Joint Circular No. 19/2012/TTLT-BTC-BKH&ĐT-BTTTT guiding the management and use of funds for implementing the National Program on the application of information technology in the activities of state agencies.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing and using funds to implement the National Program on

application of information technology in the operations of state agencies

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Pursuant to the State Budget Law No. 01/2002/QH11 dated December 16, 2002;

Pursuant to the Law on Information Technology No. 67/2006/QH11 dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;

Pursuant to Decree No. 64/2007/NĐ-CP dated April 10, 2007 of the Government on the application of information technology in the activities of state agencies;

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. 116/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 14, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Planning and Investment;

Information Technology Application in Government Activities;

Pursuant to Decree No. 187/2007/NĐ-CP dated December 25, 2007 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Information and Communications;

Implementing Decision No. 1605/QĐ-TTg dated August 27, 2010 of the Prime Minister approving the National Program on Information Technology Application in Government Activities for the period 2011-2015,

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Application

The Circular guides the management and use of funds for information technology application in government activities as follows:

1. The National Program on Information Technology Application in Government Activities, including:

a) The National Program on Information Technology Application in Government Activities for the period 2011-2015 pursuant to Decision No. 1605/QĐ-TTg dated August 27, 2010 of the

b) The National Program on Information Technology Application in Government Activities for subsequent periods.

2. Other activities related to information technology application in government agencies included in the annual budget plan of the agencies and units.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to government agencies, agencies under the Communist Party of Vietnam, political and social organizations funded by the state budget for information technology application, including:

1. Central Agencies:

a) State agencies at the central level.

b) Other central agencies funded by the state budget for information technology application.

2. Local Agencies:

a) Specialized agencies under People's Committees at all levels.

b) State agencies under vertical sectors at localities.

c) Agencies of the Party, People's Councils, and local political and social organizations funded by the state budget for information technology application.

d) Other agencies at localities funded by the state budget for information technology application.

Article 3. Sources of funds for implementing the National Program on Information Technology Application in Government Activities

1. Central budget and local budget.

2. Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds from sponsors for information technology application projects in government activities.

3. Legal revenue sources of agencies and units permitted to retain and use according to the law; contributions from enterprises; other lawful funding sources according to the law.

Article 4. Principles for Managing and Using Funds

1. Management and use of funds for implementing the National Program on Information Technology Application in Government Activities must be in accordance with the purpose, regulations, and priority order based on actual needs, ensuring effectiveness and feasibility when implemented; subject to inspection, supervision, and evaluation by competent authorities; settlement of funds used and public disclosure of the budget according to current regulations.

2. Management and use of ODA funds must comply with Vietnamese laws on the management and use of ODA funds.

3. Legal revenue sources of agencies and units permitted to retain and use; contributions from enterprises; other lawful funding sources shall be implemented in accordance with relevant legal documents.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 5. Allocation of budget expenditure tasks for implementing the National Program on Information Technology Application in State Agencies

1. Budget expenditure tasks of the Central Government:

a) Construction and upgrading of national-level information technology infrastructure, information systems, databases, and information systems serving management and operation activities of central-level Party and State agencies; information systems serving sectoral management work.

b) Partial financial support to localities with difficult socio-economic conditions for the implementation of information technology infrastructure construction.

c) Expenditure on information technology application by Ministries and central-level agencies.

d) Operating costs of the Steering Committee and National Steering Board for implementing information technology application activities in state agencies. Based on the Directive for developing economic and social plans,

2. Budget expenditure tasks of Local Governments:

a) Construction and upgrading of information technology infrastructure, databases, and information systems serving management and operation activities of local-level Party and State agencies.

b) Expenditure on information technology application by local agencies and units.

c) Operating costs of the Steering Committee and Local Steering Board for implementing information technology application activities in state agencies.

