Joint Circular No. 136/2012/TTLT-BTC-BTP stipulates the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds to ensure the operation of civil enforcement agencies and Asset Management and Liquidation Teams of enterprises and cooperatives in bankruptcy.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Regulations on the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds to ensure activities for popularizing, educating about laws, standardizing access to laws, and grassroots mediation

ensure the operation of civil enforcement agencies and Management and Liquidation Teams,

liquidate assets of enterprises and cooperatives that have entered bankruptcy,

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Pursuant to the Civil Enforcement Law;

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 Decree No. 93/2008/NĐ-CP dated August 22, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

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 Decree No. 17/2010/NĐ-CP dated March 4, 2010 of the Government on auctioning assets;

Pursuant to Decree No. 58/2009/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2009 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Civil Enforcement Law on civil enforcement procedures;

Pursuant to Decree No. 67/2006/NĐ-CP dated July 11, 2006 of the Government guiding the application of the Bankruptcy Law to special enterprises and organizations, and the operation of Management and Liquidation Teams;

The Minister of Finance and the Minister of Justice jointly issue this Circular to stipulate the establishment, management, use, and settlement of funds ensuring the operation of civil enforcement agencies and funds ensuring the operation of Management and Liquidation Teams for enterprises and cooperatives that have entered bankruptcy as follows:

Article 1. General Provisions

1. This Circular guides the establishment, management, use, and settlement of funds ensuring the operation of civil enforcement agencies and Management and Liquidation Teams for enterprises and cooperatives that have entered bankruptcy (hereinafter referred to as Management and Liquidation Teams).

For funds implementing compulsory civil enforcement proceedings shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Joint Circular No. 184/2011/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated December 19, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice.

2. Sources of funds ensuring the operation of civil enforcement agencies include:

a) State budget.

b) Fees for civil enforcement collected by units and the balance of fees adjusted after payment of amounts as prescribed in Joint Circular No. 144/2010/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated September 22, 2010 guiding the collection, payment, management, and use of civil enforcement fees.

c) Advance payments from individuals who refuse to purchase assets according to Clause 3, Article 39 of Decree No. 17/2010/NĐ-CP dated March 4, 2010 of the Government on auctioning assets, after deducting auction-related expenses, to be supplemented into the operational self-financing fund of the unit.

d) Other sources of income as provided by law (if any).

3. According to Clause 8, Article 20 of Decree No. 67/2006/NĐ-CP dated July 11, 2006 of the Government guiding the application of the Bankruptcy Law to special enterprises and organizations, and the operation of Management and Liquidation Teams, funds ensuring the operation of Management and Liquidation Teams are sourced from the revenue of bankrupt enterprises and cooperatives. Management and Liquidation Teams may temporarily borrow funds from civil enforcement agencies. When proceeds from the disposal of assets of bankrupt enterprises and cooperatives are received, the Enforcement Officer must process the repayment of borrowed funds to cover the costs of the Management and Liquidation Team's operations.

Funds for the operation of civil enforcement agencies and Management and Liquidation Teams must be used for their intended purposes and in accordance with current financial expenditure standards, and must comply with legal requirements for reporting and settling expenditures.

Article 2. Contents and Levels of Expenditure for the Operation of Civil Enforcement Agencies

1. Content of Expenses

a) Payments to individuals: salaries, wages, allowances, contributions based on salary (social insurance, health insurance, trade union fees, unemployment insurance), bonuses, collective welfare, and other payments to individuals as prescribed.

b) Payments for public services, office supplies, information, publicity, communication, rental expenses, purchase of books and materials for work.

c) Conference and domestic travel expenses, expenses for foreign trips and reception of foreign delegations, expenses for organizing training and professional courses.

d) Professional expenses, including:

- Uniform expenses for civil enforcement officers and staff;

- Transportation and accommodation allowances, and rental expenses for lodging for those not receiving state budget salaries participating in enforcement verification and notification work upon request of the civil enforcement agency;

- Rental expenses for guides during the enforcement verification and notification process, and for hiring interpreters for ethnic minority parties who do not speak Vietnamese and for foreign parties;

- Rental expenses for security and medical equipment;

- Rental expenses for fire prevention equipment (if applicable);

- Rental expenses for sale venues and means, and for auction companies under contracts (if applicable);

- Rental expenses for asset storage and preservation;

- Expenses for destroying evidence and assets:

+ Allowances for the Destruction Committee;

+ Hiring experts and organizations to destroy hazardous chemicals or other evidence and assets requiring specialized equipment to ensure safety and environmental protection during destruction as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 19 of Decree No. 58/2009/NĐ-CP;

+ Transportation expenses for moving evidence and assets to the destruction site, rental expenses for the destruction location, fuel purchases, and other expenses serving the destruction process.

- Hiring experts for valuation and verification of civil enforcement assets;

- Publicizing civil enforcement proceedings through mass media, postal service, and direct notifications;

- Hiring consultants for complex cases. The head of the civil enforcement agency is responsible for identifying complex cases requiring consultant hiring;

- Allowances for the Emergency Seizure Committee when conducting emergency seizures at the request of the Court;

- Expenditures covered by the state budget for compulsory civil enforcement proceedings as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 2 of Joint Circular No. 184/2011/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated December 19, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice guiding the financial management mechanism for compulsory civil enforcement funds;

- Allowances for individuals participating in civil enforcement work;

- Other professional expenses as prescribed;

- Expenses for judicial assistance as prescribed by law;

e) Purchase and regular maintenance, major repairs of fixed assets.

e) For the advance payment amount of the person refusing to purchase the asset at the auction sale as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 39 of Decree No. 17/2010/NĐ-CP dated March 4, 2010 of the Government on auction sales, such amount shall be used to settle the costs arising from the disposal of the asset and the costs related to the auction sale of the asset (auction fees; actual and reasonable costs for the auction sale of the asset agreed upon between the owner of the asset subject to auction and the organization conducting the auction sale pursuant to Article 43 of Decree No. 17/2010/NĐ-CP); the remainder shall be supplemented into the operational budget of the agency to cover the expenditure items specified in this Circular.

2. Levels of expenditure

a) The expenditure items serving the activities of the civil enforcement agencies mentioned above shall be implemented according to the standard rates, criteria, and financial expenditure regulations issued by the competent authority, specifically as follows:

- Conference expenses shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulations on conference expenditure standards for state agencies;

- Expenses for paying telephone bills for official calls made from private residences and mobile phones shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulations on the standards and quotas for using official telephones at private residences and mobile phones in administrative agencies, public service units, and political-social organizations;

- Travel expenses, accommodation allowances, and rental fees for lodging (including those individuals not receiving salaries from the state budget who participate in the verification process and announcement of enforcement decisions) shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulations on travel expense allowances for state officials, civil servants, and employees on official business trips;

- Reward expenses shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulations on reward expenditure standards;

- Uniform expenses for civil servants engaged in civil enforcement work shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulations on the management and issuance of Enforcement Officer cards, uniforms, and insignia for civil servants engaged in civil enforcement work;

- Expenses for implementing activities within the scope of judicial assistance work shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management and use of state budget funds to ensure judicial assistance work;

- Other expenses shall be carried out according to the internal expenditure regulations of the unit. In cases where the unit has not established internal expenditure regulations, they shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulations.

b) Some expenses shall be implemented according to specific expenditure levels as follows:

- Expenses for compensating individuals participating in the verification process, announcement of enforcement decisions, and urgent temporary enforcement decisions:

+ Enforcement officers, other civil servants engaged in enforcement work, prosecutors, police officers: VND 50,000/person/day;

+ Local government representatives and other individuals: VND 70,000/person/day;

- Expenses for compensating members participating in meetings of the Civil Enforcement Directive Board and asset valuation meetings (excluding asset valuation for compulsory enforcement of civil judgments):

+ Chairperson: VND 100,000/person/day;

+ Members: VND 70,000/person/day;

- Expenses for enforcement officers directly involved in reviewing and granting exemptions or reductions in litigation fees and fines; expenses for members involved in transferring assets according to court rulings, and transferring assets after organizing auctions when the party subject to enforcement voluntarily transfers the assets: VND 70,000/person/day;

- Expenses for activities related to the destruction of evidence and assets:

+ Hiring experts and organizations for destruction: Based on contracts signed between the civil enforcement agency and the experts or destruction organizations;

+ Compensation for individuals participating in the destruction of evidence and assets: VND 100,000/person/day for the chairperson, and VND 70,000/person/day for members;

- Compensation for members involved in determining prices and auctioning assets: VND 50,000/person/day;

- Expenses for hiring expert consultants in complex cases requiring written expert consultation: VND 300,000 - 600,000/report;

- Expenses for hiring interpreters:

+ Interpreting ethnic languages: Up to 200% of the national minimum wage, calculated based on the daily wage set by the State for the administrative management sector;

+ Interpreting foreign languages: Implemented in accordance with the current regulations of the Ministry of Finance regarding translation fee levels under the reception expense system for foreign guests and the expense system for organizing international conferences and seminars in Vietnam;

- Compensation for emergency seizure boards when conducting emergency seizures at the request of the Court, the compensation level being VND 50,000/person/time.

c) For other expenses: Renting means of transportation and equipment for protection, fire prevention and control, medical expenses; renting venues and means of transportation for asset valuation and sale, and other goods; renting storage, custody, and preservation of evidence and enforcement assets; renting transportation services, purchasing raw materials, and other actual and reasonable expenses based on contracts, invoices, and valid and lawful expense receipts, and approved by the head of the civil enforcement agency.

Article 3. The content and level of expenditure to ensure the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team, advance funding for the activities of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team

1. Content of Expenses

a) Expenditure on domestic conferences and working expenses serving the supervision and inspection of business enterprise assets.

b) Expenditure on renting venues and means to organize auctions of assets of bankrupt enterprises and cooperatives.

c) Expenditure on office supplies, information dissemination, and purchasing materials for work purposes (if any).

d) Expenditure on storing assets, documents, accounting books, and seals of enterprises and cooperatives subject to liquidation procedures.

đ) Expenditure on remuneration for the Head and members of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team.

2. Levels of expenditure

The contents of expenditures serving the activities of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team shall be implemented according to the established standards, norms, and financial expenditure regulations issued by the competent authority, specifically as follows:

a) Expenditure on conferences and working expenses shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulations on organizing conferences and working expense standards in state agencies.

b) Remuneration for the Head and members of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team of bankrupt enterprises and cooperatives:

- Head: VND 100,000/person/day;

- Members: VND 70,000/person/day.

In cases of overtime or holidays, payment shall be made according to the night shift and overtime pay regulations stipulated in Circular Joint No. 08/2005/TTLT-BNV-BTC dated January 5, 2005, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of night shift and overtime pay for civil servants, public officials, and employees.

c) For other items: Renting means, expenditure on renting venues and means to sell assets and goods; expenditure on storing, keeping, and transporting assets and documents, and other reasonable actual expenses based on contracts, invoices, and valid receipts, approved by the head of the civil execution agency according to regulations.

3. Advance funding to ensure the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team

a) Funding to ensure the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team shall be sourced from the revenue of bankrupt enterprises and cooperatives.

While not yet receiving funds from the disposal of assets of bankrupt enterprises and cooperatives, the civil execution agency shall advance funding for the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team from its budgeted funds allocated by the competent authority.

b) Advance procedure: When the Enforcement Officer has a decision to serve as the Head of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team, the Enforcement Officer shall base on the content and level of expenditure stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 3 of this Circular to prepare and submit a budget proposal for the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team to the head of the civil execution agency for approval. Based on the approved budget, the Enforcement Officer shall proceed with the advance funding for the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team.

c) Procedure for refunding advances: Within one day of receiving funds from bankrupt enterprises and cooperatives, the Enforcement Officer must immediately process the refund of the advanced funds used for the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team.

Article 4. Preparation of budgets, execution, and settlement of funds

The preparation, implementation, and settlement of funding to ensure the operation of the civil execution agency and the Asset Management and Liquidation Team shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law, Accounting Law, and related implementing regulations. This Circular guides certain aspects of advance funding for the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team, specifically as follows:

1. Preparing budgets

Based on the amount of state budget funds temporarily advanced to ensure the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team transferred to the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice shall determine the additional amount of state budget funds temporarily advanced to ensure the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team required by agencies and units for the planned year, and incorporate it into the overall budget estimate of the Ministry of Justice for submission to the Ministry of Finance in accordance with the State Budget Law.

2. Implementation of the Budget Estimate

On the basis of the amount of state budget funds temporarily advanced to ensure the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team, the Ministry of Justice shall allocate and transfer the budget estimate of temporarily advanced state budget funds to ensure the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team to civil execution agencies within the non-self-financing budget. If necessary, the Ministry of Justice may adjust and reduce the allocation of units that have no need for use or have not fully utilized the funds to increase the allocation for units requiring temporary advance funding within the total amount of state budget funds temporarily advanced to ensure the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team.

3. Temporary advance expenditure for the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team

4. The settlement of temporary advance expenditure for the operation of the Asset Management and Liquidation Team

State-owned enterprises that have been assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to conduct offshore wind power project surveys before the effective date of this Circular shall continue to implement according to the assigned documents; any new matters arising after the effective date of this Circular shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

This Circular takes effect from October 2, 2012, and replaces Circular Joint No. 19/2008/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated February 19, 2008, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice guiding the preparation, management, use, and settlement of funding to ensure the operation of the civil execution agency and the Asset Management and Liquidation Team of enterprises and cooperatives in bankruptcy.

During the implementation, if there are any difficulties, units are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice for research and resolution./.