Circular No. 104/2013/TT-BTC guiding the determination of needs, sources, and methods of expenditure to implement the adjustment of the minimum wage base according to Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP dated June 27, 2013 of the Government, and the adjustment of allowances for retired village cadres according to Decree No. 73/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 15, 2013 of the Government.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for determining needs, sources, and methods of expenditure to implement adjustments

the basic salary level according to Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP dated June 27, 2013 of the Government,

 adjusting allowances for retired village cadres pursuant to the decree

 No. 73/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 15, 2013 of the Government

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Pursuant to Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP dated June 27, 2013 of the Government stipulating the basic salary level (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP);

Pursuant to Decree No. 73/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 15, 2013 of the Government adjusting pensions, social insurance allowances, and monthly allowances for retired village cadres (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 73/2013/NĐ-CP);

Pursuant to the 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 the proposal of the Director of the State Budget Department;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular guiding the determination of requirements, sources, and methods of expenditure implementation for adjusting the basic salary level (replacing the minimum wage) and adjusting allowances for retired village cadres in 2013 as specified in the above-mentioned decrees as follows:

Article 1. General Provisions

Article 1. This Circular stipulates the determination of needs, sources, and methods of expenditure to implement:

a) Adjusting the basic salary level according to Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP of the Government for individuals working in agencies, organizations, and units specified in Article 1 and Article 2 of this Decree.

b) Adjusting the subsidy fund for those engaged in non-professional activities at commune, village, and neighborhood levels according to the quota prescribed in Decree No. 29/2013/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2013 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 92/2009/NĐ-CP dated October 22, 2009 of the Government on positions, number, and certain policies for commune, ward, town, and township cadres and civil servants and those engaged in non-professional activities at commune level.

c) Adjusting allowances for retired village cadres according to Decision No. 130-CP dated June 20, 1975 of the Council of Ministers and Decision No. 111-HĐBT dated October 13, 1981 of the Council of Ministers (hereinafter referred to as allowances for retired village cadres) according to the provisions of Decree No. 73/2013/NĐ-CP.

2. Based on the provisions of Decrees No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP, No. 73/2013/NĐ-CP, and the provisions of this Circular, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, central agencies, and other central-level agencies (hereinafter referred to as ministries and central-level agencies) and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities have the responsibility:

a) Organizing, guiding, and compiling financial needs and sources to implement the adjustment of the basic salary level for agencies, units, and subordinate levels; adjusting allowances for retired village cadres; and adjusting the subsidy fund for those engaged in non-professional activities at commune, village, and neighborhood levels according to the quota, and submitting to the Ministry of Finance as prescribed.

b) Determining and allocating resources to implement the adjustment of the basic salary level and state budget support (if any) to pay new salaries to civil servants, public officials, and employees; allowances for retired village cadres; and subsidies for those engaged in non-professional activities at commune, village, and neighborhood levels in accordance with regulations and the provisions of this Circular.

Article 2. Determination of financial needs to implement the adjustment of the basic salary level according to Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP and the adjustment of allowances for retired village cadres according to Decree No. 73/2013/NĐ-CP

1. The total number of civil servants, public officials, employees, and retired village cadres to determine financial needs to implement Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 73/2013/NĐ-CP is the actual number present at the reporting time (the number present on July 1, 2013).

For the number of civil servants, public officials, and employees, it shall not exceed the total number of authorized personnel assigned (or approved) in 2013.

For the number of people working under contract, only the number of people working under indefinite-term contracts in administrative agencies according to Decree No. 68/2000/NĐ-CP dated November 17, 2000 of the Government on implementing the system of indefinite-term contracts for certain types of work in administrative agencies and public institutions (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 68/2000/NĐ-CP); the number of people working under indefinite-term contracts in Party agencies and political-social organizations applying the provisions of Decree No. 68/2000/NĐ-CP (excluding workers under contract in public institutions) shall be compiled to determine financial needs to implement Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP.

For the additional authorized personnel in 2013 compared to the number present on July 1, 2013 (if any), if within the total authorized personnel assigned (or approved) at the reporting time, the additional financial needs to implement Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP for these additional authorized personnel shall be reported and supplemented by ministries, central-level agencies, and provinces and centrally-administered cities for the Ministry of Finance to consider and resolve (for ministries and central-level agencies) or included in the financial needs for implementing salaries in the following year (for provinces and centrally-administered cities).

For the authorized personnel exceeding the total authorized personnel assigned (or approved) at the reporting time, the financial needs to implement the Decree on adjusting the basic salary level for these excess authorized personnel shall be self-funded by the agencies and units from their own financial sources in accordance with the law; they shall not be included in the financial needs to implement the Decree on adjusting the basic salary level in 2013 for ministries, central-level agencies, and provinces and centrally-administered cities.

