Circular No. 172/2013/TT-BTC on leasing storage of national reserve goods

 CIRCULAR

Article 24Regarding the leasing of storage for national reserve goods

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On the basis of the Law on Management and Use of State Assets No. 09/2008/QH12 dated June 3, 2008;

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

Pursuant to Decree No. 94/2013/NĐ-CP dated August 21, 2013 of the Government detailing the implementation of the National Reserve Law;

At the proposal of the Director General of the State Treasury Administration;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular on leasing storage for national reserve goods as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the implementation of leasing storage for national reserve goods between ministries and sectors assigned by the Government to manage national reserve goods and organizations and enterprises meeting the conditions for leasing storage for national reserve goods.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the implementation of leasing storage for national reserve goods.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms shall be understood as follows:

1. Leasing storage refers to the act of ministries and sectors assigned to manage national reserve goods leasing organizations and enterprises to carry out storage of national reserve goods.

2. Leasing storage period is the time calculated from when national reserve goods are entered into the warehouse until they are removed from the warehouse.

3. Contract duration for leasing storage is the time from when the leasing storage contract becomes effective until it is terminated.

4. Rotational exchange of goods involves selling national reserve goods with limited shelf life or goods that have deteriorated in quality or are no longer suitable due to technological advancements, replacing them with new goods based on ensuring the quantity and quality of national reserve goods.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 4. Selection of organizations and enterprises to lease storage for national reserve goods

1. Criteria for selecting organizations and enterprises to lease storage for national reserve goods:

Organizations and enterprises selected to lease storage for national reserve goods must meet not only the conditions prescribed in Article 53 of the National Reserve Law but also the following criteria:

a) Having warehouse locations consistent with the planning of national reserve goods warehouses according to strategic regions; at the same time, convenient for storage, entry, exit, and emergency dispatch operations.

b) Possessing sufficient capacity and conditions to implement rotational exchanges of national reserve goods according to the decision of the head of the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods.

c) Having appropriate technical equipment necessary to serve entry, exit, storage, security, disaster prevention, fire protection, and other forms of damage; suitable for the physical and chemical properties of each type of goods; suitable for the natural conditions of each region and other requirements of storage work.

2. Forms and procedures for selecting organizations and enterprises to lease storage for national reserve goods

a) The head of the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods decides to apply the form of selecting contractors as prescribed by the Bidding Law and guiding documents to select organizations and enterprises meeting the conditions for leasing storage for national reserve goods.

b) Based on the form of selecting contractors applied, the head of the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods implements corresponding procedures according to the provisions of the Bidding Law and guiding documents to organize the selection of contractors for leasing storage for national reserve goods.

c) The number of organizations and enterprises receiving the lease for storage of national reserve goods is decided by the head of the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods based on ensuring the fulfillment of state tasks assigned.

Article 5. Storage Contract for National Reserve Goods

1. The Storage Contract for National Reserve Goods shall be established in writing and contain the following main contents:

a) Legal basis;

b) Subject of the Contract;

c) List, type of goods; quantity; value of national reserve goods to be stored;

d) Quality standards of goods; storage location; storage period, rotation and replacement time of goods and allowable losses during storage (according to norms);

đ) Conditions ensuring warehouse facilities and technical equipment for management and storage operations;

e) Storage rental costs; payment documents and methods;

g) Responsibilities, authorities, and obligations of each party in implementing the storage contract;

h) Provisions on inspection and supervision;

i) Dispute resolution during the implementation of the contract and other provisions agreed upon by both parties.

2. Basis for signing the Storage Contract for National Reserve Goods

a) Decision of the Prime Minister regarding the allocation of national reserve plan targets for the planning year; quantity of national reserve goods in stock at the beginning of the year;

b) Decision of the Minister of Finance regarding the allocation of state budget estimates for ministries and sectors managing national reserve goods;

c) National technical standards for national reserve goods (if applicable). Economic and technical norms for the import, export, and storage of national reserve goods (if applicable) or approved total fees for import, export, and storage;

d) Decision of the head of the ministry or sector regarding the allocation of plans for the import, export, and storage of national reserve goods to units;

đ) Decision approving the tender results for storage services of the head of the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods;

3. The Storage Contract for National Reserve Goods shall be signed between the head (or lawful representative) of the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods (referred to as Party A) and the lawful representative of the organization or enterprise selected to provide storage services for national reserve goods according to Clause 2, Article 4 of this Circular (referred to as Party B). The term of the Storage Contract for National Reserve Goods shall be determined by the head of the ministry or sector managing national reserve goods to suit the storage period of each item. Annually (before February 25), both parties shall review the Contract; if there are changes that alter the Contract's content (increase or decrease in quantity, change in storage location, technical standards, economic and technical norms for national reserve goods...), both parties shall sign supplementary appendices to the Contract or terminate the Contract and liquidate it in accordance with the law.

The Contract and its appendices for the Storage of National Reserve Goods shall be submitted to the Ministry of Finance (State Reserve Administration) for monitoring, inspection, and supervision during implementation.

4. The Storage Contract for National Reserve Goods shall be established based on the model attached to this Circular.

Article 6. Rental Costs for Storing National Reserve Goods

1. Expenditure for renting storage services for national reserve goods from the annual budget estimate for national reserve goods storage expenses (public service expenses) allocated to ministries and sectors.

2. Expenditures for renting storage services for national reserve goods must be strictly managed according to the budget estimate, economic and technical norms, or the quota system; they must be used for their intended purpose, for the correct beneficiaries, effectively, and must be accounted for in accordance with current accounting regulations.

3. Principles of expenditure, content of expenditure, expenditure levels, funding allocation, funding allocation documents, and quota expenditures for renting storage services for national reserve goods shall be implemented in accordance with the Ministry of Finance's guidelines on national reserve plans and state budget expenditures for national reserves.

Article 7. Responsibilities and Obligations of Organizations and Enterprises Engaged in the Storage of National Reserve Goods

1. Directly store national reserve goods; such goods must be stored separately at the designated location; ensure safety, completeness in quantity; maintain quality; arrange and store according to the National Technical Regulations and Economic-Technical Standards for National Reserve Goods. Implement circulation, exchange, import, and export of national reserve goods based on decisions of competent authorities, ensuring correct type, quantity, value, and quality as stipulated by law.

2. Timely implement plans for importing and exporting national reserve goods in accordance with decisions of competent authorities.

3. Take strict measures to protect and ensure the confidentiality of national reserve goods; comply with legal provisions regarding the protection of state secrets.

4. Prepare complete files, certificates, and ledgers for accounting and tracking the quantity, quality, value, and changes during the process of importing, exporting, and storing national reserve goods, including: accounting books, warehouse cards; warehouse registers; tank and reservoir monitoring logs; quality testing certificates, storage diaries.

5. In case of damage, reduced quality, or excessive loss of national reserve goods beyond the set standard due to subjective reasons or improper use of national reserve goods, compensation must be provided and legal penalties applied; if losses are less than the set standard, rewards may be granted according to government regulations; if damaged or reduced quality goods are discovered, measures to restore them or timely report to competent authorities for permission to sell to avoid losses must be taken.

6. Summarize and report on imports, exports, inventory; implementation of storage funding for national reserve goods quarterly and annually, submitting to the relevant ministry or agency leasing the storage of national reserve goods before the 10th day of the first month of the next quarter (for quarterly reports), before January 15 of the following year (for annual reports).

Article 8. Responsibilities and Obligations of Ministries and Agencies Signing Contracts for Leasing the Storage of National Reserve Goods

1. Regularly and unexpectedly inspect organizations and enterprises signing contracts for leasing the storage of national reserve goods regarding the quantity and quality of national reserve goods; warehouses; security and safekeeping work; implementation of National Technical Regulations and Economic-Technical Standards; execution of imports, exports, and storage of national reserve goods and rotation exchanges according to decisions of the head of the ministry or agency managing national reserve goods.

2. Organize the review and settlement of funding reports for imports, exports, and storage of national reserve goods from organizations and enterprises signing storage contracts and bear responsibility for approved settlements; submit consolidated settlement reports to the Ministry of Finance for verification and consolidation to the Government as prescribed.

3. Report on management, storage, and use of national reserve goods and the implementation of leasing storage contracts of the previous year to the Ministry of Finance before the 20th day of the first month of the next quarter (for quarterly reports), before January 25 of the following year (for annual reports) while also submitting to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 9. Transitional Provisions

For organizations and enterprises currently assigned by ministries and agencies to store national reserve goods, upon the effective date of this Circular, if they meet the conditions specified in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular, the head of the ministry or agency managing national reserve goods shall sign leasing storage contracts for national reserve goods. In cases where the conditions for signing leasing contracts are not met or there is no need to lease storage of national reserve goods, the head of the ministry or agency managing national reserve goods will continue to assign these organizations and enterprises to store national reserve goods until the end of the second quarter of 2014. If by the end of the second quarter of 2014, national reserve goods stored at these units have not been fully exported, they will be transferred to organizations and enterprises selected to lease storage of national reserve goods as stipulated in Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 4 of this Circular.

Article 10. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from January 5, 2014.

Article 11. Implementation Organization

Relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in leasing the storage of national reserve goods shall organize implementation based on the provisions of this Circular. During implementation, if there are any issues, related agencies and units are requested to promptly reflect to the Ministry of Finance for research and appropriate amendments and supplements./.