Decision No. 05/2000/QĐ-TTg On amending and supplementing Decision No. 95/1998/QĐ-TTg dated May 18, 1998 of the Government on debt settlement in phase II.

Pursuant to …;

Regarding amendments and supplements to Decision No. 95/1998/QĐ-TTg dated May 18, 1998 of the Prime Minister on debt settlement in phase IIThe Prime Minister's Decision on debt settlement in phase II

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PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Government Organization Law dated September 30, 1992;

At the proposal of the Central Committee for Comprehensive Debt Settlement and the Minister of Finance,

DECISION:

Article 1. Now, we amend and supplement the provisions of Articles 5, 7, 20, 25, and 30 of Decision No. 95/1998/QĐ-TTg dated May 18, 1998 of the Prime Minister on debt settlement in phase II.

1. Article 5, introductory clause, is amended as follows:

"Article 5. State budget debts of state-owned enterprises that are still operating shall be handled by the competent financial authority at the same level. In cases exceeding their authority, they shall report to the competent authority for decision."

The classification of state budget debts for settlement (items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Article 5) remains unchanged.

2. The introductory clause of Article 7 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 7. When bank debts have been entered into the payment system and confirmed by the local debt settlement board, banks shall base their handling and resolution on the guidance of the Central Committee for Comprehensive Debt Settlement. If it is a receivable debt of the bank, commercial banks shall decide to resolve from their own financial reserve fund; if insufficient, it shall be recorded in the business results and reported to the State Bank. For debts converted from loans to state budget funds, commercial banks shall report to the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank for resolution according to regulations.

Commercial banks shall regularly report progress on debt settlement monthly to the Central Committee for Comprehensive Debt Settlement and the Ministry of Finance.

3. Article 20 is amended as follows:

"Article 20. For debts of the National Reserve, based on the conclusion of the local debt settlement board (debt write-off or transferred back to the locality), the National Reserve Bureau shall be responsible for handling and reporting consolidated to the Central Committee for Comprehensive Debt Settlement and the Ministry of Finance for deciding to reduce capital for the National Reserve Bureau, and shall regularly report implementation status monthly to the aforementioned two agencies."

4. Article 25 is amended as follows:

"Article 25. For enterprises borrowing foreign loans with guarantees from ministries, sectors, and localities but unable to repay; ministries, sectors, and localities shall take the lead in negotiating with foreign creditors to reduce the amount of debt payable (principal and interest) to the lowest possible level for organizing debt sale according to regulations or arranging into the same-level budget to have sources to repay foreign debt. Enterprises buying back the debt or having the state pay off foreign debt on their behalf shall be responsible for repaying the state. If there are difficulties, ministries, sectors, and localities shall report to the Ministry of Finance to submit to the Prime Minister for decision."

5. Article 30 is amended as follows:

"Article 30. Creditors, debtors, guarantors, and successors shall be responsible for debt settlement according to this Decision. In cases where debtors are serving prison sentences and have not yet fulfilled economic compensation according to court decisions, these debts shall be handed over to the provincial finance department for gradual collection through enforcement agencies. The agency making the decision or authorized to establish enterprises shall be responsible before the Government for debt settlement.

State-owned enterprises may handle uncollectible debts once or multiple times annually in their production and business results, but not exceeding five years in total. If the handling of such debts leads to reduced profits or losses for the enterprise corresponding to the uncollectible debts included in the annual production and business results, then:

- The enterprise shall continue to maintain its relationship with commercial banks for loans as before the debt settlement.

- It shall continue to enjoy the wage fund as before recording the uncollectible debt in the production and business results.

- It shall retain its enterprise rating.

- It shall continue to allocate bonuses and welfare funds as before the debt settlement according to current regulations.

For state-owned enterprises currently operating with mutual debts, if direct settlement is not possible, the financial authority shall take the lead in increasing capital for the indebted unit and reducing capital for the creditor enterprise.

Provincial People's Committees, the Ministry of Finance, the State Bank of Vietnam, sector management ministries, and the Board of Directors of Total Corporation 91 are the guiding bodies proposing measures for resolution, and in case of obstacles, shall report to the Prime Minister for decision."

Article 2. This Decision takes effect 15 days after the date of signature. Previous provisions in Decision No. 95/1998/QĐ-TTg of the Prime Minister, and those of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies that conflict with the provisions of this Decision are abolished.

Article 3. The Minister of Finance shall guide the implementation of this Decision. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-affiliated agencies, and Chairmen of provincial people's committees directly under the central government shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.