Circular No. 18/2000/TT-BTC guiding certain provisions of Government Decree No. 73/1999/NĐ-CP dated August 19, 1999 on financial incentives for non-state institutions in the fields of education, healthcare, culture, and sports.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for certain provisions of Decree No. 73/1999/NĐ-CP

of the Government dated August 19, 1999 on financial incentives for non-state institutions in the fields of education, healthcare, culture, and sports

In order to encourage organizations and individuals to mobilize resources to socialize educational, healthcare, cultural, and sports services, the Ministry of Finance provides guidelines for certain provisions regarding financial incentive regimes for non-state institutions operating in the fields of education, healthcare, culture, and sports as follows:

Pursuant to Decree No. 73/1999/NĐ-CP dated August 19, 1999 of the Government on policies to encourage socialization in activities within the fields of education, healthcare, culture, and sports;

To encourage organizations and individuals to mobilize resources to socialize educational, healthcare, cultural, and sports services, the Ministry of Finance provides guidelines for certain provisions regarding financial incentive regimes for non-state institutions operating in the fields of education, healthcare, culture, and sports as follows:

I. SUBJECTS ELIGIBLE FOR FINANCIAL INCENTIVE REGIMES

1. Non-state institutions operating in the fields of education, healthcare, culture, and sports (hereinafter referred to as non-state institutions) include semi-public, private, and individual institutions established and operating legally according to Decree No. 73/1999/NĐ-CP dated August 19, 1999 of the Government.

2. Non-state institutions that were established and legally operating before the effective date of Decree No. 73/1999/NĐ-CP and are still within the period of enjoying benefits under this Decree.

II. FINANCIAL INCENTIVE REGIMES FOR NON-STATE INSTITUTIONS

1. Regarding physical infrastructure and land:

1.1. Non-state institutions are prioritized to lease state-owned houses and infrastructure; the State grants land without payment for building schools, hospitals, medical facilities, vocational training centers, dormitories, stadiums, sports arenas, swimming pools, training centers, cultural houses, performance halls, libraries, exhibition halls; For those cases currently paying rent to the State, they are exempted from rent payments starting January 1, 2000.

1.2. Public units authorized to decide on transferring to semi-public status (partial or full transfer) shall continue managing and using the assets invested by the State (including land and assets on land) based on inventory, revaluation at market prices, and determination as State's contribution. The process of receiving and transferring assets between public units and semi-public institutions shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 43/TC-QLCS dated July 31, 1996 of the Ministry of Finance.

1.3 Procedures for eligibility to enjoy preferential leasing of state-owned houses and infrastructure or land allocation without payment:

+ Decision on establishment, business registration certificate (a copy signed and stamped by the institution or a notarized copy).

+ Request for leasing state-owned houses and infrastructure (for places with houses and infrastructure) or request for land allocation without payment (for places with available land). The content of the document must clearly state: Full name; address; proposed location and time for leasing or requesting land allocation as stipulated in Point 1.1 above, commitment to use the house, land, and infrastructure for their intended purposes.

Provincial People's Committees have the responsibility to prioritize consideration and resolution to allow non-state institutions to lease or be allocated land without payment.

2. Regarding taxes, fees, and charges:

- Exemption and reduction of taxes, fees, and charges are implemented according to Article 9; Article 10; Article 11; Article 12; Article 13; Article 14; and Article 15 of Decree No. 73/1999/NĐ-CP dated August 19, 1999 of the Government and current tax laws.

- Determination of areas with difficult socio-economic conditions and extremely difficult conditions eligible for tax exemption and reduction incentives according to List B and List C issued together with Decree No. 51/1999/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 1999 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Encouraging Domestic Investment (amended).

- Procedures for tax exemption and reduction:

To be eligible for corporate income tax exemption and reduction, non-state institutions must submit applications to the directly managing tax authority requesting tax benefits. The application includes:

+ A request for corporate income tax benefits.

+ Decision on establishment, business registration certificate (a copy signed and stamped by the institution or a notarized copy).

+ Tax registration form.

Within thirty days from receipt of complete and valid applications, the directly managing tax authority must issue a decision on tax exemption and reduction and the duration of such exemptions and reductions.

Annually, when settling corporate income tax, the tax authority must officially notify the amount of corporate income tax payable, the amount of tax exempted, and reduced. If the amount of tax paid by the non-state institution during the year is less than the amount stated in the tax notification, the institution must pay the remaining tax according to the deadline specified in the tax notification. If the amount of tax paid exceeds the amount stated in the notification, the excess will be deducted from the tax payable in the following period.

3. The State refunds corporate income tax.

The principle of tax refund is:

The maximum amount of tax refunded by the State equals the amount of corporate income tax paid by the non-state institution into the State budget. Annually, based on the previous year's tax settlement of the institution, the Department of Finance and Prices will consider and directly refund the tax to the institution.

3.1 For non-state institutions:

3.1.1 Conditions for eligibility to receive tax refunds:

- Non-state institutions requiring expansion and improvement of service quality must develop projects and obtain approval from competent authorities to receive State support through tax refunds for income generated from teaching, vocational training, medical treatment, traditional music, dance, art performances, film screenings, cultural preservation, promotion, and non-commercial sports activities.

- Non-state institutions can only use the refunded tax amount for developing infrastructure, expanding, and improving the quality of operations according to approved projects.

3.1.2 Procedures for considering tax refunds for non-state institutions are as follows:

Annually, non-state-owned institutions must submit to the Department of Finance and Prices of the provincial or centrally-administered city a dossier requesting the State to refund corporate income tax paid from activities mentioned in point 3.1.1 above. The dossier includes:

+ A request for the refund of corporate income tax funds to invest in material infrastructure, expand and improve service quality. The content must clearly state: the name, address, account number of the non-state-owned institution; the necessity of investment, planned investment contents; the commitment of the non-state-owned institution to use the entire refunded amount for investing in material infrastructure, expanding and improving service quality.

+ An authorization document for implementing the investment project issued by the competent authority (original or notarized copy) pursuant to Decree No. 52/1999/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 1999 on the management of investment and construction.

+ A confirmation of tax payment for the year issued by the direct tax administration agency regarding the income from the aforementioned activities in point 3.1.1.

+ A report on the use of refunded corporate income tax from the previous year (if applicable). For non-state-owned institutions established and managed by the district People's Committee, the report on the use of the aforementioned refunded tax must be confirmed by the District Finance Office.

After receiving all dossiers, the Department of Finance and Prices will examine specific levels of refunds for all non-state-owned institutions within its jurisdiction (regardless of the level of authority that decided their establishment), and submit to the Chairman of the Provincial or Centrally-Administered City People's Committee for decision. Following the decision on the refund, the Department of Finance and Prices is responsible for notifying (according to Model No. 2) and disbursing the refunded amount to the non-state-owned institution. The completion time for these tasks shall not exceed 30 days.

3.2 Regarding organizations and individuals leasing houses and land to non-state-owned institutions:

Organizations and individuals leasing houses and land to non-state-owned institutions for operation (referred to as organizations and individuals) according to the purposes specified in point 1.1 above, in addition to being exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT) on rental income, also receive State support through the refund of corporate income tax paid on rental income for the aforementioned purposes.

3.2.1 Conditions for considering the refund of corporate income tax paid:

+ Stabilizing the lease term for houses and land.

+ Reducing the rental price by at least 10% compared to the average market price in the locality issued by the Provincial or Centrally-Administered City People's Committee, or delegated to the Department of Finance and Prices to issue.

+ Using the entire refunded amount for investment in leased infrastructure.

