It is difficult to collect environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater.

(Baonghean) - Environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater are regulated by Government Decree No. 25/2013/ND-CP, dated March 29, 2013, building upon and amending several previous documents. However, the collection of industrial wastewater fees in the province has been very limited in recent times.

A multi-agency working group from the province inspected the wastewater treatment system at the Trang An confectionery factory (Cua Lo town).

The payment of industrial wastewater fees is a legally mandated requirement for all production facilities. However, in recent times, many facilities have deliberately evaded payment; even after repeated inspections, reminders, and notices from authorities regarding the obligation to pay environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater, many units have been negligent. According to a report from the Provincial Environmental Protection Department, from January to September 2014, the unit guided the declaration, assessment, and notification of fee payment for 395 production and business establishments in the province. However, as of October 20, 2014, only over 908 million VND had been collected throughout the province, and 209 out of 395 establishments had either not paid or had only partially paid. In particular, some businesses have owed fees since 2005; some units, such as Thai Duong Foreign Pig Breeding Company Limited, have received payment notices for the second and third time but still haven't paid. Thus, our province is losing a significant amount of budget allocated for environmental protection, remediation, and pollution control. Furthermore, this creates unfairness in fulfilling obligations and responsibilities between fee-paying and non-paying establishments, undermining the strict enforcement of the law.

Explaining why the number of production facilities inspected, assessed, guided, and notified to pay fees is only in the hundreds, while the total number of production and business establishments in the entire province is in the thousands, Mr. Hoang Manh Trinh - Head of the Pollution Control Department, Provincial Environmental Protection Agency, said: Due to the frequent changes in production and business establishments in recent years, with some being established and then dissolved, or having headquarters but not operating...; meanwhile, the department's workforce assigned to handle procedures and urge the collection of this fee fund is very small, making it impossible to conduct regular investigations and updates.

During our investigation, we also noted that, according to Government Decree No. 25 and Circular 06/2013 of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the subjects liable for fees are clearly defined; the method of calculation and the fee amount are changed based on the analysis of pollution levels from wastewater and wastewater flow to determine the fee for each facility. Regulations require accurate and complete calculation, not arbitrary decisions. To achieve accurate and complete calculation, it is necessary to establish a team to conduct inspections, assessments, and analyses. However, this could inadvertently cause a backlash from production facilities due to the excessive number of inspection teams throughout the year. For a long time, the inspections to determine the fee for each facility have been conducted in coordination with other inspection teams from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, rather than through independent inspections.

This also affects the identification of production facilities subject to fees, resulting in a modest number of facilities being notified (395 facilities). Another reason is the limited dissemination of environmental protection laws in general, including regulations on industrial wastewater fees for production and business establishments, leading to some businesses not being aware of their responsibilities and obligations. Coordination between relevant agencies has not been truly effective. For example, according to Government Decree No. 25 on responsibilities and obligations: The Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the District/County Department of Natural Resources and Environment are responsible for coordinating with relevant agencies to classify fee payers (including fixed and variable fees); appraise environmental protection fee declarations for industrial wastewater, issue notices of fees to be paid; and settle the amount of environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater paid by the fee payers...

In reality, this coordination has not been thorough and complete, leading to omissions of eligible entities and inaccurate fee determination. Similarly, the tax authorities, responsible for inspecting, monitoring, and settling the collection, payment, management, and use of environmental protection fees for wastewater from water supply units and local natural resources and environment agencies, have not yet performed their duties effectively.

During our investigation, we also learned that the collection and management of environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater is assigned by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to the Provincial Environmental Protection Sub-Department. However, in reality, the Environmental Protection Sub-Department has not been implementing this effectively for a long time. According to Mr. Truong Xuan Lieu – Head of the Natural Resources and Environment Department of Nghi Loc District: “Generally, businesses only focus on how to maximize profits and efficiency in production and business; however, voluntary compliance with environmental protection regulations is limited, and not all units are conscious of implementing them.”

Government Decree No. 25 is an important economic tool for functional agencies to implement and compel production facilities and businesses to comply. According to Mr. Truong Xuan Lieu, if the Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment authorizes the district-level Departments of Natural Resources and Environment to collect the fees, this revenue will increase significantly, because the district level is the closest and has the most accurate understanding of the subjects. This is also consistent with Government Decree 25, Article 8, Point d on implementation organization: “Based on the fee collection requirements of each locality and the management capacity of the district-level natural resources and environment agency, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment may report to the Provincial People's Committee to delegate to the district-level Departments of Natural Resources and Environment the collection of environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater in the area.”

The purpose of collecting industrial wastewater fees is to generate budget funds for environmental protection; to supplement the operating capital of the local Environmental Protection Fund for use in preventing, mitigating, and controlling environmental pollution from wastewater; and to organize technological and technical solutions for treating water pollution, contributing to sustainable development. However, the reality is that the collection of wastewater fees has not been very effective, requiring consideration of the responsibilities of the relevant parties.

Environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater are regulated by Government Decree No. 25/2013/ND-CP, dated March 29, 2013, building upon and amending several previous documents. However, the collection of industrial wastewater fees in the province has been very limited in recent times.

Wastewater treatment system at Nam Cam Industrial Park.

The payment of industrial wastewater fees is a legally mandated requirement for all production facilities. However, in recent times, many facilities have deliberately evaded payment; even after repeated inspections, reminders, and notices from authorities regarding the obligation to pay environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater, many units have been negligent. According to a report from the Provincial Environmental Protection Department, from January to September 2014, the unit guided the declaration, assessment, and notification of fee payment for 395 production and business establishments in the province. However, as of October 20, 2014, only over 908 million VND had been collected throughout the province, and 209 out of 395 establishments had either not paid or had only partially paid. In particular, some businesses have owed fees since 2005; some units, such as Thai Duong Foreign Pig Breeding Company Limited, have received payment notices for the second and third time but still haven't paid. Thus, our province is losing a significant amount of budget allocated for environmental protection, remediation, and pollution control. Furthermore, this creates unfairness in fulfilling obligations and responsibilities between fee-paying and non-paying establishments, undermining the strict enforcement of the law.

Explaining why the number of production facilities inspected, assessed, guided, and notified to pay fees is only in the hundreds, while the total number of production and business establishments in the entire province is in the thousands, Mr. Hoang Manh Trinh - Head of the Pollution Control Department, Provincial Environmental Protection Agency, said: Due to the frequent changes in production and business establishments in recent years, with some being established and then dissolved, or having headquarters but not operating...; meanwhile, the department's workforce assigned to handle procedures and urge the collection of this fee fund is very small, making it impossible to conduct regular investigations and updates.

During our investigation, we also noted that, according to Government Decree No. 25 and Circular 06/2013 of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the subjects liable for fees are clearly defined; the method of calculation and the fee amount are changed based on the analysis of pollution levels from wastewater and wastewater flow to determine the fee for each facility. Regulations require accurate and complete calculation, not arbitrary decisions. To achieve accurate and complete calculation, it is necessary to establish a team to conduct inspections, assessments, and analyses. However, this could inadvertently cause a backlash from production facilities due to the excessive number of inspection teams throughout the year. For a long time, the inspections to determine the fee for each facility have been conducted in coordination with other inspection teams from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, rather than through independent inspections. This also affects the identification of production facilities subject to the fee, resulting in a modest number of facilities being notified (395 facilities).

Another reason is that the dissemination and promotion of environmental protection laws in general, including regulations on industrial wastewater fees for production and business establishments, is still limited, leading to some businesses not being aware of their responsibilities and obligations. Coordination between relevant agencies has not been truly effective. For example, according to Government Decree No. 25 on responsibilities and obligations: The Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the District/County Department of Natural Resources and Environment are responsible for coordinating with relevant agencies to classify fee payers (including fixed and variable fees); appraising environmental protection fee declarations for industrial wastewater, issuing notices of fees to be paid; and settling the amount of environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater for fee payers... However, in reality, this coordination is not thorough and complete, leading to the omission of eligible entities and inaccurate fee determination. The tax authorities are responsible for inspecting, supervising, and settling the collection, payment, management, and use of environmental protection fees for wastewater from clean water supply units and local natural resources and environment agencies, but this has not been done well.

During our investigation, we also learned that the collection and management of environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater is assigned by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to the Provincial Environmental Protection Sub-Department. However, in reality, the Environmental Protection Sub-Department has not been implementing this effectively for a long time. According to Mr. Truong Xuan Lieu – Head of the Natural Resources and Environment Department of Nghi Loc District: “Generally, businesses only focus on how to maximize profits and efficiency in production and business; however, voluntary compliance with environmental protection regulations is limited, and not all units are conscious of implementing them. Government Decree No. 25 is an important economic tool for functional agencies to implement and compel production facilities and businesses to comply.”

According to Mr. Truong Xuan Lieu, if the Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment authorizes the district-level Departments of Natural Resources and Environment to collect the fees, this revenue will increase significantly, because the district level is the closest and has the most accurate understanding of the target group. This is also consistent with Government Decree 25, Article 8, Point d on implementation organization: "Based on the fee collection requirements of each locality and the management capacity of the district-level natural resources and environment agency, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment may report to the Provincial People's Committee to delegate to the district-level Departments of Natural Resources and Environment the collection of environmental protection fees for industrial wastewater in the area."

The purpose of collecting industrial wastewater fees is to generate budget funds for environmental protection; to supplement the operating capital of the local Environmental Protection Fund for use in preventing, mitigating, and controlling environmental pollution from wastewater; and to organize technological and technical solutions for treating water pollution, contributing to sustainable development. However, the reality is that the collection of wastewater fees has not been very effective, requiring consideration of the responsibilities of the relevant parties.

Minh Chi