Decree No. 176/1999/NĐ-CP on Stamp Duty

DECREE

Regarding Stamp Duty

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THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Government Organization Law dated September 30, 1992;

To strengthen state management, protect the legitimate rights and interests of property owners and users, and mobilize revenue for the state budget;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance,

DECREE:

PART I

SCOPE OF APPLICATION

Article 1. The following assets must pay stamp duty when registering ownership and usage rights with competent state agencies:

1. Houses, land.

2. Means of transportation, including:

a) Watercraft, including barges, boats, tugboats, pushboats, hulls, and engine assemblies.

b) Boats.

c) Cars, including frames and engine assemblies.

d) Motorcycles, including frames and engine assemblies.

3. Hunting guns, sports guns.

Article 2. Organizations and individuals possessing assets subject to the provisions of Article 1 of this Decree shall pay stamp duty before registering ownership and usage rights, except in cases stipulated in Article 3 of this Decree.

Article 3. The following cases are exempt from paying stamp duty:

1. Houses and land serving as the headquarters of diplomatic missions, consular offices, and residences of heads of foreign consular offices in Vietnam.

2. Ships, boats, cars, motorcycles, hunting guns, and sports guns owned by the following foreign organizations and individuals:

a) Diplomatic missions, consular offices, and representative offices of international organizations under the United Nations system;

b) Diplomatic officials, consular officials, administrative and technical staff of foreign diplomatic missions and consular offices, members of international organizations under the United Nations system, and members of their families who are not Vietnamese citizens or permanent residents in Vietnam, holding diplomatic identification cards or service identification cards issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam;

c) Foreign organizations and individuals not falling within the scope specified in points a and b of this clause, but exempted from paying stamp duty according to international treaties to which Vietnam is a party, participant, or has agreed.

3. Land allocated by the State for organizations and individuals to use for the following purposes:

a) Construction of roads, bridges, culverts, sidewalks, water supply and drainage systems, rivers, lakes, dykes, dams, irrigation works, schools, hospitals, markets, parks, flower gardens, children's playgrounds, squares, stadiums, airports, ports, railway stations, bus terminals, and other public facilities as specifically provided by the Government;

b) Exploration and exploitation of minerals, scientific research pursuant to permits issued by competent state agencies;

c) Agricultural production, forestry, aquaculture, and salt production;

d) Land for constructing houses for housing business operations where organizations and individuals engaged in housing business have paid land use fees as prescribed by law.

4. Land leased from the State or from organizations and individuals that have lawful land use rights.

5. Special-purpose assets serving national defense and security, applicable to the following cases:

a) Land and buildings used for national defense and security;

b) Ships, boats, cars, motorcycles specialized for national defense and security purposes registered in the name of agencies or units under the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security.

Assets mentioned in points a and b above, if used for other purposes, must pay stamp duty.

6. Houses and land belonging to state assets or Party assets used as office premises, including administrative and public service agencies of the state; judicial agencies; administrative and public service agencies of political organizations, political-social organizations, social organizations, and occupational social organizations.

7. Houses and land compensated (including houses and land purchased with compensation money) when the State reclaims houses and land, provided that the reclaimed houses and land have already paid stamp duty.

8. Assets of organizations and individuals that have been granted certificates of ownership and usage rights, when re-registering ownership and usage rights, are exempt from paying stamp duty in the following cases:

a) Assets that have been granted certificates of ownership and usage rights by competent authorities of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, or competent authorities under the old regime, now changing to new certificates of ownership and usage rights without changing the asset owner;

b) Assets of enterprises converted into joint-stock companies;

c) Assets that have been granted joint certificates of ownership and usage rights by households when these assets are divided among household members and re-registered;

9. Assets of organizations and individuals that have paid stamp duty and then transferred to other organizations and individuals for registration of ownership and usage rights are exempt from paying stamp duty in the following cases:

a) Organizations, individuals, and cooperative members contributing their own assets to joint ventures, joint stock companies, or cooperatives, or when joint ventures, joint stock companies, or cooperatives dissolve and distribute their assets to member organizations and individuals;

c) Assets of Holding Companies, Companies, and Enterprises transferred to affiliated units or between affiliated units within Holding Companies, Companies, and Enterprises through capital increase or decrease records;

d) Assets distributed or contributed due to division, merger, consolidation, renaming of organizations as decided by competent authorities;

đ) Assets transferred to the place of use without changing the owner.

10. Commemorative houses, including attached land, registered in the name of the recipient.

11. Special-purpose vehicles: fire trucks, ambulances, garbage trucks, water sprinklers, road cleaners; special-purpose vehicles for disabled veterans, war invalids, and disabled persons, registered in the name of disabled veterans, war invalids, and disabled persons.

