Precedent No. 60/2023/AL was adopted by the Council of Justices of the Supreme People’s Court on February 1, 2, and 3, 2023, and published under Decision No. 39/QD-CA dated February 24, 2023, by the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court.
1. What is a precedent?
Precedents are arguments and rulings in legally effective judgments and decisions of the Courts regarding specific cases, selected by the Council of Justices of the Supreme People’s Court and published by the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court as precedents for Courts to study and apply in adjudication. (Article 1 of Resolution 04/2019/NQ-HĐTP)
A selected precedent must meet the following criteria:
– It has value in clarifying legal provisions that have different interpretations, analyzing and explaining legal issues and events, and pointing out principles, handling directions, and legal norms to be applied in a specific case, or demonstrating equity regarding issues for which there are no specific legal provisions;
– It is of a standard nature;
– It has value in guiding the uniform application of law in adjudication.
2. Precedent No. 60/2023/AL on the time limit for claiming construction lottery prizes
2.1. Source of the precedent
Cassation Decision No. 239/2022/DS-GĐT dated September 5, 2022, of the Judicial Committee of the High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City regarding the case “Dispute over construction lottery prize payment” between the plaintiff, Mr. Thai Huu T, and the defendant, Construction Lottery One Member Limited Liability Company A.
Location of the precedent’s content:
Paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 of the “Court’s Assessment” section.
2.2. Summary of the precedent’s content
– Precedent situation:
The prize participation rules of a construction lottery company determine the prize claim period for a winning ticket to be calculated in days.
– Legal solution:
In this case, the Court must determine that the first day of the time limit is not counted, but is calculated from the day following the determined date as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 147 of the Civil Code 2015; the last day of the prize claim period is determined according to the provisions of Article 148 of the Civil Code 2015.
Legal provisions related to the precedent:
– Clause 2, Article 147, and Clauses 1, 5, and 6, Article 148 of the Civil Code of Vietnam 2015;
– Clause 1, Article 30 of Circular No. 75/2013/TT-BTC dated June 4, 2013, of the Ministry of Finance providing detailed guidance on lottery business activities.
Keywords of the precedent:
“Lottery prize dispute”; “Lottery business”; “Prize payment deadline”.
CASE CONTENT:
According to the lawsuit and during the case resolution process, Mr. Nguyen Van H, the authorized representative of the plaintiff, stated:
On October 29, 2020, Mr. Thai Huu T purchased a lottery ticket with symbol AG-10K5, number F123007, which won a prize of 2,000,000,000 VND, issued by Construction Lottery Company A, with the drawing date being October 29, 2020. Due to being busy with work on the drawing day, Mr. T did not follow the results and did not check the numbers after the drawing. At 10:00 PM on November 28, 2020, Mr. T checked the numbers and discovered he had won. At this time, Mr. T used his personal phone to call the phone number of Construction Lottery Company A to report the win, but no one answered.
On November 29, 2020, Mr. T brought the winning ticket to the Company, but since it was Sunday, the company was closed. Mr. T met the company’s security guard and Ms. Nguyen Thị Kim T1 – an employee of the Prize Payment – Treasury Department – to receive the prize but was unsuccessful, and was instructed to complete procedures to request certification of the reason for the delay.
Mr. T also completed the procedures: A statement explaining the reason for the delay submitted along with his mother’s medical prescriptions because, during the period after purchasing the ticket, he had to take his mother for treatment at the hospital and bring her home to District V, but the company determined the last day of the prize claim period was November 27, 2020.
The company’s determination that November 27, 2020, was the last day of the claim period was incorrect. The last day should have been November 28, 2020, but since this day fell on a Saturday, the last day for prize payment must be November 30, 2020, according to the provisions of the Civil Code 2015. Therefore, the plaintiff requested the Court to compel Construction Lottery Company A to pay the full value of the special prize of 2,000,000,000 VND that the plaintiff had won.
The defendant, represented by Mr. Vo Trung D, stated:
The defendant does not agree with the plaintiff’s lawsuit request: The reason is based on the Rules for Participation in Lottery Prizes of the Company issued with Decision No. 22/QD.XS dated March 4, 2020, which were publicly disclosed, Circular No. 75/2013/TT-BTC dated June 4, 2013, of the Ministry of Finance, Decrees guiding lottery activities, Clause 1, Article 145 of the Civil Code 2015, and the back of the winning ticket which showed the drawing date was October 29, 2020. The drawing day is counted as 01 day within the 30-day claim period, so the end date of the claim period was November 27, 2020. On November 29, 2020, Mr. T brought the ticket, but since it was a scheduled day off, it was not until December 1, 2020, that Mr. T officially submitted the application and the ticket to claim the prize, which was past the claim deadline.
Construction Lottery Company A had an exchange of opinions with the Ministry of Finance and received Official Letter No. 16055/BTC-TCNH dated December 30, 2020, from the Ministry of Finance determining that “…the date of determining the winning result is the drawing date, which is counted as 01 day within the 30-day claim period of the winning lottery ticket. Thus, for the drawing on October 29, 2020, the end date of the claim period is November 27, 2020. After the above period, winning lottery tickets for traditional lotteries and manual lotto types no longer have value for claiming prizes.”
In the First Instance Civil Judgment No. 71/2021/DS-ST dated April 28, 2021, of the People’s Court of Long Xuyen City, An Giang province, it was decided:
To not accept the lawsuit request of Mr. Thai Huu T against Construction Lottery Company A regarding the payment of a construction lottery prize amounting to 2,000,000,000 VND;
In addition, the first-instance court also ruled on court fees and the right to appeal of the parties.
On November 14, 2019, Mr. Thai Huu T filed an appeal against the entire first-instance civil judgment mentioned above.
In the Appellate Civil Judgment No. 89/2021/DS-PT dated August 13, 2021, of the People’s Court of An Giang province, it was decided:
To accept the appeal request of the plaintiff Thai Huu T;
To amend the First Instance Civil Judgment No. 71/2021/DS-ST dated April 28, 2021, of the People’s Court of Long Xuyen City.
To accept the lawsuit request of the plaintiff Thai Huu T against the defendant Construction Lottery One Member Limited Liability Company A.
To compel Construction Lottery One Member Limited Liability Company A to be responsible for paying the prize to Mr. Thai Huu T for the winning lottery ticket with symbol AG-10K5, number F123007, which won the special prize of 2,000,000,000 VND issued by Construction Lottery One Member Limited Liability Company A, with the drawing date being October 29, 2020.
In addition, the appellate court also ruled on court fees.
On September 9, 2021, Construction Lottery One Member Ltd. Co. A submitted a request for a cassation protest against the aforementioned appellate civil judgment.
On September 23, 2021, the People’s Procuracy of An Giang Province issued Document No. 1180/TB-VKS-DS/BC suggesting a protest through cassation procedures against the aforementioned appellate civil judgment.
Under Cassation Protest Decision No. 35/2022/QD-VKS-DS dated January 21, 2022, the Chief Procurator of the High People’s Procuracy in Ho Chi Minh City protested the aforementioned appellate civil judgment, requesting the Judicial Committee of the High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City to conduct a cassation trial to annul the entire Appellate Civil Judgment No. 89/2021/DS-PT dated August 13, 2021, of the People’s Court of An Giang Province, and uphold the First Instance Civil Judgment No. 71/2021/DS-ST dated April 28, 2021, of the People’s Court of Long Xuyen City.
At the trial, the representative of the High People’s Procuracy in Ho Chi Minh City requested the Judicial Committee to accept the protest of the Chief Procurator of the High People’s Procuracy in Ho Chi Minh City.
COURT’S ASSESSMENT:
[1] According to the provisions in Clause 1, Article 12 of the Rules for Participation in Traditional 6-Digit Lottery Prizes (Issued with Decision No. 22/QD.XS dated March 4, 2020, of Construction Lottery Company A and Official Letter No. 16055/BTC-TCNH dated December 30, 2020, of the Ministry of Finance), “determining the end date of prize payment as November 27, 2020” is inconsistent with the Civil Code 2015.
[2] Clause 1, Article 30 of Circular 75/2013/TT-BTC dated June 4, 2013, stipulates: “The claim period for a winning lottery ticket is 30 days from the date the winning result is determined or from the date the lottery ticket’s circulation expires…”. The ticket issued by Construction Lottery Company A, a traditional 06-digit construction lottery type with symbol AG-10K5, number F123007, dated October 29, 2020; the drawing date was October 29, 2020; the back of the ticket records “After the 30-day period from the date the winning result is determined, winning tickets that are unclaimed will be remitted to the state budget”.
[3] Based on the above provisions, there is a basis to determine: Construction Lottery Company A and the ticket buyer accepted general provisions on the time limit for calculating winnings in “days”; Clause 2, Article 147 of the Civil Code 2015 stipulates: “When a time limit is determined by days, weeks, months, or years, the first day of the time limit shall not be counted and shall be counted from the day following the determined date”.
[4] According to the 06-digit traditional construction lottery ticket won by Mr. Thai Huu T with symbol AG-10K5, number F123007, dated October 29, 2020, issued by Construction Lottery Company A, the lottery result was on October 29, 2020. In this case, the start date of the 30-day period for the lottery ticket drawn on October 29, 2020, must be determined as “October 30, 2020”, and the time limit expires at the end of the last day of the period, which is 24:00 hours (one day is twenty-four hours) as prescribed in Point e, Clause 1, Article 146 of the Civil Code 2015.
