JOINT CIRCULAR No. 10-LB-TC-NH-TN ON THE SUPPLY OF RICE FOR MONTHLY CONSUMPTION FOR ALL PERSONS RECEIVING SALARIES FROM THE STATE OR BEING SUBSIDIZED BY THE STATE

CIRCULAR JOINT MINISTRIES OF FINANCE, BANKING AND TRADE

Regarding the supply of rice for monthly consumption of all individuals receiving state salaries or state allowances and living expenses subsidies

Following Circular No. 021-TTg dated January 19, 1957, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 070-TTg on March 1, 1957, assigning the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade, and National Bank to study the provision of rice to military, civilian, administrative, and party agencies and state-owned enterprises to reduce the amount of cash released into the market and to strictly manage cash.

The Joint Ministries hereby stipulate the following procedures for issuing rice, effective from March 1, 1957:

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Starting from March 1, 1957, the Government will provide personal rice rations to cadres, workers, and staff both within and outside the establishment (including full salary employees) and other personnel working at military, civilian, administrative, and party agencies, construction sites, state-owned enterprises, as well as students, patients, and inmates of government schools, hospitals, and camps, etc...

This regulation applies to all soldiers, cadres, workers, and staff, whether in collective units or at home; to all students in schools and classes organized by the Government with collective accommodation regardless of their remuneration system (old salary, living expenses, or scholarships), and to scholarship recipients who do not reside in dormitories; to all camps fully or partially self-sufficient (except those completely self-sufficient in rice); to all patients hospitalized in hospitals and sanatoriums; and to conferences organized by agencies that handle their own meals.

The rice allocation standards are as follows:

- Soldiers: 21 kg per person per month

- Workers: 18 kg per person per month

- Other categories: 15 kg per person per month

- Patients: estimated based on actual needs.

These standards serve as guidelines for planning and distribution; at the end of the month, if there is any surplus, it will be settled in cash with the relevant individuals.

The current physical rice supply has been calculated based on the rice consumption needs of each category of cadres, workers, and staff; however, in the following cases, if rice is not fully consumed, it may be partially or entirely compensated in cash:

a) Cadres engaged in mobile work, moving from place to place.

b) Cadres on business trips, sick, elderly, or weak and unable to consume the standard amount.

c) Cases where it is inconvenient to use trade rice such as:

- In some areas (mountainous regions), cadres and staff are far from warehouses and food stores, making it inconvenient to collect rice, and have been confirmed by the Provincial Finance Department.

- Some day laborers and contractual workers working for short periods at various agencies.

The supplied rice must meet quality standards; the price of rice is the selling price at local stores according to the type and quality of rice (Joint Circular No. 4053 of the Ministries of Finance and Trade dated December 21, 1956); the procedures for collecting rice should be simple and suitable for the circumstances of cadres, workers, and staff.

PROCEDURES FOR DISTRIBUTION AND SETTLEMENT

STEP 1. - Planning.

Based on the number of people present and the established standards, and estimating the reasonable reduction in rice due to the above cases where rice is not fully consumed, units will plan as follows:

a) For soldiers, agencies, schools, hospitals, and construction sites:

Quarterly and monthly expenditure plans and monthly budget requests of units at all levels (I, II, III) must clearly specify the presence of personnel, rice requirements, and the location of rice collection.

b) For state-owned enterprises:

Every quarter and month, regardless of whether they are central or provincial state-owned enterprises, they must submit to the Local Industry and Trade Department the rice requirements based on the number of people present.

After reviewing and confirming that the enterprise's rice plan is correct, the Industry and Trade Department will inform the Food Company and the branch of the Provincial Bank.

STEP 2. - Allocation of funds

a) For soldiers, agencies, schools, hospitals, and construction sites:

The Financial Authority (Ministry of Finance for units under the Central General Budget; Regional, Provincial, and Municipal Finance Departments for units under the Provincial and Municipal General Budgets, autonomous regions) will allocate funds based on the unit's budget (clearly specifying rice requirements) into two parts; clearly stating on the approval notice of the budget:

- The part for purchasing rice will be transferred to the Food Company's account (for units under the Central General Budget located in Hanoi, this will be transferred to the Hanoi Food Company's account).

- The part for other expenditures will be transferred to the unit's account.

For units under the Central General Budget but located in different places, the procedure is as follows:

At the regional level: The Ministry of Finance will transfer the entire budget to the Region without deducting the rice portion; the Regional Finance Department when distributing funds to subordinate agencies will have the responsibility:

- To transfer the funds for purchasing rice to the Food Company where the unit is located.

- To transfer the remaining funds into the unit's account opened at the local bank.

- To report to the Ministry of Finance on the distribution of these funds.

