Decision No. 142/2002/QD-BTC On the issuance of regulations 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 …;

Regarding the issuance of regulations on the division of tasks among agencies in the finance sector when conducting inspections and audits to avoid overlap and handling when overlap occurs

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 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 Decree No. 178/CP dated October 28, 1994 of the Government on the tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

- Pursuant to Decree No. 61/1998/NĐ-CP dated August 15, 1998 of the Government on inspection and audit work for enterprises.

- At the proposal of the Inspector General of the Ministry of Finance.

Pursuant to …;

Article 1: Attached hereto is the Regulation on the division of tasks among agencies in the finance sector when conducting inspections and audits to avoid overlap and handling when overlap occurs.

Article 2: This Decision takes effect 15 days from the date of signature, replacing 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, and cities directly under the Central Government shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

REGULATIONS

REGULATION ON THE DIVISION OF TASKS AMONG EACH AGENCY IN THE FINANCE SECTOR WHEN CONDUCTING INSPECTIONS AND AUDITS TO AVOID OVERLAP AND HANDLING WHEN OVERLAP OCCURS

(Issued together with Decision No. 142/2002/QĐ-BTC dated November 19, 2002 of the Minister of Finance)

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PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1: The regulation on the division of tasks among agencies in the finance sector when conducting inspections and audits to avoid overlap and handling when overlap occurs applies 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.

Article 2:This regulation applies to planned inspections and audits as well as surprise inspections and audits. It does not apply to regular management activities such as: value-added tax refund verification, overdue tax collection, import-export tax enforcement; post-clearance audit, anti-smuggling investigation; safety checks of treasury funds at all levels; reconciliation, verification, and information gathering for management purposes; follow-up on implementation of inspection and audit conclusions.

PART II

ASSIGNMENT OF OBJECTS AND TASKS FOR INSPECTION AND AUDIT

Article 3:The tasks of financial inspection and audit by agencies 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, and pricing at Ministries, sectors, provinces, centrally-administered municipalities, agencies, organizations, economic and social entities, state-owned enterprises established by the Government and central ministries and sectors, and other units when necessary.

2. Tax agencies conduct inspections and audits of tax declaration, payment, exemption, reduction, settlement, and national fees and charges for all subjects and economic components, and inspect and audit the use of funds and internal issues within the tax sector.

3. The State Treasury conducts inspections and audits of compliance with regulations, policies, procedures, and operational practices of the State Treasury, and inspect and audit the use of funds and internal issues within 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 its own organization and at ministries and sectors designated by the Government to manage national reserves, and the use of funds and internal issues within the National Reserve sector.

5. Customs agencies conduct inspections and audits of compliance with tax and other revenue regulations for imported and exported goods by units and individuals with import and export functions, and inspect and audit the use of funds and internal issues within the customs sector.

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

7. Provincial Departments of Finance - Prices conduct inspections and audits of compliance with financial, accounting, and pricing regulations for district, county, town, commune, ward, town budgets, units, and state-owned enterprises established by provincial and centrally-administered municipal People's Committees.

CHAPTER III

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 tasks of the sector, after coordinating the inspection targets with the State Inspectorate, the State Audit Office, and relevant ministry inspectors, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance develops an inspection plan for the following year to be approved by the Ministry in October, guiding the development 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 plan must ensure confidentiality according to the law.

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

Article 5Plan for inspection and audit by units under and directly under the Ministry of Finance.

Units under and directly under the Ministry of Finance develop their inspection and audit plans based on the political tasks of the sector and the Inspectorate's plan. The plans of these units must not overlap with the Inspectorate's plan. The Department of Corporate Finance, the General Taxation Department, and the General Customs Department must coordinate their plans to ensure that there is 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 under the Ministry shall be approved by the head of the unit and submitted to the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance before December 31 each year.

Article 6. Inspection and audit plans of provincial treasuries, central cities, 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 build plans to avoid overlapping. 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 Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance and the political tasks of the locality to ensure no overlapping regarding the subjects and contents of inspections and audits between the department's inspectorate and its functional departments; no overlapping with the plan of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance; actively coordinate with tax bureaus and customs bureaus on the subjects and contents of inspections and audits of enterprises; coordinate with relevant agencies conducting inspections and audits in the locality to avoid overlapping. Provincial finance and price departments may only inspect units managed by the locality and not those of the central government located in the locality without a request and authorization from the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance.

Inspection and audit plans of provincial finance and price departments shall be approved by the Director of the Department, except for plans to inspect enterprises which must be approved by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province and submitted to the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance before December 15 each year.

Article 8. Adjustments to inspection and audit plans and ad hoc inspections and audits.

In cases where units adjust their plans or conduct ad hoc inspections and audits, such actions must be approved by the competent authority but still must ensure no overlapping regarding the subjects and contents of inspections and audits.

Adjustment plans and documents requesting ad hoc inspections and audits of provincial treasuries, central city treasuries, customs bureaus, and state reserve branches shall be sent to the direct superior management agency to handle overlapping issues and report to the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance; for units under and directly under the Ministry and provincial finance and price departments, they shall send to the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance.

PART IV

IMPLEMENTING INSPECTIONS AND AUDITS

Article 9. Handling overlapping in inspections and audits.

When overlapping occurs in inspection and audit activities between the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance and units under the Ministry of Finance, vertical systems under the Ministry of Finance, and provincial finance and price departments, it shall be handled according to the following principles:

1. If the inspection and audit plans of units under and directly under the Ministry of Finance and provincial finance and price departments overlap with the plan of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance, they shall follow the plan of the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance.

If a provincial people's committee requests a financial agency to inspect and audit subjects included in the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance's plan, upon completion of the inspection and audit, a report must be submitted to the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance. The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance will not inspect and audit these subjects unless there are new circumstances about violations that were not concluded and resolved by the previous inspection and audit team.

2. If there are overlapping inspections and audits among financial agencies, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Finance shall take the lead in coordinating to handle overlapping issues. If the units cannot change their plans due to management requirements, they shall discuss and coordinate to organize a single inspection and audit team.

3. If the inspection and audit plans of units under the Tax, Customs, Treasury, and State Reserve sectors overlap with the plans of the Tax, Customs, Treasury, and State Reserve agencies at the central level, the central agencies shall carry out the inspections and audits.

If a provincial people's committee requests inspections and audits of subjects 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 these subjects unless there are new circumstances about violations that were not concluded and resolved by the previous inspection and audit team.

Article 10. Inspections and audits must be conducted according to approved plans and must have a Decision of the head of the competent state agency in accordance with the Inspectorate Law. Upon completion of inspections and audits, a written conclusion on the inspected and audited content must be issued.

Inspection and audit teams may not arbitrarily expand the scope, subjects, or extend the duration of inspections and audits beyond the decision. If necessary, this must be agreed in writing by the person who signed the inspection and audit decision and bear responsibility for the results of the inspection and audit.

Article 11. Subsequent inspection and audit teams must build on the results of previous teams. Re-inspection and re-audit can only occur if new violation circumstances are discovered that were not addressed by the previous team, and a written report must be made 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 that unit. 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 V

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 and amendment.