Decree 62/2017/ND-CP detailing the Law on Property Auction

DECREE

Detailing a number of articles and measures to implement
the Law on Property Auction

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Property Auction dated November 17, 2016;

At the request of the Minister of Justice;

The Government hereby issues the Decree detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Property Auction.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Decree prescribes in details a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Property Auction on the granting and revocation of Auctioneer cards; the form of online auction; registration of operation for property auction enterprises having been established before the date on which the Law on Property Auction takes effect.

Article 2. Subjects of application

1. This Decree shall apply to property auction organizations, auctioneers, auctioned property sellers, property auction councils, the wholly state-owned organizations established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions, State management agencies on property auction, relevant organizations and individuals.

2. Traders and organizations that are not property auction organizations that set up an online auction website in accordance with law regulations on e-commerce shall not be subjects of application of this Decree.

Chapter II

GRANT AND REVOCATION OF AUCTIONEER CARDS, REGISTRATION OF OPERATION FOR PROPERTY AUCTION ENTERPRISES HAVING BEEN ESTABLISHED BEFORE THE DATE ON WHICH THE LAW ON PROPERTY AUCTION TAKES EFFECT

Section 1

GRANT AND REVOCATION OF AUCTIONEER CARDS

Article 3. Procedures for granting Auctioneer cards

1. Property auction organizations, wholly state-owned organizations established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions shall submit in person, by postal service or by other appropriate forms, 01 set of dossiers to apply for the issuance of Auctioneer cards for their own organization to the Department of Justice where such organization is headquartered. The dossiers shall include:

a) An written application form for Auctioneer cards;

b) A certified true copy or a copy enclosed with the original for comparison of the Auction practice certificates of the auctioneers that applying for the Card;

c) 01 color photo of size 2 cm x 3 cm (photo taken at most 06 months before the date of submission).

2. Within 05 working days from the date on which a complete and valid set of dossiers is received as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, the Department of Justice shall issue the Auctioneer card; In case of refusal, the reason must be notified in writing.

Within 03 working days from the date of granting the Auctioneer cards, the Department of Justice shall post the list of auctioneers on the website of the Department of Justice and concurrently send it to the Ministry of Justice.

3. Auctioneer cards shall only be valid when the auctioneers operate in the organizations that have applied for the Card. Auctioneers shall only be allowed to conduct an auction after being granted the Card by the Department of Justice. When conducting a property auction, the auctioneers must wear the Tag. The person being granted the Auctioneer cards must not concurrently practice notarial practice or bailiff.

4. The blank auctioneer cards shall be issued by the Ministry of Justice.

Article 4. Reissuance of Auctioneer cards

1. In cases where auctioneers practicing in an organization whose Auctioneer cards is lost, damaged and cannot be used, the property auction organization, the wholly state-owned organization established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions shall send 01 set of dossiers applying for re-issuance of Auctioneer cards in accordance with the forms specified in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Decree. The dossiers shall include:

a) Application form for re-issuance of Auctioneer cards;

b) 01 color photo of size 2 cm x 3 cm (photo taken at most 06 months before the date of submission).

2. Within 03 working days from the date on which the request is received, the Department of Justice shall re-issue Auctioneer cards; In case of refusal, the reason must be notified in writing.

Article 5. Procedures for revoking Auctioneer cards

Within 03 working days from the date of receiving the decision of the Minister of Justice on the revocation of the Auction practice certificate, the Department of Justice which has issued Auctioneer cards shall decide to revoke the Auctioneer card of the person whose Auction practice certificate has been revoked. The decision to revoke the Auctioneer card shall be sent to the person whose Card has been revoked, the organization where he/she practices, the Ministry of Justice and posted on the Portal of the Department of Justice.

Such auctioneer cards shall no longer be valid from the date on which the Minister of Justice revokes the Auction practice certificates.

