Circular No. 301/2016/TT-BTC guiding stamp duty

CIRCULAR

GUIDELINES ON STAMP DUTY

WHEREAS, Law on Fees and Stamp Duties No. 97/2015/QH13 dated November 25, 2015;

WHEREAS, Land Law No. 45/2013/QH13 dated November 29, 2013 and Government Decrees detailing the Land Law No. 45/2013/QH13 dated November 29, 2013;

Pursuant to the Enterprise Law No. 68/2014/QH13 dated November 26, 2014;

On the basis of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Laws on Taxation No. 71/2014/QH13 dated November 26, 2014;

WHEREAS, Tax Administration Law No. 78/2006/QH11 dated November 29, 2006, Law No. 21/2012/QH13 dated November 20, 2012 amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Tax Administration Law, Law No. 71/2014/QH13 dated November 26, 2014 amending and supplementing certain provisions of tax laws, Law No. 106/2016/QH13 dated April 6, 2016 amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Value Added Tax Law, Special Consumption Tax Law, and Tax Administration Law (collectively referred to as the Tax Administration Law) and Government Decrees detailing the implementation of the Tax Administration Law;

WHEREAS, Government Decree No. 140/2016/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2016 on stamp duty;

Pursuant to 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 General of the State Revenue Administration,

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular guiding stamp duty as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular guides the objects subject to stamp duty, the value for calculating stamp duty, the rate of stamp duty collection, exemptions from stamp duty, and declaration, collection, and payment of stamp duty.

Article 2. Objects Subject to Stamp Duties

1. Houses and land:

a) Houses, including: residential houses; working houses; houses used for other purposes.

b) Land, including: agricultural land and non-agricultural land as defined by the Land Law under the management and use rights of organizations, households, and individuals (regardless of whether construction has been completed or not).

2. Hunting guns, training and sports competition guns.

3. Ships, including barges, motorboats, tugboats, push boats.

4. Boats required to be registered with state management agencies, including yachts.

5. Aircraft.

6. Two-wheeled motorcycles, three-wheeled motorcycles, motorbikes, and similar vehicles required to be registered and issued license plates by authorized state agencies (hereinafter collectively referred to as motorbikes).

7. Cars, trailers, or semi-trailers pulled by cars, and similar vehicles required to be registered and issued license plates by authorized state agencies.

In cases where machines and equipment are required to be registered and issued license plates by authorized state agencies but are not considered cars under the Road Traffic Law and its implementing regulations, they are exempt from stamp duty.

8. Shells, chassis (referred to collectively as chassis), engine assemblies of assets subject to stamp duty as specified in Clauses 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this Article are replacement chassis and engine assemblies different from the chassis and engine numbers of the asset already certified by the competent state agency with a Certificate of Ownership and Right to Use.

Article 3. Valuation for Stamp Duties

1. Value for calculating stamp duty on land

a) The value for calculating stamp duty on land is the land price in the Land Price Table issued by the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city (hereinafter referred to as the provincial People's Committee) according to the law on land at the time of declaring stamp duty.

b) The value for calculating stamp duty on land is determined as follows:

In which, the area of land subject to stamp duty is the entire area of the plot of land legally under the management and use rights of organizations and individuals as determined and provided by the Land Registration Office to the Tax Authority through the "Information Transfer Form to Determine Financial Obligations Regarding Land".

c) The value for calculating stamp duty on land in specific cases is applied as follows:

c.1) For land attached to state-owned houses sold to tenants according to the law on selling state-owned housing to tenants, the value for calculating stamp duty is the actual sale price as decided by the provincial People's Committee;

c.2) For land granted by the state through bidding or auction (hereinafter collectively referred to as auction), the value for calculating stamp duty is the actual winning bid price recorded on the invoice or the actual winning bid price recorded in the auction result record or approved by the competent state authority;

c.3) In cases where the land user has been issued a Land Use Right Certificate without paying stamp duty, and later the competent authority permits the change of land use purpose to a new purpose requiring stamp duty payment, the value for calculating stamp duty is the land price according to the new use purpose in the Land Price Table issued by the provincial People's Committee according to the law on land at the time of calculating stamp duty;

c.4) For resettlement land granted by the state and approved with a specific price where the approved price has been balanced and offset between the compensation price for the land being expropriated and the resettlement land price, the value for calculating stamp duty on land is the price approved by the competent state authority;

c.5) In cases where the land price in the land transfer contract is higher than the price issued by the provincial People's Committee, the value for calculating stamp duty on land is the price in the land transfer contract.

