Decree No. 76/2010/ND-CP Amending and Supplementing Article 11 of Decree No. 06/2009/ND-CP dated January 22, 2009 of the Government on administrative penalties for violations in the production and business of alcohol and tobacco.

DECREE

Amending and supplementing Article 11 of Decree No. 06/2009/NĐ-CP dated January 22, 2009 of the Government on

administrative penalties for violations in the field of production and business of alcohol and tobacco

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THE GOVERNMENT

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

Pursuant to the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance dated July 2, 2002 and the Ordinance amending and supplementing certain articles of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance dated April 2, 2008;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Industry and Trade,

DECREE:

Article 1. Amending and supplementing Article 11 of Decree No. 06/2009/NĐ-CP dated January 22, 2009 on administrative penalties for violations in the field of production and business of alcohol and tobacco into three Articles as follows:

Article 11a. Violations of regulations on trading in smuggled alcohol

1. A fine of VND 100,000 to VND 500,000 for the act of trading in smuggled alcohol with a value up to VND 500,000.

2. A fine of VND 500,000 to VND 2,000,000 for the violation stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a value of smuggled alcohol from over VND 500,000 to VND 2,000,000.

3. A fine of VND 2,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 for the violation stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a value of smuggled alcohol from over VND 2,000,000 to VND 5,000,000.

4. A fine of VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 for the violation stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a value of smuggled alcohol from over VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000.

5. A fine of VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 for the violation stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a value of smuggled alcohol from over VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000.

6. A fine of VND 20,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 for the violation stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a value of smuggled alcohol from over VND 20,000,000 to VND 50,000,000.

7. A fine of VND 50,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 for the violation stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a value of smuggled alcohol from over VND 50,000,000 to VND 100,000,000.

8. For the violation stipulated in this Article with a value of smuggled alcohol from VND 100,000,000 or more, the agency discovering or handling the case must transfer the file to the competent criminal proceedings agency to pursue criminal responsibility. In cases where the criminal proceedings agency decides not to pursue criminal responsibility and transfers it to administrative penalty, the level of administrative penalty in the form of a fine shall be VND 100,000,000.

9. For the violation stipulated in this Article with a value under VND 100,000,000 and the violator has been administratively penalized but within the period prescribed in Article 11 of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance dated July 2, 2002 and the Ordinance amending and supplementing certain articles of the Administrative Violation Handling Ordinance dated April 2, 2008, and still violates, or has been convicted of this crime, not yet having had their criminal record expunged, and still violates, or shows signs of committing a crime, then the file must be transferred to the competent criminal proceedings agency to pursue criminal responsibility. In cases where the criminal proceedings agency decides not to pursue criminal responsibility and transfers it to administrative penalty, the level of administrative penalty in the form of a fine shall be VND 100,000,000.

10. Additional forms of punishment:

a) Seizure of the objects of administrative violation for the acts violating the provisions of Clauses 1 to 8 of this Article;

b) Suspension of the right to use the business license for six months to twelve months for those acts violating the provisions from Clause 4 to Clause 8 of this Article.

11. Measures to mitigate consequences: destroy the objects of administrative violation that are smuggled alcohol not meeting quality standards causing harm to human health. The individual or organization violating must bear all costs related to the destruction of the objects of administrative violation that are smuggled alcohol not meeting quality standards causing harm to human health as stipulated in Clauses 1 to 8 of this Article. In cases where it is not possible to apply the measure compelling the individual or organization violating to destroy, seize for destruction according to the regulations.

Article 11b. Violation of regulations on trading in prohibited goods, namely smuggled cigarette sticks

1. A fine of VND 50,000 to VND 200,000 shall be imposed for the acts of buying, selling, transporting, or storing prohibited goods, namely smuggled cigarette sticks with a quantity up to 10 packs (1 pack = 20 sticks; for other types of smuggled finished tobacco products, 20 grams equals 1 pack).

2. A fine of VND 200,000 to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a quantity from over 10 packs to 50 packs.

3. A fine of VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a quantity from over 50 packs to 100 packs.

4. A fine of VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a quantity from over 100 packs to 200 packs.

5. A fine of VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a quantity from over 200 packs to 400 packs.

6. A fine of VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a quantity from over 400 packs to 600 packs.

7. A fine of VND 20,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a quantity from over 600 packs to 1,000 packs.

8. A fine of VND 50,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a quantity from over 1,000 packs to under 1,500 packs.

9. For violations stipulated in this Article with a quantity of smuggled cigarette sticks from 1,500 packs or more, the authority discovering or handling the case must transfer the file to the competent criminal proceedings agency to pursue criminal responsibility. In cases where the criminal proceedings agency decides not to pursue criminal responsibility and transfers it to administrative violation penalties, the level of administrative violation penalty in the form of a fine shall be VND 100,000,000.

10. For violations stipulated in this Article with a quantity less than 1,500 packs and the violator has been administratively punished but within the time limit prescribed in Article 11 of the Administrative Violations Handling Decree dated July 2, 2002, and the Decree amending and supplementing some articles of the Administrative Violations Handling Decree dated April 2, 2008, and still violates or has been convicted of this crime, not yet having their criminal record erased and still violate or have signs of committing a crime, the file must be transferred to the competent criminal proceedings agency to pursue criminal responsibility. In cases where the criminal proceedings agency decides not to pursue criminal responsibility and transfers it to administrative violation penalties, the level of administrative violation penalty in the form of a fine shall be VND 100,000,000.

11. Additional forms of punishment:

a) Confiscate the contraband items for violations stipulated from Clause 1 to Clause 9 of this Article;

b) Suspend the right to use the business license for six months to twelve months for violations stipulated from Clause 5 to Clause 9 of this Article.

12. Measures to address consequences: destroy contraband cigarette sticks according to regulations; individuals and organizations violating must bear all costs related to the destruction of contraband items stipulated from Clause 1 to Clause 9 of this Article. In cases where it is not possible to apply the measure of compelling individuals and organizations violating to destroy, confiscate for destruction according to regulations.

Article 11c. Violations of regulations on trading in smuggled tobacco raw materials

1. A fine of from VND 100,000 to VND 500,000 shall be imposed for the act of buying, selling, transporting, or storing smuggled tobacco raw materials in the form of dry leaves not yet stripped of stems weighing less than 50 kilograms (for loose tobacco leaves, pre-processed tobacco leaves with stems removed, tobacco threads, tobacco sheets, tobacco stems, and other substitute products used to produce tobacco products, which are converted according to equivalent weight).

2. A fine of from VND 500,000 to VND 1,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a weight of from 50 kilograms to 100 kilograms.

3. A fine of from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a weight of from 100 kilograms to 300 kilograms.

4. A fine of from VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a weight of from 300 kilograms to 500 kilograms.

5. A fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a weight of from 500 kilograms to 700 kilograms.

6. A fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a weight of from 700 kilograms to 1,000 kilograms.

7. A fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a weight of from 1,000 kilograms to 1,500 kilograms.

8. A fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for violations stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article with a weight of from 1,500 kilograms to less than 2,000 kilograms.

9. For violations stipulated in this Article with a weight of 2,000 kilograms or more, the agency discovering or handling the case must transfer the file to the competent criminal proceedings agency to pursue criminal responsibility. In cases where the criminal proceedings agency decides not to pursue criminal responsibility and transfers it to administrative violation penalties, the level of administrative violation penalty in the form of a fine shall be VND 100,000,000.

10. For violations stipulated in this Article with a weight of less than 2,000 kilograms and where the violator has been administratively penalized but within the period specified in Article 11 of the Administrative Violation Handling Decree dated July 2, 2002, and the Decree Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Administrative Violation Handling Decree dated April 2, 2008, and continues to violate or has been convicted of this crime, not yet having had their criminal record expunged, and continues to violate or shows signs of committing a crime, the file must be transferred to the competent criminal proceedings agency to pursue criminal responsibility. In cases where the criminal proceedings agency decides not to pursue criminal responsibility and transfers it to administrative violation penalties, the level of administrative violation penalty in the form of a fine shall be VND 100,000,000.

11. Additional forms of punishment:

a) Confiscate the contraband items for violations stipulated from Clause 1 to Clause 9 of this Article;

b) Suspend the right to use the business license for six months to twelve months for violations stipulated from Clause 5 to Clause 9 of this Article.

12. Measures to remedy consequences: destroy contraband tobacco raw materials that do not meet quality standards as prescribed; individuals and organizations violating must bear all costs related to the destruction of contraband items that do not meet quality standards as prescribed from Clause 1 to Clause 9 of this Article. In cases where it is not possible to apply the measure of compelling individuals and organizations violating to destroy, they shall be confiscated for destruction as prescribed.

Article 2. Effective Date

This Decree takes effect from September 1, 2010.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to guide the implementation of this Decree.

Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government shall be responsible for implementing this Decree.