Circular No. 17/2005/TT-BYT guiding travel expenses and conference costs for units under the Ministry of Health's budget

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for travel expenses and conference expenditure

for units under the Ministry of Health's budget

Pursuant to Decree No. 49/2003/NĐ-CP dated May 15, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

Pursuant to Circular No. 118/2004/TT-BTC dated December 8, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance on travel expenses and conference expenditure for administrative agencies and public service units throughout the country;

The Ministry of Health hereby specifies the travel expense regulations for civil servants, officials, and employees, and conference expenditure regulations for units under the Ministry that use state budget funds as follows:

I. TRAVEL EXPENSE REGULATIONS

1. Recipients and conditions for receiving travel expense benefits

1.1. Recipients of travel expense benefits include: Civil servants, officials, and employees from agencies and units dispatched for work assignments.

1.2. Conditions for reimbursement of travel expenses:

- Having a dispatch decision or travel permit signed by the agency head.

- Fulfilling assigned tasks.

- Possessing all necessary receipts for reimbursement.

+ Time spent at hospitals for treatment.

+ Time spent at hospitals, health stations, convalescent homes, or recuperation centers.

Travel expenses are a portion of the State budget allocated for individuals going on missions abroad to spend during their mission period. This includes:

+ Days attending long-term or short-term training courses, eligible for travel expense benefits for officials dispatched for study.

+ Days assigned to reside or be seconded to another locality or agency.

2. Definition of travel expenses: Travel expenses refer to a sum paid to individuals traveling domestically to cover train, bus fares for themselves and baggage transportation costs (if applicable); and expenses incurred during travel days and stay at the destination.

3Heads of budgetary units must carefully consider when dispatching personnel (in terms of number and duration of trips) to ensure that funds are used economically and effectively within their annual budget allocation granted by the Ministry.

4. In addition to the travel expense levels stipulated in this Circular, units dispatching personnel and those hosting visitors not funded by the state budget shall not provide additional payments of any kind to travelers or hosts under any circumstances.

5. Reimbursement items for travel expenses

5.1. Reimbursement for train and bus fares from the office to the place of work

5.1.1. Cases where travel is conducted via road, waterway, or railway transport:

- Individuals using public transportation with valid tickets can be reimbursed for train and bus fares based on standard rates (excluding other services such as sightseeing, meals, special requests...).

- Reimbursable amounts include the cost of purchasing train and bus tickets, ferry and pontoon crossing fees, highway usage fees, and transportation costs for materials required for the work trip (as requested by the dispatching agency) directly paid by the traveler.

If the traveler uses the unit's car, they will not be reimbursed for train and bus fares.

5.1.2. Cases where travel is conducted via air transport:

a) Individuals can be reimbursed for airfare in the following cases:

+ Leaders at the Department level and above.

+ Civil servants and officials with a salary coefficient of 5.76 or higher.

In exceptional cases where urgent work requires dispatching personnel who do not meet the criteria for airfare reimbursement, the unit head (the person in charge of approving and disbursing expenditures for the budgetary unit) may approve reimbursement and bear responsibility before the Ministry leadership for their decision.

Air travelers can be reimbursed for airfare and public transportation costs from the work location to the airport and vice versa (if applicable).

b) Individuals not falling under the provisions mentioned in point a above, if traveling by air, can only be reimbursed according to the standard rate for public bus transportation (when having an air ticket).

5.1.3. For civil servants and officials who arrange their own means of transportation for work trips:

- When traveling, individuals not using the unit's transportation but arranging their own means can be reimbursed for train and bus fares based on the standard rate for public bus transportation in the local area for the actual distance traveled; for mountainous, border, and island areas of the same length, the maximum reimbursement is twice the standard rate for public bus transportation in the local area where the official is dispatched.

- Documentation for reimbursement includes the traveler's travel permit confirmed by the host agency and a mileage report submitted for approval by the unit head.

5.2. Travel allowance:

- The travel allowance is calculated from the start of the work trip until the return to the home agency or unit (including travel time, stay time, holidays, and rest days as prescribed). The travel allowance includes food and incidental expenses, with specific rates as follows:

+ Travelers to regions with a regional coefficient below 0.3 receive a maximum of 40,000 VND per day per person.

+ Travelers to regions with a regional coefficient between 0.3 and 0.5 receive a maximum of 45,000 VND per day per person.

+ Travelers to regions with a regional coefficient of 0.5 or higher receive a maximum of 50,000 VND per day per person.

(The regional coefficient is implemented according to the regulations of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ethnic Minorities Commission, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance. Currently, it is stipulated in the annex to Joint Circular No. 11/2005/TTLT-BNV-BLDTBXH-BTC-UBDT dated May 5, 2005 on guiding the implementation of regional allowances.)

- The criteria for reimbursement of travel allowances are specified as follows:

+ For regions with a regional coefficient below 0.3: a minimum one-way distance of 20 kilometers from the office to the work location.

+ For regions with a regional coefficient of 0.3 or higher: a minimum one-way distance of 15 kilometers from the office to the work location.

5.3. Reimbursement for accommodation expenses at the work location:

- Persons on business trips shall be reimbursed for accommodation rental expenses at the destination. The reimbursement amount for accommodation rental expenses shall be based on actual invoices, but shall not exceed 120,000 VND/day/person.

- In cases where a person travels alone or when a mixed-gender business delegation must rent separate rooms, the maximum reimbursement for accommodation rental expenses for a single traveler or an odd-numbered person in the delegation shall not exceed 240,000 VND/day/person.

