Circular No. 04/2007/TT-BTC guides the preparation of budgets, management, and use of state budget funds to ensure criminal statistics and crime statistics work.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the preparation of budgets, management, and utilization of state budget funds to ensure criminal statistics and crime statistics work

Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;

Pursuant to Article 5 of the Organization Law of the People's Public Prosecutor's Office 2002;

Pursuant to Circular Joint No. 01/2005/TTLT-VKSTC-TATC-BCA-BQP dated July 1, 2005 of the Supreme People's Public Prosecutor's Office, the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of National Defense guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the law on criminal statistics and crime statistics work.

The Ministry of Finance issues guidelines for the preparation of budgets, management, and utilization of state budget funds to ensure criminal statistics and crime statistics work as follows:

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

1. Object and scope of application:

The object of this Circular is the criminal proceedings agencies that collect, investigate, report statistical data on violations of criminal laws, crimes, and the results of activities of criminal proceedings agencies according to the types of statistics specified in Circular Joint No. 01/2005/TTLT-VKSTC-TATC-BCA-BQP dated July 1, 2005 of the Supreme People's Public Prosecutor's Office, the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of National Defense guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the law on criminal statistics and crime statistics work.

2. Funding for the collection, investigation, reporting of criminal statistics, and crime statistics is guaranteed by the central budget and allocated in the annual regular budget estimate of the Supreme People's Public Prosecutor's Office, the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Public Security.

3. Based on the expenditure levels prescribed in this Circular, the Supreme People's Public Prosecutor's Office, the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of National Defense shall specify specific expenditure levels appropriate to their budgets but not exceeding the maximum expenditure levels prescribed in this Circular.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Content of expenditure:

a) Expenditure for organizing inter-departmental professional conferences, seminars to coordinate reviews, inspections, rechecks, and cross-checking of data between criminal proceedings agencies.

b) Expenditure for the working expenses of the Steering Committee and supervisory officers during investigations, the inter-departmental Steering Committee for criminal statistics and crime statistics work.

c) Expenditure for enhancing professional skills and information technology training for staff involved in criminal statistics and crime statistics work.

d) Expenditure for equipping and upgrading equipment; organizing an information network to serve the construction and management of database systems; maintaining and servicing information technology equipment for statistical work; purchasing and upgrading software to serve criminal statistics and crime statistics work; subscribing to telecommunications services to transmit data over computer networks.

đ) Expenditure for criminal statistics and crime statistics investigations (including periodic or non-periodic investigations):

- Expenditure for developing investigation plans.

- Expenditure for developing investigation forms.

- Expenditure for training investigation skills.

- Expenditure for printing and transporting: investigation forms, investigation materials, basic statistical system forms, business records, initial data books, comprehensive statistical system forms, operational guidance materials, statistical publication materials, criminal statistical yearbooks, crime statistical yearbooks.

- Expenditure for collecting and providing information.

- Expenditure for reviewing, inspecting, and checking data or materials.

- Expenditure for compiling and analyzing statistics.

- Expenditure for rechecking, reviewing, and evaluating investigation results.

- Expenditure for publishing investigation results.

e) Expenditure for preparing regular statistical reports and inter-departmental statistics of criminal statistics and crime statistics.

g) Expenditure for building statistical information publications, criminal statistics, and crime statistics yearbooks.

h) Other expenditures related to criminal statistics and crime statistics work.

2. Specific expenditure levels:

The above expenditure items shall be implemented in accordance with current standards, norms, and expenditure regulations, specifically as follows:

- For travel expenses for officials traveling domestically, and expenses for organizing meetings, conferences, discussions, summaries, etc., shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of relevant ministries and central agencies detailing the financial management regulations of the Ministry of Finance regarding travel expenses and conference costs for administrative agencies and public service units nationwide.

- For expenditure on enhancing professional skills and information technology training for staff involved in criminal statistics and crime statistics work, shall be implemented in accordance with current regulations of the Ministry of Finance on managing and utilizing training and enhancement funds for civil servants.

