Decree No. 24/2003/ND-CP detailing the implementation of the Advertising Ordinance

DECREE

Regulations for the Implementation of the Advertising Ordinance

 THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Based on the Advertising Ordinance No. 39/2001/PL-UBTVQH10 dated November 16, 2001;

At the proposal of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism,

 

DECREE: 

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.

1. Vietnamese organizations and individuals, foreign organizations and individuals engaged in advertising activities; advertising about business, goods, services (including profit-making and non-profit-making services) within the territory of Vietnam must comply with the provisions of the Advertising Ordinance, the provisions of this Decree, and other relevant legal regulations.

2. Information related to politics does not fall within the scope of regulation of the Advertising Ordinance and this Decree.

Article 2Certain terms in the Advertising Ordinance shall be understood as follows:

1. Advertising of profit-making services refers to advertising of economic and social services aimed at generating profits for service providers.

2. Advertising of non-profit-making services refers to advertising of services implementing social policies and information intended to notify, message, or advertise.

3. Advertising duration is the amount of time broadcasting advertisements on radio stations, television stations; the amount of time advertising within film programs, video tapes, video discs, audio tapes, audio discs, or cultural and sports programs.

4. Advertising duration ratio is the amount of time calculated as a percentage of the total broadcast time of advertisements on the airtime of a radio channel, a television channel in a day or the total time of advertisements in a film, video disc, video tape, audio tape, audio disc, cultural and sports program.

5. Advertising area is the area printed for advertising in newspapers; the area displaying advertised products on boards, signs, billboards; the area drawn or painted on transportation means, luminous objects, aerial objects, underwater objects, mobile objects, and similar forms that display advertised products.

6. A campaign of advertising is the continuous period of advertising a product in newspapers, continuous broadcasting of advertisements on radio stations, television stations, continuous advertising on banners, luminous objects, aerial objects, underwater objects, and other mobile objects.

7. An advertising program is a continuous broadcasting period on radio stations, television stations of advertised products exceeding ten minutes.

8. The advertising activity process involves implementing marketing strategies, promoting advertising, consulting on advertising, realizing advertising ideas, distributing advertisements, and introducing advertised products to consumers.

Article 3Certain prohibited behaviors in advertising activities as stipulated in Article 5 of the Advertising Ordinance are specified as follows:

1. Advertising with characteristics of ethnic discrimination, racial discrimination, infringing upon freedom of belief and religion;

2. Advertising with characteristics of stimulating violence, being horrific; using inappropriate language;

3. Using images of leaders of the Communist Party and State of Vietnam;

4. Advertising that does not accurately reflect the quality of goods and services; does not correctly state the address of production and business establishments;

5. ECompulsory advertising under all forms;

6. Advertising that obstructs the vision of traffic participants; affects the solemnity of workplaces of government agencies; uses sound causing noise levels exceeding permitted standards according to Vietnamese standards;

7. Advertising that slanders, compares, or causes confusion with other production and business establishments, goods, and services; using the name or image of another organization or individual for advertising without their consent;

8. Advertising medicines sold by sellers based on prescriptions from doctors; medicines that have not been registered or whose registration has expired, removed from the list of approved medicines; medicines that have been registered but suspended from circulation; medical devices and health services that have not been permitted for use in Vietnam;

9. Advertising other goods and services prohibited by law.

Chapter II

ADVERTISING ACTIVITIES

Article 4.

1. Information about business activities in advertisements must be truthful, accurate, and consistent with the registered business scope and industry.

2. Information about profit-making goods and services in advertisements must truthfully and accurately reflect the specifications, quality, utility, brand, style, type, packaging, origin, service methods, usage period, storage period, warranty period.

3. Information about non-profit-making services in advertisements must be truthful, accurate, and reflect the requirements, capacity, and quality of the services.

Article 5.

1. Advertisements displayed on boards, signs, billboards, banners, and similar forms must indicate the permit number, validity period of the permit, and the name of the person applying for the advertisement permit.

2. Advertisements displayed on posters must indicate the publication permit number, the name of the person applying for the publication permit, the printing facility's name, and the quantity printed.

3. Advertisements in newspapers must have a separate section or page clearly marked as advertisement information; advertisements on radio stations, television stations must include clear voice or text indicating advertisement information.

Article 6.

1. Newspapers issuing special supplements or editions dedicated to advertising must obtain permission from the Ministry of Culture and Information. The number of pages in special advertising supplements must not exceed the main newspaper's page count and cannot be included in the selling price.

2. Advertising is not allowed on the first cover page or the first page of daily newspapers, regularly issued magazines, journals, special issues, except for dedicated advertising publications.

, Clause 1, Clause 2 Article 7a of this Regulation..

1. Advertising immediately following the opening music or visual effects of radio and television programs is not allowed, except for film screenings, artistic performances, sports events, and entertainment programs.

2. Each broadcasting period for a single product advertisement on radio stations, television stations must not exceed eight days, except in the following cases:

a) Advertising associated with a continuous event sponsored by more than eight days is considered one advertising period;

b) Advertising of non-profit-making services aimed at implementing social policies associated with a continuous event lasting more than eight days is considered one advertising period.

Article 8.

1. Continuous advertising exceeding ten minutes on Radio or Television stations shall be considered a dedicated advertising program and must be approved by the Ministry of Culture and Information.

2. Each feature film program on Television shall not be interrupted for advertising more than twice, each time not exceeding five minutes; each entertainment program on Radio or Television shall not have more than four advertisements, each not exceeding five minutes.

3. Advertising activities, goods, services of an advertiser or a service advertising business shall not exceed fifty percent of the duration of each advertisement on Radio or Television.

Article 9. Advertising in the press shall be the responsibility of the head of the press agency, Chief Editor, or General Director, Director regarding the content, form, position, duration, or area of advertising in their media.

Article 10. Organizations, enterprises conducting advertising services on computer network information must obtain a license from the Ministry of Culture and Information and must have a Business Registration Certificate for advertising services.

Article 11.

1. Advertising in publications published according to plans shall be the responsibility of the Publisher's Director for the advertising product and its position in that publication.

2. Advertising in publications requiring a publishing permit must be approved by the state management agency for publishing in accordance with the Law on Publishing.

Article 12. Advertising on boards, signs, panels, screens, banners, luminous objects, airborne objects, underwater objects, other mobile objects, and similar forms hung, placed, pasted, erected outdoors or at public points shall be regulated as follows:

1. Shall not obstruct more than ten percent of the area of the advertising product already placed before the expiration date, facing forward, within two hundred meters, viewed perpendicular to the center of the previous advertisements.

2. Shall not be placed in traffic safety corridors, levees, national power grids; shall not obstruct traffic signboards, traffic signal lights, public directional boards.

3. In urban areas, large outdoor advertising unsuitable for urban planning, social safety, aesthetics, and environmental landscape shall be restricted.

Article 13. Advertising products in festivals, conferences, seminars, art performances, cultural exchanges, sports competitions shall not be hung, placed, pasted, erected level with or higher than the emblem (logo) or name of those programs; the size of the letters displayed on the advertising product must be smaller than the size of the letters of those programs' names.

Article 14. Advertising on other advertising media such as umbrellas, carts, cargo boxes, awnings, flag ropes, and other items does not require permission but must comply with advertising laws and other relevant laws.

Article 15.

1. Organizations and individuals wishing to conduct advertising services must have a Business Registration Certificate in accordance with the law.

2. Within five working days, organizations and individuals conducting advertising services setting up Branches or Representative Offices in other provinces or cities must notify the District Business Registration Office and the Department of Culture and Information where the Branches or Representative Offices are located. The notification content includes:

a) Name and main office address of the enterprise;

b) Industry and business activities;

c) Name and address of the Branch headquarters, Representative Office;

d) Content and scope of operations of the Branch, Representative Office;

đ) Name and place of residence of the head of the Branch, Representative Office.

3. The Business Registration Certificate for advertising services issued by the District, County Business Registration Office and equivalent offices shall only operate within the province or centrally-administered city where they are located.

Article 16. Organizations and individuals advertising non-profit services must present documentation ensuring the truthfulness and accuracy of the advertising content when requested by the advertising service provider or the advertising publisher.

Article 17.

1. Organizations and individuals advertising about business, goods, services must have a Business Registration Certificate in accordance with the law.

2. Advertising products belonging to the list requiring application and certification of Vietnamese standards must be granted a certificate of compliance with Vietnamese standards by the competent state agency.

3. Advertising products belonging to the list requiring application and certification of industry standards or other standards must have a certificate of compliance with standards from the competent state agency.

4. Advertising of medicines and raw materials for medicines, cosmetics, vaccines, immunological products, medical devices, medical services, and food advertising must fully disclose the content of the advertised product to the Ministry of Health or the Provincial Health Department if authorized by the Ministry of Health. In case of disagreement with the advertised product, the Ministry of Health or the Provincial Health Department must notify the advertiser and the advertising service provider in writing.

Within ten working days from the date of receipt of the notification letter, if the Ministry of Health or the Provincial Health Department does not respond with a letter, the advertiser or the advertising service provider has the right to implement advertising according to the notified content.

