Joint Circular No. 109/2008/TTLT/BTC-BVHTTDL guiding the expenditure regime for organizing the ASEAN Tourism Forum in 2009 in Vietnam

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines on expenditure regulations for organizing the ASEAN Tourism Forum in 2009 in Vietnam

ASEAN Tourism Forum in 2009 in Vietnam

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

Pursuant to Decree No. 77/2003/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decree No. 185/2007/NĐ-CP dated December 25, 2007 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism;

Implementing the guidance of the Prime Minister as stated in Official Letter No. 6926/VPCP-QHQT dated November 28, 2007 of the Government Office regarding the Project to organize the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2009 in Hanoi,

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism hereby issue guidelines on expenditure regulations for organizing the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2009 in Vietnam (ATF 09) as follows:

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

1. The subjects implementing this Circular are agencies and units (hereinafter referred to as units) assigned funds to carry out the task of organizing and serving ATF 09 in Vietnam.

2. Units shall use the allocated funds strictly for their intended purposes to implement tasks and activities related to organizing and serving events within the framework of ATF 09 that have been approved by competent authorities, and shall not use these funds for other regular tasks of the units.

3. In addition to the detailed expenditure regimes and standards specified in this Circular, expenditures to implement activities related to organizing and serving ATF 09 shall be carried out according to current financial expenditure regimes.

4. Management and use of funds and assets for organizing and serving ATF 09 shall be conducted in accordance with the Law on State Budget, current state financial and asset management documents, and the provisions of this Circular.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Sources of funding for organizing ATF 09:

- State budget;

- Revenue from renting booths at the Trade Fair (Travex): The revenue from booth rental is approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism - Chairman of the Steering Committee for ATF 09 based on the principle of covering costs through revenue, ensuring necessary expenses for organizing the Trade Fair.

- Contributions, support, and sponsorships from organizations, businesses, and individuals both domestically and internationally;

- Advertising revenues;

- Other sources of revenue (if any).

2. Expenditure items: Funding for organizing ATF 09 shall be used for the following purposes:

- Direct publicity expenses (printing banners, posters, logos, emblems, flags, slogans, promotional materials, and publications) and publicity on mass media (radio, television, press, etc.).

- Expenses for renting means of transportation, equipment, venues to serve organizing ATF 09 as approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism - Chairman of the Organizing Committee for ATF 09.

- Expenses for international guests:

+ Hotel room rental fees, airport pick-up and drop-off services, and transportation for Ministers, Secretaries-General of ASEAN, and senior tourism officials (NTOs),

+ Airport pick-up and drop-off services, and transportation for participating in ATF 09 events for invited guests.

+ Round-trip airfare, hotel room rental fees, airport pick-up and drop-off services, and transportation for participating in ATF 09 events for some invited guests according to ASEAN tradition, including travel agencies and travel agency agents (buyers) purchasing tourism products (tours) from source markets; the list of invited guests and their stay duration is approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism - Chairman of the Organizing Committee for ATF 09 within the approved budget for organizing the ATF 09 forum by the Prime Minister.

+ Hospitality expenses, social receptions, and working sessions.

- Expenses for creating ATF 09 symbols and gifts, souvenirs, and memorabilia.

- Expenses for printing invitations and making cards for ATF 09 participants.

- Expenses for organizing conferences, seminars, working group meetings, ASEAN National Tourism Organization meetings, ASEAN Tourism Ministers' meetings, forums, etc., within the framework of ATF 09.

- Expenses for the operations of the Steering Committee, Organizing Committee for ATF 09, sub-committees assisting the Organizing Committee, and the permanent office of the Organizing Committee for ATF 09.

- Expenses for security, order maintenance, sanitation, healthcare, and service provision.

- Communication and liaison expenses.

- Expenses for cultural and artistic activities welcoming and serving delegates attending ATF 09.

- Expenses for organizing the opening and closing ceremonies of ATF 09.

- Expenses for building and operating the ATF 09 website.

- Training and capacity-building expenses for volunteer teams.

- Other expenses directly related to organizing and serving ATF 09 activities.

3. Some expenditure levels for organizing ATF 09:

a) For representatives and guests hosted by Vietnam:

Implement the contents and levels of hosting as specified in Circular No. 57/2007/TT-BTC dated June 11, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance on expenditure regulations for receiving foreign guests for work visits to Vietnam, organizing international conferences and seminars in Vietnam, and hosting domestic guests.

b) For staff and personnel serving ATF 09:

- Allowance: Staff and personnel directly involved in serving ATF 09 (including holidays and Sundays) shall receive allowances for performing duties as follows:

+ Members of the Steering Committee and Organizing Committee for ATF 09: 150,000 VND/day/person.

+ Members of sub-committees and the permanent office of ATF 09: 100,000 VND/day/person.

+ Service personnel (security guards, drivers, receptionists, volunteers, etc.) approved by the Organizing Committee Chair: 100,000 VND/day/person.

In cases where a person performs multiple tasks in one day, they shall only be entitled to the highest duty allowance.

The number of days eligible for allowance is the actual number of working days during the official ATF 09 event period. If work must commence earlier or conclude later than the official ATF 09 period, payment will be made according to the approval of the ATF 09 Organizing Committee Chair; the allowance will be paid according to the correct regime and time for early commencement or extension but not exceeding five days in total.

- Mobile phone call support for officials and staff: Allocate call expenses during the organization of ATF 09 according to the following allocation levels:

+ Members of the Steering Committee, Heads and Deputy Heads of the Organizing Board, Heads of Sub-committees, and Permanent Office Chiefs of ATF 09: 300,000 VND/person.

+ Members of Sub-committees, Permanent Office, and Secretariat Group of ATF 09: 200,000 VND/person.

c) Some other expense levels directly related to the organization of ATF 09:

- Expenses for related meetings: Meetings of the Steering Committee, Organizing Board, Sub-committees, and Permanent Office of ATF 09: 50,000 VND/person/meeting.

- Website construction costs for ATF 09: Implement according to Circular No. 43/2008/TTLT-BTC-BTTTT dated May 26, 2008, jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Information and Communications guiding the management and use of funds for information technology applications in state agencies' operations.

- Translation expenses: Implement according to the provisions of Circular No. 57/2007/TT-BTC dated June 11, 2007, issued by the Ministry of Finance, specifically:

+ Written translation: Expense level from 50,000 VND/page to 70,000 VND/page (300 characters/page).

+ Oral translation:

* Regular oral translation: not exceeding 80,000 VND/hour/person, equivalent to not more than 640,000 VND/day/person working 8 hours.

* Simultaneous oral translation: maximum expense level not exceeding 200,000 VND/hour/person, equivalent to 1,600,000 VND/day/person working 8 hours.

The above translation expense standards only apply when it is necessary to hire external interpreters. In cases where interpreters are officers assigned from agencies and units to serve ATF 09, these standards shall not be applied; they will only be compensated for service allowances according to the expense levels stipulated in this Circular.

Any expenses arising in practice that have not been specified in this Circular must be approved by the Head of the Steering Committee or the Head of the Organizing Board; at the same time, they must ensure all legal documents, bidding files, contracts, invoices, and valid expenditure vouchers.

Departments allocated a lump sum budget are responsible for paying remuneration to their officers.

Participants in cultural and artistic activities welcoming and serving delegates at ATF 09 will be reimbursed according to the contracts signed between the Organizing Board and performing units.

Renting assets, equipment, printing materials, promotional publications, producing symbols, gifts... with a value of 100 million VND or more must be conducted through bidding, applying the provisions of the Law on Public Procurement and implementing guidelines for the Law on Public Procurement.

For procurement expenses and special nature expenses without established expense standards or unit prices set by the State, opinions from the Ministry of Finance must be obtained and approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism - Head of the Steering Committee before implementation as the basis for finalizing the budget.

4. Outside the official days of ATF 09 events (Opening, Closing, Working Group sessions, NTOs, Ministers' Meeting, Travex, sideline activities), if Vietnamese officials and staff need to travel to serve directly related ATF 09 activities, they will be reimbursed travel expenses according to the current regulations of the Ministry of Finance regarding travel allowances and organizing conference expense regulations for administrative agencies and public institutions.

III. ESTABLISHING BUDGET PROJECTIONS, ALLOCATING BUDGET PROJECTIONS AND SETTLING ACCOUNTS

1. Establishment of budget projections:

Based on the projected volume and content of work related to organizing ATF 09 activities approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism; projected revenue sources, current expense standards, and expense levels specified in Part II of this Circular, units tasked with organizing ATF 09 should prepare necessary budget projections for their tasks and submit them to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is responsible for reviewing the content of the work and budget projections submitted by the units in accordance with the prescribed regulations, compiling and submitting them to the Ministry of Finance for approval by the competent authority.

2. Allocation of budget projections:

a) Based on the total budget projection for organizing ATF 09 activities approved by the competent authority, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will develop a budget allocation plan for units directly implementing tasks assigned by the ATF 09 Organizing Board and send it to the Ministry of Finance for review according to current regulations.

b) The Ministry of Finance will notify the budget projection for security expenses for organizing ATF 09 to the Ministry of Public Security for implementation.

c) For rental booth fees, contributions, sponsorships from organizations, businesses, individuals both domestically and internationally, and other revenue sources (if any) for organizing ATF 09, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism must fully reflect the income according to regulations, while being responsible for managing and using this source of funds to implement tasks related to organizing ATF 09 according to current financial regulations.

3. Settlement:

a) Units allocated a budget are responsible for managing, using, and settling accounts for the portion of the budget for organizing ATF 09 activities assigned to them (including other revenue sources, if any) according to current regulations.

b) Within 60 days after the end of ATF 09 activities, units tasked with organizing ATF 09 must complete settlement of the assigned budget and submit the settlement report to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for approval and submission to the Ministry of Finance.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

This Circular takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette and applies to the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2009 in Vietnam.

During implementation, if any difficulties arise, please promptly report them to the Joint Ministries for study, revision, and supplementation as appropriate.