Circular No. 129/2013/TT-BTC on the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular regulating the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds supported by the State budget for organizations assigned or authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to perform tasks of selecting, introducing, and managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam.

Pursuant to 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 Decree No. 26/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 5, 2008 of the Government on the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work;

At the proposal of the Director of the Administrative and Public Service Financial Department;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular guiding the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Circular stipulates the management, use, and settlement of accounts for funds guaranteed by the state budget for international treaty work and international agreement work as prescribed in Decree No. 26/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 5, 2008 of the Government on the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work.

2. This Circular applies to ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, other central agencies, provincial-level agencies, and central agencies of organizations funded by the state budget to carry out international treaty work and international agreement work.

Article 2. Implementation Funding

1. Funds for international treaty work and international agreement work under the responsibility of which level shall be guaranteed by that level's budget and allocated in the regular operating budget of agencies assigned to perform such tasks of international treaty work and international agreement work; specifically:

a) The central budget guarantees funds for international treaty work and international agreement work carried out by ministries and central agencies;

- Funds guaranteeing international treaty work and international agreement work performed by ministries and central agencies;

- Funds guaranteeing international treaty work and international agreement work delegated by the State and the Government to provincial agencies to perform;

b) The provincial budget guarantees funds for international cooperation agreement work of provincial agencies aimed at implementing international cooperation within their functions, duties, and authorities.

2. In cases where international treaty work and international agreement work are financed from official development assistance (ODA) sources, foreign non-governmental organization aid, and other organizations and individuals abroad, the receipt, management, and use of such funding shall be implemented according to the provisions of Decree No. 38/2013/NĐ-CP dated April 23, 2013 of the Government on the management and use of official development assistance (ODA) and preferential loan capital from sponsors, Decree No. 93/2009/NĐ-CP dated October 22, 2009 of the Government on the regulations for managing and using foreign non-governmental organization aid, and related guiding documents.

3. In cases where international agreement work of central agencies and organizations for implementing other forms of international cooperation not covered by Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, the funds for signing and implementing such international agreements shall be guaranteed from the financial resources of those central agencies and organizations.

4. The agency entrusted with the main responsibility for carrying out international treaty work and international agreement work shall be responsible for using the allocated funds for their intended purposes, in accordance with current financial expenditure regulations and the provisions of this Circular.

Article 3. Activities and contents of expenditures for international treaty work and international agreement work

1. The activities of international treaty work and international agreement work include:

a) Drafting project proposals.

b) Studying and drafting long-term and annual plans on signing, joining, and implementing international treaties and international agreements.

c) Investigating, surveying, researching, evaluating, and summarizing practical experiences during the process of proposing to draft, negotiate, sign, and join international treaties and international agreements.

d) Drafting international treaties and international agreements.

đ) Assessing the impact of international treaties and international agreements.

e) Organizing public consultations on draft international treaties, and soliciting opinions from affected parties regarding international trade agreements.

g) Providing comments and reviewing draft international agreements and international treaties.

h) Reviewing, approving, and ratifying international treaties.

i) Reviewing and systematizing international treaties and international agreements directly serving international treaty work and international agreement work.

k) Publishing international treaties and international agreements.

l) Translating international treaties and international agreements into foreign languages or from foreign languages into Vietnamese.

m) Monitoring and assessing the implementation of international treaties and international agreements.

2. Based on the nature and complexity of each international treaty and international agreement, the agency or unit assigned the main responsibility shall implement expenditures according to the following contents:

a) Contents of expenditures for international treaty work:

Implementing according to the expenditure contents already stipulated in Article 4, Chapter II of Decree No. 26/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 5, 2008, of the Government on managing and using state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work. Specific expenditure contents are as follows:

- Expenditures for project proposal and plan development work related to negotiating, signing, approving, and joining international treaties: organizing translation of international treaties; conducting practical surveys; reporting on the compatibility of international treaties with fundamental principles of international law; reviewing and evaluating international treaties in the same field and their compatibility with domestic laws; organizing meetings to solicit opinions on draft international treaties; purchasing and collecting materials; organizing specialized seminars and meetings to solicit opinions or review projects and plans on negotiating, signing, and joining international treaties when such treaties have complex content and wide-ranging applicability;

- Expenditures for checking negotiation proposals, signing, and joining international treaties; reviewing international treaties and other activities serving negotiation proposals, signing, and joining international treaties:

+ Purchasing and collecting materials; organizing meetings and compiling reports on checking negotiation proposals, signing, and joining international treaties, and reports on reviewing international treaties;

+ Expenditures for other activities serving negotiation proposals, signing, and joining international treaties: studying and drafting negotiation proposals, signing, and joining international treaties; developing long-term and annual plans for negotiating, signing, joining, and implementing international treaties; developing negotiation strategies for international treaties; drafting detailed outlines for draft international treaties, drafting international treaties, providing comments on international treaties, providing comments on the approval and ratification of international treaties; research and development work for specialized reports; expenditures for preparing report outlines; expenditures for international treaty review boards and consulting reviews of international treaties (if applicable); legal advisory fees for international treaties, loan agreements, and government guarantee agreements;

- Expenditures for organizing negotiations, signing, approving, reviewing, and ratifying international treaties including: organizing negotiation delegations, welcoming foreign negotiation delegations; organizing negotiations and signing international treaties within or outside the country; organizing review meetings and compiling review reports on international treaties; and other necessary expenditures directly serving the review, approval, ratification, or joining of international treaties;

- Expenditures for monitoring, supervising, and summarizing the implementation of international treaties: drafting, translating, and national reports on implementing international treaties; compiling reports and organizing meetings to evaluate, monitor, and summarize the implementation of international treaties;

- Expenditures for organizing the implementation of international treaties:

+ Organizing meetings to solicit opinions and approve plans and projects for implementing international treaties; organizing implementation plans for international treaties; comparing international treaties with domestic laws; organizing dialogues and conferences in Vietnam or attending conferences abroad on the implementation of international treaties and other necessary expenditures directly serving the implementation of international treaties that Vietnam is a member of; archiving, photocopying international treaties; publishing international treaties in the Official Gazette and Yearbook of International Treaties; promoting and disseminating international treaties; purchasing and collecting materials directly serving the implementation of international treaties; translating international treaties and materials directly serving the implementation of international treaties; financial contributions or annual payments to international organizations established under international treaties that Vietnam is a member of;

+ Other necessary expenditures directly serving the implementation of international treaties that Vietnam is a member of: expenditures for publishing international treaties and international agreements; statistics on international treaties.

b) Contents of expenditures for international agreement work:

Implementing according to the expenditure contents already stipulated in Article 5, Chapter II of Decree No. 26/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 5, 2008, of the Government on managing and using state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work. Specific expenditure contents are as follows:

- Preparation work for negotiating and signing international agreements:

+ Translating international agreements; organizing meetings to solicit opinions on draft international agreements; documents containing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' opinions on proposals to sign international agreements;

+ Necessary expenses directly serving the preparation for international negotiations and signing agreements: Studying and proposing international negotiation and signing plans; developing long-term and annual programs on international negotiation, signing, and implementation; formulating negotiation strategies; preparing detailed budgets for draft international agreements, drafting international agreements, providing comments on international agreements; research work to build specialized reports.

- Organization and negotiation activities for international agreements: Organizing negotiation delegations, welcoming foreign negotiation delegations; organizing international negotiations and signing agreements within the country or abroad;

- Supervision, inspection, and summary work on the signing and implementation of international agreements: Expenses for supervising and inspecting the signing and implementation of international agreements; compiling reports, organizing meetings to evaluate inspection and supervision reports, summarizing the situation of signing and implementing international agreements;

- Implementation organization work for international agreements: Archiving, copying, publishing, and disseminating international agreements; organizing the implementation plan for international agreements; financial contributions according to international agreements; organizing meetings within the country or abroad regarding the implementation of international agreements and other necessary expenses directly serving the implementation of international agreements.

