Circular No. 92/2010/TT-BTC guides the procedures for extending tax payment deadlines and refunding VAT on equipment, machinery, specialized transportation vehicles within production lines, and construction materials that cannot be domestically produced and must be imported to form fixed assets of enterprises.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for procedures to extend tax payment deadlines and refund value-added tax on equipment, machinery, and transportation vehicles specifically used in production lines and construction materials that are not domestically produced and need to be imported to form fixed assets of enterprises.

dedicated to being part of production lines and construction materials of types that have not yet been produced domestically.

require importation to form fixed assets of enterprises.

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Pursuant to the Law on Value-Added Tax (VAT) No. 13/2008/QH12 dated June 3, 2008;

Pursuant to the Law on Tax Administration No. 78/2006/QH11 dated November 29, 2006;

Pursuant to Decree No. 123/2008/NĐ-CP dated December 8, 2008 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on VAT;

Pursuant to 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;

Pursuant to Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Implementing the guidance of the Prime Minister in Circular No. 2691/VPCP-KTTH dated April 26, 2010 of the Government Office regarding extension of tax payment deadlines and refund of VAT on imported fixed assets for investment in production and business activities, the Ministry of Finance issues guidelines for procedures to extend tax payment deadlines and refund VAT on equipment, machinery, and transportation vehicles specifically used in production lines and construction materials that are not domestically produced and need to be imported to form fixed assets of enterprises as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Application

1. New businesses established from investment projects currently in the investment phase but not yet operational, and operating businesses with ongoing investment projects (building new production lines, expanding scale, updating technology, improving ecological environment, enhancing production capacity) importing equipment, machinery, and transportation vehicles specifically used in production lines and construction materials that are not domestically produced to form fixed assets may choose to apply for extension of VAT payment deadlines at the import stage and VAT refunds according to the guidelines set forth in this Circular if they meet the following conditions:

- The business registers for tax deduction method, has been issued a business registration certificate or investment certificate, investment permit (practice permit), has a seal in accordance with the law, maintains accounting books and records in compliance with accounting laws, and has a bank account under its taxpayer identification number;

- The total value of equipment, machinery, and transportation vehicles specifically used in production lines and construction materials that are not domestically produced and need to be imported to form fixed assets is 200 billion VND or more.

- The investment project produces goods or services subject to VAT, or the project simultaneously produces goods or services subject to VAT and those not subject to VAT.

2. Types of imported goods that are not domestically produced and need to be imported as specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall be determined based on the List of Equipment, Machinery, Spare Parts, and Specialized Transportation Vehicles Domesticated by Vietnam issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the List of Construction Materials Domesticated by Vietnam.

In cases where production and business establishments import complete sets of equipment, machinery, and specialized transportation vehicles specifically used in production lines and construction materials that are not domestically produced, but the complete set includes both types of equipment, machinery, and specialized transportation vehicles specifically used in production lines and construction materials that are not domestically produced and those that are domestically produced, the business may choose to apply for extension of tax payment deadlines and VAT refunds according to the guidelines set forth in this Circular for the entire set of equipment, machinery, transportation vehicles, and construction materials in the complete set.

3. Types of imported goods that are not domestically produced and need to be imported as specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article do not include: equipment, machinery, and specialized transportation vehicles specifically used in production lines and construction materials used as fixed assets to serve the production of weapons, military equipment, and security purposes; construction materials for office buildings and specialized equipment serving credit operations of financial institutions, reinsurance companies, life insurance companies, securities firms, hospitals, and schools; civilian aircraft, yachts not used for commercial cargo and passenger transport, tourism, and hotel operations.

Article 2. Extension of Value Added Tax (VAT) Payment for Import Stage

1. Business entities specified in Article 1 of this Circular shall be granted an extension of up to 60 days from the due date for VAT payment on imported equipment, machinery, specialized transportation means within production lines, and construction materials that cannot be domestically produced and need to be imported to form fixed assets. The extension applies starting from the first batch of goods imported with a value not exceeding 200 billion VND. Goods will be cleared immediately upon completion of the customs inspection. The extension of tax payment and clearance of goods are not contingent on the status of other import taxes owed and do not require a guarantee from financial institutions.

2. Documents for tax payment extension:

- A request for tax payment extension (one original copy), specifying: (1) reasons for the extension of VAT for imported equipment, machinery, specialized transportation means within production lines, and construction materials that cannot be domestically produced and need to be imported to form fixed assets; (2) commitment to accurate declaration; (3) commitment and plan to pay the extended tax amount.

In cases where goods are imported in multiple batches, the first batch must include a list of goods requesting an extension according to Model 13 of Appendix VI issued together with Circular No. 79/2009/TT-BTC dated April 20, 2009, guiding customs procedures, customs supervision, export tax, import tax, and tax management for exported and imported goods (submit two original copies of the list accompanied by two follow-up deduction tracking forms according to Model 16 of Appendix VI issued together with Circular No. 79/2009/TT-BTC).

If the requested extended tax amount involves multiple customs declarations for imported goods, the request for extension must list all relevant customs declarations.

- Declaration documents for the tax amount being requested for extension (one copy);

- Purchase contracts for imported goods requesting an extension of VAT payment, if there are multiple contracts, submit all contracts (one copy);

- Project approval document or investment plan: For cases where the competent authority issues an investment certificate, it is the investment certificate; for cases without an investment certificate, it is the approval document of the Board of Directors, or the Shareholders' Meeting, or the Director consistent with the business entity's articles of association, along with the investment registration document and receipt of the project application file (one copy each);

In cases where imported equipment, machinery, specialized transportation means within production lines, and construction materials that cannot be domestically produced and need to be imported to form fixed assets are both eligible for tax payment extension and import tax exemption under investment laws, the procedures for requesting tax payment extension shall be combined with those for import tax exemption as stipulated in Article 102 of Circular No. 79/2009/TT-BTC. Documents required for both tax payment extension and tax exemption applications should only be submitted in the quantity required for the tax exemption application.

