Joint Circular No. 01/2008/TTLT/BNV-BTC guiding the implementation of Government Decree No. 19/2008/NĐ-CP dated February 14, 2008, stipulating the allowance system for responsibility in anti-corruption activities.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Decree No. 19/2008/NĐ-CP dated February 14, 2008 of the Government on the allowance system for responsibility in anti-corruption activities

Pursuant to Decree No. 19/2008/NĐ-CP dated February 14, 2008 of the Government on the allowance system for responsibility in anti-corruption activities; the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Finance provide guidelines for implementing the allowance system for responsibility in anti-corruption activities and the remuneration system for cases of being temporarily assigned or summoned with a fixed term to perform anti-corruption tasks as follows:

I. ALLOWANCE SYSTEM FOR RESPONSIBILITY IN ANTI-CORRUPTION ACTIVITIES

1. Objectives and scope of application

a) Members of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption (hereinafter referred to as members of the Central Steering Committee);

b) Members of the Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption at provincial level (hereinafter referred to as members of the provincial Steering Committee);

c) Staff, civil servants, and officials under the dedicated establishment of the Office of the Central Steering Committee;

d) Staff, civil servants, and officials under the dedicated establishment of the working group assisting the provincial Steering Committee.

a) The subject holding a certain position or appointed to a specific rank shall enjoy the allowance for responsibility in anti-corruption activities (hereinafter referred to as the allowance for responsibility) according to that position or rank;

b) Members of the Central Steering Committee and provincial Steering Committee who cease performing their duties as members of the Steering Committee and staff, civil servants, and officials of the Steering Committee who transfer out of the establishment of the Office of the Central Steering Committee and the working group assisting the provincial Steering Committee shall cease to enjoy the allowance for responsibility from the month immediately following the month in which the competent authority makes the decision;

c) Subjects mentioned in Clause 1 Section I of this Circular, during the period of suspension from work pursuant to the decision of the competent authority, shall be implemented in accordance with Clause 4 Article 10 of Decree No. 35/2005/NĐ-CP dated March 17, 2005 of the Government on disciplinary measures for cadres and civil servants;

2. Principles of application

d) Subjects mentioned in Clause 1 Section I of this Circular shall not enjoy the allowance for responsibility in the following cases:

Time spent abroad on official business, work, or study receiving 40% of salary as stipulated in Clause 4 Article 8 of Decree No. 204/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 14, 2004 of the Government on the wage system for cadres, civil servants, officials, and armed forces;

Time spent studying in Vietnam without directly participating in anti-corruption activities for three consecutive months or more;

Time off for personal reasons without pay for one consecutive month or more;

Time off due to illness or maternity leave exceeding the prescribed period under the Law on Social Insurance.

3. Rate of allowance for responsibility

a) Subjects specified in Clause 1 Section I of this Circular under the establishment of the Office of the Central Steering Committee or under the establishment of the working group assisting the provincial Steering Committee shall apply the allowance for responsibility as a percentage (%) of the current salary plus leadership position allowance and seniority allowance beyond the ceiling (if applicable) as follows:

A rate of 20% applies to cadres with a salary grade equivalent to Minister and above; senior experts; civil servants and officials with a grade equivalent to Senior Specialist and above;

A rate of 25% applies to civil servants and officials with a grade equivalent to Principal Specialist and above;

A rate of 30% applies to civil servants and officials with a grade equivalent to Specialist and below.

b) Members of the Central Steering Committee not under the establishment of the Office of the Central Steering Committee and members of the provincial Steering Committee not under the establishment of the working group assisting the provincial Steering Committee shall apply the allowance for responsibility as a coefficient relative to the minimum wage as follows:

A rate of 1.0 applies to members of the Central Steering Committee not under the establishment of the Office of the Central Steering Committee;

A rate of 0.8 applies to members of the provincial Steering Committee not under the establishment of the working group assisting the provincial Steering Committee.

4. Calculation method

a) The amount of allowance for responsibility calculated as a percentage (%) of the current salary plus leadership position allowance and seniority allowance beyond the ceiling (if applicable) as stipulated in Point a Clause 3 Section I of this Circular shall be calculated using the following formula:

Amount of allowance for responsibility

Salary coefficient of the position held or salary coefficient according to the current grade and step plus the coefficient of leadership position allowance and % (converted to coefficient) of seniority allowance beyond the ceiling currently enjoyed (if applicable)

Minimum wage at the corresponding time

Cases of being temporarily assigned or summoned with a fixed term to perform anti-corruption tasks according to the decision of the Head of the Central Steering Committee or the decision of the Head of the provincial Steering Committee (hereinafter referred to as temporary assignment or summoning) shall be applied the remuneration system as follows during the period of temporary assignment or summoning:

a) If currently holding a salary coefficient of 7.30 (equivalent to the rank of Senior Colonel) or higher, then the remuneration shall be applied at the level of the allowance for responsibility for a Senior Specialist who is temporarily assigned or summoned.

b) If currently holding a salary coefficient of 6.00 (equivalent to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel) to less than 7.30, then the remuneration shall be applied at the level of the allowance for responsibility for a Principal Specialist who is temporarily assigned or summoned.

c) If currently holding a salary coefficient of less than 6.00, then the remuneration shall be applied at the level of the allowance for responsibility for a Specialist who is temporarily assigned or summoned.

In cases where individuals are temporarily assigned or summoned to participate in anti-corruption tasks pursuant to the decision of the Head of the Central Steering Committee or the decision of the Head of the Provincial Steering Committee (hereinafter referred to as temporary assignment or summoning), during the period of temporary assignment or summoning, the following remuneration system shall be applied:

1. In cases where the temporarily assigned or summoned individual is an officer or professional soldier belonging to the People's Army; an operational officer or technical specialist officer belonging to the People's Public Security, the corresponding remuneration system shall be calculated as follows:

a) If currently holding a salary coefficient of 7.30 or higher (equivalent to the rank of Senior Lieutenant Colonel), the remuneration system shall be applied according to the responsibility allowance level of a senior specialist who is temporarily assigned or summoned.

b) If currently holding a salary coefficient from 6.00 (equivalent to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel) to below 7.30, the remuneration system shall be applied according to the responsibility allowance level of a main specialist who is temporarily assigned or summoned.

c) If currently holding a salary coefficient below 6.00, the remuneration system shall be applied according to the responsibility allowance level of a specialist who is temporarily assigned or summoned.

2. Officials, civil servants, and public employees who are temporarily assigned, summoned, or in other cases as stipulated in Clause 1, Section II herein shall be entitled to remuneration in the following circumstances:

a) If they have not yet been granted responsibility allowances or occupational preference allowances or special allowances (excluding seniority allowances for occupations) of the military or police (hereinafter referred to collectively as occupational allowances), then they shall be entitled to a remuneration amount equivalent to the corresponding responsibility allowance level based on their current position or rank according to the guidelines set forth in this Circular.

Example 1: Mr. Nguyen Van A, a Senior Specialist Officer and Director of Department under Ministry N, was summoned with a term from September 1, 2007 to April 30, 2008 to participate in anti-corruption tasks pursuant to the decision of the Central Steering Committee's Head. Mr. A currently holds Rank 5 with a salary coefficient of 7.64 for the Senior Specialist Officer rank (code 01.001) and receives a leadership position allowance coefficient of 1.00.

The remuneration amount that Mr. A is entitled to from September 2007 to December 2007 is:

(7.64 + 1.00) x 450,000 VND/month x 20% = 777,600 VND/month.

The remuneration amount that Mr. A is entitled to from January 2008 to April 2008 is:

(7.64 + 1.00) x 540,000 VND/month x 20% = 933,120 VND/month.

Example 2: Ms. Tran Thi H, a Military Officer of the rank of Major (current salary coefficient 6.60), was temporarily assigned with a term from January 1, 2008 to participate in anti-corruption tasks pursuant to the decision of the Provincial Steering Committee's Head K.

According to the provisions of Point b, Clause 1, Section II herein, her remuneration amount shall be calculated at the level of the responsibility allowance for the Senior Specialist rank (25%). Therefore, Ms. H will be entitled to a remuneration amount from January 2008 as follows:

6.60 x 540,000 VND/month x 25% = 891,000 VND/month.

b) If they are already receiving occupational allowances but the total salary (including leadership position allowances, seniority allowances for occupations, and seniority allowances exceeding the standard, if applicable) plus the current occupational allowance is lower than the total salary plus the corresponding responsibility allowance level based on their current position or rank according to the guidelines set forth in this Circular, then they shall be entitled to a remuneration amount equal to the lower difference.

III. SOURCE OF FUNDS AND METHOD OF PAYMENT

1. Funding sources

The source of funds for paying responsibility allowances and remuneration for officials, civil servants, and public employees who are temporarily assigned or summoned as guided by this Circular shall be allocated within the annual state budget estimate of the Central Steering Committee Office for Anti-Corruption and the People's Committee Office of provinces and centrally-administered cities according to the State Budget Law.

2. Method of payment

a) Responsibility allowances shall be paid together with monthly salaries and settled according to the current financial management regulations.

b) Responsibility allowances shall not be used to calculate contributions or benefits under social insurance and health insurance schemes.

c) The method of paying remuneration for officials, civil servants, and public employees who are temporarily assigned or summoned for less than a full month as guided by Section II of this Circular shall be carried out as follows:

If the period of temporary assignment or summoning is 11 working days or more, then the full-month remuneration shall be applied; if it is less than 11 working days, then half-month remuneration shall be applied.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular shall take effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. The time point for enjoying responsibility allowances in anti-corruption activities and remuneration for officials, civil servants, and public employees who are temporarily assigned or summoned as guided by this Circular shall be determined as follows:

a) For members of the Central Steering Committee, the entitlement shall start from the date when Resolution No. 1039/2006/NQ-UBTVQH11 dated August 28, 2006 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on the organization, functions, powers, and operational rules of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption becomes effective.

b) For officials, civil servants, and public employees under the dedicated staff of the Central Steering Committee Office and those temporarily assigned or summoned pursuant to the decision of the Central Steering Committee's Head, the entitlement shall start from the date when Decision No. 13/2007/QD-TTg dated January 24, 2007 of the Prime Minister on the establishment, functions, powers, organizational structure, and operational rules of the Central Steering Committee Office for Anti-Corruption becomes effective.

c) For members of the provincial Steering Committees and officials, civil servants, and public employees under the dedicated staff of the provincial Steering Committee's assisting units and those temporarily assigned or summoned pursuant to the decision of the provincial Steering Committee's Head, the entitlement shall start from the date when Resolution No. 294A/2007/UBTVQH12 dated September 27, 2007 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on the organization, functions, powers, and operational rules of the provincial Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption becomes effective.

d) In cases stipulated in Point a, b, and c, Clause 2, Section IV of this Circular, where the competent authority's decision is made after the relevant documents become effective, the entitlement to responsibility allowances in anti-corruption activities and remuneration (if applicable) for those temporarily assigned or summoned shall start from the date of the competent authority's decision.

During implementation, if there are any difficulties, ministries, sectors, and localities should report to the Ministry of Home Affairs for coordination with the Ministry of Finance to study and resolve them./.