Circular 219/2016/TT-BTC stipulating the collection rate, regime of collection, payment, management and use of fees and charges in the field of export, import, transit and residence in Vietnam by the Minister of Finance promulgate

CIRCULAR

ON THE RATE, COLLECTION, SUBMISSION, ADMINISTRATION AND USE OF THE FEES AND CHARGES FOR ENTRY, EXIT, TRANSIT AND RESIDENCY IN VIETNAM

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

Pursuant to the Law of state budget dated June 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016 on details and guidelines for the implementation of certain articles of the Law of fees and charges;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 215/2013/ND-CP dated December 23, 2013 on the functions, missions, authority and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the request of the Head of the Department of Tax policy,

Minister of Finance promulgates the Circular on the rate, collection, submission, administration and use of the fees and charges for entry, exit, transit and residency in Vietnam.

Article 1. Scope and regulated entities

1. The Circular stipulates the rate, collection, submission, administration and use of the fees and charges for entry, exit, transit and residency in Vietnam.

2. The Circular applies to the payers and collectors of the fees and charges for entry, exit, transit and residency in Vietnam, and to other organizations and individuals concerning the collection, submission, administration and use of the fees and charges for entry, exit, transit and residency in Vietnam.

Article 2. Payer

1. Vietnamese citizens shall incur the charges defined in this Circular upon applying to competent authorities in Vietnam for issuance of documents regarding passport, travel and exit.

2. Foreigners shall incur the fees defined in this Circular upon applying to competent authorities in Vietnam for issuance of visas or documents regarding residency, exit and entry.

Article 3. Collectors of charges and fees

Immigration Department, Border Gate Security Department (Ministry of Public Security); Police, Border Guard Commands of the provinces and central-affiliated cities (referred to as provincial Border Guard Command); Consular Department, Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of External Relations (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) shall collect the fees and charges defined in this Circular.

Article 4. Rate

1. The fees and charges for entry, exit, transit and residency in Vietnam are specified in the schedules annexed to this Circular.

2. The fees on Vietnamese visas and immigration documents issued to foreigners are collected in Vietnam Dong or United States Dollar (USD). The fees and charges expressed in USD shall be collected in USD or in VND at the exchange rate for purchase of U.S. currency via telegraphic transfer of the head office of the Joint-stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam in effect upon the payment of such charges or at the end of the working day immediately preceding the regulated holiday or day-off.

Article 5. Fee waiver

1. Guests (and their spouse and children) invited by the Vietnam Communist Party, the Government, National Assembly or their leadership for personal purposes.

2. Officials and employees of diplomatic missions, foreign consular offices and international organizations' representative offices in Vietnam and their family members (spouse and children under 18), regardless of the category of their passports, shall not incur the fees herein by reciprocal agreement provided that they hold neither citizenship nor permanent resident status of Vietnam.

3. The fees are waived pursuant to international agreements to which Vietnam is a signatory or on the principle of reciprocity.

4. Foreigners entering Vietnam to carry out relief work or humanitarian aids on behalf of Vietnamese organizations and individuals.

The papers issued to such individuals shall bear the phrase "Miễn thu lệ phí" (GRATIS) stamped by the fee collectors.

Article 6. Declaration, collection, submission and refund of fees and charges

1. On no later than Thursday of each week, the fee collectors shall deposit the fee amount collected in the previous week into the budgetary contribution account at the State Treasury.

2. The collectors of the fees and charges shall declare and finalize the amount of charges and fees collected on monthly and annual basis, respectively, according to the guidelines in Section 3, Article 19 and Section 2, Article 26 of the Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC dated November 06, 2013 by the Minister of Finance on guidelines for the implementation of certain articles of the Law of tax administration; the Law on amendments to certain articles of the Law of tax administration and the Government’s Decree No. 83/2013/ND-CP dated July 22, 2013.

3. In the event that a person has paid the fee but does not qualify for a passport and relevant documents, the collector of the fee amount shall give a full refund upon notifying the payer of the result. The fees and charges paid shall not be refunded in other cases of ineligibility for relevant documents or refusal to accept the result of application.

Article 7. Administration of charges and fees

1. The fee collector, if being the Immigration Department, Border Gate Security Department (Ministry of Public Security), the Police or a provincial Border Guard Command, can retain 30% of the fee amount collected to cover the spending defined in Article 5 of the Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP. The remaining 70% of the fee amount collected shall be submitted into the state budget by chapter and sub-section of the current state budget index.

2. If the fee collector is the Consular Department or Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of External Affairs:

a) The fee collector shall submit the entire fee amount collected to the state budget except for the circumstances defined in Point b, Section 2 of this Article. The expenditure for service provision and fee collection shall be sourced from the state budget apportioned in the fee collectors’ financial estimate pursuant to the regime and norm of state budget spending as per regulations.

b) If the operating expenditure of a governmental agency collecting the fees is sourced from the fees collected according to Section 1, Article 4 of the Government's Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016, it shall be allowed to retain 30% of the fees collected to cover the expenses defined in Article 5 of the Government's Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016. The remaining 70% of the fee amount collected shall be submitted into the state budget by chapter and sub-section of the current state budget index.

3. The collectors of the charges shall submit 100% of the charges collected to the state budget by chapter and sub-section in the current state budget index. The expenditure for service provision and charge collection shall be sourced from the state budget apportioned in the fee collectors’ financial estimate pursuant to the regime and norm of state budget spending as per regulations.

Article 8. Implementation

1. This Circular comes into force as of January 01, 2017. It replaces the Circular No. 157/2015/TT-BTC dated October 08, 2015 by the Minister of Finance on the collection, submission, administration and use of the charges for issuance of passports, visas and documents on entry, exit, transit and residency in Vietnam.

2. Other matters related to the collection, payment, administration, use, receipt and disclosure of fees not defined in this Circular shall be governed by the Law of fees and charges; the Government's Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016; the Circular No. 156/2013/TT-BTC dated November 06, 2013 by the Minister of Finance, and the Circular by the Minister of Finance on the printing, issuance, administration and use of the receipts for collection of fees and charges for the state budget and the written amendments thereof (if available).

3. Difficulties that arise during the progress of implementation shall be reported to the Ministry of Finance for review, guidance and amendment./.

SCHEDULE OF FEES AND CHARGES

(Annexed to the Circular No. 219/2016/TT-BTC dated November 10, 2016 by Minister of Finance)

I. Charges for issuance of passport, travel document, exit permit, AB stamp

Notes:

- ABTC stands for APEC Business Travel Card.

- AB stamp is a certificate of visa exemption for a holder of ordinary passport on official overseas trip.

II. The fees on issuance of Vietnamese visas and immigration documents to foreigners

Note: The charge for reissuing such documents, if lost or damaged, shall be equal to that for issuing a new document./.

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