Decision No. 1656/QD-BTC On the issuance of the regulations on management and use of customs fees and charges

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the issuance of the management and usage regulations for customs fees and charges

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THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

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;
Pursuant to Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Charges, and Decree No. 24/2006/ND-CP dated March 6, 2006 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government;
Pursuant to Circular No. 43/2009/TT-BTC dated March 9, 2009 of the Ministry of Finance stipulating the levels of collection, procedures for collection, payment, management, and utilization of fees and charges in the customs sector;
Based on the proposal of the Director of the Planning and Finance Department, the General Customs Department Director,

DECISION:

Article 1. The attached Decision hereby promulgates the management and usage regulations for customs fees and charges.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect from the date of signing. It abolishes Decision No. 1554/QD-BTC dated July 15, 2008 of the Minister of Finance promulgating the management and usage regulations for customs fees and charges.

Article 3. The General Customs Department Director, the Director of the Planning and Finance Department, the Head of the Ministry's Office, and the Heads of related units shall be responsible for implementing this decision./.

REGULATIONS

MANAGEMENT AND USE OF CUSTOMS FEES AND CHARGES
(Issued together with Decision No. 1656/QD-BTC dated July 6, 2009 of the Minister of Finance)

Chapter 1.
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. Scope of regulation: Regulations on the management, use, establishment, compliance, settlement of revenue and expenditure of customs fees and charges in agencies and units within the customs system related to the handling of customs procedures and the collection of customs fees and charges.

2. Applicability: The General Customs Department, provincial and centrally-administered municipal Customs Departments, and units under the Customs Department.

Article 2. Principles of management and use of customs fees and charges

1. Customs authorities are entitled to use the entire amount (100%) of collected customs fees and charges to cover costs for performing fee and charge collection work and services.

The General Customs Department shall implement centralized and unified management and control over all sources of customs fees and charges throughout the customs sector in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law, the Ordinance on Fees and Charges, and current guiding documents.

2. Customs authorities directly organizing the collection of customs fees and charges must declare and deposit the entire amount of collected customs fees and charges into the "temporary holding account for fees and charges" at the State Treasury where the collection takes place for the State Treasury to monitor and implement oversight of expenditures.

3. The General Customs Department shall manage the budget estimates for the collection and expenditure of customs fees and charges of the Customs Departments: Units with higher actual collections than approved budgets must remit the excess to the General Customs Department for centralized management; units with lower actual collections than approved budgets shall be supplemented by the General Customs Department from the centralized management pool of customs fees and charges.

4. The General Customs Department Director shall base on the current state spending standards and those of the Ministry of Finance to specify detailed expenditure standards for the use of customs fees and charges, ensuring economy and efficiency.

Chapter 2.
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 3. Contents of expenditure from customs fee and charge revenue

1. Expenditure on direct activities related to customs procedures and collection of customs fees and charges:

a) Purchase of customs seals (self-destructing paper seals coated with adhesive, plastic seals, steel cable seals, container locks, etc.): centralized procurement at the General Department of Customs and distribution in kind to using units.

b) Purchase of materials, stamps, office supplies for directly handling customs procedures and collecting customs fees and charges.

c) Payment of overtime and night shift wages for officers and civil servants directly handling customs procedures and collecting customs fees and charges.

d) Travel expenses and communication costs support for officers and civil servants directly handling customs procedures and collecting customs fees and charges.

đ) Payment of remuneration for organizations and individuals hired to perform customs procedures.

e) Renting warehouses and storage of goods.

g) Regular maintenance, major repairs, and procurement of assets, machinery, and equipment for directly handling customs procedures and collecting customs fees and charges.

2. The remaining customs fees and charges after ensuring the expenditures specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall be used to support investment construction, procurement of assets to strengthen material infrastructure, and modernization of the Customs sector.

Article 4. Establishment, Allocation, and Transfer of Budget Estimates for Customs Fees and Charges

1. Each year, Customs Bureaus shall establish budget estimates for revenue from customs fees and charges, and the requirements for expenditure to fulfill tasks related to handling customs procedures and collecting customs fees and charges according to the contents specified in Article 3 of this Regulation and submit them to the General Department of Customs for review as prescribed.

2. Based on the budget estimates for revenue and expenditure of customs fees and charges established by the Customs Bureaus, the General Department of Customs shall conduct reviews and consolidate these into the annual budget estimates for revenue and expenditure of the State budget of the General Department of Customs, which will then be submitted to the Ministry of Finance, including:

a) Budget allocation to the Customs Bureaus for implementation:

- The expenditure items specified from point b to point g of Clause 1 of Article 3 of this Regulation.

- Support for investment construction, procurement of assets to strengthen material infrastructure, and modernization allocated to the Customs Bureaus for implementation.

b) Centralized budget management at the General Department of Customs for implementation:

- Purchase of customs seals.

- Implementation of support for investment construction, procurement of assets to strengthen material infrastructure, and modernization of the Customs sector carried out centrally by the General Department of Customs.

3. Based on the budget estimates for revenue and expenditure of customs fees and charges assigned by the Minister of Finance, the Director-General of the General Department of Customs shall allocate and transfer budget estimates to the Customs Bureaus according to the分级授权，确保收入与支出任务之间的平衡。其中：

a) In cases where the Customs Bureaus have lower revenue budgets than the reviewed expenditure budgets by the General Department of Customs, the budget must allocate sufficient funds according to the expenditure budget, and the difference must clearly indicate that it will be supplemented from the centralized management pool of customs fees and charges of the sector.

b) In cases where the Customs Bureaus have higher revenue budgets than the reviewed expenditure budgets by the General Department of Customs, the budget must allocate sufficient funds according to the expenditure budget, and the difference must clearly indicate that it will be transferred back to the centralized management pool of customs fees and charges of the sector.

