Circular No. 126/2010/TT-BTC guiding the financial management mechanism for the National Tourism Promotion Program for the period 2009-2010.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for financial management mechanisms

National Tourism Promotion Program for the period 2009-2010

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Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;
Pursuant to the Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;
Pursuant to Decision No. 123/2008/QĐ-TTg dated September 8, 2008 of the Prime Minister on supporting the implementation of national programs on trade promotion, investment promotion, and tourism promotion;
Pursuant to Decision No. 122/2009/QĐ-TTg dated October 9, 2009 of the Prime Minister promulgating the Regulation on the development and implementation of the National Tourism Promotion Program for the period 2009-2010;
The Ministry of Finance guides the financial management mechanism for the National Tourism Promotion Program for the period 2009-2010 as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular provides guidance on the expenditure regime and financial management applicable to the National Tourism Promotion Program for the period 2009-2010 pursuant to Decision No. 122/2009/QĐ-TTg dated October 9, 2009 of the Prime Minister promulgating the Regulation on the development and implementation of the National Tourism Promotion Program for the period 2009-2010 (hereinafter referred to as the program). The main organizers of the program are organizations promoting tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and specialized tourism associations with national tourism promotion projects approved by competent authorities.

Article 2. Applicability

2. Units participating in implementing the program include enterprises and organizations operating in the tourism sector.

Article 3. Sources of funding for the program.

Funding for the program shall be contributed by units participating in the program and supported by the state budget through the main organizers from the annual budget for tourism promotion.

Article 4. General provisions on expenditure management

1. The main organizers must use state budget support funds for their intended purposes, economically, effectively in accordance with current expenditure regimes and the levels of expenditure for program contents stipulated in this Circular.

2. For expenditure items without established guidelines, based on contracts, invoices, and other relevant documents in compliance with the law, the main organizers shall be responsible for decisions on expenditures as well as the accuracy and honesty of the amounts expended and accompanying documents.

3. For expenditure items that must be tendered, the provisions of the Law on Bidding and guiding documents for the Law shall apply.

4. If participating units have registered or entered into contracts with the main organizers but unilaterally cancel their participation, they must compensate the full costs incurred by the main organizers such as air tickets, booth fees, etc.; the main organizers shall take appropriate measures to ensure recovery of these compensation payments, and the state budget will not support losses suffered by the main organizers.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 5. Contents of expenditure and level of financial support.

In accordance with Articles 8 and 9 of the Regulation on the development and implementation of the National Tourism Promotion Program for the period 2009-2010 issued together with Decision No. 122/2009/QĐ-TTg dated October 9, 2009 of the Prime Minister, specifically:

1. Support 100% of the costs according to the approved budget for the contents specified in Clauses 1, 3, 4, 6, and 7 of Article 8 of Decision No. 122/2009/QĐ-TTg dated October 9, 2009 of the Prime Minister, including:

a) Promoting and advertising Vietnam's tourism through domestic and international media; publishing publications and promotional materials for tourism promotion.

b) Organizing or participating in industry conferences, seminars, competitions, and other tourism events both domestically and internationally to promote the image of the country, people, and tourism products; raising awareness among all levels, sectors, and communities about tourism.

c) Establishing and providing a database and information system for tourism promotion.

d) Organizing training, capacity building, and workshops both domestically and internationally to enhance the skills of government officials managing tourism. The maximum duration is no more than 20 days for domestic training and no more than 15 days for overseas training.

đ) Hiring experts and organizing consultations both domestically and internationally to advise on organizing trade fairs, exhibitions, launching destination campaigns, media publicity campaigns, producing promotional videos, creating publications, establishing and implementing marketing and public relations activities.

2. Level of support for the contents specified in Clause 2 of Article 8 of Decision No. 122/2009/QĐ-TTg dated October 9, 2009 of the Prime Minister:

a) For organizing or participating in trade fairs and exhibitions; developing and expanding markets and promoting investment in tourism:

- Supporting 100% of the costs for staff of the main organizer according to the regulations governing state employees traveling abroad for short-term assignments funded by the state budget, as approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

- Supporting 50% of round-trip airfare from Vietnam to the event location for staff of participating units, with a maximum of one person per unit.

- Supporting 100% of the costs for overall decoration of the exhibition area and booth fees for organizing a joint Vietnamese tourism booth at domestic and international tourism trade fairs or market launch programs abroad.

