Circular No. 208/2015/TT-BTC on the activities of the Tax Advisory Councils at commune, ward, and town levels

MINISTRY OF FINANCE -------	SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM Independence - Freedom - Happiness ---------------
Number: 208/2015/TT-BTC	Hanoi, December 28, 2015

 

CIRCULAR

REGULATIONS ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE TAX ADVISORY BOARD AT COMMUNE, WARD, AND TOWN LEVELS

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

Pursuant to the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Tax Administration No. 21/2012/QH12 dated November 20, 2012;

Pursuant to the Law No. 71/2014/QH13 amending and supplementing certain articles of various tax laws dated November 26, 2014;

Pursuant to Decree No. 215/2013/ND-CP dated December 23, 2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Considering the proposal of the Director General of the State Tax Administration;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular regulating the activities of the Tax Advisory Board at commune, ward, and town levels.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular regulates the activities of the Tax Advisory Board at commune, ward, and town levels in advising on the tax rates for households, families, and individual businesses subject to taxation under the fixed-amount method (hereinafter referred to as individual businesses) within their respective jurisdictions.

Article 2. Applicability

1. People's Committee of district, urban district, provincial city, and centrally-administered municipality (hereinafter referred to as the District People's Committee); People's Committee of commune, ward, and town (hereinafter referred to as the Commune People's Committee);

2. Tax authorities including: State Tax Administration; Provincial Tax Office; District Tax Office;

3. Tax Advisory Board at commune, ward, and town level (hereinafter referred to as the Tax Advisory Board);

4. Other agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the matter.

Article 3. Composition of the Tax Advisory Board

1. The composition of the Tax Advisory Board includes:

a) Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the Commune People's Committee - Chairman of the Board;

b) Head or Deputy Head of the Inter-commune Tax Team or equivalent - Standing member.

c) A finance officer from the Commune People's Committee - Member;

d) Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee at commune, ward, and town level - Member;

e) Chief of Public Security Station at commune, ward, and town level - Member;

g) Representative of individual business - Member;

2. Conditions for individual businesses participating in the Tax Advisory Board

The head of the individual business representing other individual businesses participating in the Tax Advisory Board must meet all of the following conditions:

a) Adhering well to national laws on production and business operations and tax laws.

b) Having at least three years of business experience calculated up to the date of joining the Tax Advisory Board (except in cases stipulated in Point c, Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular).

Priority shall be given to individual businesses meeting the above conditions who are group leaders, deputy group leaders, or equivalents representing various industries operating in the commune, ward, town, or market and shopping center.

3. Individual businesses selected to represent and participate in the composition of the Tax Advisory Board as provided for in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article shall be proposed and introduced by the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee at commune, ward, and town level to the District Tax Office. The number of individual businesses participating in the Tax Advisory Board will depend on the number of individual businesses in the commune, ward, and town, specifically as follows:

a) In areas with 10 or fewer individual businesses, the Tax Advisory Board must have at least one individual business participating in the Tax Advisory Board;

b) In areas with more than 10 to 100 individual businesses, the Tax Advisory Board must have at least two individual businesses participating in the Tax Advisory Board;

c) In areas with more than 100 to 500 individual businesses, there must be at least five individual businesses participating in the Tax Advisory Board;

d) In areas with more than 500 to 900 individual businesses, there must be at least seven individual businesses participating in the Tax Advisory Board;

e) In areas with more than 900 individual businesses, there must be at least nine individual businesses participating in the Tax Advisory Board.

Article 4. Establishment of the Tax Advisory Council

1. The Tax Advisory Council shall be established and operate for the term of the People's Council at the commune, ward, town level.

