Nghị định 154/2016/ND-CP

DECREE

ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FEE ON WASTEWATER

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

Pursuant to the Law on Fees and Charges dated November 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Environmental Protection dated June 23, 2014;

Upon request of the Minister of Finance;

The Government hereby issues the Decree on environmental protection fee.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Decree stipulates the matter for which the fee is charged, fee payers, fee exemption, fee rate, declaration, payment, collection and use of the environmental protection fee on wastewater.

Article 2. Matter subject to levy

1. The environmental protection fee defined in this Decree is imposed on industrial and domestic wastewater, except as the exemptions stipulated in Article 5 hereof.

2. Industrial wastewater is discharged from:

a) Facilities producing and processing agricultural, forestry and fishery products;

b) Facilities producing and processing food, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverage and tobacco;

c) Centralized livestock and poultry farms and slaughterhouses;

c) Aquaculture facilities;

dd) Handicraft workshops in handicraft villages;

e) Leather recycling and tanning facilities;

g) Mineral extraction and processing facilities;

e) Textile and dying facilities;

i) Facilities producing paper, paper pulp, plastics and rubber;

k) Facilities producing fertilizers, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, pesticide, building materials, office stationery and household goods;

l) Mechanical workshops; metallurgical facilities; metal processing facilities, machinery and component manufacturers;

m) Facilities producing electronic and electrical equipment and components;

m) Scrap processing facilities, ship recycling facilities and ship cleaning facilities;

o) Water supply plants;

p) Centralized wastewater treatment systems in industrial zones;

q) Other production facilities.

3. Domestic wastewater is discharged from:

a) Households;

b) Governmental agencies, public service providers, people’s armed forces ( except for production and processing facilities affiliated to people’s armed forces);

c) Executive offices, branches and offices located far from the production and processing facilities;

d) Facilities cleaning and repairing automobiles and motorbikes;

dd) Hospitals, clinics, restaurants, hotels, training and research institutes; other business facilities and service provision facilities;

e) Other wastewater discharging entities not specified in clause 2 of this Article.

Article 3. Fee collection agencies

The environmental protection fee on wastewater shall be collected by the following authorities:

1. Departments of Natural Resources and Environment shall collect the environmental protection fee on industrial wastewater. In accordance with each administrative division’s fee collection and the management capacity of the relevant district-level agency in charge of natural resources and environment, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment may report to the provincial People’s Committee for assigning the district-level Office of Natural Resources and Environment to collect the environmental protection fee on local industrial wastewater.

2. Clean water suppliers shall collect the environmental protection fee on domestic wastewater, which is charged to water users.

3. People’s Committees of the communes, wards and towns (hereinafter referred to as “communal People’s Committees”) shall collect the environmental protection fee on domestic wastewater, which is charged to the organizations, individuals and households using self-extracted water.

Article 4. Fee payers

1. Entities (including the heads of households) discharging wastewater specified in Article 2 hereof shall incur the environmental protection fee on wastewater.

2. The entities discharging wastewater into a centralized wastewater treatment system and having paid for wastewater treatment service shall be exempt from the environmental protection fee on wastewater. The entities managing and operating a water drainage system shall incur that the environmental protection fee on the wastewater that they take in and discharge into the environment (except for those mentioned in clause 8, Article 5 hereof).

3. Industrial production facilities; facilities producing and processing agricultural, forestry and fishery products; and centralized wastewater treatment systems, as stipulated in clause 2, Article 2 hereof, when using water sourced from a clean water supplier for their activities of production and processing shall incur the environmental protection fee on industrial wastewater (and shall be exempt from the environmental protection fee on domestic wastewater.

Article 5. Fee exemption

The environmental protection fee on wastewater is exempted in the following circumstances:

1. Water discharged from hydropower plants, water that circulates in a production and processing facility and is not discharged into the environment in any form (liquid, solid and gas)

2. Seawater discharged after being used for salt production;

3. Domestic wastewater of organizations, individuals and households in an administrative division where the water price is subsidized by the government to accord with economic and social circumstances.

4. Domestic wastewater of organizations, individuals and households in rural communes and localities where a clean water supply system is not available.

5. Cooling water for machinery and equipment, which is not in direct contact with any pollutant and is discharged through a separate conduit.

6. Overflowing rainwater (except that in chemical plants);

7. Wastewater from fishing vessels;

8. Domestic wastewater which is centralized and treated by a drainage system operator and meets the technical regulations for discharge into the environment.

Chapter II

FEE RATE, DECLARATION, PAYMNENT, MANAGEMENT AND USE OF THE FEE

Article 6. Fee rate

1. The rate of environmental protection fee on wastewater shall be 10% of the VAT-excluded selling price of 1m³ of clean water. Where a higher fee rate is necessary, the People’s Council of the province or centrally-affiliated city (referred to as the provincial People’s Council) shall decide the fee rate that accords with to local circumstances. The rate of environmental protection fee on domestic wastewater from organizations and households using self-extracted water (except for households specified in clause 3 and clause 4, Article 5hereof) shall be determined by user on the basis of the average consumption per capita in the commune, ward or town where the water is extracted and of the average selling price of 1 m³ of clean water in that locality.

2. The amount of environmental protection fee on industrial wastewater shall be calculated in the following manner:

F = f + C, where:

a) F: Amount of fee payable;

b) f: Fixed fee (1VND 1,500,000/year);

c) C: Variable fee, calculated on the basis of the total volume of effluent, content of pollutants and the fee rate applicable to each pollutant in the following table:

The variable fee stipulated herein shall not apply to a production and processing facility discharging less than 20m³ of wastewater per full day.

Article 7. Determination of the fee amount payable

1. For domestic wastewater:

The amount of environmental protection fee on domestic wastewater shall be determined as follows:

Where:

a) Clean water consumption shall be measured by the fee payer's water consumption meter. In the absence of a water consumption meter, the provincial People’s Committee shall impose an amount of clean water consumption on each type of consumers.

The amount of clean water consumed, if self-extracted, shall be determined according to the quantity of persons in the family register (of a household) or timesheet, payroll and employment contracts (in an establishment not engaged in production and processing) and the average clean water consumption per capita in the commune, ward or town.

The clean water consumption of a business establishment that self-extracts water shall be determined according to the business scale declared by such establishment and assessed by the People’s Committee of the commune, ward or town.

b) Clean water selling price is the VAT-excluded water price stipulated by the water supply company.

c) The fee rate is determined as stipulated in clause 1 Article 6 hereof.

2. For industrial wastewater:

The amount of environmental protection fee on industrial wastewater shall be calculated as follows:

a) The fixed fee amount payable is VND 1,500,000 /year;

b) The variable fee (C) stipulated in clause 2, Article 6 shall be determined by pollutant as follows:

- If the average volume of effluent in the year that the fee is computed is less than 20 m³/ full day, the fixed fee amount payable (f) shall be VND 1,500,000 /year;

- If the average volume of effluent in the year that the fee is computed is 20 m³/full day or more, the quarterly fee amount payable shall be calculated in the following manner:

F_q = (f/4) + C_q

Where:

+ F_q is the quarterly fee amount payable (VND);

+ f = 1,500,000 VND;

+C_q is the variable fee amount payable in the quarter;

c) Determination of the volume of effluent:

- The volume of effluent shall be determined according to the wastewater flow meter, if available;

- In the absence of a wastewater flow meter, the quarterly volume of effluent shall be determined based on the actual measurements of the environment governing authorities, or it shall be deemed equal to 80% of the water consumption, or it shall be determined according to the quarterly environmental impact assessment report.

Article 8. Declaration, assessment of declarations and fee payment

1. For the environmental protection fee on domestic wastewater:

a) Fee payers shall pay the environmental protection fee on wastewater, which is included in the monthly billed water use fee, to the supplier of clean water.

b) Communal People’s Committees shall calculate and collect the fee from local organizations, individuals, households and businesses using self-extracted water.

c) Clean water suppliers and communal People’s Committees shall open an account for “temporary collection of the environmental protection fee on domestic wastewater” at the local branch of the State Treasury (hereinafter referred to as “temporary collection account”). The fee shall be deposited on daily or weekly basis, depending on the amount collected, into the temporary collection account. Clean water suppliers and communal People’s Committees shall be responsible for transferring each month’s amount of environmental protection fee on domestic wastewater in the temporary collection accounts to the state budget as per regulations, no later than the 20^th of the following month.

