Decree No. 28/2009/ND-CP dated March 20, 2009, of the Government on sanctioning of administrative violations in the management, provision and use of Internet services and online information

THE GOVERNMENT

Decree No. 28/2009/ND-CP of March 20, 2009, on sanctioning of administrative violations in the management, provision and use of Internet services and online information

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 29, 2006 Law on Information Technology;

Pursuant to the December 28, 1989 Press Law and the June 12, 1999 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Press Law;

Pursuant to the December 14, 2004 Publication Law and the June 3, 2008 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Publication Law;

Pursuant to the May 25, 2002 Ordinance on Post and Telecommunications;

Pursuant to the July 2, 2002 Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations and the April 2, 2008 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations;

At the proposal of the Minister of Information and Communication,

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

1. This Decree provides for acts of administrative violation in the management, provision and use of Internet services and online information, sanctioning forms and levels; and sanctioning competence.

2. Administrative violations in the management, provision and use of Internet services and online information (below referred to as administrative violations in the Internet domain) are acts of violating the law on the state management of the management, provision and use of Internet services and online information which are committed intentionally or unintentionally by individuals, agencies or organizations (below collectively referred to as individuals and organizations) but do not constitute crimes and, according to law, must be administratively sanctioned.

3. Administrative violations in the provision or use of specialized application services on the Internet shall be handled under the laws on sanctioning of administrative violations in relevant state management domains.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. Vietnamese organizations and individuals that commit acts of administrative violation in the Internet domain shall be sanctioned under this Decree.

Foreign organizations and individuals that commit acts of administrative violation in the Internet domain within the territory, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam shall be administratively sanctioned like Vietnamese organizations and individuals.

2. Minors who commit acts of administrative violation in the Internet domain shall be handled under Point a, Clause 1, Article 6, and Article 7 of the 2002 Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations.

Article 3. Sanctioning principles

Principles for sanctioning administrative violations in the Internet domain comply with Article 3 of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations, and Articles 3 and 4 of the Government’s Decree No. 128/2008/ND-CP of December 16, 2008, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the 2002 Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations and the 2008 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations.

Article 4. Statute of limitations for sanctioning

1. The statute of limitations for sanctioning an administrative violation in the Internet domain is one year from the date the violation is committed.

For violations of regulations on service prices, charges and fees, the statute of limitations for sanctioning an administrative violation is 2 years from the date the violation is committed.

2. For an individual who was prosecuted or against whom a decision on bringing the case for trial according to criminal procedures was issued, but later a decision on termination of investigation or the case is issued, if his/her act shows signs of administrative violation, he/she shall be administratively sanctioned; within 3 days after of issuing the decision on termination of investigation or the case, the issuer shall send that decision to a person competent to sanction the administrative violation; in this case, the statute of limitations for sanctioning the administrative violation is 3 months after the person with sanctioning competence receives the termination decision and the violation case dossier.

3. Past the time limits specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, violators will not be sanctioned but shall still be subject to consequence remedies specified in Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree.

4. Within the statute of limitations specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, if violators commit a new act of violation in the domain in which they have committed administrative violations, or deliberately avoid or obstruct the sanctioning, the statute of limitations for sanctioning administrative violations shall be re-counted from the time of committing the new act of violation or the time of stopping the act of avoiding or obstructing the sanctioning.

Article 5. Forms of sanction for administrative violations in the Internet domain and consequence remedies

1. For each act of administrative violation, violators shall be subject to either of the following principal sanctions:

a/ Caution;

b/ Fine.

2. Depending on the nature and severity of their violations, violators may also be subject to one or both of the following additional sanctions:

a/ Deprivation for a definite or indefinite time of the right to use licenses or practice certificates;

b/ Confiscation of material evidence and means used in committing administrative violations.

3. In addition to the principal and additional sanctions specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, violators may be subject to one or more of the following consequence remedies:

a/ Forcible restoration of the original state which has been altered due to administrative violations;

b/ Forcible bringing out of the Vietnamese territory or forcible re-export of goods, articles and means related to administrative violations in the Internet domain;

c/ Forcible destruction of articles or removal of online information which are harmful to human spirit or health or adversely affect fine customs and traditions;

d/ Forcible recovery or refund of funds already wrongly collected or recovery of material evidence or means already dispersed;

e/ Forcible withdrawal of domain names, Internet addresses or autonomous system numbers.