Correction funds: Correction funds managed by local Finance Departments on behalf of the central government, so when allocating funds, the Ministry of Finance will transfer the entire amount to the local Finance Department, which will then transfer the amount for purchasing rice to the Provincial Food Company and distribute rice vouchers to cadres.

Military: When the Ministry of Finance allocates funds to the Military Financial Affairs Bureau, it will proceed as follows:

- Funds for military units located in Hanoi will be divided into two parts, the part for purchasing rice will be directly transferred to the Hanoi Food Company's account; the part for other expenditures will be transferred to the Military Financial Affairs Bureau's account.

- Funds for military units located in other provinces will be transferred entirely to the Military Financial Affairs Bureau's account; when the Bureau distributes the funds, it will also transfer a portion to the unit and a portion to the local Food Company, and report to the Ministry of Finance.

Construction site public service units: The Ministry of Finance will allocate the entire budget of subordinate units into the account of the main department without deducting the rice portion; when the main department distributes the funds to the unit, it will divide them into two parts:

- The part for purchasing rice will be transferred to the Food Company's account where the unit is located.

- The remaining part will be transferred to the unit's account at the local branch of the bank.

A copy of the distribution notification to the unit will be sent to the Ministry of Finance for comparison with the plan.

However, in cases where the supervising ministry does not directly manage the budget of the construction sites, the following measures shall be taken:

- For construction sites entrusted by the supervising ministry to local authorities for management, the supervising ministry shall transfer the entire budget to the Provincial Finance Department. The Provincial Finance Department will be responsible for distributing and transferring funds to the Food Company, then reporting back to the supervising ministry.

- For basic construction sites funded by local basic construction funding agencies, such agencies shall be responsible for distribution and transferring funds to the Food Company for the portion intended to purchase rice, then reporting to the central basic construction funding agency and the supervising ministry.

b) Regarding state-owned enterprises:

1) Expenditures on basic construction funded by financial agencies shall be handled as above.

2) Expenditures on business operations must clearly specify the amount used to purchase rice and pay salaries to staff according to the aforementioned standards before withdrawing money. A statement of account withdrawal will be made for the bank to transfer the total amount to the Food Company's account. Banks at all levels will base withdrawals for other types of expenditures on approved cash plans of state-owned enterprises. After transferring the unit's budget to the Food Company's account, the bank will immediately issue a notification of receipt to the Food Company detailing the transfer for rice purchases for which entity. Each entity's transferred funds will have a separate notification, not combined on one form. The Food Company will receive the notification directly from the entity that transferred the funds, not waiting for the bank to send it.

STEP 3. - Coordination between the rice purchasing agency and the Food Company.

Upon receiving the bank's notification, the Food Company will discuss delivery plans with the entity and provide them with rice vouchers worth the transferred amount.

The Food Company will issue two types of rice vouchers:

- Collective vouchers

- Individual vouchers.

Rice vouchers are valid monthly, and cannot be used for subsequent months.

Rice vouchers issued by an agency can only be redeemed and settled with that agency, not used for settlements between different agencies.

Unclaimed vouchers will be returned to the Food Company (the issuing location) by the agency for exchange for cash.

The General Food Company will further study the issuance format of rice vouchers to ensure simplicity and respect the rights of voucher holders as mentioned above.

At the end of each month, the Food Company has the responsibility to settle definitively with the agencies that transferred funds to it. All unclaimed collective or individual vouchers must be settled in cash. Agencies will use this money to refund excess collective vouchers to their staff or directly pay individual vouchers to their staff.

In special cases where monthly settlements are delayed, they must be completed by the end of the next month or latest by the end of the quarter to avoid the grain and rice industry receiving excess funds from using agencies.

POINTS TO NOTE

To ensure the effective implementation of physical rice distribution, contributing to reducing the volume of cash released into the market and stabilizing commodity prices, and assisting the State in managing the rice market, ministries, central agencies, mass organizations, and administrative committees at all levels should pay attention to the following points:

- Fully understand the significance and spirit of the aforementioned rice distribution policy, while ensuring the legitimate interests of staff, workers, and employees: primarily ensuring rice consumption without undue restrictions or difficulties, so when implementing, it should start from the actual situation of the agency and strictly enforce the policy.

- Relying on the Party organization and mass organizations within the agency (mainly the Trade Union), mobilize staff to voluntarily and conscientiously recognize their tasks in the face of common difficulties, distinguishing between short-term and long-term benefits, and thoroughly implement the policy. Detailed explanations and assistance should be provided to accounting and management departments to ensure discipline and carry out work effectively. Regular inspections and corrections should be conducted, and difficulties should be reported promptly for timely resolution by the central authority.