CIRCULAR

GUIDANCE ON ESTIMATION, PROVISION, AND SETTLEMENT OF GRANTS FOR ENTERPRISES ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT'S DECREE NO. 210/2013/NĐ-CP DATED DECEMBER 19, 2013 ON INCENTIVES FOR ENTERPRISES INVESTING IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AREAS

Pursuant to the Law on Land 2013;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 215/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 23, 2013 defining the functions, tasks, entitlements and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 19, 2013 on incentives for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 46/2014/NĐ-CP dated May 15, 2014 on collection of land and water surface rents.

At the request of Director of Corporate Finance Department,

The Minister of Finance promulgates a Circular providing guidance on estimation, provision, and settlement of grants for enterprises according to the Government's Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 19, 2013 on incentives for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas:

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Circular provides guidance on estimation, provision, and settlement of grants for enterprises according to the Government's Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 19, 2013 on incentives for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP).

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. Investing enterprises established and registered in accordance with Company law shall receive incentives for investment in accordance with Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP.

2. Organizations and individuals involved in implementation of incentive policies for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas.

Article 3. Rules for paying the costs covered by state budget

1. Investors shall receive grants from state budget when providing sufficient documents and take responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of the documents provided. Grants are part of annual budget estimates.

2. 70% of grants for the items or contracts shall be advanced when such items or contracts are completed; after the investment stage is completed and accepted, the remaining 30% shall be provided.

3. If the project has only 01 item eligible for grants, state budget shall pay a lump sum when the investment stage is completed.

4. With regard to grants for personnel training and market development, 70% of the grants shall be advanced as soon as the enterprise signs the contract and transfers to the party that executes the contract; the remaining 30% shall be provided or the advance shall be withdrawn (if any) after acceptance.

5. If an investor has a project of investment eligible for different incentives prescribed in different legislative documents at the same time, the investor may decide on the most beneficial incentive.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Section 1. LAND INCENTIVES

Article 4. Exemption, reduction of land rents and water surface rents paid to the State

1. Every investor having a project of investment in agriculture and rural areas shall be eligible for exemption or reduction of land rents and water surface rents paid to the State on a case-by-case basis according to Article 6 and Article 8 of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP.

2. Regulations on land incentives, the procedures and power to decide exemption, reduction of land rents and water surface rents paid to the State are specified in Circular No. 77/2014/TT-BTC dated June 16, 2014 of the Minister of Finance, which provide guidance on some Articles of the Government's Decree No. 46/2013/NĐ-CP dated May 15, 2014 on collection of land rents and water surface rents.

3. Exemption, reduction of land rents and water surface rents shall be granted directly to the entity leasing land from the State.

4. An investor shall only be granted exemption or reduction of land rents/water surface rents after procedures for exemption or reduction are completed as prescribed.

5. If an investor is eligible for both exemption and reduction of land rents/water surface rents, such investor shall be provided with reduction of rents after the exemption period expires; if the investor is eligible for different levels of reduction, the biggest reduction shall apply.

6. Where the State leases land out to a person (lessee) and collect a lump sum for the entire lease term and such person is eligible for exemption of land rents, if the lessee still wishes to pay land levy and land rents, such person shall fulfill land-related financial obligations and have the rights and obligations to land as if he/she is not provided with land rent exemption.

7. If a competent authority provides land repurposes to execute a project of investment in agriculture and rural areas and the investor has to switch over to leasing land according to the Law on Land 2013, the rent shall be exempted or reduced similarly to the case of land leasing by the State prescribed in Article 6 of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP.

8. In case an entity is eligible for exemption/reduction of land rents as prescribed in Article 6 of Decree No. 61/2010/NĐ-CP and Article 6 of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP but has delayed following procedures for land rent exemption/reduction, then such entity shall be granted land rent exemption/reduction for the remaining incentive period.

9. The People’s Committee of provinces shall consider approving land area for construction of tenements for workers, planting trees, and land serving public services that are exempt from land rents according to Clause 5 Article 6 of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP on a case-by-case basis. When leasing houses to workers, the investor must not include the land rent that is already exempted in the house rent.

10. In case an investor has a project of investment that satisfies conditions in Article 3 of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP and has been commenced before the effective date of this Decree but such investor has not been provided with any preferential land rents or water surface rents as prescribed in Decree No. 61/2010/NĐ-CP, then:

a) If the investor leases land/water surface from the State, the rent for which has been calculated, notified by the tax authority and paid to state budget according to the land incentive levels prescribed by regulations of law before the effective date of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP, then such regulations shall keep applying.

b) If the investor leases land/water surface from the State, the rent for which has not been calculated, notified by the tax authority by the effective date of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP takes effect, then such investor shall be provided with land incentives for the remaining incentive period according to Chapter II of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP and this Circular.

c) If the investor leases land/water surface from the State, the rent for which is paid annually, to execute a project which is eligible for exemption/reduction of land rents or water surface rents which is more beneficial than those prescribed in Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP, then the investor shall till have such incentive for the remaining period; if the incentive is less beneficial that those prescribed in Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP, the incentives prescribed in this Decree shall apply for the remaining period. The State shall not refund the amounts paid by the investor to execute previous projects.

