LETTER

OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE NUMBER 9958/BTC-TCT ON AUGUST 9, 2005
GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CIRCULAR NO. 133/2004/TT-BTC

Respectfully submitted to:  CDirectorate of Tax of Provinces/Cities Directly Under the Central Government

According to the feedback from some local Tax Directorates on difficulties encountered during the implementation process Circular No. 133/2004/TT-BTC dated December 31, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance (Circular No. 133/2004/TT-BTC), while awaiting the issuance of a circular to amend and supplement, the Ministry of Finance hereby guides certain specific contents as follows:

I. REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION
OF DOUBLE TAXATION TREATIES

1. Inthe absence of new regulations and procedures for managing and applying double taxation treaties in the tax sector issued by the General Department, the provisions attached to Decisions No. 1133 TCT/QĐ/HTQT dated July 13, 2001 of the General Department of Tax (Regulation No. 1133 TCT/QĐ/HTQT) and No. 1134 TCT/QĐ/HTQT dated July 13, 2001 of the General Department of Tax (Procedure No. 1134 TCT/QĐ/HTQT) shall continue to be applied except for points that conflict with the provisions of Circular No. 133/2004/TT-BTC.  Based on the provisions set out in Points 8.2 and 8.3 of Article 3 Part II of Regulation No. 1133 TCT/QĐ/HTQT, in cases where a taxpayer requests to offset the tax paid abroad against the tax payable in Vietnam or requests a reduction or exemption of tax under the treaty based on the offset amount, or if the reduction or exemption exceeds 500 million dong, the Tax Directorate shall be responsible for reviewing the application and transferring it to the General Department for resolution within ten working days from receipt of the application.As for freight taxes, the Tax Directorate may handle reductions or exemptions of freight taxes exceeding 500 million dong according to the guidance provided in Point 2 of Circular No. 3312 TCT/HTQT dated October 12, 2004 of the General Department of Tax;

The confirmation form for residents at Appendix 1 of Procedure No. 1134 TCT/QĐ/HTQT shall be replaced by Form 6 - HĐ/HTQT of Circular No. 133/2004/TT-BTC; the confirmation form for tax paid at Appendix 2 of Procedure No. 1134 TCT/QĐ/HTQT shall be replaced by Form 3 - HĐ/HTQT of Circular No. 133/2004/TT-BTC.

Appendices 3, 4, and 5 of Procedure No. 1134 TCT/QĐ/HTQT shall continue to be used. However, the legal basis sections in these appendices related to Circulars No. 52 TC/TCT dated August 16, 1997, No. 95/1997/TT-BTC dated December 29, 1997, and No. 37/2000/TT-BTC dated May 5, 2000 of the Ministry of Finance shall be replaced by Circular No. 133/2004/TT-BTC, and the phrase "Application for" shall be replaced by "Request for".

(attached appendices);

Individuals dependent for support may directly or authorize the income payer to submit a request for application of the treaty. The notarization and certification of power of attorney contracts and authorization letters must comply with the provisions of Article 48 of Decree No. 75/2000/NĐ-CP dated December 8, 2000 on notarization and certification.  CLASS MONOCOTYLEDONAuthorization letters established abroad must undergo legalization according to the provisions of Circular No. 01/1999/TT-NG dated June 3, 1999 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; II. PROCEDURES FOR CONFIRMATION OF TAX PAID IN VIETNAM

2. CAt Circular No. 133/2004/TT-BTC does not provide guidance on confirming tax paid in Vietnam for Vietnamese residents. However, in cases where Vietnamese residents request confirmation, the Tax Directorates shall use Forms 3 - HĐ/HTQT and 4 - HĐ/HTQT to confirm.

3. The application and procedures for requesting confirmation are Form 1 - HĐ/HTQT and the provisions in Section D.III of Circular No. 133/2004/TT-BTC, supplemented with the following specific information:Supplementing point d in Section III.2 of Form 1 - HĐ/HTQT as follows:

d. Confirmation of tax paid in Vietnam

1. d.1. Amount of taxable income in Vietnam:d.2. Type of income:

d.3. Time of income generation:

Ministry of Construction sets specific priced.4. Amount of tax paid:

The application for applying the treaty must be accompanied by a Certificate of Residency in Vietnam according to Form 6 - HĐ/HTQT, or a Request for Confirmation of Residency in Vietnam according to Form 5 - HĐ/HTQT (if not yet certified).

All information provided in Forms 1 - HĐ/HTQT, 2 - HĐ/HTQT, and 5 - HĐ/HTQT must be accompanied by copies of documents or vouchers issued by competent state authorities to prove. Copies of documents or vouchers submitted must be notarized or certified in accordance with current Vietnamese law.Since Circular No. 68/2001/TT-BTC dated August 24, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance did not issue a confirmation form for tax paid, the Treasury cannot track tax payments for each tax liability. Therefore, the Provincial/City Tax Directorate shall issue a confirmation of tax paid according to Forms 3 - HĐ/HTQT and 4 - HĐ/HTQT (depending on the case).

Based on tax payment receipts issued by the Treasury and management information of the applicant (for example, tax declaration forms, final tax settlement statements, tax compliance status during the period of request...).If the taxpayer has a Tax Receipt for Income Tax issued by the Tax Authority or withholding tax certificate (10%) issued by the income payer according to Circular No. 81/2004/TT-BTC dated August 13, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance, or a tax payment confirmation letter issued by the Tax Directorate according to Form 06 - NTNN attached to Circular No. 05/2005/TT-BTC dated January 11, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance,

such documents must be attached to the application for reference.The tax paid in Vietnam is the tax due under Vietnamese tax laws (excluding commission paid to authorized collection agencies) as guided in Point 1 of Circular No. 1900 TCT/HTQT dated May 30, 2003 of the General Department of Tax.

The Tax Authority will only issue a confirmation of tax paid in Vietnam when the taxpayer has fulfilled their tax obligations to the State Budget for the relevant tax and previous years;The time for declaring in Section I.1.5 of Form 2 - HĐ/HTQT is calculated from the first day when individuals or organizations commence activities in Vietnam related to the application of the treaty.

- III. PROCEDURES FOR APPLYING THE TREATY TO INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT OPERATIONS  For cases requesting tax exemptions or reductions on freight charges, there is no need to attach copies of payment receipts to the Treasury;The examination of tax exemptions or reductions on freight charges is based on actual transportation. Applications for tax exemptions or reductions on freight charges from international transport operations must be submitted within five days after the end of the exemption period.  6 - H/D/HTQT, or the application for confirmation of residence in Vietnam according to form 5 - HĐ/HTQT (if not yet certified);

2. Call information provided in forms 1-HĐ/HTQT, 2-HĐ/HTQT, and 5-HĐ/HTQT must  be accompanied by copies of documents or certificates issued by competent state authorities to prove such information. The copies of documents or certificates submitted must be notarized or certified in accordance with current Vietnamese laws.

Since Circular 68/2001/TT-BTC dated August 24, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance did not issue a confirmation form for taxes paid, the Treasury has not been able to track the amount of tax paid for each tax liability. Therefore, the Provincial/City Tax Department issues the confirmation of taxes paid according to forms 3-HĐ/HTQT and 4-HĐ/HTQT (depending on the specific case).  ofbased on the tax payment receipt issued by the Treasury and the tax management information of the applicant (for example, the tax declaration form, the final settlement statement, the tax obligation fulfillment status during the period of the request for confirmation...).

In cases where the taxpayer already has a Tax Receipt for Income Tax issued by the Tax Authority or the income payer, or a withholding tax certificate (10%) issued by the income payer in accordance with Circular No. 81/2004/TT-BTC dated August 13, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance, or a confirmation of taxes paid issued  Cby the Tax Department according to Form 06 - NTNN attached to Circular No. 05/2005/TT-BTC dated January 11, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance  theshall be attached to the application for reference.

The tax paid in Vietnam is the tax due under the Law on Taxation (excluding the commission paid to authorized collection agencies) as guided in point 1 of Circular No. 1900 TCT/HTQT dated May 30, 2003 of the General Department of Taxation.

The Tax Authority will only issue a confirmation of tax paid in Vietnam when the taxpayer has fulfilled their tax obligations to the State Budget for the type of tax requested for confirmation in the relevant year and previous years;

3. The issuance of work permits is governed by the following legal documents as prescribed by current laws: i) Decree No. 34/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 25, 2008, on the recruitment and management of foreign workers in Vietnam; ii) Decree No. 46/2011/NĐ-CP dated June 17, 2011, amending certain provisions of Decree No. 34/2008/NĐ-CP; and iii) Circular No. 31/2011/TT-BLDTBXH dated November 3, 2011, issued by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs guiding the implementation of Decrees No. 34 and No. 46.the time for declaring at Section I.1.5 of form 2-HĐ/HTQT starts from the first day when individuals or organizations begin activities in Vietnam related to the application for the agreement;

III. PROCEDURES FOR APPLYING THE AGREEMENT TO
INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT GOODS

1. For cases requesting exemption or reduction of freight tax, it is not necessary to submit a copy of the payment receipt to the Treasury;

2. Withrespect to the examination of exemptions or reductions of freight tax, this is considered based on actual transportation. Applications for exemption or reduction of freight tax from international transport operations must be submitted within five days from the end of the exemption or reduction period.

Cases that have been exempted or reduced in the previous year may be declared for provisional payment at the exempted or reduced tax rate and settled according to actual occurrence at the end of the year, provided that the shipping company or its agent must guarantee to pay the full amount of tax due if the provisional tax paid is lower than the tax due. However, provisional payment under this exemption or reduction regime must cease immediately from the following month when the conditions for exemption or reduction no longer apply.

3. The shipping company's agent, which is a Vietnamese entity providing confirmation regarding the operating time of the shipping company for crude oil transportation, shall be responsible for such confirmation. In cases where the shipping company does not have an agent, the Vietnamese entity directly signing the transportation contract shall provide the confirmation.

4. The beneficiaries of the provisions on exemptions and reductions for income from international transport must be international transport enterprises operating vessels entering Vietnamese ports to transport goods or passengers and shall be identified as follows:

-à the shipping company filing the application itself in cases where the shipping company directly submits the application (based on the name of the applicant);

-à the shipping company authorizing or designating an agent to handle the procedures on its behalf in cases where the shipping company authorizes or designates an agent (based on the name of the person authorizing or designating the agent in the power of attorney or designation document);

At the same time, it must prove that the shipping company operates vessels to transport goods or passengers (documents and papers about vessel names, port entry and exit permits, confirmation of entry and exit dates, and lists for each vessel).

Tax Departments may cross-reference vessel names across files to detect violations.

The above is guidance on handling certain issues related to the implementation of Circular 133/2004/TT-BTC. During the implementation process, if other difficulties arise, please compile reports and submit them to the Ministry of Finance (General Department of Taxation) for research and timely guidance.

ANNEX NO. 3