Joint Circular No. 102/2016/TTLT-BTC-BGTVT guiding the preparation of budget estimates, management, use, and final settlement of inland waterway transport service funds.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for preparing budgets, managing, using, and settling accounts for inland waterway public service funds
state budget for inland waterway transport
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Pursuant to Decree No. 51/2005/NĐ-CP dated April 11, 2005 of the Government on sources of finance and management and use of financial resources for inland waterway management and maintenance;

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

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

The Minister of Finance and the Minister of Transport issue this Joint Circular guiding the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of accounts for inland waterway public service funds.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular guides the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of accounts for inland waterway public service funds guaranteed by the state budget.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to agencies, units, organizations, and individuals related to the management and use of inland waterway public service funds guaranteed by the state budget.

Article 3. Inland Waterway Works

Inland waterway works as defined in this Circular include:

1. Inland waterways, harbor basins; revetments, dams; navigation aids, and other ancillary works.

2. Vessels and equipment serving the operation of the works and assets specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 4. Sources of Inland Waterway Public Service Funds

1. State budget public service funds for inland waterways, including:

a) National inland waterway public service funds allocated from the central budget;

b) Local inland waterway public service funds allocated from local budgets.

2. Other sources as prescribed by law (if any).

3. Agencies, units, and individuals using inland waterway public service funds must comply with the approved content, within the prescribed limits; be subject to inspection and supervision by competent authorities; implement settlement of funds used and publicize the budget according to current regulations.

Article 5. Contents of Expenditure from Inland Waterway Public Service Funds

1. Expenditure for the management and regular maintenance of inland waterway works, including:

a) Surveying, monitoring, and reporting the actual condition of vessel and boat routes;

b) Organizing traffic, inspecting, and protecting inland waterway infrastructure works;

c) Managing, installing, adjusting inland waterway navigation aids on land and underwater; monitoring hydrological conditions, counting vessels;

d) Regular repair and maintenance of inland waterways:

- Dredging to ensure technical standards of vessel and boat routes according to published inland waterway grades;

- Regular repair and maintenance of navigation aids, vessels, and equipment serving ongoing inland waterway routes and other work directly related to regular repair and maintenance of inland waterways.

2. Expenditure for non-regular repair of inland waterways, including:

a) Dredging and removal of obstacles in channels and channel protection zones (for obstacles under the riverbed caused by organizations or individuals, they must bear all costs for removal and disposal);

b) Repair, supplementation, and replacement of navigation aids, vessels, and equipment according to schedules or due to sudden damage;

c) Repair of revetment systems, flow regulation works, buildings, and structures serving management;

d) Expenditure for preventing and mitigating inland waterway disaster impacts.

đ) Expenditure for other work directly related to non-regular repair of inland waterway works.

3. Expenditure for the activities of inland waterway port supervision units when the retained revenue from inland waterway fees is insufficient to cover the operational costs of the port supervision unit (if applicable).

Article 6. Budget Expenditure Levels

1. The level of expenditure for implementing public service tasks and projects for inland waterways shall be carried out according to the current financial expenditure standards and norms.

2. For tasks and projects with economic-technical norms and product floor prices, the basis shall be the quantity and volume of tasks assigned, economic-technical norms, and product floor prices determined by competent state authorities.

Article 7. Establishment, allocation, and implementation of the budget for inland waterway public services expenses

The establishment, allocation, and implementation of the budget for inland waterway public services expenses shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents. This Circular provides specific guidance on the following additional contents:

1. Establishment of budget projections:

a) Establishing the national budget for inland waterway public services expenses:

Annually, based on the examination results of the state budget expenditure estimates, assigned tasks; current expenditure standards, financial consumption regulations, product unit prices prescribed by competent state agencies, and the expenditure items stipulated in Articles 5 and 6 of this Circular, units tasked with establishing the national budget for inland waterway public services expenses shall submit to the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration for review and consolidation, which will then report to the Ministry of Transport for inclusion in the ministry's state budget estimate submitted to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation and submission to the Government and the National Assembly as prescribed.

b) Establishing the local budget for inland waterway public services expenses:

Annually, based on the examination results of the state budget expenditure estimates, assigned tasks; current expenditure standards, financial consumption regulations, product unit prices prescribed by competent state agencies, and the expenditure items stipulated in Articles 5 and 6 of this Circular, local transport authorities shall establish the local budget for inland waterway public services expenses, submit to the same-level finance authority for review and consolidation, and report to the competent authority as prescribed.

2. Allocation and transfer of the budget for inland waterway public services expenses:

a) For the national budget for inland waterway public services expenses:

Based on the budget allocated by the competent authority, the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration shall develop a plan to allocate the national budget for inland waterway public services expenses to subordinate units under the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and provincial transport departments responsible for managing national inland waterways authorized by the Ministry of Transport, detailed according to the expenditure items stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular, detailed by section, route, volume, and funds. For construction projects with a construction period exceeding one year, annual budget allocations must ensure compliance with approved volumes and construction periods in the competent authority's decision; no budget allocation should be made for volumes already implemented outside the previous year's budget allocation list. The Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration shall report to the Ministry of Transport.

