Circular No. 134/2004/TT-BTC guiding the regime of collection, submission, management, and use of consular fees applicable at Vietnamese Diplomatic Missions and Consular Offices abroad.

The Ministry of Finance issues guidelines for the collection, submission, management, and use of consular fees applicable at diplomatic representative agencies and consular offices of Vietnam abroad (referred to collectively as consular fees) as follows:

I. OBJECTS SUBJECT TO PAYMENT OF CONSULAR FEES

1. Organizations and individuals of Vietnam and organizations and individuals of foreign countries that are served by diplomatic representative agencies and consular offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam abroad in matters of state administration according to requirements or legal regulations must pay consular fees in accordance with this Circular.

a) Foreign nationals who are invited guests (including spouses and children accompanying the guest) of the Party, National Assembly, State, Government, or leaders of the Party, National Assembly, State, and Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in their personal capacity.

b) Staff members and administrative technical personnel (including spouses and minor children) of foreign diplomatic representative agencies and consular offices, international organizations enjoying privileges and immunities.

c) Foreign nationals holding diplomatic passports or service passports issued by foreign countries, based on the principle of reciprocity.

d) Foreign nationals exempted from consular fees under agreements or arrangements between the Government of Vietnam and the Government or organization of a foreign country.

e) Foreign nationals who are citizens of countries that have not signed agreements or arrangements with Vietnam but unilaterally waive visa fees for Vietnamese citizens holding diplomatic, service, or ordinary passports shall also be exempted from visa fees based on the principle of reciprocity.

g) Foreign nationals entering Vietnam to carry out relief or humanitarian work for Vietnamese organizations and individuals.

h) Objects exempted from consular fees apply to cases where there is a need for external relations to take advantage of, due to humanitarian reasons, or special circumstances of Vietnamese citizens or risks as specified in a specific decision of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

k) Vietnamese nationals residing in China, Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia.

II. AMOUNT OF COLLECTION

1. The amount of consular fees is stipulated in the Consular Fee Collection Schedule attached to this Circular and applies to all diplomatic representative agencies and consular offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam abroad.

2. Consular fees are collected in US dollars (USD) or in local currency based on conversion from USD according to the exchange rate provided by the bank where the Vietnamese representative agency maintains its account and remains stable for six months. Based on the Consular Fee Collection Schedule in USD attached to this Circular, within thirty days from the date this Circular takes effect, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for providing the Ministry of Finance with Consular Fee Collection Schedules in the local currency of the respective countries for Vietnamese diplomatic representative agencies abroad. Within six months from the date the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides the aforementioned collection schedule, if the exchange rate fluctuates by more than twenty percent, the head of the representative agency must report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance to review and set the consular fee collection amount in local currency and maintain stability according to this principle.

III. ORGANIZATION OF COLLECTION, SUBMISSION AND MANAGEMENT OF CONSULAR FEES

The agency collecting consular fees is the Vietnamese diplomatic representative agency or consular office abroad directly serving organizations and individuals in matters of state administration according to requirements or legal regulations. The agency collecting consular fees has the responsibility to:

- Organize the collection and submission of consular fees in accordance with the provisions of this Circular. Publicly post or announce the consular fee collection rates at the collection location. When collecting money, issue and provide a receipt to the payer according to current regulations. Consular fee receipts are printed and issued at Vietnamese representative agencies abroad according to the model specified in Appendix No. 4 of this Circular.

- Implement the establishment of accounting books to monitor and reflect the collection, submission to the state budget, and management and use of consular fee funds in accordance with prescribed regulations.

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is entitled to retain 30% of the total consular fees actually collected before submitting them to the state budget to cover expenses as stipulated in this Circular. The remaining amount (70%) must be deposited monthly (no later than the 25th day of each month) into the State Budget Temporary Holding Fund according to Circular No. 29/2000/TT-BTC dated April 24, 2000 of the Ministry of Finance on the management of the State Budget Temporary Holding Fund at Vietnamese representative agencies abroad.

IV. USE OF FUNDS COLLECTED FROM CONSULAR FEES

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs may use 30% of the collected revenue (which is a non-budgetary revenue source for the unit) for the following purposes:

1. To purchase passports, white print materials, and related expenses for consular fee collection activities (transportation costs, declaration forms, printing invoices, forms, office supplies, telephone and fax expenses, postal fees...).

2.1. Allocate one-third for regular maintenance, major repairs of assets, and updating equipment of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad.

2.2. Allocate two-thirds for:

- Overtime allowances and bonuses (including rush and fast work) for staff involved in collection work.

- Establishing a reward fund and welfare fund, with an average annual contribution per person not exceeding three months' living expenses.

- Adjusting and encouraging regional policies both domestically and internationally.

3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based on the characteristics of each area and the specific situation each year, organizes the implementation of policy adjustment and encouragement for each area and reports to the Ministry of Finance the situation of implementing such work.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must manage and use the retained fee amount for the stated purpose, with lawful documentation, and annually settle income and expenditure according to actual figures. After settlement in accordance with regulations, the remaining retained fee amount not spent in the year may be carried over to the next year for continued expenditure in accordance with prescribed regulations.

V. SETTLEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENSES FOR FEES

1. Vietnamese representative offices abroad have the responsibility to open accounting books to record and account for income and expenditure of fees in accordance with Decision No. 999/TC-QĐ-CĐKT dated November 2, 1996 of the Minister of Finance regarding the issuance of the administrative and public service accounting system.

2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for inspecting and confirming the settlement of income and expenditure of consular fees of Vietnamese representative offices abroad (Annex No. 1) and compiling it into the annual settlement report sent to the Ministry of Finance for review (Annex No. 2 and Annex No. 3) and issuing the approval notice for the settlement along with the settlement of funds for Vietnamese representative offices abroad of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Finance to organize regular inspections of Vietnamese representative offices abroad to ensure compliance with prescribed regulations on income and expenditure.

VI. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette and replaces Circular No. 99/2002/TT-BTC dated October 25, 2002 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the system of collection, payment, management, and use of consular fees of Vietnam abroad, and abolishes Item C in the Table of Registration Fee Rates for Household Registration of Decision No. 57/2000/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2000 of the Minister of Finance on setting registration fee rates for household registration.

2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs guides Vietnamese diplomatic agencies and consular agencies abroad in collecting, paying, and using consular fees in accordance with this Circular.

3. Organizations and individuals subject to consular fee payments and related agencies are responsible for implementing this Circular./.