Decision No. 07/2004/QD-BGTVT Issuing the Procedure for Reviewing and Approving Final Accounts of Completed Projects

Pursuant to …;

Issuing the Examination and Approval Procedure for Final Accounts Settlement of Completed Projects

Investment Capital

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THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORTATION

Pursuant to Decree No. 34/2003/NĐ-CP dated April 4, 2003 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

Pursuant to Decree No. 52/1999/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 1999 of the Government promulgating the Management Regulation on Investment and Construction; Decree No. 12/2000/NĐ-CP dated May 5, 2000 and Decree No. 07/2003/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2003 of the Government supplementing and amending certain provisions of the Management Regulation on Investment and Construction;

Pursuant to Circular No. 45/2003/TT-BTC dated May 15, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance guiding final accounts settlement of investment capital and Decision No. 168/2003/QĐ-BTC dated October 7, 2003 of the Minister of Finance promulgating the Examination Procedure for Final Accounts Settlement of Completed Projects;

Considering the proposal of the Director of the Department of Finance and the Director of the Legal Department,

DECISION:

Article 1. This Decision hereby promulgates the Examination and Approval Procedure for Final Accounts Settlement of Completed Projects within the approval authority of the Minister of Transport.

Article 2. The Standard Measurement Quality Control Department shall be responsible for organizing and guiding the implementation of the Regulations adopted herein.

Article 3. The Heads of the Office of the Ministry, Directors of Departments, Directors of Bureaus, General Directors of Project Management Boards, General Directors of State-owned Enterprises under the Ministry, and Heads of project sponsors managed by the Ministry shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

PROCEDURE

Examination and Approval of Final Accounts Settlement of Completed Projects

(issued together with Decision No. 07/2004/QĐ-BGTVT dated April 13, 2004)

of the Ministry of Transport)

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Chapter 1:

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Application

This procedure stipulates the form, procedures, and contents of each step in the examination and approval of final accounts settlement reports of completed projects within the approval authority or the authority to review final accounts settlement reports of the Minister of Transport and shall apply to all organizations and individuals entrusted with managing and implementing such projects.

Article 2. Form of Examination of Final Accounts Settlement Report

1. All projects within the approval authority of the Minister of Transport must be audited by an independent auditing organization, which will then be reviewed by the specialized department of the Ministry of Transport (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) before being submitted to the Minister of Transport for approval.

2. For Class A projects and projects decided to be invested in by the Prime Minister where the Ministry must review the final accounts settlement report to submit to the Ministry of Finance for approval, if the final accounts settlement report has not been audited, the project sponsor must also hire an independent auditing organization to audit the final accounts settlement report.

Article 3. Audit Costs

1. The audit cost for the auditing organization specified in Clause 1 of Article 2 of this procedure shall be a maximum of 100% of the audit cost prescribed in Item 1.1 of Clause 1 of Part VI of Circular No. 45/2003/TT-BTC dated May 15, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance.

2. The audit cost for the auditing organization specified in Clause 2 of Article 2 of this procedure shall be a maximum of 50% of the examination and approval costs prescribed in Item 1.1 of Clause 1 of Part VI of Circular No. 45/2003/TT-BTC dated May 15, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance.

Chapter 2:

ORGANIZATION, PROCEDURE AND CONTENTS OF EXAMINATION AND APPROVAL OF FINAL ACCOUNTS SETTLEMENT

Article 4. Final Accounts Review Board

1. The Final Accounts Review Board (hereinafter referred to as the Board) of the Ministry consists of: The Deputy Minister in charge of final accounts settlement as Chairman, the Director of the Department of Finance as a permanent member, the Director of the Bureau of Inspection and Quality Control of Transportation Works as a member, the Director of the Department of Investment Planning as a member, the Inspector General of the Ministry as a member, and the Advisor Team Leader as a member. When the head of a unit is absent, the deputy of that unit as specified in this Clause shall participate in the Board.

2. The Board has the following tasks:

a) Directing and urging project sponsors to timely complete final accounts settlement reports in full accordance with the prescribed content and forms;

b) Guiding and urging project sponsors to resolve issues arising during the final accounts settlement process, recovery of assets from the project, and overpaid funds to contractors;

c) Organizing the examination and inspection of final accounts settlement reports in accordance with the content and procedures stipulated in this procedure.

3. The Chairman of the Board may establish an advisory team for each project to assist the Board in performing its tasks. The advisory team includes: the leader of the Department of Finance as the Team Leader, and members consisting of project monitoring officers from the Department of Finance, the Bureau of Inspection and Quality Control of Transportation Works, the Department of Investment Planning, the Inspectorate of the Ministry, and the project sponsor.

Article 5. Preparation of Plan for Final Accounts Settlement Approval

1. Before January 15 each year, project sponsors must submit to the Ministry a list of projects required to prepare final accounts settlement reports for that year and ensure timely and accurate completion of final accounts settlement for projects listed.

2. Based on the list of projects submitted for final accounts settlement approval by project sponsors and actual conditions, the Department of Finance prepares a plan for examination and inspection of final accounts settlement reports, submits it to the Minister for approval, and implements it according to the approved plan.

Article 6. Final Accounts Settlement Report Documents

1. The documents for submission for final accounts settlement approval must comply with the provisions of Part III of Circular No. 45/2003/TT-BTC dated May 15, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance.

