Circular No. 113/2020/TT-BTC on the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of regular operating expenses for inland waterway transportation economic activities

CIRCULAR

REGULATIONS ON THE PREPARATION OF BUDGET ESTIMATES, MANAGEMENT, USE AND SETTLEMENT OF CURRENT EXPENSES FOR ECONOMIC WATERWAY TRAFFIC ACTIVITIES

 WITHIN INTERNAL WATERS

On the basis of Decree No. 12/2017/NĐ-CP dated February 10, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport; The Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic Management dated June 17, 2014;

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

Decree No. Decree No. 51/2005/NĐ-CP dated April 11, 2005 of the Government on sources of finance and management and use of financial resources for inland waterway traffic management and maintenance;

Decree No. Decree No. 45/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2018 of the Government on management, use and exploitation of infrastructure assets for inland waterway traffic;

Decree No. Decree No. 159/2018/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2018 of the Government on management of dredging activities in port waters and inland waterways;

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. 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 to regulate the preparation of budget estimates, management, use and settlement of current expenses for economic inland waterway traffic activities.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

Article 1. This Circular regulates the preparation of budget estimates, management, use and settlement of current expenses for economic inland waterway traffic activities funded by the state budget.

Article 2. This Circular does not apply to the source of funds for the maintenance of infrastructure assets for inland waterway traffic as stipulated in:

a) Point a, Point b and Point c Clause 5 Article 8 of Decree No. 45/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 13, 2018 of the Government on management, use and exploitation of infrastructure assets for inland waterway traffic (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 45/2018/NĐ-CP of the Government);

b) Chapter IV of Decree No. 159/2018/NĐ-CP dated November 28, 2018 of the Government on management of dredging activities in port waters and inland waterways.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to agencies, units, organizations and individuals related to the management and use of current expenses for economic inland waterway traffic activities funded by the state budget.

Article 3. Sources of Funds

1. State budget funds for current expenses for economic inland waterway traffic activities

a) Current expenses for national economic inland waterway traffic activities allocated from the central budget;

b) Current expenses for local economic inland waterway traffic activities allocated from the local budget.

2. Other sources of funds as prescribed by law (if any).

Article 4. Principles for Managing and Using Funds

1. Agencies, units, organizations and individuals using current expenses for economic inland waterway traffic activities must comply with the content and plans for managing and maintaining infrastructure assets for inland waterway traffic approved by competent authorities; manage and use funds according to regulations, economically and effectively; be subject to inspection and supervision by competent authorities; implement payment and settlement of funds used, and publicize the budget according to current regulations.

2. The Ministry of Transport and provincial People's Committees decide or delegate subordinate management agencies to decide on the form of maintenance of infrastructure assets for inland waterway traffic for each maintenance activity of infrastructure assets for inland waterway traffic as stipulated in Clause 3 Article 8 of Decree No. 45/2018/NĐ-CP to ensure economy and effectiveness.

3. The organization of management and maintenance of infrastructure assets for inland waterway traffic shall be carried out in accordance with guiding documents of the Ministry of Transport and other relevant provisions (if any).

Article 5. Contents of expenditure from the central government budget

1. Expenditure to perform management and maintenance tasks for inland waterway transport infrastructure assets managed by the Ministry of Transport, including:

a) Expenditure to establish files on dangerous locations on inland waterways, obstacles, and to monitor the results of handling;

b) Expenditure for channel surveys to serve management and reporting of inland waterway channels; organization of traffic, inspection of protection works belonging to inland waterway transport infrastructure; management, installation, adjustment of inland waterway navigation aids on land and underwater; monitoring hydrological data, vessel counts;

c) Expenditure for regular maintenance of inland waterway transport infrastructure assets according to the annual maintenance plan approved by the Ministry of Transport;

d) Expenditure for repair of inland waterway transport infrastructure assets, including periodic and emergency repairs according to the annual maintenance plan approved by the Ministry of Transport;

đ) Expenditure for monitoring (excluding water level monitoring and vessel traffic flow observation included in regular maintenance of inland waterway transport infrastructure assets), quality testing of works belonging to inland waterway infrastructure in accordance with laws on inland waterway infrastructure maintenance;

e) Expenditure to settle the difference in funding (if any) for enterprises when the channel maintenance funding exceeds the value of products collected under combined maintenance and product collection methods stipulated in Article 10 of Decree No. 45/2018/NĐ-CP of the Government (dredging and maintaining inland waterway channels with product collection) as decided by the competent authority;

g) Expenditure for traffic regulation and control to ensure regular traffic and prevent drifting;

h) Other non-recurring expenditures to perform management and maintenance tasks for inland waterway transport infrastructure assets, such as flood prevention for inland waterways; establishing economic and technical standards for management and maintenance of inland waterways; drafting and adjusting procedures and standards for management, operation, and maintenance of works funded by the state budget that have been put into operation and use; applying technology to serve management, operation, and maintenance of inland waterway transport infrastructure assets, in accordance with relevant laws;

2. Expenditure for the activities of the Inland Waterway Port Office (hereinafter referred to as the Port Office) under the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration in cases where revenue from fees retained for expenditure under laws on fees and charges is insufficient to cover the operational costs of the Port Office (if any). The expenditure contents shall be implemented according to the decision of the competent authority and relevant laws;

3. Other expenditure contents in accordance with laws on inland waterway transport and other related laws (such as international treaty work, international agreements in the field of inland waterway transport; publicizing, disseminating, and educating laws on inland waterway transport...) allocated from the regular operating funds for inland waterway transport activities according to the decision of the competent authority.

Article 6. Contents of Expenditure from Local Budgets

Based on the contents of expenditure stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular and local regulations (if any), taking into account the financial capacity and the current status of inland waterway transport infrastructure assets under management, the People's Committee at the provincial level shall submit to the People's Council at the provincial level for approval the regular expenditure content for economic activities of inland waterway transport managed by the locality, ensuring safety for inland waterway routes managed by the locality.

Article 7. Funding Levels

1. The level of expenditure for implementing tasks and projects of economic activities of inland waterway transport shall be carried out according to the norms and financial expenditure regimes prescribed by current laws.

2. For tasks and projects with economic-technical norms and product unit prices, the basis shall be the quantity and volume of tasks assigned, economic-technical norms, and product unit prices determined by competent state agencies.

Article 8. Preparation, Allocation, Execution of Budget Estimates and Final Accounts

The preparation, allocation, execution of budget estimates, and final accounts for regular expenditure for economic activities of inland waterway transport shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents; Clause 9 of Decree No. 45/2018/ND-CP; Decree No. 32/2019/ND-CP dated April 10, 2019 of the Government on assigning tasks, placing orders, or tendering for the provision of products and services using state budget funds from regular expenditure and related legal provisions. This Circular provides detailed guidance on the following matters:

1. The advance payment and settlement of regular expenditure for economic activities of inland waterway transport shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 11/2020/ND-CP dated January 20, 2020 of the Government on administrative procedures under the National Treasury and Circular No. 62/2020/TT-BTC dated June 22, 2020 of the Ministry of Finance on controlling and settling regular expenditures from the state budget through the National Treasury. In addition:

a) For the form of maintenance of inland waterway transport infrastructure assets based on quality performance: Payment documents must be accompanied by supervision and acceptance results of the maintenance of inland waterway transport infrastructure assets based on quality performance as prescribed in Circular No. 08/2019/TT-BGTVT dated February 28, 2019 of the Minister of Transport on criteria for supervising and accepting maintenance results of inland waterway transport infrastructure based on quality performance and other provisions in the maintenance contract (if any).

b) For dredging works and maintaining design standards within a specified period: Advance payments, levels of advance payments, and settlement of expenses shall be carried out in accordance with legal provisions for public investment capital sources; additionally, in advance payment documents (except for the first advance payment) and settlement documents, there must be attached acceptance certificates for completed dredging volumes and maintenance of design standards during construction phases and dredging volumes according to each phase (six months, one year) as prescribed in point a, Clause 6, Article 21 of Decree No. 159/2018/NĐ-CP.

c) For dredging works and routine maintenance of inland waterway channels combined with product recovery: Settlement of expenses stipulated in point e, Clause 1, Article 5 of this Circular shall be based on settlement of the Maintenance Contract combined with product recovery as prescribed in Article 10 of Decree No. 45/2018/NĐ-CP.

2. Final Accounts

a) The final accounts of regular expenditure for economic activities of inland waterway transport shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 137/2017/TT-BTC dated December 25, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance on examination, audit, notification, and compilation of annual final accounts (Circular No. 137/2017/TT-BTC).

b) For dredging works and maintaining design standards within a specified period; periodic repair works, emergency repair works of inland waterway transport facilities, and other repair works with costs of VND 500 million or more, in addition to annual final accounts as prescribed in Circular No. 137/2017/TT-BTC, they must also be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 2, Article 5 of Circular No. 92/2017/TT-BTC dated September 18, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance on preparing budgets, allocating, and finalizing accounts for expenses to implement repairs, maintenance, renovation, upgrading, and expansion of facilities and Circular No. 10/2020/TT-BTC dated February 20, 2020 of the Ministry of Finance on finalizing accounts for completed projects using state funds.

3. The handling of end-of-year balances of regular expenditure budgets for economic activities of inland waterway transport shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

Article 9. Inspection Work

1. The Ministry of Transport, Provincial Transport Departments, and relevant local agencies shall cooperate with their respective financial agencies to periodically and randomly inspect the management, utilization, payment, settlement of regular operating funds for inland waterway transport economic activities at units under their jurisdiction.

2. Any regular operating expenses for inland waterway transport economic activities that exceed the prescribed limits, are not in accordance with the established regulations, or deviate from the provisions set forth in this Circular shall be rectified and handled according to the stipulated rules.

Article 10. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from February 15, 2021.

2. The expenditure provisions for Port Supervision Units as specified in Clause 2 of Article 5 of this Circular shall continue to be implemented until new government regulations on the financial management and income mechanisms for administrative management agencies are issued.

3. Circular Joint Circular No. 102/2016/TTLT-BTC-BGTVT dated June 29, 2016, jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport, guiding the budget preparation, management, disbursement, and settlement of state economic funds for inland waterway transport, shall cease to be effective from the date this Circular becomes effective.

4. In cases where laws and regulations serving as the basis and referenced in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be applied according to the amended, supplemented, or replaced laws and regulations.

5. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, please report them to the Ministry of Finance for prompt resolution./.