Consolidated Document number 11/VBHN-BTC Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges

DECREE^[1]

Regulations detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges

Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which took effect from January 1, 2017, was amended and supplemented by:

Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which took effect from January 12, 2024.

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

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

Pursuant to the State Budget Law dated June 25, 2015;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance;

The Government promulgates this Decree to detail and guide the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges^[2].

Chapter I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation^[3]

This Decree stipulates the declaration, collection, payment of fees and charges; management, use, settlement of fees; responsibilities of state agencies, organizations in collecting, paying, managing and using fees and charges.

Article 2. Applicability

This Decree applies to:

1. Persons paying fees and charges include organizations and individuals receiving public services, serving state administrative work as prescribed by the Law on Fees and Charges.

2. Organizations collecting fees and charges include state agencies, Vietnamese representative offices abroad, public service units, and organizations entrusted by competent state authorities to provide public services, serving state administrative work, which collect fees and charges according to the provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges.

3. State agencies, organizations, and other individuals related to the declaration, collection, payment, management, and use of fees and charges.

Chapter II. DECLARATION, COLLECTION, PAYMENT, MANAGEMENT AND USE OF FEES AND CHARGES

Article 3. Declaration, Collection, Payment of Fees and Charges and Settlement of Fees ^[4]

1. Persons paying fees and charges shall declare and pay fees and charges monthly, quarterly, annually, or each time they occur; pay fees and charges to the collecting organization or the State Treasury by cash payment directly or through credit institutions, service organizations, and other forms as prescribed by law. Based on the nature and characteristics of each fee or charge, the competent state authority shall specify the form of payment, period for declaration and payment of fees and charges in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 4 of the Law on Fees and Charges.^[5]

2. Collecting organizations shall declare and pay collected fees and charges as follows:

a) Regularly daily, weekly, or monthly, collecting organizations must deposit the collected fees into the account for pending budget payments at the State Treasury; collecting organizations must deposit the collected charges into the account for pending budget payments or deposit charges directly into the government revenue account at the State Treasury. Depending on the amount of fees and charges collected, the distance between the collection location and the State Treasury, the competent state authority shall specify the regular period for depositing collected fees into the pending budget payment account, and collected charges into the pending budget payment account or government revenue account in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 4 of the Law on Fees and Charges.

b) Collecting organizations shall declare and pay collected fees into the state budget monthly and settle annually, and collecting organizations shall declare and pay collected charges into the state budget monthly in accordance with the Law on Tax Administration, Decree No. 126/2020/NĐ-CP dated October 19, 2020 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration, and Decree No. 91/2022/NĐ-CP dated October 30, 2022 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 126/2020/NĐ-CP dated October 19, 2020 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration.

c) Collecting organizations for customs fees, charges on goods, luggage, and vehicles transiting, and Vietnamese representative offices abroad collecting fees and charges shall implement declarations, collections, and payments of fees and charges in accordance with Decree No. 126/2020/NĐ-CP.^[6]

3. Collecting organizations shall establish and issue receipts for fees and charges in accordance with Decree No. 123/2020/NĐ-CP dated October 19, 2020 of the Government on invoices and receipts, and Decree No. 11/2020/NĐ-CP dated January 20, 2020 of the Government on administrative procedures under the State Treasury sector.^[7]

4. Currency for the collection and payment of fees and charges

a) Fees and charges collected in Vietnam shall be in Vietnamese Dong, except where laws permit their collection in freely convertible foreign currencies. In cases where collection is permitted in freely convertible foreign currencies, it may be collected in such foreign currency or converted into Vietnamese Dong based on the exchange rate as follows:

- For payment of fees and charges at commercial banks or other financial institutions, the buying rate of the commercial bank or financial institution where the payer has an account at the time of payment shall apply.

- For direct payment of fees and charges at the State Treasury, the accounting exchange rate for foreign currencies at the time of payment announced by the Ministry of Finance shall apply.

- For direct payment of fees and charges in cash or by other means to the collecting organization, the buying rate of foreign currency for transfer transactions of the head office of Vietcombank at the time of payment or the end of the working day immediately before a holiday or weekend shall apply.

b) Fees or taxes collected abroad shall be collected in the local currency or in freely convertible foreign currencies.

Article 4. Principles for managing and using fees

1. Fees collected from activities providing services by state agencies must be paid into the state budget; if state agencies are allocated costs of operation from fee revenues, they may deduct according to the ratio specified in Article 5 of this Decree; the remaining amount (if any) shall be paid into the state budget.

State agencies allocated costs of operation from fee revenues include:

a) State agencies implementing financial mechanisms pursuant to Decree No. 130/2005/NĐ-CP dated October 17, 2005 of the Government on the self-management and self-responsibility regime for the use of staff positions and administrative management expenses for state agencies, and Decree No. 117/2013/NĐ-CP dated October 7, 2013 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 130/2005/NĐ-CP dated October 17, 2005 of the Government on the self-management and self-responsibility regime for the use of staff positions and administrative management expenses for state agencies, and state agencies implementing special financial mechanisms and income according to the regulations of the Government or the Prime Minister.

b) Vietnamese representative offices abroad.

c) Public security and defense agencies entrusted with providing services and serving state management activities that charge fees in accordance with the Law on Fees and Charges..^[8]

2. Fees collected from service activities carried out by public institutions may be retained in whole or in part to cover the costs of service provision and fee collection as specified in Article 5 of this Decree; the remaining amount, if any, shall be remitted to the state budget.

3. Fees collected from service activities carried out by organizations entrusted by competent state authorities may be retained in whole or in part to cover the costs of service provision and fee collection as specified in Article 5 of this Decree; the remaining amount, if any, shall be remitted to the state budget, and the retained fee amount constitutes the revenue of the fee-collecting organization.^[9]

Article 5. Determination of Retention Ratio and Management and Use of Fees

1. The amount of fees deducted or retained for the fee-collecting organization as stipulated in Article 4 of this Decree shall be determined as follows:

a) Amount of fees deducted or retained = Amount of fees collected x Retention ratio.

b) The retention ratio shall be determined as follows:

Where:

- The annual budget estimate of necessary expenses for service provision and fee collection activities is based on the expenditure items specified in Clause 2 of this Article and the established standards and norms for expenditures.

- The annual budget estimate of fees collected by the fee-collecting organization is based on the anticipated fee levels and the number of services provided in the year.

- In cases where the retention ratio and budget estimates need adjustment, the previous year's actual revenue and expenditure data will also serve as a basis.

- The maximum retention ratio shall not exceed 100%.

c) Based on the nature and characteristics of the fees and the expenditure items specified in Clause 2 of this Article, the fee-collecting organization shall prepare the revenue and expenditure budget and the retention ratio as outlined in the Fee Collection Plan; such plans shall be submitted to the competent authority as prescribed in Article 6 of this Decree.

d) The competent state authority as stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 4 of the Law on Fees and Charges shall determine the retention ratio for the fee-collecting organization. In cases where similar types of fees exist, the competent authority may consider and decide on a unified retention ratio applicable across the board.

In cases where state policies change, and the retained fee amount is insufficient to cover the operational costs of the fee-collecting organization or there is surplus funds that cannot be fully utilized and transferred to subsequent years, the competent authority shall adjust the retention ratio accordingly.

2. The amount of fees retained for the fee-collecting organization as stipulated in Clauses 1 and 2 of Article 4 of this Decree to cover the costs of service provision and fee collection activities shall be based on the approved budget by the competent authority as follows:

a) Expenditure under the self-management system (for state agencies), regular expenditure (for public institutions):

- Expenditure for individuals performing work, services, and fee collection: salaries, wages, allowances, and contributions calculated based on salary (excluding salary expenses for officials and civil servants already receiving salaries from the state budget according to established regulations).

- Expenses for supporting the performance of work, services, and fee collection, such as office supplies, office materials, communication, electricity, water, travel expenses according to current standards and norms.

- Regular maintenance expenses for assets, machinery, and equipment directly serving the performance of work, services, and fee collection.

- Purchase expenses for materials and raw materials related to the performance of work, services, and fee collection.

- Other expenses related to the performance of work, services, and fee collection.

b) Expenditure not under the self-management system (for state agencies), non-recurring expenditure (for public institutions):

- Expenses for purchasing and major repairs of assets, machinery, and equipment serving the performance of work, services, and fee collection.

- Other non-recurring expenses related to the performance of work, services, and fee collection.^[10]

3^[11]In addition to the expenditure items specified in Clause 2 of this Article, for fee-collecting organizations that are state agencies or public institutions operating under special financial mechanisms and income as prescribed separately by the Government or the Prime Minister, the retained fees shall be used in accordance with the regulations of the Government or the Prime Minister until the implementation of the wage reform as stipulated in Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW dated May 21, 2018 of the Seventh Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam's XIIth term on wage policy reform for cadres, civil servants, public employees, armed forces personnel, and workers in enterprises.

4^[12]The amount of fees retained for the fee-collecting organization to cover the expenditure items specified in Clause 2 of this Article: For state agencies implementing the provisions of Decree No. 130/2005/NĐ-CP, Decree No. 117/2013/NĐ-CP, and other decrees of the Government on the management and use of the state budget in the fields of national defense, security, and foreign affairs; for public institutions implementing the provisions of Decree No. 60/2021/NĐ-CP dated June 21, 2021 of the Government on the financial autonomy mechanism of public institutions.

5^[13]Each year, the fee collection organization (state agency, public service unit) must settle income and expenditure according to regulations. After settling income and expenditure in accordance with the system, the amount of fees left unspent in the year shall be transferred to the following year for continued spending according to the prescribed system; in cases where two years have passed since the year the funds were transferred and the transferred fee amount no longer has a spending purpose, the fee collection organization must report to the specialized management ministry (for fees within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance, the Government, and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly); report to the specialized management department of the provincial people's committee (for fees within the jurisdiction of the People's Councils of provinces and centrally-administered cities (hereinafter referred to as Provincial People's Councils)) to report to the provincial people's committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities to deposit into the state budget or submit to the competent authority for modification of the retention ratio to be appropriate.

Chapter III. IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 6. Implementation Organization

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, provincial people's committees, fee and surcharge collection organizations shall implement their responsibilities as stipulated in the Law on Fees and Charges. At the same time, they shall implement the following provisions:

1. Organizations collecting fees and charges have the responsibility to:

a) Develop a plan for collecting fees and surcharges; submit it to the specialized management ministry (for fees and surcharges within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance), the specialized management department (for fees and surcharges within the jurisdiction of the Provincial People's Councils). In cases where fees and surcharges are collected by multiple organizations together; not issuing separate documents for each fee and surcharge collection organization, the specialized management ministry shall take the lead in developing the plan (for fees and surcharges within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance) in accordance with Clause 3 of this Article, the provincial people's committee shall direct the specialized management department to take the lead in developing the plan (for fees and surcharges within the jurisdiction of the Provincial People's Councils).

b) The fee collection plan includes: Service provision method, fee collection method; estimated rate of collection and basis for establishing the rate; fee payers; exemptions and reductions; revenue and expenditure estimates; retention ratio; assessment of the contribution capacity of the fee payer; effectiveness of fee collection.

c) The surcharge collection plan includes: Service provision method, surcharge collection method; estimated rate and basis for establishing the rate; surcharge payers; exemptions and reductions; assessment of the contribution capacity of the surcharge payer; effectiveness of surcharge collection.

2. The provincial people's committee shall direct the development and review of plans for collecting fees and surcharges for those fees and surcharges within the decision-making jurisdiction of the Provincial People's Councils.

3^[14]. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuracy shall be responsible for:

a) Receiving proposals from fee and surcharge collection organizations under their sectoral or field management, reviewing them, and submitting them to the Government (for fees and surcharges within the jurisdiction of the Government or the Standing Committee of the National Assembly) or sending a document to the Ministry of Finance so that the Ministry of Finance can develop and submit (or issue according to its authority) a document specifying the rates of collection, payment, exemption, reduction, management, and use of fees and surcharges in the List of Fees and Charges issued along with the Law on Fees and Charges.

b) In cases where fees and surcharges are collected by multiple organizations together or local agencies collect them (without issuing separate documents for each fee and surcharge collection organization): Assigning functional units to develop the plan, review it, and submit it to the Government (for fees and surcharges within the jurisdiction of the Government or the Standing Committee of the National Assembly) or sending a document to the Ministry of Finance so that the Ministry of Finance can develop and submit (or issue according to its authority) a document specifying the rates of collection, payment, exemption, reduction, management, and use of fees and surcharges in the List of Fees and Charges issued along with the Law on Fees and Charges.

c) In cases where amendments, supplements, or cancellations of fees and surcharges in the List of Fees and Charges issued along with the Law on Fees and Charges are required: Taking the lead and coordinating with relevant ministries and sectors to develop the plan, send it to the Ministry of Finance, so that the Ministry of Finance can report to the Government to submit to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for consideration and decision.

4. Fees and surcharges listed in the List of Fees and Charges issued along with the Law on Fees and Charges may only be collected when there is a document specifying the collection rate.

, Clause 1, Clause 2 Article 7a of this Regulation.^[15]. (Repealed)

Article 8. Effective Date^[16]

1. This Decree takes effect from January 1, 2017.

2. From the date this Decree takes effect, the following provisions cease to be effective:

a) Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Charges; Decree No. 24/2006/ND-CP dated March 6, 2006 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP dated June 3, 2002; Decree No. 115/2011/ND-CP dated December 14, 2011 of the Government amending and supplementing Point 2, Section IV Part B detailed list of fees and charges issued along with Decree No. 24/2006/ND-CP dated March 6, 2006.

b) Articles 46, 47, 48 and other related contents regarding civil enforcement fees at Decree No. 62/2015/ND-CP dated July 18, 2015 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of some articles of the Civil Enforcement Law.

c) Provisions on competition case handling fees and surcharges for reviewing applications for exemption at Articles 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 and Article 57 of Decree No. 116/2005/ND-CP dated September 15, 2005 of the Government detailing the implementation of some articles of the Competition Law.

3. Abolish the content on fees and surcharges at Directive No. 24/2007/CT-TTg dated November 1, 2007 of the Prime Minister on strengthening the rectification of the implementation of laws and regulations on fees and surcharges, policies for mobilizing and using contributions from the people.

4. The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, Chairmen of provincial people's committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities are responsible for implementing this Decree./.

^{______________________________}

^[1] This Decree is consolidated from the following two Decrees:

- Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of some articles of the Law on Fees and Charges, taking effect from January 1, 2017;

- Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, shall take effect from January 12, 2024.

This Consolidated Document does not replace the above two Decrees.

^[2] The basis for promulgating Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP is as follows:

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration dated November 22, 2019;

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

Pursuant to the State Budget Law dated June 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Tax Administration dated June 13, 2019;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance;

The Government issues this Decree to amend and supplement certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges.

^[3] This provision is amended according to Clause 1, Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[4] Article 3 is amended and supplemented according to Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[5] This Clause is amended and supplemented according to Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[6] This Clause is amended and supplemented according to Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[7] This Clause is amended and supplemented according to Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[8] This Clause is amended and supplemented according to Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[9] This Clause is amended and supplemented according to Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[10] This Clause is amended and supplemented according to Clause 4, Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[11] This Clause is amended and supplemented according to Clause 4, Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[12] This Clause is amended and supplemented according to Clause 4, Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[13] This Clause is amended and supplemented according to Clause 4, Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[14] This Clause is amended and supplemented according to Clause 5, Article 1 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[15] This provision is repealed according to Article 2 of Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2023 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges, which takes effect from January 12, 2024.

^[16] Decree No. 82/2023/NĐ-CP shall take effect as follows:

Article 3. Effectiveness

1. This Decree shall take effect from January 12, 2024.

2. In cases where legal normative documents cited in this Decree are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be implemented according to the new amended, supplemented, or replaced documents.

3. The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees, and Chairpersons of municipal People's Committees directly under the central government are responsible for implementing this Decree.