Decree No. 163/2016/ND-CP detailing a number of provisions of the State Budget Law

DECREE

Detailed Implementation of Certain Provisions of the State Budget Law

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Pursuant to the Law on the Organization of the Government dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the State Budget Law dated June 25, 2015;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance;

The Government promulgates this Decree detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the State Budget Law.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope and Applicability

Article 1. Scope of Application:

a) This Decree details the implementation of certain provisions of the State Budget Law regarding the preparation of state budget estimates; collection and payment into the state budget; control and settlement of state budget expenditures; management of the state budget based on the results of tasks performed; finalization of the state budget; principles, conditions, and authority for advance payments from the budget estimate, reallocation of funds, and use of budget reserves; use of the financial reserve fund; publicizing the state budget, and community oversight of the state budget, and other matters as prescribed by the State Budget Law;

b) Matters concerning five-year financial plans, three-year financial-budget plans; management and use of the state budget for certain activities in the fields of national defense, security, and foreign affairs; special financial-budget mechanisms and policies for certain provinces and centrally-administered cities; state treasury management systems; regulations on examination and decision-making of local budget estimates and allocation of local budgets, and approval of local budget finalization, shall be implemented according to separate regulations of the Government.

第二条 组织和实施奖励工作的支出水平，如政府第152/2025/NĐ-CP号决定关于分级授权和奖励领域的分权规定

Article 2. Collection of the State Budget

1. Taxes paid by organizations and individuals in accordance with tax laws.

2. Fees paid by organizations and individuals in accordance with the law.

3. Charges derived from services provided by state agencies, which may be deducted if allocated costs are covered.

4. Charges derived from services provided by public service units and state-owned enterprises, after deducting amounts set aside to cover costs as prescribed by law.

5. Payments to the state budget from state economic activities, including:

a) Profits distributed to the host country and other revenues from oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities;

b) Recoveries of state investment capital in economic organizations;

c) Dividends and profits distributed at joint-stock companies and limited liability companies with two or more shareholders having state capital contributions;

d) Remaining post-tax profits of state-owned enterprises after setting aside required funds;

đ) Excess revenue over expenditure of the State Bank of Vietnam;

e) Recovery of state loans (including principal and interest), excluding relending of government foreign loans.

6. Contributions collected from agencies, organizations, and individuals as prescribed by law.

7. Revenue from the sale of state assets, including revenue from land transfer rights and changes in land use purposes managed by state agencies and units.

8. Land use fees; land lease fees, water surface lease fees; marine area use fees; lease and sale proceeds of state-owned housing.

9. Revenue from assets established as state property; revenue from granting mineral exploitation rights, and revenue from granting water resource exploitation rights.

10. Proceeds from administrative penalties, fines, and other confiscations as prescribed by law.

11. Voluntary contributions from organizations and individuals both within and outside the country.

12. Non-reimbursable aid grants from governments, organizations, and individuals abroad to the state, the Vietnamese Government, and local state agencies.

13. Revenue from the financial reserve fund as stipulated in Article 11 of the State Budget Law.

14. Other revenues as prescribed by law.

11. Voluntary contributions from organizations and individuals both within and outside the country.

12. Non-repayable aid grants from the governments, organizations, and individuals outside the country to the State, the Government of Vietnam, and local state agencies.

13. Revenue from the financial reserve fund as prescribed in Article 11 of the State Budget Law.

14. Other revenues as prescribed by law.

Article 3. State budget expenditure

1. Development investment expenditure includes:

a) Expenditure on basic construction projects in fields as specified in Clause 3 of this Article;

b) Investment and capital support for enterprises providing public goods and services ordered by the State; economic organizations; central and local financial organizations; state capital investment in enterprises in accordance with the provisions of the law;

c) Other development investment expenditures as prescribed by law.

2. National reserve expenditure.

3. Recurrent expenditure for the following areas:

a) National defense;

b) Security and social order, social safety;

c) Education and training affairs and vocational training;

d) Science and technology affairs;

đ) Health, population, and family affairs;

e) Cultural information affairs;

g) Radio, television, and news agency affairs;

h) Physical education and sports affairs;

i) Environmental protection affairs;

k) Economic activities;

l) Activities of state agencies, Communist Party of Vietnam agencies, and political-social organizations including: Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Vietnam Veterans Association, Vietnam Women's Union, Vietnam Farmers' Association; support for activities of political-social-professional organizations, social organizations, and social-professional organizations in accordance with the provisions of the law;

m) Social security expenditure, including expenditure to implement social policies as prescribed by the law;

n) Other recurrent expenditures as prescribed by the law.

4. Interest payment, fee payment, and other incidental expenses arising from funds borrowed by the Government and provincial authorities.

5. Central budget aid to foreign governments and organizations.

6. Loans as prescribed by the law.

7. Supplementary financial reserve fund expenditure.

8. Transfer of funds from the previous year's budget to the next year's budget.

9. Supplementary budget balance expenditure, targeted supplementary expenditure from higher-level budgets to lower-level budgets.

Article 4. State budget deficit

1. The state budget deficit includes the central government budget deficit and the provincial government budget deficit:

a) The central government budget deficit is determined by the difference between total central government budget expenditure and total central government budget revenue in a fiscal year;

b) The provincial government budget deficit is the sum of each provincial government budget deficit, determined by the difference between total provincial government budget expenditure and total provincial government budget revenue in a fiscal year.

2. The central government budget deficit is covered by the following sources:

a) Domestic borrowing through issuance of government bonds, national construction bonds, and other domestic loans as prescribed by the law;

b) Foreign borrowing from official development assistance (ODA) loans, concessional loans from foreign governments, financial institutions of foreign countries, and international organizations; issuance of government bonds in the international market; excluding loans made by the government to be relended to economic organizations.

3. The provincial government budget deficit is covered by the following sources:

a) Domestic borrowing through issuance of local government bonds and other domestic loans as prescribed by the law;

b) Borrowing from the government's loan to be relended to local government budgets.

4. Borrowing to cover the budget deficit as stipulated in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article does not include borrowing to repay principal debt.

5. Provincial budgets are permitted to run deficits when they meet the following regulations and conditions:

a) They can only be used to invest in projects under the medium-term public investment plan decided by the People's Council at the provincial level in accordance with Point a, Clause 5, Article 7 of the State Budget Law;

b) The annual provincial government budget deficit shall not exceed the annual budget deficit limit decided by the National Assembly for each provincial government in accordance with Point c, Clause 5, Article 7 of the State Budget Law;

c) Within ninety days from the end of the previous fiscal year, there shall be no overdue debts for loans that must be repaid in the previous fiscal year. In special cases, the Ministry of Finance will report to the Government;

d) Borrowing to cover the provincial government budget deficit should mainly come from medium and long-term loans. Annually, based on the capital market trends, the Ministry of Finance will propose to the Government the minimum proportion of medium and long-term loans to cover the provincial government budget deficit;

đ) The outstanding debt of the provincial government budget, including the amount borrowed to cover the budget deficit according to the budget estimate, shall not exceed the debt limit stipulated in Clause 6 of this Article.

6. Level of outstanding debt of the provincial government budget:

a) For Hanoi City and Ho Chi Minh City, it shall not exceed 60% of the local government budget revenue allocated according to the classification;

b) For localities where the local government budget revenue allocated according to the classification exceeds the recurrent expenditure of the local government budget, it shall not exceed 30% of the revenue allocated according to the classification;

c) For localities where the local government budget revenue allocated according to the classification is less than or equal to the recurrent expenditure of the local government budget, it shall not exceed 20% of the revenue allocated according to the classification;

d) Determining the amount of local government budget revenue allocated according to the classification exceeding, equal to, or less than the recurrent expenditure as stipulated in Points b and c of this Clause is based on the budget revenue and expenditure forecast of the local government budget decided by the National Assembly for the budget year, the amount of local government budget revenue allocated according to the classification as determined in Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 15 of this Decree, excluding surplus local government budget revenue.

7. The Ministry of Finance shall specify detailed regulations and guidelines on borrowing and debt repayment by local authorities.

Article 5. Repayment of principal on loans

1. Sources for repayment of principal on loans include:

a) The amount borrowed to repay principal as decided annually by the National Assembly and the People's Councils of provinces;

b) Surplus of the central government budget and surplus of provincial budgets;

The surplus of the central government budget is determined by the difference between the total projected revenue of the central government budget and the total projected expenditure of the central government budget in a fiscal year. The surplus of provincial budgets is determined by the difference between the total projected revenue of provincial budgets and the total projected expenditure of provincial budgets of each locality in a fiscal year;

c) The surplus of the central government budget and provincial budgets as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 72 of the State Budget Law;

d) Increased revenue and reduced expenditure compared to the budget estimate during the implementation of the state budget as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 59 of the State Budget Law.

2. Principal debts that have matured must be fully repaid according to the commitment and signed contracts.

3. The repayment of principal must be managed and recorded through the State Treasury.

Article 6. The System of State Budgets and Relations Between Different Levels of Budgets

1. The state budget includes the central budget and local budgets.

2. Local budgets include the budgets of various levels of local authorities, including:

a) Provincial budgets (commonly referred to as provincial budgets), which include provincial-level budgets and the budgets of counties, districts, towns, and cities under provinces;

b) County, district, town, and city under province budgets (commonly referred to as county budgets), which include county-level budgets and the budgets of communes, wards, and towns;

c) Commune, ward, and town budgets (commonly referred to as commune-level budgets).

3. Principles for the division of management of revenue sources, spending responsibilities, and relations between different levels of budgets shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the State Budget Law.

Article 7. State Budget Reserve

1. The projected expenditure of the central government budget and the projected expenditure of local government budgets at all levels shall allocate reserve funds from 2% to 4% of the total expenditure of each level.

2. The state budget reserve shall be used for the purposes specified in Clause 2, Article 10 of the State Budget Law,

3. Authority to decide on the use of the central government budget reserve:

a) For expenditures exceeding VND 300 billion for each new task, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead in coordinating with the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies to submit to the Prime Minister for approval of investment development expenditures and expenditures within the purview of the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead in coordinating with relevant agencies to submit to the Prime Minister for approval of other expenditures.

The Minister of Finance shall decide on expenditures not exceeding VND 300 billion for each new task, report periodically every quarter to the Prime Minister;

b) Based on policies and regulations already approved for expenditure from the central government budget reserve, the Minister of Finance shall decide on expenditures, except for those specified in point a of this clause, and report the results to the Prime Minister;

c) Every quarter, the Ministry of Finance shall report to the Government to report to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on the use of the central government budget reserve as specified in points a and b of this clause, and report to the National Assembly at the nearest session.

