Joint Circular No. 146/2012/TTLT-BTC-BTP stipulates the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds for professional activities in the field of adoption from fees collected for domestic adoption registration, foreign organization adoption agency license issuance, extension, amendment, and costs for resolving international adoptions.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Regulations on the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of expenses for professional activities, assigned the task of managing and using technical equipment to detect administrative violations in the field of adoption from revenue from registration fees for adoption, fees for issuance, extension, and amendment of permits for foreign adoption organizations, costs for resolving foreign adoptions

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The Government promulgates this Decree amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 130/2005/NĐ-CP dated October 17, 2005 of the Government on the self-management system and responsibility for the use of staffing levels and administrative management expenses for state agencies,

Pursuant to the Adoption Law dated June 17, 2010;

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. 19/2011/NĐ-CP dated March 21, 2011 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Adoption Law;

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. 93/2008/NĐ-CP dated August 22, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice.

The Minister of Finance and the Minister of Justice issue this Joint Circular of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice regulating the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of expenses for professional activities in the field of adoption from revenue from registration fees for adoption, fees for issuance, extension, and amendment of permits for foreign adoption organizations, costs for resolving foreign adoptions.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Article 1. This Circular guides the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of expenses for professional activities in the field of adoption from revenue from registration fees for adoption, fees for issuance, extension, and amendment of permits for foreign adoption organizations, costs for resolving foreign adoptions.

Article 2. Agencies receiving funds to ensure specialized professional activities in the field of adoption under this Circular include:

a) The Child Adoption Department under the Ministry of Justice;

b) Provincial Departments of Justice (hereinafter referred to as Provincial Departments of Justice);

c) People's Committees of communes, wards, and towns (hereinafter referred to as People's Committees at the commune level);

d) Representative offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam abroad (hereinafter referred to as representative offices);

d) Agencies and units assigned tasks related to adoption according to Article 49 of Decree No. 19/2011/NĐ-CP dated March 21, 2011 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Adoption Law (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 19/2011/NĐ-CP).

Article 2. Sources of retained revenue from fees and costs for resolving foreign adoptions

Fees and costs retained according to Decree No. 19/2011/NĐ-CP dated March 21, 2011 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Adoption Law shall be allocated to agencies and units implementing professional activities in adoption as follows:

Clause 1. Revenue from fees for issuance, extension, and amendment of permits for foreign adoption organizations as stipulated in Articles 45 and 46 of Decree No. 19/2011/NĐ-CP: The Department of Adoption under the Ministry of Justice may retain and use such revenue.

Clause 2. Revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions as stipulated in Articles 47 and 49 of Decree No. 19/2011/NĐ-CP.

Point a. The Department of Adoption under the Ministry of Justice: May retain and use 5% of the revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions to perform tasks specified in Clause 2 of Article 49 of Decree No. 19/2011/NĐ-CP;

Point b. Departments of Justice: May retain and use 10% of the revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions, including: 5% of the revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions to verify the origin of children being adopted, and 5% of the revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions to complete procedures and hand over children for adoption;

Point c. Child care facilities for foreign adoptions may retain and use 85% of the revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions to improve the quality of services for protecting and caring for children in their locality, including:

70% of the revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions to care for, educate, and improve living conditions and equipment serving the needs and interests of children;

15% of the revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions to supplement salaries and enhance the capacity of staff at child care facilities.

Clause 3. Revenue from registration fees for adoption as stipulated in Articles 40 and 44 of Decree No. 19/2011/NĐ-CP:

Point a. For registration fees for domestic adoption: People's Committees at the commune level may retain and use such fees;

Point b. For registration fees for adoption at representative offices: Representative offices may retain and use such fees;

Point c. For registration fees for foreign adoption: The Department of Adoption under the Ministry of Justice may retain and use 50% of the registration fees for foreign adoption, and transfer 50% of the registration fees for foreign adoption to Departments of Justice.

Clause 4. The use of funds from retained fees and costs by agencies and units shall be carried out according to the content and levels of expenditure prescribed in Articles 3 and 4 of this Joint Circular.

Article 3. The content of expenditures from the revenue of adoption registration fees, fees for issuing, extending, and amending licenses for foreign adoption organizations, and costs for resolving foreign adoptions shall be retained to fund specialized and professional activities in the field of adoption.

