Circular No. 14/2017/TT-BTC guiding the management and use of maritime safety guarantee fees from state budget revenue and financial mechanisms in the field of providing public service to ensure maritime safety

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing and using maritime safety guarantee fees from state budget revenue and financial mechanisms in the field of providing public services
to ensure maritime safety
to ensure maritime safety

Pursuant to the State Budget Law No. 83/2015/QH13 dated June 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Fees and Charges No. 97/2015/QH13 dated November 25, 2015;

Based on Decree No. 130/2013/NĐ-CP dated October 16, 2013 of the Government on production and supply of public goods and services;

Pursuant to Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges;

Pursuant to Decree No. 215/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 23, 2013, promulgated by the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the proposal of the Director of the Enterprise Finance Department,

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular guiding the management and use of maritime safety guarantee fees from state budget revenue and financial mechanisms in the field of providing public services to ensure maritime safety.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the management and use of maritime safety guarantee fees from state budget revenue and financial mechanisms in the field of providing public services to ensure maritime safety.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to:

1. Vietnam Maritime Administration.

2. Maritime Port Control Units.

3. Joint Stock Company with Single Member - Northern Maritime Safety Assurance Corporation and Joint Stock Company with Single Member - Southern Maritime Safety Assurance Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Maritime Safety Assurance Corporations).

4. Organizations and individuals related to the management and use of revenue from maritime safety guarantee fees and financial mechanisms for providing public services to ensure maritime safety.

Article 3. Public Services Ensuring Maritime Safety

Public services ensuring maritime safety implemented in accordance with this Circular include:

1. Operating and maintaining marine navigation light systems and independent beacons.

2. Operating and maintaining public marine navigation channel systems.

3. Surveying for the announcement of maritime navigation notices for public maritime channels (including pilot station locations).

4. Repairing, improving, and upgrading maritime safety assurance facilities and assets.

5. Dredging and maintaining marine navigation channels to meet design standards approved by competent authorities (excluding dredging work for new construction of marine navigation channels).

6. Emergency tasks for ensuring maritime safety.

Article 4. Methods of Providing Public Services Ensuring Maritime Safety

1. The methods of providing public services ensuring maritime safety specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 of Article 3 of this Circular shall be carried out through ordering, and if the ordering conditions are not met, through plan assignment.

2. The method of providing public services ensuring maritime safety specified in Clause 5 of Article 3 of this Circular shall be carried out through bidding or ordering in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Transport.

Article 5. Principles for Managing and Using Maritime Safety Guarantee Fees

Maritime safety guarantee fees are revenues belonging to the state budget. The organization collecting such fees retains a portion of the collected fees to cover the costs of fee collection, and the remainder is paid into the state budget.

Chapter II
MANAGEMENT OF MARITIME SAFETY GUARANTEE FEE REVENUE

Article 6. Sources of Revenue from Maritime Safety Guarantee Fees

The Marine Safety Assurance Fee revenue for the state budget includes:

1. The Marine Safety Assurance Fee collected from public maritime channels invested by the State.

2. The portion of maritime safety guarantee fees collected from dedicated marine navigation channels as prescribed in Circular No. 262/2016/TT-BTC dated November 14, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance regarding the system of collecting and paying maritime safety guarantee fees for dedicated marine navigation channels.

Article 7. Preparation, Allocation, and Assignment of Budget Estimates for Maritime Safety Guarantee Fee Revenue

1. Preparation of revenue estimates:

a) Annually, based on the estimated revenue from maritime safety guarantee fees announced by the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Transport; the Ministry of Transport then announces it to the Vietnam Maritime Administration;

b) The Vietnam Maritime Administration prepares the estimate of revenue from maritime safety guarantee fees and submits it to the Ministry of Transport for review and consolidation within the overall budget estimate of the Ministry of Transport to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance in accordance with the State Budget Law and relevant guiding documents.

2. Allocation and transfer of budget for revenue collection:

Based on the annual revenue estimate for maritime safety guarantee fees assigned by the competent authority, before December 31, the Ministry of Transport allocates and assigns the revenue estimate for maritime safety guarantee fees to the Vietnam Maritime Administration so that the Vietnam Maritime Administration can assign the revenue estimate to the Marine Port Authorities; at the same time, it sends the estimate to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport, and the State Treasury.

