Circular No. 122/2018/TT-BTC guides the management and use of funds obtained from the auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes that meet export quality standards to be exported abroad.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing and using the proceeds from the auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes that meet quality standards for export abroad
the auction of smuggled foreign cigarettes seized to ensure quality
for export abroad

Pursuant to the Law on Handling Administrative Offenses dated June 20, 2012;

Pursuant to the Auction Law dated November 17, 2016;

Pursuant to Decree No. 87/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 26, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decision No. 20/2018/QĐ-TTg dated April 26, 2018 of the Government Chairman on the implementation of the destruction of counterfeit cigarettes, cigarettes not meeting quality standards, and the pilot auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes that meet quality standards for export abroad;

At the proposal of the Director of the State Asset Management Department;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular guiding the management and use of the proceeds from the auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes that meet quality standards for export abroad.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular guides the management and use of the proceeds from the auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes that meet quality standards for export aimed at serving the supervision, management, and prevention of cigarette smuggling according to Clause 2, Article 6 of Decision No. 20/2018/QĐ-TTg dated April 26, 2018 of the Government Chairman on the implementation of the destruction of counterfeit cigarettes, cigarettes not meeting quality standards, and the pilot auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes that meet quality standards for export abroad (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 20/2018/QĐ-TTg).

Article 2. Applicability

1. State administrative agencies with authority related to the pilot auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes include:

a) Agencies or units primarily responsible for managing confiscated foreign cigarettes;

b) Agencies or units assigned the primary responsibility to organize the auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes.

2. Other organizations and individuals involved in the pilot auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes that meet quality standards for export.

Chapter II
MANAGEMENT AND USE OF PROCEEDS FROM THE AUCTION OF CONFISCATED FOREIGN CIGARETTES THAT MEET QUALITY STANDARDS FOR EXPORT

Article 3. Contents and levels of expenditure related to the auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes

1. Expenditure contents related to the auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes:

a) Testing and quality appraisal costs;

b) Transportation, delivery, and storage costs from the time of temporary detention or confiscation until the completion of the auction. In cases where the agency issuing the temporary detention or confiscation decision has been provided by the State with warehouses, staff, transportation means, etc., for transportation and storage, these transportation and storage costs will not be reimbursed;

c) Costs related to determining the starting price for the auction (if applicable);

d) Auction service fees (in case of successful auction) or actual reasonable and legitimate costs (in case of unsuccessful auction) paid to the auction organization for conducting the auction.

The level of auction service fees or actual reasonable and legitimate costs shall be applied according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance regarding the framework for auction service fees for assets as stipulated in the Auction Law;

e) Other direct costs serving the auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes according to the provisions of the law.

2. Expenditure levels:

a) For expenditure items that have standards, norms, and regulations set by authorized agencies or individuals, they shall be implemented according to those standards, norms, and regulations;

b) For service rental contents related to the handling of confiscated foreign cigarettes, they shall be carried out according to the Contract signed between the agency or unit assigned the task of organizing the handling and the service provider. The selection of the service provider related to the handling of confiscated foreign cigarettes as assets shall be conducted according to the laws on bidding;

c) For expenditure contents outside the scope specified in Points a and b of this Clause, the head of the agency or unit assigned the primary responsibility to organize the auction of confiscated foreign cigarettes decides and bears responsibility for their specific expenditure levels, ensuring they are appropriate to the available budget and actual expenses incurred.

Article 4. Management and use of funds obtained from the auction of smuggled foreign cigarettes seized

1. The funds obtained from the auction of smuggled foreign cigarettes seized include:

a) The winning bid amount;

b) The deposit amount of participants in the auction that is not returned according to Clause 6, Article 39 of the Auction Law;

c) The fee for purchasing participation documents in the auction.

2. Within three working days from the date of receiving the funds specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the agency or unit entrusted with the main responsibility for organizing the auction shall be responsible for depositing the entire amount into a temporary account at the State Treasury as follows:

a) In cases where the agency or person with authority at the central level and provincial level approves the disposal plan, it shall be deposited into a temporary account managed by the Department of Finance;

b) In cases where the agency or person with authority at the district or commune level approves the disposal plan, it shall be deposited into a temporary account managed by the Financial Planning Office.

3. Within thirty days from the date of depositing the funds into the temporary account, the agency or unit entrusted with the main responsibility for organizing the auction of smuggled foreign cigarettes seized shall prepare one set of documents requesting payment to be sent to the holder of the temporary account for the purpose of paying the costs stipulated in Article 3 of this Circular. The head of the agency or unit entrusted with the main responsibility for organizing the auction shall bear legal responsibility for the accuracy of the expenses requested for reimbursement. All expenses must have reasonable and valid supporting documents as required by regulations.

The documents requesting payment include:

a) A request for payment document from the agency or unit entrusted with organizing the auction (specifying the amount received from the auction, total related costs, information about the account to receive payment), accompanied by a detailed list of expenses: one original copy;

b) The disposal plan according to the auction method approved by the agency or person with authority: one copy;

c) Supporting documents for each expense such as service contracts for valuation and auction services; invoices, receipts (if any): one copy.

4. Within thirty days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the holder of the temporary account shall be responsible for disbursing funds to the agency or unit entrusted with the main responsibility for organizing the auction of smuggled foreign cigarettes seized to cover related expenses.

