Thông tư 250/2016/TT-BTC

CIRCULAR

PROVIDING GUIDANCE ON FEES AND CHARGES WITHIN THE JURISDICTION OF THE PEOPLE’S COUNCIL OF CENTRALLY-AFFILIATED CITY AND PROVINCE

Pursuant to the Law on Fees and Charges dated November 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016 specifying and providing guidance on implementation of several articles of the Law on Fees and Charges;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 215/2013/ND-CP dated December 23, 2013 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Upon the request of the Director of the Tax Policy Department,

The Minister of Finance hereby introduces the Circular providing guidance on fees and charges within the jurisdiction of the People’s Council of centrally-affiliated city and province.

Article 1. Scope

This Circular shall provide guidance on the classification, principles of and grounds for determining collection, exemption and reduction rates, management, and utilization, of fees and charges within the jurisdiction of the People’s Council of centrally-affiliated city and province (hereinafter referred to as provincial-level People’s Council).

Article 2. Classification of fees within the jurisdiction of the provincial-level People’s Council

1. Fee for evaluation, selection and recognition of maternal plants, prototypical seedlings, forest plant variety gardens and plant variety forests (applicable to evaluation, selection and recognition activities performed by local authorities).

2. Fee for utilization of public service or utility infrastructure and facilities within bordergate areas (including road and seaport bordergate areas).

3. Toll road fee (applicable to roads under the scope of provincial-level delegated authority).

4. Fee for temporary usage of public roads and pavements.

5. Fee for entrance to landscapes and landmarks (applicable to those under the scope of provincial-level delegated authority).

6. Fee for entrance to historic sites (applicable to those under the scope of provincial-level delegated authority).

7. Fee for entrance to cultural monuments and museums (applicable to those under the scope of provincial-level delegated authority).

8. Fee for verification of eligibility for the certificate of conformance to operational conditions of sports establishments and professional sports clubs.

9. Fee for access to libraries (applicable to those under the scope of provincial-level delegated authority).

10. Fee for inspection of environmental impact evaluation reports and detailed environmental protection proposals (applicable to inspections conducted by regulatory authorities of a specified province).

11. Fee for inspection of plans for environmental remediation and recovery, and complementary plans for environmental remediation and recovery (applicable to inspections conducted by regulatory authorities of a specified province).

12. Fee for verification of application dossiers for the land use right certificate.

13. Fee for inspection of the proposal or report for groundwater deposit assessment, extraction and utilization (applicable to inspections conducted by local authorities).

14. Fee for verification of application dossiers and requirements for the license for groundwater drilling practices (applicable to verification activities performed by local authorities).

15. Fee for inspection of the proposal for surface and sea water production and utilization (applicable to inspections conducted by local authorities).

16. Fee for inspection of the proposal for discharge of wastewater into the receiving water body and irrigation works (applicable to inspections conducted by local authorities).

17. Fee for access to and usage of land documents.

18. Fee for provision of information about transactions secured on the right to use land and associated assets.

19. Fee for provision of information about transactions secured on aircraft.

20. Fee for provision of information about transactions secured on ocean-going vessels.

21. Fee for provision of information about transactions secured on movable property, except for aircraft and ocean-going vessels.

22. Fee for registration of secured transactions (applicable to registration with local authorities).

Article 3. Classification of charges within the jurisdiction of the provincial-level People’s Council

1. Charge for resident registration (applicable to registration with local authorities).

2. Charge for issuance of ID cards (applicable to issuance by local authorities).

3. Charge for civil status registration.

4. Charge for grant of work permits to foreigners working in Vietnam (applicable to grant of work permits by local authorities).

5. Charge for grant of the certificate for the right to use land, own houses and associated assets.

6. Charge for issuance of construction licenses.

7. Charge for business registration.

Article 4. Principles for determination of collection rates

Determination of collection rates applied to specific fees or charges, prescribed by the provincial-level People’s Council after obtaining the statement from the same-level People’s Committee as referred to in Clause 1 Article 22 of the Law on Fees and Charges, shall be subject to the following principles and grounds:

1. Determination of fee and charge collection rates shall be subject to principles prescribed by Article 8 and 9 of the Law on Fees and Charges.

