Circular No. 47/2005/TT-BTC guiding the regime for collection, payment, and management and use of fees and charges for state administration in ensuring order and safety in inland waterway transport.

CIRCULAR

Issued by the Ministry of Finance on June 8, 2005, Decision No. 47/2005/TT-BTC "Guidelines for the collection, payment, and management of use of fees and charges for state administration to ensure order and safety in inland waterway transport" Based on the Law on Inland Waterway Transport. 

Based on the Ordinance on Fees and Charges dated August 28, 2001, and Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002, of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Charges;

After receiving comments from the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance issues guidelines for the collection, payment, and management of use of fees and charges for state administration to ensure order and safety in inland waterway transport as follows:

I. OBJECTS OF COLLECTION AND AMOUNTS OF FEES AND CHARGES:

1. Organizations and individuals, both domestic and foreign, when they are required by competent authorities to handle administrative matters related to ensuring order and safety in inland waterway transport as stipulated in Article 25, Clause 3 of Article 31, and Clause 1 of Article 69 of the Law on Inland Waterway Transport, must pay fees and charges for state administration to ensure order and safety in inland waterway transport according to the provisions of this Circular. The following cases are exempted from paying administrative charges for inland waterway safety:

- Domestic watercraft engaged in security and defense tasks managed by the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense (excluding those used for economic purposes).

- Fishing vessels registered by the fisheries sector.

If international treaties or agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party provide otherwise, such provisions shall be followed.

2. The amounts of fees and charges for state administration to ensure order and safety in inland waterway transport are specified as follows:

Amount of Collection (VND/per license or per occasion)

The fees and charges specified above include all related costs such as forms, applications, registration declarations, organization of training and examinations (including theoretical and practical driving tests), certificates or licenses (including laminated certificates or licenses), etc.

Organizations and individuals who have paid the fees and charges according to the amounts specified in this Circular shall not be required to pay additional amounts for the performance of administrative tasks related to ensuring order and safety in inland waterway transport as stipulated in Section I of this Circular. Administrative agencies responsible for ensuring order and safety in inland waterway transport shall not collect any additional amounts contrary to the above provisions.

Fees and charges for state administration to ensure order and safety in inland waterway transport shall be collected in Vietnamese dong. In cases where foreign organizations and individuals wish to pay charges in foreign currency, they may do so in US dollars (USD) at the average interbank exchange rate published by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of payment.

II. ORGANIZATION OF COLLECTION, PAYMENT, AND MANAGEMENT OF USE:

1. Agencies collecting fees and charges for state administration to ensure order and safety in inland waterway transport are responsible for registering, declaring, and paying these fees and charges into the state budget in accordance with Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges.

2. Agencies collecting examination fees according to the amounts specified in Section A, Point 2, Part I of this Circular retain ninety percent of the total examination fees collected before paying them into the state budget for the following expenses:

a - Direct costs for collecting fees such as office supplies, office materials, telephone, electricity, water, and administrative fees according to current standards and norms; b - Training costs and examination organization costs (theoretical and practical driving tests); c - Costs for purchasing materials and other direct expenses related to collecting fees.

d - Costs for rewarding and welfare funds for staff directly involved in fee collection within the unit. The average annual amount allocated to the reward and welfare fund for each person shall not exceed three months' salary if the revenue for the year exceeds that of the previous year, and two months' salary if it is lower or equal to the previous year.

All retained funds must be used for their intended purpose, supported by legitimate documentation in accordance with established regulations and settled annually; if unused at the end of the year, they can be carried over to the next year.

After deducting the retained amount as specified above, the remaining ten percent of the total examination fees collected must be paid into the state budget (corresponding chapters, categories, items, sub-items in the current state budget classification).

3. Agencies collecting charges according to the amounts specified in Sections B, C, D, and E, Point 2, Part I of this Circular retain fifty percent of the total charges collected before paying them into the state budget for the following expenses:

a - Printing costs for forms, licenses, and professional certificates.

b - Direct costs for collecting charges such as office supplies, office materials, telephone, electricity, water, and administrative fees according to current standards and norms.

c - Costs for purchasing (or painting) registration plates for vessels.

d - Costs for rewarding and welfare funds for staff directly involved in charge collection within the unit. The average annual amount allocated to the reward and welfare fund for each person shall not exceed three months' salary if the revenue for the year exceeds that of the previous year, and two months' salary if it is lower or equal to the previous year.

All retained funds must be used for their intended purpose, supported by legitimate documentation in accordance with established regulations and settled annually; if unused at the end of the year, they can be carried over to the next year.

The entire amount of fees collected in accordance with the above provisions must be used for the intended purpose, with valid documentation in accordance with the prescribed regulations and annual settlement; if not fully utilized by the end of the year, it may be carried over to the following year.

The total amount of registration fees collected, after deducting the amount allocated at the ratio specified in Point 3 above, the remaining amount (50%) must be remitted to the State budget (corresponding chapter, category, item, sub-item in the current State budget classification).

4. Settlement of fees and charges shall be conducted concurrently with the settlement of the State budget. Annually, the fee collection agency shall settle the use of the receipt for collecting registration fees, the amount of registration fees collected, the amount retained by the unit, the amount to be remitted to the State budget, the amount already remitted, and the amount still to be remitted to the State budget with the Tax authority; and settle the use of the amount retained according to the regulations with the financial department of the same level.

III. IMPLEMENTATION:

1. This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette, replacing Circular No. 53 TC/TCT dated August 16, 1997 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the regime of collection, payment, and management of registration fees for ensuring order and safety on inland waterways and Decision No. 98/1999/QD-BTC dated August 25, 1999 of the Minister of Finance promulgating the schedule of registration fees for registering inland waterway transport means, examination and issuance of captain and engineer licenses, and operation fees for exploiting inland waterway areas.

2. Organizations and individuals subject to payment of fees and charges for managing order and safety on inland waterways and related agencies are responsible for implementing this Circular in accordance with its provisions.

In the course of implementation, if there are any difficulties, it is requested that relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for study and supplementary guidance.