Decree No. 195/2013/ND-CP detailing certain provisions and implementing measures of the Law on Publishing

DECREE

Detailed regulations on certain provisions and implementation measures of the Law on Publishing

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Pursuant to the Law Torganized by the Government on November 25June 2024;The Ministry of Finance issued on November 13,

Pursuant to the Law on Publishing dated November 20June 2024;on November 2012;

Pursuant to the proposal of the Director of the Department of Ethnic Affairs and Religion Propaganda;on decision of the Minister of Information and Communications,

and measures for implementationi paragraph one of ArticleNo. detailed regulations on certain provisions and implementation measures of the Law on Publishing.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Decree stipulates detailed regulations on certain provisions and implementation measures of the Law on Publishing regarding state management responsibilities and the implementation of state policies for publishing activities; organization and operation in the fields of publishing, printing, distribution of publications and electronic publishing and distribution.

2. This Decree applies to agencies, organizations, individuals within the country, foreign organizations operating in Vietnam, and foreign individuals residing in Vietnam who are related to publishing activities.

Article 2. Tasks and powers of the Ministry of Information and Communications in implementing State management over publishing activities

1. To take the lead and coordinate in drafting, promulgating within their authority or submitting to competent authorities for promulgation normative legal documents, strategies, plans, state policies for publishing activities, copyright and related rights in publishing activities, and measures to prevent and combat illegal printing, counterfeit printing, and unauthorized reprinting of publications.

2. To conduct scientific research and apply technology in publishing activities; to train and enhance professional skills in publishing activities.

3. To manage and organize international cooperation in publishing activities.

4. To take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to specify or submit to competent authorities for specifying detailed policies under Point b and Point c Clause 2, Point b and Point c Clause 4, Point b Clause 5 Article 7 of the Law on Publishing.

5. To issue, renew, reissue, extend, and revoke various types of licenses, certificates, practice certificates, and registration confirmations in publishing activities according to the Law on Publishing and this Decree.

6. To receive, manage, organize reading, inspect, and handle non-compliant publications according to the Law on Publishing, this Decree, and other relevant laws.

7. To guide, implement information reporting, statistics, and uniformly issue forms used in publishing activities.

8. To carry out commendation and reward work in publishing activities; to select and award national prizes to high-value publications.

9. To require organizations and individuals to cease publication, printing, and distribution of publications when signs of violation are detected in accordance with the law.

10. To inspect, examine, settle complaints and denunciations, and handle violations of the law in publishing activities within their authority.

Article 3. Responsibilities of Ministries and ministerial-level agencies in managing state administration over publishing activities

1. The Ministry of Public Security shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications to specify within their authority or submit to competent authorities for specification and guidance on implementing measures to ensure public security and order and prevent and combat crimes in publishing activities.

2. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications to specify within their authority or submit to competent authorities for specification and guidance on implementing market management work in publishing activities.

3. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications to specify within their authority or submit to competent authorities for detailed specification on ensuring environmental hygiene conditions as stipulated in Point c Clause 1 and Point e Clause 2 Article 32 of the Law on Publishing.

4. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Finance, and relevant agencies to specify or submit to competent authorities for specification of detailed policies under Point a Clause 2, Point a Clause 3, and Point a Clause 5 Article 7 of the Law on Publishing.

5. The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications and relevant agencies to specify within their authority or submit to competent authorities for specification on fees, charges, preferential policies on loan interest rates, taxes, other payments to the state budget, and allocation of funds according to the law to implement policies under Article 7, Article 25, Article 39, and Article 41 of the Law on Publishing.

6. Ministries and ministerial-level agencies within the scope of their tasks and powers shall be responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Information and Communications to manage state administration over publishing activities.

Article 4. Tasks and powers of Provincial People's Committees and Municipal People's Committees under the Central Government in implementing state administration over publishing activities

1. To promulgate within their authority planning and development plans for publishing activities at the local level; to promulgate and guide the implementation of legal regulations and state policies for publishing activities at the local level.

