CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Directive No. 251/CT dated September 21, 1982 of the Council of Ministers Supplementing Certain Points on Policy and Treatment for Cadres, Workers, and Civil Servants

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After reaching a consensus through discussions with the Council of Ministers' Office, the Committee for Economic and Cultural Cooperation with Laos and Cambodia, the Ministry of Internal Trade, and the Group of Experts in Cambodia, the Ministry of Finance provides guidelines for financial matters to implement the aforementioned directive as follows:

I. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REGIME FOR ALLOWANCES, SUBSIDIES, AND COLLECTION OF MEAL FEES FOR CADRES, WORKERS, AND CIVIL SERVANTS ON LONG-TERM ASSIGNMENTS IN CAMBODIA.

1. Regarding the special allowance of 60% of the basic salary (Point 1, Part I of Directive No. 251/CT):

The recipients of this allowance are cadres, workers, and civil servants working in the truly difficult mountainous regions of Cambodia or areas designated as insecure by the head of the expert group in Cambodia. According to Circular No. 27/TT-CG dated September 16, 1982, these regions currently include the provinces of Kô-kông, Monđunkiri, Ratanakiri, Stung Treng, Crachiê, Pôksaï, Siem Reap, Battambang, and Prey Vênh.

Cadres will only be eligible for this allowance during their actual work period in the specified regions. In cases where they return to Vietnam for work, study, recuperation, or leave, and then resume work in those regions, they may still receive the 60% allowance during their time in Vietnam, but not exceeding three months from the date of departure from Cambodia.

Military experts, soldiers, and police officers, as well as defense workers, are not eligible for this allowance because they already receive combat allowances.

2. Regarding the issuance of cash instead of ration coupons (Point 2, Part I of Directive No. 251/CT): Cash will only be issued to individuals who do not receive ration coupons or who receive coupons but cannot obtain goods according to the quota for meat, fish, condiments, monosodium glutamate, and sugar.

The agency sending cadres on long-term assignments in Cambodia (three years or more) must prepare a separate list indicating full name, position, and current basic salary, accompanied by the decision on assignment to Cambodia, to confirm that the trade department does not issue ration coupons or cannot provide goods according to the quota.

If there are ration coupons but goods cannot be purchased, the local trade department must confirm this at the end of each quarter to request cash compensation for that month and quarter. This confirmation list must be sent to the central or local financial supply agency for basis of compensation.

For cadres assigned to Cambodia mid-year, if they have already received ration coupons, they should leave them for family use. If cash compensation is provided instead of ration coupons, it must clearly state the month and items compensated.

In cases where cadres were assigned to Cambodia before the plan for issuing ration coupons was established, the agency must prepare the plan for the following year based on the list requesting compensation for those who did not receive ration coupons previously or could not obtain goods according to the quota.

For cadres, workers, and civil servants whose salaries continue to be paid by the expert group and are not part of any domestic agency's roster, the Management Bureau of the Expert Group must prepare a list requesting cash compensation for ration coupons. This list must be confirmed by the head of the expert group and verified by the trade department in Ho Chi Minh City (where the Management Bureau is located), stating "those who do not receive ration coupons or cannot obtain goods according to the quota," and sent to the Ministry of Finance for review and compensation.

The price adjustment in the compensation plan shall be applied according to the State Price Commission's notification (every six months).

Example: For cadres assigned to Cambodia at the end of 1982, refer to Notification No. 374/UBVG-TB dated September 24, 1982; for those assigned at the beginning of 1983, refer to the State Price Commission's notification for the first half of 1983.

For cadres, workers, and civil servants whose compensation plans are prepared by the Management Bureau of the Expert Group, the prices set for Ho Chi Minh City shall apply.

During the year, if there are changes in the number of cadres on long-term assignments in Cambodia or if some cadres return home, additional or reduced lists must be submitted to the financial agency for recalculation.

The format and procedures for compensation shall be implemented according to Circular No. 24/TC-TNVT dated October 4, 1982 of the Ministry of Finance (Section IV, Part B, Item 2) guiding compensation for goods supplied according to quotas.

3. Regarding the one-time subsidy for cadres on long-term assignments of three years or more: Before going to Cambodia, each person receives a subsidy of 800 dong to purchase necessary personal items. This regulation applies to those assigned to Cambodia from September 1, 1982. (For those assigned to Cambodia before September 1, 1982, who have already received subsidies according to the regulations stipulated in Directive No. 350/TTg dated November 3, 1979, no additional subsidies will be provided.)

4. Regarding the compensation for purchasing fabric at retail prices (Point 4, Part I of Directive No. 251/CT):

In cases where cadres assigned to Cambodia are given certificates by the Ministry of Internal Trade to purchase five meters of fabric at supply prices, they will no longer receive direct cash compensation, as the finance agency has compensated the Ministry of Internal Trade based on the certificate list.

In cases where no fabric certificates are issued, the unified compensation amount for each person is 150 dong (30 dong per meter x 5 meters = 150 dong).

In cases where a certificate for five meters of fabric valid for two years has been issued and 2.5 meters of standard fabric for one year have been used, when the cadre is reassigned to a long-term assignment in Cambodia and returns the certificate, they will be compensated for the remaining standard amount: 30 dong per meter x 2.5 meters = 75 dong.

Agencies with cadres on long-term assignments in Cambodia must prepare a list confirmed by the trade department indicating that they have not received fabric certificates or have returned them, and send this list to the financial agency as the basis for cash compensation.

5. Regarding the collection of meal fees from cadres and workers at three levels of 64 dong, 48 dong, and 36 dong (Point 1, Part II of Directive No. 251/CT):

Units must deduct the meal fees mentioned above when issuing monthly salaries to experts and require payment to the budget quarterly or annually.

The expert group directly deducts the meal fees from the monthly salary of experts who are directly paid by the group.

b) Officials, employees working long-term in Cambodia who have been provided with Ricl funds by the authority to purchase fresh food items such as meat, fish, vegetables, etc., on-site shall not be compensated for the price difference between domestic supply prices and free market prices in the host country from the state budget.

7. Travel allowance system for officials and employees working in Cambodia (point 2, part II, directive 251/CT).

When traveling on official business in the host country, they will be reimbursed a daily travel allowance of 9 Ricl, including departure and return days.

The following cases shall not be entitled to travel allowances in Ricl:

- Traveling within the city or town limits.

- Traveling less than 12 kilometers away from the office.

In addition to the travel allowance, officials and employees stationed at places with a special allowance of 45% of their base salary and staff of the Expert Group Management Bureau in Ho Chi Minh City, when dispatched to work at locations with a special allowance of 60% of their base salary for three or more days, shall also be entitled to an additional amount to make up the difference to 60% of their base salary for the actual working days there.

The Expert Group in Cambodia shall issue travel permits and reimburse travel expenses in Ricl for officials, employees, and staff traveling on official business in the host country. Time spent traveling back to the home country shall be reimbursed according to the domestic travel allowance regulations using Vietnamese currency.

8. Reimbursement of annual leave allowance (point 3, part II, directive 251/CT).

Annually, officials, employees, and staff returning to the home country for a one-month leave period according to regulations (excluding travel time) shall be reimbursed for train or bus tickets based on the standards set by the state for each type of official, and shall be reimbursed for travel and accommodation allowances according to the domestic travel allowance regulations during the travel days, including reasonable stopovers along the way such as waiting for transportation, illness, etc., with certification from the commune or police station where the incident occurred. During the leave period at home, they shall not be entitled to accommodation allowances.

Annual leave reimbursement can only be processed once a year. The Expert Group in Cambodia shall issue leave permits and directly reimburse the annual leave allowance in Vietnamese currency. The principles and procedures for reimbursement shall follow the leave and travel allowance regulations in the home country. If traveling by air does not meet the standard, only the regular train or bus fare on the same route shall be reimbursed. Leave reimbursement for the year must be settled within that year. If due to work requirements, the Expert Group cannot arrange for officials and employees to take leave in the same year, the Expert Group should try to arrange for them to take leave for both years in one go in the following year. If leave is taken before September 1, 1982, it shall still be processed according to previous regulations.

II. BUDGET ESTIMATION AND SETTLEMENT:

All costs for officials working long-term in Cambodia mentioned in this circular shall be included in the K budget funded by the state budget. Central departments and localities assigned tasks to assist the host country must prepare a budget estimate for the K fund, detailing the expenses for experts according to the guidelines in this circular. At the end of the fiscal year, they must submit a final settlement report on the overall use of the K fund, including detailed analysis of each expense item related to experts (salary, salary supplements, subsidy for coupons), to the Ministry of Finance (for central departments) and local finance bureaus (for localities) in accordance with the state budget preparation and implementation regulations.

Local finance bureaus, when settling accounts with the Ministry of Finance for the K fund transferred quarterly by the Ministry, need to separately analyze the expenses for experts.

III. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

- Points 1, 2, 3, and 8 (part I) of this circular shall take effect from September 1, 1982.

- Point 4 (part I) shall be implemented in 1982. Officials traveling to Cambodia in 1982 shall only be subsidized half of the 5-meter cloth standard because they have already received a 5-meter cloth coupon valid for 1981-1982.

- Points 5, 6, and 7 shall take effect from June 1, 1982.

This circular applies only to officials, employees, and staff working long-term in Cambodia for three years or more. For those sent to Cambodia for short-term assignments, separate regulations will apply. Also included in the scope of application of this circular are officials, employees, and staff who, although not officially classified as long-term workers in Cambodia, have actually worked there for over one year since the issuance of directive 251/CT (in accordance with the spirit of the letter No. 4648-V6 dated November 18, 1982, of the Council of Ministers).