Circular No. 109/2020/TT-BTC on the organization and implementation of the state budget for the year 2021

 

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the organization and implementation of the state budget estimate for 2021

On the basis of State Budget Law June 25, 2015;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 128/2020/QH14 November 12, 2020, of the 14th National Assembly on the state budget estimate for 2021;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 129/2020/QH14 November 13, 2020, of the 14th National Assembly on the allocation of the central budget for 2021;

Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP December 21, 2016, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the State Budget Law;

Decree No. 87/2017/NĐ-CP July 26, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Implementing Decision No. 1950/QĐ-TTg November 28, 2020, of the Prime Minister on the assignment of the state budget estimate for 2021;

At the proposal of the Director of the State Budget Department;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular to regulate the organization and implementation of the state budget estimate for 2021.

PART I

CLASSIFICATION OF REVENUE SOURCES, EXPENDITURE RESPONSIBILITIES AND ALLOCATION, ASSIGNMENT OF THE STATE BUDGET ESTIMATE FOR 2021

Article 1. Classification of revenue sources, expenditure responsibilities of the state budget

1. Implementing the mechanism for classifying revenue sources and assigning expenditure responsibilities between the central budget and local budgets as stipulated in Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP of December 21, 2016, of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the State Budget Law and Circular No. 342/2016/TT-BTC of December 30, 2016, of the Ministry of Finance detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP of December 21, 2016, of the Government.

2. Based on the provisions of Clause 5, Article 1 of Resolution No. 122/2020/QH14 of June 19, 2020, of the National Assembly, in 2021, continue to maintain the percentage ratio (%) of revenue distribution between the central budget and local budgets as decided by the National Assembly in 2017; maintain the amount of supplementary balance transferred from the central budget to local budgets at the level decided by the National Assembly in 2020; supplement local budgets to implement the basic salary of 1,490,000 VND/month assigned by the Prime Minister to each locality under Decision No. 1950/QĐ-TTg of November 28, 2020.

3. The classification of revenue sources and assignment of expenditure responsibilities between local government budgets at various levels, and the percentage ratio (%) of revenue distribution among local budgets shall be implemented in accordance with the resolutions of the People's Councils at provincial level and decisions of the People's Committees at provincial level made for the current budget period. For 2021, based on the budget balance capacity, the People's Committee at provincial level shall submit to the People's Council at the same level for decision to increase the amount of supplementary balance transferred to lower-level budgets compared to 2020. In special cases where new projects generate significant additional revenues, causing an increase in local budgets, the People's Committee at provincial level shall submit to the People's Council at the same level for decision in accordance with Clause 7, Article 9 of the State Budget Law.

At the same time, provincial budgets shall supplement the balance to lower-level budgets to implement the basic salary of 1,490,000 VND/month according to the resolutions of the People's Councils at provincial level and decisions of the People's Committees at the same level.

4. Continue to maintain stability in the percentage ratio (%) of distribution and the adjustment mechanism for certain specific revenue items as follows:

a) Environmental protection tax on gasoline and diesel products: In 2021, continue to maintain the percentage (%) of environmental protection tax on gasoline and diesel products as in 2017, the first year of the 2017-2020 budget stabilization period. Accordingly: 37.2% of the environmental protection tax revenue from gasoline and diesel products is shared between the central budget and local budgets; 62.8% of the environmental protection tax revenue is fully allocated to the central budget. Tax authorities shall coordinate with the State Treasury to guide taxpayers to declare and pay taxes in accordance with the state budget classification and budget allocation for environmental protection tax on gasoline and diesel products;

b) Continue to allocate 100% of the special consumption tax and value-added tax on gasoline and diesel products produced by the Nghi Son Refining and Petrochemical Complex to the central budget;

c) Continue to allocate 100% of the revenue from water resource exploitation rights fees as classified in Resolution No. 64/2018/QH14 of June 15, 2018, of the National Assembly for the fifth session of the 14th National Assembly (for permits issued by central agencies, allocate 70% of the revenue to the central budget and 30% to local budgets; for permits issued by provincial People's Committees, allocate 100% of the revenue to local budgets);

d) Collect and record all profits from oil and gas royalties and joint venture profits from the Vietnam-Russia Joint Venture (Vietsovpetro) as state budget revenue;

đ) Continue to allocate 100% of the revenue from administrative penalties imposed by market management agencies to the central budget;

e) Revenue from vehicle road usage fees and maritime security assurance fees (after deducting collection costs) shall continue to be paid into the central budget for use in maintaining and ensuring road safety and maritime security;

Continue to allocate between the central budget and local budgets the revenue from vehicle road usage fees collected per vehicle at a ratio of 65% and 35%, respectively, for managing and maintaining roads;

g) Continue to implement the mechanism for balancing land use fee revenue in the local budget estimates for investment in economic and social infrastructure construction.

h) Continue to use income from lottery activities in the local budget estimate for investment in development. Among them, provinces in the Northern region, Central region, and Central Highlands allocate at least 60%, while provinces in the Southeast region and Mekong Delta allocate at least 50% of the estimated income from lottery activities decided by the Provincial People's Council to invest in education and training (including purchasing teaching equipment to support the new general education textbook program) and healthcare sectors; the remaining portion should be prioritized for implementing projects and programs to prevent natural disasters, combat climate change,新农村发展和建设，以及其他属于地方预算投资的重要任务。

Article 2. Allocate the state budget revenue estimate

1. Ministries, central agencies, provincial people's committees, and municipal people's committees under direct central jurisdiction shall implement the assignment of state budget revenue collection tasks for the year 2021 to subordinate units and lower-level authorities, ensuring that they are no less than the state budget revenue collection estimates assigned by the Prime Minister. In addition to allocating the state budget revenue estimates, ministries, central agencies, provincial people's committees, and municipal people's committees under direct central jurisdiction shall assign public service revenue collection tasks to subordinate units in accordance with the relevant laws (if applicable).

2. The allocation of the state budget revenue estimate for the year 2021 must be based on a comprehensive review, analysis, and evaluation of all newly generated revenues and the results of state budget revenue collection in 2020; taking into account policies and laws related to state budget revenue; forecasting economic growth rates for each industry and sector, and business conditions of taxpayers within their jurisdictions; strengthening tax inspection and audit work to prevent tax evasion; preventing smuggling, commercial fraud, production and sale of counterfeit goods, transfer pricing, and tax evasion; actively urging the recovery of overdue taxes and applying coercive measures according to regulations to limit new arrears, recover tax payments, penalties, and other receivables in a timely manner as recommended by auditing bodies, concluded by supervisory agencies, and enforced by legal protection agencies.

3. Within the scope of the fee revenue allocated to the state budget and the retained fee revenue for expenditure as stipulated by the Ministry of Finance, ministries and central agencies shall allocate the budget estimates to each subordinate agency and unit. Within the scope of the retained fee revenue for expenditure as allocated by the Ministry of Finance, ministries and central agencies shall proactively manage and utilize these funds for purposes specified in Clause 2, Clause 3, Clause 4, and Clause 5 of Article 5 of Decree No. 120/2016/ND-CP dated August 23, 2016, which details and guides the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Fees and Charges and special financial mechanisms as prescribed by the competent authority (if applicable) for each subordinate agency and unit, and submit to the Ministry of Finance for verification together with the budget allocation plan as required.

For subordinate agencies and units currently applying special financial mechanisms through business operation revenues and other lawful sources as prescribed by the competent authority, ministries and central agencies shall guide the preparation of revenue and expenditure plans for the year 2021 according to the current mechanism, requiring a minimum reduction of 15% in expenditures compared to 2020.

