Circular No. 79/2000/TT-BTC guiding additional provisions on the reduction and exemption of agricultural land use tax for flood-prone areas and difficult regions

CIRCULAR

GUIDELINES FOR ADDITIONAL REDUCTION AND EXEMPTION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USE TAX IN FLOOD-AFFECTED AREAS AND DIFFICULT REGIONS

business in flood-prone areas, difficult regions.

Pursuant to Article 21, 22, Chapter V of the Law on Agricultural Land Use Tax regarding policies for reducing and exempting agricultural land use tax due to natural disasters; policies for exempting or reducing taxes for households engaged in agriculture in highland, mountainous, border, and island areas, and ethnic minority households whose production and living conditions are still very difficult;

Pursuant to Point 4, Section I on implementing tax exemptions and reductions for farmers in flood-affected areas, policy beneficiaries, poor households, and particularly disadvantaged communes as stipulated in Resolution No. 24/1999/QH/10 dated November 29, 1999;

Pursuant to Articles 16, 17, 18, Chapter V of Decree No. 74/CP dated October 25, 1993 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Agricultural Land Use Tax;

Pursuant to Decision No. 135/1998/QD-TTg dated July 31, 1998 of the Prime Minister approving the program for developing the economy and society in particularly disadvantaged mountainous and remote communes;

Pursuant to Decision No. 1073/QD-TTg dated November 17, 1999 of the Prime Minister on addressing the aftermath of floods in provinces and cities: Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh;

To contribute to addressing the aftermath of floods, helping farmers stabilize and develop production, and stabilize their lives;

Implementing the Party and State's policy of eradicating poverty and reducing hardship in agriculture and rural areas, the Ministry of Finance provides additional guidelines for reducing and exempting agricultural land use tax (ALUT) for agricultural households in flood-affected areas; particularly disadvantaged mountainous, remote, and deep regions; and agricultural households in poverty and hunger as follows:

I. EXEMPTION AND REDUCTION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USE TAX FOR AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN FLOOD-AFFECTED AREAS:

1. Agricultural, forestry, and aquaculture households (collectively referred to as ALUT-paying households) in flood-affected areas shall be considered for reduction or exemption of ALUT annually or per crop according to the provisions of Article 17, Chapter V of Decree No. 74/CP dated October 25, 1993 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Agricultural Land Use Tax; In cases of severe damage, specific exemptions and reductions of ALUT will be applied as follows:

a. Agricultural households in flood-affected areas with significant difficulties in livelihood and daily life requiring state assistance for food aid shall be exempted from ALUT for one year.

b. Households suffering heavy losses of property: houses destroyed or damaged over 40%; cattle and buffalo deaths, major production tools severely damaged, lost, or swept away by floods shall be exempted from ALUT as specified in point a above and may also be considered for exemption or reduction of ALUT for the following year to help stabilize their lives.

c. Households in flood-affected areas where parents, spouses, or children (within the same household) have died, gone missing (one person or more), or suffered serious injuries requiring long-term treatment shall be exempted from ALUT for one year. If they have already been exempted from ALUT according to the provisions in point a above, they may also be considered for exemption or reduction of ALUT for the following year.

d. Agricultural, forestry, and aquaculture households (including enterprises) in flood-affected areas where farmland, orchards, fish farming land, and planted forest land have been eroded, washed away, or buried by soil and sand, necessitating investment in land improvement, field embankments, irrigation channels, and internal waterways shall be exempted from ALUT for one year for these areas. If production remains unstable and additional investment costs are required for further improvement in the following year, they may be considered for exemption or reduction of ALUT for that year.

2. Maximum reduction of 80% of ALUT for one year for:

a. Agricultural households (including enterprises) in flood-affected areas suffering property losses including: houses destroyed or damaged under 40%; some major production tools damaged, lost, and needing replacement.

b. Agricultural households in flood-affected areas where rice, vegetables, crops, and aquaculture products have been damaged (including rice and vegetables not yet harvested but submerged in water, mixed with soil, gravel, and stones; sprouted; or damaged) shall be considered for reduction of ALUT according to the degree of damage as specified in Article 17, Chapter V of Decree No. 74/CP dated October 25, 1993 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Agricultural Land Use Tax.

