Circular No. 79/2008/TT-BTC guiding the implementation of Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP dated July 29, 2008 amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 176/1999/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 1999 and Decree No. 47/2003/NĐ-CP dated May 12, 2003 of the Government on stamp duty.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP dated July 29, 2008 amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 176/1999/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 1999 and Decree No. 47/2003/NĐ-CP dated May 12, 2003 of the Government on stamp duty.

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Pursuant to Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP dated July 29, 2008 amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 176/1999/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 1999 and Decree No. 47/2003/NĐ-CP dated May 12, 2003 of the Government on stamp duty (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP);

Pursuant to Decree No. 57/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2002 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 detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Fees and Stamp Duty;

The Ministry of Finance issues guidelines for implementing Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP as follows:

I. EXEMPTION FROM STAMP DUTY

Clause 1, Article 1 of Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP stipulates that stamp duty shall be exempted for: houses and land for residence of poor households; houses and land for residence of ethnic minority people in communes, wards, towns located in difficult areas; inland waterway vessels (including fishing boats) without engines with a total deadweight up to 15 tons or vessels with main engine power up to 15 horsepower or vessels with passenger capacity up to 12 persons. Among which:

1. Poor households are those at the time of declaration and payment of stamp duty (including cases where the declarant and payer of stamp duty is a member of the household) holding a certificate of being a poor household issued by the competent authority or confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune, ward, town (ward level) where they reside as listed in the poor household list on the local area approved by the People's Committee of the district, county, city under province (county level) (in case there is no certificate of being a poor household), in accordance with the poverty standard set by the Prime Minister and guiding documents.

2. Communes, wards, towns located in difficult areas are determined according to Decision No. 30/2007/QĐ-TTg dated March 5, 2007 of the Prime Minister promulgating the List of administrative units located in difficult areas and subsequent amendments and supplements (if any).

3. Inland waterway vessels (including fishing boats) without engines with a total deadweight up to 15 tons or vessels with main engine power up to 15 horsepower (HP) or vessels with passenger capacity up to 12 persons are defined in accordance with the Law on Inland Waterway Transport and guiding documents.

4. Procedures for exemption from stamp duty are carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 1, Item IX, Part B of Circular No. 60/2007/TT-BTC dated June 14, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of some articles of the Law on Tax Administration and guiding the implementation of Decree No. 85/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of some articles of the Law on Tax Administration.

II. AMOUNT OF STAMP DUTY

According to Clause 2, Article 1 of Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP, the amount of stamp duty is determined as a percentage (%) of the value of the property subject to stamp duty and is specifically guided as follows:

1. Houses and land: 0.5% (zero point five percent).

2. Ships, boats: 1% (one percent); specifically, ships for distant sea fishing are: 0.5% (zero point five percent). Among which, distant sea fishing ships are ships equipped with main engines having a power of 90 horsepower (HP) or more, and the declarant of stamp duty for distant sea fishing ships must present to the Tax Authority a verification paper of the legal origin of the ship, clearly stating: engine number, main engine power of the ship.

3. Cars (including trailers, semi-trailers), motorcycles, hunting guns, sports guns: 2% (two percent). Specifically:

3.1. The rate of stamp duty for motorcycles declared and paid stamp duty for the first time by organizations and individuals in central cities, provincial cities, and satellite towns where the provincial People's Committee has its headquarters is as follows:

a) Declaring and paying stamp duty for motorcycles for the first time; motorcycles previously declared and paid stamp duty in other areas and then transferred to organizations and individuals declaring and paying stamp duty in the areas specified in this clause shall pay stamp duty at a rate of: 5% (five percent).

b) Declaring and paying stamp duty for motorcycles from the second time onwards (which are motorcycles previously declared and paid stamp duty in the areas specified in this clause, now declared and paid stamp duty again) shall pay stamp duty at a rate of: 1% (one percent).

