DECREE

ON MANAGEMENT OF SECURITY SERVICE BUSINESS

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the November 29,2005 Enterprise Law;
Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
In order to perform the unified state management of security service business activities, to meet socio-economic development requirements and ensure national security, social order and safety;
At the proposal of the Minister of Public Security,

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Governing scope

1. This Decree provides for the management of security service business in the following domains:

a) Body-guard services;

b) Services on protection of property, commodities; protection of houses, production or business establishments, offices of agencies or organizations;

c) Services on maintenance of security and order for sport, entertainment or recreation activities, festivals.

2. Activities of protecting subjects or targets on the state-prescribed lists, which are undertaken by people's police or people's army forces and activities of protecting agencies or enterprises under Decree No. 73/2001/ND-CP of October 5, 2001 on the operation and organization of forces protecting agencies or enterprises, are not governed by this Decree.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Security service enterprises of all economic sectors.

2. Organizations and individuals involved in the security service business establishment, management and activities.

Article 3. Principles for security service business organization and operation

1. The security service business establishment and registration must strictly comply with the provisions of this Decree and relevant laws. The appellations of security service enterprises must strictly comply with the provisions of enterprise law and must comprise the word group of "dich vu bao ve" (security service).

2. Only enterprises which are established and make business registration according to law and possess certificates of full satisfaction of conditions on security and order for security service business according to this Decree may conduct security service business activities.

3. Security service enterprises may not deal in branches, trades or services other than the security services prescribed by this Decree.

4. All security service activities must be carried out under written contracts, which clearly state specific service charge rates.

5. Domestic security service enterprises may enter into investment cooperation with foreign security service enterprises only in cases in which high techniques and technologies which cannot be met by the Vietnamese party are required, and such cooperation can be effected only in form of joint-venture capital contribution, investment in technical facilities and security operations, of which the foreign enterprise's contributed capital only represents under 50% of the legal capital and the total asset value of the joint- venture enterprise. Foreigners shall not be employed as security personnel.

Article 4. Organizations and individuals not entitled to set up or manage security service enterprises and to directly perform security service activities

1. Organizations and individuals banned by the Enterprise Law and other legal documents from setting up and managing enterprises.

2. Persons being subject to other administrative handling measures under the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations; serving their penalties of non-custody reform, residence ban, probation or suspended sentence in the probationary duration or being banned by courts from practice of security service business.

3. Persons with criminal records for intentionally committed crimes or persons subject to other administrative handling measures, who still fail to beat the deadlines for being considered not yet handled for administrative violations; drug addicts.

Article 5. Responsibilities of security service enterprises

1. To strictly abide by the provisions of law and bear responsibility before law for their security service activities.

2. To properly and fully maintain the conditions on security and order throughout their operations.

3. To grant security personnel plaques and certificates to persons who fully satisfy the criteria and have been recruited and trained to be their security personnel; to withdraw security personnel certificates, uniforms and placards from their security personnel who terminate the labor contracts or are sacked.

4. To strictly observe contents of the concluded security service contracts.

5. To pay compensations for damage caused by their contractual breaches, or by enterprises or their personnel that are at fault.

6. To buy social insurance and fully implement other regimes and policies prescribed by law for their employees.

7. To strictly observe the book-keeping, auditing and statistical regimes and pay taxes according to law; the regime of periodical report on security and order in their security service activities to competent police offices.

8. To refuse to satisfy illegal requirements while providing security services and reporting thereon to functional bodies for handling according to law.

9. To abide by the mobilization of competent police offices in case of necessity for the performance of tasks of maintaining security, social order and safety.

10. To strictly abide by the guidance, inspection, examination and handling of violations by competent state bodies.

Article 6. Responsibilities of security personnel

1. To strictly observe the provisions of law in security service activities.

2. When conducting security service activities, to wear uniforms and plaques according to regulations and carry along their security personnel certificates granted by enterprise directors.

3. To perform tasks only within the scope of lawful operations of their security service enterprises and to obligation refuse to perform illegal acts while providing security services.

4. While conducting security service activities, if detecting security- or order-related incidents in the protection areas such as fires, explosions, accidents causing injuries or deaths, public disturbances or other acts with criminal signs, the security personnel performing their tasks in those areas shall rescue the victims, protect the scenes and take necessary measures to minimize damage and simultaneously report such to the nearest police offices for timely handling measures.

5. To strictly abide by the inspection and handling of violations by competent state bodies.

Article 7. Equipment of support instruments for security service enterprises

1. Security service enterprises are equipped with support instruments for task performance according to regulations.

2. The Ministry of Public Security shall guide in detail the quantity and types of support instruments; procedures and competence to equip, manage and use support instruments for security service enterprises.

Article 8. Prohibited acts

1. Organizing and conducting security service activities in contravention of the provisions of this Decree and relevant legal provisions.

2. Letting others borrow the names of organizations or individuals to set up security service enterprises or setting up security service enterprises for business activities to be conducted by others.

