CIRCULAR

GUIDING FINANCIAL MATTERS FOR PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL PRODUCTION/BUSINESS LINES AND CRAFTS

In furtherance of the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 132/2000/QD-TTg of November 24, 2000 on a number of policies to promote the development of rural production/business lines and crafts, and the Government’s Resolution No. 05/2001/NQ-CP of May 24, 2001 adding a number of measures to execute the 2001 economic plan, the Finance Ministry hereby guides financial matters for promoting the development of rural production/business lines and crafts, as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Application objects and scope:

- Family households and individuals permanently residing in rural areas and conducting production and/or business activities;

- Cooperation groups and teams, cooperatives, private enterprises, joint-stock companies, limited liability companies and partnerships conducting production and/or business activities and being headquartered in rural areas.

The above-said organizations and individuals (hereinafter referred collectively to as rural production, business and craft establishments) conducting production and/or business activities or providing services and/or products of the production and/or business lines and crafts specified in Section 1, Article 1 of the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 132/2000/QD-TTg of November 24, 2000.

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II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Regarding infrastructure:

The State shall provide capital support for investment in rural traffic roads and infrastructure of rural craft villages as provided for in the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 79/2001/TT-BTC of September 28, 2001 guiding the financial mechanism for the execution of projects on rural traffic roads, aquacultural infrastructure and infrastructure of rural craft villages.

2. Regarding land:

Rural production, business and craft establishments shall enjoy the following preferential land policies:

2.1. To enjoy the land rent preferences with the lowest rates prescribed in Article 2 of the Finance Minister’s Decision No. 1357/QD-BTC of December 30, 1995 prescribing the land rent bracket applicable to domestic organizations, which are leased land by the State: equal to 0.5% of the price of 1 m2 of land, issued by the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities together with the Government’s Decree No. 87/CP of August 17, 1994 prescribing the price bracket of assorted land.

2.2. Rural production, business and craft establishments, which have already been permitted by the competent local administrations to convert the land use purposes from agriculture, aquaculture or salt-making land into land for other production and business purposes, shall not have to switch to lease land, but continue using it and fulfill their obligations toward the State budget within the time limit prescribed for such type of land in Article 26 of the Government’s Decree No. 04/2000/ND-CP of February 11, 2000 detailing the implementation of the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Land Law. After the prescribed time limit, they shall have to switch to comply with the current land rent regime for the right purposes.

2.3. In cases where rural production, business and craft establishments move their production places out of population quarters, they shall enjoy the land rent exemption for three years after the completion of the construction of production establishments on the new land areas, or enjoy the preferential regime of land rent reduction or exemption provided for in Clause 5, Section III, Part I of Circular No. 35/2001/TT-BTC of May 25, 2001 guiding the payment of land rent and joint-venture contribution with value of land use right of domestic organizations, family households and individuals (if any).

2.4. Land rents collected under land lease contracts from rural production, business and craft establishments shall be left to local budgets in strict compliance with the provisions of the State Budget Law. Annually, the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to prioritize the incorporation or allocation of capital for investment in infrastructure of population areas where exist craft villages or rural production/business lines and crafts in their respective localities.

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Rural production, business and craft establishments having efficient investment projects shall be provided with the investment credit loans, post-investment interest rate supports or investment credit guarantees by the Development Assistance Fund according to the provisions of the Government’s Decree No. 43/1999/ND-CP of June 29, 1999 on the State’s development investment credits and other current legal documents.

4. Regarding tax and fee preferences:

- Rural production, business and craft establishments shall enjoy tax preference levels provided for in the Government’s Decree No. 51/1999/ND-CP of July 8, 1999 detailing the implementation of Domestic Investment Promotion Law (amended) No. 03/1998/QH10, Decree No. 35/2002/ND-CP of March 29, 2002 amending and supplementing lists A, B and C in the Appendix to Decree No. 51/1999/ND-CP of July 8, 1999; the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 22/2001/TT-BTC of April 3, 2001 amending Circular No. 146/1999/TT-BTC of December 17, 1999 guiding the tax exemption or reduction for subjects eligible for the investment preferences under Decree No. 51/1999/ND-CP and other current legal documents.

