Circular No. 09/2023/TT-BTC stipulates the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of regulatory legal documents.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of regulatory legal documents
state budget funds to ensure inspection and handling activities
reviewing and systematizing regulatory legal documents
                                       

Pursuant to the State Budget Law dated June 25, 2015,

Based on the Law on Enactment of Legislative Acts dated June 22, 2015;

Based on the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Enactment of Legislative Acts dated June 18, 2020;

Pursuant to Decree No. 34/2016/NĐ-CP dated May 14, 2016 of the Government detailing certain provisions and implementing measures of the Law on Legislative Regulatory Documents;

Pursuant to Decree No. 154/2020/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2020 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 34/2016/NĐ-CP dated May 14, 2016 of the Government detailing some provisions and measures for implementing the Law on Legislative Regulatory Documents;

Pursuant to Decree No. 87/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 26, 2017, issued by the Government, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the proposal of the Director of the Administrative and Public Financial Affairs Department,

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular regulating the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of regulatory legal documents (hereinafter referred to as documents).

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Circular stipulates the contents and levels of expenditure to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of regulatory legal documents; the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of regulatory legal documents (hereinafter referred to as documents).

2. Agencies, units, organizations, and individuals with functions and tasks assisting agencies and persons authorized to inspect regulatory legal documents as prescribed in Articles 111, 113, 114, and 128, and assisting agencies and persons responsible for reviewing and systematizing regulatory legal documents as prescribed in Article 139 of Decree No. 34/2016/NĐ-CP dated May 14, 2010 of the Government detailing some provisions and measures for implementing the Law on Legislative Regulatory Documents (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 154/2020/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2020 of the Government) (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 34/2016/NĐ-CP) shall be provided state budget funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of regulatory legal documents according to this Circular including:

a) The Department of Legal Document Inspection under the Ministry of Justice;

b) Legal affairs organizations of ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

c) Departments of Justice under People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities;

d) Justice offices under People's Committees of districts, towns, urban districts, and centrally-administered city districts;

đ) Other agencies, units, and organizations with the task of assisting agencies and persons responsible for reviewing and systematizing regulatory legal documents as prescribed in Article 139 of Decree No. 34/2016/NĐ-CP;

e) Agencies, units, organizations, and individuals assigned to perform the task of inspecting, reviewing, and systematizing regulatory legal documents according to directives, requirements, and plans.

Article 2. Principles for the preparation of budgets, management, and use of funds for inspection, handling, review, and systematization of regulatory legal documents

1. Funds for self-inspection of regulatory legal documents as prescribed in Article 111 of Decree No. 34/2016/NĐ-CP and for reviewing regulatory legal documents when grounds for review arise as prescribed in Article 142 of Decree No. 34/2016/NĐ-CP shall be sourced from the regular operating funds of the agencies conducting such self-inspections and reviews.

2. Funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of regulatory legal documents by agencies, units, and organizations at any level shall be guaranteed by the state budget at that level and included in the annual budget estimates of those agencies and units.

3. The use of funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of regulatory legal documents must comply with their intended purposes, contents, regulations, standards, and expenditure limits as prescribed in current financial expenditure regulations and this Circular.

Article 3. Contents of funds for ensuring inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents

1. Funds for organizing meetings, seminars, and roundtable discussions to exchange professional knowledge on inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents; meetings to process inspection results, review, and systematization of legal documents; meetings to discuss plans for inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents.

2. Travel expenses for working groups conducting specialized inspections, regional inspections, sectoral inspections, and field inspections of legal documents; inspections of the implementation of inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents.

3. Expenses for investigation and practical surveys serving inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents.

4. Fees for consulting experts: In the following cases, the head of the agency, unit, or organization shall decide and be responsible for seeking expert opinions:

a) When the legal document being inspected or reviewed pertains to a complex specialized field or shows signs of violating laws, contradictions, overlaps, or no longer being appropriate;

b) When draft reports on inspection and review results by topic, region, sector, or field; comprehensive review reports on legal document systems; reports on systematizing legal documents require consulting expert advice.

