Circular No. 2338-TC/TCT regarding the direction for collecting agricultural land use tax for the winter-spring season in 1997

LETTER

OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE NUMBER 2338 TC/TCT ON JULY 12, 1997
REGARDING THE GUIDELINES FOR THE COLLECTION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USE TAX FOR THE WINTER-SUMMER SEASON IN 1997
CASE OF THE EASTERN SPRING 1997

Respected: People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities,

According to the reports from the provincial and city tax bureaus, the estimated collection of agricultural land use tax (ALUT) up to June 30, 1997, nationwide was 780 billion VND, achieving 42.2% of the 1997 Ordinance plan and only 72.8% compared to the same period in 1996.

Currently, all provinces and cities have completed the winter-spring harvest season. The implementation of ALUT collection for this year's winter-spring season has been slow and disorganized due to the impact of fluctuations in the market price of rice; the results of ALUT collection are lower than the 1997 plan and compared to the same period in 1996. Some provinces with large amounts of ALUT collected still achieved relatively good results but were still lower than the previous year, such as:

Province of An Giang: Achieved 73.7% of the plan, equivalent to 82.8% compared to the same period in 1996 Province of Dong Thap: Achieved 87.0% of the plan, equivalent to 82.9% compared to the same period in 1996 Province of Kien Giang: Achieved 75.3% of the plan, equivalent to 76.9% compared to the same period in 1996 Province of Can Tho: Achieved 59.0% of the plan, equivalent to 65.0% compared to the same period in 1996

The low achievement in ALUT collection is due to the fact that the rice tax price was determined at the beginning of the crop, while during the harvest period, the market price of rice continuously decreased; in the Mekong Delta, some places saw the price of rice drop to 1,000 VND/kg - 1,100 VND/kg, whereas the rice tax price remained at 1,300 VND/kg - 1,500 VND/kg, and some localities decided to reduce the rice tax price to 1,100 VND/kg. In northern provinces, the general rice tax price for ALUT is around 1,600 VND/kg, but in some places, it was set too low, at only 1,300 VND to 1,400 VND/kg.

Many centrally governed provinces and cities adjacent to each other have similar rice prices in the market, but there are still significant differences in the ALUT rice tax price, causing unreasonable situations and failing to ensure fairness in the tax obligations of farmers between these localities.

Clause 1, Article 12, Decree No. 74/CP dated October 25, 1993 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on ALUT stipulates: "The rice tax price shall be decided by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee or the Central City People's Committee, closely reflecting the market price and not being less than 10% below the local market price." However, some localities have yet to adjust the ALUT rice tax price appropriately; some places still maintain excessively high prices, while others have reduced the price too much, which negatively affects the ALUT collection results.

To accelerate the progress of ALUT collection and address the issues related to the ALUT tax price mentioned above, the Ministry of Finance requests the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities to focus on directing the implementation of the following contents:

1. Referencing the rice price in the market and the ALUT rice tax price in neighboring localities to promptly and reasonably decide on the ALUT rice tax price, avoiding disputes about the rice tax price in the locality, which may affect the collection progress.

Publicly announce the ALUT rice tax price on local media and at tax collection points to facilitate the organization of ALUT collection.

2. Direct tax agencies to coordinate with relevant departments in the locality to effectively organize propaganda, education, and encouragement for farmers to fulfill their ALUT payment obligations for the 1997 winter-spring season, ensuring accurate, full, and timely tax payments to the state budget in accordance with the harvest schedule. Effective measures must be taken to collect outstanding ALUT debts from previous years, reviewing each taxpayer, and dealing firmly with households that delay, resist, or oppose tax payments.

For areas affected by natural disasters during the 1997 winter-spring season, the process of reducing or exempting ALUT according to the crop must be implemented promptly, strictly, and in accordance with policy regulations, with decisions on tax reductions or exemptions communicated to each household paying taxes.

3. Strengthen supervision and inspection of payment and submission procedures during regular tax collection periods, promptly depositing tax revenues into the State Treasury. Strictly handle cases of violations of tax payment discipline.

4. Regarding the outstanding agricultural tax from before 1993, it should be handled according to Circular No. 75 TC/TCT dated January 8, 1997, of the Ministry of Finance regarding the classification and handling of agricultural tax arrears and report back to the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Taxation) for consolidation and reporting.

The Ministry of Finance requests the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities to pay attention to directing and organizing the implementation of ALUT collection to ensure the early completion of the 1997 ALUT collection target.