3.2.2 Procedure and formalities for considering the refund of corporate income tax:

- Annually, organizations and individuals leasing houses and land must submit to the Department of Finance and Prices of the provincial or centrally-administered city a dossier requesting the State to refund corporate income tax paid from leasing houses and land. The dossier includes:

+ A request for the refund of corporate income tax paid to invest in leased infrastructure. The content must clearly state: full name; address; account number (if available); planned investment in leased infrastructure; commitment to stabilize the lease period, reduce rental prices, and use the entire refunded amount for investment in leased infrastructure.

+ The lease contract between the organization or individual and the non-state-owned institution (original or notarized copy).

+ Tax payment receipts for corporate income tax of the organization or individual leasing houses and land from rental income, with confirmation by the direct tax administration agency.

+ A report on the use of refunded corporate income tax from the previous year (if applicable).

The process of accepting dossiers and the notification time for the refund amount are implemented as stipulated in point 3.1.2 above.

4 In cases where non-state-owned institutions or organizations and individuals leasing houses and land use the refunded amount for purposes other than those intended and violate the commitments stated above, they must return the refunded corporate income tax to the State budget, pay interest calculated at the bank deposit rate, and be subject to current legal provisions.

5 Annually, the Departments of Finance and Prices are responsible for compiling the situation of corporate income tax refunds for organizations, individuals, and non-state-owned institutions, and reporting to the Provincial or Centrally-Administered City People's Committee and the Ministry of Finance (according to Model No. 3).

6 The exemption and reduction of corporate income tax for high-income earners and import-export taxes are carried out according to Articles 14 and 15 of Decree No. 73/1999/NĐ-CP dated August 19, 1999 of the Government and current tax laws.

III - IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

- This Circular takes effect from January 1, 2000.

- During implementation, if any difficulties arise, please reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for study and resolution.

FORM NO. 1

(For organizations, individuals, and non-state-owned institutions)

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Independence - Freedom - Happiness

...date month year

Respectfully submitted to: Department of Finance and Prices

Province (city)...

My name is:...position...

Representing the non-state-owned institution (individual)...

operating under Decree No. 73/1999/NĐ-CP dated August 19, 1999 of the Government

Address of the institution: (*)

Account Number:

Requesting the State to refund corporate income tax paid in...

Total corporate income tax payable in...amount...dong

Corporate income tax already paid...

Corporate income tax requested for refund:

Corporate income tax refunded last year:

The necessity for investment:

Planned investment content:

Commitment of the individual or non-state-owned institution:

........................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................

Representative of the individual or non-state-owned institution

(*) Must sign and stamp

Main address of the non-state-owned institution operating

or the place leasing the premises

MODEL NO. 2

..., Date Month Year

NOTICE
On the refund of corporate income tax

Respectfully submitted to:

- Pursuant to Circular No. 2000/TT-BTC dated month day year 2000 of the Ministry of Finance guiding certain provisions on financial incentives for non-state institutions in the fields of education, healthcare, culture, and sports.

- Pursuant to the approval of the People's Committee of the province/city directly under the Central Government dated month day year regarding the refund of corporate income tax for organizations, individuals, and non-state institutions in the year...

The Department of Finance and Prices announces the amount of corporate income tax to be refunded to...

The amount is:...

In words: ...

- For non-state institutions (individuals) with bank accounts, the Department of Finance and Prices will transfer the sponsorship funds into the bank accounts of these non-state institutions (individuals).

- In the case of individuals without bank accounts, please come to the Department of Finance and Prices to complete the procedures to receive the funds.

It is required that non-state institutions and individuals use the refunded corporate income tax according to their commitments.

RECIPIENT: DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND PRICES

- As above. Signature and stamp

- To be filed

FORM NO. 3

..., day month year

REPORT ON THE REFUND OF CORPORATE INCOME TAX TO NON-STATE INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS

Year:...

Director of the Department of Finance and Prices
Signature and stamp

Place of Receipt
-PROVINCE/CITY PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE - MINISTRY OF FINANCE
- To be filed