5. Expenses for reporting (including both consolidated reports and reports from each ministry, sector, organization, central and local state agencies, units), including: Reports on the results of inspecting, handling, reviewing legal documents by topic, region, sector, or field; periodic systematization report results (every five years); comprehensive review report results on legal document systems; annual reports to the Prime Minister or special reports on inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents. Expenses for reports evaluating illegal, contradictory, overlapping, expired, or no longer appropriate legal documents.

6. Expenses for revising various draft reports as stipulated in Clause 5 of this Article (excluding reports evaluating illegal, contradictory, overlapping, expired, or no longer appropriate legal documents).

7. Expenses for publicizing the results of handling illegal legal documents, inspection, review, and systematization of legal documents through mass media.

8. Expenses for inspecting legal documents as provided for in Clause 2 of Article 106 of Decree No. 34/2016/NĐ-CP; reviewing legal documents by topic, field, or region; reviewing and systematizing legal documents to implement periodic systematization (every five years); reviewing legal documents when conducting comprehensive reviews of legal document systems according to decisions of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

9. Expenses for organizing a team of inspectors, reviewers, and systematizers of legal documents:

a) Expenses for hiring temporary collaborators for inspecting, reviewing, and systematizing legal documents; fees for collaborators inspecting, reviewing, and systematizing legal documents based on contractual workloads calculated based on the number of documents requested for opinions;

b) Travel expenses for collaborators participating in specialized inspection teams by topic, region, sector, or field.

10. Expenses for re-inspecting the results of systematizing legal documents as prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 169 of Decree No. 34/2016/NĐ-CP.

11. Expenses for building a database to serve inspection, review, and systematization of legal documents as stipulated in Article 178 of Decree No. 34/2016/NĐ-CP:

a) Expenses for reviewing and identifying legal documents with higher legal validity currently in effect at the time of inspection, review, and systematization of legal documents to update and establish a database, serving as a legal basis for inspection, review, and systematization of legal documents;

b) Expenses for collecting, classifying, processing information, materials, data, legal documents, and equipping books, newspapers, magazines.

12. Expenses for printing activities, preparing materials, and collecting legal documents within the scope of inspection, review, and systematization.

13. Other related expenses directly linked to inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents:

Training, guidance, and professional development expenses for staff and civil servants engaged in inspection, review, and systematization of legal documents and collaborator teams; expenses for summarizing, concluding, promoting, and rewarding achievements in inspection, review, and systematization of legal documents; expenses for organizing industry-specific competitions on inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents; expenses for overtime work, office supplies, and other related expenses directly linked to inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents.

Article 4. Levels of expenditure for inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents

1. The contents of expenditures for inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents shall be carried out in accordance with the current financial expenditure standards and norms. Specifically as follows:

a) For expenditures to organize meetings, conferences, seminars, discussions, mid-term reviews, and final reviews; and travel expenses for those working domestically (including collaborators, members participating in teams inspecting legal documents and teams inspecting inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents) shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017, issued by the Minister of Finance on travel expense regulations and conference expense regulations;

b) For expenditures organizing training and capacity building to enhance professional skills for staff and civil servants engaged in inspection, review, and systematization of legal documents and collaborator teams shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 36/2018/TT-BTC dated March 30, 2018, issued by the Minister of Finance guiding the preparation of budgets, management, utilization, and settlement of funds for training and capacity building for officials, civil servants, and public employees (amended and supplemented by Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BTC dated January 31, 2023, issued by the Minister of Finance);

c) For expenditures organizing sectoral, field-specific, local, and nationwide competitions on inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents shall be implemented in accordance with Joint Circular No. 14/2014/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated January 27, 2014, issued by the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Justice on the preparation of budgets, management, utilization, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure the dissemination, education, and standard access to laws for citizens at the grassroots level;

