Circular No. 01/2011/TT-BTC stipulates the provision of financial support from the state budget for associations engaged in activities related to tasks assigned by the State; management and use of association assets and finances; and management and utilization of foreign individual and organizational donations to associations.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on financial support from the state budget for associations with activities related to tasks assigned by the State; management and use of association assets and finances; management of acceptance and use of foreign individual and organization funding for associations

assigned by the State; the management and use of the assets and finances of the association; the management of the receipt,

use of financial support from foreign individuals and organizations for the association

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Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 23, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;

Pursuant to Decree No. 45/2010/NĐ-CP dated April 21, 2010 of the Government on organization, operation, and management of associations;

The Ministry of Finance hereby stipulates regulations on financial support from the state budget for activities related to tasks assigned by the State; management and use of assets and finances; management of acceptance and use of foreign individual and organization funding for political-social-professional organizations, social organizations, and social-professional organizations (hereinafter referred to as Associations) as follows:

Article 1. General Provisions

1. Operating funds for Associations shall be guaranteed by the Associations themselves according to the Association Charter and relevant laws.

2. The State will only provide financial support for Association activities related to tasks assigned by the State as specified in Clause 12, Article 23 of Decree No. 45/2010/NĐ-CP dated April 21, 2010 of the Government on organization, operation, and management of associations.

3. For programs, projects, and tasks already assigned to Associations by the Prime Minister through separate decisions, they shall be implemented according to the Prime Minister's Decision.

4. Membership fees of Associations, domestic and foreign individual and organizational donations, and other legitimate income sources of Associations shall be managed and used according to the Association Charter.

5. Management and use of assets at Associations:

a) For state-owned assets at Associations, management and use shall be carried out according to Articles 36 and 37 of the Law on Management and Use of State Assets and Article 2 of Decree No. 52/2009/NĐ-CP dated June 3, 2009 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Management and Use of State Assets.

b) For assets of Associations, management and use shall be conducted according to civil law, relevant laws, and the Association Charter.

6. Regarding management and use of funding and aid:

a) For non-repayable foreign aid included in state budget revenue, it shall be implemented according to the Ministry of Finance's regulations on financial management systems for non-repayable foreign aid included in state budget revenue.

b) For funding and aid not included in the state budget, management and use shall be conducted according to the Association Charter.

Article 2. Content and principles of financial support for activities related to tasks assigned by the State

1. The state budget will fully or partially fund activities assigned by the Prime Minister, ministers of various ministries, and heads of central agencies (for national-level Associations), and by chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels (for local Associations).

2. The source of funding for support is defined as follows:

a) For state tasks assigned by the Prime Minister or entrusted to Associations by central ministries and agencies, the central budget will cover the costs.

b) For state tasks assigned by chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels or entrusted to Associations by local agencies, the local budget will cover the costs according to current budget allocation.

3. Associations should actively study the country's economic and social development policies, strategies, and plans; sectoral and regional development strategies and plans; and propose to competent authorities their participation in implementing programs, projects, research topics, public services... that align with the scale, nature, scope of operations of the Association, and the capacity of its members.

4. Ministries, central agencies, and localities should proactively create conditions and assign tasks to Associations that match the actual situation of the ministry, agency, and locality; and align with the industry and field of Association activities within their authority and budget capacity.

5. Central government administrative agencies and local specialized agencies should guide, create conditions, consider proposals for Association tasks, and issue written opinions (or submit to competent authorities) agreeing to assign Associations to participate in implementing all or part of state tasks according to current laws.

Article 3. Procedures for Implementing Financial Support from the State Budget

1. Based on determining tasks that are appropriate to the state's responsibilities and capabilities, the Association proposes participation in implementing programs, projects, scientific research topics, public service provision... in the form of a project (or implementation plan) and sends it to the relevant ministry or sector management agency (for Associations operating nationwide or across provinces), or specialized departments (for Associations at local levels) for content review to ensure alignment with approved industry or sector development orientations.

