Joint Circular No. 01/2008/TTLT-BTNMT-BTC guides the preparation of budgets for environmental protection work funded from environmental public service funds.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for preparing the budget for environmental protection work
from environmental public service funds

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Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, promulgated by the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;

Pursuant to Decree No. 80/2006/NĐ-CP dated August 9, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection; Decree No. 21/2008/NĐ-CP dated February 28, 2008 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 80/2006/NĐ-CP dated August 9, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection;

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Finance hereby issue guidelines for preparing the budget for environmental protection work from environmental public service funds as follows:

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

1. These guidelines provide guidance on preparing the budget for environmental public service funds to implement projects, programs, and tasks (hereinafter referred to collectively as projects), which are guaranteed by the central government budget and local government budgets according to the division of responsibilities stipulated in Circular Jointly Issued No. 114/2006/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT dated December 29, 2006 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment guiding the management of environmental public service funds (hereinafter referred to as Circular Jointly Issued No. 114/2006/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT).

2. The budget for environmental public service funds shall be prepared to include all expense items necessary to complete the work according to procedures, regulations, and technical requirements of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, or based on the content of the work, volume required to be implemented, and expenditure levels prescribed in current documents, and some specific expenditure levels prescribed in Circular Jointly Issued No. 114/2006/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT.

3. Settlement and finalization of accounts for environmental protection projects shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations.

II. METHODS FOR PREPARING THE BUDGET FOR PROJECTS, PROGRAMS, AND TASKS ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

A. Preparing the budget for projects with economic and technical norms, unit prices of products:

The budget for expenses is prepared based on the quantity of work multiplied (x) by the unit price of the product and other costs (if any).

1. The unit price of the product includes direct costs and general management costs.

1.1. Direct costs include: labor costs; material costs; tool and equipment costs; energy costs; fuel costs; depreciation costs of machinery and equipment.

a) Labor costs: include technical labor costs and general labor costs (if any) participating in the project.

- Technical labor costs = number (number of technical workers according to the norm) x (unit price of technical labor days).

The unit price of technical labor days includes: basic salary, supplementary salary, allowances, contributions based on salary, and other benefits for employees according to current regulations, including:

+ Monthly salary according to the technical level specified in the norm is implemented according to the wage coefficient issued in Decree No. 205/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 14, 2004 of the Government stipulating the wage scale, pay table, and allowance system in state-owned companies and the minimum wage according to current regulations.

+ Allowances according to the system include:

Allowance;

Supplementary salary: payment for holidays, meetings, training, calculated at 11% of the technical level salary;

Contributions (social insurance, health insurance, trade union fees): 19% of the technical level salary;

Other allowances according to current regulations (if any).

- General labor costs (if any) = (number of general workers according to the norm) x (unit price of general labor days).

The unit price of general labor days is based on the price of each locality.

b) Material costs: the value of main materials and auxiliary materials directly used during the implementation of the project.

Material costs = (Total quantity of each type of material according to the norm) x (unit price of each type of material), where:

- The quantity of materials is determined according to the material usage norm issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

- The unit price of materials (including VAT): based on the price of each locality.

c) Tool and equipment costs: the value of tools and equipment distributed during the implementation of the project.

Where:

The unit price of tools and equipment (including VAT): based on the price of each locality.

Number of uses and service life of tools and equipment according to the norm of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

d) Energy costs: the cost of energy used for machinery and equipment operation during the project participation period, calculated as follows:

đ) Fuel costs: for use during the implementation of the project.

Fuel costs = (quantity of fuel consumed according to the norm) x (fuel unit price).

Quantity of fuel consumed is determined according to the economic and technical norm issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Fuel unit price: based on the price of each locality.

e) Depreciation costs of machinery and equipment: the wear and tear of machinery and equipment used during the implementation of the project, determined according to the list of machines, number of machine uses according to the economic and technical norm issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the depreciation rate per machine shift.

Depreciation costs = (number of machine shifts according to the norm) x (depreciation rate per machine shift).

Where:

1.2. General management costs: determined as 20% of direct costs.

General management costs (indirect costs) are common expenses of the unit directly implementing the project, such as: salary costs and other wage-related costs (social insurance, health insurance, trade union fees) for the management staff; electricity, water, telephone, fuel, travel expenses, office supplies, tools, and equipment costs for the management staff; repair costs for equipment, tools, and equipment for public institutions (or depreciation costs of fixed assets serving the management staff for enterprises); relocation and accommodation costs for construction forces, product acceptance and handover costs of the unit directly implementing the project; conference costs for mid-year and year-end reviews of work and other management-related costs directly related to the environmental protection project implementation.

2. Other costs include construction, review, and approval costs for project outlines; sample survey form creation costs; seminar, project completion review costs, and other costs directly related to the environmental protection project, calculated based on specific workload and current state financial expenditure regulations.

The above budget preparation method applies to public institutions that fully self-fund their regular operational costs, and enterprises participating in the project implementation. When determining the budget for projects managed by state administrative agencies and public institutions with assigned staffing levels and regular operational funding from the state budget, the budget must deduct all funding allocated for the staffing level of the unit during the project implementation period (including salaries, wage supplements, contributions based on wages, and regular expenditures) and exclude depreciation costs of fixed assets.

The preparation of the project budget according to the cost structure set out in Appendix No. 01 issued together with this Circular.

B. Budget Preparation for Projects Without Economic and Technical Norms:

The budget is prepared based on specific workload, certain expenditure rates stipulated in Joint Circular No. 114/2006/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT, current state financial expenditure regulations, and approved by the competent authority.

Contents of expenditure include:

1. Direct Costs:

1.1. Labor Costs: including technical labor costs, outsourced labor costs, and general labor costs (if applicable) participating in the project implementation.

a) Technical labor costs = (number of required technical labor days) x (unit price of technical labor day).

Technical labor costs are based on basic salary, wage supplements, additional wages, and contributions of technical staff and employees of the unit directly implementing the project, including:

- Additional wages: payment for holidays, meetings, and training, calculated at 11% of the technical rank salary.

- Contributions (social insurance, health insurance, trade union fees): 19% of the technical rank salary.

Technical labor costs are only applicable to public institutions that fully fund their operational costs and enterprises participating in the project implementation.

b) Outsourced labor costs: calculated for necessary tasks that require hiring external units or individuals to perform.

Outsourced labor = (number of required outsourced labor days) x (unit price of outsourced labor).

c) General labor costs (if applicable) = (number of required outsourced labor days) x (unit price of general labor).

1.2. Material and Fuel Costs: the value of primary materials, secondary materials, and fuels directly used in the project implementation process.

Material and fuel costs = (quantity of materials needed) x (unit price of materials).

1.3. Tool and Equipment Costs: calculated based on the quantity required to directly serve the project and the actual local unit prices.

1.4. Energy Costs: calculated based on the quantity required for the project multiplied by the state-prescribed unit price.

1.5. Depreciation Costs of Machinery and Equipment (if applicable): wear and tear costs of machinery and equipment used in the project implementation process, determined based on the depreciation rate multiplied by the number of machine hours required (applicable only to enterprises).

1.6. Sample Analysis Costs (only applicable if the unit does not have sufficient conditions to conduct analysis and must hire external parties): based on current regulations regarding sample analysis pricing.

1.7. Travel Expenses for Staff Conducting Surveys and Investigations: based on current state regulations regarding travel allowances.

1.8. Special Topic Analysis and Evaluation Costs; Final Project Report Costs: based on current regulations.

1.9. Construction, Review, and Approval Costs for Project Outlines; Survey Form Creation Costs: based on project content and current financial expenditure regulations to prepare the budget.

1.10. Seminar and Project Completion Review Costs: based on current regulations.

2. General Management Costs:

General management costs (indirect costs) are common expenses of the unit directly implementing the project, such as: salary costs and other wage-related costs (social insurance, health insurance, trade union fees) for the management staff; electricity, water, telephone, fuel, travel expenses, office supplies, tools, and equipment costs for the management staff; repair costs for equipment, tools, and equipment for public institutions (or depreciation costs of fixed assets serving the management staff for enterprises); product acceptance and handover costs of the unit directly implementing the project; conference costs for mid-year and year-end reviews of the unit; other management-related costs directly related to the environmental protection project implementation.

General management costs are determined at a ratio of 20% of direct costs for public institutions that fully self-fund their operational costs and enterprises participating in the project implementation.

For state administrative agencies and public institutions receiving regular operational funding from the state budget and directly implementing environmental projects, general management costs are capped at VND 15 million/year/project, program, or proposal for projects with total direct costs up to VND 5 billion; for projects with total direct costs exceeding VND 5 billion, an additional VND 0.003 is added for each additional VND 1 billion.

3. Other Directly Related Project Costs (if applicable)

The preparation of the project budget according to the cost structure set out in Appendix No. 02 issued together with this Circular.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. Ministries and central agencies approve environmental protection projects funded by the central budget; People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities approve environmental protection projects funded by local budgets.

2. During implementation, if there are changes in policy, system, unit prices of products, or volume of work leading to changes in the project cost estimate, such changes shall be submitted to the competent authority for approval to adjust the environmental protection project cost estimate.

3. This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

4. During implementation, if any difficulties arise, units are requested to report them to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Finance for study and resolution.