Decree No. 75/2008/ND-CP on Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Decree No. 170/2003/ND-CP dated December 25, 2003 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Price Ordinance.

DECREE

Regarding amendments and supplements to certain articles of Decree No. 170/2003/NĐ-CP dated December 25, 2003 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Price Law

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to the Price Law dated April 26, 2002;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Finance,

DECREE:

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 170/2003/NĐ-CP dated December 25, 2003 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Price Law (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 170/2003/NĐ-CP) as follows:

1. Amend Article 1:

"Article 1. Scope of application

This Decree stipulates on the list of goods and services subject to price stabilization; the contents, conditions, and authorities for deciding measures to stabilize prices; the list of assets, goods, and services priced by the State; price negotiation; price appraisal; control of factors forming prices; pricing authority; price registration and declaration; publicizing price information; and State management of prices."

2. Amend Article 2:

“Article 2. List of Goods and Services Subject to Price Stabilization

1. The list of goods and services subject to price stabilization as provided for in Article 6 of the Price Law includes:

a) Gasoline, diesel fuel;

b) Cement;

c) Construction steel;

d) Liquefied gas;

đ) Chemical fertilizers;

e) Plant protection chemicals;

g) Veterinary drugs: foot-and-mouth disease vaccine; avian influenza vaccine; various types of antibiotics: Oxytetracycline, Ampicillin, Tylosin, Enrofloxacin;

h) Salt;

i) Milk;

k) Table sugar (white sugar and refined sugar);

l) Rice paddy, rice;

m) Medicines for prevention and treatment of diseases included in the essential medicines list for use at healthcare facilities as prescribed by the Ministry of Health;

n) Railway passenger fare for hard seats;

o) Certain livestock feed: corn, soybeans, soybean meal.

2. Based on economic and social conditions, market price fluctuations, and management requirements, the Prime Minister decides to adjust the list of goods and services subject to price stabilization as provided for in Clause 2, Article 1 of this Decree for application during specific periods.

3. The Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to as the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee) decides on the list of goods and services subject to price stabilization outside the list provided for in Point 1, Clause 2, Article 1 of this Decree for application in their respective localities during specific periods based on actual conditions in their locality.

3. Amend Article 3:

"Article 3. Authority to Decide and Announce Measures to Stabilize Prices

1. The Prime Minister decides and announces measures to stabilize prices for goods and services subject to price stabilization, including:

a) Measures to adjust supply and demand for goods;

b) Purchasing and selling state reserves;

c) Controlling inventory of goods;

d) Financial and monetary measures.

2. The Minister of Finance decides and announces measures to stabilize prices for goods and services listed in the national and regional scope of price stabilization, including:

a) Setting maximum, minimum, and price range;

b) Controlling factors forming prices;

c) Registering and declaring prices;

d) Publicizing price information.

3. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee is responsible for organizing the implementation of price stabilization measures decided by the Prime Minister and relevant ministries; at the same time, based on actual conditions in their locality, they shall supplement measures to implement price stabilization in their locality:

a) Measures within their authority to adjust supply and demand for goods and services;

b) Financial and monetary measures;

c) Registering and declaring prices;

d) Publicizing price information;

đ) Other economic and administrative measures within their authority.

4. Conditions for deciding the list of goods and services subject to price stabilization and applying measures to stabilize prices.

The measures to stabilize prices as provided for in Clause 3, Article 1 of this Decree shall be applied in the following cases:

a) Essential goods and services for production and consumption;

b) Goods and services related to enterprises violating competition regulations, abusing dominant market positions, or engaging in anti-competitive practices under the Competition Law, causing harm to consumers or other businesses through price setting;

c) Goods and services experiencing abnormal price increases or decreases due to natural disasters, fires, epidemics, enemy attacks, or economic crises;

d) Other unusual conditions affecting economic and social development and people's lives.

The Ministry of Finance shall guide the conditions for implementing price stabilization measures as prescribed in this Decree.