3. The consideration for exemption and reduction of ALUT for households in points 1 and 2 of Section I of this Circular shall be implemented immediately during the affected flood season or year.

4. The sum of social policy tax exemptions (if any) and disaster-related flood tax exemptions in a year shall not exceed the amount recorded on the tax ledger for the year being considered for tax exemption.

5. For households eligible for tax exemption or reduction according to the provisions above, if they have paid taxes to the state budget in the year affected by floods, the amount of tax exempted or reduced will be deducted from the tax payable in subsequent years following the year affected by floods.

II. EXEMPTION AND REDUCTION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND USE TAX FOR AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLDS IN HIGHLAND, MOUNTAINOUS, BORDER, AND ISLAND AREAS, ETHNIC MINORITY FARMERS, AND OTHER AGRICULTURAL HOUSEHOLDS WITH MANY DIFFICULTIES IN PRODUCTION AND LIVING CONDITIONS ELIGIBLE FOR POVERTY ERADICATION BY LOCAL AUTHORITIES:

Annual exemption and reduction of ALUT for agricultural households eligible for social policy benefits as specifically provided in Article 16, Chapter V of Decree No. 74/CP dated October 25, 1993 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Agricultural Land Use Tax and further detailed in Points 2a and 2b, Section I of Circular No. 60 TC/TCT dated July 14, 1994 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the reduction and exemption of agricultural land use tax. Now, the Ministry of Finance provides additional guidance on exemptions and reductions based on social policy as follows:

1. For communes under Decision No. 135/1998/QĐ-TTg dated July 31, 1998, and Decision No. 1232/QĐ-TTg dated December 24, 1999 of the Government on the program for economic and social development of particularly difficult communes, mountainous areas, and remote regions:

a. Agricultural households shall be exempted from annual land use tax including:

Agricultural households engaged in production and living with difficulties, identified as starving or poor households in the locality (excluding households with relatively good conditions and stable living standards).

Agricultural households consisting of families of war invalids, martyrs, families with meritorious contributions to the revolution, identified as households with significant difficulties in production and living.

Agricultural households consisting of families of soldiers, volunteers, people who participated in the resistance war, and other households recognized by the commune authorities as having children affected by war aftermath such as mental illness, paralysis, loss of labor capacity, etc.

b. A maximum reduction of 50% in land use tax shall be granted to agricultural households belonging to the categories specified in sub-item a above but not eligible for exemption, and experiencing significant difficulties in agricultural production and living, such as households with many children; encountering risks in production and unable to meet basic needs, classified as poor households in the locality.

2. For communes in the remaining regions nationwide:

a. Agricultural households shall be exempted from annual land use tax including:

Agricultural households shall be identified as starving households in the locality.

Households consisting of families of soldiers, volunteers, people who participated in the resistance war, and other households recognized by the commune authorities as having children affected by war aftermath such as mental illness, paralysis, loss of labor capacity, etc., and experiencing significant difficulties in production and living.

Agricultural households consisting of families of war invalids, martyrs, families with meritorious contributions to the revolution, identified as poor households with significant difficulties in production and living.

b. A maximum reduction of 50% in land use tax shall be granted to the categories specified in sub-item a of point 2 above that do not meet the criteria for exemption.

c. Land use tax shall be reduced for agricultural households in specialized agricultural, forestry, and aquatic product production zones operating under contracts or regional planning to supply raw materials to centralized processing facilities that have suffered losses due to objective reasons such as sharp declines in market prices, insufficient revenue from agricultural products to cover costs, delayed harvest affecting the next crop, or having to abandon the crops. The level of reduction or exemption shall correspond to the percentage of loss as stipulated in Article 17 of Chapter V of Decree No. 74/CP dated October 25, 1993 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Land Use Tax for Agricultural Land. The percentage of loss shall be based on actual yield and actual selling price compared to the fixed price determined by the provincial People's Committee.

