Circular No. 03/1999/TT-BTP guiding the expenditure regime for conferences in the Justice Sector

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Conference Expenditure in the Justice Sector

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Pursuant to the Ordinance on Thrift and Anti-Waste, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular 93/1998/TT-BTC dated June 20, 1998, stipulating the conference expenditure regime in state management agencies and units operating with state budget funds.

To align with the characteristics of the sector, the Ministry of Justice specifies the conference expenditure regime in the justice sector as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS:

1. National conferences summarizing the sector shall be decided by the Minister of Justice after obtaining permission from the Prime Minister.

2. Specialized conferences, regional training conferences, or provincial-wide conferences must obtain written permission from the Minister of Justice (annual summary conferences and internal conferences to implement annual plans of units do not require permission).

3. All units organizing conferences must reasonably arrange locations, combine multiple contents, prepare high-quality agendas, and consider necessary representative components and quantities.

4. Conference organization time:

- Annual summary conferences at the provincial level shall not exceed one day.

- Training and specialized conferences at the provincial level shall not exceed three days.

5. Conference attendees must cover their own meal and accommodation expenses using travel allowances and part of their salary. The conference organizing agency will subsidize meal and accommodation expenses for representatives who do not receive salaries from the state budget, compensating for the difference between the contribution amount and the meal expense stipulated in this Circular.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

A. Meal Expenses and Accommodation Rental Fees:

Conference attendees (including drivers, if any) who register with the conference organizing agency for meals and accommodations during the conference period must contribute as follows:

1. National-scale summary conferences, specialized conferences, and training conferences.

2. Provincial-scale summary conferences, specialized conferences, and training conferences:

B. Conference Expenditure Content:

1. The conference organizing agency may allocate the following expenditures:

- Venue rental fees during the conference days (if applicable).

- Printing costs for conference materials. For training conference materials, the organizing agency prints and sells them to attendees and those interested to offset costs at non-profit prices.

- Meal and accommodation expenses, as well as transportation costs for attendees who do not receive salaries from the state budget.

- Meal subsidy of VND 10,000/day/person for conferences held in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and VND 5,000/day/person for conferences held in other provinces and cities.

If attendees do not eat at the conference, they will not be eligible for the aforementioned meal subsidy.

- Vehicle rental fees for transporting attendees from their accommodation to the conference venue (if applicable).

- Other expenses: water consumption for attendees, honoraria for speakers, overtime pay, common medical expenses, hall decoration...

2. All conferences and seminars should be organized thriftily, without ostentation, and shall not allocate maintenance allowances or lunch expenses for local attendees receiving salaries from the state budget, nor shall they allocate funds for sightseeing, vacation, cultural activities, or decorations outside the regulations.

III. MANAGEMENT OF CONFERENCE EXPENDITURES:

1. Prior to organizing a conference, units must submit a request for approval to the Minister and prepare a conference expenditure budget to be sent to the Planning and Finance Department for review by the Minister. Once approved, the unit is responsible for submitting the budget to the State Treasury for provisional allocation of conference expenditure funds.

2. Unit heads and accountants are responsible for monitoring their unit's conference expenditure from budget preparation, distribution, settlement, and finalization, ensuring compliance with established regulations and incorporating conference expenditure into quarterly and annual financial settlements.

3. Conference expenditure funds are allocated within the annual budget of the unit, and any unspent funds at year-end must be documented and requested to be reallocated to other purposes by the unit.

4. The Planning and Finance Department is responsible for reviewing and approving conference expenditure budgets, and ensuring that settlement and payment procedures comply with established principles.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS:

This Circular applies to all units funded directly by the Ministry of Justice from the state budget and becomes effective fifteen days after its issuance date.

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