DECREE

ON THE MANAGEMENT OF EXPORT AND IMPORT OF CULTURAL PRODUCTS NOT FOR BUSINESS PURPOSES

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
Pursuant to the November 12, 1996 Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents;
In order to enhance the effectiveness of the State management over the export and import of cultural products;
With a view to meeting the need of expanding the cultural and information exchange and cooperation between Vietnam and foreign countries, encouraging the introduction of the Vietnamese culture to foreign countries, preserving and promoting the national culture, and selectively absorbing the world’s advanced cultures;
At the proposal of the Minister of Culture and Information,

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Scope of regulation

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Activities of exporting and importing cultural products not for business purposes (hereinafter referred to as the export and import of cultural products) mean activities of bringing from Vietnam to foreign countries or from foreign countries into Vietnam cultural products of various kinds for personal use, presentation, donation, participation in exhibitions, trade fairs or contests, cooperation, exchange, in service of workshops, festivals, use as aids or for other purposes, but not for sale or profit-earning purposes.

2. Cultural products prescribed in this Decree include:

a/ Books, newspapers, magazines, documents, catalogues, pictures, photos, posters, calendars and maps;

b/ Audio or video tapes and disks of all kinds; films, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, hard disks and optical disks already recorded; other products of the audio-visual technology already recorded with information in form of scripts, sound or images;

c/ Fine-art works.

3. The export and import of cultural products being cultural heritage shall comply with the provisions of the June 29, 2001 Cultural Heritage Law.

Article 2.- Objects of application

1. Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals (hereinafter referred collectively to as organizations and individuals) that have cultural products exported and/or imported not for business purposes shall have to comply with the provisions of this Decree and other relevant provisions of law.

2. Organizations and individuals that wish to publish or disseminate their works overseas shall have to comply with the provisions of the Government’s Decree No. 72/2000/ND-CP of December 5, 2000 on the overseas publication and dissemination of works.

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Article 3.- Taxes, fees and charges

Organizations and individuals that export and/or import cultural products of high value exceeding the prescribed level eligible for tax exemption (specific limits are prescribed by the Law on Export Tax and Import Tax) shall have to pay taxes according to the provisions of the legislation on export tax and import tax as well as fees and charges according to the provisions of the Charge and Fee Ordinance.

Chapter II

MANAGEMENT OF EXPORTED AND IMPORTED CULTURAL PRODUCTS

Article 4.- Cultural products banned from export and/or import

1. It is strictly prohibited to export and/or import the following cultural products:

a/ Those with contents opposing to the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, undermining the entire people’s unity bloc;

b/ Those with contents provoking violence, propagating aggressive war, sowing hatred among nations and peoples; inciting depraved and obscene lifestyles and crimes;

c/ Those containing State secrets;

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e/ Those violating the provisions of the Vietnamese law on goods advertisement; and the provisions of the Publication Law, the Press Law and the Cultural Heritage Law, the Civil Code’s provisions on copyright and other law provisions of the Vietnamese State;

f/ Other types of cultural products banned by law from storing, dissemination and circulation in Vietnam.

2. In special cases, in service of their professional work or research, the ministries and branches at the central level may be permitted to import cultural products specified in Clause 1 of this Article. The heads of the agencies importing such cultural products shall have to manage and use them in strict compliance with the provisions of law. The competence to permit the import thereof is provided for in Clause 1, Article 8 of this Decree.

The Ministry of Culture and Information shall assume the prime responsibility and closely coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and other concerned ministries and branches in organizing the implementation of these regulations.

Article 5.- Exported cultural products

For cultural products other than those specified in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Decree, when being exported, no permit of the culture and information agency is required, but only the customs procedures shall be carried out according to Article 7 of this Decree.

Article 6.- Imported cultural products

Cultural products other than those specified in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Decree, when being imported, must be permitted by the competent State management agencies defined in Article 8 of this Decree.

