Decree No. 22/2020/ND-CP dated February 24, 2020 on Amendments to Government’s Decree No. 139/2016/ND-CP dated October 04, 2016 on license fees

DECREE

AMENDMENTS TO GOVERNMENT’S DECREE NO. 139/2016/ND-CP DATED OCTOBER 04, 2016 ON LICENSE FEES

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

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

Pursuant to the Law on assistance for small- and medium-sized enterprises dated June 12, 2017;

At the request of the Minister of Finance;

The Government promulgates a Decree providing amendments to the Government’s Decree No. 139/2016/ND-CP dated October 04, 2016 on license fees.

Article 1. Amendments to Government’s Decree No. 139/2016/ND-CP dated October 04, 2016 on license fees

1. Article 3 is amended as follows:

a) Clause 6 Article 3 is amended as follows:

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

b) Clause 7 Article 3 is amended as follows:

“7. People’s credit funds; branches, representative offices and business locations of cooperatives/cooperative unions and of sole proprietorships operating in mountainous regions. Mountainous regions are determined according to regulations of the Committee for Ethnic Affairs.”

c) Clauses 8, 9 and 10 are added to Article 3 as follows:

“8. Exemption of license fees for the first year from the date of establishment or official commencement of production/business (from January 01 to December 31) shall be granted to:

a) New organizations (issued with new TINs/enterprise ID numbers).

b) Household businesses, individuals or groups of individuals engaging in production/business.

c) During the exemption period, if an organization, household business, individual or group of individuals establishes a new branch, representative office or business location, the new branch, representative office or business location shall be also exempted from the license fee for the same exemption period granted to that organization, household business, individual or group of individuals.

9. Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) transformed from household businesses (as prescribed in Article 16 of the Law on assistance for small- and medium-sized enterprises) shall be exempted from the license fee within 03 years from the date of issuance of initial enterprise registration certificate.

a) During the exemption period, if a SME establishes a new branch, representative office or business location, the new branch, representative office or business location shall be also exempted from the license fee for the same exemption period granted to that SME.

b) The branch, representative office or business location of a SME (that is eligible to be exempted from the license fee as prescribed in Article 16 of the Law on assistance for small- and medium-sized enterprises) established before this Decree takes legal effect shall be exempted from the license fee for the period commencing from the effective date of this Decree to the end of the period for which that SME is exempted from the license fee.

c) SMEs transformed from household businesses before this Decree takes legal effect shall be exempted from the license fee according to Article 16 and Article 35 of the Law on assistance for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

10. Public general education schools and public pre-schools”.

2. Article 4 is amended as follows:

a) Point d is added to Clause 2 Article 4 as follows:

“d) Revenues used as the basis for determining the license fees payable by individuals, groups of individuals and household businesses shall be determined according to guidance given by the Ministry of Finance”.

b) Clause 3 Article 4 is amended as follows:

 “3. Upon the end of the period of exemption from the license fee (from the fourth year from the date of establishment), a SME transformed from a household business (including its branches, representative offices and/or business locations) shall pay the license fee for the whole year if its exemption period ends in the first 6 months of the year or pay 50% of the license fee payable for the whole year if its exemption period ends in the last 6 months of the year.

A household business, an individual or a group of individuals engaging in production/business that resumes its production/business after a suspension period shall pay the license fee for the whole year if it resumes its production/business in the first 6 months of the year or pay 50% of the license fee payable for the whole year if it resumes its production/business in the last 6 months of the year.

c) Clause 5 Article 4 is amended as follows:

 “5. An operating payer of the license fee that has notified its supervisory tax authority in writing of its suspension of production/business in a calendar year must not pay the license fee for that year of production/business suspension if it has sent a written notification of production/business suspension to its supervisory tax authority before the prescribed deadline for paying the license fee (January 30 annually) and has made no payment of the license fee for the planned year of suspension.

It must pay the license fee for the whole year if it does not meet the abovementioned conditions for production/business suspension."

3. Clause 1 Article 5 is amended as follows:

 “1. The declaration of license fee shall be made once when starting production/business or upon establishment.

a) Payers of the license fee that have just started their production/business or established their business facilities and SMEs transformed from household businesses shall make and submit their declarations of license fee to their supervisory tax authorities by January 30 of the year following the year of commencement of production/business or the year of establishment.

b) Household businesses, individuals and groups of individuals paying fixed tax must not submit declarations of license fee. Based on received tax declarations and tax database, tax authorities shall determine revenues which are then used as the basis for determining the license fee amounts payable by household businesses, individuals and groups of individuals paying fixed tax.”

4. Clause 4 Article 5 is amended as follows:

“4. The license fee must be fully paid by January 30 of every year.

a) Upon the end of the period of exemption from the license fee (from the fourth year from the date of establishment), a SME transformed from a household business (including its branches, representative offices and/or business locations) shall pay the license fee as follows:

- If its exemption period ends in the first 6 months of a year, it must pay the license fee by July 30 of the same year.

- If its exemption period ends in the last 6 months of a year, it must pay the license fee by January 30 of the following year.

b) A household business, an individual or a group of individuals engaging in production/business that resumes its production/business after a suspension period shall pay the license fee as follows:

- If it resumes its production/business in the first 6 months of a year, it must pay the license fee by July 30 of the same year.

- If it resumes its production/business in the last 6 months of a year, it must pay the license fee by January 30 of the following year.”

Article 2. Implementation and effect

1. This Decree comes into force from February 25, 2020.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial agencies, heads of Governmental agencies, Chairpersons of people’s committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities, and relevant organizations, individuals, groups of individuals and household businesses shall implement this Decree./.