Circular No. 47/2018/TT-BTC guiding the determination of rental prices and initial auction prices for leasing and transferring rights to exploit infrastructure assets in transportation and water conservancy projects funded by the State.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for determining rental prices and initial auction prices for leasing and transferring rights to exploit infrastructure assets in transportation and water conservancy for a limited period 

Pursuant to the Price Law number 11/2012/QH13 dated June 20, 2012;

BASED ON THE DECREE NUMBER 05/2022/ND-CP dated January 7, 2022 amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Decree Number 53/2019/ND-CP dated June 17, 2019 of the Government; pursuant to Decree No. 43/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 12, 2018 of the Government on management, use, and exploitation of maritime infrastructure assets;

Pursuant to Decree No. 44/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2018 of the Government stipulating the management, use, and exploitation of aviation infrastructure assets;

Pursuant to Decree No. 45/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2018, issued by the Government, stipulating the management, use, and operation of infrastructure assets for inland waterway transport;

Pursuant to Decree No. 46/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 14, 2018 of the Government on the management, use, and operation of national railway infrastructure assets;

Pursuant to Decree No. 129/2017/NĐ-CP dated November 16, 2017 of the Government on management, use, and exploitation of water conservancy infrastructure assets;

Pursuant to Decree No. 87/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 26, 2017, issued by the Government, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the proposal of the Director of the Price Management Department,

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular guiding the determination of rental prices, of initial auction prices for leasing and transferring rights to exploit infrastructure assets in transportation and water conservancy for a limited period.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

a) Leadership and management positions in public service units under the archival sector;

a) Determining the initial auction price for leasing and transferring rights to exploit transportation infrastructure assets (including aviation, inland waterways, maritime, national railway) and water conservancy assets invested in and managed by the State (hereinafter referred to as infrastructure assets). Among them, national railway infrastructure assets include directly related railway infrastructure assets and indirectly related railway infrastructure assets.

b) Determining the rental price for leasing the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets in cases where enterprises operating national railway infrastructure assets held 100% by the State lease such rights.

2. Infrastructure assets within the scope regulated under Clause 1 of this Article shall be subject to specific guidelines issued by competent state agencies based on specialized laws for determining rental prices, transfer prices for exploiting infrastructure assets, and initial auction prices for leasing and transferring rights to exploit infrastructure assets if such guidelines exist.

Article 2. Applicability

1. The lessee or transferee is an enterprise, unit, organization, or individual (collectively referred to as organizations or individuals) leasing or transferring rights to exploit aviation, inland waterway, maritime, national railway, and water conservancy infrastructure assets invested in and managed by the State according to Decree No. 43/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 12, 2018 of the Government on management, use, and exploitation of maritime infrastructure assets; Decree No. 44/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2018 of the Government on management, use, and exploitation of aviation infrastructure assets; Decree No. 45/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2018 of the Government on management, use, and exploitation of inland waterway transportation infrastructure assets; Decree No. 46/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 14, 2018 of the Government on management, use, and exploitation of national railway infrastructure assets; Decree No. 129/2017/NĐ-CP dated November 16, 2017 of the Government on management, use, and exploitation of water conservancy infrastructure assets (hereinafter collectively referred to as the five Decrees on management, use, and exploitation of infrastructure assets).

2. The lessor or transferor is a state management agency or entity entrusted with managing assets according to the five Decrees on management, use, and exploitation of infrastructure assets.

MECHANISMS AND POLICIES REGARDING THE PRICE OF AUCTION SERVICES FOR ASSETS THAT MUST BE SOLD THROUGH AUCTIONS AS PRESCRIBED BY LAW

Article 3. Principles for determining rental prices and initial auction prices for leasing and transferring rights to exploit transportation and water conservancy infrastructure assets

1. Ensuring compensation for actual reasonable and legitimate costs incurred in forming and managing assets, aligning with the State's policies on economic and social development during each period, and being consistent with market prices at the time of determining rental prices and initial auction prices for leasing and transferring rights to exploit infrastructure assets.

2. Consistent with planning, standards, norms, cost quotas, and economic and technical norms (if applicable), as prescribed by competent state agencies, and the technical condition of each asset.

