Circular 33/2019/TT-BCT system of criteria of Vietnam National Branding Program

CIRCULAR

Prescribing the system of criteria of the Vietnam National Branding Program^[1]

Pursuant to the June 12, 2017 Law on Foreign Trade Management;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 98/2017/ND-CP of August 18, 2017, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Industry and Trade;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 28/2018/ND-CP of March 1, 2018, detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding a number of foreign trade development measures;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 30/2019/QD-TTg of October 8, 2019, promulgating the Regulation on formulation, management and implementation of the Vietnam National Branding Program;

At the proposal of the Director General of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency;

The Minister of Industry and Trade promulgates the Circular prescribing the system of criteria of the Vietnam National Branding Program.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.Scope of regulation

This Circular prescribes the system of criteria of the Vietnam National Branding Program, including:

1. Criteria for formulation, appraisal and approval of the schemes under the Vietnam National Branding Program (below referred to as the Program).

2. Criteria for selection of products of Vietnam national brands.

Article 2.Subjects of application

This Circular applies to responsible units of the schemes under the Program, the Program-managing agency, and related agencies, organizations, enterprises and individuals.

Chapter II

SYSTEM OF CRITERIA OF THE PROGRAM

Section 1

CRITERIA FOR FORMULATION, APPRAISAL AND APPROVAL OF THE SCHEMES UNDER THE PROGRAM

Article 3.Criteria for formulation of the schemes under the Program

1. A scheme must comply with Clauses 1, 2, and 3, Article 16 of the Government’s Decree No. 28/2018/ND-CP of March 1, 2018, detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding a number of foreign trade development measures.

2. A scheme must attain one of the following objectives:

a/ Raising social awareness about the role of brands in production, trade and investment activities;

b/ Enhancing the capacity of enterprises in brand building, development and management to meet the Program’s criteria;

c/ Promoting Vietnam national brands in association with advertising products of Vietnam national brands.

Article 4.Criteria for appraisal of the schemes under the Program

1. Criteria for appraisal of a scheme under the Program include:

a/ Criterion 1: Necessity;

b/ Criterion 2: Objectives;

c/ Criterion 3: Contents;

d/ Criterion 4: Implementation options;

dd/ Criterion 5: Implementation plans and progress;

e/ Criterion 6: Fund estimates;

g/ Criterion 7: Capacity of responsible units;

h/ Criterion 8: Expected outcomes and risks, and remedial measures.

2. The criteria provided in Clause 1 of this Article are specified in Appendix 1 to this Circular.

Article 5.Principles for appraisal and approval of the schemes

1. A scheme shall be appraised by a 100-point scoring system. A specific score shall be given for each index of evaluation of the criteria provided in Appendix 1 to this Circular.

2. To be eligible for being considered for approval, a scheme must get a total score of appraisal of at least 80 points, with each criterion prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 4 reaching a score of at least 60% of the prescribed total points.

3. Based on the budget expenditure estimate for the Program as notified annually by the Ministry of Finance, the Minister of Industry and Trade shall decide to approve a scheme on the principle that the total fund for implementation of the scheme does not exceed the total allocated budget estimate.

Section 2

CRITERIA FOR REGISTRATION AND SELECTION OF PRODUCTS OF VIETNAM NATIONAL BRANDS

Article 6.Criteria for registration and selection of products of Vietnam national brands

1. Criteria for products registered for selection

a/ Being Vietnamese products and goods as prescribed by law;

b/ Being products and goods that have their intellectual property rights protected in Vietnam.

2. Criteria for enterprises having products registered for selection

a/ Being enterprises established in accordance with Vietnam’s law;

b/ Being holders of intellectual property protection titles of the registered products;

c/ Having operated for at least 2 consecutive years prior to the year of selection;

d/ Complying with the regulations on production, investment, trade, environmental protection, labor, social responsibility, financial and tax obligations, and other obligations to the state budget.

Article 7.Criteria for selection of products of Vietnam national brands

1. Criteria for selection of products of Vietnam national brands include:

a/ Criterion 1: Quality;

b/ Criterion 2: Innovation;

c/ Criterion 3: Pioneering capacity.

2. The criteria prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article are specified in Appendix 2 to this Circular.

Article 8.Principles for selection of products of Vietnam national brands

1. The selection of products of Vietnam national brands shall be carried out based on a 1,000-point scoring system. A specific score shall be given for each index of evaluation of the criteria provided in Appendix 2 to this Circular.

2. To be selected as bearing a Vietnam national brand, a product must get a score of at least 650 points, with each criterion prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 7 reaching a score of at least 60% of the prescribed total points.

Chapter III

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 9.Responsibilities of attached units of the Ministry of Industry and Trade

1. The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency that acts as the focal point for the Program management and implementation shall:

a/ Guide the formulation of the schemes, and receive, appraise and submit them to the Minister of Industry and Trade for approval;

b/ Sum up and formulate the fund estimate for the Program management and implementation and include it in the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s budget estimate for submission to a competent authority as prescribed in the Law on the State Budget;

c/ Manage and use the Program’s funding sources according to the current financial regime;

d/ Sign contracts for implementation of the schemes under the Program with responsible units and pay and settle expenses under the signed contracts; directly implement the schemes under the Program for which it is responsible. The contents of contracts signed with responsible units must comply with Article 12 of the Government’s Decree No. 28/2018/ND-CP of March 1, 2018, detailing the Law on Foreign Trade Management regarding a number of foreign trade development measures;

dd/ Receive and process administrative procedures regarding selection of products of Vietnam national brands in accordance with Article 8 of the Regulation on formulation, management and implementation of the Vietnam National Branding Program issued together with the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 30/2019/QD-TTg of October 8, 2019;

e/ Before December 20 every year, sum up and evaluate the Program implementation and report it to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for subsequent reporting to the Prime Minister;

g/ Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, inspecting, examining and supervising enterprises participating in the Program in the implementation of the schemes under the Program and the observance of the Program’s regulations;

h/ Guide, organize and examine the implementation of this Circular.

2. The Finance and Business Innovation Department shall coordinate with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency in summing up the fund estimate, and allocating and settling funds for implementation of the Program in accordance with law.

3. The Market Surveillance Agency shall coordinate with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency in inspecting, examining and supervising the implementation of this Circular in accordance with the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 30/2019/QD-TTg of October 8, 2019, promulgating the Regulation on formulation, management and implementation of the Vietnam National Branding Program.

4. Other units of the Ministry of Industry and Trade shall coordinate with the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency and responsible units of the schemes in effectively implementing the Program.

Article 10.Responsibilities of responsible units of the schemes and enterprises participating in selection of products of Vietnam national brands

1. Responsible units of the schemes shall sum up the demands of organizations, enterprises and trade associations to propose, formulate, and coordinate in implementing, the schemes according to the criteria prescribed in this Circular and the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 30/2019/QD-TTg of October 8, 2019, promulgating the Regulation on formulation, management and implementation of the Vietnam National Branding Program.

2. Enterprises participating in selection of products of Vietnam national brands shall comply with this Circular and the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 30/2019/QD-TTg of October 8, 2019, promulgating the Regulation on formulation, management and implementation of the Vietnam National Branding Program.

Article 11.Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on January 8, 2020.

2. Any problems arising in the course of implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Industry and Trade for study and settlement.-

Minister of Industry and Trade
TRAN TUAN ANH

* The appendices to this Circular are not translated.