Circular No. 18/2003/TT-BTC guiding the regime for collecting, remitting, managing, and using fees for exclusive mineral exploration rights

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the collection, submission, management, and utilization of fees for mineral exploration monopolies

exclusive mineral exploration

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Pursuant to Decree No. 38/2001/PL-UBTVQH dated August 28, 2001 on fees and charges;

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;

Pursuant to Decree No. 76/2000/NĐ-CP dated December 15, 2000 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Minerals Law (amended);

The Ministry of Finance issues guidelines for the collection, submission, management, and utilization of fees for exclusive mineral exploration as follows:

II- SUPPORT MEASURES FOR STATE-OWNED AGRICULTURAL FARMS AND FORESTRY COMPANIES IN THE FIELD OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. These Circulars apply to organizations and individuals, both domestic and foreign, permitted to conduct exclusive mineral exploration within the territory of Vietnam.

2. In this Circular, the following terms shall be understood as follows:

a. Mineral: natural accumulations of minerals and mineral substances in solid, liquid, or gaseous form found beneath or on the surface of the earth, which can be extracted now or in the future.

Waste materials from mines that may be re-extracted in the future are also considered minerals.

b. Exclusive mineral exploration: Organizations and individuals, both domestic and foreign, permitted by competent state authorities to be the sole entity authorized to carry out activities aimed at searching for, discovering, determining reserves and quality of minerals, mining techniques including sample testing and feasibility studies on mineral extraction over a specified period and area.

II- OBJECTS OF COLLECTION AND AMOUNTS OF FEES

1. Organizations and individuals, both domestic and foreign, permitted to conduct exclusive mineral exploration must pay the exclusive mineral exploration fee as stipulated in this Circular, except in the following cases where payment is not required:

- State economic enterprises assigned by the State to conduct mineral exploration and search tasks using budget funds.

- Requests for corrections or amendments to the exclusive mineral exploration permit due to errors made by the issuing authority.

- Applications for extension, return, or partial return of the exploration permit based on decisions by the Government.

2. Amounts of exclusive mineral exploration fees:

The amount of exclusive mineral exploration fee payable for each permit is calculated based on the area and duration stated on the permit (including any extensions). For simplicity, the calculation of the fee for permits is as follows:

- Permits with a term of 12 months are charged according to the first-year rate.

- Permits with a term exceeding 12 but less than 24 months:

+ The first 12 months are charged according to the first-year rate.

+ The remaining months are charged according to the second-year rate, but if the permit term is under 18 months (remaining six months or less), it is charged at half the annual rate, while permits with a term over 18 months are charged at the full annual rate.

3. The exclusive mineral exploration fee is collected in Vietnamese dong. If organizations or individuals request payment in foreign currency, it must be converted at the actual average exchange rate published by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of fee collection.

4. The exclusive mineral exploration fee is exempt from tax.

III- ORGANIZATION OF COLLECTION, SUBMISSION, MANAGEMENT, AND UTILIZATION

1. The issuing authority for exclusive mineral exploration permits is responsible for organizing the collection of exclusive mineral exploration fees.

2. The issuing authority for exclusive mineral exploration permits is responsible for:

a. Publicly posting the rates of exclusive mineral exploration fees at its headquarters.

b. When collecting the exclusive mineral exploration fee, issue a receipt to the payer, which is issued by the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Taxation); the receipt is received at the local Tax Bureau where the issuing authority for the exclusive mineral exploration permit is located and managed and utilized according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

The issuing authority for exclusive mineral exploration permits must open a bank account for the collection of exclusive mineral exploration fees at the State Treasury where transactions take place. For cash collections, a daily or monthly summary must be prepared and deposited into the State Treasury.

c. Register, declare, and submit the exclusive mineral exploration fee to the local Tax Authority where the issuing authority is headquartered.

d. Implement settlement and reconciliation of receipts for the exclusive mineral exploration fee and revenue and expenditure reports with the directly managing Tax Authority according to current regulations, ensuring that all revenue and expenditure of the exclusive mineral exploration fee are fully reflected in the annual financial budget and settlement of the issuing authority.