Chapter III

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Article 7.- Procedures for handling the export of cultural products

1. Cultural products carried along by passengers, packed in luggage, goods bales or postal parcels or items, not of the banned types prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Decree and already lawfully published, made public, disseminated and circulated in the Vietnamese territory, when being exported, require no permit of the culture and information agency.

2. Cultural products being documents for internal use within agencies and organizations, when being exported, must comply with the provisions of the December 28, 2000 Ordinance on the Protection of State Secrets.

3. The Finance Minister shall direct and guide the customs offices in simplifying the procedures for exporting cultural products other than those banned under the provisions of the June 29, 2001 Customs Law and this Decree. In cases where it is necessary to verify contents of cultural products, the competent customs offices shall have to consult the expertise opinions of the competent agency(ies) in charge of specialized management over cultural products’ contents.

Article 8.- The competence to grant permits for import of cultural products

1. The Minister of Culture and Information shall grant permits for import of cultural products in the following cases:

a/ Cultural products prescribed in Clause 2, Article 4 of this Decree, after obtaining written opinions of the Minister of Public Security or the Minister of Defense;

b/ Cultural products for participation in exhibitions, trade fairs, contests or festivals at the national level, or for cultural exchange, cooperation or assistance;

c/ Motion pictures and television films for dissemination purpose according to provisions of law; books, newspapers and magazines for popularization and distribution throughout the country or in different localities at the requests of the heads of the ministerial-level branch-managing agencies in charge of State management over imported cultural products’ contents;

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2. The People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall direct and guide the provincial/municipal Culture and Information Services in granting permits to individuals and organizations in their respective localities for import of cultural products other than those specified in Clauses 1 and 3 of this Article, to be used for the following purposes:

a/ Cultural products in service of works of organizations or for personal use;

b/ Cultural products for participation in exhibitions, trade fairs, contests or festivals; for circulation or dissemination in their localities;

c/ Cultural products for use for other purposes at the requests of the heads of the provincial-level branch-managing agencies in charge of State management over imported cultural products’ contents;

d/ Cultural products, for which the import permits are granted under the Culture and Information Minister’s authorization.

3. The Finance Minister shall direct the customs offices in carrying out the procedures for importing the following cultural products:

a/ Cultural products being documents in service of international seminars and conferences already permitted by the Vietnamese competent agencies to be organized in Vietnam;

b/ Cultural products being movable assets of individuals, families and organizations to serve their needs;

c/ Cultural products within the limits of luggage carried along by passengers on entry for personal daily-life use;

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In cases where it is necessary to verify the contents of imported cultural products, the competent customs offices shall have to consult expertise opinions of the competent agencies in charge of specialized management over cultural products’ contents.

Article 9.- Procedures for granting permits for import of cultural products

1. Organizations and individuals wishing to import cultural products according to the provisions in Clauses 1 and 2, Article 8 shall have to send dossiers requesting the permit granting to the competent culture and information agencies defined in Article 8 of this Decree.

Each dossier requesting the permit granting comprises:

a/ A written request for permit granting, clearly stating type, content, quantity, origin, use purpose and scope, of cultural products;

b/ Where cultural products are imported for wide dissemination and distribution, the dossier must be enclosed with a written request of the head of a central-level agency attached to the Government (for central-level organizations) or a provincial-level agency (for local organizations and individuals);

c/ Where the permit-granting agency needs to examine the contents of cultural products, the permit-requesting organizations and individuals shall have to supply such cultural products for examination.

The permit form is uniformly set by the Ministry of Culture and Information throughout the country. Permits of the competent culture and information agencies shall serve as basis for carrying out the customs procedures.

2. Organizations and individuals wishing to bring cultural products into Vietnam according to the provisions in Clause 3, Article 8 of this Decree shall only have to complete the customs procedures according to the provisions of the Customs Law.

