Circular No. 143/2009/TT-BTC guiding the preparation of budget estimates, management, and use of funds to ensure the provision of national reserve goods for relief, support, and aid.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for preparing budgets, managing, and using funds to ensure the provision of national reserve goods for relief, support, and aid

national reserve for relief, assistance, and aid

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Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 196/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 2, 2004 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the National Reserve Ordinance;

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;

The Ministry of Finance hereby issues guidelines for preparing budgets, managing, and using funds to ensure the provision of national reserve goods for relief, support, and aid as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular guides on preparing budgets, managing, and using funds from the state budget allocated for the work of providing national reserve goods according to the Decision of

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals authorized by competent authorities to be assigned tasks to provide relief goods from the national reserve with the use of funds from the state budget to serve the provision of relief goods.

In cases where relief goods are provided without the use of funds from the state budget, they shall be applied according to the expenditure levels specified by the sponsor or according to the agreed expenditure levels between the sponsor, the Ministry of Finance, and the implementing unit. If no agreement can be reached on the expenditure level, this Circular shall apply.

Article 3. Methods and Locations for Delivering and Receiving Relief Goods

3.1. Provision of relief goods shall be handed over to the recipient on their means of transport at the entrance of the national reserve warehouse or handed over to the delivering party's means of transport at the provincial or district center of the receiving locality (except in cases where other provisions apply under

3.2. Localities and units receiving relief goods shall be responsible for arranging means of transport and manpower for unloading and receiving relief goods at the delivery location specified in Clause 3.1 above.

Article 4. Source of Funds

Funds to ensure the provision of relief goods shall be arranged within the annual budget estimates of ministries and sectors managing national reserve goods. In cases where such funds have not been arranged or the allocated budget estimate is insufficient, the ministry or sector directly managing national reserve goods shall submit a written request to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and decision within its authority or submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision in accordance with current regulations.

Article 5. Content of Expenditure

Point 5.1. Costs for delivering goods at the entrance of the national reserve warehouse include:

- Costs for serving the implementation process;

- Inspection costs for the list, specifications, quantity, and quality of goods; related documents and files;

- Packaging, lowering, loading onto scales, loading onto the means of transport, and hiring costs for unloading equipment (if applicable);

- Installation, testing, and usage guidance costs;

- Travel expenses, night shift, overtime, communication costs, etc.;

- Purchase, repair, maintenance, and upkeep costs for equipment and tools used during the delivery of relief goods;

- Printing and office supply costs;

- Other costs related to delivering goods at the entrance of the national reserve warehouse.

Point 5.2. Costs for directing, delivering, and receiving include:

- Costs for organizing meetings to implement tasks; summarizing and concluding meetings (if applicable);

- Travel costs for signing contracts, delivering, and receiving, and finalizing settlement of delivery contracts;

- Costs for information dissemination activities through mass media;

Point 5.3. Transportation costs (if applicable) include:

- Transportation costs;

- Toll fees;

- Securing, escorting, and loss costs;

- Insurance costs for goods during transportation;

- Waiting fees for means of transport (if applicable).

Point 5.4. Costs for overseas mission teams executing the delivery of national reserve goods for aid as decided by the competent authority (if applicable).

Point 5.5. Costs for purchasing new packaging materials or replacing damaged ones and reserving broken packaging materials (if applicable).

Point 5.6. Costs for other related activities directly connected to the delivery of relief goods, such as transfer fees, loading onto means of transport (if applicable).

Article 6. Budget Expenditure Levels

Article 6. Principles:

a) For expenditures with established cost levels, they shall be implemented according to the current regulations, specifically as follows:

- Costs for organizing meetings to implement tasks, summarizing, and concluding meetings; travel expenses: Implemented according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance regarding travel expense allowances and the organization of meetings for state agencies and public service units.

- Night shift and overtime costs: Implemented according to Circular No. 08/2005/TTLT-BNV-BTC dated January 5, 2005 of the Ministry of Home Affairs - Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of allowances for working at night and overtime for civil servants and public officials. In cases where civil servants must work on Saturdays and Sundays, it shall be implemented according to Circular No. 5341/BTC-HCSN dated May 12, 2008 of the Ministry of Finance guiding allowances for working on Saturdays.

b) For expenditures without established cost levels, they shall be implemented according to actual contracts agreed upon with the contractor, consistent with market prices at the time of delivery. The head of the unit shall be responsible before the state for their decision on these cost levels.

Article 6.2. Costs for delivering goods at the entrance of the national reserve warehouse:

For food items, they shall be implemented according to Decision No. 2908/QĐ-DTQG dated September 25, 2003 of the Minister of Finance on guiding the use of fees for buying and selling national reserve food. For other items, they shall be implemented according to the unit price standards of relevant ministries and sectors with similar tasks or according to point b, clause 6.1 above.

Article 6.3. Transportation costs (if applicable): The cost level shall be based on the current regulations of the state or the local freight rate of the place of dispatch. In cases where the local place of dispatch has not issued a freight rate, the storage units shall refer to market freight rates and transportation costs in the locality and quote freight rates from at least five (05) different transportation companies or refer to the freight rates already issued by nearby localities or the results of cost audits conducted by functional audit units to determine appropriate freight rates.

6. 4. Expenses for overseas working delegations: The content and level of expenditure shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 91/2005/TT-BTC dated October 18, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance on the work expense system for state officials going on short-term missions abroad funded by the State budget.

6. 5. Directing and receiving expenses; expenses for purchasing new packaging materials to replace damaged ones and to prevent breakage, printing market labels, transferring goods into bags awaiting export, bottling and small packaging; losses during the packaging process (if any), and other related expenses directly associated with the dispatch and distribution of relief supplies shall be carried out according to point b, Clause 6.1 above. In cases where there are joint production costs, they shall be allocated in accordance with the current accounting regulations.

Article 7. Selection of units to sign transportation contracts and supply packaging materials

7. 1. In cases where the recipient of relief goods requests to receive the goods two months after the date of the decision to dispatch relief goods, the storage units must organize public bidding or competitive bidding to select transportation units and packaging material supply units in accordance with the provisions of the Public Procurement Law.

7. 2. For all other cases: the heads of the storage units directly responsible for the tasks may directly designate transportation units and packaging material supply units; decide on transportation rates and packaging material purchase prices; and bear responsibility before the State for their decisions.

The direct designation of transportation units and packaging material supply units and the determination of transportation rates and packaging material purchase prices must comply with current regulations; ensure cost savings; be consistent with market prices; and be appropriate to the assigned tasks.

Article 8. Budget preparation, management, and settlement

The preparation of budgets, management, allocation, payment, and settlement of funds shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 59/2003/TT-BTC dated June 23, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law; Circular No. 79/2003/TT-BTC dated August 13, 2003, and No. 113/2008/TT-BTC dated November 27, 2008 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management, allocation, and payment of State budget expenditures through the State Treasury; Circular No. 143/2007/TT-BTC dated December 3, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decree No. 196/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 2, 2004 of the Government detailing the implementation of the National Reserve Law; and other relevant guiding documents currently in effect. This circular provides additional guidance as follows:

Based on the decision assigning the task of dispatching national reserve goods for relief issued by the competent state agency, the unit responsible for dispatching relief goods shall prepare a relief budget (including cases where the budget has been assigned but is still insufficient).

Storage units under ministries and sectors; regional reserves under the National Reserve Administration or units and organizations tasked with dispatching and distributing relief goods from the national reserve shall prepare a budget for the dispatch and distribution of national reserve goods and submit it to the directly managing ministry or sector or the National Reserve Administration for review, consideration, and consolidation, and then request the Price Management Department of the Ministry of Finance to review and propose the Minister of Finance for approval of the fee level. Based on the Minister of Finance's decision, ministries and sectors or the National Reserve Administration will assign the fee level to the storage units.

In cases where immediate implementation of the dispatch and distribution of relief goods is required but the budget for the dispatch and distribution of relief goods has not yet been assigned or has been assigned but is still insufficient or has not yet been approved, the unit responsible for the task may temporarily borrow funds from the regular operating budget or other sources (excluding national reserve funds) of the unit for actual tasks related to the relief mission, while preparing the budget according to the above guidelines and submitting it for review and decision-making at various levels to settle the temporary borrowing for the unit.

Article 9. Accounting and Reporting System

The reserve units are responsible for settling the funds spent on their own relief supply activities, and consolidating them in the settlement report of the unit to be submitted to the Ministry or sector directly managing the national reserve goods for verification and consolidation, then sent to the National Reserve Agency for review, and reported to the Ministry of Finance in accordance with current regulations.

The Ministries and sectors managing reserve goods are responsible for compiling reports on the situation of supplying and issuing reserve goods for relief (in detail according to each type of goods issued to localities and receiving units) and the funds spent on the supply and issuance of relief goods carried out by subordinate reserve units, to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance (National Reserve Agency) for consolidation and reporting to the Prime Minister.

For batches of relief supplies using funding from sponsors or localities, accounting books shall be opened to record, account for, and settle according to the sponsor's or locality's regulations (if applicable).

Article 10. Allocation of Funds and Expenditure Control

The National Reserve Agency implements the allocation of funds in accordance with the provisions at point b, Clause 7.1, Section 7, Circular No. 143/2007/TT-BTC dated December 3, 2007, guiding the implementation of Decree No. 196/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 2, 2004 of the Government detailing the implementation of the National Reserve Law.

The State Treasury is responsible for expenditure control in accordance with current regulations for expenditures from state budget sources for relief supply activities within the budget allocated to reserve units.

Article 11. Implementation Organization

This Circular shall take effect forty-five days from the date of signature.

Previous regulations on the management and use of funds to ensure the supply and issuance of national reserve goods for relief, support, and aid that conflict with this Circular are hereby abolished.

During implementation, if there are issues that are not suitable, requiring supplementation or modification, it is requested that relevant ministries, sectors, localities, and units promptly reflect these issues to the Ministry of Finance for research and appropriate modifications and supplements./.