Circular No. 67/2004/TT-BTC stipulates the regime for collecting, submitting, and managing the use of fees for issuing advertising permits.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the Collection, Submission, and Management of Advertising Permit Fees

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Pursuant to Decree No. 38/2001/PL-UBTVQH10 dated August 28, 2001 on Fees and Charges, and Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Decree on Fees and Charges.

Pursuant to Decree No. 39/2001/PL-UBTVQH10 dated November 16, 2001 on Advertising, and Decree No. 24/2003/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2003 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Decree on Advertising.

After considering the opinions of the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of Finance hereby promulgates the regulations on the collection, submission, and management of advertising permit fees as follows:

I. OBJECTS OF COLLECTION AND AMOUNTS OF FEES:

1. Organizations and individuals who obtain from state management agencies an advertising permit in accordance with the Advertising Decree and Decree No. 24/2003/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2003 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Advertising Decree must pay the fee as stipulated herein.

In cases where international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party provide otherwise, such provisions shall be followed.

2. The amount of the advertising permit fee is specified as follows:

a- For advertising on boards, signs, billboards, and similar forms with an area of 40 square meters or more: VND 400,000 per permit per board, sign, or billboard.

b- For advertising on boards, signs, billboards, and similar forms with an area of 30 to less than 40 square meters: VND 300,000 per permit per board, sign, or billboard.

c- For advertising on boards, signs, billboards, and similar forms with an area of 20 to less than 30 square meters: VND 200,000 per board, sign, or billboard (the total fee collected for one-time issuance of a permit shall not exceed VND 1,000,000 per permit).

d- For advertising on boards, signs, billboards, and similar forms with an area of 10 to less than 20 square meters: VND 100,000 per board, sign, or billboard (the total fee collected for one-time issuance of a permit shall not exceed VND 1,000,000 per permit).

e- For advertising on boards, signs, billboards, and similar forms with an area of less than 10 square meters: VND 50,000 per board, sign, or billboard (the total fee collected for one-time issuance of a permit shall not exceed VND 500,000 per permit).

f- For advertising on transportation means, illuminated objects, aerial objects, underwater objects, mobile objects, and similar forms (collectively referred to as "items"): VND 50,000 per item (the total fee collected for one-time issuance of a permit shall not exceed VND 1,000,000 per permit).

g- For advertising on banners: VND 20,000 per banner (the total fee collected for one-time issuance of a permit shall not exceed VND 500,000 per permit).

In cases where an extension of an advertising permit is issued, the fee will be 50% of the corresponding fee mentioned above.

3. The advertising permit fee shall be paid in Vietnamese Dong. In cases where foreign organizations or individuals wish to pay the fee in foreign currency, it shall be accepted in US Dollars (USD) at the average inter-bank exchange rate published by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of payment.

II. ORGANIZATION OF COLLECTION, SUBMISSION, AND MANAGEMENT FOR USE:

1. The agency collecting the advertising permit fee under the Ministry of Culture and Information or the Department of Culture and Information of provinces and centrally-administered cities (referred to as the collection agency) shall be responsible for registering, declaring, and submitting the fee to the state budget in accordance with Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC dated July 24, 2002 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of laws on fees and charges.

2. The collection agency may retain 70% of the total actual fee collected before submitting it to the state budget for expenses related to the collection of the fee as follows:

- Expenses for printing application forms and permits;

- Direct expenses for collecting the fee such as office supplies, office materials, telephone, electricity, water, and administrative fees according to current standards and norms;

- Regular maintenance and major repairs of assets, machinery, and equipment directly serving the collection of the fee;

- A fund for rewards and welfare for staff involved in the assessment and collection of the fee. The average annual maximum reward and welfare fund per person shall not exceed three months' salary if the revenue this year exceeds that of last year, and two months' salary if the revenue this year is lower than last year;

All funds retained according to the provisions above must be used for their intended purpose, documented legally according to prescribed regulations, and settled annually; any unused funds may be carried forward to the next year for continued use according to prescribed regulations.

3. After deducting the retained portion as stipulated in point 2 above, the remaining 30% of the total actual fee collected must be submitted to the state budget (corresponding chapter, category, subcategory, and sub-subcategory 047, sub-item 25 of the current state budget classification).

4. Settlement of the fee shall be conducted concurrently with the settlement of the state budget. Annually, the collection agency shall settle the use of receipts for collecting the fee, the amount of the fee collected, the amount retained for the unit, the amount to be submitted to the state budget, the amount already submitted, and the amount still to be submitted to the state budget with the Tax Authority; and settle the use of the retained funds with the financial authority at the same level according to the prescribed regulations.

III. IMPLEMENTATION:

1. This circular takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette, replacing Circular No. 28/TTLB dated May 30, 1996 of the Joint Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Culture and Information on the collection, submission, and management of advertising permit fees.

2. Organizations and individuals subject to the payment of advertising permit fees and relevant agencies are responsible for implementing the provisions of this circular accurately. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, they should promptly report them to the Ministry of Finance for research and supplementary guidance.

During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, they are requested to promptly report to the Ministry of Finance for research and supplementary guidance./.