JOINT CIRCULAR

GUIDING THE COLLECTION, MANAGEMENT AND USE OF FINES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS IN THE PRICING FIELD

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 44/2000/ND-CP of September 1, 2000 on the sanctioning of administrative violations in the pricing field;
The Ministry of Finance and the Government Pricing Committee hereby jointly guide the collection, management and use of fines for administrative violations in the field of pricing as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Scope of application:

This Circular applies to all amounts collected from the imposition of sanctioning forms specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4, Article 8 of the Government’s Decree No. 44/2000/ND-CP of September 1, 2000 on the sanctioning of administrative violations in the pricing field (hereinafter called Decree No. 44/2000/ND-CP for short) by individuals and bodies competent to sanction administrative violations in the pricing fields, which they have detected and handled.

2. Amounts collected from the sanctioning of administrative violations in the pricing field comprise:

2.1 Fines paid by organizations and individuals that have committed administrative violations in the pricing field under sanctioning decisions or complaint-settling decisions (if any) of competent bodies according to Decree No. 44/2000/ND-CP and the Government Pricing Committee’s Circular No. 04/2000/TT-BVGCP of November 15, 2000 guiding the implementation of the said Decree;

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2.3 Retrospectively collected amounts which should have been paid according to regulations for the price policy implementation but had been evaded.

2.4 Recovered price difference amounts due to the price fixing in contravention of the State’s regulations.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS ON THE MANAGEMENT AND USE OF AMOUNTS COLLECTED FROM THE SANCTIONING OF ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS IN THE PRICING FIELD

1. Concentration of amounts collected from the sanctioning of administrative violations in the pricing field

1.1 All amounts collected from the sanctioning of administrative violations in the pricing field shall be remitted into the temporary deposit accounts opened at the State Treasuries by the provincial and district finance offices in the localities where such violations are committed. The State Treasuries shall have to collect them and organize the collection of fines according to decisions of bodies and individuals with the sanctioning competence.

1.2 Bases for collection of fines and application of sanctioning forms specified in Article 8 of Decree No. 44/2000/ND-CP include sanctioning decisions or complaint-settling decisions (if any) of competent individuals and bodies prescribed in Decree No. 44/2000/ND-CP. Bodies and individuals competent to issue sanctioning decisions are strictly forbidden to directly collect fines.

Sanctioning decisions shall be made according to the common form set by the Government Pricing Committee, in which the decision-issuing date, the full name and address of the violating individual or organization, the fine amount… must be clearly stated.

Organizations and individuals that are sanctioned for administrative violations, have their price subsidies, goods transport freight subsidies and monetary supports for the price policy implementation recovered, are forced to compensate whole amounts lost due to their administrative violations or ordered to pay the outstanding amounts payable for the price policy implementation according to regulations, shall have to pay such amounts at the places stated in the sanctioning decisions.

1.3 The regime of management of fine receipts shall comply with current regulations.

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2.1 The Finance and Pricing Services of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall open temporary deposit accounts at the provincial State Treasuries for concentrated collection of amounts from the sanctioning of administrative violations in the pricing field in those cases of violation falling under the handling competence of the presidents of the provincial-level People’s Committees.

- The district-level finance offices (of districts, provincial towns) shall open temporary deposit accounts at the district State Treasuries for concentrated collection of amounts from the sanctioning of administrative violations in the pricing field in those cases sanctioned under decisions of the presidents of the People’s Committees of urban and rural districts, provincial capitals and towns and cases decided and dealt with by the presidents of the People’s Committees of communes, wards and townships.

- For the amounts remitted in the temporary deposit accounts, the State Treasuries shall open books for monitoring each type of amounts specified at Point 2 of Section I for management and use according to the provisions in this Circular.

2.2 For cases detected and handled by specialized inspectors according to their competence prescribed in Article 17 of Decree No. 44/2000/ND-CP, the amounts collected from the sanctioning of administrative violations in the pricing field shall be remitted into the temporary deposit accounts opened at the State Treasuries of the places where such cases occur.

3. Distribution and use of amounts in the temporary deposit accounts

3.1 For recovered price subsidies, goods transport freight subsidies and monetary supports for the price policy implementation due to false declarations and over-declaration in dossiers and vouchers; recovered price subsidies, goods transport freight subsidies and monetary supports which have been used for wrong purposes as specified at Item 2.2, Point 2, Section I of this Circular, they shall be repaid to the State budget on the principle that they shall be repaid to the budget of a level that has paid them. The budget repayment shall comply with current regulations on budget repayment.

3.2 For the retrospectively collected amounts which should have been paid for the price policy implementation according to regulations but had been evaded, as specified at Item 2.3, Point 2, Section I of this Circular, they shall be paid into the State budget according to current regulations on such amounts.

3.3 For amounts being the price differences confiscated due to wrong implementation of price regulations as specified at Item 2.4, Point 2, Section I of this Circular, if there is a decision of the sanctioning body agreeing on repaying them to the victims, they shall be repaid to the victims. The amounts repaid to the victims must not exceed the price differences confiscated in each case and actually remitted into the temporary deposit accounts. Where they are not repaid to the victims, they shall be paid into the provincial-level budgets under decisions of the competent authorities.

3.4 For the whole amount of fines for administrative violations in the pricing field as specified at Item 2.1, Point 2, Section I of this Circular, which has been collected and paid into the State budget, it shall be left to the localities as support for the inspection in the pricing field.

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- Basing themselves on the decisions of the presidents of the competent People’s Committees, the finance offices of the same level shall effect the transfer of money from the temporary deposit accounts to the accounts of the recipient units, and supervise the management and use thereof under the guidance in the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 52/TC/CSTC of September 12, 1996 guiding the collection and use of fines on administrative violations and Circular No. 63/TC/CSTC of September 11, 1997 additionally guiding some points of the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 52/TC/CSTC of September 12, 1996.

4. Accounting, book-keeping and settlement

Units involved in sanctioning administrative violations in the pricing field shall have to open accounting books to monitor amounts collected and paid from the sanctioning of administrative violations under the guidance of this Circular; monitor the receipt, use and settlement of the funding from the source of fines for administrative violations in the pricing field; make financial reports and settlement reports according to the provisions of the State Budget Law and current regulations on the financial management and accounting.

The State Treasuries of all levels shall practice cost-accounting of the amount collected, remitted and repaid from the sanctioning of administrative violations in the pricing field according to the State Budget Content and current financial and accounting regimes.

III. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

This Circular takes effect 15 days after is signing. All cases of administrative violation already detected but not yet handled till the effective date of this Circular shall be settled according to the provisions of this Circular.

Any problems arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported by the branches and levels to the Ministry of Finance and the Government Pricing Committee for study and additional guidance.

FOR THE MINISTER OF FINANCE
VICE MINISTER





Tran Van Ta

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