3. The issuing authority for exclusive mineral exploration permits is allowed to retain 30% of the total actual collected exclusive mineral exploration fees before depositing them into the state budget for the purpose of funding the collection of exclusive mineral exploration fees as follows:

- Pay salaries, allowances, and contributions related to salaries and wages according to current regulations to external staff directly involved in fee collection (including overtime hours worked by officials and employees of the issuing authority for exclusive mineral exploration permits according to prescribed regulations).

- Direct expenses for fee collection such as office supplies, office equipment, telephone, electricity, water, travel expenses, and administrative expenses according to current standards.

- Regular maintenance and major repairs of assets, machinery, and equipment directly serving fee collection.

- Purchase of materials, fuel, and other expenses related to the collection of exclusive mineral exploration fees.

- Set up a reward fund for officials, employees, and staff directly involved in fee collection. The average annual reward per person should not exceed one month's salary.

All funds retained according to the above provisions must be deposited into the State Treasury where the issuing authority is headquartered. The issuing authority for exclusive mineral exploration permits must use these funds for their intended purposes. Expenses must be supported by legitimate vouchers according to current regulations, and annual settlements must reflect actual, reasonable, and compliant figures. Any surplus between the retained amount and the settled amount can be carried forward to the next year for continued use according to current regulations.

4. The total amount of exclusive mineral exploration fee revenue collected (including cash or transfer) after deducting the 30% retained as prescribed in Point 3 of this Section, the remaining 70% must be remitted to the state budget (chapter, category, item in the state budget classification) within the time limit and in accordance with the procedures stipulated in the Ordinance on Fees and Charges and its guiding documents.

5. Prepare and implement the annual budget for income and expenditure of the exclusive mineral exploration fee.

Annually, based on the level of exclusive mineral exploration fee revenue, the expenditure items specified in this Circular, and the current financial expenditure regulations, the authority issuing exclusive mineral exploration permits shall prepare a detailed income and expenditure budget according to the current state budget classification and submit it to the superior supervisory agency and the co-level finance agency for review and approval.

Based on the approved annual income and expenditure budget, the authority issuing exclusive mineral exploration permits shall prepare a quarterly income and expenditure plan in detail according to the state budget classification and submit it to the supervisory agency and the State Treasury at the transaction location as the basis for controlling income and expenditure.

6. Settlement of income and expenditure of the exclusive mineral exploration fee.

The authority issuing exclusive mineral exploration permits is responsible for maintaining accounting records to record, account for, and settle the income and expenditure of the exclusive mineral exploration fee according to the current administrative and public service accounting regulations. Implement settlement vouchers for income, the amount of the exclusive mineral exploration fee already remitted to the state budget with the directly managing tax agency and submit the settlement report on income and expenditure of the exclusive mineral exploration fee to the tax agency, the superior supervisory agency, and the co-level finance agency before March 31 of the following year and must remit any outstanding exclusive mineral exploration fees to the state budget within ten days from the date of submission of the report.

The superior supervisory agency of the authority issuing exclusive mineral exploration permits is responsible for reviewing and consolidating the submitted settlement reports and sending them to the co-level finance agency; The finance agency shall issue a notification approving the settlement together with the annual settlement of the supervisory agency in accordance with the current State Budget Law.

IV- IMPLEMENTATION

1. Provincial Departments of Finance and Prices, Tax Bureaus of centrally governed cities, authorities with the power to issue permits, and entities required to pay the exclusive mineral exploration fee have the responsibility to comply with the provisions of this Circular.

2. This Circular takes effect fifteen (15) days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

Previous regulations concerning the exclusive mineral exploration fee are hereby repealed. However, mining exploration permits signed prior to the effective date of this Circular that still have validity periods shall not require reissuance and shall not be subject to payment of the exclusive mineral exploration fee.

During implementation, if there are any difficulties, agencies, organizations, and individuals are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for study and resolution.