Medicines can only be advertised according to the list of medicines allowed for advertising issued by the Ministry of Health.

5. Advertising of breast milk substitutes must comply with the regulations on the operation and use of breast milk substitutes.

6. Advertising of biological products serving agriculture, animal husbandry, livestock feed, veterinary drugs, plant protection chemicals, fertilizers, fertilizer formulations, crop seeds, livestock breeds must fully disclose the content of the advertisement to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. In case of disagreement with the notification content, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development must notify the advertiser or the advertising service provider in writing.

Within ten working days from the date of receipt of the notification letter, if the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development does not respond with a letter, the advertiser or the advertising service provider has the right to implement advertising according to the notified content.

7. Advertisements about inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, geographical indications, trade names, copyrights, and related rights must ensure the truthfulness of information related to the protection status of these objects in accordance with the laws on intellectual property protection and copyright.

Article 18. Organizations and individuals engaged in multiple trades, producing various types of goods under a common trademark (brand name), when advertising, must clearly state the content of the trade and type of goods being advertised.

Article 19.

1. Advertising products carried out on computer network information systems shall be the responsibility of the head of the agency, organization, or enterprise authorized to provide Internet services. Advertising on public display screens shall be the responsibility of the owner of the medium and must comply with the following regulations:

a) Advertising on computer network information systems must submit the advertising product to the Ministry of Culture and Information at least ten working days before the advertisement is implemented;

b) Advertising on public display screens must submit the advertising product to the Department of Culture and Information at least ten working days before the advertisement is implemented.

Within five working days from the date of receipt of the advertising product, if the Ministry of Culture and Information or the Department of Culture and Information does not agree with the advertising product, they must respond in writing stating the reasons. If there is no written response beyond this period, the advertising product can be implemented.

2. For advertisements using boards, signs, billboards, transportation means, the advertising period shall not exceed three years; upon expiration, if extension is desired, it must be approved by the Department of Culture and Information.

In cases where there is a change in location, size, or the advertising product itself, permission from the Department of Culture and Information is required.

3. For advertisements using banners, luminescent materials, aerial objects, underwater objects, other mobile objects for a specific event, the advertising period includes the duration of the event and up to five working days prior to the event, and up to two working days after the event.

For advertisements of events without a specific time frame, the advertising period for each campaign shall not exceed fifteen working days. The interval between campaigns must be at least eight working days.

Article 20Within a maximum of ten working days from the date of receiving complete valid documents, the Ministry of Culture and Information or the Department of Culture and Information must issue an advertising permit. In case of non-issuance of the permit, a written response stating the reasons must be provided.

 

Chapter III

FOREIGN FACTOR ADVERTISING ACTIVITIES

Article 21. Vietnamese organizations and individuals holding a Business Registration Certificate for advertising services issued by the Provincial Business Registration Office may cooperate with foreign organizations and individuals to engage in advertising services through joint venture contracts or joint stock companies and can only operate after obtaining investment permits from competent state agencies.

Article 22.

1. The Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for receiving and forwarding application files to the Ministry of Culture and Information and relevant state agencies to seek participation opinions in the assessment of foreign-invested projects in the field of advertising.

2. The Ministry of Culture and Information participates in providing opinions in the assessment of foreign-invested projects in the field of advertising.

3. Within a maximum of fifteen working days from the date of receiving complete valid documents, the Ministry of Culture and Information must provide a written response to the competent state agency issuing the investment permit.

4. The content of the opinion in the assessment of foreign-invested projects includes:

a) The degree of compliance of the project with the advertising plan;

b) The technical and technological level of foreign organizations and individuals in advertising;

c) Economic and social benefits;

d) Scope and fields of advertising;

e) Other provisions of the law on advertising.

Article 23. Foreign organizations and individuals who have been granted investment permits must notify the Department of Culture and Information of their place of establishment in writing within five working days before commencing operations, accompanied by a certified copy of the foreign investment permit.

"d) Within no more than one working day from the date of receiving the dossier submitted for administrative procedures by the specialized agency assigned by the Provincial People's Committee, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall issue a notification of the result of the inspection of plant-based food exports or a certificate at the request of the importing country.".

1. Foreign organizations and individuals engaged in advertising services that have obtained a business registration certificate for advertising services or similar legal documents according to the regulations of the country of which they hold citizenship may establish a Representative Office in Vietnam.

2. Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier as mentioned in Sub-clause b, Clause 1, Article 3 above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will review and submit to the competent authority for decision (Issues exceeding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' jurisdiction will be referred to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision).The People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city where the foreign organization or individual proposes to establish a Representative Office has the responsibility to issue, amend, supplement, or revoke the license for the Representative Office operating in the field of advertising.

3. Rights and obligations of the Representative Office and persons working at the Representative Office:

a) Implementing rights and obligations as prescribed by the law on advertising;

b) Only allowed to operate according to the specific content recorded in the establishment license;

c) Allowed to hire Vietnamese and foreign workers; persons working at the Representative Office must pay taxes according to Vietnamese law;

d) Allowed to open a dedicated foreign currency account and a dedicated Vietnamese currency account with a foreign currency base at a bank permitted to operate in Vietnam, and can only use this account for the activities of the Representative Office; the Representative Office has its own seal according to Vietnamese law;

e) Reporting annually on the activities of the Representative Office to the licensing authority.

Article 25.

1. Foreign organizations and individuals engaged in advertising services that have obtained a business registration certificate for advertising services or similar legal documents according to the regulations of the country where their headquarters is located may establish a Branch in Vietnam if they meet the following conditions:

a) Having a business registration certificate for advertising services or similar legal documents according to the regulations of the country where their headquarters is located;

b) Having operated for at least five years since registration and having had a Representative Office in Vietnam for at least seven years since December 2001, provided they have not violated Vietnamese law.

2. The Ministry of Culture and Information issues, amends, supplements, or revokes the license for establishing a Branch operating in the field of advertising.

3. Rights and obligations of the Branch and persons working at the Branch:

a) Operating according to the contents recorded in the license;

b) Hiring Vietnamese and foreign nationals to work; individuals working at the Branch must pay taxes in accordance with Vietnamese law;

c) Implementing accounting systems and only applying other common accounting systems as prescribed by Vietnamese law;

d) Reporting annually to the licensing authority on the activities of the Branch, financial statements certified by a Vietnamese auditing agency or an independent auditing agency permitted to operate in Vietnam. In cases where necessary, upon written request from authorized agencies as prescribed by Vietnamese law, the Branch has the obligation to report, provide documents, or explain issues related to its operations.

Article 26.

1. The application dossier for issuing a representative office establishment license, Branch license includes:

a) A request from the foreign advertising service organization or individual proposing to establish a representative office or Branch (in the form prescribed by the Ministry of Culture and Information);

b) A copy of the business registration certificate or similar legal documents issued by the competent authority of the home country, authenticated and translated into Vietnamese. Such copies must be certified by a notary public in the home country or by the Vietnamese diplomatic or consular mission abroad.

2. Foreign advertising service organizations or individuals shall submit the application dossier for issuing a representative office establishment license, Branch license to the licensing authority as stipulated in Article 24 and Article 25 of this Decree.

3. Within fifteen working days from the date of receiving a complete and valid dossier, the competent licensing authority must issue the representative office establishment license, Branch license. In case the dossier is incomplete or invalid, within three working days from the date of receiving the dossier, the licensing authority must notify the foreign advertising service organization or individual in writing to supplement and complete the dossier.

4. The content and duration of operation of the representative office, Branch are specifically recorded in the license.

5. Within forty-five working days from the date of issuance of the license, the representative office, Branch must commence operations and must notify the licensing authority in writing about the location of the headquarters, number of Vietnamese employees, number of foreign employees working at the representative office, Branch.

6. In case there is a change in the name, nationality; name of the representative; number of foreign employees working at the Branch, representative office; content of activities, location of the headquarters of the representative office, Branch, such changes must be reported to the licensing authority.

Article 27.

1. The representative office establishment license, Branch license will be revoked in the following cases:

a) Exceeding the validity period of the license but continuing to operate;

b) Operating contrary to the purpose or not in accordance with the contents specified in the license;

c) Using the name of the representative office to conduct advertising services;

d) Violating Vietnamese laws on advertising activities and related laws.

2. The representative office, Branch shall cease operations in the following cases:

a) At the request of the foreign advertising service organization or individual having a representative office or Branch in Vietnam;

b) When there is a decision to revoke or cancel the license by the competent state authority as prescribed by Vietnamese law.

3. In case of cessation of operations as provided for in point a, Clause 2 of this Article, the foreign advertising service organization or individual must send a written notice of cessation of operations of the representative office, Branch to the licensing authority at least thirty working days before the cessation date and must return the license to the licensing authority.

Article 28. Vietnamese advertising service organizations may advertise their business activities, goods, and services abroad in accordance with the regulations of the home country and Vietnamese advertising laws.

 

Chapter IV

STATE MANAGEMENT OF ADVERTISING

Article 29. The Ministry of Culture and Information is responsible to the Government for implementing state management functions over advertising nationwide, with the following duties and powers:

1. Drafting plans, programs, policies on advertising activities for submission to the Government;

2. Drafting and submitting to the Government for promulgation or promulgating within its jurisdiction legal regulatory documents on advertising;

3. Issuing, amending, supplementing, and revoking licenses for foreign advertising service organizations' Branches; licenses for online advertising; licenses for supplementary pages or editions dedicated to advertising in print newspapers; channels or programs dedicated to advertising on radio stations, television stations;

4. Organizing and directing training and professional development in advertising activities;

5. Inspecting and supervising compliance with laws in advertising activities; resolving complaints and reports and handling violations of advertising laws;

6. Organizing and guiding the implementation of advertising laws;

7. Organizing and managing international cooperation in the field of advertising;

8. Participating in the review of foreign investment projects in the advertising sector.

The Provincial Department of Culture and Information assists the Ministry of Culture and Information in implementing state management functions over advertising nationwide.

Article 30..

1. The Ministry of Trade, within its scope of responsibilities, is responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Culture and Information to manage state advertising of goods and services; drafting and submitting to the Government for promulgation a list of prohibited advertising goods and services.

2. The Ministry of Health within its scope of duties and powers shall be responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to manage state advertising of medicines, raw materials for medicines, cosmetics, vaccines, immunological products, medical equipment, medical services, and food advertisements; announcing the list of medicines removed from the list of permitted medicines; medicines that have been registered but suspended from circulation; drafting and submitting to the Government for promulgation the list of medicines prohibited from advertising.

3. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development within its scope of duties and powers shall coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to manage state advertising of biological products for crop cultivation, animal husbandry, livestock feed, veterinary drugs, plant protection chemicals, fertilizers, fertilizer formulations, crop seeds, and animal breeds.

4. The Ministry of Science and Technology within its scope of duties and powers shall be responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to manage state advertising related to intellectual property objects.

5. The Ministry of Planning and Investment within its scope of duties and powers shall be responsible for reviewing foreign investment projects in the field of advertising.

6. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government agencies within their scope of duties and powers shall be responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to implement state management of advertising.

Article 31. Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier as mentioned in Sub-clause b, Clause 1, Article 3 above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will review and submit to the competent authority for decision (Issues exceeding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' jurisdiction will be referred to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision).Provincial People's Committees and municipal people's committees directly under the central government shall perform the following tasks:

1. Issuing, amending, supplementing, and revoking licenses for the establishment of representative offices of organizations and individuals engaged in foreign advertising services.

2. Directing the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to perform the following tasks:

a) Planning advertising activities;

b) Planning areas, streets, and locations permitted for advertising;

c) Planning the scale, size, and quantity of various types of advertising in each area to ensure traffic safety, urban aesthetics, fire safety, and building structure safety;

d) Issuing permits for advertising as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 16 of the Advertising Ordinance;

đ) Organizing and guiding the implementation of laws and regulations on advertising at the local level;

e) Organizing training and enhancing management and professional skills in advertising;

g) Taking the lead and coordinating with functional agencies at the local level to organize inspections, supervision, complaints resolution, and handling violations according to their authority;

h) Reporting periodically to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the issuance of advertising permits, planning, inspection, supervision, and advertising activities at the local level.

Article 32The State Inspectorate for Culture and Information shall perform specialized inspection functions in advertising in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Inspection, the Advertising Ordinance, and other relevant laws.

Article 33Organizations and individuals who violate the law on advertising shall be subject to administrative penalties depending on the nature and degree of violation; individuals who commit serious violations may be criminally prosecuted; if damage is caused, they must compensate for the damage in accordance with the law. Administrative penalties for violations in advertising activities must comply with the provisions of the Law on Administrative Penalties in the Field of Culture and Information.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 34Business registration certificates for advertising services and advertising implementation permits issued before this Decree takes effect, if still valid and not contrary to the Advertising Ordinance and this Decree, shall remain valid.

Article 35.

1. This Decree shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Abolishing Decree No. 194/CP dated December 31, 1994 on advertising activities in Vietnam; Chapter III (from Article 11 to Article 25) of Decree No. 32/1999/NĐ-CP dated May 5, 1999 of the Government on promotions, commercial advertising, and trade fairs and exhibitions.

Previous regulations on advertising activities that contradict this Decree shall be abolished.

Article 36Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government agencies, Chairmen Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier as mentioned in Sub-clause b, Clause 1, Article 3 above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will review and submit to the competent authority for decision (Issues exceeding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' jurisdiction will be referred to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision).of provincial people's committees and municipal people's committees directly under the central government; organizations and individuals engaged in advertising activities shall be responsible for implementing this Decree./.