III. Procedures, formalities, and authority to resolve exemptions and reductions:

1. Based on the list of particularly difficult communes issued together with Decision No. 1232/QĐ-TTg dated December 24, 1999 of the Prime Minister, and the actual situation in each locality, the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall announce specific lists of particularly difficult communes and border communes within their jurisdiction, and specify detailed criteria for identifying starving, poor, and households with significant difficulties in production and living as the basis for considering exemptions and reductions in annual land use tax.

2. Agricultural households eligible for consideration of exemptions and reductions in land use tax must submit a request to the tax office of the commune or ward, clearly stating the reasons for requesting tax exemption or reduction according to the standards set by the provincial or centrally-administered city People's Committee regarding remote and deep regions, starving, and poor households.

In cases where areas are affected by floods, agricultural households suffering severe damage and particularly difficult communes eligible for collective exemptions and reductions, the tax offices of the commune or ward shall work with the commune People's Committee to compile a list instead of individual applications from agricultural households.

3. Procedures and formalities for exemptions and reductions:

a. At the commune or ward level: The tax office and the tax advisory council shall base their decisions on the application requests of agricultural households, the extent of flood damage, and the actual production and living conditions of each household in the commune or ward to select, classify, compile a list, and propose the level of tax exemption or reduction for starving and poor households, and households with significant difficulties in production and living according to the standards set by the provincial or centrally-administered city People's Committee and this Circular. The list of agricultural households eligible for tax exemption or reduction shall be posted at convenient locations in the commune and announced to the public for comments. Within 15 days, after reviewing and incorporating public feedback, the tax office shall report to the commune or ward People's Committee for approval of the specific list of households eligible for tax exemption or reduction according to the specified criteria and amount of tax exempted or reduced, and send it to the District Tax Office.

c. The Provincial Tax Office shall cooperate with relevant departments to assess the actual extent of flood damage in each region, the current number of starving, poor, and households with significant difficulties in production and living, and report to the provincial or centrally-administered city People's Committee for a decision on tax exemptions or reductions.

d. After the provincial or centrally-administered city People's Committee makes a decision on tax exemptions or reductions, the list of agricultural households eligible for tax exemptions or reductions shall be publicly posted at the commune People's Committee headquarters and promptly notified to each taxpayer.

IV. Implementation Organization:

1. The Chairmen of the People's Committees of provinces shall be responsible for directing the tax offices and related departments in their localities to study and establish specific criteria for identifying starving, poor, and agricultural households with significant difficulties to serve as the basis for timely and accurate tax exemption or reduction reviews. They shall also direct and supervise functional agencies in implementing tax exemption or reduction reviews and promptly notify households eligible for tax exemptions or reductions. They shall further direct local information and propaganda agencies to disseminate and explain the state policy on tax exemptions or reductions to the public.

2. The tax authority shall coordinate with relevant sectors and the tax advisory council to provide advice to the People's Committees at all levels on determining exemptions and reductions for agricultural land tax.

For areas severely affected by typhoons, floods, or other disasters, tax offices at the commune and ward level shall coordinate with competent agencies to compile lists and files by household, determine the amount of tax exempted or reduced for each household, and report the consolidated information to the People's Committee at the commune or ward level for public announcement by village or hamlet.

For villages or communes where damage is minor or only affects a few households, particularly those with poor families, small-scale producers, and individuals facing significant difficulties, the tax authority shall cooperate with local authorities to guide these households in submitting applications and preparing individual files as the basis for considering exemptions or reductions in accordance with this Circular.

This Circular takes effect from the date of issuance. Provisions for exemptions and reductions of agricultural land tax that do not conflict with this Circular remain in force. Any issues encountered during implementation should be reported by localities to the Ministry of Finance for study and resolution.

DEPUTY MINISTER
VICE MINISTER
(Signed)

Vu Van Ninh