Circular No. 92/1998/TT-BTC guiding the implementation of goods delivery to offset debts to the Slovak Republic

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Delivery in Lieu of Debt to the Slovak Republic

Pursuant to the Comprehensive Debt Settlement Agreement between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the Slovak Republic signed on June 12, 1998,

Pursuant to Circular No. 2393/QHQT dated May 20, 1996 of the Government regarding the implementation of debt repayment to Eastern European countries under the Debt Settlement Agreements,
The Ministry of Finance hereby provides guidelines for implementing delivery in lieu of debt to Slovakia from 1998 onwards as follows:

1. Volume of Repayment:

According to the Comprehensive Debt Settlement Agreement, out of the total debt amount of 5,341,897.68 USD after settlement, apart from the portion repaid in cash, Vietnam will repay with goods over a three-year period starting from 1998 according to the following plan:

Year Repayment by Goods (USD)

1998 1,250,630.00 1999 1,230,630.00 2000 1,525,163.26 Total 4,006,423.26

2. Implementation Method: In accordance with Article III of this Agreement, the method of debt repayment to Slovakia shall be implemented as follows:

- Annually, no later than April 30 (for the year 1998, no later than July 30, 1998), the Ministry of Finance will notify the names of Slovak enterprises authorized by the Slovak Government to import goods from Vietnam to offset debts, and the corresponding trade volume allocated to each enterprise based on notifications from the Slovak side.

- Based on this notification, Vietnamese state enterprises shall independently contact the authorized Slovak enterprises to conclude commercial contracts at market prices and international trade terms within the allocated trade volume for Slovak enterprises.

- The delivery of goods under export contracts for debt offset must be completed before December 31 of each year; specifically for the year 1998, before April 1, 1999.

3. Registration and Approval of Debt Repayment Contracts:

- Vietnamese enterprises, immediately after signing commercial contracts with authorized Slovak enterprises as mentioned in point 2 above, need to submit these contracts to the Ministry of Finance for registration. After accepting the registration of the enterprise's contract, the Ministry of Finance will transfer the contract to the Ministry of Trade for review and approval. The Ministry of Trade will provide its written opinion back to the Ministry of Finance within no more than seven days from the date of receipt of the enterprise's contract transferred by the Ministry of Finance.

- Upon receiving the approval from the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Finance will notify the enterprise to sign an Order for Purchase with the Ministry of Finance in accordance with the guidance provided in Circular No. 87 TC/TCĐN dated November 23, 1995 of the Ministry of Finance, serving as the basis for the enterprise to implement the approved contract. Orders for purchase will be signed in the order of the commercial contracts registered by enterprises with the Ministry of Finance until the total value of orders for purchase in that year equals the debt repayment quota for that year.

4. Regarding payment:

- The foreign exchange settlement for debt offset will be conducted through the Central Foreign Trade Bank according to the following methods:

+ Collection under Uniform Rules on Collection No. 522 (URC 522); or

+ Documentary Credit consistent with Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP 500, Revision 1993).

- After delivering the goods and having valid documents processed by the Central Foreign Trade Bank for foreign exchange settlement to offset the debt for the State, the enterprise will bring these documents to the Ministry of Finance for payment in Vietnamese currency. The Ministry of Finance will pay the enterprise according to the confirmation of the bank as follows:

+ Payment of 90% of the invoice value when Vietcombank confirms that the documents are valid and has sent them for debt offset procedures.

+ Payment of 10% of the invoice value when Vietcombank confirms that the Slovakian bank has offset the debt for Vietnam.

+ The exchange rate for payment is 100% of the buying rate of VIETCOMBANK on the date of issuance of the transport document (which is also the date stipulated in the Agreement for the Slovakian bank to offset the debt).

Additionally, enterprises will enjoy all current benefits (if any) applicable to debt repayment goods and will not have their contract values deducted from their export quotas (if any).

This Circular takes effect fifteen days after the date of signature. During the implementation of this Circular, if there are any difficulties, agencies are advised to report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade for prompt resolution.