3.2. The rate of stamp duty for motorcycles declared and paid stamp duty by organizations and individuals in areas other than those specified in Clause 3.1:

a) Declaring and paying stamp duty for motorcycles for the first time shall pay stamp duty at a rate of: 2% (two percent).

b) Declaring and paying stamp duty for motorcycles from the second time onwards (which are motorcycles previously declared and paid stamp duty in Vietnam, and the next declaration and payment of stamp duty is considered as the second time onwards) shall pay stamp duty at a rate of: 1% (one percent), except for the cases specified in Point b, Clause 3.1.

Where:

- Motorcycles include two-wheeled motorbikes, three-wheeled motorbikes, motorized bicycles, and similar vehicles required to be registered in accordance with the Road Traffic Law and guiding documents.

- Central cities, provincial cities, and satellite towns where the provincial People's Committee and central city People's Committees have their headquarters are determined based on national administrative boundaries, including all districts and counties directly under the city, regardless of whether they are inner-city districts or suburban districts, urban or rural areas. Provincial cities and satellite towns where the provincial People's Committee has its headquarters include all wards and villages within the city and town, regardless of whether they are inner-city or suburban wards and villages.

- For motorcycles declared and paid stamp duty from the second time onwards, the owner declaring stamp duty must present to the Tax Authority a motorcycle registration certificate or vehicle registration file issued by the Public Security authorities. The previous declaration and payment location is determined based on "Place of Permanent Residence", "Permanent Registration Place" or "Address" recorded in the motorcycle registration certificate or registration application form, transfer application form in the vehicle registration file.

Examples specifically illustrating the determination of the rate for payment of the stamp duty for cases where stamp duty is declared and paid from the second time onwards (where area A is the area defined in Clause 3.1; area B is the area defined in Clause 3.2) are as follows:

+ Case 1: A motorcycle that has previously declared and paid stamp duty in Area A, if declared and paid stamp duty again in Area A, pays stamp duty at a rate of 1%.

+ Case 2: A motorcycle that has previously declared and paid stamp duty in Area A, if declared and paid stamp duty again in Area B, pays stamp duty at a rate of 1%.

+ Case 3: A motorcycle that has previously declared and paid stamp duty in Area B, if declared and paid stamp duty again in Area A, pays stamp duty at a rate of 5%.

+ Case 4: A motorcycle that has previously declared and paid stamp duty in Area B, if declared and paid stamp duty again in Area B, pays stamp duty at a rate of 1%.

+ Case 5: Motorcycles that declare and pay the stamp duty for the first time in area A or area B, then have been declared and paid the stamp duty in area B, subsequently declare and pay the stamp duty in area A at a rate of 5%.

+ Case 6: Motorcycles that declare and pay the stamp duty for the first time in area A or area B, then have been declared and paid the stamp duty in area A, subsequently declare and pay the stamp duty in area A at a rate of 1%.

+ Case 7: Motorcycles that declare and pay the stamp duty for the first time in area A or area B, then have been declared and paid the stamp duty in area A or area B, subsequently declare and pay the stamp duty in area B at a rate of 1%.

3.3. Passenger cars with less than 10 seats (including the driver) shall pay the stamp duty at a rate of from 10% (ten percent) to 15% (fifteen percent). In which:

a) The number of seats on passenger cars is determined according to the design of the manufacturer.

b) Passenger cars with less than 10 seats (including the driver) (hereinafter referred to as passenger cars with less than 10 seats) do not include: Lam cars; cars designed to carry both passengers and goods.

c) Based on the provisions regarding the rate of stamp duty collection for passenger cars with less than 10 seats under Clause 2 Article 1 of Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP and the guidance provided herein, the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to as provincial level) shall assign competent agencies to establish specific rates of stamp duty collection for passenger cars with less than 10 seats to be submitted to the Provincial People's Council for specific decisions on the rate of stamp duty collection for passenger cars with less than 10 seats in accordance with the actual conditions of the locality.

