Legal Document Updates in English (25/2012)

FROM AUGUST 01, AIRFIELD OPERATORS HAVE RIGHTS TO ISSUE
AVIATION SECURITY CONTROL CARDS
 

This is the content of the Decree No. 51/2012/ND-CP dated June 11, 2012 of the Government supplementing and amending a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No 81/2010/ND-CP, of July 14, 2010 on civil aviation security.

Accordingly, since August 01, 2012, airport or airfield operators issue civil aviation security control cards and civil aviation security control permits being value to enter airports, airfields under their management scope for officers, employees and vehicles belonging to their right of management and use.

Under this Circular, the issuance of civil aviation security control cards permitted being value to enter airports, airfields under management scope of two or more different port authorities is under the authority of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam.
The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam unifies with related agencies relating to issuance and use of civil aviation security control cards for officers and employees of other state management agencies in airports, airfields.
This Decree shall take effect on August 08, 2012.

FROM MAY 25, THE STATE SHALL EXCLUSIVELY PRODUCE GOLD BARS
 

This is one of the contents regulated under the Decree No. 24/2012/ND-CP dated April 03, 2012 of the Government on gold business activities.

Accordingly, the State shall exclusively produce gold bars, export gold material and import gold material for production of gold bars from May 25, 2012 and the State Bank is the agency that, on behalf of the Government, uniformly manages gold business activities in accordance with provisions of this Decree.
Also, under this Decree, the Government banned acts of violation of gold business including Using gold as a mean of payment; bringing along gold when entering, exiting the country exceeding the limit prescribed by law without the written permission from the State Bank and conducting other gold business without being permitted by the Prime Minister licensed by the State Bank.

Enterprises are eligible for the license to trade gold bars when satisfying some following conditions such as: being established and operated under law provisions; having the charter capital of 100 billion VND and above; having 2-year experience in gold trading or more; having branches and sale offices in three provinces and centrally-affiliated cities or more in Vietnam and having paid the tax on gold business of five hundred million VND/year or above during the two latest successive years.

REGULATING THE USE OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT FUND
 

On June 25, 2012, the Ministry of Finance issued the Circular No. 105/2012/TT-BTC amending and supplementing the Circular No. 15/2011/TT-BTC dated February 09, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the establishment, organization, operation, management and use of scientific and technological development Fund of the enterprises.
Under this Circular, the fund is used to develop science and technology of enterprises in Vietnam and do scientific and technological research for businesses' Vietnamese-based scientific and technological operations. Specifically, the fund is used for equipping facilities for businesses’ scientific and technological operations (construction of laboratories, trial facilities, machinery and equipment for research and development); buying machines, equipment to renovate the direct use technology in production; paying the cost for training human resources in science and technology field as regulated by Law.

Such a science and technology development fund is only used for businesses' Vietnamese-based scientific and technological operations. Businesses must not use the fund for non-scientific/technological purposes in Vietnam or for scientific and technological projects that have been financed by a different source of capital.

Annually, enterprises must write a report on using the fund and listing the data on the amount of money set to send to the tax office where enterprises register to pay the enterprise income tax.
The deadline for submission of the report is at the same time with the time to submit reports on the settlement of enterprise income tax.

This Circular shall take effect on August 13, 2012.

INCREASING THE IMPORT TARIFF FOR PETROL TO 10%
 

On June 22, 2012, the Ministry of Finance issued the Circular No. 103/2012/TT-BTC guiding the implementation of rates of referential import tariff for a number of commodities under the group 2710 in the preferential import tariff.

Under this Circular, the import tariff for motor spirit increases by 2 – 3 %. Specifically, the import tariff for motor spirit and aviation gasoline is 10% (instead of 7% as the previous regulation); 8% for diesel fuel which increases by 2% compared with previously. The import tariff for raw materials for black coal production, oils and greases, oil for transformer or circuit breakers, Petroleum oils and other preparations is still at 5%.

This is the fourth time the Ministry of Finance has revised petrol import taxes. After adjusting the rate at 0% at the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Finance has increased the import tax twice (not including this time), recently on June 08, 2012 with the increase of 3% for petrol and oil imports.

The Ministry requests both to revise the retail price and recover the import tax for petrol and oil. Therefore, together with the increase of tax, on June 21, 2012, the retail price of petrol and oil has reduced from 300 – 700 dong.

This Circular replaces the Circular No. 94/2012/TT-BTC dated June 08, 2012 and takes effect on June 22, 2012.

ADDING MORE SUBJECTS TO BE SUBJECT TO WITHHOLDING TAX
 

On April 12, 2012, the Ministry of Finance promulgates the Circular No. 60/2012/TT-BTC on guiding  the executing of tax liability applicable to foreign organizations, individuals doing business or earning incomes in Vietnam (hereinafter referred  to withholding tax).

Accordingly, foreign organizations and individuals supplying goods in Vietnam by on-spot export/import and earning incomes in Vietnam on the basis of the contracts signed between foreign organizations, individuals and enterprises in Vietnam or providing goods under the DDP, DAT, DAP delivery conditions (incoterms) must pay the withholding tax since May 27, 2012.

Besides, the Circular also regulated in detail the bases and methods of tax calculation for VAT-liable objects and enterprise income tax liable  incomes, paying value-added tax under the deduction method, paying enterprise income tax on the basis of turnover, paying vat under direct calculation method on added value….