In cases where the land price in the land transfer contract is lower than the land price in the Land Price Table issued by the provincial People's Committee, the land value for calculating stamp duty is the price issued by the provincial People's Committee according to the law on land at the time of declaring stamp duty.

2. Value for calculating stamp duty on houses

a) The value for calculating fees for registration for houses is the price issued by the People's Committee of the province in accordance with the laws on construction at the time of declaration of fees for registration.

The Department of Finance shall take the lead in coordinating with the Department of Construction and relevant agencies at the local level to establish the value for calculating stamp duty on houses based on the provisions of Point b Clause 1 Article 6 of Government Decree No. 140/2016/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2016 and the guidance in Clause 2 of this Article, and submit it to the provincial People's Committee for issuance of the House Stamp Duty Calculation Price Table applicable in the locality.

b) The value for calculating stamp duty on houses is determined as follows:

b.1) The area of house subject to stamp duty is the entire floor area of the house (including accompanying ancillary structures) legally owned by organizations and individuals;

b.2) The price of 01 (one) m² of house is the actual construction cost of "new" 01 (one) m² of floor area of each level and grade of house issued by the provincial People's Committee according to the law on construction at the time of declaring stamp duty.² house is the actual construction cost of a new one (01) square meter of floor area for each level and class of house as issued by the People's Committee of the province in accordance with the laws on construction at the time of declaration of the stamp duty;² ||| the cadastral fee.

b.3) The percentage rate of remaining quality of the house subject to preliminary property tax shall be issued by the People's Committee of the province in accordance with the provisions of the law.

c) Some specific cases applying the price for preliminary property tax on houses are as follows:

c.1) The price for preliminary property tax on houses owned by the state sold to tenants in accordance with the law on selling state-owned housing to tenants is the actual sale price as decided by the People's Committee of the province;

c.2) The price for preliminary property tax on resettlement houses is the specific price approved by the competent state agency, where the approved price has been balanced and offset between the compensation price for the place from which the house was expropriated and the price of the resettlement house, as approved by the competent state agency;

c.3) The price for preliminary property tax on houses purchased through auction in accordance with the law on tendering and auction is the actual winning bid price recorded on the sales invoice;

c.4) In case the price of the house in the contract transferring the right to use the house or the contract purchasing the house is higher than the price issued by the People's Committee of the province, then the price for preliminary property tax on the house is the price stated in the contract transferring the right to use the house or the contract purchasing the house;

In case the price of the house in the contract transferring the right to use the house or the contract purchasing the house is lower than the price issued by the People's Committee of the province, then the price for preliminary property tax on the house is the price issued by the People's Committee of the province in accordance with the construction law at the time of declaring the preliminary property tax;

c.5) The price for preliminary property tax on apartment houses includes the value of allocated land. The allocation coefficient for calculating the preliminary property tax on apartment houses is applied according to the allocation coefficient of the corresponding type of apartment house as prescribed by the law on non-agricultural land use tax;

3. Value for calculating fees for registration for other assets

a) The price for preliminary property tax on other assets is the actual market transfer price of the asset;

a.1) The actual market transfer price of the asset is based on a valid sales invoice, which is the total payment price of the asset including related taxes and fees for the purchased and transferred asset;

For assets of organizations and individuals not engaged in business when transferring assets to other organizations and individuals, the actual transfer price of the asset is based on the Sale Decision or Purchase Contract with notarization or certification in accordance with the law on notarization and certification;

a.2) For self-produced or manufactured assets for consumption, it is the production cost;

a.3) For directly imported assets, it is the customs value for import tax on the customs declaration form in accordance with the customs law, plus (+) import tax, plus (+) special consumption tax, plus (+) value-added tax (if applicable);

b) The price for preliminary property tax on assets prescribed in Clause 6 and Clause 7, Article 2 of Decree No. 140/2016/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2016 of the Government and the shell, chassis, and engine of the corresponding type of asset shall be implemented in accordance with the Circular of the Ministry of Finance issuing the Price List for Preliminary Property Tax on Cars and Motorcycles;

c) Some specific cases:

c.1) For assets purchased directly from a permitted domestic production and assembly base (collectively referred to as a production base) sold out, it is the actual payment price (including VAT and special consumption tax if applicable) recorded on a valid sales invoice;

