Decision No. 3946/QD-BGTVT dated December 09, 2016 of the Ministry of Transport on the pricing framework for services of pilotage and utilization of wharfs, docks and mooring buoys at Vietnamese seaports

THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT

Decision No.  3946/QD-BGTVT dated December 09, 2016 of the Ministry of Transport on the pricing framework for services of pilotage and utilization of wharfs, docks and mooring buoys at Vietnamese seaports

Pursuant to Vietnam Maritime Code dated November 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Pricing Law dated June 20, 2012;

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

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 107/2012/ND-CP dated December 20, 2012 on the functions, missions, authority and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 149/2016/ND-CP dated November 11, 2016 on amendments to certain articles of the Government’s Decree No. 177/2013/ND-CP dated November 14, 2013 on the implementation of certain articles of the Pricing Law;

At the request of the Head of Department of Transportation and the Head of Vietnam Maritime Administration,

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. To attach with the Decision with the pricing framework for seaport services, which consists of:

1.Pricing framework for pilotage service.

2.Pricing framework for utilization of wharfs, docks and mooring buoys in maritime zones.

Article 2. Subject of application

1.This Decision applies to domestic and foreign organizations and individuals in connection with the pricing of services for pilotage and utilization of wharfs, docks and mooring buoys.

2.The service charges shall be levied on the following international maritime vessels and the passengers aboard:

a) Vessels that enter, exit, transit or anchor in maritime zones (including export-processing zones); and the foreign vessels that operate in non-seaport territorial waters of Vietnam;

b) Vessels that carry imports, exports, cargoes transshipped or in transit in maritime zones, which include export-processing zones;

c) Passengers vessels departing from Vietnam for a foreign country or vice versa; vessels specialized for international routes upon entering, exiting, transiting or anchoring in maritime zones;

d) Imports, exports, transshipped and transiting commodities, including those entering or exiting export processing zones upon their loading, unloading, delivery, preservation and custody in maritime zones;

dd) Passengers on passenger vessels departing from a foreign country to Vietnam (or vice versa) by sea or by inland waterway through maritime zones.

3.The service charges shall be levied on the following domestic marine vessels:

a) Domestic marine vessels that enter, exit, pass through or anchor in maritime zones;

a) Domestic marine vessels that enter, exit, pass through or anchor in maritime zones;

c) Vessels that operate on waterway routes between mainland’s coasts and islands.

d) Vessels specialized for oil and gas extraction, which operate at offshore platforms and at the ports specialized for oil and gas activities under the management of a maritime port authority;

dd) Vessels of the armed force, customs or port authorities and Vietnamese vessels specialized for search and rescue on official assignments shall not incur the service charges defined in the pricing framework annexed to this Decision; however, they shall be subject to seaport service charges pursuant to this Decision during commercial operations.

Article 3. Principles of seaport service pricing

1.The service pricing framework annexed to this Decision are drawn up by general pricing method for goods and services pursuant to the legislation on pricing and relevant legal regulations.

2.The providers of seaport services shall specify their prices according to the pricing framework annexed to this Decision in accordance with the legislation on seaport service pricing, the service quality and the market conditions.

3.The price levels in the pricing framework defined in this Decision are inclusive of 10% value added tax. The service charge payable to an organization or individual who incurs a value added tax rate higher or lower than 10% shall be composed of the VAT-excluded price and the amount of value added tax payable.

Article 4. Terminology

In this Decision, the following words and phrases are construed as follows:

1.Vessel: ocean-going ships, military ships, public vessels, fishing vessels, inland watercrafts, seaplanes and other water-borne vehicles.

2.Specialized vessel: ships and boats specialized for oil and gas survey and extraction (vessels for service activities incidental to oil and gas extraction), ships and boats for construction of maritime buildings, ships and boats for maintenance of maritime safety, training ships, science research ships, public vessels.

3.Lash (lighter aboard ship) vessel: specialized vessels aboard which lash barges are carried across a river or sea.

