Joint Circular No. 04/2007/TTLT/BTNMT-BTC guiding the preparation of budget estimates for surveying and mapping activities and land management

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for preparing the budget for surveying and mapping expenses and land management

____________________________

Pursuant to Decree No. 12/2002/NĐ-CP dated January 22, 2002 of the Government on surveying and mapping activities;

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

Pursuant to Decree No. 170/2003/NĐ-CP dated December 25, 2003 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Ordinance on Prices;

Pursuant to Decree No. 181/2004/NĐ-CP dated October 29, 2004 of the Government on the implementation of the Land Law 2003;

Pursuant to Decree No. 31/2005/NĐ-CP dated March 11, 2005 of the Government on production and supply of public goods;

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Finance hereby guide the method for preparing the budget for surveying and mapping and land management expenses as follows:

I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. These Circulars guide the preparation of the budget for surveying and mapping and land management expenses (hereinafter referred to as projects or tasks) funded by the central government and local budgets according to the division of financial responsibilities set out in Joint Circular No. 83/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTNMT dated August 27, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; serving as the basis for determining the price for allocating plans or ordering public goods services from implementing units.

2. The budget for surveying and mapping and land management expenses shall include all cost items necessary to complete the work according to procedures, regulations, and technical provisions of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. For projects or tasks with economic and technical norms, the budget will be based on the volume of work multiplied by unit prices and other costs (if any). For projects or tasks without economic and technical norms, the budget will be based on the content of the work, the required volume of work, the expenditure levels specified in this Circular, and current financial regulations.

3. Settlement and finalization of projects and tasks related to surveying and mapping and land management shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations.

II. UNIT PRICES FOR PRODUCTS

A. CLASSIFICATION OF WORK:

- Group I: Includes astronomical, gravity, coordinate, and elevation measurements at various levels, basic cadastral network surveys, topographic map creation, basic cadastral maps, and specialized maps;

- Group II: Includes cadastral surveying, cadastral map drawing from basic cadastral maps, and adjustment of changes;

- Group III: Includes land management tasks.

- Fieldwork: Includes all surveying and mapping, and land management tasks performed outdoors;

- Office work: Includes all surveying and mapping, and land management tasks performed indoors.

B. UNIT PRICES FOR PRODUCTS INCLUDE DIRECT COST ITEMS AND COMMON COST ITEMS:

Unit price for products = Direct costs (1) + Common costs (2)

1. Direct costs include components that constitute the value of the product (material costs, tool and equipment costs, labor costs, depreciation costs of machinery and equipment, and energy costs), calculated as follows:

a) Material costs: The value of primary materials, secondary materials, and fuel directly used in the production process; calculated specifically as follows:

- The quantity of materials is determined based on the material usage norms issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

- The unit price of materials (including VAT) for projects in Group I is taken from the average price of construction areas within the year and approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; for projects in Groups II and III, it is taken from the local price confirmed by the Department of Finance.

b) Tool and equipment costs: The value of tools and equipment allocated during the production process; calculated specifically as follows:

Where:

- The unit price of tools and equipment is calculated similarly to the method for determining material prices.

- The number of hours using and the useful life of tools and equipment according to the norms of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

c) Labor costs: Include technical labor costs and general labor costs (if any) participating in the production process.

c.1) Technical labor costs are calculated using the following formula:

- The unit price of technical labor days includes basic wages, wage supplements, allowances, contributions, and other benefits for workers according to current regulations.

- The content and method for determining the unit price of technical labor days are detailed in Appendix No. 01 attached to this Circular.

c.2) General labor costs are calculated using the following formula:

- The unit price of general labor days for projects in Group I is taken from the average price across construction areas within the year, approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

- The unit price of general labor days for Groups II and III is defined by the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs and the Department of Finance of the locality where the project is located.

d) Depreciation costs of machinery and equipment: The wear and tear of machinery and equipment used in the surveying and mapping and land management process; determined based on the list of machines, the number of machine hours used according to economic and technical norms issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the depreciation rate per machine hour; calculated specifically as follows:

Where:

- Number of machine hours used per year: Outdoor machines are 250 hours (except marine measurement equipment which is 200 hours); indoor machines are 500 hours;

- The number of years used for each group of equipment is specified in Appendix No. 02 attached to this Circular.

e) Energy costs: Are the costs of using energy for machinery and equipment operation during the time participating in product production, calculated according to the formula:

