Circular No. 132/2004/TT-BTC guiding the regime for collecting, submitting, managing, and using fees and charges for industrial property rights.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the collection, payment, management, and use of fees and charges for industrial property rights

fee for industrial property rights

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

Pursuant to Decree No. 63/CP dated October 24, 1996 of the Government detailing matters related to industrial property rights, and Decree No. 06/2001/NĐ-CP dated February 1, 2001 amending and supplementing certain Articles of Decree No. 63/CP dated October 24, 1996 of the Government;

Pursuant to Decree No. 42/2003/NĐ-CP dated May 2, 2003 of the Government on the protection of industrial property rights for semiconductor integrated circuit layout designs;

The Ministry of Finance hereby issues guidelines for the collection, payment, management, and use of fees and charges for industrial property rights as follows:

I. APPLICABLE OBJECTS

Organizations and individuals within Vietnam and abroad who submit applications requesting state agencies responsible for intellectual property rights to perform tasks or provide services for the protection of industrial property rights detailed in the Table of Fee and Charge Rates for Industrial Property Rights issued together with this Circular must pay fees and charges according to the provisions of this Circular.

II. FEE AND CHARGE RATES

1. The fee and charge rates for industrial property rights are specified in the Table of Fee and Charge Rates for Industrial Property Rights issued together with this Circular.

2. The fee and charge rates specified in the Table of Fee and Charge Rates for Industrial Property Rights issued together with this Circular include all related costs such as printing or purchasing application forms, accepting applications, examining (testing), printing (purchasing) certificates or registration documents, entering national registers, and other related costs.

III. ORGANIZATIONS COLLECTING, PAYING, MANAGING, AND USING FEES AND CHARGES FOR INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

1. Organizing bodies for collecting fees and charges.

State agencies responsible for Intellectual Property have the duty to organize the collection, payment, and management of fees and charges collected according to the provisions of this Circular (hereinafter referred to as the fee and charge collection agency).

2. Procedures for collecting and paying fees and charges.

a) The entities required to pay fees and charges must pay the full amount of fees and charges at once according to the rates specified in the Table of Fee and Charge Rates issued together with this Circular when submitting applications or requests for the relevant agency to perform tasks or provide services.

b) When paying fees and charges, the entities required to pay may request the fee and charge collection agency to issue and provide a receipt for the paid fees and charges, accurately recording the actual amount paid.

c) Fees and charges stipulated in this Circular shall be collected in Vietnamese Dong.

d) The fee and charge collection agency is authorized to open a temporary account for holding fees and charges at the State Treasury where the collection and payment take place, to monitor and manage the collected fees and charges. Each day, they must prepare a list and temporarily deposit the collected fees and charges into the temporary account for holding fees and charges, and must organize accounting for this revenue separately according to the accounting system applicable to administrative units with income.

3. Management and use of fees and charges.

a) Fees and charges for industrial property rights collected according to this Circular are revenues belonging to the state budget and are not subject to tax.

b) Annually, the fee and charge collection agency must declare and process the payment of 50% of the total fees and charges collected during the period into the state budget according to the current state budget classification.

c) Before paying into the state budget, the fee and charge collection agency is allowed to retain 50% of the total fees and charges collected in the previous month to cover expenses for collecting fees and charges as specified in item d below.

d) The retained portion of fees and charges mentioned above, the fee and charge collection agency is responsible for managing to fund activities of the unit to perform tasks and services for which fees and charges are collected, including the following expenditures:

(i) Payment of salaries or wages, allowances, bonuses, contributions based on salaries or wages for employees according to current regulations; the minimum wage level shall not exceed the minimum wage level prescribed by the state for units with income;

(ii) Expenditure for repairing, maintaining, and servicing assets, machinery, equipment, and working tools; expenditure for purchasing technology, including the right to use protected intellectual property technology; expenditure for establishing, managing, and operating information databases on intellectual property;

(iii) Expenditure for purchasing office supplies, raw materials, telephone, electricity, water, fuel, travel expenses, official duties expenses, and other expenses such as printing, purchasing forms, certificates, protective documents, and other publications;

(iv) Expenditure for hiring external services to support management and development activities, such as leasing facilities, office space, specialized outsourcing, hiring services for searching, providing information, testing inventions from national or international intellectual property agencies;

(v) Expenditure for training, upgrading, and in-service training both domestically and internationally on intellectual property specialties and professions; expenditure for organizing dissemination, propaganda, guidance on laws, policies, strategies, planning on intellectual property; expenditure for developing and implementing research topics and projects under regular research tasks aimed at developing the intellectual property system and enhancing professional capabilities in intellectual property;

(vi) Expenditure for performing services to assist in resolving disputes and complaints regarding industrial property rights and commercial disputes related to industrial property rights;

(vii) Setting up a reward fund and welfare fund for staff in the unit according to the guidelines set out in Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges.

e) Any unspent retained fees and charges in a year may be carried over to the next year for continued expenditure according to the prescribed regulations.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

1. Provincial Tax Departments are responsible for guiding, urging, and inspecting the fee and charge collection agencies to implement the guidelines set out in this Circular and current laws on fees and charges.

2. The fee and charge collection agency is responsible for:

a) Annually, prepare the budget for revenue and expenditure together with the financial revenue and expenditure budget of the unit in accordance with the guidance provided at Point 4, Part C, Section III of Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges;

b) Register, declare, collect, remit, settle accounts for fees and charges; account for and publicly disclose the fee and charge system in accordance with the guidance provided in Parts C, D, and E, Section IV of Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges.

3. This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette and applies to applications for intellectual property protection from the date this Circular takes effect, replacing Circular No. 23/TC-TCT dated May 9, 1997 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the collection, remittance, and use of industrial property fees and charges.

The subject who has paid the full amount of fees and charges as prescribed by law on fees and charges shall not be entitled to a refund or additional collection of the difference between the new and old rates of collection by the State.

For applications for protection that were submitted before the effective date of this Circular where the work or service has not been completed and the fees and charges have not been paid, if there is now a request and it is carried out, then the fees and charges must be paid according to the provisions of this Circular.

4. Complaints and denunciations related to violations of laws on fees and charges shall be handled in accordance with current laws on complaints and denunciations; rewards and penalties for violations of laws on fees and charges shall be implemented in accordance with current laws on fees and charges.

During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, organizations and individuals are requested to promptly report them to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution./.