Joint Circular No. 29/2011/TTLT-BCT-BTC guiding the organization of coordination and inspection between market management agencies and price management agencies

 JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for organizing coordination and inspection between market management agencies and price management agencies

Market management agencies and price management agencies under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance hereby jointly issue guidelines on organizing coordination and inspection as follows:

-----------------

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. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

These Circulars stipulate the organization of coordinated inspections, the content of inspections, and penalties for administrative violations in commercial activities and pricing from central to local levels between market management agencies and price management agencies.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

1. Market management agencies include: The Market Management Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, District Market Management Agencies under Provincial Departments of Industry and Trade, and Market Management Teams operating within districts, counties, towns directly under provinces, and cities directly under the Central Government, as well as provinces and centrally-administered municipalities.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to:

2. Price management agencies include: The Price Management Agency under the Ministry of Finance, Financial Departments, and Financial Offices at district, county, town, and provincial city levels, as well as provinces and centrally-administered municipalities.

1. Coordination and organization of inspections between market management agencies and price management agencies shall be based on the functions, tasks, authorities, and organizational structures of each agency from central to local levels.

Article 3. Principles of Cooperation

2. Ensure consistency and timely mutual support in inspection and administrative penalty enforcement in commercial activities and pricing.

3. Any issues arising during coordination shall be discussed and resolved by both parties in accordance with the law.

Article 4. Requirements when conducting coordinated inspections

1. Inspections must be conducted accurately according to the content and target, focusing on key areas, without causing undue inconvenience or hindrance to legitimate producers and traders, and avoiding overlapping inspections.

2. Strictly handle violations of laws in commercial activities and pricing. During inspections and handling, procedures, formalities, and authority must be carried out in accordance with the law; effectively prevent violations in commercial activities and pricing.

3. Combine inspections and violation handling with publicity and education to encourage producers and traders to voluntarily comply with legal regulations on price management.

Article 5. Cases for organizing coordinated inspections

Chapter II
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Market management agencies and price management agencies shall organize inspections in the following cases:

1. Implement directives from authorized bodies:

- Minister of Finance;

- Minister of Industry and Trade;

- Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered municipality;

- Market Management Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

- Price Management Agency under the Ministry of Finance;

- District Market Management Agency (for Market Management Teams).

2. Inspections according to plans

Carry out coordinated inspection plans between market management agencies and price management agencies that have been approved by the competent authority.

3. Organize surprise inspections

- When signs of violations of laws in commercial activities and pricing are detected and need to be promptly addressed, requiring specialized expertise from each side.

- When there are abnormal fluctuations in supply and demand in the market, sudden changes in prices due to natural disasters, enemy attacks, epidemics, fires, economic crises, or other unusual circumstances.

- When the market experiences abnormal fluctuations in supply and demand, sudden changes in prices due to natural disasters, enemy activities, epidemics, fires, economic crises, or other extraordinary circumstances.

Article 6. Implementation of coordinated inspection

1. Information provision: The Market Management agency and the Price Management agency shall regularly provide each other with information to serve coordinated inspection activities as follows:

a) The Price Management agency is responsible for providing the Market Management agency with information on price management areas such as: Pricing policy; Pricing decisions; Periodic reports on market price conditions and other issues related to price management areas; Central and local price stabilization measures.

b) The Market Management agency is responsible for providing the Price Management agency with information on: Market conditions, commodity and service prices; Periodic reports on inspection results, violation handling and other issues related to price inspection activities.

2. Organizing joint forces

When detecting violations in trade activities and pricing areas, if it is deemed necessary during the inspection and violation handling process to have specialized expertise from each side, the Market Management agency has the right to request the Price Management agency and vice versa, the Price Management agency has the right to request the Market Management agency (both central and local) to coordinate inspections and handle violations. The requested agency must cooperate according to its functions, tasks, and legal authority.

3. Responsibilities of the parties

During coordinated inspection processes, based on specific circumstances and cases, the leading agency shall issue inspection and violation handling decisions within its authority and be responsible for these decisions before the law or report to the competent authority for handling according to the law.

4. Contents requiring coordinated inspection and violation handling:

a) Pricing decisions, establishing pricing schemes for goods and services listed in the State's pricing directory, price stabilization;

b) Price labeling, publicizing price information;

c) Implementing price registration and declaration for goods listed in the mandatory price declaration and registration directory;

d) Adhering to specific price levels, price ranges, standard prices, and price limits set by authorized agencies;

đ) Exploiting natural disasters, enemy threats, abnormal developments, or other special difficulties in society to hoard goods, speculate to raise prices, force prices, excessively increase prices causing damage to producers, consumers, and state interests;

e) Not complying with legal provisions regarding purchase price reporting; Sale price; Export price; Import price; Inventory levels of goods stored by organizations and individuals engaged in business operations to the competent state management agency;

g) Adhering to regulations on promotional pricing for goods and services during promotional periods;

h) Spreading false information about market conditions, commodity and service prices causing social panic and market instability;

i) Commercial fraud in packaging, measurement, quality of goods and services;

k) Reducing sales locations; Reducing sales methods (from wholesale to retail); Specifying, labeling, selling goods according to quantity, buyer categories; Reducing sales time, supply time for goods listed in the price stabilization directory when authorities have announced different price stabilization measures compared to before the announcement without valid reasons;

l) Violating price stabilization regulations and other illegal acts within the jurisdiction of the Market Management agency or the Price Management agency.

Article 7. Handling Violations

Based on the nature and severity of the violations, the Market Management agency and the Price Management agency shall apply administrative penalty regulations and other relevant regulations in trade and pricing activities within their authority; Recommend economic and administrative measures to the competent authority for handling.

Article 8. Meeting and Reporting System

1. Central Level

The Market Management Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall coordinate with the Price Management Agency under the Ministry of Finance to regularly exchange information; organize a meeting every six months to evaluate the cooperation results between the two units; annually summarize and evaluate the cooperation results for the year, set out the direction for activities in the following year, and report to the leadership of both Ministries.

2. Local Level

The Market Management Sub-Department shall coordinate with the Department of Finance to regularly exchange information; organize a meeting every three months to evaluate the cooperation results between the two units; annually summarize and evaluate the cooperation results for the year, set out the direction for activities in the following year, and report to the Provincial People's Committee, the Market Management Agency, and the Price Management Agency.

Chapter III
IMPLEMENTATION

Article 9. Implementation Organization

1. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall instruct the Market Management Agency to disseminate, implement, and organize the implementation of this Joint Circular for market management agencies.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall instruct the Price Management Agency to disseminate, implement, and organize the implementation of this Joint Circular for price management agencies.

Article 10. Effective Date

This Joint Circular takes effect from August 20, 2011.

During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, they should be reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance for supplementation and amendment of this Joint Circular to ensure its appropriateness./.