Circular No. 12/2017/TT-BTC guiding the procedures and formalities for supporting capital investment in equipment for projects implementing environmental protection inventions

CIRCULAR

Guidelines on the procedures and formalities for supporting capital investment in equipment of projects implementing environmental protection invention applications

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Pursuant to Decree No. 19/2015/NĐ-CP dated February 14, 2015 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection;

Pursuant to Decree No. 215/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 20, 2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;3/12/2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, duties, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decision No. 78/2014/QĐ-TTg dated December 26, 2014 of the Prime Minister on the organization and operation of the Vietnam Environment Protection Fund;

Implementing Circular No. 8774/VPCP-KTTH dated October 14, 2016 of the Government Office regarding the source of capital to support 10% of the total capital investment in equipment for implementing environmental protection invention applications;

At the proposal of the Director of the Investment Department;

Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 21/2023/TT-BTTTT dated December 31, 2023 of the Ministry of Information and Communications on functions and technical features of the Administrative Procedure Handling Information System at the ministerial and provincial levels (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 21/2023/TT-BTTTT) as follows: The Ministry of Finance issues this Circular guiding the procedures and formalities for supporting capital investment in equipment of projects implementing environmental protection invention applications as specified in Decree No. 19/2015/NĐ-CP dated February 14, 2015 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

2. Applicability:

This Circular guides the procedures and formalities for supporting capital investment for projects carrying out production activities applying environmental protection inventions protected by the State in the form of Granting Invention Patents or Utility Model Patents (hereinafter referred to as Projects) as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 42 of Decree No. 19/2015/NĐ-CP dated February 14, 2015 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 19/2015/NĐ-CP).

第二条 组织和实施奖励工作的支出水平，如政府第152/2025/NĐ-CP号决定关于分级授权和奖励领域的分权规定

Agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the support of capital for the Projects mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 2. Object of support, conditions for support, level of supported capital

1. Object receiving support capital:

Project investors.

2. Conditions for receiving support capital:

The project must meet all of the following conditions:

a) The project operates according to Clause 11, Appendix III of Decree No. 19/2015/NĐ-CP;

b) The project has been established, reviewed, approved, or issued with Investment Registration Certificate (hereinafter referred to as IRC) in accordance with the legal regulations applicable to cases requiring issuance of IRC;

c) The project has been completed, accepted, and settled;

d) The project has concluded its trial period and meets the conditions for normal operation.

3. Level of supported capital:

Equal to 10% of the total capital investment in equipment for implementing environmental protection invention applications of the Project as reported in the final settlement report of the Project Investor, which has been audited by an independent auditing company operating under Vietnamese law.

Article 3. Capital support agency

Is the Vietnam Environment Protection Fund (hereinafter referred to as VEPF), under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (hereinafter referred to as MONRE).

Article 4. Source of capital support

State budget funds allocated for environmental affairs to subsidize the financial costs for environmental protection projects and tasks that have been implemented annually as stipulated in Point a, Clause 2, Article 7 of Decision No. 78/2014/QĐ-TTg dated December 26, 2014 of the Prime Minister on the organization and operation of the VEPF (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 78/2014/QĐ-TTg) and as stipulated in Point a, Clause 2, Article 5 of Circular No. 132/2015/TT-BTC dated August 28, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the financial management mechanism for the VEPF (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 132/2015/TT-BTC).

Article 5. Forms of Support

The project will be supported with capital once after investment, without repayment.

Article 6. Capital Support Plan Preparation

1. The investor shall submit to the VNEMF the initial application file as the basis for registering the capital support plan, including:

a) A registration document for capital support, containing basic information on:

- Investor;

- Project:

+ Project name;

+ Implementation location;

+ Total investment amount;

+ Total value of equipment implementing environmental protection inventions of the project;

+ Implementation time - completion time of the project;

+ Trial operation time - end of trial operation; meeting normal operation conditions;

+ Year of requesting capital support;

+ Amount of requested capital support.

b) Decision approving the project or Investment Registration Certificate, along with the project file.

c) Patent certificate or Utility Model Certificate applied in the project (certified copy).

These three types of files shall only be submitted once. In case the project is adjusted or supplemented, the investor shall submit the related supplementary files.

2. Based on the initial application file stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article of the Circular, the VNEMF shall compile and implement according to the provisions at Point a, Clause 2, Article 7 of Decision No. 78/2014/QD-TTg and the provisions at Point b, Clause 3, Article 17 of Circular No. 132/2015/TT-BTC.

Article 7. Application for Capital Support

After the trial operation ends, the investor shall submit to the VNEMF the application for capital support, including:

1. A request document for capital support, clearly stating the amount of requested capital support;

2. The final report of the completed project that has been prepared, approved, and audited by an independent auditing company operating under Vietnamese law, specifying the list, quantity, type, standards, technical specifications, and value of equipment implementing environmental protection inventions;

3. Documentation on the trial operation results, confirming by the competent authority that the project meets the requirements of the patent or utility model certificate issued and the project meets the conditions for normal operation.

Article 8. Procedures and Formalities for Capital Support

Within seven working days from the date of receiving the complete application for capital support as stipulated in Article 7 of this Circular, the VNEMF shall provide capital support for the project.

Article 9. Cases of Refusal of Capital Support

The VNEMF may refuse capital support for projects falling under any of the cases not complying with the provisions of this Circular, specifically:

1. Not within the scope regulated or applicable objects as specified in Article 1.

2. Not within the support objects as specified in Clause 1 of Article 2.

3. Not meeting the support conditions as specified in Clause 2 of Article 2.

4. Not submitting the initial application file as specified in Clause 1 of Article 6.

5. Not submitting the application for capital support as specified in Article 7.

In case of refusal of capital support, the VNEMF shall notify the investor in writing about the reasons and the amount of refused support (simultaneously sending to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment).

Article 10. Handling of Excess or Shortfall in Capital Support Sources

1. In case the allocated capital support is not fully utilized due to the actual supported capital being lower than the allocated amount: the VNEMF shall return the excess to the state budget.

2. In case the allocated capital support is lower than the actual supported capital: the VNEMF shall report to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for consolidation and send to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and decision by the competent authority.

3. In case of refusal of capital support: the VNEMF shall return the entire allocated capital to the state budget.

Article 11. Reporting

The VNEMF shall report to the Ministry of Finance (Investment Department) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on the situation of capital support payments for projects (using Appendix No. 6 issued together with Circular No. 132/2015/TT-BTC).

Article 12. Inspection

Based on the provisions of Clause 2, Article 5 of Decision No. 78/2014/QD-TTg, the VNEMF shall inspect projects receiving capital support; report to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Finance shall conduct surprise inspections on the implementation of this Circular.

Article 13. Implementation Provisions

This Circular takes effect from March 27, 2017. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles related to the contents, please promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for research and coordination to resolve them./.