Article 6. Specific allocation of budget expenditure tasks for implementing Decision No. 1605/QĐ-TTg

1. Budget expenditure tasks of the Central Government:

a) Construction and upgrading of national-level information technology infrastructure, information systems, databases, and information systems serving management and operation activities of central-level Party and State agencies, including specific projects and tasks listed in Appendix III of Decision No. 1605/QĐ-TTg.

b) Partial financial support to localities with difficult socio-economic conditions for the implementation of information technology infrastructure construction, ensuring connectivity and interoperability between central and local state agencies for large-scale information systems and databases at the national level as specified in Appendix III of Decision No. 1605/QĐ-TTg. The agencies responsible for implementing national-scale information systems and databases shall propose specific levels and recipients of support based on actual needs, avoiding duplication and waste; seek the review opinions of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Information and Communications for consolidation, reporting, and submission.

c) Expenditure from the budgets of Ministries and central-level agencies assigned annually: Within the annual budget estimates approved by competent authorities, Ministries and central-level agencies allocate funds to implement Decision No. 1605/QĐ-TTg within their own agencies, including the following main tasks:

i) Development of information technology infrastructure:

- Construction and upgrading of information technology infrastructure to ensure information technology application within state agencies, including: servers, workstations, peripheral devices, network connection equipment, auxiliary equipment, internal networks, wide area networks;

- Provision of infrastructure to facilitate convenient access to public services through various forms, including: electronic information portals; customer care centers; fixed telephones; mobile phones; single-window service desks and other forms;

- Construction and deployment of information security system infrastructure, electronic authentication, and digital signatures. ii) Information technology application within state agencies:

- Construction and upgrading of information systems: document management and operation systems, comprehensive information management systems, online meeting systems, email systems, user authentication integration with electronic authentication and digital signature infrastructure;

- Construction and upgrading of information technology applications in business processes and other internal works towards greater efficiency, expanded connectivity, and meeting the needs of each agency.

iii) Information technology application to serve citizens and businesses:

- Provision of online public services to citizens and businesses; - Implementation of information technology applications at single-window service desks and inter-connected single-window service desks (if applicable);

- Development and enhancement of effectiveness of online dialogue, question-and-answer systems, and tools for receiving citizen and business feedback in state agency operations.

iv) Training and development of human resources for information technology application.

v) Establishment of a legal environment for information technology application and development of information technology applications. vi) Learning international experiences in information technology application in state agency operations and e-Government development. vii) Maintenance and repair of information infrastructure; operation and maintenance of information systems. viii) Other information technology application contents (if applicable).

Operating costs of the Steering Committee and Steering Board for implementing information technology application activities in state agencies.

2. Budget expenditure tasks of Local Governments:

Provincial People's Committees under the Central Government prioritize the allocation of funds to implement Decision No. 1605/QĐ-TTg at the local level, including the tasks specified in point c, Clause 1, Article 1 of this Decision for their respective locality.

Article 7. Contents of Expenditure

1. The contents of expenditure to be allocated from investment capital development funds or operational funds with investment characteristics (if ensuring the conditions stipulated for managing information technology application projects funded by state budget funds and must establish projects in accordance with regulations):

a) Expenditure on constructing new, purchasing, and major repairs of information infrastructure, including: network components (routers, switches, hubs, access points, firewalls, transmission cables, connecting materials, etc.); hardware (servers, personal computers, storage devices, printing devices, power supply systems, lightning protection systems, cooling systems for information technology systems, and other peripheral devices); databases.

b) Expenditure on constructing new, purchasing, and upgrading software, including: system software, application software, electronic portals/information websites, tool software, core/software foundation, and other software, including the purchase of software licenses. The above contents of expenditure when establishing investment projects for implementation shall include the following component costs (as prescribed in Decree No. 102/2009/NĐ-CP dated November 6, 2009 on managing investment in information technology applications using state budget funds):

i) Construction and installation costs:

- Costs for installing network accessories, wiring for information technology networks, and other costs serving installation;

- Other direct construction and installation costs related thereto.

ii) Equipment costs:

- Costs for purchasing information technology equipment: equipment that needs to be installed and configured, equipment that does not need to be installed and configured, special internal software, auxiliary equipment, and peripheral equipment;

- Costs for purchasing intangible assets: system software, commercial software, database creation, standardization services for data entry, data entry for databases, purchasing other intangible assets;

- Training and technology transfer costs;

- Installation costs for equipment, software configuration, testing, and adjusting equipment and software.

iii) Project management costs: Including necessary costs for the Investor to organize project management.

iv) Investment consulting costs: Surveying and supervising survey work; preparing investment projects; investigating and researching to serve the preparation of projects, selecting solutions; preliminary design; construction design, adjustments, and supplements to construction design; preparing estimates/totals; preparing request documents, tender invitation documents, and bidding documents; and costs for analyzing and evaluating proposal documents, prequalification documents, and bidding documents to select consulting contractors, construction contractors, general contractors, and construction supervision contractors; setting standards and unit prices; preparing estimates and totals; adjusting estimates and totals; project management consulting; quality inspection of materials and equipment; product quality evaluation; technical appraisal; conversion of investment capital; investment consulting costs and other consulting work.

v) Other costs: fees and charges; insurance, relocation of equipment and workforce; auditing; verification and approval of final accounts for investment capital; scientific and technological research related to the project; installation and leasing of transmission lines; domain registration and maintenance fees, and other specific costs.

vi) Contingency costs: For unforeseen work volumes when establishing projects and contingency costs for price escalation factors during project implementation.

2. The contents of expenditure to be allocated from annual administrative operational funds (no need to establish investment projects):

a) Expenditure on purchasing, upgrading information infrastructure and software: - Expenditure on constructing new, purchasing, and upgrading software with investment capital below the threshold requiring establishment of an investment project; - Expenditure on purchasing replacement parts (less than 50% of total value) of hardware and network components of existing information infrastructure; - Expenditure on purchasing, extending software licenses or converting software currently in use without licenses; - Purchasing air conditioning systems for server rooms.

b) Maintenance, repair costs: - Maintenance, repair, and minor repair costs for information infrastructure network and hardware components; - Software maintenance and support operation costs (including regular and emergency backup and recovery costs for software).

c) Maintaining network services: - Network connection rental services (such as: leasing transmission lines, bandwidth); - Domain name and IP address maintenance; - Information collection, storage, and transmission services (email system maintenance service; website hosting service; internet cloud storage rental service); - Other online services (DNS domain service, LDAP authentication service, Windows Internet WINS service, virtual private network service, and other services).

d) Other service costs: - Rental services for information technology hardware and network equipment, server placement rental services, and other information technology equipment; - Network security and information security services (costs for consulting, inspecting, and evaluating information security, monitoring information security services, and incident response services for information security); - Digital signature services.

đ) Management and operation costs of information systems, including: - Planning and monitoring, inspecting, and evaluating the operation, maintenance, repair, and upkeep of information systems; - Operating and providing technical support for information technology systems or hiring management and operation services, technical support services for information technology systems; - Managing operators and users; - Network security control, information security, and system responsiveness; - Statistics and reporting on the exploitation and usage of network traffic; - Organizing the deployment of information technology applications in emergencies; - Establishing and perfecting regulations and rules for managing information systems.

e) Costs for creating and maintaining information database systems, including: data standardization; initial data creation; updating new data and information (purchasing information content, creating and converting information, digitizing information).

g) Expenses to ensure operation for the electronic information portal in accordance with the provisions of Government Decree No. 43/2011/NĐ-CP dated June 13, 2011 on the provision of information and online public services on the electronic information portal or government portal of state agencies, including: - Purchasing information content, creating and converting information, digitizing information for the electronic information portal; - Ensuring personnel expenses for the electronic information portal, including: Editorial board, personnel handling online public services, and technical management personnel; - Maintenance and repair expenses for the electronic information portal: included in the category of expenses for maintaining the information system of the unit; - Upgrading and modifying expenses for the electronic information portal: included in the category of expenses for upgrading and repairing software of the unit.

h) Expenses for state management of information technology application: - Expenses for building and reviewing mechanisms, policies, legal documents in the field of information technology application; - Expenses for building plans, programs, projects on information technology application (drafting project outlines, seminar expenses for building plans, programs, projects, review expenses, appraisal expenses for plans, programs, projects, and projects); - Expenses for setting standards and unit prices in the field of information technology; - Expenses for inspection, supervision, and evaluation of the implementation of information technology application tasks; - Expenses for surveys and data collection serving state management of information technology application; - Expenses for conferences and seminars on information technology application; - Expenses for overseas study tours to learn international experiences on information technology application in state agency activities and e-Government development; - Expenses for the operations of steering committees and guidance committees in the field of information technology application: expenses for guidance, inspection, supervision, urging, and evaluating information technology application activities; expenses for meetings, conferences, and seminars; expenses for professional activities; expenses for supporting the operations of the steering committee's permanent office.

i) Consulting fees in the field of information technology application, including: technology transfer consulting, procurement consulting, and other consulting.

j) Training and capacity building for officials, civil servants, and employees: - Training and capacity building for users, including: general knowledge about information technology, skills in applying information technology in business operations and management; - Training and capacity building for specialized information technology staff, including system management and in-depth topics, training according to industry standards; - Training and capacity building for information technology directors; - Training and capacity building for management and investment skills in information technology application.

k) Allowance for preferential treatment and hazardous work for specialized information technology staff (if applicable).

l) Expenses for information, propaganda, and promotion serving the goal of information technology application in state agencies (propaganda and promotion of state agencies providing information on the internet; information and propaganda to make the public and society aware and participate in transactions with state agencies through the internet and other promotional activities).

m) Expenses for organizing information technology contests.

Article 8. Regime and expenditure standards for contents funded from development investment capital or operational funds with an investment nature

1. When preparing the budget for investment projects applying information technology, it must comply with current regulations on managing investment projects applying information technology, as well as specific norms and unit prices issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Finance, and other specialized ministries. Some current regulations are as follows:

a) The establishment and management of project investment costs shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 06/2011/TT-BTTTT dated February 28, 2011, stipulating the establishment and management of investment costs for applying information technology.

b) Project management costs for applying information technology: shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 10/2011/TT-BTC dated January 26, 2011, of the Ministry of Finance, concerning the management and use of project management costs for construction investment projects using state budget funds. Regarding the norms for project management costs and investment consulting fees, refer to Decision No. 993/QĐ-BTTTT dated July 1, 2011, of the Minister of Information and Communications, announcing temporary norms for project management costs and investment consulting fees for applying information technology using state budget funds.

c) Project appraisal costs: shall be applied according to Circular No. 176/2011/TT-BTC dated December 6, 2011, of the Ministry of Finance, guiding the collection, payment, and management of project appraisal fees for construction investment projects.

d) Costs for auditing and finalizing accounts; independent audit: shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 19/2011/TT-BTC dated February 14, 2011, of the Ministry of Finance, concerning the finalization of accounts for completed projects funded by state resources.

đ) Norms for hardware installation and software installation: shall be referred to Decision No. 1601/QĐ-BTTTT dated October 3, 2011, of the Minister of Information and Communications, regarding the announcement of norms for hardware installation and software installation in applying information technology for relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals to refer to and use in hardware installation and software installation activities in applying information technology.

e) Norms for database creation: shall be referred to Decision No. 1595/QĐ-BTTTT dated October 3, 2011, of the Minister of Information and Communications, regarding the announcement of norms for database creation in applying information technology activities.

g) The construction and upgrading of internal software: shall be referred to Circular No. 2589/BTTTT-ƯDCNTT dated August 24, 2011, of the Ministry of Information and Communications, concerning guidance on determining the costs of developing and upgrading internal software. Agencies and units that operate and use open-source software in applying information technology activities (if there is equivalent open-source software meeting requirements and suitable for implementation by the agency or unit) can substitute the purchase of ready-made software or tailor-made software.

2. Domestic consultant hiring costs: shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 18/2010/TT-BLĐTBXH dated June 10, 2010, of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, stipulating the salary for domestic consultants implementing consultancy tender packages and applying time-based contracts under projects using state funds.

3. Foreign consultant hiring costs: Based on the necessity of implementing activities and approved budget estimates, the head of central agencies and provincial People's Committees shall decide on hiring foreign consultants. The actual expenditure shall be based on the actual contract agreed upon with the consultant according to the required quality, quantity, and duration of work.

4. Survey and investigation costs for project preparation and supplementary surveys during the implementation of investments: shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 58/2011/TT-BTC dated May 11, 2011, of the Ministry of Finance, concerning the management, use, and settlement of expenses for conducting statistical surveys.

5. For projects/programs using Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds: shall be implemented according to the expenditure standards stipulated in Circular No. 219/2009/TT-BTC dated November 19, 2009, and Circular No. 192/2011/TT-BTC dated December 26, 2011, of the Ministry of Finance, amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 219/2009/TT-BTC dated November 19, 2009, of the Ministry of Finance, stipulating certain expenditure norms applicable to projects/programs using Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds.

6. When new regulations amend, supplement, or replace the provisions cited in this Article, they shall be applied according to the new regulations.

Article 9. Budgetary Regime and Standards for Expenditure on Content from Regular Administrative and Public Service Funds

The expenditure regime to implement tasks related to information technology application shall be carried out according to the financial expenditure regulations stipulated by the Ministry of Finance. This Circular provides additional guidance on the following matters:

1. Expenditure on purchasing, upgrading information infrastructure and software, including: expenditure on developing and upgrading internal software; purchasing, upgrading, installing, and setting up information technology equipment (network components, hardware, commercial software) to maintain regular operations, implemented in accordance with Circular No. 21/2010/TT-BTTTT dated September 8, 2010 of the Ministry of Information and Communications regarding the preparation of project outlines and detailed budgets for information technology application activities using state budget funds but without the requirement to establish projects. Specifically as follows:

a) Principles for preparing project outlines and detailed budgets:

- Determining the scope and scale of information technology application activities for the preparation of project outlines and detailed budgets must be based on technical characteristics, implementation procedures, ensuring the synchronization of activities;

- Adhering to technical standards and norms applicable to each item of expenditure on information technology applications listed in the project outline and detailed budget; ensuring sufficient conditions to determine the budget volume of expenditure on information technology applications;

- The explanatory notes of the project outline and detailed budget must clearly explain the contents that cannot be reflected in the accompanying forms.

b) Basis for preparing the budget:

- Based on standards, quotas, and unit prices issued by competent state agencies;

- For items without established standards, quotas, or unit prices, the basis shall be the technical requirements, working conditions, and construction of quotas or unit prices or the application of similar quotas or unit prices from other approved projects or tasks, and there must be clear explanations of the calculation basis.

- For items without established standards, quotas, or unit prices, and without similar contracts, the basis shall be quotations from at least three suppliers.

2. Payments under contracts between agencies, units, and suppliers, ensuring compliance with invoice and receipt regulations and procurement rules for assets, goods, and services generally, and specifically for information technology-related assets, goods, and services, including:

a) Expenditure on purchasing information content; purchasing teaching materials, learning materials, research materials.

b) Expenditure on information work, propaganda, and promotion serving the goal of information technology application in state agencies (printing leaflets, posters, banners, slogans; propaganda and promotion through radio and television broadcasts; online information dissemination and other promotional activities).

3. For maintenance, repair, and minor repairs of information infrastructure equipment; management of information systems; creation of electronic information on computer networks; creation and conversion of information; digitization of information:

a) Based on the functions, responsibilities, and staff of the specialized department (or concurrently responsible), agencies and units shall carry out these tasks as regular professional duties. In cases where civil servants, employees work overtime to perform these tasks, they will be paid overtime wages according to Circular Joint No. 08/2005/TTLT-BNV-BTC dated January 5, 2005 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairs guiding the payment of wages for night work and overtime for civil servants, employees.

b) In cases exceeding professional capacity, agencies and units decide to hire external parties to perform them. Payment shall be made according to the contract and invoices, ensuring compliance with procurement rules for assets, goods, and services generally and specifically for information technology-related assets, goods, and services.

c) Hiring organizations or individuals outside to perform tasks such as creating electronic information on computer networks, creating and converting information, or digitizing information shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 137/2007/TT-BTC dated November 28, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the expenditure standard for creating electronic information. For creating electronic information in ethnic minority languages, the maximum increase allowed is 30% of the expenditure standard specified in Circular No. 137/2007/TT-BTC dated November 28, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance. For data standardization costs: refer to Decision No. 1595/QĐ-BTTTT dated October 3, 2011 of the Minister of Information and Communications on announcing the quota for creating databases in information technology application activities.

4. Remuneration system for articles, images, audio, video published on government websites (not online newspapers): implemented according to Government Decree No. 61/2002/NĐ-CP dated June 11, 2002 on the remuneration system. Only articles approved for publication can enjoy the stipulated remuneration or fees:

a) Remuneration paid to authors or copyright holders: Remuneration = Remuneration coefficient x Value of one remuneration coefficient unit. Where: The value of one remuneration coefficient unit equals 10% of the minimum wage level. The remuneration coefficient = Number of article length units x Article value coefficient. Depending on the type and quality of the work, the head of the website management unit decides the article value coefficient of the work not exceeding the article value coefficient in the table below. The remuneration coefficient is determined based on the length of the article and the article value coefficient but does not exceed the remuneration coefficient range in the table below when making payments. Type Unit of article length Article value coefficient Range of remuneration coefficient 1 Reply to readers ½ A4 page 2

1- 10 2 01 debate 10 1 - 10 3 01 image 10 1 - 10 4 Editorial 01 A4 page 10 10 - 30 5 Feature Interview article 01 A4 page 10 10 - 30 6 Literature 01 A4 page 8 8 - 30 7 Research 01 A4 page 10 10 - 30 For works in the form of interviews (interview articles), the remuneration ratio between the interviewer and the interviewee shall be agreed upon by both parties.

b) Remuneration paid to those who collect, provide texts from state agencies, political organizations, political-social organizations, social organizations, occupational social organizations, economic organizations, and translations of such texts; purely news information, folk literary and artistic works: Remuneration = Remuneration coefficient rate x Value of one unit of remuneration coefficient Where: The value of one unit of remuneration coefficient equals 10% of the minimum wage level. Remuneration coefficient = Quantity of length of news article x News article value coefficient Depending on the type and quality of the work, the Head of the unit managing the portal/webpage decides the news article value coefficient for the work not exceeding the News article value coefficient in the table below: No Type Unit of length of news article News article value coefficient 1 Comprehensive news ½ A4 page 1 2 Written news, Reader's response ½ A4 page 1 3 Short article 01 A4 page 1.5 4 Illustration, photo 3 5 Forward translation news ½ A4 page 1 6 Forward translation article 01 A4 page 1.5 7 Reverse translation news ½ A4 page 1.5 8 Reverse translation article 01 A4 page 2 9 Synthesis, research, analysis, interview article 01 A4 page 2 10 Folk literary and artistic works 01 A4 page 2

c) Details of remuneration calculation are set out in Appendix I attached hereto.

d) For works not specified within the remuneration framework and news information stipulated herein, the Head of the unit managing the portal/webpage shall decide the remuneration coefficient for the author and owner based on the nature and characteristics of the work, and corresponding remuneration for those who collect and provide the work.

5. Expenses for training the editorial board of the portal/webpage to carry out the collection, provision, and editing of news articles on the portal/webpage:

a) Staff members of the editorial board who are authors or owners of news articles published on the portal/webpage shall receive remuneration as prescribed in point a, Clause 4 of this Article.

b) Staff members of the editorial board who are collectors or providers of news articles published on the portal/webpage shall receive remuneration as prescribed in point b, Clause 4 of this Article.

c) Staff members engaged in editing news articles shall receive remuneration equal to 20% of the remuneration of those who collect and provide news articles (if they are concurrently serving in multiple roles).

6. Expenses for developing projects and tasks related to the application of information technology with scientific and technological research characteristics; expenses for developing standards, norms, and unit prices specific to information technology: shall be implemented according to Circular No. 44/2007/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated May 7, 2007, jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology, guiding the norms for project development and budget allocation for scientific and technological projects funded by the state budget.

7. Expenses for drafting regulatory mechanisms, policies, guidelines, procedures, and other documents to ensure a legal environment for the application of information technology: shall be carried out according to the provisions of Circular No. 192/2010/TTLT-BTC-BTP-VPCP dated December 2, 2010, jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, and the Government Office, guiding the preparation, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds for legislative work and the improvement of the legal system. For the development of plans, programs, and projects related to the application of information technology, and guidance documents for state management of information technology: shall be applied according to Circular No. 192/2010/TTLT-BTC-BTP-VPCP dated December 2, 2010, jointly issued by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Justice, and the Government Office, at levels corresponding to the authority issuing the documents.

8. Expenses for hiring consulting experts:

a) For domestic consulting experts: apply the expense levels as prescribed in Circular No. 18/2010/TT-BLDTBXH dated June 10, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, regarding the salary for domestic consulting experts implementing consultancy contracts under time-based contracts within projects using state capital.

b) For foreign consulting experts: based on the necessity of implementing activities and approved budget estimates, the Heads of central agencies and provincial/municipal People's Committees shall decide on hiring foreign consulting experts. The actual expenses shall be determined according to the actual agreements made with the experts based on the required quality, quantity, and duration of work.

9. Expenses for training and enhancing officials, civil servants, and public employees' skills in applying information technology and managing investment in information technology applications: shall be implemented according to Circular No. 139/2010/TT-BTC dated September 21, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance, regarding the preparation, management, and use of state budget funds for training and enhancing officials and civil servants. In addition, the following guidance applies:

a) Remuneration for local lecturers and technical staff: depending on the training and enhancement programs, the Heads of agencies and units shall decide on inviting lecturers and technical staff (one main lecturer with no more than two assistants/technical staff) and determine appropriate remuneration levels but not exceeding VND 400,000 per day per person for lecturers and assistants; not exceeding VND 200,000 per day per person for technical staff. If separate travel and accommodation expenses are incurred for lecturers and technical staff, these shall be implemented according to the standards applicable to main lecturers.

b) For foreign lecturers: depending on the necessity, agencies and units shall report to competent authorities for approval to invite foreign lecturers; the remuneration for foreign lecturers shall be agreed upon by the agencies and units with the lecturers, ensuring it is commensurate with the financial capacity of the agencies and units.

c) Training and enhancement costs according to standards set by vendors: shall be settled according to contracts between agencies and units and suppliers, ensuring compliance with invoice regulations and procurement rules for goods and services.

d) For online training and capacity building, in addition to the expenses specified in Circular No. 139/2010/TT-BTC dated September 21, 2010, the following additional items may be covered: - Expenses for digitizing lectures for online training and capacity building: carried out in accordance with Circular No. 137/2007/TT-BTC dated November 28, 2007 issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the level of expenditure for creating electronic information. - Expenses for producing video lectures: apply the standard expenditure rate for developing knowledge dissemination programs as stipulated in Circular No. 30/2010/TT-BTTTT dated December 31, 2010 issued by the Minister of Information and Communications on temporarily applicable rates of labor and equipment consumption in the production of television programs. - Expenses for purchasing and developing software for online training and capacity building: carried out in accordance with the regulations on developing and purchasing software set forth in this Circular. - Expenses for renting services to maintain and store lectures on the Internet: paid according to contracts between agencies, units, and service providers, ensuring compliance with invoice and procurement regulations.

10. Survey and investigation expenses: Implemented in accordance with Circular No. 58/2011/TT-BTC dated May 11, 2011 issued by the Ministry of Finance on the management, use, and settlement of funds for statistical surveys.

11. Domestic travel expenses: Implemented in accordance with Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC dated July 6, 2010 issued by the Ministry of Finance on travel expense regulations and regulations on organizing conferences for state agencies and public institutions.

12. Short-term overseas travel expenses: Implemented in accordance with Circular No. 91/2005/TT-BTC dated October 18, 2005 issued by the Ministry of Finance on travel expense regulations for civil servants traveling abroad for short-term missions funded by the state budget.

13. Translation and interpretation expenses: Implemented in accordance with Circular No. 01/2010/TT-BTC dated January 6, 2010 issued by the Ministry of Finance on expense regulations for receiving foreign guests in Vietnam, organizing international conferences and seminars in Vietnam, and hosting domestic guests.

14. Expenses for organizing IT competitions: Implemented in accordance with Circular No. 52/2007/TT-BTC dated May 21, 2007 issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding financial regulations for technical innovation competitions.