Article 8. Declaration, Collection, and Payment of Maritime Security Guarantee Fees

1. The Port Maritime Services may retain a percentage (%) of the total amount of fees collected to cover the costs of fee collection activities as stipulated in Article 5 of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016, guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges. The percentage of maritime security guarantee fees retained by the Port Maritime Services shall be determined according to the attached Appendix.

2. After deducting the organizational collection expenses, the Port Maritime Services shall declare and pay the remaining maritime security guarantee fees into the central budget and record them under corresponding sub-items and chapters.

3. The Port Maritime Services are responsible for declaring and paying the collected fees monthly and settling accounts annually in accordance with Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC dated November 6, 2013, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Tax Administration, and Decree No. 83/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 22, 2013, of the Government.

Article 9. Consolidation and Settlement of Revenue from Maritime Security Guarantee Fees

At the end of each fiscal year, the Port Maritime Services shall consolidate the revenue and payment of maritime security guarantee fees in their annual settlement report and submit it to the Vietnam Maritime Administration; the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall review and consolidate the report and submit it to the Ministry of Transport for inclusion in the annual state budget revenue of the Ministry of Transport in accordance with current regulations.

Chapter III
FINANCIAL MECHANISM FOR IMPLEMENTING THE TASK OF PROVIDING PUBLIC SERVICES TO ENSURE MARITIME SAFETY

Article 10. Sources of Funds for Implementing the Task of Providing Public Services to Ensure Maritime Safety

Based on the revenue from maritime security guarantee fees and the ability to balance the state budget, the source of funds for implementing the task of providing public services to ensure maritime safety shall be allocated from the central budget annually.

Article 11. Preparation, Allocation, and Assignment of Budget Estimates for Providing Public Services to Ensure Maritime Safety

1. Preparing budgets

a) Based on the volume of public services specified in Article 3 of this Circular, the price of public services ensuring maritime safety in the previous year, and the anticipated changes in input cost factors, the General Corporations for Ensuring Maritime Safety shall prepare the financial requirements for providing public services to ensure maritime safety and submit them to the Vietnam Maritime Administration;

b) On the basis of the proposals made by the General Corporations for Ensuring Maritime Safety as set out in point a of Clause 1 of this Article, the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall prepare the budget estimate for state budget expenditure on providing public services to ensure maritime safety for the following year and submit it to the Ministry of Transport before July 15 each year. The Ministry of Transport shall examine and incorporate it into the overall budget estimate for state budget expenditure of the Ministry of Transport submitted to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation in accordance with the State Budget Law.

2. Allocation and Assignment of Budget Estimates

Before December 31, the Ministry of Transport shall allocate and assign the budget estimates for providing public services to ensure maritime safety to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, and simultaneously send them to the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury where the Vietnam Maritime Administration has its transaction account for coordination in implementation.

When allocating and assigning the budget estimates, the Ministry of Transport shall retain 2% of the total assigned budget estimate to cover urgent tasks for ensuring maritime safety. In cases where the Ministry of Transport has not fully allocated for urgent tasks for ensuring maritime safety by September 30, the remaining budget estimates for ensuring maritime safety tasks can be allocated and assigned.

Article 12. Advance payment and settlement of funds for providing public services to ensure maritime safety

1. Based on the state budget expenditure plan assigned by the Ministry of Transport, the unit price of public services ensuring maritime safety from the previous year which has been approved, before December 31, the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall enter into contracts with the General Corporations for Ensuring Maritime Safety and service providers for providing public services to ensure maritime safety. The contract for providing public services to ensure maritime safety must include the following main contents: Name of product, public service; quantity, volume, quality of implementation; price, unit price, value of the contract; completion time; acceptance method, advance payment, settlement; rights and obligations of the parties.

2. The Vietnam Maritime Administration shall withdraw the budget estimate at the State Treasury to make advance payments and settlements to the General Corporations for Ensuring Maritime Safety and service providers according to the signed contracts. The State Treasury where the Vietnam Maritime Administration conducts transactions shall check the files and implement expenditure control before making advance payments and settlements according to the contract.

