Joint Circular No. 09/2005/TTLT/NHNN-BTC guiding the write-off of debts and continued provision of loans by credit institutions to poultry farmers who have suffered losses due to avian influenza as stipulated in Decision No. 309/2005/QĐ-TTg dated November 26, 2005 of the Prime Minister on financial support for avian influenza prevention and control.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for writing off debts and continuing to provide loans to poultry farmers who have suffered losses due to avian influenza

poultry farmers, but suffering losses caused by avian influenza

Pursuant to Decision No. 309/2005/QĐ-TTg dated November 26, 2005 of the Prime Minister on financial support for avian influenza prevention and control

Government on providing financial support for avian influenza prevention and control

Pursuant to Article 3 and Clause 2, Article 5 of Decision No. 309/2005/QĐ-TTg dated November 26, 2005 of the Prime Minister on financial support for avian influenza prevention and control, the State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Finance issue guidelines for implementing debt write-offs and continued lending to poultry farmers who have suffered losses due to avian influenza as follows:

I. REGARDING DEBT WRITE-OFFS

1. Scope, duration, amount of outstanding debt, and eligible subjects for debt write-off:

a) Poultry farmers eligible for debt write-off include households, individuals, farm owners, cooperatives, breeding facilities, and poultry farming enterprises (chickens, ducks, geese, swans) at central and local levels that have borrowed from credit institutions for poultry farming but have suffered losses due to avian influenza, with outstanding debts up to November 30, 2005 for both current and overdue loans.

b) The debt write-off period is one year, from November 30, 2005 to November 30, 2006, during which credit institutions will not collect interest on new loans taken out within this period for the amount of debt being written off.

c) If credit institutions have already collected interest on debts eligible for write-off from November 30, 2005 until the effective date of this Circular, these institutions must refund the full amount or offset it against unpaid interest owed by poultry farmers.

Credit institutions eligible for debt write-off include state commercial banks, joint-stock commercial banks, social policy banks, central people's credit funds, and grassroots people's credit funds.

2. Debt write-off documentation:

a) Application for debt write-off:

- For local poultry farmers: The application for debt write-off must be confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town regarding the damage caused by avian influenza.

- For central-level breeding facilities and poultry farming enterprises, the application for debt write-off must be confirmed by the local authority, the People's Committee of the district or county, or the supervising agency of the enterprise.

b) A copy of the loan agreement or promissory note, and proof of the outstanding debt at credit institutions.

c) The General Director (Director) of credit institutions is responsible for directing units within their system to guide poultry farmers to prepare documents in accordance with point a and point b, Clause 2, Section I of this Circular.

3. Source of funding for uncollected interest during the debt write-off period:

Credit institutions providing debt write-off to poultry farmers suffering from avian influenza losses may reduce pre-tax profits corresponding to the amount of interest they did not collect during the debt write-off period.

4. Implementation:

a) Preparation of documents and implementation of debt write-off:

- The General Director (Director) of credit institutions directs branches under their jurisdiction to prepare documents and submit the Application for Debt Write-off Form according to the attached Table 1 and Table 2 by February 28, 2006, to the Department of Finance and the State Bank branch in the province or city for verification and confirmation of the outstanding loan balance for poultry farmers eligible for write-off. The State Bank branch in the province or city is responsible for coordinating with the Department of Finance to complete the verification and confirmation process, report to the provincial or municipal People's Committee for confirmation and consolidation according to the attached Table 3, and send the detailed report to the State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Finance by March 31, 2006.

- After receiving the verification and confirmation results from the Department of Finance and the State Bank branch in the province or city, the General Director (Director) of credit institutions shall issue the decision to write off debts for poultry farmers and consolidate according to the attached Table 4, sending it to the State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Finance by March 31, 2006.

b) At the end of the debt write-off period:

- The General Director (Director) of credit institutions directs branches under their jurisdiction to prepare documents requesting interest exemption for poultry farmers and submit the attached Table 1A and Table 2A to the State Bank branch and the Department of Finance by December 31, 2006, for verification and confirmation.

- The State Bank branch in the province or city coordinates with the Department of Finance to verify and confirm the legality of the interest exemption request documents for poultry farmers, report to the provincial or municipal People's Committee for confirmation and consolidation according to the attached Table 3A, and send the detailed report to the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam by January 31, 2007.

- After receiving the verification and confirmation results from the Department of Finance and the State Bank branch in the province or city, the General Director (Director) of credit institutions shall consolidate and report according to the attached Table 4A, sending it to the State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Finance by January 31, 2007, to serve as the basis for considering and announcing the reduction of pre-tax profits corresponding to the amount of interest not collected due to the implementation of debt write-off for poultry farmers.

c) Based on actual circumstances, the State Bank of Vietnam will coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to establish a joint inspection team to conduct inspections of debt write-off activities at some credit institutions.

d) The State Bank of Vietnam is responsible for directing credit institutions and State Bank branches in provinces and cities to comply with the provisions of this Circular.

e) The Ministry of Finance is responsible for directing local Departments of Finance to comply with the provisions of this Circular.

II. REGARDING CONTINUOUS LOANS FOR POULTRY FARMERS WHO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN OFF DEBTS IF THEY REQUIRE TRANSITION TO NEW BREEDING OR INDUSTRIES

II. REGARDING CONTINUOUS LOANS FOR POULTRY FARMERS WHOSE DEBTS ARE FORGIVEN IF THERE IS A NEED TO TRANSITION FROM POULTRY FARMING OR OCCUPATION

The poultry farmers who are currently being granted debt moratoriums, if they have a need to borrow capital for implementing livestock farming conversion or occupational change, credit organizations shall consider granting loans in accordance with Decision No. 1627/2001/QĐ-NHNN dated December 31, 2001 of the Governor of the State Bank on issuing the loan regulations for credit organizations towards customers, and Decision No. 127/2005/QĐ-NHNN dated February 3, 2005 on amending and supplementing certain articles of the loan regulations for credit organizations towards customers, and other current provisions.

III. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. During the implementation process, if any difficulties arise, they shall be reported in writing to the State Bank and the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution./.