2. The Tax Advisory Council may be re-established or supplemented with new members under specific circumstances as follows:

a) Re-establishing the Tax Advisory Council when its term ends according to Clause 1 of this Article.

b) Supplementing or replacing members of the Tax Advisory Council in the following cases:

b.1) Members who are village-level cadres or civil servants no longer hold their positions or titles as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 3 of this Circular or have ceased working in the commune, ward, town area within the advisory scope of the Tax Advisory Council;

b.2) Adding business households to match the number of currently operating business households or replacing business households that have ceased operations in the commune, ward, town area;

b.3) Other changes related to the composition of the Tax Advisory Council proposed by the Director of the Tax Revenue Office.

3. Procedures for establishing the Tax Advisory Council

a) The Vietnam Fatherland Front at the commune, ward, town level shall propose and introduce a list of business households participating in the Tax Advisory Council to the Tax Revenue Office upon request.

The Tax Revenue Office is responsible for providing information about business households in the commune, ward, town area for the Vietnam Fatherland Front at the commune, ward, town level to consider and select business households to participate in the Tax Advisory Council.

b) The Director of the Tax Revenue Office bases on the composition and list of participants in the Tax Advisory Council to propose the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level to issue a decision to establish the Tax Advisory Council according to Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article (in accordance with Form No. 01/HĐTV issued together with this Circular)

c) In cases where there are no business households in the commune, ward, town area, the Tax Advisory Council will not be established. When new business households start operating, the Tax Revenue Office will implement tax calculation procedures for the remaining months of the year. From the next annual tax calculation period, the Director of the Tax Revenue Office will propose the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level to issue a decision to establish the Tax Advisory Council according to regulations to provide tax advisory services.

Chapter II

DUTIES, RIGHTS, AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TAX ADVISORY COUNCIL

Article 5. Duties of the Tax Advisory Council

The Tax Advisory Council has the duty to advise the Tax Revenue Office on the tax rates for business households in the area, ensuring compliance with laws, democracy, transparency, fairness, and reasonableness. Specific duties include:

1. Advising on the expected revenue and tax rates for business households paying stable taxes at the beginning of the year, including those exempt from value-added tax and personal income tax, and those required to pay taxes.

2. Advising on the expected revenue and tax rates for newly started business households and those with changes in business activities during the year.

3. Advising on tax exemptions and reductions for business households.

Article 6. Rights of the Tax Advisory Council

1. Participating in training, dissemination, and receiving materials on current tax policies and tax administration related to the management of business households.

2. Requesting the Multi-commune, Ward, Town Tax Team to provide information on the management and collection of taxes from business households in the area.

Article 7. Responsibilities of the Chairman of the Tax Advisory Council

1. Decide on the program and work plan of the Tax Advisory Council.

2. Invite representatives and convene members to chair meetings of the Tax Advisory Council.

3. Assign specific tasks to members of the Tax Advisory Council.

4. Decide and bear overall responsibility for the activities of the Tax Advisory Council and its members during the performance of their duties as prescribed.

5. Report in writing to the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level and the Director of the Tax Revenue Office when an individual or other member cannot continue to participate in the Tax Advisory Council.

6. Sign documents and transaction papers on behalf of the Tax Advisory Council.

Article 8. Responsibilities of Members of the Tax Advisory Council

1. General responsibilities of members of the Tax Advisory Council

a) Implement assigned tasks according to the division of labor by the Chairman of the Tax Advisory Council and be responsible to the Chairman of the Tax Advisory Council for the results of the assigned work.

b) Fully participate in all activities of the Tax Advisory Council.

c) Present opinions at meetings or in writing.

d) Report in writing to the Chairman of the Tax Advisory Council when unable to continue participating in the Tax Advisory Council.

2. Responsibilities of Regular Members of the Tax Advisory Council

a) Propose the development of the program and work plan of the Tax Advisory Council and propose the assignment of tasks to members for the Chairman of the Tax Advisory Council to consider and decide.

b) Prepare documents and record minutes in meetings and compile the opinions of members of the Tax Advisory Council.

c) Report to the Chairman of the Tax Advisory Council and the Director of the Tax Revenue Office when it is necessary to change or supplement members of the Tax Advisory Council.