Organizations and individuals purchasing goods from direct sales agents who have signed agency contracts with the production base and sell at the production base's stipulated prices are also considered to purchase directly from the production base;

c.2) For assets purchased through installment payments, the price for preliminary property tax is the lump sum price including VAT and special consumption tax (if applicable) stipulated for that asset (excluding installment interest);

c.3) For assets purchased through auction in accordance with the law on tendering and auction (including confiscated goods and clearance goods), the price for preliminary property tax is the actual winning bid price recorded on the sales invoice;

c.4) For transportation means equipped with dedicated equipment attached to them, such as refrigerated trucks equipped with air conditioning systems, wave detection vehicles equipped with radar systems, etc., the price for preliminary property tax is the entire asset value, including the dedicated equipment attached to the transportation means;

d) For used assets (except for directly imported used assets registered for first-time use whose preliminary property tax price is determined according to the guidance at Point a.3 of this Clause), the price for preliminary property tax is based on the usage period and the remaining value of the asset;

The remaining value of the asset equals the new value of the asset multiplied by (x) the percentage of remaining quality of the asset, wherein:

d.1) The new asset value is determined according to the guidance at Points a and b of this Clause.

d.2) The percentage (%) of remaining quality of the asset before registration is determined as follows:

- New asset: 100%.

- Used for one year: 90%

- Used for more than one to three years: 70%

- Used for more than three to six years: 50%

- Used for more than six to ten years: 30%

- Used for more than ten years: 20%

For used assets, the period of use is calculated from the year of production to the year of declaration for fees for registration.

Article 4. Rates of stamp duty for transfer of property (%)

1. Houses and land: the rate of collection is 0.5%.

2. Hunting guns, training guns, and sports competition guns: the rate of collection is 2%.

3. Ships, barges, speedboats, tugboats, push boats, boats, yachts, aircraft: the rate of collection is 1%.

4. Motorcycles: the rate of collection is 2%. However:

a) For motorcycles owned by organizations and individuals located in centrally-administered cities; provincial cities; and districts where the provincial People's Committee has its headquarters, the initial stamp duty rate is 5%.

Centrally-administered cities, provincial cities, and districts where the provincial People's Committee, centrally-administered city People's Committee have their headquarters are determined based on the administrative boundaries at the time of declaration of stamp duty, including all districts and towns within the city, regardless of whether they are inner-city or suburban areas; provincial cities and districts where the provincial People's Committee has its headquarters include all wards and communes within the city or district, regardless of whether they are inner-city or suburban areas.

b) For motorcycles subject to stamp duty from the second declaration onwards (i.e., motorcycles that have already been declared and paid stamp duty in Vietnam, with subsequent declarations being considered the second declaration onwards), the rate of collection is 1%.

In cases where the owner has declared and paid stamp duty at a rate of 2% for motorcycles and subsequently transferred them to organizations or individuals in the areas specified in point a of this clause, the stamp duty shall be paid at a rate of 5%. If the motorcycle has already been subject to stamp duty at a rate of 5%, subsequent transfers will be subject to stamp duty at a rate of 1%.

For motorcycles subject to stamp duty from the second declaration onwards, the owner must present to the Tax Authority the registration certificate for motorcycles or the vehicle registration file issued by the Public Security agency. The area declared for the previous stamp duty payment is determined according to the "Place of Permanent Residence," "Permanent Resident Registration Address," or "Address" recorded in the motorcycle registration certificate or the vehicle registration application form, and is determined based on the administrative boundaries at the time of declaration of stamp duty.

Examples of determining the rate of stamp duty for declarations from the second submission onwards (where Area A includes centrally-administered cities, provincial cities, and districts where the provincial People's Committee has its headquarters; Area B includes other areas) are as follows:

+ Case 1: A motorcycle that has previously declared and paid stamp duty in Area A, if declared and paid stamp duty again in Area A, pays stamp duty at a rate of 1%.

+ Case 2: A motorcycle that has previously declared and paid stamp duty in Area A, if declared and paid stamp duty again in Area B, pays stamp duty at a rate of 1%.

+ Case 3: A motorcycle that has previously declared and paid stamp duty in Area B, if declared and paid stamp duty again in Area A, pays stamp duty at a rate of 5%.

+ Case 4: A motorcycle that has previously declared and paid stamp duty in Area B, if declared and paid stamp duty again in Area B, pays stamp duty at a rate of 1%.

+ Case 5: A motorcycle that declares and pays stamp duty for the first time in Area B, then declared and paid stamp duty again in Area B, if declared and paid stamp duty again in Area A, pays stamp duty at a rate of 5%.

