Circular No. 198/2011/TT-BTC guides the collection, management, use, and payment to the state budget of maritime pilotage fees and the mechanism for ordering the supply of maritime pilotage services.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines on the collection, management, use, and submission to the state budget of maritime pilotage fees and mechanisms for ordering the provision of maritime pilotage services

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Pursuant to the Maritime Code of Vietnam dated June 14, 2005;

Pursuant to Decree No. 38/2001/PL-UBTVQH10 on fees and charges dated August 28, 2001 issued by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly; Pursuant to Decree No. 173/2007/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2007 of the Government on the organization and operation of maritime pilots and Decree No. 49/2011/NĐ-CP dated June 21, 2011 of the Government amending and supplementing Article 11 of Decree No. 173/2007/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2007 of the Government on the organization and operation of maritime pilots;

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. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;

After reaching consensus with the Ministry of Transport through Circular No. 7162/BGTVT-TC dated November 2, 2011, the Ministry of Finance issues guidelines on the collection, management, use, and submission to the state budget of maritime pilotage fees and mechanisms for ordering the provision of maritime pilotage services as follows:

Pursuant to Decision No. 256/2006/QĐ-TTg dated November 9, 2006 of the Prime Minister promulgating the Procurement Regulations for ordering, allocating plans for production and supply of public goods and services;

1. Scope of application: This circular regulates the collection, management, use, and submission to the state budget of maritime pilotage fees (hereinafter referred to as pilotage fees) and provides guidance on mechanisms for ordering the provision of maritime pilotage services (hereinafter referred to as pilotage services) throughout the country.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability.

2. Applicability: The applicability of this circular includes maritime pilot organizations (hereinafter referred to as pilot companies) that meet the conditions for providing pilotage services as stipulated in Article 4 of Decree No. 173/2007/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2007 of the Government and relevant state management agencies.

Article 2. Ordering Agency.

The Ministry of Transport (or agency authorized by the Ministry of Transport) shall implement the ordering of the provision of pilotage services throughout the country (hereinafter referred to as the ordering agency).

Article 3. Provision of Pilotage Services and Order Price for Pilotage Services.

1. Provision of pilotage services includes:

a) Providing services to guide vessels along maritime channels to enter and leave seaports and offshore oil exploitation areas.

b) Providing services to guide vessels within ports.

c) Providing other related pilotage services.

2. Pilot companies shall enter into contracts with the ordering agency to provide pilotage services at prices set by the State. Technical and economic norms for pilotage services shall be implemented according to regulations of the Ministry of Transport.

The Ministry of Transport shall guide pilot companies in establishing pricing plans, organizing reviews of these plans, and submitting written recommendations to the Ministry of Finance for determination of the order price according to regulations.

Article 4. Collection, Management, Use, and Submission to the State Budget of Pilotage Fees.

1. Organizing the collection of fees:

a) Pilotage fees are revenue items of the state budget specified in the list of fees promulgated together with the Decree on Fees and Charges. Pilot companies directly collect pilotage fees when providing pilotage services.

b) Pilot companies use unified maritime fee and charge receipts in accordance with current regulations and are not required to pay value-added tax when collecting pilotage fees. Pilot companies have the responsibility to collect pilotage fees accurately, fully, and promptly.

c) Costs associated with organizing the collection of pilotage fees are included in the order price for providing pilotage services.

2. Management and use of revenue from pilotage fees:

a) Revenue from pilotage fees collected in a year shall be submitted 100% to the central budget. Within the first 20 days of each month, pilot companies are responsible for declaring to the tax authority where their main office is located and submitting to the central budget the amount of pilotage fees collected in the previous month.

b) Revenue from pilotage fees submitted to the state budget shall be fully allocated by the central budget for the task of ordering the provision of pilotage services.

3. Procedures for preparing, allocating, and assigning the budget for collecting pilotage fees:

a) Annually, based on the verified budget for collecting pilotage fees under the state budget announced by the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Transport; the Ministry of Transport informs the ordering agency.

Based on the verified figures announced, the ordering agency prepares the budget for collecting pilotage fees and submits it to the Ministry of Transport for review and consolidation into the Ministry's annual state budget to be sent to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

Based on the annual budget for collecting pilotage fees assigned by the competent authority, the Ministry of Transport allocates and assigns the budget for collecting pilotage fees to the ordering agency before December 31 each year; simultaneously sending it to the Ministry of Finance and the State Treasury.

b) ALLOCATION AND ASSIGNMENT OF BUDGET ESTIMATES:

c) Based on the allocated budget for collecting pilotage fees, the ordering agency orders pilot companies to collect pilotage fees concurrently with ordering the provision of pilotage services as stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular.

