Circular No. 67/TT-THA guiding certain issues regarding the organization and operation of civil enforcement proceedings

CIRCULAR

Guidelines on Certain Issues Regarding the Organization and Execution of Civil Enforcement

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To enhance unified management over the organization and execution of civil enforcement, ensuring order and discipline, and gradually bringing civil enforcement work into a regular system, the Ministry of Justice guides local enforcement agencies to implement the following points:

I- RECORD KEEPING AND CASE FILES FOR ENFORCEMENT

1. The establishment and use of records for enforcement:

a) Provincial/Central City Civil Enforcement Departments (hereinafter referred to collectively as Civil Enforcement Departments) and County/District/City Town Civil Enforcement Teams (hereinafter referred to collectively as Civil Enforcement Teams) must establish all types of enforcement records according to the standardized models prescribed by the Ministry of Justice, including the following:

- Record of receipt of copies of court judgments and decisions;

- Record of receipt of requests for enforcement;

- Case registration record (civil; economic, bankruptcy; maintenance for children; civil within criminal...);

- Delegation of enforcement record;

- Outgoing and incoming correspondence record;

- Record of monitoring seized items;

- Record of issuance of enforcement decisions;

- Accounting and financial record system for enforcement.

(In addition, depending on actual circumstances, enforcement agencies may establish other types of monitoring records to facilitate the management of enforcement activities);

b) All types of enforcement records mentioned above must be carefully preserved, numbered page by page, and stamped with a cross-stamp. The head of the enforcement agency must confirm the total number of pages at the beginning of the record, sign, and stamp the Civil Enforcement Department/Team;

c) Records for enforcement must be neatly, fully, accurately, and promptly recorded according to the columns already guided in the record, without erasing or arbitrarily modifying. In case of errors or mistakes that need correction, it must be confirmed by the head of the enforcement agency;

d) Monthly, quarterly, and annually, the closing of records must be carried out to determine the total number of judgments and decisions received; the number of cases requiring enforcement, the number of cases with conditions for enforcement, the number of cases without conditions for enforcement; the number of completed enforcement, the number of fully enforced; the number of ongoing enforcement, suspended, temporarily halted, halted, returned request for enforcement; the number not yet enforced... while classifying the number of pending cases not yet enforced. The closing of records must be documented in a protocol and must have signatures of the head of the enforcement agency, accountant, warehouse keeper, and cashier of the enforcement agency. The results of the closing of records must be reflected in the enforcement records.

2. Establishment of enforcement case files:

a) The enforcement decision is the basis for the Enforcement Officer to establish a case file and conduct enforcement activities; the Enforcement Officer must establish the case file within two days from receiving the enforcement decision.

The enforcement case file must reflect the entire process of organizing enforcement by the Enforcement Officer for a specific case. The Enforcement Officer must record and retain all actions and documents already and currently being implemented in the enforcement case file such as: copy of judgment, decision or extract of judgment, decision of the Court, enforcement decision, handover minutes, handling of evidence, seized property, temporary detention, notices, summonses, verification minutes, applications or complaints; receipts, payment vouchers, bank or state treasury receipts... and related documents to enforcement.

The enforcement case file must also retain copies of letters and documents exchanged with relevant agencies and individuals during the enforcement process (for example: letters requesting transfer of money and missing or untransferred items...);

b) The enforcement case file must have a cover printed according to the prescribed model. The Enforcement Officer is responsible for filling in all details of the pre-printed points on the cover of the case file.

Documents and certificates in the enforcement case file must be carefully arranged, numbered sequentially according to chronological order, and listed comprehensively in the attached index;

c) Completed case files must be thoroughly checked, signed off by the Enforcement Officer responsible for the file, and submitted to the head of the enforcement agency for approval before being archived.

II- HANDOVER, STORAGE, AND DISPOSITION OF SEIZED ITEMS AND TEMPORARILY HELD PROPERTY

1. Handover and storage:

a) When receiving seized items and property, there must be the presence of the head of the enforcement agency, the Enforcement Officer responsible for the file, the accountant; the person receiving is the warehouse keeper or cashier of the enforcement agency. The handover must be documented in a detailed and specific minute recording the quantity, quality, characteristics, and condition of each type of asset or item. For complex technical assets such as cars, motorcycles, video-cassettes... the Enforcement Officer should invite representatives from specialized agencies to verify the quality of the asset. The handover minute of seized items and property must have signatures and stamps of the transferring and receiving agencies and made in multiple copies for each party to keep one copy and one copy to be included in the enforcement case file.

