Joint Circular No. 01/2010/TTLT-UBDT-BTC guiding the implementation of Decision No. 102/2009/QD-TTg dated August 7, 2009 of the Prime Minister on direct support policies for poor people in difficult areas.

JOINT CIRCULAR

||| Guidelines for Implementing Decision No. 102/2009/QĐ-TTg dated August 7, 2009 of the Prime Minister on direct support policies

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||| for poor households in difficult areas

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||| Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law; pursuant to Decision No. 102/2009/QĐ-TTg dated August 7, 2009 of the Prime Minister on direct support policies for people in poor households in difficult areas; the Inter-Ministerial Joint Circular of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities Affairs and the Ministry of Finance provides guidance as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

||| Article 1. Scope and Objectives of Support.

1 ||| The scope benefiting from the direct support policy is the difficult area defined in Decision No. 30/2007/QĐ-TTg dated March 5, 2007 of the Prime Minister promulgating the list of administrative units in difficult areas, including villages in Zone II, border villages, coastal villages, island villages, and villages in Zone III.

2 ||| The subjects eligible to receive direct support from the State are people in poor households according to Article 1 of Decision No. 102/2009/QĐ-TTg dated August 7, 2009 of the Prime Minister, who must meet the following two conditions:

a ||| Comply with the poverty standard as stipulated in Decision No. 170/2005/QĐ-TTg dated July 8, 2005 of the Prime Minister on the issuance of the poverty standard applicable for the period 2006-2010 and subsequent amendments and supplements (if any);

b ||| Must be registered with a household registration and reside legally within the difficult area.

PART II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

||| Article 2. Support Standards and Principles.

1 ||| Support Standards:

a ||| For people in poor households in villages in Zone II, border villages, coastal villages, and island villages in difficult areas, the support amount is VND 80,000 per person per year;

b ||| For people in poor households in villages in Zone III in difficult areas, the support amount is VND 100,000 per person per year.

2 ||| Support Principles:

a ||| The implementation of direct support for people in poor households in difficult areas shall not be lower than the support level specified in Decision No. 102/2009/QĐ-TTg dated August 7, 2009 of the Prime Minister;

b ||| Provincial People's Committees may provide support at a higher level based on the local budget capacity.

||| Article 3. Methods and Forms of Support.

1 ||| Methods and Forms of Support:

1.1 Method of Support: Implemented in accordance with Clause 1, Article 2 of Decision No. 102/2009/QĐ-TTg dated August 7, 2009 of the Prime Minister on direct support policies for people in poor households in difficult areas.

1.2 Form of Support: Based on the needs of the people and the actual conditions of implementing the policy in the locality, the Provincial People's Committee selects and decides on the form of support either in cash or in kind, as appropriate to the situation.

a ||| Cash Support:

The distribution of cash support is carried out on a per-poor-household basis based on the following criteria:

- List of individuals in the poor household;

- Directly distribute the full amount according to the standard to the head of the household or members of the household; in special cases where the poor household does not have someone to collect the money directly, they can issue a power of attorney for another person to collect on their behalf;

- The recipient must sign the list of poor households receiving cash support (Annex 1 attached) and must be confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune as the basis for settlement.

- The Provincial People's Committee directs the county and commune-level authorities to require poor households in difficult areas to actively use the support funds to purchase: planting seeds, animal breeding seeds, veterinary drugs, and iodized salt.

b ||| In-kind Support:

- The Provincial People's Committee decides on the list of items to be provided as support based on the needs of the beneficiaries and the actual conditions of the locality, including: planting seeds, animal breeding seeds, veterinary drugs, and iodized salt, ensuring that the quality of the items provided meets standards and preventing shortages that could affect the lives and production of the people.

- The Provincial People's Committee specifies the organization of purchasing and distributing in-kind support. Items are distributed based on the number of individuals in the poor household and the quantity and type of items previously registered with the People's Committee of the commune. The distribution of in-kind support must be timely and suitable for the agricultural season.

- The recipient must be the head of the household or a member of the household; in special cases where the household does not have someone to collect directly, they can issue a power of attorney for another person to collect on their behalf.

- The recipient must sign the list of poor households receiving in-kind support (Annex 2 attached) and must be confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune as the basis for settlement.

- If the value of the in-kind support received by the household is less than the support standard, the household will receive additional cash for the difference.

- The handover of in-kind support to poor households takes place at the commune center.

Article 4. Determination of Funding Requirements for Policy Implementation.

1. From January 1, 2010, funding for implementing price subsidies and freight subsidies as stipulated in Circular No. 07/2002/TTLT-BTM-UBDTMN-BTC-BKHĐT dated August 12, 2002 of the Ministry of Trade (now the Ministry of Industry and Trade), the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas (now the Committee for Ethnic Minorities), the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to guide the implementation of Decree No. 02/2002/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2002 and Decree No. 20/1998/NĐ-CP dated March 31, 1998 of the Government on mountainous and island trade development and ethnic minority areas shall be allocated to implement the direct support policy for people in poor households in difficult regions according to Decision No. 102/2009/QĐ-TTg dated August 7, 2009 of the Prime Minister. For the funding for price subsidies for party newspapers and the funding for original seed price subsidies of the agricultural sector, they will be implemented according to current regulations.