4.Lash barge: specialized barges that carry dry cargo or bulk cargo and are capable of reaching deeper inland on channels whose technical conditions are limited.

5.Gross tonnage (GT): maximum total capacity of a vessel as shown in the certificate of volume issued by a register agency for the vessel as per regulations.

6.Maritime zone: boundaries of a body of water under the responsibility of a port authority. A seaport may consist of one or several maritime zones.

7.Cargo: commodities aboard a vessel, which include loaded and empty containers.

8.Export: commodities whose place of delivery (origin) is Vietnam and place of receipt (destination) is overseas.

9.Import: commodities whose place of delivery (origin) is overseas and place of receipt (destination) is Vietnam.

10.Transiting commodities: merchandise whose place of delivery (origin) and place of receipt (destination) are outside the territories of Vietnam and which pass through or are handled at a seaport of Vietnam or are stored in a warehouse to continue their excursion;

11.Transshipped commodities: merchandise carried from abroad to a seaport of Vietnam and preserved in a transshipment area of the seaport in a certain period before being loaded onto and carried by a vessel out of the territories of Vietnam.

12.Act of pilotage: a maritime pilot’s continual maneuvering of a vessel from the position at which the pilot boards the vessel to the position at which he disembarks as per regulations.

13.Visit: a vessel’s one entry into and subsequent exit from a maritime zone is considered one visit.

14.Waterway route between a mainland’s coast and an island: a waterway route of transport between a mainland’s coast and an island in a territorial water of Vietnam, which is made public by the Ministry of Transport.

15.Service pricing framework: a price range that consists of the minimum and maximum prices of a service.

16.Minimum price: the lowest price of a service whose provider is permitted to charge on a customer.

17.Maximum price: the highest price of a service whose provider is permitted to charge on a customer.

Article 5. Pricing unit and number rounding

1.Gross tonnage (GT): one of the basic units for pricing of maritime services, where:

a) The gross tonnage of a vessel carrying liquid cargo shall be 85% of the maximum GT shown in the certificate that the relevant register agency issued for the vessel as per regulations, regardless of the availability of segregated ballast tanks on such vessel;

b) The gross tonnage of a passenger vessel shall be 50% of the maximum GT shown in the certificate that the relevant register agency issued for the vessel as per regulations;

c) For the vessels whose GT is not specified, the following conversion applies:

-Ocean-going ships and inland unmanned surface vehicles: 1.5 deadweight tons is counted as 01 GT;

-Barges: 01 deadweight ton equals 01 GT;

-Tugboats, passenger vessels (including seaplanes) and crane vessels: 01 horse power (hp, cv) is counted as 0.5 GT; 01 kW is counted as 0.7 GT; 01 ton in a crane vessel’s hoisting capacity is counted as 06 GT;

-Passenger vessels whose engine power is not specified: 01 passenger seat is counted as 0.67 GT; 01 berth is counted as 4 GT;

-The gross tonnage of all barges, towboats or tugboats in a fleet of tugboats, towboats or pusher boats shall total up that of the fleet;

The conversion defined in Point c, Section 1 of this Article shall incorporate the conversion method that results in the highest GT.

2.Unit of engine power: The unit of a vessel’s main engine power shall be hp, cv or kW. The tenths in the decimal expansion of 01 hp, 01 cv or 01 kW shall be rounded to 01 hp, 01 cv or 1 kW.

3.Unit of time:

a) Day: 01 day equals 24 hours; and an amount of 12 hours or less is counted as half a day while an amount of more than 12 hours is counted as 01 day;

b) Hour: 01 hour equals 60 minutes; and an amount of 30 minutes or less is counted as half an hour while an amount of more than 30 minutes is counted as 01 hour.

4.The unit of mass of commodity (with packing) is ton or cubic meter (m³); and an amount of less than 0.5 ton or 0.5 m³is not counted while an amount of 0.5 ton or 0.5 m³or higher is counted as 01 ton or 01 m³.The minimum mass of commodity in a single bill of lading, on which the fee is chargeable, shall be 01 ton or 01 m³. For a commodity whose every ton of mass occupies at least 02 m³, every 02 m³shall equal 01 ton.

5.The unit of distance is nautical mile (NM) and an amount of less than 01 NM is counted as 01 NM.

6.The pricing unit for a wharf or dock is meter (m) of the wharf or dock. An amount of less than 01 m is counted as 01 m.

Article 6. Currency

1.The charges for pilotage service and utilization of wharfs, docks and mooring buoys shall be levied on international vessels in Vietnam Dong or United States Dollar.

2.The charges for pilotage service and utilization of wharfs, docks and mooring buoys shall be levied on domestic vessels in Vietnam Dong.

3.The conversion of United States Dollar to Vietnam Dong shall be subject to the transfer buy rate that the Joint-stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam announces at the time of payment.

Chapter II

PRICING FRAMEWORK FOR SERVICES OF PILOTAGE AND UTILIZATION OF WHARFS, DOCKS AND MOORING BUOYS

Article 7. Pricing framework for utilization of wharfs, docks and mooring buoys

1.Pricing framework for domestic vessels utilization of wharfs, docks and mooring buoys

2.Pricing framework for international vessels utilization of wharfs, docks and mooring buoys

Article 8. Determination of pilotage service charge

1.The maritime pilotage service charge is levied per act of pilotage and is the result of a multiplication of the pilotage service price, the distance of pilotage and the gross tonnage of a vessel.

2.If the pilotage service charge specified by the said formula is lower than the minimum charge for an act of pilotage, the minimum charge defined in the service pricing framework in Article 9 and Article 10 herein shall applies.

3.Maritime pilotage organizations shall invoice their pilotage service, when collecting the charge, as per the Ministry of Finance s current regulations.

Article 9. Pricing framework for pilotage service provided to domestic vessels

1.Service pricing framework

2.Specific provisions

a) A carrier has to notify the pilotage organization at least 06 hours prior to its use of the maritime pilotage service.The pilotage organization shall be informed of a change to the time of pilotage or the cancellation of the service request at least 03 hours prior to the expected time of pilotage.

The carrier shall incur (a) wait charge(s) below when cancelling a request for pilotage in less than 03 hours prior to the expected time of pilotage:

-Pilot: VND 22,000/person/hour;

-Pilot and vessel: VND 220,000/person and vessel/hour.

-The duration of wait is determined in the following manner:

+ The pilot has not yet departed: 01 hour;

+ The pilot departed: the duration of wait starts upon departure until the pilot s return to the original position. In this event, the minimum duration of wait shall be 01 hour;

+ If the pilot is retained after completing the pilotage, the captain of the vessel shall incur an additional wait charge for the duration during which the pilot is retained.

A pilot shall only wait at the vessel pickup position in no more than 04 hours after the requested time of pilotage. The request of pilotage service shall be deemed cancelled after such wait time and the vessel shall be subject to 80% of the charge for pilotage service commensurate with the requested distance of pilotage according to the pricing framework defined in Section 1 of this Article.

b) The price of pilotage service for a vessel on a voyage to test its machinery or to calibrate its compass shall be 110% of that defined in the pricing framework in Section 1 of this Article;

c) The price of pilotage service for a vessel that is inoperable due to technical issues shall be 150% of that defined in the pricing framework in Section 1 of this Article;

d) An organization or individual in possession of the vessels that carry passengers into and out of 1 maritime zone on at least 04 visits in 1 month shall incur the pilotage service price that is 50% of that defined in the pricing framework in Section 1 of this Article for such passenger vessels in the relevant month; however, the charge shall not be lower than the minimum charge on 1 vessel for 1 act of pilotage.

