Enhancing corporate responsibility through dissemination of the decree on environmental protection charges for mineral exploitation

Recent studies have shown that mineral exploitation is one of the factors contributing to increased environmental pollution, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion. Therefore, strengthening the management of mineral exploitation, including enhancing the effectiveness of charge collection and mobilizing additional financial resource for environmental protection at extraction sites, is an urgent and practical requirement. According to Decree 164/2016/ND-CP, businesses involved in mineral exploitation are required to pay Environmental Protection Charges. Statistics show that from 2017 to 2020, the state budget collected over 3,000 billion VND annually from environmental protection charges, contributing to prevention efforts, limiting adverse impacts, and addressing environmental degradation and pollution.

To address shortcomings of Decree 164/2016/ND-CP, the government issued Decree 27/2023/ND-CP, which amends and supplements regulations related to the scope of application, charge-paying entities, charge collection authorities, charge calculation methods, declaration, payment, management, and utilization of environmental protection charges for mineral exploitation, as well as the charge framework for certain types of minerals.

Under the project "Strengthening Public Financial Management in Viet Nam," co-funded by the European Union and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Ministry of Finance of Viet Nam and GIZ have recently organized a workshop in Ha Long city to disseminate Decree 27/2023/ND-CP, providing detailed guidance on the new regulations. The workshop enables localities to implement the regulations correctly.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, Deputy Director General of the Tax Policy Department at the Ministry of Finance, stated: "The new decree will contribute to raising awareness and environmental responsibility among organizations and individuals involved in mineral exploitation, limiting negative impacts on the environment, avoiding resource waste, and encouraging businesses to invest in and apply advanced technical technologies. Additionally, the publication of environmental protection charge amounts for mineral exploitation on the Electronic Portal of the Tax Department and the Provincial People's Committee, as specified in Decree 27, ensures the transparency and openness of the policy. It also supports citizens' participation in monitoring and overseeing the implementation."