Section 2

REGISTRATION OF OPERATION FOR PROPERTY AUCTION ENTERPRISES HAVING BEEN ESTABLISHED BEFORE THE DATE ON WHICH THE LAW ON PROPERTY AUCTION TAKES EFFECT

Article 6. Registration of operation for property auction enterprises having been established before the date on which the Law on Property Auction takes effect and transforming their entire business activities

1. In cases where property auction enterprises which have been established before the date on which the Law on Property Auction takes effect transform all activities of their enterprise into property auction enterprises in accordance with the provisions of Article 23 of The Law on Property Auction, such enterprises shall submit in person, by postal service or other appropriate forms 01 set of dossiers for the registration of operation to the Department of documents specified at Points a, b and c, Clause 1, Article 25 of the Law on Property Auction.

2. Property auction enterprises which are granted a Certificate of registration of operation by the Department of Justice shall inherit all legitimate rights, interests and obligations in property auction activities of the property auction enterprises having been established before the date on which the Law on Property Auction takes effect.

3. Property auction enterprises which are granted a Certificate of registration of operation by the Department of Justice shall announce the operation registration contents in accordance with the provisions of Article 28 of the Law on Property Auction. The Department of Justice shall issue a Certificate of registration of operation which provides information on the operation registration contents of such property auction enterprises in accordance with the provisions of Article 27 of the Law on Property Auction.

Article 7. Registration of operation for property auction enterprises which have been established before the date on which the Law on Property Auction takes effect and continue to operate property auctions and other business

1. In cases where property auction enterprises which have been established before the date on which the Law on Property Auction takes effect and continue to operate property auctions and other business activities in accordance with law regulations on enterprises, new property auction enterprises must be established in accordance with law regulations in Article 25 of the Law on Property Auction.

2. Newly established property auction enterprises in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Property Auction shall inherit all legal rights, interests and obligations in property auction activities of the property auction enterprises having been established before the date on which the Law on Property Auction takes effect.

3. After the newly established property auction enterprises are granted the Certificate of registration of operation by the Department of Justice, the property auction enterprises having been established before the date on which the Law on Property Auction takes effect must terminate the property auction activities and must not use the phrase "property auction" in their name.

4. The property auction enterprises having been granted the Certificate of registration of operation by the Department of Justice shall announce the operation registration content in accordance with law regulations in Article 28 of the Law on Property Auction. The Department of Justice shall issue the Certificate of registration of operation to provide information on the operation registration contents of property auction enterprises in accordance with the provisions of Article 27 of the Law on Property Auction.

Chapter III

THE FORM OF ONLINE AUCTION

Article 8. Principles for online auction

1. To comply with law regulations on property auction.

2. To keep confidentiality about access accounts, information about auction participants and other information as prescribed by law.

3. To ensure objectivity, transparency, safety and network security.

4. To protect the legitimate rights and interests of property owners, auction participants and relevant organizations and individuals.

Article 9. Organizing auctions in the form of online auction

1. In cases where an auction is conducted in the form of online auction, the property auction organizations, the property auction councils, the wholly state-owned organization established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions shall conduct the procedure and order of property auction which are specified in Chapter III and Chapter IV of the Law on Property Auction and in Chapter III of this Decree.

2. Property auction organizations shall use their own online auction website or sign a contract with other property auction organizations that have an online auction website to organize an auction in the form of online auction.

In cases where the auction is conducted by a property auction council or in cases where a wholly state-owned organization is established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions, such property auction council or such wholly state-owned organization established by the wholly state-owned organization Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions shall sign contracts with a property auction organization that has an online auction website to organize the auction.

Auctioneers assigned by the property auction organization, members assigned by the property auction council, the wholly state-owned organization established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of the online auction.

3. In addition to publicly announcing the property auction as prescribed in Article 57 of the Law on Property Auction, the property auction organization conducting the auction in the form of online shall publicly announce the auction on the online auction system as agreed upon by the property owners, the property auction council, the wholly state-owned organization established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions.

4. The cost of hiring the property auction organization with an online auction website to organize an auction in the form of online auction shall be included in the cost of property auctions specified in Clause 2, Article 66 of the Law on Property Auction.

5. The online auction website shall be set up and operated in accordance with law regulations on information and communication, law regulations on e-commerce.

Article 10. Procedures for conducting auctions in the form of online auction

1. The property auction organization shall publish the Auction Regulations on the online auction website.

2. When registering to participate in the auction, bidders shall be granted an access account; learn instructions on how to use the account, how to bid and other necessary contents on the online auction website to conduct the online auction.