Chapter III

WORKING REGIME OF THE TAX ADVISORY COUNCIL

Article 9. Principles of Operation of the Tax Advisory Council

1. The Tax Advisory Council operates and works under a collective discussion regime and majority decision-making; in case of equal opinions, the decision is made according to the content agreed upon by the Chairman of the Tax Advisory Council.

2. The Tax Advisory Council provides advice according to the tasks specified in Article 5 of this Circular when the tax authority requests advisory opinions.

Article 10. Working Regime of the Tax Advisory Council

1. The Chairman and members of the Tax Advisory Council operate under a concurrent position system. The Tax Advisory Council is directly guided by the Chairman of the Tax Advisory Council regarding matters related to the tasks stipulated in this Circular.

2. The Tax Advisory Council convenes meetings to seek opinions from members on advisory contents as convened by the Chairman of the Tax Advisory Council. Meetings of the Tax Advisory Council are conducted with the presence of the Chairman of the Tax Advisory Council and at least two-thirds of the total number of members (including the Chairman).

The Tax Advisory Council may organize to seek opinions from members on advisory contents through electronic means and must ensure that at least two-thirds of the total number of members participate in providing opinions as required in the direct meeting regime stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

In case the opinions of the members have not reached a consensus, a vote must be held to make a decision based on the majority; if the voting result is tied, the decision is made according to the content agreed upon by the Chairman of the Tax Advisory Council to serve as the basis for recording the Minutes of the Tax Advisory Council meeting.

3. Meetings of the Tax Advisory Council must be recorded in accordance with Model No. 02/HĐTV issued together with this Circular; specifying cases agreeing with the proposed revenue and tax rates of the Tax Revenue Office; cases and reasons for proposing adjustments to the revenue and tax rates of individual businesses. In case opinions are sought through electronic means, the regular member compiles the opinions and records them in the minutes as in a direct meeting.

The Minutes of the meeting must be signed and confirmed by the members of the Tax Advisory Council who attended the meeting.

Article 11. Working relationship between the Tax Advisory Council and tax authorities

1. Relationship in seeking advisory opinions

a) The Tax Revenue Office shall prepare complete files and documents when seeking advisory opinions and send them to the Tax Advisory Council at least five working days before the deadline for the Tax Advisory Council to return the results of the advisory opinions.

The files sent by the Tax Revenue Office to seek advisory opinions from the Tax Advisory Council include:

a.1) Files for consulting on expected revenue and estimated tax rates for individual businesses subject to stable annual tax payment, including those not required to pay value-added tax or personal income tax; and those required to pay taxes:

- A horizontal table on expected revenue and tax rates for individual businesses (Form No. 03/HDTV promulgated together with this Circular).

- Any new regulations or guidelines related to the content of the advisory opinion solicitation (if applicable).

a.2) Files for consulting on expected revenue and estimated tax rates for newly established individual businesses; and individual businesses that have changed their business activities during the year:

- A horizontal table on expected revenue and tax rates for individual businesses (Form No. 04/HDTV issued together with this Circular)

- Any new regulations or guidelines related to the content of the advisory opinion solicitation (if applicable).

a.3) Files for consulting on tax exemptions and reductions for individual businesses:

- A horizontal table on expected tax exemptions and reductions for individual businesses (Form No. 05/HDTV issued together with this Circular)

- Any new regulations or guidelines related to the content of the advisory opinion solicitation (if applicable).

b) The Chairman of the Tax Advisory Council shall send the advisory opinion results to the Tax Revenue Office within the requested time limit. The files containing the advisory opinion results sent to the Tax Revenue Office include:

b.1) Notification of the tax advisory opinion results regarding cases where the Tax Advisory Council proposes adjustments to the expected revenue, tax rates, and tax exemption/reduction amounts for individual businesses compared to the Tax Revenue Office's expected results (according to Form No. 06/HDTV and 07/HDTV promulgated together with this Circular).

b.2) Minutes of the Tax Advisory Council meeting established according to Model No. 02/HĐTV  annexed to this Circular.

