JOINT CIRCULAR

AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING THEIR JOINT CIRCULAR No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT OF DECEMBER 18, 2003, WHICH GUIDES THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GOVERNMENT’S DECREE No. 67/2003/ND-CP OF JUNE 13, 2003, ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION CHARGE FOR WASTEWATER

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP of June 3, 2002, detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Charges and Fees;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 24/2006/ND-CP of March 6, 2006, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP of June 3, 2002, which details the implementation of the Ordinance on Charges and Fees;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 67/2003/ND-CP of June 13, 2003, on environmental protection charge for wastewater;
Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 04/2007/ND-CP of January 8, 2007, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 67/2003/ND-CP of June 13, 2003, on environmental protection charge for wastewater;
The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment jointly guide amendments and supplements to their Joint Circular No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT of December 18, 2003, guiding the implementation of the Government’s Decree No. 67/2003/ND-CP of June 13, 2003, on environmental protection charge for wastewater, as follows:

1. To amend Clause 2, Section II of Circular No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT as follows:

“2. Environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater

Rates of environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater are calculated on the basis of each pollutant in wastewater, specifically as follows:

No.

Pollutants in wastewater

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(VND/kg of pollutant in wastewater)

Appellation

Sign

Type-A wastewater-receiving environment

Type-B wastewater-receiving environment

Type-C wastewater-receiving environment

Type-D wastewater-receiving environment

1

...

...

...

A_COD

300

250

200

100

2

Suspended solid

A_TSS

400

...

...

...

300

200

3

Mercury

A_Hg

20,000,000

18,000,000

15,000,000

10,000,000

...

...

...

Lead

A_Pb

500,000

450,000

400,000

300,000

5

Arsenic

A_As

...

...

...

900,000

800,000

600,000

6

Cadmium

A_Cd

1,000,000

900,000

800,000

...

...

...

Wastewater-receiving environments, of four types named A, B, C and D, are determined as follows:

- Type-A wastewater-receiving environment: inner cities and towns of urban centers of special grade and grades I, II and III.

- Type-B wastewater-receiving environment: inner cities and towns of urban centers of grades IV and V, and outskirts of urban centers of special grade and grades I, II and III.

- Type-C wastewater-receiving environment: outskirts of grade-IV urban centers and non-urban communes, excluding communes belonging to type-D wastewater-receiving environment.

- Type-D wastewater-receiving environment: communes in border, mountainous, highland, deep-lying, remote, sea and island regions.

Urban centers of special grade and grades I, II, III, IV and V comply with the Government’s Decree No. 72/2001/ND-CP of October 5, 2001, on classification of urban centers and urban management levels, and guiding documents.”

2. To amend and supplement Point b, Clause 2, Section III, and supplement Point c, Clause 2, Section III of Circular No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT as follows:

“b/ If a charge payee’s industrial wastewater contains many pollutants specified in Clause 1, Article 1 of the Government’s Decree No. 04/2007/ND-CP of January 8, 2007, amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 67/2003/ND-CP of June 13, 2003, on environmental protection charge for wastewater, the payable amount of environmental protection charge for the industrial wastewater is the total of the payable amount of environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater of each of pollutants in the wastewater.

c/ The volume of pollutants in wastewater shall be determined under the guidance of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.”

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“c/ Clean water suppliers and commune/ward People’s Committees shall open “Environmental protection charge for wastewater” accounts at the state treasuries where transactions are made. Monthly, by the 10^th day of the subsequent month, they shall come to those state treasuries to make papers of remittance of the collected amounts of environmental protection charge for daily-life wastewater into those accounts after subtracting the charge amounts they have retained according to regulations.

Clean water suppliers and commune/ward People’s Committees shall open separate accounting books to monitor and update the collected amounts of environmental protection charge for daily-life wastewater for making payment with the state budget. The amounts of environmental protection charge for daily-life wastewater must not be accounted as turnover of clean water suppliers.

Monthly, clean water suppliers shall, based on the collected charge amounts, calculate, and make declarations of, environmental protection charge for daily-life wastewater (Form No. 01 enclosed with this Circular), and send them to provincial-level Tax Departments for monitoring and management. Commune/ward People’s Committees shall, based on the collected charge amounts, calculate, and make declarations of, environmental protection charge for daily-life wastewater (Form No. 01 enclosed with this Circular), and send them to district-level Tax Departments for monitoring and management. At the year-end, commune/ward People’s Committees shall finalize charge collection and remittance with district-level Tax Departments according to regulations.

d/ State treasuries shall account environmental protection charge amounts remitted by clean water suppliers and commune/ward People’s Committees into corresponding chapters, categories and clauses, Item/Sub-item 042.01 of the current State Budget Index, and regulate the state budget under the guidance in Clause 3, Section V of this Circular.”

4. To amend and supplement Clause 2, Section IV of Circular No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT as follows:

“2. Environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater

a/ Payers of environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater are obliged to:

- Declare quarterly payable charge amounts with Natural Resources and Environment Services of provinces or centrally run cities where wastewater is discharged according to regulations (Form No. 02 enclosed with this Circular) within the first 5 days of the first month of the subsequent quarter and ensure the accuracy of their declaration;

- Remit fully and in time payable charge amounts into “Provisional collection of environmental protection charge for wastewater” accounts at state treasuries according to notices of provincial-level Natural Resources and Environment Services, but no later than the 15^th day of the first month of the subsequent quarter;

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b/ Provincial-level Natural Resources and Environment Services are tasked to:

- Evaluate declarations of environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater. By the 10^th day of the first month of the subsequent quarter, notify charge payers of the amounts of environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater payable into the state budget (Form No. 03 enclosed with this Circular).

