Circular No. 02/2005/TT-BTP guiding the travel expenses regime and conference expenditure for judicial sector budgetary units

 

CIRCULAR

Guidelines on travel expenses and conference expenditure for units under the Department of Justice's budget

conference for budgetary units of the Justice Sector

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Pursuant to Decree No. 62/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

Pursuant to Circular No. 118/2004/TT-BTC dated December 8, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance stipulating travel expense regulations and conference expenditure for administrative agencies and public service units nationwide;

To implement thriftiness, prevent waste, and be consistent with the budget capacity and actual conditions of the sector, after discussion and reaching consensus with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice hereby specifies the travel expense regulations for officials, civil servants, and employees, and conference expenditure for units under and directly subordinate to the Ministry that utilize state budget funds as follows:

I. TRAVEL EXPENSE REGULATIONS

1. Recipients and Conditions for Receiving Travel Expense Regulations:

1.1. Recipients of travel expense regulations include:

Officials, civil servants, and employees of agencies and units dispatched on official business.

1.2. Conditions for reimbursement of travel expenses:

- Having a dispatch decision (or work permit) from the competent authority.

- Fulfilling assigned tasks.

- Possessing all necessary receipts for reimbursement.

+ Time spent at hospitals for treatment.

+ Time spent at hospitals, health resorts, recuperation centers.

Travel expenses are a portion of the State budget allocated for individuals going on missions abroad to spend during their mission period. This includes:

 + Days attending long-term or short-term training courses, eligible for travel expense regulations for officials dispatched for study.

 + Days assigned to reside or be seconded to another locality or agency.

2. Definition of travel expenses: Travel expenses are a cost paid to individuals traveling domestically to cover train, bus, and airfare for themselves and their luggage and documents carried for work purposes (if applicable); costs incurred during travel days and stay at the destination.

3. Heads of budgetary units must consider and carefully select when dispatching individuals on official business (in terms of number of people and duration), ensuring that funds are used economically and effectively within the annual budget allocation granted by the Ministry.

4. In addition to the travel expense regulations stipulated in this Circular, units dispatching individuals on official business and units hosting such individuals may not use state budget funds to pay additional expenses in any form for those traveling or visiting.

5. Payment Items for Travel Expenses:

5.1. Payment for Train and Bus Fare from the Office to the Place of Work:

5.1.1. In cases where travel is conducted via road, waterway, or railway transportation:

- Individuals traveling using public transportation means, if they have valid tickets, will be reimbursed for the usual fare (excluding other services such as sightseeing, meals, special requests...).

- The reimbursement includes the cost of purchasing tickets, ferry fares, road usage fees, and transportation costs for documents required for the official trip (as requested by the dispatching agency) directly paid by the traveler. If the individual travels by the agency’s car, no reimbursement for train or bus fare will be provided.

5.1.2. In cases where travel is conducted via air transportation:

a) Individuals can be reimbursed for airfare in the following cases:

- For officials, civil servants, and employees of the Ministry of Justice:

 + Leaders at the Department level and above.

+ Officials, civil servants, and employees with a salary coefficient of 6.10 or higher.

- For officials, civil servants, and employees of provincial enforcement agencies:

+ Heads of provincial enforcement agencies (for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Deputy Heads also qualify for airfare reimbursement).

+ Civil servants and officials with a salary coefficient of 5.76 or higher.

- In exceptional cases where units need to dispatch individuals urgently to handle urgent matters and the dispatched individual does not meet the criteria for airfare reimbursement, the unit head (the person in charge of the budgetary unit, authorized to approve and certify expenditures within the unit) shall consider and decide on reimbursement and bear responsibility before the Ministry for their decision.

b) Individuals traveling by air are entitled to reimbursement for airfare and public transportation fares from the place of work to the airport and vice versa (if applicable). Individuals not falling under the categories specified in point a above, if traveling by air, will only be reimbursed according to the usual fare for public bus transportation (when having an air ticket).

5.1.3. For civil servants and officials who arrange their own means of transportation for work trips:

- When traveling, if the individual does not use the agency's transportation but arranges their own, they will be reimbursed for train and bus fares based on the usual public transportation fare for the distance traveled; for mountainous, border, and island areas, the maximum reimbursement will be twice the usual public bus transportation fare for the same distance.

- Documentation for reimbursement includes the traveler's travel permit confirmed by the host agency and a mileage report submitted for approval by the unit head.

5.2. Travel allowance:

- Travel allowances are calculated from the start of the official trip until the return to the office or unit (including travel time, stay time, holidays, and rest days as prescribed). The allowance includes food and incidental expenses, with specific rates as follows:

+ Individuals traveling to regions with a regional coefficient below 0.3 will receive a maximum of 30,000 VND per day per person.

+ Individuals traveling to regions with a regional coefficient from 0.3 to below 0.5 will receive a maximum of 45,000 VND per day per person.

 + Individuals traveling to regions with a regional coefficient of 0.5 or higher will receive a maximum of 50,000 VND per day per person.

 (The regional coefficient is implemented according to the regulations of the Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs, the National Ethnic Committee, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance).

- The criteria for reimbursement of travel allowances are specified as follows:

+ For regions with a regional coefficient below 0.3: the distance from the office to the place of work must be at least 35 kilometers one way.

+ For regions with a regional coefficient of 0.3 or higher: the distance from the office to the place of work must be at least 25 kilometers one way.

5.3. Reimbursement for accommodation expenses at the work location:

- Persons on business trips shall be reimbursed for accommodation rental expenses at the destination. The reimbursement amount for accommodation rental expenses shall be based on actual invoices, but shall not exceed 120,000 VND/day/person.

- In cases where a person travels alone or when a mixed-gender group must rent separate rooms, the maximum reimbursement for accommodation rental expenses for a single traveler or odd-numbered individuals in the group shall not exceed 240,000 VND/day/person.

- Officials, civil servants, and employees who are dispatched to work in places without guesthouses or hotels (without invoices) shall be reimbursed up to a maximum of 40,000 VND/day/person (if confirmed by the local authority as having conducted business).

5.4. Reimbursement of travel allowances:

For officials, civil servants, and employees who frequently travel more than 15 days/month such as secretaries, treasury clerks, accountants, file delivery officers, etc., they shall be allocated travel allowances with a maximum of 130,000 VND/month/person.

Based on the assigned tasks of each individual, the head of the agency or unit must present to the collective body of officials, civil servants, and employees for approval of each case eligible for monthly travel allowance allocation at appropriate levels, then compile a list of those entitled to monthly travel allowances and approve it monthly. At the end of each quarter, the aforementioned list of travel allowances must be recompiled based on the actual work situation of each individual. Arbitrary allocation of travel allowances is strictly prohibited.

The head of the agency or unit is responsible for monitoring the travel schedule of officials, civil servants, and employees in the month to serve as the basis for approving and reimbursing monthly travel allowance allocations. If an official, civil servant, or employee does not travel as stipulated above during the month, they will not be reimbursed for the monthly travel allowance. Those who are reimbursed for travel allowances, if they travel beyond the specified distance in Point 5.2, will be reimbursed for travel allowance subsidies according to the regulations.

5.5. Cases involving inter-departmental or inter-agency business trips:

The leading agency of the business trip shall bear the costs for common activities of the group such as office supplies, car rental fees, etc. The agency or unit dispatching personnel on business trips is responsible for reimbursing travel expenses for their dispatched personnel (including train and car fares, travel allowance subsidies, accommodation rental fees).

II. EXPENSE REGIME FOR CONFERENCES

1. Conditions for organizing conferences:

- Ministries organizing national-level summary conferences or congresses must obtain permission in writing from the Prime Minister.

- Mid-term and final review conferences of competition activities of the Groups must obtain permission in writing from the Minister of Justice.

- Provincial Enforcement Agencies organizing provincial-level conferences must obtain permission in writing from the Minister of Justice.

- County Enforcement Agencies organizing county-level conferences must obtain permission in writing from the Head of the Provincial Enforcement Agency.

2. Conference expenses:

a) Some general requirements:

- The conference expenses mentioned in this Circular apply uniformly to summary conferences, conferences with term-based characteristics, training sessions, and regular directive conferences for directing operations within judicial agencies and units.

- All agencies and units within the sector must reasonably arrange locations, combine multiple contents, prepare high-quality agendas, and carefully consider the composition and number of delegates when organizing conferences. The duration of conferences should not exceed three days, and training sessions should not exceed seven days. When organizing conferences, agencies and units must comply with the expenditure regulations stipulated in this Circular and budget within the annual plan allocated by the Ministry, avoiding ostentatious forms, banquets, receptions, combined sightseeing and vacation activities, and gift-giving.

- The organizing agency or unit must facilitate convenient dining and lodging conditions for delegates. Delegates attending the conference shall pay for meals and accommodations using their travel allowances and part of their salary; the organizing agency or unit shall provide meal and transportation subsidies to invited delegates who do not receive state salaries. Delegates who are government officials, civil servants, or employees from enterprises will not be supported for meals and accommodations.

b) Conference expense items:

- Rental fees for conference halls during the conference period (when the organizing agency does not have its own venue and must rent one). - Printing (or purchasing) materials for the conference. Additional material requests shall be sold by the organizing agency to cover conference costs at cost price without profit. - Rental fees for cars transporting delegates from their lodgings to the conference venue.

- Refreshment expenses for delegates.

- Expenses for supporting meals and accommodation (for all-day conferences) and transportation costs for invited delegates who do not receive salaries.

- Other expenses such as overtime pay, ordinary medical expenses, hall decoration, etc., shall be reimbursed based on actual expenditures with a spirit of thrift.

- Expenses for commendation and propaganda activities during annual summary conferences, and for sightseeing and vacation activities for conference participants shall not be included in the conference budget but shall be counted under the commendation, propaganda, and welfare fund of the agency or unit (if available).

c) Specific expense levels:

- Expenses for supporting meals for invited delegates who do not receive salaries are divided into three levels as follows:

+ National-level conferences: expense level of 40,000 VND/day/person.

+ Conferences at the provincial or city level: expense level of 30,000 VND/day/person.

+ Conferences at the county level: expense level of 20,000 VND/day/person.

- In cases where centralized meals are required, the organizing agency shall collect meal fees from delegates and only organize meals according to the three specified levels.

- Expenses for supporting accommodation for invited delegates who do not receive salaries: a maximum of 120,000 VND/day/person.

- Beverage expenses: a maximum of 5,000 VND/day/person.

||| Reimbursement for transportation expenses for invited delegates who do not receive a salary shall be provided at the public bus fare rates applicable in the locality for the number of meals determined by the head of the organizing agency.

||| Specifically, for civil servants and employees under the management of the Ministry regarding organization, staffing, and budget, when they are sent to attend training or professional development courses funded from the state's budget for cadre training and development, they will be entitled to partial meal and accommodation allowances for those residing far away (within the allocated budget capacity) with a maximum of 10,000 VND per person per day as stipulated in Item 1.3.2, Point 1.3, Section 1, Part I of Circular No. 105/2001/TT-BTC dated February 27, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance (if meal support has already been provided, then the travel allowance specified in Point 5.2, Part I of this Circular shall not be paid).

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. ||| The preparation of budgets, allocation, and settlement of work-related expense and conference expenditure funds shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents thereof.

2. ||| For expenditures on work-related expenses and conferences that do not comply with the provisions of this Circular, upon inspection, higher-level managing agencies and financial authorities at all levels have the right to require the relevant agencies and units to provide accounts. Those who issue incorrect expenditure orders or approve incorrect expenditures shall be subject to disciplinary action, administrative penalties, or criminal prosecution according to the law, and shall be responsible for recovering and returning to the state treasury any improperly expended funds.

3. ||| Units with self-financing autonomy and administrative agencies implementing quota-based staffing and administrative management costs may apply this Circular and specific guidance documents issued by the Ministry of Finance.

4. ||| This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette, replacing Circular No. 02/1999/TT-BTP dated January 11, 1999 and Circular No. 03/1999/TT-BTP dated January 11, 1999 of the Ministry of Justice concerning work-related expense regulations and conference expenditure regulations for judicial budgetary units. Any issues encountered during implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Justice (Planning and Finance Department) for guidance.

||| Any issues encountered during implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Justice (Planning and Finance Department) for guidance./.