Clean water suppliers and communal People’s Committees shall, on monthly basis, calculate and declare, via Form No. 01 annexed herein, the collected amount of environmental protection fee on domestic wastewater to the local tax authority.

Clean water suppliers and communal People’s Committees shall record the collected amount of environmental fee on domestic wastewater in a separate accounting journal. The environmental protection fee on domestic wastewater shall not be included in a clean water supplier’s earnings.

d) State Treasury shall record the amount of environmental protection fee submitted by clean water suppliers and communal People’s Committees in the state budget index by chapter, type and section.

dd) Clean water suppliers and communal People’s Committees shall finalize the collection and submission of each year’s environmental protection fee on domestic wastewater with tax authorities as per regulations in 90 days from the 01^st of January of the following year.

2. For the environmental protection fee on industrial wastewater:

Every fee payer shall:

- Declare to the relevant fee collection agency the fee amount payable pursuant to point a, clause 2, Article 7 hereof, on quarterly basis and via Form No. 02 annexed herein, within 05 days of the first month of the immediately succeeding quarter. The accuracy of such declaration must be maintained and the fee collection agency shall be given support to verify the fee amount charged to the payer and to examine sources of discharge on periodic or ad hoc basis.

- Deposit the fee amount payable, fully and precisely, into the temporary collection account at the State Treasury upon being notified by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, in no more than 10 days from the date of notification.

Production and processing facilities whose total average volume of effluent in a chargeable year is less than 20 m³/full day shall pay the fixed fee stipulated in clause 2, Article 6 hereof in lump sum for the entire year upon being notified by the fee collection agency, no later than the 31^st of March.

- Finalize each year’s fee amount payable within 45 days from the 01^st of January of the immediately succeeding year.

b) Departments of Natural Resources and Environment and Offices of Natural Resources and Environment (if assigned) shall:

- Cooperate with relevant authorities in reviewing and reclassifying the establishments subject to the fixed and variable fees, and notify the fee payers no later than the 10^th of March each year.

- Verify the declarations of the environmental protection fee according to the figures declared by the fee payers; measurements of environment governing authorities or the latest inspection result which is produced in no more than 12 months prior to the date of declaration.

- Notify the fee payers of the amount of environmental protection fee on industrial wastewater payable to the state budget, via Form No. 03 annexed herein, no later than the last day of the first month of the immediately succeeding quarter.

- Record the environmental protection fee paid by local fee payers in a separate accounting journal for monitoring, managing and using the fee as stipulated in clause 2, Article 8 hereof.

- Fee collection agencies shall, on quarterly basis, reckon up and notify the collected amount of environmental protection fee to tax authorities no later than the last day of the second month of the immediately succeeding quarter. Moreover, the fee collection agencies shall compare data with the branches of the State Treasury, with which the formers conduct transactions, on periodic basis

- Fee collection agencies shall finalize their collection and submission of each year’s environmental protection fee amount with tax authorities as per regulations in no more 90 days from the 01^st of January of the immediately succeeding year.

- Open accounts for “temporary collection of the environmental protection fee on industrial wastewater” at local branches of the State Treasury.

- Fee collection agencies shall cooperate with the branches of the State Treasury, at which the temporary collection account is opened, in submitting 75% of the total fee amount collected to the state budget no later than the 15^th of the second month of the immediately succeeding quarter.

c) The declarations of the environmental protection fee by business establishments under the direct management of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense, in case of national security and confidentiality, shall be verified by the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense, which then send a resultant notification, pursuant to Form No. 04 annexed herein, to the Departments of Natural Resources and Environment of the provinces where such establishments are operating.

