Decision No. 142/2002/QÐ-BTC of the Minister of Finance on the issuance of the Regulation on the division of tasks among agencies within the finance sector when conducting inspections and audits to avoid overlap and handling when overlap occurs.

Pursuant to …;

OF THE MINISTER OF FINANCE NUMBER 142/2002/QĐ-BTC DATED NOVEMBER 19, 2002 ON THE ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS ON ASSIGNING TASKS TO EACH ORGAN IN THE FINANCE SECTOR WHEN INSPECTING AND AUDITING TO AVOID OVERLAP AND HANDLING OVERLAP

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

Pursuant to the Inspection Law dated April 1, 1990 and Decree No. 244/HĐBT dated June 30, 1990 of the Council of Ministers on the organization of the State inspection system and measures to ensure inspection activities;
Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 853/1997/CT-TTg dated October 11, 1997 on combating smuggling under new circumstances;
Pursuant to Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP dated August 15, 1998 of the Government on inspection work for enterprises.
At the proposal of the Inspector General of the Ministry of Finance.

Pursuant to …;

Article 1:

The attached Decision promulgates the Regulations on assigning tasks to each organ in the finance sector when inspecting and auditing to avoid overlap and handling overlap.

Article 2:

This Decision takes effect fifteen days from the date of signature and replaces Decision No. 1840/1998/QĐ-BTC dated December 15, 1998 of the Minister of Finance.

Article 3:

The Inspector General of the Ministry of Finance, the Director of the Ministry of Finance's Office, Heads of units under the Ministry, directly under the Ministry, Directors of Provincial Departments of Finance - Prices under central cities are responsible for implementing this Decision.

REGULATIONS
ASSIGNING TASKS TO EACH ORGAN IN THE FINANCE SECTOR WHEN INSPECTING AND AUDITING TO AVOID OVERLAP AND HANDLING OVERLAP
(Attached to Decision No. 142/2002/QĐ-BTC dated November 19, 2002 of the Minister of Finance)

Chapter 1:

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1:

These regulations on assigning tasks to each organ in the finance sector when inspecting and auditing to avoid overlap and handling overlap apply to units including: the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance, units within the Tax System, Customs, State Treasury, National Reserve, units under the Ministry of Finance, Provincial Departments of Finance - Prices under central cities.

Article 2:

These regulations shall govern inspections and audits according to plans and surprise inspections and audits. They shall not apply to regular management activities such as: value-added tax refund verification, overdue tax collection, customs duty enforcement; post-clearance audit, anti-smuggling investigation; safety checks of State Treasury at all levels; reconciliation, verification, and data collection for management purposes; urging implementation of inspection and audit conclusions.

Chapter 2:

ASSIGNING OBJECTS AND TASKS FOR INSPECTION AND AUDIT

Article 3:

The tasks of financial inspection and audit of organs in the finance sector are assigned as follows:

1. The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance conducts planned and surprise inspections of the implementation of Laws, Ordinances, financial systems, accounting, prices at Ministries, sectors, provinces, centrally governed cities, agencies, units, economic and social organizations, state-owned enterprises established by the Government and sectors at the central level, and other units when necessary.

2. Tax authorities conduct inspections and audits of tax declaration, payment, exemption, settlement, and other state fees and charges for all subjects and economic components, and inspections and audits of the use of funds and internal issues of the tax sector.

3. The State Treasury conducts inspections and audits of compliance with systems, policies, regulations, and procedures of the State Treasury operations and inspections and audits of the use of funds and internal issues of the State Treasury sector.

4. The National Reserve Administration conducts inspections and audits of the implementation of reserve plans and compliance with government regulations related to national reserve activities within the administration and at Ministries and sectors designated by the Government to manage national reserves, and the use of funds and internal issues of the National Reserve sector.

5. Customs authorities conduct inspections and audits of compliance with systems, policies on taxes and other revenues for imported and exported goods of units and individuals with import and export functions; inspections and audits of the use of funds and internal issues of the Customs sector.

6. Units under the Ministry of Finance conduct inspections of compliance with policies and financial systems, accounting within their scope of management.

7. Provincial Departments of Finance - Prices under central cities conduct inspections and audits of compliance with systems, policies on finance, accounting, and pricing for district, county, town, commune, ward, town budgets, units, state-owned enterprises established by provincial and centrally governed city People's Committees.

Chapter 3:

PLAN FOR INSPECTION AND AUDIT

Article 4.

Plan for inspection by the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance.

In September each year, based on the political mission of the sector, after coordinating inspected objects with the State Inspectorate, the State Audit Office, and relevant ministry inspectorates, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance builds an inspection plan for the following year to be approved by the Ministry in October, guiding the construction of inspection and audit plans for Provincial Departments of Finance - Prices.

After the inspection plan is approved by the Ministry, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance sends it to units under and directly under the Ministry and Provincial Departments of Finance - Prices. Units receiving the Inspectorate's inspection plan must ensure its confidentiality as prescribed by law.

The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance is responsible for monitoring and summarizing planned inspections and surprise inspections conducted by units under and directly under the Ministry and Provincial Departments of Finance - Prices.

Article 5:

Plan for inspection and audit by units under and directly under the Ministry of Finance.

Units under and directly under the Ministry of Finance base their inspection and audit plans on the political mission of the sector and the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance's plan. Unit plans must not overlap with the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance's plan. The Department of Corporate Finance, the General Taxation Department, and the General Customs Department must coordinate their plans to ensure no overlap in inspections and audits of enterprises.

The General Department of Taxation, the General Department of Customs, the Central Treasury, and the State Reserve Agency are responsible for guiding subordinate units to develop plans to ensure that inspections and audits within the same system do not overlap.

Inspection and audit plans of units under and directly affiliated with the Ministry shall be approved by the head of the unit and submitted to the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate before December 31 each year.

Article 6:

Inspection and audit plans of provincial treasuries, central city treasuries, customs bureaus, and state reserve branches.

Provincial treasuries, central city treasuries, customs bureaus, and state reserve branches shall base their inspection and audit plans on guidance from higher-level authorities. For inspections and audits of local enterprises, tax bureaus, customs bureaus, and provincial finance and price departments shall coordinate to avoid overlap. These plans must be approved by the heads of the units and submitted to the General Department of Taxation, the General Department of Customs, the Central Treasury, and the State Reserve Agency before December 15 each year.

Article 7:

Inspection and audit plans of provincial finance and price departments.

Provincial finance and price departments shall base their inspection and audit plans on the guidance provided by the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate and the political tasks of the locality to ensure no overlap between the department's inspectorate and its functional departments regarding inspected entities and content; no overlap with the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate's plan; and coordination with tax bureaus and customs bureaus regarding inspected entities and content for local enterprises. They must also coordinate with other competent agencies conducting inspections and audits in the area to avoid overlap. Provincial finance and price departments may only inspect units managed by the locality without inspecting central units located in the area unless requested and authorized by the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate.

Inspection and audit plans of provincial finance and price departments shall be approved by the department directors, except for enterprise inspection plans which require approval by the provincial People's Committee Chairperson and submission to the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate before December 15 each year.

Article 8:

Adjustments to inspection and audit plans and sudden inspections.

In cases where units adjust their plans or conduct sudden inspections, they must obtain approval from the competent authority but still ensure no overlap in inspected entities and content.

Adjusted plans and documents requesting sudden inspections from provincial treasuries, central city treasuries, customs bureaus, and state reserve branches shall be submitted to the direct superior management agency to handle overlap issues and report to the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate; for units under and directly affiliated with the Ministry and provincial finance and price departments, these documents shall be submitted to the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate.

Chapter 4:

IMPLEMENTING INSPECTIONS AND AUDITS

Article 9:

Handling overlaps in inspections and audits.

When overlaps occur in inspections and audits between the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate and units under the Ministry of Finance, vertical systems directly under the Ministry of Finance, and provincial finance and price departments, they shall be handled according to the following principles:

1. Inspection and audit plans of units under and directly affiliated with the Ministry of Finance and provincial finance and price departments, if overlapping with the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate’s plan, shall follow the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate’s plan.

If a provincial People's Committee requests a financial sector agency to inspect and audit entities included in the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate’s plan, upon completion of the inspection and audit, a report must be submitted to the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate, and the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate will not inspect and audit those entities unless new circumstances about violations by the inspected entities arise that were not concluded and addressed by the previous inspection team.

2. If financial sector units have overlapping inspections and audits, the Ministry of Finance Inspectorate shall lead coordination to avoid overlap. If changes to plans cannot be made due to management requirements, discussions shall be held to organize a single inspection team.

3. Inspection and audit plans of tax, customs, treasury, and state reserve units at the provincial level, if overlapping with plans of central tax, customs, treasury, and state reserve agencies, shall be conducted by the central agencies.

If a provincial People's Committee requests inspections and audits of entities included in the plans of the General Department of Taxation, the General Department of Customs, the Central Treasury, and the State Reserve Agency, these agencies will not inspect and audit those entities unless new circumstances about violations by the inspected entities arise that were not concluded and addressed by the previous inspection team.

Article 10:

Inspections and audits must be carried out according to approved plans and must have a Decision of the competent state authority in accordance with the Inspection Ordinance. Upon completion of inspections and audits, a written conclusion must be issued regarding the content inspected and audited.

Inspection and audit teams may not arbitrarily expand the scope, subjects, or extend the duration of inspections and audits beyond the decision. If necessary, written agreement from the person who signed the inspection and audit decision is required, and they must bear responsibility for the results of the inspection and audit.

Article 11:

Subsequent inspection and audit teams must build upon the results of previous teams. Re-inspection and re-audit can only occur if new violation details are discovered that were not addressed by the previous team, and a written report must be submitted to the person who signed the inspection and audit decision.

Article 12:

During the inspection and examination process, if there are contents related to other units within the industry that require handling, prior discussion on such contents must be held with the head of those units. If there are still differing opinions, the inspecting and examining unit must report to the Ministry for consideration and handling, and retain their own opinion.

Article 13:

The agency dispatching the inspection and examination team is responsible for urging the inspected and examined entities to fully and promptly implement the conclusions and recommendations published by the inspection and examination team.

Article 14:

By the 15th day of the last month of each quarter, units under and directly under the Ministry, Provincial Departments of Finance and Prices, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall submit reports on the implementation of inspection and examination results to the Ministry's Inspectorate for consolidation and reporting to the Ministry.

Chapter 5:

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 15:

The Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Finance, Heads of units under and directly under the Ministry, and Directors of Provincial Departments of Finance and Prices, municipalities directly under the Central Government are responsible for organizing the implementation of this Regulation.

Article 16:

In the course of implementation, if there are any difficulties, the heads of units shall report to the Ministry for research and timely supplementation or amendment.