Article 3. Allocation and Assignment of State Budget Expenditure Estimates

1. Allocation and Projection of Development Investment Expenditure:

a) Based on the total capital and capital structure assigned by the Prime Minister, ministries, central agencies, and localities shall allocate state budget investment capital in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 3 of Resolution No. 129/2020/QH14 dated November 13, 2020 of the National Assembly on the allocation of the central budget for 2021. Ministries, central agencies, and localities shall send the results of the allocation to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consolidation and reporting to the Government, and simultaneously send to the Ministry of Finance for monitoring disbursement in accordance with the Law on Public Investment and guiding documents.

b) In addition to implementing the allocation, arrangement of capital, and assignment of development investment expenditure estimates as mentioned above, provinces and centrally-administered municipalities need to pay attention to the following matters:

- Based on the development investment expenditure estimates assigned by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Finance, localities shall allocate corresponding surplus provincial budget revenues (if any) to repay the principal of local government loans due for repayment in 2021 (including overdue loans from the Vietnam Development Bank, if any), and reserve additional funds to repay interest on loans due in 2021 (if the allocated interest repayment budget is insufficient); the remaining portion shall be allocated to projects and programs, ensuring sufficient funding for projects and programs partially supported by the central budget to achieve specified goals.

- Localities borrowing from foreign sources through the central government's foreign borrowing have been included in the total development investment expenditure budget for the local budget in 2021 as decided by the National Assembly, assigned by the Prime Minister, and allocated by the Ministry of Finance. Based on the allocated amount of foreign loan repayment, localities shall forecast disbursement capacity according to the actual progress of the Project and in compliance with the loan agreement, allocate and assign budget estimates to each program and project, and only implement disbursements within the allocated budget estimates. If the disbursement plan for projects is lower than the allocated budget estimates, localities may reallocate loan funds to newly emerging projects meeting legal requirements but not included in the initial project list approved by the competent authority, provided that the total amount of foreign loans for all programs and projects does not exceed the allocated loan budget estimate; meanwhile, the loan amount for each program and project shall not exceed the approved loan budget estimate for investment. Localities shall submit the list of projects allocated from local borrowing back to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation and tracking.

The allocation and provision of capital for investment projects funded by local budget surpluses (if any) shall ensure consistency with project implementation schedules, borrowing capacity, and the allocated borrowing limits.

- Allocate funds from local budget investment development capital for forest regeneration projects from annual revenue generated from natural forest timber resource taxes as prescribed by law.

- Ensure sufficient counterpart funding from the local budget for ODA projects managed by the locality as prescribed.

- Allocate the budget for land clearance compensation corresponding to the amount voluntarily advanced by investors for compensation and clearance according to the approved plan by competent authorities.

2. Allocation and assignment of regular expenditure budgets:

a) Ministries, central agencies, and localities when allocating and assigning regular expenditure budgets to budgetary units must ensure that they match the overall and detailed budgets assigned by the Prime Minister, guided by the Ministry of Finance, decided by the People's Council, and allocated by the People's Committee according to each spending area; the allocation of expenditure budgets must be timely as prescribed, in accordance with established standards and budget quotas set by competent state authorities, ensuring adequate funding for implemented policies and systems, important tasks as stipulated by law, and tasks decided by authorized bodies.

Additionally, for ministries and central agencies with public service units self-financing part of their regular expenditures through increased service fees and tuition fees as prescribed by law on thrift to reduce average national budget support by 5% compared to the 2020 budget estimate, allocate sufficient funds to implement issued policies and systems, and important tasks as stipulated by law.

The cost of planning evaluation continues to be allocated within the regular budget as prescribed by the Law on Planning. Simultaneously, the allocation and assignment of regular expenditure budgets should align with the progress and timeline of streamlining staffing, organizational restructuring, administrative unit reorganization at the district and commune levels, enhancing the autonomy of public service units, adjusting prices and fees... in accordance with Party and State regulations.

In addition to the above contents, ministries, central agencies, and localities must allocate the budget to ensure the implementation of the following expenditure items:

- Carry out inspection, testing, disposal of unsafe food products, and investment in technical equipment for agencies and units responsible for handling administrative violations concerning food safety, corresponding to the revenue from fines collected for such violations as per the current budgetary hierarchy.

- Implement legal education activities as prescribed by the Law on Popularizing and Promoting Legal Education; grassroots mediation activities as prescribed by the Law on Grassroots Mediation; the Project "Promotion, Popularization, and Legal Education on Anti-Corruption from 2019 to 2021".

- Implement gender equality goals and tasks as prescribed by the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

- For education and training public services: Allocate and assign budget expenditure to subordinate agencies and units, and lower-level governments not less than the budget assigned by the Prime Minister.

- For science and technology public services: Allocate and assign budget expenditure to subordinate agencies and units, and lower-level governments not less than the budget assigned by the Prime Minister, prioritizing funding for tasks ending in 2021, transitional tasks, ensuring alignment with progress and disbursement capacity, remaining funds to be allocated for new 2021 tasks with approved mission decisions by competent authorities. The allocation of science and technology activities' budget by local governments shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law, the Science and Technology Law, and guiding documents.

- For environmental protection public services: Provincial People's Committees base on the budget guidance of the Ministry of Finance, policy systems, and workload of tasks submitted to the same-level People's Council for decision-making in line with local realities. After ensuring the completion of prescribed public service expenditure tasks, based on Clause 3, Article 3 of Resolution No. 128/2020/QH14 dated November 12, 2020 of the National Assembly on the state budget estimate for 2021, provincial People's Committees submit to the same-level People's Council for consideration and decision on the use of environmental protection public service funds for investment-oriented tasks in line with local realities.

b) Based on the 2021 budget expenditure allocation, provinces and centrally-administered cities allocate local budgets to ensure the implementation of the following contents:

- Implement activities supporting small and medium-sized enterprises as per Announcement No. 70/TB-VPCP dated February 21, 2019 of the Government Office.

- Provide assistance to the elderly and people with disabilities. Ensure budget allocation for implementing activities, programs, and projects on children's rights approved by competent authorities.

- Implement health care and improvement activities for the people under new circumstances as per Resolution No. 20-NQ/TW dated October 25, 2017 and population work as per Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW dated October 25, 2017 of the Sixth Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Twelfth Tenure, on population work under new circumstances.

- Implement legal aid activities as prescribed by the Law on Legal Aid, Decree No. 144/2017/NĐ-CP dated December 15, 2017 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Law on Legal Aid, and Circular No. 59/2020/TT-BTC dated June 18, 2020 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of legal aid activity funding.

- Implement activities of local state agencies assigned the task of collecting fees. In cases where fee collection organizations apply financial mechanisms as prescribed by Decree No. 130/2005/NĐ-CP dated October 17, 2005, and Decree No. 117/2013/NĐ-CP dated October 7, 2013 of the Government on the system of self-management and responsibility for using staff quotas and administrative management expenses for state agencies, they may retain collected fees as prescribed to cover the costs of fee collection activities.