2. To issue, reissue, renew, and revoke various types of licenses and registration confirmation certificates according to the Law on Publishing and this Decree.

3. To receive, manage, organize reading, inspect, and handle non-compliant publications according to the Law on Publishing, this Decree, and other relevant laws concerning publications licensed by themselves.

4. To implement information, reporting, statistics systems, and commendation work in publishing activities according to the law.

5. To inspect, check, resolve complaints and denunciations, and handle violations of the law in publishing activities within their authority.

Article 5. Information and Reporting System in Publishing Activities

1. The management agency of the publisher and organizations and individuals participating in publishing, printing, and distribution activities shall be responsible for periodic or ad hoc reports as prescribed.

2. The provincial People's Committee shall periodically or ad hoc report to the Ministry of Information and Communications on publishing activities and state administration management of publishing activities at the local level.

3. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government agencies within their functions, tasks, and powers shall cooperate in exchanging and providing information to serve state management of publishing activities.

4. The Minister of Information and Communications shall prescribe detailed procedures, formalities, methods of reporting, and reporting forms in publishing activities.

Article 6. Conditions for establishment and content of activities of representative offices in Vietnam of foreign publishers and foreign organizations distributing publications

1. Conditions for establishment:

a) The publisher or organization distributing publications must be legally operating abroad;

b) The proposed appointee to head the representative office must be a permanent resident in Vietnam, have full civil capacity according to the law, hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and not be in a period of criminal prosecution or serving a court judgment with legal effect;

2. Content of activities:

The representative office must comply with the provisions of the Law on Publishing, this Decree, other Vietnamese laws on representative offices, and may carry out the following activities:

a) Introduce, display, exhibit, advertise, or other forms permitted by Vietnamese law regarding publications or distribution organizations represented by the publisher;

b) Supporting commercial promotion activities, cooperation, exchange of copyright, publishing, printing, and distribution of publications for the represented publisher or organization distributing publications.

Article 7. Issuance, reissuance, and extension of licenses for establishing representative offices in Vietnam of foreign publishers and foreign organizations distributing publications

1. The issuance of licenses for establishing representative offices shall be carried out according to the following regulations:

The license for establishing a representative office has a validity of five years from the date of issuance and can be renewed, with each renewal not exceeding five years.

2. Reissuance and extension of licenses for establishing representative offices shall be carried out according to the following regulations:

a) Within five days from the date of loss or damage of the license, foreign publishers or foreign distribution organizations must submit an application for reissuing the license. The application sent to the Ministry of Information and Communications includes the application for reissuing the license and a copy of the license (if available) or the damaged license.

b) Not less than thirty (30) days before the expiration date of the license, foreign publishers and organizations distributing foreign publications must request to extend the establishment license for their representative offices. The application for extension of the license submitted to the Ministry of Information and Communications shall include the application form for extension of the license and the previously issued license.

3. The Minister of Information and Communications shall specify the detailed forms for applications for issuance, reissuance, and extension of licenses for establishing representative offices, as well as the license for establishing representative offices prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

Chapter II

FIELD OF PUBLISHING

Article 8. Conditions for establishment and ensuring operation of publishers

1. In addition to the conditions stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, and 4 of Article 13 of the Publishing Law, a publisher may be established when it meets the following conditions:

b) Having at least VND 5 billion to ensure publishing activities;

c) Possessing sufficient equipment to organize publishing activities.

2. During its operation, the managing authority of the publisher shall have the responsibility to maintain the conditions specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 9. Approval of appointment, removal, and dismissal of general managers (directors) and chief editors of publishers

1. The approval of the appointment, removal, and dismissal of leadership positions of publishers, namely general managers (directors) and chief editors, shall be carried out as follows:

b) Before removing or dismissing a general manager (director) or chief editor of a publisher, the managing authority must submit a request for approval of removal or dismissal to the Ministry of Information and Communications;

2. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall propose that the managing agency of the publisher consider dismissing or removing the general manager (director) or chief editor of the publisher if they seriously violate the laws on publishing activities.

