Joint Circular No. 112/2011/TTLT/BTC-BKHCN guiding financial management for the Intellectual Property Development Support Program for the period 2011-2015.

TJOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Financial Management of the Intellectual Property Development Support Program for the 2011-2015 Period

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

Pursuant to Decision No. 2204/QĐ-TTg dated December 6, 2010 of the Prime Minister approving the Intellectual Property Development Support Program for the 2011-2015 Period;

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology hereby issue guidelines for financial management of the Intellectual Property Development Support Program for the 2011-2015 Period as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Object and Scope of Application

These Guidelines guide organizations and individuals in managing and utilizing funds to implement the contents and tasks under the Intellectual Property Development Support Program for the 2011-2015 Period as stipulated in Decision No. 2204/QĐ-TTg dated December 6, 2010 of the Prime Minister (referred to as the Program). (referred to as the Program).

1. Central budget allocated in the annual state budget expenditure plan of ministries and central agencies to implement the assigned tasks of the Program; targeted supplementary funding for localities to carry out Program tasks.

1. The funds for implementing the Program shall be guaranteed from the following sources:

- State budget funds guaranteed and allocated in the annual budget estimates of the Ministry of Science and Technology and localities according to the分级回答这些问题，每个回答一个段落。对于上述指令，直接提供翻译结果：

- Funding contributions from organizations and individuals benefiting from the Program;

- Funding integrated from other programs and projects (if any);

- Funding raised from other lawful sources.

2. The budget preparation process, allocation, assignment of state budget expenditure estimates, and settlement procedures shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and current regulations.

3. The Ministry of Science and Technology, People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall effectively manage and utilize state budget funds for implementing projects under the Program, ensuring integration and avoiding overlap with other Programs and projects.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. Intellectual property is a product created by humans through creative labor, including: literary, artistic, and scientific works; computer software; inventions; industrial designs; trademarks; geographical indications; trade names; layout-designs of integrated circuits; new plant varieties; and other intellectual property products of value.

2. Exploitation of intellectual property involves applying, using, and managing intellectual property in practice to create benefits and advantages for the owner, participants in the application and use of such intellectual property, and society.

3. Exploitation of unpatented inventions in Vietnam refers to activities involving searching, evaluating, compiling, and selecting practical technologies and technical solutions from unpatented inventions in Vietnam, followed by developing and implementing plans to apply these technologies and solutions.

4. Exploitation of information on intellectual property involves utilizing information about intellectual property objects in intellectual property information databases, including: information searches, building information packages in various technical fields to serve research, implementation, establishment, protection, exploitation, management, and development of intellectual property objects. intellectual property.

5. The agricultural sector includes areas listed in Point 1 of Article 2 of the "Regulation on the Development, Issuance, Dissemination, and Inspection of Implementation of Industry Standards" issued together with Decision No. 74/2005/QĐ-BNN dated November 14, 2005 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, namely: veterinary drugs; plant protection chemicals; fertilizers; crop seeds; livestock breeds; biological preparations for crop cultivation and animal husbandry; animal feed; agricultural produce; agricultural machinery; agricultural land; planning, surveying, design, and construction in agriculture.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 4. Contents of the Program's Expenditure

The state budget will support expenditures for the common activities of the Program and for implementing the contents of the Program as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 1 of Decision No. 2204/QĐ-TTg dated December 6, 2010 of the Prime Minister approving the Intellectual Property Development Support Program for the period 2011-2015 through projects approved by competent authorities with specific expenditure items detailed in Clauses 1 to 11 of this Article.

