Circular No. 05/2007/TT-BNV guiding the implementation of certain provisions stipulated in Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 26, 2007 of the Government on the classification of provincial and district administrative units.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Certain Provisions of Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP

dated January 26, 2007 of the Government on Classifying Provincial and District Administrative Units

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Pursuant to Decree No. 45/2003/NĐ-CP dated May 9, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Home Affairs;

Pursuant to Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 26, 2007 of the Government on Classifying Provincial and District Administrative Units;

The Ministry of Home Affairs issues guidelines for certain Articles stipulated in Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 26, 2007 of the Government on Classifying Provincial and District Administrative Units as follows:

I. METHODS FOR CALCULATING CLASSIFICATION POINTS

1. Population: The population data for calculating points is prescribed in Clause 1 - Article 7 and Clause 1 - Article 8 of Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP dated January 26, 2007 of the Government on Classifying Provincial and District Administrative Units (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP). The calculation method is as follows:

1.1. Take the natural population data on the territory up to December 31 of the year immediately preceding the classification year. Population data for calculating provincial administrative unit classification points shall be provided by the Provincial General Statistics Office under the Central Office; population data for calculating district administrative unit classification points shall be provided by the District Statistics Office according to the Law on Statistics.

1.2. In cases where new administrative units are established after December 31 of the year immediately preceding the classification year, the population data shall be taken from the Resolution of the National Assembly for provincial administrative units or the Decree of the Government regarding the establishment of new district administrative units.

2. Natural Area, as prescribed in Clause 2 - Article 7, Clause 2 - Article 8 of Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP:

2.1. The natural area of provinces and districts shall uniformly take the data according to Decision No. 272/QĐ-TTg dated February 27, 2007 of the Prime Minister approving the results of the land inventory in 2005 for provinces and districts.

2.2. For administrative units at all levels that have had their administrative boundaries adjusted or newly established after December 31, 2005, the natural area data shall be the data recorded in the Resolution of the National Assembly for provincial administrative units or the Decree of the Government issued for district administrative units.

2.3. In cases where administrative units have disputes over administrative boundaries, they shall base on the files of administrative boundaries implementing Directive No. 364-CT dated November 6, 1991 of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers on resolving disputes related to land and administrative boundaries at all levels.

3. Special Factors, as prescribed in Clause 3 - Article 7 and Clause 3 - Article 8 of Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP:

3.1. Regarding the ratio of annual revenue to expenditure of the state budget on average over the last three years on the territory of the provincial administrative unit (calculated based on the nearest fiscal year to the classification time) to calculate points:

a) Data on average annual revenue and expenditure of the state budget on the territory of the provincial administrative unit shall be reported by the financial authority at the same level.

b) For provincial administrative units with an annual revenue-to-expenditure ratio on the territory exceeding 100% (revenue exceeds expenditure) as stipulated in Point g, Clause 3 - Article 7 of Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP, each additional 10% of revenue will earn an additional point, corresponding to each additional 1% earning 0.1 point, with a maximum score not exceeding 40 points.

c) The scoring formula is as follows:

Example 1: Province B has total state budget revenue on its territory over the last three years: 2004 was 900 billion VND; 2005 was 1,100 billion VND; 2006 was 1,500 billion VND. Total expenditure of the local state budget over the last three years: 2004 was 1,000 billion VND; 2005 was 1,100 billion VND; 2006 was 1,200 billion VND, then it is calculated as follows:

- Points for the ratio of revenue to expenditure of Province B is: 5 points + 0.6 points = 5.6 points.

3.2. Regarding the ratio of average annual revenue of the state budget on the territory compared to the annual plan of the People's Committee of the province (averaged over the last three budgets) for district-level administrative units to calculate points:

a) Data on the average annual revenue of the state budget on the territory compared to the planned revenue of the district-level administrative unit shall be taken from the data reported by the financial authority at the same level;

b) For district-level administrative units with an annual revenue ratio on the territory exceeding 100% compared to the planned revenue, as stipulated in Point i, Clause 3 - Article 8 of Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP, each additional 5% earns an additional point, corresponding to each additional 1% earning 0.2 points, with a maximum score not exceeding 20 points;

c) The scoring formula is as follows:

Example 2: District C has total state budget revenue on its territory over the last three years: 2004 was 90 billion VND; 2005 was 100 billion VND; 2006 was 150 billion VND; the planned state budget revenue assigned by the provincial People's Committee over the last three years: 2004 was 90 billion VND; 2005 was 95 billion VND; 2006 was 115 billion VND, then it is calculated as follows:

Points for the ratio of average annual revenue of the state budget on the territory compared to the planned revenue of District C is: 5 points + 2.66 points = 7.66 points.

3.3. Some notes on revenue and expenditure data:

a) Revenue and expenditure data of the state budget at the provincial level are calculated based on the actual revenue and expenditure of the state budget up to December 31 of each year and only include balanced budget expenditures as stipulated by the State Budget Law;

b) In cases where provincial and district administrative units are newly divided, merged, or established, and do not have sufficient state budget revenue and expenditure data on the territory, the data of the state budget of one year immediately preceding the year of filing the classification application shall be taken from the sum of the data of the same-level administrative units before division, merger, or establishment.

3.4. Other special factors:

a) Administrative units located in highland areas shall only be awarded points for highlands and shall not be additionally awarded points for mountainous regions. The determination of administrative units at all levels as mountainous or highland areas shall be carried out according to the Decisions of the Prime Minister or the Minister, Head of the State Committee for Ethnic Minorities Affairs recognizing administrative units at provincial, district, and commune levels.

b) Provinces within the national border area as defined in Point d, Clause 3 - Article 7 of Decree 15/2007/NĐ-CP are those with at least one administrative unit at the district level within the border area. Administrative units at the district level within the national border area and islands as defined in Point d, Clause 3 - Article 8 of Decree 15/2007/NĐ-CP shall be awarded 20 points if they have at least one administrative unit at the commune level within the border area or islands. The determination of administrative units at all levels within the border area on land or sea borders is provided for in:

- Decree No. 161/2003/NĐ-CP dated December 18, 2003 of the Government on the regulations of the sea border area;

- Circular No. 179/2001/TT-BQP dated January 22, 2001 of the Ministry of National Defense on administrative units within the land border area;

- For cases where new administrative units are established after the time periods specified in the two documents above, the determination of administrative units at all levels within the border area on land or sea borders must be based on the Government's Decree on the establishment of new administrative units at the district and commune levels, but it must be reflected on the administrative boundary map that such administrative units have a land border adjacent to another country or a sea border, then they may be awarded points for classification.

c) Administrative units with international and national border gates for point calculation as stipulated in Point h, Clause 3 - Article 8 of Decree 15/2007/NĐ-CP are determined as follows:

- Seaport gateways are international gateways, based on decisions of the Minister of Transport or the Vietnam Maritime Administration under the Ministry of Transport announcing seaports for foreign and Vietnamese vessels to enter and operate. Inland ports cannot be considered as national gateways, thus they cannot be awarded points for classification.

- Air cargo port gateways are based on the provisions of the Civil Aviation Law; according to decisions of the Minister of Transport or the Civil Aviation Authority under the Ministry of Transport announcing international and national air cargo ports. Inland air cargo ports cannot be considered as national gateways, thus they cannot be awarded points for classification.

- Land gateways are based on Decree No. 32/2005/NĐ-CP dated March 14, 2005 of the Government, and decisions of the Prime Minister recognizing international and state gateways (national gateways). Auxiliary gateways cannot be considered as national gateways, thus they cannot be awarded points for classification.

d) The determination of data on ethnic minority populations (minority groups) as defined in Point e, Clause 3 - Article 7 and Point k, Clause 3 - Article 8 of Decree 15/2007/NĐ-CP includes all ethnic groups except the Kinh ethnic group, and the data is reported up to December 31 of the year immediately preceding the year of filing the classification dossier by the ethnic minority management agency at the same level.

đ) Administrative units at the provincial and district levels with special factors as defined in Clause 3, Article 7 for provincial-level administrative units or in Clause 3, Article 8 of Decree 15/2007/NĐ-CP for district-level administrative units shall accumulate points from these special criteria to calculate classification points (excluding the special factor mentioned in point a above).

3.5. The method of rounding the total points for classifying administrative units is calculated as whole points; in case there are decimal points, they will be rounded off according to the principle of rounding numbers (after summing all criteria and special factors); numbers equal to or greater than 0.5 will be rounded up to 1 point, while numbers less than 0.5 will retain the whole number part.

Example 3: Phu Yen District (Thai Nguyen Province) has population points of 179.58, natural area points of 66.41, six communes classified as mountainous regions earning 6 points, the district having eighteen communes earning 1 point, the ratio of budget revenue to plan being 12.72 points; the total points are 265.71, which is rounded to 266 points.

II. PROCEDURES, PROCEDURES AND AUTHORITY FOR CLASSIFICATION

Procedures, procedures, and authority for classifying administrative units at the provincial and district levels are as follows:

1. Preparing the dossier:

The Department of Home Affairs is responsible for preparing the dossier for classifying provincial-level administrative units, while the Office of Home Affairs - Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs is responsible for preparing the dossier for classifying district-level administrative units; each provincial and district-level administrative unit prepares four sets of classification dossiers, including:

1.1. A copy of the cadastral map of each administrative unit on A0 or A1, A2 size paper, showing clearly the administrative boundaries, recording the scale, natural area data, geographical location, date of copying, and signed and stamped by the Chairman of the People's Committee at the same level on the map. The copy of the cadastral map is one of the following types:

a) Extracted map based on Map 364 (implemented according to Directive No. 364-CT dated November 6, 1991 of the Council of Ministers on resolving land disputes related to administrative boundaries at all levels);

b) New map adjusted for administrative boundaries;

c) Map of newly established administrative units.

