Circular No. 47-TC/TCĐN guiding the collection of fees for examining applications of foreign-invested cases

CIRCULAR

NUMBER 47/TC-TCĐN OF OCTOBER 21, 1989

OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

GUIDELINES FOR THE COLLECTION OF FEES FOR REVIEWING APPLICATIONS FROM ENTERPRISES WITH FOREIGN CAPITAL

CASES INVOLVING FOREIGN INVESTED CAPITAL

Pursuant to Decree No. 139/HĐBT dated September 5, 1988 of the Council of Ministers detailing the implementation of the Law on Foreign Investment in Vietnam, the Ministry of Finance provides guidelines for the collection of fees for reviewing applications from enterprises with foreign capital as follows:

2. Individuals who have registered as the principal investigator of a Research Project or Pilot Production Project and those participating in its implementation shall not participate in the Evaluation and Selection Council for that Research Project or Pilot Production Project (hereinafter referred to as the Council). In necessary cases, members of the Council may be staff members of the organization registering as the principal investigator of the Research Project or Pilot Production Project, but not more than one person and they cannot serve as Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, or reviewing member.

1. All organizations and individuals from abroad when submitting applications to establish wholly foreign-owned enterprises, or either the Vietnamese or foreign side when representing both parties in submitting applications to establish joint ventures or applications for business cooperation in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam must pay a fee for reviewing the application for business cooperation or investment application (collectively referred to as the review fee).

2. The person paying the fee mentioned in this Circular is the subject referred to in Point 1 above or their legally authorized representative.

3. The review fee shall be paid in foreign currency (USD) and submitted once at the time of application submission. In cases where the project's investment capital is not convertible foreign currency, the review fee shall be paid in Vietnamese Dong according to the selling rate published by the State Bank at the time of payment. Applications for investment or business cooperation will not be reviewed if the review fee stipulated in this Circular has not been paid or fully paid.

II. AMOUNT OF FEES

1. The review fee is set at 0.01% of the total investment capital or the total contribution of both parties in the business cooperation contract, but not less than 50 USD and not more than 10,000 USD.

2. In cases where business cooperation contracts do not specify the contributions of the two parties, a provisional payment equal to the maximum amount mentioned above (10,000 USD) shall be made. The actual amount to be paid for each specific project shall be determined by the State Committee for Cooperation and Investment based on the nature, scale, and duration of the contract.

If the amount to be paid is lower than the amount already paid, the difference will be refunded within no more than three months after the expiration of the review period.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. The person paying the review fee may submit it in cash, check, or bank transfer at the Central Bank for Foreign Trade or its nearest branch, or at the bank where the person paying the fee has an account in foreign currency. Bank charges shall be borne by the person paying the fee.

2. Relevant banks shall record the collected review fees in the "foreign currency state fund deposit" account (37.120.001) if the currency is freely convertible (USD), and in the "Vietnamese Dong deposit of the Ministry of Finance" account (03.720.001) if it is Vietnamese Dong, while simultaneously sending a notification to the Ministry of Finance.

3. The State Committee for Cooperation and Investment is responsible for checking the payment receipt or bank transfer document presented by the person paying the fee and retaining copies of these documents.

4. The Ministry of Finance periodically checks the collection of review fees. If any errors are found, it may require the State Committee for Cooperation and Investment to temporarily suspend the issuance of permits until the person paying the fee pays the full amount of the required fee. In cases of intentional fraud, the Ministry of Finance will impose a fine up to five times the amount of the unpaid fee.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

1. For those who have previously submitted applications for business cooperation or investment applications, they shall uniformly implement the guidelines of this Circular (must make up the review fee upon application review). Project sponsors must make up the required review fee and send copies of the relevant documents specified in Point III.3 above to the State Committee for Cooperation and Investment within three months from the date of issuance of this Circular. The Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and the State Committee for Cooperation and Investment are responsible for urging the payment of the review fee for cases that their respective agencies have received and reviewed.

2. This Circular replaces Circular No. 17-TC/TCĐN dated May 23, 1989 of the Ministry of Finance. The collection of business cooperation fees mentioned in Circular No. 17-TC/TCĐN will be regulated in another document.