Joint Circular No. 12 TT/LB guides the implementation of the Council of Ministers' Decision No. 272-CP dated October 3, 1977, and the Prime Minister's Directive No. 413 TTg dated November 17, 1977, regarding the provision and management of investment capital to support cooperatives in expanding forest production areas and implementing settlement planning.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing the Council of Ministers' Decision No. 272-CP dated October 3, 1977, and the Prime Minister's Directive No. 413 TTg dated November 17, 1977, regarding the system of capital allocation and management to support cooperatives in expanding forest production areas and implementing settlement policies.

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In accordance with the Council of Ministers' Decision No. 272-CP dated October 3, 1977, which stipulates policies for cooperatives engaged in land reclamation and expansion of agricultural and forestry production areas, construction of new economic zones, and implementation of settlement policies, the Ministry of Agriculture - Forestry - Finance - State Bank issued Circular No. 14 TT/LB on December 20, 1977, guiding the implementation of the aforementioned decision.

To implement the Prime Minister's Directive No. 413 TTg dated November 17, 1977, the Ministry of Finance - Agriculture issued Circular No. 18 TT/LB on December 21, 1977, guiding the management and allocation of investment capital to support land reclamation and expansion of production areas in new economic zones managed by the agricultural sector.

Now, to continue implementing the Government's decisions and directives mentioned above in the forestry sector, the Ministry of Finance - Forestry issues guidelines on specific matters concerning the planning, principles, and procedures for allocating and managing investment capital to support cooperatives in expanding forestry production areas, implementing settlement policies, and constructing new forestry economic zones as follows:

 I. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. The State invests in expanding forestry production areas and implementing settlement policies based on the principle that both the State and the people participate. With financial support from the State, cooperatives must utilize their own capital to the fullest extent possible; if there is still a shortage, the cooperatives may borrow funds from the State Bank to fulfill the tasks assigned by the State, without relying solely on the State.

- The beneficiaries of subsidies are forestry production cooperatives, agricultural cooperatives with sideline forestry businesses expanding forestry production areas; ethnic groups implementing settlement policies, and ethnic groups building new economic zones in forestry.

- The capital is provided by the central budget and allocated to provinces according to the principle of combining industry-based management with local management. The Ministry of Forestry is responsible for specifically allocating state investment support capital to provinces to ensure the correct implementation of land reclamation plans, expansion of forestry production areas, and settlement policies approved by the Government for each locality. Localities can only use this capital for its intended purpose, in accordance with policy and regulations, and for the approved beneficiaries.

State investment support for land reclamation and expansion of forestry production areas, and implementation of settlement policies includes two types of capital: Construction Investment Capital and Operating Expenses.

2. Construction Investment Capital.

a. Building infrastructure in new forestry economic zones and settlement areas according to the national plan approved for each region as specified in Point 2, Section II of Decision No. 272-CP dated October 3, 1977, of the Council of Ministers.

Among these projects, if any project falls under the category of investment funded by credit from the State Bank, the Ministry of Forestry and the Provincial People's Committee must include it in the loan plan submitted to the State Bank in accordance with Decision No. 32-CP dated February 11, 1977, of the Council of Ministers and Circular No. 21TT/LB dated February 17, 1978, of the Ministry of Finance - State Bank - National Planning Commission.

b. Supporting part of the cost for mountainous, midland, coastal, and ethnic minority cooperatives implementing settlement policies who are given additional land and forests to expand concentrated tree planting areas and improve forests according to the plan, providing raw materials for the State and protecting weak headwaters as specified in Points 1 and 2, Section I, Part A of Circular No. 14 TT/LB of the Joint Ministries. Specific levels of support are reviewed and approved by the City People's Committee for each sub-region and by the County People's Committee for each cooperative.

c. Supporting ethnic minorities implementing settlement policies and those building new economic zones: Building housing, water supply facilities for daily use, and public welfare facilities for cooperatives (or villages if there are no cooperatives) such as office buildings combined with meeting rooms, clubs, kindergartens, and nurseries as specified in Points 4 and 6, Section I, Part A of Circular No. 14 TT/LB of the Joint Ministries.

d. Specifically for ethnic minorities implementing settlement policies, additional construction investment capital is provided for:

- Costs for new land reclamation and construction of contiguous paddy fields.

- Initial costs for planting long-term industrial crops and specialty trees (excluding forestry trees) and part of the costs for maintenance over the first three years (for trees that do not require three years of maintenance, support is provided for the actual number of years required) as specified in Subpoint a, Point 6, Section I, Part A of Circular No. 14 TT/LB of the Joint Ministries.

- Costs for grassland improvement and purchase of breeding stock such as male buffalo, cattle, and pigs for collective animal husbandry as specified in Point 6, Section II, Part A of Circular No. 14 TT/LB of the Joint Ministries. In regions where traction power is particularly scarce, partial funding for additional purchases of buffalo and cattle for plowing may be considered.

3. Operating Expenses.

a. Costs for surveying and designing cooperatives; if old cooperatives need to replan after being allocated land and forests, they will also be subsidized at the level specified in Point 8, Section II, Part A of Circular No. 14 TT/LB of the Joint Ministries.

b. Costs for items specified in Points 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, Section II, Part A of Circular No. 14 TT/LB for ethnic minorities implementing settlement policies and those building new forestry economic zones.

c. Specifically for ethnic minorities implementing settlement policies, additional operating expenses are provided for:

- Initial costs for purchasing production tools and living supplies for families in newly liberated areas (West Highlands, mountains, Zone 5) as specified in Subpoint a, Point 6, Section II, Part A of Circular No. 14 TT/LB of the Joint Ministries.

- Small-scale land reclamation (scattered, non-contiguous) to expand production areas up to 3 hectares in settlement zones.

- Initial costs for seeds and chemical fertilizers for short-term industrial crops (less than one year).

- Initial costs for new seeds and chemical fertilizers for food crops.

- Costs for purchasing construction materials to rebuild small bridges, classrooms, and communal halls.

- Costs for the activities of the provincial and district relocation committees within the staffing quota approved by the State for the forestry sector.

III. PRINCIPLES OF PROCEDURES FOR ESTABLISHING THE CAPITAL PLAN.

1. General principles

- Record in the capital investment plan only the expenses for building infrastructure in new economic zones in forestry and resettlement areas outside agricultural new economic zones, as specified in this Circular of the Inter-Ministerial Joint Circular. The Ministry of Forestry and the Ministry of Agriculture will discuss and establish specific regulations regarding the recording of quotas in the plan for forestry production and resettlement in new economic zones under the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture.

- Do not record in this capital plan expenditures funded by credit investments, construction costs for state-owned forestry and agricultural enterprises, and water conservancy works under the central and provincial authorities' related sectors. Notably, projects already stipulated in Point 2, Section II of Decision No. 272 dated October 3, 1977, of the Council of Ministers shall be recorded in this plan.

2. REGIME FOR ESTABLISHING PLANS AND ASSIGNING QUOTAS ANNUALLY AND QUARTERLY.

a. Each year, provinces and cities shall prepare comprehensive plans for labor, materials, equipment, food, and capital (including preparations for the following year) for new economic zones in forestry, cooperatives expanding forest production areas, and resettlement outside agricultural new economic zones (including incomplete old resettlements). These plans shall be submitted to the Ministry of Forestry and the State Planning Commission. After the Ministry of Forestry compiles and protects these plans before the Government and the State Planning Commission, upon approval by the Government, the Ministry of Forestry shall be responsible for specifically allocating capital to each locality and informing the Ministry of Finance to record the capital subsidy plan for localities.

b. Provinces shall base their capital plans and quarterly work programs on the notifications from the Ministry of Forestry, submit them to the Ministry of Forestry for consolidation and review, and inform the Ministry of Finance to serve as the basis for transferring quarterly subsidies to provinces and cities.

c. The agency assisting the Provincial People's Committee in preparing and consolidating the aforementioned plans is:

+ Provincial Forest Service: Responsible for compiling the investment support plan for expanding forest production areas and constructing new economic zones in forestry.

+ Provincial Resettlement Committee: Responsible for compiling the resettlement plan (excluding the afforestation, care, and maintenance of forests compiled by the Provincial Forest Service).

Note: The Provincial Forest Service and the Provincial Resettlement Committee must separately compile the capital for land reclamation, expanding forest production areas, and implementing resettlement in provincial new economic zones, report to the Ministry of Forestry, and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture to record the capital plan for agricultural new economic zones (under the responsibility of the General Administration of Land Reclamation and New Economic Zone Construction).

3. CAPITAL FOR ADJUSTING QUARTERLY AND ANNUAL CAPITAL PLANS:

During the implementation of the plan, if provinces and cities have the ability to exceed targets due to insufficient funds, they shall immediately report to the Ministry of Forestry. The Ministry of Forestry shall examine and consult with the Ministry of Finance on:

- Adjusting budget funds or temporarily advancing budget funds to localities to implement the excess work, provided that the additional funds requested do not exceed the total amount approved by the Government for the entire year.

- If the additional funds requested exceed the total amount approved by the State for the entire year, the Ministry of Forestry shall report to the State for supplementary approval. Only after State approval may localities proceed with additional work.

By the end of the year, if a province fails to complete its plan, it must return the surplus funds to the central budget and may not use the remaining funds for other purposes.

IV. PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES FOR ISSUING, MANAGING, AND SETTLING CAPITAL FUNDS:

1. PRINCIPLES AND PROCEDURES FOR ISSUING CAPITAL FUNDS. Based on the annual plan approved by the Government and the quarterly plan approved by the Ministry of Forestry and notified to localities, ensure capital for land reclamation, expanding forest production areas, and implementing resettlement.