+ Case 6: A motorcycle that declares and pays stamp duty for the first time in Area A or Area B, then declared and paid stamp duty again in Area A, if declared and paid stamp duty again in Area A, pays stamp duty at a rate of 1%.

5. Cars, trailers, semi-trailers, and similar vehicles: the rate of collection is 2%.

Specifically:

Passenger cars with up to nine seats pay stamp duty for the first declaration at a rate of 10%. Where higher rates are necessary to reflect local conditions, the Provincial People's Council or the People's Council of a centrally-administered city may decide to increase the rate but not exceeding 50% of the general prescribed rate.

Passenger cars with up to nine seats pay stamp duty from the second declaration onwards at a rate of 2% uniformly across the country.

Based on the type of vehicle recorded in the Certificate of Technical Quality and Environmental Protection issued by the Vietnamese Inspection Agency, the tax authority determines the rate of stamp duty for cars, trailers, semi-trailers, and similar vehicles as stipulated in this Clause.

The Tax Authority shall determine the rate of stamp duty for cars based on:

- The number of seats in the car is determined according to the manufacturer's design.

- The type of vehicle shall be determined as follows:

For imported vehicles, the determination is based on the "Type of Vehicle" section of the Certificate of Technical Quality and Environmental Protection for Imported Motor Vehicles or the Notification of Exemption from Technical Quality and Environmental Protection Inspection for Imported Motor Vehicles issued by the Vietnamese Inspection Agency.

For domestically produced or assembled vehicles, the determination is based on the "Type of Vehicle" section of the Certificate of Technical Quality and Environmental Protection for Domestic Production or Assembly or the Quality Inspection Report for Motor Vehicles.

If the "Type of Vehicle" (type of vehicle) section in the aforementioned documents does not specify that it is a cargo truck, then the rate of stamp duty applicable to passenger cars shall be applied.

The Public Security agency issuing the vehicle registration plate checks the type of vehicle; if it finds that the Certificate of Technical Quality and Environmental Protection, Notification of Exemption from Technical Quality and Environmental Protection Inspection for Imported Motor Vehicles, or Quality Inspection Report for Motor Vehicles incorrectly records the type of passenger car or truck, leading to an inappropriate stamp duty rate, it promptly notifies the Inspection Agency to re-determine the type of vehicle before issuing the registration plate. If the Inspection Agency re-determines the type of vehicle, leading to a recalculation of the stamp duty rate, the Public Security agency forwards the case along with verification documents to the tax authority to issue a notice of stamp duty collection in accordance with regulations.

6. For types of automobiles with diplomatic license plates, foreign license plates, and international license plates of foreign organizations and individuals specified in Clause 2, Article 9 of Decree No. 140/2016/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2016 of the Government, when transferred to other organizations and individuals in Vietnam (not falling under the scope defined in Clause 2, Article 9 of Decree No. 140/2016/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2016 of the Government), the receiving organization or individual must complete procedures for declaration, payment of import tax, special consumption tax, and value-added tax according to regulations, and pay the initial registration fee at the rate prescribed by the People's Councils of provinces and centrally-administered cities. The value for calculating the initial registration fee in this case is the remaining value of the asset determined at the time of declaring the initial registration fee, as guided in Article 3 of this Circular.

For automobiles with foreign license plates where the owner is a foreigner (not falling under the scope defined in Clause 2, Article 9 of Decree No. 140/2016/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2016 of the Government), who has declared and paid the initial registration fee, if the foreigner transfers the asset to other organizations and individuals in Vietnam, the receiving organization or individual must declare and pay the registration fee at a rate of 2% when registering ownership and usage rights.

7. For the shell, chassis assembly, engine assembly of assets specified in Clause 8, Article 2 of this Circular that are replaced and fall within the scope subject to the registration fee, the corresponding rate of the registration fee shall be applied according to the type of asset as stipulated in Clauses 3, 4, 5, and 6 of this Article.

8. Determine the amount of the registration fee to be paid into the State budget.

The maximum amount of the registration fee for assets specified in this Article is capped at VND 500 million per asset per initial registration, except for passenger cars with up to nine seats, aircraft, and yachts.