If the collected funds are insufficient to cover the expenses stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 3 of this Circular, the remaining expenses shall be allocated from the annual regular budget of the agency or unit entrusted with organizing the auction of smuggled foreign cigarettes seized for reimbursement.

5. By no later than December 31 each year, the holder of the temporary account shall be responsible for depositing the proceeds from the auction of smuggled foreign cigarettes seized (after deducting the expenses stipulated in Article 3 of this Circular) into the central budget for cases where the auction of smuggled foreign cigarettes was approved by the central-level agency or person with authority for asset disposal plans; into the local budget for cases where the auction of smuggled foreign cigarettes was approved by the local-level agency or person with authority for asset disposal plans.

6. Annually, the agency or unit entrusted with the main responsibility for organizing the auction shall prepare a budget for expenses to support supervision, management, and anti-smuggling activities of cigarettes, report to the superior management agency to incorporate into their own annual regular budget for anti-smuggling, trade fraud, and counterfeit goods activities, and submit to the financial department at the same level in accordance with the laws on state budget to fund the following items:

a) Expenses for publicizing and disseminating laws on anti-smuggling of cigarettes, implemented according to Circular Joint No. 14/2014/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated January 27, 2014 issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice regarding the preparation, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure the dissemination, education, and access to the law for citizens;

b) Expenses for work-related travel, conference fees, training, and vocational training on anti-smuggling of cigarettes, implemented according to Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017 issued by the Ministry of Finance regarding work-related travel allowances and conference fees; Circular No. 36/2018/TT-BTC dated March 30, 2018 issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the preparation, management, use, and settlement of funds for staff training and development;

c) Expenses for purchasing equipment, repairing tools, renting equipment and means of transportation; expenses for registration and inspection fees directly serving anti-smuggling activities according to current standards and norms;

d) Expenses for fuel for vehicles used for inspection, arrest, escort, and protection of violators and contraband; expenses for communication, office supplies, and printing materials serving anti-smuggling activities based on actual expenditure vouchers and supply contracts;

đ) Expenses for rewarding groups and individuals with outstanding achievements in anti-smuggling activities of cigarettes, according to Decree No. 91/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 31, 2017 issued by the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Competition and Rewards;

e) Expenses for overtime pay according to Circular Joint No. 08/2005/TTLT-BNV-BTC dated January 5, 2005 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of night shift and overtime pay for civil servants and current laws.

g) Expenses for subsistence allowance during treatment for officials, civil servants, public employees, officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers who have been involved in accidents, injuries, and their families when such officials, civil servants, public employees, officers, professional military personnel, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers die during the process of investigation and arrest; expenses for hospital fees for cases within the domain of preventing and combating cigarette smuggling where such expenses are not covered or exceed the coverage limit of the Health Insurance Fund or are partially covered according to Point a, Clause 2, Article 6 of Decision No. 20/2016/QĐ-TTg dated May 11, 2016 of the Government Chairman on supporting financial costs for anti-smuggling activities, commercial fraud, counterfeit goods, and managing and disposing of confiscated assets in accordance with the law in the field of anti-smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 20/2016/QĐ-TTg);

h) Expenses for purchasing information (if applicable); the amount of expenses for purchasing information for each case shall be implemented according to Clause 1, Article 8 of Decision No. 20/2016/QĐ-TTg;

i) Subsistence allowance for individuals directly participating in investigating, surveilling, pursuing, inspecting, and controlling smugglers of cigarettes during the time they directly participate in the area where the incident occurred according to Point b, Clause 2, Article 6 of Decision No. 20/2016/QĐ-TTg;

k) Subsistence allowance for forces directly imposing penalties in the domain of preventing and combating cigarette smuggling according to policies and regulations issued by competent state agencies (if applicable).

7. The preparation of budget estimates and final accounts for the expenditure items stipulated in Clause 6 of this Article shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on state budget and related laws.

Chapter III
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 5. Transitional Provisions

1. For the amounts collected from the auction of seized imported cigarettes sold and deposited into the temporary account at the State Treasury according to Decision No. 20/2018/QĐ-TTg before the effective date of this Circular, which differ from the temporary account specified in Clause 2, Article 4 of this Circular, the account holder shall proceed as follows:

a) For cases where auction payments have already been made, the account holder shall deposit the remaining funds into the state budget according to Clause 5, Article 4 of this Circular.

b) For cases where auction payments have not yet been made, the agency or unit assigned the main responsibility for organizing the auction shall be responsible for preparing the payment request file according to Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular so that the account holder can provide funds to cover related expenses, and the remaining funds shall be deposited into the state budget according to Clause 5, Article 4 of this Circular.

2. In the case of auctions of seized foreign cigarettes for exportation according to Decision No. 20/2018/QĐ-TTg occurring from June 15, 2018, up to the effective date of this Circular, if not yet deposited into the temporary account at the State Treasury, the management and utilization of the proceeds from the auction shall be carried out according to Decision No. 20/2018/QĐ-TTg and the guidance provided in this Circular.

Article 6. Effectiveness

1. This Circular takes effect from February 1, 2019, and remains valid until June 15, 2020. The settlement of costs related to the sale of seized foreign cigarettes stipulated in this Circular shall be completed by August 15, 2020.

2. When regulations on expenditure systems and standards referenced for application in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced by new documents, they shall be applied according to the amended, supplemented, or replacing documents.

3. During implementation, if any difficulties arise, relevant agencies, organizations, units, and individuals are requested to promptly report to the Ministry of Finance for research and coordinated resolution./.