- For expenditure on establishing electronic databases to serve criminal statistics and crime statistics work, shall be implemented in accordance with current regulations on electronic creation costs under information technology and current information technology regulations on database construction and management.

- For expenditure on criminal statistics and crime statistics investigations (including periodic or non-periodic investigations), shall be implemented in accordance with regulations on financial expenditure standards for statistical surveys funded from the state budget.

- Night shift and overtime pay shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 08/2005/TTLT-BNV-BTC dated January 5, 2005, of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of night shift and overtime pay regulations for civil servants and employees.

- For expenditure on printing basic statistical system forms, comprehensive statistical system forms, business records, initial data books, criminal statistical yearbooks, crime statistical yearbooks, etc., the basis for preparing estimates and managing these expenditures is the national standards, norms, and unit prices established by relevant sectors with similar tasks. These expenditure items must be approved by the head of the agency or unit before implementation.

- For other expenditures, the basis shall be legitimate and valid invoices and expense vouchers in accordance with current regulations.

- For agencies and organizations that have a need to equip or upgrade equipment; apply and develop information technology for criminal statistics work and inter-sectoral crime statistics must prepare investment budget estimates or investment projects; submit to the competent authority for approval and be included in the annual budget estimate assigned by the competent authority. The management and use of investment funds and procurement must comply with current legal regulations.

- For expenditures: Establishing reporting systems for criminal statistics, crimes; organizing inter-sectoral seminars to coordinate reviews, inspections, rechecks, and data comparisons between prosecution agencies, shall be based on the content of the work and the budget estimates assigned by the competent authority; heads of prosecution agencies shall establish and decide specific expenditure levels as appropriate. Expenditure levels must be publicly disclosed within the agency, must be sent to the State Treasury where the agency has an account for expenditure control according to regulations, and to the supervising superior agency for monitoring and supervision.

3. Preparing budgets, managing, and settling accounts for funds ensuring criminal statistics work and inter-sectoral crime statistics.

The preparation of budgets, management, allocation, payment, and settlement of accounts for funds for criminal statistics work and inter-sectoral crime statistics shall be carried out in accordance with the current provisions of Circular No. 59/2003/TT-BTC dated June 23, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget; Circular No. 79/2003/TT-BTC dated August 13, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the management, allocation, and payment of state budget expenditures through the State Treasury. This circular provides guidance on certain points to suit the special characteristics of criminal statistics work and inter-sectoral crime statistics, specifically as follows:

a. Budget Preparation: Annually, at the time of preparing the state budget according to the provisions of the Law on State Budget; based on plans and requirements for criminal statistics work and inter-sectoral crime statistics, agencies and units prepare budget estimates for implementing criminal statistics work and inter-sectoral crime statistics, which are included in the regular activity budget estimates of the agency and submitted to the direct superior management agency. The superior management agency prepares budget estimates for implementing criminal statistics work and inter-sectoral crime statistics under its own responsibility, aggregates budget estimates for implementing criminal statistics work and inter-sectoral crime statistics from subordinate units together with regular expenditure budget estimates and submits them to the Ministry of Finance for inclusion in the state budget estimate to be submitted to the Prime Minister and the National Assembly for approval and assignment along with the annual regular expenditure budget estimates of the agency or unit.

The operating costs of the inter-sectoral steering committees at all levels are aggregated into the regular expenditure budget estimates of the People's Procuracy at the same level.

b. Allocation and Assignment of Budget Estimates: Based on the budget estimates assigned by the competent authority; heads of agencies and units are responsible for allocating and assigning budget estimates to subordinate units, including funds for criminal statistics work and inter-sectoral crime statistics after receiving comments from the Ministry of Finance.

c. The use and settlement of accounts for funds ensuring the implementation of criminal statistics work and inter-sectoral crime statistics shall be carried out in accordance with the Law on State Budget and guiding documents for its implementation.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

This circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. For the year 2007, prosecution agencies shall proactively arrange within the 2007 state budget already assigned by the competent authority to implement it.

During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, units are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and appropriate amendments.