Article 5. Exemption from stamp duty

Exemption from the registration fee is implemented according to the provisions of Article 9 of Decree No. 140/2016/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2016 of the Government on the registration fee, specifically as follows:

1. Houses and land serving as the headquarters of diplomatic missions, consular offices, and representative offices of international organizations within the United Nations system, and houses of heads of diplomatic missions, consular offices, and representative offices of international organizations within the United Nations system in Vietnam.

The headquarters of diplomatic missions and consular offices are buildings or parts of buildings and the land directly attached to the building used for the official purposes of diplomatic missions (including the house and the land attached to the house of the head of the mission) and consular offices, as provided by laws on privileges and immunities granted to diplomatic missions, consular offices, and representative offices of international organizations in Vietnam.

2. Assets (excluding houses and lands) of foreign organizations and individuals as follows:

a) Diplomatic missions, consular offices, and representative offices of international organizations within the United Nations system;

b) Diplomatic officials, consular officials, administrative and technical staff of foreign diplomatic missions, consular offices, and members of representative offices of international organizations within the United Nations system and their family members including spouses and children under 18 years old living together in the household who are not Vietnamese citizens or permanent residents in Vietnam, issued diplomatic identification cards or service identification cards by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

c) Other foreign organizations and individuals not falling under the categories mentioned in points a and b of this clause, such as representative offices of intergovernmental international organizations outside the United Nations system, representative offices of non-governmental organizations, delegations of international organizations, members of these organizations, and other organizations and individuals but are exempted from paying or are not required to pay the registration fee according to international commitments to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party.

In cases where international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party provide for exemption or non-payment of fees, charges (in general) or the registration fee (specifically), if the provision applies to both sides, the entity directly implementing the project (or Project Management Board) on the Vietnamese side is also exempted from paying the registration fee when registering ownership and usage rights for assets under signed programs and projects.

3. Land allocated or leased by the State for the following purposes:

a) Public use as prescribed by laws on land;

b) Exploration and exploitation of minerals; scientific research pursuant to permits or confirmations by competent state agencies;

c) Investment in infrastructure construction (regardless of whether it is within or outside industrial zones or export processing zones), investment in construction of houses for sale. In these cases, when registering ownership and usage rights with competent state agencies for leasing or self-use, organizations and individuals allocated or leased land by the State must pay the registration fee.

If organizations and individuals receiving the transfer continue to invest in infrastructure construction or construction of houses for sale, they are exempted from paying the registration fee.

If organizations and individuals receiving the transfer of infrastructure or houses register ownership and usage rights with competent state agencies for leasing or self-use, they must pay the registration fee.

4. Land allocated, leased, or recognized by competent state agencies for use in agricultural, forestry, aquaculture, and salt production activities.

5. Agricultural land transferred between households and individuals within the same commune, ward, or town for the convenience of agricultural production as prescribed by the Law on Land.

6. Agricultural land developed by households or individuals in accordance with approved land use plans by competent state agencies, without disputes, and legally recognized by competent state agencies through issuance of land use right certificates.

7. Land leased annually from the State or leased from organizations or individuals with lawful land use rights.

8. Houses and land used for community purposes of religious organizations and belief establishments as stipulated in Articles 159 and 160 of the Land Law 2013, recognized or permitted to operate by the State, including:

a) Land with structures such as temples, churches, sanctuaries, chapels, meditation halls, monasteries, religious training schools, headquarters of religious organizations, and other religious facilities;

b) Land with structures such as communal houses, shrines, pagodas, hermitages.

9. Land used for cemeteries or graveyards.

10. Houses and land inherited or received as gifts between: husband and wife; biological father and mother with their biological children; adoptive father and mother with their adopted children; father-in-law and mother-in-law with their daughter-in-law; father-in-law and mother-in-law with their son-in-law; paternal grandfather and grandmother with their grandchild; maternal grandfather and grandmother with their grandchild; siblings;

11. Housing of households and individuals established through the development of individual housing in accordance with the Law on Housing;

12. Financial lease assets that transfer ownership to the lessee at the end of the lease term through the assignment or sale of leased assets shall be exempt from stamp duty; in cases where a financial leasing company purchases assets from units that have paid stamp duty and then leases them back to the selling unit, the financial leasing company shall be exempt from stamp duty when registering ownership and usage rights with competent state agencies;

In cases where during the financial lease period, the lessee transfers the financial lease contract to another organization or individual (third party) without completing the contract termination procedures and the financial leasing company does not sign a financial lease contract with the third party, the third party must pay stamp duty upon the conclusion of the lease term;