2. Common costs

These are common costs of the unit directly implementing such as: salary costs and other items with the nature of salary (social insurance, health insurance, trade union fees) for management staff; electricity, water, telephone, fuel, travel expenses, office supplies, tools and equipment for management staff; repair costs for equipment, tools and equipment for public institutions (or depreciation costs of fixed assets serving management for enterprises); conference fees for deploying and concluding work, troop transfer costs, temporary housing construction costs (or rental accommodation costs) for construction forces, product acceptance and handover costs of production units, and other management-related costs. This cost is determined according to a percentage based on direct costs, specified for each specific group of tasks as follows:

III. OTHER COSTS

1. Survey, design, and budget preparation costs: Include costs for surveying, collecting, analyzing data, selecting technical solutions, designing projects, constructing and reviewing, approving technical designs and budgets. This cost is calculated as a percentage of direct costs; the specific level is as follows:

For projects with total direct costs exceeding 50 billion VND, an additional 0.003% is added for every additional 1 billion VND.

For projects with total direct costs within the above ranges, the interpolation method is applied.

Example: A project belonging to Group I, with total direct costs of 8 billion VND (of which external operations are 5.5 billion VND; internal operations are 2.5 billion VND) then the coefficient for survey, design, and budget preparation costs is determined as follows:

External operations: 5.5 billion VND x 3.87% = 212.85 million VND.

Internal operations: 2.5 billion VND x 1.71% = 42.75 million VND.

Total: = 255.60 million VND.

2. Inspection and acceptance costs: Include all costs for managing and supervising the construction process, organizing quantity acceptance, quality control of completed products according to the regulations of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and reviewing quantity, quality, and value of the project. Inspection and acceptance costs are calculated based on direct costs and the following ratio:

3. Compensation costs (if any): Are costs for compensating trees and crops when measuring or requisitioning land for building markers and fences. This cost is determined based on the volume of trees and crops, area of land, and current compensation rates of the locality.

4. Costs for renting boats and ships: Projects measuring on sea and islands include costs for renting boats and ships. The rental period is based on the construction time outside islands and seas. Rental prices for boats and ships are based on local prices confirmed by financial authorities or local governments. Based on the survey report when preparing technical designs, the unit calculates this cost together with the technical design and project budget.

5. Ration meal costs: For projects outside the sea and islands, ration meal costs are budgeted according to current regulations.

6. Costs for purchasing fresh water for daily use by workers directly involved in production and construction in areas lacking fresh water (excluding fresh water costs included in salaries) and for cleaning boats used for marine surveys. This cost is calculated as follows:

7. Pre-tax income: For project budgets for mapping and land management, in addition to the aforementioned cost items, pre-tax income is calculated at 5.5% of the project budget cost in the unit price so that units can fulfill their obligations to the State under current regulations.

IV. BUDGET PREPARATION

1. For projects and tasks with economic and technical standards: Based on the workload, construction conditions of each area, and product prices issued, other costs (if any), to prepare the project implementation budget according to the cost structure specified in Appendix 04 attached to this Circular, and submit it to the competent authority for approval.

This Circular guides the preparation of general project budgets for both enterprises and public institutions implementing them. When determining the budget for tasks implemented by public institutions, it does not include depreciation costs of fixed assets. Additionally, for public institutions assigned staffing levels and funded by the state budget for regular activities, the entire funding allocated for the institution's staffing during the project implementation period must be deducted.

2. For projects and tasks without economic and technical standards (including survey, design, and budget preparation tasks; inspection and acceptance tasks): Based on the content of the work, required workload, current financial regulations, and levels specified in Appendix 03 attached to this Circular, to prepare the project implementation budget according to the cost structure specified in Appendix 05, and submit it to the competent authority for approval.

V. IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment directs units to develop pricing plans for mapping and land management tasks funded by the central government and implemented through state orders or plans; to review and provide written comments requesting the Ministry of Finance to issue them.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment directs units to develop pricing plans for mapping and land management tasks funded by local governments and implemented through state orders or plans; to submit them to the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city for issuance after receiving written reviews from the Department of Finance.

2. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment approves projects, tasks related to surveying and mapping, and land management funded by the central budget; People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities approve projects, tasks related to surveying and mapping, and land management delegated to local implementation.

3. During the implementation process, if there are changes in policy systems, unit prices of products, quantities of work leading to changes in the project budget, such changes must be submitted to the competent authority for approval to adjust the project budget.

4. This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette and replaces Circular Jointly Issued No. 715/2000/TTLT-TCĐC-BTC dated May 10, 2000, issued by the Department of Land Administration under the Ministry of Finance on guidelines for preparing budgets for surveying and mapping activities.

5. In case of difficulties during implementation, units are requested to report to the joint ministries of Natural Resources and Environment and Finance for research and resolution.