Vietnam: Guidelines for organizing the implementation of price stabilization according to Clause 1 Article 20 of the Price Law

Guidelines for organizing the implementation of price stabilization according to Clause 1 Article 20 of the Price Law (Image from the internet)

Guidelines for organizing the implementation of price stabilization according to Clause 1 Article 20 of the Price Law​

(1) Ministries and equivalent agencies in charge of sectors and fields with documents proposing price stabilization for goods and services within the scope of price stabilization list shall submit them to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation and presentation to the Government for approval of the price stabilization policy, according to the following content and sequence:

(1.1) Ministries and equivalent agencies in charge of goods and services in the Price Stabilization List, when assessing the level of market price fluctuations of goods and services, the impact on the economy, society, production, business, people's lives, and the necessity of price stabilization, shall prepare a price stabilization report (including the contents specified in point (1.2)) along with a document proposing the price stabilization policy (including the contents specified in point (1.3)) to be sent to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation.

(1.2) The price stabilization report includes the following information: legal basis; the necessity of price stabilization; analysis of the fluctuations, causes, and trends of market prices for goods and services that significantly increase or decrease compared to the market price level of a certain previous period; supply and demand situation of goods and services in domestic and global markets; market factors impacting the domestic and global markets (if any), and other necessary information.

(1.3) The document proposing the price stabilization policy of the ministries and equivalent agencies in charge of sectors and fields includes the following contents: proposed goods and services for price stabilization; assignment of responsibilities for implementing and reporting the results of price stabilization to relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals; other relevant contents.

(1.4) Based on the proposals of the ministries and equivalent agencies in charge of goods and services in the Price Stabilization List, within a maximum of 10 working days from the date of receiving sufficient information as prescribed in point a of this provision, the Ministry of Finance shall consolidate the report and submit it to the Government for consideration and decision on the price stabilization policy. If necessary, the Ministry of Finance may request relevant agencies and organizations to provide additional information to serve the consolidation of the report for the Government's consideration and approval of the price stabilization policy. The deadline for relevant agencies and organizations to provide information shall be within a maximum of 3 working days from the date of receiving the request from the Ministry of Finance.

(2) The government decides on the price stabilization policy, assigns the leading responsibility to the ministries and equivalent agencies in charge of goods and services in the Price Stabilization List to implement price stabilization, and assigns the coordination responsibility to relevant ministries, equivalent agencies, and provincial People's Committees. The authority and responsibility for implementing price stabilization shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of Decree 85/2024/ND-CP of Vietnam's Government.

(3) Based on the government's price stabilization policy, the ministries and equivalent agencies in charge of sectors and fields are responsible for leading the implementation and providing guidance to the provincial People's Committees on implementing one or more of the following methods to determine the causes of price fluctuations, serving as a basis for selecting appropriate measures, timeframes, and scopes of price stabilization:

- Inspecting the factors affecting prices as stipulated in Article 31, Article 32, and Article 33 of the Price Law or requesting enterprises to report on some factors affecting prices.
- Controlling the inventory of goods of organizations and individuals engaged in the business of goods and services.
- Assessing the supply and demand of goods and services: evaluating the market supply and demand situation of goods and services and analyzing the causes of supply-demand imbalances for goods and services.

(4) The ministries and equivalent agencies in charge of sectors and fields shall issue a Decision on price stabilization, which includes the following contents:

- The name of the goods or services that the government decides to implement price stabilization for.
- One or a number of measures of price stabilization applied as stipulated in Article 19 of the Price Law.
- The duration of the price stabilization measures.
- The geographical scope of the price stabilization.
- Assignment of responsibilities for implementing and reporting the results of price stabilization to localities and relevant units, organizations, and individuals.
- Other relevant contents.

(5) The ministries and equivalent agencies in charge of sectors and fields are responsible for:

- Organizing the implementation, providing guidance, and regularly monitoring and inspecting the implementation of the price stabilization decision they issued, making timely adjustments according to the actual situation.
- Organizing the implementation, providing guidance, monitoring, and inspecting the use of the price stabilization fund for goods and services listed in the Price Stabilization List decided by the government, ensuring transparency and accountability in the management and utilization of the price stabilization fund.
- Reporting the results of price stabilization to the government and submitting them to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation, as prescribed.

(6) Based on the implementation of price stabilization, assessing the price fluctuations of goods and services in reality, the ministries and equivalent agencies in charge of sectors and fields can terminate price stabilization before the deadline or extend the duration of price stabilization measures, and report to the government and submit to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation, as prescribed. The documents adjusting the duration of price stabilization measures by the ministries and equivalent agencies in charge of sectors and fields are administrative documents.

(7) Organizations and individuals engaged in the business of goods and services are responsible for complying with the announced price stabilization measures and submitting the initial declaration and subsequent price declaration for goods and services being implemented, as stipulated in Article 17 of Decree 85/2024/ND-CP, from the date when the price stabilization measures are applied.

** According to Clause 1 Article 20 of the Price Law:

The price stabilization in the case prescribed in Point a Clause 2 Article 18 of the Price Law shall be carried out as follows:

- Ministries, ministerial agencies in charge of specific fields and sectors shall assess the fluctuation of the market prices of goods and services, the level of impacts on socio-economic situations, production, business, and life of the people; submit documents to the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam for summary and presentation to the Government of Vietnam for consideration and decision on price stabilization guidelines;

- Ministries and ministerial agencies in charge of specific fields and sectors shall, based on price stabilization guidelines of the Government of Vietnam, take charge and instruct People’s Committees of provinces to apply one or several of the following methods: inspecting price determinants or requesting enterprises to report on certain price determinants; controlling inventory goods; assessing the supply and demand for goods and services to identify grounds and reasons for the appropriate selection and application of price stabilization measures, period, and scope.  People’s Committees of provinces shall implement and report on the results of the implementation to Ministries and ministerial agencies in charge of the implementation;

- Ministries and ministerial agencies in charge of specific fields and sectors shall promulgate decisions on application of one or several price stabilization measures and the application period and scale; organize and instruct the implementation of price stabilization measures and report on the results of such implementation to the Government of Vietnam while sending such report to the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam for inclusion in the summarized price market report, analysis, and forecast; People's Committees of provinces shall implement price stabilization measures and report on the results to Ministries and ministerial agencies in charge of the implementation;

- Suppliers of goods and services shall comply with the disclosed price stabilization measures and perform the first-time declaration or re-declaration of prices following Article 28 of the Price Law with competent state agencies.

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