In cases where seized items and property are handed over in sealed packages (except those mentioned in point b below), when handing over, a committee must open the seals and request professional and technical appraisals to determine the quantity and quality of the items according to the law;

b) The handover, storage, and disposal of confiscated precious metals, jewelry, and valuable assets temporarily held in the State Treasury system shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 63-TC-KBNN dated November 9, 1991 of the Ministry of Finance;

c) After receiving seized items and property, the enforcement agency must record them specifically in the seized items and property monitoring record, and immediately proceed with the procedures for entering the enforcement warehouse. The warehouse keeper can only issue or receive seized items and property upon the decision of the head of the enforcement agency or the Enforcement Officer responsible for the file. Each time issuing or receiving seized items and property, there must be a warehouse entry and exit form, fully signed by the head of the enforcement agency, accountant, and warehouse keeper of the enforcement agency;

d) Seized items and temporarily detained assets must be carefully preserved, with clear and complete records kept in ledgers; secure preservation facilities must be provided; strict preservation regulations must be enforced to prevent damage or loss. Items and assets stored in warehouses must be scientifically arranged, neat, clean, and tagged with inventory cards for each type of asset to avoid confusion between seized items from different cases.

e) Regular inspection and preservation of seized items and assets, as well as periodic inventory checks, must be carried out. Any acts of theft, swapping, or improper use of temporarily detained items and assets are strictly prohibited.

2. The handling of seized items and temporarily detained assets:

Seized items and assets related to cases where judgments and decisions have become effective must be promptly and fully processed in accordance with the law, following the guidance below:

a) The handling of confiscated assets shall be conducted in accordance with Article 35 of the Ordinance on Civil Enforcement. It is important to note that when transferring confiscated assets, a record must be made detailing the current state of the assets, signed and stamped by both the transferring and receiving agencies, and made into three copies, one for each agency and one for the enforcement file. Transferred confiscated assets must be accompanied by a copy of the judgment or decision of the Court and a copy of the enforcement decision.

b) For items and assets that need to be destroyed according to the judgment or decision of the Court which has become legally binding, or those that have rotted, severely damaged, and lost their value, the enforcement agency shall establish a Destruction Committee for these items and assets.

The Destruction Committee consists of the enforcement agency and the financial department at the same level, chaired by the head of the enforcement agency. If the items and assets to be destroyed are of significant value, the committee must include relevant specialized agencies. The People's Supervisory Procuracy at the same level may be invited to supervise the destruction process.

The destruction record must bear the signatures of the Chairperson and members of the Destruction Committee and be sent to the Court, the People's Supervisory Procuracy, and the financial department at the same level, while also being filed in the enforcement case file.

c) For temporarily detained assets, if the person subject to enforcement has completed their enforcement obligations, the Enforcement Officer shall prepare a record to return the assets to them.

d) For assets that have been seized and entrusted to organizations or individuals for management, if the person subject to enforcement voluntarily completes their enforcement obligations, the Enforcement Officer shall issue a decision to lift the seizure and return the assets to them. If the person subject to enforcement does not voluntarily fulfill their obligations within the specified time frame, the Enforcement Officer shall establish a Valuation Committee and organize a public auction of the seized assets to ensure enforcement.

e) In cases where a confiscation decision has been executed but later found to be erroneous and subsequently revoked, the enforcement agency responsible for execution must return the confiscated assets to the parties involved. If the confiscated assets are no longer available, the head of the enforcement agency must cooperate with the financial department to allocate funds from the State budget to compensate the parties for the value of the confiscated assets based on the price at the time of the new decision's implementation.