2. Regulations on collection rates for specific fees and charges must ensure:

a) reference to applicable rates of collection of fees and charges (where available) as the basis for recommendation on current collection rates.

b) relevance to specific conditions and context of a specified province where fee and charge collection activities arise.

c) with respect to fees and charges within jurisdiction of both Ministry of Finance and provincial-level People’s Council, including fee for evaluation, selection and recognition of maternal plants, prototypical seedlings, forest plant variety gardens and plant variety forests; fee for entrance to landscapes, landmarks, historic sites, cultural monuments and museums; fee for access to libraries; fee for inspection of environmental impact evaluation reports and detailed environmental protection proposals; fee for inspection of plans for environmental remediation and recovery, and complementary plans for environmental remediation and recovery; fee for provision of information about secured transactions; fee for secured transaction registration; charge for issuance of work permits to foreigners working in Vietnam, etc., these regulations must correlate with rates of collection of fees and charges for activities performed by central government agencies.

d) reference to collection rates of provincial–level divisions that have the similar socio-economic conditions to promote harmonious and consistent relationships between provinces concerned.

Article 5. Grounds for determination of fee and charge collection rates

Depending on specific conditions and context of a specified province where fee and charge collection activities arise, the following points need to be taken into consideration to determine appropriate fee and charge collection rates:

1. Fees

a) Fee for evaluation, selection and recognition of maternal plants, prototypical seedlings, forest plant variety gardens and plant variety forests is the amount of receipt partially or entirely offsetting costs incurred from these activities.

b) Fee for utilization of public service or utility infrastructure and facilities within bordergate areas (including road and seaport bordergate areas) is the amount of receipt from users of these structures and facilities to offset costs of repair, maintenance, continuation in conformance to service conditions, or restoration, of socio-technical infrastructure systems, public service and utility facilities within bordergate areas.

Depending on specific conditions of each province and extent of offset against these costs, collection rates must be prescribed where appropriate.

Prior to making representations to the provincial-level People’s Council for its decision on collection rates, the provincial-level People's Committee needs to confer, cooperate and consult with regulatory authorities over neighboring provinces with bordergates on ensuring correlation and conformity to principles for determination of fee collection rates prescribed by Article 8 of the Law on Fees and Charges.

c) Toll road fee

Toll road fee is collected on annual basis per a road vehicle in accordance with the Government’s regulations. Toll road fee applied to roads under the scope of provincial-level delegated authority is the amount of receipt from two-, three-wheeled motor vehicles, motorcycles or other equivalents (hereinafter referred to as motorbike) which have been registered to be used on roads (including vehicle registration certificate and vehicle registration plate).

The provincial-level People’s Council shall not prescribe collection of toll road fee with respect to two-, three-wheeled, motorcycles and other equivalents in accordance with the Decree No. 28/2016/ND-CP dated April 20, 2016 revising certain articles of the Decree No. 56/2014/ND-CP dated April 30, 2014 and the Decree No. 18/2012/ND-CP dated March 13, 2012 of the Government on the road maintenance fund.

d) Fee for temporary usage of public roads and pavements is the amount of receipt from subject matters allowed to temporarily use public roads and pavements for everyday life, production and business purposes in conformity with the State's planning, schemes and regulations in terms of management and usage of public roads and pavements.

Depending on specific conditions of a specified jurisdiction in relation to management and temporary usage of public roads and pavements, rates and methods of collection of this fee per uses, revenue and occupancy area, where appropriate, shall be prescribed.

e) Fee for entrance to landmarks, landscapes, historic sites, cultural monuments and museums (provided in Clause 5 through Clause 7 Article 2) is the amount of receipt offsetting a part or all of costs of maintenance, improvement, restoration and management of these landmarks, landscapes, historic sites, cultural monuments and museums, and fee collection.

- Depending on realistic conditions, scale and form of sightseeing service activities at each landmark, landscape, historic site, cultural monument and museum, collection rates for this fee shall vary where suitable, but must ensure:

+ Collection rates are applied in a consistent manner to Vietnamese and foreign visitors to these attractions.

