Circular No. 57/1998/TT-BTC guiding the system for collecting bridge and road fees managed by the State

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the Collection of Bridge and Road Fees Managed by the State

WHEREAS Decision No. 276/CT dated July 28, 1992 of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now the Prime Minister) on the unified management of various fees and charges;

Based on Decision No. 13/CT dated January 11, 1991 of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers regarding the collection of fees for crossing bridges and roads; Circular No. 3170/KTN dated June 25, 1997 of the Government on borrowing funds to repair roads and collecting fees to repay borrowed capital; Circular No. 3328/KTN dated July 3, 1997 of the Government on collecting fees on certain national highways;

To strengthen and unify the management of bridge and road fee collections, and following the opinions of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance, guidelines for the collection of bridge and road fees managed by the state are hereby provided as follows:

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. The bridge and road fees stipulated in this Circular are revenue collected to offset the costs of state budget investment in building, purchasing, repairing, and managing bridges and roads, ensuring the provision of transportation and social traffic services.

Article 2. Bridges and roads managed by the state are those constructed or purchased with state budget funds and funds derived from the state budget (referred to collectively as state budget funds), including:

a. Bridges and roads built with state budget funds allocated, including those inherited from the previous regime;

b. Bridges and roads constructed with funds derived from the state budget such as retained toll revenues from bridges and roads; profits and basic depreciation that must be paid to the state budget but are permitted to be retained by competent authorities; people's aid funds (including gifts) and government aid from countries and international organizations;

c. Bridges and roads paid for through land-for-construction swaps; bridges and roads constructed under build-transfer (BT) contracts;

d. Bridges and roads built with raised funds or voluntarily contributed by organizations and individuals without expectation of return (excluding joint venture investments for business purposes) and other state funds;

đ. Bridges and roads built with government loans, state agencies, including loans taken out by enterprises designated by the state and guaranteed by the state for repayment;

e. Bridges and roads constructed under build-operate-transfer (BOT) contracts, which have completed their operational period and been transferred to state management (excluding those still in the operational phase according to the contract);

g. Roads upgraded with loans from enterprises authorized by state authorities to borrow for road repairs and to collect fees to repay loaned capital as per Circular No. 3170/KTN dated June 25, 1997 of the Government;

h. Bridges and roads built under partial state budget funding, with the remaining capital allowed by competent authorities for the project owner to borrow and organize fee collection to repay the loan.

The bridges and roads specified in this Circular do not include those constructed by organizations and individuals engaged in business activities who invest and collect fees to cover business costs, pay taxes, and bear responsibility for their business operations as prescribed by law, including bridges and roads invested in under BOT contracts during the operational phase (before transfer).

Article 3. For the bridges and roads mentioned in Article 2 above, permission to collect fees and the establishment of fee rates by the following authorities are required before fee collection can commence:

a. For centrally-managed bridges and roads, the Ministry of Finance shall establish the fee rate, after consulting with the Ministry of Transport or relevant specialized ministries;

b. For locally-managed bridges and roads (province, district, commune), the People's Committee of the province shall establish the fee rate, after receiving written comments from the Ministry of Finance.

Any bridge or road fees collected contrary to the provisions of the law and the guidelines set forth herein must be fully remitted to the state budget (allocated 100% to the central budget).

Article 4. All bridge and road fee revenues must be managed through the state budget in accordance with the current State Budget Law.

Article 5. All expenses related to bridge and road operations must be budgeted, approved by the competent authority, used for their intended purpose, and comply with the current financial expenditure regulations, with valid receipts as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

PART TWO
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

I. SCOPE OF APPLICATION:

Article 6. Units organizing the collection of bridge and road fees must apply accounting systems as stipulated in Decision No. 999 TC/QĐ/CĐKT dated November 2, 1996 of the Minister of Finance establishing the accounting system for administrative and public service units and special accounting rules for the industry, after reaching consensus with the Ministry of Finance; they must use receipts issued by the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Taxation).

Article 1. Entities Subject to Bridge and Road Fees:

All motor vehicles on roads, including tractors, excavators, bulldozers, cranes, and other mechanical equipment, including motor vehicles belonging to defense and security forces that actually pass through fee-charging bridges and roads, must pay corresponding bridge and road fees.

Article 2. Entities Required to Pay Bridge and Road Fees:

Domestic organizations and individuals, and foreign organizations and individuals using transportation means subject to bridge and road fees, who actually use fee-charging bridges and roads, must pay fees as prescribed in this Circular, except for entities exempted as specified in Article 3 below.

Article 3. Exemptions from Bridge and Road Fees:

a. Ambulances; in cases where other motor vehicles are transporting accident victims for emergency treatment, they are also exempt from fees;

b. Funeral vehicles, including funeral cars and vehicles carrying mourners;

c. Passenger vehicles of the National Assembly, the State, the Government, and political-social organizations, escorted by police vehicles;

d. Vehicles of diplomatic missions and international organizations permanently stationed in Vietnam enjoying diplomatic privileges and immunities. In this case, the vehicle users must present diplomatic identification cards or official identification cards issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

e. Special-purpose vehicles used by disabled veterans or persons with disabilities;

g. Motor vehicles performing urgent and emergency tasks upon mobilization orders from competent state authorities, such as dike protection vehicles, flood and storm prevention vehicles, epidemic control vehicles;

h. Vehicles of security forces currently in pursuit of criminals;

i. Motor vehicles performing propaganda and mobilization tasks for Party and State policies pursuant to the dispatch of the competent authority;

k. Vehicles used by Journalists (excluding cases where the Journalist is a passenger or guest on a motor vehicle used by another organization or individual). The entities mentioned in this point must present to the fee collection agency a certificate (Dispatch Order, card, diplomatic identification...) proving their status as exempt from payment.

4. Civil servants, public officials, workers, students, and trainees who regularly use two-wheeled motorcycles to cross bridges and roads shall be eligible for reduced fees through monthly ticket purchases.

In this case, the entity purchasing the monthly ticket must provide a certificate from their workplace or school regarding their regular need to cross the specified toll bridges and roads, and directly proceed to the designated location for ticket sales (as stipulated by the collecting agency) to purchase the tickets.

II. LEVELS OF BRIDGE AND ROAD FEES:

1. The maximum level of fees for bridges and roads according to the attached Appendix of this Circular.

Based on the fee levels prescribed in this Circular, the competent authority shall specify the fee levels (as provided in Point 3, Part I of this Circular) applicable to each bridge and road, taking into account the scale, characteristics, and specific conditions of each bridge and road within the maximum fee limit set forth in this Circular.

When market prices fluctuate (increase or decrease) by 20% or more, the authority responsible for setting the fee levels must review and, within its jurisdiction, adjust the fees accordingly to reflect the actual situation.

2. Bridge and road fees shall be collected in Vietnamese dong at the rates specified on the tickets (replacing receipts for fees and surcharges) issued by the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Taxation).

III. ORGANIZATION OF BRIDGE AND ROAD FEE COLLECTION:

1. The agency assigned the task of managing a bridge or road shall simultaneously be responsible for organizing the fee collection for that bridge or road (hereinafter referred to as the fee collection agency).

The fee collection agency shall have the following responsibilities:

a. Organize fee collection in accordance with the provisions of this Circular:

Publicly announce (including posting at the fee collection points) the fee levels, entities required to pay, entities exempt from payment, entities eligible for monthly tickets, and procedures for purchasing monthly tickets.

Establish fixed and mobile fee collection points (selling tickets instead of fee and surcharge receipts) to ensure convenience and timely service to those paying fees and using the bridges and roads. Tickets must be pre-printed with specific fee levels for each bridge and road.

The fee collection agency must organize capable and morally sound staff with authority to verify and determine entities exempt from payment and those eligible for monthly tickets, promptly addressing all cases to avoid inconvenience and corruption.

Records of non-payment or eligibility for monthly tickets must be retained for a minimum of five years for follow-up processing and inspection by state agencies. If there are no changes in the criteria for exemption or reduction, the initial processing record will serve as the basis for subsequent processing. For subsequent non-payments, the entity only needs to present an introduction letter or certificate from their place of work or study. The fee collection agency will compare the certificate with the stored records to process specifically.

For entities exempt from payment, a "free pass" card will be issued. Based on the type of entity exempt from payment, the fee collection agency will issue a "free pass" card valid for one year, one quarter, one month, or just one work period. "Free pass" cards for bridges and roads are issued by the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Taxation) and must periodically reconcile the number of issued cards with the records of each exempt entity and settle accounts as if they were fee receipts (tickets).

b. Organize quick, accurate, and convenient traffic control to ensure smooth traffic flow. All vehicles passing through the specified toll bridges and roads must present tickets or "free pass" cards (for entities exempt from payment). In urgent cases such as vehicles transporting accident victims, funeral vehicles, firefighting vehicles, vehicles pursuing criminals, vehicles carrying flood prevention certificates, epidemic prevention certificates, vehicles of the National Assembly, State, Government, political-social organizations escorted by police, no "free pass" card is required when passing through bridges and roads.

In cases of control and detection of entities without tickets, invalid tickets, or "free pass" cards not belonging to urgent cases, they must immediately be handed over to the competent authority for resolution. It is strictly prohibited to obstruct or impede traffic due to fee evasion.

Strictly prohibit fee controllers from also being fee collectors (ticket sellers) or directly receiving money from those crossing bridges and roads without tickets, or colluding with fee payers to evade payment, embezzle fees, and cause loss of fees.

c. Implement administrative penalties against entities evading or illegally avoiding fees within their jurisdiction.

d. Report the amount of fees collected each month to the direct tax management agency; reports must be complete, accurate according to the prescribed form, and the person reporting is responsible for the accuracy of the report.

e. Pay the full amount of fees into the state budget by the deadline specified in the tax agency's notification. The deadline for paying fees into the state budget for the month indicated in the notification shall not exceed the 15th day of the following month. Fees paid into the state budget shall be in Vietnamese dong.

g. Maintain accounting books and vouchers in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance; provide complete documentation, accounting books, and vouchers related to fee management upon request by the tax agency.

Annually settle accounts with the tax agency (amounts collected, amounts paid into the state budget, amounts retained, amounts spent, amounts still to be paid...). Within sixty days from the end of the implementation year, submit the annual settlement report to the direct tax management agency and must pay any outstanding fees into the state budget within ten days from the date of submission of the settlement report.

2. Organizations and individuals using means of transportation (including those not required to pay fees) who wish to pass through toll bridges and roads must purchase tickets or be issued a "free" card by the fee collection agency (for those exempt from payment) and each time they travel on the bridge or road, they must present their ticket or free card to the ticket inspector (except in urgent cases as specified in sub-item b, point 1, section of this item). Tickets issued for a specific bridge or road can only be used on that particular bridge or road; monthly tickets are valid only during the month they are issued.

IV. MANAGEMENT OF BRIDGE AND ROAD TOLL REVENUE USE:

A. For bridges and roads funded by state budget capital, capital derived from the state budget, and state-guaranteed loans (as specified in sub-items a, b, c, d, đ, e of point 2, part I).

The entire daily toll revenue collected must be deposited into an account opened at the State Treasury where the collection agency is located and managed and used according to the following regulations:

1. The direct collection agency may temporarily retain 20% of the total toll revenue collected to cover regular expenses for organizing the collection of tolls on specified bridges and roads, as follows:

a. Costs for printing (or purchasing) tickets, seals, and other office supplies necessary for toll collection.

b. Wages, salaries, and allowances paid to management staff (excluding construction, repair, maintenance, and road management staff) and directly employed toll collectors.

c. Costs for labor protection, social insurance contributions, health insurance contributions, and trade union funds for which the employing agency is responsible.

d. Contributions to welfare and incentive funds for civil servants and employees of the direct collection agency, with a maximum annual contribution rate of three months' actual salary for each fund.

g. Other reasonable regular expenses directly serving toll collection as prescribed (if applicable).

All such expenses must be balanced against the annual financial budget approved by the competent authority as stipulated in section V of this Circular, used for their intended purpose in accordance with national expenditure standards, and supported by valid documentation. At year-end settlement, if there is unspent money, it must be remitted to the state budget; however, if the temporarily retained amount (20%) does not cover the aforementioned needs, it can be deducted from the amount due for the following year, and all properly and legitimately expended toll revenue must be recorded through the state budget according to the procedures outlined in section V below.

2. After deducting the temporarily retained 20% as specified above, the remaining 80% of the total toll revenue collected must be declared and remitted to the state budget according to the following procedures:

Monthly, before the fifth day of each month, the toll collection agency must declare to the Tax Administration managing them the amount collected, the number and type of tickets used in the previous month (including free cards) according to the Tax Administration's form.

The Tax Administration will review the declaration and notify the toll collection agency of the amount of toll revenue due to the state budget for the previous month, specifying the amount due, deadline, and corresponding chapter, category, and item under Article 032 of the State Budget Manual.

Based on the tax notification, the agency must remit the money to the state budget within the prescribed deadline (if the bridge or road is centrally managed, 100% is allocated to the central budget; if locally managed, 100% is allocated to the local budget).

The entire toll revenue collected and remitted to the state budget will be centralized for repaying loans for bridge and road construction, repair, and maintenance, and supplementing maintenance and upkeep costs for bridges and roads according to the annual budget.

B. For roads upgraded with borrowed capital as per Government Circular No. 3170/KTN dated June 25, 1997 (as specified in sub-item g, point 2, part I):

The entire daily toll revenue collected must be deposited into an account opened at the State Treasury and managed and used as follows:

1. To create a source for repaying the loan principal and interest according to the investment loan agreement for the toll road itself.

2. To cover regular and irregular expenses for maintaining, repairing, managing, and upgrading the toll road according to the approved budget.

3. To cover management and organization costs for toll collection and to establish funds for staff of the directly managing agency as specified for bridges and roads in section A above.

After ensuring the above expenses, the remaining toll revenue must be remitted to the state budget according to the procedures specified in section A (2) above, and all expenditures made according to points 1, 2, and 3 of this section must be recorded through the state budget according to the procedures outlined in section V below.

Toll revenue from roads permitted to borrow for upgrades, after fully repaying the loan principal and interest, must be managed and used like toll revenue from bridges and roads funded by state budget capital as specified in section A.

C. For bridges and roads constructed under a model where the state budget provides partial funding, allowing the project owner to borrow the shortfall and organize toll collection to repay the debt, the toll revenue shall be used as follows:

1. To repay the loan principal and interest according to the loan agreement.

2. To cover regular expenses for directly organizing toll collection on the bridge or road generating the revenue, as specified for bridges and roads in section A above.

After deducting the amounts repaid and the organizational costs (points 1.2), the remainder must be remitted to the state budget.

All actually expended toll revenue (including loan repayment) must be recorded through the state budget according to the procedures outlined in section V below.

Once these bridges and roads have fully repaid the loan principal and interest, the toll revenue collected must be managed and used like that from bridges and roads in section A.

D. For bridges and roads constructed under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract:

During the implementation of the contract, the fee collection agency must report the toll collection situation on bridges and roads to the local Tax Authority where the bridge or road is permitted to collect tolls. The tax authority has the responsibility to monitor the contract implementation process to promptly manage toll collection when the transferring unit transfers. In case difficulties arise during implementation that prevent the unit from transferring according to the signed contract, it must report to the competent authority for decision.

For bridges and roads constructed under the BOT model, if they end their business phase according to the contract (or according to the decision of the competent authority) and transfer management to the State, the toll collection management shall be carried out like those in Section A above.

V. BUDGET ESTIMATION, FINALIZATION AND PROCEDURES
RECORDING OF RECEIPTS AND EXPENSES IN THE STATE BUDGET:

1. Preparation of financial budget:

Annually, the fee collection agency is responsible for preparing the financial budget (revenue - expenditure) for each bridge and road under its management, distinguishing between toll revenue, other revenue; regular expenses, irregular expenses, expense items set aside to repay loans (if any), detailed to each revenue and expenditure item according to the state budget classification prescribed for each corresponding revenue and expenditure item, with explanations and justifications for the basis of calculation, and submit to the Tax Authority and the directly managing Financial Authority.

After receiving comments from the Tax Authority and the directly managing Financial Authority, the fee collection agency will implement the annual financial budget report in the following sequence:

For the financial budget (revenue - expenditure) of the fee collection agencies under central management, it shall be sent to the Central Highway Management Zone and reported to the Vietnam Highway Administration. The Vietnam Highway Administration will consolidate the budgets of the Highway Management Zones to report to the Ministry of Transport.

The Ministry of Transport will consolidate the revenue and expenditure budgets of the bridges and roads of subordinate units into its own state budget revenue and expenditure budget and send it to the Ministry of Finance (the annual budget is sent before August 15 of the previous year).

For the financial budget of fee collection units under local management, it shall be sent to the Department of Transport and the Department of Finance and Price (the annual budget is sent before August 10 of the previous year) for the Department of Finance and Price to prepare the local government budget to be submitted to the Provincial People's Committee.

The annual financial budget of bridge and road management units, after being reviewed by the Ministry of Transport (for centrally managed units) and the Provincial People's Committee (for locally managed units), will be consolidated into the state budget.

2. Notification of annual finalization approval:

Not later than 60 days from the date the National Assembly passes the Resolution on the state budget and the budget of each ministry and each locality for the planning year, the Ministry of Transport (or the Vietnam Highway Administration if authorized by the Ministry of Transport), the Department of Transport or relevant ministries and sectors (if applicable), shall notify the approval of the financial budget (revenue - expenditure) for each bridge and road under their direct management (the Ministry of Transport for bridges and roads under its management; the Department of Transport for bridges and roads under local management, other ministries and sectors for bridges and roads under their management).

The notification of the approved financial budget must be simultaneously sent to the Financial Authority, the State Treasury, and the directly managing Tax Authority. The notification must detail each revenue and expenditure item according to the state budget classification, consistent with the total amount (revenue - expenditure) allocated by the State to the ministry or locality.

3. Implementation of the budget:

Based on the notification of the approved annual financial budget by the competent authority, the directly managing fee collection agency can proactively allocate toll revenue according to the specified ratio to cover the cost of organizing toll collection and establish a fund as stipulated above. Other expenses will be funded by the state budget according to the approved budget.

4. Accounting and finalization of revenue and expenditure:

Each quarter and annually, the revenue and expenditure of bridges and roads must be finalized according to the content, time limit, and submitted reports as prescribed. They are subject to inspection and supervision by the state management agency as provided by law.

5. Procedures for recording revenue and expenditure:

All toll fees temporarily retained by the unit for use as stipulated in Section IV above must be reflected in the state budget through the "record revenue, record expenditure" method. The procedures and formalities for "record revenue, record expenditure" are as follows:

Not later than 15 days after the end of the quarter, the fee collection agency must compile the actual toll revenue collected and the actual expenses incurred during the period and submit them to the directly managing Financial Authority and Tax Authority for "record revenue, record expenditure" through the state budget.

The Financial Authority and Tax Authority will verify and determine the actual legitimate revenue and expenditure according to the content and approved expenditure budget, and report to the higher-level Financial Authority.

Based on the unit's application, the verified amounts by the Financial Authority and Tax Authority at the grassroots level, the Ministry of Finance (for centrally managed bridges and roads) and the Department of Finance (for locally managed bridges and roads) will handle "record revenue, record expenditure" through the state budget (central budget for centrally managed bridges and roads; local budget for locally managed bridges and roads).

Based on the executed collection and expenditure orders, the Tax Authority (General Department of Taxation for centrally managed bridges and roads; Provincial Tax Bureau for locally managed bridges and roads) is responsible for notifying the actual revenue of each bridge and road to the directly managing Tax Authority for monitoring; the Financial Authority (Ministry of Finance for centrally managed bridges and roads, Department of Finance for locally managed bridges and roads) will notify the expenditure details (itemized) for each bridge and road for accounting and finalization according to the prescribed regulations.

"Record revenue, record expenditure" will only be implemented on the actual revenue and expenditure amounts that comply with the approved expenditure content, have valid vouchers, and conform to the prescribed regulations. If the expenditure does not comply with the regulations, it will not be recorded but must be directly deposited into the state budget.

VI. VIOLATION HANDLING:

1. Organizations and individuals passing through bridges and roads who evade payment of tolls or engage in fraudulent toll payments (using tickets contrary to regulations) shall, in addition to paying the full amount of tolls due according to the prescribed rates, also be fined three times the amount of the fraudulent tolls.

Upon detecting any such violation, it must be immediately transferred to the authorized person (designated by the fee collection agency) for prompt and appropriate administrative penalty. The penalty must be handled promptly and accurately according to the violation to prevent traffic congestion. All cases of fine collection must issue a receipt, recording the exact amount collected (the type of receipt issued by the Ministry of Finance) to the person paying the fine.

2. Organizations and individuals collecting fees who violate the fee collection and payment system; fine collection and payment; declaration and payment of fees into the state budget; accounting and settlement systems shall be subject to administrative penalties as stipulated in Article 2 and Article 4 of Decree No. 22/CP dated April 17, 1996 of the Government on administrative penalties in the field of taxation.

PART THREE
IMPLEMENTATION:

1. This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of issuance. Previous documents that conflict with this Circular are hereby abolished.

For the fees already collected at bridges and roads where the competent authority has prescribed the collection and rate but have not yet specified the management regime for the collected funds from the date of collection until the effective date of this Circular, they shall also be implemented according to this Circular; the difference between the amount collected and the amount spent must be fully remitted to the state budget.

2. The Tax Authority is responsible for guiding, inspecting, and urging the bridge and road fee collection agencies to comply strictly with the provisions of this Circular. It shall cooperate with the fee collection agencies to study and design models (including free pass cards) and other stamps serving the purpose of fee collection and organize printing, issuance, and management in accordance with the stamp management regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

During implementation, if there are any difficulties, organizations, individuals, and fee payers are requested to promptly report them to the Ministry of Finance for research and resolution.

MAXIMUM COLLECTION RATE

BRIDGE AND ROAD USE FEES

(Annexed to Circular No. 57/1998/TT-BTC dated April 27, 1998)
Port Authority Name