The allocation and transfer of the national budget for inland waterway public services expenses shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

b) For the local budget for inland waterway public services expenses:

Based on the budget allocated by the competent authority, local transport authorities shall develop a plan to allocate the local budget for inland waterway public services expenses to subordinate budget units, detailed according to the expenditure items stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular, detailed by section, route, volume, and funds. For construction projects with a construction period exceeding one year, annual budget allocations must ensure compliance with approved volumes and construction periods in the competent authority's decision; no budget allocation should be made for volumes already implemented outside the previous year's budget allocation list.

The allocation and transfer of the local budget for inland waterway public services expenses shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

3. On budget execution

Based on the expenditure budget allocated by the competent state agency, units shall withdraw the budget from the State Treasury at the transaction location. The State Treasury at the transaction location shall control and settle payments according to the current regulations on controlling and settling state budget expenditures through the State Treasury.

This Circular provides specific guidance on advance payments and settlement of management and maintenance expenses, as well as non-routine repair expenses for inland waterway facilities as follows:

a) Initial documents:

- Decision on allocating the state budget for the year by the competent state agency;

- Decision approving the expenditure task, budget, and any adjustment decisions (if applicable);

- Decision approving the tender results, direct award, or ordering according to current regulations;

- Contract for tendering, ordering to manage and maintain inland waterways;

- Decision of the competent state agency regarding payment standards and unit prices for the task (if applicable).

Units must submit to the State Treasury where the account is opened the basic documents for managing and maintaining inland waterways, economic and technical reports, along with the decision approving the economic and technical reports, if required (all these documents must be original or certified true copies stamped by the unit, only need to be sent once until the task or project ends, except when supplementation or adjustment is required).

b) Advance payment of funds:

- Guarantee for the advance payment amount of the contractor in cases where the expenditure requires guarantee for advance payment according to current laws or where the contract specifies guarantee for advance payment.

- Request for advance payment;

- Withdrawal of state budget (advance payment);

Units may obtain an advance payment not exceeding 60% of the value of the budget estimate or signed contract for the assigned work volume in the planning year; the remaining portion will be settled after the completion and acceptance of the work volume according to regulations.

c) Settlement:

- When there is completed work volume according to progress, units shall submit to the State Treasury where the account is opened the relevant documents and vouchers for settlement to recover the previously advanced funds as follows:

+ Request for settlement of advance payment;

+ List of vouchers for settlement (for expenditures without contracts), Confirmation of the value of completed work volume and task (for expenditures under contracts);

Based on the unit's request for settlement, the State Treasury will process the conversion from advance payment to settlement (the amount previously advanced);

- When the unit completes all work volumes and tasks according to the budget and contract, units shall submit to the State Treasury the following documents and vouchers for final settlement:

+ Inspection report on product acceptance, quantity of completed work handed over, accompanied by the Value Determination Table for the quantity of work completed and tasks fulfilled;

+ Contract termination, or cost settlement report for the volume of work actually performed or completed (summary of volume and value accomplished);

+ Request for settlement of advance payment;

+ Budget withdrawal certificate.

Article 8. Funds Carried Over to the Next Year

The handling of the end-of-year surplus funds for inland waterway affairs shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents thereunder; and the Ministry of Finance's guidance on closing accounting books at year-end and preparing, reporting annual state budget settlements.

Article 9. Settlement Work

1. Settlement Report

At the end of each accounting period, budgetary units must complete the accounting closure process and prepare a settlement report. The procedures for preparation, forms, submission deadlines, and responsibilities for reviewing the settlement report shall comply with current regulations.

2. Review and Audit of Settlement Reports

a) The review and audit of annual settlement reports for inland waterway affairs expenses shall be conducted according to the current guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance regarding the review, audit, and notification of annual settlements for administrative agencies, public institutions, organizations supported by the state budget, and budgets at various levels, as well as current implementation guidelines;

b) Expenditures exceeding standards, improper expenditures, and expenditures not in accordance with the prescribed purposes set forth in this Circular must be accounted for and handled in accordance with the regulations;

c) For the settlement of management and maintenance costs for national inland waterways delegated to local authorities by the Ministry of Transport: The Department of Transport has the responsibility to prepare the settlement report for the delegated funds and report it to the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration. The Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration is responsible for reviewing the settlement and incorporating it into its annual settlement report to the Ministry of Transport.

d) For investment tasks specified in points a, b, c, and d of Clause 2, Article 5 of this Circular, in addition to annual settlement as stipulated in point a of Clause 2 of this Article, upon completion and handover for use of the project, a final project settlement must be conducted in accordance with the regulations.

Article 10. Inspection Work

The Ministry of Transport, the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration, and provincial transport authorities have the responsibility to coordinate with financial departments at the same level to regularly or spot-check the management, utilization, payment, and settlement of inland waterway affairs funds at assigned units to ensure that the allocated funds are used for their intended purposes and are effective.

Article 11. Implementation Organization

1. This Circular takes effect from August 4, 2016.

2. This Joint Circular replaces Joint Circular No. 09/2008/TTLT-BTC-BGTVT dated January 30, 2008, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport, which provided guidelines on the preparation of budgets, management, disbursement, and settlement of economic inland waterway affairs funds.

3. During implementation, if any difficulties arise, they should be reported to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport for timely resolution./.