Circular No. 59/2008/TT-BTC guiding the management and use of revenue from the handling of violations of laws in the field of anti-smuggling, commercial fraud, and fake goods.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing and using revenue from the handling of violations of law

 in the field of anti-smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods

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Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;

Pursuant to Decree No. 77/2003/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance,

Implementing the directive of the Prime Minister as stated in Circular No. 138/VPCP-V.I dated January 8, 2008 of the Government Office regarding the supplementation of funds for functional forces combating smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods, after reaching consensus with the Central Steering Committee 127, the Ministry of Finance guides the use of a portion of the revenue from the handling of violations of law to supplement the funds for functional forces combating smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods to invest in material infrastructure, purchase equipment, means of operation, and rewards as follows:

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

1. These guidelines apply to the activities of combating smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods carried out by functional forces combating smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods (hereinafter referred to collectively as anti-smuggling agencies), including: police, border guard, coast guard, market management, competition management, forest rangers, specialized inspection, tax, customs, and other functional forces (at central and local levels) assigned the task of inspecting and handling violations related to smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods according to the provisions of the law.

The management and use of fines and revenues from administrative violations and criminal offenses but not within the scope of anti-smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods by the anti-smuggling agencies specified in this clause shall still be implemented in accordance with current laws.

2. The amount of money collected and deposited into the state budget to be used to supplement the funds for anti-smuggling agencies as guided by these guidelines includes: fines from administrative violations according to decisions that have taken legal effect (including fines for administrative violations and proceeds from the sale of goods, evidence, and means of transportation confiscated by the state treasury due to administrative violations); proceeds from the sale of assets confiscated according to decisions of the public security organs, prosecution, and courts that have taken legal effect in criminal cases involving smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods, which are collected and deposited into the state budget by these forces.

All amounts of money mentioned in Clause 2 of this Section must be deposited into a temporary collection and retention account opened at the State Treasury by the financial agency and managed uniformly by the financial agency. Amounts collected and deposited by central and provincial-level agencies shall be deposited into the temporary collection and retention account of the Provincial Department of Finance opened at the State Treasury; amounts collected and deposited by agencies at the district level and below shall be deposited into the temporary collection and retention account of the District Financial Agency opened at the State Treasury.

The amount of money collected and deposited into the temporary collection and retention account, after deducting allowable expenses and the portion used to supplement the funds as stipulated in these guidelines, must be deposited into the local budget for use in accordance with the State Budget Law.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Reasonable and legitimate expenses incurred during the process of handling administrative violations and criminal offenses in the field of smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods are permitted to be used from the amounts collected and deposited into the temporary collection and retention account, including:

a) Investigation, verification, arrest costs include: communication costs for officers involved in handling; fuel costs for vehicles used for inspection, arrest, escort, and protection of suspects and evidence; rental costs for vehicles and locations; repair costs for inspection equipment damaged during pursuit and arrest; advertising costs for finding the owner of the goods.

b) Information purchase costs (if applicable): the maximum expenditure for purchasing information for each case is ten percent (10%) of the revenue from handling administrative violations and criminal offenses in that case, but it cannot exceed fifty million Vietnamese dong (50,000,000 VND). For cases where the confiscated property is counterfeit goods or goods that need to be destroyed or have low value, the information purchase cost is not controlled according to the percentage of revenue but cannot exceed thirty million Vietnamese dong (30,000,000 VND).

Payment of information purchase costs must be supported by complete documentation as required; in cases where the name of the information provider must be kept confidential, payment of the information purchase cost is based on a payment voucher with signatures of the person directly paying the money to the information provider, the cashier, accountant, and the head of the unit directly investigating and handling violations. The head of the unit directly investigating and handling administrative violations and criminal offenses must be responsible for the accuracy and honesty in the payment of information purchase costs, ensuring that payments are made to the correct individuals and for the correct purposes and are effective.

c) Costs for caring for and rescuing wild animals from the time of temporary detention until completion of their release into the natural environment or transfer to zoos, experimental centers, or other organizations as decided by the competent authority.

d) Costs for receiving, unloading, transporting, and storing seized assets; costs for testing, appraising, and valuing temporarily detained assets; compensation costs for losses due to objective reasons (if any) from the time of inspection or temporary detention until the decision approving the disposal plan is issued by the competent authority. In cases where the disposal authority has been provided by the state with storage facilities, personnel, and transportation means, they shall not be reimbursed for costs related to the transportation and storage of those assets.

đ) Costs for receiving, unloading, transporting, and storing assets confiscated and transferred to the state treasury from the time the decision approving the disposal plan is issued by the competent authority until the completion of the disposal process.

e) Costs arising during the process of selling confiscated assets to be transferred to the state treasury due to administrative violations or criminal law violations such as: initial valuation costs; costs for hiring appraisals, repairing assets for sale if repairs are necessary before sale or if the increased value of the asset exceeds repair costs; costs to mitigate property losses due to objective reasons; auction fees paid to enterprises or units with the function of selling state assets through auctions conducted by the Auction Council.

