09 prohibited acts in the protection of state secrets in the tax sector in Vietnam

09 prohibited acts in the protection of state secrets in the tax sector in Vietnam (Internet image)

The General Department of Taxation of Vietnam issued Decision 245/QD-TCT dated March 30, 2023, promulgating the Regulation on protection of state secrets of the Tax sector.

1. What is the protection of state secrets of the tax sector?

State secret protection means the use of forces, means, and measures by agencies, units, and individuals in the tax sector to prevent and combat infringing upon state secrets.

Specifically, state secrets of the tax industry are information with important contents about the tax industry determined by the head of a competent agency or unit based on the provisions of the Law on Protection of State Secrets 2018, which have not been made public. If it is revealed or lost, it may cause harm to the interests of the nation, people, agencies, and units.

Forms containing state secrets include documents, objects, places, words, activities, or other forms.

(Clause 1, 2, Article 2 of the Regulations issued together with Decision 245/QD-TCT)

2. 09 prohibited acts in the protection of state secrets in the tax sector in Vietnam

Specifically, in Article 4 of the Regulations promulgated together with Decision 245/QD-TCT, individuals and organizations are strictly prohibited from performing the following acts to protect state secrets in the tax sector:

(1) Disclosure, appropriation, purchase, and sale of state secrets; falsifying, damaging, or losing documents and containers containing state secrets.

(2) Illegally collecting, exchanging, providing, or transferring state secrets; illegally copying, photographing, storing, transporting, delivering, receiving, withdrawing, and destroying documents and containers containing state secrets.

(3) Illegally bringing documents and objects containing state secrets out of the place of storage.

(4) Taking advantage of, abusing the protection of state secrets, using state secrets to perform or conceal acts of violating the law, infringing upon lawful rights and interests, or obstructing the operation of agencies, units, or individuals.

(5) Drafting and storing documents containing state secret content on computers or other devices connected to the Internet, computer networks, or telecommunications networks, except in the case of keeping state secrets in accordance with the law on ciphers.

(6) Communicating state secrets through the media and telecommunications against the provisions of the law on ciphers.

(7) Changing the purpose of using computers and other equipment used for drafting, storing, and exchanging state secrets before removing state secrets.

(8) Using equipment with the function of receiving, transmitting, recording, or recording in a conference, seminar, or meeting with state secret content in any form without the permission of a competent person.

(9) Publishing and disseminating state secrets on mass media, the Internet, computer networks, and telecommunications networks.

3. Competence to permit copying and photocopying of documents and objects containing state secrets of the Tax sector in Vietnam

Copying documents containing State secrets in the tax sector is the copying or making of another copy according to the original or original content of the document. Photographing documents and containers containing state secrets is the recording in pictures of documents and containers containing state secrets, including the following forms: duplicating the original, making copies, and extracting copies.

In particular, the authority to permit copying and photographing documents and objects containing state secrets of the tax sector is prescribed as follows:

(i) Authority to authorize copying, photocopying of documents and objects containing State secrets of Top Secret level: Director General.

(ii) The authority to permit copying and photographing documents and containers containing State secrets of the highest level includes:

+ Persons specified in (i);

+ Heads of Departments and equivalents of the General Department and equivalents (Chief of Offices, Heads of Departments/units, Director of Tax Departments of Provinces and Cities)

(iii) The authority to permit copying and photographing documents and containers containing State secrets of Confidentiality includes:

+ Persons specified in (ii);

+ Heads of department-level units under the General Department, Department, Department and the equivalent under the Ministry.

+ The head of a division-level unit under the Department under the General Department and the equivalent.

Note:

- Persons competent to permit copying or photographing documents and objects containing state secrets as prescribed (i), (ii) may authorize their deputies to exercise their authority to permit copying and photographing documents, state secret receptacles.

The authorization to copy or take photos of documents and objects containing state secrets is done regularly or on a case-by-case basis and must be expressed in writing; which clearly defines the scope, content, and duration of the authorization.

- A deputy-level officer authorized to permit copying or photographing documents and objects containing state secrets must be responsible for his/her decision on permission to copy or photograph before his/her superior and before the law.

The authorized person may not further authorize another person.

(Clause 1, 2, 3, Article 7 of the Regulations issued together with Decision 245/QD-TCT)

Decision 245/QD-TCT takes effect from the date of signing, replacing Decision 636/QD-TCT dated April 25, 2017.

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