Circular No. 167/2011/TT-BTC guides financial management, plan allocation, and settlement of economic public service funds for state-owned joint-stock companies with one member performing public tasks in the national railway management and maintenance sector funded by the State.

CIRCULAR

HGuidelines for financial management, plan allocation, and capital settlement for economic public services of

a limited liability company with one memberorganize credit institutions, foreign bank branches are responsible for organizing the implementation of this Circular. established to perform public service tasks in

the railway management and maintenance sector Article 24at the national level funded by N |||the state

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Pursuant to the Law 3. Amend Clause 3 Article 2 as follows:Railway Law No. 35/2005/QH11 was adopted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on June 14, 2005;

Pursuant to Decree No. 31/2005/NĐ-CP dated March 11, 2005 of the Government on production and supply of public goods and services;

Pursuant to Decree No. 109/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 22, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Railway Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 132/2005/NĐ-CP dated October 20, 2005 of the Government regarding the exercise of rights and obligations of state ownership over state-owned companies and Decree No. 86/2006/NĐ-CP dated August 21, 2006 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 132/2005/NĐ-CP dated October 20, 2005 of the Government regarding the exercise of rights and obligations of state ownership over state-owned companies;

Pursuant to Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decree No. 25/2010/NĐ-CP dated March 19, 2010 of the Government on converting state-owned companies into limited liability companies with one member and organizing the management of limited liability companies with one member owned by the State;

Pursuant to Decision No. 256/2006/QĐ-TTg dated November 9, 2006 of the Prime Minister promulgating the Procurement Regulations for ordering, allocating plans for production and supply of public goods and services;

Pursuant to Decision No. 84/2007/QĐ-TTg dated June 11, 2007 of the Prime Minister regarding the method and level of collecting fees and rental prices for the use of national railways invested by the State;

Pursuant to Decision No. 1082/QĐ-TTg dated July 14, 2010 and Decision No. 1386/QĐ-TTg dated August 9, 2010 of the Prime Minister on changing the authority to appraise the value of public service products in the railway management and maintenance sector, road transport, and inland waterway transport implemented through ordering and plan allocation;

Pursuant to Decision No. 973/QĐ-TTg dated June 25, 2010 of the Prime Minister transferring the Vietnam Railway Corporation into a limited liability company with one member owned by the State and Decision No. 474/QĐ-TTg dated March 31, 2011 of the Prime Minister approving the Charter of Organization and Operation of Vietnam Railways;

The Ministry of Finance guides the financial management, plan allocation, and capital settlement for economic public services of limited liability companies with one member owned by the State performing public service tasks in the railway management and maintenance sector at the national level funded by the State as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Scope of application:

The Vietnam Railway Corporation and railway management companies, railway signaling information companies established pursuant to Decision No. 34/2003/QĐ-TTg dated March 4, 2003 of the Prime Minister have been converted into limited liability companies with one member owned by the State (referred to as limited liability companies with one member managing railway infrastructure).

2. The objects receiving annual state funding for management and maintenance are assets belonging to the national railway infrastructure system invested by the State and entrusted to the Vietnam Railway Corporation for management and operation, including:

a) Bridge, culvert, tunnel systems.

b) Track systems: mainline tracks, station tracks, tracks for cargo yards, tracks for loading and unloading goods, sections of roads leading to stations, sections of roads leading to cargo yards, crossings, and crossing barriers, embankments, rail fences, drainage systems, retaining walls, marker posts, locomotive and car facilities, and other auxiliary facilities necessary for directly supporting train operations.

c) Information and signal systems: entry and exit signals; information and signal systems for crossings; signal cable systems, communication cable systems, train control equipment; centralized control and command systems, transmission systems, power supply systems, central offices.

d) Architectural systems: passenger waiting rooms, ticket sales rooms, luggage storage rooms, cargo storage rooms, station squares, platforms, station area fences, wing walls, cargo yards, crossing watchtowers, bridge watchtowers, tunnel watchtowers, direct rooms, information and signal equipment rooms, generator rooms.

