Joint Circular No. 93/2001/TTLT-BTC-BTP guiding the collection, payment, management, and use of fees and charges for notarization and certification services.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines on the collection, payment, and management of use of port fees and charges for inland waterway traffic control notarization fees and certification fees

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Pursuant to Article 16 of Decree No. 75/2000/NĐ-CP dated December 8, 2000 of the Government on notarization and certification;

Pursuant to Decree No. 04/1999/NĐ-CP dated January 30, 1999 of the Government on fees and charges under the State budget;

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice jointly issue guidelines for the collection, payment, and management of use of notarization and certification fees as follows:

A- CERTIFICATION FEES FOR NOTARIZATION AND CERTIFICATION

I- OBJECTS AND AMOUNTS OF COLLECTION:

1. Individuals and organizations in Vietnam and abroad requesting Notary Offices to perform notarization or People's Committees at district, town, city, and provincial levels (hereinafter referred to as District People's Committee) and People's Committees at commune, ward, and town levels (hereinafter referred to as Commune People's Committee) to perform certification (hereinafter referred to as notarization and certification authorities) of contracts, transactions, documents, signatures, etc. (hereinafter referred to as documents) as prescribed by law must pay notarization and certification fees according to the provisions of this Circular.

In cases where international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party provide for different notarization and certification fees than those stipulated in this Circular, such treaties shall apply.

2. Attached to this Circular are Tables of Collection Rates for Notarization and Certification Fees applicable uniformly throughout the country (Annexes 1, 2, and 3), regardless of whether the notarized or certified documents are in Vietnamese or foreign languages.

Notarization and certification fees are collected in Vietnamese Dong at the rates specified.

3. For individuals with permanent residence registration in particularly difficult communes in mountainous areas and remote regions as approved by Decision No. 135/1998/QĐ-TTg dated July 31, 1998 of the Prime Minister on the program for economic and social development of particularly difficult communes in mountainous areas and remote regions, the collection rate will be 50% of the notarization and certification fee rates specified in the attached Tables of Collection Rates (hereinafter referred to as reduced collection rate).

Individuals eligible for the reduced collection rate must submit an application form, confirmed by the Commune People's Committee where they have permanent residence registration (except when the individual requests certification from the Commune People's Committee where they are eligible for reduced certification fees, in which case no application form is required) and present their Identity Card or Family Household Registration Booklet to the notarization and certification authority.

The Head of the Notary Office, the Chairman of the District People's Committee, or the person authorized to perform certification, and the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee shall examine and decide on the reduced collection rate for each specific case, record it in the application form of the person requesting notarization or certification. After deciding on the reduced collection rate, the notarization and certification authority must retain the application form and record it in the notarization and certification register for monitoring purposes. Documents that need to be presented should be returned to the person requesting notarization or certification. In cases where an application form is not required, the person performing certification only needs to note the reduced collection rate in the certification register for monitoring purposes.

II- ORGANIZATION OF COLLECTION, PAYMENT, AND MANAGEMENT OF USE:

1. Notarization and certification authorities simultaneously collect notarization and certification fees as prescribed in this Circular and are responsible for the following:

a) Publicly posting the collection rates for notarization and certification fees at the premises where the fees are collected.

b) Registering and declaring notarization and certification fees with the local Tax Authority where the notarization and certification authority is located.

c) Organizing the collection, payment of notarization and certification fees, and opening a temporary account for the collection of notarization and certification fees at the local State Treasury. Depending on the amount of fees collected, daily (for Notary Offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City) or up to once every ten days (for other notarization and certification authorities), the notarization and certification authority shall prepare a list and deposit the collected fees into the account opened at the State Treasury.

d) When collecting notarization and certification fees, the notarization and certification authority must issue a receipt for the payment of notarization and certification fees, issued by the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Taxation), to the payer. The receipt is obtained from the local Tax Authority and managed and used in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

2. The funds from the collection of notarization and certification fees by Notary Offices and District People's Committees are managed and used as follows:

2.1/ Notary Offices and District People's Committees temporarily retain a percentage of the total notarization and certification fees collected before paying them into the state budget as follows:

- Notary Offices No. 1 and No. 2 in Ho Chi Minh City: 15% (fifteen percent);

- Other Notary Offices and District People's Committees: 20% (twenty percent); specifically, District People's Committees in mountainous, remote, and far-flung areas: 30% (thirty percent).

The retained amounts according to the percentages above are used for the following expenses related to the collection of notarization and certification fees:

a) Payment of remuneration to staff members who undertake additional tasks in collecting notarization and certification fees beyond their regular duties (including overtime work).

b) Costs for labor and allowances (if any) for outsourced workers (including experts, consultants, and non-staff employees). The head of the notarization and certification authority shall determine the appropriate level of expenditure based on the revenue from notarization and certification fees and the requirements of the work, in accordance with the labor contract system.

c) Expenses for the regular maintenance of equipment (computers, printers, etc.) directly serving notarization and certification work and the collection of fees.

d) Expenses for printing (buying) forms and seals for the collection of fees.

đ) Expenses for training and professional development.

e) Other expenses directly related to the collection of fees.

g) Allocate from the reward fund for civil servants, employees of notary offices and certification bodies that collect service fees. The average annual amount allocated to each person shall not exceed three (3) months of their actual salary.

For the total amount of notarization and certification service fees temporarily allocated according to the above regulations, notary offices and certification bodies must use them for their intended purposes, with valid receipts in accordance with the prescribed system, and settle accounts at the end of the year if unused funds must be remitted to the state budget in accordance with point 2.2 of this section.

2.2/ After deducting the temporarily retained amount according to the ratio specified in point 2.1 above, the remaining amount must be remitted to the state budget.

Notary offices and district People's Committees must declare and pay the money into the state budget on a monthly basis (corresponding chapter, type, item, sub-item 046 of the current State Budget Classification) within the time limit and procedures stipulated in Circular No. 54/1999/TT-BTC dated May 10, 1999, issued by the Ministry of Finance to guide the implementation of Decree No. 04/1999/NĐ-CP dated January 30, 1999, of the Government on fees and charges included in the state budget.

3. All certification service fees collected by commune-level People's Committees must be fully remitted to the commune budget (corresponding chapter, type, item, sub-item 046 of the current State Budget Classification). Commune-level People's Committees are responsible for managing and using the certification service fee according to the guidelines set out in Circular No. 118/2000/TT-BTC dated December 22, 2000, issued by the Ministry of Finance regarding management of commune budgets and other financial activities in communes, wards, and towns, while ensuring sufficient funding for certification activities and the organization of certification service fee collection.

4. Preparation and execution of the budget for income and expenditure of notarization and certification service fees:

a) Each year, based on the level of service fees collected, the content of expenditures as guided by this Circular, and the current financial expenditure system, notary offices and certification bodies must prepare detailed budgets for income and expenditure of notarization and certification service fees according to the current State Budget Classification and submit them to the supervisory authority for review and consolidation, then send them to the competent financial authority for approval.

b) Based on the approved annual income and expenditure budget, notary offices and certification bodies must prepare quarterly income and expenditure budgets in detail according to the current State Budget Classification, and submit them to the supervisory authority, the State Treasury where transactions take place, and the local financial authority as a basis for monitoring income and expenditure.

5. Settlement of income and expenditure of notarization and certification service fees:

a) Notary offices and certification bodies are responsible for maintaining accounting records to record and settle the income and expenditure of service fees according to Decision No. 999/TC/QĐ/CĐKT dated November 2, 1996, issued by the Minister of Finance on the issuance of the administrative and public service accounting system; they must settle tax receipts and the amount of service fees collected and remitted to the state budget with the directly managing tax authority and submit the annual settlement report on the collection and remittance of notarization and certification service fees to the tax authority before the end of February of the following year, and must remit any outstanding service fees to the state budget within ten days from the date of submission of the report.

b) The higher supervisory authority is responsible for checking and confirming the settlement of income and expenditure of notarization and certification service fees of subordinate notary offices and certification bodies, consolidating them into the annual settlement report, and submitting it to the financial authority for examination, issuing a notice approving the settlement together with the annual settlement of the supervisory authority according to the current State Budget Law.

B- SERVICE FEES

I- SCOPE OF APPLICATION AND CHARGING LEVELS:

1. Organizations and individuals who request and are provided services such as drafting contracts, transactions, translation, proofreading, typing, photocopying, and other related services by notary offices and certification bodies must pay service fees to these entities.

2. The charging levels for service fees, determined by the provincial or centrally-administered municipal People's Committees, include value-added tax. The Department of Finance and Price Control is responsible for coordinating with the Department of Justice to determine the charging levels based on necessary and reasonable costs and local market prices, and to submit them to the provincial or centrally-administered municipal People's Committees for unified application in the locality.

II- MANAGEMENT AND USE OF FUNDS FROM SERVICE FEES:

Notary offices and certification bodies generating revenue from service fees are responsible for:

1. Collecting service fees according to the levels set by the provincial or centrally-administered municipal People's Committees. When providing services, they must comply with the invoice and receipt regulations under the law. In cases where the value of the service is below the specified threshold and does not require an invoice, if the requesting party requests an invoice, one must be issued; otherwise, a list must be prepared according to the regulations to serve as a basis for taxation.

2. Maintaining accounting records to track and account separately for the costs and revenues of service fees according to the laws on accounting and statistics.

3. After covering necessary and reasonable expenses (including labor costs for external hires if applicable) directly serving the provision of services (with valid invoices and receipts), the remaining amount of service fees collected by notary offices and certification bodies must be remitted to the state budget for value-added tax and corporate income tax as required by law, and the remainder can be added to the development investment fund to support the purchase and repair of equipment and facilities for regular operations of notary offices and certification bodies.

C- IMPLEMENTATION

1- The Tax Departments and Justice Departments of provinces and centrally-administered municipalities are responsible for guiding and inspecting Notary Offices and district and commune-level People's Committees in implementing the systems for collecting, remitting, and managing notarization and certification service fees; managing and using receipts, invoices, and other documents; and maintaining accounting records and financial reports in accordance with current regulations.

2. For educational institutions implementing the issuance of certified copies of diplomas, certificates, and confirmation of other educational documents, they shall collect fees according to the provisions set forth in Point 17 of Appendix 1 and Point 12 of Appendix 2 issued together with this Circular. These educational institutions also apply the temporary deduction system at a certain percentage (%) of the total fee revenue for expenses related to the issuance of certified copies of diplomas, certificates, and confirmation of other educational documents, in accordance with the regulations applicable to the People's Committees of districts as stipulated in Point 2.1, Section II, Part A of this Circular.

3. This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of signature, replacing Circular Joint No. 84/TT-LB dated December 18, 1992, of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice on the collection of notarization fees, and Circular Joint No. 81/TT-LB dated September 29, 1993, of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice on the adjustment of notarization fee levels.

Notwithstanding, the notarization fees collected by Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad shall be carried out in accordance with the guidance provided in Circular No. 64/2000/TT-BTC dated July 3, 2000, of the Ministry of Finance on the collection and payment of fees applicable at Vietnamese diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad, and Circular No. 90/2000/TT-BTC dated September 1, 2000, of the Ministry of Finance supplementing and amending certain points of Circular No. 64/2000/TT-BTC dated July 3, 2000, mentioned above.

Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice for study and resolution./.