Joint Circular No. 135/2008/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT guiding the method for determining the value, mode, and procedures for paying the fee for using data and information on mineral survey and exploration results of the State

JOINT CIRCULAR

GUIDELINES ON THE METHODS FOR DETERMINING THE VALUE, FORMS, AND PROCEDURES FOR PAYMENT OF FUNDS FOR USING DATA AND INFORMATION ON MINERAL INVESTIGATION AND EXPLORATION RESULTS OF THE STATE

Pursuant to the Law on Minerals dated March 20, 1996 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Minerals in 2005;
Pursuant to Decree No. 160/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2005 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Minerals and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Minerals;
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment jointly issue guidelines on the methods for determining, forms, and procedures for payment of funds for using data and information on mineral investigation and exploration results of the State as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Payment of funds for using data and information on mineral investigation and exploration results of the State (hereinafter referred to as data) aims to recover the portion of capital invested from the state budget for mineral investigation and exploration work.

2. Organizations and individuals permitted to use data and information on minerals of the State must pay funds to the State according to the provisions of this Circular after obtaining an exploitation permit. The time of payment shall be carried out as stipulated in this Circular.

3. Data includes all data collected and compiled during the process of investigating and exploring solid, gas, mineral water, and natural hot water resources (excluding oil and other types of natural water) funded by the state budget; reflected in final reports on mineral assessment and exploration work and accompanying data approved by competent state authorities. In cases where reports are lost or the data in the report is unclear, the organization specified in Point 1, Section IV of this Circular must calculate directly the costs based on the area already granted permission or applying for permission to exploit minerals according to current regulations.

4. The use of data shall be carried out in accordance with laws on minerals and the provisions of this Circular.

Cases where data is used for scientific research, training, or planning and strategy development according to tasks assigned by the State are exempted from payment under the provisions of this Circular.

5. Services related to printing and copying data shall be implemented according to separate regulations and are not within the scope of adjustment of this Circular.

II. METHODS FOR DETERMINING THE VALUE OF FUNDS FOR USING DATA AND INFORMATION ON MINERALS OF THE STATE

1. In cases where data and information are fully reflected in final reports on mineral assessment and exploration work approved by competent state authorities, the value of funds for using data and information on minerals of the State that organizations and individuals requesting (or having been granted) an exploitation permit must pay to the State shall be determined according to the following formula:

Where:

G: Funds for using data and information on minerals that organizations and individuals request (or have been granted) an exploitation permit must pay to the State, dong;

A: Total cost invested from the state budget for mineral assessment and exploration work as reflected in the report approved by competent state authorities according to current regulations, dong;

, dong

Where:

Ki: Volume of geological project i completed according to the report approved by competent authorities according to current regulations; m, m3, samples, etc.

Zi: Unit price of geological project i according to current regulations, dong/m, dong/m3, dong/sample, etc.

C: Other costs included in the value of the project according to state regulations at original prices.

H: Adjustment factor between current prices and original prices determined by the ratio of current prices to original prices of the project:

A + B + C1 + C2: Total reserves of various grades according to the report, tons, kg, m3, etc.;

Acp + Bcp + C1cp + C2cp: Total reserves of various grades recorded in the exploitation permit issued by competent state authorities according to regulations, tons, kg, m3, etc.

2. In cases where reports are lost or the data in the report is unclear and unreliable for calculation, the value of funds for using data and information on minerals of the State shall be determined by directly calculating the exploration costs according to current regulations on preparing geological projects on the area already granted or applying for exploitation permits according to the following formula:

, dong

Where:

G: Value of funds for using data and information on minerals of the State that organizations and individuals granted an exploitation permit must pay to the State, dong;

ki: Volume of geological project i implemented on the exploitation area granted to organizations and individuals according to current regulations; m, m3, samples, etc.

Zi: Unit price of geological project i according to current regulations, dong/m, dong/m3, dong/sample, etc.

C: Other costs calculated according to current regulations, dong.

3. For cases involving operating mineral mines, the value of funds for using data and information on minerals of the State that organizations and individuals have been granted an exploitation permit according to regulations need to pay shall be determined by the following formula:

, dong

Where:

G as per formula (1) or (4):

If data and information are fully reflected in final reports on mineral assessment and exploration work approved by competent state authorities, G is calculated according to formula (1);

In cases where reports are lost or the data in the report is unclear and unreliable for calculation, G is calculated according to formula (2).

Gtt: Value of funds for using data and information on minerals of the State that organizations and individuals need to pay to the State for unexploited reserves at the time of calculation, dong;

Qcl: Remaining unexploited reserves at the time of calculating the value for using state geological data and information, tons, cubic meters, etc.;

Qcp: Reserves according to the mining permit granted to organizations and individuals in accordance with regulations, cubic meters, etc.

III- METHODS AND PROCEDURES FOR PAYMENT

1. For cases specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Section II, organizations and individuals using the data must pay the State in full before receiving the mining permit if the payment amount for using the data and information is less than 3,000,000,000 VND (three billion VND); if the payment amount exceeds 3,000,000,000 VND (three billion VND), then 3,000,000,000 VND must be paid before receiving the mining permit, and the remainder shall be paid gradually based on production volume but not exceeding three (3) years from the date of receipt of the mining permit.

2. For cases specified in Clause 3 of Section II, organizations and individuals must pay the State no later than thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the written notification from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment regarding the payment for using state geological data and information at the local treasury. Payment shall be made in full in one lump sum if the payment amount is less than 3,000,000,000 VND (three billion VND); if the payment amount exceeds 3,000,000,000 VND (three billion VND), then 3,000,000,000 VND must be paid first, and the remainder shall be paid gradually based on production volume but not exceeding two (2) years from the date of receipt of the written notification from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment regarding the payment for using state geological data and information.

3. The cost of using state data is a reasonable expense that can be deducted when determining taxable income.

In the case of gradual payment based on production volume, the basis is the exploitation plan; based on the amount to be paid, organizations and individuals using the data shall prepare a plan to submit funds to the state budget and send it to the revenue collection agency. The amount to be paid according to the plan shall be divided quarterly and submitted to the state budget no later than the last day of each quarter.

4. Annually, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall prepare and settle the budget for collecting the cost of using state data and send it to the Ministry of Finance. The deadline for submitting the budget is no later than the thirtieth day of the first month of the calendar year. The deadline for submitting the settlement is no later than ninety days from the end of the calendar year.

IV- IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall take the lead in organizing the determination of the value and payment method for using state geological data and information; monitoring and urging organizations and individuals to pay the cost of using data as stipulated in Sections II and III of this Circular; establishing a Review Board (with participation from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (or the Ministry of Construction), representatives of the People's Committee of the province where the minerals are exploited) to review the calculation results of the amount that organizations and individuals requesting to provide geological data and information must pay to the State before issuing a written notification to the relevant organizations and individuals.

2. This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. This Circular replaces Joint Circular No. 46/TTLT-BTC-BCN dated May 21, 2002 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Industry guiding the methods for determining, payment methods, and procedures for paying the cost of using state geological data and information on mineral survey and exploration results.

3. During implementation, if there are difficulties, organizations and individuals involved are requested to report them to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Finance for research and resolution.