- Rural production, business and craft establishments, if permitted to exploit natural resources in service of production or processing, shall enjoy natural resources tax exemption or reduction as provided for in Article 12 of the Government’s Decree No. 68/1998/ND-CP of September 3, 1998 detailing the implementation of the Natural Resources Tax Ordinance (amended). The order and procedures for effecting the natural resources tax exemption or reduction shall comply with the guidance in the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 153/1998/TT-BTC of November 26, 1998 guiding the implementation of the Government’s Decree No. 68/1998/ND-CP of September 3, 1998 detailing the implementation of the Natural Resources Tax Ordinance (amended).

- Artisans shall be exempt from enterprise income tax (income tax on high income-earners) for their incomes earned from job-teaching activities.

- Rural production, business and craft establishments shall pay charges and fees according to the stipulations in the National Assembly Standing Committee’s Charge and Fee Ordinance No. 38/2001/UBTVQH of August 28, 2001, the Government’s Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP of June 2, 2002 detailing the implementation of the Charge and Fee Ordinance and other current guiding documents.

5. Regarding trade promotion and product consumption:

The State shall use the Export Support Fund to partly cover expenses for rural production, business and craft establishments activities of market development, trade promotion and product consumption, as follows:

5.1. Rural production, business and craft establishments shall enjoy 50% reduction of the expense for renting pavilions in domestic trade fairs and exhibitions to display their products.

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Upon conclusion of trade fairs and exhibitions, enterprises dealing therein shall make dossiers requesting the Export Support Fund to pay for pavilion rent discounts for rural production, business and craft establishments. Each dossier comprises:

+ Written request of the enterprise dealing in trade fairs and exhibitions;

+ Pavilion rent contract between the lessor and the lessee and written record on liquidation thereof;

+ List of rural production, business and craft establishments having rented pavilions in trade fairs and exhibitions.

5.2. Rural production, business and craft establishments shall enjoy the regime of State support for activities of market development and trade promotion prescribed in the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 61/2001/TT-BTC of August 1, 2001 and other current regulations.

When receiving supports from the State, the rural production, business and craft establishments shall account them as decrease in business costs.

5.3 Rural production, business and craft establishments shall enjoy the preferential regime provided for in the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 195/1999/QD-TTg of September 27, 1999 on export activities and other current documents.

5.4. Rural production, business and craft establishments shall be rewarded when they earn export turnover according to the Finance Minister’s Decision No. 65/2001/QD-BTC of June 29, 2001 on export turnover reward for goods items of rice, coffee, pork and canned vegetables and fruits in 2001 and Decision No. 63/2002/QD-BTC of May 21, 2002 on export turnover reward for goods items under the Prime Minister’s direction and other relevant provisions of the current law.

The rural production, business and craft establishments shall account the above-said rewards into business income.

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- The State-run training establishments shall prioritize the allocation of job-training quotas to the rural production, business and craft establishments within annual plans of funding to be allocated by the State to job-training establishments.

- Artisans of craft villages may coordinate with the State-run training establishments in organizing training courses or organize by themselves training courses suitable to production lines of the rural production, business and craft establishments, and shall be exempted from taxes on job-teaching activities. Expenses for organizing training courses shall be covered by the following sources:

+ Tuition collected from trainees or contributions by labor employers on the basis of agreements;

+ Supports from training centers of districts, provinces or cities (if any);

+ Supports from organizations and individuals at home and abroad.

If the above-said sources are not enough to cover training expenses, the deficit shall be accounted by the establishments into their business costs.

- For training courses organized in form of on-job study, training expenses shall be accounted into production and/or business costs of rural production, business and craft establishments.

III. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. The ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government, the People’s Committees of all levels, the Finance-Pricing Services and Tax Departments of the provinces and centrally-run cities, and the Development Assistance Fund shall have to guide the implementation of this Circular and other legal documents on the preferential and incentive policies toward rural production, business and craft establishments.

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FOR THE FINANCE MINISTER
VICE MINISTER




Tran Van Ta