Joint Circular No. 106/2007/TTLT/BTC-BTNMT amending and supplementing Joint Circular No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT dated December 18, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment guiding the implementation of Government Decree No. 67/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 13, 2003 on environmental protection fees for wastewater.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing Circular Joint No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT dated December 18, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment guiding the implementation of Decree No. 67/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 13, 2003 of the Government on environmental protection fees for wastewater ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FEES FOR WASTEWATER

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Pursuant to Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Fees and Charges;

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

Pursuant to Decree No. 67/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 13, 2003 of the Government on environmental protection fees for wastewater;

Pursuant to Decree No. 04/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 8, 2007 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 67/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 13, 2003 of the Government on environmental protection fees for wastewater;

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment guide the amendment and supplementation of Circular Joint No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT dated December 18, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment guiding the implementation of Decree No. 67/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 13, 2003 of the Government on environmental protection fees for wastewater as follows:

1. Amend Clause 2 Section II of Circular No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT as follows:

"2. Environmental protection fee for industrial wastewater

The amount of environmental protection fee for industrial wastewater is calculated based on each pollutant present in the wastewater, as follows:

In which the receiving environment for wastewater includes four types A, B, C, and D, determined as follows:

- Receiving environment for wastewater type A: inner city and town areas of special-class cities, class I, II, and III cities.

- Receiving environment for wastewater type B: inner city and town areas of class IV and V cities and suburban areas of special-class, class I, II, and III cities.

- Receiving environment for wastewater type C: suburban areas of class IV cities and rural areas not belonging to cities, except those within the receiving environment for wastewater classified under group D.

- Receiving environment for wastewater type D: border areas, mountainous regions, highland areas, remote areas, coastal areas, and islands.

Special-class, class I, II, III, IV, and V cities shall be implemented according to the provisions of Decree No. 72/2001/NĐ-CP dated October 5, 2001 of the Government on classification of cities and urban management and related implementing regulations."

2. Amend and supplement Point b Clause 2 Section III and supplement Point c Clause 2 Section III of Circular No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT as follows:

"b) In cases where industrial wastewater from a subject paying the fee contains multiple pollutants specified in Clause 1 Article 1 of Decree No. 04/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 8, 2007 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 67/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 13, 2003 of the Government on environmental protection fees for wastewater, the total environmental protection fee for industrial wastewater that must be paid is the sum of the environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater that must be paid for each pollutant present in the wastewater.

c) The determination of the quantity of pollutants present in the wastewater shall be carried out in accordance with the guidance of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment."

3. Amend and supplement Point c, Point d Clause 1 Section IV of Circular No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT as follows:

"c) Water supply units, People's Communes open accounts for "Environmental Protection Fee for Wastewater" at State Treasury offices where transactions take place. By the tenth day of the following month at the latest, water supply units, People's Communes must go to the State Treasury office where transactions take place to issue payment vouchers for the state budget for the amount of environmental protection fee for domestic wastewater collected and deposited in the "Environmental Protection Fee for Wastewater" account at the State Treasury after deducting the retained fee for the unit as prescribed.

Water supply units, People's Communes must maintain separate accounting records to update the amount of environmental protection fee for domestic wastewater generated for settlement with the state budget. The environmental protection fee for domestic wastewater cannot be recorded as revenue of the water supply unit.

Monthly, water supply units base on the amount of fees collected to calculate and prepare the declaration form for environmental protection fee for domestic wastewater (according to Model No. 01 issued together with this Circular) to send to the Tax Department for monitoring and management. People's Communes base on the amount of fees collected to calculate and prepare the declaration form for environmental protection fee for domestic wastewater (according to Model No. 01 issued together with this Circular) to send to the Tax Branch for monitoring and management. At year-end, People's Communes settle with the Tax Branch the collection and payment in accordance with regulations.

d) The State Treasury shall record the amount of environmental protection fee paid by water supply units, People's Communes into the corresponding chapter, category, item, sub-item, and minor item 042.01 of the current State Budget Classification and redistribute the state budget according to the guidance in Clause 3 Section V of this Circular."

"2. Environmental protection fee for industrial wastewater

a) Subjects paying the environmental protection fee for industrial wastewater have the obligation to:

- Declare the amount of fee payable quarterly to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment where the wastewater is discharged in accordance with regulations (Model No. 02 issued together with this Circular) within the first five days of the first month of the next quarter and ensure the accuracy of the declaration;

- Pay the full amount of the fee payable into the account "Temporary Collection Account for Environmental Protection Fee for Wastewater" at the State Treasury within the first fifteen days of the first month of the next quarter, but no later than the fifteenth day of the first month of the next quarter, as notified by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment;

- Settle the annual payment of the fee payable with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment within thirty days from January 1 of the Gregorian calendar year.

b) The Department of Natural Resources and Environment has the following tasks:

- Review the Environmental Protection Fee Declaration for industrial wastewater. At the latest not later than the tenth day of the first month of the next quarter, issue a notice on the amount of environmental protection fee for industrial wastewater to be paid into the state budget for the fee payer (according to Model No. 03 issued together with this Circular- Maintain accounting books to separately record the environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater collected from fee payers within its jurisdiction, monitor and manage the use of such fees as stipulated in Point 2, Section V of this Circular.).

- Quarterly, at the latest not later than the twentieth day of the first month of the next quarter, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment compiles the total amount of environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater and sends it to the Tax Department, regularly reconciling with the State Treasury where transactions take place.

- Annually, within sixty days from January 1st of each calendar year, settle accounts with the tax authority at the same level regarding the collection and payment of environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater within its jurisdiction according to the prescribed regulations.

- Develop a plan for using the collected fees as stipulated in Point 3, Section V of this Circular and submit it to the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city for investment decisions on environmental protection within its jurisdiction.

c) The State Treasury opens an account "Temporary Collection Account for Environmental Protection Fees for Wastewater" to collect fees from fee payers for industrial wastewater. Quarterly, industrial production facilities pay the fees into the temporary collection account based on the notification from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment. When paying the fees into the State Treasury, the industrial production facility prepares three copies of the payment voucher to deposit into the "Temporary Collection Account for Environmental Protection Fees for Wastewater". At the latest not later than the twentieth day of the first month of the next quarter, the State Treasury compiles the total amount of environmental protection fees, issues a payment voucher to the state budget (80% of the total fee amount), and distributes the collected fees among different levels of the budget as stipulated in Point 3, Section V of this Circular, while transferring the retained portion (20% of the total fee amount) into the account of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment upon request. The amount of fees deposited into the state budget is recorded under the corresponding chapter, type, item, sub-item 042.01 of the current State Budget Manual.

d) For production and service establishments directly managed by the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense due to national security and confidentiality reasons, the review of the Environmental Protection Fee Declaration shall be conducted by the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense and notified to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment where the establishment operates (according to Model No. 04 issued together with this Circular

e) When changing raw materials, products; altering production lines, technological processes; installing pollution reduction equipment, wastewater treatment systems, the owner of the production, business, or service establishment is responsible for reporting in writing to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to re-determine the appropriate fee amount.5. Amend and supplement Clause 2, Section V of Circular No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT as follows:).

a) Retain 20% of the total amount of environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater collected for the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to cover costs related to fee collection or emission rate adjustments. Of which:

"2. Environmental protection fee for industrial wastewater

- The remaining 15% is used to cover costs related to water sampling and analysis for supporting the review of fee declarations or for fee collection purposes.

All funds allocated according to the above provisions must be used for their intended purpose, with legitimate documentation as prescribed, and any unspent funds at the end of the year may be carried over to the next year for use according to the prescribed regulations.

b) The remaining portion of the fee

(80% of the total amount of environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater collected)

is paid into the state budget and distributed among different levels of the budget as guided in Clause 3, Section V of this Circular. 6. Supplement Point c of Clause 3, Section V of Circular No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT as follows: “c) Quarterly, at the latest not later than the twenty-fifth day of the first month of the next quarter, the State Treasury is responsible for compiling the total revenue from environmental protection fees for domestic and industrial wastewater (item 042.01 according to the central government budget report) and sending it to the State Budget Department and the Financial Department of Banks and Financial Institutions to serve as the basis for additional funding for the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund.

- The portion of the fees belonging to the local budget is used to supplement the capital of the local environmental protection fund (if established) or deposited entirely into the local budget for environmental protection purposes.

- Within five days from the date of receipt of the notification from the State Treasury, the Department of Banking and Financial Organization Finance shall issue a notice approving the budget estimate to be sent to the Department of State Budget to issue an expenditure order transferring the amount of environmental protection fees for wastewater that have been allocated to the central budget into the account of the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund.

- The portion of the fee revenue belonging to the local budget shall be used to supplement the capital source for the local environmental protection fund (if established) or shall be fully deposited into the local budget for use in environmental protection activities.

Annually, based on the Directive of the Prime Minister regarding the development plan for economic and social growth and the state budget estimate for the following year; the guidance documents for preparing the state budget estimate for the following year issued by the Ministry of Finance; and the guidance documents on professional tasks and key environmental protection activities for provinces and centrally-administered cities issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall prepare the budget estimate for expenses, consolidate it into the budget expenditure estimate for the following year, and submit it to the Department of Finance and the Department of Planning and Investment in accordance with the State Budget Law; the Department of Finance shall be responsible for reviewing and consolidating it into the budget expenditure estimate at the same level to report to the People's Council of the province or centrally-administered city for consideration and decision by the People's Council at the same level.

The implementation of the budget estimate, accounting records, and final accounts shall be carried out in accordance with the current provisions of the State Budget Law, guiding documents for the Law, and the current State Budget Manual.

7. This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

8. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, the relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for research and supplementary guidance.

Place of Receipt:

- Central Party Office and Party Departments;

- National Assembly's Office;

- President's Office;

- Supreme People's Procuracy;

- Supreme People's Court;

- State Audit Agency;

- Ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, and government agencies;

- Central Agencies of Mass Organizations;

- People's Council, People's Committee, Department of Finance,

  Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Tax Service,

  State Treasury Departments of provinces and centrally-administered cities;

- Official Gazette;

- Government website;

- Ministry of Justice's Legal Documents Inspection Department;

- Units under the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

- Ministry of Finance website;

- To be filed: Ministry of Finance {VT, Revenue Administration Department (CST3)};

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (VT, Environmental Protection Department).