3. Consistent with market rental and transfer prices for similar, same type, same purpose, or same technical standard and quality assets at the time of leasing and transferring rights to exploit infrastructure assets (if applicable).

4. For infrastructure assets without information on original cost or remaining value, the prescribed hypothetical price or provisional original cost (as stipulated in the five Decrees on management, use, and exploitation of infrastructure assets mentioned above) shall serve as one of the bases for determining rental prices and initial auction prices for leasing and transferring rights to exploit infrastructure assets.

Article 4. Classification of infrastructure assets for lease or transfer with a term for exploitation rights

The classification of infrastructure assets for lease or transfer with a term for exploitation rights shall be carried out according to the provisions of five Decrees on the management, use, and exploitation of infrastructure assets as mentioned above.

Article 5. Determination of the initial price for auctioning the lease of exploitation rights over infrastructure assets (excluding assets specified in Articles 6 and 8 of this Circular)

The initial price for auctioning the lease of exploitation rights over infrastructure assets is the lowest starting price when auctioning the lease of exploitation rights over infrastructure assets (excluding maintenance costs for infrastructure assets).

The initial price for auctioning the lease of exploitation rights over infrastructure assets is a fixed revenue price and a variable revenue price determined based on cost methods, wherein the annual fixed revenue price and the annual variable revenue price are determined as follows:

1. Fixed Revenue Price

The annual fixed revenue price equals the annual depreciation or amortization value of the asset plus the annual principal repayment and interest payment (if any) plus the annual management and operation expenses of the asset.

Where:

a) Annual depreciation or amortization value of the asset: This is determined in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance regarding the depreciation or amortization system of the asset.

b) Annual principal repayment and interest payment: This is determined based on the loan agreement or contract for borrowing to invest in or construct infrastructure assets. In cases where the principal repayment and interest payments have already been included in the depreciation or amortization value of the asset, such amounts must be deducted from the depreciation or amortization value of the asset.

c) Management and operation expenses of the managing entity (lessor) of the asset, suitable for each type of asset, include:

- Management staff expenses including payments made to managers such as salaries, allowances, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, and trade union fees of the management entity operating the asset. The determination of management staff salaries is carried out in accordance with the laws on wages and other relevant legal documents corresponding to each type of infrastructure asset.

- Material costs for management activities such as office supplies, repair costs for fixed assets, machinery, equipment, tools, and implements...

- Office supplies costs for management activities.

- Depreciation or amortization expenses of shared fixed assets such as office buildings, warehouses, architectural structures, transportation and transmission equipment, and management machinery and equipment used in offices (if applicable).

- Taxes, fees, and charges as prescribed by law.

- Land rental fees (if any).

- Service costs purchased externally to serve the management department such as electricity, water, telephone costs; consulting survey costs, construction plans for leasing and transfer (if any).

- Other monetary expenses outside those mentioned above such as conference fees, travel expenses, transportation costs, expenses for female workers, conference participation fees, and other reasonable and legitimate expenses related to the management of infrastructure assets.

Among the management and operation expenses, any expense that has economic and technical norms, policies, and systems established by competent authorities or prescribed by law (taxes, accounting, statistics, and related laws) and has a state-defined price shall be calculated according to these regulations; for expenses without established economic and technical norms and purchasing and spending principles, the head of the agency or unit responsible for managing and operating the asset must approve and bear responsibility for their decisions.

For expenses forming part of the fixed revenue price, in cases where they relate to multiple products, tasks, or jobs that cannot be separated, such as depreciation or amortization of assets; salaries, social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, and trade union fees; management and operation expenses... then they need to be aggregated and distributed appropriately in accordance with relevant legal provisions for each product or task.

2. Variable Revenue Price

The variable revenue price is determined as a percentage of the annual revenue from exploiting leased infrastructure assets. The minimum percentage is determined based on the proposal of the state management agency and the entity entrusted with managing infrastructure assets as stipulated in five Decrees on the management, use, and exploitation of infrastructure assets. The percentage when determining the lease price is determined based on auction regulations under the law on auctions and related laws.

