Circular No. 33/2015/TT-BCA guiding the implementation of certain Articles of Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP dated March 28, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the State Secrets Protection Ordinance.

CIRCULAR

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Pursuant to the Ordinance on Protection of State Secrets No. 30/2000/PL-UBTVQH10 dated December 28, 2000;

Pursuant to the Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP dated March 28, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Protection of State Secrets;

Pursuant to Decree No. 106/2014/NĐ-CP dated November 17, 2014, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security;

Considering the proposal of the Director General of the National Security Agency;

The Minister of Public Security issues this Circular guiding the implementation of Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP dated March 28, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Protection of State Secrets.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Circular guides the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP dated March 28, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Protection of State Secrets (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP), including: Establishing, amending, supplementing, and declassifying the list of state secrets; documents stipulating the degree of secrecy for each type of secret document, material; responsibilities of agencies, organizations, and citizens regarding the protection of state secrets; sample confidentiality seals and warning signs.

2. This Circular applies to state agencies, political organizations, political-social organizations, social organizations, economic organizations, people's armed units (hereinafter collectively referred to as agencies and organizations) and all citizens.

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

1. Degree of secrecy is the level of importance of state secrets, the extent of damage if confidential information of the state is disclosed.

2. List of state secrets is a legal normative document issued by the competent authority stipulating the degrees of secrecy for protection according to regulations.

3. Objects carrying state secrets are physical items including documents, materials, machines containing state secrets.

4. State secrets at the Top Secret level are information about cases, events, documents, objects, locations, times, statements (hereinafter collectively referred to as documents, objects carrying state secrets) with particularly important contents listed in the state secrets list decided and promulgated by the Prime Minister, only disseminated to responsible persons, and if disclosed will cause extremely serious consequences for the interests of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

5. State secrets at the Confidential level are documents, objects carrying state secrets with very important contents listed in the state secrets list decided and promulgated by the Prime Minister, only disseminated to related individuals and units, and if disclosed will cause very serious consequences for the interests of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

6. State secrets at the Secret level are documents, objects carrying state secrets with important contents listed in the state secrets list decided and promulgated by the Minister of Public Security and the Minister of Defense, and if disclosed will cause damage to the interests of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

7. The person authorized under Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP is the Secretary-General of the Central Party Committee; Heads of Party Committees of Vietnam Communist Party; Director of the National Assembly Office; Director of the President's Office.

8. Restricted areas and restricted locations within the scope of state secrets are places established to protect, manage, and strictly control human activities and means to maintain order, security, prevent intrusion, sabotage, and collection of state secrets in those areas and locations.

9. Declassification of documents, objects carrying state secrets is the removal of the previously determined degree of secrecy of such documents and objects.

10. Downgrading of documents, objects carrying state secrets is reducing the previously determined degree of secrecy of such documents and objects.

11. Upgrading of documents, objects carrying state secrets is increasing the previously determined degree of secrecy of such documents and objects.

12. Publicizing documents, objects carrying state secrets is making them publicly known so that everyone can access them.

13. Automatic declassification of documents, objects carrying state secrets is automatically removing the degree of secrecy of such documents and objects without the need to follow the prescribed declassification procedures.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 3. Establishment, amendment, supplementation, and declassification of the list of state secrets

1. Based on the provisions of Articles 5, 6, and 7 of the Ordinance on Protection of State Secrets, the head or the authorized person of agencies and organizations within their functional and task scope shall organize comparison to determine the scope of state secrets classified as Top Secret, Confidential, and Secret of the agency or unit, report vertically to the head of the central agency or organization, the Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities for consolidation and examination to establish the list of state secrets in accordance with Article 3 of Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP.

2. The list of state secrets classified as Top Secret and Confidential shall be sent to the Ministry of Public Security for review before being submitted to the Prime Minister for decision. The list of state secrets classified as Secret shall be decided by the Minister of Public Security.

3. On the basis of the proposal of the head of the central agency or organization; the Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Security shall have the responsibility to issue the list of state secrets of each central agency or organization and the general list of all provinces and centrally governed cities.

