Nghe An Property Auction Service Center: 20 years of construction and development

(Baonghean) - Since its establishment, Nghe An Property Auction Service Center has effectively operated property auctions, ensuring the rights and interests of participating parties, and increasing the annual state budget contribution.

Nghe An Property Auction Service Center (abbreviated as the Center) was established on October 30, 1997 under Decision No. 4920/QD.UB of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee. The Center is a public service unit with revenue, legal status, operating under a self-financing mechanism, under the Department of Justice.

The center started with only 3 staff, poor facilities, and a newly formed legal system on property auctions. However, identifying property auctions as a judicial support activity, a legal service activity with an important position and role in socio-economic life and receiving the attention of the Provincial Party Committee, Provincial People's Committee, Department of Justice, as well as the coordination of relevant departments, branches, and units, the Center has gradually built and perfected a team of professionally qualified, dynamic, and professional staff.

Currently, the center has a total of 14 civil servants, public employees and workers, of which 7 positions include 1 civil servant and 6 public employees receiving salaries from the budget, the rest receive salaries from the center's self-funded revenue. The center's staff is basically trained, including 2 masters of economic management, 7 bachelors of law, 4 bachelors of finance and economics; 4 auctioneers.

Nghe An Property Auction Service Center. Photo: PV

In addition, the Center has strengthened the construction of facilities, equipped with modern means and equipment; at the same time, focused on the quality and efficiency of asset auction activities, always ensuring the transparency of the unit's auction procedures and records, implementing administrative procedure reform, innovating professional work and improving work efficiency; building a civilized office lifestyle, gradually innovating and perfecting work processing procedures, enhancing the responsibility of unit heads and civil servants and employees; especially always aiming to serve customers well, avoiding wasting time and causing trouble for customers.

With prestige, responsibility and a team of highly qualified staff, a team of experienced auctioneers, the Center is trusted by the Provincial People's Committee, departments, branches, People's Committees of districts, cities, towns and organizations and individuals to directly sign and execute many property auction contracts. Among them, organizing the auction of assets to enforce judgments, assets that are exhibits, means of administrative violations confiscated to the State budget, and State assets that need to be auctioned in the province is one of the tasks undertaken by the Center.

From July 1, 2010, the Center has been supplemented with the function of selling assets such as land use rights in cases where the State allocates land with land use fees or leases land. The organization of auction activities at the Center always complies with the process, procedures and regulations of the law, security and order of the auctions are basically guaranteed, and auction plans are carefully prepared.

On March 4, 2010, Decree No. 17/2010/ND-CP of the Government on property auction was issued, effective from July 1, 2010, which is an extremely important legal basis for property auction and has created a turning point in the operation of the Center. Accordingly, auction activities have gradually shifted from administrative activities to socialization with the competitive participation of property auction enterprises.

With the capacity and reputation that the Center has created throughout its operation, the Center is always the address chosen by legal owners of assets and those with authority to handle assets when needing to conduct asset auctions; demonstrated through the increasing quantity, contract value as well as auction results.

Since its establishment to September 30, 2017, the Center has signed 2,871 contracts, with a total starting value of more than VND 4,452 billion; successfully auctioned 2,704 contracts with a total starting value of more than VND 2,249 billion; the total value of assets sold was more than VND 2,467 billion; the auction exceeded the starting price, increasing revenue for the state budget by more than VND 219 billion. Of which, 307 contracts were signed and auctioned for assets such as land use rights; 1,383 contracts for state assets; 262 contracts for assets subject to execution of judgments; and 919 contracts for other types of assets.

An asset auction at the center. Photo: PV

With its achievements, the Center has been recognized as an excellent labor collective for many years; has been awarded Certificates of Merit by the Ministry of Justice and the Provincial People's Committee for many years; and many individuals have been awarded Certificates of Merit by the Government, the Ministry of Justice and the Provincial People's Committee. In 2007 and 2010, the Center was ranked as a Grade II public service unit by the Nghe An Provincial People's Committee. In 2017, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its establishment, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee awarded Certificates of Merit to the Center and 3 individuals.

From July 1, 2017, the asset auction work has entered a new phase according to the provisions of the Law on Asset Auction 2016 and its implementing documents. At the same time, on October 9, 2017, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Decision No. 4649/QD-UBND granting autonomy and self-responsibility for performing tasks, organizing apparatus, staffing, and finance to the Center with a mechanism of self-guaranteeing regular expenditures. This is a challenge as well as a new opportunity for the Center in the process of professionalization and integration into the trend of socialization of asset auction activities.

Continuing the achievements, the Center will continue to consolidate and improve the organization, improve the quality of human resources, constantly innovate, have many initiatives and good solutions, increase the efficiency of professional activities, create a solid foundation to ensure its sustainable development along with the development of the Department of Justice in particular and Nghe An province in general. Strive to build the Center to become the largest and most prestigious auction unit in the field of property auction in Nghe An province.

Nguyen Ngoc Minh

(Director of Nghe An Property Auction Service Center)