3. In cases where the actual revenue from exploiting infrastructure assets in the years preceding the lease period (for assets that have been exploited for more than three years, within the last three consecutive years, and for assets exploited for less than three years up to the lease date) is lower than the expected rental price as stipulated in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, the determination of the rental price will be based on the actual exploitation of each asset and specified in the leasing plan.

Article 6. Determining the rental price, the initial auction price for leasing the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets invested by the State directly related to train operation

1. For national railway infrastructure assets invested by the State directly related to train operation (excluding stations), the initial auction price for leasing the right to exploit such assets shall be determined based on the length of the route, the advantages of the exploitation route, and other factors affecting the exploitation capacity of the asset during the lease period.

2. The determination of the initial auction price for leasing the right to exploit as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article shall be made as follows:

The initial auction price for leasing the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets invested by the State shall be determined based on the following criteria:

The average initial rental price for leasing national railway infrastructure assets invested by the State directly related to train operation is 8% calculated based on railway transport revenue.

Based on the average initial price, the length of the route, the advantages of the exploitation route, and other factors affecting the exploitation capacity of the asset during the lease period, organizations and individuals shall determine the adjustment ratio compared to the average initial price and report to the Ministry of Transport. On this basis, the Ministry of Transport shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to decide in each specific case.

3. The initial auction price for leasing the right to exploit the aforementioned national railway infrastructure assets is the minimum rental price when leasing to a business operating national railway infrastructure in which the State holds 100% of the charter capital.

Article 7. Determining the initial auction price for transferring the right to exploit national infrastructure assets for a limited time

The initial auction price for transferring the right to exploit national infrastructure assets for a limited time is the lowest initial price when auctioning the transfer of the right to exploit such assets (excluding maintenance costs for infrastructure assets).

The initial auction price for transferring the right to exploit national infrastructure assets for a limited time includes: the remaining depreciation value or residual depreciation value of the asset after revaluation during the transfer period plus (+) the total expected profit that the State will obtain from exploiting the asset during the transfer period plus (+) management and exploitation service costs of the asset (if any).

Where:

- The depreciation or residual depreciation value of the asset during the transfer period: Shall be determined according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance regarding the depreciation or residual depreciation system of assets.

- The total expected profit that the State will obtain from exploiting the asset during the transfer period is the expected profit that the State will obtain during the transfer period as prescribed by laws on prices and consistent with market conditions.

- Management and exploitation service costs of the asset (if any) shall be determined as Clause 1 of Article 5 of this Circular.

Article 8. Determining the initial auction price for leasing, transferring the right to exploit special and individual national infrastructure assets (including national railway infrastructure assets not directly related to train operation), and the rental price for leasing the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets not directly related to train operation

In cases of leasing, transferring the right to exploit transportation infrastructure assets (which are service bases, warehouses, houses, workshops, and individual auxiliary facilities) and water conservancy infrastructure, the initial auction price for leasing, transferring the right to exploit such assets shall be determined using the comparative method; if all cost factors for determining the price are available, the cost method shall be prioritized. The comparative method and the cost method shall be implemented in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance on general valuation methods for goods and services.

The initial auction price for leasing the right to exploit the aforementioned special and individual railway infrastructure assets is the minimum rental price when leasing to a business operating railway infrastructure in which the State holds 100% of the charter capital.

Article 9. Implementation Organization

1. This Circular takes effect from July 1, 2018.

2. For assets leased, transferred the right to exploit transportation and water conservancy infrastructure assets arising before the effective date of this Circular, the regulations on determining the initial auction price for leasing, transferring the right to exploit transportation and water conservancy infrastructure assets as stipulated in Article 31 of Decree No. 43/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 12, 2018 of the Government on the management, use, and exploitation of maritime infrastructure assets; Article 27 of Decree No. 44/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2018 of the Government on the management, use, and exploitation of aviation infrastructure assets; Article 30 of Decree No. 45/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2018 of the Government on the management, use, and exploitation of inland waterway transportation infrastructure assets; and Article 30 of Decree No. 46/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 14, 2018 of the Government on the management, use, and exploitation of national railway infrastructure assets shall apply.

3. If legal normative documents serving as the basis and referenced in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be applied according to the amended, supplemented, or replaced legal normative documents.

4. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, agencies and units are requested to reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution.