Circular No. 164/2016/TT-BTC dated October 25, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance specifying fees for verifying papers and documents serving recognition of qualifications issued by foreign educational institutions to Vietnamese people and the collection, transfer, management and use thereof

THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

Circular No.164/2016/TT-BTC dated October 25, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance specifying fees for verifying papers and documents serving recognition of qualifications issued by foreign educational institutions to Vietnamese people and the collection, transfer, management and use thereof

Pursuant to the Law on fees and charges dated November 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on State budget dated June 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016 by the Government providing guidance on the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on fees and charges;

Pursuant to Decree No. 215/2013/ND-CP dated December 23, 2013 by the Government defining the functions, tasks, entitlements and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the request of the Director of the Tax Policy Department,

The Minister of Finance hereby promulgates the Circular specifying fees for verifying papers and documents serving recognition of qualifications issued by foreign educational institutions to Vietnamese people and the collection, transfer, management and use thereof.

Article 1. Scope of adjustment and subject of application

1. Scope of adjustment

a) This Circular specifies fees for verifying papers and documents serving the recognition of qualifications that foreign educational institutions issued to Vietnamese people and the collection, transfer, management and use thereof.

Qualifications mentioned in this Circular include academic degrees or certificates of completion of upper secondary education programs, associate degrees, college’s degrees, bachelor s degrees, master’s degrees and doctorate degrees that are issued by foreign educational institutions to the Vietnamese.

Procedures for verifying papers and documents serving the recognition of qualifications that are issued by foreign educational institutions to Vietnamese people are guided by the Ministry of Education and Training.

b) This Circular does not cover the verification of papers and documents serving the recognition of qualifications or certificates proving the academic results that are issued by foreign educational institutions to Vietnamese people when they have completed a part of the training program or have completed a short-term training course.

2. Subject of application

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals applying for verification of papers and documents serving the recognition of qualifications issued by foreign educational institutions; competent agencies verifying or recognizing the qualifications and organizations and individuals relevant to the verification and recognition of qualifications that foreign educational institutions issue to Vietnamese people.

Article 2. Fee payer

Organizations and individuals applying for verification of papers and documents serving the recognition of qualifications issued by foreign educational institutions as prescribed in point a clause 1 Article 1 of this Circular must pay fees according to regulations.

Article 3. Fee collector

Education Quality Examination and Inspection (affiliated to the Ministry of Education and Training) and Department of Education and Training of provinces and central-affiliated cities shall conduct the verification and recognition of educational qualifications of Vietnamese people which are issued by foreign educational institutions according to regulations in this Circular.

Article 4. Fee rate

Rates of fees for verification of papers and documents serving the recognition of qualifications:

1. For verification serving the recognition of qualifications of Vietnamese people issued by foreign educational institutions lawfully operating in Vietnam (including programs of educational association between Vietnamese educational institutions and foreign educational institutions where qualifications are issued by the foreign educational institutions), amount of fee to be paid shall be VND 250,000 for each type of qualification;

2. For verification serving the recognition of qualifications of Vietnamese people issued lawfully by foreign educational institutions when such people have completed training programs in foreign countries, amount of fee to be paid shall be VND 500,000 for each paper qualification.

Article 5. Declaration, collection and transfer of fees

1. Not later than the 05^thof every month, fee collectors shall transfer the collected fees of the previous month to the account for fees to be transferred to state budget which is opened at the State Treasury.

2. Fee collectors shall make declaration and transfer the collected fees according to the guidelines in clause 3 Article 19 and clause 2 Article 26 of Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC dated November 06, 2013 by the Minister of Finance guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Tax administration; Law on amendments to the Law on Tax administration and the Decree No. 83/2013/ND-CP dated July 22, 2013 by the Government.

Article 6. Management and use of fees

Fee collectors may retain 60% of the collected amount of fee to pay for their expenditure as prescribed in clause 2 Article 5 of the Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016 by the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on fees and charges and shall transfer 40% of the collected amount of fee to the State budget in accordance with the corresponding chapters, sections and subsections of the State Budget Index.

Article 7. Implementation organization and provisions

1. This Circular takes effect on January 01, 2017 and replaces the Circular No. 95/2013/TT-BTC dated July 17, 2013 by the Ministry of Finance.

2. Activities relevant to the collection, transfer, management and use of invoices of collection and/or public disclosure of fee collection policies which are not specified in this Circular shall comply with the Law on fees and charges; the Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016 by the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on fees and charges; the Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC dated November 06, 2013 by the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Tax administration; Law on amendments to the Law on Tax administration and the Decree No. 83/2013/ND-CP dated July 22, 2013 by the Government; the Circular of the Minister of Finance guiding the printing, issuance, management and use of invoices of collection of fees and charges which are government revenues and their amending documents (if any).

3. Any difficulties arising in the course of implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and guidance./.

For the Minister

The Deputy Minister

Vu Thi Mai