Circular No. 19/2011/TT-BCT stipulates the templates of minutes and decisions used in the activities of inspection and administrative penalty enforcement by Market Management agencies.

CIRCULAR

Provisions on the forms of inspection records and decisions to be used in administrative violation inspection activities,

and administrative penalty enforcement by market management agencies

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Pursuant to Decree No. 189/2007/ND-CP dated December 27, 2007, issued by the Government, detailing the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to Decree No. 10/CP dated January 23, 1995 of the Government on the organization, tasks, and powers of market management and Decree No. 27/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2008 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 10/CP dated January 23, 1995 of the Government on the organization, tasks, and powers of market management;

Pursuant to the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance dated July 2, 2002 and the Ordinance Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance dated April 2, 2008;

Pursuant to Decree No. 128/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 16, 2008 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain articles of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance 2002 and the Ordinance Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance 2008;

Pursuant to Article 68 of Decree No. 06/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 16, 2008 of the Government on administrative penalties for violations in commercial activities amended and supplemented by Decree No. 112/2010/NĐ-CP dated December 1, 2010 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 06/2008/NĐ-CP,

The Minister of Industry and Trade stipulates the forms of inspection records and decisions to be used in administrative violation inspection activities and administrative penalty enforcement by market management agencies at all levels in areas with authority to impose administrative penalties, as follows:

Article 1. Scope of regulation and applicable subjects

1. This Circular provides for the forms of inspection records and decisions (hereinafter referred to as stamp forms), management of printing, issuance, distribution, receipt, settlement, and use of stamps in administrative violation inspection activities and administrative penalty enforcement by market management agencies at all levels in areas with authority to impose administrative penalties.

2. The subjects to which this Circular applies include the Market Management Bureau under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Provincial and Central City Market Management Branches, Market Management Teams under Provincial and Central City Market Management Branches, and officials and civil servants under the aforementioned market management agencies at all levels.

Article 2. Stamp forms

The stamp forms issued together with this Circular include:

1. Inspection Decision (MS 01).

2. Inspection Record (MS 02).

3. Administrative Procedure Search Decision (MS 03).

4. Administrative Procedure Search Record (MS 04).

5. Administrative Procedure Search of Transport Means and Objects Decision (MS 05).

6. Administrative Procedure Search of Transport Means and Objects Record (MS 06).

7. Administrative Procedure Search of Concealment Place of Contraband Goods and Means of Transportation Decision (MS 07).

8. Administrative Procedure Search of Concealment Place of Contraband Goods and Means of Transportation Record (MS 08).

9. Administrative Procedure Temporary Detention of Person Decision (MS 09).

10. Administrative Procedure Temporary Detention of Contraband Goods and Means of Transportation Decision (MS 10).

11. Administrative Procedure Temporary Detention of Contraband Goods and Means of Transportation Record (MS 11).

12. Administrative Procedure Extension of Temporary Detention Period of Contraband Goods and Means of Transportation Decision (MS 12).

13. Administrative Violation Record (MS 13).

14. Administrative Penalty Decision (MS 14).

15. Simplified Administrative Penalty Decision (MS 15).

16. Seizure of Contraband Goods and Means of Transportation Decision (MS 16).

17. Seizure of Contraband Goods and Means of Transportation Record (MS 17).

18. Postponement of Execution of Fine Decision (MS 18).

19. Transfer or Return of Documents, Contraband Goods, and Means of Transportation Decision (MS 19).

20. Receipt and Delivery of Documents, Contraband Goods, and Means of Transportation Record (MS 20).

21. Record of Sale of Perishable Goods (MS 21).

22. Record of Destruction or Liquidation of Contraband Goods and Means of Transportation (MS 22).

23. Decision to Apply Remedial Measures (MS 23).

24. Decision to Amend, Revoke, or Suspend Enforcement of Administrative Penalty Decision (MS 24).

25. Decision to Compel Execution of Administrative Penalty Decision (MS 25).

26. Record of Compulsory Execution of Administrative Penalty Decision (MS 26).

27. Sampling Record (MS 27).

28. Working Record (MS 28).

Appendix to Record (MS 29).

30. List of Contraband Goods and Means of Transportation (MS 30).

Article 3. Management of Printing and Issuance of Stamps

1. The stamp forms prescribed in Article 2 of this Circular shall be pre-printed according to a unified model, on white paper, with black ink, carbon-coated back, size 21x29.7cm (A4), with the market management emblem and faint yellow printed patterns in the center of the page. Each type of stamp form shall be bound into a booklet containing multiple copies and pre-numbered.

2. The printing and issuance of stamp forms shall be carried out as follows:

a) The Market Management Bureau shall organize the printing and issuance of stamp forms for distribution to units and officials under the Bureau for use;

b) Provincial and Central City Market Management Branches shall organize the printing and issuance of stamp forms for distribution to Market Management Teams and officials under the Branches for use.

3. The printing and issuance costs of stamp forms for market management agencies at all levels shall be funded from the state budget.

Article 4. Management and Use of Stamps

1. The pre-printed stamp forms issued in accordance with this Circular shall be uniformly used in administrative violation inspection and administrative penalty enforcement activities by market management agencies at all levels in areas with authority to impose administrative penalties starting from July 1, 2011.

For other administrative documents serving inspection and administrative penalty enforcement activities, the heads of market management agencies at all levels specified in Clause 2 of Article 3 of this Circular shall base their regulations and issuance for use on relevant laws and specific requirements for inspection and handling of violations in each case.