2. Project sponsors must submit the final accounts settlement documents of completed projects to the Ministry through the Department of Finance. The number of final accounts settlement documents should be four sets, including at least one original set.

Article 7. Procedure for Examination and Approval of Final Accounts Settlement

The procedure for conducting examination, inspection, and approval of final accounts settlement of completed projects is as follows:

1. Step 1: Receiving and inspecting final accounts settlement report documents.

2. Step 2: The advisory team conducts examination and inspection of final accounts settlement.

3. Step 3: The Board conducts examination and inspection and approves the final accounts settlement.

4. Step 4: Summarizing and submitting to the Minister of Transport for decision.

Article 8: Inspection of Final Accounts Settlement Report Documents

1. Within two working days from receiving the final accounts settlement report documents from the project sponsor, the Department of Finance is responsible for inspecting and preparing a receipt for the documents with the project sponsor. The receipt must clearly state the list of documents submitted by the project sponsor. If the documents submitted by the project sponsor are incomplete, the Department of Finance shall issue a document requesting the project sponsor to submit additional documents.

2. After receiving all the project completion final account report documents submitted by the Project Owner, the Financial Department shall issue a document to the Investment Planning Department, the Quality Control and Inspection Bureau, the Inspectorate of the Ministry, and the Project Owner to appoint members to join the Advisory Group. The Financial Department shall submit to the Ministry for issuance of a decision establishing the Advisory Group.

Article 9. Audit of the final account report

An independent auditing organization shall conduct the audit of the final account report of completed projects in accordance with the provisions set out in Section III Part II of Decision No. 168/2003/QD-BTC dated October 7, 2003, issued by the Minister of Finance.

Article 10. Examination of the final account report

The Advisory Group of the Ministry shall examine the final account report that has been audited. The examination content shall be carried out in accordance with Point 9 of Section III Part II of Decision No. 168/2003/QD-BTC dated October 7, 2003, issued by the Minister of Finance, specifically as follows:

1. Examine the compliance with the procedures and contents of the audit conducted by the auditing organization as prescribed:

a) Examine the legality of the audit contract, the time and format of conducting the audit, and the publication of the audit report;

b) Based on the content of the contract signed between the Project Owner and the auditing organization, based on the audit result report, proceed to examine and evaluate the audit procedures and contents conducted by the auditing organization regarding completeness and conformity to regulations. In cases where the auditing organization has not properly performed the tasks related to the final account audit, the Advisory Group Leader, authorized by the Minister of Transport, may issue a document requesting the auditing organization to conduct supplementary audits.

2. Examine the legal bases used by the auditing organization for auditing against state regulations on investment management and construction:

a) The system of management mechanisms and capital payment regulations applicable to the project;

b) Unit prices, norms, and relevant policies according to state regulations applied to the project;

c) Compliance with auditing standards, auditing principles, and the contents of the final account report audit for basic construction projects as prescribed.

3. Examine and review the differences in content between the final account proposal submitted by the Project Owner and the independent auditing organization's audit report.

4. Comments and recommendations:

a) Comments on the results of the auditing organization's audit of the final account report regarding the quality and content of the audit compared to the requirements and regulations for auditing the final account report;

b) Recommendations for measures to resolve project issues after final accounting;

c) Recommendations to relevant agencies regarding the investment management process and project implementation; research and propose amendments and supplements to improve management mechanisms;

d) Any difficulties with policies (if any), recommending the Minister to issue a document to the competent state management agency for consideration and resolution.

5. The Advisory Group must prepare a report on the examination results and send it to the Chairman of the Board, the Deputy Minister overseeing the project, and other Board members. The template for the Advisory Group's examination report is stipulated in Appendix No. 01/TT-QT attached to this Procedure.

Article 11. Time limit for auditing, examining, and checking final accounts.

1. For Class B and C projects: The audit period for the final account report shall not exceed four months, and the examination approval period shall not exceed four months (from the date of receipt of all final account documents, including the audit report).

2. For projects with total investment under one billion dong and independent works: The audit period for the final account report shall not exceed two months, and the examination approval period shall not exceed two months (from the date of receipt of all final account documents, including the audit report).

During the examination and inspection process, if there are any difficulties, the Advisory Group Leader shall report to the Chairman of the Board for consideration and permission to extend the deadline as prescribed.

Article 12. Approval of final accounts.

1. Within ten working days from the date of receipt of the Advisory Group's examination report results, the Chairman of the Board, the Deputy Minister overseeing the project, and other Board members shall provide written comments on the Project Owner's final account report and the Advisory Group's examination results to the Financial Department of the Ministry. The templates for the Deputy Minister's and other Board members' comments are stipulated in Appendices No. 02/TT-QT and 03/TT-QT attached to this Procedure.

2. The Financial Department shall be responsible for compiling the comments of the Board members and submitting them to the Chairman of the Board for approval. If necessary, organize a Board meeting for approval. The results of the Board's work must be recorded in a Minutes.

Article 13. Approval of final accounts

Within thirty days, the Financial Department shall be responsible for compiling the examination results reports of the Board and the opinions of relevant agencies to submit to the Chairman of the Board for the Minister's consideration and decision.

Chapter 3:

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 14. Implementing organization.

The Director of the Financial Department of the Ministry shall be responsible for urging, monitoring, inspecting, and compiling reports to the Minister on the implementation of this Procedure./.