4. Foreigners who commit acts of administrative violation may be subject to expulsion. The application of expulsion as the principal sanction or additional sanction depends on a case-by-case basis.

Chapter II

ACTS OF ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATION, SANCTIONING FORMS AND LEVELS

Article 6. Violations of regulations on licenses

1. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 shall be imposed for failing to carry out procedures of application for re-grant of any of the following licenses when it is lost or damaged:

a/ License for provision of Internet services;

b/ License for establishment of a private Internet network;

b/ License for establishment of a general website;

d/ License for publication of an online newspaper.

2. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed for using one of the licenses stated in Clause 2 of this Article which has expired for up to 30 days.

3. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for modifying or erasing a license to alter its contents or making untruthful declaration for the grant of a license stated in Clause 1 of this Article.

4. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed for establishing a general website without a license or using a license which has expired for more than 30 days.

5. A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and 50,000,000 shall be imposed for failing to obtain a license or using a license which has expired for more than 30 days, for private Internet networks for which an establishment license is required.

6. A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and 70,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Establishing an equipment system to provide public Internet services without a license or using a license for provision of Internet services which has expired for more than 30 days;

b/ Publishing an  online newspaper without a license or using a publication license which has expired for more than 30 days.

7. Additional sanctions:

a/ Deprivation of the right to use licenses for a unspecified period of time, for acts of violation specified in Clause 3 of this Article;

b/ Confiscation of material evidence and means used in committing administrative violations specified in Clauses 4, 5 and 6 of this Article.

8. Consequence remedy:

Forcible revocation of domain names, for violations specified in Clause 4 and Point b, Clause 6 of this Article.

Article 7. Violations of regulations on the establishment of private Internet networks

1. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to comply with the provisions of the network establishment license, for private Internet networks for which an establishment license is required;

b/ Providing Internet services to non-members of the private Internet network.

2. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to stop the provision of Internet services to members of the private Internet network when detecting that these members commit prohibited acts in the management, provision and use of Internet services and online information or at the written request of competent state management agencies;

b/ Re-establishing Internet exchange points for private Internet networks for which establishment licenses are not required.

3. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Making direct connection to private Internet networks;

b/ Directly connecting an Internet exchange point to two private Internet networks.

4. Additional sanction:

Confiscation of material evidence and means used in committing administrative violations specified at Point b, Clause 2, and Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 8. Violations of regulations on provision of Internet services

1. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Terminating or suspending the provision of Internet services without sending an advance notice to service users, except for force majeure cases;

b/ Refusing to provide Internet services without any plausible reasons;

c/ Discriminating Internet service providers when providing telecommunications transmission lines or separating local loops.

2. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to provide telecommunications transmission lines or separate local loops for Internet service providers as requested without any plausible reasons;

b/ Failing to issue a model contract for unified application within the enterprise;

c/ Failing to stop the provision of Internet services at the written request of competent state management agencies;

d/ Failing to set up a website with the country-code domain name “.vn” for transactions with customers when providing Internet telephone services.

3. A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and 30,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to set up a transmission line to the national Internet exchange, for Internet service providers that are also enterprises providing network infrastructure services;

b/ Acting as Internet telephone service agencies for foreign enterprises;

c/ Failing to notify the Ministry of Information and Communication of the time of official commencement of, and plan on, provision of services as prescribed.

4. A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and 50,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Establishing an equipment system to provide public Internet services in contravention of licenses;

b/ Conducting international exchange of Internet traffic without the Ministry of Information and Communication’s permission;

c/ Blocking domestic information from entering or leaving their networks through the Vietnam National Internet Exchange (VNIX), except for banned services;

d/ Providing Internet telephone services in contravention of regulations;

e/ Providing Internet telephone services without a charge calculation, database management or service management system based in Vietnam;

f/ Failing to notify the time of official commencement of, and plan on provision of services to the Ministry of Information and Communication.

5. Additional sanction:

Confiscation of material evidence and means used in committing administrative violations specified at Point b, Clause 3 and Point a, Clause 4 of this Article.

6. Consequence remedy:

Forcible restoration of the original state which has been altered due to administrative violations, for violations specified at Point a, Clause 1 and Point c, Clause 4 of this Article.

Article 9. Violations of regulations on the use of Internet services

1. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Using or guiding others to use Internet services banned by law;

b/ Providing Internet services for commercial purposes by service users.

2. Prohibited acts specified in the Government’s decree on the management, provision and use of Internet services and online information shall be handled under the Government’s decree on the sanctioning of administrative violations in the domain of information technology.

