Circular No. 18/1998/TT-BTC guides the organization and operation of the lottery supervision council.

CIRCULAR

OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE NUMBER 18/1998/TT-BTC DATED FEBRUARY 13, 1998 GUIDING THE ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS OF THE LOTTERY DRAW SUPERVISION BOARD

In order to gradually establish a system for overseeing the lottery draw process, implement state laws and regulations on unified management of lottery issuance, the Ministry of Finance guides the organization and operations of the Lottery Draw Supervision Board (hereinafter referred to collectively as the Lottery Supervision Board) as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS:

1. The Lottery Supervision Board shall be established according to the province or city where the lottery company's main office is located to perform the task of supervising the organization of the lottery draw, recovery, and destruction of unsold lottery tickets in accordance with regulations, and handling related issues concerning lottery activities to protect the interests of ticket buyers.

2. The Lottery Supervision Board shall be established by the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city in accordance with the provisions of the Ministry of Finance.

3. The lottery company shall be responsible for ensuring material conditions to serve the activities of the Lottery Supervision Board in accordance with the prescribed financial regulations. The lottery company shall regularly report to the Lottery Supervision Board on the results of lottery activities to guide the supervision work.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

A. REGARDING THE ORGANIZATION AND COMPOSITION OF THE LOTTERY SUPERVISION BOARD:

1. The composition of the Lottery Supervision Board includes:

- Representative of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city serving as Chairman of the Board;

- Representative of the Department of Finance and Price Control serving as Vice-Chairman of the Board;

- Representative of the State Inspectorate serving as Member;

- Representative of the Department of Justice serving as Member; - Representative of the Public Security Department serving as Member;

- Representative of the lottery company serving as Secretary of the Board.

Along with these members, the Department of Finance and Price Control shall invite representatives from the People's Procuracy and the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee to participate in the supervision activities of the Board. When conducting work, the Lottery Supervision Board must have all the stipulated members; in case of objective reasons, apart from the lottery company, at least the members representing the Department of Finance, the Public Security Department, and the People's Procuracy must attend.

2. The Department of Finance and Price Control shall submit a decision to the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city to establish the Lottery Supervision Board.

- In case a member of the Lottery Supervision Board transfers to another unit due to work requirements, the Department of Finance and Price Control shall submit a request to the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city to replace them in accordance with the stipulated composition.

B. TASKS AND POWERS OF THE LOTTERY SUPERVISION BOARD:

1. Supervision of the organization of lottery draws:

a. Duties of the Council:

- Supervise the lottery company in organizing the lottery draw for various types of lotteries that require a draw according to the principles of transparency, objectivity, and honesty; at the time and place announced, and ensure other relevant regulations in the issuance rules of the Ministry of Finance for each specific type.

- Before the official draw, check the lottery machine or ball cage and balls according to the specified requirements and ensure objectivity and honesty during the draw process.

- Monitor the number of draws for each prize category in accordance with the prize structure announced for each type of lottery.

- Check and sign the record confirming the draw results immediately after the draw ends as a legal basis for public announcement.

- Examine and handle issues related to the organization of the lottery draw and information about the draw results.

b. Powers of the Council:

- During the supervision of the draw, the Lottery Supervision Board has the right to refuse to witness or not recognize the draw results or request a re-draw if:

+ The draw is not conducted at the specified time; the draw location is incorrect or the draw location is not adequately prepared.

+ During the draw, the ball falls outside the designated area or for some reason provides unclear and inaccurate results that cannot be used.

+ Multiple draws result in the same outcome for a particular prize category.

- Has the right to recommend disciplinary action against company staff or board members who exhibit fraudulent behavior in organizing the draw or violate draw regulations.

2. Supervise the organization of the recovery of traditional lottery tickets, unsold lottery tickets, and the withdrawal of winning ticket stubs for traditional lottery tickets:

a. Duties of the Council:

a.1. For traditional lottery tickets:

- Supervise the recovery of unsold tickets in accordance with the issuance rules of each corresponding type.

- Supervise the invalidation of tickets in accordance with regulations.

- Supervise the counting, verification, and compilation of lists and packaging of recovered tickets from each agent in full quantity.

- Supervise the sealing of all recovered tickets before storage.

- Supervise and verify the consolidation of the number of unsold tickets recovered, determine the number of sold tickets and revenue from ticket sales in the period by the lottery company. Based on this, the Lottery Supervision Board signs a confirmation record of the results of the traditional lottery issuance period.

a.2. For instant lotteries:

- Supervise the completion of the recovery of ticket stubs or retained parts and prize number lists for traditional lottery tickets; Verify the counting and comparison between the number of recovered ticket stubs or retained parts with the prize number list of each agent to ensure accuracy, objectivity, and honesty.

- Supervise the completion of the recovery and invalidation of unsold traditional lottery tickets (if required to recover).

- Supervise the sealing of instant lottery ticket stubs or retained parts after recovery within the specified time and before the draw.

- Supervise the opening of seals to retrieve winning stubs or retained parts according to the draw results for each prize category.

- Supervise and verify the consolidation of the number of recovered ticket stubs or retained parts of traditional lottery tickets; The consolidation and preparation of a list of recovered ticket stubs or retained parts of winning traditional lottery tickets; Determine the number of sold tickets and revenue from ticket sales in the period; The number of winning tickets for each prize category and the value of the prize payout for the issuance period. On this basis, sign a summary record of the relevant data.

a.3. For instant win scratch-off lotteries:

- Supervise the recovery and counting of unsold tickets returned by agents according to regulations and unsold tickets not yet put into circulation for each issuance period when the tickets officially expire (including any extension period if applicable).