[5] Mr. Thai Huu T declared that when he discovered the winning ticket at 10:00 PM on November 28, 2020, he contacted Construction Lottery Company A multiple times via the phone number 0296.385.7904 printed on the back of the ticket. On November 29, 2020, Mr. Thai Huu T went directly to Construction Lottery Company A and was confirmed by Ms. Nguyen Thị Kim T1: “On November 29, 2020, Mr. T came to the Company to provide information about the winning ticket. I replied according to Circular 75 of the Ministry of Finance that the ticket was overdue and on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, Mr. T brought the ticket for series 10K5 drawn on October 29, 2020, and a petition for consideration; the Prize Payment – Treasury Department received his ticket”.
[6] According to Clause 1, Clause 5, and Clause 6 of Article 148 of the Civil Code 2015: “1. When the time limit is calculated in days, the time limit ends at the end of the last day of the limit; 5. When the last day of the time limit is a weekend or a public holiday, the time limit ends at the end of the next working day following that holiday; 6. The end time of the last day of the time limit is at twenty-four hours of that day”.
[7] Based on the analyzed content, the appellate court determined that Mr. T’s ticket had won and the time Mr. T contacted to claim the prize was still within the 30-day period according to the prize payment deadline regulations of Construction Lottery Company A and accepted Mr. T’s lawsuit request; compelling Construction Lottery Company A to be responsible for paying the prize to Mr. Thai Huu T for the winning ticket with symbol AG-10K5, number F123007, winning the special prize of 2,000,000,000 VND is legally grounded.
For the above reasons,
Pursuant to Article 337 and Article 343 of the Civil Code 2015;
DECISION:
1. To not accept Protest Decision No. 35/2022/QD-VKS-DS dated January 21, 2022, of the Chief Procurator of the High People’s Procuracy in Ho Chi Minh City.
2. To uphold the Appellate Civil Judgment No. 89/2021/DS-PT dated August 12, 2021, of the People’s Court of An Giang Province regarding the case “Dispute over construction lottery prize payment” between the plaintiff Mr. Thai Huu T and the defendant Construction Lottery One Member Ltd. Co. A.
3. The cassation decision takes legal effect from the date of issuance.
PRECEDENT CONTENT:
“[2] Clause 1, Article 30 of Circular 75/2013/TT-BTC dated June 4, 2013, stipulates: “The claim period for a winning lottery ticket is 30 days from the date the winning result is determined or from the date the lottery ticket’s circulation expires…”, the ticket issued by Construction Lottery Company A, a traditional 06-digit construction lottery type with symbol AG-10K5, number F123007, dated October 29, 2020, the drawing date was October 29, 2020; the back of the ticket records “After the 30-day period from the date the winning result is determined, winning tickets that are unclaimed will be remitted to the state budget”.
[3] Based on the above provisions, there is a basis to determine: Construction Lottery Company A and the ticket buyer accepted general provisions on the time limit for calculating winnings in “days”; Clause 2, Article 147 of the Civil Code 2015 stipulates: “When a time limit is determined by days, weeks, months, or years, the first day of the time limit shall not be counted and shall be counted from the day following the determined date”.
[4] According to the 06-digit traditional construction lottery ticket won by Mr. Thai Huu T with symbol AG-10K5, number F123007, dated October 29, 2020, issued by Construction Lottery Company A, the lottery result was on October 29, 2020. In this case, the start date of the 30-day period for the lottery ticket drawn on October 29, 2020, must be determined as “October 30, 2020”, and the time limit expires at the end of the last day of the period, which is 24:00 hours (one day is twenty-four hours)…
…
[6] According to Clause 1, Clause 5, and Clause 6 of Article 148 of the Civil Code 2015: “1. When the time limit is calculated in days, the time limit ends at the end of the last day of the limit; 5. When the last day of the time limit is a weekend or a public holiday, the time limit ends at the end of the next working day following that holiday; 6. The end time of the last day of the time limit is at twenty-four hours of that day”.
[7] Based on the analyzed content, the appellate court determined that Mr. T’s ticket had won and the time Mr. T contacted to claim the prize was still within the 30-day period according to the prize payment deadline regulations of Construction Lottery Company A and accepted Mr. T’s lawsuit request; compelling Construction Lottery Company A to be responsible for paying the prize to Mr. Thai Huu T for the winning ticket with symbol AG-10K5, number F123007, winning the special prize of 2,000,000,000 VND is legally grounded.”
