating Article 11 of the Cinema Law.

4. Provisions in the performing arts field

a) The act of "Reproducing music tapes, stage performances with pornographic or violent-stirring content," as defined in Point b, Clause 4; "Reproducing music tapes, stage performances with decisions to ban circulation or confiscation," as defined in Point a, Clause 5; "Reproducing music tapes, stage performances with obscene content," as defined in Point b, Clause 5, Article 29 of the Decree will be punished regardless of the quantity of infringing tapes and discs;

b) The act of "Arbitrarily changing content, adding or subtracting lyrics, dialogue, or additional performance actions different from those approved for public performance causing adverse effects," as defined in Point a, Clause 1, Article 33 of the Decree will only be punished if the changes cause adverse effects. If the changes do not cause adverse effects, there will be no punishment;

Similarly, the act of "Arbitrarily changing costumes different from those approved and allowed by the competent authority causing adverse effects," as defined in Point b, Clause 1, Article 33 of the Decree will only be punished if adverse effects occur;

c) The act of "Wearing costumes inappropriate to Vietnamese customs and traditions," as defined in Point c, Clause 1, Article 33 of the Decree, applies to performers in music concerts, fashion shows wearing revealing or unattractive costumes causing discomfort when performing before the public.

5. Provisions in the cultural activities and public cultural services field

a) The act of "Using sound exceeding the maximum noise level allowed," as defined in Point a, Clause 1, Article 35 of the Decree refers to noise levels according to standards issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

b) The act of "Installing alarm devices at a karaoke restaurant to counteract the inspection activities of competent state agencies," as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 35 of the Decree, applies to karaoke restaurants that install alarm devices using sound, light, images, colors... to alert rooms when state agencies inspect or check the operation of the restaurant;

c) When handling the act of "Allowing individuals under 18 years old to dance at a nightclub," as stipulated in Point b, Clause 1, Article 35; and the act of "Using individuals under 18 years old to work at a nightclub or karaoke restaurant," as stipulated in Point đ, Clause 3, Article 35 of the Decree, the date of birth recorded in the citizen identification card or other relevant documents shall be the basis for determination;

d) The act of "Organizing electronic games for business purposes..." as stipulated in Point a, Clause 2, Article 35; Point c, Clause 3, Article 36; and Points a and c, Clause 1, Article 38 of the Decree, applies to internet service providers that organize the business of electronic games as well;

đ) The act of "Operating a nightclub or karaoke establishment not in accordance with the content or scope specified in the permit, or not in accordance with the provisions of the law," as stipulated in Point a, Clause 3, Article 36 of the Decree, applies to cases where the regulations of the permit are violated;

For example: A karaoke business owner is granted a permit to open 03 singing rooms but upon inspection, there are 05 singing rooms in operation, which exceeds the permitted scope; a hotel permitted to operate a certain type of nightclub is found to be operating a different type of nightclub upon inspection, which is not in accordance with the content;

e) The act of "Employing service staff in karaoke rooms," as stipulated in Point b, Clause 2; Point c, Clause 3; and Point c, Clause 4, Article 38 of the Decree, is determined based on the specific number of staff in each karaoke room;

g) The act of "Selling paintings and photographs containing pornographic, provocative, or violent content," as stipulated in Point c, Clause 2, Article 38 of the Decree, is subject to punishment regardless of the quantity of prohibited paintings and photographs;

h) The act of "Disseminating harmful information or images through mobile phone networks," as stipulated in Point đ, Clause 3, Article 38 of the Decree, includes the act of storing harmful information or images on computers at mobile phone retail stores for dissemination through mobile phone networks;

i) The act of "Illegally producing goods for funerals," as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 40 of the Decree, refers to the production of funeral goods without a business registration certificate or the production of funeral items prohibited by law;

6. Provisions in the field of advertising writing, placement, and signage;

a) The act of "Advertising with banners that have exceeded the validity period stated in the permit without removing them," as stipulated in Point b, Clause 2, Article 48 of the Decree, applies to all banners listed in a permit that have expired and have not been removed;

b) The act of "Failing to indicate the permit number, permit validity period, name of the organization or individual applying for the advertisement permit on the signboard or similar advertising forms," as stipulated in Point a, Clause 4, Article 48 of the Decree, applies to each product advertisement that has been issued a permit;

c) The act of "Hanging, placing, pasting, or erecting sponsor advertisements during cultural, sports, conference, seminar activities exceeding the allowed quantity," as stipulated in Point c, Clause 5, Article 49 of the Decree, applies when the quantity exceeds the limit specified in Point 9, Section 2 of Circular 43/2003/TT-BVHTT dated July 16, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Culture and Information to guide the implementation of Decree 24/2003/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2003, of the Government detailing the implementation of the Advertising Ordinance;

d) The act of "Advertising telephone numbers and addresses of service providers in unauthorized locations, writing or drawing advertisements on walls, tree trunks, utility poles, and other objects that detract from urban aesthetics and environmental scenery," as stipulated in Point b, Clause 3, Article 50 of the Decree, applies to each telephone number and address of a service provider;

đ) The act of "Advertising through posters, leaflets, brochures, and similar forms containing prohibited advertising content," as stipulated in Point a, Clause 3, Article 51 of the Decree, is subject to punishment regardless of the quantity of posters, leaflets, or brochures;

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette;

2. This Circular also promulgates models from number 1 to number 7 to be applied in administrative penalties related to culture and information;

Any issues encountered during implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Culture and Information for research and resolution./.