- Open accounting books for separately monitoring the amounts of environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater remitted by charge payers in localities, monitor and manage the use of charge amounts specified at Point 2, Section V of this Circular.

- Quarterly, by the 20^th day of the first month of the subsequent quarter, sum up the amounts of environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater, send sum-up reports to provincial-level Tax Departments, and regularly make comparison with state treasuries where transactions are made.

- Annually, within 60 days from January 1 of a calendar year, finalize with tax agencies of the same level the collection and remittance of environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater in localities according to regulations.

- Draw up plans on the use of collected charge amounts according to the provisions of Point 3, Section V of this Circular and submit them to provincial-level People’s Committees for decision on investment in environmental protection in localities.

c/ State treasuries shall open “Provisional collection of environmental protection charge for wastewater” accounts for collecting charges from payers of environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater. Quarterly, industrial production establishments shall pay charges into these accounts according to notices of provincial-level Natural Resources and Environment Services. When paying charges to state treasuries, industrial production establishments shall make three copies of papers of money payment into “Provisional collection of environmental protection charges for wastewater” accounts. By the 20^th day of the first month of the subsequent quarter, state treasuries shall sum up environmental protection charge amounts, make papers of remittance of money (80% of the total charge amount) into the state budget, which shall be allocated to local budgets of different levels according to the provisions of Point 3, Section V of this Circular and, at the same time, transfer the remaining amounts (20% of the total charge amount) into deposit accounts of provincial-level Natural Resources and Environment Services upon the latter’s request. The charge amounts remitted into the state budget shall be accounted into corresponding chapters, categories and clauses, Item/Sub-item 042.01 of the current State Budget Index.

d/ For production and service establishments directly managed by the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Defense, these two ministries shall, for national security and secret reasons, evaluate environmental protection charge declarations and notify such to Natural Resources and Environment Services of provinces or centrally run cities where the establishments operate (Form No. 04 enclosed with this Circular).

e/ When changing materials or products; replacing production chains or technology processes; or installing pollution minimization equipment or wastewater treatment systems, production, business and service establishment owners shall report thereon in writing to provincial-level Natural Resources and Environment Services in order to have payable charge rates re-determined as appropriate.”

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“2. Environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater

a/ 20% of the total collected amount of environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater shall be retained for the provincial-level Natural Resources and Environment Service to cover charge collection expenses or adjust pollutants’ emission extents, of which:

- 5% shall be used to cover charge collection expenses under the provisions of Clause 8 of the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 45/2006/TT-BTC of May 25, 2006, amending and supplementing the Finance Ministry’s Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC of July 24, 2002, which guides the implementation of legal provisions on charges and fees.

- 15% shall be used to cover expenses for wastewater assessment, sampling and analysis in service of the evaluation of charge payment declarations or the charge collection.

Provincial-level Natural Resources and Environment Services shall use all the above deducted amounts of environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater for proper purposes with lawful documents according to regulations. At the year-end, unspent amounts, if any, shall be transferred to the subsequent year for further spending according to regulations.

b/ The remainder (80% of the total collected amount of environmental protection charge for industrial wastewater) shall be remitted into the state budget and allocated to local budgets of different levels under the guidance in Clause 3, Section V of this Circular.”

6. To supplement Point c, Clause 3, Section V of Circular No. 125/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT as follows:

“c/ Quarterly, by the 25^th day of the first month of the subsequent quarter, state treasuries shall sum up collected amounts of environmental protection charge for daily-life and industrial wastewater (Item 042.01 according to the report on central budget revenues) and send them to the State Budget Department, the Department of Finance for Banks and Financial Institutions for use as a basis for additional allocation of capital to the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund.

- Within 5 days after receiving state treasuries’ notices, the Department of Finance for Banks and Financial Institutions shall issue a notice approving cost estimates and send it to the State Budget Department for making payment orders to transfer the amount of environmental protection charge for wastewater already allocated to the central budget into the account of the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund.

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Annually, pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Directive on elaboration of the socio-economic development plan and state budget estimate of the subsequent year; the Finance Ministry’s documents guiding the elaboration of budget estimate of the subsequent year; and provincial-level Natural Resources and Environment Ministry’s documents providing professional guidance on environmental protection tasks for provinces and centrally run cities, provincial-level Natural Resources and Environment Services shall make funding cost-estimates, include them in the subsequent year’s budget expenditure estimates and send them to provincial-level Finance Services and Planning and Investment Services in accordance with the State Budget Law; provincial-level Finance Services shall consider and include those cost estimates in expenditure estimates of local budgets of the same level, then report thereon to provincial-level People’s Committees for submission to People’s Councils of the same level for consideration and decision.

The observance of cost estimates, accounting and finalization comply with current provisions of the State Budget Law, its guiding documents and the current State Budget Index.”

7. This Circular takes effect 15 days after its publication in “CONG BAO.”

8. Any problems arising in the course of implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for study and additional guidance.

FOR THE MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
VICE MINISTER




Nguyen Cong Thanh

FOR THE MINISTER OF FINANCE
VICE MINISTER





Truong Chi Trung