The specific total authorized personnel assigned (or approved) of ministries, central-level agencies, and provinces and centrally-administered cities shall be determined similarly as prescribed in Item 1.1.1, 1.1.2 Point 1.1 Clause 1 Section II Circular No. 02/2005/TT-BTC dated January 6, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance on guiding the determination of requirements, sources, and methods of expenditure implementation for salary reform for cadres, civil servants, employees, and armed forces (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 02/2005/TT-BTC). Specifically, for specialized cadre and commune-level civil servant authorized personnel, they shall be determined within the quota prescribed in Clause 1 Article 4 of Decree No. 92/2009/NĐ-CP dated October 22, 2009 of the Government.

2. The budget requirement for implementing the adjustment of the minimum wage base according to Decree No. 66/2013/ND-CP shall be determined based on the salary level according to rank, grade, position; subsistence allowance according to the prescribed system (excluding night shift pay, overtime pay, and allowances defined by absolute amounts); the allocation fund for allowances for part-time workers at commune, village, and ward levels as stipulated in Decree No. 29/2013/ND-CP; contributions under the prescribed system (social insurance, unemployment insurance, health insurance, trade union fees); the additional basic salary increase prescribed in Decree No. 66/2013/ND-CP compared to Decree No. 31/2012/ND-CP according to the number of staff positions specified in Clause 1, Article 2 above.

3. The budget requirements for implementing Decree No. 66/2013/ND-CP of ministries, central agencies, and provinces/cities directly under the Central Government include the additional funds for implementing the following systems and policies:

a) Health insurance contributions for relatives of officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers in the armed forces of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security;

b) Responsibility allowance for members of party committees at all levels according to Decision No. 169-QĐ/TW dated June 24, 2008 of the Politburo; monthly subsidy for serving activities of provincial-level party committees according to Decision No. 3115-QĐ/VPTW dated August 4, 2009 of the Party Central Committee Office;

c) Additional activity fees for representatives of People's Councils at all levels;

d) Additional allowance support fund for part-time workers at communes, wards, towns, villages, and neighborhood associations due to the adjustment of the basic salary from VND 1,050,000/month to VND 1,150,000/month;

e) Support for the salaries of kindergarten teachers working under contract terms according to Decision No. 60/2011/QĐ-TTg dated October 26, 2011 of the Prime Minister;

4. The budget requirements for implementing allowances and subsidies calculated based on salary, rank, grade, or the basic salary issued by competent authorities after July 1, 2013 by ministries, central agencies, and localities (if any) shall be included in the budget requirements for salary reform in 2013 and handled according to the provisions of this Circular.

Article 3. Determining the source to ensure the budget requirements for implementing Decree No. 66/2013/ND-CP, Decree No. 73/2013/ND-CP

1. The budget sources for implementing Decree No. 66/2013/ND-CP in 2013 of ministries and central agencies:

a) For administrative state agencies, the Party, and mass organizations:

- Utilizing the 10% savings from regular expenditure budgets for 2013 already allocated by the competent authority for each agency.

- Utilizing at least 40% of the retained revenue according to the system in 2013 (the remaining amount after using it to implement Decree No. 31/2012/ND-CP, Decree No. 34/2012/ND-CP, Decree No. 22/2011/ND-CP, Decree No. 57/2011/ND-CP); for service revenue, utilizing 40% of the surplus between income and expenses from service operations.

- Unutilized sources from salary reform in 2012 transferred to 2013 (if any).

b) For state-owned and party-affiliated public institutions:

- Utilizing the 10% savings from regular expenditure budgets for 2013 already allocated by the competent authority for each unit.

- Utilizing at least 40% of the retained revenue according to the system in 2013; for service revenue, utilizing 40% of the surplus between income and expenses from service operations. Specifically, the healthcare sector must utilize at least 35% of the retained revenue after deducting drug costs, blood, transfusion fluids, chemicals, replacement materials, and consumables if they are included in the service price (the remaining amount after using it to implement decrees on salaries and allowances from 2012 and earlier).

- Unutilized sources from salary reform up to the end of 2012 transferred to 2013 (if any).

c) In cases where the sources provided for in Clause 1 of Article 3 above are less than the budget requirements for implementing Decree No. 66/2013/ND-CP in 2013 as stipulated in Article 2 of this Circular, the State Budget will supplement the shortfall for ministries and central agencies to ensure sufficient funding for implementation.

d) In cases where the sources provided for in Clause 1 of Article 3 above exceed the budget requirements for implementing Decree No. 66/2013/ND-CP in 2013 as stipulated in Article 2 of this Circular, ministries and central agencies will self-fund the implementation of Decree No. 66/2013/ND-CP in 2013; the remainder will be transferred to 2014 to ensure the basic salary of VND 1,150,000/month for 12 months; this remaining amount shall not be used for other purposes.

2. The budget sources for implementing Decree No. 66/2013/ND-CP, Decree No. 73/2013/ND-CP in 2013 of provinces and centrally-administered cities:

a) Utilizing at least 40% of the retained revenue according to the system in 2013; for service revenue, utilizing 40% of the surplus between income and expenses from service operations. Specifically, the healthcare sector must utilize at least 35% of the retained revenue after deducting drug costs, blood, transfusion fluids, chemicals, replacement materials, and consumables if they are included in the service price (the remaining amount after using it to implement decrees on salaries and allowances in 2011 and 2012);

b) Utilizing the 10% savings from regular expenditure budgets for 2013 already allocated by the competent authority (the 10% savings from regular expenditure budgets for 2013 increased compared to the 2012 budget after adjusting for the same salary and allowance level);

c) 50% of the increase in local government revenue (excluding increases from land use fees) implemented in 2012 compared to the 2012 budget allocated by the Prime Minister (for this source of increased revenue, in cases where localities face difficulties, have low self-balancing ratios from local revenue, small increases in revenue in 2012 compared to the allocated budget, and localities facing difficulties in salary reform due to inability to harmonize revenue increases across different levels of the local budget, the Ministry of Finance will consider specifically to determine the amount of increased revenue to be included in the sources for salary reform in 2013; while reporting the results of implementation to the Prime Minister);

d) 50% of the increase in local government revenue (excluding increases from land use fees) in the 2013 budget compared to the 2012 budget;

e) Unutilized sources from salary reform up to the end of 2012 (after using it to offset the deficit in the local budget in 2012) transferred to 2013 (if any).

In the case where the sources provided for under Clause 2, Article 3 above are less than the funding requirements to implement the Decrees adjusting salaries and allowances in 2013 as stipulated in Article 2 of this Circular, the central budget will supplement the shortfall for provinces and centrally-administered cities to ensure sufficient resources for implementation.

In the case where the sources provided for under Clause 2, Article 3 above exceed the funding requirements to implement the Decrees adjusting salaries and allowances in 2013 as stipulated in Article 2 of this Circular, the provinces and centrally-administered cities shall self-fund the implementation of the Decrees adjusting salaries and allowances in 2013; the excess amount will be transferred to 2014 to ensure the basic salary of VND 1,150,000 per month for twelve months; this remaining amount shall not be used for other purposes.

In the case where provinces and centrally-administered cities have surplus funds after ensuring the funding requirements for salary reform according to the prescribed timeline, they must report to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution in accordance with Point c, Clause 2, Article 1 of Decision No. 383/QĐ-TTg dated April 3, 2007 of the Prime Minister.

3. The revenue retained in accordance with the provisions of Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 3 above shall not be deducted for direct costs serving the collection process if such revenue is derived from activities or services invested in by the State or from activities or services that are exclusive rights of the State and have been guaranteed by the state budget for collection expenses (retained school fees for public schools, etc.). Revenue retained in accordance with the provisions shall be deducted for direct costs serving the collection process if such revenue is derived from activities or services invested in by the State or from activities or services that are exclusive rights of the State but have not been guaranteed by the state budget for collection expenses. Additionally, note the following points:

a) For regular student tuition fees at public schools: 40% of the collected tuition fees shall be used to implement the salary reform system based on the total collected tuition fees.

b) For tuition fees from part-time training activities, joint ventures, and other training activities of public schools: 40% of the collected tuition fees shall be used to implement salary reform based on the collected tuition fees from these activities after excluding related costs.

c) For service revenues, joint venture activities, and other revenues of public institutions (excluding revenues under the Law on Fees and Charges): 40% of the collected revenues shall be used to implement salary reform based on the total collected revenues from these activities after deducting related costs.

4. Funding for implementing Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP for workers under fixed-term labor contracts in administrative agencies, Party organizations, and political-social organizations shall be applied according to the provisions of Decree No. 68/2000/NĐ-CP, which is self-funded by the agencies and units from their allocated state budget at the beginning of the year and other lawful sources of income.

5. Funding for implementing Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP for staffing and labor in the various levels of the trade union system shall be guaranteed from the 2% trade union revenue; it shall not be included in the funding requirements for additional salary and allowance increases for ministries, central agencies, and provinces and centrally-administered cities.

6. Funding for implementing Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP for staffing and labor in the State Bank, Vietnam Social Security, and unemployment insurance staff shall be guaranteed from the management budget as prescribed.

7. Funding for implementing Decree No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP for staffing and labor in agencies and units that have implemented cost allocation, where the decision allowing cost allocation by the competent authority has specified that during the allocation period, the unit must arrange within the allocated budget to ensure new policies and systems (such as tax agencies, customs, Vietnam Television, etc.), these agencies and units must self-fund the additional salary costs for the new salary system within the total allocated budget.

8. In 2014, ministries, central agencies, and localities will continue to implement the mechanism for generating sources for salary reform as mentioned above to ensure a basic salary of VND 1,150,000 per month for the entire year 2014; supplementary funding to implement the basic salary of VND 1,150,000 per month in 2014 (after the unit has utilized the funding for salary reform as prescribed) will be arranged in the 2014 state budget expenditure plan of ministries, central agencies, and provinces and centrally-administered cities.

Article 4. Reporting regime on demand and funding sources for implementing Decrees No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP and No. 73/2013/NĐ-CP

All Ministries, central agencies, and provinces and centrally-administered cities (including those that have ensured sufficient funding to implement) shall be responsible for organizing, guiding, reviewing, and compiling reports on demand and funding sources for implementing the aforementioned Decrees in 2013 and submitting them to the Ministry of Finance no later than August 15, 2013.

(Ministries and central agencies shall submit reports on demand and funding according to attached forms No. 1, 3a, 3b, 3c; provinces and centrally-administered cities shall submit reports on demand and funding according to attached forms 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2đ, 2e, 2g, 2h.1, 2h.2, 2h.3, 4a, 4b, 4c.)

Article 5. Payment methods for funding the implementation of Decrees No. 66/2013/NĐ-CP and No. 73/2013/NĐ-CP

1. For units using the budget with funding sources larger than the required funding to implement the aforementioned Decrees, they may proactively use these sources to pay salaries, allowances, and additional subsidies to cadres, civil servants, and public officials of their units in accordance with prescribed regulations.

2. For Ministries, central agencies, provinces, and centrally-administered cities with funding sources larger than the required funding to implement the aforementioned Decrees:

a) Ministries, central agencies, provinces, and centrally-administered cities shall direct and guide subordinate units and budgetary levels with funding sources larger than the required funding to proactively use these sources to pay additional salaries to cadres, civil servants, and public officials, additional subsidies for retired village cadres, and additional allowances for non-professional staff at commune, village, and ward levels, and veterinary officers at commune level in accordance with prescribed regulations.

b) Provinces and centrally-administered cities shall proactively use increased local government revenue, save 10% of regular expenditures (the portion retained centrally) to supplement funding sources for budgetary units and subordinate budgetary levels that still lack funding.

3. For Ministries, central agencies, provinces, and centrally-administered cities with funding requirements larger than the prescribed funding sources under this Circular:

a) For ministries and central agencies:

- Based on the reports from Ministries and central agencies, the Ministry of Finance will review and notify additional funding to ensure that Ministries and central agencies have sufficient funding to implement.

- After receiving the notification from the Ministry of Finance, Ministries and central agencies will notify additional funding to their subordinate budgetary units to implement additional salaries, allowances, and subsidies in accordance with prescribed regulations (after using the sources to implement additional salaries, allowances, and subsidies as prescribed but still lacking funding).

- Budgetary units at level I are responsible for allocating the notified additional amount to their subordinate budgetary units (after using the sources to implement additional salaries, allowances, and subsidies as prescribed but still lacking funding). Budgetary units will withdraw funds from the State Treasury within the supplemented amount and proactively use retained revenue in accordance with regulations, save 10% of regular expenditures to pay additional salaries, allowances, and subsidies to cadres, civil servants, and public officials of their units in accordance with prescribed regulations.

b) For provinces and centrally-administered cities: Based on the reports on demand and funding sources from provinces and centrally-administered cities, the Ministry of Finance will review and notify additional funding to ensure that localities have sufficient funding for salary reform.

4. While awaiting authorized bodies to supplement funding, higher-level budgets will advance funding for lower-level budgets that have not ensured sufficient funding for implementation; for localities facing difficulties in funding, they must report in writing to the Ministry of Finance to advance funding for the locality; budgetary units may proactively use the 2013 budget allocation and retained revenue in accordance with regulations to promptly pay salaries, allowances, and additional subsidies to cadres, civil servants, public officials, and other subjects as stipulated in this Circular. The advanced funding and the amount used will be reimbursed from the supplementary funding provided by the authorized body for implementing salaries and additional subsidies.

5. Accounting and settlement: The accounting and settlement of funding for implementing salaries, allowances, and subsidies for the specified subjects as stipulated in this Circular shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and current legal documents.

Article 6. Implementation Organization

1. Based on the specific situation of their own agencies and localities and the provisions of this Circular, Heads of Ministries, central agencies, Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall specify the time and reporting forms for units and subordinate budgetary levels in accordance with the regulations on compiling and reporting to the Ministry of Finance as stipulated in this Circular.

2. This Circular takes effect from September 20, 2013.

3. The regimes prescribed in this Circular shall be implemented from July 1, 2013.

During the implementation process, if there are difficulties, relevant ministries, central agencies, and localities shall report to the Ministry of Finance for timely consideration and resolution./.