Circular No. 248/2016/TT-BTC stipulates the levels of fees and charges, the collection, payment, management, and use thereof applicable at inland waterway ports and wharfs.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the level of collection, collection regime, submission, management, and use of fees for reviewing and approving fire prevention and firefighting design
fees and charges applicable at inland waterway ports and wharves

On the basis of the Law on Fees and Charges dated November 25, 2015;

On the basis of Article 1. This Decree regulates the use of state assets to pay investors when implementing construction projects under the Build-Transfer Contract form (hereinafter referred to as BT Project) in accordance with the provisions of the law. June 25, 2015;

On the basis of Law on Inland Waterway Transport dated June 15, 2004; Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Inland Waterway Transport dated June 17, 2014;

Decree No. Decision No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges;

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

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Tax Policy,

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular to stipulate the rates, collection procedures, payment, management, and use of fees and charges applicable at inland waterway ports and wharves. construction costs; applicable at inland waterway ports and wharves.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

1. This Circular stipulates the rates, collection procedures, payment, management, and use of fees and charges for entering and exiting inland waterway ports and wharves (including dedicated inland waterway ports and wharves).

2. Fees and charges applicable at inland waterway ports and wharves include: tonnage fee; port and wharf entry and exit fee; inland waterway route report fee; maritime security fee collected from sea vessels. Fees and charges are levied on inland waterway vessels, seaplanes, and sea vessels subject to fees as prescribed in Article 2 of this Circular.

3. Where international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party provide for different fees and charges applicable at inland waterway ports and wharves than those stipulated in this Circular, such treaties shall be implemented.

Article 2. Applicability

1. The objects subject to fees and charges are inland waterway vessels, seaplanes, foreign waterway vessels, and sea vessels (hereinafter referred to as vessels) entering and exiting operations at inland waterway ports and wharves that have been officially licensed by state authorities, except as provided in Article 3 of this Circular.

2. Organizations collecting fees and charges are inland waterway port services, marine port services, including cases where competent authorities delegate or authorize organizations to manage inland waterway ports and wharves (including those invested in by organizations and individuals) in accordance with the law.

Article 3. Cases of Exemption from Fees and License Fees

Exemptions from fees and charges applicable at inland waterway ports and wharves apply to the following cases:

1. Vessels under the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security used for national defense and security purposes (excluding those used for economic activities); vessels of customs agencies performing duties; vessels of traffic inspection agencies, inland waterway port services.

2. Vessels avoiding typhoons and providing emergency assistance.

3. Vessels transporting goods with a total load capacity of less than 10 tons or carrying fewer than 13 passengers.

4. Vessels transporting flood control and storm prevention equipment.

Article 4. Rates

1. The rates of fees and charges applicable at inland waterway ports and wharves are as follows:

2. For sea vessels entering and exiting inland waterway ports and wharves, they must pay fees and charges (including maritime security fees) according to the Maritime Fee and Charge Rate Table issued by the Ministry of Finance.

3. In cases where a vessel enters and exits multiple inland waterway ports and wharves managed by the same port service representative within the same trip, it only needs to pay once according to the provisions of Clause 1 of this Article.

4. For vessels entering and exiting ports and wharves without the purpose of loading or unloading cargo or receiving or delivering passengers, the tonnage fee is set at 70% (seventy percent) of the tonnage fee rate specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

5. For vessels that are not cargo-carrying vessels when calculating tonnage fees, the conversion is as follows:

a) Special-purpose vessels: 01 horsepower or equivalent to 01 ton of total load capacity;

b) Passenger vessels: 01 berth is equivalent to 06 passenger seats or 6 tons of total load capacity; 01 seat or 01 passenger is equivalent to 01 ton of total load capacity;

c) For tugboat groups: calculated based on the total load capacity of the vessels being towed;

d) For sea vessels entering and exiting ports and wharves for repair, demolition, or launching: calculated based on 50% of the largest load capacity recorded in the certificate issued by the inspection authority;

đ) After conversion, if the tonnage is less than 0.5 tons, it is not counted, and if it is 0.5 tons or more, it is counted as 01 ton;

e) For vessels carrying liquid cargo: 1 cubic meter is equivalent to 01 ton of total load capacity;

g) For seaplanes: 01 horsepower (HP, CV) is equivalent to 0.5 gross ton (GT), and 01 GT is equivalent to 1.5 tons of total load capacity.