These assets do not undergo basic depreciation but are monitored for wear and tear according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance on the management, use, and depreciation of fixed assets.

3. Tasks of managing and maintaining the national railway infrastructure invested by the State include:

a) Management and regular, emergency, and medium repairs.

b) Major repair tasks.

c) Tasks to address consequences of accidents, natural disasters, and traffic accidents.

4. The Vietnam Railway Corporation and limited liability companies with one member managing railway infrastructure, which are provided with capital, assets (including assets for management, operation, and maintenance, and assets belonging to the national railway infrastructure system) and necessary human resources by the State to carry out the tasks of managing, operating, and maintaining the national railway infrastructure system according to the technological procedures and economic-technical norms prescribed by the Minister of Transport, ensuring smooth, orderly, safe, and efficient railway transportation activities, contributing to economic and social development, national defense, security, and environmental protection.

5. In addition to performing the public service tasks assigned by the State, the Vietnam Railway Corporation and limited liability companies with one member managing railway infrastructure may utilize land, scenery, capital, and assets under their management to organize business activities in accordance with state laws without affecting the public service tasks assigned by the State.

6. The Ministry of Transport shall implement the allocation of plans for the supply of management and maintenance products for the national railway infrastructure to Vietnam Railway Corporation according to the current financial mechanism and based on the budget estimate approved by the Ministry of Finance. Vietnam Railway Corporation shall allocate plans and tender for the supply of management and maintenance products for the national railway infrastructure to its member units at unit prices prescribed by the Ministry of Transport or authorized by the Ministry of Transport to economic agencies assigned state budget funds in accordance with Circular Joint No. 76/2011/TTLT-BTC-BGTVT dated June 6, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport guiding the establishment and management of public service product and service prices in the field of national railway management and maintenance carried out through ordering and plan allocation using state budget funds.

II. ESTABLISHING AND ALLOCATING PLANS FOR THE SUPPLY OF MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE PRODUCTS FOR THE NATIONAL RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDED BY THE STATE

1. Establishing plans.

a) Annually, based on the technical condition of the railway infrastructure, transportation demand on each operating route, technological processes, economic and technical norms, and current state regulations, railway infrastructure management joint-stock companies shall prepare reports on the budget for management and maintenance of railways on the principle of prioritizing regular repair tasks to ensure train safety.

These companies shall submit one set of reports to Vietnam Railway Corporation before June 15 of the preceding year.

b) Within seven working days from the date of receipt of the reports from the companies, Vietnam Railway Corporation shall be responsible for reviewing, verifying, and consolidating the plan reports to submit one set to the Ministry of Transport; simultaneously, Vietnam Railway Corporation shall prepare the annual revenue and expenditure budget for public service economic funds to submit to the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance together with the plan report.

c) After receiving the plan report and the annual revenue and expenditure budget from Vietnam Railway Corporation, the Ministry of Transport shall be responsible for consolidating and building the annual state budget estimate to submit to the Ministry of Finance before July 20 of the preceding year for the Ministry of Finance to review, consolidate, and submit to the competent authority for decision-making.

Reports referred to in points a, b, and c shall be submitted directly or sent via postal service.

2. Allocating plans.

a) Procedure and time for allocating plans:

- Based on the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates allocated by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance shall allocate the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates to the Ministry of Transport (including those for Vietnam Railway Corporation) before November 25 of the preceding year.

- Within seven days from the date of receipt of the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates allocated by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport shall allocate the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates to Vietnam Railway Corporation and send them to the Ministry of Finance for verification. Within seven working days from the date of receipt of the budget allocation plan, the Ministry of Finance shall verify and notify the Ministry of Transport in writing about the verification results. The budget allocation by the Ministry of Transport and the verification by the Ministry of Finance must comply with the principles, procedures, and contents stipulated in Circular No. 59/2003/TT-BTC dated June 23, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law.

- After receiving the comments from the Ministry of Finance, within seven working days, the Ministry of Transport shall allocate public service tasks to Vietnam Railway Corporation in accordance with the verified budget estimates proposed by the Ministry of Transport regarding the list and funding; this public service task plan shall be sent simultaneously to the Ministry of Finance and the State Treasury for monitoring and supervision.

- After being assigned the tasks, within seven working days, Vietnam Railway Corporation shall organize the allocation of plans to railway infrastructure management joint-stock companies, consolidate and send them to the Ministry of Transport for management and supervision; send them to the Ministry of Finance and the State Treasury as the basis for payment in accordance with current state regulations.

The public service task plan shall be submitted directly or sent via postal service. The Ministry of Transport and Vietnam Railway Corporation shall complete the plan allocation before December 31 of the preceding year.

b) Contents of the plan allocation by the Ministry of Transport to Vietnam Railway Corporation (as attached in Appendix 1 of this Circular) include:

- Management and regular, emergency, and medium repairs:

+ Regular management and repair tasks: Name of public service product, quantity, quality, completion time, funding.

+ Emergency repair tasks: List of projects, quantity, quality, completion time, funding.

+ Medium repair tasks: List of projects, quantity, quality, completion time, funding.

- Major repair tasks: List of projects, quantity, quality, completion time, funding.

- Tasks to address consequences of accidents, natural disasters, and traffic accidents: Reserve funding from 1% to 2% of the total state budget estimate allocated to carry out accident, disaster, and traffic accident remediation tasks.

c) Contents of the plan allocation by Vietnam Railway Corporation to railway infrastructure management joint-stock companies (as attached in Appendix 2 of this Circular) include:

- Management and regular, emergency, and medium repairs:

+ Regular management and repair tasks: Name of public service product, quantity, price as prescribed in Circular Joint No. 76/2011/TTLT-BTC-BGTVT dated June 6, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport; quality, completion time, funding.

+ Emergency repair tasks: List of projects, quantity, quality, completion time, price as prescribed in Circular Joint No. 76/2011/TTLT-BTC-BGTVT dated June 6, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport, funding.

||| The task of minor repairs includes: the list of works, quantity, quality, completion time, price according to Circular Joint No. 76/2011/TTLT-BTC-BGTVT dated June 6, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Transport, and funding.

||| - The task of mitigating consequences due to accidents, natural disasters, traffic accidents.

||| 3. For the task of major repairs.

||| Based on the plan assigned by the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam Railway Corporation implements the task through bidding. The procedures and formalities for implementation follow Decision No. 256/2006/QĐ-TTg dated November 9, 2006 of the Prime Minister promulgating the Procurement Regulations, Ordering, Assigning Production Plans and Supplying Public Goods and Services, and the relevant laws on procurement.

||| 4. In cases where the consequences of accidents, natural disasters, and traffic accidents need to be mitigated due to objective reasons outside the assigned plan, Vietnam Railway Corporation has the responsibility to direct units to mitigate the consequences according to current regulations and use the reserve funds to compensate, if there is still a shortage, report to the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance for consideration and resolution.

||| 5. Plan adjustment.

||| In case adjusting the plan changes the tasks assigned by the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam Railway Corporation reports to the Ministry of Transport for consideration. The Ministry of Transport decides on the plan adjustment and sends it to the Ministry of Finance for monitoring and supervision. If the adjustment does not change the tasks assigned by the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam Railway Corporation decides and sends the adjusted plan to the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance for monitoring and supervision.

||| 6. Product acceptance work.

||| Vietnam Railway Corporation organizes the acceptance of the quantity and quality of railway public works products according to current regulations.

||| III. PAYMENT WORK FOR MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF NATIONAL RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE STRUCTURES FUNDED BY THE STATE

||| 1. Payment of economic enterprise capital for railways in the form of budget estimates. Vietnam Railway Corporation implements within the scope of the allocated budget estimate without exceeding the volume leading to exceeding the state budget payment capacity.

||| 2. Payment for management tasks, regular maintenance, and minor repairs:

||| a) Payment documents include:

||| - Decision assigning plans by the Ministry of Transport to Vietnam Railway Corporation.