At the same time, the Circular also amended the rate (%) of the added value to the taxable turnover and the enterprise income tax based on the taxable turnove for some business lines. Specifically, the rate (%) of the enterprise income tax based on the taxable turnove for restaurant, hotel, casino management services is 10%; Construction, installation including or excluding materials or machinery and equipment attached to the construction is 2%...of which, , the rate (%) of the enterprise income tax based on the taxable turnove for restaurant, hotel, casino management services is applied from March 01, 2013.
For contractor contracts, sub-contractor contracts applying the enterprise income tax rates based on the taxable turnover as previously which is higher than the rate in this Circular shall apply the rate specified in this Circular from March 01, 2012.

ESTABLISHING THE LAND USE RIGHT AUCTION COUNCIL
TO USE HIGH-VALUE LAND USAGE’S RIGHT
 

On March 16, 2012, the Ministry of Finance issued the Circular 48/2012/TT-BTC guiding the determination of the reserve prices and financial regulations in land use right auctions for allocation of land subject to land levies or land lease.

Under this Circular, the land use right auction council is established in the case of rights to use land of high value, specifically: for centrally-affiliated cities, the reserve price for the entire project or the entire land is from 1,000 billion VND and above; from 300 billion VND and above for highland provinces; from 500 billion VND and above for the other provinces.
The above value rates are minimum rates. Basing on the actual conditions of the locality, the provincial People’s Committee shall decide the specific value rates to form the basis for establishing the Council but such values must not be lower than the corresponding value rates stipulated above.

The President of the People’s Committee at the competent level making decisions on land use right auction shall make the decision on establishing the land use right auction council to conduct land use right auctions in special cases prescribed under this Circular.

The composition of a Council includes: the leader of the People’s Committee at the same level (or an authorized person) is the President of the Council; the members are representatives of agencies: Natural Resources and Environment, Finance, Justice, Inspection, Construction, agencies assigned to conduct land use right auctions and representatives of relevant agencies, organizations, units.

FROM AUGUST 01, APARTMENT BUILDINGS ARE SUBJECT
TO COMPULSORY MEASUREMENT
 

On June 12, 2012, the Ministry of Construction issued the Circular No. 02/2012/TT-BXD guiding a number of contents about maintaining civil constructions, building material industry constructions, urban technical infrastructural constructions.
Accordingly, the constructions with signs of subsidence, cracks, tilt and other unusual signs that may cause the construction to collapse, and housing, public constructions, urban technical infrastructural constructions, building material industry constructions such as: apartment building, school, hospitals, stadium, shopping mall, State administrative building, water tower, warehouse, workshop….are constructions subject to compulsory measurement during the operation from August 01, 2012.
The construction part subject to compulsory measurement is the primary bearing structure system of the construction that may lead to collapse if broken such as the spatial roof frame, the primary bearing framework, the stadium stand, the chimney, the silo….

Construction measurement during the utilization and operation must be done under the measurement plan made by the contractor and approved by the person in charge of construction maintenance; The measurement plan must specify the measurement methods, measurement equipment, the layout and structure of the marks, the implementation organization, the figure processing methods and other necessary contents.

The measurement contractor must produce and send to the person in charge of maintenance the measurement results of which the measurement figures must be compared with the limit values specified by the contractor that designs and build the construction, and the relevant standards.

FROM JUNE 25, SECURITIES COMPANIES MUST REGISTER
INFORMATION DISCLOSURE WITH SSC
 

This is regulated under the Decision No. 515/QD-UBCK dated June 25, 2012 of the State Securities Commission on the procedures for the securities market participants to disclose information on the electronic information portal of the state securities commission and send reports to the state securities commission.

Specifically, at least to July 14, 2012, public companies, issuance organizations (except for issuing bonds guaranteed by the Government), securities companies, fund management companies, the Stock Exchange, the Stock Depository Center and relevant persons must register the information disclosure on the electronic information portal of the State Securities Commission and send reports to the State Securities Commission.

The information disclosed on the electronic information portal of the State Securities

Commission and reported to the State Securities Commission by the securities market participants shall be transmitted in writing with valid signs and seals as prescribed by law and electronic data which must fully contain the name and position of the person that signs the document, the number and date.

If the information disclosed or reported by the subjects of information disclosure is not consistent with the actual condition of the company, or detect the in-authenticity of the sent information or the violations of information disclosure, the company shall be liable to penalties as prescribed by current law provisions and compelled to rectify the disclosed information as prescribed by law provisions on information disclosure on the securities market.

BANKS ARE BANNED TO DEPOSIT IN OTHER BANKS
 

On June 18, 2012, the State Bank of Vietnam issued the Circular No. 21/2012/TT-NHNN regulating on operation of lending, borrowing; term purchase and sale of valuable papers with term among foreign credit institutions and bank branches.
One of the most significant points under this Circular is that foreign credit institutions and bank branches are not allowed to perform the deposit operation and receipt of deposit (excluding payment deposits) in other foreign credit institutions and bank branches.
Upon performing the transaction of lending and borrowing, the foreign credit institutions and bank branches must be performed at the head offices of the credit institutions and foreign bank branches. The time limit of lending among the foreign credit institutions and bank branches is under 01 years maximum.  This regulation removes the medium term (1 – 5 years) and long term (5 years) in interbank transactions.

The lending interest rate will be agreed upon by the foreign credit institutions and bank branches. In the case of banking activities has unusual changes, the State Bank will stipulate the lending interest rate for the foreign credit institutions and foreign branches to implement.

The transactions that are performed before the date this Circular takes effect on the basis of contracts of lending, borrowing, purchase and sale with term of the valuable papers and contracts of deposit and receipt of deposit that have been signed among the foreign credit institutions and bank branches, the foreign credit institutions and bank branches will comply with the agreements as signed.