Article 5. Declaration, Payment of Fees and Charges

1. Every two weeks, no later than the second day of the third week, the organization collecting fees must deposit the collected fees into the account for pending budget payments opened at the State Treasury.

2. Organizations collecting fees and charges shall declare, pay, and settle accounts annually according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 19 and Clause 2, Article 26 of Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC dated November 6, 2013, issued by the Minister of Finance guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Tax Administration; and Decree No. 83/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 22, 2013 of the Government.

3. Organizations collecting fees and charges shall remit 100% of the collected charges and the fees according to the ratio stipulated in Article 6 of this Circular into the state budget according to the chapters, sections, and sub-sections of the State Budget Classification. For centrally-managed waterways, the collected fees and charges shall be remitted to the central budget; for locally-managed waterways, the collected fees and charges shall be remitted to the local budget.

4. Fees and charges applied at inland waterway ports and wharfs shall be collected in Vietnamese dong. In cases where foreign organizations or individuals pay fees and charges in foreign currency, such payments shall be made in US dollars (USD) based on the buying exchange rate for transfer transactions of the head office of Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade at the time of payment of fees and charges or at the end of the working day immediately preceding a holiday or non-working day.

Article 6. Management and Use of Fees

1. Organizations collecting fees, namely inland waterway port management units, shall retain 90% of the collected fees to cover expenses as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article and remit 10% of the collected fees to the state budget.

Where the inland waterway port management unit authorized to collect fees has a higher revenue than the approved expenditure budget, the difference between the actual revenue and the approved expenditure budget must be remitted to the state budget.

2. Organizations collecting fees, namely maritime port management units, shall retain 50% of the collected fees to cover expenses as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article and remit 50% of the collected fees to the state budget. Where the actual revenue from fees exceeds the approved expenditure budget, the difference between the actual revenue and the approved expenditure budget must be remitted to the state budget.

3. The retained funds shall be managed and utilized in accordance with Article 5 of Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016, guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges; among which other related expenditures include: mid-shift meal expenses as prescribed by law; rental expenses for representative offices of inland waterway port management units and inland waterway port management teams (if any); expenses for search and rescue operations for people, goods, vessels, and ships involved in accidents; expenses for handling matters related to environmental pollution prevention in port and inland waterway wharf areas; and allowances for improving professional expertise.

Article 7. Implementation and enforcement clauses

1. This Circular takes effect from January 1, 2017, and replaces Circular No. 59/2016/TT-BTC dated March 29, 2016, issued by the Minister of Finance, guiding the system of collection, submission, management, and utilization of fees and charges applicable at inland waterway port management units.

2. Other contents related to the collection, submission, management, utilization, receipt vouchers, publicizing the fee and charge collection system not mentioned in this Circular shall be implemented in accordance with the Law on Fees and Charges; Decree No. 120/2016/NĐ-CP dated August 23, 2016, guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges; Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC dated November 6, 2013, issued by the Minister of Finance, guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration; the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Tax Administration; Decree No. 83/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 22, 2013, issued by the Government; Circular No. 153/2012/TT-BTC dated September 17, 2012, issued by the Minister of Finance, guiding the printing, issuance, management, and utilization of various types of receipts for fees and charges under the state budget, and any amendments, supplements, or replacements thereof (if any).

3. Organizations and individuals subject to the obligation to pay fees and charges, and relevant agencies have the responsibility to comply with the provisions of this Circular.

4. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, organizations, entities, and individuals are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and guidance./.