Forced to pay back more than 1.7 billion VND
According to the report of the Department of Agriculture and Environment (DARD), in 2019, Quoc Han Company Limited exploited and declared and paid resource tax and environmental protection fees for 453m3 of blasted rock (rock) and 31,596m3 of landfill soil at the Phuoc Dong Residential Area Project (Phuoc Dong Commune, Nha Trang City). However, the company did not register the area, capacity, volume, equipment method and plan for exploiting minerals for common construction materials in the project area according to the provisions of the Law on Minerals; not declaring and calculating the mineral exploitation right fee according to Decree No. 203, dated November 28, 2013 of the Government stipulating the method of calculation, the level of collection of mineral exploitation right fee and the method of conversion from the price of calculating the resource tax to determine the price of calculating the mineral exploitation right fee, sending it to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (now the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) for appraisal and submitting it to the Provincial People's Committee for approval. The above-mentioned behavior of the company violated the law on minerals and was administratively sanctioned according to the provisions of the law.
Project implementation area Phuoc Dong Housing Area. |
Regarding the above violations, on February 7, 2024, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 433 requiring the implementation of remedial measures for administrative violations against Quoc Han Company Limited. The decision of the Provincial People's Committee requires the enterprise to return the illegal profits gained from exploiting minerals for common construction materials within the land area of the construction investment project approved or permitted by a competent state agency for investment, but the exploited products are not used to build that project without permission from a competent state agency that grants the mining license; the minerals after exploitation are sold to other organizations and individuals. The Provincial People's Committee requires Quoc Han Company Limited to return the illegal profits in the mineral sector with an amount of more than 1.7 billion VND. The implementation period is within 60 days from the date of receipt of this decision.
Temporary suspension of execution to resolve complaints
After receiving the decision, Quoc Han Company Limited complained that the Provincial People's Committee's issuance of Decision No. 433 forcing the company to return illegal profits of more than VND 1.7 billion without deducting the direct costs to obtain the minerals (soil and rocks used as common construction materials) was not in accordance with regulations. The company explained that it had provided invoices and documents related to the direct costs to obtain 1m3 of soil and rocks in 2019, with direct unit costs of more than VND 62,000/m3 of soil and more than VND 163,000/m3 of rocks. From there, the company determined the total direct costs for the volume of soil and rocks in violation to be more than VND 2 billion. The company proposed to deduct this amount when applying remedial measures according to Decision No. 433 of the Provincial People's Committee. According to the company's calculations, the direct cost of 1m3 of soil and rock is greater than the amount that must be paid back, so the company believes that paying more than 1.7 billion VND is incorrect.
However, according to the representative of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the unit price and amount calculated by Quoc Han Company Limited have not been appraised by the competent authority. The enterprise cited the calculation of the unit price of 1m3 of soil and rock in the document of the Department of Construction dated May 4, 2018 on the announcement of the results of the appraisal of the basic design of the construction drawings of the Phuoc Dong Residential Area. The Department of Agriculture and Environment said that the enterprise's citation was incorrect, because according to the document of the Department of Construction, it only appraised the design documents of the construction drawings of the technical infrastructure, not the unit price of digging soil and breaking rocks by blasting method. Therefore, the Department of Agriculture and Environment has no basis to deduct direct costs from the amount given by Quoc Han Company Limited. Therefore, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 433 in accordance with the provisions of law.
On February 26, Mr. Tran Hoa Nam - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee directly had a dialogue with the representative of Quoc Han Company Limited about the enterprise's complaint about Decision No. 433 of the Provincial People's Committee. After listening to the presentations of the relevant parties, Mr. Tran Hoa Nam assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment to submit to the Provincial People's Committee a decision to temporarily suspend the implementation of Decision No. 433 of the Provincial People's Committee; at the same time, coordinate with the Department of Finance, Department of Construction, and Quoc Han Company Limited to agree on determining the direct costs to obtain 1m3 of soil and rock in 2019 spent by the enterprise, thereby having a basis for deduction according to regulations when applying remedial measures according to Decision No. 433. On March 27, the Provincial People's Committee issued a Decision to temporarily suspend the implementation of Decision No. 433.
The representative of the Department of Agriculture and Environment said that after the Decision to temporarily suspend Decision No. 433 of the Provincial People's Committee, the Department is coordinating with departments, branches and sectors to work with Quoc Han Company Limited to clarify the direct costs for 1m3 of soil and rock in 2019 that the enterprise spent. In case the relevant parties do not agree, the Department will advise the Provincial People's Committee to seek opinions from the Department of Minerals, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, because currently the law does not have specific regulations for this case.
MANH HUNG
Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/xa-hoi/202506/xung-quanh-viec-khieu-nai-cua-chu-dau-tu-du-an-khu-nha-o-phuoc-dongco-quan-chuc-nang-dang-giai-quyet-30e0df3/
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