Circular 90/2019/TT-BTC amending Circular 261/2016/TT-BTC and Circular 17/2017/TT-BTC

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some Articles of the Circular No. 261/2016/TT-BTC dated November 14, 2016 of the Minister of Financeproviding for maritime fees, charges and schedule of collection rates of maritime fees and chargesand the Circular No. 17/2017/TT-BTC dated February 28, 2017 of the Minister of Finance guiding the collection, transfer, management and use of maritime charges and fees

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

Pursuant to the Vietnam Maritime Code dated November 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016 specifying and providing guidance on implementation of certain Articles of the Law on Fees and Charges;

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

Pursuant to the Government s Decree No. 58/2017/ND-CP dated May 10, 2017 detailing a number of Articles of the Vietnam Maritime Code;

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

The Minister of Finance promulgates the Circular amending and supplementing some Articles of the Circular No. 261/2016/TT-BTC dated November 14, 2016 providing for maritime fees, charges and schedule of collection rates of maritime fees and charges and the Circular No. 17/2017/TT-BTC dated February 28, 2017 guiding the collection, transfer, management and use of maritime charges and fees.

 Article 1. Amending and supplementing a number of Articles of the Circular No. 261/2016/TT-BTC dated November 14, 2016

1. Clause 1 and Clause 4 of Article 2 are amended and supplemented as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended as follows:

"1. Watercraftsare vehicles defined in Clause 1, Article 4 of the Vietnam Maritime Code.”

b) Clause 4 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“4.Maritime area: the waters of ​​a seaport that falls within a maritime administration s area of responsibility as announced by the Ministry of Transport prescribed in Clause 15, Article 3 and Article 18 of the Government’s Decree No. 58/2017/ND-CP dated May 10, 2017 detailing a number of Articles of the Vietnam Maritime Code.”

2. Article 3 is amended and supplemented as follows:

a) Point dd of Clause 2 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“dd) Vessels of armed forces, customs authorities and administrations, and those specially designed for search and rescue operations of Vietnam and vessels of other State management authorities while on official duty are not subject to this Circular; if involved in commercial transactions in Vietnam, they are subject to payment of maritime fees and charges as provided by Chapter III hereof.

b) Clause 3 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“3. Inland waterway vehicles (except for those bearing VR-SB class notations of 500 GT or more) that involve in domestic transport operations within maritime areas shall be subject to payment of fees and charges according to the Circular No. 248/2016/TT-BTC dated November 11, 2016 of the Minister of Finance prescribing collection rates of fees and charges for entering inland waterway ports or terminals as well as approaches for collection, transfer, management and use thereof. Inland waterway vehicles that operate on routes of waterway transport from a mainland shore to an island shall pay fees and charges according to Chapter III hereof”.

3. Article 6 is amended and supplemented as follows:

a) Point d is added to Clause 1 as follows:

“d) If inland waterway vehicles have no parameters to be converted into gross deadweight tonnage, their gross deadweight tonnage shall be calculated according to Point c, Clause 1 of this Article and used as the basis for calculation and payment of fees and charges".

b) Clause 6 is amended and supplemented as follows:

6. Provisions on payment of maritime charges and fees:

a) Payers of maritime fees and charges must fully discharge their obligations to submit and pay amounts of maritime fees and charges before their vessels are permitted by an administration to leave maritime area. Payers of maritime fees and charges may make late payment of fees and charges within a maximum period of 5 working days from the date of grant of permission to leave a port in the following cases:

- Payers have deposits at credit institutions as prescribed in the civil code for making payment of fees and charges for the vessels defined in Clause 1, Article 3 hereof.

- Payers have entered into commitments or have deposits at credit institutions as prescribed in the civil code for making payment of fees and charges for the vessels defined in Clause 2, Article 3 hereof.

b) Fees for anchoring or berthing at a maritime area for 01 month or longer: Payers shall make monthly payment of fees by the first working day of the next month; fees for the last month shall be paid according to Point a of this Clause.

c) In case inland waterway vehicles are permitted to carry out procedures for entering and leaving a port once when leaving the port as prescribed by related laws, one-time payment of fees and charges may be made according to the Circular No. 248/2016/TT-BTC dated November 11, 2016 of the Minister of Finance prescribing collection rates of fees and charges for entering inland waterway ports or terminals as well as approaches for collection, transfer, management and use thereof when leaving the port (including entrance and departure fees/charges).

d) Payers shall make cash payment of fees and charges directly to collectors or use non-cash payment services to transfer the amounts of fees and charges to accounts of collectors opened at the State Treasury (or commercial banks)”.

c) Clause 10, Clause 11 and Clause 12 are added as follows:

“10. In case of inland waterway vehicles bearing multiple registration class notations, including VR-SB and other class notations of inland waterway vehicles (issued by register authorities), based on general declarations submitted when carrying out procedures, maritime administrations shall collect fees/charges as follows:

a) Vehicles operating on domestic maritime routes and those with routes or next ports unknown to the administrations shall bear the same fees and charges as those imposed on vessels bearing VR-SB class notation.

b) Vehicles operating on inland waterway routes or those operating on both domestic maritime routes and inland waterway routes shall incur fees and charges according to the Circular No. 248/2016/TT-BTC dated November 11, 2016 of the Minister of Finance prescribing collection rates of fees and charges for entering inland waterway ports or terminals as well as approaches for collection, transfer, management and use thereof.

