Circular No. 83/2005/TT-BTC guiding the pilot implementation of production and business establishments self-declaring and self-paying mineral resource tax according to Decision No. 161/2005/QĐ-TTg dated June 30, 2005 of the Prime Minister.

CIRCULAR

Pilot Guidelines for Production and Business Entities to Self-declare and Self-pay Mineral Resources Tax in Accordance with Decision No. 161/2005/QĐ-TTg

dated June 30, 2005 of the Government Prime Minister

dated June 30, 2005 of the Prime Minister

Pursuant to the Mineral Resources Tax Ordinance (amended) on April 10, 1998;

Pursuant to Decree No. 68/1998/NĐ-CP dated September 3, 1998 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Mineral Resources Tax Ordinance (amended);

Pursuant to Decision No. 197/2003/QĐ-TTg dated September 23, 2003 of the Government Prime Minister on piloting the mechanism for production and business entities to self-declare and self-pay taxes;

Pursuant to Decision No. 161/2005/QĐ-TTg dated June 30, 2005 of the Government Prime Minister on expanding the pilot program for production and business entities to self-declare and self-pay taxes for special consumption tax at the production stage within the country; mineral resources tax; real estate tax; income tax for high-income individuals; and business license tax;

Pursuant to Decree No. 77/2003/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

The Ministry of Finance guides the pilot implementation of production and business entities self-declaring and self-paying mineral resources tax as follows:

I. APPLICABLE OBJECTS

The subjects implementing self-declaration and self-payment of mineral resources tax according to these guidelines are production and business entities falling under the provisions of Clause 2, Article 1 of Decision No. 197/2003/QĐ-TTg dated September 23, 2003 of the Government Prime Minister and related guiding documents of the Ministry of Finance (referred to collectively as business entities).

II. REGISTRATION, DECLARATION, AND PAYMENT OF TAXES

1. Tax Registration:

Business entities participating in the pilot program for self-declaration and self-payment of mineral resources tax continue to use the tax registration number issued by the tax authority without having to re-register with the tax authority. During the pilot period, if there are changes in the information registered with the tax authority, the business entity must declare such changes to the directly managing tax authority in accordance with current regulations on tax registration.

2. Declaration of Mineral Resources Tax:

2.1. Monthly Declaration of Mineral Resources Tax:

a) Each month, business entities shall calculate and declare mineral resources tax fully in accordance with the current regulations using Form No. 01/TNg attached to this Circular. In cases where no mineral resources tax arises in a given month, the business entity still must declare and submit the declaration form to the tax authority.

- All items on the declaration form (tax registration number, name, address, location of resource extraction...) and other relevant information as registered with the tax authority must be fully declared and confirmed legally (signed and stamped). If the declaration is not completed in accordance with the prescribed form or not legally confirmed, it will be considered as not submitted to the tax authority.

- The deadline for submitting the monthly mineral resources tax declaration form to the tax authority is no later than the 25th day of the following month. Business entities may submit the declaration form through the post office or directly to the tax authority. The submission date is determined as the date the post office stamps the outgoing mail (for submissions via the post office) or the date the business entity submits the declaration form to the tax authority (for direct submissions).

b) For types of resources where the actual basis for calculating mineral resources tax arising in the month cannot be determined, the business entity may determine the provisional monthly mineral resources tax payable based on the accounting price principle. Accordingly, the business entity calculates the provisional monthly mineral resources tax based on the unit tax price of the previous year or the planned price (for newly established business entities) to prepare the monthly mineral resources tax declaration form. At the end of the year, the business entity recalculates the actual mineral resources tax payable based on the actual unit tax price and prepares a self-settlement declaration form for mineral resources tax in accordance with Point 2.2 below.

c) Declaration of Expected Exempted or Reduced Mineral Resources Tax: Business entities eligible for exempted or reduced mineral resources tax shall declare the expected amount of exempted or reduced tax each month based on the Mineral Resources Tax Ordinance and current guiding documents.

2.2. Self-settlement of Mineral Resources Tax:

a) Business entities participating in the pilot program for self-declaration and self-payment of mineral resources tax are not required to settle annual tax returns with the tax authority but must prepare a self-settlement declaration form for mineral resources tax using Form No. 02/TNg. The annual self-settlement declaration form for mineral resources tax is prepared and submitted to the tax authority to determine the actual mineral resources tax arising during the year.

The deadline for submitting the self-settlement declaration form for mineral resources tax is 60 days from the end of the calendar year or fiscal year. In cases where the resource extraction contract ends; mergers, consolidations, divisions, dissolutions, bankruptcies, ownership transfers; state-owned enterprise transfers, sales, leases, or business entity closures, the business entity must submit a self-settlement declaration form for mineral resources tax to the tax authority within 45 days from the end of the resource extraction contract or the decision of the competent authority regarding mergers, consolidations, divisions, dissolutions, bankruptcies, ownership transfers, or state-owned enterprise transfers, sales, leases.

b) Determination of Exempted or Reduced Mineral Resources Tax: Business entities eligible for exempted or reduced mineral resources tax must independently determine the amount of exempted or reduced tax based on actual data and simultaneously prepare a request for exemption or reduction of tax to be submitted to the tax authority in accordance with regulations.

2.3. Business entities bear legal responsibility for the truthfulness and accuracy of their mineral resources tax declarations and retain all supporting documents confirming the declared tax amounts. regarding the declaration of natural resource taxes and the proper retention of all documents evidencing the declared natural resource taxes.

3. Payment of Mineral Resources Tax::

Each month, business entities pay the declared mineral resources tax into the State budget. The deadline for paying the monthly mineral resources tax is no later than the 25th day of the following month. In cases where additional mineral resources tax is payable based on the self-settlement declaration form for mineral resources tax, the business entity must pay the outstanding tax into the State budget within 60 days from the end of the calendar year or fiscal year.

In the event of termination of resource exploitation contracts; mergers, consolidations, divisions, separations, dissolution, bankruptcy, ownership conversion; transfer, sale, lease, or assignment of state-owned enterprises, the subject must pay the outstanding mineral resource tax within forty-five days from the date of contract termination or the date of the competent authority's decision on merger, consolidation, division, separation, dissolution, bankruptcy, ownership conversion, transfer, sale, lease, or assignment; if there is an overpayment of tax, it will be refunded by the tax authority or transferred to the new business entity according to current regulations.

Business entities paying taxes through bank transfers or other credit institutions shall have their tax payment date determined as the day when the bank or other credit institution transfers the tax amount into the State Treasury based on the tax payment voucher issued by the business entity; for business entities paying taxes in cash, the tax payment date shall be determined as the day when the State Treasury Agency or the tax authority receives the tax payment.

Business entities must fully record all relevant indicators on the tax payment vouchers according to the guidelines of the tax authority and the State Treasury Agency. The business entity must clearly indicate on the tax payment voucher the amount of tax and penalty paid for each type of tax and each tax period; specifically, the amount of late payment penalties must be clearly recorded on the tax payment voucher as being paid according to the tax authority's notice, with the date, month, and year specified without needing to determine the late payment penalty for each tax item. If a business entity has both tax and penalty amounts due for the current period and outstanding tax and penalty amounts from previous periods but does not specify which tax period they are paying for, the tax authority will first deduct the outstanding tax and penalty amounts before deducting the current period's tax and penalty amounts.

III. DUTIES, RIGHTS, AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TAX AUTHORITY

In addition to the duties, rights, and responsibilities stipulated in tax laws and related legal documents, the tax authority managing business entities implementing the trial self-reporting and self-payment mechanism must:

1. Promote, disseminate, guide, and answer questions from business entities regarding tax policies, reporting procedures, and tax payment procedures to ensure that business entities understand and comply with tax law provisions and the self-reporting and self-payment tax mechanism.

2. Monitor the fulfillment of tax reporting and payment obligations by business entities:

- Beyond the deadline for submitting monthly tax returns and annual self-assessment tax returns as prescribed, the tax authority shall send a reminder notice and impose administrative fines according to current regulations. If the business entity still fails to submit the return beyond the final deadline set in the reminder notice, the tax authority will estimate the tax payable according to the prescribed regulations.

- Beyond the prescribed tax payment deadlines, the tax authority shall send a reminder notice for tax payment to business entities that have not paid or have not fully paid the tax, while simultaneously imposing late payment penalties on the overdue tax amount according to the prescribed regulations.

3. Conduct inspections and audits of tax reporting and payment by business entities.

4. Apply coercive measures to collect overdue taxes and penalties according to the law.

5. Ensure confidentiality of information provided about pilot production and business entities according to the regulations.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION:

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Business entities piloting the self-reporting and self-payment of mineral resource tax according to this Circular do not need to prepare mineral resource tax returns as per Circular No. 153/1998/TT-BTC.

3. Apart from the contents stipulated in this Circular, the provisions concerning tax bases, exemptions, refunds, violation handling, rewards, and other provisions shall be implemented according to the Mineral Resources Tax Ordinance, the guiding documents for the implementation of the Mineral Resources Tax Ordinance, and related tax laws.

4. During the implementation process, if difficulties arise, units, agencies, and business entities are advised to promptly report to the Ministry of Finance for supplementary guidance and research./.