12. Hulls and engine assemblies of watercraft, car frames and engine assemblies, motorcycle frames and engine assemblies, replacement motorcycles that must be re-registered within the warranty period.

13. Assets that are goods permitted to be traded by organizations and individuals engaged in business activities, if they do not register ownership and usage rights with competent state agencies, shall also not declare and pay stamp duty as prescribed by this Decree.

Chapter II

BASIS FOR CALCULATION AND DECLARATION, PAYMENT OF STAMP DUTY

Article 4. The basis for calculating stamp duty is the assessed value of the asset subject to stamp duty and the percentage rate of stamp duty.

Article 5. The assessed value of the asset subject to stamp duty is its market value in Vietnam at the time of calculating stamp duty.

The assessed value for stamp duty in certain specific cases is defined as follows:

1. For land, it is the land price as prescribed by the provincial people's committee or the municipal people's committee under the central government within the framework of the land price set by the Government.

2. For other assets, it is the actual purchase price according to the market price at the time of calculating the stamp duty.

3. In cases where the actual purchase price cannot be determined or the purchase price does not match the market price at the time of calculating the stamp duty, it shall be determined based on the minimum price list prescribed by the provincial people's committee or the municipal people's committee under the central government.

Based on the provisions of this Article, the Ministry of Finance shall guide the provincial people's committees and municipal people's committees under the central government to determine and issue the minimum price list for calculating the stamp duty applicable in their localities in accordance with market prices during each period.

Article 6. The percentage rate (%) of the stamp duty is stipulated as follows:

1. Houses and land at 1%.

2. Ships and boats at 1%. For distant-sea fishing vessels, it is 0.5%.

3. Cars, motorcycles, hunting guns, sports guns at 2%. However, for motorcycles registered and paid the stamp duty in Vietnam from the second registration onwards, it is 1%.

The maximum amount of stamp duty collected for assets specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article is capped at 500 million Vietnamese dong per asset. Notably, production and business factories are calculated together for all buildings within the same premises of a production and business facility.

Article 7. Organizations and individuals receiving assets subject to stamp duty have the responsibility to:

1. Each time they receive (purchase, receive as a gift, inherit...) assets, they must declare the stamp duty to the Tax Authority in accordance with the prescribed declaration form and bear responsibility for the accuracy of the declaration.

The deadline for declaring the stamp duty is no later than 30 days from the date of legal transfer documents between both parties or the date of receipt of confirmation from the competent state agency regarding the legal asset documents. For assets transferred before the effective date of this Decree if the stamp duty has not been declared, the deadline for declaring the stamp duty starts from the effective date of this Decree.

2. Provide complete documentation and bear legal responsibility for the legal origin documents of the assets and the bases for calculating the stamp duty.

3. Pay the full amount of the stamp duty as notified by the Tax Authority. The stamp duty must be paid in Vietnamese dong.

4. For assets purchased, sold, or transferred ownership and usage rights before the issuance of this Decree, if the current lawful owner or user has not yet paid the stamp duty, they must pay the stamp duty and only need to pay once according to the provisions of this Decree.

Article 8. The Tax Authority has the following tasks and powers:

1. Guide organizations and individuals with assets subject to stamp duty to declare the stamp duty in accordance with the provisions of this Decree.

2. Check the declaration documents and assess the actual condition of the assets to determine the value for calculating the stamp duty. In cases where there is no legal purchase or sale invoice or the asset value recorded on the invoice does not match the market price, the Tax Authority will base the calculation of the stamp duty on the minimum price list for calculating the stamp duty prescribed by the provincial people's committee or the municipal people's committee under the central government. If the price list does not have specific provisions, the Tax Authority will base the determination of the value for calculating the stamp duty on the corresponding type of asset.

3. Calculate and notify organizations and individuals who have declared the stamp duty about the amount of stamp duty to be paid and the deadline for paying the money into the State budget. Within no more than seven days from the date of receiving the complete legal origin documents and declaration materials of the organization or individual, the Tax Authority must issue a notification of stamp duty payment to the organization or individual.

If the organization or individual fails to pay the stamp duty within the deadline stated in the notification, they will continue to be notified of the amount of stamp duty and the late payment fine. The period for calculating the late payment fine for the stamp duty starts from the day after the deadline for paying the money into the State budget as stated in the Tax Authority's stamp duty payment notification.

4. Handle administrative violations against organizations and individuals who violate the declaration and payment regulations of the stamp duty stipulated in Article 7 of this Decree and resolve complaints about the stamp duty according to the authority stipulated in Article 11 of this Decree or transfer the file to the competent state agency for handling in accordance with the law.