3. Additional sanction:

Confiscation of material evidence and means used in committing administrative violations specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 10. Violations of regulations on Internet agents

1. A caution or a fine of between VND 200,000 and 500,000 shall be imposed for failing to post up or fully post up regulations on the use of Internet services at places of service provision as prescribed.

2. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to satisfy regulations and criteria on fire prevention and fighting and environmental sanitation in order to protect the safety and health of service users;

b/ Operating an Internet equipment system not up to requirements on assurance of information safety and security as prescribed;

c/ Setting up an Internet equipment system outside places already registered in contracts to act as Internet agents;

d/ Allowing customers to use services beyond prescribed hours.

3. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Letting service users commit prohibited acts in the management, provision and use of Internet services and online information;

b/ Failing to sign agency contracts with organizations and individuals providing free Internet services to users.

Article 11. Violations of regulations on the use of Internet domain names

1. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed for using top-level domain names other than the domain name “.vn” without making notification, or notifying untruthful information or failing to notify changed information to the Ministry of Information and Communication as prescribed; making inaccurate declarations or failing to update changes in their names and contact addresses, for organizations, or names, contact addresses, identity card or passport serial numbers, for individuals registering and using domain names “.vn”.

2. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Official websites of Party and state agencies, except those of overseas Vietnamese representative missions fail to use Vietnam’s country-code domain name “.vn” or are not cached in servers with IP addresses in Vietnam;

b/ Granting third-level domain names below their second-level domain name “.vn” to entities other than members of their agencies, organizations or enterprises, for entities other than domain name “.vn” registries; individuals granting third-level domain names below their second-level domain names to other organizations and individuals.

3. Consequence remedy:

Forcible revocation of domain names, for violations specified at Point b, Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 12. Violations of regulations on registration and grant of Internet domain names

1. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Vietnam-based international domain name registries’ failure to guide organizations and individuals that register and use international domain names in notifying online information to the Ministry of Information and Communication under regulations;

b/ Unlawfully obstructing organizations and individuals to shift to another domain name “.vn” registry;

c/ Vietnam-based international domain name registries’ failure to report online on the updating of the list of international domain names under their management to the Ministry of Information and Communication under regulations on management and use of Internet resources.

2. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed on domain name “.vn” registries that commit any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to maintain or adopting measures to assure safety and security for domain names of organizations and individuals which are registered in their systems of domain name servers (DNS);

b/ Booking or speculating domain names in any forms when granting country-code domain names ‘.vn”;

c/ Obstructing organizations and individuals to register and use lawfully domain names;

d/ Failing to supply or supplying inaccurate information about organizations and individuals registering domain names “.vn”.

3. A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and 30,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to make registration with the Ministry of Information and Communication when acting as agents providing services of registering and maintaining international domain names in Vietnam;

b/ Failing to coordinate or inadequately coordinating with state management agencies in handling cases related to domain names.

4. A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and 50,000,000 shall be imposed for granting international domain names without satisfying one of the conditions to become international domain name registries in Vietnam as prescribed by the Ministry of Information and Communication.

Article 13. Violations of regulations on registration and use of IP address and autonomous system numbers

1. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Violating regulations on registration and use of IP addresses and autonomous system numbers issued by the Ministry of Information and Communication;

b/ Directly applying for the grant of IP addresses or autonomous system numbers of international organizations for use in Vietnam without obtaining written permission of the Ministry of Information and Communication;

c/ Failing to route addresses allocated by Vietnam under the guidance of the Vietnam National Internet Center.

2. A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and 50,000,000 shall be imposed for routing international IP addresses brought by agencies, organizations and individuals from overseas to Vietnam for use without permission of competent state management agencies.

3. Consequence remedy:

Forcible revocation of IP addresses or autonomous system numbers, for violations specified at Point a, Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 14. Violations of regulations on information safety and security

1. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to stop the provision of services when terminal access devices cause unsafety to Internet equipment systems;

b/ Populatizing stolen passwords, keywords or private information of organizations or individuals.

2. A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and 30,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to cooperate or comprehensively coordinate with state management agencies in assuring information safety and security as well as in investigating into and preventing law-breaking acts in Internet-related activities;

b/ Failing to develop or inadequately developing equipment and devices as well as technical and professional plans to assure network safety and information security under the guidance of competent state agencies.