13. Special assets, dedicated assets, specialized management assets serving national defense and security as prescribed by law;

a) Types of dedicated houses and land serving national defense and security as prescribed by law;

b) Vessels, boats, cars, motorcycles listed in the special asset or dedicated asset categories, or specialized management assets serving national defense and security purposes, which are registered by the Ministry of National Defense or authorized by the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security or competent agencies under the Ministry of Public Security;

14. Houses and land belonging to state assets used as offices for state agencies, people's armed forces units, public service establishments, political organizations, political-social organizations, social-professional organizations, social organizations, and social-professional organizations as prescribed by law;

15. Houses and land compensated (including houses and land purchased with compensation or support funds) when the state expropriates houses and land according to the law, and the organizations or individuals whose houses and land are expropriated have paid stamp duty (or are exempted from paying stamp duty or have had stamp duty deducted from the compensation payment for expropriated houses and land according to the law);

16. Assets of organizations and individuals that have been issued certificates of ownership and use rights when re-registering ownership and use rights shall be exempted from payment of the stamp duty in the following cases:

a) Assets that have been certified with ownership and usage certificates by competent authorities of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, or competent authorities under the old regime, now reissued new ownership and usage certificates without changing the asset owner (including cases where the state has issued Ownership and Usage Certificates but still records outstanding stamp duty or financial obligations);

b) Assets of state-owned enterprises that have been transformed into joint-stock companies or other forms of restructuring state-owned enterprises according to the law, the new enterprises shall be exempt from paying stamp duty;

c) Assets that have been certified with ownership and usage certificates in the name of a member of a household (including co-owned assets), when dividing these assets among household members and re-registering;

Members of the household must be related family members as defined by the Law on Marriage and Family and share the same permanent residence address as the person named on the certificate of ownership and use.

d) Assets of organizations and individuals that have been certified with ownership and usage certificates and need to re-register ownership and usage due to loss, damage, discoloration, blurring, or deterioration of the certificate. Competent authorities shall issue new ownership and usage certificates upon request;

đ) In cases where additional land area is generated when reissuing land use certificates without changing the boundary of the plot, the additional land area shall be exempt from stamp duty;

If there is a change in the boundary of the plot compared to the previous ownership and usage certificate leading to an increase in land area, stamp duty must be paid on the increased portion. If there is a change in the boundary of the plot compared to the previous ownership and usage certificate resulting in a decrease in land area, stamp duty shall be exempted;

e) Organizations and individuals who have been granted land by the state and have obtained land use certificates must convert to paying rent for land use in one lump sum for the entire lease period according to the Land Law from the date the Government Decree No. 140/2016/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2016 on stamp duty took effect;

17. Assets of organizations and individuals that have paid stamp duty (except those exempted from paying stamp duty) transferred to other organizations or individuals for registration of ownership and usage shall be exempt from paying stamp duty in the following cases:

a) Organizations, individuals, or cooperative members contribute their own assets to businesses, credit institutions, cooperatives, or when businesses, credit institutions, or cooperatives dissolve, divide, or withdraw capital for organizational members, the assets contributed by the organizational members previously;

b) Assets of enterprises transferred internally within the enterprise or assets transferred internally within administrative and public service units according to decisions of competent authorities;

In cases where assets are transferred between enterprises and their independent accounting affiliates or between independent accounting affiliates themselves through purchase, assignment, exchange, or internal asset transfers between budgetary units (for administrative and public services), stamp duty must be paid.

18. Assets of organizations and individuals that have paid the stamp duty are divided or contributed due to division, separation, consolidation, merger, or renaming of organizations according to the decision of the competent authority.

In cases where a name change simultaneously involves a change in the owner of the asset, and the asset needs to be re-registered with the competent authority, the asset owner must pay stamp duty, including:

a) Changing the name simultaneously with the change of all founding shareholders (for joint stock companies with founding shareholders) or changing all shareholders who initially contributed to the charter capital (for joint stock companies without founding shareholders) or all members of the company (for other types of enterprises) or the individual business owner (in cases of selling businesses as provided for in Article 187 of the Enterprise Law number 68/2014/QH13 dated November 26, 2014).

b) Changing the name and converting the type of enterprise as prescribed in: Point c Clause 2 Article 196 (Limited liability company converting into a joint stock company through the method of selling all contributions to one or several organizations or individuals); Point b Clause 1 Article 197 (Joint stock company converting into a single-member limited liability company through the method of one organization or individual not being a shareholder acquiring all shares from all shareholders of the company); Point c Clause 1 Article 198 (Joint stock company converting into a limited liability company through the method of transferring all contributions to another organization or individual); Article 199 of the Enterprise Law, except for the case of converting from a sole proprietorship business into a single-member limited liability company where the individual who was the sole proprietorship business owner is converted into the owner.

19. Assets of organizations and individuals that have paid the stamp duty and must re-register ownership rights due to transfer to another locality without changing the asset owner.

20. Commiseration houses, solidarity houses, houses supported with humanitarian nature, including land attached to these houses, registered in the name of the recipient.

21. Fire trucks, ambulances, X-ray vehicles, towing vehicles (including towing vehicles and vehicle carriers), garbage trucks, water spraying vehicles, watering vehicles, water tank spraying vehicles, street sweeping vehicles, septic tank suction vehicles, dust suction vehicles; specialized vehicles for war veterans, disabled veterans, and disabled persons registered under the names of war veterans, disabled veterans, and disabled persons.

The vehicles mentioned in this clause are those equipped with integrated specialized equipment such as: dedicated tanks containing water or chemicals and sprayers (for fire trucks, water spraying vehicles, watering vehicles, water tank spraying vehicles), stretchers, sirens (for ambulances), X-ray imaging equipment (for X-ray imaging vehicles), garbage compaction containers or crane parts, excavators, garbage loaders (for garbage trucks)..., three-wheeled motorized vehicles (for specialized vehicles for war veterans, disabled veterans, and disabled persons).

In cases where these vehicles are modified according to the provisions of the law into transportation means such as cargo transport vehicles, passenger transport vehicles, small cars, two-wheeled motorcycles, three-wheeled motorcycles, various types of motorbikes, regardless of the object and purpose of use, they must pay the stamp duty when registering the means with the competent state agency.

22. Aircraft of organizations granted a Business License for air cargo transport used for commercial purposes of transporting goods, passengers, luggage, mail.

In cases where aircraft are registered for personal transportation use, they fall within the category required to pay the stamp duty.

23. Fishing boats and vessels.

24. Body shells, chassis assemblies, engine assemblies specified in Clause 8 Article 2 of this Circular that are replaced must be re-registered within the warranty period.

25. Factories of production facilities, including guard houses, control rooms, machine storage houses, equipment storage houses serving production and business activities; warehouses, dining halls, parking lots of production and business facilities.

26. Housing and land for poor households; housing and land for ethnic minority households in communes, wards, towns located in difficult areas, Central Highlands; housing and land for household and individual families in communes under the Special Difficult Commune Development Program, mountainous areas, remote and far-flung regions. Among them:

- Poor households are family households at the time of declaration and payment of the stamp duty, holding a certificate of poverty issued by the competent authority or recognized as a poor household by the People's Committee of the commune, ward, town (ward level) where they reside according to the poverty standard set by the Prime Minister and implementing guidelines.

- Ethnic minority households are individuals and families where either the husband or wife or both are ethnic minorities.

- Difficult areas are determined according to decisions of the Prime Minister issuing lists of administrative units in difficult areas.

27. Non-motorized watercraft with a total deadweight up to 15 tons; motorized watercraft with a main engine power up to 15 horsepower; watercraft with a passenger capacity up to 12 people; high-speed passenger watercraft and container transport watercraft operating in inland waterway transportation.

These means of transport are defined according to the provisions of the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic and implementing regulations (including corresponding body shells and engine assemblies installed as replacements for these types of means of transport).

High-speed passenger watercraft and container transport watercraft operating in inland waterway transportation are exempt from stamp duty based on the Certificate of Technical Safety and Environmental Protection for Inland Waterway Vessels issued by the Vietnam Inspection Agency, specifically:

- For "High-speed Passenger Watercraft"

+ Under the section "Purpose": recorded as passenger vessel;

+ Under the section "Certification that the technical characteristics and pollution prevention features listed in this certificate are in compliance with current regulations and have been granted": marked with the issuance symbol VRH HSC; VRM HSC; Or under the section "Operational capability": showing the speed of the vessel at 30 km/h or above.

- For "Container Transport Watercraft" under the section "Purpose": recorded as "container transport" or "container carrying".

28. Houses and land of entities implementing socialization in education and training, healthcare, culture, sports, and environmental fields, registered for land use rights and house ownership to serve these activities according to the law.

Entities implementing socialization in education, vocational training, healthcare, culture, sports, and environmental fields, exempted from stamp duty as stipulated in this Clause, must meet the criteria and standards set by the Prime Minister and implementing guidelines.

