Circular No. 155/2010/TT-BTC guides the level of collection, collection regime, submission and management and use of fees for issuing mineral exploitation permits and monopoly exploration fees.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the collection, payment, management, and utilization of fees for mineral exploitation permits and exclusive exploration fees for minerals

minerals, fees for the exclusive right to explore minerals

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Pursuant to Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002, and Decree No. 24/2006/NĐ-CP dated March 6, 2006, amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002, issued by the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Charges;

Pursuant to Decree No. 160/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2005, issued by the Government detailing and guiding the Law on Minerals and the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of the Law on Minerals, and Decree No. 07/2009/NĐ-CP dated January 22, 2009, issued by the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 160/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2005, detailing and guiding the Law on Minerals and the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of the Law on Minerals;

Pursuant to Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

To implement Resolution No. 25/NQ-CP dated June 2, 2010, of the Government regarding the simplification of 258 administrative procedures within the scope of functions of ministries and sectors, the Ministry of Finance issues guidelines for the collection, payment, management, and utilization of fees for mineral exploitation permits and exclusive exploration fees for minerals as follows:

Article 1. Subjects liable to pay fees

1. Organizations and individuals, both domestic and foreign, when obtaining from competent state authorities a permit for mineral exploitation according to the provisions of the Law on Minerals and the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of the Law on Minerals, must pay the fee for the mineral exploitation permit as stipulated in this Circular.

2. Organizations and individuals, both domestic and foreign, when obtaining from competent state authorities a permit for mineral exploration, must pay the exclusive exploration fee for minerals as stipulated in this Circular.

3. The exclusive exploration fee shall not be collected in the following cases:

a) The validity period of the exploration permit, including extended periods, is less than twelve months;

b) Exploration activities within areas where organizations and individuals have been granted permission to extract minerals;

c) In cases where the exploration permit is returned or part of the exclusive exploration area is returned, no exclusive exploration fee will be required for the remaining time from the date of return of the exploration permit or for the returned exclusive exploration area.

Article 2. Level of fee collection

1. The level of collection for the fee for mineral exploitation permits is specified as follows:

a) For exploration activities:

- For exploration areas smaller than 100 hectares, the collection rate is VND 4,000,000 per permit;

- For exploration areas from 100 hectares to 50,000 hectares, the collection rate is VND 10,000,000 per permit;

- For exploration areas larger than 50,000 hectares, the collection rate is VND 15,000,000 per permit.

b) For extraction activities: The collection rate is specified in the "Table of Collection Rates for Fees for Mineral Exploitation Permits" attached to this Circular.

c) For residual extraction: The collection rate is VND 5,000,000 per permit.

In cases of extending, reissuing, transferring, or inheriting permits, the person extending the permit, the transferee, or heir must pay a fee equivalent to 50% of the corresponding rates mentioned above.

2. The level of collection for the exclusive exploration fee for minerals as prescribed in Decree No. 07/2009/NĐ-CP amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 160/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2005, is as follows:

a) Collection Rate:

b) The amount of the exclusive exploration fee for minerals payable for each permit is calculated based on the area and duration stated on the permit (including the extension period of the permit). For simplicity in calculation, the collection rate for the permit is calculated as follows:

b1. For permits with a term of 12 months (including the term of the permit plus the extension period of 12 months), the first year's collection rate applies.

In case of extension, when issuing an extension permit, the collection rate is calculated as follows:

- Extension up to 6 months: 50% (fifty percent) of the second year's collection rate;

- Extension up to 12 months: the second year's collection rate.

b2. For permits with a term of more than 12 months to 24 months, the collection rate is calculated as follows:

- For permits with a term up to 18 months: the first year's collection rate plus 50% (fifty percent) of the second year's collection rate;

- For permits with a term up to 24 months: the first year's collection rate plus the second year's collection rate.

In case of extension (for permits with a term of 24 months), when issuing an extension permit, the collection rate is calculated as follows:

+ Extension up to 12 months: the third year's collection rate;

+ Extension up to 18 months: the third year's collection rate plus 50% (fifty percent) of the third year's collection rate;

+ Extension up to 24 months: the third year's collection rate plus the fourth year's collection rate.

3. The fee for mineral exploitation permits and the exclusive exploration fee for minerals shall be collected in Vietnamese Dong. In cases where foreign organizations and individuals wish to pay the fee in foreign currency, it shall be collected at the average inter-bank foreign exchange transaction rate published by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of collection.

Article 3. Collection, payment, management, and use of fees

1. State agencies authorized to issue permits for mineral exploitation and exploration permits shall be responsible for organizing the collection of fees for mineral exploitation permits and exclusive exploration fees.

2. The fee collection agency shall be responsible for registering, declaring, and paying the fees into the state budget in accordance with Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002; Circular No. 45/2006/TT-BTC dated May 25, 2006 amending and supplementing Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges; and Circular No. 60/2007/TT-BTC dated June 14, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration and guiding Decree No. 85/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration.

3. Fees for mineral exploitation permits and exclusive exploration fees are revenues belonging to the state budget. The fee collection agency shall remit the entire amount of collected fees into the state budget according to the corresponding chapters, types, clauses, sections, and sub-sections of the current state budget classification. In cases where collection authority is delegated, the organization entrusted with collecting the fees may retain 5% of the collected fees to cover costs related to fee collection and remit 95% of the collected fees into the state budget.

Article 4. Effective date

1. This Circular takes effect from November 25, 2010. This Circular replaces Circular No. 184/2009/TT-BTC dated September 15, 2009 of the Ministry of Finance stipulating the system of collection, payment, and management and use of fees for mineral exploitation permits and exclusive exploration fees.

2. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, it is requested that agencies, organizations, and individuals promptly report them to the Ministry of Finance for research and guidance./.