Circular No. 159/2013/TT-BTC guiding the collection, payment, management, and use of road usage fees for capital recovery in road construction.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the collection, submission, management, and use of fees for road usage to recover investment costs in road constructionrecovering investment costs in road construction

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Pursuant to the Road Traffic Law No. 23/2008/QH12 dated November 13, 2008;

Based on the Ordinance on Fees and Charges No. 38/2001/PL-UBTVQH10 dated August 28, 2001;

Pursuant to the Law on Tax Administration dated November 29, 2006 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Tax Administration dated November 20, 2012;

Pursuant to Decree No. 51/2010/NĐ-CP dated May 14, 2010 of the Government on invoices for goods sales and service provision;

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

Pursuant to the 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;

At the proposal of the Director of the Policy Department;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular guiding the regime for the collection, submission, management, and use of fees for road usage to recover investment costs in road construction as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Application

This Circular stipulates the level of fee collection, the regime for collection, submission, management, and use of fees for road usage to recover investment costs in road construction projects for business purposes. For other investment projects, they shall be implemented according to separate guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance (for national highways) or the People's Councils of provinces (for local roads).

Article 2. Conditions for Implementing Fee Collection

Roadways subject to fee collection must meet the following conditions:

1. Completion of construction and upgrading of road projects approved by competent authorities.

2. Toll stations must be consistent with the road planning associated with the project and decided upon by the competent authority, specifically:

a) For national highways, they must be consistent with the road planning associated with the project and have a decision to establish toll stations issued by the Minister of Transport;

b) For local roads, they must be consistent with the road planning associated with the project decided upon by the People's Council of the province. Documents establishing the network of toll stations for local roads and decisions to establish toll stations by the provincial People's Committee must be simultaneously sent to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport within 15 days from the date of issuance.

In cases where toll stations are established on roadways not included in the planning or where the distance between toll stations does not ensure a minimum of 70 kilometers along the same route, before constructing the toll station, the Ministry of Transport must reach consensus with the provincial People's Committee and the Ministry of Finance to decide (for national highways), or the provincial People's Committee must report to the provincial People's Council to decide (for local roads).

3. Completion of auxiliary works necessary for fee collection, such as: building toll stations (including ticket sale points and ticket control points), lighting systems, various types of tickets, and organizational structures for fee collection and ticket control.

4. The Ministry of Finance has issued a Circular specifying the level of road fees for national highways or the People's Council of the province has issued a resolution specifying the level of fees for local roads consistent with the type of road subject to fee collection.

Article 3. Objects Subject to Fees

The objects subject to road usage fees include: motor vehicles and special-purpose motorcycles participating in road traffic.

Article 4. Fee Payers

Individuals (Vietnamese and foreign) directly operating vehicles subject to fees as specified in Article 3 of this Circular must pay road usage fees when passing through toll stations as prescribed.

Article 5. Cases Exempted from Fees

1. Ambulances, including all types of vehicles transporting accident victims to emergency locations.

2. ||| Fire engines.

3. Agricultural and forestry machinery including: plows, harrows, cultivators, weeders, and rice threshers.

4. Flood and storm prevention vehicles, emergency duty vehicles.

5. Special-purpose vehicles serving national defense and security, including: tanks, armored vehicles, artillery towing vehicles, vehicles carrying armed forces on maneuvers.

Additionally, for special-purpose vehicles serving national defense, it includes motor vehicles with red license plates (red background with white letters and numbers embossed) equipped with specialized devices for national defense (not empty transport vehicles) such as: long-distance construction equipment, crane lifting equipment, tanks, generator sets. Specifically, vehicles carrying armed forces on maneuvers refer to passenger cars with 12 seats or more, cargo trucks with covered tops and installed seating inside the cargo area, bearing red license plates (regardless of whether they are carrying troops or not).

Special-purpose vehicles serving security (hereinafter referred to as passenger cars) of public security forces (Ministry of Public Security, Provincial Public Security, District Public Security) include:

a) ||| Traffic police patrol cars characterized by rotating lights on the roof and the inscription "TRAFFIC POLICE" on both sides of the car body.

b) Passenger cars of the 113 Police Force marked with the phrase "POLICE 113" on both sides of the vehicle body.

c) ||| Passenger cars marked "MOBILE POLICE" on both sides of the car body.

d) Passenger cars of public security forces performing duties using one of the priority signals as prescribed by law in emergency situations.

đ) Covered cargo trucks equipped with seating inside the cargo area carrying public security personnel on duty.

e) Special vehicles transporting prisoners, rescue and relief vehicles.

6. Funeral processions.

7. Processions with escort and lead vehicles.

8. Passenger cars of public security and defense forces using the "National Highway Fee" as stipulated in Circular No. 197/2012/TT-BTC dated November 15, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance are exempted from paying fees when passing through toll stations.

9. Exemption from road and bridge usage fees for two-wheeled motorcycles, three-wheeled motorcycles, two-wheeled motorized vehicles, and three-wheeled motorized vehicles on national highways.

10. Vehicles tasked with transporting medicines, machinery, equipment, supplies, and goods to disaster-stricken areas or epidemic zones as prescribed by law during emergencies and major disasters or dangerous epidemics.

Chapter II

FRAMEWORK FOR THE LEVEL OF FEE COLLECTION AND MANAGEMENT AND USE OF REVENUE FROM FEES

Article 6. Fee Collection Framework

1. The fee collection framework shall be implemented according to the Fee Collection Framework Table attached as an appendix to this Circular. The fee levels in the Fee Collection Framework Table already include value-added tax.

Every three years starting from 2016 onwards, based on actual conditions, price indices, and proposals from the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance will adjust the fee levels stipulated in this Circular to ensure compliance with the principles of the Law on Fees and Charges.

2. Specific fee levels for each project shall be determined by the Ministry of Finance (for national highways) or the People's Councils of provinces (for local roads) in accordance with the level of the road and the length of the toll section approved in the investment project, taking into account the investor's proposal.

Article 7. Procedures for Issuing Documents Governing Fee Collection

The procedures for issuing documents governing fee collection applicable to the types of roads specified in Article 6 of this Circular shall be carried out as follows:

1. At least ninety days before the planned commencement of fee collection, the investor must submit to the Ministry of Transport (for national highways) or the Provincial People's Committee (for local roads) a letter requesting the determination of fee levels, accompanied by the following documentation:

a) The road investment project approved by the competent authority (including the level of the road, the length of the toll section, and the approved fee level), the completion deadline for construction and putting the facility into operation.

b) A fee collection plan, including: toll station (automatic, semi-automatic, manual, lighting conditions), proposed fee level (if different from the level approved by the competent authority, the reasons must be clearly stated), expected revenue, effectiveness of fee collection, and payback period.

2. Based on the investor's application, the Ministry of Transport will issue a request to the Ministry of Finance to consider issuing documents governing fee collection. The Provincial People's Committee will submit to the same-level People's Council for decision on the fee level. In cases where the provincial People's Council issues a resolution determining the local fee level, it must send that resolution to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport for monitoring implementation.

Article 8. Management, Use of Fees, and Accounting

The amount of fees collected constitutes business revenue for the entity. The fee collection entity has the obligation to declare and pay value-added tax and corporate income tax, manage, use, and record business results in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Article 9. Toll Receipts

1. Toll receipts for road fees are collectively referred to as tickets. The printing, issuance, management, and use of tickets shall be carried out in accordance with the guidelines on sales invoices and service provision invoices issued by the Ministry of Finance.

In cases of non-stop payment through banks (or other organizations), the fee collection entity shall entrust the bank (or organization) to issue invoices to vehicle owners in accordance with the law on sales invoices and service provision invoices.

2. Types of tickets: Tickets at each toll station include daily tickets, monthly tickets, and quarterly tickets.

a) Common characteristics of toll station tickets are as follows:

- Toll station tickets are used to collect fees from vehicles passing through a specific toll station where the ticket was issued. A ticket issued for a particular toll station can only be used at that toll station (it is not valid at other toll stations).

- Monthly and quarterly tickets are valid for the duration indicated on the ticket. After the expiration date, the tickets become invalid. Once sold, tickets cannot be refunded or offset against fees owed by other vehicles, except in cases where the toll station stops collecting fees due to a decision by the investor or the competent authority.

- Daily tickets are sold based on the type of vehicle corresponding to the face value printed on the ticket, without recording the vehicle registration number; Monthly and quarterly tickets are sold based on the type of vehicle corresponding to the face value printed on the ticket, but must clearly indicate the usage period and the vehicle registration number.

- Various types of daily, monthly, and quarterly tickets are widely available for sale to all interested parties.

b) Specific characteristics of each type of toll station ticket:

- Daily ticket: Used to collect fees from vehicles passing through a specific toll station once. Daily tickets are printed with the face value corresponding to the daily fee rate for each type of vehicle.

- Monthly ticket: Used to collect fees from vehicles passing through a specific toll station for one month, from the first day to the last day of the month as indicated on the ticket.

Monthly tickets are pre-printed with the face value corresponding to each type of vehicle. The face value of a monthly ticket is thirty times the face value of a daily ticket.

- Quarterly ticket: Issued for each quarter (I, II, III, IV) of the calendar year, used to collect fees from vehicles passing through a specific toll station for one quarter, from the first day of the first month of the quarter to the last day of the quarter as indicated on the ticket.

Quarterly tickets are pre-printed with the face value corresponding to each type of vehicle. The face value of a quarterly ticket is three times the face value of a monthly ticket, with a ten percent discount (to encourage and attract the purchase of quarterly tickets).

c) Procedures for selling monthly and quarterly tickets:

- Organizations and individuals purchasing tickets must present to the seller a certificate of vehicle registration (a copy) to purchase tickets at the appropriate fee level based on the type and designed load capacity of the vehicle.

- The seller must fully record on the ticket: the registration number, the usage period of the ticket.

Organizations and individuals purchasing fee tickets may choose payment methods based on their actual conditions: cash, check, transfer, or direct debit from their account to the fee collection entity's account.

d) Toll tickets serve both as control documents when vehicles pass through toll stations and as payment documents.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 10. Implementation Organization

1. The fee collection entities (hereinafter referred to as the fee collection entity) have the responsibility to:

a) Publicly announce (including posting at ticket sales locations) the categories subject to payment, those exempted from payment, fee levels, and procedures for payment and submission of fees.

b) Organize convenient ticket sales points as prescribed: organize ticket sales points at toll stations to facilitate traffic vehicle drivers and avoid traffic congestion; sell various types of tickets promptly and adequately according to buyers' requirements.

c) Implement declaration, payment, management, and utilization of fees collected; publicly disclose the fee collection system for road usage in accordance with the regulations.

2. The Ministry of Transport and the People's Committee of the province shall direct competent units; notify fee collection units (within their respective management authority) to collect fees in compliance with the provisions of this Circular; inspect and supervise the collection and payment of fees by fee collection units in accordance with the regulations.

Article 11. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from January 1, 2014.

2. Repeal Circular No. 90/2004/TT-BTC dated September 7, 2004, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the system of collection, payment, and management and utilization of road usage fees, and Circular No. 51/2011/TT-BTC dated April 22, 2011, amending and supplementing Circular No. 90/2004/TT-BTC dated September 7, 2004.

3. For toll stations currently collecting fees according to specific regulations for each station, they shall proceed as follows:

a) Regarding the level of fees, management, and utilization of collected fees: Continue to implement the fee collection regulations for each station until replaced by new documents.

b) Regulations concerning the subjects liable to pay fees and toll collection receipts, as stipulated in Circular No. 90/2004/TT-BTC dated September 7, 2004, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the system of collection, payment, and management and utilization of road usage fees, shall be implemented in accordance with the guidance provided in this Circular.

4. Other contents related to the collection, payment, management, utilization, toll collection receipts, and public disclosure of the road usage fee collection system not mentioned in this Circular shall be carried out in accordance with the guidance provided in Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges, Circular No. 45/2006/TT-BTC dated May 25, 2006, amending and supplementing Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002, Circular No. 28/2011/TT-BTC dated February 28, 2011, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration, guiding the implementation of Decree No. 85/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007, and Decree No. 106/2010/NĐ-CP dated October 28, 2010 of the Government, Circular No. 64/2013/TT-BTC dated May 15, 2013, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the printing, issuance, and use of sales invoices and service provision receipts, and any subsequent amendments and supplements (if any).

5. In the course of implementation, if there are any difficulties, organizations and individuals are requested to promptly report to the Ministry of Finance for research and supplementary guidance./.