III- ACTIVITIES OF RECEIVING AND DISBURSING ENFORCEMENT FUNDS

1. General principles for receiving and disbursing enforcement funds:

a) All activities involving the receipt and disbursement of enforcement funds must be promptly and accurately reflected in the ledgers tracking such activities (account books, cash registers, etc.). Monthly, quarterly, and annually, closing the books and reconciling cash balances and temporary account balances must be conducted; determining the balance on the ledger and simultaneously comparing it with receipts and payment vouchers and the results of cash counts and temporary account balances at the same time. The reconciliation results must be recorded in the ledgers and documented in a record signed by the head of the enforcement agency, accountant, and cash custodian; discrepancies in shortages or surpluses must be investigated, and specific responsibilities identified.

The remaining funds from the previous month (quarter) must be carried over to the next month (quarter) and analyzed and listed by case.

b) Receipts, payment vouchers for enforcement funds are managed by the head of the enforcement agency. The enforcement accountant is responsible for helping the head of the enforcement agency maintain ledgers, recording the date of issuance, quantity of sheets in each book, and requiring the recipient of receipts, payment vouchers to sign the ledger. Enforcement officers can use receipts for collecting money, while payment vouchers are only issued to accountants, and each type is issued one book at a time. After using up a book of receipts, payment vouchers, the stubs must be returned to the head of the enforcement agency for safekeeping after careful verification before issuing a new book.

When transferring to another position, the user must return the receipts, payment vouchers, and other documents related to enforcement funds. The head of the enforcement agency must carefully check these receipts, payment vouchers, and documents. If unused sheets of receipts, payment vouchers are deemed unnecessary, they must be invalidated by crossing them out and writing "void" on them and kept in the original book. The handover must be documented in a record signed by the head of the enforcement agency, enforcement officer, accountant, and cash custodian.

c) Enforcement funds cannot be lent to agencies or individuals or used for other purposes.

2. Receiving enforcement funds:

a) When collecting execution fees (including proceeds from seized assets or money submitted by the parties during the trial phase), the Enforcement Officer shall only use a unified receipt form as prescribed (except for fines, confiscation amounts, and advance execution fees which must be recorded on receipts issued by the tax authority pursuant to Circular No. 164-TCT/AC dated January 26, 1995 of the General Tax Department and Circular No. 1853TC/TCT dated September 27, 1995 of the Ministry of Finance). Under no circumstances shall any other type of document be used or money accepted without a receipt. The receipt must contain signatures of the Enforcement Officer, the payer's signature, full name, and address. If the payer cannot write, they must make a thumbprint and clearly indicate which finger and hand it belongs to, and no other symbols may be used. The receipt must be written in one go using carbon paper to produce four copies: Copy 1 (written with a pen) remains in the receipt book for record keeping, Copy 2 is given to the payer, Copy 3 is submitted to the accountant (if it is an advance execution fee receipt, it is given to the payer), and Copy 4 is kept in the execution file.

Altering, erasing, or correcting the amount, date of collection, receipt number, or the payer’s name and address, or the reason for payment noted on the receipt is strictly prohibited. For incorrectly written receipts, they must be crossed out, marked with the word "void," and retained in the receipt book for inspection.

To facilitate inspection, the receipt should clearly state the execution file number, the identification number of the payer, the authorized person's name, address, reason for payment (payment for which item, sale of which asset, belonging to which case...), and the amount must be written down to the smallest unit and in words.

b) All funds (including advance execution fees) must be immediately deposited into the execution fund, and a deposit slip signed by the accountant, cashier, and the officer handing over the money must be created.

c) Funds received through bank transfers must be promptly and fully recorded in the temporary deposit tracking ledger and the execution accounting ledger. Monthly, quarterly, and annually, the accountant must reconcile with the State Treasury where the account is opened to obtain confirmation of the balance as a basis for reconciliation and balancing of records.

d) Before archiving the used receipt book (excluding those for national budget payments), a thorough check and comparison must be conducted to ensure that all retained receipts (receipt stubs) have been timely and accurately recorded in the accounting ledger and execution fund ledger. Subsequently, the total amount collected from the retained receipts must be reconciled with the total amount recorded on the payment vouchers to the State Treasury, the payment vouchers to the parties, the postal transfer vouchers, and the direct payments to the national budget. After careful verification, the head of the Execution Agency must approve before archiving can proceed.

