Circular No. 66/2009/TT-BTC on the regime for collecting, depositing, managing, and using fees for issuing passports, visas, and other documents related to entry, exit, transit, and residence in Vietnam

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the Collection, Submission, Management, and Use of Fees for Issuing Passports, Visas, and Documents Related to Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence in Vietnam

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Pursuant to the Ordinance on Fees and Charges;

Pursuant to Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Charges, and Decree No. 24/2006/NĐ-CP dated March 6, 2006 amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government;

Pursuant to the Ordinance on Entry, Exit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam and Decree No. 21/2001/NĐ-CP dated May 28, 2001 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Entry, Exit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam;

Pursuant to Decree No. 136/2007/NĐ-CP dated August 17, 2007 of the Government on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens;

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

Pursuant to Decision No. 875/TTg dated November 21, 1996 of the Prime Minister regarding the resolution of Vietnamese citizens residing abroad returning to Vietnam;

The Ministry of Finance hereby stipulates the regulations on the collection, submission, management, and use of fees for issuing passports, visas, and related documents for Vietnamese citizens and foreigners entering, exiting, transiting, and residing in Vietnam as follows:

Article 1. General Provisions

Article 1. This Circular applies to the fees for issuing passports, visas, and related documents for Vietnamese citizens and foreigners entering, exiting, transiting, and residing in Vietnam (collectively referred to as entry-exit fees) collected by agencies under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of National Defense within Vietnam.

Article 2. Vietnamese citizens when submitting applications to competent authorities under the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of National Defense for the issuance of passports (including new issuance and reissuance due to damage or loss of passports), related documents for passport issuance (if any), and foreigners when obtaining visas from these agencies; or Vietnamese citizens and foreigners when obtaining related documents for entry, exit, transit, or residence in Vietnam from these agencies must pay the fees as prescribed in this Circular; except for the following cases where payment of fees is exempted:

a) Invited guests (including spouses or children) of the Party, State, Government, National Assembly or leaders of the Party, State, Government, National Assembly invited in their personal capacity.

b) Staff members of foreign diplomatic missions, consular offices, and international organizations' representative offices in Vietnam and their family members (spouses and children under 18 years old), who are not Vietnamese citizens and do not reside permanently in Vietnam, are exempted from fees based on reciprocity.

c) Foreigners holding diplomatic, official, or ordinary passports issued by foreign countries and exempted from visa fees according to bilateral Agreements or Arrangements between Vietnam and the country of which they are citizens, or based on reciprocity.

d) Foreign nationals entering Vietnam to perform relief or humanitarian assistance work for Vietnamese organizations or individuals.

e) Persons exempted from fees pursuant to specific decisions of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Public Security, and National Defense.

For cases exempted from payment of fees as stipulated above, the agency collecting the fees shall stamp "exempted from payment of fees" (GRATIS) on the issued documents.

In cases where Vietnamese citizens and foreigners have paid the fees for passport issuance and related documents but do not meet the conditions for issuance of such documents, the fee-collecting agency shall refund the amount of fees actually paid upon notification of non-compliance with issuance conditions from the entry-exit fee revenue. The fees will not be refunded if the applicant refuses to accept the outcome of the application processing.

Article 3. The specific rates of entry-exit fees are detailed in the Fee Collection Schedule attached to this Circular.

Entry-exit fees are collected in Vietnamese Dong. For rates specified in US Dollars (USD), they can be collected in USD or converted to Vietnamese Dong based on the average inter-bank foreign exchange rate published by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of fee collection.

Article 2. Collection, payment and management for use

1. Agencies under the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of National Defense shall implement the issuance of passports, visas, and documents on departure, entry, or residence as prescribed in Decree No. 21/2001/NĐ-CP dated May 28, 2001 and Decree No. 136/2007/NĐ-CP dated August 17, 2007 of the Government, organize the collection of exit and entry fees (hereinafter referred to collectively as agencies collecting exit and entry fees) in accordance with the following provisions:

a) Publicly display at the place where fees are collected the objects subject to collection and the rates of collection in accordance with this Circular. When collecting money, issue a receipt for the fee collection to the person paying the money (receipts obtained from the local tax authority where the collecting agency's main office is located and managed and used according to the current regulations).

b) Open a temporary account to hold collected exit and entry fees at the State Treasury where the main office is located; prepare a list daily or no later than one day after collection, deposit the collected fees into the account opened at the State Treasury and manage them according to the current financial regulations.

c) Register, declare, and pay fees to the local tax authority where the main office is located; carry out settlement of receipts for fee collection and settlement of collected fee payments directly managed by the tax authority according to Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges and Circular No. 45/2006/TT-BTC dated May 25, 2006 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC.

2. The agencies collecting fees are allowed to allocate 30% (thirty percent) of the total amount of fees collected during the period for expenses related to the collection of fees, specifically as follows:

a) Expenses for purchasing or printing passports, visas, and other documents related to exit and entry; relevant forms serving the collection of exit-entry fees.

b) Expenses for office supplies and travel expenses (transportation, accommodation) according to current standards and norms.

c) Expenses for repairing tools and equipment serving the collection of fees.

d) Payment of wages and contributions for contractual labor (if any) according to the prescribed regulations. Allowance for overtime work and night shifts for civil servants and officials engaged in fee collection according to current regulations.

e) Expenses for purchasing supplies, tools, and equipment for work and other regular expenses directly related to the collection of fees.

f) Allocate to the reward and welfare fund; the maximum amount to be set aside for two funds (two months' salary of the direct fee collection unit if the revenue exceeds that of the previous year, and two months' salary if the revenue is lower or equal to that of the previous year).

g) Expenditure for storage and deportation of foreigners residing illegally in Vietnam back to their home country.

Other expenses serving the management of exit and entry as decided by the Minister of Public Security, Minister of National Defense, and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The entire amount of exit and entry fees collected above must be used for the intended purpose, with legitimate documentation according to the prescribed regulations; at the end of the year, any unspent amount may be carried over to the next year for expenditure according to the prescribed regulations.

The Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of National Defense shall allocate the amount retained (30% of the total actual revenue) among units collecting exit and entry fees within their respective departments to ensure costs for the collection of exit and entry fees.

3. The total amount of exit and entry fees actually collected, after deducting the amount retained according to the ratio prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, the remaining amount (70%) shall be paid into the state budget (according to the corresponding chapter, type, item, sub-item 2750, sub-sub-item 2752 of the State Budget Classification currently in effect). The state budget payment is allocated to levels of the state budget according to the provisions of the State Budget Law.

4. The preparation and execution of the budget for income and expenditure, and the settlement of income and expenditure for collected exit and entry fees shall be carried out in accordance with the guidance provided in Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges.

Article 3. Implementation Organization

1. Provincial Tax Departments, centrally-administered city Tax Departments, and relevant agencies under the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of National Defense shall collect and pay exit and entry fees in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

2. This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of signature and replaces Circular No. 37/2003/TT-BTC dated April 24, 2003 prescribing the system of collection, payment, management, and use of fees for passport issuance, visa issuance, and documents on departure, entry, transit, and residence in Vietnam, Circular No. 60/2005/TT-BTC dated August 1, 2005 amending and supplementing Circular No. 37/2003/TT-BTC, and Circular No. 88/2007/TT-BTC dated July 19, 2007 amending and supplementing Circular No. 37/2003/TT-BTC. In the course of implementation, if there are difficulties, agencies are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution.

In the course of implementation, if there are difficulties, agencies are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution./.