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Within two working days after receiving complete and valid dossiers, the agencies competent to grant permits shall have to grant permits. In case of refusal to grant permits or necessity to prolong the granting time limit, they shall have to state reasons therefor in writing, and the maximum prolongation must not exceed 10 working days after the receipt of complete dossiers.

Article 11.- Export and import of cultural products by organizations and individuals enjoying the diplomatic privileges and immunities

1. Organizations and individuals enjoying the diplomatic privileges and immunities, when exporting or importing cultural products for personal or family use or for use within their agencies or organizations, shall comply with the provisions of the legislation on diplomatic privileges and immunities.

2. In cases where organizations and individuals defined in Clause 1 of this Article import cultural products for transfer to Vietnamese organizations and/or individuals or for circulation or dissemination in Vietnam, they shall have to fill in the permit-applying procedures at the competent culture and information agencies defined in Article 8 of this Decree.

Chapter IV

STATE MANAGEMENT OVER EXPORT AND IMPORT OF CULTURAL PRODUCTS

Article 12.- Tasks and powers of the Ministry of Culture and Information

The Ministry of Culture and Information is a government agency responsible for performing the State management over activities of exporting and importing cultural products and has the following tasks and powers:

1. To study, compile and submit to the Government for promulgation, and to promulgate according to its own competence legal documents on management of activities of exporting and importing cultural products.

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3. To conduct or assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned ministries, branches and localities in inspecting or examining the settlement of complaints and denunciations; to handle violations in the field of export and import of cultural products according to its competence.

4. To direct, guide and inspect the implementation of legal documents on export and import of cultural products.

Article 13.- Tasks and powers of the Finance Ministry

The Finance Ministry shall, within the ambit of its responsibilities and powers, direct and guide the customs offices in carrying out the procedures for exporting and importing cultural products at border-gates; inspect and handle violations, settle complaints and denunciations about activities of exporting and importing cultural products.

Article 14.- Tasks and powers of the ministries and branches

Within their respective assigned functions, the ministries and branches shall have to coordinate with the Ministry of Culture and Information in unifying the State management over export and import of cultural products.

Article 15.- Tasks and powers and the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities

The People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to direct, guide, examine, inspect, handle violations in and settle complaints and denunciations about activities of exporting and importing cultural products under their respective management.

Chapter V

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Article 16.- Commendation and reward

Organizations and individuals that record achievements in activities of exporting and/or importing cultural products or make merits in detecting acts of violating the provisions of this Decree shall be commended and/or rewarded according to the provisions of law.

Article 17.- Handling of violations

1. Cultural product-exporting and/or importing organizations which commit acts of violating the provisions of this Decree shall, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, be administratively sanctioned according to the regulations on sanctions against administrative violations in the field of culture and information.

2. Cultural product-exporting and/or importing individuals who commit acts of violating the provisions of this Decree shall, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, be administratively sanctioned according to the regulations on sanctions against administrative violations in the field of culture and information or examined for penal liability according to the provisions of law.

3. Persons who grant permits, inspect or supervise activities of exporting and importing cultural products but commit acts of violating the provisions of this Decree shall, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, be disciplined or examined for penal liability. If damage is caused, compensations therefor must be made according to the provisions of law.

Article 18.- Complaints, denunciations and lawsuits in cultural product exporting and importing activities

1. Individuals have the right to lodge denunciations with the competent State agencies against law-breaking acts in activities of exporting and importing cultural products.

2. Organizations and individuals have the right to lodge complaints with the competent State agencies or initiate lawsuits before courts against handling decisions regarding cultural product exporting and importing activities.

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Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 19.- Implementation effect

1. This Decree takes effect 30 days after its signing. To annul Decree No. 100-CP of June 1, 1966 of the Government Council on the unified management of export and import of cultural products.

2. The Culture and Information Minister shall have to guide the implementation of this Decree.

3. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Decree.

ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNMENT
PRIME MINISTER




Phan Van Khai

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