3. For security service enterprises and their personnel:

a) Conducting armed activities, investigative activities or private detective activities in any form;

b) Performing directly or via other persons acts infringing upon the lives, health, honor, dignity, personal freedoms and other legitimate rights and interests of organizations or individuals;

c) Employing security personnel who have not yet been trained or granted security operation certificates;

d) Using force or threatening to use force in order to jeopardize, hinder or cause difficulties to routine activities of organizations or individuals, or to infringe upon lawful rights and interests of organizations or individuals;

e) Performing acts beyond limits permitted by law or beyond the lawful contents agreed in security service contracts;

f) Illegally equipping or using assorted weapons, support instruments;

g) Using uniforms, badges with forms and colors similar to those of people's army or people's police forces; uniforms or badges not suitable to civilized lifestyles or the nation's cultural traditions;

h) Conducting security service business activities without certificates of full satisfaction of conditions on security and order, issued by competent police offices or with such certificates withdrawn by competent bodies.

4. For organizations and individuals hiring security services:

a) Hiring security services for purposes of jeopardizing, hindering or causing difficulties to routine and lawful activities of organizations or individuals;

b) Requesting security service enterprises to use force, threaten to use force or to perform illegal acts, infringing upon legitimate rights and interests of organizations or individuals.

Chapter II

CONDITIONS FOR SECURITY SERVICE BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENT, REGISTRATION AND ACTIVITIES

Article 9. Conditions for security service business establishment and registration

1. For domestic organizations and individuals:

The legal capital for security service business is VND 2,000,000,000 (two billion dong).

Security service enterprises must maintain their charter capital at a level not lower than the above capital level throughout their operations.

2. The dossiers evidencing the conditions on capital prescribed in Clause 1 above comprise:

a) The minutes on capital contribution by founding shareholders, for joint-stock companies, or founding members, for limited liability companies with two or more members; the owner's decision on capital allocation, for one-member limited liability companies, with owner being an organization; the written registration of investment capital of enterprise owners, for private enterprises and one-member limited liability companies with owners being individuals;

b) For capital amounts contributed in cash, there must be certification by commercial banks licensed to operate in Vietnam of the collateral security of founding members;

c) For capital amounts contributed in assets, there must be certificates of organizations with valuation function in Vietnam, regarding the results of valuation of assets contributed as capital. The certificates must be valid until the date of submission of dossiers at competent business registration offices.

3. For foreign enterprises in joint ventures with domestic enterprises

Foreign enterprises must be the ones specialized in security service business, having capital amounts and total asset value of USD 500,000 or more, having operated for five consecutive years or more, possessing the certification by competent bodies of the host countries that the enterprises and the persons representing the contributed capital amounts of the enterprises in the joint ventures with Vietnamese enterprises have not yet committed acts of violating the laws of the host or relevant countries.

Article 10. Locations of headquarters, branches, representative offices of security service enterprises

1. The locations of headquarters, branches and representative offices of security service enterprises must be stable for at least one year; if they are houses owned by the business registrants, the business registration dossiers must contain valid papers; if they are rented houses, there must be house-renting contracts of one year or longer terms.

2. In case of relocation of headquarters, branches or representative offices of security service enterprises, the heads of such branches or representative offices must notify such in writing to the provincial-level police offices of the localities of departure and arrival at least 15 days before the relocation.

Article 11. Conditions on, and criteria for, heads of security service enterprises and procedures for grant of certificates of full satisfaction of conditions on security and order

1. Heads of enterprises, branches or representative offices, members of Members' Councils or Management Boards; general directors, deputy general directors, directors, deputy directors and founding members participating in the founding of security service enterprises must fully satisfy the following conditions:

a) Having full civil act capacity, good morality, clear biography and not falling into one of the cases specified in Article 4 of this Decree;

b) Possessing collegial, university or higher degree in economics or law.

2. Those who have worked for other security service enterprises whose business registration certificates were withdrawn must satisfy an additional condition: during three previous consecutive years, they were not managers or did not hold any key position of the enterprises whose business registration certificates were withdrawn.

3. A dossier of request for the grant of certificates of full satisfaction of conditions on security and order to a security service enterprise:

a)The business registration certificate and logo of the enterprise;

b) Resumes (affixed with photos and certified by People's Committees of communes, wards or townships of residence), copies of university or college diplomas (authenticated by competent bodies), copies of decisions on retirement, demobilization or decisions on relief from work (if any), judiciary record cards of enterprise leaders, managers defined in Clause 1 of this Article.

4. Competent police offices defined by the Ministry of Public Security shall consider and grant certificates of full satisfaction of security and order conditions to security service enterprises within seven working days after receiving complete and valid dossiers.

Article 12. Replacement of leaders, managers and change of charter capital of security service enterprises

Upon replacement of their managers or key position holders or change of their charter capital, security service enterprises shall comply with current legal provisions on business registration and fully satisfy the conditions on security, order and capital as provided for in this Decree and notify such in writing to business registration offices and competent police offices within ten days from the date such change is effected.

