Guidelines for Handling Gifts When Officials Cannot Refuse

According to current legal regulations, agencies, organizations, units, and individuals in positions of authority are prohibited from directly or indirectly receiving gifts in any form from agencies, organizations, units, or individuals related to the work they resolve or within their management scope. If refusal is not possible, the agency, organization, or unit must manage and handle the gift in accordance with Article 27 of Decree 59/2019/ND-CP. To be specific: as follows:

Illustrative image (source: internet)

Firstly, for monetary gifts or valuable papers, the head of the agency, organization, or unit will organize the receipt, preservation, and procedures to submit into the state budget according to legal provisions.

Secondly, for material gifts, the head of the agency, organization, or unit will receive, preserve, and handle them as follows:- Determine the value of the gift based on the price provided by the gift-giving agency, unit, or individual (if available) or the value of similar items sold on the market. In case the value of the material gift cannot be determined, it may be requested that a competent authority assesses the value;- Decide to sell the gift and organize a public sale of the gift according to legal provisions;- Deposit the proceeds into the state budget after deducting the costs related to the handling of the gift within 30 days from the date of selling the gift.

Thirdly, for gifts that are services such as visits, tourism, healthcare, education - training, internships, domestic or foreign training, and other services, the head of the agency, organization, or unit must inform the service-providing agency, organization, or unit of the non-use of that service.

Fourthly, for gifts that are animals, plants, fresh food, and other difficult-to-preserve items, the head of the agency, organization, or unit will handle them based on the specific situation and legal provisions regarding the handling of evidence in administrative violation cases, or report to a competent authority for consideration and decision.

Subsequently, within 5 working days from the date of handling the gift, the agency, organization, or unit handling the gift shall notify in writing the agency, organization, unit managing the gift-giver, or the immediate superior of the agency, organization, or unit that gave the gift for consideration and handling according to their authority.

See detailed regulations at Decree 59/2019/ND-CP effective from August 15, 2019.

Thu Ba

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