Joint Circular No. 139/1998/TTLT-BTC-KHCNMT guiding the regime for collecting and using fees for technology transfer contract examination and registration fees

JOINT CIRCULAR

- BASED ON Decree No. 45/1998/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 1998 of the Government detailing technology transfer; - BASED ON Decision No. 276/CT dated July 28, 1992 of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now Prime Minister) on the unified management of various fees and registration licenses;

The Ministry of Finance and Science and Technology and Environment hereby provide guidelines for the collection, management, and use of fees for technical review and registration licenses for technology transfer contracts approved by authorized agencies as follows:

I. OBJECTS SUBJECT TO PAYMENT:

All organizations and individuals applying for approval and registration of technology transfer contracts (hereinafter referred to as Contracts) under Decree No. 45/1998/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 1998 of the Government must pay technical review fees and registration license fees (hereinafter referred to as fees and licenses).

II. AMOUNT OF FEES:

- The technical review fee for Contracts is calculated at a rate of 0.1% (one thousandth) of the total value of the Contract, but not exceeding 20 million Vietnamese dong and not less than 2 million Vietnamese dong.

- For Contracts requiring supplementary or amended approval, the technical review fee shall be 0.1% (one thousandth) of the total value of the amended Contract, but not exceeding 10 million Vietnamese dong and not less than 1 million Vietnamese dong.

- For Contracts that do not require approval but must be registered with the Ministry of Science and Technology and Environment, the registration license fee is 200,000 Vietnamese dong per Contract.

- Fees for technical review and registration licenses for Contracts shall be collected in Vietnamese dong. In cases where the technical review fee is based on the value of the Contract denominated in foreign currency, it must be converted into Vietnamese dong according to the inter-bank exchange rate published by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of calculating the technical review fee.

III. MANAGEMENT AND USE OF TECHNICAL REVIEW FEES:

1. The agency responsible for reviewing and approving Contracts (hereinafter referred to as the reviewing agency) as stipulated in Decree No. 45/1998/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 1998 of the Government shall directly collect fees and licenses in accordance with these Guidelines.

2. The entire amount of fees and licenses collected constitutes revenue for the State Budget. The reviewing agency may retain 50% of the collected amount for use in serving the technical review and approval process of Contracts, while the remaining amount must be remitted to the State Budget.

3. The reviewing agency is permitted to open an account at the State Treasury to manage and monitor the use of 50% of the total collected fees and licenses, as specified above, to ensure timely coverage of expenses incurred during the technical review process as prescribed in Clause 5, Section III of this Circular.

4. Quarterly, based on the settlement report of the reviewing agency, the financial authority at the same level will process the recording of budget revenue and expenditure for the actual expenses incurred for the intended purpose, within the prescribed financial regulations and standards, and with valid supporting documents used from the temporarily retained funds.

The reviewing agency is responsible for reporting the settlement of the use of temporarily retained funds to the supervising agency for consolidation and settlement with the financial authority at the same level in accordance with current financial regulations.

5. Technical review fees and registration license fees for Contracts shall be used for the following purposes and must comply with current state financial management regulations, standards, and expenditure rules:

a. Expenses for organizations and individuals participating in research, evaluation, and review of documents related to technology and technology transfer projects, pursuant to economic contracts signed between organizations and individuals and the agency responsible for approving Contracts (in cases where the reviewing agency lacks the capacity to conduct reviews);

b. Preparation of technical review files and solicitation of expert opinions;

c. Expenses for meetings of the technical review committee for projects;

d. Expenses for inspection and technical review of technologies in Contracts and monitoring the implementation of technology transfers in projects;

e. Expenses for purchasing information and documents for technical reviews;

g. Expenses for training and guidance on business operations;

h. Expenses for printing and translating documents;

i. Supplementary expenses for purchasing equipment and office supplies for technical review work (as per approved budgets);

k. Allowances for overtime and increased workload for staff directly involved in technical review tasks and handling fee and license collection procedures, with the annual maximum allowance not exceeding three months' basic salary for each staff member.

IV. PROCEDURES FOR COLLECTING AND REMITTING FEES AND LICENSES:

1. When the reviewing agency receives applications and documents for technical review of technologies to be transferred from organizations and individuals, it must immediately collect the registration license fee and the minimum fee required for each type of Contract (2 million Vietnamese dong for new Contracts or 1 million Vietnamese dong for amended or supplemented Contracts).

After completing the technical review and determining the payment amount for technology transfer, the reviewing agency, based on the fee collection guidelines provided in this Circular, will collect any remaining technical review fees owed by the organization or individual requesting the review.

2. Procedures for depositing funds into the State Budget:

- Within five days of collecting fees and licenses, the reviewing agency must submit a declaration of all collected fees and licenses and the amount due to the State Budget (50% of the total collected fees and licenses) to the direct tax authority managing the agency.

- Upon receipt of the declaration from the reviewing agency, the tax authority will verify the declaration against issued receipts and usage records to determine the amount due to the State Budget. Within five days of receiving the declaration from the reviewing agency, the tax authority will notify the reviewing agency of the amount due to the State Budget (50% of the total collected fees and licenses), the deadline for payment, and the corresponding budget chapter and item as stipulated in the State Budget Manual, along with the amount temporarily retained for use in the technical review process.

- Based on the notification from the tax authority, the reviewing agency will promptly deposit the amount due to the State Budget and transfer the remaining amount to its account opened at the State Treasury as stipulated in Clause 3, Section III of this Circular.

1. Responsibilities of the reviewing agency:

- Based on the notification from the Tax authority, the appraisal agency shall immediately pay the amount due to the State Budget and the remaining amount shall be deposited into the account opened by the appraisal agency at the National Treasury as prescribed in Clause 3, Section III of this Circular.

V/ IMPLEMENTATION:

1/ Responsibilities of the appraisal agency:

a, Publicly announce the level of collection, procedures for collecting fees and charges at the location where the collection is organized.

b, Implement accounting systems, vouchers, and financial reports using fees and charges according to the current state accounting and statistical regulations.

c, Manage, utilize, and settle the amount of collected fees and charges with the directly managing financial authority according to the current management levels.

2/ Responsibilities of the Tax Authority, State Treasury Agency:

The Tax Authority, where the contract registration agency is located, is responsible for issuing receipts for collecting fees and charges to the contract registration agency. The Tax Authority and the State Treasury Agency are responsible for managing, utilizing, and settling receipts according to the current regulations on seal management.

3/ At the end of the fiscal year, the contract registration agency must settle the funds used for the registration work with the same-level financial authority according to the regulations. Any unused funds must be promptly and fully deposited into the state budget.

This Circular takes effect from the date of signature. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, they should be reported promptly to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology and Environment for research and resolution./.

To be received:

- Government Office;

- Ministries, ministerial-level agencies;

- People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities;

- Provincial Departments of Finance and Prices;

- Provincial Departments of Science, Technology and Environment;

- State Treasuries of provinces and centrally governed cities;

- Provincial Tax Bureaus;

- Official Gazette;

- To be filed: Office, General Department of Taxation, Budget Department, Financial Inspection, State Treasury, Contract Registration (2)