Article 10. Registration for publication and confirmation of registration for publication

1. The registration of publication by the publisher shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 1 of Article 22 of the Publishing Law, without limiting the number of works, materials, or publications registered each time, and the publisher shall bear legal responsibility for the content of the registered publications.

2. The registration dossier for publication includes:

a) The registration form, which includes a summary of the topic, theme, and content of each work, material, or publication being registered for first publication or reprint, and other information as specified in the model form prescribed by the Minister of Information and Communications;

b) An assessment document on the content for works, materials that require assessment.

3. Within seven (7) working days from the date of receipt of the complete publication registration file, the Ministry of Information and Communications must confirm the registration in writing, assign a registration confirmation number for each work, material, or publication being reprinted, and issue an International Standard Book Number (ISBN); in case of non-confirmation of the registration, a written response stating the reasons must be provided.

4. During the registration confirmation process, the Ministry of Information and Communications has the right to require the publisher to review or explain about the works, materials being registered for publication, or publications being registered for reprint to confirm the registration.

5. The registration confirmation document serves as the basis for the publisher to make a decision to publish each work, material, or publication being reprinted. The latest deadline for making the publication decision is December 31 of the year of registration confirmation; in case of failure to carry out the publication, the publisher must report to the Ministry of Information and Communications before March 31 of the following year and the registration confirmation number and International Standard Book Number (ISBN) issued will lose their validity.

6. The Minister of Information and Communications shall specify the details of management, positions, sizes, technical requirements, methods of recording the registration confirmation number, International Standard Book Number (ISBN), and the method of registering publications through the Internet.

7. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall refuse to confirm registration for publication in the following cases:

a) The content of the registration for publication is inconsistent with the mission, purpose, functions, and tasks of the publisher;

b) Works, materials registered for publication, and publications registered for reprint are subject to disputes over copyright and related rights;

c) Works, materials, and publications previously refused registration confirmation or banned from circulation, confiscated, or destroyed by the Ministry of Information and Communications, or withdrawn and destroyed by the publisher;

d) Works, materials, and publications for joint publication or reprint by partners who have been administratively penalized for violations in publishing activities two (2) times or more within twelve (12) months from the date of the first penalty, or partners who do not meet the conditions for joint publication and do not comply with the requirements of state management agencies regarding publishing activities as prescribed;

đ) Publishers who do not comply with management measures of state management authorities regarding publishing activities as prescribed by law;

e) Other cases decided by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Article 11. Collaboration in Publishing Activities

In addition to complying with the provisions of Article 23 of the Publishing Law, the publisher and the partner for joint publication must meet the following requirements:

1. For the publisher: Directly sign printing contracts with printing establishments licensed to print publications and issue decisions on the distribution of publications.

2. For collaborating partners:

a) A certified copy of the identity card or passport still valid according to the law in the case of individuals as prescribed in Point a Clause 1 Article 23 of the Publishing Law, and a certified copy of the document proving legal entity status in the case of organizations as prescribed in Point c Clause 1 Article 23 of the Publishing Law;

b) Provide documents proving that they have at least three (3) editorial staff members who have been issued certificates of practice in editing when implementing preliminary manuscript editing collaboration forms;

c) Strictly implement the contents of the publication decision made by the general manager (director) of the publisher; must carry out corrections, suspension of distribution, recall, or destruction of publications upon the decision of the general manager (director) of the publisher.

