Joint Circular No. 100/2013/TTLT-BTC-BNNPTNT guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decision No. 24/2012/QD-TTg dated June 1, 2012 of the Prime Minister on policies for developing special-use forests during the period of 2011-2020.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Certain Provisions of Decision No. 24/2012/QĐ-TTg

dated June 1, 2012, of the Government on Policies for Forest Development Investment in the Period 2011-2020

investment in developing special-use forests for the period 2011-2020

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The Minister of Finance issues this Circular regulating the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds supported by the State budget for organizations assigned or authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to perform tasks of selecting, introducing, and managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam.

Pursuant to Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decree No. 01/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2008, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; and Decree No. 75/2009/NĐ-CP dated September 10, 2009, of the Government amending Article 3 of Decree No. 01/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 3, 2008, of the Government;

Pursuant to Decree No. 117/2010/NĐ-CP dated December 24, 2010 of the Government on the organization and management of the system of special-use forests;

Pursuant to Decree No. 117/2010/NĐ-CP dated December 24, 2010, of the Government on Organizational Management of the Specialized Forest System;

Pursuant to Decision No. 24/2012/QĐ-TTg dated June 1, 2012, of the Government on Policies for Forest Development Investment in the Period 2011-2020 (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 24/2012/QĐ-TTg);

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

The Minister of Finance and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development issue this Circular guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decision No. 24/2012/QĐ-TTg dated June 1, 2012, of the Government on Policies for Forest Development Investment in the Period 2011-2020.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation: This Circular guides the operating expenses of the management board of specialized forests; management and protection expenses of specialized forests; support expenses for developing communities in buffer zones of specialized forest areas.

Article 2. Operating Expenses of the Management Board and Management and Protection Expenses of Specialized Forests as prescribed in Article 7 of Decision No. 24/2012/QĐ-TTg

1. Operating Expenses of the Management Board of Specialized Forests

a) Items of expenditure:

- Salary expenses according to the number of staff approved by the competent authority (the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development approves for specialized forest management boards under the Ministry's jurisdiction; the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province approves for specialized forest management boards under local jurisdiction);

- Expenses for serving the operation of the management board, including: public services, office supplies; travel expenses; conferences; electricity, water; information, propaganda, communication;

- Operational activity expenses: forest ranger uniforms; regular monitoring of forest resource changes; biodiversity surveys and supervision;

- Other expenses (if any).

b) Regular expenditure level: in accordance with current regulations for public service units.

2. Management and Protection Expenses of Specialized Forests

a) Content of expenditure

- Hiring, contracting, and signing contracts for forest protection with communities in buffer zones; hiring people to protect forests in border areas. The specialized forest management board determines the area of forest to be protected and preserved;

- Purchasing and repairing equipment for forest management and protection, including: fire prediction and warning equipment, firefighting equipment, and other facilities and equipment for forest management and protection;

- Supporting forces participating in patrolling and protecting forests; supporting training to enhance community awareness about forest protection and natural preservation; legal education for the community;

- Supporting management costs for developing communities in buffer zones, including: travel expenses for guidance, inspection, supervision, meetings with district-level People's Committees, village, and hamlet authorities;

- Other expenses (if any).

b) The budget for ensuring the expenses prescribed at point a, Clause 2 of this Article shall be provided from the State Budget at an average rate of VND 100,000 per hectare per year based on the total area of specialized forests assigned to the Ministry and localities for management.

Based on the annual budget estimate for management and protection expenses of specialized forests allocated, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development decides the specific amount of funding to be provided for each specialized forest management board under its direct jurisdiction in accordance with allocation criteria issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province (hereinafter referred to as the People's Committee) decides the specific amount of funding to be provided for each specialized forest management board under its direct jurisdiction in accordance with allocation criteria issued by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province.

Based on the budget estimate allocated by the competent authority, the specialized forest management board prepares a plan to allocate funds for each expense item prescribed at point a, Clause 2 of this Article to report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development or the authorized agency (for specialized forest management boards under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's jurisdiction); to report to the People's Committee of the province or the authorized agency (for specialized forest management boards under local jurisdiction) for consideration and approval.

