Joint Circular No. 04/TTLB stipulates the tasks of the Departments of Finance and Foreign Trade Companies in comprehensively managing foreign trade companies under the Provincial People's Committees and Municipal People's Committees.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Article 1. The Departments of Finance and Foreign Trade and the Departments of Foreign Trade and Trading Companies shall manage comprehensively all trading companies under the Provincial People's Committees from January 1, 1976.

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After the Ministry of Foreign Trade has delegated and transferred the Departments of Foreign Trade and Trading Companies (hereinafter referred to as Trading Companies) to the Provincial People's Committees since January 1, 1976; while awaiting the State's decision on improving management and organizing unified procurement of agricultural products for domestic consumption and export; to ensure continuous direction and economic financial management of Trading Companies, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Trade stipulate and provide further guidance on the responsibilities of the Departments of Finance towards Trading Companies and the responsibilities of Trading Companies towards the Departments of Finance as follows:

II. TASKS OF THE DEPARTMENTS OF FINANCE.

1. Annually, based on the records of the quantity of goods submitted for export by the State Planning Commission assigned to the Provincial People's Committees; based on the agency and entrusted tasks for exporting goods assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Trade to the Departments of Foreign Trade, the Departments of Finance shall assist and guide Trading Companies in building financial revenue and expenditure plans, submit them to the Provincial People's Committees for approval and record them in the local budget.

2. After the material resources, labor, and capital plans of Trading Companies have been approved, the Departments of Finance shall be responsible for allocating various types of capital (such as dedicated funds, expenses outside production costs, non-material capital) provided by Trading Companies, while continuously monitoring and assisting Trading Companies to implement their procurement and processing plans and timely delivery of export goods according to specifications and quality standards, thereby urging Trading Companies to timely and fully remit accumulations, depreciation, taxes, and fixed asset valuation indices to the local budget.

3. Regarding basic construction, in 1976 and the following years, the Ministry of Foreign Trade will continue to invest in Trading Companies according to principles outlined in Circular 400/BNgT-XK. The Departments of Finance shall work with Trading Companies to propose to the Provincial People's Committees planning locations, scale, and equipment for Trading Companies, thereby helping them establish warehouse plans and equipment conditions that facilitate the Ministry of Foreign Trade's investment decisions.

When the Ministry of Foreign Trade approves and allocates basic construction capital to Trading Companies, the Departments of Finance shall cooperate with the Construction Bank to urge and monitor Trading Companies to properly execute design, budgeting, construction progress, and timely settlement with the Ministry of Foreign Trade.

4. Due to the specific characteristics of export trade, to strengthen financial management over Trading Companies, the Departments of Finance must assign specialized staff to understand foreign trade activities, participate in opinions on long-term and short-term economic contracts related to production and procurement signed by Trading Companies, and actively urge relevant departments and agencies within the locality to create favorable conditions for Trading Companies to fulfill their obligations to the Ministry of Foreign Trade.

5. In the field of prices and export circulation fees, the Ministry of Foreign Trade has issued Decision No. 506/BNgT-TV dated August 17, 1972, which sets out principles for calculating and reviewing internal adjustment prices for export goods. The Departments of Finance need to study and contribute opinions to the Joint Ministries in reviewing sales prices for each commodity traded through Trading Companies and assist Trading Companies in formulating plans to reduce circulation costs, lower export product costs, and increase savings for the budget.

II. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE DEPARTMENTS AND TRADING COMPANIES.

1. According to Circular 400-BNgT-XK, starting from 1976, Trading Companies are units under the Provincial People's Committees and, in terms of business operations, they are managed vertically by the Ministry of Foreign Trade; therefore, all financial revenue and expenditure plans, production and business settlement reports, monthly, quarterly, and annual inventory reports of Trading Companies must be reviewed by the Provincial People's Committees.

When preparing quarterly and annual financial revenue and expenditure plans, Trading Companies should seek the participation and advice of the Departments of Finance and the Branches of the State Bank before finalizing the forms for submission to the Provincial People's Committees for review.

For monthly and quarterly settlements, Trading Companies must send them to the Provincial People's Committees for review, and simultaneously send them to the Departments of Finance and the Banks; for semi-annual and annual settlements and reports, Trading Companies must send copies to both the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Trade for the Joint Ministries to research and use as a basis for reviewing economic accounting norms and approving bonuses for completing export delivery targets.

2. As Trading Companies are units under local provincial committees, the Departments of Finance have the responsibility to guide and assist Trading Companies in various aspects.

Trading Companies must:

- Regularly report on the implementation of financial indicators and compliance with financial regulations.

- Accept financial and accounting supervision by the Departments of Finance.

- Timely and fully remit monthly amounts due to the local budget as mentioned above, and at the end of each quarter and year, prepare settlement reports to the Departments of Finance regarding these amounts.

III. ADDITIONAL POINTS AND GUIDELINES.

a. The Ministry of Foreign Trade has decided that the transfer of assets between central and local authorities must be based on figures from the asset summary sheet as of December 31, 1975. Trading Companies are responsible for reporting, and the Departments of Finance must verify the figures recorded in the 1975 final settlement and comprehensive inventory report at 0 hours on January 1, 1976.

After appraising the aforementioned data, the Departments of Finance need to request the Trading Companies to provide further clarification on the items lacking sufficient grounds and to urge these companies to proceed with liquidation and disposal work; they should also submit their specific opinions on resolving issues exceeding their authority for the Joint Ministries so that the Joint Ministries have a basis for making prompt decisions.

b. The Departments of Finance need to proactively urge the Foreign Trade Companies to develop the financial plan for 1975, promptly submitting it to the Provincial People's Committees for review so that the Companies can have comprehensive targets from the beginning of the year. During this process, the Departments of Finance may directly meet with the Accounting and Financial Department of the Ministry of Foreign Trade to exchange specific management experiences if deemed necessary.

c. For provinces sharing borders with foreign countries, if there is trade exchange between our province and neighboring foreign provinces, the Departments of Finance and the Foreign Trade Companies also need to consult each other to reach consensus on reporting to the Provincial People's Committee regarding the content of activities and measures to balance goods and currency within the scope of local plans and budgets so that the People's Committee has a basis for reviewing economic and financial expenditures for the Local Import-Export Stations and Companies (transferred simultaneously with the transfer of the Foreign Trade Companies by the Ministry of Foreign Trade).

The procurement and processing, as well as the transit of export goods in provinces and cities, which have been managed by the Ministry of Foreign Trade in many aspects for the Provincial People's Committees, will now be transferred by the Ministry of Foreign Trade to local management for the Foreign Trade Companies in those areas to continue operating normally. The Joint Ministries will issue a Circular to guide this matter specifically, and during implementation, if either party (Departments of Finance - Foreign Trade Companies) encounters any difficulties or unresolved issues, they should report back to the Joint Ministries for additional guidance.