Laws of Vietnam

DECREES:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- Scope of regulation of Decree:

This Decree defines the acts of administrative violation in the domain of protection of aquatic resources, the forms and levels of sanction, the competence, procedures and measures for the handling of violations.

Article 2.- Provisions on the handling of violations:

The handling of violations committed by persons competent to order sanctions against administrative violations in the domain of protection of aquatic resources and violations by persons subject to administrative sanctions in the said domain shall comply with Articles 91 and 92 of the Ordinance on the Handling of Administrative Violations of July 6, 1995.

Article 3.- Provisions on complaints and denunciations and the settlement thereof:

All complaints and denunciations against the handling of administrative violations in the domain of protection of aquatic resources and the settlement thereof shall comply with Articles 87, 88 and 90 of the Ordinance on the Handling of Administrative Violations of July 7, 1995.

Chapter II

LEVELS AND FORMS of sanction AGAINST ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS IN THE DOMAIN OF AQUATIC RESOURCES PROTECTION

Article 4.- Levels of sanction against acts of administrative violation concerning the protection of the habitat of aquatic animals:

1. Regarding acts of destroying or changing the habitat of aquatic animals:

* A fine of 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND and the confiscation of means of violation shall be imposed on one of the following acts:

- Destroying underwater rock ridges, coral reefs or underwater flora grounds;

- Illegally dismantling or building floating structures or underwater structures in water areas.

2. Regarding acts of discharging, disposing or leaking toxic substances, poisonous plants or other kinds of waste thus polluting the water habitat of aquatic animals:

a/ A fine of 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND for acts of polluting an water area of up to one hectare;

b/ A fine of 5,000,000 VND/ha for acts of polluting water areas of more than one hectare.

In addition to the above fines, the violator shall be forced to take measures to overcome the pollution.

Article 5.- Levels of sanction against violations of the protection of aquatic animals:

1. A fine of 10,000 VND to 20,000 VND for each kilo of the netted aquatic products for acts of exploiting aquatic animals of smaller size than allowed for exploitation. Anyone transporting, selling or processing such aquatic animals shall be subject to a fine of 5,000 VND to 10,000 VND for each kilo of aquatic products exploited.

2. A fine of 20,000 VND to 50,000 VND for each kilo of the netted aquatic products for acts of exploiting the aquatic animals temporarily banned from exploitation. Anyone transporting, consuming or processing these species shall be subject to a fine of from 10,000 VND to 20,000 VND for each kilo of the aquatic products.

3. A fine of 50,000 VND to 100,000 VND for each kilo of the netted aquatic products for acts of exploiting the aquatic animals banned from exploitation. Anyone transporting, processing or selling aquatic products of these species shall be subject to a fine of 20,000 VND to 30,000 VND for each kilo of the aquatic products exploited.

Apart from the fine mentioned in Points 1, 2, 3 of this Article, the violator shall be forced to release the live aquatic animals back into their habitat; the aquatic products already netted or being transported, processed or sold shall be confiscated.

Article 6.- Levels of sanction against violations of the management of the aquatic resources exploitation:

1. Violations of the management of fishing grounds:

a/ A fine of 200,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND for acts of exploiting aquatic resources without a fishing permit granted by the competent authority.

b/ A fine of 100,000 VND to 200,000 VND for acts of exploiting aquatic resources without a permit for moving in the fishing grounds where such permits are required.

2. A fine of 200,000 VND to 500,000 VND for one of the following acts:

a/ Setting brushwood, fishing hecks, cages or rafts for illegal exploitation of aquatic resources, thus affecting fishery or hindering the migration of aquatic animals in the breeding season.

b/ Using sources of light exceeding the prescribed capacity by 20% or more for each type of aquatic resources exploitation.

Apart from the above-mentioned fines, the violator shall be forced to re-set the brushwood or fishing hecks and have his/her overcharged sources of light confiscated.

3. A fine of 500,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

a/ Using nets with meshes smaller than the prescribed size to exploit aquatic resources.

b/ Producing, trading in or using aquatic resource-exploiting tools on the ban list.

Apart from the above-mentioned fines, the violator shall have his/her nets with meshes smaller than the prescribed size and aquatic-resource exploiting tools on the ban list confiscated.

4. Regarding acts of using electricity boosters to exploit aquatic resources:

a/ A fine of 200,000 VND to 500,000 VND for acts of using portable batteries or electricity boosters to exploit aquatic resources in fields, ponds, lakes, canals, streams, rivers or swamps.

b/ A fine of 1,000,000 VND to 4,000,000 VND for acts of using batteries, generators placed on boats together with small-meshed fishing nets, electricity boosters to exploit aquatic resources.

Apart from the above-mentioned fines, the violator shall have his/her exploiting means and the caught aquatic products confiscated.

5. A fine of 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND and the confiscation of the exploiting means together with the caught aquatic products for the use of toxic chemicals or poisonous plants elements to exploit aquatic resources.

6. A fine of 5,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND and the confiscation of the exploiting means together with the caught aquatic products for the use of explosives to exploit aquatic resources. Anyone transporting, processing or selling such aquatic products shall be subject to a fine of 10,000 VND to 20,000 VND for each kilo of aquatic products.

7. A fine of 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND, a forcible release of live aquatic animals back into their habitats and the confiscation of the remaining aquatic products for acts of exploiting aquatic resources in the prohibited areas.

Article 7.- Levels of sanction against violations of the management of fishing ships and boats:

1. Violations of regulations on ship and boat building and repairing:

a/ A fine of 200,000 VND to 500,000 VND for acts of building, regrading ships or boats without permit (for ships and boats that require permits).

b/ A fine of 500,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND for acts of building ships or boats without a design dossier (for ships and boats of prescribed sizes that require designs).

2. Violations of the regulations on registration and registration for inspection:

A fine of 500,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND shall be levied on the owners of ships or boats that require registration, inspection registration and lists of the crew members who commit one of the following acts:

- Using ships or boats which have not been registered for fishing activities.

- Changing the ownership of the ship or boat, moving the ship or boat to another area or making an overall repair that changes the basic parameters of the ship or boat without renewing the registration.

- Having no list of crew members.

- Using ships or boats which have no certificates of the inspection registration or for which the time limit for the inspection registration has expired.

3. Violations of regulations on operating ships and boats:

a/ A warning shall be served against an act of improper writing of the registration numbers on ships or boats or leaving the registration numbers illusive (for ships and boats that require registration numbers).

b/ A fine of 20,000 VND to 50,000 VND for the aquatic resources exploiters on board ships or boats without enough necessary papers.

c/ A fine of 50,000 VND to 100,000 VND for the failure to write the ship or boat registration number (for ships and boats that require registration numbers).

d/ A fine of 500,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND for driving a ship or boat or operating a ship engine without license or using other person’s license (for ships and boats that require operating license).

e/ A fine of 200,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

- Evading or obstructing the inspection and control by the aquatic resources protection force.

- Failing to observe or observing not fully or improperly the regulations on operating ships and boats in and out of the shipping lanes or anchoring at ports or wharves.

- Failing to observe or observing not fully or improperly the regulations on the installation of signals on ships or boats which are fishing or sailing on the sea.

Apart from the fines mentioned in Points 1, 2, 3 of this Article the violator shall be forced to comply with the provisions on the building, repairing, registering, registering for inspection and operating ships and boats.

Article 8.- Levels of sanction against violations of the management of aquaculture:

1. A fine of 500,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

a/ Conducting aquaculture outside the general plan or without plan, thus causing bad consequences to the ecological environment or badly affecting production and business establishments that legally operate in the locality.

b/ Trading in aquatic breeds or feeds illegally or without registration as stipulated.

2. A fine of 1,000,000 VND to 2,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

- Producing and multiplying new breeds which have not been recognized by the Ministry of Aquaculture.

- Moving a new breed from one province to another without a permit.

3. A fine of 5,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND for the import or export of aquatic breeds without permit.

4. A fine of 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND for the import or export of aquatic feeds without permit.

Apart from the fines mentioned in Points 1, 2, 3, 4 of this Article the violators shall be forced to fully observe all the current provisions.

Article 9.- Levels of sanction against violations of regulations on aquatic diseases prevention and treatment:

1. Violations concerning the prevention of diseases for aquatic animals:

a/ A fine of 200,000 VND to 500,000 VND shall be levied on an establishment that raises aquatic animals, produces aquatic breeds or feeds (except for small and self-procurement production and business households) for one of the following acts it commits:

- Failing to take compulsory preventive measures prescribed by the Ministry of Aquaculture.

- Failing to observe regulations on veterinary sanitation for aquatic animals.

- Failing to declare to the agency in charge of the aquatic resources protection when discovering that the aquatic animals raised in their stations or farms have been infected with diseases.

b/ A fine of 500,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

- Discarding bodies of the diseased aquatic animals into water areas.

- Using diseased aquatic animals as breeds, for breeding or producing raw aquatic feeds.

- Failing to take necessary measures for waste treatment to get rid of disease-germs when processing aquatic products.

c/ A fine of 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

- Discharging untreated water or waste from areas infected with aquatic diseases to other water areas;

- Failing to take measures against aquatic epidemics when a decision has been issued to disclose such epidemics;

- Moving aquatic animals out of an epidemic area when there is no decision yet to annul the decision to declare the epidemic.

Apart from the fines mentioned above, the violator shall be forced to take measures to prevent and combat epidemic for aquatic animals and destroy the already infected aquatic animals.

2. Violations of regulations on aquatic quarantine.

a/ A fine of 1,000,000 VND to 2,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

- Transporting aquatic breeds (including parent breeds) from one province to another without quarantine certificates granted by agencies in charge of aquatic resources protection.

- Failing to comply with the provisions on veterinary inspection and quarantine.

b/ A fine of 5,000,000 VND to 10,000,000 VND for acts of evading the quarantine of aquatic animals to be exported, imported, temporarily imported for re-export, transited or transported through the territory of Vietnam.

Apart from the above-mentioned fines, the violator shall be forced to strictly observe quarantine regulations.

3. Violations of regulations on the management of veterinary drugs for aquatic animals.

a/ A fine of 500,000 VND to 1,000,000 VND for one of the following acts:

- Producing or trading in aquatic veterinary drugs without permit.

- Producing or trading in veterinary drugs which have not been recognized by the Ministry of Aquaculture.

b/ A fine of 2,000,000 VND to 5,000,000 VND for acts of exporting or importing aquatic veterinary drugs, semi-products or materials used for the production of such drugs without permit.

Article 10.- Levels of sanction against acts of violation concerning the use of permits:

1. Warning and withdrawal of permit shall be imposed on acts of using permits not granted by the competent agency.

2. A fine of 20,000 VND to 100,000 VND and compulsory change for new permits shall be imposed on acts of using an expired permit.

3. A fine of 200,000 VND to 500,000 VND and compulsory suspension shall be imposed on acts of fishing at variance with the permit.

4. A fine of 500,000 VND to 2,000,000 VND for acts of amending permits or using fake permits or false papers on the registration, registration for the inspection of fishing means, certificates of professional qualification and positions of the crew.

The false papers and amended papers shall be confiscated.

5. Any act of producing or trading in fake aquatic veterinary drugs or counterfeiting papers on the management, production and business of aquatic products shall be handled in accordance with current legislation.

