Four government agencies, including the Ministry of Finance ("MOF"), have recently jointly issued the Circular on Matters Concerning Ceasing Charging Some Administrative and Institutional Fees Including the Pollutant Discharge Fees (the "Circular").
The Circular stipulates that from January 1, 2018, the pollutant discharge fees and the fees charged for sewage discharged by maritime projects are no longer charged across the whole nation. In particular, the pollutant discharge fees include the fee for sewage, the fee for exhaust gas, the fee for solid and hazardous wastes, the fee for the noise higher than the upper limit, and the fee for volatile organic compounds; and the fees charged for sewage discharged by maritime projects include the fee for sewage from production activities and engine rooms, the fee for mud and cuttings from offshore drilling, the fee for domestic wastewater and the fee for domestic wastes. Furthermore, the Circular requires that all authorities responsible for collecting these fees shall collect the due pollutant discharge fees and the fees charged for sewage discharged by maritime projects before January 1, 2018, and lose no time in handling the settlement and collection issues, to ensure all fees due have been successfully collected. Meanwhile, they have to go through formalities at finance departments in accordance with applicable rules to have the financial bills handed in and written off.