Circular No. 52-TC/CSTC guides the collection and use of fines for administrative violations.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for collecting and using fines for administrative violations

The Ministry of Finance provides guidelines for collecting and using fines for administrative violations as follows:

On the basis of the Ordinance on Handling Administrative Violations dated July 6, 1995;

The Ministry of Finance guides the collection and use of fines for administrative violations as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1\. All revenue from the handling of administrative violations such as fines, proceeds from auctions of confiscated items to be incorporated into public funds, items with unknown owners that have exceeded the notification period... shall be considered state budget revenue and must be deposited into the state budget through the state treasury system.

2- Uniformly apply receipt forms2\. Uniformly apply fine collection receipts and certificates for handling confiscated items to be incorporated into public funds.

Fine collection receipts and certificates for handling confiscated items to be incorporated into public funds shall be uniformly issued by the Ministry of Finance. Management and use of these receipts shall be carried out according to the stamp management regime of the Ministry of Finance.

3- Individuals and organizations within Vietnam and foreign entities (except where international treaties to which Vietnam is a party provide otherwise) that commit administrative violations on the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and are subject to monetary penalties (in Vietnamese Dong or foreign currency) must pay the fine at the designated location specified in the penalty decision within a maximum period of five days from the date of receipt of the decision.

3\. Domestic and foreign individuals and organizations (except where international treaties signed by Vietnam provide otherwise) who commit administrative violations on the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and are subject to fines (in VND or foreign currency) must fulfill their obligation to pay the fine at the designated location specified in the penalty decision within a maximum of five days from the date of receipt of the penalty decision.

II- SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

A/ PROCEDURES FOR THE COLLECTION AND PAYMENT OF FINES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS:

4\. This circular applies generally to all administrative violations. It does not apply to the collection and use of fines under Government Decrees: Decree 36/CP dated May 29, 1995 on ensuring traffic safety and urban order, Decree 87/CP dated December 12, 1995 on strengthening the management of cultural activities and cultural services, and promoting the eradication of certain social evils, and Decree 22/CP dated April 17, 1996 on administrative penalties in the tax sector (which already have separate guiding circulars).

The basis for collecting fines is the penalty decision or the decision resolving complaints made by authorized persons under the Administrative Violations Handling Ordinance and detailed decrees of the Government regarding the handling of violations in specific fields.

A\. PROCEDURES FOR COLLECTING AND PAYING FINES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS:

2- Organization of fine collection

1\. Basis for collecting fines.

The basis for collecting fines is the penalty decision or the decision resolving complaints made by the competent authority according to the Administrative Violation Penalty Law and detailed Government Decrees regulating the handling of violations in each field.

The penalty decision must clearly specify the date, month, year of issuance; the name, address of the individual or organization committing the violation, the amount of the fine...

d/ The General Department of Taxation is responsible for issuing and uniformly managing receipt forms for fine collection, distributing them to local tax agencies to issue to State Treasury agencies in their respective areas for use according to plan.

2\. Organization for collecting fines.

a\. The State Treasury has the responsibility to collect and organize the collection of fines according to the decision of the competent authority imposing the penalty. Collection of fines must be convenient for violators to pay; publicly announce the method and collection points for fines via mass media so that authorized state agencies and the public are informed.

b\. The State Treasury may delegate the collection of fines to units with legal personality and capable of timely collection and submission of collected fines, such as postal offices, tax authorities, banks, but must ensure the principle that the person imposing the fine does not directly collect the fine.

c\. The State Treasury, the unit delegated the right to collect fines, when collecting fines, must issue a fine collection receipt to the violator to certify that the full fine amount as stipulated in the penalty decision has been collected.

d\. The General Department of Taxation is responsible for issuing and managing uniformly the fine collection receipts to be handed over to local tax authorities for distribution to state treasury agencies in the area for use according to plan.

e\. At the end of each day, the person collecting fines must prepare a list of fine collection receipts and issue a payment certificate to deposit the fines into the state budget through the state treasury.

The authorized person issuing the penalty decision must comply with the provisions of the Administrative Violations Handling Ordinance and detailed decrees of the Government regarding the handling of violations in specific fields. In cases where the authorized person imposes a penalty exceeding the prescribed limit and the violator has already paid the money into the State Treasury, the person issuing the penalty decision must issue a new penalty decision to replace the old one and send a letter requesting the State Treasury to process the refund of the fine based on the decision resolving the complaint.