4. Within fifteen working days from the date of receipt of the Decision of the Minister of Finance regarding the transfer of the annual budget, the Director-General of the General Department of Customs shall compile the comprehensive plan for the allocation of budget estimates for revenue and expenditure of customs fees and charges throughout the system and report it to the Minister of Finance (through the Planning and Finance Department).

5. For the surplus revenue from customs fees and charges of the entire Customs system prior to the effective date of this Regulation, it shall be managed and utilized according to the provisions of this Regulation.

Article 5. Execution and management of customs fees and charges budget estimates

1. The Director of the General Department of Customs shall be responsible for directing and managing the budget estimate of revenue and expenditure of customs fees and charges in accordance with the approved budget allocation plan and shall direct and organize the handling and management of changes and adjustments to the budget estimates in cases of occurrence as prescribed by the State Budget Law, current guiding documents of the State Budget Law, and the delegation level as decided by the Minister of Finance (Level I).

2. In cases where the actual revenue from customs fees and charges of the Customs Departments exceeds the budget estimate assigned by the General Department of Customs at the beginning of the year, the Customs Departments must balance the additional direct expenditure tasks arising at the unit (if any), report to the General Department of Customs to adjust the revenue and expenditure budget estimates appropriately, and deposit the excess revenue after balancing the additional expenditure tasks into the "customs fees and charges" deposit account of the General Department of Customs to fulfill the common tasks of the Customs sector.

3. In cases where the actual revenue from customs fees and charges of the Customs Departments is lower than the budget estimate assigned by the General Department of Customs at the beginning of the year, the Customs Departments must review and rebalance their expenditure tasks appropriately. If, after rebalancing, the funding source for fulfilling the tasks still cannot be guaranteed, the Customs Departments must report to the General Department of Customs to adjust the annual revenue and expenditure budget estimates appropriately and simultaneously request the General Department of Customs to supplement corresponding funds.

4. In cases where the annual expenditure of the Customs Departments is not fully utilized compared to the allocated budget, it will be carried over to the next year for continued use and balanced into the next year's budget estimate.

5. Based on the situation of customs fees and charges revenue of the entire sector and the centrally managed customs fees and charges, the Director of the General Department of Customs decides on the contents of expenditure in accordance with the regulations.

6. In cases where the customs fees and charges revenue and expenditure of the entire Customs system in a year increases or decreases compared to the allocated budget, the General Department of Customs promptly reports to the Ministry of Finance (Department of Planning and Finance) before October 30 to adjust the budget estimates appropriately.

Article 6. Accounting and settlement of customs fees and charges

1. All customs fees and charges revenues and expenditures are accounted for in accordance with the State Budget Classification and the current accounting regulations.

2. The annual settlement of customs fees and charges revenues and expenditures is prepared together with the annual budget settlement report submitted to the superior authority as prescribed; in which, apart from preparing the settlement report using the State Budget Classification, the Customs Departments and the General Department of Customs explain the use of funds in comparison with the allocated budget as a basis for evaluating the implementation of the budget; clearly explain the settlement of the use of customs fees and charges revenue to fulfill the common tasks of the Customs system.

Chapter 3.
IMPLEMENTATION

Article 7. Responsibilities of Heads of Units

1. Head of the Department of Planning and Finance:

a) Shall be responsible for assisting the Minister of Finance in checking and supervising the management and use of customs fees and charges of the General Department of Customs in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation.

b) Annually reviews and submits to the Minister of Finance for consideration and approval the budget allocation plan for revenue and expenditure from customs fees and charges along with the time of approving the General Department of Customs' budget.

c) Timely compiles and reports to the Minister of Finance for consideration and adjustment to supplement the content of this Regulation appropriately.

2. Director of the General Department of Customs:

a) Shall be fully responsible to the Minister of Finance for organizing the management and use of customs fees and charges revenue of the Customs system in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation.

b) Develops and promulgates guiding documents to concretize this Regulation for implementation throughout the system, including specific expenditure standards and the handling of remaining customs fees and charges balances up to December 31, 2008 at the Customs Departments, while sending to the Ministry of Finance (Department of Planning and Finance) for monitoring and supervision.

c) Compiles, studies, and proposes solutions to handle difficulties and obstacles in implementing this Regulation, reporting to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and appropriate amendments.

3. Directors of Provincial and Central City Customs Departments:

a) Shall be responsible to the Director of the General Department of Customs for the management and use of customs fees and charges in accordance with this Regulation and guiding documents of the General Department of Customs.

b) Promptly reflects difficulties and obstacles in implementing this Regulation to the General Department of Customs for compilation and reporting to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and appropriate amendments.

4. Heads of Departments, Bureaus, and State Treasury (state management) based on their assigned functions and tasks, cooperate, guide, and create favorable conditions for the General Department of Customs to implement Circular No. 43/2009/TT-BTC dated March 9, 2009 of the Ministry of Finance stipulating the rates, collection, payment, management, and use of fees and charges in the customs sector and the provisions of this Regulation.

Article 8. Effective Date

This Regulation takes effect from the date of signature. Abolishes the Management and Use of Customs Fees and Charges Regulation issued together with Decision No. 1554/QĐ-BTC dated July 15, 2008 of the Minister of Finance.

During the process of implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, heads of units shall report to the Minister of Finance (through the Department of Planning and Finance) for consideration and resolution.