Joint Circular No. 198/2009/TTLT-BTC-BCT-BKH guides the exchange and provision of information related to taxpayers in the fields of tax administration, customs, investment, trade, and industry.

 

 JOINT CIRCULAR

GUIDELINES ON THE EXCHANGE AND PROVISION OF INFORMATION RELATED TO TAXPAYERS IN THE DOMAINS OF TAX ADMINISTRATION, CUSTOMS, INVESTMENT, TRADE, AND INDUSTRY

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Pursuant to the Law on Tax Administration No. 78/2006/QH11Hue Decision No. 78/2006/QH11 November 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Law on Customs No. 29/2001/QH10 dated June 29, 2001; and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Customs dated June 14, 2005;No. 29/2001/QH10 dated The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment hereby issue guidelines on the exchange and provision of information and documents related to taxpayers (hereinafter referred to as "taxpayers") in the domains of tax administration, customs, investment, trade, and industry as follows:

These Guidelines regulate the exchange and provision of information and documents related to taxpayers in the domains of tax administration, customs, investment, trade, and industry between the Tax Authority and the Customs Authority under the Ministry of Finance with units under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for the purpose of serving state management (hereinafter collectively referred to as "the parties").

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

Article 2. Principles of Exchange, Provision, and Use of Information and Documents

Clause 1. Information and documents (hereinafter collectively referred to as "information") requested for exchange and provision must originate from management needs consistent with the functions, tasks, and authorities of the parties and be used for their intended purposes in compliance with legal regulations.

Clause 2. The exchange and provision of information must ensure timeliness and accuracy according to the requirements of the parties.

Clause 3. The parties have the responsibility to exchange, provide, manage, use, and respond to information in accordance with the Law on State Secrets Protection. Under no circumstances shall information be used for purposes other than serving state management.

Clause 4. Information exchanged and provided between the parties shall be exchanged at the same level. Exchanges and provisions at different levels shall be carried out when the same-level party does not directly hold the information.

Clause 5. Parties providing information have the right to refuse to provide information outside the scope prescribed in Article 1 of these Guidelines.

Chapter II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 3. List of Information to be Exchanged and Provided Between the Parties

Clause 1. Information related to the activities of state management of the Customs Authority, the Tax Authority under the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of Industry and Trade; and the Ministry of Planning and Investment that the parties exchange and provide to serve state management purposes according to the List of Information to be Exchanged and Provided Between the Parties detailed in the Appendix attached to these Guidelines.

Clause 2. Based on specific needs, the parties may agree in writing to amend and supplement the List of Information to be Exchanged and Provided to suit their needs and consider it as an inseparable part of these Guidelines.

Article 4. Forms and Time Limits for Exchanging and Providing Information

Clause 1. Forms of exchanging and providing information. Point a) Direct exchange and provision in writing: The request for information provision must clearly specify the name of the information content requested, the time of provision, the location of provision, the form of the document (original; copy; photocopy; printout from a computer; etc.), and the purpose of requesting the information. Upon receiving the request for information, the authority requested to provide the information must organize the collection and provision of the information based on the content of the request and the provision deadline. The person assigned to exchange and receive the information must present an introduction letter signed by the authorized person as stipulated in Article 6 of these Guidelines, along with the request for information provision.

Point b) Exchange and provision of information through electronic transactions: In cases where infrastructure permits, the exchange and provision can be conducted electronically (file transfer, email, etc.). The exchange and provision of electronic data must comply with similar regulations for written exchanges and provisions but in electronic form to ensure the legality of the information exchange and provision and prevent unauthorized information provision. Electronic authentication should be applied in this context as prescribed.

Clause 2. Time limits for exchanging and providing information.

Point a) For periodic information provision (monthly, quarterly, annually).

Information and documents must be compiled and sent no later than the twentieth day of the following month for monthly periods; no later than the thirtieth day of the following quarter for quarterly periods; and no later than the ninetieth day of the following year for annual periods. Depending on the nature of each type of information and specific conditions, the parties may agree to change the provision time.

Point b) For non-periodic information provision.

- For direct requests for information provision, the authority requested to provide the information must provide it immediately on the same day. If immediate provision is not possible, the authority requested to provide the information must issue a notice of provision with a maximum deadline of five working days from the date of receipt of the request.

- For requests for information provision in writing, the authority requested to provide the information must provide it to the requesting authority within the deadline specified in the request or no later than ten working days from the date of receipt of the request. If the request cannot be met, the authority requested to provide the information must issue a notification specifying the reasons within three working days from the date of receipt of the request.

- For requests to read and study information on-site, the authority requested to provide the information must provide it immediately upon approval by the authorized person. If immediate provision is not possible, the authority requested to provide the information must specify the reasons.

- For requests for information in writing, the requested agency shall be responsible for providing such information to the requesting agency within the time limit specified in the request document or at the latest within ten (10) working days from the date of receipt of the request. In cases where it is not possible to meet the request for information, the requested agency must issue a notification document explaining the reasons within three (3) working days from the date of receipt of the request.

- For requests to read and study information on-site, the requested party shall be responsible for providing access immediately after obtaining approval from the authorized person. If immediate provision is not possible, the requested party must clearly state the reasons.

Article 5. Information Exchange and Provision Hub

The unit assigned as the information exchange and provision hub of each side, as specified below, has the right to directly request information provision, advise, direct, coordinate the provision of information to the requesting side within the assigned authority and is responsible for ensuring smooth and timely information exchange between the parties. The information exchange and provision hubs at the three levels of each side include:

1. Ministry of Finance:

a) Central level:

- The Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department under the General Department of Customs.

- The Declaration and Tax Accounting Board, the Reform and Modernization Board under the General Department of Taxation.

b) Provincial and centrally-administered city level:

- The Provincial/City Customs Department (directly the Violation Handling and Business Information Collection and Processing Room or the Violation Handling and Business Information Collection and Processing Team where there is no such room).

- The Provincial/Centrally-administered City Tax Department (directly the Declaration and Tax Accounting Room).

c) District and county level:

- The Sub-Customs Department under the Provincial/City Customs Department.

- The District/Sub-City Tax Sub-Department (directly the Declaration and Tax Accounting and IT Team).

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment:

a) Central level:

- The Editorial Board of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Electronic Portal;

- The Enterprise Development Department;

- The Foreign Investment Department.

b) Provincial and centrally-administered city level:

- The Provincial/City Department of Planning and Investment;

- The Provincial Registration Agency (the Business Registration Room under the Provincial Department of Planning and Investment).

3. Ministry of Industry and Trade:

a) Central level:

- The Planning Department.

b) Provincial and centrally-administered city level:

- The Provincial/City Department of Industry and Trade;

Article 6. Authorized Persons for Requesting and Providing Information

1. Authorized persons for requesting and providing information include:

a) Ministry of Finance:

- Minister, Deputy Ministers;

- The Director-General and Deputy Director-General of the General Department of Customs, the Director and Deputy Director of the Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department, the Director and Deputy Director of the Provincial/City Customs Department; the Director and Deputy Director of the Sub-Customs Department.

- The Director-General and Deputy Director-General of the General Department of Taxation, the Head and Deputy Head of the Declaration and Tax Accounting Board, the Reform and Modernization Board, the Director and Deputy Director of the Provincial/City Tax Department, the Director and Deputy Director of the Tax Sub-Department.

b) Ministry of Planning and Investment:

- Minister, Deputy Ministers;

- The Chief and Deputy Chief of the Ministry's Office;

- The Director and Deputy Director of the Provincial/City Department of Planning and Investment;

- The Director and Deputy Director of the Foreign Investment Department; - The Director and Deputy Director of the Enterprise Development Department;

- The Head and Deputy Head of the Provincial Business Registration Room.

c) Ministry of Industry and Trade:

- Minister, Deputy Ministers;

- The Director and Deputy Director of the Market Management Department;

- The Director and Deputy Director of the Provincial/City Department of Industry and Trade;

- The Director and Deputy Director of the Sub-Market Management Department.

2. Authorized persons for requesting information have the right to request information provision from units subordinate to the information-providing sides according to this Circular.

3. For other units of the sides that need to provide information, they must report to the authorized persons specified in Clause 1 of this Article or through the information exchange and provision hub.

Article 7. Responsibilities for Information Exchange and Provision

Units subordinate to the sides, within their assigned authority, are responsible for providing information to the requesting side according to this Circular.

Article 8. Conditions for ensuring material and technical infrastructure and funding

- The parties shall be equipped with modern technical means and equipment to serve the implementation of the work of exchanging and providing information.

- Funding for the exchange and provision of information as prescribed in this Circular shall be allocated in the annual regular operating budget of each Ministry and sector assigned by the State.

Chapter III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Joint Circular shall take effect 45 days from the date of issuance.

2. During the process of implementation, if any issues arise or difficulties occur, they should be promptly reported to the information exchange and provision contact points specified in Article 5 of this Circular for guidance and resolution.