dd) The owner of a vessel that does not voyage straight to the port and demands to anchor midway (except for the routes on which night voyage is not allowed) shall incur an additional charge for transporting the pilot. The transport charge shall not exceed VND 330,000/vessel/transport;

e) The pilot shall pay a wait charge of VND 275,000/hour, for the actual number of hours during which a vessel is kept waiting, to the owner of the vessel if such vessel arrives at the pilot wait position punctually and a representative of the owner obtains an approval from the port authority but the pilot is absent and keeps the vessel waiting.

g) If the pilot arrives at the position of appointment but the vessel is inoperable due to force majeure and such event is confirmed by the port authority, the charge shall equal the minimum charge on 01 vessel for 01 act of pilotage pursuant to Section 1 of this Article;

h) The pilotage service charge shall not be levied on the vessels that enter or leave a port to hand over victims rescued at sea without commodity handling, discharge or embarkation of passengers, provided that the event is confirmed by the port authority. Moreover, the pilotage service charge shall not be imposed on the vessels that participate in rescue and salvage or in combating against a storm, flood or natural disaster under an order or endorsement of a competent government authority.

Article 10. Pricing framework for pilotage service provided to international vessels

1.The pricing framework for pilot service below is defined for the following routes and types of vessel:

2.The prices of pilot service provided beyond Section 1 of this Article, on Vung Ro routes (Phu Yen province), at sand transshipment zones (Binh Dinh province, Phu Yen province), Duyen Hai (Tra Vinh province), Ba Ngoi (Khanh Hoa province) are defined below in progressive order:

3.Specific provisions

a) A carrier has to notify the maritime pilotage organization at least 06 hours prior to its use of the pilotage service and at least 24 hours prior to its use of the pilotage service at an offshore oil rig. The pilotage organization shall be informed of a change to the time of pilotage or the cancellation of the service request at least 03 hours or 08 hours, if the service proceeds at an offshore platform, prior to the expected time of pilotage.

The carrier shall incur a wait charge of USD 11/person/hour or USD 22/person and vehicle/hour when cancelling a request for pilotage in less than 03 hours or less than 08 hours, if the service proceeds at an offshore platform, prior to the expected time of pilotage. The wait time shall be hence determined in the following manner:

-The pilot has not departed: 01 hour;

-The pilot departed: the duration of wait starts upon departure until the pilot s return to the original position. In this event, the minimum duration of wait shall be 01 hour;

-If the pilot is retained after completing the pilotage, the captain of the vessel shall incur an additional wait charge for the duration during which the pilot is retained.

A pilot shall only wait at the vessel pickup position in no more than 04 hours after the requested time of pilotage. The request of pilotage service shall be deemed cancelled after such wait time and the vessel shall be subject to 80% of the charge for pilotage service commensurate with the requested distance of pilotage according to the pricing framework defined in Section 1 and Section 2 of this Article.

b) The price of pilotage service for a vessel that voyages to test its machinery or to calibrate its compass shall be 110% of that defined in the pricing framework in Section 1 and Section 2 of this Article;

c) The price of pilotage service for a vessel that is inoperable due to technical issues shall be 150% of that defined in the pricing framework in Section 1 and Section 2 of this Article and shall be subject to the actual distance of pilotage.

d) The price of pilotage service requested ad hoc (beyond Point a, b and c of this Section) shall be 110% of that defined in Section 1 and Section 2 of this Article.

dd) The charge for pilotage service in the event that the pilot has arrived at the proper position but the vessel is inoperable due to force majeure (with a confirmation of the port authority) shall be USD 330;

e) A carrier that does not voyage straight to the port and demands to anchor midway (except for the routes on which night voyage is not allowed) shall incur an additional charge for the conveyance of the pilot. Such charge shall not exceed USD 33/vessel/trip;

g) The pilot shall pay a wait charge of USD110 per hour, for the actual number of hours during which a vessel is kept waiting, to the owner of the vessel if such vessel arrives at the pilot wait position punctually and a representative of the owner obtains an approval from the port authority but the pilot is absent and keeps the vessel waiting.

h) In the event that a vessel (except passenger vessels) has entered and exited a maritime zone on more than 3 visits per vessel per month, its 4^thvisit in the same month shall be subject to the price of pilotage which is 80% of that defined in Section 1 and Section 2 of this Article; however, the charge for an act of pilotage shall not be lower than USD 330;

i) An organization or individual in possession of a vessel that carry passengers into and out of 1 maritime zone on at least 04 visits in 1 month shall incur the pilotage service price which is 50% of that defined in the pricing framework in Section 1 and Section 2 of this Article; however, the charge for an act of pilotage shall not be lower than USD 330;

k) The price of pilotage for a passenger vessel of 50,000 GT and upwards, upon its entry into and departure from a maritime zone, shall be 40% of that defined in the pricing framework in Section 1 and Section 2 of this Article; however, the charge for an act of pilotage shall not be lower than USD 330;

l) The price of pilotage for a vessel that moves between the wharfs in a port at the request of the director of the port company shall equal that for domestic maritime vessels moving inside a port;

m) The price of pilotage for an oil carrier in Van Phong bay - Khanh Hoa shall be 50% of that defined in Section 1 and Section 2 of this Article;

n) The price of pilotage for a vessel that enters and exits a maritime zone for fuel, food, drinking water, crew replacement, repair, dismantling or test run shall be 70% of that defined in Section 1 and Section 2 of this Article provided that it does not load or unload commodities or does not embark or disembark passengers after being repaired or newly built;

o) The pilotage service charge shall not be levied on the vessels that enter or leave a port to hand over victims rescued at sea without commodity handling, discharge or embarkation of passengers, provided that the event is confirmed by the port authority. Moreover, the pilotage service charge shall not be imposed on the vessels that participate in rescue and salvage or in combating against a storm, flood or natural disaster under an order or endorsement of a competent government authority.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 11. Supervisory body and price declaration

1.Vietnam Maritime Administration shall receive and review the written declarations of seaport service prices pursuant to Article 1 herein.

2.Providers of services for maritime pilotage or utilization of wharfs, docks and mooring buoys shall be responsible for declaring prices pursuant to the legislation on pricing.

3.On the 1^stof July each year or at the request of the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam Maritime Administration shall be responsible for reviewing the list of companies that declare the prices of seaport services.

4.The list of the companies declaring seaport service prices pursuant to this Decision shall be published on the website of Vietnam Maritime Administration (www.vinamarine.gov.vn).

Article 12. Effect

1.This Decision takes effect on January 01, 2017.

2.The transition process from the effective date of this Decision shall proceed in the following manner:

a) The prices of the services provided to the vessels that arrive at a port prior to the effective date of this Decision shall be governed by the Circular No. 01/2016/TT-BTC dated January 05, 2016 by the Minister of Finance on maritime fees, maritime charges and fee schedule;

b) The prices of the services provided to the vessels that arrive at a port from the effective date of this Decision shall be subject to the pricing framework herein.

Article 13. Implementation organization

1.Specialized bodies and providers of seaport services shall report the application of the pricing framework defined in Section 1, Article 1 herein 06 months after their implementation of the pricing frameworks in this Decision.

2.Vietnam Maritime Administration shall guide the providers of seaport services to apply the pricing frameworks defined by the government. Moreover, it shall instruct maritime port authorities to cooperate with local financial and tax agencies in inspecting the implementation of the pricing frameworks and in taking strict actions against violations of the legislation on price management.

3.If a provider s prices are not prescribed in the seaport service pricing frameworks in this Decision, it shall report to Vietnam Maritime Administration, which then reports to the Ministry of Transport for decisions on case basis.

Article 14. Implementation responsibilities

Chief of the Office of the Ministry, Chief inspector of the Ministry, heads of departments, Head of Vietnam Maritime Administration, heads of agencies, companies and individuals concerned shall be responsible for implementing this Decision./.

The Minister

Truong Quang Nghia