- Officials, civil servants, and employees who are assigned to travel and stay overnight in places without guesthouses or hotels (without invoices) shall be reimbursed up to a maximum of 40,000 VND/day/person (if confirmed by the local authority that they have completed their work tasks).

5.4. Reimbursement according to a fixed allowance for travel expenses

For officials, civil servants, and employees who frequently travel more than 15 days/month such as secretaries, treasurers, accountants, etc., a monthly travel expense allowance with a maximum of 150,000 VND/month/person shall be provided.

Based on the assigned tasks of each individual, the head of the agency or unit must present to the collective body of officials, civil servants, and employees for approval of each case eligible for monthly travel expense allowances at appropriate levels. Subsequently, a list of those entitled to the monthly travel expense allowance must be compiled and approved monthly. At the end of each quarter, this list must be updated based on the actual work performance of each individual. Arbitrary distribution of travel expense allowances as a supplementary payment is strictly prohibited.

The head of the agency or unit is responsible for monitoring the travel schedule of officials, civil servants, and employees during the month to serve as the basis for approving and reimbursing monthly travel expense allowances. If an official, civil servant, or employee does not travel or travels fewer days than stipulated above in a given month, they will not be reimbursed for the monthly travel expense allowance. Those who are reimbursed for travel expense allowances, if they travel further than the distance specified in Point 5.2, will be reimbursed for travel expense subsidies according to the regulations.

5.5. In cases where inter-departmental or inter-agency business delegations are formed, the leading agency or unit of the business delegation shall bear the costs for common activities of the delegation (such as office supplies, car rental fees, etc.). The agency or unit sending personnel on business trips is responsible for reimbursing travel expenses for its personnel (including transportation fees, travel expense subsidies, accommodation rental fees).

II. EXPENSE REGIME FOR CONFERENCES

1. Conditions for organizing conferences

Agencies and units organizing national-level summary conferences or congresses must obtain permission through a written document from the Politburo or the Prime Minister.

2. Conference expenses

a) Some general requirements:

- The conference expenses mentioned in this Circular apply uniformly to summary conferences, conferences held during terms of office, training sessions, regular directive conferences to guide operations within the Health sector.

- All agencies and units in the sector must arrange venues reasonably, combine multiple contents, prepare high-quality agendas, and consider the composition and number of delegates. The duration of the conference should not exceed three days, and training sessions should not exceed seven days. When organizing conferences, agencies and units must comply with the expenditure regulations stipulated in this Circular and budget within the scope allocated by the Ministry, avoiding ostentatious forms, banquets, receptions, and combined activities such as sightseeing and vacations. No gifts or souvenirs may be purchased.

- The agency or unit organizing the conference must create favorable conditions for food and lodging for delegates. Delegates attending the conference pay for meals and accommodations using their travel expense allowances and part of their salary. The organizing agency or unit subsidizes meals, accommodations, and transportation for invited delegates who do not receive state salaries. No support for meals and accommodations is provided for invited delegates who are state officials, civil servants, or employees from enterprises.

b) Conference expense items:

- Rental fees for conference halls during the conference period (in cases where the organizing agency does not have its own venue).

- Printing (or purchasing) materials for the conference. Additional materials can be sold by the organizing agency to cover conference costs at cost price without profit.

- Rental fees for cars to transport delegates from their lodgings to the conference venue.

- Refreshment expenses for delegates.

- Expenses for supporting meals, accommodation rentals (if the conference lasts all day), and transportation costs for invited delegates who do not receive salaries.

- Other expenses such as overtime pay, medical supplies, and hall decoration shall be reimbursed based on actual expenditures with a spirit of thrift.

Expenses for awards and incentives, publicity work, and sightseeing and vacation activities for conference participants shall not be included in the conference budget but shall be counted under award and incentive funds, publicity budgets, and welfare funds of the agency or unit (if applicable).

c) Specific expense levels:

- Support for meals for invited delegates who do not receive salaries is divided into three levels as follows:

+ National-level conferences: 40,000 VND/day/person.

+ Provincial-level conferences: 30,000 VND/day/person.

+ County-level conferences: 20,000 VND/day/person.

- In cases where centralized meals are organized, the conference organizing agency shall collect meal fees from delegates and only organize meals according to the aforementioned three levels.

- Support for accommodation for invited delegates who do not receive salaries: a maximum of 120,000 VND/person/day.

- Refreshment expenses: a maximum of 5,000 VND/person/day.

- Transportation support for invited delegates who do not receive salaries shall be reimbursed according to the public bus fare rates in the locality for the actual kilometers traveled, as decided by the head of the conference organizing agency.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. The preparation, allocation, and settlement of travel expense allowances and conference expenditure budgets shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and related guiding documents.

2. Any expenditures for travel expenses and conference costs that do not comply with the provisions of this Circular, upon inspection, the superior management agencies and financial authorities at all levels have the right to require the relevant agencies and units to provide accounting records. The person who issues incorrect expenditure orders or approves incorrect budgets shall be subject to disciplinary action, administrative penalties, or criminal prosecution according to the law, and shall also be responsible for recovering and remitting to the state budget the amount of incorrectly spent funds.

3. The levels of travel expenses and conference fees specified in this Circular are the maximum levels. Based on the budget capacity and actual conditions of the unit, the head of the unit may decide on lower spending levels but must ensure the specialized activities of the unit.

4. For public service units with income that have been granted financial autonomy rights and administrative agencies implementing personnel quotas and administrative management budgets, this Circular and separate guidance documents issued by the Ministry of Finance shall apply.

5. This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

In the course of implementation, if there are any difficulties, the units are requested to promptly report to the Ministry of Health for guidance./.