Chapter III

COMPETENCE, PROCEDURES AND MEASURES FOR HANDLING VIOLATIONS

Article 11.- Competence to decide sanctions:

1. The Presidents of the People’s Committees of communes, wards and townships (hereafter referred to as the communal level) shall have the right:

a/ To issue warnings;

b/ To impose fines of up to 200,000 VND;

c/ To confiscate tools and equipment valued at up to 500,000 VND used in administrative violations;

d/ To force compensation for damage of up to 500,000 VND caused by administrative violations;

e/ To force the restoration of the original sate, which has been changed by the administrative violation;

f/ To suspend acts causing pollution to the living environment of aquatic animals or the spread of epidemics to aquatic animals;

g/ To force the destruction of the infected animals;

2. The Presidents of the People’s Committees of districts, provincial towns and cities (hereafter referred to as district level) shall have the right:

a/ To issue warnings;

b/ To impose fines of up to 10,000,000 VND;

c/ To revoke the right to use the permit ( with regard to permits granted by the higher-level State agency, he/she shall order the suspension of the acts of violation and propose the competent State agency to withdraw the permit);

d/ To confiscate objects and equipment used in the administrative violation;

e/ To force the restoration of the original state which has been altered by the administrative violation or force the dismantlement of the illegal floating constructions or underwater structures which affect the living environment of aquatic animals;

f/ To force the application of measures to overcome the pollution of the living environment of aquatic animals or the spread of epidemics to aquatic animals due to the administrative violations;

g/ To force the compensation for damages of up to 1,000,000 VND caused by the administrative violation;

h/ To force the destruction of the infected aquatic animals.

3. The Presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government (hereafter referred to as the provincial level) shall have the right:

a/ To exercise the rights prescribed in Points a, c, d, e, f, g, h, Item 2 of this Article;

b/ To impose fines of up to 100,000,000 VND.

4. The Inspector for the protection of aquatic resources shall have the right:

a/ To issue warnings;

b/ To impose fines of up to 200,000 VND;

c/ To confiscate objects and equipment valued up to 500,000 VND used for administrative violations;

d/ To force the restoration of the original state which has been altered by the administrative violation or force the dismantlement of the illegal floating or underwater constructions which affect the living environment of aquatic animals;

e/ To force the application of measures to redress the pollution of the living environment of aquatic animals or the spread of epidemics to aquatic animal due to the administrative violation;

f/ To force the destruction of the infected aquatic animals.

5. The provincial General Inspector for the protection of aquatic resources, the Director of the provincial Department for aquatic resources protection (where there is not yet a provincial inspection organization specializing in aquatic resources protection) shall have the right:

a/ To issue warnings;

b/ To impose fines of up to 10,000,000 VND;

c/ To revoke the right to use the permit within his/her competence;

d/ To confiscate the objects and equipment used for the administrative violation;

e/ To force the restoration of the original state which has been altered by the administrative violation or force the dismantlement of the illegal floating or underwater constructions which affect the living environment of aquatic animals.

f/ To force the application of measures to overcome the pollution of the living environment of aquatic animals or the spread of epidemics to aquatic animals due to the administrative violation;

g/ To force the confiscation for damage of up to 1,000,000 VND caused by the administrative violation;

h/ To force the destruction of the infected aquatic animals.

6. The General Inspector for the protection of aquatic resources at central level shall have the right:

a/ To exercise the rights mentioned in Points a, c, d, e, f, g, h, Item 5 of this Article;

b/ To impose fines of up to 20,000,000 VND.

Article 12.- Procedures for the handling of administrative violations

1. When handling an administrative violation, the competent person shall have to comply with provisions of Article 45 to Article 56 of the Ordinance on the Handling of Administrative Violations of July 6, 1995.

2. Organizations and individuals subject to fines shall have to pay them at collection points or authorized collection points of the State Treasury written in the fining decision. Anyone who fail to pay fines in time shall be forced to do so.

All acts of collecting fines on the spot shall be strictly forbidden.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 13.- This Decree shall replace Decree No.85-CP of November 22, 1993 of the Government promulgating the "Regulations on the Handling of Administrative Violations in the Domain of the Management and Protection of Aquatic Resources".

All provisions on the handling of administrative violations in the domain of protection of aquatic resources which are contrary to this Decree are now annulled.

Article 14.- This Decrees takes effect from the date of its signing. The Minister of Aquaculture shall guide, inspect and urge the implementation of this Decree.

The Ministers, the Heads of the ministerial-level agencies and agencies attached to the Government, the Presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government

For the Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister