THE PRIME MINISTER

DECIDES:

Article 1.- Scope of application

This Decision provides for the responsibilities of agencies, organizations and individuals in the work of preventing, fighting and checking the production of counterfeit money, the storage, transportation and circulation of counterfeit money, and the ruination of Vietnamese money.

Article 2.- Interpretation of terms

The terms in this Decision shall be construed as follows:

1. Vietnamese money prescribed in this Decision is understood to include banknotes and coins issued by Vietnam State Bank (hereinafter called the State Bank for short).

2. Counterfeit money means assorted kinds of money identical to Vietnamese money but not printed, minted and issued by Vietnam State Bank.

Article 3.- The following acts are strictly prohibited

1. Producing, transporting, storing, circulating, selling or buying counterfeit money.

2. Ruining Vietnamese money in any form.

3. Duplicating Vietnamese money for any purposes without written consents of the State Bank.

4. Refusing to receive and/or circulate money issued by the State Bank within the Vietnamese territory.

Article 4.- Rights and responsibilities of agencies, organizations and individuals

1. To preserve Vietnamese money during the management and use thereof.

2. To request functional agencies to expertise Vietnamese money as prescribed in Article 6 of this Decision.

3. To promptly notify the nearest police offices, border guards or customs offices of violation acts defined in Article 3 of this Decision.

4. Agencies, units, economic organizations, social organizations and individuals having counterfeit money shall have to promptly submit them to the police offices, the State Bank, border guards or customs offices at the most convenient places.

5. The State Bank, credit institutions, State Treasuries and other organizations engaged in banking activities as well as customs offices and border guards, when detecting counterfeit money, shall have to make records thereon and seize such money; if detecting money doubted to be counterfeits, to make records thereon, temporarily seize such money and promptly notify the nearest police offices thereof.

Article 5.- Information on Vietnamese money and counterfeit money

1. The State Bank shall announce the characteristics of, and methods for recognizing, Vietnamese money on the mass media. This announcement must be posted up publicly at transaction offices of the State Bank, credit institutions, State Treasuries and other organizations engaged in banking activities.

2. In case of necessity, the State Bank shall publicly announce on the mass media the characteristics of counterfeit money being in circulation for agencies, units, economic organizations, social organizations and individuals to know.

3. The provision and publication of information on counterfeit money shall comply with law provisions.

Article 6.- Money expertise

1. The State Bank shall organize the expertise and notify the results of the expertise of counterfeit money and money doubted to be counterfeits to all organizations and individuals having the requests therefor. The expertise shall be carried out free of charge.

2. The Ministry of Public Security shall organize the expertise upon the detection and seizure of counterfeit money and ruined money, the temporary seizure of money doubted to be counterfeits and money doubted to be ruined, or at the requests of agencies, units, economic organizations or social organizations.

3. In cases of failure to reach agreement on the results of the expertise of genuine money and counterfeit money, the expertise conclusions of the State Bank shall be valid for implementation.

Article 7.- Handling of seized and temporarily seized money

When receiving the written conclusions of agencies competent to expertise Vietnamese money, agencies and/or organizations which have seized counterfeit money or temporarily seized money doubted to be counterfeits under Clause 5, Article 4 of this Decision shall have to immediately return the amounts of money determined as genuine to organizations and/or individuals possessing such money or seize the amounts determined as counterfeit, and notify organizations and/or individuals possessing such money thereof in writing.

Article 8.- Recovery and destruction of counterfeit money and ruined money

1. Apart from the amounts of counterfeit money and ruined money used as materials or involved in cases being in the process of investigation or trial according to law provisions, the police offices, border guards and customs offices shall submit the whole amounts of counterfeit money and ruined money already seized to the State Bank.

2. The Ministry of Public Security and the State Bank may keep a number of counterfeit money and ruined money for use as research materials; the Minister of Public Security and the State Bank Governor shall decide on the volume and categories, and provide for the management and use of these materials by his/her ministry or his/her agency.

3. The State Bank shall organize the reception and destruction of counterfeit money and ruined money. The destruction of counterfeit money and ruined money shall comply with the provisions prescribed for money unqualified for circulation.

Article 9.- Responsibilities of ministries and branches

1. The Ministry of Public Security shall assume the prime and all-sided responsibility in the work of preventing and combating counterfeit money and protecting Vietnamese money.

2. The Ministry of Public Security shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the State Bank, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance in guiding and directing concerned units in handling counterfeit money, money doubted to be counterfeits, and money doubted to be ruined, and in the work of preventing and combating counterfeit money and protecting Vietnamese money.

3. The State Bank shall have to ensure that the money in circulation are durable, fine, highly capable of anti-counterfeiting and convenient for management and use, and guide preservation measures suitable to money materials so as to prolong the use duration of money in circulation.

Article 10.- Reporting, reward, commendation and handling of violations

1. The State Bank, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Finance shall report on the protection of Vietnamese money to the Prime Minister according to their respective State management functions, tasks, and powers.

2. The reward and commendation for units, organizations and individuals recording achievements in the prevention and combat of counterfeit money and protection of Vietnamese money shall be considered and decided by the ministries and agencies stated in Clause 1 of this Article according to law provisions. In cases where units, organizations and individuals record outstanding achievements, the concerned ministries and agencies shall report thereon to the Prime Minister for reward and commendation.

3. Organizations and individuals that violate this Decision shall, depending on the nature and seriousness of their violations, be handled according to law provisions.

Article 11.- Implementation effect and responsibility

1. This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the provincial/municipal People’s Committees shall have to implement this Decision.

Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI