Circular No. 57/2024/TT-BTC guides the management and use of environmental remediation and restoration security deposits in mineral extraction activities and waste disposal at the Environmental Protection Fund.

CIRCULAR
Guidelines for managing and using environmental restoration and recovery security deposits

in mineral extraction activities and waste disposal activities

at the Environmental Protection Fund

Pursuant to the Environmental Protection Law dated November 17, 2020;

Pursuant to Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 10, 2022 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection;

Pursuant to Decree No. 14/2023/NĐ-CP dated April 20, 2023, 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 Department of Banking and Financial Institutions;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular to guide the management and use of environmental restoration and recovery security deposits in mineral extraction activities and waste disposal activities at the Environmental Protection Fund.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular provides guidance on the management and use of environmental restoration and recovery security deposits in mineral extraction activities and waste disposal activities at the Environmental Protection Fund as stipulated in Article 37 and Article 76 of Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP dated January 10, 2022 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP).

Article 2. Applicability

1. The Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund (under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) established by the Prime Minister and the provincial-level Environmental Protection Funds established by the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities (hereinafter collectively referred to as the Environmental Protection Fund).

2. Organizations and individuals implementing environmental restoration and recovery security deposits for mineral extraction activities and waste disposal activities at the Environmental Protection Fund.

3. Other agencies, organizations, and individuals related as provided by law.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

1. "Depositor" is an organization or individual engaged in mineral extraction and waste disposal activities as prescribed by the Law on Environmental Protection and relevant guiding documents.

2. "Recipient of Deposit" is the Environmental Protection Fund.

3. "Security Deposit" is the amount of money deposited by the depositor with the recipient of deposit to ensure responsibility for implementing environmental restoration projects and handling risks and potential environmental pollution arising from mineral extraction and waste disposal activities as prescribed by law and this Circular.

Article 4. Currency of Deposit, Amount of Deposit, Method of Deposit, Time of Deposit, Time of Accepting Deposit, and Refunding Deposit

1. The currency for deposit and refund of deposit under this Circular is the Vietnamese Dong.

2. The amount of deposit, method of deposit, time of deposit, time of deposit, acceptance of deposit, and refund of deposit shall be implemented in accordance with Article 37 and Article 76 of Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP, guidelines of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and other laws and regulations replacing or amending it (if applicable).

Article 5. Principles for Managing and Using Security Deposits

1. Security deposits must be managed and used by the recipient of deposit based on the following principles:

a) Preservation of principal, payment of interest on deposit in accordance with this Circular and relevant laws;

b) The recipient of deposit must self-balance to cover management costs for receiving deposits.

2. Management and use of security deposits by the recipient of deposit must be conducted openly and transparently, strictly adhering to the provisions of this Circular and relevant laws.

Chapter II

MANAGEMENT, USE, REPORTING SYSTEMS, PUBLIC DISCLOSURE, AUDITING, INSPECTION, AND SUPERVISION OF SECURITY DEPOSIT MANAGEMENT AND USE

Article 6. Management of Security Deposits

1. The recipient of deposit must deposit all security deposits into a separate escrow account opened at a commercial bank. The escrow account is independent from other accounts of the recipient of deposit at the commercial bank and tracks details of each project, organization, or individual's security deposit and interest generated therefrom.

2. Money from the escrow account can only be withdrawn when conditions specified in Article 37, Article 76 of Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP, and internal regulations on the management and use of security deposits of the recipient of deposit are met.

3. The recipient of deposit must track in the accounting system the details of each project, organization, or individual's security deposit and interest generated therefrom.

4. Security deposits and interest generated therefrom must be deposited by the recipient of deposit at commercial banks. The recipient of deposit decides and bears full responsibility for selecting high-quality, safe commercial banks according to law to deposit funds; ensuring the principle of preserving the principal, covering interest payment costs for depositors, and management costs for receiving deposits.

5. Interest rates and terms for depositing security deposits under Clause 1 and Clause 4 of this Article are agreed upon between the recipient of deposit and the commercial bank in accordance with the law and the commercial bank's regulations during each period.

6. Interest rate on security deposits that the recipient of deposit must pay to the depositor:

a) The interest rate on security deposits payable to the depositor for mineral extraction activities shall be implemented in accordance with point d, Clause 5, Article 37 of Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP and other laws and regulations replacing or amending it (if applicable).

In cases where the recipient of deposit applies different lending interest rates to different groups, the interest rate on security deposits payable to the depositor shall be calculated as the arithmetic average of those lending interest rates.

In cases where the recipient of deposit is a provincial-level Environmental Protection Fund that does not engage in lending activities, the interest rate on security deposits payable to the depositor shall be determined based on the interest rate on security deposits of the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund at the time of deposit;

b) The interest rate on security deposits payable to the depositor for waste disposal activities shall be implemented in accordance with point e, Clause 2, Article 76 of Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP and other laws and regulations replacing or amending it (if applicable).

Article 7. Use of Deposit Money

1. Refund of deposit money: The receiving party must refund the deposit money and interest accrued from the deposit to the depositor or relevant competent authority in accordance with Clause 7, Clause 9 of Article 37 and Point d of Clause 4, Clause 5 of Article 76 of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP, and any replacing or amending decrees, and internal regulations on the management and use of deposit money of the receiving party.

2. The receiving party shall not use the deposit money and interest accrued from the deposit for lending or other purposes outside those stipulated in this Circular.

3. Use of interest accrued from deposit money:

a) All interest income generated from depositing the deposit money in commercial banks in accordance with this Circular and related laws shall be recorded as revenue from business operations of the receiving party;

b) All interest payable on the deposit that the receiving party must pay to the depositor in accordance with this Circular and related laws shall be recorded as expenses from business operations of the receiving party.

Article 8. Reporting, Disclosure, Audit, Inspection, and Supervision of Management and Use of Deposit Money

1. Reporting system on management and use of deposit money

a) Time of submission of reports:

- For mineral extraction activities: Periodically every six months (before July 31 of the reporting year and March 31 of the following year), the receiving party shall submit a report on the management and use of deposit money for environmental remediation and restoration in mineral extraction activities according to Appendix 1 of this Circular. For annual reports, the receiving party must attach an audited financial statement. The data collection period starts on January 1 of the reporting year and ends on June 30 and December 31 of the reporting year.

- For waste disposal activities, it shall be carried out in accordance with Point b of Clause 4 of Article 76 of Decree No. 08/2022/ND-CP, and any replacing or amending decrees (if applicable), specifically as follows: Annually (before March 31 of the following year), the receiving party shall submit a report on the management and use of deposit money for environmental remediation and restoration in waste disposal activities according to Appendix 2 of this Circular. For annual reports, the receiving party must attach an audited financial statement. For periodic annual reports, the data collection period starts on January 1 of the reporting year and ends on December 31 of the reporting year;

b) Methods of submitting reports shall be implemented through one of the following methods:

- Directly sending in paper form,

- Sending via postal service in paper form;

- Sending via email systems or specialized information reporting software systems;

- Other methods as prescribed by law.

2. Disclosure of management and use of deposit money to the depositor: Periodically every six months (before July 31 of the reporting year and March 31 of the following year), the receiving party must send a Notice of deposit balance and interest payable to the depositor at the end of June and December of the reporting year according to Appendix 3 of this Circular and disclose on the electronic information website or at the headquarters of the receiving party. For annual reports, the receiving party must attach an audited financial statement.

3. The management and use of deposit money must be detailed in the annual financial report of the receiving party regarding increases and decreases. The receiving party must conduct an audit of the annual financial report in accordance with the law.

4. The audit, inspection, and supervision of the management and use of deposit money by the receiving party shall be conducted in accordance with the law.

Chapter III

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE AUTHORITIES

Article 9. Responsibilities of the Deposit Receiving Party

1. Shall be fully responsible under the law for managing and using the deposit funds; reporting, transparency, auditing, inspection, and supervision of the management and use of deposit funds in accordance with this Circular and relevant laws.

2. Urge the depositing party to fulfill the environmental remediation and restoration deposit obligations within the prescribed time limits under the law; recommend competent authorities to handle violations if the depositing party fails to pay or delays payment of the deposit as required by law.

3. Develop and submit to the Management Board for promulgation internal regulations on the management and use of deposit funds in accordance with this Circular and relevant laws.

4. Provide periodic and ad hoc information and reports on the management and use of deposit funds as stipulated in this Circular and as required by competent authorities under the law.

5. Announce changes in the deposit interest rate to the depositing party when the lending interest rate of the deposit receiving party changes.

6. Fully comply with tax obligations and other budgetary payments related to the management and use of deposit funds in accordance with the law.

7. Enter into contracts and open deposit accounts at commercial banks in accordance with Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP and this Circular, specifying the responsibilities of each party, including the responsibility of commercial banks to only disburse funds from deposit accounts in accordance with Article 6 of this Circular and other relevant provisions.

Article 10. Responsibilities of the Management Board of the Environmental Protection Fund

1. Issue internal regulations on the management and use of deposit funds in accordance with this Circular and relevant laws.

2. Issue a list of high-quality, safe commercial banks for the Environmental Protection Fund to choose from for deposit placement in accordance with the principle set out in Clause 4, Article 6 of this Circular.

3. Shall be fully responsible under the law for supervising and inspecting the business operation department's management and use of deposit funds, reporting, transparency, auditing, inspection, and supervision in accordance with this Circular and relevant laws.

Article 11. Responsibilities of the Depositing Party

1. Fully fulfill the responsibility of paying deposits for mineral extraction activities and waste disposal activities in accordance with the law.

2. Report annually (before February 28 of the following year) to the competent authority approving the environmental remediation plan or supplementary environmental remediation plan on the results of annual deposit fulfillment at the Environmental Protection Fund in accordance with the law.

3. In case of changes in the organization or individual holding the mineral extraction permit or permission to construct and operate a waste disposal site, the depositing party must notify the deposit receiving party to amend and supplement related procedures when fulfilling the deposit and refund the deposit.

Article 12. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Provincial People's Committees

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall manage, supervise, inspect, and audit the management and use of deposit funds for the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund to ensure proper disbursement and use of deposit funds in accordance with regulations.

2. Provincial People's Committees shall manage, supervise, inspect, and audit the management and use of deposit funds for provincial environmental protection funds to ensure proper disbursement and use of deposit funds in accordance with regulations.

Article 13. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance

Coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and relevant agencies to amend and supplement regulations related to the management and use of environmental remediation and restoration deposits for mineral extraction and waste disposal activities at environmental protection funds in accordance with this Circular (if applicable).

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Transitional Provisions

In cases where the deposit has been fulfilled before this Circular takes effect, it shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 08/2017/TT-BTC dated January 24, 2017, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the management and use of environmental remediation and restoration deposits for mineral extraction activities at the Environmental Protection Fund until this Circular takes effect.

Article 15. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular shall take effect from September 14, 2024.

2. Circular No. 08/2017/TT-BTC dated January 24, 2017, issued by the Ministry of Finance on guiding the management and use of environmental remediation and restoration deposits for mineral extraction activities at the Environmental Protection Fund and Article 17 of Circular No. 84/2020/TT-BTC dated October 1, 2020, issued by the Ministry of Finance on amending and supplementing the periodic reporting system within the authority of the Minister of Finance in the field of financial banking shall cease to be effective from the date this Circular takes effect.

3. The Director of the Ministry of Finance’s Office, the Director of the Department of Financial Institutions and Financial Organizations, the Heads of relevant units under the Ministry of Finance, the Director of the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund, the Directors of provincial environmental protection funds, and related organizations and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Circular. During the implementation of this Circular, if there are difficulties, the relevant agencies and units shall promptly report to the Ministry of Finance for research and resolution./.

ANNEX I

REPORT ON THE STATUS OF BUSINESS OPERATIONS IN MANAGING AND USING ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION AND RESTORATION DEPOSITS FOR MINERAL EXTRACTION ACTIVITIES
(Attached to Circular No. 57/2024/TT-BTC dated August 1, 2024, issued by the Minister of Finance)

REPORT

On the status of managing and using environmental remediation and restoration deposits for mineral extraction activities at the Environmental Protection Fund...

Quarter/Year...

Unit: Equivalent USD¹: ......................................................

1. Regarding deposit management

Unit of measurement: Million dong

2. Regarding deposit interest rates

(Report on specific interest rates for environmental protection fund deposit that the Fund must pay to the depositing entity during the reporting period)

3. On the use of deposit funds

Unit of measurement: Million dong

___________________

¹ To be submitted to: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (for the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund), People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities (for provincial-level Environmental Protection Funds)

ANNEX II

REPORT ON THE STATUS OF OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT AND USE OF DEPOSIT FUNDS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION AND RESTORATION IN WASTE DISPOSAL ACTIVITIES
(Attached to Circular No. 57/2024/TT-BTC dated August 1, 2024, issued by the Minister of Finance)

REPORT

Regarding the management and use of deposit funds for environmental remediation and restoration in waste disposal activities at the Environmental Protection Fund ...

year...

Unit: Equivalent USD²: ...............................................................

1. Regarding deposit management

Unit of measurement: Million dong

2. Regarding deposit interest rates

(Report on specific interest rates for deposit funds that the Environmental Protection Fund must pay to the depositing entity during the reporting period)

3. On the use of deposit funds

Unit of measurement: Million dong

___________________

² To be submitted to relevant agencies as stipulated in Point b Clause 4 Article 76 Decree No. 08/2022/NĐ-CP, and any subsequent amendments, supplements, or replacements thereof.

ANNEX III

PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT OF MANAGEMENT AND USE OF DEPOSIT FUNDS TO THE DEPOSITOR
(Attached to Circular No. 57/2024/TT-BTC dated August 1, 2024, issued by the Minister of Finance)

NOTICE

On the balance of deposit funds and interest earned on deposits as of the date³ ... at the Environmental Protection Fund ....

Unit: Equivalent USD⁴: ….........................................................

1. On the balance of deposit funds and interest earned on deposits

Unit of measurement: Million dong

2. Interest rate on deposit funds at the Environmental Protection Fund

(Notification of specific interest rates for deposit funds of the Environmental Protection Fund during the reporting period)

___________________

³ Data collection date: June 30 and December 31 of the reporting year.

⁴ The depositor is the organization//individual implementing the deposit for environmental remediation and restoration related to mining activities/waste disposal at the Environmental Protection Fund.