11. Watercrafts moving between inland waterway ports/terminals and wharves/seaports within 01 (one) maritime area under the authority of 01 (one) maritime administration shall only be subject to one-time payment of maritime fees and charges (including entrance and departure fees/charges) when carrying out procedures at the first wharf/port of arrival according to the Schedule of collection rates of maritime fees and charges herein or in the Circular No. 248/2016/TT-BTC dated November 11, 2016 of the Minister of Finance prescribing collection rates of fees and charges for entering inland waterway ports or terminals as well as approaches for collection, transfer, management and use thereof.

12. With regard to watercraft operating on the water transport route from a mainland shore to an island as announced by the Ministry of Transport, the in-charge maritime administration shall collect fees and charges imposed on the craft according to Chapter III hereof”.

4. Article 7 is amended and supplemented as follows:

a) Point d and Point dd of Clause 2 are amended and supplemented as follows:

“d) Tankers transshipping oil at Van Phong – Khanh Hoa bay shall be subject to payment of the tonnage fee at the rate equal to 50% of the collection rate specified in Clause 1 of this Article. This tonnage fee shall be applied till the end of December 31, 2020; they shall be subject to payment of the tonnage fee at the collection rate specified in Clause 1 of this Article from January 01, 2021;

dd) Vessels of 50,000 GT, or more, carrying export, import or transshipment containers upon entering or leaving ports alongside Cai Mep - Thi Vai river shall be subject to payment of the tonnage fee at the rate equal to 60% of the collection rate specified in Clause 1 of this Article. This tonnage fee shall be applied till the end of December 31, 2020; they shall be subject to payment of the tonnage fee at the collection rate specified in Clause 1 of this Article from January 01, 2021”.

b) Point a, Clause 3 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“a) Vessels entering or leaving a maritime area to: (i) shelter from storm, bad weather conditions that may risk their safety, or provide medical emergency services to patients without handling cargoes, picking up or dropping off passengers; (ii) disembark persons, property or ships rescued at sea without involving in commercial transactions as verified by a maritime administration; (iii) participate in search and rescue, prevention and control of floods, hurricanes or natural disasters according to the dispatching call or consent from regulatory State authorities”.

5. Article 8 is amended and supplemented as follows

a) Point d and Point dd of Clause 2 are amended and supplemented as follows:

“d) Tankers transshipping oil at Van Phong – Khanh Hoa bay shall be subject to payment of maritime safety assurance fee at the rate equal to 50% of the collection rate specified in Clause 1 of this Article. This maritime safety assurance fee shall be applied till the end of December 31, 2020; they shall be subject to payment of maritime safety assurance fee at the collection rate specified in Clause 1 of this Article from January 01, 2021;

dd) Vessels of 50,000 GT, or more, carrying export, import or transshipment containers upon entering or leaving ports alongside Cai Mep - Thi Vai river shall be subject to payment of maritime safety assurance fee at the rate equal to 60% of the collection rate specified in Clause 1 of this Article. This maritime safety assurance fee shall be applied till the end of December 31, 2020; they shall be subject to payment of maritime safety assurance fee at the collection rate specified in Clause 1 of this Article from January 01, 2021”.

b) Point b of Clause 3 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“b) Vessels entering or leaving a maritime area to: (i) shelter from storm, bad weather conditions that may risk their safety, or provide medical emergency services to patients without handling cargoes, picking up or dropping off passengers; (ii) disembark persons, property or ships rescued at sea without involving in commercial transactions as verified by a maritime administration; (iii) participate in search and rescue, prevention and control of floods, hurricanes or natural disasters according to the dispatching call or consent from regulatory State authorities; (iv) vessels underway at sea that request permission to enter a seaport to shelter from storms without handling cargoes, picking up or dropping off passengers”.

6. Article 9 is amended and supplemented as follows:

a) Point e, Clause 1 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“e) Tankers transshipping oil at Van Phong – Khanh Hoa bay shall be subject to payment of anchoring/berthing fee at the rate equal to 50% of the collection rate specified in Points a, b, c Clause 1 of this Article. This fee shall be applied till the end of December 31, 2020; they shall be subject to payment of anchoring/berthing fee at the collection rate specified in Points a, b, c Clause 1 of this Article from January 01, 2021”.

b) Point a and Point b of Clause 2 are amended and supplemented as follows:

“a) Cargoes transferred ship-to-ship at dedicated waterside areas or zones to move to other maritime areas or for import/export purposes shall be subject to payment of anchoring/berthing fee which varies depending on the following classification:

- Common cargoes: USD 0.07/ton;

- Refrigerator box trucks, tracked vehicles, backhoes, road rollers, fork or lift trucks, cranes and other heavy-duty vehicles: USD 2/piece;

- Motor vehicles with up to 15 seats and vehicles with loading capacity of up to 2.5 ton: USD 0.7/piece;

- Motor vehicles other than those referred to in this point: USD 1.3/piece.

b) Cargoes transferred ship-to-ship to move to wharves within the same maritime area (except for cargoes which are raw materials/finished products of an enterprise and transported from or to dedicated wharves/ports of such enterprise) shall not be subject to payment of anchoring/berthing fee".

7. Point a, Clause 3 of Article 12 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“a) Vessels entering or leaving a maritime area to: (i) shelter from storm, bad weather conditions that may risk their safety, or provide medical emergency services to patients without handling cargoes, picking up or dropping off passengers; (ii) disembark persons, property or ships rescued at sea without involving in commercial transactions as verified by a maritime administration; (iii) participate in search and rescue, prevention and control of floods, hurricanes or natural disasters according to the dispatching call or consent from regulatory State authorities”.

8. Article 13 is amended and supplemented as follows:

a) Point d, Clause 2 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“d) Vessels bearing VRH-III class notation, with a capacity of less than 500 GT, entering or leaving maritime areas shall not be subject to payment of maritime safety assurance fee till the end of December 31, 2024. They shall be subject to payment of maritime safety assurance fee at the collection rate specified in Clause 1 of this Article from January 01, 2025”.

b) Point b, Clause 3 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“b) Vessels entering or leaving a maritime area to: (i) shelter from storm, bad weather conditions that may risk their safety, or provide medical emergency services to patients without handling cargoes, picking up or dropping off passengers; (ii) disembark persons, property or ships rescued at sea without involving in commercial transactions as verified by a maritime administration; (iii) participate in search and rescue, prevention and control of floods, hurricanes or natural disasters according to the dispatching call or consent from regulatory State authorities; (iv) vessels underway at sea that request permission to enter a seaport to shelter from storms without handling cargoes, picking up or dropping off passengers”.

9. Clause 7 is added to Article 14 as follows:

“7. Vessels bearing VRH-III class notation, with a capacity of less than 500 GT, entering or leaving maritime areas shall not be subject to payment of anchoring/berthing fee till the end of December 31, 2024. They shall be subject to payment of anchoring/berthing fee at the collection rate specified in Clause 1 of this Article from January 01, 2025”.

Article 2. Amending and supplementing a number of Articles of the Circular No. 17/2017/TT-BTC dated February 28, 2017

1. Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 3 are amended and supplemented as follows:

“2. Maritime administrations are permitted to retain 50% of total collected fees to cover their expenditures as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article and transfer 50% of total collected fees to central-government budget according to corresponding chapter, section and sub-section in the list of state budget entries.

3. The retained amounts of collected fees shall be managed and used in accordance with regulations in Article 5 of the Government s Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016, including payment of the following expenditures:

a) Other recurrent expenditures arising during the performance of tasks, service provision and fee collection of maritime administrations, including: expenditures on provision of professional improvement courses; labor protection costs or costs of uniforms provided to employees as prescribed; expenditures on management and operation of VTS system; and expenditures on implementation of administrative reform policies at seaports within the ambit of assigned duties of a maritime administration.

b) Non-recurring expenditures incurred by maritime administrations, including: expenditures on maintenance and repair of VTS system and other equipment serving the performance of maritime safety and security tasks within seaport areas; expenditures on leasing of offices, canoe or public vessel piers (if any); expenditures on search and rescue of persons, cargoes, vehicles and ships suffering from accidents occurring in seaport areas; expenditures on prevention and treatment of environmental pollution within seaport waters.

c) Specific expenditures covered by the Vietnam Maritime Administration according to Decision No. 32/2019/QD-TTg dated October 29, 2019 of the Prime Minister on a number of specific expenditures for Vietnam Maritime Administration”.

2. Article 5 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“Article 5. Statement of fees and charges

Statements of maritime fees and charges shall be made according to the Circular No. 137/2017/TT-BTC dated December 25, 2017 of the Minister of Finance providing for examination, appraisal and publishing of annual budget statements”.

Article 3. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on March 01, 2020.

2. Clause 4 of Article 3, Point e, Clause 2 of Article 8, Clause 2 of Article 17, and Appendix on list of maritime areas falling within maritime administrations’ area of responsibility enclosed with the Circular No. 261/2016/TT-BTC dated November 14, 2016 of the Minister of Finance providing for maritime fees, charges and schedule of collection rates of maritime fees and charges shall be annulled.

3. During the implementation of this Circular, if the legislative documents referred to in this Circular are amended or replaced, the new ones shall prevail.

4. In the course of implementation, if any problems arise, organizations and individuals are requested to promptly report them to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and additional guidance.

For the Minister

The Deputy Minister

Vu Thi Mai