Circular No. 165/2013/TT-BTC stipulates the fee levels, collection, payment, management, and use of fees in the field of ship registration, marine works; fees for assessing, certifying safety and security management systems of ships and marine works; and fees for approving, inspecting, assessing, and certifying maritime labor under the supervision of the Vietnam Ship Registry.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the level of collection, collection system, payment, management, and use of fees in the field of marine vessel inspection and offshore structures inspection.

||| Inspection fees for marine vessels and offshore structures; evaluation and certification fees for safety and security management systems of marine vessels and offshore structures; approval, inspection, evaluation, and certification fees for maritime labor under the supervision of the Vietnam Marine Inspection Agency.

marine vessels, marine works and fees for approval, inspection, assessment and certification of seafarers

falling within the supervision of the Vietnam Ship Registry Bureau

____________________

Pursuant to the Maritime Code No. 40/2005/QH11 dated May 5, 2005;

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

Pursuant to the 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 certain articles of 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 shall stipulate the level of collection, collection system, payment, management, and use of fees in the field of marine vessel inspection and offshore structures inspection; inspection fees for safety and security management systems of marine vessels and offshore structures; and approval, inspection, evaluation, and certification fees for maritime labor under the supervision of the Vietnam Marine Inspection Agency, as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the level of collection, collection system, payment, management, and use of safety and technical quality inspection fees for marine vessels and offshore structures; safety and technical quality inspection fees for equipment and materials installed on marine vessels and offshore structures; evaluation and certification fees for safety management systems according to the International Safety Management Code; approval, evaluation, and certification fees for ship security plans according to the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code; and approval, inspection, evaluation, and certification fees for maritime labor under the supervision of the Vietnam Marine Inspection Agency.

Article 2. Fee Payers

Fee payers are organizations and individuals subject to the execution of the following tasks by the Vietnam Marine Inspection Authority:

1. Safety and technical quality inspection of marine vessels and offshore structures;

2. Safety and technical quality inspection of equipment and materials (hereinafter referred to as industrial products) installed on marine vessels and offshore structures;

3. Evaluation and certification of safety and security management systems of marine vessels and offshore structures; approval, inspection, evaluation, and certification of maritime labor.

Article 3. Definitions

1. Number of standard fee units (SFU) is the number of fees determined based on the types of inspection work performed and the characteristic parameters of marine vessels and offshore structures. The SFU is stated in the corresponding sections of the Fee Schedule issued together with this Circular.

2. Number of time-based fee units (TFU) is determined by the formula: TFU = 400 x k.

Where:

- 400: Number of fee units for one inspection work session;

- For marine vessels certified by the Vietnam Marine Inspection Agency, the factor k = 1;

- For marine vessels certified by foreign inspection agencies, the factor k = 1.5;

- For offshore structures, the factor k = 2.5.

3. Value of one fee unit (α) is determined as follows:

a) For marine vessels under the supervision of the Vietnam Marine Inspection Agency: α = 1,700 VND.

b) For marine vessels flying the flag of Vietnam or foreign flags certified by foreign inspection agencies and offshore structures under the supervision of the Vietnam Marine Inspection Agency: α = 0.50 USD.

4. Other costs (OC) include travel, accommodation, and communication expenses serving the inspection work. These costs are calculated based on actual expenses, confirmed by representatives of the agency or unit, and accepted by the agency or unit responsible for paying the inspection fees.

Article 4. Fee Schedule

1. Attached to this Circular is an Appendix including three Fee Schedules as follows:

a) Fee Schedule for safety and technical quality inspection of ships and marine structures;

b) Fee Schedule for safety and technical quality inspection of industrial products installed on ships and marine structures;

c) Fee Schedule for assessment and certification of safety management systems under the International Safety Management Code (ISM Code); approval fees for security plans, assessments, and certifications of ships and ports under the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code), and approval, inspection, assessment, and certification fees for seafarers' labor under the Maritime Labor Convention 2006.

2. The fee levels specified in the Fee Schedules under Clause 1 of this Article include value-added tax but exclude certification fees for ship quality and technical safety certificates (as stipulated in Circular No. 102/2008/TT-BTC dated November 11, 2008 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the collection, payment, management, and use of certification fees for ensuring quality and technical safety for machinery, equipment, and transportation means) and costs related to accommodation, travel, and communication services for inspection work (these costs are implemented according to Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC dated July 6, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance regulating travel expenses and organizing conference expenses for state agencies and public service units).

Article 5. Method of Calculating Inspection Fees

1. Standard Inspection Fee Calculation Method (SIFCM):_{Economic life of the power plant as specified in the Appendix attached to this Circular (years).}Applies to all inspection tasks listed in the Fee Schedules attached to this Circular.

