THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE
Circular No. 02/2012/TT-BTC of January 5, 2012, prescribing the collection, remittance, management and use of fees in the field of law practice in Vietnam
Pursuant to the 2006 Law on Lawyers;
Pursuant to the 2001 Ordinance on Charges and Fees;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP of June 3, 2002, detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Charges and Fees;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 24/2006/ND-CP of March 6, 2006, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP of June 3, 2002, detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Charges and Fees;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 28/2007/ND-CP of February 26, 2007, detailing and guiding a number of articles of the Law on Lawyers;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 118/2008/ND-CP of November 27, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;
In furtherance of the Government’s Resolution No. 52/NQ-CP of December 10, 2010, on simplification of administrative procedures under the Ministry of Justice’s management;
After obtaining opinions of the Ministry of Justice in Official Letter No. 6998/BTP-BTTP of November 11, 2011,
The Ministry of Finance prescribes the collection, remittance, management and use of fees in the field of law practice in Vietnam as follows:
Article 1. Fee payers
1. Applicants for law practice certificates shall pay fees according to Article 2 of this Circular.
2. Applicants for the grant, modification or extension of the following licenses or operation registration certificates shall pay fees according to Article 2 of this Circular: licenses for establishment of branches of foreign law-practicing organizations or for establishment of foreign law firms in Vietnam; licenses for establishment of branches of foreign law firms in Vietnam; operation registration certificates for branches of foreign law-practicing organizations, or foreign law firms in Vietnam or their branches; or practice licenses of foreign lawyers in Vietnam.
3. This Circular does not apply to ethnic minority persons residing in areas with extreme socio-economic difficulties who commit to practicing law in their localities.
Article 2. Fee rates
Fee rates are prescribed as follows:
No. | Fee | Rate (VND/dossier) |
1 | Fee for law practice certificates for persons subject to examination of law practice-probation results | 1,500,000 |
2 | Fee for law practice certificates for persons exempt from examination of law practice-probation results | 400,000 |
3 | Fee for establishment licenses of branches of foreign law-practicing organizations or foreign law firms in Vietnam | 20,000,000 |
4 | Fee for modified establishment licenses of branches of foreign law-practicing organizations or foreign law firms in Vietnam | 4,000,000 |
5 | Fee for establishment licenses of branches of foreign law firms in Vietnam | 1,000,000 |
6 | Fee for operation registration certificates for branches of foreign law-practicing organizations, foreign law firms in Vietnam or their branches. | 400,000 |
7 | Fee for practice licenses for foreign lawyers in Vietnam. | 2,000,000 |
8 | Fee for extended practice licenses for foreign lawyers in Vietnam | 1,000,000 |
Article 3. Fee collection, remittance, management and use
1. Organizations and individuals shall pay fees when submitting dossiers for participation in the exam of law practice-probation results to obtain law practice certificates or dossiers of application for law practice certificates for persons exempt from this exam or dossiers of application for the licenses mentioned in Clause 2, Article 1 of this Circular.
2. Fee-collecting agencies are those granting law practice certificates or the licenses mentioned in Clause 2, Article 1 of this Circular, including the Ministry of Justice and provincial-level Justice Departments.
3. Agencies collecting the fee for law practice certificates may retain 90% of the collected fee amount to cover fee collection expenses before remittance into the state budget.
Fee-collecting agencies shall remit the remainder (10%) into the state budget according to corresponding chapters, categories, clauses, items and sub-items of the current state budget revenue index.
4. Agencies collecting the fees for the licenses mentioned in Clause 2, Article 1 of this Circular may retain 70% of the collected fee amount to cover fee collection expenses before remittance into the state budget.
Fee-collecting agencies shall remit the remainder (30%) into the state budget according to corresponding chapters, categories, clauses, items and sub-items of the current state budget revenue index.
5. Other matters related to fee collection, remittance, management and use as well as the publicity of fee-collection regulations not mentioned in this Circular comply with the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC of July 24, 2002, guiding the law on charges and fees; Circular No. 45/2006/TT-BTC of May 25, 2006, amending and supplementing Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC of July 24, 2002, and Circular No. 28/2011/TT-BTC of February 28, 2011, guiding a number of articles of the Law on Tax Administration, and the Government’s Decree No. 85/2007/ND-CP of May 25, 2007, and Decree No. 106/2010/ND-CP of October 28, 2010.
Article 4. Organization of implementation
1. This Circular takes effect on March 1, 2012, and replaces the Minister of Finance’s Decision No. 75/2004/QD-BTC of September 16, 2004, prescribing the collection, remittance, management and use of fees for licensing the establishment, registration and professional practice for foreign lawyers’ organizations and foreign lawyers in Vietnam.
2. Any problems arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported to the Finance Ministry for study and guidance.-
For the Minister of Finance
Deputy Minister
VU THI MAI
Vietnamese
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