I. SUBJECTS OF APPLICATION

Production and/or business establishments specified in Clause 2, Article 1 of the Prime Minister's Decision No. 197/2003/QD-TTg of September 23, 2003, and the Finance Ministry's guiding documents (referred collectively to as business establishments) shall apply on a pilot basis the mechanism of self-declaration and self-payment of SCT at the domestic production stage.

II. SCT REGISTRATION, DECLARATION AND PAYMENT

1. Tax registration

Business establishments applying on a pilot basis the mechanism of self-declaration and self-payment of SCT at the domestic production stage shall continue using their tax identification numbers issued by tax offices, without having to re-register them with tax offices.

2. SCT declaration and payment

a/ SCT declaration

- SCT shall be calculated and declared every month. Monthly, business establishments applying on a pilot basis the mechanism of tax self-declaration and self-payment shall have to declare SCT fully and accurately according to forms set by the Ministry of Finance (form No. 01A/TTDB and other forms). If they have no SCT amount payable in a declaration period, business establishments still have to complete and submit the declaration forms to tax offices.

- The deadline for submission of monthly SCT declaration forms to tax offices is the 25th of the subsequent month. Business establishments shall not have to send lists of sold goods and services; exported goods; sold bottled liquors and bottled beers; and deductible SCT amounts. They shall submit declaration forms to tax offices by post or directly at tax offices. Date of submission of a declaration form shall be determined as the date of the sending postmark (for cases of sending declaration forms by post) or the date the business establishment submits these forms directly to the tax office.

- Where business establishments fail to make full declarations or make declarations not according to the prescribed forms, or where business establishments have not yet certified the legality of the declaration (signing and affixing seals), they shall be considered not having submitted declaration forms to tax offices.

- Business establishments shall bear responsibility before law for the truthfulness and accuracy of their monthly SCT declarations. If tax offices, when carrying out inspection and examination, detect that declared data are untrue or inaccurate, business establishments shall be sanctioned according to the provisions of law.

b/ Adjusted SCT declarations

- After declaration forms are submitted to tax offices, if there is any error or mistake in the declared data (detected by business establishments themselves or notified by tax offices), business establishments shall have to make adjusted declarations to tax offices:

+ If the prescribed time limit for declaration has not yet expired, business establishments may complete and submit new declaration forms to replace the former declaration forms already sent to tax offices. It should be stated in the new declaration form that it is made in replacement of the declaration form already sent on which day to the tax office.

+ If the prescribed time limit for declaration has expired (past the 25th every month), business establishments shall enter such adjustments in the lines for adjusted declaration on the monthly tax declaration form (Form No. 01A/TTDB) and at the same time, give written explanations on such adjustment, made according to form No. 01C/TTDB. Where tax offices have issued inspection or examination decisions, business establishments must not adjust the declaration forms in the declaration period, which are subject to examination and inspection.

- Applying business establishments shall not have to make annual tax settlement with tax offices. Monthly, they shall have to check invoices, vouchers and accounting books of the previous month so as to detect in time tax amounts not yet declared or wrongly declared (if any), then make adjustments or additions in the declaration form for the subsequent month.

- At the end of a calendar year, establishments shall make an adjusted declaration on SCT-calculation prices of bottled liquors and bottled beers (for cases where the value of empty bottles is included in such prices) according to Form No. 01B/TTDB enclosed with this Circular (not printed herein). Form No. 01B/TTDB shall be made and adjustments shall be made accordingly in the SCT declaration form of January or February of the subsequent year.

c/ SCT payment

- Monthly, business establishments shall pay the declared SCT amounts into the state budget no later than the 25th of the month following the month when the payable tax amounts arise. For business establishments that pay tax through account transfer via banks or other credit institutions, the date of tax payment into the state budget shall be determined as the date banks or other credit institutions transfer money into state treasuries according to business establishments’ papers on remittance of money into the state budget; for business establishments that pay tax in cash, the date of tax payment into the state budget shall be the date treasuries or tax offices receive tax amounts in cash.

- Business establishments shall fill in the money-remittance papers according to the guidance of tax offices and state treasuries. They must clearly write on the money-remittance papers the SCT amounts and tax fines calculated for each tax calculation period. Where business establishments have tax and fine amounts to be paid for the period as well as tax and fine amounts to be paid for previous periods, but they fail to clearly state which period such amounts are paid for, tax offices shall first collect the tax and fine amounts owed for previous periods. The remainder shall be regarded as the payable tax and fine amount in the current period.

d/ In case of merger, consolidation, division, separation, dissolution, bankruptcy, ownership transformation, or relocation (to other provinces or cities); assignment, sale, contractual assignment or lease of state enterprises, business establishments shall have to declare the tax amounts arising up to the time of such event and submit the declaration forms to tax offices within 45 days after the date of issuance of the decisions on these changes. Business establishments shall have to pay any owed SCT amounts into the state budget within 10 days after submission of tax declaration forms. In case of tax overpayment, the overpaid tax amount shall be subtracted from the payable tax amount for the subsequent period or refunded according to current regulations.

III. TASKS, POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF TAX OFFICES

Apart from the tasks, powers and responsibilities specified in legal documents on tax and relevant documents, tax offices managing business establishments applying on a pilot basis the mechanism of tax self-declaration and self-payment shall have the responsibilities:

1. To disseminate and guide business establishments to implement tax policies, tax declaration and payment procedures, and answer their inquiries so that business establishments can understand and properly implement the provisions of tax law as well as the mechanism of tax self-declaration and self-payment.

2. To monitor the tax declaration and payment by business establishments.

- Beyond the prescribed time limit for declaration, tax offices shall send notices to business establishments that have not yet submitted tax declaration forms, reminding them to submit such forms and imposing administrative sanctions according to current regulations. If, after receiving notices on the submission of declarations forms and administrative sanctions, business establishments still fail to submit declaration forms, tax offices shall fix temporarily payable tax amounts according to the provisions of tax law.

- Beyond the prescribed time limit for tax payment, tax offices shall send notices to business establishments that have not yet paid taxes or have paid tax inadequately, reminding them to pay taxes and at the same time, calculate fines for late payment of tax amounts owed to the state budget according to regulations.

3. To inspect and examine tax declaration and payment by business establishments.

4. To apply coercive measures so as to collect overdue tax amounts and fines according to the provisions of law.

5. To keep confidential information on production and/or business establishments applying on a pilot basis the mechanism according to regulations.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION OF ORGANIZATION

1. This Circular takes effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."

2. Regulations on bases and methods for tax calculation, tax rates, tax exemption and reduction, tax refund, handling of violations, commendation and reward and other issues not covered by this Circular shall comply with the provisions of the SCT Law and guiding documents.

3. The General Department of Tax shall have to organize the pilot application by production and/or business establishments of the mechanism of
self-declaration and self-payment of SCT at the domestic production stage.

4. Units, agencies and business establishments are requested to report any difficulty or problem arising in the course of implementation to the Ministry of Finance for study and guidance.