4. Amend Article 7:

"Article 7. Assets, Goods, and Services Priced by the State

1. The list of assets, goods, and services priced by the State includes:

a) Land, water surfaces;

b) Forests;

c) Important natural resources;

d) State-owned houses for rent or sale. Social housing, official housing;

đ) National reserve goods;

e) State assets being infrastructure projects serving national interests and public benefits;

g) Goods and services produced according to government orders; public utility products and services ordered and planned by competent state agencies;

h) Goods and services in fields with state monopolies as prescribed by law;

i) Electricity;

k) Transmission and distribution electricity service; grid connection service; power system dispatching service; power market transaction operation service; ancillary and market regulation services, participation in the power market;

l) Domestic air transportation service; takeoff and landing service; flight departure and arrival control service; air traffic support service; security screening service; passenger service; other services at airports;

m) Basic mail service (ordinary mail) within the country up to 20 grams; domestic long-distance telephone service; public postal and telecommunications service; dedicated postal service;

n) Clean water for daily use;

o) Public bus passenger transport service in urban areas and industrial zones;

p) Public rail passenger transport service in urban areas;

q) Medicines for prevention and treatment of diseases paid for by the state budget and health insurance;

r) Subsidized goods; subsidized freight charges; essential goods and services transportation and supply for mountainous, remote, and far-flung areas.

s) The People's Newspaper, the organ of communication of the Communist Party of Vietnam's provincial and municipal party organizations directly under the central authority.

2. On the basis of the provision at point 1, Clause 4, Article 1 of this Decree, the Prime Minister adjusts the list of assets, goods, and services priced by the State to be appropriate for application during each period.

3. The Minister of Finance shall submit to the Prime Minister for decision in cases where it is necessary to adjust the list of assets, goods, and services priced by the State as stipulated at point 1, Clause 4, Article 1 of this Decree.

5. Amending Article 8:

Article 8. Pricing Authority

1. The pricing authority for assets, goods, and services priced by the State is defined as follows:

a) The Government decides:

- The method for determining land prices and price ranges for various types of land;

- Price ranges for land leasing and water surface leasing;

- Principles and methods for determining prices for various types of forests;

- Price ranges or standard prices for state-owned housing for sale or lease. Price ranges for social housing rental and purchase.

b) The Prime Minister decides:

- Approval of the retail electricity price list;

- Price ranges for civil servant housing rentals;

- Approval of pricing plans for postal service fees for domestic letters weighing up to 20 grams and local telephone calls;

- The price of The People's Newspaper;

c) The Minister of Finance decides:

- Prices for selling or leasing state-owned infrastructure assets serving national interests and public benefits without auctioning; implementing through tendering, direct contracting, or self-execution according to the provisions of the Bidding Law;

- Based on the method for determining land prices and price ranges for various types of land, and price ranges for water surface leasing prescribed by the Government, guiding the People's Committees of provinces to determine specific land prices and rental rates for land and water surfaces locally;

- Maximum purchase prices and minimum selling prices for national reserve goods within the annual plan (excluding national reserve goods in the defense, security, and confidential sectors); costs for importing, exporting, and preserving national reserve goods (including those related to defense, security, and confidentiality);

- Prices for public utility products and services ordered or planned by authorized state agencies; goods and services produced according to orders from the State implemented through tendering, direct contracting, or self-execution according to the provisions of the Bidding Law and not through auctioning (except for goods and services produced or supplied according to orders; public utility products and services within the pricing authority of other Ministries, Departments, and Provincial People's Committees);

- Price ranges for domestic air cargo transportation;

- Service charges for takeoff and landing; air traffic control for departure and arrival; support for flight operations; security screening; passenger services; other service price ranges at airports according to the provisions of the Civil Aviation Law of Vietnam;

- Price ranges for clean water for daily use;

- Prices for goods and services in state-monopoly sectors as prescribed by law;

- Exemptions and reductions in postal and telecommunications service fees in cases of urgent information for national defense, security, and special political tasks; for flood, storm, disaster prevention and rescue, and other emergencies; for emergency medical care, disease prevention, and other urgent information as prescribed by law on emergency situations, after consultation with the Ministry of Information and Communications;

d) The Minister of Industry and Trade bases on the retail electricity price list approved by the Prime Minister to guide specific electricity prices for consumers in the national power grid; approves price ranges for power generation; wholesale electricity prices; decides on transmission service prices, grid connection prices for transmission and distribution networks, system dispatching, and market transaction management; ancillary service prices, market regulation, and participation in the electricity market; coordinates with the Ministry of Finance and Provincial People's Committees to guide rural, mountainous, and island areas' retail electricity prices;

đ) The Minister of Information and Communications decides:

- Postal service fees for basic mail (ordinary letters) weighing up to 20 grams and local telephone calls after the Prime Minister approves the pricing plan;

- Public postal service fees; public telecommunications service fees; exclusive postal service fees after consultation with the Minister of Finance;

- Certain telecommunications service fees that occupy a controlled market share, interconnection fees between telecommunications enterprises, and some other postal and telecommunications service fees as prescribed by the Prime Minister;

e) The Minister of Health cooperates with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and relevant agencies to provide detailed guidance on determining and announcing maximum prices for medicines paid for by the state budget and health insurance according to the Drug Law;

g) The Minister of Construction bases on the price ranges or prices for state-owned housing for sale or lease, prices for state-owned housing for resettlement targets, policy beneficiaries, social housing rental purchase, and civil servant housing rental prescribed by the Government and the Prime Minister to guide the People's Committees of provinces to decide specific housing sale and rental prices locally;

h) The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development guides the People's Committees of provinces to determine specific forest prices locally based on the principles and methods for determining forest prices prescribed by the Government;

i) The Minister of Defense decides prices for goods and services for defense produced and supplied by defense enterprises according to orders, plans, and designated tenders of the Ministry, paid for by the state budget; decides prices for national defense reserves after consultation with the Ministry of Finance, sending the pricing decisions to the Ministry of Finance for reporting and inspection when necessary; permitted to organize independent price appraisals according to the law for the procurement of specialized assets, goods, and services for defense purposes to decide prices without having to hire appraisal companies to conduct them.

k) The Minister of Public Security decides the price of goods and services for political security and social order provided by enterprises under the Ministry of Public Security according to orders, plans, and designated tenders of the Ministry, which will be paid from the state budget; decides the price of national strategic reserves for political security and social order after reaching consensus on principles with the Ministry of Finance, sends the pricing decision to the Ministry of Finance for reporting and inspection when necessary; is permitted to organize self-assessment in accordance with the law for the purchase of special assets, goods, and services specifically used for political security and social order to decide on prices without having to hire a business to conduct price assessment;

l) The Minister of Home Affairs decides the price of national strategic reserves for telecommunication security after reaching consensus on principles with the Ministry of Finance, sends the pricing decision to the Ministry of Finance for reporting and inspection when necessary; is permitted to organize self-assessment in accordance with the law for the purchase of special assets, goods, and services specifically used for telecommunication security to decide on prices without having to hire a business to conduct price assessment;

m) The head of the ministry or sector managing national strategic reserves bases on the maximum and minimum prices decided by the Minister of Finance to determine specific purchasing and selling prices for national strategic reserves within their management scope, while reporting to the Minister of Finance;

n) The Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level decides:

- The fare for public passenger transport by bus organized by the State through tendering for passenger transport services in urban areas and industrial zones;

- The fare for public passenger transport by rail in urban areas;

- The selling price of newspapers of the Party's press agencies of the Communist Party of Vietnam at the provincial and municipal levels directly under the central government when there is a State decision regarding financial support from the state budget;

- Based on the price range or standard prices prescribed by the Government, the Prime Minister, and ministries, and guidance from ministries, to decide on the prices of the following assets, goods, and services applicable in the locality:

+ Land prices;

+ Land rental prices, water surface rental prices;

+ Forest prices, rental prices for various types of forests;

+ Selling or rental prices for state-owned housing; selling or rental prices for state-owned housing for resettlement targets, policy beneficiaries; selling or rental prices for state-owned housing for work purposes or other uses; rental prices for social housing; rental prices for official housing;

+ Retail electricity prices for residential use in rural, mountainous, and island areas where power investment and operation activities are not economically viable but must not exceed the retail electricity price list approved by the Prime Minister;

+ Subsidy levels for freight rates for goods in the subsidized freight rate list funded from local and central budgets; price levels or price ranges for retail goods subject to freight subsidies; freight rates for essential goods and services supply to mountainous, remote, and island areas;

+ Clean water prices for domestic use;

+ Retail prices of public utility products and services produced according to orders or plans; prices of goods and services produced according to state orders within the local budget implemented through tender selection, direct assignment, self-execution, in accordance with the Bidding Law and not through auction procedures;

