Shall public service providers generating domestic wastewater pay environmental protection fees in Vietnam?

Shall public service providers generating domestic wastewater pay environmental protection fees in Vietnam?

Based on Article 2 of Decree 53/2020/ND-CP regulating environmental protection fees for wastewater, it is stipulated as follows:

Subjects Liable to Fees

1. Subjects liable to environmental protection fees as stipulated in this Decree include industrial wastewater discharged into a receiving source in accordance with the law and domestic wastewater, except in cases exempt from fees as stipulated in Article 5 of this Decree.

2. Industrial wastewater refers to wastewater from factories, locations, production bases, processing facilities (hereinafter collectively referred to as bases) of organizations, households, and individuals, including:

a) Production, processing bases: Agricultural products, forestry products, aquatic products, food, alcohol, beer, beverages, tobacco.

b) Livestock and poultry farming bases on a farm scale as per livestock regulations; slaughtering bases for livestock and poultry.

c) Aquaculture bases required to submit environmental impact assessment reports or environmental protection plans according to regulations.

d) Handicraft industry production bases in occupational villages.

dd) Bases: Leather tanning, leather recycling, textile, dyeing, garments.

e) Bases: Mining, mineral processing.

g) Production bases: Paper, pulp, plastic, rubber; components, electrical, electronic equipment;

h) Bases: Mechanical, metallurgy, metal processing, machinery manufacturing, and spare parts.

i) Bases: Preliminary processing of scrap, dismantling of old ships, cleaning tankers, waste treatment.

k) Bases: Basic chemicals, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, construction materials, stationery, household goods.

l) Clean water plants, power plants.

m) Centralized wastewater treatment systems in urban areas.

n) Centralized wastewater treatment systems in industrial parks, industrial clusters, export processing zones, economic zones, fishery ports, high-tech parks, and other areas.

o) Other production, processing bases that generate wastewater from production and processing activities.

3. Domestic wastewater is generated from the activities of:

a) Households, individuals.

b) State agencies, public service providers, people's armed forces units, other organizations (including head offices, branches, offices of these agencies, units, organizations), except production bases, processing bases under these agencies, units, organizations.

c) Bases: Car wash, motorcycle wash, car repair, motorcycle repair.

d) Medical examination, treatment bases; restaurants, hotels; training, research facilities.

đ) Business, service establishments not specified in Clause 2 of this Article.

Based on this regulation, domestic wastewater from state agencies, public service providers, people's armed forces units, or other organizations generating domestic wastewater is subject to tax, except production bases, processing bases under these agencies, units, organizations.

Therefore, public service providers generating domestic wastewater will be required to pay environmental protection fees according to the regulations.

Shall public service providers generating domestic wastewater pay environmental protection fees in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

Which organization collects environmental protection fees for wastewater in Vietnam?

According to Article 3 of Decree 53/2020/ND-CP, responsibility for collecting environmental protection fees for domestic wastewater generation is as follows:

- The Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Division of Natural Resources and Environment collects environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater from facilities under management within the locality. Based on actual management situations, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment reports to the People’s Committee of the province or centrally-run city to direct the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the Division of Natural Resources and Environment to organize the collection of environmental protection fees for wastewater from facilities within the locality.

- Water supply organizations collect environmental protection fees for domestic wastewater from organizations, households, and individuals using clean water supplied by them.

- The People's Committee of the ward, commune-level town collects environmental protection fees for domestic wastewater from business organizations, household businesses, and individual businesses in the locality that self-extract water for use.

What are exemption cases of environmental protection fee in Vietnam?

Based on Article 5 of Decree 53/2020/ND-CP, the following cases are exempt from environmental protection fees for wastewater:

- Water discharged from hydroelectric plants.

- Seawater used for salt production discharged.

- Domestic wastewater of:

+ Organizations, households, individuals in communes;

+ Organizations, households, individuals in wards, commune-level towns without clean water supply systems;

+ Households, individuals not engaging in business in wards, commune-level towns with clean water supply systems self-extracting water for use.

- Cooling water (as stipulated by environmental protection laws) not in direct contact with pollutants, having a separate outlet.

- Wastewater from natural rainwater overflow.

- Wastewater from fishing vessels of fishermen.

- Wastewater from centralized wastewater treatment systems in urban areas (as per Decree 80/2014/ND-CP) that has been treated to meet environmental standards before being discharged into the receiving source.