d) For expenditures on investigations and surveys serving inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 109/2016/TT-BTC dated June 30, 2016, issued by the Minister of Finance on the preparation of budgets, management, utilization, and settlement of funds for statistical surveys, national comprehensive statistical surveys, and Circular No. 37/2022/TT-BTC dated June 22, 2022, issued by the Minister of Finance amending and supplementing Clause 9 of Article 3 and Form No. 01 attached to Circular No. 109/2016/TT-BTC dated June 30, 2016, issued by the Minister of Finance on the preparation of budgets, management, utilization, and settlement of funds for statistical surveys and national comprehensive statistical surveys (amended and supplemented by Circular No. 37/2022/TT-BTC dated June 22, 2022, issued by the Minister of Finance);

e) Expenditures for rewarding collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in inspection, review, and systematization of legal documents shall be implemented in accordance with Decree No. 91/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 31, 2017, issued by the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Competition and Rewards;

f) Expenditures for time-limited contracts with collaborators for inspection, review, and systematization of legal documents shall be implemented in accordance with the contracts between the parties and the Civil Code's provisions on contracts;

g) For expenditures on reports regarding the review of related documents concerning projects and draft documents shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 338/2016/TT-BTC dated December 28, 2016, issued by the Minister of Finance on the preparation of budgets, management, utilization, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure the construction of legal documents and the completion of the legal system (amended and supplemented by Circular No. 42/2022/TT-BTC dated July 6, 2022, issued by the Minister of Finance).

2. This Circular provides detailed guidance on certain special nature expenditures in inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents as set forth in the Appendix attached to this Circular.

Article 5. Establishing budgets, managing, using, and settling accounts for funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents.

1. Annually, based on the requirements for inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents and the contents and levels of expenditure prescribed in Articles 3 and 4 and the attached Appendix of this Circular, agencies and units shall establish budgets for funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents, which will be consolidated into the annual regular budget submitted to the financial authorities at the same level for consolidation and submission to the competent authority in accordance with the laws on state budget.

2. For agencies and units that are not budgetary entities, annually, they shall base their establishment of budgets for funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents on the provisions of this Circular and approved inspection, review, and systematization plans, and submit these budgets to the financial department of their own agency for consolidation into the agency's budget in accordance with the regulations.

3. The management, use, and settlement of accounts for funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law, Accounting Law, and guiding documents.

Article 6. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from April 1, 2023.

2. Circular Jointly Issued No. 122/2011/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated August 17, 2011, by the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Justice regarding the establishment of budgets, management, use, and settlement of accounts for funds to ensure inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents becomes invalid from the date this Circular takes effect.

Article 7. Implementation Organization

1. The non-salary expenditures of cadres, civil servants, and public officials funded from the state budget as stipulated in this Circular shall apply until the salary reform is implemented according to Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW dated May 21, 2018, of the Seventh Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam's Twelfth Congress on salary policy reform for cadres, civil servants, public officials, armed forces, and workers in enterprises.

2. The expenditure levels prescribed in this Circular are the maximum expenditure levels serving as the basis for ministries, ministerial-level agencies, central agencies to establish state budget funds for inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal documents. The Ministers and Heads of ministerial-level agencies and central agencies shall determine specific expenditure levels to implement expenditures appropriately within the allocated state budget expenditure plan.

3. Based on the budget capacity, local conditions, and the nature of each inspection, handling, review, and systematization activity of legal documents, Provincial People's Committees and Municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government shall submit to the People's Councils at the same level to specify the expenditure levels ensuring inspection, handling, and review, systematization of legal documents at the local level; in cases where localities have not issued specific regulations on expenditure levels, agencies and units may apply the provisions of this Circular.

4. For self-inspection of documents and review of documents as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 2 of this Circular, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, central agencies, and localities may apply the expenditure contents and levels prescribed in Articles 3, 4, and the Appendix of this Circular to implement.

5. In cases where the documents cited in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, the amended, supplemented, or replacement documents shall be applied.

6. During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies and units are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance for research and resolution.