The content of expenditures from the revenue of fees and costs for resolving foreign adoptions retained for the units collecting such fees shall be implemented in accordance with the current laws on fees and charges and Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, specifically as follows:

1. The content of expenditures from the revenue of adoption registration fees retained for use shall be carried out in accordance with Article 44 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, specifically as follows:

a) Expenditures for paying individuals directly performing the work of collecting fees, including salaries, wages, allowances, and contributions stipulated based on salaries, excluding salary expenses paid to civil servants receiving state budget salaries according to prescribed regulations;

b) Direct service costs for resolving adoption cases, including communication costs, sending documents, exchanging correspondence; printing and distributing forms, documents, and books related to adoption; purchasing office supplies, public services, electricity and water, domestic and international travel expenses, and other necessary direct costs related to resolving adoption case files;

c) Costs for purchasing and repairing assets and equipment directly serving the collection of adoption registration fees;

d) Costs for purchasing materials, raw materials, summarizing meetings, concluding meetings, training, directing professional tasks, and other direct costs related to the collection of adoption registration fees.

2. The content of expenditures from the revenue of fees for issuing, extending, and amending licenses of foreign adoption organizations retained for use shall be applied as follows: Fees for issuing, extending, and amending licenses of foreign adoption organizations retained for use shall be applied to the contents stipulated in Article 46 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, specifically as follows:

a) Expenditures for paying individuals directly performing the work of collecting fees, including salaries, wages, allowances, and contributions stipulated based on salaries, excluding salary expenses paid to civil servants receiving state budget salaries according to prescribed regulations;

b) Direct service costs for resolving license issuance, extension, and amendment case files of foreign adoption organizations: Communication costs, sending documents, exchanging correspondence; printing and distributing forms, documents, and books related to adoption; purchasing office supplies, public services, electricity and water, domestic and international travel expenses, and other necessary direct costs related to issuing, extending, and amending licenses of foreign adoption organizations;

c) Training costs for foreign adoption offices in Vietnam.

3. The content of expenditures from the revenue of costs for resolving foreign adoptions retained for use shall be carried out in accordance with Article 49 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP, specifically as follows:

a) Adoption care facilities for children given up for foreign adoption may use 85% of the revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions to improve the quality of child protection and care services at the local level, specifically as follows:

70% of the revenue from costs specified in Clause 1 of Article 47 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP: Repair and improvement costs for infrastructure, purchase of materials and equipment, food expenses for children, purchase of textbooks and learning tools, and other expenses serving the care, education, and upbringing of children.

15% of the revenue from costs specified in Clause 1 of Article 47 of Decree No. 19/2011/ND-CP: Salary and allowance payments for staff of the care facility, and training and development costs to enhance the capabilities of the facility's staff.

b) The Department of Justice may use 10% of the revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions to fund the following items:

5% of the revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions to fund verification work on the origin of children given up for adoption: travel expenses, rental of vehicles, fuel, and other direct expenses serving the verification of the origin of children given up for adoption.

5% of the revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions to fund the completion of procedures and handover of adopted children: travel expenses, office supplies, communication costs, postal fees, and other direct expenses serving the completion of procedures and handover of adopted children.

c) The Adoption Bureau under the Ministry of Justice may retain 5% of the revenue from costs for resolving foreign adoptions to fund the following direct service tasks for fee collection work:

Payment to individuals directly performing fee collection and transfer work, including salaries, wages, allowances, and contributions stipulated based on salaries, excluding salary expenses paid to civil servants receiving state budget salaries according to prescribed regulations.

Direct service costs for fee collection and transfer work, including communication costs, sending documents, exchanging correspondence; printing and distributing forms, documents, and books related to adoption; purchasing office supplies, public services, electricity and water, travel expenses, and other necessary direct costs related to resolving adoption case files.

Costs for purchasing and repairing assets and equipment directly serving the collection of costs for resolving foreign adoptions.

Costs for purchasing materials, raw materials, summarizing meetings, concluding meetings, training, directing professional tasks, and other direct costs related to the collection of costs for resolving foreign adoptions.

Article 4. The level of expenditure for specialized and professional activities in the field of adoption from the revenue of registration fees for adoption, fees for issuing, extending, and amending licenses of foreign adoption organizations, and costs for resolving foreign adoptions shall be retained.

1. The contents of expenditures supporting adoption work shall be implemented in accordance with the current regulations on systems, standards, and budgetary norms.

2. For certain expenditure levels that have not been specified but are necessary to serve the work, the heads of agencies and units may apply corresponding expenditure levels for similar tasks as prescribed in current legal documents and internal financial regulations of the unit.

Article 5. Budget preparation, execution, and settlement of funds

The preparation of budgets, execution, and settlement of funds to ensure specialized and professional activities in the field of adoption shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law, Accounting Law, and guiding documents for the implementation of these laws. This Circular provides additional guidance on certain aspects of budget preparation, execution, and settlement of revenues and expenditures from fees and costs in the field of adoption as follows:

1. Establishment of budget projections:

Based on the collection rates, authority to collect, and usage regulations for adoption fees stipulated in Decree No. 19/2011/NĐ-CP dated March 21, 2011 of the Government, each year at the time of preparing the state budget, agencies and units shall prepare revenue and expenditure budgets in accordance with the regulations, specifically:

a) The Adoption Agency (Ministry of Justice): Prepare a budget for revenue from sources of registration fees for foreign adoptions, costs for resolving foreign adoptions, and fees for issuing, extending, and amending licenses of foreign adoption organizations operating in Vietnam, as prescribed in Decree No. 19/2011/NĐ-CP, and prepare a budget for expenditures from retained fees and costs according to the regulations.

b) People's Committees at the commune level shall prepare a budget for revenue and expenditure from domestic adoption registration fees.

c) Vietnamese representative offices abroad shall prepare a budget for revenue and expenditure from adoption registration fees collected at Vietnamese representative offices abroad.

2. Methods of collection and transfer of revenues to relevant agencies:

a) For fees for issuing, extending, and amending licenses of foreign adoption organizations: The Adoption Agency collects and retains the entire revenue from such fees.

b) For domestic adoption registration fees: Any generated revenue is recorded as income in the commune-level budget account and is fully allocated to the commune-level budget for expenditures related to the provisions set forth in Decree No. 19/2011/NĐ-CP.

c) For foreign adoption registration fees collected by the Adoption Agency under the Ministry of Justice:

The Adoption Agency shall regularly deposit the entire (100%) revenue from foreign adoption registration fees collected weekly into a temporary receipt account opened at the State Treasury where transactions take place. At the end of each month, the Adoption Agency shall prepare a list of individuals eligible for foreign adoption, categorized by province and centrally-administered city, and send it to the State Treasury, Department of Finance, and Department of Justice of provinces and centrally-administered cities involved (where there has been revenue generation in the month). The State Treasury is responsible for allocating 50% of this revenue detailed by province and centrally-administered city and recording it in the local government budget account.

The Adoption Agency shall withdraw the budget to spend within the scope of 50% of the generated revenue.

Based on the allocated budget (50% of the revenue), the Department of Finance shall notify the Department of Justice of the supplementary budget. The Department of Justice shall withdraw the budget to spend within the scope of the notified budget.

d) For adoption registration fees collected by Vietnamese representative offices abroad: Vietnamese representative offices abroad collect and retain the fees for use in direct professional activities serving the work of collecting adoption registration fees as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 44 of Decree No. 19/2011/NĐ-CP.

đ) For costs of resolving foreign adoptions:

The Adoption Agency shall regularly deposit the entire (100%) revenue from costs of resolving foreign adoptions collected weekly into a temporary receipt account opened at the State Treasury where transactions take place. At the end of each month, the Adoption Agency shall prepare a list of individuals eligible for foreign adoption, categorized by province and centrally-administered city, and send it to the State Treasury, Department of Finance, and Department of Justice of provinces and centrally-administered cities involved (where there has been revenue generation in the month). The State Treasury is responsible for allocating 95% of this revenue detailed by province and centrally-administered city and recording it in the local government budget account.

The Adoption Agency shall withdraw the budget to spend within the scope of 5% of the generated revenue.

Based on the allocated budget (95% of the revenue), the Department of Finance shall notify the Department of Justice and child care institutions of the supplementary budget. Units shall withdraw the budget to spend within the scope of the notified budget.

3. Budget allocation:

On the basis of assigned or transferred revenue and expenditure budgets for adoption fees and costs, agencies and units shall allocate budgets to implement expenditure items as prescribed in Article 3 of this Circular.

4. The use and settlement of funds for specialized and professional activities in the field of adoption from the revenue of registration fees for adoption, fees for issuing, extending, and amending licenses of foreign adoption organizations, and costs for resolving foreign adoptions shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law, Accounting Law, Fee and Charge Ordinance, and guiding documents for their implementation.

Article 6. Inspection and Public Reporting on the Use of Costs for Processing International Adoption

1. The agencies using costs for processing international adoption as specified in Point c, Clause 2, Article 2 of this Circular shall be responsible for periodically reporting annually to the People's Committee at the provincial level, while sending to the Department of Justice for consolidation to report to the Adoption Agency under the Ministry of Justice on the situation of using costs for processing international adoption.

2. The Department of Justice shall be responsible for consolidating and periodically reporting annually to the Adoption Agency under the Ministry of Justice on the situation of using costs for processing international adoption in their locality.

3. The Adoption Agency under the Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for monitoring, inspecting, and publicly reporting on income and expenditure for processing international adoption nationwide in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 49 of Decree No. 19/2011/NĐ-CP.

Article 7. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from October 25, 2012.

2. During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, it is recommended that agencies and units promptly reflect these issues to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice for timely amendments and supplements to ensure appropriateness./.