3. Bidders shall use their accounts and make bids in accordance with the auction method, the time to start the auction and the time to end the auction, and the announced price step.

4 At the end of the auction, auctioneers assigned by the property auction organization, members assigned by the property auction council, the wholly state-owned organization established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions shall be responsible for organizing the online auction to determine the winning bidders as follows:

a) In cases where the bidding is conducted by the up-bid method, the winning bidder shall be the one with the highest bid recorded by the online auction information system at the time of closing the bidding;

b) In cases where the bidding is conducted by the method of putting down the price, the winning bidder shall be the first to accept the starting price or the reduced price recorded by the online auction information system.

5. Auctioners assigned by the property auction organization, members assigned by the property auction council, the wholly state-owned organization established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions to be responsible for organizing the implementation of the online auction shall base on the results of determining the winning bidders prescribed in Clause 4 of this Article to announce the winning bidders on the online auction system right after the auction ends.

6. The results of the online auction shall be publicly posted on the online auction system and sent to the electronic addresses of bidders registered with the property auction organization, the property auction council, the wholly state-owned organization established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions immediately after the winning bidders are announced on the online auction system.

Article 11. Announcement of the online auction results

1. The property auction organizations, the property auction councils, the wholly state-owned organizations established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions shall notify the auction results to winning bidders immediately after the online auction results are available.

2. The notice must clearly state information about the auctioned property, the start and end time of the bidding, and the time when the online auction system records the auction winning price.

Article 12. Minutes of the online auction

The Minutes of the online auction must record the time of starting and ending the auction, the number of bidders, the winning price, and the winning bidders. The progress of the auction recorded by the online auction system must be extracted, certified by the property auction organization which operates the online auction website and attached to the Minutes of the auction.

The Minutes of the auction must be set up at the time of closing and signed by auctioneers, members of the property auction council, the wholly state-owned organization established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions who are responsible for organizing the implementation of the online auction, the record-taker, and auctioned property sellers. In cases where the auction is conducted by the property auction council, the Minutes of the auction must also be signed by the Chairman of the Council.

The Minutes of the auction shall be sent to the winning bidders for signature. The use of digital signatures in the Minutes of the auction must comply with law regulations on electronic transactions.

Article 13. Conditions for organizing online auctions

1. Property auction organizations that set up websites to organize online auctions in accordance with law regulations of the Law on Property Auction must satisfy the following conditions:

a) Having a technical infrastructure system to conduct online auctions;

b) Having a team of staff to operate the technical system of the online auction website;

c) Having a technical plan and solutions to ensure the safe operation of the technical system of the online auction website.

2. The technical infrastructure system to conduct the online auction must have the following minimum features:

a) Ensuring the safety and confidentiality of access accounts and data integrity, participation in bids, prices paid and information about bidders;

b) Recording and storing all bids paid in the auction, withdrawal of bids paid and other necessary information during the course of the online auction;

c) Publicly and honestly displaying the bidders' prices; extracting the history of bids on the online auction system;

d) Displaying the highest price recorded by the online auction system every 30 seconds for the bidders to see.

Article 14. Appraisal of conditions to conduct online auctions

1. Property auction organizations shall send the Plan to implement online auctions to the Department of Justice where such property auction organizations are headquartered. The Plan must include the contents specified in Article 13 of this Decree.

2. The Director of the Department of Justice shall decide to establish a Council appraising the conditions for implementing online auctions and promulgates the operation regulations of the Council; the members of the Council shall include representatives of the Department of Justice as Chairman of the Council, representatives of relevant agencies and organizations, qualified and experienced experts in the field of auction and information technology.

3. The Council appraising the conditions for implementing online auctions shall consider and appraise the following contents:

a) Legal basis and necessity to implement the form of online auction;

b) Technical infrastructure, facilities and staff to operate the online auction website;

c) Safety and confidentiality of the online auction system;

d) Features of displaying, recording, storing and extracting of the online auction system;

dd) Technical plans and solutions to ensure the operation of the technical infrastructure system;

e) Feasibility and efficiency of implementing the online auction system in practice.

