New proposal for appraisal fee for granting karaoke and disco business licenses

New proposal for appraisal fee for granting karaoke and disco business licenses - Photo 1.

The Ministry of Finance proposes new regulations on collection rates, collection and payment regimes for appraisal fees for granting karaoke and discotheque business licenses.

The Ministry of Finance said that, based on the Law on Fees and Charges, on the proposal of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular No. 01/2021/TT-BTC. Which stipulates: (i) the fee collection organization is the state management agency of culture at the district level; (ii) the fee collection level in centrally run cities and in provincial cities and towns.

On April 14, 2025, the National Assembly Standing Committee issued Resolution No. 76/2025/UBTVQH15 on the arrangement of administrative units in 2025. Accordingly, the arrangement and reorganization of administrative units at all levels and the establishment of a two-level local government organization (provincial and communal levels) will affect the regulations on fee collection and fee collection levels for appraisal of karaoke and discotheque business licenses in Circular No. 01/2021/TT-BTC.

Clause 1, Section V of the Plan attached to Decision No. 1616/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister stipulates: abolishing the appraisal fee for granting licenses to qualify for karaoke business in cities and towns under provincial authority and reducing the appraisal fee for granting licenses to qualify for karaoke business in other areas. Thus, it is necessary to amend the regulations on fee collection levels in Circular No. 01/2021/TT-BTC accordingly.

On June 25, 2025, the National Assembly passed the State Budget Law (NSNN) No. 89/2025/QH15 (effective from January 1, 2026). The 2025 State Budget Law amended the regulations on fees collected by state agencies to be fully paid to the State budget. Therefore, it is necessary to amend the regulations on fee management and use in Circular No. 01/2021/TT-BTC to comply with the 2025 State Budget Law.

About the fee payer

According to the Ministry of Finance, Article 2 of Circular No. 01/2021/TT-BTC stipulates: " Enterprises and business households, when submitting applications to competent state management agencies to grant licenses to meet the conditions for karaoke or discotheque business, must pay fees according to the provisions of this Circular. "

Through the implementation assessment, the content of the regulation on fee payers does not arise any problems, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism does not propose any amendments. Therefore, the draft Circular retains this regulation.

About toll collection organization

The Ministry of Finance said that in Article 3 of Circular No. 01/2021/TT-BTC, it is stipulated: "The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism; the Department of Culture and Sports or the Department of Culture, Information, Sports and Tourism of provinces and centrally run cities or the state management agency of culture at the district level are decentralized and authorized to grant licenses for eligibility to conduct karaoke services or discotheque services according to the law and collect fees according to the provisions of this Circular. "

On June 16, 2025, the National Assembly passed the Law on Organization of Local Government (amended), effective from July 1, 2025. Clause 1, Article 1 of the Law on Organization of Local Government stipulates that administrative units are organized into 02 levels, including: (i) Provinces and centrally run cities (provincial level); (ii) Communes, wards, and special zones directly under the provincial level (commune level). Thus, administrative units below the provincial level no longer have district level.

Currently, the Circulars on fee and charge collection all regulate the fee and charge collection organization in a way that does not mention the specific name of the fee and charge collection organization but cites the provisions of specialized laws to ensure the stability of legal documents, avoiding the need to amend the Circular when there is a change in the fee and charge collection organization, as well as rearranging the organizational structure of the units.

Therefore, in Article 3 of the draft Circular, it is proposed to amend the regulations on fee collection organization as follows: " The competent state agency that grants licenses for eligibility to conduct karaoke services or discotheque services in accordance with the provisions of law on karaoke services and discotheque services is the fee collection organization as prescribed in this Circular. "

About the fee

According to the Ministry of Finance, Article 4 of Circular No. 01/2021/TT-BTC stipulates the fee collection level as follows:

TT number	Fee type	In centrally run cities and provincial cities and towns	In other areas
1	Appraisal fee for granting license to qualify for karaoke service business	4,000,000 - 12,000,000 VND/paper depending on the number of rooms	2,000,000 - 6,000,000 VND/paper depending on the number of rooms
2	Fee for appraisal and adjustment of karaoke business eligibility license in case of adding more rooms	2,000,000 VND/room, but the total collection does not exceed 12,000,000 VND/license/appraisal	1,000,000 VND/room, but the total collection does not exceed 6,000,000 VND/license/appraisal
3	Fee for appraisal and issuance of license to qualify for nightclub business	15,000,000 VND/paper	10,000,000 VND/paper
4	Fee for appraisal and adjustment of business eligibility license for karaoke services or discotheque services in case of change of ownership	500,000 VND/paper

Thus, the average fee for appraisal and granting of a license to operate karaoke services is: (i) From 1,200,000 - 4,000,000 VND/room for centrally-run cities and provincial cities and towns; (ii) From 600,000 - 2,000,000 VND/room for other areas.

Meanwhile, the appraisal fee for the case of adding more rooms is: (i) VND 2,000,000/room, but the total collection does not exceed VND 12,000,000/license/appraisal; (ii) VND 1,000,000/room, but the total collection does not exceed VND 6,000,000/license/appraisal.

According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 1 of the Law on Organization of Local Government, administrative units below the provincial level are no longer cities or towns under provincial authority. From July 1, 2025, cities and towns under provincial authority will be converted into wards and communes under provincial authority.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism: (i) karaoke and discotheque businesses are mainly located in centrally run cities and provincial cities and towns; (ii) the unification of one fee level (regardless of region) ensures that it is not dependent on geographical location, ensuring consistency, simplicity and transparency. Therefore, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has proposed to regulate one fee level in the direction of inheriting the fee levels in centrally run cities and provincial cities and towns.

In the spirit of reducing and simplifying administrative procedures to support and facilitate production and business activities of people and enterprises, the draft Circular only stipulates 01 collection level (not dividing the collection level by region and not dividing by the number of rooms) in the direction of inheriting the appraisal fee level for cases of adding more rooms in other regions, specifically as follows:

The fee for appraisal and issuance of a license to operate karaoke services is 1,000,000 VND/room, but the total fee cannot exceed 6,000,000 VND/license.

The fee for appraisal and issuance of a license to operate a discotheque is 10,000,000 VND/license.

Adjusted appraisal fee level:

License for eligibility to operate karaoke services or discotheque services in case of change of ownership: VND 500,000/license.

The license to operate karaoke services in case of adding more rooms is 1,000,000 VND/room, but the total fee does not exceed 6,000,000 VND/license/assessment.

According to data provided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in 2024: (1) for karaoke services: 869 new licenses were issued, 415 licenses were adjusted; (2) for discotheque services: 04 new licenses were issued, 01 license was adjusted. Thus, the estimated state budget revenue in 2024 is about 8 billion.

With the proposed collection level of the Ministry of Finance, it is expected that in 2026 the collected fees will decrease (about 1-2 billion) compared to the collection in 2024.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/de-xuat-moi-muc-thu-phi-tham-dinh-cap-giay-phep-kinh-doanh-karaoke-vu-truong-5060148.html