- Supporting 100% of the costs for advertising and inviting guests to visit Vietnamese booths at international trade fairs and exhibitions.

- Supporting 50% of the costs for booth construction (based on tender prices) and 100% of the costs for advertising and promoting domestic tourism trade fairs and exhibitions.

b) Surveying and developing tourism products.

- For incoming delegations: supporting 100% of round-trip airfare, accommodation, and travel expenses during their stay in Vietnam; costs for organizing and inviting guests to trade, as approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism regarding the delegation reception plan and number of invited guests.

- For survey delegations both domestically and internationally: Supporting 100% of the costs for survey delegations both domestically and internationally according to the prescribed regulations. Among them, for tourism enterprises and organizations, the maximum support is one person per unit, as approved by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

- For survey teams within and outside the country: Support 100% of the costs for survey teams within and outside the country in accordance with prescribed regulations. Among them, for businesses and organizations operating in the tourism sector, a maximum of one person per unit will be supported according to the approval of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

3. The level of support for the content stipulated in Clause 5, Article 8 of Decision No. 122/2009/QĐ-TTg dated October 9, 2009 of the Government: Support 50% of the costs for organizing activities to develop and improve the quality of tourism products and services, including: building new tours and routes, upgrading tours and routes; supporting cultural and folk art activities at tourist areas with many visitors.

4. For other tourism promotion activities as decided by the Prime Minister, the level of support shall be determined according to the decision of the Prime Minister and the provisions set forth in this Circular.

Article 6. Budget Standards

1. Expenses for specialized conferences, seminars, and travel allowances for staff traveling domestically pursuant to the decision of the approving authority and the main implementing unit shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 23/2007/TT-BTC dated March 21, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance on travel allowances and conference regulations for administrative agencies and public service units; Circular No. 142/2009/TT-BTC dated July 14, 2009 amending and supplementing Circular No. 23/2007/TT-BTC dated March 21, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance on travel allowances and conference regulations for administrative agencies and public service units and amending and supplementing Circular No. 91/2005/TT-BTC dated October 18, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance on travel allowances for state officials and civil servants traveling abroad for short-term assignments funded by the state budget; and Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC dated July 6, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance on travel allowances and conference regulations for administrative agencies and public service units.

2. Expenses for organizing specialized tourism competitions include:

- Examination preparation expenses: Maximum not exceeding VND 500,000 per examination (each examination must have at least 10 questions).

- Examination marking and result announcement expenses: Maximum not exceeding VND 100,000 per person per day.

- Allowance for members of the organizing committee: Maximum not exceeding VND 100,000 per person per day.

- Prize expenses:

+ Team prizes: From VND 200,000 to VND 2,000,000 per prize.

+ Individual prizes: From VND 100,000 to VND 1,000,000 per prize.

Depending on the scale of the competition and the level of the prize, the head of the organizing agency or unit shall decide the specific amount of expenses for the prize.

3. Travel allowance expenses for staff of the main implementing unit sent abroad according to Circular No. 91/2005/TT-BTC dated October 18, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance on travel allowances for state officials and civil servants traveling abroad for short-term assignments funded by the state budget; and Circular No. 142/2009/TT-BTC dated July 14, 2009 amending and supplementing Circular No. 23/2007/TT-BTC dated March 21, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance on travel allowances and conference regulations for administrative agencies and public service units and amending and supplementing Circular No. 91/2005/TT-BTC dated October 18, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance on travel allowances for state officials and civil servants traveling abroad for short-term assignments funded by the state budget.

4. Expenses for organizing domestic and international training, capacity building, and training sessions shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 51/2008/TT-BTC dated June 16, 2008 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management and use of training and capacity-building funds for state officials and civil servants.

5. Expenses for establishing and providing Vietnam tourism databases and information shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 137/2007/TT-BTC dated November 28, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the expenditure standards for creating electronic information under information technology.

6. Expenses for inviting foreign guests and international delegations to Vietnam (as decided by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to implement tourism promotion activities) shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 01/2010/TT-BTC dated January 6, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance on the financial regulations for hosting foreign guests visiting Vietnam, expenses for international conferences and seminars in Vietnam, and expenses for hosting foreign guests.

7. Special nature expenses such as:

- Expenses for promoting and advertising Vietnam's tourism through domestic and international media, printing publications, books, paintings, photographs, tapes, discs, film production, advertising boards, publicity on mass media, expenses for organizing activities to develop and improve the quality of tourism products such as building tours and tourist sites, supporting cultural and folk art activities, etc., shall be based on current expenditure standards and regulations.

For contents not covered by the prescribed regulations, tendering or competitive bidding shall be conducted in accordance with Circular No. 63/2007/TT-BTC dated June 15, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of procurement tenders using state budget funds to maintain the regular operations of state agencies and Circular No. 131/2007/TT-BTC dated November 5, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing Circular No. 63/2007/TT-BTC.

In cases where designated tendering is carried out, the program director shall be responsible for the quality of work and the selection of service providers as well as the determination of payment prices based on the volume of work, contracts, invoices, etc.

- For expenses related to organizing trade exchanges domestically and internationally: the authority to decide shall be in accordance with Clause 2, Article 8 of Decision No. 122/2009/QĐ-TTg dated October 9, 2009 of the Prime Minister on the Regulations for Building and Implementing the National Tourism Promotion Program for the period 2009-2010 and must ensure the principles of thrift and efficiency.

8. For other tourism promotion activities as decided by the Prime Minister, based on the content and level of support already decided by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism or the agency entrusted by the Prime Minister to be the main program director shall coordinate with the Ministry of Finance based on the budget standards set forth in this Circular to determine appropriate expenses that meet actual requirements and comply with current financial regulations.

Article 7. Advance payment and settlement of funding

1. Advance payment of support funding.

a) On the basis of the decision approving the annual national tourism promotion program of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism and within the scope of the state budget plan announced, the program sponsor shall submit to the Ministry of Finance (Enterprise Financial Department) the detailed budget estimate that has been reviewed by the competent authority along with a letter requesting advance funding for implementing the program. The deadline for submitting the application for advance funding must be consistent with the implementation schedule of the program but no later than November 30 of the reporting year.

b) The advance funding application package includes:

- Decision approving the program by the competent authority.

- Letter requesting advance funding by the competent authority.

- Detailed budget estimate of the program that has been reviewed by the competent authority.

- Implementation progress and time frame according to the plan.

c) The maximum advance amount is 70% of the detailed budget estimate that has been reviewed by the competent authority. In special cases such as foreign service providers requiring advance payment, the advance amount may be considered appropriate to the actual situation based on the documents and evidence reviewed and guaranteed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

2. Settlement of support funding.

a) Collecting evidence: The unit implementing the program is responsible for collecting all expense vouchers in accordance with the content, time, location, and other conditions specified in the approval decision of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

b) Retaining evidence: The unit implementing the program is responsible for retaining original documents related to the items of the funding content supported by the state as stipulated by law.

c) Settlement of support funding

- Settlement of each program: Within a maximum of 30 working days after the completion of the program, the program sponsor is responsible for collecting all evidence, preparing a settlement report, and submitting it to the managing agency of the program or the higher-level managing agency for review and approval, then sending it to the Ministry of Finance for consideration of funding support.

- Annual settlement: By the end of the year, the program sponsor is responsible for compiling the annual settlement of support funding for all programs and submitting it to the higher-level managing agency and the Ministry of Finance before January 31 of the following year. In case of settlement after January 31 of the following year, the funds will be transferred to the next fiscal year but no later than March 31 of the following year.

- Based on the annual settlement decision of the program sponsor approved by the competent authority, the Ministry of Finance will proceed to provide additional support funding or request the return of excess support funding.

- The support funding according to the settlement shall not exceed the planned support funding when the program was approved.

- If the program sponsor unit delays in settling the support funding, the advance funding will be recovered, other ongoing investment promotion support will be suspended, and new programs will not be considered for support.

Article 8. Time limit for review to temporarily allocate and decide on funding support.

1. Time limit for review to temporarily allocate: Within a maximum of 10 working days from the date of receipt of the complete application package from the program implementation unit, the Ministry of Finance shall conduct a review and provide temporary funding support so that the program sponsor can implement according to the approved schedule.

2. Time limit for review and approval of funding support decision:

Within a maximum of 15 working days from the date of receipt of the settlement report from the program implementation unit and the approval decision of the competent authority, the Ministry of Finance is responsible for reviewing and issuing the decision to approve funding support for the program implementation unit.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

Article 9. This Circular takes effect from October 10, 2010. During the implementation period, if there are difficulties or obstacles, please reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for research and resolution./.