To align with the characteristics of forestry production and resettlement, the Ministry of Finance assigns the Vietnam Construction Bank to uniformly manage both basic construction capital and operating expenses. Upon receiving central budget subsidies, the Provincial Finance Department must immediately transfer the funds to the Construction Fund for issuance. Issuance shall be based on current regulations, maintaining separate accounts for each type of fund, organizing issuance, strengthening management, and strictly supervising the use of funds according to their intended purpose, policies, and approved standards to achieve high economic efficiency.

Due to the characteristics of forestry production, the annual capital plan includes a certain amount of advance funding for the next year's afforestation. The level of advance funding is determined by the Ministry of Forestry depending on the type of crop. The Construction Fund needs to closely monitor the use of advance funding and gradually deduct it from the quarterly allocations in the following year.

County forestry offices (or county agriculture and forestry bureaus), county resettlement committees, villages, and cooperatives in forestry new economic zones and resettlement areas must open accounts at the Construction Fund to receive capital and manage its use for these tasks.

The Construction Fund needs to establish sub-accounts to track the issuance of basic construction capital and operating expenses. Common issuance must comply with current regulations and procedures.

As for basic construction work due to the characteristics of forestry production and fixed settlement in mountainous provinces with special cases: Construction projects that have not completed the necessary procedures and basic construction process must be agreed upon in writing by the Ministry of Forestry and the People's Committee of the province/city (depending on the current decentralization of the State), specifying clearly the area, tasks, technical measures, capital amount, and time for submitting the design task approval before the Construction Fund can provide temporary capital for construction. After one-third of the construction period, if the design task has not been approved, the Construction Fund will suspend capital disbursement. In cases where construction and design are carried out simultaneously: Each part of the construction must have its corresponding design.

2/ Settlement and final accounting of capital funds.

a. Every quarter, the Forest Departments of the districts (or the Agricultural and Forestry Departments of the districts), the Fixed Settlement Committees of the districts, and units receiving capital for basic construction and operating expenses must report officially on the implementation of plans and the use of capital funds to the Provincial Forest Department and the Fixed Settlement Committee of the province. The Provincial Forest Department and the Fixed Settlement Committee of the province must compile and submit official reports to the People's Committee of the province, the Provincial Finance Department, and the local Construction Fund, which must also send them to the Ministry of Forestry, the Ministry of Finance, and the Central Construction Bank.

b. Annually, units directly using investment support capital for basic construction and operating expenses must prepare separate final accounts for each type of capital according to the current regulations with the Provincial Forest Department and the Fixed Settlement Committee of the province. The final account must be confirmed by the Construction Fund regarding the amount of capital disbursed and include comments on the management and use of the capital.

The Provincial Forest Department and the Fixed Settlement Committee of the province must approve and compile separate final accounts for each type of basic construction capital and operating expenses and send them to: The People's Committee of the province, the Provincial Finance Department, and the local Construction Fund, which must also send them to the Ministry of Forestry, the Ministry of Finance, and the Central Construction Bank.

The Provincial Finance Departments assist the People's Committees of the provinces in reviewing these final accounts and consolidating them into the general final accounts of the provincial budget to settle with the state budget according to the current regulations.

Based on the final accounts sent by the Provincial Forest Departments and the Fixed Settlement Committees of the provinces, the Ministry of Forestry must compile the entire sector's situation regarding the implementation of plans and financial indicators sent to the Ministry of Finance and the Central Construction Bank.

V. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS.

This Circular takes effect from January 1, 1978, and all previous regulations contrary to this Circular are abolished.

The People's Committees of the provinces and cities are responsible for directly managing the capital subsidized by the central budget for the province to be spent on forest land development work to expand the area of forestry production and implement fixed settlement according to the plan approved by the Ministry of Forestry for the province. The People's Committees of the provinces need to quickly consolidate and strengthen the organizational structure of relevant agencies to perform this work well; direct the Provincial Forest Department and the Fixed Settlement Committee of the province to inspect the work done until the handover date (January 1, 1978) to switch to implementing the new system stipulated in this Joint Circular, organize inventory work, open sufficient books to monitor expenditures according to appropriate sources of capital and the prescribed principles and procedures.

The Provincial Finance Departments, District Finance Departments, Construction Funds, and branch points of the Construction Bank have the responsibility to assist the People's Committees at various levels in the province in properly implementing the disbursement and guiding the inspection of units using capital funds according to the current policies and systems, for the intended purposes, and to achieve practical results.

The Provincial Forest Departments, Fixed Settlement Committees of the provinces, Forest Departments (or Agricultural and Forestry Departments of the districts), and Fixed Settlement Committees of the districts, based on their specific responsibilities and tasks, must strengthen planning, finance, accounting, and statistical departments to effectively manage and utilize state investment support capital for forest land development work to expand the area of forestry production and implement fixed settlement according to the provisions of this Circular.

During the implementation process, if localities encounter difficulties or issues, they must promptly report to the Joint Ministry of Finance - Forestry for research and resolution.