Circular No. 184/2009/TT-BTC on the regime for collection, payment, and management and use of fees for issuing mineral exploitation licenses and exclusive exploration fees for minerals.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the collection, submission, and management of usage fees for mineral exploitation permits and exclusive exploration fees for minerals.

The regulations apply to the fees for mineral exploitation permits and exclusive exploration fees for minerals.

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Pursuant to Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002, 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, issued by the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Charges;

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. 160/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2005, and Decree No. 07/2009/NĐ-CP dated January 21, 2009, amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 160/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2005, issued by the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Minerals and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Minerals;

The Ministry of Finance guides the regime for the collection, submission, management, and utilization of fees for mineral exploitation permits and exclusive exploration fees for minerals as follows:

Article 1. Subjects liable to pay fees

1. Organizations and individuals of Vietnam and foreign countries when obtaining from competent authorities a permit for mineral exploitation according to the provisions of the Law on Minerals and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Minerals must pay the fee for the mineral exploitation permit as stipulated in this Circular.

2. Organizations and individuals of Vietnam and foreign countries when obtaining from state competent authorities a permit for mineral exploration must pay the exclusive exploration fee for minerals as stipulated in this Circular.

In cases where the exploration permit is returned or part of the area of exclusive exploration permit for minerals is returned, the exclusive exploration fee will not be paid for the remaining period starting from the date the exploration permit ceases to be effective.

Article 2. Level of fee collection

Clause 1. Levels of Collection of Fees for Mineral Exploitation Permits are specified as follows:

a) For survey activities: VND 2,000,000 per permit.

b) For exploration activities:

- For exploration areas less than 100 hectares, the collection level is VND 4,000,000 per permit;

- For exploration areas from 100 to 50,000 hectares, the collection level is VND 10,000,000 per permit;

- For exploration areas over 50,000 hectares, the collection level is VND 15,000,000 per permit.

c) For mineral processing activities: the collection level is VND 10,000,000 per permit.

d) For mining activities: the collection levels are specified in the attached table of this Circular.

đ) For residual extraction: the collection level is VND 5,000,000 per permit.

In cases of extending the validity of a permit, reissuing a permit upon transfer or inheritance, the person extending the permit, the transferee, or heir must pay the fee equivalent to 50% of the corresponding fee levels mentioned above.

Clause 2. Levels of Collection of Exclusive Exploration Fees for Minerals as stipulated in Decree No. 07/2009/NĐ-CP amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 160/2005/NĐ-CP dated December 27, 2005 are as follows:

a) Collection Levels:

b) The amount of exclusive exploration fee for minerals payable for each permit is calculated based on the area and duration stated on the permit (including the extension period of the permit). For simplicity in calculating the collection, the collection level for the permit is calculated as follows:

- For permits with a term up to 12 months, it is calculated at the level of the first year's collection. In case of extension, when issuing an extended permit, the calculation is as follows:

+ For an extension period up to 6 months, it is calculated at half the second year's collection level;

+ For an extension period up to 12 months, it is calculated at the second year's collection level.

- For permits with a term exceeding 12 months, the calculation is as follows:

For permits with a term up to 18 months, it is calculated at the first year's collection level plus half the second year's collection level;

For permits with a term up to 24 months, it is calculated at the first year's collection level plus the second year's collection level;

In cases of extension (for permits with a term exceeding 24 months), when issuing an extended permit, the calculation is as follows:

Extension of 2 to 12 months: calculated at the third year's collection level;

Extension of more than 12 to 18 months: calculated at the third year's collection level plus half the third year's collection level;

Extension of more than 18 months: calculated at the third and fourth year's collection levels.

Clause 3. Fees for mineral exploitation permits and exclusive exploration fees for minerals are collected in Vietnamese Dong. In cases where organizations and individuals from foreign countries wish to pay the fees in foreign currency, they shall be collected at the average inter-bank foreign exchange rate published by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of payment.

Article 3. Collection and Payment of Fees

1. The authority issuing mining operation licenses shall be responsible for organizing the collection of fees for issuing mining operation licenses and the monopoly exploration fees.

2. The fee collection agency shall be responsible for registering, declaring, and paying the fees into the State budget in accordance with Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002; Circular No. 45/2006/TT-BTC dated May 25, 2006 amending and supplementing Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges; and Circular No. 60/2007/TT-BTC dated June 14, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration and guiding Decree No. 85/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration.

3. The fees for issuing mining operation licenses and the monopoly exploration fees are revenue items belonging to the State budget. The fee collection agency shall remit the entire amount of collected fees into the State budget according to the corresponding chapters, types, sections, items, and sub-items of the current State budget classification. In cases where collection is delegated, the organization authorized to collect the fees may retain 5% of the collected fees to cover the costs of collecting the fees and remit 95% of the collected fees into the State budget.

Article 4. Effective date

1. This Circular shall take effect 45 days from the date of signature. This Circular replaces Circular No. 20/2005/TT-BTC dated March 16, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the system of collection, payment, management, and use of fees for issuing mining operation licenses and Circular No. 18/2003/TT-BTC dated January 10, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the system of collection, payment, management, and use of monopoly exploration fees.

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