4. In the first quarter of each year, central agencies and organizations, People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall examine the list of state secrets of their own agencies and organizations that have been approved and issued by the competent authority; if they find that the list is no longer appropriate, requires changes in classification level, requires declassification, or needs to identify new contents requiring confidentiality, they shall proceed with procedures to request the competent authority to decide on amending and supplementing the list of state secrets or changing the classification level or declassifying the list of state secrets of their own agencies and organizations.

Article 4. Documents specifying the classification level for specific types of documents and objects carrying state secrets

Based on the list of state secrets decided by the competent authority, the head or the authorized person of the agency or organization must issue a document specifying in detail: Types of documents and objects carrying state secrets classified as Top Secret; types of documents and objects carrying state secrets classified as Confidential; types of documents and objects carrying state secrets classified as Secret, which are issued by their own agency or organization.

Article 5. Determination of classification level for files, documents, and objects carrying state secrets

1. Based on the list of state secrets decided by the competent authority, the drafter must propose the classification level of each document in the approval and signature request document; the approver and signer of the document has the responsibility to decide on stamping the classification level (Top Secret, Confidential, Secret), circulation scope, number of copies issued; the secretary has the responsibility to stamp the various seals according to the decision of the approver and signer of the confidential document.

2. Objects carrying state secrets, secret files are determined and stamped with the classification level on the outside of the object carrying state secrets and on the outside of the file envelope according to the highest classification level of the documents stored inside the object carrying state secrets, secret files.

Article 6. Authority to permit printing, copying, photographing state secret documents and objects carrying state secrets

1. The person responsible for establishing the list of state secrets as stipulated in Article 1 and Article 2 of Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP may delegate the authority to permit printing, copying, and photographing state secret documents and objects carrying state secrets to lower levels, specifically:

a) Leaders of agencies and organizations have the authority to permit printing, copying, and photographing state secret documents and objects carrying state secrets classified as Top Secret, Confidential, and Secret;

b) Heads of Departments (or equivalent) at central agencies and organizations and Directors of Departments (or equivalent) at localities have the authority to permit printing, copying, and photographing state secret documents and objects carrying state secrets classified as Confidential and Secret;

c) Chiefs of Offices, Heads of Administrative Departments, or Heads of some agencies and units have the authority to permit printing, copying, and photographing state secret documents and objects carrying state secrets classified as Secret.

2. Delegation of authority to print, copy, and photograph must be specified in detail in the Regulation on Protection of State Secrets of the agency or organization.

Article 7. Transporting and Handing Over State Secrets Documents and Objects

1. State secrets documents and objects when transported must be placed in sturdy packaging made of appropriate materials; if necessary, they must be sealed according to regulations; there must be safe transportation means; in cases where it is deemed necessary, personnel must be assigned to protect the transport of state secrets documents and objects.

2. All instances of handing over state secrets documents and objects must be recorded in a secret document transfer logbook and signed off between the transferring and receiving parties. If transporting or handing over through postal services, specific regulations of the postal service sector must be followed.

3. Sending state secrets documents and objects:

a) Secret documents sent must be registered in a separate system of logbooks;

b) Registration: Before sending state secrets documents and objects, they must be registered in the "Secret Document Outgoing Registration Logbook". The format of the "Secret Document Outgoing Registration Logbook" shall be implemented according to the guidance provided in Appendix VII of Circular No. 07/2012/TT-BNV dated November 22, 2012, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on managing secret documents, creating files, and submitting files and documents for archival storage (for Top Secret documents, only the summary may be recorded with the consent of the person approving the document);

c) Enveloping: State secrets documents and objects sent must be enclosed in separate envelopes. The envelope paper must be durable, water-resistant, and opaque; the adhesive must be strong and difficult to peel;

