Decision No. 123/2003/QD-BTC of the Minister of Finance amending certain Articles of the Regulation on Management and Use of the Fund for Supporting Redundant Labor due to the Restructuring of State-Owned Enterprises issued together with Decision No. 85/2002/QD-BTC dated July 1, 2002 of the Minister of Finance.

Pursuant to …;

Amending certain Articles of the Regulation on Management and Use of the Fund for Supporting Redundant Labor Resulting from the Reorganization of State-Owned Enterprises issued together with Decision No. 85/2002/QĐ-BTC dated July 1, 2002 of the Minister of Finance.

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

Pursuant to Decree No. 86/2002/NĐ-CP dated November 5, 2002 of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of Ministries and Ministerial-Level Agencies;

Pursuant to Decree No. 77/2003/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decree No. 41/2002/NĐ-CP dated April 11, 2002 of the Government on Policies for Redundant Labor Resulting from the Reorganization of State-Owned Enterprises;

At the proposal of the Director of the Financial Policy Department and the Director of the Enterprise Finance Department;

DECISION:

Article 1: Amending certain provisions of the Regulation on Management and Use of the Fund for Supporting Redundant Labor Resulting from the Reorganization of State-Owned Enterprises issued together with Decision No. 85/2002/QĐ-BTC dated July 1, 2002 of the Minister of Finance (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation) as follows:

1. Article 3 of the Regulation shall be amended as follows:

"Article 3: The sources of the Fund for Supporting Redundant Labor include:

- State budget;

The Fund is formed from:

- Donations from organizations and individuals;

The funds of the Fund for Supporting Redundant Labor may only be used for the purpose of paying subsidies to redundant workers; relevant agencies may not use these funds for any other purposes.

2. Article 6 of the Regulation shall be amended as follows:

"Article 6: For enterprises that have used up the balance of the enterprise's job loss compensation reserve fund (fully established in accordance with the regulations of the State) but still lack sufficient resources to pay compensation to employees losing their jobs under the responsibility of the enterprise as stipulated in Point a, Clause 3, Article 3, and Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree No. 41/2002/NĐ-CP, the Fund for Supporting Redundant Labor will support the remaining amount.

In the case of restructuring dependent units of state-owned enterprises, the state-owned enterprise is responsible for using the enterprise’s job loss compensation reserve fund to provide compensation to redundant workers under the responsibility of the enterprise.

In the case of merging or consolidating state-owned enterprises, the participating enterprises are responsible for using the entire balance of their job loss compensation reserve funds to provide compensation to redundant workers under the responsibility of the enterprises involved in the merger or consolidation.

For state-owned enterprises that are dissolved or declared bankrupt, the Fund for Supporting Redundant Labor will fully cover the costs to resolve the benefits due to the responsibility of the enterprise for redundant workers according to Decree No. 41/2002/NĐ-CP."

3. Article 8 of the Regulation shall be amended as follows:

"Article 8: After completing the procedures specified in Item c2, Point 1, Part IV of Circular No. 11/2002/TT-BLĐTBXH dated June 12, 2002 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs guiding certain provisions of Decree No. 41/2002/NĐ-CP (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 11/2002/TT-BLĐTBXH), the enterprise prepares the dossier for the Fund for Supporting Redundant Labor to consider granting funds to the enterprise including:

- Application for payment of funds (Form No. 01, this Regulation);

- The most recent quarterly financial report before the time of establishing the labor plan and two consecutive years prior to that (the financial report must be prepared in full in accordance with current regulations) and annual social insurance wage fund reports from 2003 onwards;

- Decision approving the enterprise restructuring plan or notice of dissolution by the competent authority or bankruptcy declaration decision of the people's court (original or certified copy);

- Certificate of business registration for the first joint-stock company (certified copy);

- Minutes determining the value of the enterprise at the time of ownership transfer (if applicable);

- Labor adjustment plan approved or confirmed by the competent state agency, including Forms 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. For state-owned enterprises undergoing dissolution or bankruptcy, the labor plan includes Forms 1 and 3. These forms were issued together with Circular No. 11/2002/TT-BLĐTBXH and have been amended and supplemented by Circular No. 11/2003/TT-BLĐTBXH dated May 22, 2003 of the Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs guiding amendments and supplements to Circular No. 11/2002/TT-BLĐTBXH (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 11/2003/TT-BLĐTBXH).

- List of redundant workers and budget for payments under various policy groups as stipulated in Decree No. 41/2002/NĐ-CP, reflected in Forms 7, 8, 9, and 10 issued together with Circular No. 11/2002/TT-BLĐTBXH and have been amended and supplemented by Circular No. 11/2003/TT-BLĐTBXH.

The above Forms 7, 8, 9, and 10 must be reviewed by the competent state agency.

Form 8 specifically about the list of workers who have reached retirement age according to current regulations but are short of up to one year of social insurance contributions and the budget for social insurance contributions must be confirmed by the social insurance agency where the enterprise participates in social insurance and record the account number and opening location of the social insurance agency as the basis for disbursing funds from the Fund for Supporting Redundant Labor to the social insurance agency.

The enterprise is responsible for the accuracy and honesty in preparing the dossier. The competent state agency is responsible for the results of reviewing the dossier. In case of violations, the enterprise and the competent state agency must bear legal responsibility."

4. Article 9 of the Regulation shall be amended as follows:

"Article 9: For state-owned enterprises implementing reorganization measures, the date for determining workers' cessation of work to prepare Forms 7, 8, 9, and 10 issued together with Circular No. 11/2002/TT-BLĐTBXH and amended and supplemented by Circular No. 11/2003/TT-BLĐTBXH is the day the decision to allow redundant workers to cease work is made (the day the competent state agency approves the labor adjustment plan plus a maximum of 15 working days).

For joint-stock companies, the date for determining workers' cessation of work to prepare Forms 7 and 8 is the day the decision to allow redundant workers to cease work is made; the date for determining workers' cessation of work to prepare Forms 9 and 10 is the day the enterprise receives the business registration certificate according to the Law on Enterprises."

For state-owned enterprises that are dissolved or bankrupt, the date for determining when employees cease work to prepare forms 7, 8, 9, and 10 mentioned above is the effective date of the Dissolution Notice or the Bankruptcy Declaration Decision issued by the competent authority.

5. Article 10 of the Regulation shall be amended as follows:

"Article 10: The list of surplus labor and the budget for expenses paid under the policy for surplus labor as stipulated in Decree No. 41/2002/ND-CP shall be reflected in Forms 7, 8, 9, and 10 issued together with Circular No. 11/2002/TT-BLDTBXH and subsequently amended and supplemented by Circular No. 11/2003/TT-BLDTBXH. These must be publicly announced by the enterprise before submitting for review to ensure that surplus labor can verify the calculation of benefits and thus receive the correct entitlements."

6. Article 11 of the Regulation shall be amended as follows:

"Article 11: Within fifteen working days from the date of approval by the competent state authorities, the enterprise must submit the documents specified in Article 8 of this Regulation to the Fund for Surplus Labor Support, the competent state authorities, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, the Social Insurance Agency where the enterprise participates in social insurance, the Department of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, and retain a copy of the documents at the enterprise.

In cases where the enterprise has not yet received support funds from the Fund for Surplus Labor Support but has completed the transition leading to a change in the enterprise name and bank account number in the Application for Payment of Support Funds, the enterprise is responsible for notifying in writing the new name and account number to the Fund for Surplus Labor Support."

7. Article 14 of the Regulation shall be amended as follows:

"Article 14: After receiving funds from the Fund for Surplus Labor Support, the enterprise must immediately proceed to pay allowances to surplus labor as prescribed in Point 8 of Circular No. 11/2003/TT-BLDTBXH.

When paying allowances to employees, the enterprise must issue payment vouchers (Form 02- TT issued together with Decision No. 1141/TC/QD-CĐKT dated November 1, 1995 of the Ministry of Finance); and compile a list of employees receiving allowances (Form 2, Regulation).

Employees, estate managers, or authorized representatives according to the Civil Code have the responsibility to sign and confirm receipt of allowance payments on both the payment vouchers and the lists mentioned above.

The competent state authorities are responsible for supervising and inspecting the payment of allowances to surplus labor at the enterprise; the enterprise trade union shall cooperate to supervise and inspect to ensure the rights of employees.

The enterprise must pay to the correct recipients, in the correct amounts, and bear responsibility for compensating material losses resulting from errors and omissions.

8. Article 15 of the Regulation shall be amended as follows:

"Article 15: Within fifteen working days (working days) from the date of receipt of support funds from the Fund, the enterprise must complete the payment to employees. If the enterprise fails to complete the payment within the above period, it must send a written explanation detailing the reasons for delay and the anticipated extended time frame, but not exceeding five additional working days, to the Fund for Surplus Labor Support. Beyond this period, the Fund for Surplus Labor Support will recover the amount not paid to surplus labor.

Within thirty working days (working days) from the completion of payment to employees, the enterprise must submit a final report on the expenditure of funds to the Fund for Surplus Labor Support, which has been reviewed and confirmed by the competent state authorities. The report includes the following documents:

- List of employees receiving allowances (Form 02, this Regulation), original with confirmation from the competent state authorities;

- Summary table of fund usage from the Fund for Surplus Labor Support, detailed according to each type of support listed in the support notice from the Fund for Surplus Labor Support, excess amounts, and reasons (Form 03, this Regulation), with confirmation from the competent state authorities;

- Report on the results of labor restructuring as stipulated in Subpoint e, Point 1, Part IV of Circular No. 11/2002/TT-BLDTBXH.

The enterprise is responsible for the accuracy and honesty of the final report; the competent state authorities are responsible for urging enterprises receiving allowances to submit the final report and are accountable for the results of confirming the final report.

Beyond the above deadline, if the enterprise does not submit the final report on expenditures to the Fund for Surplus Labor Support, the enterprise director and related individuals will be penalized as provided for late submission of financial reports under Clause 1, Article 8 of Government Decree No. 49/1999/ND-CP dated July 8, 1999 regarding administrative penalties in accounting.

9. Article 16 of the Regulation shall be amended as follows:

"Article 16: For any excess funds allocated from the Fund for Surplus Labor Support to the enterprise upon settlement, within five working days from the date of submission of the final report to the Fund for Surplus Labor Support, the enterprise must deposit the amount into the Fund's account opened at the Central Treasury. Within six months, if surplus labor who were included in the approved list of surplus labor by the competent state authorities but have not yet received allowances contact the Fund for Surplus Labor Support, they will be considered for payment of allowances based on the approved documentation; beyond this period, the Fund for Surplus Labor Support will not process such requests.

10. Article 17 of the Regulation shall be amended as follows:

"Article 17: Within ten working days (working days) from the date of receipt of the list of employees eligible for retirement according to current regulations but lacking up to one year of social insurance contributions and the budget for social insurance contributions (Form 08, Circular No. 11/2002/TT-BLDTBXH and subsequently amended and supplemented by Circular No. 11/2003/TT-BLDTBXH) in the enterprise's documents as stipulated in Point 2 of this Decision, the Fund for Surplus Labor Support shall examine and determine the amount of funds to be allocated to the social insurance agency and issue a decision approving the allocation of funds from the Fund for Surplus Labor Support to the social insurance agency."

This Decision shall be sent to the social insurance agency, enterprises, competent state agencies, Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Central State Treasury, and a copy shall be kept in the enterprise file of the Redundant Labor Support Fund.

In case the dossier does not meet the requirements stipulated or contains errors in calculation data, within the aforementioned ten working days, the Redundant Labor Support Fund shall notify the enterprise, competent state agencies, and the social insurance agency in writing to complete it.

11. Article 28 of the Regulation is amended as follows:

"Article 28: Enterprises, social insurance agencies, vocational training establishments receiving funds from the Redundant Labor Support Fund shall be responsible for storing books, vouchers, and relevant documents concerning the use of funds in accordance with current regulations to serve the inspection and supervision work of the Redundant Labor Support Fund and related agencies.

In case of violation of storage regulations, the heads of these units and those involved will be subject to administrative penalties as prescribed in Article 12 of Decree No. 49/1999/NĐ-CP dated July 8, 1999 of the Government on administrative penalties in the field of accounting.

12. Clause 1 of Article 31 of the Regulation is amended as follows:

"1. The Department of Enterprise Finance shall be responsible for:

- Preparing the plan for the Redundant Labor Support Fund and reporting it to the Minister of Finance for submission to the Prime Minister.

- Receiving and examining dossiers submitted by enterprises and vocational training establishments, and issuing decisions to approve funding from the Redundant Labor Support Fund for enterprises, social insurance agencies, and vocational training establishments in accordance with the deadlines set out in this regulation.

- Notifying enterprises, social insurance agencies, and vocational training establishments in writing to complete their dossiers if they do not meet the requirements stipulated in this regulation.

- Inspecting and settling the amount of funding provided to enterprises, social insurance agencies, and vocational training establishments.

- Based on settlement reports of the funding provided to enterprises, monitoring and directly disbursing support payments to redundant workers as prescribed in Point 9, Article 1 of this Decision.

- Implementing bookkeeping and accounting systems and reporting on the Redundant Labor Support Fund in accordance with this regulation."

Article 2: This Decision shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette and shall apply from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2005. This Decision shall not apply to dossiers that have already received funding before its effective date.

Ministers of Ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, government agencies, Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities, Chairmen of Management Councils of State-owned Joint Stock Corporations 91, units under the financial system, the State Treasury, and organizations and individuals concerned shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.