Article 13. Conditions on criteria for security service personnel

1. Having lawful labor contracts with security service enterprises.

2. Having full civil act capacity, being physically fit (health certificates of health centers or hospitals of district or higher levels), having good morality, clear biography (with certification of police offices of communes, wards or townships of residence), possessing upper secondary education or higher degree and not falling in one of the cases defined in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 4 of this Decree.

3. Possessing security operation certificates issued by competent police offices under regulations of the Ministry of Public Security.

Article 14. Notices on the time of commencement of operations of security service enterprises

1. At least ten days before commencing security service business activities, enterprise heads must send written notices to provincial-level police offices on the locations of their headquarters, geographical areas and time for commencement of operations, together with copies of their business registration certificates and lists of their leadership members, managers and persons holding key positions.

2. In case of relocation of headquarters, branches or representative offices or when a security service enterprise registers its business in one province while opening its branch or representative office or regularly conducting its security service business activities in another province, at least ten days before starting the operations, the enterprise heads must send written notices together with the lists and extracted biographies of persons who will go to work in that province to the provincial-level police office of the arrival locality.

Chapter III

RESPONSIBILITIES OF MINISTRIES, MINISTERIAL-LEVEL AGENCIES AND PROVINCIAL/MUNICIPAL PEOPLE'S COMMITTEES IN MANAGEMENT OF SECURITY SERVICE BUSINESS

Article 15. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Public Security

To be answerable to the Government for the performance of security and order-related state management of security service business activities, having the following tasks and powers:

1. To direct police offices at all levels to inspect and guide the implementation of this Decree and other legal provisions on security and order in security service business activities; to prescribe models of uniforms and badges of security service personnel; stipulate programs, contents, times and responsible bodies for training, grant of operation certificates for security service personnel; organize inspection and handle according to competence acts violating the regulations on security and order in security service business activities.

2. To promulgate according to competence or to propose the Government to promulgate or amend, legal documents concerning the maintenance of security and order in security service business activities.

Article 16. Responsibilities of ministries, branches

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government-attached bodies shall, within the ambit of their respective functions, tasks and powers, coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in managing, directing and guiding the organization and operation of security service enterprises according to law.

Article 17. Responsibilities of provincial/ municipal People's Committees

To perform the state management of security service business activities according to their competence and under the direction and guidance of the Ministry of Public Security according to the provisions of this Decree and relevant laws.

Chapter IV

COMPLAINT, DENUNCIATION, COMMENDATION, AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 18. Complaint, denunciation

1. Individuals and organizations involved in security service business activities or their lawful representatives may complain about decisions of competent state bodies in the management of security service business activities.

2. Agencies, organizations and individuals may denounce law-breaking acts in security service business activities and management thereof.

3. The complaint, denunciation, and settlement of complaints and denunciations comply with the provisions of law on complaint and denunciation.

Article 19. Commendation

Individuals and organizations engaged in security service business activities, that have recorded achievements in business or positively contributed to the maintenance of security and order, will be considered for commendation according to law.

Article 20. Handling of violations

All acts violating the provisions of this Decree and other legal provisions on security service business organization and activities shall, depending on their nature and severity, be administratively sanctioned or examined for penal liability; if material damage is caused, compensations must be paid in accordance with law.

In case security service enterprises or personnel violate provisions of this Decree or seriously violate relevant legal provisions, they shall, apart from being handled according to law, be suspended from business activities, have their certificates of full satisfaction of conditions on security and order, business registration certificates or security service personnel certificates, security service operation certificates withdrawn for between 3 and 6 months or indefinitely.

Enterprises that have certificates of full satisfaction of conditions on security and order withdrawn must terminate their operations and can resume their operations only after they fully satisfy the conditions on security and order and are re-granted certificates of full satisfaction of conditions on security and order.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 21. Implementation effect

This Decree takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO' and replaces Decree No. 14/2001/ND-CP of April 25, 2001, on management of security service business activities.

Article 22. Law application to enterprises set up and having registered their business before this Decree takes effect

1. Enterprises which have been conducting security service business activities under Decree No. 14/2001/ND-CP of November 25, 2001, on management of security service business activities, but have not yet satisfied the security service business conditions under the provisions of this Decree shall, within 12 months from the effective date of this Decree, strictly comply with the security service business conditions and send dossiers evidencing those conditions to competent police and business registration offices.

2. Enterprises involved in various business lines, including security services, shall, within 12 months from the effective date of this Decree, strictly comply with the provisions of this Decree.

3. If security service enterprises fail to comply with the provisions of Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, they shall be suspended from operations and have their certificates of full satisfaction of conditions on security and order, business registration certificates withdrawn.

Article 23. Implementation guidance and responsibilities

1. The Minister of Public Security shall detail the implementation of this Decree.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and presidents of provincial/municipal People's Committees shall implement this Decree.