For state secrets documents and objects classified as Top Secret, they must be sent in two layers of envelopes: The inner envelope must clearly indicate the number and code of the document, the name of the recipient, and bear the Top Secret stamp outside the envelope. If the document or object is sent directly to a responsible person for handling, the "Only named person may open" stamp must be affixed. The outer envelope: It should be marked as regular documents and bear the letter "A" stamp outside the envelope;

State secrets documents and objects classified as Confidential and Secret must be sent in one layer of envelope, with the letters "B" and "C" corresponding to the level of confidentiality of the document inside the envelope stamped outside the envelope;

4. Receiving state secrets documents and objects:

a) When receiving state secrets documents and objects, the clerk must record them in the "Secret Document Incoming Registration Logbook". The format of the "Secret Document Incoming Registration Logbook" shall be implemented according to the guidance provided in Appendix II of Circular No. 07/2012/TT-BNV;

State secrets documents and objects can be registered in a database for managing incoming secret documents on a computer. State secrets documents and objects registered in the database for managing incoming secret documents must be printed on paper for original signature and filing management;

Computers used for registering state secrets documents and objects must not be connected to any type of network (Internet, internal network, and wide area network...);

b) If the state secrets documents and objects have an envelope bearing the "Only named person may open" stamp, the clerk must record according to the code on the envelope and immediately transfer to the named person on the envelope. If the named person is absent and the envelope bears an urgent stamp, it must be transferred to the unit leader for handling. The clerk must not open the envelope;

c) In cases where state secrets documents and objects are received without complying with the regulations for protecting state secrets, they must be transferred to the responsible person for handling, while simultaneously informing the sender to learn from the experience and take timely measures to rectify. If signs of opening, tampering, loss, damage, or substitution of state secrets documents and objects are discovered, the recipient must immediately report to the unit head for prompt action;

5. For state secrets documents and objects bearing the "Document to be recalled" stamp, the clerk or the person issuing the document must be responsible for recalling or returning the document to the sender within the time specified on the document. Upon receipt and return, verification and comparison must be conducted to ensure that the document is not lost;

The recipient of state secrets documents and objects is responsible for returning the "document to be recalled" within the prescribed time. In cases where the document is not returned, depending on the nature and consequences of the violation, legal provisions will apply.

Article 8. Retention, preservation, and use of state secrets documents and items

All state secrets documents and items must be retained, preserved strictly and used for their intended purposes.

State secrets documents and items, after being processed, must be classified, retained in files, stored in cabinets, safes, or iron boxes, and not taken out of the agency without authorization. In cases where it is necessary to take state secrets documents and items on business trips or to private residences, such actions must be approved by the head of the agency or organization, registered with the security department, and have strict security measures in place. Any instances of loss, substitution, damage, or leakage of state secrets must be immediately reported to the head of the agency or organization for prompt resolution.

Article 9. Procedures for approving the provision of state secrets documents and items to foreign organizations and individuals

1. Vietnamese agencies, organizations, and citizens interacting with foreign organizations and individuals may not disclose state secrets. The provision of information belonging to state secrets to foreign organizations and individuals must comply with the provisions set forth in Article 19 of Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP.

2. When implementing international cooperation programs or performing official duties, if there is a need to provide information within the scope of state secrets to foreign organizations and individuals, the following principles must be adhered to:

a) Protecting national interests;

b) Only provide information that has been approved by authorized levels;

c) Require the recipient to use the information for the agreed purpose and not to disclose it to third parties.

3. Requests for approval from authorized bodies to permit the provision of information within the scope of state secrets to foreign organizations and individuals must be in writing, specifying the person or organization providing the information; the type of information within the scope of state secrets to be provided; the foreign organization or individual receiving the information; the scope and purpose of using the information.

4. Documents requesting the provision of information classified as Top Secret must be sent to the Government Office for submission to the Prime Minister for approval. Documents requesting the provision of information within the scope of state secrets classified as Confidential must be sent to the Ministry of Public Security for approval by the Minister of Public Security (except in the field of national defense). Documents requesting the provision of information within the scope of state secrets classified as Secret must be sent to the head or authorized representative of central agencies or organizations, or the Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces or centrally-administered cities for approval.

Within the latest period of thirty days from the date of receipt of a valid request document, the authorized person must notify in writing the requesting agency or organization about the approval to provide the information or the refusal to provide the information and the reasons for the refusal.

Article 10. Procedures for permission to carry state secrets documents and items abroad

Individuals carrying state secrets documents and items abroad must obtain a written permission document and receive approval from the head or authorized representative of central agencies or organizations, or the Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces or centrally-administered cities; the permission document must specify the individual carrying the state secrets documents and items abroad; the documents and items to be carried; the scope and purpose of use. Upon departure, the permission document with the approval of the authorized body must be presented to the immigration management agency at the border checkpoint.

Article 11. Destruction of state secrets documents and items

1. Principles for destroying state secrets documents and items:

a) Must ensure the protection of the interests of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

b) Must ensure that state secrets documents and items are not disclosed or leaked;

c) The destruction of state secrets documents and items must ensure burning, shredding, grinding into small pieces, changing their form, properties, and functions to the point where they cannot be restored.

2. Basis for destroying state secrets documents and items: Based on state secrets documents and items that have lost their utility value or actual retention value.

3. Authority to destroy state secrets documents and items:

a) The destruction of state secrets documents and items at central agencies and organizations shall be decided by the Director-General level (or equivalent);

b) The destruction of state secrets documents and items at provincial and centrally-administered city levels shall be decided by the Department Director (or equivalent);

c) The destruction of cryptographic materials shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the Government Cryptographic Affairs Board;

d) Individuals responsible for printing, copying, or photographing state secrets documents and items shall be responsible for destroying excess copies or damaged ones on-site after completing the printing, copying, or photographing process.

4. Procedure and formalities for destruction:

a) Annually, the unit directly managing and storing state secrets documents and items shall establish a Destruction Committee including representatives from the leadership of the unit directly storing and managing such documents and items, staff assigned to store and manage them, and representatives from other relevant departments. The Committee shall examine, review, and compile statistics on the documents to propose to the authorized person under Clause 3 of this Article to permit destruction;

The Destruction Committee operates collectively and decides by majority vote, dissolving itself after the destruction process is completed;

b) The destruction of state secrets documents and items can only be carried out upon receiving a written approval decision from the authorized person;

c) The destruction of state secrets documents and items must be documented in a record confirmed by the person carrying out the destruction and the leader of the unit managing and storing the destroyed documents and items;

d) The entire destruction process of state secrets documents and items must be recorded in a file, including: Decision to establish the Destruction Committee; list of state secrets documents and items proposed for destruction; explanation regarding the state secrets documents and items proposed for destruction; decision permitting destruction by the authorized person, and record of the destruction process.

The file on the destruction of state secrets documents and items must be stored and preserved according to legal archival regulations.

5. In special cases, if immediate destruction of state secrets documents and items would cause serious consequences for national security, defense, or other state interests, the person managing such documents and items may destroy them themselves but must report in writing to the head of the agency or organization and the police authority at the same level immediately thereafter. If self-destruction of state secrets documents and items lacks legitimate reasons, the destroyer shall bear legal responsibility.

Article 12. Declassification, reduction, and enhancement of state secrets in documents and objects containing state secrets shall be drafted by agencies and organizations.

1. The principles for declassification, reduction, and enhancement of state secrets in documents and objects containing state secrets must ensure the protection of the interests of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

2. Bases for proposing declassification, reduction, and enhancement:

a) Based on the list of state secrets issued by competent authorities to review and propose declassification, reduction, and enhancement;

b) Based on changes in actual circumstances to propose declassification, reduction, and enhancement;

c) Based on the content of specific documents and objects containing state secrets, if it is determined that disclosure will not harm the interests of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, then declassification should be proposed;

d) Based on the publication of all or part of the documents and objects containing state secrets in other documents.

3. Authority for declassification, reduction, and enhancement: The head of the agency or organization decides on the declassification, reduction, and enhancement of documents and objects containing state secrets drafted by the agency or organization.