2. After receiving content review opinions from specialized management agencies, the Association submits the application file for task assignment to the following agencies for consideration and task assignment (accompanied by the review opinion of the specialized management agency):

a) Send to the Government Office for the Government Office to report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision regarding tasks assigned by the Prime Minister.

b) Send to People's Committee Offices at all levels for consideration and task assignment regarding tasks assigned by the Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels.

c) Send to ministries, central agencies, and local state agencies for consideration and task assignment regarding tasks delegated by ministers of ministries, heads of central agencies, and heads of local state agencies.

3. Based on the agreement to assign tasks from the competent authority as mentioned in Clause 2 above, the Association completes the project (or implementation plan) and simultaneously prepares a budget estimate for implementation. The budget estimate for implementing the project (or implementation plan) must be based on current financial expenditure regulations, with detailed specific calculations; including the portion of funds self-assured by the Association, the portion raised from other sources, and the portion of funds requested for support from the state budget.

The entire file (including the project, content review documents, task assignment or delegation documents from the competent authority, budget estimate for implementation) is sent to the finance agency for budget estimate review and approval (or submission to the competent authority for budget estimate approval) so that the Association can organize implementation, specifically as follows:

a) Send to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for review regarding tasks assigned by the Prime Minister.

b) Send to the same-level finance agency for review regarding tasks assigned by the Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels.

c) Send to the ministry, central agency, or local state agency directly assigning the task for the Association to implement regarding tasks delegated by ministers of ministries, heads of central agencies, and heads of local state agencies.

4. For programs and projects implemented over multiple years according to decisions by the competent authority, from the second year onwards, the Associations prepare necessary budget estimates for support from the state budget to implement the task, send them to the same-level sector management agency for preliminary comments before submitting to the same-level finance agency for review, consolidation, and submission to the competent authority for approval.

5. For tasks proactively assigned or delegated by the competent authority to the Association to implement: the procedures for consideration and financial support shall be carried out according to the requirements of the task-assigning agency, in compliance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

Article 4. Management, utilization, and settlement of funds received from the State budget for support

1. Based on the decision to allocate the budget for implementing state tasks assigned by the Prime Minister or Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels to associations, financial agencies shall issue payment orders or allocate budgets to the associations to withdraw allocated budgets from the State Treasury to implement tasks in accordance with current regulations.

The budget for implementing state tasks assigned by entrusted agencies to associations: Entrusted agencies have the responsibility to allocate within the annual budget approved by the competent authority and sign responsibility contracts with the associations receiving the entrustment so that the associations have funds to implement.

2. The use of funds supported from the State budget for activities related to state tasks shall be carried out according to current standards, norms, expenditure systems, and financial management regulations.

3. Upon completion of activities or completion of assigned or entrusted tasks, the associations shall prepare comprehensive reports on the expenditure of state-supported funds and submit them to the agency that assigned the tasks to the associations, while also sending copies to the financial agency and relevant state management bodies at the same level for monitoring and management.

4. Settlement of supported funds:

a) For the portion of funds for implementing state tasks assigned by the Prime Minister or Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels to associations: The associations directly settle accounts with the financial agency at the same level in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

b) For the portion of funds for implementing state tasks entrusted by entrusted agencies to associations: The entrusted agencies review and settle accounts based on acceptance and liquidation of responsibility contracts already signed (original documents kept by the associations in accordance with the Accounting Law), and consolidate these into the annual settlement of the entrusted agency's budget at year-end.

c) At year-end, the associations consolidate the settlement of funds for implementing state-assigned tasks into their annual income and expenditure settlement in accordance with regulations.

Article 5. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of signature and replaces Circular No. 123/2003/TT-BTC dated December 16, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the provision of financial support from the State budget to political-social-professional organizations, social organizations, and social-professional organizations for activities related to state-assigned tasks.

2. In the course of implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies and units are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance for study and appropriate amendments.