Circular No. 09/2005/TT-BTC guiding the management and use of training funds for human resources for small and medium-sized enterprises during the period of 2004-2008.

 

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing and using training funds for small and medium-sized enterprises from 2004 to 2008 cho các

doanh nghiệp nhỏ và vừa giai đoạn 2004 - 2008

  

Implementing Decision No. 143/2004/QĐ-TTg dated August 10, 2004 of the Prime Minister approving the Program on assisting the training of human resources for small and medium-sized enterprises during the period 2004-2008, the Ministry of Finance provides guidelines for the management and use of training funds for small and medium-sized enterprises as follows:

A. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Object of the Program:

1.1. Owners and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises as defined in Article 4 of Decree No. 90/2001/NĐ-CP dated November 23, 2001 of the Government on assistance for the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.

For the period 2004-2005, the object includes managers of cooperatives established and operating under the Law on Cooperatives who can only participate in courses and training sessions under the Program's topics that do not overlap with the topics of the Training and Capacity Building Project for Cooperative Managers 2003-2005 and Circular No. 22/2004/TT-BTC dated March 24, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management and use of training and capacity building funds for cooperative managers during the period 2004-2005.

1.2. Individuals and organizations wishing to establish businesses; female entrepreneurs; providers of business support services.

Participants in the Program must have a need and willingness to be trained and comply with the training regulations.

Clause 2. Implementation principles:

The Program is implemented based on the principle of socializing the training and capacity building activities for small and medium-sized enterprises:

- Small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs contribute part of the funding;

- The state budget (including central and local budgets) supports part of the funding, prioritizing small and medium-sized enterprises in areas with particularly difficult conditions.

In addition, other sources of financial support from domestic organizations and individuals, international organizations, and foreign countries should be mobilized for the implementation of the Program.

3. Scope of use of funds to implement the Program:

Funds for implementing the Program on assisting the training of human resources for small and medium-sized enterprises from 2004 to 2008 shall be used to train the subjects specified in Point 1 of Section A of this Circular according to the annual training targets guided by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Training will be conducted in short-term intensive formats. Each training session lasts a maximum of five days for enterprise establishment courses; seven days for business management courses; and fourteen days for capacity-building courses for service providers supporting business operations. The minimum number of participants in each course (class) is stipulated in the Regulation on Managing the Implementation of the Program on Assisting the Training of Human Resources for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises from 2004 to 2008 issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

B. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. State budget expenditures supported:

1.1. Central budget:

- Expenditure on investigating and surveying specific training needs to develop the Program plan; organizing seminars to exchange experiences in implementing the Program (implemented during the period 2004-2005 according to the Program approved by the Prime Minister).

- Expenditure on developing the program, compiling textbooks, and essential materials.

- Expenditure on organizing pilot courses and courses within the central government's budgetary tasks.

- Expenditure on supporting part of the funding for provinces in mountainous and Central Highlands regions with difficulties to carry out the task of training human resources for small and medium-sized enterprises.

1.2. Local budget: organizing courses for training human resources for small and medium-sized enterprises within the local tasks.

1.3. Expenditure on organizing a course (class) for training and capacity building includes:

1.3.1. Content of expenditure:

- Expenditure for lecturers: remuneration, travel expenses, accommodation expenses for lecturers.

- Expenditure for students:

+ Purchase or printing of textbooks and materials directly serving the class (excluding reference materials).

+ Payment for renting vehicles and expenses for organizing student field trips (if applicable).

+ Support for travel, food, and accommodation expenses for students from particularly difficult areas (the list of particularly difficult areas is specified in the Appendix issued together with Decree No. 35/2002/NĐ-CP dated March 29, 2002 of the Government amending and supplementing the Appendix issued together with Decree No. 51/1999/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 1999 of the Government detailing the implementation of the Law on Encouraging Domestic Investment (amended)).

- Expenditure for organizing the class:

+ Renting conference halls (or classrooms), renting equipment for teaching such as projectors, computers...;

+ Office supplies and drinking water expenses for the class;

+ Electricity, water, and vehicle parking expenses;

+ Expenses for opening and closing ceremonies, marking exams, printing and issuing certificates of completion, and rewarding outstanding students;

+ Management expenses for the class and other direct expenses for the class.

1.3.2. Level of support for one student:

- The level of support from the state budget for organizing training and capacity building, excluding support for students from particularly difficult areas, is as follows:

+ Five-day course: the support level does not exceed VND 600,000 per training slot.

+ Seven-day course: the support level does not exceed VND 650,000 per training slot.

+ Fourteen-day course: the support level does not exceed VND 1,000,000 per training slot.

- The level of support from the state budget for travel, food, and accommodation expenses for students from particularly difficult areas does not exceed 70% of the minimum expense level prescribed in Circular No. 118/2004/TT-BTC dated December 8, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance on the regulation of travel expenses and meeting expenses for administrative agencies and public institutions nationwide.

1.4. Guidance on some specific expenditure items:

1.4.1. For investigation and survey: the expenditure level is regulated in Circular No. 114/2000/TT-BTC dated November 27, 2000 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management of funds for surveys under the state budget and current regulations on travel expenses and meeting expenses.

1.4.2. Expenses for organizing seminars to exchange experiences: shall be implemented in accordance with the current regulations on conference expense regimes for administrative agencies and public service units.

1.4.3. Expenses for developing programs, compiling textbooks, and materials: the expenditure levels shall apply as prescribed in Clause b, Point 2.3, Section 2 of Circular No. 87/2001/TT-BTC dated October 30, 2001, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the content and expenditure levels for developing framework programs for university, college, and vocational high school training sectors, and compiling course programs and textbooks.

1.4.4. Expenses for purchasing or printing materials: shall be implemented in accordance with the current financial expenditure regulations. Printing of materials must be based on state-set prices, with contracts signed with printing agencies, and tender mechanisms applied for expenditures meeting the conditions stipulated in the tender regulations. Only ordinary materials directly serving the learning content shall be purchased or printed, excluding reference materials.

1.4.5. Expenses for lecturers:

- Remuneration for lecturers: the expenditure level shall apply as prescribed in the current regulations on training and cadre development funding.

- Travel expenses and accommodation arrangements for lecturers. In cases where accommodation cannot be arranged and external accommodation must be rented, the expenditure shall not exceed the level prescribed in Circular No. 118/2004/TT-BTC dated December 8, 2004, issued by the Ministry of Finance, regarding travel allowances and conference expenditure regimes for administrative agencies and public service units nationwide.

2. Expenditures paid by enterprises, organizations, and individuals: including travel expenses, food costs, accommodation fees, and the purchase of reference materials... For trainees near the location of the training class who do not incur accommodation costs during the training period, enterprises may support trainees' travel expenses, food costs, and the purchase of reference materials according to their capacity.

Enterprises are allowed to account for these expenditures as production and business costs within the period. The reasonable cost level for calculating corporate income tax shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 118/2004/TT-BTC dated December 8, 2004, issued by the Ministry of Finance, regarding travel allowances and conference expenditure regimes for administrative agencies and public service units nationwide.

For trainees from particularly difficult areas supported by the State for travel, food, and accommodation expenses, or those receiving support from sources mentioned in Point 3, Section B of this Circular, such supported amounts shall not be included in the reasonable cost level for calculating corporate income tax.

3. Utilization and management of support and sponsorship funds from domestic organizations, individuals, international organizations, and foreign entities for implementing the program.

3.1. For support and sponsorship funds that the provider requires to be used for specific objectives of the Program, they shall be utilized in accordance with the specified objectives.

- In cases where support and sponsorship funds are allocated for any of the items listed in Point 1, Section B of this Circular, the corresponding portion of state budget support shall be reduced accordingly.

- In cases where support and sponsorship funds are used to assist trainees participating in the training course, the agency or unit organizing the class must develop a detailed expenditure plan to reduce part of the enterprise's costs.

3.2. For support and sponsorship funds that the provider does not require to be used for specific objectives of the Program, the agency or unit organizing the class must develop a detailed expenditure plan based on the guidance provided in this Circular:

- Allocated for any of the items listed in Point 1, Section B of this Circular, the corresponding portion of state budget support shall be reduced accordingly.

- Support for trainees' travel, food, and accommodation expenses participating in the training course.

- Supplemental support for expenditures such as opening ceremonies, closing ceremonies, awards, and class management, etc., to encourage agencies and organizations to actively seek sponsorships.

4. Budget preparation, implementation, and settlement

The preparation, management, disbursement, payment, and settlement of assistance training budgets for small and medium-sized enterprises shall be carried out strictly in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 59/2003/TT-BTC dated June 23, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the implementation of Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, issued by the Government, detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget; and Circular No. 79/2003/TT-BTC dated August 13, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the management, disbursement, and payment of state budget expenditures through the State Treasury, with particular attention to certain specific contents:

- For provinces and centrally-administered cities: Training and development budgets for human resources for small and medium-sized enterprises under local management shall be included in the annual provincial budget. Based on the training and development plans for human resources for small and medium-sized enterprises on the local territory guided by the Ministry of Planning and Investment; the local budget balancing capacity; provinces and centrally-administered cities shall proactively allocate budgets to organize and implement according to the plan and report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consolidation. Local Departments of Planning and Investment have the following responsibilities:

+ Assist the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities in performing state management functions in organizing and implementing the Program on the local territory;

+ Take the lead in coordinating with the Department of Finance to prepare the budget for implementing the training tasks according to the plan. For mountainous and Central Highlands provinces facing budget difficulties, when preparing the budget, it is necessary to determine the budget request for central government support to implement the task;

+ Be responsible for settling the budget for implementing the Program to assist in training human resources for small and medium-sized enterprises on the local territory.

- The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall perform the following tasks:

+ Based on the Program's activity plan and training needs, take the lead in coordinating with relevant ministries and sectors to prepare the budget for expenditures from the central government budget to be included in the state budget draft in accordance with the State Budget Law.

+ Coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to compile the budget for implementing the Program, develop a financial support plan from the central government's budget to the local government's budget for the training and development of human resources for small and medium-sized enterprises, and report to the Government for submission to the National Assembly for decision;

+ Be responsible for finalizing the budget for implementing the Program funded from the central government's budget;

- The State Treasury shall control expenditures, ensuring that the funds for training human resources for small and medium-sized enterprises are used for their intended purpose in accordance with current financial expenditure regulations and specific provisions set forth in this Circular;

C. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, they should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance for study and resolution;

2. Annually, ministries, central agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities, and organizations assigned to implement the Program to assist in the training of human resources for small and medium-sized enterprises shall be responsible for compiling and submitting reports on the implementation status to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consolidation, including details on the portion of funding from the state budget, the portion self-funded by enterprises and individuals, and the portion raised. The deadlines for submitting reports are as follows:

- For mid-year reports: submit before July 31;

- For annual reports: submit before January 31 of the following year./.