4. During the process of implementing the budget, when new tasks arise within the scope of the central government budget reserve as specified in Clause 2 of this Article, ministries, central agencies, and localities must prepare detailed budgets and explanations to submit to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for examination and decision-making within their authority, or aggregate and submit to the Prime Minister for examination and supplementary funding for ministries, central agencies, and localities to carry out the tasks.

5. Authority to decide on the use of local government budget reserves at all levels shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of point b, Clause 3, Article 10 of the State Budget Law.

Article 8. Financial Reserve Fund

1. The Financial Reserve Fund is a state fund established at the central level and provincial level.

2. The Financial Reserve Fund is formed from the following sources:

a) Allocation within the annual budget expenditure plan;

b) Budget surplus as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 72 of the State Budget Law;

c) Increased budget revenue as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 59 of the State Budget Law;

d) Interest on funds deposited in the Financial Reserve Fund;

đ) Other financial sources as prescribed by law.

3. The balance of the Financial Reserve Fund at each level shall not exceed 25% of the annual budget expenditure plan of that level, excluding expenditures funded from supplementary targeted allocations from higher-level budgets.

4. The Financial Reserve Fund may be used in the following cases:

a) To provide temporary advances to the budget to meet budgetary expenditure needs according to the annual budget expenditure plan when revenue has not yet been collected and must be repaid immediately within the fiscal year;

b) In cases where state budget revenue or borrowing to cover budget deficits does not reach the projected level decided by the National Assembly or People's Council and it is necessary to implement tasks related to disaster prevention, mitigation, and aftermath handling, wide-scale epidemics, severe situations, national defense and security tasks, and other urgent tasks outside the budget, after rearranging the budget and using up the contingency reserve but still lacking sufficient resources, the Financial Reserve Fund may be used to meet expenditure needs, with the maximum usage in a year not exceeding 70% of the initial balance of the fund.

5. Authority to decide on the use of the Financial Reserve Fund:

a) For the central Financial Reserve Fund, the Minister of Finance decides on temporary advances to meet the expenditure needs as stipulated in point a, Clause 4 of this Article; the Prime Minister decides on its use for expenditures in the cases prescribed in point b, Clause 4 of this Article;

b) For the provincial Financial Reserve Fund, the Provincial People's Committee decides on its use in the cases prescribed in Clause 4 of this Article.

6. The central Financial Reserve Fund is managed by the Minister of Finance as the account holder. The provincial Financial Reserve Fund is managed by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee or delegated to the Director of the Provincial Department of Finance as the account holder.

7. The use of the Financial Reserve Fund in the cases prescribed in point b, Clause 4 of this Article shall be carried out by transferring funds from the Financial Reserve Fund into state budget revenue to implement the determined expenditure tasks.

8. The Financial Reserve Fund is deposited at the State Treasury and earns interest at the rate prescribed by law on the management system of state treasury.

9. Provincial budgets may temporarily borrow from the central Financial Reserve Fund, district budgets and commune budgets may temporarily borrow from the provincial Financial Reserve Fund and must repay the advance within the fiscal year.

Article 9. Operating Expenses of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Political-Social Organizations

1. The operating expenses of the Communist Party of Vietnam and political-social organizations, including the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Vietnam Veterans Association, the Vietnam Women's Union, and the Vietnam Farmers' Union, are guaranteed by the state budget based on the principle that the state budget covers the difference between the expenditure budget determined according to the regulations, standards, and quotas set by the competent authority and the income sources of these organizations as prescribed in their charters.

2. The preparation, implementation, and settlement of the budget of the organizations specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law, this Decree, and relevant laws.

3. The Ministry of Finance is tasked with specifying detailed regulations on the management and use of the state budget for the agencies of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Article 10. Operating funds of political-social organizations - occupational organizations, social organizations, and social-occupational organizations

Clause 1. The operating funds of political-social organizations - occupational organizations, social organizations, and social-occupational organizations shall be implemented on the principle of self-sufficiency. In cases where political-social organizations - occupational organizations, social organizations, and social-occupational organizations are assigned tasks by state agencies with competent authority, they shall be supported by the state budget to carry out such tasks.

Clause 2. The support funds for political-social organizations - occupational organizations, social organizations, and social-occupational organizations shall be allocated within the state budget estimates at each level submitted to the National Assembly and People's Councils for decision.

Clause 3. The preparation, implementation, and settlement of state budget support funds shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law, this Decree, and relevant laws.

Clause 4. The Government shall specify the details of state budget support for the organizations mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 11. Management of the state budget based on the results of task performance

Clause 1. Management of the state budget based on the results of task performance involves the establishment, allocation, execution, and settlement of the state budget based on clearly defined state budget funds linked to tasks, services, and products that need to be completed with specified quantities, volumes, quality, and technical standards as prescribed.

Clause 2. The entities implementing management of the state budget based on the results of task performance are budget-using units that meet the following conditions:

Point a. They can determine the volume, quantity, quality, and completion time.

Point b. They have a basis and criteria for calculating to establish and allocate budget estimates according to technical and economic norms, expenditure standards, or the value of similar tasks, services, and products provided under similar conditions (including all taxes, fees, and charges required by law).

Point c. They must have evaluation criteria and mechanisms for monitoring and assessing the results.

Point d. There must be a written agreement between the task-assigning agency and the task-receiving agency regarding the management of the state budget based on the results of task performance.

Clause 3. The scope of application includes tasks, services, and products whose requirements for volume, quantity, quality, and technical standards of completed tasks, services, and products and the necessary state budget funds can be clearly determined based on technical and economic norms, criteria, and budget expenditure standards decided by the competent authority.

Clause 4. Principles of application:

Point a. Increasing authority while increasing individual responsibility and accountability before the law of unit heads.

Point b. Simplifying the state budget management process in the control and settlement of expenditures.

Point c. The volume, quantity, quality, technical standards, supply time, and cost estimates of tasks, services, and products must ensure a minimum equivalent or better than the management method based on input factors.

Point d. The Ministry of Finance shall specify detailed regulations and guidelines for managing the state budget based on the results of task performance.

Article 12. State Financial Fund Outside the State Budget

1. The state financial fund outside the state budget is a fund established in accordance with Clause 19, Article 4 of the Law on State Budget.

2. The state budget does not provide funding for the operation of state financial funds outside the state budget.

3. Based on the capacity of the state budget, the state financial fund outside the state budget may be considered for capital contribution from the state budget by the competent authority when it meets the following conditions:

a) Established and operates in accordance with the provisions of the law;

b) Has independent financial capability;

c) Has sources of revenue and expenditure tasks that do not overlap with those of the state budget.

4. The state financial fund outside the state budget and its management agency must comply with the provisions of the Law on State Budget and this Decree regarding the preparation, implementation, settlement, and auditing of the state budget concerning the portion of state budget support.

5. Annually, the management agency of the centrally-managed fund reports to the Ministry of Finance on the implementation of the financial plan, the next year's financial plan, and the settlement of income and expenditure of the fund for consolidation and reporting to the Government along with the budget estimate and settlement report to the National Assembly; the management agency of the locally-managed fund reports to the Department of Finance on the implementation of the financial plan, the next year's financial plan, and the settlement of income and expenditure of the fund for consolidation and reporting to the People's Council for reporting to the Provincial People's Council along with the local budget estimate and settlement report.

6. The management agency of the centrally-managed state financial fund is responsible for leading and coordinating with the Ministry of Finance to report to the Government to explain to the National Assembly upon request; the management agency of the locally-managed state financial fund is responsible for leading and coordinating with the Department of Finance to report to the provincial-level People's Committee to explain to the provincial-level People's Council upon request.

Chapter II

CLASSIFICATION OF STATE BUDGET MANAGEMENT AND RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BUDGETS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS

Article 13. Sources of Revenue for the Central State Budget

1. Central budget revenue items that the central government enjoys 100%:

a) Value-added tax collected from imported goods;

b) Export tax, import tax;

c) Special consumption tax from imported goods, including special consumption tax on imported goods sold domestically by import businesses;

d) Environmental protection tax collected from imported goods;

đ) Resource tax, corporate income tax, value-added tax, profits distributed by host countries, various fees, rent for water surfaces, other taxes, fees, and revenues from exploration and exploitation activities of oil and gas;

e) Non-reimbursable grants from governments of other countries, international organizations, other organizations, and individuals abroad to the Government of Vietnam;

g) Fees from services provided by central state agencies, where costs are allocated by authorized bodies, such fees can be deducted; fees from services provided by centrally-managed public service units and centrally-managed state enterprises, after deducting the portion retained under the law to cover costs;

h) Fees collected by central state agencies; excluding business registration fees stipulated at point g and real estate transfer fees stipulated at point h of Clause 1, Article 15 of this Decree;

i) Penalties and fines from administrative violations and other confiscations as prescribed by law decided by central state agencies to implement penalties and confiscations;

k) Income from the sale of state assets, including income from the transfer of land use rights attached to assets on land, changes in land use purposes by state agencies, political organizations, social-political organizations, centrally-managed public service units, wholly state-owned limited liability companies before restructuring and listing, and other units and organizations under central management;

l) Income from assets established as state property by central agencies, units, and organizations, after deducting costs as prescribed by law;

m) Recovered capital of the central state budget invested in economic organizations (including principal and interest); dividends and profits distributed at joint-stock companies and limited liability companies with two or more shareholders having state capital represented by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and other central agencies; remaining post-tax profits of state-owned enterprises after setting aside reserves as represented by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and other central agencies;

n) Income from the right to exploit minerals and water resources, part of which is enjoyed by the central budget according to the law;

o) Fees for using sea areas within the jurisdiction of the central government;

p) Excess revenue over expenditure of the State Bank of Vietnam;

q) Income from the central financial reserve fund;

r) Surplus of the central budget;

s) Transferred revenue from the previous year to the central budget;

t) Other revenues as prescribed by law.

2. Revenues divided between the central budget and local budgets according to a percentage ratio (%):

a) Value-added tax, including value-added tax of subcontractors arising from service activities supporting oil and gas exploration and exploitation; excluding value-added tax prescribed at point a and point đ of Clause 1 of this Article;

b) Corporate income tax, including corporate income tax of subcontractors arising from service activities supporting oil and gas exploration and exploitation; excluding corporate income tax prescribed at point đ of Clause 1 of this Article.

c) Personal income tax;

d) Special consumption tax, excluding special consumption tax prescribed at point c of Clause 1 of this Article;

đ) Environmental protection tax, excluding environmental protection tax prescribed at point d of Clause 1 of this Article. For environmental protection tax on domestically produced gasoline and diesel, the amount of revenue generated is based on the sales volume of the main enterprise on the market and the proportion of domestic production volume of gasoline and diesel to total imported volume. The Ministry of Finance shall provide detailed guidance on this matter.