The Auction Council may receive an advance payment of up to a maximum of 5% of the asset's value (based on the initial price) from the financial authority to cover expenses related to the auction process. Upon completion of the auction, the Auction Council must settle all auction proceeds, including any advance payments made according to current regulations.

g) Other expenses directly related to inspection, seizure, and handling of administrative violations or criminal law violations in anti-smuggling, fraud, and counterfeit goods activities.

Based on the revenue deposited into the temporary collection and holding account, financial authorities at all levels shall promptly examine and pay reasonable and legitimate expenses according to the provisions set forth in this Circular. Relevant agencies and units must maintain accounting records, organize accounting entries, and record budget revenues and expenditures in accordance with the State Budget Law. In cases where administrative violations or criminal law violations occur in anti-smuggling, fraud, and counterfeit goods activities but there is no revenue or insufficient revenue to cover the aforementioned expenses, the remaining balance in the separate temporary collection and holding account maintained by the anti-smuggling agency or unit can be used for support and payment purposes. If there is a shortfall, assistance from the state budget shall be requested according to current regulations.

2. After deducting the expenses mentioned in Clause 1 of this Section, the anti-smuggling agency or unit primarily responsible for handling smuggling, fraud, and counterfeit goods cases may use 30% of the remaining total revenue collected and deposited for investment in infrastructure, equipment procurement, and rewarding organizations and individuals who have contributed to detecting, seizing, and handling smuggling, fraud, and counterfeit goods activities. This amount is considered as 100% and shall be allocated as follows:

a) Allocate 40% for the following purposes:

- Rewards for organizations and individuals who have achieved success in combating smuggling, fraud, and counterfeit goods. The amount of individual rewards is determined by the head of the anti-smuggling agency or unit based on the funds available for this purpose.

- Compensation during treatment for officers and soldiers of the anti-smuggling agency or unit who suffer accidents, injuries, or death during the investigation and arrest process; hospitalization fees for cases without health insurance coverage.

- Night shift, overtime compensation, and兼任翻译人员和越南法律专家，我将严格按照官方政府文件和公告中的专业、法定英语术语进行翻译，确保百分之百的法律意义准确无误。接下来是根据规定格式的翻译内容：

For cases where the revenue is not substantial but involves many forces participating in handling, the head of the primary anti-smuggling agency or unit may additionally allocate up to a maximum of 10% of the total funds used (this 10% is taken from the funds allocated for the purposes specified under point b below) to supplement compensation and rewards for organizations and individuals who have achieved success as stipulated herein. In cases where multiple forces participate in a single incident, the head of the primary anti-smuggling agency or unit shall base their decision on the complexity of the case and the level of participation of each agency or unit to ensure fair and democratic allocation of compensation and rewards.

- Expenses for publicizing, educating, and promoting laws against smuggling, fraud, and counterfeit goods.

- Training and professional development expenses for officers and soldiers engaged in anti-smuggling, fraud, and counterfeit goods activities;

- Expenses for specialized conferences, seminars, and surveys on anti-smuggling, fraud, and counterfeit goods;

- Expenses supporting the guidance and management functions of superior agencies. Ministries managing forces involved in anti-smuggling, fraud, and counterfeit goods activities shall provide specific guidelines on the allocation amounts (but not exceeding 10% of the funds allocated for the purposes specified herein) and the management and utilization of these expenses.

b) Allocate 60% for investment in infrastructure, procurement of equipment, and operational means to serve anti-smuggling, fraud, and counterfeit goods activities.

Investment in infrastructure, procurement of equipment, and operational means must comply with current standards and norms. In cases where there are no established standards, norms, or quotas, the head of the anti-smuggling agency or unit shall make decisions proactively and bear responsibility for those decisions.

Any surplus funds added at the end of the year that are not fully utilized shall be carried over to the next year for continued use according to the provisions of this Circular.

3. Accounting, bookkeeping, and settlement of supplementary funds:

Units receiving supplementary operating funds from anti-smuggling, fraud, and counterfeit goods revenues must maintain accounting books, organize accounting entries, and manage the use of these funds strictly in accordance with current regulations. Settlements and accounting of state budget revenues and expenditures for these funds shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and the guidelines provided in this Circular.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette and applies to anti-smuggling agencies and units in anti-smuggling, fraud, and counterfeit goods activities.

||| The management and use of funds collected from administrative violations and criminal cases not within the domain of anti-smuggling, commercial fraud, and counterfeit goods shall not be carried out according to the provisions of this Circular but shall be implemented in accordance with current regulations.

||| During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, they should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance for study and guidance./.