Article 12. Issuance of Permits for Non-Profit Publishing Materials

1. Non-commercial materials eligible for publication licenses under Article 25 of the Publishing Law include:

a) Propaganda and promotional materials serving political tasks, major anniversaries, and significant national events;

b) Materials guiding study and implementation of Party policies and state laws;

c) Materials guiding measures to prevent natural disasters, epidemics, and environmental protection;

d) Proceedings of seminars, conferences, and industries of Vietnamese agencies and organizations;

đ) Materials introducing the activities of foreign agencies and organizations legally operating in Vietnam;

e) Historical materials of the party and local governments; materials serving local political tasks after obtaining opinions from Party organizations and superior agencies.

2. The authority to issue publication licenses for non-commercial materials is implemented in accordance with Clause 1 of Article 25 of the Publishing Law.

For materials of military units, public security units, the authority managing state publishing activities shall issue publication licenses after obtaining opinions from the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, or agencies authorized by these ministries.

3. The Minister of Information and Communications shall specify detailed regulations on application procedures and documents for requesting permits for non-profit publishing materials as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

Chapter III

PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLISHING PRODUCTS

Article 13. Conditions and Documents for Issuing Permits for Printing Publishing Products and Situations for Revoking Such Permits

1. A printing establishment is granted a permit for printing publishing products (including prepress, printing, and post-printing processes) when it meets all of the following conditions:

a) As prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 32 of the Publishing Law;

b) The owner is a Vietnamese organization or individual.

2. Documents and materials proving the head of the printing establishment, having production premises and equipment in the application for a printing operation license for publications as prescribed in Clause 2 of Article 32 of the Publishing Law are specified as follows:

a) For the head of the printing facility for publication products: It shall be the person representing the legal entity recorded on one of the types of business registration certificates, enterprise registration certificates, investment certificates, establishment decisions issued by competent authorities; the qualification certificate issued by the specialized training institution for the head must be a certified copy of a college degree in printing or higher, or a certificate of training in management operations of printing publication products issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

c) For the documentation proving the equipment: It must be a certified copy of ownership or purchase agreement documents for the equipment; in cases where there is no equipment yet, the application for the license must include a list of planned equipment to be invested.

Within six months from the date of issuance of the printing operation license, the printing facility must complete the purchase or lease-purchase of all equipment according to the planned investment list and submit a certified copy of the purchase or lease-purchase documents to the issuing authority.

3. In addition to the provisions of Clause 8, Article 32 of the Law on Publishing, the printing facility for publication products will have its operating license revoked in any of the following cases:

a) Not meeting the conditions stipulated in Point b Clause 1 of this Article;

b) After six months from the date of issuance of the permit for printing publishing products, failing to invest in sufficient equipment as stipulated in Point c Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 14. Issuance, Reissuance, and Revocation of Business Operation Permit for Importing Publishing Materials

1. A facility engaged in importing publication products (referred to as an import facility for publication products) shall be granted a license for importing publication products by the Ministry of Information and Communications when it meets the following conditions:

a) Complying with the provisions of Point a and Point b, Clause 3, Article 38 of the Law on Publishing, wherein the qualification certificate issued by the specialized training institution for the head of the import facility for publication products must be a bachelor's degree or higher in the field of publication product distribution.

 In cases where the head of the import facility for publication products has graduated with a bachelor's degree or higher in a different field, they must hold a certificate of training in knowledge and skills for publication product distribution issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

b) In cases of importing books, in addition to the conditions stipulated in Point a of this clause, there must be at least five (5) employees capable of assessing the content of books, specifically: They must have at least five years of work experience in the publishing industry in Vietnam, hold a bachelor's degree or higher in a foreign language specialty or a bachelor's degree or higher in another specialty but with a level of proficiency in foreign languages suitable for the assessment of imported book content, and hold a certificate of training in knowledge and skills for publication product distribution issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

2. The application dossier and time limit for issuing a business operation permit for importing publishing materials shall be carried out as follows:

a) The application dossier for requesting issuance of a business operation permit for importing publishing materials prescribed in Clause 4 Article 38 of the Law on Publishing shall be prepared according to the form prescribed by the Minister of Information and Communications;

3. A business operation permit for importing publishing materials shall be reissued in cases of loss or damage. The process of reissuing the permit shall be carried out as follows:

a) The import entity for publishing materials shall submit a request for reissuance of the permit to the Ministry of Information and Communications along with a copy of the previously issued permit (if available);

4. During the course of operations, if the import entity for publishing materials fails to maintain the conditions stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, its business operation permit for importing publishing materials shall be revoked.