Article 14. Expenditure tasks of the central budget

1. Development investment expenditures:

a) Investment in basic construction for programs and projects of ministries, agencies at the ministerial level, government agencies, and other central agencies in the fields specified in Clause 3 of this Article;

b) Investment and capital support for enterprises providing public goods and services ordered by the state; economic organizations; central financial organizations; state capital investment in enterprises in accordance with the provisions of the law;

c) Other development investment expenditures as prescribed by law.

2. National reserve expenditure.

3. Regular expenditure of ministries, agencies at the ministerial level, government agencies, and other central agencies classified in the following areas:

a) National defense;

b) Security and social order;

c) Education and training affairs and vocational training;

d) Science and technology affairs;

đ) Health, population, and family affairs;

e) Cultural information affairs;

g) Radio, television, and news agency affairs;

h) Physical education and sports affairs;

i) Environmental protection affairs;

k) Economic activities: Agriculture, forestry, water resources, fisheries; transportation; natural resources; boundary demarcation; trade and tourism planning; expenditures on import, storage, protection, insurance of national reserve goods carried out by the state; other economic activities;

l) Activities of state agencies, Communist Party of Vietnam agencies; Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, Central Youth Union of Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth, Central Association of War Invalids and Families of Martyrs, Central Women's Union of Vietnam, Central Farmers' Union of Vietnam;

m) Support for activities of political-social organizations, social organizations, social-professional organizations at the central level in accordance with the provisions of the law;

n) Social security expenditure, including expenditure to implement social policies as prescribed by law;

o) Other regular expenditure as prescribed by law.

4. Payment of interest, fees, and other expenses arising from government loans.

5. Aid receipts.

6. Loans as prescribed by the law.

7. Supplementary funding for the central financial reserve fund.

8. Transfer of central budget sources to the next year.

9. Supplementary balance adjustment for the state budget, targeted supplementary funding for local budgets.

Article 15. Revenue sources of the local budget

1. Local budget revenues receiving 100%:

a) Resource tax, excluding resource tax collected from oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities;

b) Agricultural land use tax;

c) Non-agricultural land use tax;

d) Land use fee;

đ) Land lease and water surface lease fees, excluding land lease and water surface lease fees from oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities;

e) Fees from leasing and selling state-owned housing;

g) Business registration fee;

h) Stamp duty;

i) Income from lottery activities, including electronic lottery activities;

k) Recovery of local budget funds invested in economic organizations (including principal and interest); dividends and profits distributed at joint-stock companies and limited liability companies with two or more shareholders having state capital represented by provincial People's Committees; remaining post-tax profits after setting aside funds for state-owned enterprises represented by provincial People's Committees;

l) Income from the sale of state assets, including income from transferring land use rights attached to assets on land, changing land use purposes by state agencies, political organizations, public service units, state-owned limited liability companies with local budget participation before privatization and restructuring, and other units and organizations under local management;

m) Non-reimbursable aid from international organizations, other organizations, and individuals abroad directly to localities;

n) Fees from local state agency service activities, which can be deducted if authorized to allocate operating costs; fees from local public service unit and state-owned enterprise service activities, after deducting retained earnings to cover costs as prescribed by law;

o) Fees collected by local state agencies;

p) Fines and penalties, and other confiscations according to the law decided by local state agencies to impose fines and confiscations;

q) Income from state-owned property established by local agencies, units, and organizations, after deducting costs as prescribed by law;

r) Income from mineral exploitation rights and water resource exploitation rights allocated to the local budget according to the law;

s) Marine area use fees for marine areas within the jurisdiction of local authorities;

t) Income from public land funds and other public asset revenues;

u) Contributions from organizations and individuals as prescribed by law;

v) Income from the local financial reserve fund;

x) Local budget surplus income;

Other income as prescribed by law.

2. Revenue items divided between the central and local budgets at a percentage rate as stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 13 of this Decree.

3. Supplementary balance adjustment revenue from the central budget, targeted supplementary revenue from the central budget.

4. Revenue transferred from the previous year's local budget.

Article 16. Local budget expenditure tasks

1. Development investment expenditures:

a) Investment in basic construction for programs and projects managed by localities in accordance with the fields specified in Clause 2 of this Article;

b) Investment and capital support for enterprises providing public goods and services ordered by the state, economic organizations, and financial organizations of the locality in accordance with the law; state investment in enterprises managed by the locality in accordance with the law;

c) Other development investment expenditures as prescribed by law.

2. Regular expenditure of agencies and units at the local level classified in the following areas:

a) Education and training affairs and vocational training;

b) Science and technology affairs;

c) National defense, security, public order, social safety, the portion assigned to local management;

d) Health affairs, population and family;

đ) Cultural information affairs;

e) Broadcasting and television affairs;

g) Physical education and sports affairs;

h) Environmental protection affairs;

i) Economic activities: Agriculture, forestry, water conservancy, fisheries; transportation; natural resources; planning; trade, tourism; urban construction activities; other economic activities;

k) Activities of state management agencies, Communist Party of Vietnam agencies; Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, Vietnam Veterans Association, Vietnam Women's Union, Vietnam Farmers' Union at the local level;

l) Support for activities of political-social-professional organizations, social organizations, social-professional organizations at the local level in accordance with the law;

m) Social security expenditure, including expenditure implementing social policies in accordance with the law;

n) Other recurrent expenditures as prescribed by the law.

3. Payment of interest, fees, and other incidental expenses from funds borrowed by provincial authorities.

4. Supplementing the local financial reserve fund.

5. Transfer of local budget sources to the next year.

6. Supplementing the balanced budget, supplementing targeted budgets for lower-level budgets.

Article 17. Principles for classifying revenue sources and expenditure tasks between local budget levels

1. Based on the revenue sources and expenditure tasks of the local budget stipulated in Articles 15 and 16 of this Decree, the Provincial People's Council decides specifically on the classification of revenue sources and expenditure tasks between local budget levels according to the following principles:

a) Consistent with the classification of economic and social tasks, national defense, and security for each field and the economic, geographic, demographic, and management capacity characteristics of each region and locality;

b) The village and town budget receives revenue from the following sources: non-agricultural land use tax; business registration fee collected from individuals and households engaged in business; agricultural land use tax collected from households; real estate transfer tax;

c) The district and village budget does not have research science and technology expenditure tasks. The district and village budget can be used for technology application and transfer tasks;

d) In the classification of expenditure tasks for cities under provinces, cities under central municipalities, there must be expenditure tasks for constructing public primary and secondary schools, street lighting, water supply and drainage, urban transportation, urban sanitation, and other public welfare facilities.

2. Based on the local budget revenue that enjoys 100% and the revenue shares divided according to the percentage decided by the National Assembly and assigned by the Prime Minister, the Provincial People's Council decides the percentage for revenue shares divided among local budget levels. For revenue shares divided between the central budget and the local budget, when allocating to local government budget levels, the percentage of revenue division shall not exceed the percentage decided by the National Assembly and assigned by the Prime Minister for each province and centrally-administered city.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall specify detailed regulations on budget management and other financial activities of villages, towns, and wards.

Article 18. Principles for determining the percentage rate (%) for dividing shared revenue and supplementary balanced funds from higher-level budgets to lower-level budgets

1. The percentage rate (%) for dividing shared revenue between the central budget and local budgets shall be determined to ensure that local budget revenues are balanced with expenditure needs according to assigned tasks. For provinces and centrally-administered cities, after being allocated 100% of shared revenue between the central budget and local budgets, if the expenditure requirements still exceed the local budget revenues received, the central budget will supplement the local budget with the corresponding difference between revenue and expenditure.

2. The percentage rate (%) for dividing revenue among different levels of local budgets shall be determined to ensure that revenues are balanced with expenditure needs according to assigned tasks. Based on actual conditions at the locality, the People's Council of the province may simultaneously allocate shared revenue and supplement the budgets of districts, towns, cities under provinces, and cities under centrally-administered cities.

3. The percentage rate (%) for dividing shared revenue and supplementary balanced funds shall be determined based on calculations of revenues and expenditure tasks of each level of budget according to criteria such as population, natural conditions, economic and social conditions of each region; paying attention to remote areas, revolutionary bases, areas with a large number of ethnic minority residents, and difficult and extremely difficult areas; areas with large rice cultivation land area; protective forests and special-use forests; key economic zones.

4. The percentage rate (%) for dividing revenue shall be uniformly applied to all shared revenue between the central budget and local budgets. For shared revenue among local government levels, the specific decisions shall be made by the People's Council of the province.

Article 19. Supplementary funds from higher-level budgets to lower-level budgets

1. The Government shall submit to the National Assembly for decision on the amount of supplementary funds from the central budget to each provincial and centrally-administered city budget. The People's Committee shall submit to the same-level People's Council for decision on the amount of supplementary funds from its own budget to the directly subordinate budget.

2. Supplementary balanced budgeting aims to ensure that lower-level authorities have balanced budget sources to fulfill assigned economic, social, defense, and security tasks. During the budget stabilization period, based on the balancing capacity of the higher-level budget, the competent authority shall decide to increase supplementary balanced budget funds from the higher-level budget to the lower-level budget compared to the first year of the budget stabilization period.

3. Targeted supplementary funds aim to support lower-level budgets:

a) Implementing new policies and systems issued by higher levels but not yet arranged or insufficiently arranged in the budget estimate of the first year of the budget stabilization period; the specific level of support shall be determined based on expenditure needs according to the system and policy and the balancing capacity of related levels of budget;

b) Implementing national target programs and other programs and projects of higher levels assigned to lower levels; the specific level of support shall be implemented according to the budget estimate assigned by the competent authority;

c) Addressing the aftermath of widespread natural disasters, calamities, and epidemics after the lower-level budget has utilized budget reserves and financial reserve funds as prescribed but still cannot meet the needs;

d) Supporting the implementation of some major and particularly important programs and projects with significant impacts on local socio-economic development. The specific level of support shall be determined for each program and project. The total annual level of investment development capital support from the central budget to the local budget as stipulated herein shall not exceed 30% of the total construction investment expenditures of the central budget.