2. In case there is a change in the pricing authority stipulated in point 1, clause 5, Article 1 of this Decree, the Minister of Finance shall submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision;

6. Amend sub-clause b, clause 1, Article 10:

“b) Prices of assets, goods, and services within the decision-making authority of the Minister of Finance are built by the management agency of the production and business establishment or production and business establishments, then submitted to the relevant industry or sector management body for review, after which that industry or sector management body provides written comments recommending the Minister of Finance to make the decision;

7. Amend Article 11:

“Article 11. Conditions for organizing price negotiation

Price negotiation shall be organized for goods and services that meet the following conditions:

- Goods and services not included in the list of items priced by the State;

- Important goods and services produced and supplied under special conditions with characteristics of exclusive purchase and sale, where the buyer and seller depend on each other and cannot be replaced, and the competitive market is limited;

- At the request of one of the two parties when they fail to agree on the purchase price or selling price to sign a contract.

8. Amend Article 12:

"Article 12. Authority to organize price negotiation

1. The Ministry of Finance shall organize price negotiation for goods and services with nationwide and regional impact as provided for in Clause 7, Article 1 of this Decree or at the request of the Prime Minister, the head of a ministry equivalent to a ministry, or a government agency.

2. The Department of Finance shall organize price negotiation for goods and services meeting the requirements specified in Clause 7, Article 1 of this Decree, with local impact or at the request of the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province.

3. For specific goods and services where specialized laws provide for price negotiation, such negotiations shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of those specialized laws and this Decree.

4. The Ministry of Finance shall stipulate the documentation and procedures for price negotiation."

9. Amend Article 13:

“Article 13. Results of price negotiation

1. The results of price negotiation shall be implemented in accordance with Article 12 of the Price Law. In cases where price negotiation has been organized but the buyer and seller cannot reach agreement on the price, the competent state authority organizing the price negotiation shall decide on a temporary price for both parties to implement.

2. The temporary price decision made by the competent authority organizing the price negotiation shall take effect for a maximum of six months. During the implementation period of the temporary price decision, the parties may negotiate the purchase and selling prices.

If the parties reach an agreement on the price, they shall implement it according to the agreed price and have the responsibility to report the agreed price and the implementation period to the competent authority organizing the price negotiation.

After the six-month period, if the parties cannot reach an agreement on the price, the competent authority will organize price negotiation in accordance with Clause 8, Article 1 of this Decree, and during the organization period, the parties shall continue to implement the temporary price decision.

10. Supplement Articles 22a, 22b, and 22c after Article 22:

"Article 22a. Supervision of factors forming prices

1. Goods and services subject to supervision of factors forming prices include:

a) Goods and services within the State’s pricing authority;

b) Goods and services within the price stabilization program;

c) As required by the Prime Minister, ministers of ministries, and the Chairmen of provincial People's Committees.

2. Procedures for supervising factors forming prices shall be carried out as follows:

a) The competent authority managing prices, as prescribed by law, shall issue a decision to supervise factors forming prices and send it to organizations and individuals requested to supervise these factors;

b) The competent authority managing prices, as prescribed by law, shall issue a written request for organizations and individuals to provide the following documents:

- Pricing plans for goods and services and their prices according to the General Pricing Regulations issued by the Minister of Finance and detailed guidance from relevant ministries and sectors; documents and vouchers serving the preparation of pricing plans;

- Inventory flow situation (year-end, quarter-end, month-end inventory; annual, quarterly, monthly imports and exports; year-end, quarter-end, month-end inventory) and service supply;

- Financial reports related to the supervision of factors forming prices;

- Other documents related to the supervision of factors forming prices.

3. Time limit for supervising factors forming prices:

a) The maximum time for one supervision session is fifteen days, starting from the date the competent authority issues the decision to supervise factors forming prices. If additional time is needed for supervision, the competent authority must notify in writing and specify the reasons for extending the time to the relevant organizations and individuals; the extended time shall not exceed five days from the end of the initial supervision period;

b) Within a maximum of seven working days (calendar days) from the end of the supervision of factors forming prices, the competent authority shall issue and send a written notification of the supervision conclusion to the organizations and individuals concerned and related agencies.

