Circular No. 117/1999/TT-BTC guiding financial regulations for the collection of agricultural land use tax

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for financial managementconcerning the collection of agricultural land use tax

Pursuant to Decree No. 74-CP dated October 25, 1993 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Agricultural Land Use Tax;

Following Circular No. 89 TC/TCT dated November 9, 1993 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decree No. 74-CP dated October 25, 1993 of the Government; Circular No. 26 TC/TCT dated March 27, 1995 of the Ministry of Finance regarding guidelines for the establishment and operation of tax advisory councils at commune level;

In order to strengthen financial management over funds serving the collection of agricultural land use tax in accordance with the State Budget Law and to ensure their economical, effective, and appropriate use given current circumstances, the Ministry of Finance hereby issues guidelines for financial management concerning the collection of agricultural land use tax as follows:

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

- The financial resources for the collection of agricultural land use tax (ALUT) by the Tax System shall be guaranteed from the central budget and announced in the annual State Budget estimate of the General Department of Taxation. The Ministry of Finance shall allocate the operational budget for ALUT collection to the General Department of Taxation on a monthly and quarterly basis like other budget items.

- Based on the tax collection tasks specified in Circular No. 89 TC/TCT dated November 9, 1993 of the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Taxation shall instruct the Provincial Tax Departments to calculate the necessary number of short-term tax collection agency contracts based on the number of villages, the amount of tax collected by each commune, and the number of tax officers within the staffing quota of each tax team, and directly sign such contracts or delegate authority to the District Tax Offices to sign them. Annually, the General Department of Taxation shall compile and report to the Ministry of Finance the number of short-term contracts and shall be responsible before the Minister of Finance for the implementation of labor contracts.

- The management of financial resources for the collection of agricultural land use tax by the General Department of Taxation and its subordinate units must comply with current financial management regulations, accounting and statistical ordinances, accounting and statistical systems, accounting systems for administrative and public institutions, and the provisions of this Circular.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Content of expenditure:

a/. Payment of remuneration to contractual tax collectors and allowances to members of tax advisory councils at all levels, specifically as follows:

- Payment of remuneration to contractual tax collectors:

+ For contractual staff at communes and wards: To perform tasks such as issuing tax payment notices, maintaining tax ledgers, calculating tax exemptions and reductions, collecting taxes, participating in tax settlement at village and ward levels under the guidance of the commune and ward tax teams, and the District Tax Office. The maximum number of staff per commune and ward is two; the working period is six months per year; the maximum remuneration rate is VND 200,000 per person per month.

+ For contractual staff at villages and hamlets: To perform tasks such as delivering tax payment notices, urging tax payments during crop seasons, and directly collecting taxes from individual taxpayers, participating in tax collection. Each commune and ward may have an average of seven contractual staff per village and hamlet; the working period is two months per year; the maximum remuneration rate is VND 150,000 per person per month.

- Payment of allowances to members of tax advisory councils at all levels: The functions and responsibilities of tax advisory councils at all levels shall be implemented according to the guidelines set out in Circular No. 26 TC/TCT dated March 27, 1995 of the Ministry of Finance regarding the establishment and operation of tax advisory councils at commune level. Specifically, the payment rates are as follows:

+ For tax advisory councils at commune and ward levels: An average of eight members per council, with eight meetings per year, and a payment rate of VND 20,000 per member per meeting (members are responsible for their own stationery).

+ For tax advisory councils at district and provincial levels: An average of eight members per council, with six meetings per year, and a payment rate of VND 30,000 per member per meeting (members are responsible for their own stationery).

b/. Expenditure on tax operations: including the following items:

- Preparation of tax declaration forms for households using agricultural land.

- Maintenance of tax ledgers (adjusting ledgers annually when there are changes).

- Printing of tax receipts, declaration forms, and tax ledgers.

- Expenses for investigation, inspection, and tax exemption review work.

- Professional training for contractual tax collectors.

- Mid-year and end-of-year reviews of tax administration work.

For expenditures on purchasing books for tax ledgers, printing tax receipts, and tax declaration forms, the General Department of Taxation shall organize centralized printing to ensure uniformity across the country and compliance with current regulations.

The expenditure levels for these items must be supported by valid vouchers and must not exceed the following control limits:

- For provinces in the Mekong Delta region, the maximum is VND 1,500,000 per commune per year.

- For other provinces and cities, the maximum is VND 1,000,000 per commune per year.

c/. Purchase and supply:

- File cabinets for storing tax ledgers, tax notices, and tax exemption files.

- Desks and chairs for office use.

- Personal computers for calculation purposes.

- Books, pens, and office supplies.

- Other necessary equipment for work.

The provision of assets for the collection of agricultural land use tax as mentioned above must follow the principle of reasonable, economical use, correct allocation, and gradual implementation based on the annual budget assigned to the General Department.

2. Allocation of operational budget for ALUT collection:

The operational budget for ALUT collection by the Tax System shall be allocated monthly and quarterly according to the progress of implementation. The General Department of Taxation shall be responsible for compiling monthly and quarterly estimates of its subordinate units in accordance with the current State Budget Manual and submitting them to the Ministry of Finance as the basis for allocation.

3. Preparation of budgets, execution, inspection, and settlement:

The General Department of Taxation and its subordinate units shall be responsible for preparing budgets, executing, inspecting, and settling the operational budget for ALUT collection along with the general financial reports of the Tax Sector in accordance with the provisions of this Circular and the State Budget Law, the State Budget Manual, and the current accounting system for administrative and public institutions.

III. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

This Circular takes effect from January 1, 2000. All previous financial regulations concerning the collection of SDĐNN taxes and multi-level tax contracts that conflict with the provisions of this Circular are hereby abolished.

The heads of units under and subordinate to the Ministry of Finance are responsible for implementing this Circular. The Director of the Tax General Department is tasked with providing detailed guidance on managing and utilizing funds for the collection of SDĐNN taxes within the Tax sector, organizing inspections of the implementation of current systems and the provisions of this Circular. In the course of implementation, if any difficulties arise, localities are requested to promptly report them to the Ministry of Finance (Tax General Department and Planning and Finance Department) for study, consideration, and resolution.