DECIDES:

Article 1.- To issue together with this Decision the Regulation on joint venture for printing and distribution of publications.

Article 2.- The Regulation issued together with this Decision takes effect 15 days after its signing.

Article 3.- The director of the Ministry’s Office, the head of the Publication Department, the directors of the provincial/municipal Culture and Information Departments, the directors of publishing houses, the directors of printing establishments, the directors of book distribution organizations, the owners of publication distribution agents and shops as well as the relevant organizations and individuals shall have to implement this Decision.

Minister of Culture and Information
NGUYEN KHOA DIEM

REGULATION ON JOINT VENTURE FOR PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLICATIONS

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Joint venture for printing and distribution of publications stipulated in this Regulation is a form of capital contribution by domestic organizations and/or individuals to publishing houses in order to print and distribute publications; a joint venture shall be effected for only one publication.

Publishing houses borrowing capital from domestic organizations and/or individuals to carry out publishing activities shall not be subject to this Regulation.

Article 2.- Publishing houses having joint-venture publications shall have to state clearly in the registrations of publication plans with the Publication Department the parties to joint venture, form of joint venture and time for publishing. The joint-venture publications must comply with the principles and purposes of the publishing houses and shall be printed only after the Publication Department issues a written approval of the plan registrations.

Article 3.- The directors and editors-in-chief of publishing houses; the directors of printing establishments; the directors and heads of publication distribution organizations shall take responsibility before law for the joint-venture publications according to the provisions of the Law on Publication and the specific provisions of this Regulation.

Organizations and/or individuals contributing capital to the printing and distribution of publications shall be accountable before law according to the contracts concluded with publishing houses.

Article 4.- The publication State management agencies and public employees in charge of handling work related to the publishing, printing and distribution shall not be allowed to enter into joint ventures for the printing and distribution of publications.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

A. FOR PUBLISHING HOUSES

Article 5.- When entering into joint venture with organizations and/or individuals for printing and distribution of publications, publishing houses shall have to sign contracts with the following main contents:

1. The purpose of the joint venture for printing and distribution of publications (business or non-business).

2. The publishing house’s responsibility for the entire process of editing and approving the manuscript in strict compliance with the Law on Publication and the Government’s Decree No.79/CP detailing the implementation of this Law;

3. The responsibility for distribution of the publication (according to the provisions at Article 12 of this Regulation).

4. The rates of capital contribution and profit division among the joint-venture parties.

5. The responsibilities of each joint-venture party in case of their breach of the contract.

Article 6.- The editing of a joint-venture publication must comply with the set procedures, and the director or editor-in-chief of the publishing house shall have to sign the approval of printing. The manuscript given for printing must be duplicated in two copies: one handed over to the printing establishment and the other kept at the publishing house for comparison. For joint-venture publications being books, calendars of all types, sound and video tapes and discs, it is necessary to clearly inscribe on the fourth cover or the final page the names of organizations and/or individuals entering into joint venture with the publishing house.

Only the publishing house’s officials who are authorized by the publishing house’s leader may conduct transactions directly with the printing establishment for the printing of joint-venture publication.

Article 7.- The heads of branches of a publishing house may sign extracts of publication papers and joint-venture contracts with organizations and/or individuals to print and distribute publications only when they are so authorized in writing by the director of the publishing house.

Article 8.- Upon completion of the printing of a joint-venture publication, the publishing house shall have to fill in the warehousing and ex-warehousing procedures in accordance with the current regulations on financial and accounting management; read to examine the contents of the publication and send copies thereof for depository as prescribed by law; the declaration for depository of the joint-venture publication shall be signed by the director of the publishing house. Seven days after the publication State management agencies receive copies of the publication for depository and have no opinions on its contents or information which must be inscribed thereon according to the provisions of Article 12 of the Government’s Decree No.79/CP detailing the implementation of the Law on Publication, the director of the publishing house may sign the approval of publication distribution.

Article 9.- The recognition of a joint-venture publication by the Publication Department shall be valid only in the plan year; any changes in the name of the project, the number of copies to be printed, the time for publishing and parties to the joint venture may be effected only when they are agreed upon by the Publication Department.

Article 10.- Publishing houses shall be entitled to collect and manage fees and have to pay the author’s remuneration, printing charges and taxes prescribed by law.

B. FOR PRINTING ESTABLISHMENTS

Article 11.- Printing establishments shall, when concluding contracts on the printing of joint-venture publications with publishing houses, shall have to comply with the following stipulations:

1. To conduct transactions for performance of a contract on the printing of a joint-venture publication with a publishing house’s official(s) only when the latter satisfy the following conditions:

a/ Having a paper of introduction signed by the director of the publishing house or head of its branch (which states clearly the name(s) and title(s) of the official(s) sent to discuss the printing of the publication).

b/ The extract of the publication plan (clearly stating the names of the publication and author, the number of pages, the publication sizes, the serial number of the written approval of the publication plan registration issued by the Publication Department). The extract of the publication plan shall not be valid for signing the printing contract if it is erased or is a copy.

c/ The manuscript given for printing must be signed for approval of printing by the director or editor-in-chief of the publishing house.

2. The printing contract shall be signed by the leader of the publishing house, except for cases stipulated in Article 7 of this Regulation.

3. Upon completion of the printing of the publication, the printing establishment shall be allowed to deliver it only to the publishing house, not directly to the joint-venture organization(s) and/or individual(s).

4. The continued printing of the publication must be carried out under a new contract as for the first-time printing in strict compliance with the provisions of Clauses 1 and 2, Article 11 of this Regulation.

C. FOR PUBLICATION DISTRIBUTION ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS

Article 12.- A joint-venture publication shall be distributed only when the director of the publishing house has signed the approval of distribution; only organizations and individuals with business registration for publication distribution may be entitled to distribute the joint-venture publication.

Organizations and/or individuals without business registration for publication distribution shall not be allowed to sell the joint-venture publication in any form; the distribution of the joint-venture publication to organizations and/or individuals without distribution registration shall be carried out by the publishing house.

Article 13.- When receiving joint-venture publications for distribution, the distributing organizations and/or individuals shall have to comply with the following provisions:

1. To receive only joint-venture publications that fully print the information stipulated in Article 12 of the Government’s Decree No.79/CP detailing the implementation of the Law on Publication as well as the names of the joint-venture organizations and/or individuals stipulated in Article 6 of this Regulation.

2. To acquire valid vouchers of delivery and reception as prescribed by law.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 14.- If the directors of publishing houses, directors of printing establishments, directors of publication distribution organizations, agents and shops, during the publishing, printing and distribution of publications, violate the Law on Publication and the provisions of this Regulation, they shall, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, be administratively sanctioned or examined for penal liability.

Article 15.- Once every 6 months or in urgent cases when requested by the publication State management agencies, publishing houses having joint-venture publications shall have to report on the joint-venture plan implementation tempo.

Article 16.- The Publication Department shall have to guide the implementation of this Regulation and coordinate with the concerned agencies in organizing the inspection, examination and handling of violations of this Regulation in the whole country.

Article 17.- The provincial/municipal Culture and Information Departments shall have to coordinate with the concerned agencies in organizing the inspection and handling violations of this Regulation in localities.

Article 18.- This Regulation takes effect 15 days after its signing.

Minister of Culture and Information
NGUYEN KHOA DIEM