Chương 3 Nghị định 24/2003/NĐ-CP: Hoạt động quảng cáo có yếu tố nước ngoài

Chapter III

ADVERTISING ACTIVITIES INVOLVING FOREIGN ELEMENTS

Article 21.- Vietnamese organizations or individuals having advertising service business registration certificates granted by the provincial-level business registration sections may enter into investment cooperation with foreign organizations or individuals to deal in advertising services in forms of business cooperation contracts or joint ventures, and shall be allowed to commence their operations only after being granted investment licenses by competent State agencies.

Article 22.-

1. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall have to receive and forward dossiers to the Ministry of Culture and Information and the concerned State agencies for their comments in the evaluation of foreign-invested projects in the advertisement domain.

2. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall contribute its comments in the evaluation of foreign-invested projects in the advertisement domain.

3. Within 15 working days after receiving complete and valid dossiers, the Ministry of Culture and Information shall have to give its written replies to the State agencies competent to grant investment licenses.

4. Contents of comments to be contributed to the evaluation of foreign-invested projects include:

a/ Degree of the projects’ compatibility with the advertisement planning;

b/ Advertising technical and technological levels of foreign organizations and individuals;

c/ Socio-economic benefits;

d/ Advertising scope and fields;

e/ Other law provisions on advertisement.

Article 23.- Organizations and individuals granted foreign investment licenses, shall, within five working days before commencing their operations, have to notify such in writing to the provincial/municipal Services of Culture and Information of the localities where they are headquartered, enclosed with notarized copies thereof.

Article 24.-

1. Foreign organizations and individuals dealing in advertising services shall be granted permits to establish their representative offices in Vietnam when they have advertising service business registration certificates or similar lawful papers according to the regulations of the countries, of which such organizations and individuals bear the nationalities.

2. The People’s Committees of the provinces or centrally-run cities, where foreign organizations and individuals dealing in advertising services wish to set up their representative offices, shall have to grant, modify, supplement or withdraw permits for establishing representative offices in the advertisement domain.

3. Rights and obligations of representative offices and persons working thereat:

a/ To exercise the rights and perform the obligations according to the legislation on advertisement;

b/ To conduct only operations according specific contents inscribed in their establishing permits;

c/ To be entitled to employ Vietnamese and foreigners to work at their offices. Persons working at representative offices must pay taxes as provided for by Vietnamese laws;

d/ To be entitled to open specialized payment accounts in foreign currencies and specialized payment accounts in Vietnam dong with foreign-currency origin at banks licensed to operate in Vietnam, and to use such accounts only for the representative offices’ operations. The representative offices have their own seals as provided for by the provisions of Vietnamese law;

e/ To make annual reports on the representative offices’ operations to the permit-granting agencies.

Article 25.-

1. Foreign organizations and individuals dealing in advertising services shall be granted permits to establish their branches in Vietnam when they fully meet the following conditions:

a/ Having advertising service business registration certificates or other similar lawful papers under the regulations of the countries where they are headquartered;

b/ Having operated for five years or more after making business registration and having run their representative offices in Vietnam for 7 years or more as from December 2001 without committing violations of Vietnamese laws.

2. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall grant, modify, supplement or withdraw permits for establishing branches to operate in the advertisement domain.

3. Rights and obligations of branches and persons working thereat:

a/ To operate according to the contents inscribed in their establishing permits;

b/ To be entitled to employ Vietnamese and foreigners. Those who work at branches shall have to pay taxes according to the provisions of Vietnamese law;

c/ To implement the prescribed accounting regime and to be only allowed to apply another common accounting regime according to the provisions of Vietnamese law;

d/ To make annual reports to the permit-granting agencies on their operations, make financial statements with certification by Vietnamese auditing agencies or independent auditing agencies licensed to operate in Vietnam. In case of necessity, at written requests of the competent agencies defined by the Vietnamese law, the branches shall have to report, supply documents or explain matters related to their operations.

Article 26.-

1. A dossier of application for permit for establishing a representative office or branch includes:

a/ The application of the foreign organization or individual dealing in advertising services for permit to establish a representative office or branch (according to the form set by the Ministry of Culture and Information);

b/ Copies of the business registration certificate and similar lawful papers according to the regulations of the host country, which are certified by the competent agencies of foreign countries and their Vietnamese translations. Such copies must be notarized by the public notary office of the host country or certified by the foreign-based Vietnamese diplomatic mission or consular office.

2. Foreign organizations and individuals dealing in advertising services shall send dossiers of application for permits to establish representative offices or branches to the permit-granting agencies defined in Articles 24 and 25 of this Decree.

3. Within 15 working days after receiving complete and valid dossiers, the agencies competent to grant permits shall have to grant permits the establishment of representative offices or branches. In cases where dossiers are incomplete or invalid, the permit-granting agencies shall, within three working days after receiving such dossiers, notify such in writing to the foreign organizations and/or individuals dealing in advertising service, so that the latter supplement and complete their dossiers.

4. Operation contents and duration of representative offices and branches are specifically inscribed in their permits.

5. Within 45 working days after being granted permits, the representative offices and branches shall have to commence their operations and notify in writing the permit-granting agencies of the locations thereof, the numbers of Vietnamese and foreigners working at such representative offices or branches.

6. In cases where representative offices or branches of foreign organizations or individuals dealing in advertising services change their names, nationalities, the full names of representatives, the number of foreigners working at such representative offices or branches, the operation contents, the locations of the representative offices or branches, such changes must be notified to the permit-granting agencies.

Article 27.-

1. Permits for the establishment of representative offices or branches shall be withdrawn in the following cases where:

a/ The duration of permits expires, but such representative offices or branches continue operating;

b/ They operate for wrong purposes or inconsistently with the contents inscribed in their permits;

c/ The representative offices use their names to conduct advertising service business;

d/ They violate the provisions of Vietnamese legislation on advertising activities and relevant law provisions.

2. Representative offices and branches shall terminate their operations in the following cases:

a/ At requests of foreign organizations or individuals dealing in advertising services and having Vietnam-based representative offices or branches;

b/ When the competent State agencies issue decisions on the withdrawal or cancellation of permits according to the provisions of Vietnamese laws.

3. In case of operation termination according to the provisions at Point a, Clause 2 of this Article, foreign organizations and individuals dealing in advertising services shall have to notify in writing the termination of operation of their representative offices or branches to the permit-granting agencies at least 30 working days before the date of operation termination and return their permits to the permit-granting agencies.

Article 28.- Vietnamese organizations and individuals dealing in advertising services are allowed to advertise their business activities, goods and/or services in foreign countries according to the regulations of such countries and the provisions of the Vietnamese legislation on advertisement.