3.4. For other automobiles (including trailers and semi-trailers), which are not passenger cars with less than 10 seats as stipulated in Point 3.3 of this clause and are not specialized vehicles exempted from paying the stamp duty as prescribed in Item III Circular No. 95/2005/TT-BTC dated October 26, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of laws on stamp duty, shall pay the stamp duty at a rate of 2% (two percent).

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. For cases where the competent state agency issues certificates of land use rights or certificates of ownership of housing but has not paid or has not fully paid the stamp duty, they shall pay the stamp duty in accordance with Article 1 of Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP, specifically as follows:

a) For cases where the stamp duty has not been paid or has not been fully paid within thirty days from the date the person liable for stamp duty receives the notice to pay the stamp duty:

- In case the stamp duty has not been paid: If it falls under the category eligible for exemption from stamp duty as guided in Item I of this Circular, there is no need to pay the stamp duty; if it falls under the category required to pay, it shall be paid in accordance with the guidance provided in Clause 1 Item II of this Circular.

- In case the stamp duty has not been fully paid according to the regulations before Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP took effect: A refund will be made for the amount of stamp duty already paid for cases falling under the category eligible for exemption from stamp duty, and a refund will be made for the excess amount of stamp duty already paid over the amount of stamp duty payable calculated according to Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP; in cases where the amount of stamp duty already paid is less than the amount calculated according to Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP, the remaining stamp duty must be paid and calculated according to Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP.

b) For cases where the stamp duty has not been paid or has not been fully paid beyond thirty days from the date the person liable for stamp duty receives the notice to pay the stamp duty:

- In case the stamp duty has not been paid: If it falls under the category eligible for exemption from stamp duty as guided in Item I of this Circular, there is no need to pay the stamp duty and no late payment penalty will be imposed; if it falls under the category required to pay, it shall be paid in accordance with the guidance provided in Clause 1 Item II of this Circular and a late payment penalty will be imposed according to current regulations.

- In case the stamp duty has not been fully paid according to the regulations before Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP took effect: A refund will be made for the amount of stamp duty already paid for cases falling under the category eligible for exemption from stamp duty and no late payment penalty will be imposed; for cases where the amount of stamp duty already paid exceeds the amount payable calculated according to Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP, a refund will be made for the excess amount of stamp duty already paid over the amount payable calculated according to Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP but a late payment penalty will be imposed according to current regulations; in cases where the amount of stamp duty already paid is less than the amount payable calculated according to Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP, the remaining stamp duty must be paid and a late payment penalty will be imposed according to current regulations.

c) The procedures for adjustment and issuance of notices to pay adjusted stamp duty for cases required to pay stamp duty in accordance with the guidance provided in this clause shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 1 Item IX Part B Circular No. 60/2007/TT-BTC dated June 14, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration and guiding the implementation of Decree No. 85/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration.

d) The period for calculation and the amount of stamp duty for late payment penalties as guided in this clause shall be based on the notice to pay stamp duty issued according to the regulations before Decree No. 80/2008/NĐ-CP took effect.

đ) The procedures for refunding the stamp duty as guided in this clause shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Part G Circular No. 60/2007/TT-BTC dated June 14, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration and guiding the implementation of Decree No. 85/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2007 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Tax Administration.

2. From the date this Decree No. 80/2008/ND-CP takes effect, if the People's Council of the province has not issued the rate for the preliminary registration fee for passenger cars with less than ten seats as prescribed in Decree No. 80/2008/ND-CP, then the rate for the preliminary registration fee for passenger cars with less than ten seats (regardless of whether it is the first registration or subsequent registrations) shall be 10% (ten percent) as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 2 of Decree No. 80/2008/ND-CP and guided at Point 3.3, Clause 3, Section II of this Circular until the People's Council of the province issues the collection rate as prescribed in Decree No. 80/2008/ND-CP.

3. This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. The Section II, Part II of Circular No. 95/2005/TT-BTC dated October 26, 2005, guiding the implementation of laws on preliminary registration fees, is hereby abolished.

4. In the course of implementation, if there are any difficulties, organizations and individuals are requested to promptly report them to the Ministry of Finance for study and supplementary guidance./.