Circular No. 110/2021/TT-BTC on the establishment of budget estimates, management, utilization, and settlement of funds for the implementation of tasks to protect Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds for implementing the task of protecting Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad

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

On the basis of Law on Representative Offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Abroad dated June 18, 2009;

On the basis of Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Representative Offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Abroad dated November 21, 2017;

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

Decree No. Decision No. 117/2017/NĐ-CP dated October 19, 2017 of the Government on management and use of state budget for certain foreign affairs activities;

Implementing Resolution No. Resolution No. 792/NQ-UBTVQH14 dated October 22, 2019 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on some tasks and solutions to promote the implementation of policies and laws on the management and use of state financial funds outside the state budget;

Pursuant to Decision No. Decision No. 119/2007/QĐ-TTg dated July 25, 2007 of the Prime Minister on the establishment of the Fund for Protecting Vietnamese Citizens and Legal Entities Abroad;

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

At the proposal of the Director of the Administrative and Public Service Financial Department;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular regulating the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds for implementing the task of protecting Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Thông tư này quy định chi tiết khoản 4 Điều 38 Luật Thủy sản số 18/2017/QH14 đã được sửa đổi, bổ sung tại điểm c khoản 21 Điều 14 Luật số 146/2025/QH15.

This Circular regulates the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds for implementing the task of protecting Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad.

The task of protecting Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Representative Offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Abroad, the Government Decree stipulating the functions, tasks, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and related legal documents.

Thông tư này áp dụng đối với tổ chức, cá nhân có liên quan đến hoạt động kinh doanh đối tượng thủy sản nuôi chủ lực trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam.

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Representative Offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Abroad (hereinafter referred to as "Vietnamese Representative Offices Abroad"), domestic units assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad;

- Relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in the implementation of the task of protecting Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad.

Article 2. Contents of expenditures for implementing the task of protecting Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad.

1. Non-reimbursable expenditure items

a) Expenditures for direct activities in implementing the task of protecting Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad by Vietnamese Representative Offices Abroad include:

- Travel expenses for staff of Vietnamese Representative Offices Abroad traveling on official business for the purpose of protecting Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad, including visiting consular offices to understand situations involving cases where citizens are arrested, detained, imprisoned, or undergoing trial; airfare, train fare, fuel costs, travel allowances according to regulations stipulated in Circular No. 07/2020/TT-BTC dated February 3, 2020 of the Ministry of Finance on financial management and asset management for Vietnamese agencies abroad.

- Communication fees, postal charges for sending protective documentation; expenses for hosting meals and giving gifts to local government agencies and organizations in the host country to facilitate the resolution of cases involving the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad, as stipulated in Circular No. 07/2020/TT-BTC dated February 3, 2020 of the Ministry of Finance on financial management and asset management for Vietnamese agencies abroad.

b) Assistance for particularly difficult cases of citizens suffering from serious illnesses, and assistance for expenses to repatriate victims of human trafficking:

- Assistance for particularly difficult cases of citizens who lack financial means to overcome their difficulties, including travel expenses within the host country, food and accommodation expenses, and other necessary supplies based on actual receipts ensuring economy and effectiveness. Based on the guidance of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the head of Vietnamese Representative Offices Abroad will determine particularly difficult cases of citizens and decide appropriate levels of support within the authority stipulated at Point a, Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular and bear responsibility for their decisions.

- For cases of citizens suffering from serious illnesses (as defined by current Vietnamese law), death, severe accidents threatening life, or encountering serious risks requiring protection (war, natural disasters, epidemics, terrorism), in addition to the expenses listed under sub-item (a) of Point b, Clause 1 of this Article, if additional expenses for transportation back home and other related expenses are required, Vietnamese Representative Offices Abroad will report to the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to handle the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad, which will then report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for consideration and decision on each specific case and bear responsibility for their decisions.

- Support for victims during the period awaiting repatriation carried out by Vietnamese Representative Offices Abroad: Implemented in accordance with Article 5 of Circular No. 84/2019/TT-BTC dated November 27, 2019 of the Ministry of Finance on the contents and levels of expenditure for victim support and the contents and levels of support stipulated in Decree No. 09/2013/NĐ-CP dated January 11, 2013 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Combating Trafficking in Persons.

2. Advance payment expenditure items that citizens are responsible for reimbursing

Advance payments for purchasing tickets for return travel, medical expenses (including hospital fees and other related medical expenses), temporary residence expenses, and other expenses for citizens in the following cases:

a) The party has posted a deposit or guarantee from family members, relatives, domestic organizations, ship owners transporting fishermen or workers, and such arrangements have been confirmed in writing by the competent authority.

b) In cases of urgent emergencies, if the party does not have a deposit or a guarantee from family members, relatives, domestic organizations, or the ship owner who takes fishermen or workers to work, then the party must commit to refunding the advance payment costs to the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad. The head of the Vietnamese representative office abroad shall consider and decide on the advance payment for each specific urgent case based on the guidance of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Vietnamese representative office abroad may only make advance payments after the party has taken measures such as deposits, guarantees, and commitments as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 3. Deposits, Guarantees, and Recovery of Advance Payments

1. Responsibilities of domestic individuals, organizations, and ship owners taking fishermen and workers to work:

a) Domestic individuals, families, or relatives shall implement deposits or commitments to guarantee the repayment of ticket purchase costs and other expenses to bring citizens back to the country and shall be responsible for repaying the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad within the committed timeframe.

b) Individuals directly commit with the Vietnamese representative office abroad regarding the repayment of ticket purchase costs and other expenses to return to the country and shall be responsible for repaying the advance payment to the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad within the committed timeframe.

c) Domestic organizations and ship owners taking fishermen and workers to work shall implement deposits or commitments to guarantee the repayment of ticket purchase costs and other expenses to bring workers and fishermen back to the country and shall be responsible for repaying the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad within the committed timeframe.

2. Responsibilities of the People's Committee of the province or agencies, units delegated, authorized, or assigned tasks by the People's Committee of the province:

a) The People's Committee of the province or agencies, units delegated, authorized, or assigned tasks by the People's Committee of the province shall issue a document to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad) confirming deposits or commitments to guarantee the repayment of advance payments, with confirmation contents according to the requirements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

b) The People's Committee of the province or agencies, units delegated, authorized, or assigned tasks by the People's Committee of the province shall confirm deposits or commitments to guarantee the repayment of advance payments to the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad and shall be responsible for urging and recovering the advance payment or requesting domestic individuals, organizations, or ship owners to repay according to the committed timeframe to the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad.

3. Responsibilities of the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad:

The domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad shall be responsible for monitoring and regularly coordinating with the People's Committees of provinces to urge and recover debts. If the debt recovery deadline has passed but domestic individuals, organizations, or ship owners taking fishermen and workers to work have not yet repaid, then the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad must issue a debt collection notice to the debtor, the People's Committees of provinces, and guarantor organizations or individuals.

4. Responsibilities of credit institutions and foreign bank branches in Vietnam in guaranteeing and paying repatriation costs for seafarers shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 38/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017, of the Ministry of Finance guiding the payment of repatriation costs for seafarers.

5. Late Payment Handling

a) In cases where individuals directly committing to repay advance payments and domestic individuals, organizations, or ship owners taking fishermen and workers to work committing to guarantee repayment fail to fulfill their obligations within the committed timeframe, in addition to repaying the advance payment costs, the individuals or organizations that made the commitment must also pay late payment fees as determined by the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to carry out the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad. The rate of late payment fees shall be applied according to the rate stipulated in the Law on Tax Administration.

b) In cases where the obligations stipulated in Point a, Clause 5, Article 3 of this Circular are not fully fulfilled, the individuals or organizations that made the commitment will be handled according to the provisions of the law.

Article 4. Sources of funds, budget preparation, allocation, settlement, and usage mechanisms

The preparation of budgets, management, utilization, and settlement of funds for performing citizen protection and legal entity protection tasks abroad shall be carried out in accordance with the current provisions of the State Budget Law, Accounting Law, and other guiding documents. This Circular provides guidance on specific points as follows:

1. Funding sources

a) State budget funds allocated in the annual regular expenditure budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

b) Voluntary contributions and sponsorships from individuals and organizations both within and outside the country in compliance with the provisions of the law.

2. Budget preparation and allocation

a) Preparation of estimates

Annually, based on the actual implementation of citizen protection and legal entity protection tasks abroad up to the time of budget preparation, the estimated completion of the current year, the plan for citizen protection and legal entity protection tasks abroad for the planned year, and the contents specified in this Circular, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepares the budget for implementing these tasks, consolidates it into the Ministry's annual budget, and submits it to the competent authority in accordance with the State Budget Law and related guiding documents.

b) Budget allocation

Based on the approved budget, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs allocates and assigns the budget for implementing citizen protection and legal entity protection tasks abroad to subordinate units.

3. Approval authority and management

a) The head of the representative office of Vietnam abroad has the authority to approve expenditures up to a maximum of US$3,000 (three thousand US dollars) per case. For cases exceeding US$3,000 (three thousand US dollars), the head of the representative office of Vietnam abroad shall recommend that the head of the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to perform citizen protection and legal entity protection tasks abroad consider and decide appropriately within their authority.

b) The head of the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to perform citizen protection and legal entity protection tasks abroad has the authority to approve expenditures over US$3,000 (three thousand US dollars) up to a maximum of US$10,000 (ten thousand US dollars) per case. For cases exceeding US$10,000 (ten thousand US dollars) and the items specified in sub-item two, Point b, Clause 1, Article 2 of this Circular, the head of the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to perform citizen protection and legal entity protection tasks abroad must report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for consideration and decision.

c) The Minister of Foreign Affairs specifies the scope and subjects of citizen protection and legal entity protection cases abroad; considers and decides on cases exceeding US$10,000 (ten thousand US dollars) and the items specified in sub-item two, Point b, Clause 1, Article 2 of this Circular.

d) For specific areas with a large number of citizens protected annually, the Minister of Foreign Affairs decides on the delegation of approval authority and the amount of approval for the head of the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to perform citizen protection and legal entity protection tasks abroad or the head of the representative office of Vietnam abroad, and bears responsibility for such decisions.

đ) Based on the annually allocated budget, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for guiding subordinate units to manage and utilize funds in compliance with Vietnamese law, host country law, international law, current financial management regulations, and the provisions of this Circular.

e) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs may not use allocated funds for activities not in accordance with the purpose and provisions of this Circular.

4. Accounting and Settlement

a) The accounting and settlement of funds for implementing citizen protection and legal entity protection tasks abroad shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law, Accounting Law, and related guiding documents.

In particular, for the refundable expenses specified in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Circular, detailed settlement must be made according to indicators: allocated budget, temporarily advanced funds, recovered funds, unrecovered temporarily advanced funds, reasons for non-recovery, and consolidated in the annual settlement report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

b) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs performs the function of controlling expenditures on behalf of the National Treasury based on documents sent back by the representative offices of Vietnam abroad, ensuring compliance with expenditure control regulations.

c) Accounting currency: Accounting and settlement shall be conducted in Vietnamese dong. In cases of payment in foreign currency, it shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 07/2020/TT-BTC dated February 3, 2020, issued by the Ministry of Finance, regarding financial management and asset management for Vietnamese agencies abroad.

d) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organizes separate accounting to track contributions from individuals and organizations both within and outside the country.

đ) The handling of end-of-year surplus funds shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and related guiding documents.

5. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the head of the domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to perform citizen protection and legal entity protection tasks abroad, and the head of the representative office of Vietnam abroad are responsible for expenditures in accordance with policies, systems, and provisions of this Circular.

6. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs complies with current state regulations on inspecting and auditing financial activities as prescribed.

State-owned enterprises that have been assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to conduct offshore wind power project surveys before the effective date of this Circular shall continue to implement according to the assigned documents; any new matters arising after the effective date of this Circular shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

1. This Circular takes effect from January 26, 2022.

Circular No. 92/2013/TT-BTC dated July 8, 2013, issued by the Ministry of Finance, regarding the financial management system of the Citizen Protection Fund and Legal Entity Protection Fund abroad, ceases to be effective from the date this Circular takes effect.

2. The domestic unit assigned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to perform citizen protection and legal entity protection tasks abroad as stipulated in this Circular is the Citizen Protection Fund and Legal Entity Protection Fund abroad established pursuant to Decision No. 119/2007/QĐ-TTg dated July 25, 2007, issued by the Prime Minister regarding the establishment of the Citizen Protection Fund and Legal Entity Protection Fund abroad.

When the competent authority amends, supplements, or replaces Decision No. 119/2007/QĐ-TTg dated July 25, 2007 of the Prime Minister on the establishment of the Fund for the Protection of Vietnamese Citizens and Legal Entities Abroad, it shall be implemented according to the amended, supplemented, or replaced document.

3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be responsible for guiding the Vietnamese representative offices abroad and relevant subordinate units to implement the provisions of this Circular.

4. When the documents cited in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be implemented according to the amended, supplemented, or replaced documents.

In the course of implementation, if any difficulties arise, they should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance for study and appropriate amendment and supplementation.