Decree No. 22/2020/ND-CP amending the Decree No. 139/2016/ND-CP

DECREE

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 139/2016/ND-CP of October 4, 2016, prescribing business license fee^[1]

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

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

Pursuant to the June 12, 2017 Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance;

The Government promulgates the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 139/2016/ND-CP of October 4, 2016, prescribing business license fee.

Article 1.To amend andsupplement a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 139/2016/ND-CP of October 4, 2016, prescribing business license fee

1. To amend and supplement Article 3 as follows:

a/ To amend Clause 6 of Article 3 as follows:

“6.Cooperatives and unions of cooperatives (including also their branches, representative offices and business locations) operating in the field of agriculture under the law on agricultural cooperatives.”

b/ To amend Clause 7 of Article 3 as follows:

“7. People’s credit funds; branches, representative offices and business locations of cooperatives, unions of cooperatives and private enterprises operating in mountainous areas. Mountainous areas shall be identified according to regulations of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs.”

c/ To add the following Clauses 8, 9 and 10 to Article 3:

“8. Exemption from business license fee for the first year of establishment or production and business operation (from January 1 through December 31) for:

a/ Newly established organizations (organizations that are granted new tax identification numbers and enterprise identification numbers).

b/ Households, individuals and groups of individuals starting to do production and business operations for the first time.

c/ If an organization, a household, an individual or a group of individuals sets up branches, representative offices or business locations during the period it/he/she is exempt from business license fee, the latter shall be exempt from business license fee for the period the former is exempt from business license fee.

9. Small- and medium-sized enterprises transformed from business households (under Article 16 of the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises) are exempt from business license fee for 3 years from the date of being granted an enterprise registration certificate for the first time.

a/ If a small- or medium-sized enterprise set up branches, representative offices or business locations during the period it is exempt from business license fee, the latter shall be exempt from business license fee for the period the former is exempt from business license fee.

b/ Branches, representative offices and business locations of a small- or medium-sized enterprise (eligible for exemption from business license fee under Article 16 of the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises), which are set up before the effective date of this Decree, shall be exempt from business license fee for the period from the effective date of this Decree through the license fee exemption period of such small- or medium-sized enterprise.

c/ Small- and medium-sized enterprises transformed from business households before the effective date of this Decree shall be exempt from business license fee under Articles 16 and 35 of the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises.

10. Public general education institutions and public early childhood education institutions.”

2. To amend and supplement Article 4 as follows:

a/ To add the following Point d to Clause 2 of Article 4:

“d/ Turnover used as a basis for determining business license fee rates for individuals, groups of individuals and households must comply with the Ministry of Finance’s guidance.”

b/ To amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 4 as follows:

“3. Small- and medium-sized enterprises transformed from business households (including also their branches, representative offices and business locations), after the business license fee exemption period ends (the fourth year from the year of establishment of the enterprises) shall pay business license fee at the whole-year rate, if the fee exemption period ends in the first half of the year, or 50% of the whole-year rate if the fee exemption period ends in the second half of the year.

In case dissolved households, individuals or groups of individuals resume production and business operations, they shall pay business license fee at the whole-year rate, if resuming operations in the first half of the year, or 50% of the whole-year rate, if resuming operations in the second half of the year.”

c/ To amend and supplement Clause 5 of Article 4 as follows:

“5. An operating business license fee payer that has sent to its/his/her managing tax office a request for permission for suspension of production and business operations in a calendar year are not required to pay business license fee for the year of suspension from business operations provided that the fee payer has sent such request  to the tax office before the prescribed deadline for payment of business license fee (January 30 every year) and not yet paid business license fee for the year it/he/she requests suspension of production and business operations.

Those that suspend production and business operations but fail to meet the above-said conditions shall pay business license fee at the whole-year rate.”

3. To amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 5 as follows:

“1. One-off declaration of business license fee shall apply to fee payers that start doing production and business operations or are newly established.

a/ Fee payers that start doing production and business operations or are newly established and small- and medium-sized enterprises transformed from business households shall make a business license fee declaration and submit the declaration to their managing tax offices before January 30 of the year following the year they start doing production and business operations or are established.

b/ Households, individuals and groups of individuals paying lump-sum tax are not required to declare business license fee. Tax offices shall, based on tax declarations and tax databases, determine business turnover for use as a basis for calculating the payable business license fee rates of lump-sum tax payers.”

4. To amend and supplement Clause 4 of Article 5 as follows:

“4. The deadline for payment of business license fee is January 30 every year.

a/ Small- and medium-sized enterprises transformed from business households (including also their branches, representative offices and business locations), after the business license exemption period ends (the fourth year of the year the enterprises are  established) shall pay business license fee as follows:

- If the business license exemption period ends in the first half of a year, the deadline for payment of business license fee is July 30 of the last year of the business license exemption period.

- If the business license exemption period ends in the second half of a year, the deadline for payment of business license fee is January 30 of the year following the last year of the business license exemption period.

b/ Dissolved households, individuals and groups of individuals that resume production and business operations shall pay business license fee as follows:

- If they resume operations in the first half of a year, the deadline for payment of business license fee is July 30 of year of resuming operations.

- If they resume operations in the second half of a year, the deadline for payment of business license fee is January 30 of the year following of the year of resuming operations.”

Article 2.Organization of implementation and effect

1. This Decree takes effect on February 25, 2020.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees and related organizations, individuals, groups of individuals and households shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC