Joint Circular No. 01/2006/TTLT-BTC-NHNN dated January 04, 2006 of the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank providing guidance on the exchange, supply of information between tax agencies and banks and credit institutions

INTER-MINISTERIAL CIRCULAR

PROVIDING GUIDANCE ON THE EXCHANGE, SUPPLY OF INFORMATION BETWEEN TAX AGENCIES AND BANKS AND CREDIT INSTITUTIONS

- Pursuant to the Law on Customs dated 29 June 1992; the Law on the amendment, supplement of several articles of the Law on Customs dated 14 June 2005;

- Pursuant to the Law on Credit Institutions dated 12 December 1997; the Law on the amendment, supplement of several articles of the Law on Credit Institutions dated 15 June 2004;

- Pursuant to the Decree No.154/2005/ND-CP dated 15 December 2005 of the Government providing in details for several articles of the Law on Customs on customs procedures, examination, supervision of customs;

- Pursuant to the Decree No.155/2005/ND-CP dated 15 December 2005 of the Government providing for the determination of customs value for import, export goods;

With a view to satisfying the requirement of economic integration, facilitating the management to the tax collection, post customs clearance check and ensuring the prudence in banking activity, the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam are unanimous in guiding the coordination in exchange, supply of information between tax agencies, customs authority (hereinafter referred to as tax agencies) and banks, credit institutions (hereinafter generally called banks) as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. The coordination in exchange, supply of information between tax agencies and banks shall only be performed in the case where an organization, which, individual, who has a sign of tax fraud, commercial fraud; a tax agency makes a decision on post customs clearance check for import, export goods; organizations, individuals violating provisions of applicable laws in monetary area and banking activity; organizations, which, individuals, who engage in business activity, have a proposal to borrow funds from banks, or have been borrowing funds from the banks but the banks need to examine their financial capacity in the performance of the debt payment obligation to the banks.

2. The supplied information must be used for the right purposes to support the operational activities within the function, assignment of information receiving agency.

3. Information relating to organizations, individuals which is in the list of State secrets of the tax agencies, banks must be supplied, transported, delivered and received, used, calculated, archived and preserved in accordance with the current regime on the protection of the State secrets.

4. Subjects entitled to supply, use information shall be tax agencies, banks.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

5. Cases entitled to supply information

5.1. For the tax agencies:

Tax agencies shall be entitled to propose a bank to supply with information about the payment activity relating to goods imported, exported, transited of individuals, organizations, enterprises; documents relating to the payment of the lot of import, export goods for their inspection, determination of the taxable value, including following cases:

- Not supplying or supplying insufficiently, inaccurately information of the purchasing price, selling price, payment value of the lot of import, export goods for the inspection, determination of the tax obligation payable to the tax agency.

- Being applied with the measure of post customs clearance check by a customs authority.

- Changing the address of the business registration or escaping from the residing place without giving a notice.

- File, vouchers, documents relating to the lot of import, export goods have an evidence of correction, erasure for making the voucher, document untrue.

5.2. For the banks:

The banks shall be entitled to propose a tax agency to supply with information relating to customers, including following cases:

- Organizations, which, individuals, who propose to borrow funds from a bank or have been borrowing funds from a bank but the bank needs to examine their financial capacity;

- Organizations, which, individuals, who, violate provisions of applicable laws in monetary area and banking activity, or have performed doubtful transactions in accordance with provisions of applicable laws;

- Organizations, which, individuals, who, engage in business activity, do not comply with provisions on payment, credit activity of banks.

6. Competence to supply and to request for the supply of information

6.1. For tax agencies:

Director or Deputy Director of Tax Department, Department of post customs clearance check, Department of investigation and anti-smuggling, Customs Department in provinces, cities under the Central Governments management shall be competent to sign the document on the supply of information or sign the written request for the supply of information as provided for in Point 7, Point 8 of this Circular.

6.2. For banks:

General Manager (Manager), Deputy General Manager (Deputy Manager) of banks; Director, Deputy Director of the Operation Department; Manager, Deputy Manager of bank branches in provinces, cities shall be competent to sign the document on the supply of information or sign the written request for the supply of information as provided for in Point 7, Point 8 of this Circular.

7. Information, documents entitled to be supplied:

7.1. The Banks shall be entitled to supply a tax agency with following information, documents:

Number of the payment account, a copy of the detailed accounting book on the payment account, a copy of the international payment voucher, cross-border trading payment through the banks of the organizations, individuals in the cases provided for in Point 5.1 of this Circular.

7.2. Tax agencies shall be entitled to supply the bank with following information, documents:

- General information of the organizations, individuals engaging in business activity: name, address (phone number, fax number if any) of the organizations, which, individuals, who engage in business activity, have just registered for business but have had tax code; organizations, individuals terminating their business activity, dissolving, going bankrupt, changing name, changing code number, changing area of operation;

- The performance of tax obligation by the organizations, individuals.

- The customs file of the organizations, individuals engaging in business activity to make basis for the banks to coordinate with the tax agencies in the reconciliation, confirmation when necessary so as the debt collection from those organizations, individuals is ensured.

8. Form of information provision

8.1. Reconciliation, confirmation in writing

The party that requests for the supply of information shall send a written request to the supplier of information, of which following elements shall be expressed sufficiently:

- The purpose of the request to supply information, documents;

- Content of the information, documents which needs reconciling, confirming (type of information, voucher, name of the organization, individual engaging in business activity, etc);

- Commitment on the secrecy protection of the received information;

- Signature (accompanied with seal) of competent person in accordance with provisions in Point 6 of this Circular by the party that requests for the supply of information.

8.2. Direct reconciliation, confirmation:

The party that requests for the supply of information shall assign a person to directly reconcile, confirm or copy the information, documents at the place of the requested party. The person who directly reconciles, confirms must fully satisfy following conditions:

- Being authorized in a written document which is signed and sealed by the competent person as provided for in Point 6 of this Circular.

- Having a written request for the supply of information in accordance with the content stipulated in Point 8.1 of this Circular.

The reconciliation, confirmation or copy of the information, document must be drawn up in a Minutes. The Minutes on the supply of information shall include following contents: date, month, year when the Minutes is drawn, the period of time when the information is supplied, place where the information is supplied, detailed content of the supplied information, using scope and purpose of information, representative of the supplier and representative of the requesting party, persons involving in the supply and receipt of the information. The Minutes must be made in two copies, each party shall keep 01 copy.

9. Authority of the parties

Tax agencies, banks shall have the right to request for the supply of information in accordance with the provisions of this Circular; have the right to decline the supply of the information which is beyond the scope as provided for in Point 7 of this Circular.

10. Responsibilities of the parties

10.1. The information supplier shall be responsible for:

- Supplying information to the right subjects, scope in line with the contents of the written request within the period of 05 working days since the receipt of the written request, except for the case where the nature of the information to be supplied is complicated and the case which needs to avoid any effect to the normal activity of the information supplier, the above mentioned period may be extended but not in excess of 10 working days at the maximum.

- The accuracy of the information;

- Recording files relating to the supply of information, including: the written request for the supply of information, the minutes on the reconciliation, confirmation of information, other necessary vouchers, documents;

- Protecting secrecy of contents of the information supply to prevent organizations, individuals that are doubtful subjects from acts of coping with.

10.2. The party that requests for the supply of information shall be responsible:

- To only use information, documents for the right purpose, in case where they use information, document for the wrong purpose, they shall take full responsibility to the law;

- for recording files relating to the supply of information, including: the minutes on the reconciliation, confirmation of the information, supplied vouchers, documents;

- for protecting secrecy of the information which belongs to the secret list of the State, the tax agencies and banks in accordance with provisions in Point 3 of this Circular.

11. Coordination in the exchange of information through the informatics system

This Circular shall not be applicable to the supply of information through inter-branch network between the tax agencies and the banks. In respect of the supply of information through the informatics system, the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam shall provide separate guidance when all conditions for application are fully satisfied.

III. IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

12. During the process of coordination, where the organizations, individuals being the customers of the banks are detected to show the sign of insolvency, the banks shall take the initiative in giving a notice to the tax agencies to take measures for the prevention of acts of tax evasion. On the contrary, the tax agencies shall take the initiative in giving a notice to the banks for their knowledge and timely collection of debts when they find out the sign of bankruptcy and dissolution of organizations, individuals.

13. Any trouble, query that may arise during the coordination in the exchange of information must be reported to the direct superior level for a timely combined solution. In case where the solution cannot be made, it shall be reflected to the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Vietnam for a unanimous treatment.

14. This inter-ministerial Circular shall be effective after 15 days since its publication in the Official Gazette.