||| - Decision assigning plans by Vietnam Railway Corporation to limited liability companies managing railway infrastructure structures.

||| - Table determining the value of completed work volumes by Vietnam Railway Corporation.

||| b) The payment procedures follow the provisions of Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law and current state guidance documents.

||| 3. Payment documents for major repair tasks:

||| a) Decision assigning major repair plans by the Ministry of Transport to Vietnam Railway Corporation.

||| b) Decision assigning plans by Vietnam Railway Corporation to management, operation, maintenance, and repair agencies of railway infrastructure structures under Vietnam Railway Corporation.

||| c) Approval decision or technical-economic report; design and estimate by the competent authority.

||| d) Tender selection document according to the Procurement Law.

||| đ) Economic contract.

||| e) Table determining the value of completed work volumes by Vietnam Railway Corporation.

||| 4. Payment for tasks to mitigate consequences due to accidents, natural disasters, and traffic accidents.

||| a) Payment documents include:

||| - Decision assigning mitigation tasks due to accidents, natural disasters, and traffic accidents by the Ministry of Transport to Vietnam Railway Corporation.

||| - Decision assigning plans by Vietnam Railway Corporation to limited liability companies managing railway infrastructure structures.

||| - Table determining damage volumes due to accidents, natural disasters, and traffic accidents by the People's Committee of the commune/district/province/city directly under the Central Government where the damage occurred.

||| - Documents determining the volume and value of completed work by Vietnam Railway Corporation.

||| b) The payment procedures follow the provisions of Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law and current state guidance documents.

||| 5. For advance payment: Advance payment is implemented according to Circular No. 86/2011/TT-BTC dated June 17, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance on the management and payment of investment capital and budget capital with investment nature from the state budget.

||| IV. MANAGEMENT AND USE OF CAPITAL, ASSETS, SET-ASIDE FUNDS FOR INCENTIVES AND WELFARE FUNDS FOR LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES MANAGING RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE STRUCTURES.

||| 1. Limited liability companies managing railway infrastructure structures must concentrate capital and resources to implement the management and maintenance of the national railway system.

||| 2. For assets belonging to the railway infrastructure system: Sale and liquidation decisions are made by Vietnam Railway Corporation after obtaining written approval from the Ministry of Transport. After liquidation or sale, based on the remaining value, limited liability companies managing railway infrastructure structures record a reduction in the source of capital forming the asset.

||| 3. Investment of capital outside limited liability companies managing railway infrastructure structures; sale and liquidation of assets directly serving public tasks of these companies (assets not part of the railway infrastructure system) are decided by the Board of Directors of Vietnam Railway Corporation according to the law.

||| 4. Vietnam Railway Corporation and limited liability companies managing railway infrastructure structures are exempt from land rental fees for the area used to build railway lines, including railbeds, bridges, culverts, retaining walls, drainage systems, communication and signaling systems, power supply systems, land inside railway tunnels, all land for building railway stations, cargo yards, locomotive and car maintenance facilities, and other necessary auxiliary facilities for organizing train operations on the line. If Vietnam Railway Corporation and limited liability companies managing railway infrastructure structures use that land for business services, they must pay land rental fees according to the law.

5. All materials removed during the management and maintenance of railway infrastructure shall be recovered, classified, evaluated, and processed for storage by the state-owned joint-stock companies managing railway infrastructure, and may be sold after obtaining the unified opinion of Vietnam Railway Corporation.

6. Vietnam Railway Corporation is responsible for organizing the recovery and liquidation, sale of assets and materials recovered from the national railway infrastructure system in accordance with the provisions of the law.

7. The liquidation and sale of recovered assets and materials must comply with current regulations. Annually, Vietnam Railway Corporation will organize inspections on the recovery, liquidation, and sale of such assets and materials, report to relevant state agencies to establish the budget for the following year.

8. Railway transport companies and state-owned joint-stock companies managing railway infrastructure are responsible for remitting all fees from using railway infrastructure, twenty percent of rental income from railway infrastructure as prescribed, and proceeds from the sale and liquidation of recovered assets and materials from the railway infrastructure system, after deducting recovery costs, into the central budget for annual budget allocation to manage, maintain, and repair the national railway system invested by the State according to the State Budget Law.

9. Profit distribution; procedures for establishing incentive funds for management boards and two reward funds and welfare funds of state-owned joint-stock companies managing railway infrastructure shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 138/2010/TT-BTC dated September 17, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding profit distribution for state-owned joint-stock companies.

10. In addition to implementing the regulations on capital management and usage, asset management, and profit distribution stipulated in Section IV of this Circular, state-owned joint-stock companies managing railway infrastructure must also comply with current financial mechanisms and profit distribution regulations for state-owned joint-stock companies.

V. INSPECTION, SETTLEMENT OF PRODUCTS OF MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE OF THE NATIONAL RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTED BY THE STATE

1. Each year, state-owned joint-stock companies managing railway infrastructure shall prepare reports on the settlement of public service products assigned and submit them to Vietnam Railway Corporation. Vietnam Railway Corporation shall inspect and approve the settlement of public service products of these companies that have been assigned plans by the Corporation, and bear legal responsibility for the results of inspection and approval of settlements for these units.

Based on the approved settlement of public service products of state-owned joint-stock companies managing railway infrastructure by Vietnam Railway Corporation, the Corporation shall prepare a comprehensive report on the settlement of public service products for tasks assigned by the Ministry of Transport and send it to the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Transport shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to review the comprehensive settlement of public service products of Vietnam Railway Corporation. For major repair tasks, when approving the completion settlement of projects put into use, the unit authorized by the Ministry of Transport to conduct inspection and approval of project completion settlements shall adjust the annual public service product settlement if there is a discrepancy between the completion settlement and the annual public service product settlement.

When inspecting, approving, and reviewing over-budget expenditures, unplanned expenditures, and expenditures not in accordance with regulations, they must be settled and recovered and submitted to the state budget; at the same time, the person who ordered the incorrect expenditure must compensate the public fund and bear responsibility according to the law.

2. Vietnam Railway Corporation is responsible for preparing and submitting reports on the settlement of allocated funds in accordance with the current provisions of the State Budget Law. The settlement report on allocated funds must be confirmed by local Treasury Departments. The submission deadline shall comply with the provisions of the State Budget Law.

3. Each year, state-owned joint-stock companies managing railway infrastructure must undergo independent audit of their annual financial statements and be subject to financial oversight and inspection by financial authorities in accordance with the law.

4. If Vietnam Railway Corporation and state-owned joint-stock companies managing railway infrastructure fail to submit settlement reports on time, in addition to being subject to administrative penalties in accounting and statistics according to the law, financial authorities may temporarily suspend or request Treasury Departments to temporarily suspend funding until the unit submits complete settlement reports (except for essential expenditures such as salaries and allowances as prescribed).

5. If Vietnam Railway Corporation and state-owned joint-stock companies managing railway infrastructure fail to meet assigned targets, the General Director, Deputy General Director, and Directors of these companies shall bear responsibility according to the law.

6. The General Director of Vietnam Railway Corporation and the Directors of state-owned joint-stock companies managing railway infrastructure shall be responsible to the State and the law for the accuracy and truthfulness of the reported data.

VI. EFFECTIVENESS AND IMPLEMENTATION RESPONSIBILITY

1. In addition to the provisions of this Circular, Vietnam Railway Corporation and state-owned joint-stock companies managing railway infrastructure must also comply with other legal provisions applicable to state-owned joint-stock companies.

2. This Circular takes effect from January 15, 2012, replacing Circular No. 136/2007/TT-BTC dated November 28, 2007, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding financial management, plan allocation, and payment of funds for state-owned companies performing public service tasks in the national railway management and maintenance sector funded by the State.

3. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, the Vietnam Railway Corporation and related units are requested to compile and report to the Ministry of Finance for study and appropriate amendments and supplements./.