Article 9. Management and use of the fee

1. For domestic wastewater:

a) The clean water supplier and the communal People’s Committee shall retain 10% and 25% of the total amount of environmental protection fee collected, respectively, to spend on the fee collection. In case the expense for fee collection is less than the fee amount retained, the provincial People’s Council shall decide a proper retention ratio which does not exceed10% for the clean water supplier and does not exceed 25% for the communal People’s Committee of the commune.

b) The clean water supplier and the communal People’s Committee shall submit the fee amount that remains after fee retention to the local state budget for uses stipulated in clause 3 of this Article.

2. For industrial wastewater:

a) The collection agency shall retain 25% of the total fee amount collected to spend on the activities of fee collection (investigation, statistics, review, classification, update and management of the matters subject to levy); on the measurement, assessment, sampling and wastewater sample analysis for the purpose of verifying fee declarations; and on periodic and ad hoc inspection of industrial wastewater.

b) The remaining amount (75% of the total collected amount of environmental protection fee on industrial wastewater) shall be remitted to the local state budget for uses prescribed in clause 3 of this Article.

3. The fee collection agency shall be responsible for remitting the fee amount that remains after the fee retention stated in clause 1 and clause 2 of this Article to the local state budget for environmental protection, financing of the local environmental protection fund for the purpose of prevention, mitigation and control of environmental pollution caused by wastewater; and implementation of wastewater treatment methods and technology.

4. Fee collection agencies shall annually publish the previous year’s fee amount collected on mass media such as local newspapers, local radio stations, fee collection agencies’ websites and other proper means of media

Article 10. Responsibilities and obligations of local authorities

1. Every People’s Committee shall propose the People’s Council at the same level to allocate the collected amount of environmental protection fee for environmental protection pursuant to clause 3, Article 9 hereof.

2. Every Department of Natural Resources and Environment and district-level Office of Natural Resources and Environment shall:

a) Cooperate with relevant authorities in classifying the establishments subject to the fixed variable fees pursuant to clause 2, Article 6 of this Decree

b) Verify the declarations of the environmental protection fee on industrial wastewater announce the fee amount payable and finalize the collected amount of environmental protection on the chargeable establishments’ industrial wastewater.

c) Aggregate and report figures on the environmental protection fee on local wastewater to the superior authorities.

d) Propose the revision to the fee rate, the management and use of the environmental protection fee on wastewater.

3. Every tax authority shall:

Inspect, expedite and finalize the collection and submission by clean water suppliers and local agencies in charge natural resources and environment of the environmental protection fee on wastewater.

4. Every Department of Finance shall:

Lead and cooperate with the Departments of Natural Resources and Environment and Department of Taxation in providing counsels on the provincial People’s Committee’s proposal to the equivalent People’s Council for specifying the retention ratio for the environmental protection fee on domestic water as stipulated in clause 1, Article 9 hereof.

5. Every clean water supplier shall:

a) Cooperate with Departments of Natural Resources and Environment and relevant agencies in fee collection.

b) Aggregate and notify the figures on the environmental protection fee on local domestic wastewater to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 11. Effect

1. This Decree enters into force from January 01, 2017 and replaces the Government’s Decree No. 25/2013/ND-CP dated March 29, 2013 on the environmental protection fee on wastewater

2. Where a charge on drainage service is collected pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 80/2014/ND-CP dated August 06, 2014 on wastewater treatment and drainage, the environmental protection fee on wastewater stipulated herein shall be exempted.

Article 12. Implementation

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall:

a) Specify detail on circulating water and overflowing rainwater stipulated in clause 1 and clause 6, Article 5 hereof.

b) Introduce regulations on industrial wastewater sampling and assessment for determination of the amount of fee payable under this Decree.

2. The provincial People’s Committees shall propose the equivalent People’s Councils to specify the fee retention ratio under their authority as stipulated in clause 1, Article 9 of this Decree.

3. Ministers, Heads of Ministerial-level agencies, heads of Governmental agencies, Chairmen of the provincial People’s Committees shall be responsible for implementing this Decree.