- Implementing the Law on Information Technology and the Digital Government pursuant to Resolution No. 36a/NQ-CP dated October 14, 2015 of the Government; allocate local budget funds together with mobilizing other lawful resources to implement Resolution No. 17/NQ-CP dated March 7, 2019 of the Government regarding key tasks and solutions for developing the digital government during the period of 2019-2020, with a view to 2025;

- Allocate funds to implement Decision No. 32/QD-TTg dated January 7, 2020 of the Prime Minister approving the Project to strengthen management over land originating from state-owned agricultural and forestry enterprises currently managed by agricultural companies, forestry companies not subject to restructuring under Decree No. 118/2014/NĐ-CP dated December 17, 2014 of the Government, forest management boards, and other organizations, households, and individuals using such land; funds for land surveying, registration, issuance of land use right certificates, and construction of land databases in accordance with Directive No. 1474/CT-TTg dated August 24, 2011 and Decision No. 191/QĐ-TTg dated February 8, 2018 of the Prime Minister; funds to complete land surveying, establish land records, issue land use right certificates, ownership certificates of houses and other assets attached to land, and construct land databases for border districts according to the Prime Minister's Decision (excluding central government funding support if any);

- Implement payment of benefits for kindergarten teachers assigned additional staffing by the Ministry of Home Affairs in accordance with Circular No. 9028-CV/VPTW dated March 11, 2019 of the Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam;

- Implement payment of bonuses along with party emblems (including emblems for 45 years of party membership);

- Implement regulations for civilian defense forces in accordance with the Civilian Defense Law No. 48/2019/QH14;

3. In addition to the above contents, when allocating the 2021 state budget estimate, provinces and centrally-administered cities need to pay attention to the following matters:

a) Allocate funds to implement central policies and benefits issued up to the time of the 2021 state budget allocation. Based on the National Assembly's Resolution and the Prime Minister's Decision on the 2021 State Budget Estimate: For localities with surplus reform salary funds expected at the end of 2021 (after setting aside funds for implementing salaries in 2021 as prescribed), allocate and transfer funds from this surplus, supplementary targeted funds from the central budget to the local budget (if any), and local budget funds in accordance with Decision No. 579/QĐ-TTg dated April 28, 2017 of the Prime Minister on principles of targeted support from the central budget to the local budget for implementing central social welfare policies during the period of 2017-2020;

b) Provincial People's Committees submit to the same-level People's Councils for decision on the use of central budget funds corresponding to 70% of the revenue from traffic violation fines within their respective localities based on the revenue in 2019, and local budget funds to ensure traffic safety and order, prioritizing police forces, transport inspection agencies, and addressing black spots and potential accident areas in line with local realities;

c) Localities proactively use supplementary targeted funds from the central budget to the local budget corresponding to 35% of the revenue from vehicle road usage fees, local budget funds, and other lawful financial sources to manage and maintain roads under local responsibility in accordance with the division of responsibilities;

d) Prioritize allocation of funds to implement Resolution No. 120/2020/QH14 dated June 19, 2020 of the National Assembly on approving the investment policy for the National Target Program on Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas during the period of 2021-2030, which falls under the responsibility of local budgets. Allocate at least 30% of health budget for preventive healthcare; prioritize funding for primary healthcare facilities, hospitals in difficult areas, border regions, islands, specialized leprosy, tuberculosis, and mental health services; ensure funding for basic healthcare packages at commune level;

đ) The operating costs of the Delegation of National Assembly representatives shall be guaranteed by the central budget. The operating costs of the People's Council and the Office of the Delegation of National Assembly representatives and the People's Council at the provincial level shall be guaranteed by the local budget, including:

- For localities piloting in accordance with Resolution No. 580/2018/UBTVQH14 dated October 4, 2018 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the local budget shall guarantee the operating costs of the Office of the Delegation of National Assembly representatives and the People's Council from the date these offices commence operations (from January 1, 2021);

- For localities not piloting in accordance with Resolution No. 580/2018/UBTVQH14 dated October 4, 2018 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the local budget shall guarantee the operating costs of the Office of the Delegation of National Assembly representatives and the People's Council from the date these offices commence operations (no later than June 30, 2021). Before the establishment of the Office of the Delegation of National Assembly representatives, the operating costs of the Office of the Delegation of National Assembly representatives shall be guaranteed by the central budget in accordance with Resolution No. 1097/2015/UBTVQH13 dated December 22, 2015 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly;

e) Proactively utilize legitimate financial resources carried over from 2020 and strive to increase revenue in 2021 to secure funds for salary payments and central social welfare policies as prescribed.

In the management of the state budget for the year 2021, in cases where localities have significant decreases in their own balanced budget revenues compared to the approved estimates due to objective reasons, they must proactively utilize their own legitimate resources, review, rearrange, and cut down on spending tasks to ensure balance according to the budget already decided by the National Assembly and assigned by the Prime Minister.

4. Allocation and assignment of the state budget estimate for national reserve:

Based on the Prime Minister's decision regarding the allocation and budget estimate for the state budget concerning national reserves, the Minister of Finance shall notify the budget estimate for purchasing goods for national reserves to relevant ministries, central agencies managing national reserve goods, ensuring consistency with the budget estimate assigned by the Prime Minister. On this basis, heads of ministries and central agencies managing national reserve goods shall allocate the state budget and assign national reserve plans to subordinate national reserve units within the allocated budget and detailed itemized goods categories approved, while simultaneously sending the Ministry of Finance (State Reserve Administration) for inspection and monitoring. Within ten working days from receiving the allocation document from the head of the ministry or agency managing national reserve goods, the Ministry of Finance (State Reserve Administration) shall be responsible for inspecting and requesting the head of the ministry or agency managing national reserve goods to adjust the allocation if it does not comply with the specified categories, total amounts, policies, and regulations, and is not detailed according to each content of the national reserve plan assigned.

5. Allocation and assignment of the state budget estimate from targeted supplementary sources:

Based on the budget estimate for implementing tasks, programs, and projects assigned by the Prime Minister, ministries, central agencies, provincial People's Committees under the Central Government shall allocate and assign budgets to subordinate units and lower-level authorities, ensuring thorough economy, concentrating funding on key priorities, and ensuring compliance with the objectives and contents of each task, program, and project assigned by authorized bodies.

Along with support from the central government budget, provinces and centrally-administered cities shall arrange their local budgets and reasonably mobilize other resources as prescribed by law to implement these tasks.

6. Allocation and assignment of the state budget estimate from ODA loans, preferential loans, and non-refundable foreign aid:

a) Within the budget estimates for each expenditure area decided by the National Assembly and assigned by the Prime Minister, ministries, central agencies, and localities may adjust budgets between programs, projects, and tasks that meet the necessary procedures and conditions, consistent with implementation progress, and submit to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (for development expenditures) for consolidation and reporting to the Government and monitoring, while also sending to the Ministry of Finance for control over disbursements; the Ministry of Finance (for regular expenditures) for consolidation, monitoring, and controlling disbursements.

b) Ministries and central agencies shall detail allocations for each using unit, itemized by each program and project (project name, sponsor, by each source of funds - detailed ODA loans, non-refundable aid linked to loans, preferential loans, and independent foreign aid, financial mechanisms, regular/development expenditures) and ensure consistency with the total budget estimates and expenditure areas assigned by the Prime Minister.

c) Localities shall detail allocations for each using unit, itemized by each program and project (project name, sponsor, by each source of funds - detailed ODA loans, non-refundable aid linked to loans, preferential loans, and independent foreign aid, financial mechanisms, regular/development expenditures) and ensure consistency with the total budget estimates for expenditures assigned by the Prime Minister.

7. Borrowing and repaying principal of provincial local government loans:

a) Localities are only permitted to borrow to cover deficits and repay principal within the limits decided by the National Assembly and assigned by the Prime Minister. For localities with budget estimates for borrowing to repay principal, after allocating funds for principal repayment as stipulated in point c of this clause, the locality may borrow within the limit decided by the National Assembly and assigned by the Prime Minister (regardless of whether it is for principal repayment or deficit coverage), while the allocation and disbursement of funds for investment projects from such borrowing must align with the schedule and allowable loan amount.

b) Allocate surplus revenue to fully and timely repay principal debts due.

c) For localities with budget estimates for borrowing to repay principal: To ensure proactive sources for full and timely principal repayment, when allocating capital for development investment, localities must proactively set aside funds for principal repayment due and replenish development investment funding when actual borrowing occurs according to the plan; disburse and pay the investment capital only after successful borrowing. If borrowing does not occur as planned or only partially, then reduce development investment funding in the local budget balance (increase corresponding surplus revenue) to fully and timely repay principal.

8. Allocate contingency reserves at all levels of local government as prescribed by the State Budget Law to proactively use for the expenditure items specified in Clause 2, Article 10 of the State Budget Law.

9. During the process of deciding on the allocation of budget revenue and expenditure estimates, if the People's Council decides on its own budget revenue estimate higher than the upper level's allocation, the corresponding additional expenditure budget shall be increased (excluding increases from land use fees and lottery revenues), after setting aside 70% of the additional revenue for salary reform as prescribed, the remainder should prioritize supplementing the local government contingency reserve to ensure proactive management of the budget, and the remaining potential to achieve the new revenue allocation budget for investment and social welfare programs, systems, and policies decided by authorized bodies as prescribed.

10. Ministries, central agencies, and localities shall allocate detailed investment capital plans for each project according to the investment project code and economic sector (type, category) as per Appendix No. 02 issued together with Circular No. 324/2016/TT-BTC dated December 21, 2016, of the Ministry of Finance on the system of state budget sub-accounts.

11. For state agencies implementing the self-management mechanism, bearing responsibility for the use of staffing quotas and administrative management expenses pursuant to Decree No. 130/2005/NĐ-CP dated October 17, 2005, and Decree No. 117/2013/NĐ-CP dated October 7, 2013 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 130/2005/NĐ-CP, the allocation and assignment of budgets shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Circular Joint No. 71/2014/TTLT-BTC-BNV dated May 30, 2014 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs on the self-management regime and bearing responsibility for the use of administrative management expenses by state agencies.

12. For public service units assigned to implement the self-management mechanism in accordance with the provisions of Government Decrees, Resolutions, and Prime Minister's Decisions, the allocation and assignment of state budget revenue and expenditure forecasts shall be based on the tasks assigned for the year 2021, the classification of financial autonomy levels of public service units, the state budget forecast ensuring regular operations in the first year of the stabilization period approved by the competent authority (for public service units that self-fund regular expenditures and investment expenditures, self-fund regular expenditures, partially self-fund regular expenditures, and public service units where regular expenditures are guaranteed by the State), detailed budget forecast divided into two parts: the part of the state budget forecast guaranteeing regular expenditures, the part of the budget forecast for non-regular tasks.

For public service units not yet authorized by the competent authority to manage finances autonomously, the allocation and assignment of expenditure forecasts shall be included in the part of the budget forecast for non-regular tasks.

For some public higher education institutions authorized by the competent authority to continue implementing the pilot reform mechanism for operational mechanisms as stipulated in Resolution No. 77/NQ-CP dated October 24, 2014 of the Government, they shall implement comprehensive self-management and bear full responsibility according to the decision of the competent authority.

13. In addition to the allocation and assignment guidelines provided in this Circular, ministries, central agencies, and localities must also comply with other relevant provisions of the Law on State Budget and guiding documents for its implementation.

Article 4. Implementation of the mechanism to create sources for salary and allowances in 2021

1. Ministries and central agencies, based on the state budget forecasts allocated to them, shall allocate budget forecasts to budget-using units to ensure that these units have sufficient resources to implement the basic salary of 1,490,000 VND per month, with the central government budget not supplementing additional funds outside the allocated budget for ministries and central agencies to fulfill this task. At the same time, when allocating and assigning budget forecasts to subordinate units, they must determine to save 10% of the increased regular expenditure in 2021 (excluding salary, allowances, and other items with the nature of salary and expenditures for personnel according to regulations) to implement salaries, ensuring that it does not fall below the level set by the Ministry of Finance.

2. Provincial People's Committees and municipal people's committees directly under the Central Government, when allocating and assigning state budget forecasts to lower-level budgets, must determine to save 10% of the increased regular expenditure in 2021 (excluding salary, allowances, and other items with the nature of salary and expenditures for personnel according to regulations) as prescribed to implement salaries, ensuring that it does not fall below the level set by the Ministry of Finance.

3. People's Committees at all levels, when allocating and assigning budget forecasts to subordinate units, shall not include the 10% savings from regular expenditures specified in Clause 2 of this Article (excluding public service units that self-fund both investment and regular expenditures, and public service units that self-fund regular expenditures according to regulations) to implement salaries in 2021.

4. The sources for implementing salaries in 2021 for localities include:

a) 70% of the increase in local state budget revenue in 2020 compared to the forecast (excluding land use fees, lottery revenues; one-time land rental fees prepaid by investors for compensation and clearance, and revenues from the disposal of state assets at agencies, organizations, and units decided by the competent authority to be used for investment according to regulations; protection and development fees for rice-growing land; admission fees for world heritage sites; fees for using infrastructure, service, and public utility works in border areas; environmental protection fees for mineral exploitation; revenues from public land funds, income from public assets at communes; rental, lease-purchase, and sale revenues of state-owned houses, and environmental protection fees for wastewater) assigned by the Prime Minister;

b) 50% of the increase in local state budget revenue (excluding land use fees, lottery revenues) forecasted for 2018 compared to the forecast for 2017 assigned by the Prime Minister;

c) 50% of the increase in local state budget revenue (excluding land use fees, lottery revenues) forecasted for 2019 compared to the forecast for 2018 assigned by the Prime Minister;

d) 50% of the increase in local state budget revenue (excluding land use fees, lottery revenues; one-time land rental fees prepaid by investors for compensation and clearance, and revenues from the disposal of state assets at agencies, organizations, and units decided by the competent authority to be used for investment according to regulations; protection and development fees for rice-growing land; admission fees for world heritage sites; fees for using infrastructure, service, and public utility works in border areas; environmental protection fees for mineral exploitation; revenues from public land funds, income from public assets at communes, and rental, lease-purchase, and sale revenues of state-owned houses) forecasted for 2020 compared to the forecast for 2019 assigned by the Prime Minister.

d) 50% increase in local budget revenue (excluding land use fee revenue, lottery revenue; advance payment for land lease fees by investors to compensate, clear land and relocate residents, and revenue from the disposal of state assets at agencies, organizations, units decided by competent authorities to be used for investment according to regulations; revenue from rice paddy protection and development funds; admission fees for historical sites and world heritage sites; fees for using infrastructure, service, and public utility works in border gate areas; environmental protection fees for mineral exploitation; revenue from public welfare land funds, income from communal assets, and rental, lease-purchase, and sale proceeds from state-owned houses; environmental protection fees for wastewater) forecasted for 2021 compared to the forecast for 2020 assigned by the Prime Minister;

e) 50% of local budget expenditure reduced for regular support activities in administrative fields and support for public institutions;

g) Unutilized funds from salary reform in 2020 carried over;

h) 10% of regular expenditure savings (excluding salaries, allowances based on salaries, items with the nature of salaries, and expenditures for personnel according to regulations) forecasted for 2017 already assigned by the competent authority;

i) 10% of regular expenditure savings (excluding salaries, allowances based on salaries, items with the nature of salaries, and expenditures for personnel according to regulations) forecasted for 2021 compared to the forecast for 2017 according to the Decision assigning the budget for 2021 issued by the Minister of Finance;

k) At least 40% of the revenue retained under the regime in 2021 shall be utilized. Specifically, for revenue from providing medical examination, treatment, preventive healthcare, and other healthcare services by public healthcare facilities, at least 35% shall be utilized;

5. The central government budget will support localities that cannot balance their sources according to the prescribed regime to implement policies regarding salary levels at the base salary of 1.49 million VND/month;

After balancing the sources to implement the salary reform mentioned in Clause 4 of this Article, localities proactively utilize any surplus from the salary reform fund to implement social welfare policies issued by the central government. The central government will support localities to ensure the sources for implementing policies on salaries and social welfare issued by the central government according to the principle of support during the period of 2017-2020;

Localities that have regulated the central government budget, if they determine that they can ensure the funding for salary reform and the implementation of social welfare policies issued by the central government throughout the entire process until 2025 without requesting central government support, may submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision to use the remaining salary reform funds for investment projects in accordance with Resolution No. 86/2019/QH14 dated November 12, 2019 of the National Assembly;

Article 5. Timeframe for allocation and budgeting

1. Based on the budget revenue and expenditure forecasts assigned by the competent authority, ministries, central agencies decide to allocate and assign the budget to each budget-using unit; People's Committees at all levels submit to the People's Councils at the same level to decide on the budget revenue forecast for the State budget on their territory, the budget expenditure forecast for the local budget, and the allocation of their own budget forecast ensuring the time for assigning the budget revenue and expenditure forecast for 2021 to each budget-using unit in accordance with the procedures, requirements, and deadlines stipulated in Articles 49 and 50 of the State Budget Law;

Organize the public disclosure of the budget forecast in accordance with the State Budget Law, guiding documents for the implementation of the State Budget Law, and the provisions in Article 12 of this Circular;

2. Provincial People's Committees are responsible for reporting the results of allocating and assigning the local budget to the Ministry of Finance no later than five working days after the People's Council at the same level decides on the budget; report the outstanding debt raised up to December 31, 2020 and the plan for borrowing and repaying the local budget in 2021 to the Ministry of Finance before January 31, 2021; report revenue, expenditure, and the balance of the Financial Reserve Fund according to the specific regulations of the Ministry of Finance;

3. Based on the 2021 budget revenue and expenditure forecasts assigned by the Prime Minister and People's Committees, primary budget units of the central government and local budgets implement the allocation and assignment of budget revenue and expenditure to subordinate budget-using units, send to the financial agency at the same level, and simultaneously send to the State Treasury where transactions take place to comply with the provisions in Articles 49 and 50 of the State Budget Law, Article 31 of Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 2016 of the Government detailing some articles of the State Budget Law, and Article 13 of Circular No. 342/2016/TT-BTC dated December 30, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of some articles of Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP of the Government. In case the primary budget unit does not agree with the requirements of the financial agency, the primary budget unit reports to the competent authority for review and handling in accordance with Clause 4 of Article 13 of Circular No. 342/2016/TT-BTC dated December 30, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance;

Additionally, in cases where tasks have not been clearly identified in the initial year's budget forecasts of primary budget units in localities and anticipated contents that have not yet received approval from the People's Committee at the same level to proceed, based on the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents for the Law and the actual situation in the locality, one of the following two options shall be implemented:

a) After the People's Committee allocates the state budget estimate, the first-level budget units at the locality shall, based on the functions and tasks of their subordinate units and the anticipated tasks to be assigned to these units for implementation, allocate the state budget estimates to their subordinate units; simultaneously, in the decision allocating the budget estimates, clearly record the anticipated contents that have not yet been approved by the People's Committee for implementation and can only be implemented upon assignment by the competent authority. During the process of organizing and implementing, if there is a situation where some units have excess funds while others lack funds, the first-level budget unit shall adjust the budget estimates between the subordinate units in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

b) The financial agency shall report to the same-level People's Committee regarding the first-level budget units that have not yet been allocated tasks which cannot be clearly identified as the executing units in the annual budget estimates of the first-level budget units and the anticipated contents that have not yet been approved by the People's Committee for implementation. When a task is decided by the competent authority, the financial agency shall report to the same-level People's Committee to issue a decision to supplement the budget estimates for the first-level budget units.

4. The entry of the budget estimates into the State Budget and Treasury Information System (Tabmis) shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations stipulated in the documents issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the procedures for entering budget estimates into the Tabmis system.

Chapter II

ORGANIZATION OF STATE BUDGET MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

Article 6. Organization of State Budget Revenue Management

1. Implement in accordance with the provisions of Article 55 of the State Budget Law. At the same time, pay attention to the implementation of the following contents:

a) Organize the effective implementation of tax laws currently in force; focus on urging the collection and recovery of corporate income tax from taxpayers whose fiscal year differs from the calendar year and who have been granted an extension to pay taxes under Decree No. 41/2020/ND-CP dated April 8, 2020 on extending the deadline for tax payment and land lease fees into the state budget for the year 2021.

b) Focus on strictly directing the management of state budget revenue, preventing tax evasion, transfer pricing, and tax avoidance; reducing the tax arrears rate; expanding the implementation of electronic invoices; reforming and modernizing the tax, customs, and state treasury systems; strictly implementing the auction regulations when selling, transferring, leasing state assets, granting land use rights, and leasing land according to the laws on state asset management and use and land law. Continue to strictly direct the implementation of the privatization and divestment of state capital in enterprises; urge state-owned enterprises to fully remit into the state budget the remaining post-tax profits after setting aside the required reserves as stipulated; instruct representatives of state capital to urge enterprises to promptly remit dividends and profits distributed to state capital in joint-stock companies and limited liability companies with two or more shareholders into the state budget.

Vigorously apply information technology to improve administrative reform, electronic declaration, payment, and refund of taxes, and other tasks and solutions to enhance competitiveness and improve the business environment.

2. Strictly implement Directive No. 15/CT-TTg dated June 15, 2018 of the Prime Minister on effectively organizing and implementing the Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises; Decree No. 119/2018/ND-CP dated September 12, 2018 of the Government on electronic invoices when selling goods and providing services, and Decree No. 123/2020/ND-CP dated October 19, 2020 on invoices and vouchers. Continue to effectively implement the handling of tax arrears according to Resolution No. 94/2019/QH14 dated November 26, 2019 of the National Assembly on writing off tax debts, canceling late payment penalties, and overdue interest for taxpayers unable to pay the state budget, the Tax Administration Law No. 38/2019/QH14 dated June 13, 2019, and Directive No. 04/CT-BTC dated October 15, 2018 of the Minister of Finance on strengthening tax management and enforcement to recover tax arrears to reduce tax arrears in the tax administration sector.

3. The Tax Authority and Customs Authority shall strengthen monitoring, inspection, and control over tax declarations by organizations and individuals in accordance with tax laws, the declaration of commodity names, codes, tax rates, values, quantities, etc., to promptly detect cases of incorrect, incomplete declarations, and tax fraud. Strengthen revenue collection, expand the tax base, reform, and modernize the tax sector. Combat smuggling, commercial fraud, counterfeit goods, tax evasion, transfer pricing, etc.

Manage VAT refunds in accordance with the provisions of the law, manage VAT refunds within the scope of the budget estimates assigned by the competent authority for the year 2021; at the same time, create favorable conditions for taxpayers; conduct pre- and post-refund inspections in accordance with the law and risk levels; promptly detect and strictly handle any fraudulent activities, abuse of refund policies, and embezzlement of state budget funds.

Review projects that have exceeded the period of tax exemptions and reductions; mineral exploitation permits to collect all due payments for mineral exploitation rights on time and in full. Review and specifically identify entities currently receiving land allocation and leasing from the state on the local territory, especially projects that have exceeded the period of benefits according to the Land Law 2013. The natural resources and environment agency shall complete land-related files and transfer them to the tax agency to determine financial obligations and urge timely and full collection of land revenues into the state budget.

4. Ministries, central agencies, localities shall fully and promptly implement the Law on Management and Use of State Property and its detailed implementing regulations; strictly implement Directive No. 32/CT-TTg dated December 10, 2019 of the Prime Minister on accelerating the implementation of the Law on Management and Use of State Property and its detailed implementing regulations. Organize the review, inspection, and urging the implementation of plans for reorganization and disposal of houses and land that have been approved by competent authorities; ensure the reorganization and disposal of vehicles, machinery, and equipment according to standards and usage norms for state property. Strictly comply with auction regulations when selling, transferring, leasing state assets, allocating land, and leasing land in accordance with laws on management and use of state property and laws on land.

5. Localities shall not record fees and charges transferred to service prices under the Law on Fees and Charges into the state budget. Promptly implement the allocation of operating costs or determination of retained amounts for service activities conducted by public service units and state-owned enterprises represented by provincial People's Committees. Only submit the remaining fees and charges to the state budget in accordance with the provisions of the law on fees and charges and other relevant laws as guided by Circular No. 6084/BTC-NSNN dated May 25, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance.

6. During the budget management process, if there is a voluntary advance payment by investors for compensation and land clearance according to the plan approved by the competent authority but the budget estimate has not yet allocated corresponding compensation and land clearance expenses, the provincial People's Committee shall base on Clause c, Article 52 of the State Budget Law to report to the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council for decision to adjust the local budget estimate and report to the People's Council at the nearest session as the basis for recording budget revenue and expenditure.

Article 7. Organization of budget expenditure management

Ministries, central agencies, localities, and budget-using units shall make expenditures within the scope of the assigned budget estimates; financial agencies and the State Treasury shall manage the budget within the approved estimates, strictly control expenditures in accordance with the purposes, standards, norms, and regulations stipulated. In particular:

1. For ODA and concessional loan funds:

a) For funds allocated from the central government budget: If there is a need to disburse more than the assigned budget estimate in a year, ministries, central agencies, and localities shall report to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (for development spending) and the Ministry of Finance (for regular spending) for consolidation and reporting to the Government for submission to the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration and decision within the total borrowing limit and budget deficit decided by the National Assembly.

b) For funds borrowed by the Government and lent again to provincial People's Committees, disbursement shall be within the scope of the total borrowing and budget deficit estimates for localities decided by the National Assembly.

In organizing the budget, if a locality generates a need to borrow beyond the budget estimate, the locality shall report to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation and reporting to the Government for submission to the National Assembly for consideration and decision within the total borrowing limit of the state budget, the total budget deficit of localities, and the state budget deficit.

2. Regarding non-refundable aid funds:

a) Based on the budget estimates assigned by the Prime Minister, ministries, central agencies, and localities shall allocate detailed funding according to the program/project list and specific amounts for each program/project within the total amount assigned according to decisions on receipt and aid documents signed.

b) In organizing implementation, if there is a need for additional spending (development, regular) exceeding the budget estimate assigned by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, or new aid for regular spending arises: The Minister of Planning and Investment (for spending from non-refundable aid funds for programs/projects under development spending) and the Minister of Finance (for aid funds directly supporting the state budget, supporting programs/projects under regular spending, non-project support) shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies based on aid agreements signed between the State, Government, and Vietnamese state agencies with donors, report to the Government for submission to the competent authority to supplement the 2021 budget from these aid funds. On this basis, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance shall notify relevant ministries, central agencies, and provincial People's Committees to implement.

3. If new loans or aid for development spending arise during the year, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall report to the Government and request the competent authority to consider and decide.

4. Direct relevant agencies and units to proactively allocate capital from the beginning of the year for important projects and works according to prescribed regulations, especially projects for repairing embankments, irrigation works, disaster prevention, disease control, climate change adaptation, flood aftermath recovery, and relocation from dangerous landslide areas as decided by competent authorities.

5. Regularly organize inspections and evaluations of project progress; for projects and works not progressing as planned, timely decisions or reports to competent authorities for adjustment to transfer capital to projects with faster progress and potential for completion in 2021 but not adequately funded.

6. The central budget for regular expenditures and national reserve funds for the year 2021 shall be allocated by the Ministry of Finance to ministries and central agencies, clearly specifying expenditures in foreign currency. For equivalent funding amounts of US$500,000 or more annually, such funding will be guaranteed in foreign currency according to the approved budget and in line with the progress of tasks. During implementation, the State Treasury will control expenditures in domestic currency as allocated to the unit. In cases where fluctuations in exchange rates lead to the domestic currency budget being exhausted but the foreign currency budget still remaining, or vice versa, ministries and central agencies must submit a written request to the Ministry of Finance to consider adjusting the domestic currency budget corresponding to the difference. For equivalent funding amounts less than US$500,000 annually, ministries and central agencies may withdraw the budget in foreign currency at the accounting exchange rate at the time of transaction, but not exceeding the allocated domestic currency budget.

7. For provinces and centrally-administered cities that have needs for expenditures on disaster prevention, mitigation, and aftermath management, national defense, security, and other urgent tasks outside the budget that exhaust the contingency fund after reallocation, the provincial People's Committee shall decide to use the provincial financial reserve fund to meet these expenditure requirements as stipulated in point b, Clause 2, Article 11 of the State Budget Law.

8. For land use revenue, lottery revenue, and other sources of income tied to specific expenditure tasks, localities must base their management on the allocated budget and actual collection progress. If it is anticipated that revenue will decrease compared to the budget and local budgets cannot be compensated from other increased revenues, they must proactively review, cut, or delay the progress of projects funded from these revenues.

9. Direct relevant agencies and units to cooperate with financial authorities to regularly inspect the implementation of systems and policies at subordinate units and budgets; strictly manage state budget expenditures according to the allocated budget, disburse funds within the plan, borrow within the limit; minimize advance budget allocations, and implement them in accordance with the State Budget Law.

Strictly economize on regular expenditures, especially those for conferences, seminars, ceremonial events, and overseas research and surveys; manage investment, construction, procurement, and repair expenditures tightly and in compliance with regulations; do not allocate budgets for policies without official approval; only issue policies increasing state budget expenditures when truly necessary and with assured funding.

Continue to streamline administrative procedures, expand the application of information technology, ensuring the establishment of a modern national administration that is seamlessly connected, while strengthening supervision in managing state budget expenditures. Proactively adjust regular expenditures, prioritizing important tasks and new tasks added in 2021, ensuring resources for social welfare policies and salaries, preventing arrears in civil servant salaries, and expenditures for people and social security policies according to regulations.

In cases where levels and units using the budget organize payments and disbursements contrary to policies and regulations, particularly concerning social security goals, poverty reduction, etc., timely measures must be taken to ensure that policies and regulations are properly implemented and effective.

Based on the results of implementing social welfare policies issued by the central government, localities shall aggregate all additional funding needs to implement these policies (including support for the use of public goods and services under the Water Resources Law) and allocate resources as follows:

a) Additional funding needs that the central budget must supplement in 2021 include:

- For social welfare policies specifically defined with a percentage of central budget support for local budgets in each regulatory document issued by the Government and Prime Minister: Aggregate the required state budget funds, additional funding needs, clearly identifying the portion of the central budget that must be supplemented for local budgets for the additional funding according to the percentage of central budget support for local budgets for each policy.

- For remaining social welfare policies: Aggregate the required state budget funds, additional funding needs, clearly identifying the portion of the central budget that must be supplemented for local budgets for the additional funding according to the percentage of central budget support for local budgets specified in Clause 1, Article 1 of Decision No. 579/QD-TTg dated April 28, 2017 of the Prime Minister on principles of targeted support from the central budget for local budgets to implement social welfare policies during the period 2017-2020;

b) Where localities have surplus funds from salary reform (after ensuring the implementation of salary policies and regulations for the year), they shall offset the corresponding portion of the central budget support mentioned in point a of this clause;

c) The central budget shall supplement the shortfall for each locality after balancing the resources for implementing social welfare policies as stipulated in points a and b of this clause.

d) Localities shall proactively utilize additional targeted funds from the central budget (if any) and local budget sources to ensure compliance with regulations for implementing wage policies and social security policies issued by the Central Government according to the support principles for the period 2017-2020, ensuring correct policy allocation, timely payment to eligible recipients, and accurate distribution. At year-end, they must complete financial settlement of funds in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents, while summarizing and reporting on the implementation results of wage policies and social security policies issued by the Central Government (including detailed results for each social security policy and regime) in accordance with prescribed procedures, and submitting them to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation and processing in accordance with the State Budget Law and Resolution No. 129/2020/QH14 of the National Assembly.

10. Implement Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW dated October 25, 2017 on continuing to innovate and reorganize the organizational structure of the political system to be leaner, more effective, and efficient; Resolution No. 19-NQ/TW dated October 25, 2017 of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam's 12th term on innovating the organizational structure and management system, improving the quality and effectiveness of public service units, and Conclusion No. 17-KL/TW dated September 11, 2017 of the Political Bureau on the implementation of staffing and reduction of staff in organizations within the political system for the years 2015-2016, objectives, tasks, and solutions for the period 2017-2021. For localities, the portion of funds allocated from reduced regular activity support costs in administrative fields and support for public service units shall be utilized according to the following principles:

a) 50% shall be added to the source for salary reform as stipulated.

b) The remaining 50% shall be prioritized for paying social welfare policies issued by localities and increasing funding for strengthening material infrastructure in corresponding fields. The decision on funding for each item shall be made by the locality in accordance with the authority prescribed in the State Budget Law.

By the latest before March 31, 2022, the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall report to the Ministry of Finance on the results of implementing the state budget reduction in accordance with Appendices No. 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, and 06 attached to this Circular.

11. Localities shall continue to use the funds allocated for implementing Decision No. 102/2009/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister on direct support policies for poor households in difficult areas to pay out instead of the central government's support for implementing social security policies under the social security field. The remainder, if any, shall be consolidated as a source for paying out instead of the central government's support for implementing other social security policies on the local area in accordance with the guidance of the Ministry of Finance in Document No. 8292/BTC-NSNN dated July 12, 2018.

12. The state budget shall not provide funding for the operation of state financial funds outside the budget. In cases where the state budget provides capital contributions in accordance with the law, it must be commensurate with the state budget's capacity and only implemented when the following conditions are met: established and operating in accordance with the law; having independent financial capability; having revenue and expenditure tasks that do not overlap with those of the state budget.

Article 8. Implementation of disbursement and payment of funds

1. For budget-using units:

Based on the annual budget estimate assigned, budget-using units shall implement the withdrawal of the budget estimate for expenditure in accordance with the prescribed regulations and ensure compliance with the standards and budget expenditure quotas already issued by competent state agencies, and the progress and volume of task implementation; ensuring the principle:

a) Personal payment items (wages, allowances, social benefits, etc.) shall ensure monthly payments to individuals receiving wages and social benefits from the state budget. Ministries, central agencies, and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall direct and organize the implementation of wage payments through bank accounts for individuals receiving wages in accordance with Circular No. 136/2018/TT-BTC dated December 28, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 13/2017/TT-BTC dated February 15, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance on managing cash receipts and payments through the State Treasury System. The State Treasury shall closely cooperate with the State Bank and service providers to implement wage payments through bank accounts for individuals receiving wages from the state budget.

b) Timely remittance of contribution amounts (Social Insurance, Health Insurance, Unemployment Insurance, trade union fees) to the competent authorities in accordance with the law;

c) For expenditures with seasonal characteristics or occurring at certain times such as basic construction investment, procurement, repair, and other non-recurring expenditures: payments shall be made according to the progress and volume of work for contracted expenditures and in accordance with the prescribed regulations for non-contracted expenditures; ensuring that state budget expenditures are within the scope of the budget estimate assigned by the competent authority.

2. In cases where the local budget has been advanced from the central budget's supplementary targeted capital investment estimate, which needs to be recovered in the central budget's supplementary targeted capital investment estimate for the local budget in 2021, the Ministry of Finance shall notify the State Treasury to deduct the advanced amount from the initial budget estimate assigned to the locality; the remaining budget estimate shall be withdrawn according to the regulations for supplementary targeted capital from the central budget for the local budget, and the advanced amount for the local budget shall be recovered as follows:

a) For advances made in the form of payment orders, the recovery of the advance shall also be carried out in the form of payment orders from the central budget;

b) For advances made in the form of budget estimates, the State Treasury branch shall adjust the accounting from advance to actual expenditure from the central budget and actual revenue for the local budget supplemented from the central budget.

3. In cases where the higher-level budget advances additional budget estimates for investment capital in the following year for the lower-level budget, when withdrawing the estimate and spending from the advanced funds, such income and expenditure must be recorded in the following year's budget in accordance with the regulations.

4. Regarding the amount of targeted supplementary funding from the central budget to the local budget:

a) For the situation where targeted supplementary funding from the central budget to the local budget arises during the implementation of the budget estimate, it shall be carried out as follows:

- The allocation and transfer of the supplementary budget estimate must be completed at the latest within ten working days (counting from the date of receipt of the decision on supplementary budget allocation) in accordance with the provisions of point b, Clause 2, Article 50 of the State Budget Law.

- Targeted supplementary funding from the central budget to the local budget arising during the implementation of the budget estimate for the purpose of implementing tasks related to preventing, combating, and mitigating the consequences of natural disasters, fires, epidemics, or urgent and important tasks: based on the decision of the competent authority, the Ministry of Finance will issue a notification to supplement the budget outside the estimate for the local budget. Based on the notification from the Ministry of Finance, the Department of Finance will withdraw the budget estimate at the State Treasury where transactions take place.

b) In cases where there is surplus targeted supplementary funding from the central budget to the local budget or the funding has been exhausted according to the law, the localities must promptly return the surplus to the central budget in accordance with the provisions of point d, Clause 2, Circular No. 342/2016/TT-BTC dated December 30, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Finance detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 2016, of the Government detailing the implementation of certain articles of the State Budget Law. The repayment period is within thirty days from the date the locality determines the surplus or exhaustion of the funding according to the law. If the locality fails to repay the central budget beyond this period, the Ministry of Finance will implement the deduction from the provincial budget reserve fund to recover the funds according to the regulations.

5. Regarding the supplementary amount from the upper-level budget to the lower-level budget at the local level:

a) The level of withdrawal of balanced supplementary funding from the higher-level budget to the lower-level budget: It is implemented in accordance with the provisions of Clause 2, Article 18 of Circular No. 342/2016/TT-BTC dated December 30, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Finance;

b) The level of withdrawal of targeted supplementary funding from the higher-level budget to the lower-level budget (including targeted supplementary funding outside the initial estimate): It is implemented in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3, Article 18 of Circular No. 342/2016/TT-BTC dated December 30, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Finance;

The accounting of supplementary amounts from the higher-level budget to the lower-level budget at the locality shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations applicable to supplementary amounts from the central budget to the local budget.

6. The review and verification of the figures withdrawn for supplementary balanced budget funding and targeted supplementary funding from the higher-level budget to the lower-level budget shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of Clause 4, Article 18 of Circular No. 342/2016/TT-BTC dated December 30, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Finance.

Quarterly, the People's Committee of the province is responsible for compiling and reporting to the Ministry of Finance the situation of implementing the targeted supplementary funding from the central budget to implement policies as stipulated in Appendix No. 07 attached to this Circular. In cases where the locality does not comply with the reporting system or reports inaccurately and incompletely as required, the Ministry of Finance will suspend the provision of supplementary funding to the locality until the locality provides a complete report.

7. Regarding the payment of national budget debts, it is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 21 of Circular No. 342/2016/TT-BTC dated December 30, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Finance and Clause 3, Article 2 of Circular No. 81/2020/TT-BTC dated September 15, 2020, issued by the Ministry of Finance.

Article 9. Implementation of Adjustments to the Budgetary Estimates of Units Using the Budget

1. In cases where the first-level budget unit is assigned additional budget estimates by the competent authority to carry out newly generated tasks, the first-level budget unit must complete the allocation and transfer of the budget estimate at the latest within ten working days (counting from the date of receipt of the decision on additional budget allocation) in accordance with Articles 49 and 50 of the State Budget Law.

2. In cases where there is a request to adjust the budget estimates between subordinate budget-using units without changing the total amount and details according to each spending area allocated, the first-level budget unit is responsible for examining the necessity, basis for adjustment, checking the remaining budget estimates of relevant budget-using units, deciding on the budget adjustment, and simultaneously sending the finance agency at the same level for inspection in accordance with the regulations and implementing the budget adjustment on the Tabmis system, while sending the State Treasury where transactions take place as the basis for controlling expenditures and payments. In cases where the finance agency inspects and disagrees with the budget adjustment of the first-level budget unit or finds that there is no sufficient remaining budget estimate for adjustment, it will notify the first-level budget unit to make adjustments again.

3. In cases where ministries and central agencies adjust budgets from non-autonomous regime funds to autonomous regime funds, from non-recurring funds to recurring funds, from domestic currency funds to foreign currency funds, increasing or decreasing budget estimates of spending tasks within the allocated budget estimates but already noted in the decision on initial budget allocation at the beginning of the year or supplementary budget allocation decisions during the year by the Prime Minister or the Minister of Finance, the unit needs to have a written agreement from the finance agency at the same level to ensure the allocation of funds to implement the assigned tasks before issuing the budget adjustment decision. The deadline for the unit to send the finance agency a request for budget adjustment is no later than October 30 of the current year.

4. In cases of adjusting budgets between Vietnamese agencies abroad, they shall be carried out in accordance with the financial management and asset management regulations for Vietnamese agencies abroad as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

5. The adjustment of the budget assigned to budget-using units must be completed before November 15 of the current year, and simultaneously submitted to the same-level financial authority for review and adjustment on the Tabmis system in accordance with the regulations.

6. The adjustment of the development expenditure budget shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Public Investment No. 39/2019/QH14 and the Government's Decrees guiding the implementation of the Law on Public Investment.

7. The handling of increases or decreases in revenue and expenditure compared to the budget during the execution of the state budget shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Article 59 of the State Budget Law. The handling of surplus budgets shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Article 72 of the State Budget Law.

Article 10. Implementation of transfer to the next year's budget

Ministries, central agencies, localities shall review and strictly manage expenditures transferred to the following year, transferring funds only in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3, Article 64 of the State Budget Law, Article 43 of the Government's Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 2016 detailing certain provisions of the State Budget Law, the Public Investment Law in 2019, and the Government's documents and Prime Minister's directives on the management of the state budget estimate for 2021.

Article 11. Practice thrift, combat waste; prevent and combat corruption

In addition to thoroughly implementing savings on regular expenditures as stipulated in Clause 9, Article 7 of this Circular, ministries, central agencies, and localities shall organize and direct the full implementation of the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Law and the Law on Thrift and Prevention of Waste. Timely and fully address any violations discovered through inspection, audit, and accounting work; clarify the responsibility of each organization and individual and implement the accountability system for the heads of budget-using units when there is loss, waste, or improper use of the budget.

Article 12. Implementation of public disclosure of the state budget

1. All levels of the budget shall implement the public disclosure of the state budget in accordance with Circular No. 343/2016/TT-BTC dated December 30, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the implementation of public disclosure of the state budget at all levels.

The People's Committee of the province shall implement or instruct the Department of Finance to implement the public disclosure of the local budget and provincial budget on the Provincial People's Committee's Electronic Information Portal and the Department of Finance's Electronic Information Portal, under the "Budget Disclosure" section, ensuring compliance with the content, form, and time frame for disclosure as prescribed. For reporting procedures, the Department of Finance shall submit electronic reports on the Ministry of Finance's Budget Disclosure Portal (http://ckns.mof.gov.vn) for the contents specified in Point c, Clause 3, Article 19 of Circular No. 343/2016/TT-BTC and the guidance provided by the Ministry of Finance in Document No. 6667/BTC-NSNN dated June 3, 2020.

2. Budgetary units and organizations supported by the state budget shall implement public disclosure in accordance with Circular No. 61/2017/TT-BTC dated June 15, 2017, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the implementation of the financial disclosure regulations for budgetary units and organizations supported by the state budget, and Circular No. 90/2018/TT-BTC dated September 28, 2018, issued by the Ministry of Finance, amending and supplementing certain articles of Circular No. 61/2017/TT-BTC dated June 15, 2017.

3. Agencies and units entrusted with managing state budget-funded funds and funds from contributions by citizens shall implement public disclosure in accordance with Circular No. 19/2005/TT-BTC dated March 11, 2005, issued by the Ministry of Finance, regarding the financial disclosure of state budget-funded funds and funds from contributions by citizens.

4. Agencies, units, and organizations entrusted with managing and using public assets shall implement public disclosure in accordance with Section 2, Chapter XIV of the Government's Decree No. 151/2017/NĐ-CP dated December 26, 2017, detailing certain provisions of the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets, and Articles 9, 10, and 11 of Circular No. 144/2017/TT-BTC dated December 29, 2017, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding certain contents of the Government's Decree No. 151/2017/NĐ-CP.

5. For direct state support to individuals and residents, the disclosure shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 54/2006/TT-BTC dated June 19, 2006, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the disclosure regulations for direct state budget support to individuals and residents.

6. Promote the publication of public disclosure on mass media of cases of tax evasion, tax fraud, and delayed tax payment according to the Law on Tax Administration.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 13. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from February 8, 2021, and applies to the 2021 fiscal year.

2. In cases where the legal normative documents cited for application in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced by new documents, the new documents shall apply.

3. Ministries, central agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall base their instructions to subordinate agencies and units and lower-level local authorities on the provisions of this Circular. Any previous regulations that conflict with this Circular shall be implemented in accordance with the guidance provided in this Circular. During the implementation process, if any difficulties arise, they should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance for coordination and resolution.