Decision No. 75/2004/QD-BTC dated September 16, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance prescribing the regime of collection, remittance, management and use of fees for licensing the establishment and registration of, as well as professional practice by, Foreign Lawyers’ organizations and foreign lawyers in Vietnam

DECISION

PRESCRIBING THE REGIME OF COLLECTION, REMITTANCE, MANAGEMENT AND USE OF FEES FOR LICENSING THE ESTABLISHMENT AND REGISTRATION OF, AS WELL AS PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE BY, FOREIGN LAWYERS' ORGANIZATIONS AND FOREIGN LAWYERS IN VIETNAM

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 86/2002/ND-CP of November 5, 2002 defining the tasks, functions, powers, and organizational structures of the ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 77/2003/ND-CP of July 1, 2003 prescribing the tasks, functions, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

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. 87/2003/ND-CP of July 22, 2003 on professional practice by foreign lawyers' organizations and foreign lawyers in Vietnam;

At the proposals of the Ministry of Justice (in Official Dispatch No. 1108/T-BTTP of July 16, 2004) and the director of the Tax Policy Department,

DECIDES:

Article 1.- To issue together with this Decision the table of fee rate for licensing the establishment and registration of, as well as professional practice by, foreign lawyers' organizations and foreign lawyers in Vietnam.

Article 2.- Foreign lawyers' organizations and foreign lawyers applying for establishment licenses, registering their operation and/or changes in the contents of their licenses, or applying for licenses for professional practice in Vietnam shall have to pay fees at the levels prescribed in the fee rate table issued together with this Decision upon the submission of dossiers therefor.

Article 3.- The agencies competent to grant licenses, change the contents of licenses for establishment of Vietnam-based foreign lawyers' profession-practicing organizations, to permit the setting up of branches, foreign law firms and foreign-Vietnam law partnerships, to grant licenses to foreign lawyers for professional practice in Vietnam shall have to collect, remit, manage and use fees according to the provisions of this Decision (hereinafter referred collectively to as the collecting agencies).

Article 4.- Fees for licensing the establishment, registration and professional practice applicable to foreign lawyers' organizations and foreign lawyers in Vietnam prescribed in this Decision constitute State budget revenues, which shall be managed and used as follows:

1. The agencies collecting fees for licensing the establishment of, and professional practice by, foreign lawyers' organizations and foreign lawyers in Vietnam shall be allowed to deduct 50% (fifty percent) of the total fee proceeds to cover expenses for fee collection.

2. The agencies collecting fees for registering operation of Vietnam-based foreign lawyers' organizations shall be allowed to deduct 90% (ninety percent) of the total proceeds from fee collection to cover expenses therefor.

3. The amount of fees retained at the collecting agencies as prescribed at Points 1 and 2 of this Article shall be used for the following contents:

a/ Expenses for appraisal of dossiers;

b/ Expenses for printing licenses, forms and dossiers;

c/ Expenses for stationary, office supplies, communications, necessary equipment and other expenses directly related to the grant of licenses, registration of operation and change of contents of the establishment licenses of foreign lawyers organizations, grant and extension of professional practice licenses of foreign lawyers in Vietnam;

d/ Expenses for regular repair and overhaul of properties and equipment in direct service of fee collection;

e/ Deductions for setting up the reward fund and welfare fund for officials and employees involved in dossier appraisal and fee collection. The annual average per-capita deduction levels for setting up these two funds must not exceed three months' actually-paid salary if the collected amount is higher than that of the previous year, or two months' actually-paid salary if the collected amounts is equal to or lower than that of the previous year.

The fee-collecting agencies must use the total fee amounts to be deducted according to the above regulations for the right purposes and with valid vouchers according to prescribed regime and make annual settlement; if they do not spend such fee amounts in the year, they may carry forward the unspent amounts to the subsequent year for continued spending according to the prescribed regime.

4. For the total collected fee amounts, after being deducted in the percentages stated at Points 2 and 3 of this Article, the remainder must be remitted into the State budget according to the corresponding chapter, category and clause of Item 047, Sub-item 29 of the current State budget index.

Article 5.-

1. This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. To annul Joint Circular No. 842/LB-TT of September 21, 1995 of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance stipulating the regime of collection, remittance, management and use of fees for licensing the establishment of foreign lawyers' organizations' branches in Vietnam, extending branches' operation and changing licenses' contents.

3. Other matters related to fee collection, remittance, management and use as well as the publicization of fee-collection regime not yet mentioned in this Decision shall comply with the guidance in the Finance Ministry's Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC of July 24, 2002 guiding the implementation of law provisions on charges and fees.

4. All previous regulations contrary to this Decision are hereby annulled.

Article 6.- Organizations and individuals liable to fees, units tasked to collect fees for licensing the establishment and registration of, as well as professional practice by, foreign lawyers' organizations and foreign lawyers in Vietnam, and concerned agencies shall have to implement this Decision.

FEE RATE TABLE

FOR LICENSING THE ESTABLISHMENT AND REGISTRATION OF, AS WELL AS PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE BY, FOREIGN LAWYERS’ ORGANIZATIONS AND FOREIGN LAWYERS IN VIETNAM

(Issued together with the Finance Minister's Decision No. 75/2004/QD-BTC
of September 16, 2004)