Article 15. Refusal to Confirm Registration for Importing Publishing Materials for Business Purposes

The Ministry of Information and Communications shall refuse to confirm registration for importing publishing materials for business purposes for import entities for publishing materials in the following cases:

1. Publishing materials showing signs of violation of laws;

2. Imported publishing materials that have been requested to undergo content assessment but the import entity has not reported the results of such assessment;

3. Failure to comply with management measures for publishing activities as prescribed by law;

4. Other cases decided by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Article 16. Responsibility for reviewing the content of imported publications of importers of publications

1. Within thirty days from the date of issuance of the license for engaging in the importation of publication products, the import facility must establish internal regulations on the assessment of the content of imported publication products and submit them to the Ministry of Information and Communications, and be responsible for implementing these regulations during the course of operations.

2. The head of the publication importer must organize the review of the content of imported publications before distribution according to the following provisions:

a) Establish an assessment council consisting of: The chairman of the council being the leader of the import facility for publication products, members of the council being experts in fields related to the content of publication products to be assessed, and the secretary of the council being the employee responsible for assessing the content. Inviting experts to join the assessment council is decided by the head of the import facility for publication products;

b) The review process is conducted for each imported publication. The results of the review are recorded in minutes and reported to the Ministry of Information and Communications every three months;

c) During the assessment process, if publications imported are found to contain content violating Clause 1, Article 10 of the Law on Publishing, the import facility may not distribute the publication and must promptly report to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

3. When requested by the Ministry of Information and Communications to review the content of imported publications, the head of the publication importer must organize the review and report the results in writing.

Imported publications may only be distributed after receiving written comments from the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Chapter IV

PUBLISHING AND DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRONIC PUBLICATIONS

Article 17. Conditions for publishing and distributing electronic publications

1. The conditions regarding equipment and technology for publishing and distributing electronic publications as specified in Point a, Clause 1 and Point a, Clause 2, Article 45 of the Law on Publishing are detailed as follows:

d) Having a legally registered internet connection for publishing and distributing electronic publications on the Internet;

đ) Having technical solutions to control the publication, distribution, removal, or restoration for distribution of electronic publications;

g) Having a storage system meeting technical requirements for storing published and distributed electronic publications; the stored electronic publications must meet requirements for authenticity, integrity, information security, and immediate accessibility;

h) Having a lawful digital certificate in accordance with the law on electronic transactions and must comply with standards and specifications for electronic publications.

a) Having been trained in information technology and having at least one year of work experience in the field of information technology; possessing good political and moral qualities;

b) Being proficient in operating and managing the equipment and technical solutions specified in Clause 1 and Clause 3 of this article to publish and distribute electronic publications.

3. Technical measures as specified in Point b, Clause 1 and Point b, Clause 2, Article 45 of the Law on Publishing are detailed as follows:

b) Having equipment and technical solutions to prevent unauthorized access through the Internet system;

d) Having procedures to determine interventions that change the content of electronic publications;

đ) Having technical solutions in accordance with the regulations of the Minister of Information and Communications on controlling digital copyrights for content providers and distribution channels.

4. Vietnamese domain names as specified in Point c, Clause 1 and Point c, Clause 2, Article 45 of the Law on Publishing must be ".vn" domains.