The standard inspection fee is determined by the formula:

SIFCM_{Economic life of the power plant as specified in the Appendix attached to this Circular (years).} = PSC + OCF

Where:

- PSC: Standard Fee;

+ For ships and industrial products: PSC = α x VUP_{Economic life of the power plant as specified in the Appendix attached to this Circular (years).}

+ For marine structures: PSC is calculated at 1.5 times the corresponding types of inspections and inspected objects of ships.

- OCF: Other Costs.

2. Time-based Inspection Fee Calculation Method (TIFCM), applicable to the following inspection tasks:_TGa) Inspection of ship repairs, abnormal inspections, and continuous machine inspections.

b) Inspection of industrial products, maritime accident investigations, technical condition assessments of ships, and other inspection tasks not listed in the Fee Schedules under Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular.

c) In cases where the supervision period for new construction or conversion of ships and marine structures exceeds the time stipulated in the technical supervision contracts between the Vietnam Register (or its subordinate branches) and customers, additional inspection fees must be calculated based on the actual time spent during the extended period.

d) For operational ship inspection fees, if the inspector has to increase the number of inspection tasks due to additional monitoring and testing, additional inspection fees must be calculated based on the actual time spent on supplementary tasks.

The time-based inspection fee is calculated using the formula:

TIFCM

SIFCM_TG = TTF + OCF

Where:

- TTF = α x VUP_TG x n: Is the fee calculated based on the number of inspection tasks performed.

n: Is the number of inspection tasks performed. One inspection task is considered up to a maximum of 4 hours. If an inspection task takes more than 4 hours, it is calculated as follows: less than 2 hours is counted as 0.5 times; from 2 to 4 hours is counted as one time. Travel time, waiting time for performing inspection tasks, and time spent preparing inspection records are not included in the calculation of the number of hours for determining the number of inspection tasks.

- OCF: Other Costs.

3. Other Cases for Calculating Inspection Fees

a) For ships or marine structures where the Vietnam Register only performs technical safety inspections without classification, the calculation of inspection fees for corresponding items shall be carried out as for classified ships and marine structures.

b) For inspection tasks carried out according to agreed contents between the Vietnam Register and foreign registers, the inspection fees shall be determined according to the agreement between the Vietnam Register and the foreign register and the organization or individual responsible for paying the fees.

c) For supervision and inspection services of marine structures not listed in the Fee Schedules under Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular, the inspection fees shall be calculated according to the agreed contract between the Vietnam Register and the customer. The inspection fee is calculated per working day and is at least 60% of the inspection fee charged by the participating foreign register for the corresponding task.

d) The inspection fees under the Fee Schedules specified in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular do not include fees that ship owners must pay according to the laws of the country whose flag the ship or marine structure flies.

đ) For inspection and evaluation of industrial products and manufacturing, repair, service provision, and testing facilities in other registration fields similar to those for ships and marine structures conducted by the Vietnam Register, the fees are also calculated according to this Circular.

Article 6. Collection, submission, management and use of fees

1. The Vietnam Inspection Agency shall organize the collection, submission, management and use of the fees prescribed in this Circular.

2. The fees prescribed in this Circular are not included in the state budget. The fee collection agency has the obligation to pay taxes according to the provisions of the law on the amount of fees collected and may manage and use the collected fee revenue after paying taxes as prescribed.

3. Matters related to the collection, submission, management, use, and public disclosure of non-prescribed fee collection procedures shall be implemented in accordance with the guidance provided in Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002 of 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 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 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decree No. 51/2010/NĐ-CP dated May 14, 2010 of the Government on invoices for goods sales and service provision, and any subsequent amendments and supplements (if any).

Article 7. Implementation Organization

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

2. This Circular replaces Decision No. 184/2003/QĐ-BTC dated November 4, 2003 of the Minister of Finance promulgating the fee levels for safety technical inspection and quality inspection of ships and marine works under the supervision of the Vietnam Inspection Agency, Decision No. 12/2003/QĐ-BTC dated January 24, 2003 of the Minister of Finance promulgating the fee levels for safety technical inspection and quality inspection of equipment and materials under the supervision of the Vietnam Inspection Agency, Decision No. 95/2004/QĐ-BTC dated December 7, 2004 of the Minister of Finance temporarily prescribing the fee levels, submission, management and use of fees for approving security plans for ships, assessing and issuing ship security certificates according to the International Convention on Maritime Security, and Decision No. 77/BVGCP-CNTDDV dated August 11, 1998 of the Government Price Board promulgating the pricing list for evaluating Safety Management Systems for companies and ships according to the International Safety Management Code.

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