Article 15. Approving property auction organizations eligible for conducting online auctions

1. Within 90 days from the date of receiving the Plan to implement online auctions of the property auction organization, the Director of the Department of Justice shall consider and approve the property auction organization eligible for organizing the online auction.

2. The list of property auction organizations that have websites eligible to conduct online auctions shall be posted on the website of the Department of Justice and sent to the Ministry of Justice for posting on the Specialized website on property auctions.

Article 16. Responsibilities of property auction organizations operating online auction websites

Property auction organizations operating the online auction websites shall have the following responsibilities:

1. To operate the online auction websites; take responsibility for the results of the online auction conducted by themselves;

2. To develop a technical infrastructure system and operate the online auction website in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Property Auction, this Decree and relevant laws;

3. To stop the online auction and immediately notify the property owner to decide on the re-auction time in the event that due to a technical error in the online auction system of the property auction organization, the auction cannot be started; to cancel the online auction in the event that due to a technical error of the online auction system of the property auction organization, the bidders cannot continue to bid after the auction starts and notify the property owner to decide the re-auction time;

4. To keep confidentiality of information about bidders, access accounts unless otherwise provided by law;

5. To compensate for damage caused by errors caused by the organization during the operation of the website in accordance with the law;

6. To issue, guide and publish on the online auction website on how to register an account, how to use the account, how to bid, auction method, when to start the auction and when to end the auction, bid step and announce the auction results on the online auction system.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 17. Transitional provisions

1. Auction training courses that have not finished at the time the Law on Property Auction takes effect shall continue to be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the Government’s Decree No. 17/2010/ND-CP dated March 4, 2010 on property auction.

2. Auction vocational training certificates having been issued in accordance with the provisions of the Government’s Decree No. 17/2010/ND-CP dated March 4, 2010 on property auction shall have the same value as the auction training certificates in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Property Auction.

Within 01 year from the date on which the Law on Property Auction takes effect, the holder of the auction vocational training certificates in accordance with provisions of the Government’s Decree No. 17/2010/ND-CP dated March 4, 2010 on property auction who submit an application dossier for Auction practice certificates shall not be subject to auction practice internship and examination of auction practice internship results as prescribed in Article 13 of the Law on Property Auction.

3. In cases of property auction whose property auction contract has been signed before the effective date of the Law on Property Auction and has been publicly listed and announced, but the auction has not been organized, the organization of the auction shall comply with the provisions of the Government’s Decree No. 17/2010/ND-CP dated March 4, 2010 on property auction.

4. Within 01 year from the date on which the Law on Property Auction takes effect, the property auction organization shall request the Department of Justice where such organization is headquartered to issue Auctioneer cards in accordance with law regulations of this Decree to auctioneers who have been issued Auctioneer cards in accordance with law regulations of the Government's Decree No. 17/2010/ND-CP dated March 4, 2010 on property auction.

Auctioneer cards issued by the property auction organization shall expire from the date on which auctioneers are issued Auctioneer cards by the Department of Justice in accordance with law regulations of this Decree.

5. While the specialized website on property auctions has not been built, the property auction organization, the property auction council, the wholly state-owned organization established by the Government to settle non-performing loans of credit institutions shall conduct public announcement as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 57 of the Law on Property Auction on printed or visual newspapers at the central level or at the provincial, municipal level of the locality where property auction takes place.

6. Within 01 year from the date on which the Law on Property Auction takes effect, the Department of Justice shall submit to the Chairperson of the People's Committee of the province or centrally-run city to issue a decision on renaming the Property Auction Sale Service Center which was established before July 1, 2017 into the Property Auction Service Center.

While the name has not been changed, the Property Auction Sale Service Center shall conduct property auction activities in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Property Auction.

Article 18. Effect

This Decree takes effect from July 1, 2017 and replaces the Government’s Decree No. 17/2010/ND-CP dated March 4, 2010 on property auction.

Article 19. Implementation responsibilities

Ministers, Heads of the Ministerial-level agencies, Heads of Government-attached agencies, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities shall be responsible for the implementation of this Decree./.

For the Government

Prime Minister

Nguyen Xuan Phuc