Circular No. 101/2008/TT-BTC guiding the regime for collection, payment, and management of use of fees and charges applicable at Inland Waterway Port Services Units

CIRCULAR

Guidelines on the collection, payment, management, and use of fees and charges applicable at Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices

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Pursuant to the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic

Pursuant to Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP dated June 3, 2002, and Decree No. 24/2006/ND-CP dated March 6, 2006 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Charges;

After receiving comments from the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance provides guidelines on the collection, payment, management, and use of fees and charges applicable at Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices as follows:

I. OBJECTS OF COLLECTION AND AMOUNTS OF FEES AND CHARGES

1. All watercraft entering or exiting operations at inland waterway ports and wharfs (including dedicated ports and wharfs) that have been officially licensed by state authorities must pay fees and charges applicable at Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices as stipulated in this Circular (except for cases exempted under point 2 of this section).

Where international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party provide different provisions regarding fees and charges applicable at Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices compared to those stipulated in this Circular, such treaties shall be followed.

2. The following cases are exempted from paying fees and charges applicable at Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices:

a) Watercraft used for national defense and security purposes under the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Public Security (excluding those used for economic activities); watercraft of customs authorities on duty (excluding those used for economic activities); watercraft of traffic inspection agencies and Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices;

b) Watercraft avoiding storms and providing emergency assistance;

c) Watercraft transporting goods with a total load capacity below 10 tons or carrying fewer than 13 passengers;

d) Watercraft transporting equipment for flood and storm prevention.

3. The amounts of fees and charges applicable at Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices are specified as follows:

a) For ships entering or exiting inland waterway ports and wharfs, fees and charges shall be paid according to the regulations set forth by the Ministry of Finance regarding maritime fees and charges.

b) In cases where a vessel enters or exits multiple inland waterway ports and wharfs managed by the same Inland Waterway Transport Service Office within the same trip, only one fee and charge shall be paid according to the provisions of Clause 3 of this Section.

c) For vessels entering or exiting ports without the purpose of loading or unloading cargo or receiving or delivering passengers, the fee rate shall be 70% (seventy percent) of the tonnage-based fee rate stipulated in Clause 3 of this Section.

d) For vessels not classified as cargo-carrying vessels, the equivalent tonnage for calculating fees shall be determined as follows:

- Special-purpose vessels: 01 horsepower equals 01 ton of total load capacity;

- Passenger-carrying vessels: 01 passenger seat equals 01 ton of total load capacity.

4. Fees and charges applicable at Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices shall be collected in Vietnamese Dong. In cases where foreign organizations or individuals wish to pay fees and charges in foreign currency, they may pay in US dollars (USD) based on the average inter-bank foreign exchange rate published by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of payment.

II. ORGANIZATION OF COLLECTION, PAYMENT, AND MANAGEMENT AND USE

1. The entities responsible for collecting fees and charges applicable at Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices are the Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices as stipulated in Article 71, Clause 10 of Article 72 of the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic. These entities are responsible for registering and declaring the payment of fees and charges to the state budget according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance in Circular No. 60/2007/TT-BTC dated July 14, 2007 guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Tax Administration and guiding the implementation of Decree No. 85/2007/ND-CP dated May 25, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Tax Administration. guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Tax Administration and guiding the implementation of Decree No. 85/2007/ND-CP dated May 25, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain articles of the Law on Tax Administration.

2. Fees and charges applicable at Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices are part of the state budget revenue. The entities collecting fees and charges are allowed to retain 95% (ninety-five percent) of the total amount of fees and charges collected before submitting them to the state budget and must submit 5% (five percent) of the total amount of fees and charges collected to the state budget according to the corresponding chapters, types, items, sub-items, and minor items of the current State Budget Classification.

- For agencies collecting fees and charges that are Inland Waterway Port Services in Region II and Region IV: They may retain the entire amount (100%) of the collected fees and charges.

- For entities collecting fees and charges that are Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices in Region I and Region III: They are allowed to retain 95% (ninety-five percent) of the total amount of fees and charges collected before submitting them to the state budget and must submit 5% (five percent) of the total amount of fees and charges collected to the state budget according to the corresponding chapters, types, items, sub-items, and minor items of the current State Budget Classification.

3. Contents of expenditures for the operations of Inland Waterway Port Services:

a) Regular expenses to ensure the continuous operation of the organizational structure of Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices, including:

- Regular expenses based on the allocation of the state budget expenditure estimate on staffing assigned by the Ministry of Transport (applicable to state administrative agencies with equivalent organizational structures).

- Special business activity expenses:

+ Expenses for labor protection or uniforms as prescribed (if applicable);

+ Expenses for purchasing fuel directly serving the business activities of the port service office;

+ Expenses for purchasing receipts and stamps serving the work of collecting fees and charges applicable at Inland Waterway Transport Service Offices;

+ Other special expenses.

b) Irregular expenses:

- Rent for representative offices (if applicable);

- Expenses for search and rescue operations for people, goods, vessels, and ships involved in accidents; expenses for handling matters related to preventing environmental pollution in port and wharf waters;

- Costs for purchasing, major repairs of means of transportation, equipment, and workplaces.

c) Expenses for performing the function of specialized state management in inland waterway transport at ports and wharfs to ensure compliance with laws and regulations on inland waterway traffic order and safety and to prevent environmental pollution according to the self-financing plan assigned by the competent authority.

- In cases where retained funds are insufficient for expenditure, supplementary funding from the inland waterway economic affairs budget will be provided by the state budget.

In cases where the actual revenue from fees and charges exceeds the budgeted amount, the fee-collecting agency may use the surplus funds retained for supplementary expenditures for regular activities of the unit (in cases where the state adjusts the minimum wage upwards or adjusts for rising fuel prices) and non-regular activities (for purchasing, repairing inland waterway vessels and equipment). Any remaining unspent funds shall be carried over to the next year for the unit's operational expenses.

4. Annually, the fee-collecting agency shall settle accounts regarding the use of the receipt forms for collecting fees and charges; the total amount of fees and charges collected; the amount of fees and charges retained for the unit; the amount of fees and charges required to be paid into the State budget; the amount of fees and charges already paid and still due to be paid into the State budget with the tax authority. The settlement of the use of the retained funds shall be conducted with the financial authority at the same level in accordance with current regulations.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette and replaces Circular No. 58/2005/TT-BTC dated July 18, 2005, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the collection, payment, and management of the use of fees and charges applicable at inland waterway transport inspection offices.

Organizations and individuals subject to the payment of fees and charges applicable at inland waterway transport inspection offices and related agencies are responsible for complying with the provisions of this Circular.

During implementation, if there are any difficulties, organizations and individuals are requested to promptly report them to the Ministry of Finance for study and supplementary guidance./.