Article 9. State agencies responsible for registering ownership and usage rights of assets have the responsibility to:

1. Not accept registration files, not issue license plates and certificates of ownership or usage rights for organizations and individuals who do not provide the stamp duty declaration form to the Tax Authority as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

2. Cooperate with the Tax Authority to inspect the compliance with the law on stamp duty by organizations and individuals registering ownership and usage rights for assets subject to stamp duty.

Chapter III

SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS, HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS AND REWARDS

Article 10. Organizations and individuals paying the stamp duty have the right to complain or report tax officers or the Tax Authority violating the provisions of this Decree:

1. In cases where organizations or individuals are dissatisfied with the decision of the complaint resolution agency or the decision has not been resolved within the time limit stipulated in Article 11 of this Decree, they have the right to appeal to the higher-level Tax Authority that received the complaint.

2. In cases where organizations or individuals are dissatisfied with the decision of the Tax Authority resolving the complaint, they have the right to initiate a lawsuit at court in accordance with the law.

Article 11. Responsibilities and powers of the Tax Authority in handling complaints:

1. The Tax Authority directly receiving a complaint about the stamp duty must examine and resolve it within 15 days from the date of receipt of the complaint. For complex cases, the deadline may be extended but not exceed 30 days from the date of receipt of the complaint. If the case does not fall within its jurisdiction, it must transfer the file or report to the competent agency for resolution and inform the complainant within 10 days from the date of receipt of the complaint.

2. The Tax Authority has the right to request the complainant to provide relevant files and documents related to the complaint when receiving a complaint form. If the complainant refuses to provide such files and documents without a valid reason, the Tax Authority has the right to refuse to consider and resolve the complaint.

3. In case of discovering and concluding that organizations or individuals have made false declarations or evaded payment of the stamp duty (to obtain ownership or usage certificates), the Tax Authority shall be responsible for recovering the stamp duty and fines within five years from the date of discovery of the false declaration or evasion of stamp duty.

4. The Tax Authority must refund the amount of improperly collected stamp duty and fines to organizations and individuals within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the competent authority's decision according to the law.

Article 12. Organizations and individuals subject to the stamp duty who violate the provisions of this Decree shall be handled as follows:

1. In cases where they fail to comply with the regulations on procedures for declaring stamp duty as stipulated in Article 7 of this Decree, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, they may be punished for violating the procedures for declaration, use, and retention of related documents according to the law on administrative penalties in the field of taxation.

2. In cases where they pay the stamp duty and fines later than the due date specified in the tax authority's payment notice or according to the administrative penalty decision, in addition to paying the full amount of the stamp duty and fines, they must also pay a daily fine of 0.1% (one thousandth) of the overdue amount.

3. In cases where they do not pay the full amount of the stamp duty as required, they will not be granted ownership or usage certificates by the competent state authority. If they make false declarations or evade payment of the stamp duty to obtain ownership or usage certificates, in addition to paying the full amount of the stamp duty as prescribed by law, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, they may also be fined from one to three times the amount of the falsely declared or evaded stamp duty. Serious violations may be criminally prosecuted according to the law.

Article 13. Tax officials and other organizations or individuals who violate the provisions of this Decree shall be handled as follows:

1. In cases where they cause damage to the payer of the stamp duty due to lack of responsibility or incorrect handling, they must compensate the damaged party according to the law, and depending on the nature and severity of the violation, they may also be disciplined, administratively penalized, or criminally prosecuted according to the law.

2. In cases where they abuse their positions or powers to illegally appropriate the stamp duty or fines, or manipulate the stamp duty calculation documents causing loss of state revenue, they must return all appropriated funds (stamp duty and fines) to the state, or fully compensate for the losses caused by the violation, and depending on the nature and severity of the violation, they may also be disciplined, administratively penalized, or criminally prosecuted according to the law.

3. In cases where they abuse their positions or powers to collude or cover up for violators of the stamp duty laws or engage in other violations of this Decree, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, they may be disciplined, administratively penalized, or criminally prosecuted according to the law.

Article 14. Agencies, tax officials, and organizations or individuals who contribute to detecting cases of evasion or fraud in the stamp duty or violations of the provisions of this Decree shall be rewarded according to the Government's regulations.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 15. This Decree takes effect from January 1, 2000. Previous regulations on the stamp duty that conflict with this Decree are abolished.

Article 16. The Minister of Finance shall guide the implementation of this Decree.

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-affiliated agencies, and chairmen of provincial and centrally-administered city people's committees shall direct the implementation of this Decree based on their functions, tasks, and authorities.