3. Submission and Payment of Execution Fees:

All collected funds must be processed within ten days according to the following methods:

a) For funds that have been notified but the party has not yet come to collect or whose address cannot be determined, these must be immediately deposited into the temporary account of the Execution Agency at the State Treasury. When depositing, each case must be separated and listed individually, or if not separated, a detailed list must accompany the payment voucher to the State Treasury and must be fully recorded in the temporary deposit tracking ledger and corresponding accounting ledger based on the date and number on the State Treasury's receipt.

In cases where execution is suspended for review under supervisory or retrial procedures and the party refuses to accept the money, the Enforcement Officer may deposit the funds into a savings account. The Enforcement Officer will prepare a list of individuals and cases, and based on this list, the accountant will process the savings deposit at the prevailing interest rate for non-term deposits. The savings certificate will include the name of the Execution Agency making the deposit, the beneficiary's name, and the case number and date of the judgment or execution decision. The interest earned on the savings deposit will be added to the initial deposit amount and paid to the party.

b) Cash funds intended to supplement the state treasury, the Enforcement Officer requests the accountant to directly deposit them into the national budget without transferring them to a temporary account. If the funds are already in a temporary account at the State Treasury, the accountant will issue a transfer payment voucher requesting the State Treasury to transfer the funds to the national budget account. In this case, the Execution Agency may not withdraw the funds and then deposit them into the national budget.

Deposits into the national budget are made through specific documents corresponding to each individual case. If multiple cases are combined, a detailed list specifying each amount and case must be prepared, along with the receipt numbers, dates, and years. This list is prepared by the Enforcement Officer and transferred to the accountant to process the deposit into the national budget. Depending on the situation, the Enforcement Officer must submit the payment document (if depositing separately for each case) or a copy of the document (if combining multiple cases) to the corresponding execution files. The contents of the list must be fully and detailedly recorded in the execution accounting ledger and the national budget deposit tracking ledger.

c) For parties located far from the execution site, the Enforcement Officer requests the accountant to issue a payment voucher and send the document directly to the party via postal service. The postal transfer document must be kept in the execution file together with the payment voucher, and the postal transfer fee, borne by the party receiving the execution, must be deducted from their execution amount.

When executing at the premises, if both the obligor and the obligee are in the same location, the Enforcement Officer may immediately pay the collected funds or assets to the obligee by preparing an execution receipt titled "Collection and Payment of Execution Funds and Assets." This receipt must include the full names and signatures of the payer, recipient, and Enforcement Officer, along with the signature of a representative of the People's Committee, accompanied by the People's Committee's stamp. This receipt must be kept in the execution file and a copy provided to the accountant for record-keeping.

đ) In the case where the person subject to enforcement is a factory, state agency, social organization, or socio-economic organization, the payment shall be made by issuing a payment authorization letter specifying the name, address, and account number of the agency or organization, requesting the State Treasury to deduct the amount from the temporary deposit account of the enforcement agency and transfer it to the account of the recipient agency or organization according to the enforcement decision;

e) For all other cases, the Enforcement Officer shall issue a notice to the parties to come to the enforcement agency's office, requiring the accounting and cashier officers of the enforcement agency to process the payment. The notice must clearly state that the party must bring their identity card when collecting money, and if they authorize another person to collect on their behalf, they must provide a valid power of attorney along with the identity card of the authorized collector.

The content and principles for using the payment voucher for enforcement are similar to those of the receipt mentioned in Section 2 above.

IV - ON THE REPORTING AND STATISTICAL SYSTEM FOR ENFORCEMENT

1. Enforcement agencies must strictly, promptly, and fully implement the reporting and statistical system periodically or urgently as prescribed by the Ministry of Justice and guided by the Civil Enforcement Management Department.

2. Compliance with the reporting and statistical system for enforcement is considered a condition for annual commendation and award consideration for localities and units.

3. The head of the Enforcement Agency shall be responsible for the content, accuracy of data and events stated in reports and statistics, and shall be responsible for delays or omissions in reporting and statistics by the unit.

Local enforcement agencies shall base themselves on the guidelines of this Circular to implement and serve as a basis for timely inspection and correction of deviations and violations in the organization and operation of civil enforcement activities.

This Circular takes effect from the date of signature and replaces Circular No. 637/TT-THA dated September 28, 1985, issued by the Minister of Justice, which stipulates certain issues regarding enforcement work./.