Article 4. Levels of expenditure

1. Expenses for organizing domestic conferences, travel allowances for staff traveling domestically; travel allowances for staff traveling abroad; night shift and overtime expenses: Implemented according to current regulations.

2. Expenses for reviewing domestic documents and reviewing, statistics of international treaties and agreements in the same field directly serving the construction of international treaties and agreements: Implemented according to the current regulations of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice on managing and using funds for inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal normative documents.

3. For research and construction of negotiation plans serving the proposal for international treaty negotiations, construction of specialized reports; report on assessing constitutional compliance and compatibility of international treaties with Vietnamese laws; report on evaluating the applicability of international treaties in Vietnam and recommending measures to amend, supplement, abolish, or issue new legal normative documents to implement international treaties and agreements; report on assessing the compatibility of international treaties with basic principles of international law; report on reviewing international treaties in the same field and assessing the compatibility of international treaties: Implemented according to the current regulations of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding standard rates and budget allocation for scientific and technological projects funded by state budget corresponding to the level 1 special topic expenditure.

For international treaties related to multiple ministries, sectors, and fields, the research and construction of negotiation plans serving the proposal for international treaty negotiations for each ministry, sector, and field shall be funded at the level of level 1 research expenditure in the social sciences and humanities field according to the current regulations of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding standard rates and budget allocation for scientific projects funded by state budget.

4. Translation expenses (including translation work in reviewing and comparing Vietnamese versions of international treaties with foreign language versions of international treaties); expenses for welcoming foreign delegations to work in Vietnam: Implemented according to the current regulations of the Ministry of Finance on reception expenses for foreign guests working in Vietnam, expenses for organizing international conferences and seminars in Vietnam, and domestic reception expenses.

5. Expenses: Expenses for publishing international treaties in the International Treaty Yearbook; expenses for building international treaty databases; photocopying, printing document costs; acquisition costs; office supply purchase costs directly serving the drafting of international treaties and agreement work: Implemented based on actual expense receipts, contracts from supplying units, for material acquisition there must be valid receipts (supplier's signed receipt), these expense items must be approved by authorized authorities before implementation.

If printing and purchasing office supplies require bidding, it shall be carried out according to current regulations.

6. Expenses for promoting and disseminating international treaties and agreements: Implemented according to current regulations on legal education and promotion.

7. For financial contribution expenses under international treaties and agreements, the financial contribution levels are implemented as follows:

a) Financial contribution levels under international treaties (including financial contributions, annual fees to international organizations established under international treaties, aid to foreign governments, or other financial contributions under international treaties): Implemented based on the provisions of the international treaty and relevant international organizations of which Vietnam is a member; in cases where there is a change in the financial contribution level compared to the provisions of the international treaty, the agency responsible for implementing the international treaty shall seek opinions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and submit to the Prime Minister for decision as the basis for contribution.

b) Financial contribution levels under international agreements (including financial contributions, annual fees to international organizations established under international agreements, or other financial contributions under international agreements): Implemented based on the provisions of the relevant international agreement currently in effect; in cases where there is a change in the financial contribution level, the agency responsible for implementing the international agreement shall seek opinions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and submit to the agency that decided on the signing of the international agreement for approval of the financial contribution level under the international agreement.