- Monitor the invalidation of recovered tickets in accordance with the prescribed regulations.

- Confirm the data on recovered unsold tickets for each issuance series.

a.4. For instant scratch-off lottery tickets:

- Supervise the shuffling of instant lottery tickets according to the regulations set forth in the issuance rules for instant lottery tickets issued by the Ministry of Finance.

On this basis, the supervision board signs a record of the shuffle results.

- Supervise the recovery, counting of unsold tickets returned by agents (if return is allowed) and tickets not yet put into circulation at the company of the same series upon expiration of the issuance period; Supervise the invalidation of recovered tickets; compile the number of recovered tickets as the basis for determining the number of tickets consumed for each series.

b. Powers of the Council:

The Lottery Supervisory Council has the right to require the lottery company not to accept ticket recoveries from agents in the following cases:

+ Unsold traditional lottery tickets and stubs or parts of the lottery slip of those agents brought for return after the specified time or tickets brought for recovery not on the day of the draw, without an agent's list...

+ Stubs of white lottery tickets (without prize numbers).

+ Lottery agents who enter into contracts with the company under the buyout form.

3. Examine and permit the organization to destroy stored tickets beyond their retention period:

Based on reports requesting the destruction of various types of recovered or expired lottery tickets that have been paid out according to the prescribed retention period by the lottery company, the Lottery Supervisory Council approves and permits the lottery company to carry out the destruction.

The Lottery Supervisory Council has the right to request the lottery company to explain its storage work, change the method of destruction or arrange members of the Council responsible for supervising the destruction of the lottery company (if necessary).

4. Contribute opinions on lottery activities and handle specific issues reported by the lottery company:

From actual supervision work, the Council participates in opinions on lottery activities and recommends improvements to management mechanisms. At the same time, it handles specific issues related to the issuance of lottery tickets reported by the lottery company.

The Lottery Supervisory Council has the right to request the lottery company to report on the operation of lottery activities and propose appropriate solutions for each issue raised.

C. REGARDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LOTTERY SUPERVISORY COUNCILS IN REGIONS:

1. For regions operating according to provincial or city markets:

In addition to provincial and municipal Lottery Supervisory Councils, for areas where lottery activities are widely developed throughout the province or city, the lottery company may propose to the Department of Finance and Prices and the provincial or municipal Lottery Supervisory Council to consider establishing a regional Lottery Supervisory Council to supervise the recovery and destruction of unsold tickets within the district, county, or town area, subject to approval by the provincial or municipal People's Committee.

a. Conditions for establishing a regional Lottery Supervisory Council are:

- Remote location from the main office of the company, difficult travel, and time-consuming.

- Large volume of ticket consumption, effective lottery operations.

- Strict management meeting all requirements.

- Adequate material conditions to ensure safety for organizing recovery points and serving the Council's work.

b. Members of the regional Lottery Supervisory Council include:

+ Representative of the People's Committee of the district or town where the recovery point is organized - Chairperson of the Council.

+ Representative of the District or Town Finance Office - Vice-Chairman of the Board.

+ Representative of the District or Town Public Security Office - Member.

+ Representative of the State Inspectorate of the District or Town - Member.

+ Representative of the lottery company.

Additionally, representatives of the People's Procuracy at the same level are invited to participate.

The regional Lottery Supervisory Council must comply with state regulations and perform its assigned monitoring duties properly.

2. For regions implementing a common market mechanism, the organization of a representative body of the provincial Lottery Supervisory Council to supervise the recovery and destruction of unsold tickets outside the province is regulated as follows:

a. Regarding conditions for establishment:

- The lottery company must have a transfer station for issuing lottery tickets outside the province approved by the provincial or municipal People's Committee or have an appropriate organizational form to ensure safety for the recovery of unsold tickets outside the province.

- Large volume of ticket sales and effective operations.

- Adhere well to the management requirements of the state in the area where the transfer station is located.

b. Regarding procedures for establishment:

Based on these conditions, the lottery company studies and proposes to the Department of Finance and Prices and the provincial or municipal Lottery Supervisory Council to dispatch representatives of the Council to participate.

- Members include:

+ Representatives of the member of the provincial or municipal Department of Finance and Prices in the Lottery Supervisory Council responsible for overall supervision.

+ Representative of the member of the Provincial or City Public Security Department.

+ Representative of the member of the Provincial or City State Inspectorate.

+ Representative of the lottery company.

The supervision of the recovery and destruction of unsold tickets outside the province must also be carried out in accordance with current regulations of the Ministry of Finance while complying with the directives and management of the provincial Lottery Supervisory Council.

D. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LOTTERY COMPANY TOWARDS THE LOTTERY SUPERVISORY COUNCIL:

To ensure the effective operation of the Lottery Supervisory Council, the lottery company must fulfill the following requirements:

1. Ensure conditions regarding: Workplace; Staff assisting the Council; Forms, lists, minutes, and funds for the Council's activities in accordance with financial regulations.

2. Provide relevant legal documents related to lottery activities to support the specific monitoring activities of the Council.

III. IMPLEMENTATION:

Based on the provisions of this Circular, the lottery company conducts a comprehensive review and inspection of all issues related to the Lottery Supervisory Council, proposes to the Department of Finance and Prices to submit to the provincial or municipal People's Committee for the reorganization of the Lottery Supervisory Council in accordance with regulations. The decision to establish the Lottery Supervisory Council should be sent to the Ministry of Finance for monitoring and management.

This Circular takes effect 15 days from the date of signature and replaces previous relevant regulations.

In the course of implementation, if there are any difficulties, they are recommended to be reported to the Ministry of Finance for study and resolution.