4. Consolidation and settlement of revenue from pilotage fees:

At the end of the fiscal year, pilot companies are responsible for reporting the amount of pilotage fees submitted to the central budget up to December 31 to the ordering agency and the local tax authority where the pilot company operates. The ordering agency performs the settlement and consolidation of pilotage fees submitted to the budget during the year; reports to the Ministry of Transport for the consolidation of the annual state budget revenue of the Ministry of Transport according to current regulations.

At the end of the fiscal year, the pilotage company is responsible for reporting to the ordering agency and the local tax authority where the pilotage company operates the amount of pilotage fees collected and deposited into the central government budget up to December 31. The ordering agency performs the settlement and consolidation of pilotage fee revenues deposited into the budget during the year; reports to the Ministry of Transport to aggregate the annual state budget revenue of the Ministry of Transport according to current regulations.

Article 5. Establishment, allocation, and transfer of budget for purchasing navigation service expenses.

1. Source of funds for purchasing navigation service provision:

The funds for purchasing navigation service provision are balanced from 100% of the navigation fees collected and submitted to the state budget, and supplemented from the state budget.

2. Establishing budgets:

Annually, based on the inspection figures announced by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport organizes the establishment of the budget for purchasing navigation service provision; sends it to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation according to the State Budget Law.

3. Allocation and transfer of budget:

Based on the annual budget for purchasing navigation service provision allocated by the competent authority, the Ministry of Transport establishes a budget allocation plan, consolidates it with the Ministry of Transport's state budget, and sends it to the Ministry of Finance for budget review according to regulations.

After receiving comments from the Ministry of Finance on the budget allocation plan, the Ministry of Transport transfers the budget for purchasing navigation service provision to the ordering agency to organize the purchase of navigation services; simultaneously sends it to the Ministry of Finance and the State Treasury where the ordering agency has an account for coordination in implementation.

Principles, procedures, deadlines, and contents of budget allocation for purchasing navigation service provision are carried out according to Circular No. 59/2003/TT-BTC dated June 23, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law.

Article 6. Organization of purchasing navigation service provision.

1. After receiving the decision on allocation and transfer of the navigation fee budget from the Ministry of Transport, the ordering agency organizes the signing of the purchasing contract for navigation fees and provision of navigation services with pilot companies before December 31 of the year preceding the contract implementation year.

2. The purchasing contract includes the following main contents:

a) Quantity of purchased services;

b) Navigation fees collected in the year submitted to the state budget;

c) Purchasing price;

d) Value of the purchase;

đ) Time of execution;

e) Quality of execution;

g) Acceptance and payment methods;

h) Responsibilities and obligations of the pilot company when providing navigation services;

i) Responsibilities of the ordering agency for the provision of navigation services;

k) Other related contents but not contrary to legal provisions.

3. Adjustment of contract value: Implemented according to Article 14 of Decision No. 256/2006/QĐ-TTg dated November 9, 2006, of the Prime Minister promulgating the bidding, purchasing, and production and supply of public goods and services regulation.

Article 7. Inspection and payment of completed navigation service volume.

1. Inspection of quantity and quality of provided navigation services:

Quarterly (before the 20th day of the next month) and annually, the ordering agency organizes the inspection of the quantity and quality of completed navigation services in the period as the basis for payment of purchasing expenses according to the form attached to this Circular.

2. Payment of completed navigation service volume:

Based on the Inspection Record between the ordering agency and the pilot company, the ordering agency implements the withdrawal of the budget at the State Treasury to pay for the completed navigation service volume.

Article 8. Control of Expenditure through State Treasury.

Based on the state budget estimate for the funding to order the provision of pilotage services, and based on the signed service ordering contracts with the pilotage company, the ordering agency shall withdraw the budget estimate from the State Treasury to make advance payments and settle accounts with the pilotage company; the State Treasury where the ordering agency has an account shall check the documents and control the expenditure before making advance payments and settling accounts according to the signed service ordering contracts.

1. Advance payment of funds for ordering the provision of pilotage services:

a) After signing the contract for the provision of pilotage services, the pilotage company may be granted an advance payment of up to 50% of the value of the annual service ordering contract to fulfill the task of providing pilotage services.

b) Advance payment documents:

- The document withdrawing the state budget estimate (advance payment) issued by the ordering agency;

- The service ordering contract for public utility pilotage services signed between the ordering agency and the pilotage company;

- Decision on allocating the budget expenditure issued by the Ministry of Transport.

2. Payment of funds for ordering the provision of pilotage services:

a) Quarterly, the ordering agency shall recover the advance payment and settle the value of the completed volume of pilotage services provided by the pilotage company according to regulations.

The recovery of the advance payment shall be evenly distributed among the settlement periods and shall begin from the first settlement period, recovering the entire advance payment at the final settlement of the planning year following the completion of the service ordering contract between the ordering agency and the pilotage company.

b) The settlement dossier includes:

- Decision allocating the budget estimate of the Ministry of Transport to the ordering agency;

- Service ordering contract for pilotage services signed with the pilotage company;

- Certificate of acceptance and confirmation of the volume and quality of completed work between the ordering agency and the pilotage company;

- Statement of the value of completed work proposed for settlement between the ordering agency and the pilotage company according to the contract;

- Document withdrawing the state budget estimate (actual expenditure) issued by the ordering agency.

c) In cases where, by December 31 each year, the volume of pilotage services completed and accepted according to the contract but the settlement procedures and documents have not been finalized, such services shall be settled during the adjustment period for the final settlement in accordance with current regulations and consolidated into the previous fiscal year's settlement.

3. The procedure and formalities for advance payments and settlements shall be carried out in accordance with the detailed regulations and guidance on the implementation of the Law on State Budget issued by Government Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, and other current guiding documents of the State.

Article 9. Handling of Settlement Funds when Pilotage Companies Provide Services that Do Not Meet or Exceed Contracted Volumes.

1. In cases where the volume of pilotage services provided by the pilotage company in a year does not meet the contracted volume, the pilotage company shall be paid the corresponding amount for the completed and accepted volume of services.

2. In cases where the volume of pilotage services provided by the pilotage company in a year exceeds the contracted volume and has been accepted, the ordering agency shall settle the completed volume immediately within the year (if there is remaining budget). If there is insufficient funding, the ordering agency shall prepare a supplementary budget for the next year; when allocating the annual state budget estimate, the ordering agency shall proactively report to the Ministry of Transport to reserve funds to settle the volume completed in the previous year, and the remaining funds shall be allocated to carry out the service ordering tasks for the planning year.

Article 10. Subsidies for the provision of pilotage services.

Implement in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of the Bidding, Ordering, and Production and Supply Plan Implementation Regulation for Public Services issued together with Decision No. 256/2006/QĐ-TTg dated November 9, 2006 of the Prime Minister.

Article 11. Settlement of funds for ordering the provision of pilotage services.

The ordering agency is responsible for preparing the settlement report on funds for ordering the provision of pilotage services in accordance with the State Budget Law; the Ministry of Transport will review the settlement of funds for ordering pilotage services, consolidate it within the settlement of the Ministry of Transport, and submit it to the Ministry of Finance for review in accordance with the State Budget Law and related guiding documents.

Article 12. Responsibilities of the pilotage company.

1. The pilotage company shall collect pilotage fees and provide pilotage services in accordance with the signed contracts with the ordering agencies and the relevant laws.

2. The state funds paid annually for the ordered provision of pilotage services constitute the revenue of the pilotage company; the pilotage company shall declare and pay taxes in accordance with the regulations. The pilotage company shall conduct accounting and financial management in compliance with current laws applicable to each type of business registered for operation.

Article 13. Inspection work.

The pilotage company is subject to inspection, supervision, and auditing by financial, tax authorities, and other relevant state management agencies regarding the collection and payment of pilotage fees; the use of state funds for orders; price management and business operations of the company in accordance with current laws.

Article 14. Effective Date.

This Circular takes effect from February 15, 2012, applies from the fiscal year 2012, and replaces Circular No. 91/2007/TT-BTC dated July 31, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the establishment, allocation, and financial management in the field of providing public service pilotage services and previous regulations inconsistent with this Circular.

During implementation, if there are difficulties, please reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution./.

Model forms issued together with Circular No. 198/2011/TT-BTC

of the Ministry of Finance dated December 30, 2011:

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Marine Pilotage Public Service completed quarter... (year)

Based on Circular No.... /2011/TT-BTC dated... month... year 2011 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the collection, management, use, and submission of marine pilotage fees to the state budget and the mechanism for ordering the provision of marine pilotage services;

Based on Contract No.... dated... month... year... between the Ministry of Transport (or specialized agency authorized by the Ministry of Transport) and Pilotage Company...,

Today, the... day... month... year..., we include:

- Party A: Ministry of Transport (or specialized agency authorized by the Ministry of Transport), address...

Legal representative is Mr. (Mrs.)... Position...

- Party B: Representative of Pilotage Company..., address...

Jointly establish the Certificate of Completion of the volume of marine pilotage services provided and completed in quarter... (year...) as follows:

1/ Situation of collecting and submitting marine pilotage fees to the state budget:

- Total fee due according to the receipt in the period:

- Total fee collected:

- Total fee submitted to the state budget:

- Total fee still to be submitted to the state budget:

2/ Situation of fulfilling the task of ordering the provision of marine pilotage services:

3/ Situation of settling funds:

- Advance funds already settled:

- Funds settled:

- Advance funds recovered this time:

- Remaining funds to be settled (+) or to be recovered (-):

4/ Suggestions and proposals of both parties: