Circular No. 37/2006/TT-BTC guiding the regime for collecting, submitting, managing, and using fees for verifying documents of Vietnamese workers working abroad applicable to Overseas Labor Management Boards.

MINISTRY OF FINANCE                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                &

Independence – Freedom – Happiness

Decision No. 37/2006/TT-BTC May 9, 2006

CIRCULAR

Guidelines on the collection, submission, management, and use of fees for verifying documents concerning Vietnamese workers working abroad to be applied at Overseas Labor Management Boardsdocuments concerning Vietnamese workers working abroad shall be applied at the Overseas Labor Management Boards ||| applicable to the Overseas Labor Management Boards

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Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 81/2003/NĐ-CP dated July 17, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Labor Code regarding Vietnamese workers working abroad;

Pursuant to Decree No. 24/2006/NĐ-CP dated March 6, 2006 amending and supplementing certain points of Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Charges.
The Ministry of Finance issues guidelines on the collection, submission, management, and use of fees for verifying documents concerning Vietnamese workers (referred to collectively as verification document fees) to be applied at Overseas Labor Management Boards as follows:

I. SUBJECTS PAYING VERIFICATION DOCUMENT FEES

Foreign companies, organizations, and individuals requesting Overseas Labor Management Boards (under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs) to verify documents concerning Vietnamese workers working abroad must pay verification document fees as stipulated in this Circular.

II. AMOUNT OF VERIFICATION DOCUMENT FEES

1. The amount of verification document fees applicable at Overseas Labor Management Boards is specified in Appendix No. 01 attached hereto.

2. Verification document fees shall be collected in US dollars (USD) or in local currency based on conversion from USD according to the exchange rate of the bank where the Overseas Labor Management Board maintains its account at the time of fee collection.

III. REGIME FOR THE COLLECTION, SUBMISSION, MANAGEMENT, AND USE OF VERIFICATION DOCUMENT FEES

1. The entity responsible for collecting verification document fees is the Overseas Labor Management Board, which has the responsibility to:

- Organize the collection and submission of verification document fees in accordance with the provisions of this Circular. Publicly display the rates of verification document fees at the location where fees are collected. Receipts for verification document fees are printed and issued by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (in accordance with the model specified in Appendix No. 5 attached hereto) after coordination with the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Taxation).

- Maintain accounting records to monitor and reflect the collection, submission to the state budget, management, and use of verification document fees in accordance with prescribed regulations.

2. Procedures for submission to the State Budget.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs may retain 30% of the total actual collected verification document fees before submitting them to the State Budget to cover the following purposes as stipulated in Section 3 below. The remaining amount (70%) must be deposited into the Temporary Holding Fund of the State Budget at overseas Vietnamese representative offices on a monthly basis (no later than the 25th of each month) in accordance with current regulations governing the management of the Temporary Holding Fund of the State Budget at overseas Vietnamese representative offices.

3. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs may use 30% of the collected verification document fees (which are considered revenue from public services and not reflected in the State Budget) for the following purposes:

a. Payment to individuals directly performing work, services, and fee collection: living expenses, overtime allowances (including expedited work), health insurance, contractual wages (excluding salary costs for officials and civil servants who already receive salaries from the State Budget according to prescribed regulations);

b. Expenses directly serving the performance of work, services, and fee collection such as office supplies, office materials, communication, electricity, water, travel expenses (transportation costs, accommodation rental fees, lodging expenses...) in accordance with current financial management regulations applicable to overseas Vietnamese representative offices;

c. Regular maintenance and major repairs of assets, machinery, and equipment directly serving work, services, and fee collection; depreciation of fixed assets for the purpose of performing work, services, and fee collection;

d. Purchase of materials, raw materials, and other expenses directly related to the performance of work, services, and fee collection; e. Awards and welfare benefits on the principle that the maximum annual benefit per person should not exceed three months' salary or living expenses if the income this year exceeds last year, or two months' salary or actual living expenses if the income this year is lower or equal to last year, after ensuring the expenses stipulated in sub-items a, b, c, and d of this point.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs is responsible for managing and using retained funds for their intended purposes with valid documentation. In cases where expenses (such as electricity, water...) are used for activities other than fee collection, these costs must be allocated proportionally to the work, services, and fee collection. Annual settlement of income and expenditure must be conducted based on actual figures. After proper settlement, any unspent verification document fees in the year may be carried forward to the next year for continued use in accordance with prescribed regulations.

IV. SETTLEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENSES FOR VERIFICATION DOCUMENT FEES

1. Overseas Labor Management Boards are responsible for maintaining accounting records to record and account for the income and expenses for verification document fees in accordance with current regulations on administrative and public service accounting systems.

2. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs is responsible for inspecting and confirming the settlement of income and expenses for verification document fees of Overseas Labor Management Boards (Appendix No. 2) and compiling it into the annual settlement report sent to the Ministry of Finance for review (Appendices No. 3 and No. 4) and issuing the approval of the settlement together with the settlement of funds for Overseas Labor Management Boards of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs in accordance with Circular No. 10/2004/TT-BTC dated February 19, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance.

3. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs is responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Finance to conduct regular inspections of Overseas Vietnamese Labor Management Boards to ensure that income and expenditure comply with the prescribed regulations.

V. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette and revoke Circular No. 7585 TC/TCĐN dated July 23, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance.

2. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall guide Overseas Vietnamese Labor Management Boards to implement the collection, submission, and utilization of verification fee in accordance with this Circular.

3. Companies, organizations, and individuals subject to the verification fee payment and relevant agencies are responsible for implementing this Circular.