8. Certain special regimes and expenditure levels for serving international treaty work and international agreement work:

a) Expenditure on drafting detailed outlines:

- For new international treaties: The maximum expenditure shall not exceed 3,000,000 VND per outline;

- For amended and supplemented international treaties; new international agreements: The maximum expenditure shall not exceed 2,500,000 VND per outline;

- For amended and supplemented international agreements: The maximum expenditure shall not exceed 2,000,000 VND per outline.

b) Expenditure on drafting international treaties and international agreement work:

- Drafting new draft international treaties: The maximum expenditure shall be 8,000,000 VND per draft document;

- Drafting draft international treaties for amendment and supplementation; draft international agreements: The maximum expenditure shall be 5,000,000 VND per draft document.

c) Expenditure for individuals participating in meetings to seek opinions on draft international treaties and international agreements; seminars on negotiation plans, signing, ratification, approval, accession to international treaties and international agreements; expenditure for international treaty review boards, consulting on international treaty reviews (if applicable):

- Host of the meeting: 150,000 VND per person per session;

- Participants: 100,000 VND per person per session;

- Seeking written comments from participants: The maximum expenditure shall be 500,000 VND per written comment.

d) Expenditure for consolidated reports on opinions; explanatory reports on adopting opinions; reports on reviewing international treaties; reports on checking negotiation proposals for signing international treaties; documents with opinions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on proposals to sign international agreements: The maximum expenditure shall be 1,000,000 VND per report/document.

đ) Expenditure for reports on observations, evaluations by critics, members of the review board; reports on presentations according to orders from the main drafting units:

- For new draft international treaties, international agreements or replacements: The maximum expenditure shall be 1,000,000 VND per report;

- For draft international treaties, international agreements for amendment and supplementation of some articles: The maximum expenditure shall be 700,000 VND per report.

e) Reports on monitoring the implementation of international treaties and international agreements:

- Monitoring reports on the implementation of international treaties and international agreements submitted to the Prime Minister, Government, State President; reports on domestication of provisions of international treaties to implement international commitments carried out by the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The maximum expenditure shall be 8,000,000 VND per report;

- Annual monitoring reports on the implementation of international treaties and international agreements by Ministries and sectors: The maximum expenditure shall be 5,000,000 VND per report;

- Special topic or ad hoc monitoring reports on the implementation of international treaties and international agreements: The maximum expenditure shall be 3,000,000 VND per report.

g) Expenditure for drafting opinion documents, reports on reviewing and examining documents:

- Opinion documents:

+ For draft international treaties: The maximum expenditure shall be 1,000,000 VND per document;

+ For draft international treaties for amendment and supplementation; international agreements: The maximum expenditure shall be 500,000 VND per document;

- Review reports, examination reports:

+ For new draft international treaties or replacements: The maximum expenditure shall be 1,500,000 VND per report;

+ For draft international treaties for amendment and supplementation; international agreements: The maximum expenditure shall be 1,000,000 VND.

h) Expenditure for finalizing and perfecting research outlines, explanatory notes, submission papers: The maximum expenditure shall be 500,000 VND per correction.

i) Expenditure for finalizing draft international treaties and international agreements: 600,000 VND per correction.

k) Expenditure for providing legal opinions on international treaties, loan agreements, government guarantee agreements: The maximum expenditure shall be 4,000,000 VND per legal opinion (including all costs related to providing legal opinions such as drafting, meetings, translating documents, expert opinions, and other services supporting the provision of legal opinions).

l) Expenditure for seeking independent expert opinions: In cases where negotiations, signing, or joining international treaties, reviewing international treaties, proposals, draft programs for drafting international treaties, international agreements, submission papers, draft international treaties, international agreements, and related reports require the advice and critique of independent experts due to their complex specialized fields, the maximum expenditure shall be 1,000,000 VND per opinion document.

m) Expenditure for compensating direct participants in negotiation days and meetings with counterparts regarding international treaties and international agreements organized within the country; expenditure for compensating the review of documents for international treaty signing ceremonies and international agreement signing ceremonies during visits to Vietnam by foreign senior leaders: 150,000 VND per person per session.

n) Other incidental expenses directly serving international treaty work and international agreement work: Payment based on invoices and valid expense receipts in accordance with the Accounting Law and within the budget allocation range assigned to the agency responsible for implementing international treaty work and international agreement work.

For international treaties involving multiple Ministries, sectors, and different fields, the implementation of the above tasks for each Ministry, sector, and field shall be funded according to the expenditure standards from point a to point n of Clause 8 of this Article.

Article 5. Establishment and allocation of budget estimates, management and settlement of funds for international treaty work and international agreement work

The preparation, management, allocation, payment, and settlement of funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work shall be carried out in accordance with guiding documents for the implementation of the State Budget Law and the following regulations:

1. Preparation of budgets and allocation of funds:

a) Establishment of budget estimates:

- For Ministries and central agencies: Annually, agencies and units tasked with carrying out international treaty work and international agreement work shall base their budget preparation for ensuring these works on the expenditure content and levels specified in this Circular and related documents, and submit them to their superior supervisory agencies. The supervisory agencies will consolidate the budget for ensuring international treaty work and international agreement work of subordinate agencies and units, send it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government Office, and the National Assembly Office for consolidation and tracking; at the same time, they will aggregate it into the annual regular budget of the Ministry, equivalent ministry, or government agency and submit it to the Ministry of Finance in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

- For localities: Annually, based on the tasks of international agreement work within the scope of functions, duties, and powers of provincial-level agencies, such agencies prepare the budget estimate to ensure funds for international agreement work from the local budget, which is consolidated into the agency's budget and submitted to the Provincial Department of Finance for consolidation into the local expenditure budget to be reported to the People's Council at the provincial level for approval according to the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

Specifically, for tasks assigned by the State and Government to implement international treaty work and international agreement work (funded by the central budget), provincial-level agencies prepare the budget estimate to ensure funds for international treaty work and international agreement work, submit it to the Provincial Department of Finance for consolidation into the local budget (the supplementary budget with specific targets from the central budget for the local budget) to be sent to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation into the annual state budget for approval by the competent authority according to the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents; simultaneously send to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the Government, and the Office of the National Assembly for monitoring and consolidation.

b) Allocation of budget estimates, execution of the budget:

- After the budget has been approved by the competent authority, the Ministry of Finance implements the allocation of the budget to ministries, sectors, and central agencies in the annual regular expenditure budget and provides funding to localities through targeted supplements to carry out international treaty work and international agreement work according to the approved plan.

- Ministries, sectors, and localities implement the allocation of funds to subordinate agencies and units to carry out international treaty work and international agreement work (after receiving the review opinion of the same-level financial agency) according to the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents; simultaneously send to the financial agency and the State Treasury where the unit has its transaction account for coordination in implementation.

c) In cases where urgent activities of signing, joining, implementing international treaties, or signing, implementing international agreements need to be carried out according to the decision of the competent authority but these activities are not included in the international treaty work plan and international agreement work plan, the agency responsible for leading the implementation of international treaty work and international agreement work prepares a detailed budget estimate and submits it to the financial agency for consideration and submission to the competent authority for approval to advance the budget estimate for the next year's budget; simultaneously consolidate the approved content into the next year's budget estimate.

2. Use and settlement of funds:

a) The funds for international treaty work and international agreement work are used and settled according to the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

b) The funds for implementing international treaty work and international agreement work are recorded in the portion of the budget allocated without self-management and according to chapters, types, clauses, items of the state budget classification as currently prescribed.

Article 6. Implementation Organization

1. The levels of expenditure stipulated in this Circular are the maximum levels; based on the budget capacity and the complexity of each draft international treaty and draft international agreement, the Minister, Head of a ministry equivalent to a ministry, or a government agency shall specify the specific expenditure levels applicable to subordinate agencies and units; the People's Committee of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall propose to the People's Council of the province to specify the specific expenditure levels applicable to local agencies and units but they must not exceed the maximum expenditure levels stipulated in this Circular.

2. This Circular takes effect from November 10, 2013, replacing Circular No. 65/2008/TT-BTC dated July 21, 2008, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work. For the year 2013, ministries, sectors, and localities will arrange within the scope of the 2013 state budget that has been allocated for implementation.

3. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, units are requested to reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for study, amendment, and supplementation to make them appropriate.