2. Method for determining funding requirements:

a) For poor households in villages in Region II, border areas, coastal areas, islands in difficult regions:

b) For poor households in villages in Region III in difficult regions:

Total funding requirement (million VND) = (a) + (b)

(Annex Table 3)

3. Determination of additional funding requirements for 2010:

In 2010, during the period of stabilizing the budget for 2007-2010, the additional funding compared to the price subsidy and freight subsidy funding already balanced in the local budget will be supplemented by the central budget with specific targets for the local budget and determined as follows:

4. Funding requirements from 2011:

From 2011, funding for direct support to people in poor households in difficult regions will be balanced within the regular expenditure of the local budget according to the provisions of the State Budget Law.

5. Annually, the People's Committee of the province shall compile the plan for capital needs to implement Decision No. 102/2009/QĐ-TTg dated August 7, 2009 of the Prime Minister on the direct support policy for people in poor households in difficult regions and submit it to the Committee for Ethnic Minorities and the Ministry of Finance for consolidation.

Article 5. Timeframe for Implementing the Policy.

The direct support policy for people in poor households in difficult regions will be implemented from January 1, 2010.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 6. Inspection and Supervision of Policy Implementation.

According to their functions and responsibilities as stipulated in Article 6 of Decision No. 102/2009/QĐ-TTg dated August 7, 2009 of the Prime Minister, relevant ministries and central agencies shall proactively coordinate to carry out inspection and supervision of policy implementation as prescribed.

Article 7. Responsibilities of Local Authorities.

1. The preparation of budgets, allocation, assignment of budgets, execution, and settlement of accounts for the implementation of the direct support policy for people in poor households in difficult regions each year shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

2. Responsibilities of the People's Committee of the province:

a) The People's Committee of the province shall bear full responsibility for directing, guiding, and organizing the implementation of the policy at the local level;

b) The People's Committee of the province shall direct the annual assessment of poor households according to the current guidelines of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs. The list of people in poor households in difficult regions eligible for direct support policies must be compiled up to the time of annual planning as prescribed by the state and must be approved by the People's Committee of the province. The public disclosure of the direct support policy for people in poor households in difficult regions as stipulated in Decision No. 102/2009/QĐ-TTg dated August 7, 2009 of the Prime Minister shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 54/2006/TT-BTC dated June 19, 2006 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of the regulation on public disclosure of direct support from the state budget to individuals and residents.

c) The People's Committee of the province shall assign the Ethnic Minority Board, or if the province does not have an Ethnic Minority Board, then assign the Office of the People's Committee of the province as the lead agency, responsible for assisting the People's Committee of the province in organizing the implementation of the direct support policy for people in poor households in difficult regions in the following areas:

- Developing policies, preparing plans for annual policy implementation;

- Promoting policies, educating and guiding people to use the funds and materials provided by the state effectively and for the intended purpose in production and daily life, and ensuring that people can exercise their democratic rights according to the principle of public knowledge, public discussion, and public oversight;

- Inspecting the implementation of the direct support policy for people in poor households in difficult regions in the province regularly and upon request by competent authorities;

- Monitoring and evaluating the results of the direct support policy for people;

- Proposing adjustments and supplements to the policy;

- Reporting on the implementation of the policy to relevant departments and levels;

- Bearing responsibility for closely monitoring the policy to prevent corruption and loss.

Article 8. Information Reporting Work.

- Fully implement the reporting system to evaluate the implementation of policies on a quarterly basis (every three months, six months, nine months, and annually) and submit reports to the National Ethnic Minorities Commission and the Ministry of Finance before the 15th day following the end of each quarter, and before January 20th of the following year after the end of the year;

- In cases of surprise inspections at the request of authorized agencies, the provincial People's Committee shall submit inspection result reports to the National Ethnic Minorities Commission within fifteen days after the completion of the inspection period.

Article 9. Effective Date.

1. This Circular shall take effect forty-five days from the date of issuance; the guidelines for implementing the subsidized price and freight subsidy policy set forth in Joint Circular No. 07/2002/TTLT/BTM-UBDTMN-BTC-BKHĐT dated August 12, 2002, issued by the Ministry of Trade (now the Ministry of Industry and Trade), the National Ethnic Minorities Commission and the Highlands (now the National Ethnic Minorities Commission), the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to implement Decree No. 02/2002/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2002, and Decree No. 20/1998/NĐ-CP dated March 31, 1998 of the Government on the development of mountainous, island, and ethnic minority areas trade shall be repealed upon the effective date of this Circular;

2. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, the provincial People's Committees are requested to compile and reflect them to the National Ethnic Minorities Commission and the Ministry of Finance for coordination with relevant agencies to study, amend, and supplement accordingly./.