Joint Circular No. 10/2016/TTLT-BGTVT-BTC guides the management and use of state economic service funds to perform public welfare tasks in the field of managing and maintaining national railway infrastructure funded by the State.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing and utilizing state economic funds to perform public service tasks in the field of railway infrastructure management,maintenance of national railway infrastructureinvested by the State The State invests in

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Pursuant to the Railway Law No. 35/2005/QH11 dated June 14, 2005;

Pursuant to the State Budget Law No. 01/2002/QH11 dated December 16, 2002;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 14/2015/NĐ-CP dated February 13, 2015 detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Railway Law;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 46/2015/NĐ-CP dated May 12, 2015 on quality management and maintenance of construction works;

Based on Decree No. 130/2013/NĐ-CP dated October 16, 2013 of the Government on production and supply of public goods and services;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 107/2012/NĐ-CP dated December 20, 2012 on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 215/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 23, 2013 on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

The Minister of Transport and the Minister of Finance jointly issue this Circular to guide the management and utilization of state economic funds to perform public service tasks in the field of railway infrastructure management and maintenance of national railway infrastructure invested by the State.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.  Scope of application

This Circular guides the management and utilization of state economic funds to perform public service tasks in the field of railway infrastructure management and maintenance of national railway infrastructure invested by the State.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals involved in the management and utilization of state economic funds to perform public service tasks in the field of railway infrastructure management, maintenance of national railway infrastructure invested by the State.

Article 3. Assets funded by the State

1. Assets belonging to the national railway infrastructure system invested by the State (hereinafter referred to as railway infrastructure) that are annually funded by the State for management and maintenance include:

a) Architectural structures above ground level, roadbed, and protective works of mainline tracks, station tracks, branch tracks connected to the mainline; drainage systems, signposts, traffic signs.

b) Bridge, culvert, tunnel, retaining wall, and barrier structures.

c) Level crossing structures.

d) Communication and signaling structures: entry-exit signals, transmission lines, central office stations, control equipment, signal cables, power supply devices.

đ) Architectural structures: station buildings, railway transportation operation buildings, freight yards, guard posts, platforms, water supply and drainage systems.

e) Substations and power lines supplying electricity to stations.

g) Auxiliary structures serving railway transport: cargo yards, dedicated roads to stations and cargo yards, station squares, fences.

h) Fire prevention, firefighting, and environmental sanitation structures.

i) Equipment and other auxiliary structures related to the structures mentioned in Points a, b, c, d, đ, e, g, and h above.

These assets shall not be subject to basic depreciation but shall be monitored for wear and tear according to the Ministry of Finance's guidelines on the management, use, and depreciation of fixed assets.

2. In cases where railway infrastructure is transferred with a time limit, the State will not fund the management and maintenance of the transferred assets but will manage and maintain them according to the signed contract.

Article 4. Contents of the economic public service funding for railway infrastructure

The economic public service funding for railway infrastructure provided by the State shall be used to implement the following tasks:

1. Regular maintenance of railway infrastructure structures.

2. Periodic and emergency repairs of railway infrastructure structures.

3. Repairing damage to railway infrastructure structures caused by typhoons, floods, accidents, and natural disasters.

4. Project management costs for the works mentioned in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article;

5. Other tasks

a) Inspection, monitoring, testing, auditing, consulting on project preparation, design, supervision, and other services when required or necessary for construction projects; auditing and settlement.

b) Costs for establishing or adjusting maintenance procedures for operational facilities or those requiring maintenance procedure adjustments; costs for setting technical and economic standards where such standards do not exist or need adjustment (excluding cases handled by state management agencies).

c) Costs for preserving materials retained for reuse (not yet used for regular maintenance of railway infrastructure structures as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 12 of this Circular).

Chapter II

FORMS AND METHODS OF MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTUREMAINTENANCE OF RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE STRUCTURE

Article 5. Forms and methods of management and maintenance of railway infrastructure

1. For regular maintenance work; inspection, monitoring, and testing of railway infrastructure structures; project management shall be carried out through procurement.

2. For products and services with construction characteristics and purchased assets valued at over one billion VND, competitive bidding shall be conducted; for amounts up to one billion VND, if the conditions for competitive bidding are not met, procurement shall be conducted.

3. For advisory services valued at over five hundred million VND, competitive bidding shall be conducted; for amounts up to five hundred million VND, if the conditions for competitive bidding are not met, procurement shall be conducted.

4. For work to address consequences of accidents, natural disasters, and traffic accidents in Step 1, procurement shall be conducted in accordance with Circular No. 01/2010/TT-BGTVT dated January 11, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Transport on flood prevention, disaster response, and rescue operations in railway activities.

Article 6. Competitive bidding for contractors

1. Vietnam Railway Corporation shall organize competitive bidding to select contractors to manage and maintain railway infrastructure in accordance with laws on competitive bidding.

2. Supervision, acceptance, and payment of contracts shall be carried out in accordance with the law.

Article 7. Procurement Implementation THE HEAD OF THE MINISTRY’S OFFICE, THE HEAD OF THE MINISTRY’S INSPECTION DEPARTMENT, THE HEADS OF THE DEPARTMENTS, THE DIRECTOR OF THE VIETNAM CIVIL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION, THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE VIETNAM AIRPORTS CORPORATION - CPTP, AND THE HEADS OF THE AUTHORITIES, ORGANIZATIONS, AND INDIVIDUALS CONCERNED ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR IMPLEMENTING THIS CIRCULAR./.for Maintenance of Railway Infrastructure Structures

1. Contractors receiving procurement orders for maintaining railway infrastructure structures must meet the conditions specified in Article 21 of Decree No. 130/2013/NĐ-CP dated October 16, 2013, of the Government on production and supply of public utility products and services (Decree No. 130/2013/NĐ-CP of the Government) and Clause 2, Article 9 of Decree No. 14/2015/NĐ-CP dated February 13, 2015, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Railway Law.

2. Vietnam Railway Corporation shall establish prices and unit prices for regular maintenance of railway infrastructure structures in accordance with current regulations and submit them to the Ministry of Transport for approval. Based on this, the Corporation shall enter into procurement contracts with contractors in accordance with the law.

3. Contract execution, supervision, acceptance, and payment shall be carried out in accordance with the law.

4. Procurement contracts for the production and supply of railway public utility products and services shall include the indicators specified in Clause 2, Article 22 of Decree No. 130/2013/NĐ-CP of the Government. Such contracts may be adjusted in the cases specified in Article 23 of Decree No. 130/2013/NĐ-CP of the Government.

Chapter III

PLANNING, ESTIMATES, PAYMENTS, AND SETTLEMENTS FOR FUNDS FOR ECONOMIC PUBLIC SERVICES IN THE FIELD OF MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTUREMAINTENANCE OF RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE STRUCTURE

Article 8. Establishment and Issuance of Plans for Management and Maintenance of Railway Infrastructure Structures

The establishment and issuance of plans for managing and maintaining railway infrastructure structures shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulations of the Ministry of Transport.

Article 9. Establishment, Allocation, and Transfer of State Budget Expenditure Plan for Railway Economic Public Services Funding

1. The Vietnam Railway Corporation shall prepare the state budget expenditure plan for railway economic public services funding according to the model attached at Appendix No. 01 of this Circular and submit it to the Ministry of Transport before July 15th each year. The Ministry of Transport will review and consolidate it into the next year's state budget revenue and expenditure plan of the Ministry of Transport and send it to the Ministry of Finance before July 20th each year for consolidation and submission to the competent authorities for approval.

2. Based on the state budget revenue and expenditure plan assigned by the Ministry of Finance and the management and maintenance plan for railway infrastructure that has been approved by the Ministry of Transport under Article 8 of this Circular, the Ministry of Transport shall establish a plan to allocate the state budget expenditure for each task according to the model attached at Appendix No. 02 of this Circular and send it to the Ministry of Finance for examination in accordance with regulations. The Ministry of Transport may retain from 1% to 2% of the total allocated funds for contingency purposes to address typhoons and floods, with the latest allocation date being October 31st each year.

3. After receiving the examination opinion of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport shall transfer the state budget expenditure plan for each task according to the model attached at Appendix No. 03 of this Circular to the Vietnam Railway Corporation for implementation. During the execution of the allocated state budget expenditure, if there is a need to reallocate funds between the tasks specified in Article 4 of this Circular, the Ministry of Transport shall decide after obtaining a written agreement from the Ministry of Finance. In cases where the allocated funds are not fully utilized by the end of the year, the remaining funds shall be handled in accordance with the State Budget Law and related guiding documents.

Article 10. Advance Payment and Settlement of Railway Economic Public Services Funding

1. Advance payment and settlement of railway economic public services funding through bidding procedures shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

2. Advance payment and settlement of railway economic public services funding through ordering procedures

a) The initial documents submitted to the State Treasury include: the decision on transferring the expenditure budget issued by the Ministry of Transport; the management and maintenance contract between the Vietnam Railway Corporation and the contractor for railway infrastructure.

b) Advance payment: Each advance payment application includes: the withdrawal form of the state budget expenditure (advance payment) of the Vietnam Railway Corporation, clearly stating the purpose of the advance payment for the State Treasury to have a basis for control and monitoring during settlement.

c) Settlement: When the completed work volume is accepted according to the payment phase stipulated in the contract, the Vietnam Railway Corporation shall prepare a settlement request and submit it to the State Treasury, including:

- A determination of the value of the completed management and maintenance work volume of railway infrastructure, confirmed by both the Vietnam Railway Corporation and the contractor;

- An acceptance record of the completed work volume and quality between the Vietnam Railway Corporation and the contractor;

- A material recovery record (if applicable);

- Price and unit price approved by the Ministry of Transport; subsidy level decided by the competent authority;

- The settlement request or advance repayment form of the Vietnam Railway Corporation;

- The withdrawal form of the state budget expenditure of the Vietnam Railway Corporation;

- Other lawful supporting documents as prescribed.

Monthly, the Vietnam Railway Corporation shall complete the acceptance and finalize all procedures to settle the management and maintenance costs of completed railway infrastructure for contractors.

d) Procedures, formalities, and documents for advance payment and settlement shall be implemented in accordance with Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, of the Government and other relevant regulations and guidelines.

3. Advance Payment Level and Time for Recovery

a) Advance Payment Level

- For expenditures with contract values of 20 million VND or more, the advance payment level shall be determined according to the signed contract between the Vietnam Railway Corporation and the contractor but shall not exceed 50% of the contract value at the time of signing and shall not exceed the approved annual budget for such expenditure.

- For expenditures without contracts and those with contract values below 20 million VND, the advance payment level shall be based on the progress of implementation.

b) Time for Recovery of Advance Payment

The recovery of advance payments begins with the first settlement and is fully recovered by the final settlement of the planned year.

Article 11. Advance payments and settlement of other expenditure items

Based on the state budget expenditure estimate assigned by the Ministry of Transport, economic and technical norms, financial regulations, prices and unit prices of work approved, Vietnam Railway Corporation shall implement advance payments and settle funds for railway economic public services for units performing other tasks (outside those specified for advance payment and settlement under Article 10 of this Circular) according to the provisions of Government Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 and other relevant guidelines. The amount of advance payment and the time for recovery of advance payment shall be in accordance with Clause 3 of Article 10 of this Circular.

Article 12. Management, use, and liquidation of recovered materials

1. All materials removed during the management and maintenance of railway infrastructure by Vietnam Railway Corporation shall be responsible for recovering, establishing a committee to classify reusable materials and non-reusable materials; preserving, monitoring both quantity and reflecting the value of recovered materials in accounting books. Within the latest one month from the date of recovery, the Corporation must develop a plan for use and submit it to the Ministry of Transport for approval.

2. For non-reusable recovered materials, within one month from the date when the Ministry of Transport approves the disposal plan, Vietnam Railway Corporation shall organize liquidation and sale according to regulations. In case the recovered materials remain in storage beyond the aforementioned period, Vietnam Railway Corporation shall bear the responsibility for paying storage costs.

3. For retained materials intended for reuse, Vietnam Railway Corporation shall be responsible for managing and preserving them. When using these materials for railway infrastructure maintenance work, the Corporation shall report to the Ministry of Transport to request the Ministry of Finance to record income and expenditure according to regulations.

4. Vietnam Railway Corporation shall prepare a budget for the cost of recovering, preserving, and liquidating recovered materials (non-reusable and retained for reuse) belonging to railway infrastructure and submit it to the Ministry of Transport for approval.

5. Proceeds from the sale and liquidation of recovered materials belonging to railway infrastructure, after deducting the costs of recovery, preservation, liquidation, and sale, Vietnam Railway Corporation shall be responsible for depositing into the central budget within one month from the completion of the sale; in case of late payment, additional interest penalties shall be paid according to the basic interest rate published by the State Bank at the nearest time for the amount and duration of delay. The amount deposited into the state budget shall be fully allocated for the management and maintenance of national railway infrastructure invested by the state.

Article 13. Responsibilities for preparation, inspection, review, and approval of final accounts

1. Vietnam Railway Corporation:

a) Annually prepare the final account report on railway economic public service funds and submit it to the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance as prescribed.

b) Prepare the final account report on completed projects and works and submit it to the competent authority for approval according to laws on investment and construction.

2. The Ministry of Transport:

a) Notify Vietnam Railway Corporation of the inspection plan for the final account report on railway economic public service funds and send it to the Ministry of Finance for coordination in implementation.

b) Lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to inspect the final account report on railway economic public service funds of Vietnam Railway Corporation. Based on the results of the final account inspection mentioned above, approve the final account report on railway economic public service funds of Vietnam Railway Corporation according to regulations.

c) Approve the final account report on completed projects and works according to laws on investment and construction. In cases where there are discrepancies compared to the annual maintenance expenditure figures of the competent authority, the annual final account figures must be adjusted according to the final account of completed projects.

3. Based on the results of the review of the final account report on railway economic public service funds by the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Finance shall review and notify the results of the review of the annual final account to the Ministry of Transport according to the State Budget Law.

Article 14. Handling Violations

1. During the inspection and review of final accounts, the inspection and audit bodies have the right to write off expenditures that violate regulations, are not in accordance with the system, and are not included in the state budget expenditure estimates assigned by the competent authority; at the same time, the person who orders such incorrect expenditures must compensate the public fund and bear responsibility according to the law. The amount written off shall be handled according to the State Budget Law.

2. Vietnam Railway Corporation and contractors implementing the management and maintenance of railway infrastructure shall be responsible before the state and law for the accuracy, truthfulness, legality, and legitimacy of the final account report figures.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from July 1, 2016; applicable from the 2016 fiscal year and replaces Circular No. 167/2011/TT-BTC dated November 18, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance guiding financial management, planning, and settlement of capital for economic public services for limited liability companies undertaking public welfare tasks in the field of national railway management and maintenance invested by the state.

2. In case of difficulties during implementation, agencies and units are requested to report to the Ministry of Transport, which will take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to examine and resolve them./.