Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. Scope and regulated entities
1. Scope: This Circular provides for mechanisms and policies for management of service charges at Vietnamese seaports, which include: maximum charges for pilotage service; charge bracket for use of wharves, docks and mooring buoys; charge bracket for container handling services; charge bracket for towage services (hereinafter referred to as “seaport service charges”).
2. Regulated entities: This Circular applies to Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals related to provision and use of services at Vietnamese seaports.
Article 2. Interpretation of terms
For the purposes of this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:
1. “special purpose vessel used in petroleum industry” (hereinafter referred to as “the oil vessel”) means a vessel that serves petroleum exploration and extraction or engages in activities related to petroleum industry.
2. “tugboat” means a boat designed and registered to tow and assist vessels in entering and leaving wharves, docks and mooring buoys.
3. “exports” mean commodities whose place of delivery (origin) is Vietnam and place of receipt (destination) is overseas.
4. “imports” mean commodities whose place of delivery (origin) is overseas and place of receipt (destination) is Vietnam.
5. “transshipped commodities” mean merchandise carried from abroad to a seaport of Vietnam and preserved in a transshipment area of the seaport in a certain period before being loaded onto and carried by a vessel out of Vietnam’s territory.
6. “commodities in transit” mean merchandise whose place of delivery (origin) and place of receipt (destination) are outside Vietnam’s territory and which pass through or are handled at a seaport of Vietnam or are stored in a warehouse to continue their excursion.
7. "pilotage trip” means a maritime pilot’s continuous maneuvering of a vessel from the position at which the pilot boards the vessel to the position at which he/she disembarks as per regulations.
8. “visit” means a vessel’s 01 entry into and subsequent exit from a maritime zone, which is considered one visit.
9. “waterway route between a mainland’s coast and an island” means a waterway route of transport between a mainland’s coast and an island in a territorial water of Vietnam, which is made public as prescribed by law.
Article 3. Vessels, commodities, and passengers on which seaport service charges are levied
1. The seaport service charges shall be levied on the following international maritime vessels, commodities, and passengers:
a) Vessels that enter, exit, transit or anchor in maritime zones; and the foreign vessels that operate in Vietnamese waters that are not part of seaport waters;
b) Vessels that carry imports, exports, commodities transshipped or in transit in maritime zones;
c) Passenger vessels departing from Vietnam for a foreign country or vice versa; special purpose vessels which operate on international voyages entering, exiting, transiting or anchoring in maritime zones;
d) Imports, exports, commodities transshipped or in transit that are loaded, unloaded, delivered, preserved and stored in maritime zones;
dd) Passengers on passenger vessels departing from a foreign country to Vietnam (or vice versa) by sea or by inland waterway through maritime zones.
2. The seaport service charges shall be levied on the following domestic maritime vessels and commodities:
a) Domestic marine vessels that enter, exit, pass through or anchor in maritime zones;
b) Domestic maritime vessels that carry cargoes and passengers enter, exit, pass through or anchor in maritime zones;
c) Vessels that operate on waterway routes between mainland’s coasts and islands;
d) Domestic cargoes that are loaded, unloaded, delivered, preserved and stored in maritime zones;
dd) Oil vessels which operate at offshore platforms and at the ports specialized in petroleum industry (hereinafter referred to as “petroleum ports”) under the management of a maritime port authority.
3. Service charges shall not be levied on state-owned vessels in accordance with regulations of this Circular.
4. Charges for pilotage service and use of wharves, docks and mooring buoys shall not be levied on vessels that enter or leave a port to avoid storms or transfer people in distress at sea without commodity handling, discharge or embarkation of passengers, provided that the event is confirmed by the port authority; vessels that participate in rescue and salvage or in combating against a storm, flood or natural disaster under an order or endorsement of a competent government authority.
Article 4. Principles of seaport service pricing
In accordance with applicable laws on seaport service pricing, the service quality and the market conditions, the providers of seaport services shall specify their charges but not exceeding the maximum charges for pilotage service; or within the charge bracket for use of wharves, docks and mooring buoys; the charge bracket for container handling services; and the charge bracket for towage services according to the decision of the Minister of Transport.
Article 5. Currency
1. The charges for pilotage service, use of wharves, docks and mooring buoys, container handling services and towage service shall be levied on international vessels in Vietnam Dong or United States Dollar.
2. The charges for pilotage service, use of wharves, docks and mooring buoys, container handling services and towage service shall be levied on domestic vessels in Vietnam Dong.
3. The conversion of United States Dollar to Vietnam Dong shall be made as prescribed by law.
Article 6. Pricing unit and number rounding
1. Unit of volume: Gross tonnage (GT) is one of the basic units for pricing of seaport services. If the GT of a vessel is not specified, the conversion method that results in the largest GT shall apply. To be specific:
a) Ocean-going ships and self-propelled inland waterway vehicles: 1,5 deadweight tonnes shall be equivalent to 01 GT;
b) Barges: 01 deadweight tonne shall be equivalent to 01 GT;
c) Tugboats, passenger vessels (including seaplanes) and crane vessels: 01 horse power (HP, CV) shall be equivalent to 0,5 GT; 01 kW shall be equivalent to 0,7 GT; 01 tonne in a crane vessel’s hoisting capacity shall be equivalent to 06 GT;
d) Passenger vessels whose engine power is not specified: 01 passenger seat shall be equivalent to 0,67 GT; 01 berth shall be equivalent to 04 GT;
dd) The gross tonnage of all barges, towboats or tugboats in a fleet of tugboats, towboats or pusher boats shall total up that of the fleet.
2. Unit of engine power: The unit of a vessel’s main engine power shall be HP, CV or KW and rounded up to the nearest integer.
3. Unit of time:
a) Day: 01 day equals 24 hours; a period of 12 hours or less shall be considered 0,5 day, while a period of more than 12 hours shall be considered 01 day;
b) Hour: 01 hour equals 60 minutes; a period of 30 minutes or less shall be considered 0,5 hour, while a period of more than 30 minutes shall be considered 01 hour.
4. The unit of weight of goods (with packing) is tonne or cubic meter (m3) and shall be rounded to the nearest integer (rounded down if the digit in the tenths place is less than 5; rounded up if the digit in the tenths place is 5 or greater). In a single bill of lading, the minimum chargeable weight shall be 01 tonne or 01 m3. If each tonne of goods occupies 02 m3 or more, every 02 m3 occupied shall be converted to 01 tonne.
5. The unit of distance is nautical mile (NM) and rounded up to the nearest integer.
6. The pricing unit for a wharf, dock or mooring buoy is meter (m) of wharf, dock or mooring buoy, and rounded up to the nearest integer.
Article 7. Division of seaport regions
Regarding container handling services and towage service, Vietnam’s seaport system is divided into 03 following regions:
1. Region I: seaports located on 20 degrees north latitude, including seaports from Quang Ninh to Nam Dinh.
2. Region II: seaports located between 11,5 degrees latitude and 20 degrees latitude, including seaports in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan.
3. Region III: seaports located on 11,5 degrees south latitude, including seaports in Ho Chi Minh city, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Dong Thap, Can Tho, An Giang, Vinh Long, Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Long An, Soc Trang and Tra Vinh.
Tìm kiếm
Thông tư 12/2024/TT-BGTVT (Bản Word)
Thông tư 12/2024/TT-BGTVT (Bản Pdf)