DECREE No. 81/1998/ND-CP OF OCTOBER 1st, 1998 ON THE PRINTING, MINTING, PRESERVATION, TRANSPORT AND DESTRUCTION OF BANKNOTES AND COINS; AND THE PRESERVATION AND TRANSPORT OF PRECIOUS PROPERTY AND VALUABLE PAPERS WITHIN THE BANKING SYSTEM

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;

Pursuant to the Law on the State Bank of Vietnam No. 01/1997-QH10 of December 12, 1997;

At the proposal of the Governor of the State Bank,

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Scope of regulation

This Decree stipulates the printing, minting, preservation, transport and destruction of banknotes and coins (collectively referred to as money for short); and the preservation and transport of precious property and valuable papers within the banking system.

Article 2.- Objects of regulation

This Decree regulates the following objects:

- Banknotes and coins which are printed, minted and issued by the State Bank of Vietnam (or the State Bank for short);

- Specimen money, souvenir money;

- Valuable papers, including: payment checks, commercial bills, credit bills, bonds and other kinds of valuable papers as specified by law;

- Precious property, including: precious metals, gems, foreign currencies and other kinds of precious property.

Article 3.- The responsibility of the State Bank

The State Bank is the agency that organizes the printing, minting and destruction of money, as well as the preservation and transport of money, precious property and valuable papers; guides and inspects the preservation and transport of money, precious property and valuable papers and the fund operations of credit institutions.

Chapter II

MONEY PRINTING AND MINTING

Article 4.- The additional printing and minting of money of those kinds currently circulated, and the printing and minting of money of new kinds not yet publicized for circulation

1. The Governor of the State Bank shall base himself/herself on the plan for additional supply of money approved by the Government, the economy's payment requirements, the demand for current money reserve and the annual demand for money to replace those which are no longer up to the circulation standards, to decide the structure, volume and value of current money that must be additionally printed and/or minted and then assign contracts therefor to the money printing and minting factories.

2. The State Bank shall formulate the project for printing and/or minting money of new kinds which have not been publicized for circulation in order to supplement or replace current money, then submit it to the Prime Minister for approval. Enclosed with the project must be the model designs of denominations, sizes, weights, drawings, adornments and other characteristics of such new kinds of banknotes and/or coins.

Article 5.- Money designing

1. The money designing shall be undertaken by the State Bank and must meet the following requirements:

a) The presentation: must be highly aesthetic, distinctive and conformable to the Vietnamese cultural identity;

b) The technical specifications: must be compatible with materials, technological processes of making plates for printing and minting money of the factories; and convenient for use and preservation.

2. The State Bank shall organize the research into and application of advanced money-designing techniques which must ensure the high durability, aesthetic quality and anti-fake properties of the money; and fit the materials as well as plate-making, printing and minting technologies of the factories.

Article 6.- Making plates for money printing and minting

Plates for printing and minting (trial printing and minting as well as official printing and minting) of money of various kinds made by money printing and minting factories must be highly precise, expressive of the full content of the model designs and compatible with the money printing and minting technology of each factory in each period.

Article 7.- Organization and management of the money printing and minting

1. The money printing and minting shall be carried out by factories under contracts with the State Bank.

2. The money printing and minting factories shall have to:

a) Prepare all equipment, supplies, raw materials and auxiliary materials for the money printing and minting under contracts;

b) Ensure the stable quality of printed and minted money according to the technical specifications already approved for each kind of money by the State Bank Governor;

c) Bear responsibility for the volume and quality of the printed and minted money. The completely printed or minted money, before being delivered to the State Bank, must be uniformly packed according to the regulations of the State Bank Governor;

d) Compile dossiers to monitor the backgrounds of each kind of printed or minted money according to the regulations of the State Bank Governor;

e) Organize the timely and accurate accounting of the money printing and minting in accordance with provisions of the legislation on accounting and statistics;

f) Organize the separate preservation and control of faulty printing and minting products which are not up to the prescribed specifications, in order to destroy them according to the regulations of the State Bank Governor.

3. The State Bank Governor shall have to report to the Prime Minister on the result of the annual money printing and minting and at the same time send reports thereon to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Security.

Article 8.- The promulgation of regulations

The State Bank Governor shall promulgate regulations on:

1. Model designing; making of printing and minting plates; money printing and minting technological processes; technical standards of all kinds of money;

2. Keeping confidentiality in the money printing and minting; putting safety codes on the original plates of banknotes and coins;

3. Purchase of equipment, supplies, raw materials and auxiliary materials in service of money printing and minting.

Article 9.- The inspection and supervision

The Ministry of Finance shall have to:

1. Inspect vouchers, books and the accounting by the State Bank of the volume and value according to the denominations of various kinds of money annually printed and/or minted;

2. Assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and the State Bank in elaborating regulations and directly supervising the money printing and minting in factories.

Chapter III

PRESERVATION OF MONEY, PRECIOUS PROPERTY AND VALUABLE PAPERS

Article 10.- The responsibility for preserving money, precious property and valuable papers

1. Newly printed or minted money which have not been delivered to the State Bank shall be preserved by the money printing and minting factories in their storehouses according to the regulations on the State Bank Governor.

2. Within its management scope, the State Bank shall have to preserve all kinds of money which have not yet been publicized for circulation, the current money (including those not up to the circulation standards), money suspended from circulation, specimen money, souvenir money, precious property and valuable papers.

3. Money, precious property and valuable papers being property of credit institutions shall be preserved by such credit institutions in accordance with regulations of the State Bank Governor.

Article 11.- Building and managing money storehouses

1. The State Bank Governor shall issue the regula-tions on technical standards of money storehouses, the regime of managing money storehouses and property preservation service in the banking system.

2. The State Bank shall be entitled to build central-level money storehouses and money storehouses at its provincial/municipal branches for the preservation of money, precious property and valuable papers under its management.

3. The money printing and/or minting factories and credit institutions shall be entitled to build money storehouse systems for the preservation of money, precious property and valuable papers under their respective management.

Article 12.- Protection of money storehouses

1. The Ministry of Public Security shall have to protect money printing and minting factories; the central-level money storehouses and the money storehouses at the State Bank's provincial/municipal branches.

2. The People's Committees at all levels in localities where the money storehouses of the banking system are located shall have to create favorable conditions for safeguarding such money storehouses.

Chapter IV

THE TRANSPORTATION OF MONEY, PRECIOUS PROPERTY AND VALUABLE PAPERS

Article 13.- Transportation scope and responsibility

1. The State Bank shall have to organize the transportation of money, precious property and valuable papers under its management within the following scope:

a) From money printing and minting factories, airports, seaports, riverports and railway stations to the central-level money storehouses and vice versa;

b) Between the central-level money storehouses;

c) Between the central-level money storehouses and the money storehouses of the State Bank's provincial/municipal branches;

d) Between the money storehouses of the State Bank's provincial/municipal branches.

2. Credit institutions shall have to organize the transportation of money, precious property and valuable papers being property under their respective management between units in the same system and between such credit institutions and the State Bank.

Article 14.- Transport means

The State Bank shall be entitled to set up car transport teams tasked to transport money, precious property and valuable papers. These car transport teams shall be equipped with special-use vehicles and necessary technical facilities.

Article 15.- Transport principles

1. The transportation of money, precious property and valuable papers within the State Bank and credit institution systems must ensure the following principles:

a) Having a transfer order of the competent authority;

b) Transporting by special-use vehicles or special-use transport means;

c) Assigning enough personnel to escort and guard the transportation;

d) Keeping secret the transport itineraries.

2. The State Bank Governor shall set the standards of vehicles, transport means and special-use technical facilities; the process of transporting money, precious property and valuable papers within the State Bank and credit institution systems.

Article 16.- Guarding the transportation

1. The Ministry of Public Security shall have to organize forces to safeguard the transport of money, precious property and valuable papers of the State Bank when it is so requested.

2. The control stations and mobile patrol squads are strictly forbidden to search vehicles and special-use transport means transporting money, precious property and valuable papers of the State Bank and credit institutions, except otherwise prescribed by law.

3. The competent agencies shall have to grant priority laissez-passers to the means performing the task of transporting money, precious property and valuable papers of the State Bank to travel on rush hours, get through bridges and ferries and enter restricted roads.

4. The People's Committees at all levels shall have to coordinate with the State Bank and credit institutions in promptly handling incidents during the transportation of money, precious property and valuable papers of the State Bank and credit institutions that occur in their localities when they are informed thereof.

Chapter V

MONEY DESTRUCTION

Article 17.- Kinds of money to be destroyed

Money to be destroyed includes:

1. Banknotes and coins of various kinds that are not up to the circulation standards under the State Bank's regulations;

2. Kinds of money that are suspended from circulation.

Article 18.- Management of the money destruction

1. Annually or periodically, basing himself/herself on the volume of money of kinds prescribed in Article 17 still in storage, the State Bank Governor shall decide the volume and value of each kind of money to be destroyed.

2. The destruction of money shall be carried out regularly, the time for money destruction shall be decided by the State Bank Governor, and the destruction shall only be carried out at the central-level money storehouses of the State Bank.

3. The destroyed money must be turned into scrap that cannot be restored for use in any form.

4. The State Bank shall have to make full and accurate accounting of the destroyed money; report to the Prime Minister on the result of the money destruction each time and the whole year, and at the same time send reports thereon to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Security.

Article 19.- Accounting of proceeds from the sale of scrap

The proceeds from the sale of scrap from the money destruction shall be accounted into the professional operations' revenues of the State Bank.

Article 20.- Organization of money destruction

The State Bank Governor shall promulgate the regulation on money destruction and set up a specia-lized apparatus to organize the money destruction.

Article 21.- Supervision of money destruction

1. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security and the State Bank in elaborating the supervision regulation, assigning their officials to supervise the money destruction process and certifying the result of money destruction by the State Bank.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall inspect accounting vouchers and books of the State Bank on annual money destruction.

Chapter VI

EXPENSES FOR MONEY PRINTING, MINTING, PRESERVATION, TRANSPORT AND DESTRUCTION

Article 22.- Regular expenses

The annual regular expenses for the printing, minting, preservation, transport and destruction of money of various kinds shall be made and managed according to the financial regime of the State Bank.

Article 23.- Expenses for printing and/or minting of money of new kinds

The expenses for the printing and/or minting of money of new kinds which have not been publicized for circulation in order to supplement and/or replace current money shall be separately accounted according to project(s) approved by the Government. The State Bank Governor shall manage and inspect the contents and characters of such expenses according to the confidentiality regime and report to the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Finance thereon.

Article 24.- The inspection of expenditures

The Ministry of Finance shall inspect the expenditures on the printing, minting, preservation and transport and destruction of money by the State Bank.

Chapter VII

SPECIMEN MONEY, SOUVENIR MONEY

Article 25.- Specimen money

1. Specimen money is an official money of Vietnam being marked with "Tien mau" or "Specimen". The specimen money shall be used as standard model for comparison in the money issuing operation and have no value of a payment instrument in circulation.

2. The State Bank may sell specimen money to organizations and/or individuals in the country or abroad to be used for comparison, collection or souvenir purpose.

Article 26.- Souvenir money

1. Souvenir money is a symbolic money having no value of a payment instrument, and is issued for collection, souvenir or other purposes.

2. The State Bank Governor shall approve the model designs and decide the materials, nominations and volume of souvenir money of all kinds to be printed or minted.

3. The State Bank shall organize by itself or cooperate with domestic and foreign partners in the production and sale of souvenir money.

Article 27.- Management of specimen money and souvenir money

1. The State Bank Governor shall promulgate the Regulation on the management of specimen money and souvenir money.

2. The expenditures on and revenues from the production and sale of specimen money and souvenir money shall be accounted into the operational revenues and expenditures of the State Bank.

Chapter VIII

COMMENDATION AND DISCIPLINE

Article 28.- Commendation

Annually, the State Bank Governor shall consider the commendation or propose the Prime Minister to consider the commendation of organizations and individuals with outstanding achievements in the implementation of provisions of this Decree.

Article 29.- Handling of violations

Organizations and/or individuals that violate the provisions of this Decree shall, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, be disciplined, administratively handled or examined for penal liability as prescribed by law.

Chapter IX

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 30.- Implementation effect

This Decree takes effect 15 days after its signing. The previous legal documents which are contrary to this Decree are now invalidated.

Article 31.- Implementation guidance and inspection

The Governor of the State Bank, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Public Security and the Minister of Communication and Transport shall, within their respective functions and tasks, have to guide and inspect the implementation of this Decree.

Article 32.- Implementation responsibility

The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the ministries 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