3. Procedure for tax payment extension:

3.1. Receiving documents:

- When the extension application is directly submitted to the customs office, the customs officer receives and stamps the submission, records the submission time, and notes the number of documents in the file.

- When the extension application is sent via postal service, the customs officer stamps the receipt date and records it in the agency's document logbook.

- When the extension application is submitted through electronic transactions, the reception, review, and acceptance of the extension application are conducted by the customs office through the electronic data processing system.

3.2. Processing documents:

If the taxpayer has submitted incomplete documents according to regulations, the customs office must notify the taxpayer in writing to complete the documents within 1 (one) working day from the date of receiving the application.

The taxpayer must complete the documents within 3 (three) working days from the date of receiving the supplementary document notice from the customs office; if the taxpayer fails to complete the documents as required by the customs office, they will not be granted an extension of tax payment.

If the extension application is complete, accurate, and meets the prescribed criteria, the customs office must notify the taxpayer in writing of the approval for the extension within 3 (three) working days from the date of receiving the complete application.

Article 3. Procedures and sequence for VAT refund

1. Documents for VAT refund:

a) A request for VAT refund according to Form No. 05/ĐNHT issued together with Circular No. 128/2008/TT-BTC dated December 24, 2008 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the collection and management of state budget revenue through the State Treasury, indicating the reason as per this Circular (specify clearly the Circular number), where there is no proof of payment of VAT at the import stage in the file.

b) A summary declaration form for the total amount of VAT generated from imported goods declared on customs declarations already stamped with confirmation by the customs authority according to Form No. 01-1/HTBT issued together with 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, including:

- The "Input tax amount eligible for deduction" and "Input tax exceeding output tax requested for refund" fields should record the generated VAT amount;

- The "Output tax generated" field should not be filled in and should be crossed out;

- The "Amount paid" field should indicate "debt for proof of payment of VAT at the import stage".

c) A list of customs declarations for imported goods already stamped with confirmation by the customs authority according to Form 01-2/GTGT issued together with Circular No. 60/2007/TT-BTC, including:

- The "Invoice code" field should be replaced with "Customs declaration code";

- The "Invoice number" field should be replaced with "Customs declaration number";

- The "Date of issue" field should be replaced with "Date of customs declaration registration";

- The note column should clearly state "debt for proof of payment of VAT at the import stage".

The business entity shall be responsible under the law for the legality, validity, and accuracy of the documents, invoices, and other related materials submitted for the refund request to the tax authority.

2. Sequence for VAT Refund:

2.1. Submission and acceptance of refund documents:

The business entity prepares and submits the refund documents to the tax authority, where there is no proof of payment of VAT at the import stage in the file.

In cases where the refund documents are directly submitted to the tax authority, the tax officer accepts and stamps the receipt, records the time of receipt, and notes the quantity of documents in the file.

In cases where the refund documents are sent via postal service, the tax officer stamps the date of receipt and records it in the tax authority's document logbook.

In cases where the refund documents are submitted through electronic transactions, the acceptance, verification, and approval of the refund documents are carried out by the tax authority through the electronic data processing system.

2.2. Processing of VAT Refunds:

- If the taxpayer has submitted incomplete refund documents as required within two working days from the date of receipt, the tax authority must notify the taxpayer in writing to complete the documents.

- If the refund documents are complete, accurate, and comply with the prescribed criteria, the tax authority is responsible for examining and verifying the business entity's refund request according to the correct VAT refund procedure.

Within a maximum period of fifteen days from the date of receiving all documents, the tax authority will notify the business entity of the result of the examination to determine whether the refund documents meet the conditions for refund (including cases where the refund is processed after inspection) and request the enterprise to submit the proof of payment of VAT at the import stage so that the tax authority can issue a refund decision.

Within three working days from the date of receipt of the proof of payment of VAT for imported goods, the tax authority is responsible for checking and comparing the payment proof with the declared figures in the refund documents of the business entity and issuing a refund decision. If the VAT amount recorded on the payment proof is lower than the initial requested refund amount, the refund amount will be the amount recorded on the payment proof; if the VAT amount recorded on the payment proof is higher than the initial requested refund amount, the refund amount will be the initial requested refund amount.

Article 4. Effective date

This Circular takes effect from the date of issuance and replaces Circular No. 205/2009/TT-BTC dated October 23, 2009 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the procedures for VAT refunds for equipment, machinery, specialized transportation vehicles, construction materials, raw materials, semi-finished products included in production lines that cannot be produced domestically and need to be imported to create fixed assets for enterprises. Cases of VAT refunds regulated in Circular No. 205/2009/TT-BTC which have submitted applications before the effective date of this Circular but have not yet been refunded will be refunded according to this Circular.

Business entities falling under the provisions of Article 1 of this Circular, which have customs declarations for imported goods registered before the effective date of this Circular but have not yet reached the deadline for payment as stipulated in Article 42 of the Law on Tax Administration and have not yet paid taxes, may be granted an extension for tax payment and refund according to the guidance provided in this Circular.

For other cases of VAT refunds not covered by this Circular, they shall be implemented according to current laws.

During the implementation process, if any difficulties arise, units and business entities are advised to report to the Ministry of Finance for research and resolution./.