3. A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and 50,000,000 shall be imposed for failing to perform urgent or public-utility tasks under the order of competent state agencies.

4. Additional sanctions:

a/ Confiscation of material evidence and means used in committing administrative violations specified at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article;

b/ Expulsion of foreigners committing violations specified at Point b, Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 15. Violations of regulations on service charge rates, charge and fee rates

1. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to notify service charge rates as prescribed;

b/ Failing to register service charge rates as prescribed;

c/ Failing to make separate accounting of Internet services, for Internet service providers;

d/ Failing to determine costs of Internet services as prescribed, for Internet service providers;

e/ Collecting Internet service charges at rates other than publicized ones.

2. A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and 30,000,000 shall be imposed for failing to issue Internet service prices.

3. Violations of regulations on service charge rates, charges and fees in the management, provision and use of Internet services and online information shall be sanctioned under the Government’s decrees on sanctioning of administrative violations in the domain of prices, charges and fees.

4. Consequence remedy:

Forcible recovery of money amounts already collected in contravention of regulations, for violations specified at Point e, Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 16. Violations of regulations on service standards and quality

1. A fine of between VND 500,000 and 1,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to announce service quality according to voluntary application standards on providers’ websites when providing Internet services outside the list of telecommunications services subject to quality control;

b/ Failing to announce service quality within the prescribed time limit;

c/ Posting on providers’ websites or at their transaction places information inconsistent with the service quality announcements and the list of service quality criteria in the service quality announcement dossiers sent to state management agencies;

d/ Failing to keep or keeping insufficient documents on supervision results and data within 2 years after the date of obtaining supervision results;

e/ Failing to keep or keeping insufficient documents on examination, measurement and inspection and assessment results and data for making examination results, measurement and inspection data and assessment data within 2 years after the date of obtaining examination, measurement and inspection and assessment results.

2. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to post on providers’ websites or at their transaction places the service quality notification document and list of service quality criteria, for Internet services on the list of telecommunications services subject to quality control;

b/ Failing to conduct self-examination or self-supervision of service quality as prescribed;

c/ Conducting self-examination or self-supervision of service quality in contravention of regulations or conducting supervision of service quality in contravention of written requests of competent state management agencies.

3. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to issue regulations on self-examination and self-supervision of service quality as prescribed;

b/ Failing to supervise service quality at the written request of competent state management agencies.

4. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any the following acts:

a/ Providing Internet services on the list of telecommunications services subject to quality control without a competent state management agency’s document on the receipt of service quality notification document;

b/ Failing to re-announce Internet service quality upon changes in the announced contents;

c/ Failing to supply or supplying inadequate or inaccurate documents and data for the measurement and inspection and examination of Internet service quality.

5. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed for providing Internet services of quality lower than the announced quality.

6. Consequence remedy:

Forcible restoration of the original state which has been altered due to administrative violations, for violations specified in Clause 5 of this Article.

Article 17. Violations of regulations on online games

1. A fine of between 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Advertising or introducing online games not yet permitted for circulation in Vietnam;

b/ Failing for issue regulations on management of online games as prescribed by law when providing online games services in Vietnam;

c/ Failing to supply adequate information on game rules and regulations on management of online games on the game homepages set up by enterprises;

d/ Failing to satisfy one of conditions on the provision of online game services as prescribed by law.

2. A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and 30,000,000 shall be imposed for any the following acts:

a/ Failing to notify in writing a competent state management agency of or announce on the game homepages the termination of the provision of services at least three months in advance;

b/ Providing online games with contents different from those prescribed in competent state agencies’ decisions approving game contents and scenarios.

3. A fine of between VND 30,000,000 and 50,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Providing online game services or acting as online game service agents in Vietnam without permission of competent state management agencies;

b/ Letting users post onto the games and game forums prohibited contents specified in the decree on management, provision and use of Internet services and online information.

4. Additional sanctions:

a/ Confiscation of material evidence and means used in committing administrative violations specified at Point a, Clause 3 of this Article;

b/ Expulsion of foreigners committing violations specified at Point a, Clause 3 of this Article.

5. Consequence remedy:

Forcible removal of online information, for violations specified at Point b, Clause 2 and Point b, Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 18. Violations of regulations on websites

1. A fine of between 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to comply or improperly complying with the provisions of licenses for establishment of general websites;

b/ Providing links to websites with prohibited contents;

c/ Violating one of regulations on management of websites on the Internet, for websites for which licenses are not required.

2. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Posting publications on websites without permission of publishing houses;

c/ Supplying on general websites information other than those prescribed in licenses.

3. Other administrative violations in websites shall be handled under the Government’s decree on the sanctioning of administrative violations in the domain of information technology, press and publication.

4. Additional sanction:

Deprivation of the right to use licenses for a period of between 90 and 180 days, for violations specified at Point b, Clause 2 of this Article.

5. Consequence remedy:

Forcible removal of online information, for violations specified at Point b, Clause 1, and Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 19. Violations of regulations on the provision of online social network services

1. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed for failing to comply or improperly complying with regulations on supply, use and exchange of information promulgated by enterprises.

2. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for failing to issue regulations on supply, use and exchange of information as prescribed.

3. A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and 20,000,000 shall be imposed for failing to supply information on service users at the request of competent state agencies.

4. A fine of between VND 20,000,000 and 30,000,000 shall be imposed for providing online social network services without the Ministry of Information and Communication’s written certification of the receipt of a valid registration dossier.

5. A fine of between VND 50,000,000 and 70,000,000 shall be imposed for failing to prevent and remove prohibited information as prescribed in the decree on management, provision and use of Internet services and online information at the request of competent state management agencies.

6. Consequence remedy:

Forcible removal of online information, for violations specified at Clause 5 of this Article.

Article 20. Violations of regulations on settlement of disputes and complaints

1. A fine of between VND 500,000 and 1,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to post up information on procedures for settlement of complaints related to Internet services at transaction places;

b/ Failing to settle complaints related to Internet services within the prescribed time limit.

2. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to issue procedures for settlement of complaints related to Internet services;

b/ Failing to settle customer complaints under law.

3. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed for failing to consider and settle or failing to report on results of complaint settlement at the request of competent state management agencies.

Article 21. Violations of regulations on reporting

1. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 shall be imposed for delaying the sending of reports for up to 15 days behind the prescribed time limit or as requested by competent state agencies.

2. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed for making insufficient reports as prescribed or requested by competent state management agencies.

3. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to make reports or delay the sending of reports for more than 15 days behind the prescribed time limit or as requested by competent state agencies;

b/ Making untruthful reports as prescribed or requested by competent state agencies.

Article 22. Acts of obstructing or resisting state officials and agencies performing inspection and examination

1. A caution or a fine of between VND 200,000 and 500,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Failing to supply or inadequately supplying relevant documents, papers and vouchers at the request of persons with examination and inspection competence;

b/ Failing to declare or making false declarations about issues subject to examination and inspection.

2. A fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 shall be imposed for obstructing the examination and inspection by state officials and agencies on duty.

3. A fine of between VND 2,000,000 and 5,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

a/ Dispersing material evidence of violations which is being examined, inspected or seized;

b/ Removing without permission seals from material evidence which is sealed or seized.

4. A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 shall be imposed for delaying or shirking the execution of competent persons’ administrative decisions on inspection and handling of administrative violations.

5. Consequence remedy:

Forcible recovery of material evidence and means which have been dispersed, for violations specified at Point a, Clause 3 of this Article.

Chapter III

COMPETENCE AND PROCEDURES FOR SANCTIONING ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS

Article 23. Competence of the Information and Communication Inspectorate for sanctioning administrative violations

1. Information and communication inspectors on duty may:

a/ Impose cautions;

b/ Impose fines of up to VND 500,000;

c/ Confiscate material evidence and means used in committing administrative violations valued at up to VND 2,000,000;

d/ Apply consequence remedies specified at Points a and c, Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree;

e/ Exercise the rights defined at Point a, Clause 19, Article 1 of the 2008 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations and Clause 2, Article 48 of the 2002 Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations.

2. Chief inspectors of provincial-level Information and Communication Services may:

a/ Impose cautions;

b/ Impose fines of up to VND 30,000,000;

c/ Deprive of the right to use licenses or practice certificates;

d/ Confiscate material evidence and means used in committing administrative violations;

e/ Apply consequence remedies specified at Points a, c, d and e, Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree;

f/ Exercise the rights specified at Point 1, Clause 19, Article 1 of the 2008 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations.

3. The Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Information and Communication may:

a/ Impose cautions;

b/ Impose fines of up to VND 70,000,000;

c/ Deprive of the right to use licenses under his/her competence;

d/ Confiscate material evidence and means used in committing administrative violations;

e/ Apply consequence remedies specified at Points a, c, d and e, Clause 3, Article 5 of this Decree;

f/ Exercise the rights defined at Point 1, Clause 19, Article 1 of the 2008 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations.