4. Forms of handling:

Based on the supervision results, the competent authority shall handle according to its authority and depending on the level of violation, it may handle in one of the following forms:

a) Require organizations and individuals to buy and sell according to the purchase and selling prices decided by the competent state authority or by the enterprise before unreasonable price increases;

b) Administrative penalties and compensation for losses to victims as provided by law;

c) Suspend the implementation of goods and services decided by organizations and individuals;

d) In cases where the violation indicates criminal law violations, the competent authorities supervising factors forming prices as stipulated in this Decree shall transfer the case file to the competent authority for handling in accordance with the law.

5. Competent authorities supervising factors forming prices:

a) The Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for coordinating with ministries, sectors, and provincial People's Committees to supervise factors forming prices for goods and services within the pricing authority of the Government, the Prime Minister, and the Ministry of Finance; goods and services within the price stabilization program and goods and services with abnormal fluctuations affecting national economic and social development, within the authority to decide and announce measures for price stabilization by the Prime Minister;

b) Ministries and sectors shall be responsible for supervising factors forming prices for goods and services within their own pricing authority;

c) The provincial People's Committee is responsible for directing competent agencies at the local level to monitor factors forming prices for goods and services within their price-setting authority; goods and services listed in the price stabilization list under the authority of the provincial People's Committee.

d) Ministries, sectors, provincial People's Committees, production and business organizations, when receiving written requests from competent state management agencies regarding the monitoring of price-forming factors as stipulated in Point 5, Clause 10, Article 1 of this Decree, shall be responsible for coordinating and providing timely, accurate, and complete data and materials as stipulated in Point 2, Clause 10, Article 1 of this Decree.

đ) The Ministry of Finance shall issue a General Pricing Regulation to guide ministries, sectors, localities, production and business organizations in formulating pricing plans and serving as a basis for reviewing pricing plans and monitoring price-forming factors.

Article 22b. Price Registration and Declaration

1. Price Registration:

Price registration is the act of organizations and individuals engaged in production and business registering the price levels of goods and services listed in the price stabilization list, important and essential goods and services with state management agencies.

The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to specify the detailed list of goods and services that must undergo price registration outside the list prescribed in Clause 2, Article 1 of this Decree; to define procedures and documents for price registration and supervise implementation according to the principle of ensuring the role of state management, promoting enterprises' pricing decisions in accordance with new management requirements, protecting consumers' legitimate interests, and aligning with international practices.

2. Price Declaration:

Organizations and individuals engaged in production and business shall declare the prices of goods and services within their pricing authority to the price management agency based on the Government's classification.

The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to provide specific guidance on price declaration.

3. The provincial People's Committee, based on the actual situation in the locality, shall specify the list of goods and services that must undergo price registration outside the list of goods and services prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 22b added in Clause 10 of Article 1 of this Decree, direct competent agencies at the local level to organize the implementation of price registration and declaration of goods and services in the locality.

Article 22c. Publicizing Price Information

1. Scope of Publicizing Price Information

State management agencies with price authority, production and business organizations, and individuals engaged in assets, goods, and services have the responsibility to publicize price information, including:

a) National policies, measures, and management methods for prices;

b) Price decisions made by competent state agencies;

c) Prices determined by enterprises and related economic and technical information about goods and services.

Regulations on publicizing price information do not apply to information that is not permitted to be disclosed according to the law.

2. Forms of Publicizing:

a) Press conferences;

b) Publishing on mass media;

c) Displaying prices according to regulations;

d) Other forms;

đ) For goods and services implementing promotional price reductions, they shall comply with the provisions of the Trade Law.

3. Responsibilities in Publicizing Price Information:

a) State management agencies are responsible for publicizing documents on price systems and policies, and price decisions for goods and services within their authority;

b) Enterprises producing and trading goods and services are responsible for publicizing the prices of goods and services produced and supplied by them;

c) Information and communication agencies are responsible for accurately, objectively, and truthfully disseminating information and bearing legal responsibility for such information according to current regulations."

Article 2. Implementation Provisions

1. This Decree takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette; it abolishes Article 3 of Decree No. 170/2003/NĐ-CP and previous regulations on price management contrary to this Decree. Provisions in Decree No. 170/2003/NĐ-CP that were not amended in this Decree remain effective.

2. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for guiding the implementation of this Decree.

3. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government are responsible for implementing this Decree./.