Legal updates: Lower rent, digital signature certification, environmental tax exemption

Laws - The Government has issued decisions on reduction of land-use rental costs, digital signature certification and environmental tax exemption.

Manufacturers enjoy lower rent

The Government issued Decision No 2093/QD-TTg on November 23 to reduce businesses' land use rental costs for 2011 and 2012. Enterprises conducting manufacturing businesses will enjoy a 50-per-cent reduction in rentals for leased land which is paid annually according to calculations under Decree No 121/2010/ND-CP. The land rent charge is reduced only when such entities (i) have the proper and lawful use of the leased land, and (ii) have been subject to statutory increases in land rent charges at least twice in 2010. However, the reduced land rent charge cannot be lower than the land rent charge in 2010. If the reduced charge remains twice the 2010 charge or more, the payable charge will be reduced to twice the 2010 charge. The new decision takes effect immediately.

New regulations on digital signature certification

The Government issued Decree No 106/2011/ND-CP on November 23 amending Decree No 26/2007/ND-CP of February 2007, issued to implement provisions of the Law on Electronic Transactions on digital signatures and digital signature certification services. Under Decree No 106, the public digital signature is the digital signature created by subscribers using digital certificates issued by an organization providing digital signature certification services. A specialized digital signature is a digital signature created by the subscriber under the digital certificate.

Under Decree No 106, the organizations providing digital signature certification services are only required to assure that technical, managerial, operating, security and customer service staff are qualified and have never been condemned. They are no longer required to have specialized legal knowledge. Decree No 106 takes effect on February 1, 2012.

Exemptions granted from environmental taxes

The Ministry of Finance issued Circular No 152/2011/TT-BTC on November 11, providing regulations under the Law on the Environmental Protection Tax and Government Decree No 67/2011/ND-CP of August 8, 2011. Under Circular No 152, goods which are not defined in Article 3 of the Law on the Environmental Protection Tax, Article 2 of Decree No 67 and Article 1 of Circular 152 are not subject to environmental protection taxes, provided that (i) such goods are transported from the exporting country to importing country through a border gate of Vietnam and transited through the border gate (including goods brought into bonded warehouses) without undergoing import procedures into Vietnam or export procedures out of Vietnam; or (ii) such goods are transited through a border gate of Vietnam on the basis of the agreements signed between the Government of Vietnam and foreign governments or between agencies or representatives authorized by the government of Vietnam and foreign governments under provisions of law; or (iii) such goods temporarily imported for re-export are within the time limit as prescribed by law; or (iv) such goods are exported abroad by manufacturers or processors or their licensees, except for organizations, households and individuals purchasing goods subject to environmental tax in order to export them.

Organizations and individuals producing and trading in petroleum products will not have to declare or pay environmental protection taxes for gasoline which was declared prior to January 1, 2012.

The circular takes effect on January 1 and replaces Circular No 06/2001/TT-BTC of January 17, 2001; Circular No 63/2001/TT-BTC of August 09, 2001; Circular No 70/2002/TT-BTC of August 19, 2002; and provisions on tax management of fuel in Circular No 28/2011/TT-BTC of February 28, 2011.