Circular No. 251/2016/TT-BTC dated November 11, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance providing for fees for handling of competition cases, and the collection, transfer, management and use thereof

CIRCULAR

Prescribing the rates and collection, remittance, management and use of charge for handling of competition cases[1]

Pursuant to the November 25, 2015 Law on Charges and Fees;

Pursuant to the June 25, 2015 Law on the State Budget;

Pursuant to the December 3, 2004 Law on Competition;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP of August 23, 2016, detailing and guiding a number of articles of the Law on Charges and Fees;

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

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

The Minister of Finance promulgates the Circular prescribing the rates and collection, remittance, management and use of charge for handling of competition cases.

Article 1. Scope of regulation and subjects of application

1. Scope of regulation

This Circular prescribes the rates and collection, remittance, management and use of charges, including: charge for handling of competition cases; charge for settlement of independent requests filed by persons with related interests or obligations; and charge for appraisal of dossiers for enjoyment of immunity in the handling of competition cases.

2. Subjects of application

This Circular applies to:

a/ Organizations and individuals that have their competition cases handled, persons with related interests or obligations that file and have their independent requests settled, and  those that have dossiers for enjoyment of immunity in the handling of competition cases appraised, by competent competition management agencies.

b/ Competition management agencies competent to handle competition cases; settle independent requests filed by persons with related interests and obligations; and appraise dossiers for enjoyment of immunity in the handling of competition cases;

c/ Other organizations and individuals involved in the collection and remittance of charge for handling of competition cases; charge for settlement of independent requests filed by persons with related interests or obligations; and charge for appraisal of dossiers for enjoyment of immunity in the handling of competition cases.

Article 2. Charge payers

1. Payers of charge for handling of competition cases are parties defined in Article 63 of the Law on Competition.

2. Payers of charge for settlement of independent requests filed by persons with related interests or obligations are those with related interests and obligations defined in Article 71 of the Law on Competition.

3. Payers of charge for appraisal of dossiers for enjoyment of immunity in the handling of competition cases are dossier submitters defined in Article 30 of the Law on Competition.

Article 3. Organization of charge collection

The Vietnam Competition Authority (under the Ministry of Industry and Trade) which is competent to handle competition cases, settle independent requests filed by persons with related interests and obligations, and appraise dossiers for enjoyment of immunity in the handling of competition cases is the charge-collecting organization under this Circular.

Article 4. Charge rates

1. The rates of charge for handling of competition cases are specified as follows:

a/ For an unfair competition act: VND 10,000,000 per case;

b/ For a competition suppression act: VND 100,000,000 per case.

2. The charge rate for settlement of independent requests filed by persons with related interests or obligations is VND 10,000,000 per case.

3. The charge rate for appraisal of dossiers for enjoyment of immunity in the handling of competition cases is VND 50,000,000 per dossier.

Article 5. Charge declaration and remittance

1. For charge payers:

a/ Complainants defined in Article 58 of the Law on Competition must pay in advance expenses for the handling of competition cases, which is equal to 50% of the charge specified in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular.

- In case the complainant is not liable to pay the charge prescribed in Article 63 of the Law on Competition, the charge-collecting organization shall refund the total paid amount within 30 days from the date the decision on handling of competition case takes effect; the complained party shall pay the whole charge amount for handling of its/his/her competition case prescribed in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular.

- In case the complainant is liable to pay the charge prescribed in Article 63 of the Law on Competition, it/he/she shall pay the remaining 50% of the charge prescribed in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular.

b/ When having an independent request for participating in competition proceedings in the capacity as a person with related interests or obligations, the requester shall pay in advance the whole charge amount prescribed in Clause 2, Article 4 of this Circular. He/she is liable to pay the charge for his/her independent request in case such request is rejected by a competition management agency or competition case handling council. In case of acceptance, such person shall be refunded the whole paid amount;

c/ When submitting dossiers for enjoyment of immunity, dossier submitters shall pay the whole charge amount prescribed in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular, and will not be refunded paid charge amounts in all cases.

2. For the charge-collecting organization:

a/ By no later than the fifth day of every month, the charge-collecting organization shall deposit the whole charge amount collected in the previous month to an account of charge revenue before being remitted into the state budget, which is opened at the State Treasury.

b/ The charge-collecting organization shall declare collected fee amounts on a monthly basis, and make finalization on an annual basis under Clause 3, Article 19 and remit the collected charge amount under Clause 2, Article 26 of the Ministry of Finance’s Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC of November 6, 2013, guiding a number of articles of the Law on Tax Administration; the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Tax Administration and the Government’s Decree No. 83/2013/ND-CP of July 22, 2013.

Article 6. Charge management and use

1. The charge-collecting organization shall remit the whole collected charge amount into the state budget according to the current State Budget Index. Expenses for the appraisal and charge collection shall be covered by the state budget within the charge-collecting organization’s annual estimates under the state budget’s expenditure regime and norms prescribed by law.

2. In case the charge-collecting organization pays its operating expenses at a pre-fixed level under the Government’s or the Prime Minister’s regulation on the mechanism of autonomy and accountability in the use of payrolls and administrative management funds of state agencies, it may retain 90% (ninety percent) of the total collected charge amount to cover expenses for the handling and charge collection under Clause 2, Article 5 of the Government’s Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP of August 23, 2016, detailing and guiding a number of articles of the Law on Charges and Fees. The remaining 10% (ten percent) of the collected charge amount shall be remitted into the state budget under the current State Budget Index.

Article 7. Organization of implementation

1. This Circular takes effect on January 1, 2017.

2. Other contents related to the charge collection and remittance which are not guided in this Circular shall comply with the Law on Charges and Fees; the Government’s Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP of August 23, 2016, detailing and guiding a number of articles of the Law on Charges and Fees, the Minister of Finance’s Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC of November 6, 2013, guiding a number of articles of the Law on Tax Administration; the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Tax Administration and the Government’s Decree No. 83/2013/ND-CP of July 22, 2013; the Ministry of Finance’s Circulars on the printing, distribution, management and use of documents for the collection of charges and fees; and amending and supplementing documents (if any).

3. Charge payers and related agencies shall implement this Circular. Any problems arising in the course of implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and guidance.

For the Minister of Finance
Deputy Minister
VU THI MAI