3. Advance payment of funds for providing public services to ensure maritime safety:

a) The level of advance payment for the General Corporations for Ensuring Maritime Safety and service providers for public services to ensure maritime safety shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the contract but not exceeding 50% of the contract value at the time of signing and not exceeding the annual budget estimate. The recovery of the advance payment amount begins from the first settlement and is fully recovered when the final settlement of the planning year is made;

b) The advance payment file shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 161/2012/TT-BTC dated October 2, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance on the system of controlling and settling state budget expenditures through the State Treasury and Circular No. 39/2016/TT-BTC dated March 1, 2016 amending Circular No. 161/2012/TT-BTC, specifically as follows:

- Decision on allocating the state budget expenditure plan of the Ministry of Transport to the Vietnam Maritime Administration;

- Contract for providing public services to ensure maritime safety between the Vietnam Maritime Administration and service providers;

- The State budget withdrawal form (advance payment) of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, clearly stating the content of the advance payment for the State Treasury to have grounds for control and monitoring during settlement.

4. Settlement of funds for providing public services to ensure maritime safety.

a) Periodically or after the acceptance of public services to ensure maritime safety, the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall settle the value of completed volume for the General Corporations for Ensuring Maritime Safety and service providers in accordance with regulations;

b) The settlement file shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 161/2012/TT-BTC dated October 2, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance on the system of controlling and settling state budget expenditures through the State Treasury and Circular No. 39/2016/TT-BTC dated March 1, 2016 amending Circular No. 161/2012/TT-BTC, specifically as follows:

- Decision on allocating the state budget expenditure plan of the Ministry of Transport to the Vietnam Maritime Administration;

- Contract for providing public services to ensure maritime safety between the Vietnam Maritime Administration and service providers;

- Acceptance record confirming the completed volume and quality; Payment request form, advance payment request form (if any);

- Budget withdrawal document (actual expenditure) of the Vietnam Maritime Administration.

Article 13. Inspection and settlement of tasks for providing public services to ensure maritime safety

1. Annually, the General Corporations for Ensuring Maritime Safety and service providers for public services to ensure maritime safety shall prepare reports on the settlement of public service tasks to ensure maritime safety and submit them to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Finance.

2. The Ministry of Transport shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to organize the inspection of the settlement reports of public service tasks of the General Corporations for Ensuring Maritime Safety and service providers for public services to ensure maritime safety.

3. The Ministry of Transport shall direct the Vietnam Maritime Administration to prepare a report on the settlement of funds for providing public services to ensure maritime safety in accordance with the State Budget Law; consolidate it in the Vietnam Maritime Administration's settlement report, send it to the Ministry of Transport for review and consolidation in the Ministry of Transport's settlement report, and send it to the Ministry of Finance for review in accordance with the State Budget Law.

4. Organizations and individuals related to this matter shall bear responsibility before the State and the law for the accuracy and honesty of the reported data in the settlement report and shall be responsible for compensation when performing the settlement of public services to ensure maritime safety in violation of regulations.

Chapter III
IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Implementation Organization

1. This Circular takes effect from April 1, 2017 and applies from the fiscal year 2017, replacing Circular No. 119/2010/TT-BTC dated August 10, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the collection, management, and use of maritime safety fee revenues and financial mechanisms in the field of providing public services to ensure maritime safety.

2. From January 1, 2018, the management and use of maritime safety fees collected on the Soai Rap channel shall be implemented according to a pilot mechanism as directed by the Prime Minister and guided by the Ministry of Finance.

3. During the implementation process, if the relevant documents referred to in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be implemented according to the new amended, supplemented, or replaced document.

4. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, please report to the Ministry of Transport and relevant units to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution./.

Appendix

RATE OF MARITIME SAFETY FEES RETAINED FOR PORT AUTHORITIES TO BE USED FOR FEE COLLECTION WORK
(Annexed to Circular No. 14/2017/TT-BTC dated February 15, 2017

of the Ministry of Finance)

Port Authority Name