Article 24. Sanctioning competence of other specialized inspectorates

Within the scope of their state management competence prescribed by the Government, inspectors and chief inspectors of other inspectorates may sanction administrative violations in the provision and use of specialized application services on the Internet in their state management domains.

Article 25. Sanctioning competence of People’s Committees at all levels

Presidents of People’s Committees at all levels may impose sanctions according to the competence specified at Clauses 4 and 5, Article 1 of the 2008 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations and Article 30 of the 2002 Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations which was amended under the 2007 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations, for Internet-related administrative violations prescribed in this Decree and committed in their localities.

Article 26. Sanctioning competence of the People’s Police, Border Guard, Coast Guard, customs offices, tax offices and market control agencies

People’s police, border guard, coast guard, customs offices, tax offices and market control agencies may impose sanctions according to their competence specified in Clauses 6, 7, 8, 9 and 11, Article 1 of the 2008 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations and Article 37 of the 2002 Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations for administrative violations in the Internet domain directly related to domains under their management as prescribed in this Decree.

Article 27. Determination of competence to sanction administrative violations

1. In case an administrative violation falls within the sanctioning competence of several persons, the person who accepts the case first has competence to sanction it.

2. The sanctioning competence of persons specified in Articles 23, 24, 25 and 26 of this Decree is applied to an administrative violation. In case of imposing a fine, the sanctioning competence shall be determined according to the maximum level of the fine bracket prescribed for each specific violation.

3. In case of sanctioning one person who commits several administrative violations, the person with sanctioning competence shall be determined according to the principles specified at Point 3, Clause 17, Article 1 of the 2008 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations.

Article 28. Procedures for sanctioning administrative violations and enforcement of sanctioning decisions

1. Procedures for sanctioning administrative violations comply with the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations and the Government’s Decree No. 128/2008/ND-CP of December 16, 2008, detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the 2002 Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations and the 2008 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations.

2. Coercive measures for enforcement of decisions on sanctioning of administrative violations shall be applied under the Government’s Decree No. 37/2005/ND-CP of May 18, 2005, providing procedures for application of coercive measures for enforcement of decisions on administrative violations and Clause 27, Article 1 of the 2008 Ordinance Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Ordinance on Handling of Administrative Violations.

3. Written records must be made for all administrative violations subject to sanction and kept at sanctioning agencies within the time limit prescribed by law.

Chapter IV

COMPLAINTS, DENUNCIATIONS AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 29. Complaints, denunciations and settlement of complaints and denunciations

1. Organizations and individuals sanctioned for administrative violations in the Internet domain or their lawful representatives may lodge complaints about the sanctioning decisions of competent persons. Pending the settlement of complaints by competent agencies, sanctioned individuals shall still comply with sanctioning decisions.

2. Citizens may denounce to competent agencies, organizations and individuals administrative violations in the Internet domain according to the law on complaints and denunciations.

3. Citizens may denounce to competent agencies, organizations and individuals illegal acts committed by persons competent to impose sanctions against administrative violations in the Internet domain.

4. The competence, order, procedures, and time limits for lodging complaints and denunciations and settlement of complaints and denunciations comply with the law on complaints and denunciations.

Article 30. Filing of administrative lawsuits

Lawsuits may be filed against decisions on the sanctioning of administrative violations, decisions on the application of preventive measures and assurance of the handling of administrative violations in accordance with the law on procedures for settlement of administrative cases.

Article 31. Handling of violations

1. Persons competent to sanction administrative violations who commit acts of harassment, cover up, refuse to sanction violations, fail to promptly or properly sanction or impose sanctions against violations ultra vires shall, depending on the nature and severity of their violations, be disciplined or examined for penal liability; if causing damage, they shall make compensation in accordance with law.

2. Persons sanctioned for administrative violations in the Internet domain, if obstructing or opposing officers on duty, shall, depending on the nature and severity of their violations, be administratively sanctioned or examined for penal liability; if causing damage, they shall make compensation in accordance with law.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 32. Implementation effect

This Decree takes effect on May 15, 2009.

Article 33. Implementation responsibilities

The Minister of Information and Communication, ministers, heads of ministerial-levels, heads of government-attached agencies, and presidents of provincial-level People’s Committees shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN TAN DUNG