29. Houses and land of non-state entities registering rights to use land and ownership of houses for activities in the fields of education and training; healthcare; culture; sports; science and technology; environment; social affairs; population, family, and child protection and care, in accordance with the provisions of the law, except for cases specified in Clause 28 of this Article.

Non-state entities operating in the fields of education and training; healthcare; culture; sports; science and technology; environment; social affairs; population, family, and child protection and care shall be exempt from stamp duty in accordance with the provisions of this Clause if they meet the criteria on scale and standards as prescribed by the Prime Minister and guiding documents.

30. Houses and land of scientific and technological enterprises registering rights to use land and ownership of houses for purposes of scientific research and technology development in accordance with the provisions of the law.

31. Public passenger transport vehicles using clean energy.

Public passenger buses using clean energy that are exempt from stamp duty are those using liquefied natural gas, natural gas, or electricity instead of gasoline and diesel oil, as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 3 of Decision No. 13/2015/QĐ-TTg dated May 5, 2013 of the Government on mechanisms and policies to encourage the development of public passenger transport by bus, as determined by the fuel type recorded on the Certificate of Technical Safety Inspection and Environmental Protection issued by the Vietnamese inspection agency, and must comply with the conditions set forth in Article 8 of Decision No. 13/2015/QĐ-TTg dated May 5, 2013 of the Government on mechanisms and policies to encourage the development of public passenger transport by bus.

Article 6. Declaration, Collection, and Payment of Stamp Duty

1. Stamp duty is declared each time it arises in accordance with the provisions of Clause 1, Article 10 of Decree No. 140/2016/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2016 of the Government.

2. Organizations and individuals having assets subject to stamp duty have the responsibility to declare and submit the stamp duty declaration form (including cases exempted from stamp duty as provided for in Article 9 of Decree No. 140/2016/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2016 of the Government on stamp duty and guided by Article 5 of this Circular) to the Tax Authority when registering ownership or usage rights with competent state agencies. In cases of submitting electronic forms, organizations and individuals must use digital certificates or transaction authentication codes for electronic submission. The stamp duty declaration form shall be made in two copies according to Form No. 01 and the stamp duty declaration form as prescribed in Decree No. 140/2016/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2016 of the Government on stamp duty.

3. Place of submission of stamp duty declaration forms

a) For real estate assets such as houses and land: The stamp duty declaration form is submitted to the agency responsible for handling registration procedures and issuing certificates of land use rights, house ownership, and other assets attached to the land in accordance with the laws on land.

b) For other assets: The stamp duty declaration form is submitted to the local Tax Office where the ownership or usage rights are registered (the local Tax Office is the Tax Office where the household registration is located for individual households and families; the location of the organization's office for organizational assets).

For electronic tax declarations, the forms are submitted through the General Department of Taxation's online portal.

4. The tax authority determines the amount of stamp duty payable and notifies the payer. The deadline for issuing notifications and paying stamp duty, as well as the issuance and issuance of stamp duty collection receipts, shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 4 and Clause 5, Article 10 of Decree No. 140/2016/NĐ-CP dated October 10, 2016 of the Government on stamp duty.

Article 7. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from January 1, 2017; replacing Clause 1, Article 19 of Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC dated November 6, 2013 of the Ministry 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, and replacing the following Circulars:

a) Circular No. 124/2011/TT-BTC dated August 31, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance guiding stamp duty;

b) Circular No. 34/2013/TT-BTC dated March 28, 2013 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 124/2011/TT-BTC dated August 31, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance guiding stamp duty;

c) Circular No. 140/2013/TT-BTC dated October 14, 2013 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing Circular No. 34/2013/TT-BTC dated March 28, 2013 of the Ministry of Finance guiding stamp duty;

d) Circular No. 140/2015/TT-BTC dated September 3, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing Circular No. 124/2011/TT-BTC dated August 31, 2011 of the Minister of Finance guiding stamp duty;

đ) Circular No. 75/2016/TT-BTC dated May 24, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing Clause 2, Article 1 of Circular No. 34/2013/TT-BTC dated March 28, 2013 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 124/2011/TT-BTC dated August 31, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance guiding stamp duty.

2. During the implementation process, if related documents referred to in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be implemented in accordance with the new amended, supplemented, or replaced documents.

3. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, relevant agencies, units, organizations, and individuals should promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution./.