Article 5. Payment of state subsidies for land rents and water surface rents paid to households and individuals

1. Every investor having agricultural projects eligible for special investment incentives shall receive subsidies for land rents and water surface rents from state budget as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 7 of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP.

a) Subsidy level: Every investor having agricultural projects eligible for special investment incentives that leases land/water surface from households and individuals to execute their project of investment shall have 20% of the rents covered by state budget for the first 05 years from the completion of infrastructural development.

b) The rent for calculating grants: The land price being the basis for grant provision is the lowest price of that type of land in the land price list compiled by the People’s Committee of the province at the time of conclusion of the land lease contract.

2. An application for grants for land rents/water surface rents consists of:

a) A written request for grants for land rents/water surface (Appendix 01);

b) A copy of the Decision on provision of incentives and support for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas approved by the People’s Committee of the province;

c) A certified true copy of the land/water surface lease contract between the investor and the household/individual for execution of the said project of investment which is certified by the People’s Committee of the commune where the lease contract is signed;

d) A copy of the Certificate of Business registration suitable for the approved project;

dd) The original record on acceptance of the fundamental construction which has been put into operation.

Section 2. GRANTS FOR PERSONNEL TRAINING, MARKET DEVELOPMENT, AND APPLICATION OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Article 6. Provision of grants for personnel training

1. Any investor having a project of investment in agriculture and rural areas shall receive grants for personnel training prescribed in Point a Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 9 of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP.

2. The application for advance consists of:

a) A written request for advance of grants (Appendix 01);

b) A copy of the Decision on provision of incentives and support for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas approved by the People’s Committee of the province;

c) A certified true copy of the training contract between the enterprise and a training institution;

d) Copies of payment receipts (for all of or part of the value of the training contract).

3. An application for grant provision includes:

a) A written request for grant provision (Appendix 01);

b) A copy of the Certificate of Business registration;

c) A copy of the Decision on provision of incentives and support for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas approved by the People’s Committee of the province;

d) The contract with the training institution; Contract finalization record; money transfer note. In case of on-site training, it is required to have the list of names, addresses, ID numbers, and signatures of employees being trained (a copy);

dd) In case the investors provides training for long-term employees living in a specialized forest to protect it, the enterprise shall directly receive a grant of VND 03 million per employee every 03 month at the enterprise. It is required to have documents about provision of grants prescribed in Points a, b, c, d of this Article and certified true copies of employment contracts and permanent residence books that match the location of the specialized forest.

Article 7. Provision of grants for market development

1. Any investor who has projects of investment in agriculture and rural areas shall receive grants for market development according to Point b Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 9 of the Government's Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP and in accordance with Point 2.21, Clause 2, Article 6 of Circular No. 78/2014/TT-BTC dated June 18, 2014 of the Ministry of Finance on guidelines for the Government's Decree No. 218/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 26, 2013, which provides guidance on the Law on Corporate income tax.

2. The application for advance consists of:

a) A written request for advance of grants (Appendix 01);

b) A copy of the Decision on provision of incentives and support for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas approved by the People’s Committee of the province;

c) A certified true copy of the market development service contract between the enterprise and the service provider;

d) Copies of payment receipts (for all of or part of the value of the market development service contract).

3. An application for provision of grants includes:

a) A written request for grants for advertising for the enterprise and it products on mass media; cost of participation in domestic fairs; fees for access to market information, and service charges from trade promotion authority (Appendix 01);

b) A copy of the Certificate of Business registration;

c) A copy of the Decision on provision of incentives and support for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas approved by the People’s Committee of the province;

d) The contract between the enterprise and provider of market development services (including advertising, fair, access to market information, trade promotion); contract finalization record and acceptance record (copies of invoices, receipts of transfers by the investor to the service provider).

Article 8. Provision of grants for application of science and technology

1. Grants for application of science and technology shall be provided in accordance with regulations of National Science and Technology Development Fund, National Technological Innovation Fund, Ministerial and Provincial Science and Technology Development Fund. Depending on the characteristics and scale of the project, the enterprise shall register and follow procedures for grant provision and shall receive the grant from one of the said funds.

2. Agencies managing National Science and Technology Development Fund, National Technological Innovation Fund, Science and Technology Development Fund of Ministries and provinces shall follow payment procedures; provincial Departments of Finance shall supervise the provision of such grants.

3. With regard to projects to be covered by Science and Technology Development Funds of Ministries and provinces that are yet to be established, grants shall be provided by local budgets. The project shall receive an advance of up to 70% of the grant. The remaining amount shall be paid after the project is completed.

3.1. The application for advance consists of:

a) A written request for grants for application of science and technology (Appendix 01);

b) A copy of the Decision on provision of incentives and support for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas approved by the People’s Committee of the province;

c) A certified true copy of the training contract between the enterprise and the scientific research unit;

d) Copies of payment receipts (for all of or part of the value of the scientific research contract).

3.2. An application for grant provision includes:

a) A written request for provision of grants for application of science and technology (Appendix 01);

b) A copy of the Certificate of Business registration;

c) A copy of the Decision on provision of incentives and support for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas approved by the People’s Committee of the province;

d) The contract between the enterprise and scientific research unit; contract finalization record and acceptance record (copies of invoices, receipts of transfers by the investor to the scientific research unit).