4. Time for declassification, reduction, and enhancement:

a) In the first quarter of each year, agencies and organizations responsible must review to declassify, reduce, and enhance documents and objects containing state secrets drafted by the agency or organization;

b) In cases of urgent need to declassify, reduce, and enhance documents and objects containing state secrets to serve work, the agency or organization may proceed with declassification, reduction, and enhancement according to the procedures and formalities stipulated in this Circular.

5. Procedures and formalities for declassification, reduction, and enhancement:

a) After reviewing documents and objects containing state secrets that need to be declassified, reduced, or enhanced, the unit assigned to draft the documents establishes a Declassification, Reduction, and Enhancement Board, including: The leader of the drafting unit serves as the chairman of the board; representatives from the department directly drafting the documents and objects containing state secrets and representatives from other related departments.

The Declassification, Reduction, and Enhancement Board operates under a collective system, decides by majority vote, and dissolves itself after completing the declassification, reduction, and enhancement process;

b) The Declassification, Reduction, and Enhancement Board is responsible for researching, examining, and evaluating proposals for the head of the agency or organization to decide on declassification, reduction, and enhancement.

If necessary, the Declassification, Reduction, and Enhancement Board may seek the opinions of relevant agencies and organizations;

c) The list of documents and objects containing state secrets proposed for declassification, reduction, and enhancement by the Board must be documented in writing. The declassification, reduction, and enhancement process must be recorded in a file and kept at the unit conducting the declassification, reduction, and enhancement.

The file for declassification, reduction, and enhancement of documents and objects containing state secrets includes: Decision to establish the Declassification, Reduction, and Enhancement Board; list of documents and objects containing state secrets proposed for declassification, reduction, and enhancement; explanation of the declassification, reduction, and enhancement process; minutes of the board meeting; decision on declassification, reduction, and enhancement; opinions of functional agencies and other related documents;

d) After the decision on declassification, reduction, and enhancement is made, the archivist is responsible for affixing the declassification, reduction, and enhancement stamp as prescribed;

e) Within fifteen days from the date of declassification, reduction, and enhancement of documents and objects containing state secrets, the unit conducting the declassification is responsible for notifying the agencies and organizations that have received the documents to affix the declassification, reduction, and enhancement stamp on the documents they manage.

6. Documents and objects containing state secrets will automatically be declassified in the following cases:

a) Published on the electronic information website of the agency or unit;

b) Announcing through mass media;

c) Published in the Official Gazette;

d) Posted at the headquarters of the agency or unit or at other locations;

e) Other forms of public disclosure.

After documents and objects carrying state secrets are automatically declassified, the archivist is responsible for stamping the declassification according to regulations.

7. Archival documents containing state secrets when submitted to the Central Party Archive and documents of the Central Party Archive are declassified according to the regulations of the Central Party Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Article 13. Declassification of archival materials at Historical Archives

1. The principle of declassifying archival materials at Historical Archives containing state secrets (hereinafter referred to as archival materials) must ensure the protection of the interests of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

2. Bases for proposing declassification of archival materials:

a) Based on the list of state secrets issued by competent authorities;

b) Based on the content of each specific archival material, if it is determined that disclosure will not cause harm to the interests of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

c) Based on changes in actual circumstances;

d) Based on the period during which archival materials are widely used according to the provisions of the Law on Archives;

e) Based on the fact that all or part of the archival materials have been published in other documents.

3. Authority to declassify: The head of the agency responsible for managing state affairs regarding records and archives at various levels decides on the declassification of archival materials at Historical Archives at the same level.

4. Procedures and formalities for declassification:

a) After conducting a review of archival materials requiring declassification, the head of the agency responsible for managing state affairs regarding records and archives establishes a Declassification Council for archival materials at Historical Archives at the same level, including: The leader of the agency responsible for managing state affairs regarding records and archives serves as the Chairman of the Council; leaders of units directly preserving archival materials and representatives of agencies and organizations with submitted archival materials to be declassified.

The Declassification Council operates under a collective system, decides by majority vote, and automatically dissolves after completing the declassification process;

b) The Declassification Council at various levels has the responsibility to study the materials, examine, evaluate, and propose to the head of the agency responsible for managing state affairs regarding records and archives at the same level to decide on the declassification of archival materials.

For historical archival materials classified as Top Secret, before proceeding with declassification, the Council must seek opinions from relevant Ministries and sectors before reporting to authorized leadership for decision-making;

c) The declassification process of archival materials must be documented and retained by the agency or organization responsible for the declassification task.

The declassification dossier of archival materials includes: Decision establishing the Declassification Council for archival materials; list of materials proposed for declassification; explanatory statement on declassification; minutes of the Council meeting; Decision on declassification; opinions from participating agencies and organizations and related documents;

d) After issuing the decision on declassification of archival materials, the records officer is responsible for affixing the declassification stamp according to regulations;

e) Announcing the list of archival materials that have been declassified shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the law on archives.

Article 14. Provision of Material and Technical Facilities for State Secrets Protection Work

1. The provision of material and technical facilities for state secrets protection work is decided by the head of the agency or organization.

2. Funds allocated for state secrets protection work of agencies and organizations are implemented in accordance with Circular No. 110/2013/TT-BTC dated August 14, 2013, of the Minister of Finance, stipulating the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure the implementation of specialized tasks within state secrets protection work.

Article 15. Inspection, examination, handling of violations, and resolution of complaints and denunciations in the field of state secrets protection

1. The Ministry of Public Security shall conduct regular or surprise inspections and examinations in the field of state secrets protection for agencies and organizations.

Regular inspections shall be conducted every three years, while examinations shall be carried out annually; surprise inspections and examinations shall be conducted when there are signs of violation of laws on state secrets protection that require such actions.

2. The heads of agencies and organizations shall implement regular or surprise inspections and examinations in the field of state secrets protection for units under their management in accordance with Articles 3 and 4 of Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP.

3. Persons who violate the provisions of laws on state secrets protection shall be subject to disciplinary action, administrative violation handling, or criminal responsibility pursuit depending on the nature of the violation.

4. When there are complaints or denunciations in the field of state secrets protection, the Ministry of Public Security shall have the responsibility to coordinate with relevant agencies and organizations to resolve them in accordance with the law on complaints and denunciations.

Article 16. Models of secret seals and restricted access signs

1. The font used for models of secret seals and restricted access signs is the Vietnamese font of the Unicode character set according to Vietnam Standard TCVN 6909:2001.

2. Ink used for stamping secret seals is red ink.

3. The placement of secret seals shall be carried out in accordance with Appendix III issued together with this Circular. Pre-printed secrecy level indicators shall not be included in classified documents. In special cases, where documents or books are printed or published in large quantities, the secrecy level indicator must be printed in red ink on the outside of the document or book cover.

4. The model of secret seal includes:

a) Model of "TOP SECRET": A rectangular shape, size 40mm x 8mm, with two surrounding borders, the distance between the two borders being 01 mm; inside the two borders is the word “TOP SECRET” presented in uppercase letters, upright style, bold; evenly spaced from the outer border is 02mm (the TOP SECRET seal model is implemented according to the guidance in Appendix I);

b) Model of "SECRET": A rectangular shape, size 30mm x 8mm, with two surrounding borders, the distance between the two borders being 01 mm; inside the two borders is the word “SECRET” presented in uppercase letters, upright style, bold; evenly spaced from the outer border is 02mm (the SECRET seal model is implemented according to the guidance in Appendix I);

c) Model of "CONFIDENTIAL": A rectangular shape, size 20mm x 8mm, with two surrounding borders, the distance between the two borders being 01mm; inside the two borders is the word “CONFIDENTIAL” presented in uppercase letters, upright style, bold; evenly spaced from the outer border is 02mm (the CONFIDENTIAL seal model is implemented according to the guidance in Appendix I);

d) Model of "DECLASSIFIED": A rectangular shape, size 30mm x 13mm, with two surrounding borders, the distance between the two borders being 01 mm; inside are two rows of letters separated by 02mm and evenly spaced from the outer border is 02mm; presented in uppercase letters, upright style, bold: The first row is the phrase “DECLASSIFIED”, the second row starts with the word "FROM:" followed by dots until the end (the DECLASSIFIED seal model is implemented according to the guidance in Appendix I).