+ A higher rate of fee may be applied to entrance to those recognized by UNESCO as world cultural and natural heritage sites.

+ Reduction in fee for entrance to landmarks, landscapes, historic sites, cultural monuments and museums shall be applied to:

Persons entitled to preferential policies on cultural enjoyment as provided in Article 2 of the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 170/2003/QD-TTg dated August 14, 2003 on “Preferential policies on cultural enjoyment”. Where it is difficult to define whether a person is entitled to preferential policies on cultural enjoyment as referred to in Article 2 of the Decision No. 170/2003/QD-TTg a certification granted by People’s Committee of the commune, ward or town where that person permanently resides is only needed.

Severely disabled persons as referred to in Clause 2 Article 11 of the Government’s Decree No. 28/2012/ND-CP dated April 10, 2012 specifying and providing guidance on implementation of certain articles of the Law on Disabled People.

Elderly persons as referred to in Clause 2 Article 5 of the Government’s Decree No. 06/2011/ND-CP dated January 14, 2011 specifying and providing guidance on implementation of certain articles of the Law on Elderly People.

+ Exemption from fee for entrance to landmarks, landscapes, historic sites, cultural monuments and museums shall be applied to severely disabled persons in accordance with Clause 1 Article 11 of the Government's Decree No. 28/2012/ND-CP dated April 10, 2012 on specifying and providing guidance on implementation of certain articles of the Law on Disabled People.

g) Fee for verification of eligibility for the certificate of conformance to operational conditions of sports establishments and professional sports clubs is the amount of receipt offsetting part or all of costs incurred by conducting such verification, and fee collection.

Depending on the operational scale and model of sports establishments and clubs, collection rates shall vary where appropriate, but adhere to principles of promotion of sports activities.

h) Fee for access to libraries is the amount of receipt offsetting part or all of costs necessary for library activities which are incurred by providing reading resources for member readers and fee collection.

- Depending on specific conditions, requirements for and forms of provision of reader services, rates of collection of this fee shall vary where appropriate, but ensure:

+ Reduction in the fee for access to libraries applied to the following persons in accordance with specified regulations:

Persons entitled to preferential policies on cultural enjoyment as provided in Article 2 of the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 170/2003/QD-TTg dated August 14, 2003 on “Preferential policies on cultural enjoyment”. Where it is difficult to define whether a person is entitled to preferential policies on cultural enjoyment as referred to in Article 2 of the Decision No. 170/2003/QD-TTg a certification granted by People’s Committee of the commune, ward or town where that person permanently resides is only needed.

Severely disabled persons as referred to in Clause 2 Article 11 of the Government’s Decree No. 28/2012/ND-CP dated April 10, 2012 specifying and providing guidance on implementation of certain articles of the Law on Disabled People.

+ Exemption from the fee for access to libraries applied to severely disabled persons as referred to in Clause 1 Article 11 of the Government’s Decree No. 28/2012/ND-CP dated April 10, 2012 specifying and providing guidance on implementation of certain articles of the Law on Disabled People.

+ With respect to other service activities such as translating, photocopying materials, operating and using domestic and international library information networks, classifying or categorizing materials by subjects, providing information products which have been processed upon the request of readers, delivering materials to readers directly and by post, etc., this fee must be the service price and must be implemented as agreed upon between libraries and requesting readers.

i) Fee for inspection of environmental impact evaluation reports and detailed environmental protection proposals is the amount of receipt offsetting part or all of costs incurred by performing such inspection activities, and fee collection.

Subject to specific conditions of each jurisdiction, rates of collection shall vary depending on the scale and specialization of a defined project or degree of complication of inspection tasks.

k) Fee for inspection of environmental impact evaluation reports and detailed environmental protection proposals is the amount of receipt offsetting part or all of costs incurred by performing such inspection activities, and fee collection.

l) Fee for verification of application dossiers for the land use right certificate is the amount of receipt from applicants for this certificate who demand or require verification in accordance with specified regulations to offset costs incurred by verifying that they have submitted required dossiers or fully conformed to necessary statutory requirements to obtain state regulatory authorities’ approval of assignment or leasing of land plots, including such requirements as current status of land use, land use planning and scheme, everyday life, production and business activities.