3\. Provisions for payment points.

a\. The violator has the right to choose a payment point within the country's scope, but must ensure that the deadline for paying the fine does not exceed five days from the date of issuance of the penalty decision.

b\. In cases where the violator fails to pay the fine into the state treasury as stipulated in the penalty decision, they will be subject to compulsory enforcement according to Article 55 of the Administrative Violation Penalty Law. If the deduction of part of the salary or deduction of money from the bank account is applied, the authority issuing the penalty decision sends a letter to the violator's workplace or sends a letter to the bank where the violator has an account to notify the execution of the administrative penalty. The management authority of the violator or the bank where the violator has an account, upon receiving the notice from the competent authority, is responsible for deducting the fine and depositing it into the state treasury on behalf of the fined person.

In cases where the violator does not work at an institution or does not have a bank account, measures to enforce personal assets equivalent to the fine amount must be applied. The value of the seized asset is appraised by the state appraisal agency.

6.2/ Supplemental funding for printing decisions, minutes of fines, fine receipt forms, and other related documents; funding for propaganda work, printing materials; organizing study sessions, exchanging professional knowledge...

6.3/ Funding for investigation, verification, arrest, and handling of violations.

6.4/ Funding for storage, transportation, and handling from the time of receiving and transferring seized assets, evidence, and means to the financial agency according to the decision on confiscation for state funds until the organization conducts a public auction of such assets.

6.5/ Supporting financial resources for enforcement activities.

6.6/ Forces participating in administrative violation penalty work shall enjoy night shift allowances and overtime pay as stipulated in Circular No. 10/LDTBXH-TL dated April 19, 1995 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and shall enjoy travel expenses as stipulated in Circular No. 09/TC-HCVX dated February 17, 1994 of the Ministry of Finance, etc. The amounts allocated for bonuses to groups and individuals participating in administrative violation penalty work shall be based on the quality and results of completed work, with a maximum not exceeding 30% of the fine revenue collected for complex cases, and the maximum bonus for each individual not exceeding 200,000 VND/month.

6.7/ Paying the agency that decides on asset confiscation for state funds for actual expenses incurred: investigation and verification costs, arrest and handling of violations, unloading, transportation, storage, testing, and appraisal fees for confiscated assets, evidence, and means, and compensation for losses due to objective reasons (if any) up to the point of transfer to the financial agency for public auction organization.

6.8/ Funding for organizing valuation and public auction of assets, evidence, and means confiscated for state funds in accordance with current state regulations decided by the competent authority.

6.9/ Hiring technical appraisals and valuations of assets, evidence, and means before organizing the sale (if necessary);

6.10/ Repairing assets, evidence, and means for sale (if necessary).

Other expenditures shall be implemented according to approved budgets, ensuring compliance with current general financial management regulations.

7- Preparing the budget for expenditures:

Based on the contents stipulated in Point 6 above, ministries, sectors, and units assigned the task of preparing the budget shall submit it to the same-level financial agency for review and consolidation into the state budget for submission to the competent state agency for approval.

8- Management, disbursement, and settlement:

The Ministry of Finance shall base disbursements to ministries and sectors according to the approved budget and progress of implementation.

Provincial Departments of Finance and Prices shall base disbursements to units according to the approved budget and progress of implementation.

Units using funds shall be responsible for settlement according to current financial regulations.

9- Ministers of ministries, heads of central sectors, Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities have the responsibility to direct financial agencies and units to manage and use this fund for its intended purpose in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

10- Provincial Departments of Finance and Prices have the responsibility to coordinate with tax agencies and State Treasury agencies to monitor and supervise the collection of fines and the proper use of fines in accordance with regulations.

11- Strictly prohibit any behavior exploiting assigned tasks to collect fines without issuing receipts or forging fine receipts. Those authorized to impose penalties may not harass, tolerate, cover up, fail to penalize, or impose penalties untimely or improperly. Those who abuse their powers and violate regulations shall be disciplined or criminally prosecuted according to current laws depending on the severity of the violation.

Any organizations or individuals violating regulations on penalties, collection of fines, and improper use of fines must bear responsibility for their wrongful actions or those of their units before the law.

III- IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

1- The Central State Treasury has the responsibility to guide operations and record fine revenues in accordance with the above provisions. Provincial State Treasuries have the responsibility to organize collection desks to promptly collect fines for the state and ensure the entire amount of collected fines is updated and monitored regularly according to state financial management regulations.

2- This Circular takes effect from the date of signature. It is requested that ministers of ministries, heads of ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and chairmen of provincial and centrally-administered city people's committees widely disseminate and guide, and supervise the proper implementation of the regulations in this Circular./.