After stamping the "DECLASSIFIED" seal at the line "FROM:", the date of declassification starting from the day, month, year when the authorized leader signed the declassification decision must be clearly recorded.

e) The model of reduced secrecy level seal includes:

Model of "REDUCED TO SECRET": A rectangular shape, size 55mm x 13mm, with two surrounding borders, the distance between the two borders being 01mm; inside are two rows of letters separated by 02mm and evenly spaced from the outer border is 02mm; presented in uppercase letters, upright style, bold: The first row is the phrase “REDUCED TO SECRET”, the second row starts with the word "FROM:" followed by dots until the end (the REDUCED TO SECRET seal model is implemented according to the guidance in Appendix I);

- Model of "REDUCED TO CONFIDENTIAL": A rectangular shape, size 50mm x 13mm, with two surrounding borders, the distance between the two borders being 01mm; inside are two rows of letters separated by 02mm and evenly spaced from the outer border is 02mm; presented in uppercase letters, upright style, bold: The first row is the phrase “REDUCED TO CONFIDENTIAL”, the second row starts with the word "FROM:" followed by dots until the end (the REDUCED TO CONFIDENTIAL seal model is implemented according to the guidance in Appendix I);

After stamping the "REDUCED TO SECRET" and "REDUCED TO CONFIDENTIAL" seals at the line "FROM:", the date of reduction of secrecy level starting from the day, month, year when the authorized leader signed the reduction decision must be clearly recorded.

g) The model of increased secrecy level seal includes:

Model of "INCREASED TO TOP SECRET": A rectangular shape, size 55mm x 13mm, with two surrounding borders, the distance between the two borders being 01mm; inside are two rows of letters separated by 02mm and evenly spaced from the outer border is 02mm; presented in uppercase letters, upright style, bold: The first row is the phrase “INCREASED TO TOP SECRET”, the second row starts with the word "FROM:" followed by dots until the end (the INCREASED TO TOP SECRET seal model is implemented according to the guidance in Appendix I);

- Model of "INCREASED TO SECRET": A rectangular shape, size 50mm x 13mm, with two surrounding borders, the distance between the two borders being 01mm; inside are two rows of letters separated by 02mm and evenly spaced from the outer border is 02mm; presented in uppercase letters, upright style, bold: The first row is the phrase “INCREASED TO SECRET”, the second row starts with the word "FROM:" followed by dots until the end (the INCREASED TO SECRET seal model is implemented according to the guidance in Appendix I);

After stamping the "INCREASED TO TOP SECRET" and "INCREASED TO SECRET" seals at the line "FROM:", the date of increase of secrecy level starting from the day, month, year when the authorized leader signed the increase decision must be clearly recorded.

h) Model of "RECOVERED DOCUMENTS" seal: A rectangular shape, size 55mm x 13mm, with two surrounding borders, the distance between the two borders being 01mm; inside are two rows of letters separated by 02mm and evenly spaced from the outer border is 02mm; presented in uppercase letters, upright style, bold: The first row is the phrase "RECOVERED DOCUMENTS", the second row starts with the word "EXPIRATION DATE:" followed by dots until the end (the RECOVERED DOCUMENTS seal model is implemented according to the guidance in Appendix I);

The MARK FOR RECALLING DOCUMENTS shall be used in cases where state secrets documents are issued for a specific period during which users may only use them within that time limit and then return them to the issuing authority. After stamping "RECALL DOCUMENT" at the "VALIDITY PERIOD," the specific date and time for recalling the document must be clearly recorded.

i) SAMPLE OF THE SEAL "ONLY PERSON WITH NAME ALLOWED TO OPEN": A rectangle with dimensions 70mm x 9mm, surrounded by two borders with a distance of 01mm between them, inside which is the phrase "ONLY PERSON WITH NAME ALLOWED TO OPEN" presented in uppercase letters, upright typeface, bold; evenly spaced from the outer border by 02mm (the sample of the seal "ONLY PERSON WITH NAME ALLOWED TO OPEN" is implemented according to the guidelines in Appendix I).