Article 18. Examination of Proposals and Registration for Publishing and Distributing Electronic Publications

1. The examination of proposals for publishing and distributing electronic publications shall be carried out as follows:

a) Publishers must submit proposals for electronic publishing activities, and organizations and individuals must submit proposals for distributing electronic publications to the Ministry of Information and Communications;

b) Proposals for publishing and distributing electronic publications must clearly demonstrate compliance with the conditions stipulated in Article 17 of this Decree;

c) Within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the proposal, the Ministry of Information and Communications shall examine and provide written comments on the proposal.

2. The registration for publishing and distributing electronic publications as provided for in Point d Clause 1 and Point d Clause 2 of Article 45 of the Law on Publishing shall be carried out as follows:

a) Within sixty days from the date of receipt of the approval document from the Ministry of Information and Communications, the publisher, organization, or individual must implement the project according to the review opinion of the Ministry of Information and Communications and submit a registration dossier for publishing and distributing electronic publications to the Ministry of Information and Communications. The dossier includes: A registration application for publishing and distributing electronic publications; a copy of the approval document from the Ministry of Information and Communications regarding the project;

c) Publishers may only engage in electronic publishing and organizations and individuals may only engage in distributing electronic publications after receiving a confirmation of registration from the Ministry of Information and Communications.

3. The Minister of Information and Communications shall specify the formats for proposals, application forms, and confirmation of registration for publishing and distributing electronic publications as stipulated in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article.

Article 19. Classification of Electronic Publications and Requirements for Content and Technology

1. Electronic publications include two types:

a) Converted to electronic form from legally published publications in other formats;

b) Created electronically, not yet published in other forms, and have a decision on publication by the general director (director) of the publisher or a permit for publishing non-commercial materials from the state management agency for publishing activities.

2. Requirements for content and technology for electronic publications as provided for in Point a Clause 1 of this Article include:

a) Content that does not violate the provisions of Clause 1 of Article 10 of the Law on Publishing or has not been suspended from distribution, banned from circulation, recalled, or destroyed;

b) Content consistent with the original legally published publication in Vietnam;

c) Having digital format in accordance with the regulations of the Minister of Information and Communications on file formats, audio, and images;

d) Having a valid digital signature of the head of the organization or individual implementing the distribution.

3. Requirements for content and technology for electronic publications as provided for in Point b Clause 1 of this Article include:

a) Content that does not violate the provisions of Clause 1, Article 10 of the Publishing Law;

b) Complying with the requirements stipulated at Point c, Clause 2 of this Article and having a lawful digital signature of the general director (director) of the publisher or the head of the agency or organization granted a permit for publishing non-commercial materials.

Article 20. Importing electronic publications for business purposes

1. Business establishments with a license to operate import-export activities of publications as stipulated in Article 14 of this Decree shall be permitted to import electronic publications for business purposes.

2. The activity of importing electronic publications for business purposes shall be carried out in accordance with the following provisions:

a) Before importing electronic publications into data storage devices, the importer of publications must register the import in accordance with the provisions of Article 39 of the Publishing Law; in cases of importing through the Internet, a list of imported publications must be established and registered with the Ministry of Information and Communications at least ten days before distribution, accompanied by a copy of the import contract or payment voucher;

b) The establishment importing electronic publications must organize the review of the content of imported electronic publications before distribution in accordance with Article 16 of this Decree.

Article 21. Submitting copies of electronic publications for preservation

1. When submitting a copy of an electronic publication to the state management agency for publishing activities in accordance with the provisions of Article 48 of the Publishing Law, the publisher and the agency or organization granted a permit for publishing must submit the electronic publication in the form of one (1) record in a data storage device or submit it via the Internet in a digital format as prescribed by the Minister of Information and Communications concerning file formats, audio, images, and include a digital signature along with two (2) copies of the registration form for submission as prescribed.

2. The Minister of Information and Communications shall specify detailed technical requirements and methods for submitting copies of electronic publications for preservation.