Article 20. The Ministry of Finance's authority to issue regulations, standards, and budget expenditure norms applicable nationwide.

1. Decisions on setting budget expenditure levels for regulations and standards that have been decided by the Government or the Prime Minister but have not yet had specific expenditure levels established.

2. Decisions on issuing regulations, standards, and budget expenditure norms for various sectors and fields after reaching consensus with the relevant ministries managing those sectors and fields; in cases where consensus cannot be reached, the Ministry of Finance shall submit the matter to the Prime Minister for consideration and opinion before making a decision in accordance with Clause 3, Article 26 of the State Budget Law.

3. Decisions on issuing regulations, standards, and budget expenditure norms based on the division of labor by the Government or the Prime Minister.

Article 21. The Provincial People's Council's authority to decide on allocation norms and regulations, standards, and budget expenditure norms.

1. Based on principles, criteria, and allocation norms for local budgets issued by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the provincial financial capacity, and local conditions, the Provincial People's Council decides on principles, criteria, and allocation norms for local budgets as the basis for preparing local budget estimates.

2. Decisions on specific regulations, standards, and budget expenditure norms according to the framework set by the Government.

3. Decisions on budget expenditure regulations for certain tasks with special characteristics at the local level outside the regulations, standards, and expenditure norms issued by the Government, the Prime Minister, and the Minister of Finance to implement economic and social development tasks and ensure public order and safety within the province, consistent with the local budget's balancing capacity, without central government support. For salary, wage, and allowance expenditure regulations, prior to making decisions, opinions from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and other sectoral management ministries must be obtained.

Within ten working days from the date the Provincial People's Council decides to issue, the Provincial People's Committee shall send the special local budget expenditure regulations to the Ministry of Finance and related ministries and agencies for consolidation and monitoring of implementation.

Chapter III

PREPARATION OF THE STATE BUDGET ESTIMATE

Article 22. Timeframes for guiding the preparation, construction, consolidation, decision-making, and allocation of state budget estimates.

1. Before May 15 each year, the Prime Minister issues guidelines for developing the economic and social development plan and the state budget estimate for the following year.

2. Before June 1 each year, the Ministry of Planning and Investment:

a) Issues circulars guiding the development of the economic and social development plan and the investment development plan for the following year;

b) Announces the check number for the budget estimate for development investment under the state budget for the following year to each ministry, agency equivalent to a ministry, agency under the Government, and other central-level agencies and each province and centrally-administered city;

c) Announces the check number for the budget estimate for development investment under the state budget for the following year for each national target program and target program to each ministry and agency managing the national target program and target program.

3. Before June 1 each year, the Ministry of Finance:

a) Issues circulars guiding the preparation of the state budget estimate for the following year;

b) Announces the check number for the state budget estimate with the total amount and each revenue and expenditure item for the state reserve fund and regular state budget expenditures for the following year to each ministry, agency equivalent to a ministry, agency under the Government, and other central-level agencies;

c) Announces the detailed check number for the regular state budget expenditure estimate for the following year for each national target program and target program to each ministry and agency managing the national target program and target program;

d) Announces the check number for the total revenue estimate of the state budget on the territory, total expenditure of the local budget, and some important expenditure areas to each province and centrally-administered city.

4. Before June 15 each year:

a) Ministries, agencies equivalent to a ministry, agencies under the Government, and other central-level agencies guide the preparation of the state budget estimate for the following year within their assigned management scope; announce the check number for the revenue and expenditure budget estimate for the following year to subordinate agencies and units;

b) The Provincial People's Committee guides the preparation of the state budget estimate for the following year at the local level in accordance with the requirements, content, and time frame for preparing the provincial and centrally-administered city budget estimates; announces the check number for the revenue and expenditure budget estimate for the following year to subordinate agencies and units and the District People's Committees; the District People's Committees announce the check number for the revenue and expenditure budget estimate for the following year to subordinate agencies and units and the Commune People's Committees.

5. Before July 20 each year:

a) Ministries, agencies equivalent to a ministry, agencies under the Government, and other central-level agencies prepare the revenue and expenditure budget estimate and detailed allocation plan for the following year by sector and down to each budget-using agency and unit, and send it to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and agencies managing national target programs and target programs (for the part related to national target programs and target programs);

b) The Provincial People's Committee prepares and consolidates the local budget estimate for the following year and sends it to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and agencies managing national target programs and target programs (the part related to national target programs and target programs).

6. Before August 15 each year, ministries and agencies managing national target programs and target programs take the lead in preparing the expenditure budget and allocation plan for the following year for national target programs and target programs and send it to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

7. Before August 31 each year, the Ministry of Planning and Investment sends the allocation plan for development investment expenditure from the central budget for the following year to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation.

8. The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead, consolidate, and prepare the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates, and the central budget allocation plan for the following year to report to the Government for submission to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for comments before September 20th in accordance with Clause 2 of Article 44 of the State Budget Law.

9. Based on the audit opinions of the National Assembly's agencies, the Ministry of Finance shall take the lead in completing the report on the implementation of the current state budget, the state budget estimate, and the central budget allocation plan for the following year to be submitted to the Government for delivery to the National Assembly deputies no later than 20 days prior to the opening date of the final session of the National Assembly.

10. After the National Assembly decides on the state budget estimate and the central budget allocation, the Prime Minister shall assign the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates for the following year to each ministry, agency at ministerial level, government agency, other central agencies, and each province and centrally-administered city before November 20th of the preceding year.

11. The People's Councils at provincial level shall decide on the local budget estimate and the provincial budget allocation for the following year before December 10th. Lower-level People's Councils shall decide on the local budget estimate and the budget allocation for their level no later than 10 days from the date the directly superior People's Council decides on the budget estimate and allocation.

12. Within the latest five working days from the date the People's Council decides on the state budget estimate, the People's Committee at the same level shall assign the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates for the following year to each subordinate agency and lower-level unit; simultaneously, report to the superior People's Committee and financial authority, and the provincial People's Committee shall report to the Ministry of Finance about the state budget estimate decided by the provincial People's Council.

13. Before December 31st, ministries, agencies at ministerial level, government agencies, other central agencies, and local People's Committees at all levels must complete the assignment of the state budget estimates to each subordinate agency and unit and lower-level People's Committees, except in cases provided for in Article 27 of this Decree.

Article 23. Preparation of state budget estimates at budgetary units and organizations supported by the state budget.

1. Budget-using units and project sponsors shall prepare the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates within their assigned tasks and submit them to the directly superior management agency.

2. For budget-using units authorized to manage the budget based on the results of their tasks, they must separately prepare the funds for each specific task, service, and product. The preparation of the budget for each task, service, and product must be based on the requirements for results, technical standards, and specific completion times for each task, service, and product; technical and economic norms, consumption regulations as currently prescribed, or the value of equivalent and similar tasks, services, and products.

3. The directly superior management agency (in cases where it is not a first-level budgetary unit) shall review and consolidate the budgets of the subordinate units and submit them to the first-level budgetary unit.

4. Organizations supported by the state budget shall prepare the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates within their assigned tasks and submit them to the same-level financial authority and planning and investment agency.

5. First-level budgetary units shall examine the budgets prepared by the subordinate units; consolidate and prepare the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates within their management scope and submit them to the same-level financial authority and planning and investment agency.

6. The state budget revenue and expenditure estimates prepared must comply with the requirements for preparing the state budget as stipulated in Article 42 of the State Budget Law.

Article 24. Preparation of the State Budget Estimate at Revenue Collection Agencies

1. Tax Department:

a) Prepare the estimate of state budget revenue within its jurisdiction, including the value-added tax refunds under its management to be sent to the General Department of Taxation, Provincial People's Committee, Department of Finance, Department of Planning and Investment;

b) Guide subordinate tax agencies in preparing the estimate of state budget revenue within their jurisdictions to be submitted to the People's Committee, financial agencies, and planning and investment agencies, ensuring the requirements, contents, and timeframes for local budget preparation.

2. Customs Department shall prepare the estimate of export tax, import tax; special consumption tax, value-added tax, environmental protection tax on imported goods, and other revenues related to import and export activities within its jurisdiction and by province/city directly under the central government to be sent to the General Department of Customs, Provincial People's Committee, Department of Finance, Department of Planning and Investment.

3. Agencies and units authorized to collect state budget revenue from fees and charges must prepare the estimate of the assigned fee and charge revenues to be submitted to the tax agency and the same-level financial agency.

Article 25. Preparation of Local Government Budget Estimates

1. The Department of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with the Department of Planning and Investment to review the state budget revenue estimates prepared by revenue collection agencies, the first-level unit budget revenue and expenditure estimates within its jurisdiction, and the county-level budget revenue and expenditure estimates; prepare the state budget revenue estimate within its jurisdiction, the local government budget revenue and expenditure estimate, and report to the Provincial People's Committee for submission to the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council for consideration and comments.

2. After receiving comments from the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council, the Provincial People's Committee shall submit the local government budget estimate report to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and relevant agencies managing national target programs and sectoral target programs for the program expenditure allocation plan.

Article 26. Preparation of the State Budget Estimate and Central Government Budget Allocation Plan

1. The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and relevant ministries and agencies to compile and prepare the state budget revenue and expenditure estimate and the central government budget allocation plan to be submitted to the Government according to the documents specified in Clause 1, Article 47 of the State Budget Law.

2. In accordance with the division of labor by the Government, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance shall represent the Government to report and explain the preparation of the state budget revenue and expenditure estimate and the central government budget allocation plan to the National Assembly and its agencies as prescribed by law.

Article 27. Re-preparation of the State Budget Estimate

1. The re-preparation of the state budget estimate and the central government budget allocation plan; the local government budget estimate and the local government budget allocation plan shall be carried out as stipulated in Article 48 of the State Budget Law.

2. The time for re-preparing the state budget estimate and the central government budget allocation plan shall be decided by the National Assembly.

3. The time for re-preparing the local government budget estimate shall be implemented as follows:

a) For the state budget estimate and central government budget allocation plan already decided by the National Assembly and assigned by the Prime Minister, the Provincial People's Committee shall submit the local government budget estimate and provincial budget allocation plan to the same-level People's Council for decision before December 10. In case the Provincial People's Council requests the Provincial People's Committee to re-prepare the local government budget estimate and provincial budget allocation plan, it shall be submitted to the Provincial People's Council for decision at a time determined by the Provincial People's Council but not later than December 20 of the previous year;

b) The re-preparation of the local government budget estimate and provincial budget allocation plan as stipulated in this Clause 2, the Provincial People's Committee shall submit the local government budget estimate and provincial budget allocation plan to the Provincial People's Council for decision no later than 15 days from the date the Prime Minister assigns the state budget to the locality;

c) The Provincial People's Committee shall specify the time for re-preparing the budget estimate for the district and commune levels, but it must ensure that the lower-level People's Council decides the local government budget estimate and its own budget allocation plan no later than 10 days from the date the higher-level People's Council decides the budget estimate and allocation plan.

Article 28. Responsibilities of agencies and units in preparing the budget estimate and the plan for allocating the budget estimate

1. People's Committees at all levels:

a) Guide, organize, and direct subordinate units and lower-level authorities to prepare the budget revenue and expenditure estimates within their jurisdiction; coordinate and direct local tax and customs offices to prepare the state budget revenue estimates, and forecast the value-added tax refunds according to the prescribed regulations.

b) Prepare the state budget revenue estimate on the local level, the local budget revenue and expenditure estimates; report to the Standing Committee of the People's Council for review before reporting to the higher administrative agency.

c) Based on the budget revenue and expenditure estimates assigned by superiors, submit to the same-level People's Council for decision on the local budget estimates and the allocation plan of the budget for their own level; report to the higher administrative agency, financial agency, planning and investment agency on the local budget estimates and the results of the budget allocation plan for their own level decided by the same-level People's Council.

d) Based on the Resolution of the same-level People's Council, allocate the budget revenue and expenditure estimates to each subordinate agency and unit, the budget revenue and expenditure estimates and the additional budget supplement for lower levels.

đ) Prepare the adjustment plan for the local budget estimate and the allocation plan for the budget revenue and expenditure estimates for their own level, submit to the same-level People's Council for decision when required by the higher administrative agency in cases where the Resolution of the same-level People's Council does not align with the superior budget revenue and expenditure estimates.

e) Request lower-level People's Councils to adjust the budget estimates when necessary.

2. Financial agencies at all levels:

a) Take the lead and coordinate with the planning and investment agency to organize discussions on the annual budget estimates with agencies and units at the same level. For the first year of the budget stabilization period, the finance agency takes the lead and coordinates with the planning and investment agency, tax agency, and related agencies to discuss with the directly subordinate People's Councils to determine the budget revenue and expenditure estimates, the percentage distribution of shared revenues between upper and lower budgets, and the supplementary balance transfers from the upper budget to the lower budget. For subsequent years during the budget stabilization period, the higher-level finance agency organizes discussions with the directly subordinate People's Councils when requested by the lower-level People's Councils.

During the discussion process of the budget estimates and the allocation plans, the finance agency has the right to request reallocation of revenues and expenditures in the estimates that do not comply with legal regulations, standards, and norms, are unreasonable, wasteful, or inconsistent with budget capacity and economic-social development orientations. In cases of differing opinions between the finance agency and other agencies and units at the same level and lower-level People's Councils, the local finance agency reports to the same-level People's Council for decision; the Ministry of Finance reports to the Prime Minister for decision.

b) Take the lead and coordinate with the planning and investment agency and related agencies at the same level in compiling and preparing the budget estimates and allocation plans for each sector of the budget for their own level. In developmental investment spending and regular spending, specific budget estimates must be compiled for education and training, vocational training, science and technology sectors both locally and nationwide.

c) Take the lead and coordinate with the planning and investment agency and related agencies at the same level in compiling and preparing the budget estimates and allocation plans for their own level.

d) Coordinate with the planning and investment agency at the same level in preparing the developmental investment budget estimates for their own level.

đ) The Ministry of Finance reviews the national target programs and target programs' budget expenditure plans prepared and consolidated by the program management agencies and sent by the Ministry of Planning and Investment to the Government for approval.

e) Take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to propose budget balancing plans and measures to implement policies to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

g) The Ministry of Finance reviews the resolutions on budget estimates of provincial People's Councils, and proposes adjustments to the budget estimates if necessary. Local financial agencies check the resolutions on budget estimates of lower-level People's Councils to propose recommendations to the same-level People's Councils, requesting lower-level People's Councils to adjust the budget estimates if necessary.

3. Planning and Investment Agencies at all levels:

a) The Ministry of Planning and Investment submits to the Government the national socio-economic development plan and the main balances of the national economy, including financial, monetary, and developmental investment capital balances, serving as the basis for building the budget estimates.

b) The planning and investment agency coordinates with the financial agency at the same level in compiling and preparing the budget estimates for their own level; leads and coordinates with the financial agency at the same level in preparing the developmental investment budget estimates and the allocation plan for basic construction investments; sends these to the financial agency at the same level for consolidation into the state budget estimates and allocation plan.

c) The Ministry of Planning and Investment reviews the budget estimates and allocation plans for national target programs and target programs' developmental investment expenditures prepared by the program management agencies; consolidates the budget estimates and allocation plans for national target programs and target programs and sends them to the Ministry of Finance.

4. Central and local state agencies:

a) Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and other central agencies cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in establishing standards and norms for state budget expenditures under their respective sectors and areas of responsibility.

b) Central and local state agencies organize the preparation of budget revenue and expenditure forecasts within their management scope and submit them to the financial agency, planning and investment agency at the same level; prepare expenditure forecasts for national target programs and submit them to the financial agency, planning and investment agency, and the program management agency; cooperate with the financial agency at the same level to establish and allocate the budget forecast according to the field of their own budget level;

c) The national target program management agencies take the lead in coordinating with the financial agency and the planning and investment agency to prepare the budget forecast and allocation plan for national target programs and submit them to the financial agency and planning and investment agency at the same level for consolidation into the budget forecast and allocation plan to be submitted to the competent authority for decision-making. In case there are differing opinions between the national target program management agencies and the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the national target program management agencies shall report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision;

Article 29. Decision on and allocation of the State budget forecast

1. Based on the resolution of the National Assembly on the budget forecast, the Prime Minister allocates the budget revenue and expenditure forecast to each ministry, agency equivalent to a ministry, government agency, and other central agencies by sector; the budget revenue and expenditure forecast, total borrowing amount to offset the deficit and to repay principal for each locality, percentage (%) distribution of revenue items between the central budget and the local budget, and the balancing supplement amount from the central budget for each locality before November 20 of the previous year;

2. Based on the decision allocating the budget forecast by the Prime Minister, the People's Committee of the province submits to the Provincial People's Council for decision on the local budget forecast, the allocation plan for the provincial budget forecast, the supplement amount from the provincial budget for lower-level budgets, and the percentage (%) distribution of revenue items among local government levels before December 10 of the previous year; report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment on the local budget forecast and the results of the provincial budget forecast allocation plan decided by the Provincial People's Council;

3. Based on the resolution of the Provincial People's Council, the People's Committee decides on the allocation of budget revenue and expenditure forecasts to each subordinate agency and unit; the budget revenue and expenditure forecast, percentage (%) distribution of revenue items among local government levels; the supplement amount from the provincial budget for each district, town, city, and urban district under the province, and municipality directly under the central government;

4. After receiving the budget forecast allocation decision from the higher-level People's Committee, the People's Committee submits to the same-level People's Council for decision on the local budget forecast and the allocation plan for their own budget, ensuring that the commune budget forecast is decided before December 31 of the previous year. After the budget forecast is decided by the People's Council, the same-level People's Committee reports to the higher-level People's Committee and the financial agency about the budget forecast decided by the People's Council.

Article 30. Forms for preparing the state budget  

The Ministry of Finance shall specify in detail the system of forms for preparing, building, and consolidating the state budget, the central budget allocation plan; local budgets, and local budget allocation plans.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STATE BUDGET

Article 31. Allocation and assignment of the state budget to budgetary units  

1. After being assigned the state budget by the Prime Minister, People's Committees, level I budgetary units at the central and local levels shall allocate and assign the state budget to subordinate budgetary units according to the procedures, requirements, and deadlines specified in Articles 49 and 50 of the State Budget Law.

2. The budget assigned to budgetary units must be detailed by each field and expenditure task. In cases where expenditure tasks are managed under the results of task implementation, the budget must be detailed by each task, service, and product.

3. Where a state management agency at a higher budget level authorizes a state management agency at a lower budget level to perform its own expenditure tasks, the authorizing agency shall allocate and assign the budget to the authorized agency as it would for its own direct budgetary units, detailing by each authorized task.

4. The financial authority at the same level shall inspect the budget allocated by level I budgetary units to budgetary units within ten working days from the date of receipt of the allocation report from the budgetary unit. If discrepancies are found in the total amount and details by field and task of the allocated budget, or if they do not comply with policies and regulations, the level I budgetary unit shall be required to adjust them.

5. The Ministry of Finance shall specify in detail the forms for assigning the budget to agencies, organizations, and units.

Article 32. Organization of state budget revenue collection

1. Organize the management and implementation of tax, fee, and other revenue collections directly deposited into the National Treasury. In cases where collection through mandate is permitted, such revenues must be fully deposited into the National Treasury within the prescribed time limit as stipulated by the Ministry of Finance.

2. Non-reimbursable aid funds must be promptly collected into the state budget. In cases where the aid agreement or funding arrangement specifies direct disbursement to programs or projects, periodic accounting entries must be made into the state budget as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

3. The National Treasury may open accounts at the State Bank of Vietnam and commercial banks as provided for in Article 40 of this Decree to consolidate state budget revenues; timely and fully record revenues into the budget, and regulate revenues for all levels of the budget as prescribed.

4. The Ministry of Finance shall specify in detail the organization of revenue collection and accounting entries for non-reimbursable aid funds into the National Treasury.

Article 33. Management and Accounting of State Budget Borrowing

1. State budget borrowings are managed and accounted for on separate accounts for each budget level. In cases where borrowing outside the country is specified in agreements or funding arrangements for direct disbursement to programs or projects, periodic accounting entries must be made into the state budget as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall specify in detail the management and accounting entries for state budget borrowings.

Article 34. State budget expenditure organizations

1. Financial agencies and the State Treasury shall be responsible for inspecting, supervising, and making timely payments in accordance with the progress of tasks allocated in the budget estimate. The heads of financial agencies and the State Treasury have the right to refuse expenditures that do not meet the conditions stipulated in Clause 2, Article 12 of the State Budget Law, bear responsibility for their decisions in accordance with the law, and must promptly inform the relevant agencies, organizations, and units thereof. In cases where agencies, organizations, and units disagree with the decision of the financial agency or the State Treasury, they have the right to report to the agency directly allocating the budget estimate and the higher-level financial agency or State Treasury for review and resolution.

2. Agencies, organizations, and budgetary units that fail to comply fully and promptly with accounting reporting systems, final accounts, and other financial reports as prescribed, the financial agency has the right to request the State Treasury to temporarily suspend state budget payments, except for salaries, allowances, social benefits, scholarships, and certain urgent expenses as specified by the Ministry of Finance, and bear responsibility for their decisions. When deciding to temporarily suspend state budget payments, the financial agency must simultaneously notify the superior management agencies of the suspended agencies, organizations, and units.

3. Advance funding for implementation shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clauses 2 and 3, Article 56 of the State Budget Law, and must be recovered immediately when the conditions for payment are met as prescribed.

4. Regular expenditure tasks must be evenly distributed throughout the year; investment construction, procurement, major repairs, and other non-recurring expenses must be guaranteed sources of payment according to the progress of implementation within the allocated budget estimates.

5. State budget expenditures shall be made on the principle of direct payment from the State Treasury to recipients of salaries, allowances, benefits, and providers of goods and services. For some expenditures that do not yet have the necessary conditions for direct payment from the State Treasury, budget-using units may temporarily advance funds to proactively make payments according to the allocated budget estimates, then settle accounts with the State Treasury in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

Specifically, for expenditures funded from external government loans and non-reimbursable aid under agreements or funding arrangements that require disbursement through banks to directly transfer funds to programs and projects, such expenditures must be controlled in accordance with the guidance of the Ministry of Finance and periodically recorded in the state budget as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 32 and Clause 1, Article 33 of this Decree.

6. For investment construction expenditures:

a) Based on the project budget, component budget approved by the competent authority, the allocated budget estimate, the value of work completed, and the conditions for state budget expenditure, the project sponsor shall prepare and submit a payment application to the State Treasury at the transaction location if the conditions for expenditure are met as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 12, or apply for temporary funding advances as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 56 of the State Budget Law;

b) The State Treasury shall check the budget balance and the legality of the project sponsor's submitted documents and the conditions for expenditure as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 12, or temporary funding advances as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 56 of the State Budget Law, and implement fund withdrawal and record budget expenditure according to the regulations.

7. For expenditures managed based on the results of task performance, the following procedures shall be followed:

a) Based on the allocated budget estimate, signed contracts, agreements, progress, volume, quality of task implementation, services, products, the head of the budget-using unit shall decide on expenditures and bear responsibility for their decisions, submitting a payment application to the State Treasury at the transaction location or applying for temporary funding advances according to the prescribed system;

b) The State Treasury shall check the budget balance and the legality of the submitted application documents from the unit, implement fund withdrawal and record budget expenditure or temporary funding advances according to the regulations.

8. For regular expenditures:

a) Based on the conditions for state budget expenditure and the progress of work implementation, the head of the budget-using unit shall decide on expenditures, submitting a payment application to the State Treasury at the transaction location or applying for temporary funding advances according to the prescribed system;

b) The State Treasury shall check the budget balance, the legality of the submitted documents from the unit, and the conditions for expenditure as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 12 of the State Budget Law, implement fund withdrawal and record budget expenditure or temporary funding advances according to the regulations.

9. For supplementary expenditures from upper-level budgets to lower-level budgets, the budget estimate shall be withdrawn at the State Treasury.

10. For authorized expenditure:

a) The settlement of authorized expenditure by the receiving unit shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clauses 6, 7, and 8 of this Article;

b) The State Treasury and the authorized unit shall separately account for and report on authorized expenditure.

11. For interest, fee, and other incidental expense payments arising from state budget loans, the provisions of Article 35 of this Decree shall apply.

12. The Ministry of Finance shall specify detailed regulations and guide the procedures, formalities, accounting entries, and control of state budget expenditures for regular expenditures, investment construction expenditures, debt repayment, business support expenditures, and other special nature expenditures of the state budget, and supplementary expenditures from upper-level budgets to lower-level budgets.

Article 35. Management, accounting, and payment of government budget loans

1. Interest, fees, and other expenses arising from loans shall be paid according to actual occurrence within the budget estimate.

2. Principal of loans due for repayment must be paid on time as stipulated in the commitment provisions, signed contracts, and within the budget estimate approved by the competent authority as provided for in Clause 1, Article 5 of this Decree.

3. Accounting for loan payments:

a) Payments for interest, fees, and other expenses arising from loans shall be accounted for as government budget expenditures;

b) Principal loan repayments shall be accounted for as a reduction in the outstanding debt of the government budget, not included in government budget expenditures;

c) The Ministry of Finance shall specify detailed regulations on accounting for principal loan repayments; interest, fee, and other expense payments arising from government budget loans.

Article 36. Organization and management of the government budget

1. Financial agencies are responsible for ensuring sufficient funds to timely pay budget expenditures according to the budget estimate. In cases of temporary budget fund shortages, they shall be handled as follows:

a) Handling temporary central government budget fund shortages: The Ministry of Finance shall temporarily allocate from the central financial reserve fund and other lawful sources, including issuing Treasury bills, and must repay within the fiscal year. If, after temporarily allocating from the central financial reserve fund and other lawful sources, including issuing Treasury bills, there remains a shortage, the Ministry of Finance shall report to the Prime Minister for a decision to temporarily allocate from the State Bank of Vietnam as provided for in Clause 1, Article 58 of the Government Budget Law;

b) Handling temporary provincial government budget fund shortages: The People's Committee of the province shall decide to temporarily allocate from the provincial financial reserve fund and other lawful sources and must repay within the fiscal year. If, after temporarily allocating from the provincial financial reserve fund and other lawful sources, there remains a shortage, the People's Committee of the province shall report to the Ministry of Finance for a decision to temporarily allocate from the central financial reserve fund or temporarily allocate from the central government budget and must repay within the fiscal year;

c) Handling temporary district government budget fund shortages: Based on the proposal of the district People's Committee, the People's Committee of the province shall decide to temporarily allocate from the provincial financial reserve fund, other lawful sources, or temporarily allocate from the provincial government budget and implement repayment within the fiscal year;

d) Handling temporary commune government budget fund shortages: Based on the proposal of the commune People's Committee, the district People's Committee shall decide to temporarily allocate from the district government budget to the commune government budget and must repay within the fiscal year. If the district government budget cannot meet the requirement, the district People's Committee shall propose to the provincial People's Committee for a decision to temporarily allocate from the provincial financial reserve fund or temporarily allocate from the higher-level government budget and must repay within the fiscal year.

2. During the implementation of the government budget, if it is anticipated that revenue will not reach the budget estimate, the National Assembly and People's Councils shall decide to reduce some expenditure items, which shall be reported to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly at the nearest session; the People's Committees shall report to the Standing Committee of the People's Councils at the nearest session as provided for in point a, Clause 2 and point a, Clause 3, Article 52 of the Government Budget Law.

3. Adjustments to the budget estimates allocated to budget users shall be carried out as provided for in Article 53 of the Government Budget Law.

4. In cases where investment programs and projects using ODA and preferential loans have not been budgeted or exceed the allocated budget estimate, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead in reporting to the Government for a report to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for comments before implementation and report to the National Assembly at the nearest session.

5. The use of the financial reserve fund to meet the needs of government budget expenditures shall be implemented as provided for in point b, Clause 2, Article 11 of the Government Budget Law and Article 8 of this Decree.

6. At the end of the fiscal year, in cases of increased revenue and reduced budget expenditures, the Ministry of Finance shall report to the Government to report to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, local financial agencies shall report to the People's Committees to report to the Standing Committee of the People's Councils at the same level to decide on the additional budget estimate for increased revenue; allocate and use the increased revenue, reduced budget expenditures according to Clause 2, Article 59 of the Government Budget Law.

7. The bonus exceeding the budget estimate for revenue sharing between the central government budget and local government budgets shall be implemented as provided for in point a, Clause 4, Article 59 of the Government Budget Law and ensure the following principles:

a) Total central government budget revenue exceeds the estimate decided by the National Assembly;

b) The bonus ratio does not exceed 30% of the increase in revenue shared by the central government budget, but does not exceed the increase in revenue compared to the previous year's actual performance. The basis for awarding bonuses to each locality is the total revenue shared in the locality, not calculated separately for each revenue item.

8. Based on the bonus rate decided by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, the People's Committee of the province shall report to the People's Council at the same level to decide on the use of the bonus revenue surplus for investment in infrastructure programs and projects, important tasks, and bonuses for lower-level budgets.

Article 37. Principles, criteria, conditions, and authority to decide on advance budget allocation for the following year

1. Principles for advance budget allocation for the following year:

a) When allocating the budget for the following year, the competent authority must allocate sufficient funds to recover the previously advanced capital; if there is no allocation or insufficient allocation to fully recover the previously advanced state budget, that agency or unit will not be allowed to advance the budget for the following year;

b) The maximum amount of advance budget allocation for the following year shall not exceed 20% of the investment construction project budget expenditure plan of projects and basic construction works included in the medium-term public investment plan approved by the competent authority;

2. Criteria for advance budget allocation for the following year:

a) National key projects;

b) Urgent basic construction projects of the central government and localities.

3. Conditions for advance budget allocation for the following year:

a) Ensuring balance of each level's budget fund;

b) Investment construction projects must have all necessary conditions for implementation according to laws on public investment and construction, included in the medium-term public investment plan from the state budget approved by the competent authority, and require accelerated progress;

c) There should be no remaining balance of advance budget allocation;

d) The project investor must submit a report explaining the necessity of advance budget allocation for the following year.

4. Authority to decide on advance budget allocation for the following year:

a) Based on the division of labor by the Government and upon the proposal of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, governmental agencies, other central agencies, and provincial People's Committees, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead in presenting to the Government decisions on advance budget allocation for the central budget of the following year; they must regularly report every six months to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and report to the National Assembly at the nearest session;

b) Provincial People's Committees and district People's Committees shall decide on advance budget allocation for the following year for their respective levels; they must regularly report every six months to the Standing Body of the People's Council and report to the People's Council at the nearest session.

Article 38. Management and use of budgets by budget-using units

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, governmental agencies, other central agencies, and local agencies shall guide, inspect, and monitor the implementation of budgets within their sectors and fields, and of subordinate units; they must regularly report on the implementation of budget revenues and expenditures and other financial reports as prescribed by law.

2. The head of a budget-using unit is responsible for managing and using the budget allocated according to the plan to ensure efficiency, thrift, compliance with policies, regulations, standards, and budget expenditure quotas; they must regularly report on the results of implementing the allocated budget plan to the directly superior management agency.

3. Financial and accounting personnel at budget-using units are tasked with implementing state financial and budget management systems, national accounting systems, internal audit systems, and are responsible for preventing, detecting, and recommending measures to the unit head and the same-level finance agency to address violations.

4. Heads of agencies, units, organizations, and financial and accounting personnel at budget-using units as stipulated in Clause 1, Clause 2, and Clause 3 of this Article must perform their assigned tasks and powers in the field of finance and budget and bear responsibility for any violations within their management scope as prescribed by law.

Article 39. Opening Accounts at State Treasury

1. Budget-using units and organizations regularly supported by the state budget must open accounts at the State Treasury, subject to financial agency inspection and State Treasury supervision during payment and expenditure of funds. In cases where budget-using units and organizations regularly supported by the state budget are permitted to open accounts at banks to concentrate certain revenues, they must manage and use them in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall provide detailed regulations and guidance on opening accounts at the State Treasury.

Article 40. Opening State Treasury Accounts at Banks

1. The State Treasury opens accounts at the State Bank of Vietnam and commercial banks to concentrate revenues, make payments, and disburse expenditures from the state budget.

2. The bank where the State Treasury opens an account is responsible for ensuring payments, regulating cash and foreign currency for the State Treasury in full and in a timely manner according to the revenue and expenditure tasks of the state budget.

3. Interest on deposits of the State Treasury at banks shall be paid as stipulated by law for economic entities; bank charges for State Treasury transactions shall be paid according to the provisions of the law.

Article 41. Reporting on the Implementation of the State Budget

1. Agencies, organizations, and units shall report on the implementation of the state budget in accordance with Article 60 of the State Budget Law.

2. The format and deadlines for reports specified in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and paragraph 7 of Article 60 of the State Budget Law shall be implemented in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

3. The format and deadlines for reports specified in paragraph 8 of Article 60 of the State Budget Law shall be implemented in accordance with the Resolution of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on the issuance of regulations on the preparation, examination, and submission to the National Assembly for approval of the state budget estimate, the central budget allocation plan, and the approval of the state budget settlement.

Chapter V

ACCOUNTING, AUDITING AND FINAL ACCOUNTS OF THE STATE BUDGET

Article 42. Closing Accounting Books and Processing Year-end Revenue and Expenditure of the State Budget

1. At the end of the fiscal year, agencies, units, and organizations related to revenue and expenditure of the state budget shall close their accounting books and prepare the final settlement report of the state budget according to the assigned budget estimates and the State Budget Item List. The Ministry of Finance shall specify the system of the State Budget Item List.

2. The closing of accounting books must ensure the following requirements:

a) Revenues belonging to previous years' budgets but submitted from January 1 of the following year shall be recorded and settled as revenues of the following year's budget, except for revenues specified in Clause 4 of this Article;

b) After the deadline for adjusting the budget settlement, unexecuted or unspent budget estimates, including additional allocations within the year, shall be canceled, except for cases transferred to the next year for continued implementation as provided for in Article 43 of this Decree;

c) Advance payments made within the budget estimates shall be settled until the deadline for adjusting the budget settlement; if the settlement deadline has passed without completing the necessary procedures, the following actions shall be taken:

If transferable to the next year as provided for in Article 43 of this Decree, it shall be carried over to the next year for implementation;

If not transferable to the next year, the unit shall return the advance payment to the state budget before February 15 of the following year. If the unit fails to return the advance payment after the deadline, the State Treasury shall recover the advance payment by deducting from the corresponding expenditure area in the next year's budget estimate of the unit, if the next year's budget does not allocate that expenditure area or allocates less than the amount to be recovered, the State Treasury shall notify the same-level financial agency for handling;

d) Temporary receipts and temporary holds shall be processed according to the decision of the competent authority. If the balance on the temporary receipt and hold account has not been decided upon by the competent authority by December 31, it shall be carried over to the next year for further processing in accordance with the law;

đ) For inventory materials and goods at budgetary units as of December 31, an inventory shall be conducted in accordance with current regulations and handled as follows: The value of purchased inventory materials and goods shall be settled as expenditures of the previous year's budget according to the regulations. If used in the following year, the unit shall closely monitor, use, and report separately. If not used in the following year, the unit shall establish a liquidation committee to sell and deposit the proceeds into the state budget; for public service units, they may be used according to the provisions of the law;

e) The balance on the deposit account of budgetary units opened at the State Treasury as of December 31 shall continue to be settled according to the regulations during the adjustment period of the budget settlement. If there is still a balance after the adjustment period, it must be returned to the state budget, except for cases transferred to the next year as provided for in Article 43 of this Decree. Balances on deposit accounts not belonging to the state budget can be carried over to the next year for use in accordance with the law.

3. The adjustment period for the state budget settlement ends on January 31 of the following year.

4. During the adjustment period for the budget settlement, agencies, units, organizations, and all levels of the budget shall implement the following contents:

a) Record additional revenues and expenditures of the state budget arising from before December 31 but with supporting documents still in circulation;

b) Record expenditures of the state budget for advances that have met the conditions for expenditure and payments for work completed from before December 31 allocated in the state budget estimate;

c) Adjust errors in the accounting process.

Article 43. Transfer of budget sources from the previous year to the following year

1. Unspent budget items, advance payments made within the budget, and remaining balances in deposit accounts that have not been adjusted for final settlement or utilized by the adjustment deadline shall be transferred to the following year for continued use, including:

a) Development investment expenditures shall be transferred to the following year according to the provisions of the Law on Public Investment. In special cases, the Prime Minister decides on allowing further transfer to the subsequent year, but not exceeding the disbursement period of the project within the medium-term public investment plan;

b) Expenditures for purchasing equipment with complete documentation and purchase contracts signed before December 31 of the budget implementation year; expenditures for increasing and compensating national reserve goods;

c) Sources for implementing salary policies, allowances, subsidies, and other amounts calculated based on the basic salary, social assistance;

d) Self-managed funds allocated to state-owned public service units and state agencies; non-reimbursable aid funds with specific expenditure tasks determined;

đ) Budget items supplemented by competent authorities after September 30 of the budget implementation year, excluding supplements due to adjustments by higher-level budgetary units;

e) Research and scientific development funds allocated to research projects and programs decided by competent authorities and currently being implemented.

2. Increased revenues and savings may be used according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 59 of the State Budget Law, upon permission granted by competent authorities for use in the following year.

Article 44. Requirements and procedures for reporting final settlement of the state budget

1. The preparation of the final settlement of the state budget must comply with the requirements stipulated in Article 65 of the State Budget Law.

2. For budget-using units managing the state budget based on the results of their assigned tasks, the final settlement shall be conducted according to the actual expenditures from the state budget for those tasks.

3. Procedures for preparing, reviewing, and auditing the final settlement of budgetary units:

a) Budget-using units prepare final settlement reports according to prescribed regulations and submit them to their direct superior budgetary units. If subordinate agencies receive funds delegated by superior agencies, they report the final settlement of the delegated funds to the delegating agency;

b) Direct superior budgetary units review the final settlement of subordinate units, notify the review results to the reviewed units, consolidate, and submit final settlement reports within their management scope to their direct superior budgetary units;

c) Level I budgetary units review the final settlement of subordinate units, notify the review results to the reviewed units, consolidate, and submit final settlement reports within their management scope to the same-level financial authority;

d) Financial authorities audit the final settlement of level I budgetary units under their jurisdiction, notify the audit results to the audited units. If level I budgetary units are also budget-using units, the financial authority reviews the final settlement and notifies the review results to the reviewed units.

4. Procedures for preparing and auditing the final settlement of construction investment programs and projects, key national projects, research programs and projects, and national target programs:

a) At the end of the fiscal year, the sponsors of construction investment programs and projects, key national projects, research programs and projects must report the final settlement of the used capital, state budget capital, usage situation, completed work volume value, and settled work volume during the year to the basic construction investment funding agency, the sponsor's superior agency, and the same-level financial authority. Upon completion of basic construction investment programs and key national projects, a comprehensive final settlement report of all capital, state budget capital, along with a detailed explanation of capital usage, must be submitted to the basic construction investment funding agency and the authority responsible for approving the final settlement of construction investment programs and projects, key national projects, research programs and projects;

b) Agencies, organizations, and units tasked with national target program budgets must settle the allocated budget according to regulations, simultaneously reporting to their direct superior agencies for consolidation and submission to the national target program management agency;

c) For national target programs and key national projects decided by the National Assembly for investment, in addition to the provisions in points a and b above, the direct managing agencies must prepare final settlement reports for submission to the Government for consideration and presentation to the National Assembly;

5. Procedures for settling village-level budgets:

a) The People's Committee at the commune level prepares the final settlement of state budget revenue on its territory and the final settlement of commune-level budget revenue and expenditure, submitting it to the Economic-Social Committee of the People's Council at the commune level for examination, while also sending it to the county-level financial authority;

b) The People's Committee at the commune level reports the final settlement of the commune-level budget to the Standing Committee of the People's Council at the commune level for comments. After receiving comments from the Standing Committee of the People's Council at the commune level, the People's Committee at the commune level submits the final settlement of the commune-level budget for consideration and approval by the People's Council at the commune level;

c) Within five working days from the date of approval of the commune-level budget final settlement report, the People's Committee at the commune level sends the final settlement report of the commune-level budget to the People's Committee at the county level and the county-level financial authority.

6. Procedures for settling county-level budgets:

a) The county financial authority shall examine and approve the final accounts of revenue and expenditure of the commune budget that have been approved by the Commune People's Council; examine and approve the final accounts of first-level budgetary units under its jurisdiction; compile and prepare reports on the final accounts of state revenue collected within the assigned district and the final accounts of county revenue and expenditure for submission to the County People's Committee for review, and simultaneously send them to the Department of Finance.

b) The County People's Committee shall report to the Standing Body of the County People's Council for comments on the final accounts of the budget. After receiving comments from the Standing Body of the County People's Council, the County People's Committee shall submit the final accounts of the budget for examination and approval by the County People's Council.

c) Within no more than five working days from the date of approval of the final account report, the County People's Committee shall send the final account report of the county budget to the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Finance.

7. Procedure for finalizing the provincial budget:

a) The Department of Finance shall examine the final accounts of the county budget that have been approved by the County People's Council; examine and approve the final accounts of first-level budgetary units under its jurisdiction; compile and prepare reports on the final accounts of state revenue collected within the province and the final accounts of local revenue and expenditure for submission to the Provincial People's Committee for review, and simultaneously send them to the National Assembly's Economic and Budget Committee and the State Audit Office.

b) The Provincial People's Committee shall report to the Standing Body of the Provincial People's Council for comments on the final accounts of the budget. After receiving comments from the Standing Body of the Provincial People's Council, the Provincial People's Committee shall submit the final accounts of the budget for approval by the Provincial People's Council.

c) Within no more than five working days from the date of approval of the final account report, the Provincial People's Committee shall send the final account report of the provincial budget to the Ministry of Finance and the State Audit Office.

8. Procedure for finalizing the state budget:

a) First-level budgetary units under the central budget shall prepare and submit reports on the final accounts of revenue and expenditure within their management scope to the Ministry of Finance and the State Audit Office before October 1 of the following year.

b) The Provincial People's Committee shall submit reports on the final accounts of the local budget to the Ministry of Finance and the State Audit Office before October 1 of the following year.

c) The Ministry of Finance shall examine and approve reports on the final accounts of revenue and expenditure of first-level budgetary units under the central budget.

d) Based on the results of the examination and approval of the final accounts reports of first-level budgetary units under the central budget and the final accounts of the local budget that have been approved by the Provincial People's Council, the Ministry of Finance shall compile and prepare reports on the final accounts of the state budget for submission to the Government and send them to the State Audit Office no later than fourteen months after the end of the fiscal year.

đ) The procedures and formalities for reviewing the final accounts of the state budget by the agencies of the National Assembly shall be carried out in accordance with the Resolution of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on the issuance of regulations on the preparation, review, and submission to the National Assembly for decision on the state budget estimate, the distribution plan of the central budget, and the approval of the final accounts of the state budget.

e) The National Assembly shall examine and approve the final accounts of the state budget no later than eighteen months after the end of the fiscal year.

Article 45. Model forms for reporting final accounts of the state budget

1. The model forms for reporting final accounts of the state budget that the Government submits to the National Assembly shall be implemented in accordance with the Resolution of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on the issuance of regulations on the preparation, examination, submission to the National Assembly for approval of the state budget estimates, the allocation plan for the central budget, and the approval of the final accounts of the state budget.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall specify detailed provisions on the model forms for reporting final accounts of the state budget.

Chapter VI

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF THE STATE BUDGET AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION OVER THE STATE BUDGET

Article 46. Subjects and scope of public disclosure of the state budget

1. Subjects required to implement public disclosure of the state budget include:

a) State budget levels;

b) Budgetary units;

c) Organizations supported by the state budget;

d) Investment projects using state budget funds.

2. Subjects required to disclose procedures related to the state budget include: revenue collection agencies, financial agencies, and the State Treasury.

Article 47. Contents of public disclosure of the state budget

1. Contents of public disclosure of the state budget and the central budget:

a) Disclosure of data and explanations of the state budget estimates submitted to the National Assembly, state budget estimates approved by the National Assembly; final accounts of the state budget approved by the National Assembly, including:

Balance of revenues and expenditures of the state budget;

State budget revenues by sector and by type of tax;

State budget expenditures, including development investment expenditures, recurrent expenditures, interest payments, aid expenditures, supplementary financial reserve fund expenditures, and contingency reserves;

Fiscal deficit of the state budget; total amount of borrowing by the state budget, including borrowing to cover the fiscal deficit and borrowing to repay the principal of the state budget;

Central government expenditures by sector; total and detailed figures by sector for central government expenditures allocated to each ministry, agency at the ministerial level, agency under the Government, and other agencies at the central level; central government expenditures for national target programs;

State budget revenues in the locality, local budget expenditures, amounts to balance the budget, targeted supplements from the central budget to the budgets of each province and centrally-administered city; percentage (%) distribution of shared revenue between the central budget and the budgets of each province and centrally-administered city;

b) Disclosure of data and explanations of the implementation of state budget revenue and expenditure estimates, including balance of revenues and expenditures of the state budget, state budget revenues by sector, detailed state budget expenditures by development investment and recurrent expenditures.

2. Contents of public disclosure of the state budget at various levels in localities:

a) Disclosure of data and explanations of local budget estimates submitted to the People's Council, local budget estimates approved by the People's Council; final accounts approved by the People's Council, including:

State budget revenues in the locality by sector and by type of tax;

Balance of revenues and expenditures of the local budget;

Local budget revenues received according to the division of responsibilities;

Local budget expenditures, including development investment expenditures, recurrent expenditures; interest payments and supplementary financial reserve fund expenditures for provincial budgets, contingency reserves;

Expenditures of the budget level by sector; total and detailed figures by sector for budget expenditures allocated to each agency and unit under the level; construction project expenditures from the budget level for each project and works; expenditures for national target programs;

State budget revenues in each lower-level locality, lower-level budget expenditures, amounts to balance the budget, and targeted supplements from the budget level to each lower-level budget;

Percentage (%) distribution of shared revenue among local government budget levels for each budget year during the budget stabilization period;

b) Disclosure of data and explanations of the implementation of state budget revenue estimates in the locality, local budget revenue estimates, and local budget expenditure estimates.

3. Detailed data and explanatory reports on the budget of the defense, security, and national reserve sectors shall be implemented in accordance with point a, Clause 1, Article 15 of the State Budget Law.

4. Contents of public disclosure of budget procedures shall be implemented in accordance with point b, Clause 2, Article 15 of the State Budget Law.

Article 48. Contents to be disclosed regarding state budget for budgetary units, organizations supported by the state budget, and investment construction programs and projects using state budget funds.

1. For budgetary units:

a) The approved state budget revenue and expenditure estimates, the implementation status of the state budget estimates, and the finalized state budget reports that have been reviewed by the competent authority;

b) The state budget revenue and expenditure estimates allocated to subordinate budgetary units; publicly disclose the finalized state budget reports that have been reviewed or assessed for subordinate budgetary units.

2. Organizations supported by the state budget shall disclose the data on the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates assigned by the competent authority, the implementation status and finalization of financial revenues and expenditures, contributions from organizations and individuals, the basis for determining the support level and the amount of state budget support provided to the organization.

3. Disclosure of the state budget for investment construction programs and projects using state budget funds shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Public Investment and related legal documents.

Article 49. Time for Disclosure of the State Budget

1. The report on the state budget estimate must be disclosed no later than five working days from the date the Government sends it to National Assembly deputies and People's Councils send it to People's Council representatives.

2. The report on the state budget estimate decided by the competent authority and the report on the finalized state budget approved by the competent authority must be disclosed no later than thirty days from the date the document is issued.

3. The report on the implementation of the state budget quarterly and semi-annually must be disclosed no later than fifteen days from the end of the quarter and six months.

4. The annual report on the implementation of the state budget must be disclosed when the Government and People's Councils present it to the National Assembly and People's Councils.

5. Disclosure of the budget estimates of budgetary units and organizations supported by the state budget must be no later than fifteen days from the date they are assigned by the competent authority; disclosure of the annual implementation status of the state budget of budgetary units must be no later than five working days from the date the unit reports to its direct superior budgetary unit; disclosure of the finalized state budget of budgetary units must be no later than fifteen days from the date it is approved or assessed by the competent authority.

6. Disclosure of state budget procedures must be no later than five working days from the date the competent authority issues the regulations.

Article 50. Disclosure of Results of National Audit Office Recommendations

1. Contents of transparency:

a) Disclosure of results of the contents that have been implemented according to the recommendations of the National Audit Office;

b) Disclosure of the contents that have not yet been implemented according to the recommendations of the National Audit Office and explanations for the reasons why they have not been implemented.

2. Disclosure of the results of the National Audit Office recommendations must be no later than thirty days from the date the document is issued.

Article 51. Forms, Indicators, and Templates for Disclosure of the State Budget

1. The disclosure of the state budget shall be conducted through one or more forms: announcement at meetings, posting at the workplace of agencies, organizations, and units; publication in printed materials; notification in writing to relevant agencies, organizations, units, and individuals; uploading to the electronic information portal; announcement on mass media. For organizations, agencies, and units with an electronic information portal, they must disclose the state budget through their own electronic information portal.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall specify the indicators, templates, and forms for disclosing the state budget for entities responsible for disclosing the state budget.

Article 52. Budget Supervision by the Community

1. The Vietnam Fatherland Front at all levels shall take the lead and coordinate with members of the Front to organize the supervision of the state budget by the community.

2. The Vietnam Fatherland Front at all levels shall directly or through its members be responsible for receiving information and requests for supervision; leading the development of plans and organizing the implementation of budget supervision according to the plan and the provisions of the law.

3. The content of supervision shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions at points a, b, and point c Clause 1 Article 16 of the State Budget Law.

4. Forms of supervision:

a) Studying and reviewing documents from competent state agencies regarding the state budget sector related to the rights and legitimate interests of the people;

b) Organizing inspection teams;

c) Participating in supervision with competent authorities and organizations;

d) Utilizing the activities of the People's Inspection Committees established at the commune level and the Investment Oversight Committees of the community.

5. Agencies, units, and organizations subject to supervision and relevant agencies shall be responsible:

a) To provide information and documents according to the content of supervision to the Vietnam Fatherland Front at all levels;

b) To consider and promptly resolve, explain, and respond to the people's petitions and those of the Vietnam Fatherland Front at all levels, or report to competent authorities about issues not within their jurisdiction;

c) To publicly disclose the content of resolving and explaining the people's petitions and those of the Vietnam Fatherland Front at all levels concerning the supervision activities.

Chapter VII

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Within one year from the date this Decree takes effect, insurance enterprises currently operating both life insurance and non-life insurance businesses must complete the procedures to separate their life insurance business operations from their non-life insurance business operations.

1. For the final accounts of the budgets of the years 2015 and 2016, apply the provisions of the State Budget Law No. 01/2002/QH11 and Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law.

2. The stable budget period 2011-2015 shall be extended until the end of 2016. The subsequent stable budget period shall run from 2017 to 2020.

3. For provinces and centrally-administered cities whose debt-raising level as of December 31, 2016 exceeds the debt limit set forth in the State Budget Law, in the draft budget for 2017 and subsequent years, local government revenue shares must be allocated to reduce medium-term investment spending plans to increase expenditures on principal debt repayment, ensuring that the debt level does not exceed the debt limit prescribed by the State Budget Law.

Article 54. Effective Date

1. This Decree takes effect from January 1, 2017 and applies from the 2017 fiscal year.

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

Article 55. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Minister of Finance shall guide and implement this Decree.

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government, other central agencies, and Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall be responsible for implementing this Decree./.