The SEAL "ONLY PERSON WITH NAME ALLOWED TO OPEN" is used when transferring documents or objects containing state secrets classified as Top Secret, ensuring that only the named recipient can open the envelope to maintain the confidentiality of the document; the outside of the envelope must clearly record the name of the recipient, and the department transferring the document must deliver it directly to the person named on the envelope.

k) SAMPLE OF THE LETTER "A": A circle with a diameter of 15mm, surrounded by two borders with a distance of 01mm between them, the height of the letter "A" is 10mm, centrally positioned within the circle, presented in uppercase letters, upright typeface, bold (the sample of the letter "A" is implemented according to the guidelines in Appendix I).

The SAMPLE OF THE LETTER "A" is used to stamp the outside of envelopes containing documents with contents classified as Top Secret.

l) SAMPLE OF THE LETTER "B": A circle with a diameter of 15mm, surrounded by two borders with a distance of 01mm between them, the height of the letter "B" is 10mm, centrally positioned within the circle, presented in uppercase letters, upright typeface, bold (the sample of the letter "B" is implemented according to the guidelines in Appendix I).

The SAMPLE OF THE LETTER "B" is used to stamp the outside of envelopes containing documents with contents classified as High Secret.

m) SAMPLE OF THE LETTER "C": A circle with a diameter of 15mm, surrounded by two borders with a distance of 01mm between them, the height of the letter "C" is 10mm, centrally positioned within the circle, presented in uppercase letters, upright typeface, bold (the sample of the letter "C" is implemented according to the guidelines in Appendix I).

The SAMPLE OF THE LETTER "C" is used to stamp the outside of envelopes containing documents with contents classified as Secret.

5. The PROHIBITION SIGNS include:

SAMPLE OF THE SIGN "RESTRICTED AREA": A horizontal rectangle measuring 80cm x 60cm, made of durable material; black text on a white background; all text is in uppercase, upright typeface, bold; the phrase "RESTRICTED AREA" in Vietnamese (top line) is 12cm high, and "RESTRICTED AREA" and "NO TRESPASSING" in English (two lower lines) are each 10cm high (the sample of the sign "RESTRICTED AREA" is implemented according to the guidelines in Appendix II).

The SAMPLE OF THE SIGN "RESTRICTED AREA" is used to prohibit access to areas designated as restricted by authorized authorities.

b) SAMPLE OF THE SIGN "RESTRICTED PLACE": A horizontal rectangle measuring 60cm x 40cm, made of durable material; black text on a white background; all text is in uppercase, upright typeface, bold; the phrase "RESTRICTED PLACE" in Vietnamese (top line) is 8cm high, and "RESTRICTED PLACE" and "NO TRESPASSING" in English (two lower lines) are each 6cm high (the sample of the sign "RESTRICTED PLACE" is implemented according to the guidelines in Appendix II).

The SAMPLE OF THE SIGN "RESTRICTED PLACE" is used to prohibit access to locations designated as restricted by authorized authorities.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 17. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from September 7, 2015, and replaces Circular No. 12/2002/TT-BCA dated September 13, 2002, of the Ministry of Public Security guiding the implementation of Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP dated March 28, 2002, of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Protecting State Secrets.

Article 18. Responsibility for Implementation

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies; People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities; Supreme People's Court; Supreme People's Procuracy; political organizations; political-social organizations; social organizations; economic organizations; other organizations are responsible for implementing this Circular.

2. In the course of implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, they are requested to promptly report to the Ministry of Public Security for guidance./.