Article 22. Responsibilities of publishers and individuals, organizations participating in the publication and distribution of electronic publications

1. For publishers, organizations, and individuals distributing electronic publications outside the provisions of Article 50 of the Publishing Law, the publisher and the agencies, organizations, and individuals participating in publishing, distributing, and importing electronic publications shall have the following responsibilities:

a) Ensuring that the technology and techniques used for publishing and distributing electronic publications comply with the provisions of this Decree and other laws on information technology and telecommunications;

b) Ensuring the integrity of the content and form of electronic publications;

c) Comply with the requirements of the competent state management agency regarding stopping the publication and distribution of electronic publications or removing, preventing users from accessing part or all of the content of the publication that shows signs of violating the law;

d) Not publishing or distributing electronic publications with applications of technology and techniques causing insecurity and threats to information security of electronic devices;

đ) Not to supplement information that distorts the content of electronic publications or supplement information that the user of the electronic publication does not request, except for information permitted by law or with the consent of the state management agency for publishing activities;

e) Not interfering illegally with the content and form of electronic publications to distort them or commit illegal acts;

g) Reporting and explaining about the publication, distribution, and import of electronic publications and their content upon request of competent authorities;

h) Being liable under the law for the publication, distribution, and import of electronic publications and the content of electronic publications.

2. Users of electronic publications shall not interfere in any way to distort the content of electronic publications.

Article 23. Cases where cessation or termination of electronic publication and distribution activities is required

1. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall require publishers and organizations or individuals to suspend the publication and distribution of electronic publications for rectification or correction of causes in the following cases:

a) Failure to maintain the conditions prescribed in Article 17 of this Decree during the course of operation;

b) Non-compliance with the provisions of Article 22 of this Decree;

c) Non-compliance with management measures imposed by state management agencies regarding publication activities.

2. In cases where the publisher, organization, or individual distributing electronic publications does not rectify or remedy the situations specified in Clause 1 of this Article, they must cease operations according to the decision of the Minister of Information and Communications.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 24. Effective Date

1. This Decree takes effect from March 1, 2014.

2. From the date this Decree takes effect, the following legal documents and regulations shall be repealed:

a) Decree No. 111/2005/ND-CP dated August 26, 2005 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Publishing Law;

b) Decree No. 11/2009/ND-CP dated February 10, 2009 of the Government amending and supplementing Decree No. 111/2005/ND-CP dated August 26, 2005 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Publishing Law;

c) Decree No. 110/2010/ND-CP dated November 9, 2010 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 111/2005/ND-CP dated August 26, 2005 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Publishing Law, which has been amended and supplemented by Decree No. 11/2009/ND-CP dated February 10, 2009 of the Government;

d) Article 1 of Decree No. 72/2011/ND-CP dated August 23, 2011 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 111/2005/ND-CP dated August 26, 2005 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Publishing Law, which has been amended and supplemented by Decree No. 11/2009/ND-CP dated February 10, 2009 and Decree No. 105/2007/ND-CP dated June 21, 2007 of the Government on printing activities of products that are not publications.

Article 25. Issuance of new licenses in publishing activities and registration of distribution of publications

1. Within 18 months from the date this Decree takes effect, the managing agency of the publisher must complete procedures to apply for issuance of a new license to establish a publisher.

2. Within twelve months from the date this Decree takes effect, printing establishments, importers of publications, representative offices in Vietnam of foreign publishers, and foreign organizations distributing publications must complete procedures to apply for license renewal and establishment.

3. Within twelve months from the date this Decree takes effect, distributors of publications and organizations or individuals engaged in distributing electronic publications must complete procedures to register their operations.

4. The renewal of establishment licenses, operation licenses, and registration of operations must comply with the provisions of the Publishing Law, this Decree, and related laws. Certificates or training certificates in management knowledge on printing issued to the heads of printing establishments prior to the effective date of this Decree can be used to apply for renewal of printing publication operation licenses.

Article 26. Responsibility for Implementation

Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government, and relevant agencies and organizations are responsible for implementing this Decree./.