2. Only market management officials performing market inspection and control duties, investigating and verifying administrative violation cases, imposing administrative penalties within their authority, and organizing the execution of administrative penalty decisions shall be provided with stamps for use in establishing inspection and administrative penalty case files. Inter-agency inspection teams or inter-agency inspection groups led by market management agencies shall use the stamp forms prescribed in this Circular to establish inspection and administrative penalty case files.

3. Each seal type must be used for its designated purpose and in accordance with the authority prescribed by law.

4. For pre-printed seals bound in volumes with sequential numbering, usage shall commence from the lowest number to the highest, without skipping numbers. If a page is damaged, it shall be crossed out, retained, and the next consecutive page shall be used.

5. Pre-printed seals shall be recorded using blue or black ink pens on the first page to self-print onto subsequent pages, or alternatively, each page may be typed on a computer using black ink, ensuring that the content recorded across all pages is identical.

6. It is prohibited to add or remove any content items from the seal form or to interchange seals between inspection case files and administrative violation handling files.

7. Seals established must bear the signatures of individuals specified in the seal form. In cases where there are multiple pages or copies, these individuals must sign each page and copy.

8. All seals used to establish inspection case files and administrative violation penalty files must be stamped with the seal of the inspecting agency. For seals signed by the head or deputy head of the agency who have the authority to stamp directly, their agency's seal shall be affixed at the signature location. For seals signed by others who do not have direct stamping authority, the agency's seal shall be affixed in the upper left corner of the seal.

9. Pre-printed seals with three copies shall have the first copy placed in the case file, the second copy given to the party involved, inspected individual or organization, or the other party involved, and the third copy retained in the seal book. For seals models 14 and 15, which have four copies, the first copy shall be placed in the case file, the second copy given to the penalized individual or organization, the third copy sent to the state treasury where fines are collected, and the fourth copy retained in the seal book. In cases where additional established seals need to be provided to relevant parties, the agency using the seals (Market Management Teams, Market Management Branches, Market Management Departments) may produce certified true copies of the first copy, affixing the seal and signature of the authorized certifying officer as stipulated by law.

10. In the event of loss of pre-printed seals, the head of the agency responsible for printing, issuing, or using the seals must organize an investigation to clarify the responsibility of the person responsible for the loss and handle them according to regulations, while simultaneously informing relevant agencies to prevent misuse of lost seals.

Article 5. Distribution, receipt, and settlement of seals

1. The head of the agency responsible for issuing seals as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular shall organize the printing, distribution, and transfer of seals based on the usage requirements of their own unit.

2. When distributing and receiving seals, procedures for recording the receipt and issuance of seals must be followed; ledgers must be maintained to track the receipt, distribution, and receipt of seals; regular inventory checks and settlements of seals must be conducted; and dedicated or part-time staff must be assigned to manage the accounting of seals.

3. Regularly, units and officials receiving seals must settle accounts with the issuing agency. Damaged or unusable seals must be collected, inventoried, and destroyed according to regulations by the issuing agency.

Article 6. Prohibited acts

1. Using seals not conforming to the prescribed model in this Circular to establish inspection case files and administrative violation penalty files.

2. Swapping seals of inspection case files and administrative violation penalty files.

3. Counterfeiting or illegally reproducing seals.

4. Arbitrarily exchanging, buying, selling, lending, or borrowing issued seals.

5. Losing or damaging issued seals.

6. Recording seals and establishing inspection case files and administrative violation penalty files not in accordance with laws on administrative violation handling and this Circular.

Article 7. Implementation

1. The Market Management Department shall be responsible for:

a) Organizing the printing and issuance of seals as stipulated in Point a, Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular; directing the printing of seals for provincial and municipal Market Management Branches as needed;

b) Providing guidance on the recording of seals for market management agencies at all levels in accordance with laws on administrative violation handling and this Circular;

c) Monitoring and inspecting the printing, issuance, use, and recording of seals, and the establishment of inspection case files and administrative violation penalty files by market management agencies at all levels as stipulated in this Circular;

d) Reporting to the Minister of Industry and Trade on the implementation status, proposing measures to rectify and prevent violations in the issuance, management, and use of seals by market management agencies at all levels, and amending and supplementing seals when necessary.

2. The Market Management Branch shall be responsible for:

a) Organizing the printing and issuance of seals as stipulated in Point b, Clause 2, Article 3 of this Circular;

b) Managing seals for local market management forces; monitoring, guiding, and inspecting the recording, establishment of inspection case files and administrative violation penalty files, and the management and use of seals by local market management forces in accordance with laws on administrative violation handling and this Circular;

c) Reporting to the Market Management Department on the printing, issuance, and use of seals as stipulated in this Circular; proposing management and use measures for seals and amendments and supplements when necessary.

3. The Head of the Market Management Team shall be responsible for:

a) Managing distributed seals, recording seals, and establishing inspection case files and administrative violation penalty files in accordance with laws on administrative violation handling and this Circular;

b) Reporting on the management, use, and settlement of seals as required by the Market Management Branch and as stipulated in this Circular.

Article 8. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from July 1, 2011.

2. Decree No. 14/2006/QĐ-BTM dated March 22, 2006, issued by the Minister of Commerce on the issuance of seal forms and their use and management by market management agencies, is hereby repealed.

By June 30, 2011, if old seals still exist, the heads of market management agencies at all levels must organize their collection, inventory, and destruction according to regulations.

3. The Director of the Ministry's Office, the Director of the Market Management Agency, the Heads of agencies under the Ministry, the Directors of Provincial Departments of Industry and Trade, the Chiefs of Market Management Sub-Departments at provincial and centrally governed city levels, and officials and civil servants of all-level Market Management Agencies shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular./.