Circular No. 131/2018/TT-BTC Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of Circular No. 145/2013/TT-BTC dated October 21, 2013 of the Minister of Finance guiding the national reserve plan and state budget expenditure for national reserves

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain articles of Circular No. 145/2013/TT-BTC dated October 21, 2013 of the Minister of Finance guiding the national reserve plan and state budget allocated for the national reserve

On the basis of National Reserve Law dated November 20, 2012;

On the basis of State Budget Law June 18, 2014;

On the basis of Article 1. This Decree regulates the use of state assets to pay investors when implementing construction projects under the Build-Transfer Contract form (hereinafter referred to as BT Project) in accordance with the provisions of the law. June 25, 2015;

Decree No. Decision No. 94/2013/NĐ-CP dated August 21, 2013 of the Government detailing implementation; National Reserve Law and Decree No. Decision No. 128/2015/NĐ-CP dated December 15, 2015 of the Government amending and supplementing the detailed list of goods for national reserves and assigning agencies to manage national reserve goods issued pursuant to the Government's Decision Decision No. 94/2013/NĐ-CP dated August 21, 2013;

Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding implementation the State Budget Law;

Decree No. 87/2017/NĐ-CP 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 General of the State Treasury Administration;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 145/2013/TT-BTC dated October 21, 2013 of the Minister of Finance guiding the national reserve plan and state budget allocated for the national reserve (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 145/2013/TT-BTC).

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain articles of Circular No. 145/2013/TT-BTC

1. Clause 1 of Article 6 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Annually, based on the Prime Minister's decision regarding the allocation and budget estimate of the state budget for the national reserve, the heads of ministries and sectors managing national reserve goods allocate and assign the state budget plan and estimate for the national reserve to the national reserve units under their jurisdiction, ensuring within the allocated budget estimate and detailed according to each approved item category; at the same time, they send the Ministry of Finance (State Reserve Administration) for inspection and monitoring. Within ten working days from the date of receipt of the allocation document from the head of the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods, the Ministry of Finance (State Reserve Administration) has the responsibility to inspect and request the head of the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods to adjust the allocation that does not comply with the item categories, total amount, current policies and regulations stipulated by law, and does not comply with the detailed contents of the national reserve budget assigned."

2. Clause 1 of Article 7 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Along with the five-year national reserve planning period, ministries and sectors managing national reserve goods establish a five-year financial plan for funding the national reserve; annually, along with the national reserve planning process, ministries and sectors managing national reserve goods establish the next year's state budget estimate for the national reserve.

The five-year financial plan and annual state budget estimate for the national reserve are established in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents, including:

a) State budget for purchasing national reserve goods.

b) State budget for national reserve operations including: expenses for import, export, relief, aid, storage, protection, insurance of national reserve goods; research and application of scientific and technological progress for storage by ministries and sectors managing national reserve goods and other expenses serving the storage work of national reserve goods.

The state budget for purchasing national reserve goods and national reserve operations mentioned in Points a and b of this Clause are consolidated and sent to the Ministry of Finance (State Reserve Administration) to take the lead in consolidating the state budget estimate and central government budget allocation plan in the five-year national financial plan and annually according to the provisions of the State Budget Law.

c) State budget for basic construction investment is sent to the Ministry of Planning and Investment to take the lead in consolidating in the medium-term public investment plan and annual development investment budget according to the Public Investment Law and State Budget Law.

d) State budget for the operation of the national reserve management machinery and training and capacity building for officials, civil servants, and employees engaged in national reserve work, and scientific research expenses are consolidated in the annual state budget estimate of ministries and sectors according to the State Budget Law."

3. Amending and supplementing Clause 2, Clause 3, and adding Clause 4 of Article 8 as follows:

"2. In cases where goods are not purchased immediately, within thirty days after the end of the sale period, units under ministries and sectors managing national reserve goods and the State Reserve Administration assigned the task of selling national reserve goods must deposit the proceeds from the sale of national reserve goods into the national reserve capital account managed by the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods, or the national reserve capital account at the State Treasury managed by the Ministry of Finance (State Reserve Administration) (for units directly under the State Reserve Administration).

When there is a need to use the deposited proceeds from the sale to purchase national reserve goods, the units propose to the head of the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods, or the Director of the State Reserve Administration (for units directly under the State Reserve Administration) to provide funds for purchasing goods in accordance with the relevant regulations.

3. In cases where the proceeds from the sale of national reserve goods are not used for purchasing national reserve goods, ministries and sectors managing national reserve goods and the State Reserve Administration must submit them to the state budget within thirty days from the end of the sale period, and report to the Ministry of Finance (State Reserve Administration) about the amount submitted to the state budget for consolidation and reporting according to regulations.

4. For the proceeds from sales deposited into the national reserve capital account that have not been fully utilized in the year, no later than February 5 of the following year, ministries and sectors managing national reserve goods and the State Reserve Administration have the responsibility to reconcile the balance of deposits with the State Treasury and submit a document along with supporting files to the State Reserve Administration for review; no later than February 10 of the following year, the State Reserve Administration will issue a document to the State Treasury to notify ministries and sectors managing national reserve goods and the State Reserve Administration of the balance of deposits to be carried over to the following year for continued purchase of national reserve goods or submission to the state budget in accordance with the relevant regulations; and send it to the State Reserve Administration for monitoring."

4. Clause 2, Clause 3, and Clause 5 of Article 9 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"2. Capital for purchasing national reserve goods

a) Implement disbursements through payment orders: Based on the proposal of the head of the ministry or sector managing state reserve goods or the proposal of the Director General of the State Reserve Agency (for state reserve goods directly managed by the State Reserve Agency) along with the funding documentation attached; within five working days from the date of receiving the funding request documentation, the State Reserve Agency will review the documentation and procedures to ensure they meet the conditions for disbursement as stipulated and issue a notice approving the budget estimate to send to the State Budget Department (Ministry of Finance) to provide funding according to the payment terms specified in the contract for purchasing state reserve goods for organizations, enterprises, and state reserve units. In cases where the import contract for state reserve goods requires a guarantee deposit to open a letter of credit (L/C) for payment, funding for purchases shall be provided at the level of the guarantee deposit into the guarantee account of the importing unit at the bank to make payments according to the terms specified in the import contract.

b) Funding documentation as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article.

3. Funding documentation in the form of payment orders includes:

a) The budget estimate for purchasing state reserve goods assigned by the competent authority.

b) Decision of the Minister of Finance on the maximum purchase price for state reserve goods or a document from the Ministry of Finance on the principles for determining the purchase price for state reserve goods managed by the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Public Security.

c) Pricing decision for purchasing state reserve goods by ministries and sectors managing state reserve goods (if applicable).

d) Decision assigning the task of implementing the purchase plan by the head of the ministry or sector managing state reserve goods and one of the following decisions: Decision approving the tender selection results; decision approving the direct award results; decision approving the competitive bidding results; decision approving the direct procurement results; decision to purchase from all entities assigned by the competent authority.

đ) Contract for purchasing state reserve goods (if applicable).

e) Request for funding document from the head of the ministry or sector managing state reserve goods, or from the Director General of the State Reserve Agency (for state reserve goods directly managed by the State Reserve Agency), or from the authorized agency or unit.

5. Funding for purchasing state reserve goods is provided within the fiscal year. If the budget estimate for purchasing state reserve goods has not been implemented or fully disbursed by the time of finalizing the state budget settlement, the ministries and sectors managing state reserve goods, the State Reserve Agency must submit a document requesting to transfer the remaining budget estimate to the State Reserve Agency no later than February 5 of the following year. No later than February 10 of the following year, the State Reserve Agency will send a document to the State Treasury for the State Treasury to reconcile and confirm the remaining budget estimate and notify the remaining budget estimate transferred to the ministries and sectors managing state reserve goods, the State Reserve Agency; simultaneously sending it back to the State Reserve Agency for monitoring.

5. Point a Clause 2 Article 10 is amended and supplemented as follows:

“a) For expenditures made through the withdrawal of budget estimates: The disbursement process, documentation, procedures, accounting entries, and expenditure control shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law on State Budget and guiding documents”.

6. Article 13 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. For goods that have economic and technical standards for national reserve items: The content and level of expenditure shall be implemented according to the current economic and technical standards for national reserve items.

2. For goods that do not have economic and technical standards: The content and level of expenditure for importing and exporting national reserve items at the warehouse gate (receiving on the seller's means of transport, exporting onto the buyer's means of transport):

a) Expenditure items at the General Department of State Reserves, regional State Reserve Bureaus, and units entrusted with managing national reserve items under the management of relevant ministries and sectors, including:

Propaganda, advertising, communication, posting notices, training, guidance; inspection of import and export work at subordinate units; cost of quality assessment; investment costs for material infrastructure; regular maintenance costs for warehouses; repair costs for assets, equipment, and facilities serving import and export work; night shift, overtime meal expenses; printing materials, office supplies; meetings for direction, implementation conferences, mid-term reviews, final summaries, and other related costs.

b) Expenditure items at the unit organizing and implementing, including: Costs as specified in Point a of this Clause and costs for hiring organizations with appraisal functions; inspecting and testing national reserve items; repairing and testing measuring instruments; repairing, purchasing assets, tools, and packaging materials serving import and export (if applicable); weighing, measuring, pouring, bagging, packaging, unloading; installation and trial run costs for machinery at the site, costs for hiring loading and unloading equipment (if applicable); loading and unloading national reserve items from transportation means into the warehouse or from the warehouse onto transportation means; security and protection work; temporary shelter for receiving and delivering goods and other related costs.

c) For organizations and enterprises hired by ministries and sectors managing national reserve items to store national reserve items outside the costs mentioned in Points a and b of this Clause, additional labor costs include: Warehouse keeper wages, security personnel wages, contributions based on wages, payments to workers (if applicable).

Level of expenditure

For expenditures stipulated in this Article that are already included in the state regulations, they shall be implemented according to the current regulations;

For expenditures not included in the state regulations, they shall be implemented according to specific fees set by the head of the ministry or sector managing national reserve items, the Director-General of the General Department of State Reserves, ensuring that the fee does not exceed the maximum fee determined by the Minister of Finance.

3. Allocation of funds: To be carried out according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 10 of this Circular.

4. Documents for fund allocation in the form of payment orders include:

a) Budget for funding the import and export of national reserve items assigned by the competent authority;

b) Decision of the head of the ministry or sector managing national reserve items assigning import and export tasks for national reserve items to subordinate units;

c) Decision on the import and export fee levels assigned by ministries and sectors to subordinate units (if applicable);

d) Request for fund allocation from the ministry or sector managing national reserve items, or from the Director-General of the General Department of State Reserves (for national reserve items directly managed by the General Department of State Reserves), or from authorized agencies or units, specifying the quantity of imported and exported national reserve items."

7. Point a of Clause 1, Article 14 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"a) Export costs for national reserve items at the warehouse gate as prescribed in Article 13 of this Circular."

8. Article 15 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"1. Storage costs classified according to the time of implementation include: Initial storage costs; regular storage costs; periodic storage costs and other non-regular storage costs.

2. The content and level of expenditure for items with existing economic and technical standards for national reserve goods: Shall be implemented in accordance with the current economic and technical standards for national reserve goods.

3. The content and level of expenditure for items without existing economic and technical standards, including:

a) Expenditure items at the General Department of State Reserves, regional State Reserve Bureaus, and units entrusted with managing national reserve items under the management of relevant ministries and sectors, including:

Guidance, training, inspection, and testing costs for storage work at subordinate units; investment costs for material infrastructure; purchasing and repairing tools and equipment for storage work; mid-shift meals; printing materials; management quota costs and other related costs.

b) The content of expenses at the unit organizing and implementing, including:

In addition to the costs under Point a of this Clause, there shall also be included additional costs serving storage work, including: Material costs for storage purposes: electricity, water, office supplies, labor protection, storm-proof tarpaulins, fire prevention and extinguishing; loading and unloading, fumigation, packaging, lowering of cargo, costs for hiring loading and unloading equipment, hazardous job allowances; environmental handling costs and other related costs.

c) For organizations and enterprises managing national reserve goods that are hired by ministries and sectors to store national reserve goods, in addition to the costs mentioned in Points a and b of this Clause, the expenditure content shall also include other costs such as: Warehouse keeper salaries, security personnel salaries, contributions based on salary, payments to workers, depreciation costs of assets; land rental costs (if any) for storage purposes.

d) Level of expenditure:

For expenditures stipulated in this Article that are already included in the state regulations, they shall be implemented according to the current regulations;

For expenditures not included in the state regulations, they shall be implemented according to specific fees set by the head of the ministry or sector managing national reserve items, the Director-General of the General Department of State Reserves, ensuring that the fee does not exceed the maximum fee determined by the Minister of Finance.

4. Allocation of funds: To be carried out in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 10 of this Circular.

5. Documents for fund allocation in the form of payment orders include:

a) A request for fund allocation from the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods, or from the Director General of the State Treasury Corporation (for national reserve goods directly managed by the State Treasury Corporation), or from the authorized agency or unit (accompanied by a report on the import, export, and inventory of national reserve goods stored during the period);

b) Decision on the allocation of storage fees from the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods to subordinate units (if applicable);

c) Contract for storing national reserve goods (if applicable)."

Article 2. Responsibility for Implementation

1. Agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in the development and implementation of the national reserve plan and the state budget for national reserves have the responsibility to implement this Circular.

2. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, agencies, organizations, and individuals are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Finance (State Treasury Corporation) for research and supplementary guidance.

Article 3. Effectiveness

This Circular takes effect from February 12, 2019.