Article 3. The development community support funds for buffer zone communities around special-use forests as stipulated in Article 8 of Decision No. 24/2012/QĐ-TTg

1. Buffer zone village community

a) The buffer zone village community includes village communities residing legally within areas with natural boundaries adjacent to special-use forests, or located within special-use forests. Village communities shall be organized and operated in accordance with Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BNV dated August 31, 2012, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on the organization and operation of villages and residential wards;

b) The Special-Use Forest Management Board shall cooperate with the People's Committee of the commune to compile a list of buffer zone village communities (with confirmation from the People's Committee of the commune), to be submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (for Special-Use Forest Management Boards under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s management) and the People's Committee of the province (for Special-Use Forest Management Boards under local management). The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People's Committee of the province shall review and determine the village communities eligible for community development support funding, serving as the basis for annual budget estimates for community development support.

a) Supporting agricultural and forestry extension activities, providing plant and animal seeds; supporting small-scale processing equipment;

a) Investment to enhance production capacity: support agricultural and forestry extension activities, provide seedlings and livestock; support small-scale processing equipment;

b) Provide construction materials for communal facilities of village communities such as clean water projects, street lighting, communication infrastructure, village roads, cultural houses, and other projects.

4. Criteria for Eligibility for Support

4. Conditions for receiving support

a) Having approved plans and budgets; having commitments to protect forests with the Special-Use Forest Management Board;

b) Not overlapping with projects funded and supported from the state budget approved by competent authorities;

a) Annually, based on the provisions of Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of this Article, the Village Head organizes a village meeting to unify proposals for content, plans, and budget estimates for requested support (no need to prepare an investment project) to be sent to the Commune People's Committee and the Special-Use Forest Management Board; the results of the village meeting are reflected in the Minutes of the Village Meeting according to the Model Form No. 1 attached to this Circular;

a) Annually, based on the provisions of Clause 2, Clause 3, and Clause 4 of this Article, the Village Head organizes a village meeting to unify proposals on the content, plan, and budget request for support (no need to prepare an investment project); the proposal is sent to the People's Committee of the commune and the Special-Use Forest Management Board. The results of the village meeting are recorded in the Minutes of the Village Meeting according to the guidance provided in Form 1 attached to this Circular;

b) The Special-Use Forest Management Board shall take the lead in coordinating with the Commune People's Committee to hold meetings with each village before jointly approving the plan and budget according to the guidance provided in Form 2 attached to this Circular;

During the year, if a village fails to fulfill its forest protection commitment, the Special-Use Forest Management Board will cooperate with the Commune People's Committee to recover the allocated funds and remit them to the state budget (including both used and unused funds). The implementation of the forest protection commitment in the year serves as the basis for the Special-Use Forest Management Board to consider support for communities in subsequent years.

If a village fails to fulfill its forest protection commitment during the year, the Special-Use Forest Management Board shall cooperate with the People's Committee of the commune to recover unused funds and return them to the state budget. The implementation of the forest protection commitment during the year serves as the basis for the Special-Use Forest Management Board to consider community development support for subsequent years;

d) Model of commitment to protect special-use forests; criteria for determining the results of village implementation of the forest protection commitment according to the guidance of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

6. Implement support

a) Villages have the responsibility to implement according to the approved plan and budget. In case of a need to adjust the support content, the village shall propose adjustments to the Special-Use Forest Management Board and the People's Committee of the commune for consideration; the adjusted plan shall be submitted by the Special-Use Forest Management Board to the People's Committee of the commune for monitoring;

b) Villages organize the implementation of supported contents themselves. For contents that villages cannot implement on their own, they shall request the People's Committee of the commune or the Specialized Forest Management Board to assist in implementation;

7. Inspection and supervision of implementation

a) Village communities organize supervision of the implementation of community development support funds in accordance with regulations on grassroots democracy;

b) After completing the supported activities or at the end of the year, the Special-Use Forest Management Board shall coordinate with the People's Committee of the commune to inspect and accept the work. The inspection results are recorded in the Inspection Report. Participants in the inspection include representatives from the Special-Use Forest Management Board, the People's Committee of the commune, and village representatives;

c) Contents of inspection

- For agricultural and forestry extension activities: inspection according to the support plan and budget;

- For seedling and livestock support, and small-scale processing equipment: inspection according to the support plan and budget, and invoices or receipts (in cases where there are no invoices) and lists signed by households, individuals, or cooperatives (if applicable);

- For construction material support for communal facilities in villages: inspection of the quantity and volume of supplied materials according to the support plan and budget. For co-funded projects, the project management board signs off on the materials;

8. Management of accounting vouchers

a) The Special-Use Forest Management Board shall retain the following documents:

The village proposal for the plan and budget request for support; The plan and budget for support accompanied by the Minutes of the village meeting; The jointly approved plan and budget; the forest protection commitment; the Inspection Report; accounting vouchers for provisional payments and settlement of community development support funds;

b) Villages shall self-manage and store purchase, delivery, and implementation support documents within the community and bear responsibility for the work carried out within the village community;

9. Disbursement, payment, and control of expenditures by the State Treasury

a) Disbursement between the Special-Use Forest Management Board and the village can be made through bank transfers or cash; or the Special-Use Forest Management Board may directly pay service providers as requested by the village. It is encouraged to make disbursements through bank accounts for villages;

b) Expenditure control at the State Treasury

- The expenditure control system at the State Treasury is implemented in accordance with current regulations;

- The basis for the State Treasury to make payments is as follows:

+ Community development support funds allocated in the annual budget of the Special-Use Forest Management Board by authorized bodies;

+ Jointly approved plan and budget for support;

+ Approval by the head of the Special-Use Forest Management Board or their authorized representative;

During the implementation period, the Special-Use Forest Management Board may provisionally allocate up to 70% of the support funds for each activity. The remaining funds will be settled after the activity has been inspected and accepted.

Article 4. Sources of funds for the operation of the management machinery of special-use forests; funds for managing special-use forests; funds to support community development in buffer zones of special-use forests;

The sources of funds for the operation of the management machinery of special-use forests, funds for managing special-use forests, and funds to support community development in buffer zones of special-use forests shall be guaranteed from the state budget after balancing with revenue from ecotourism activities within special-use forests as stipulated in Article 14 of Decision No. 24/2012/QĐ-TTg.

1. The central government budget shall guarantee funds for special-use forests managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. Local government budgets shall guarantee funds for special-use forests managed by localities.

The central government budget shall provide targeted support for special-use forests located in border and island districts of localities with difficult financial conditions to implement the tasks specified in Clause 2 of Article 2 of this Circular.

Article 5. Preparation, implementation, and settlement of the state budget

1. The preparation of the budget estimate, payment, and settlement of operating expenses shall be carried out in accordance with 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, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budgets, and in accordance with this Circular; Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BTC dated January 2, 2007, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the examination, verification, and notification of annual settlement for administrative agencies, public institutions, organizations supported by the state budget, and budgets at all levels.

2. For additional targeted funds from the central government budget for localities with difficult financial conditions that have national parks and special-use forests located in border and island districts,

a) Each year, the People's Committee of the province shall prepare the budget estimate for the portion of funds requested for central government support in accordance with this Circular and submit it to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance;

b) The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall compile the targeted support funds for localities at the time of preparing the annual budget estimate and submit it to the Ministry of Finance;

c) Based on the capacity of the central government budget, the Ministry of Finance shall coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to consider the level of additional targeted support for local government budgets; consolidate and prepare the budget estimate for state revenue and expenditure, and the plan for allocating the central government budget to be submitted to the Government for reporting to the National Assembly for consideration and decision.

Article 6. Implementation Organization

1. This Circular takes effect from September 15, 2013, and applies from the 2013 budget year.

2. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, relevant agencies and units are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for review and appropriate amendments and supplements./.