Circular No. 171/2012/TT-BTC Amends and supplements certain contents of Circular No. 57/2005/TT-BTC dated July 15, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management, use, and settlement of state budget funds supporting organizations supplying labor that are designated to perform the task of managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam.

CIRCULAR

- Expenses for public services, office supplies, information dissemination, communication, hiring, and other expenses aimed at protecting the legitimate rights of Vietnamese workers (if applicable): Based on valid and legal invoices and receipts, according to current regulations and within the scope of annual labor management funds supported by the state budget; - Expenses for purchasing, repairing, and maintaining equipment and assets directly serving labor management: According to the annual budget approved by the competent authority. In cases requiring tendering, they must be conducted in accordance with current regulations of the Ministry of Finance on procurement to maintain regular operations of agencies and units;

In addition to the above expense limits, for public institutions authorized to manage workers, they can apply internal expenditure regulations at higher levels from self-funded sources. For state-owned enterprises authorized to manage workers, they can apply higher expense levels based on their production and business characteristics, with any excess expenses being included in the general production and business costs of the unit."

This Circular takes effect from January 1, 2013. Other provisions of Circular No. 57/2005/TT-BTC dated July 15, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management, use, and settlement of funds supported by the state budget for organizations providing labor services that are authorized to manage Vietnamese workers working for organizations and

individuals from foreign countries in Vietnam remain effective.

- Contributions for unemployment insurance for employees under contract: Implement in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Social Insurance regarding unemployment insurance and guiding documents;

- Expenses for organizing mid-term and final reviews of labor management work; expenses for organizing guidance meetings for Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam to promptly update on new Party and State policies; domestic travel expenses: Implement in accordance with the current regulations of the competent authority on travel expense allowances and meeting expense allowances for administrative agencies and public service units;

- For training and professional development expenses for staff and civil servants engaged in labor management work: Implement in accordance with the current State regulations on the management and use of training and professional development funds for state officials and civil servants;

- Rewards for staff and civil servants directly involved in labor management work: Implement in accordance with the current reward allowance system;

- Support for the purchase of uniforms for staff members who frequently interact with foreign organizations and individuals (as specified by the head of the agency): VND 1,500,000 per person per year;

- Hospitality expenses for foreign organizations and individuals visiting for work purposes and hospitality expenses for domestic visitors related to labor recruitment, supply, and management work: Implement in accordance with the current regulations on hospitality expenses for foreign visitors working in Vietnam and domestic hospitality expenses;

- Diplomatic gift expenses for foreign offices and organizations in Vietnam during special occasions (on National Day or the establishment of bilateral relations), gifts for office representatives when concluding their terms and returning home: Implement in accordance with the current diplomatic gift expense levels specified in the hospitality expense regulations for foreign visitors working in Vietnam and domestic hospitality expenses;

- Payment for public services; purchase of office supplies; information, propaganda, and communication expenses; rental expenses and other expenses aimed at protecting the legitimate rights of Vietnamese workers (if applicable): Based on valid and lawful expenditure invoices and receipts, in accordance with the current regulations and within the scope of the annual labor management budget supported by the State budget;

- Purchase and regular maintenance expenses for equipment and assets directly serving labor management tasks: In accordance with the annual budget estimate allocated by the competent authority. In cases where procurement requires tendering, it shall be implemented in accordance with the current regulations of the Ministry of Finance on tendering for asset procurement to maintain the regular operations of agencies and units;

In addition to the expense levels specified above, for public service units designated to perform labor management tasks, based on the internal expenditure rules of the unit, higher expense levels can be applied from the self-funded budget of the unit. For state-owned enterprises designated to perform labor management tasks, based on the production and business characteristics of the unit, higher expense levels can be applied, with the higher expense differences being accounted for in the general production and business costs of the unit.

Article 2. Implementation

1. This Circular takes effect from January 1, 2013. The provisions on the management, use, and settlement of funds supported by the State budget for organizations designated to manage Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam, as stipulated in Circular No. 57/2005/TT-BTC dated July 15, 2005, issued by the Ministry of Finance, remain effective.

2. During the implementation of this Circular, if there are any difficulties, agencies and units are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance for study, amendment, and supplementation to ensure appropriateness./.