Section 3. FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR CONSTRUCTIONS OF BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS AND OTHER SUPPORTS

Article 9. Provision of grants for fundamental construction

1. Every investor who has projects of investment in agriculture and rural areas shall receive supports from state budget mentioned in Articles from 10 to 16 of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP, who have been given the capital use plan by the People’s Committees of provinces.

2. An application for advance on a grant:

a) A written request for advance (Appendix 01);

b) A copy of the Decision on provision of incentives and investment support for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas approved by the People’s Committee of the province;

c) Acceptance records of items and contracts of the project as prescribed (originals).

3. An application for grant provision:

a) A written request for a grant (Appendix 01);

b) A copy of the Decision on provision of incentives and support for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas approved by the People’s Committee of the province;

c) Acceptance record of the completed project (original).

Article 10. Provision of transport grants

1. Every investor who has projects of investment in agriculture and rural areas shall receive a grant for product transport as prescribed in Point b Clause 1 Article 15 and Point c Clause 1 Article 16 of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP.

At least 70% of the grant shall be provided after the factory is completed; grant for product transport prescribed in Point c Clause 1 Article 16 of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP shall be paid in a lump sum after the factory is completed.

The grant for product transport prescribed in Point b Clause 1 Article 15 of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP shall be paid by 3 installments.

2. An application for grant provision - First time:

a) A written request for advance (Appendix 01);

b) A copy of the Decision on provision of incentives and investment support for enterprises investing in agriculture and rural areas approved by the People’s Committee of the province;

c) A product transport contract (original);

d) Acceptance record of the completed factory as prescribed (original).

3. Application for grant provision - Second time:

a) A written request for payment made by the enterprise (Appendix 01);

b) A record on amount of transported products up to the second payment time (original).

4. Application for grant provision - Third time:

a) A written request for payment made by the enterprise (Appendix 01);

c) A transport contract (copy);

d) Record on finalization of the product transport contract (copy).

Section 4. MAKING STATE BUDGET ESTIMATES

Article 11. Grant estimate

1. When making budget estimates, enterprises eligible for grants by the State shall send a grant estimate to the Department of Planning and Investment and the Department of Finance of the province pursuant to local socio-economic development policies, business plan and investment plans The Department of Planning and Investment shall cooperate with the Department of Finance in summarizing and reporting the estimates of enterprises to the People’s Committee of the province.

2. The People’s Committee of each province shall submit the local budget estimate to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance.

3. The budget estimate submitted by the People’s Committee of the province shall contain names of enterprises, names of projects and duration thereof, propose grants, including specific fund sources for integration of projects, central budget, local budget, description and summary according to Appendix 02 enclosed herewith.

4. Fund allocation: According to the fund approved by the National Assembly, the Prime Minister’s Decision on fund allocation, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall notify local governments of the grants.

Article 12. Fund sources

1. State budget shall provide support for companies investing in agriculture and rural areas according to Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP, including central support for local budgets, local budgets, and capital from projects.

2. Grants for application of science and technology prescribed in Point c Clause 1 Article 9 of Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP shall be provided by National Science and Technology Development Fund, National Technological Innovation Fund, Science and Technology Development Fund of Ministries and provinces.

If the Science and Technology Development Fund of a Ministry or province is yet to be established, the grants shall be provided by local budgets.

Section 5. PROVISION AND ACCOUNTING OF GRANTS

Article 13. Provision of grants

1. Any enterprise that has a project of investment eligible for grants as prescribed in Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP shall submit 01 application to the Department of Finance (whether directly or by post). Within 15 working days from the day on which valid documents are fully received (according to the date stamp), the Department of Finance shall verify the application and cooperate with State Treasury in providing the grant to the applicant.

2. According to the approved budget estimate, the Department of Finance shall monitor documents for each expenditure, ensure fulfillment of conditions for budget spending; make and send payment orders to State Treasuries.

Article 14. Accounting of grants

1. Grants provided for enterprises shall be accounted for in accordance with the Law on State budget and its guiding documents.

2. Remaining grants (if any) shall be returned to state budget. Any enterprise that wishes to use the remaining grant shall send a report to the Ministry of Finance for consideration.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 15. Implementation

1. The People’s Committees of provinces shall direct Departments of Finance and specialized agencies to supervise the execution of projects in their provinces, inspect the management and use of grants as prescribed by law.

Grants provided against the regulations shall be withdrawn and dealt with according to applicable regulations.

2. The People’s Committees of provinces shall send reports on the grants according to Decree No. 210/2013/NĐ-CP to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. A summary report shall be submitted to the Government by March 31.

Article 16. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on April 27, 2015 and replaces Circular No. 84/2011/TT-BTC dated June 16, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance on guidelines for some financial policies meant to encourage companies to invest in agriculture and rural areas under the Government's Decree No. 61/2010/NĐ-CP dated June 04, 2010 on policies on encouragement of companies investing in agriculture and rural areas.

2. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Finance for consideration./.