2. Relationship in handling advisory opinion results

The Tax Revenue Office bases its decisions on the Tax Advisory Council's advisory opinion results, combined with the tax declaration documents of individual businesses, actual investigation results, public notice feedback, and directives from the Provincial Tax Department to establish and calculate taxes for individual businesses and publicly announce the official data according to regulations.

In cases where the establishment and calculation of taxes, and the resolution of tax exemptions and reductions for individual businesses differ from the Tax Advisory Council's advisory opinion results; the Tax Revenue Office has the responsibility to notify the Tax Advisory Council in writing about the cases and reasons related to the differences in establishing and calculating taxes, and resolving tax exemptions and reductions (according to Form No. 08/HDTV annexed to this Circular) at the same time as publicly announcing the official data on the results of establishing and calculating taxes, and resolving tax exemptions and reductions for individual businesses.

3. Relationship in providing information and documents

The Tax Revenue Office is responsible for providing and directing the Commune, Ward, and Town Tax Teams to provide information and documents to the Tax Advisory Council within the scope of authority stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular.

Article 12. Working relationship between the Tax Advisory Council and local authorities

The Tax Advisory Council shall send the tax advisory opinion results to the People's Committee of the district and the People's Committee of the commune at the same time as sending the results to the Tax Revenue Office.

Chapter IV

EXPENSES FOR OPERATIONS AND INCENTIVE REGULATIONS OF THE TAX ADVISORY COUNCIL

Article 13. Operating funds of the Tax Advisory Council

1. The operating funds for the Tax Advisory Council shall be allocated from the operating budget of the tax sector, including the following items:

a) Expenses for meetings of the Tax Advisory Council related to tax advisory activities.

b) Allowances for members of the Tax Advisory Council participating in tax advisory work at the request of the tax authority.

c) Rewards for the performance of tasks by the Tax Advisory Council according to the regulations of the tax sector.

d) Other expenses related to the implementation of the Tax Advisory Council's tasks as guided by the General Department of Taxation.

2. The Director of the General Department of Taxation shall decide the level of expenditure for the activities of the Tax Advisory Council.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of issuance and applies to the establishment of the Tax Advisory Council starting from the term of the People's Councils of communes, wards, and towns from 2016-2021.

2. The Decision No. 68/2007/QĐ-BTC dated August 1, 2007 of the Minister of Finance on the "Regulations on the Operation of the Tax Advisory Councils of Communes, Wards, and Towns" is hereby abolished from the date this Circular takes effect.

Article 15. Implementation Organization

1. The People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall direct relevant sectors, mass organizations, and local People's Committees at all levels to create favorable conditions for the Tax Advisory Council to operate effectively, contributing to the implementation of tax policies for individual businesses within their jurisdiction.

2. The People's Committee of the district shall be responsible for establishing the Tax Advisory Council in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

3. The General Department of Taxation shall direct and guide local tax authorities to implement the contents stipulated in this Circular.

4. The Tax Service shall be responsible for guiding the establishment of the Tax Advisory Council within its management area; the Tax Revenue Office shall be responsible for requesting the People's Committee of the district to establish the Tax Advisory Council in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

5. Any difficulties encountered during the implementation of this Circular should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance for further study and supplementation or amendment.

Place of Receipt: - Central Party Office and Party Committees; - Office of the Secretary of the Party Central Committee, President of the State, National Assembly; - Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers; - Central Steering Committee for Internal Affairs; - Supreme People's Procuracy; - Supreme People's Court; - State Audit Agency; - Ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, and government agencies; - Central Agencies of Mass Organizations; - People's Councils, People's Committees,   Departments of Finance, Tax Services, State Treasury   of provinces and centrally governed cities; - Official Gazette; - Ministry of Justice's Legal Documents Inspection Department; - Government website; - Website of the Ministry of Finance; Website of the General Department of Taxation; - Units under the Ministry of Finance; - To be filed: VT, GDT (VT, TC).

DEPUTY MINISTER DEPUTY MINISTER Do Hoang Anh Tuan