Fee for verification of application dossiers for the land use right certificate shall only be applied to the case in which state regulatory authorities conduct verification prior to land assignment or leasing, and rights to use land, own houses and associated assets are transferred.

Depending on the size of land of which certificate of use is granted and the complicated requirements of each dossier submitted to apply for the land use right certificate, including the dossier submitted to apply for initial issuance and re-issuance, use of land for different purposes (e.g. housing, manufacturing and business purposes) and specific conditions of each jurisdiction, rates of collection of this fee shall vary where appropriate and adhere to the principle that the collection rate applied to the land parcel used for the housing purpose must be lower than that used for manufacturing and business purposes.

m) Fee for inspection of the proposal or report for groundwater deposit assessment, extraction and utilization, for surface and sea water production and utilization, and for discharge of wastewater into the receiving water body and irrigation works, is the amount of receipt offsetting a part or all of costs incurred by carrying out inspection thereof, and fee collection.

n) Fee for verification of application dossiers and requirements for the license for groundwater drilling practices is the amount of receipt offsetting a part or all of costs incurred from such verification, and fee collection.

o) Fee for access to and usage of land documents is the amount of receipt from persons demanding access to and usage of land documents of state regulatory agencies having authority to manage land materials and documents (such as cadastral, People's Committee of a commune, ward, rural or urban district, etc.) in order to offset overhead costs or costs incurred by providing services necessary for access to and usage of land documents to those upon request, and fee collection.

Fee for access to and usage of land documents includes fee for access to and usage of maps for land use planning, current status of land use, thematic maps and cadastral maps.

p) Fee for provision of information about transactions secured on the right to use land and associated assets is the amount of receipt from persons demanding provision of information about transactions secured on rights to use land and associated assets with state regulatory authorities in order to offset costs incurred by performing tasks or rendering services necessary for provision of information about transactions secured on rights to use land and associated assets, and fee collection.

Depending on specific conditions of each jurisdiction, rates of collection of this fee shall vary where appropriate to value of assets providing information but ensure that these rates must be lower than the prices implemented by central government agencies.

q) With respect to the fee for provision of information about transactions secured on aircraft, sea-going vessels and movable property, except for those prescribed in Clause 19 through Clause 21 of Article 21, rates of collection of, and methods of collecting, paying in, administering and using, this fee shall be applied in accordance with the directives of the Ministry of Finance to information provision activities carried out by central government agencies.

r) Fee for secured transaction registration is the amount of receipt from persons requesting secured transaction registration with state regulatory authorities in order to offset costs incurred by carrying out tasks and rendering services necessary for such registration, and fee collection.

Depending on specific conditions of each jurisdiction, rates of collection of this fee shall vary where appropriate but ensure that these rates must be lower than the prices implemented by central government agencies.

2. Charges

a) Charge for resident registration is the amount of receipt from persons applying for resident registration with resident registration and administration authorities in accordance with laws on residence.

- Charge for resident registration applied to resident registration and administration activities is composed of the followings:

+ Registration of permanent or temporary residence of entire household, or of single person, without issuance of household registration books or temporary residence registration books.

+ Initial issuance, re-issuance and replacement of household registration books, temporary residence registration books for family households and individuals.

+ Recording of any change to contents of household registration books or temporary residence registration books.

+ Temporary residence registration renewal.

- Depending on realistic conditions of each jurisdiction, rates of collection of this fee shall vary where appropriate, but adhere to the principles that collection rates applied to registration of residence in districts of centrally-affiliated cities, or urban wards of cities, must be greater than collection rates applied to other administrative subdivisions.

b) Charge for issuance of ID cards is the amount of receipt from persons issued with ID cards by the police authority.

Charge for issuance of ID cards applied to issuance of ID cards (excluding the charge for taking photos for ID card applicants) includes charge for initial issuance, re-issuance and replacement of ID cards.

Depending on realistic conditions of each jurisdiction, rates of collection of this fee shall vary where appropriate, but adhere to the principles that collection rates applied to issuance of ID cards in districts of centrally-affiliated cities, or urban wards of provincially-control cities, must be greater than collection rates applied to other administrative subdivisions.

c) Charge for civil status registration is the amount of receipt from persons of whom issues on civil status are handled by state regulatory authorities in accordance with laws.

- Charge for civil status registration applied to registration of civil status with each level of delegated authority shall be provided for as follows:

+ As for civil status registration with the commune-level People’s Committee, including birth registration (including registration of birth made in excess of the stipulated term, re-registration of birth and registration of birth for persons already submitting their application dossiers or personal documents); death registration (including registration of death in excess of the stipulated term, re-registration of death); marriage registration (re-registration of marriage); recognition of parent-child relationship; modification and rectification of civil status of Vietnamese residents under age of 14; supplementary registration of civil status for resident Vietnamese citizens; issuance of marital status certificates; verification or recording of other vital events in the civil status registry book; other civil registration.

+ As for civil status registration with the district-level People’s Committee, including birth registration (including registration of birth made within or in excess of the stipulated term, re-registration of birth and registration of birth for persons already submitting their application dossiers or personal documents); death registration (including registration of death made within or in excess of the stipulated term, re-registration of death); marriage registration (initial registration of marriage, re-registration of marriage); registration of guardianship acceptance and termination; recognition of parent-child relationship; modification and rectification of civil status of Vietnamese residents aged 14 or older, ethnicity redefinition; modification, rectification and supplementary registration of civil status events containing foreign element; recording of Vietnamese citizen’s civil status events which have been handled in the civil status registry book; other civil registration.

- Depending on realistic conditions of each jurisdiction, rates of collection of this fee shall vary where appropriate, but adhere to the principle that the fee for civil status registration is exempt in the following cases:

+ Registration of civil status events for members of families that rendered meritorious services during the revolution; residents of households falling below the poverty line; disable people.

+ Registration of birth or death events within the stipulated term; registration of guardianship acceptance and termination; registration of resident Vietnamese citizens’ marriages with the commune-level People’s Committee; registration of birth or death events within the stipulated term, registration of marriages containing foreign elements with the commune-level People’s Committee located within border areas.

d) Charge for grant of work permits to foreigners working in Vietnam is the amount of receipt paid by employers upon implementation of procedures for state regulatory agencies' grant of work permits or re-issuance of work permits to foreign employees working for enterprises or entities located within the territory of Vietnam.

e) Charge for grant of the certificate for the right to use land, own houses and associated assets is the amount of receipt from organizations, family households and persons to obtain the certificate of right to use land, own house and associated assets.

The charge for grant of the certificate for the right to use land, own houses and associated assets includes the charge for issuance of the certificate of right to use land, own houses and associated assets, certification of land change registration; issuance of extracts of cadastral maps, documents and data included in cadastral documentation.

- Depending on specific conditions and socio-economic development policies of each jurisdiction, rates of collection of this fee shall vary where appropriate and adhere to the principles that rates of collection applied to family households and persons residing in districts of centrally-affiliated cities, urban wards of provincially-governed cities or towns must be greater those applied to other regions; rates of collection applied to organizations must be greater than those applied to family households and persons.

g) Charge for issuance of construction licenses is the amount of receipt from applicants for construction licenses in accordance with laws.

h) Charge for business registration is the amount of receipt charged family households, cooperatives or cooperative alliances for state regulatory agencies’ grant of business registration certificates.

3. In addition to fees and charges referred to in Clause 1 and 2 of this Article, the environmental protection fee and other fees within the jurisdiction of the Government shall be subject to the Government’s decision. Where the Government’s Decrees on the environmental protection fee or other Decrees provide that the provincial-level People’s Council prescribes certain specific contents of fees and charges, it shall implement provisions laid down in these Decrees.

Article 6. Fee or charge exemption or reduction

1. The provincial-level People’s Council shall prescribe in detail entities entitled to fee or charge exemption or reduction; rate of reduction in fees or charges within its jurisdiction, but adhere to the principles specified in Clause 1 Article 10 of the Law on Fees and Charges.

2. Decision on exemption or reduction shall be based on:

a) Regulations laid down in specialized laws and documents specifying and providing guidance on implementation of laws related to fee or charge exemption or reduction;

b) Reference to regulations on fee or charge exemption or reduction in documents adopted by regulatory authorities;

c) Schemes or policies adopted by the Communist Party and Government over periods of time with respect to policies related to fee or charge exemption or reduction.

Article 7. Management and usage of fees and charges

1. Principle matters

Percent of retained fee or charge must be determined, and fees and charges must be managed and used in accordance with the Government’s Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016 specifying and providing guidance on implementation of several articles of the Law on Fees and Charges.

2. Management and usage of fees and charges collected

a) With respect to fees, the provincial-level People’s Council shall decide percentage of fees retained for fee collecting organizations to pay costs incurred from provision of their fee collection service activities, and decide to pay the residual amount of fees (where available) in the state budget.

b) With respect to charges, charge collecting organizations shall remit 100% of their collected amount of charges collected to the state budget.

c) Where the provincial-level People's Council has not prescribed a portion of fee retained for fee collecting organizations, the provincial-level People's Committee shall agree with the Standing Committee of the provincial-level People's Council on percentage of fees retained for collecting organizations, and report to the People's Council in the next meeting.

Article 8. Implementation provisions

1. With respect to fees or charges appearing in the list annexed to the Law on Fees and Charges falling within the jurisdiction of the provincial-level People's Council, it is necessary to conduct a careful study on practical conditions to issue suitable documents on collection of fees and charges, and avoid issuing documents with respect to fees and charges appearing in the list of fees and charges which are deemed unnecessary and of which requirements for collection have not been satisfied yet.

2. Decision on collection of fees and charges, collection scope and subject matters, entities entitled to fee or charge exemption or reduction, and methods of collecting, remitting, managing and using fees or charges, referred to in Article 2 and 3 hereof, shall be made by the provincial-level People’s Council to the extent that it is suitable to specific conditions of each jurisdiction, but require reference to those applied in other localities, in order to ensure correlation between these localities, and fairness, public disclosure, transparency and equality in terms of rights and obligations of citizens.

3. Fees subject to price regulations imposed by the State in accordance with provisions laid down in the Appendix No.02 to the Law on Fees and Charges shall be implemented in accordance with the Law on Price; the Government's Decree No. 177/2013/ND-CP dated November 14, 2013 specifying and providing guidance on implementation of certain articles of the Price Law; the Government’s Decree No. 149/2016/ND-CP dated November 11, 2016 revising certain articles of the Decree No. 177/2013/ND-CP and other relevant legal documents providing guidance.

Article 9. Entry into force

1. This Circular shall enter into force from January 1, 2017; replace the Circular No. 02/2014/TT-BTC of the Minister of Finance dated January 2, 2014 providing guidance on fees and charges within the jurisdiction of the decision granted by the People’s Council of centrally-affiliated cities and provinces; the Circular No. 179/2015/TT-BTC dated November 13, 2015 and the Circular No. 94/2016/TT-BTC dated June 27, 2016 revising the Circular No. 02/2014/TT-BTC dated January 2, 2014 of the Minister of Finance providing guidance on fees and charges under the decision-making authority of the People’s Council of centrally-governed cities or provinces.

2. Other contents related to collection and payment of fees or charges on which guidance is not given in this Circular shall comply with instructions laid down in the Law on Fees and Charges; the Government’s Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016 specifying and providing guidance on implementation of certain articles of the Law on Fees and Charges; the Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC of the Minister of Finance dated November 6, 2013 providing guidance on implementation of certain articles of the Law on Tax Administration; the Law on amendments or supplements to certain articles of the Law on Tax Administration and the Decree No. 83/2013/ND-CP dated July 22, 2013 and the Circular of the Minister of Finance on printing, release, management and use of evidence documents on collection of fees and charges as part of the state budget and other documents stating any amendment, modification or replacement (where applicable).

3. Individual or institutional payees of fees or charges, and entities concerned, shall be responsible for implementing this Circular. In the course of implementation, if there is any difficulty that arises, persons and entities are advised to send timely feedbacks to the Ministry of Finance for its review and guidance./.