Circular No. 50/2013/TT-BTC guiding interest rate support for loans from commercial banks to purchase temporary storage of rice for the Winter-Spring crop year 2012-2013

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for interest rate support on bank loans to purchase temporary storage rice and paddy for the winter-spring crop year 2012-2013

temporary storage of rice from the winter-spring crop of 2012-2013

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Pursuant to the Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decision No. 311/QĐ-TTg dated February 7, 2013 of the Prime Minister on purchasing temporary storage rice and paddy for the Winter-Spring crop year 2012-2013;

After reaching consensus with the State Bank of Vietnam through Circular No. 1805/NHNN-TD dated March 19, 2012;

The Minister of Finance hereby issues this Circular amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 133/2015/TT-BTC dated August 31, 2015, issued by the Minister of Finance guiding the financial management mechanism for the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 133/2015/TT-BTC).

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular guiding the provision of interest rate support on bank loans for purchasing temporary storage rice and paddy for the Winter-Spring crop year 2012-2013 for traders as specified in Decision No. 311/QĐ-TTg dated February 7, 2013 of

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Circular guides the provision of interest rate support from the state budget on loans taken out to purchase temporary storage rice and paddy for the Winter-Spring crop year 2012-2013 for traders as specified in Decision No. 311/QĐ-TTg dated February 7, 2013 of

2. This Circular applies to traders implementing the purchase of temporary storage rice and paddy for the Winter-Spring crop year 2012-2013 assigned by the Vietnam Food Association pursuant to Article 3 of Decision No. 311/QĐ-TTg dated February 7, 2013 of

1. The state budget will provide 100% interest rate support on loans taken from commercial banks for traders falling within the scope defined in Article 1 of this Circular to purchase temporary storage rice and paddy from the winter-spring crop 2013-2014, in accordance with the Prime Minister's Directive as set forth in Decision No. 373a/QĐ-TTg.

1. The state budget will provide 100% interest rate support on loans taken from commercial banks for traders falling within the scope defined in Article 1 of this Circular to purchase temporary storage rice and paddy for the Winter-Spring crop year 2012-2013 as directed by

2. Interest rate support on loans for purchasing temporary storage rice and paddy shall only be provided for loans from commercial banks designated by the State Bank of Vietnam pursuant to Article 5 of Decision No. 311/QĐ-TTg dated February 7, 2013 of

Loans eligible for interest rate support are those repaid before and within the due date at the time of interest rate support, with no support provided for overdue loans.

4. The quantity of rice and paddy eligible for interest rate support for each trader shall be based on the actual quantity of rice and paddy purchased for temporary storage but shall not exceed the quantity specified in the allocation documents for the purchase of temporary storage rice and paddy for the Winter-Spring crop year 2012-2013 issued by the Vietnam Food Association, and must ensure that the total quantity of rice and paddy purchased for temporary storage does not exceed one million tons of milled rice as stipulated in Article 1 of Decision No. 311/QĐ-TTg dated February 7, 2013 of

6. The period for purchasing temporary storage is from March 15, 2014 to April 30, 2014.

6. The period for purchasing temporary storage is from February 20, 2013 to March 31, 2013.

7. The period during which interest rate support on bank loans can be received is the actual temporary storage period from the date of purchasing rice and paddy as stipulated in Clause 6 of this Article until the date of selling the temporarily stored rice and paddy but shall not exceed May 20, 2013.

The basis for calculating the supported interest rate is the actual purchase price according to market prices (excluding value-added tax) for each type of rice and paddy.

The basis for determining the actual purchase price according to market prices is the purchase and sale contract, the contract termination document, the goods entry warehouse receipt, the purchase invoice, the payment transfer document, or other relevant documents presented by the trader.

In cases where traders purchase temporary storage paddy, it will be converted at a ratio of two (2) units of paddy to one (1) unit of rice.

In cases where traders purchase raw rice to produce finished rice products, they are entitled to support for production and processing costs (after deducting the value of by-products recovered), but the quantity of raw rice cannot be converted into finished rice. Traders must present relevant documents and materials related to production and processing costs to the Department of Industry and Trade for the Department of Industry and Trade to verify the unit price of temporarily stored rice and paddy.

9. The supported interest rate is the interest rate at which traders borrow from banks under the Credit Agreement, but it shall not exceed 11% per annum as guided by the State Bank of Vietnam in Circular No. 995/NHNN-TD dated February 19, 2013 and Circular No. 1367/NHNN-TD dated March 4, 2013.

10. The interest subsidy from the state budget for the amount of rice and paddy purchased for temporary storage as directed by the Prime Minister shall be recorded as other income in the period of the trader and subject to corporate income tax as prescribed.

Article 3. Documents and procedures for interest rate support on bank loans to purchase temporary storage rice and paddy

1. Documents for consideration of interest rate support on bank loans

a) A letter requesting state budget support for interest rates on bank loans for traders purchasing temporary storage rice and paddy (including full name of the entity, address, tax code, and account number for disbursement of the support funds). For the letters requesting support from the Northern Food Corporation and the Southern Food Corporation, they need to consolidate the support requests of their affiliated units.

b) A certified copy of the Credit Agreement and promissory note between the trader and the commercial bank where the trader borrows money to purchase temporary storage rice and paddy for the Winter-Spring crop year 2012-2013 as directed by

c) An inventory sheet of purchases, sales, and stock of temporarily stored rice and paddy. The inventory sheet must be confirmed by the leader of the Department of Industry and Trade where the trader has the temporary storage warehouse according to Form No. 1 attached to this Circular.

If the trader implements the purchase and temporary storage of rice and paddy in multiple locations, they must prepare an inventory sheet of purchases, sales, and stock of temporarily stored rice and paddy for each location confirmed by the leader of the Department of Industry and Trade (where the trader has the temporary storage warehouse). Based on the inventory sheets confirmed by the local Department of Industry and Trade, the trader prepares a consolidated inventory sheet of temporarily stored rice and paddy and is responsible for the accuracy of the aggregated data.

d) A list of outstanding loan balances from the bank for purchasing temporarily stored rice and paddy and interest payments arising from the time of purchase as stipulated in Clause 6 of Article 2 of this Circular until the time of sale but not exceeding May 20, 2013 (the list must be confirmed by the leader of the commercial bank where the trader borrowed the funds according to Form No. 2 attached to this Circular).

đ) A calculation table of interest rates on bank loans for purchasing temporarily stored rice and paddy requesting support according to Form No. 3 attached to this Circular.

2. Principles for receiving applications and disbursing support funds to traders

a) After the end of the temporary storage period, the Northern Food Corporation, the Southern Food Corporation, and other traders must submit directly or via postal service one set of documents as specified in Clause 1 of Article 3 of this Circular to the Ministry of Finance (Department of Corporate Finance).

b) After receiving complete documents as prescribed, within fifteen working days, the Ministry of Finance will review the documents and process interest rate support for the traders.

c) For the Northern Food Corporation and the Southern Food Corporation:

- The Ministry of Finance will accept the consolidated set of documents of the Northern Food Corporation and the Southern Food Corporation (will not accept documents from affiliated units of the Corporation). The review of the support interest rate application will be conducted once after the end of the temporary storage period and disbursed through the Corporation's account.

- The Northern Food Corporation and the Southern Food Corporation shall guide their member units to prepare loan interest subsidy application files according to Clause 1 of Article 3 of this Circular and submit them to the Ministry of Finance. The corporations must be responsible for the accuracy of the aggregated data. After receiving the interest subsidy funds from the Ministry of Finance credited to the corporation's account, within five working days, the corporation shall re-disburse these funds to its member units.

d) For other traders: The Ministry of Finance will accept the documents, review the documents for interest rate support after the end of the temporary storage period, and disburse the support funds through the trader's account.

Article 4. Responsibilities of organizations and state agencies related to supporting interest rates on bank loans for purchasing temporary storage rice and paddy

1. Responsibilities of the relevant ministries, sectors, People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities in the Mekong Delta region, and the Vietnam Food Association in implementing the purchase of temporary rice stock.

a) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities in the Mekong Delta region, and the Vietnam Food Association to be responsible for inspecting and supervising the implementation of the temporary rice stock purchase according to Decision No. 311/QĐ-TTg dated February 7, 2013.

b) The State Bank of Vietnam shall be responsible for designating certain commercial banks to implement loans for purchasing temporary rice stocks according to Decision No. 311/QĐ-TTg dated February 7, 2013.

c) People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities in the Mekong Delta region shall direct the Departments of Industry and Trade to inspect and confirm the inventory lists of rice imports, exports, and storage at warehouses located within their respective provinces of traders assigned the task of temporary storage (including cases where the trader does not have a headquarters in the province).

d) Departments of Industry and Trade of provinces and centrally governed cities in the Mekong Delta region shall base on the relevant files and documents presented by traders as stipulated in Clause 8 of Article 2 of this Circular to check the quantity purchased, purchase unit price, purchase value, and storage quantity and storage value of rice during the temporary storage period; confirm the inventory lists of rice imports, exports, and storage prepared by the traders according to the form number 1 issued together with this Circular, and bear responsibility for the accuracy of the confirmed data.

đ) The Vietnam Food Association shall be responsible for:

 - Notifying the Ministry of Finance of the list of traders who have been allocated purchase targets for temporary rice stock by the Association so that the Ministry of Finance can monitor and consider interest rate subsidies for the traders according to the regulations.

- Notifying the Departments of Industry and Trade of provinces and centrally governed cities in the Mekong Delta region of the list of traders who have been allocated purchase targets for temporary rice stock by the Association so that the Departments of Industry and Trade can fulfill their responsibilities as stipulated in Point c of Clause 1 of Article 3 of this Circular.

- Inspecting and supervising the organization of the purchase of temporary rice stock for traders in accordance with the provisions of Decision No. 311/QĐ-TTg dated February 7, 2013 of the Prime Minister.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for:

a) Checking and appraising the files strictly in accordance with the provisions stated in Article 3 of this Circular; implementing the disbursement of interest subsidy funds for bank loans to purchase temporary rice stock according to Decision No. 311/QĐ-TTg dated February 7, 2013.

b) At the end of the temporary storage period, organize inspections of the preparation of interest subsidy application files for bank loans to purchase temporary rice stock by traders; the accounting of the state budget support funds according to the provisions of Article 5 of this Circular.

3. Responsibilities of traders in purchasing temporarily stored rice and paddy

a) Implementing the temporary storage purchase of rice according to the directives of the Prime Minister in Decision No. 311/QĐ-TTg dated February 7, 2013 under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities in the Mekong Delta region, and the Vietnam Food Association.

b) Being responsible for the authenticity of the import, export, and storage records of temporary rice stock and credit contracts for purchasing temporary rice stock, and also being responsible for the accuracy of the data reported in the interest subsidy application files.

c) Keeping files and certificates of rice imports, exports, and bank loans, and maintaining separate ledgers for accounting of the temporary storage purchase of rice according to the directives of.

d) Bear responsibility for the business effectiveness of purchasing temporarily stored rice and paddy.

đ) Bear legal responsibility if there is a violation of financial and accounting regulations in implementing the temporary storage of rice and paddy.

e) Must repay the state budget the amount of interest rate support funds that have been disbursed if state management agencies inspect and discover any violations.

Article 5. Organization of inspection of interest rate support for purchasing temporary storage

1. Upon completion of the temporary storage period, the Ministry of Finance shall conduct inspections of the preparation of interest subsidy application files for the purchase of temporary rice stock by traders. The inspection must notify the traders in writing before conducting the inspection. At the conclusion of the inspection, a Record of Inspection must be established detailing the implementation status, existing issues, and proposed solutions.

2. Content of Inspection:

a) Checking the accuracy and reasonableness of the interest subsidy application files for bank loans to purchase temporary rice stock for the 2012-2013 winter-spring crop season prepared by the traders.

b) Checking the accounting of the support funds from the state budget by the traders.

Article 6. Implementation Organization

1. The Director of the Finance and Planning Department is responsible for guiding and supervising the implementation of this Circular.

During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, units are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for guidance on handling./.