1.2. Drawing population and area data:

a) Report on natural population data in the area confirmed by the statistical agency at the same level;

b) Report on natural area data in the area confirmed by the agency managing Natural Resources and Environment at the same level.

1.3. Special factors, including:

a) Report on ethnic minority population data reported by the ethnic minority management agency at the same level;

b) Report on financial data: state budget revenue and expenditure for provinces; revenue and state budget allocation plans for districts reported by the financial management agency at the same level.

1.4. The consolidated statistics on population criteria, area, and special factors shall be self-scored by the locality; criteria regarding mountainous regions, highlands, borders, checkpoints, final settlement reports or draft budgets (if not yet settled) for revenue collection within the territory and final settlement reports or draft budgets (if not yet settled) for local government expenditure at the provincial level; the Decision of the Provincial People's Committee on allocating revenue collection targets for the territorial level of the district over the last three years must clearly state the number of documents and issuing agencies (according to Form No. 01) with the stamp of confirmation from the same-level People's Committee.

1.5. For administrative units specified in Article 5 of the Decree that are recognized as special category administrative units or Category I, points for classification will not be counted, but they must prepare files containing all three criteria: population, area, and special factors for review and submission to the competent authority for decision on recognition of administrative unit classification.

2. Submit to the same-level People's Council:

2.1. The Department of Home Affairs, the Home Affairs - Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Office shall complete the file and the report of the People's Committee to report to the same-level People's Council for issuance of a Resolution approving the classification.

2.2. For files of administrative units specified in Article 5 of Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP, there is no need for approval through a Resolution of the same-level People's Council, but the People's Committee must report to the same-level People's Council before review and submission to the competent authority for decision on classification.

3. Reviewing files

3.1. The Minister of Home Affairs decides to establish a Review Board chaired by the Ministry of Home Affairs, in collaboration with the Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, Finance, and the General Statistics Office to conduct inspections, reviews of the files, procedures, processes, and methods of scoring for administrative unit classification at the provincial level.

3.2. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee decides to establish a Review Board chaired by the Department of Home Affairs, in collaboration with the Departments of Finance, Natural Resources and Environment, and the Statistics Office to conduct inspections, reviews of the files, procedures, processes, and methods of scoring for administrative unit classification at the district level.

4. Submission and decision on classification:

4.1. After the Resolution of the District People's Council (except for administrative units specified in Article 5 of Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP) and the results of the provincial-level Review Board, the Department of Home Affairs completes the file and submits it to the Provincial People's Committee for reporting to the Minister of Home Affairs for examination and decision on classification of district-level administrative units.

4.2. After the Resolution of the Provincial People's Council (except for administrative units specified in Article 5 of Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP) and the results of the Review Board, the Ministry of Home Affairs completes the file and submits it to the Prime Minister for examination and decision on classification of provincial-level administrative units.

5. Management of classification files:

5.1. The Ministry of Home Affairs manages and stores classification files of provincial-level administrative units.

5.2. The Department of Home Affairs manages and stores classification files of district-level administrative units.

5.3. The Provincial People's Committee conducts statistical work, evaluation, and reports the results of district-level administrative unit classification to the Ministry of Home Affairs (according to Form No. 02); the Ministry of Home Affairs reports to the Prime Minister on the classification of provincial-level administrative units (according to Form No. 03).

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Ministry of Home Affairs coordinates with relevant ministries and sectors to assist the Government in organizing implementation and guiding the provincial and district-level People's Committees in implementing Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP of the Government on the classification of provincial and district-level administrative units; completing the classification of provincial and district-level administrative units nationwide by the first quarter of 2008 at the latest.

2. The Department of Home Affairs coordinates with related specialized agencies to assist the provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committees in organizing implementation and guiding the district-level People's Committees in implementing the provisions of Decree No. 15/2007/NĐ-CP of the Government on the classification of provincial and district-level administrative units and the guidelines set out in this Circular.

3. The Ministry of Home Affairs directs and implements inspection, complaint resolution, and violation investigation and handling in the implementation of regulations on the classification of provincial-level administrative units. The provincial-level People's Committee directs the implementation of inspection, complaint resolution, and violation investigation and handling in the implementation of regulations on the classification of district-level administrative units.

4. This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. Any difficulties or obstacles encountered during implementation should be reported by the provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committees and relevant ministries and sectors to the Ministry of Home Affairs for study and resolution within their jurisdiction or for compilation and reporting to the Government./.