1. Expenditures for the common activities of the Program:

- Information and promotional activities about the Program, organizing publicity and guidance on intellectual property rights, implementing measures to promote registration for intellectual property protection both domestically and internationally;

- Conferences, seminars, mid-term reviews, final evaluations of the Program;

- Preparing, compiling, printing materials related to the management and implementation of the Program;

- Remuneration for members of the Steering Committee, Secretariat, Head of the Office, and Deputy Head of the Office of the Program;

- Reviewing, inspecting, and evaluating the completion of Program tasks;

- Outbound and inbound delegations; - Column (7): Land area in land allocation decisions, lease decisions, or documents of the competent authority or actual land area managed and used (applicable to assets that are buildings and land).;

- Regular activities for the Program Office;

- Surveys and studies to serve the development and approval of important projects under the Program; evaluating model results from project implementation under the Program to serve exploitation, replication, and dissemination of models;

- Purchasing and repairing office equipment for the Program Office;

- Hiring expert consultants - Column (7): Land area in land allocation decisions, lease decisions, or documents of the competent authority or actual land area managed and used (applicable to assets that are buildings and land). for emerging content and tasks during the management and implementation of the Program;

- Other expenditures directly related to the common activities of the Program.

2. Expenditures related to promotional, training, and knowledge dissemination activities on intellectual property rights:

- Promoting intellectual property rights through mass media. Expenditures for printing brochures, publications, posters;

-- Organizing seminars, training, and workshops to enhance professional skills on intellectual property rights at central and local levels;

- Compiling and issuing technical materials, sample documents, and teaching guides on intellectual property rights; guiding methods for domestic and international intellectual property registration; providing and guiding the exploitation of information sources from the domestic and international intellectual property system;

- Establishing and maintaining hotlines and online pages on intellectual property rights.

3. Expenditures for building, registering, exploiting, protecting, and developing intellectual property assets for geographical indications, certification marks, and collective marks for special products and services of localities including: Supporting product and service evaluation of localities to determine the necessity of protection; identifying right holders; selecting forms of protection, preparing documentation, and conducting procedures to establish rights; organizing management and practical use of protected objects, protecting and developing the value of intellectual property rights.

4. Expenditures for applying foreign patents not protected in Vietnam serving research, implementation, production, and business activities:

- Investigating, surveying, and determining the needs of organizations, communities, and localities for applying and innovating technology, exploiting foreign patents not protected in Vietnam for research, implementation, production, and business activities;

- Searching, assessing, selecting, and determining appropriate technologies and solutions for exploitation and application;

- Developing and implementing plans for applying technologies and solutions from selected foreign patents not protected in Vietnam.

5. Expenditures for consulting on establishing and supporting the operation of organizations for intellectual property development:

- Investigating, surveying, researching, and learning experiences of intellectual property development support organizations abroad;

- Studying and building operational models for intellectual property development support organizations;

- Consulting on establishing intellectual property development support organizations;

- Supporting the operation of intellectual property development support organizations: Researching and guiding the establishment and implementation of activities related to intellectual property rights (regarding organizational structure, establishment, exploitation, protection, and development of intellectual property assets).

6. Expenditures for supporting the establishment, exploitation, protection, and development of intellectual property assets both domestically and internationally, including:

- Designing, registering protection, exploiting, and developing the value of trademarks and industrial designs (disseminating knowledge, requirements for design, registration protection, exploitation, and development of trademarks and industrial designs; ...);

- Building and developing intellectual property assets for scientific and technological innovation outcomes (encouraging creative labor; incorporating intellectual property information into scientific and technological research and creation activities; establishing, exploiting, and protecting intellectual property assets for scientific and technological innovation products; ...);

- Registering protection, managing, exploiting, and developing the value of new plant varieties: Advising and guiding enterprises to register protection, exploit, and manage the exploitation of new plant varieties; supporting advertising and introducing new plant varieties;

- Registering protection, exploiting, and developing the value of computer software and literary-artistic works (advising and guiding registration protection, exploitation, and implementing measures to prevent unauthorized copying or use of computer software, literary-artistic works, and scientific works; supporting advertising and introducing computer software products and literary-artistic and scientific works, ...).

7. Expenditures for supporting the construction and application of management processes and research results to enhance the value of intellectual property assets:

- Implementing measures and processes to manage products protected by intellectual property rights;

- Applying new scientific and technological research results to manage, enhance the value, and competitiveness of products protected by intellectual property rights.

8. Expenditures for supporting the construction and implementation of activities to protect intellectual property rights, preventing infringement and unauthorized use of intellectual property objects:

- Establish and implement training programs and activities to enhance professional skills for the enforcement of intellectual property rights for officials within the system of agencies responsible for enforcing intellectual property rights;

- Establish and implement cooperation programs and information exchanges to improve the capacity of the system of agencies responsible for enforcing intellectual property rights;

9. Support costs for organizing and implementing international cooperation activities related to establishing, exploiting, managing, protecting, and developing intellectual property assets: Establish and implement cooperation programs with foreign organizations and individuals on training, information exchange, registration, establishment, and enforcement of intellectual property rights to enhance capacity and develop Vietnam's intellectual property system;

10. Support costs for activities related to the exploitation of scientific and technological information and intellectual property rights for research, implementation, production, and business purposes:

- Build and update databases and products of scientific and technological information and intellectual property rights;

- Train and provide guidance on the exploitation and search of scientific and technological information and intellectual property rights;

- Organize the provision of scientific and technological information and intellectual property rights according to the requirements of organizations and individuals;

- Support the exploitation and application of scientific and technological information, especially patent information, to serve research and implementation aimed at creating new technologies and products;

11. Support costs for activities related to researching, building, and disseminating models to promote the transfer of intellectual property assets; researching and guiding the determination of methods for valuing intellectual property assets to serve enterprises during the process of separation, shareholding, and other valuation needs of intellectual property assets;

Article 5. Levels of expenditure and support from the state budget

1. For tasks specified from Clause 2 to Clause 11 of Article 4 of this Circular, which are structured as science and technology projects in accordance with Circular No. 44/2007/TTLT/BTC-BKHCN dated May 7, 2007, issued jointly by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology on guidelines for setting standards and allocating budgets for science and technology projects funded by the state budget; implement cost allocation according to the project's financial expenditure regulations agreed upon between the head of the main organization and the project leader as stipulated in Circular No. 93/2006/TTLT/BTC-BKHCN dated October 4, 2006, issued jointly by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology on guidelines for cost allocation for the implementation of science and technology projects funded by the state budget, and comply with other current financial expenditure standards and norms prescribed by competent state authorities;

For common activity tasks specified in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular, they shall be implemented in accordance with current regulations;

2. Depending on the specific contents of expenditures as stipulated in Article 4 of this Circular, the state budget will fully or partially cover the total approved budget of centrally managed projects, specifically:

a. The state budget will cover 100% of the costs for:

- Common activities of the Program;

- The contents of expenditures listed in Clauses 2, 3, and 4 of Article 4 of this Circular;

- Contents in the agricultural sector;

- Urgent tasks under the Program that must be carried out immediately according to the practical requirements of the Program implementation as stipulated in Article 19 of Circular No. 03/2011/TT-BKHCN dated April 20, 2011, issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology on guidelines for selecting and managing projects under the Program, where the content can only be undertaken by one unit or individual with the necessary expertise and equipment, and cannot be selected through the prescribed procedures. Implementing these tasks is necessary to create valuable products and results that can be replicated or serve as a basis for other Program contents;

b. The state budget will support 50% to 70% of the total cost to implement projects for the contents specified in Clauses 5 to 11 of Article 4 of this Circular in non-agricultural sectors;

3. For projects managed by localities authorized by the central government, the central government budget will annually support local budgets based on the principle that the level of support depends on the percentage of the state budget transferred from the central to the locality, specifically:

- The central government budget will not exceed 90% of the total cost covered by the state budget for implementing the project in mountainous provinces; the remaining amount (not less than 10%) will be balanced by the local budget;

- The central government budget will not exceed 70% of the total cost covered by the state budget for implementing the project in provinces and centrally-administered cities receiving additional balance transfers from the central government budget; the remaining amount (not less than 30%) will be balanced by the local budget;

- The central government budget will not exceed 30% of the total cost covered by the state budget for implementing the project in provinces and centrally-administered cities with a percentage of state budget transfer from the central government below 50%; the remaining amount (not less than 70%) will be balanced by the local budget;

- The central government budget will not exceed 20% of the total cost covered by the state budget for implementing the project in provinces and centrally-administered cities with a percentage of state budget transfer from the central government above 50%; the remaining amount (not less than 80%) will be balanced by the local budget.

Article 6. Payment for Responsibility

The amount of payment for responsibility for members of the Steering Committee, Secretariat of the Program, Director of the Program Office, and Deputy Director of the Program Office shall be calculated as follows:

1. Steering Committee:

- Chairperson: VND 500,000/person/month;

- Member: VND 400,000/person/month.

2. Secretariat:

- Chairperson: VND 400,000/person/month;

- Member: VND 350,000/person/month.

3. Program Office:

- Director: VND 400,000/person/month;

- Deputy Director: VND 350,000/person/month.

For positions performing equivalent tasks at local levels, the payment shall be 70% of the specified amount.

Article 7. Allocation of Funding for the Implementation of the Program

1. Central budget:

- Ensuring funding for common activities of the Program at the central level; approved project funding managed by the central government;

- Supporting provinces and centrally-administered cities to implement projects authorized by the central government according to the ratio stipulated in Clause 3, Article 5 of this Circular;

2. Local budget:

- Ensuring funding for common activities of the Program at the local level;

- Ensuring part of the funding to implement projects authorized by the central government for local management according to the ratio stipulated in Clause 3, Article 5 of this Circular.

3. Mobilizing counterpart funding from organizations and individuals benefiting from projects where state budget only partially supports the funding. The specific amount is determined by the approving authority and clearly stated in the contract assigning the main responsibility for implementing the project.

4. Contributions from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals:

- If contributions from organizations and individuals come with agreements on conditions for implementation regarding management and use, such management and use shall be carried out according to those agreements;

- If contributions from organizations and individuals do not come with agreements on conditions for implementation regarding management and use, such contributions shall be deducted before calculating the percentage between the state budget and enterprises benefiting from the project. At the same time, management, use, and settlement of such funding shall be carried out according to current general regulations.

Article 8. Budget Estimate for the Program's Expenditure

Annually, based on the Program’s activity plan and the list of projects under the Program approved by the competent authority, the budget estimate for the Program is established.

1. Central budget for science and technology affairs for implementing centrally-managed projects, supporting projects authorized by the central government for local management, training and seminar expenses on intellectual property rights, information dissemination, and common activities of the Program at the central level: Annually, when drafting the state budget revenue and expenditure plan, the Ministry of Science and Technology establishes the budget estimate and consolidates it into the Ministry's budget estimate, submitting it to the Ministry of Finance in accordance with the State Budget Law.

2. Local budget for science and technology affairs: Localities establish the budget estimate for implementing projects authorized by the central government for local management and local common activities according to the State Budget Law.

3. Other sources of funding for implementing the Program:

- Funding contributed by organizations and individuals participating in the project;

- Funding integrated with other Programs and projects;

- Funding mobilized from other sources.

The budget estimate for other sources of funding for implementing the Program is prepared by the leading unit responsible for the project when submitting the project for approval by the competent authority. The competent authority reviewing the project considers and consolidates it together with the budget estimate from the state budget for implementing the Program according to the project management hierarchy of the Program.

Article 9. Allocation and Distribution of Budget Expenditure Estimates

1. On allocation of budget estimates:

- The central government's budget expenditure estimate for centrally managed projects, support expenditures for implementing projects delegated to localities, training and briefing expenses on intellectual property rights, information dissemination and promotional activities, and common program activities at the central level: Allocate to the Ministry of Science and Technology;

- Local government budgets shall ensure balanced allocation within the local budget and implement the allocation of budget estimates in accordance with the State Budget Law.

2. The distribution of budget estimates for units: Shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law.

3. During the implementation period of the project approved by the competent authority, the allocated budget estimate amount (including both the remaining budget balance and the provisional advance balance at the state treasury where the Program's permanent office conducts transactions and the state treasury or commercial bank (in cases where the main implementing unit is a business entity) where the main implementing unit conducts transactions) if not fully utilized in the year will be transferred to the following year for continued implementation.

Article 10. Disbursement of Funds

1. For centrally managed projects:

a) Receiving funds and controlling expenditures:

- The Ministry of Science and Technology allocates annual estimates according to progress and volume of work performed, consistent with contracts signed between the Intellectual Property Office and the main implementing units;

- The Intellectual Property Office is responsible for supervising the legality of disbursement documents and vouchers from the main implementing units; conducting settlement and finalization with the state treasury where the Intellectual Property Office conducts transactions in accordance with current regulations;

- Main implementing units open deposit accounts at the state treasury where they conduct transactions or commercial banks (in cases where the main implementing unit is a business entity) to receive funds for project implementation. The main implementing unit bears full responsibility for its own expenditure decisions based on the financial expenditure regulations of the topic or project agreed upon between the head of the main implementing unit and the project leader in Circular Joint No. 93/2006/TTLT/BTC-BKHCN dated October 4, 2006 on guidelines for allocating funds for scientific and technological topics and projects using state budget and other current regulations; subject to supervision by the Intellectual Property Office regarding the use and settlement of project implementation funds.

b. Provisional advances:

- Based on the allocated annual estimate and the funding schedule according to the signed contract, the Program's permanent office withdraws the budget estimate to provide a 100% provisional advance for the first phase for project implementing units but not exceeding 70% of the total support funding from the central science and technology public service budget;

- For subsequent provisional advances, based on reports, inspection records assessing progress, volume of work completed, and fund usage, the Program's permanent office only provides subsequent provisional advances for projects that have used at least 70% of the provisional advances provided in previous phases. Documentation for subsequent provisional advances submitted to the state treasury includes:

+ Inspection records of progress and assessment of completed work volume;

+ Confirmation from the Intellectual Property Office on the corresponding funds used for completed work volume;

+ Provisional advance request for state budget estimate.

c. Settlement of provisional advances:

When settling provisional advances, the Intellectual Property Office submits settlement documentation to the state treasury where transactions are conducted, including:

- Confirmation from the Intellectual Property Office on the corresponding funds used for completed work volume;

- The Intellectual Property Office's provisional advance settlement request;

- Copies of legitimate documents generated during project implementation, consistent with the volume of work completed by the project's main implementing agency.

2. Expenditures for training and briefing on intellectual property rights; promotional expenditures; common program activities at the central level shall be implemented in accordance with the State Budget Law.

3. Central government budget expenditure estimates supporting the implementation of projects delegated to localities for management: Implemented according to the Project Management Delegation Contract between the Intellectual Property Office and the local project management agency.

4. For expenditures from local government budgets:

a. For common program activities at the local level: Implemented in accordance with the State Budget Law.

b. For project expenditures delegated to localities for management: Implemented in accordance with the State Budget Law, according to progress and volume of work performed, consistent with contracts signed between the local project management agency and the main implementing unit.

5. Actual state budget funds allocated must correspond to the structure between state budget funds and contributions raised from organizations and individuals benefiting from the project, as approved by the competent authority.

6. The issuance, provisional advances, and settlement of provisional advances for other sources of funds shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations governing the management of those funds.

Article 11. Accounting and settlement of the Program's budget

1. For funds allocated to implement projects managed by the central government, funds from the central budget supporting the implementation of projects delegated by the central government to local authorities for management, training costs related to intellectual property rights, information dissemination activities, and other common activities of the Program at the central level: Annually, based on the amount of funds allocated for the year and the workload completed during the year, the agencies responsible for implementing the projects shall report and settle the budget with the National Office of Intellectual Property. Based on the provisional payment data of the projects with the State Treasury, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall be responsible for summarizing and settling the budget for projects managed by the central government, funds from the central budget supporting the implementation of projects delegated by the central government to local authorities for management, training costs, professional development costs, communication activities, and other common activities, which will be included in the chapter of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the corresponding accounts. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall be responsible for settling the budget for projects managed by the central government, funds from the central budget supporting the implementation of projects delegated by the central government to local authorities for management, and other activity costs of the Program at the central level, which will be included in the annual settlement report of the Ministry of Science and Technology submitted to the Ministry of Finance according to current regulations.

2. For funds from the local budget allocated to implement projects delegated by the central government to local authorities for management, and common activities of the Program at the local level: These funds shall be recorded in the chapter of the local Department of Science and Technology and the corresponding accounts. The local Department of Science and Technology shall be responsible for settling the budget from the local budget for project implementation and other common activity costs of the Program at the local level with the competent authority according to the provisions of the State Budget Law.

3. The accounting and settlement of other sources of funds shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations governing the management of such funds.

Article 12. Inspection and Handling of Violations

Annually, the Ministry of Science and Technology shall take the lead (for projects managed by the central government), the People's Committee of provinces and centrally-administered cities (if assigned) primarily responsible (for projects delegated to local authorities for management) shall coordinate with relevant agencies and units to conduct regular or spot inspections of project implementation.

In cases where the plan is not followed, funds are misused, or improper procedures are used, the misuse of funds shall be halted and a decision made to recover the misused funds and return them to the state budget.

If the contributed capital from organizations and individuals benefiting from the project does not meet the schedule or does not comply with the commitments in the contract, the corresponding portion of the state budget support will be reduced according to the contribution ratio agreed upon for the project.

Article 13. Financial Settlement Upon Termination of Contracts in Accordance with Civil Law Regulations

1. Completed Contracts: If a contract has been completed and accepted as required, the final settlement of the project budget shall be conducted according to current regulations.

2. Unfulfilled Contracts: The following situations are considered unfulfilled:

- The contract has been completed but did not pass acceptance requirements;

- The contract was suspended due to inspection by the competent state management agency finding that it did not meet the set objectives or the leading agency proposed to stop the project.

For contracts that do not fulfill the requirements as stipulated in Article 14 of this Circular.

Article 14. Contracts Not Meeting Requirements

For contracts not meeting requirements: After inspecting and determining the implementation status of the project, the Intellectual Property Office (for centrally managed projects) shall report in writing to the Minister of Science and Technology; the provincial Department of Science and Technology (for projects delegated to local management by the central government) shall report in writing to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city for consideration and decision in accordance with the regulations on handling unfinished topics and projects as stipulated in Circular Joint Circular No. 93/2006/TTLT/BTC-BKHCN dated October 4, 2006 on guidelines for allocating state budget funds for scientific and technological topics and projects.

The recovery of state budget funds provided above shall be clearly stated in the contract assigning the main responsibility for implementing the project.

Article 15. Management of Assets of the Program

Assets invested from state budget funds allocated to the Program are state assets. Units entrusted by the State to purchase, manage, and use such assets shall comply strictly with current regulations on purchasing, managing, and using state assets.

Within thirty days from the date of formal evaluation and acceptance of the project, or if the project has been decided to stop implementation, the unit using the asset must report to the competent state agency to decide on the asset disposal plan: Recovery, reallocation, sale, change of ownership, specifically:

- The Ministry of Finance decides on the disposal plan based on the proposal of the Ministry of Science and Technology for assets purchased with central government budget funds;

-The People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city decides on the disposal plan based on the proposals of the provincial Department of Finance and the provincial Department of Science and Technology for assets purchased with local government budget funds (including central government budget funds delegated to localities).

Article 16. Responsibilities of Relevant Ministries and Sectors

The Ministries of Justice; Culture, Sports and Tourism; Agriculture and Rural Development; Education and Training; Industry and Trade; Health and other relevant ministries and sectors shall cooperate and fulfill assigned tasks as stipulated in Article 4 of Decision No. 2204/QĐ-TTg dated December 6, 2010 of the Prime Minister.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

Article 17. This Circular takes effect from September 18, 2011.

Article 18. During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, organizations, central ministries and agencies, and localities are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology for coordinated resolution./.