15. Expenses for the operation of steering committees and guidance committees in the field of IT application: Based on the tasks approved by the steering committee or guidance committee, the permanent office of the committee prepares the budget for the committee's activities according to the contents and expenditure standards specified in Article 9 of this Circular.

16. When new regulations amend, supplement, or replace the existing regulations referred to in this Article, the new regulations shall be applied.

Article 10. Preparation of State Budget Estimates

1. Basis for planning and preparing estimates for implementing the National Program on IT Application of state agencies:

a) The Prime Minister's decision approving the National Program on IT Application in state agency operations by phase.

b) Phase-wise IT application plans and annual IT application plans of ministries and sectors (for central agencies) and provincial and municipal people's committees under the central government (for local agencies).

c) Phase-wise IT application plans and annual IT application plans of their own units.

d) Guidelines for annual state budget preparation issued by the Ministry of Finance; guidelines for annual economic and social development plans and annual investment development plans issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

đ) The division of responsibilities, items of expenditure, and expenditure standards prescribed in this Circular.

e) Current state regulations on systems and standards.

2. Procedures and time limits for preparing estimates: The preparation of state budget estimates for implementing the National Program on IT Application of state agencies must be carried out strictly in accordance with the procedures and time limits for annual state budget estimates as stipulated in the State Budget Law and its implementing regulations, specifically as follows:

a) For central agencies: Central state agencies prepare detailed annual plans and budgets for IT application expenditures by specific expenditure areas and submit them to the Ministry of Information and Communications for review and technical scrutiny regarding objectives, content, and technical standards. At the same time, central state agencies consolidate the IT application budget into their overall budget estimate (including IT application expenditures by type of expenditure) and submit it to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (for development investment expenditures) and the Ministry of Finance (for recurrent expenditures) for consolidation and balancing of the central budget for IT application, to be included in the annual state budget estimate of the agencies for approval by the competent authority. Specifically: (i) For development investment expenditures: - Follow current regulations on project management; - The budget for IT application projects is consolidated together with other projects in the unit's development investment budget estimate. (ii) For recurrent expenditures: Units directly responsible for implementing IT application tasks within central state agencies prepare IT application budget estimates according to the contents and tasks specified in this Circular and consolidate them into their annual recurrent budget estimates, which are then submitted to higher-level management agencies. Central state agencies (primary budget units) consolidate IT application budget estimates by expenditure area into their ministry or agency's annual recurrent budget estimate.

b) For localities: Units directly responsible for implementing tasks related to the deployment of information technology applications at the local level shall prepare budget estimates for information technology application expenditures according to the contents and tasks specified in this Circular (including investment development costs and recurrent costs), which shall be consolidated in the annual state budget expenditure budget of the unit and submitted to the superior management agency. Level I budget units shall consolidate their own budget estimates for information technology application expenditures and those of subordinate units and submit them to the same-level information and communication agencies for review and examination regarding objectives, specialized content, and technical standards. At the same time, level I budget units shall consolidate the budget estimates for information technology application expenditures into the annual state budget expenditure budget of their agencies and units and submit them to the financial agencies and planning and investment agencies at the same level for consolidation and balancing of the local budget for information technology applications, to be approved collectively in the annual state budget of the agencies. Provincial People's Committees and municipal people's committees under the central government shall detail the annual budget estimates for information technology application expenditures by specific spending areas and submit them to the Ministry of Information and Communications for review and examination regarding objectives, specialized content, and technical standards. At the same time, provincial people's committees and municipal people's committees under the central government shall consolidate the annual budget estimates for information technology application expenditures into the annual budget of the locality (including detailed spending on information technology applications by type of expenditure) and submit them to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance for consolidation and balancing of the budget for information technology applications, to be approved collectively in the annual state budget of the localities.

c) The submission of annual state budget estimates for information technology applications shall be made concurrently with the submission of annual state budget estimate reports of the units to the financial agencies and planning and investment agencies at all levels as prescribed by the State Budget Law.

Article 11. Allocation, Implementation, and Settlement of the State Budget

1. Based on the state budget estimates assigned by the competent authority, the heads of agencies and units shall be responsible for allocating and assigning budget funds to the organizational units for implementation (including funds for implementing information technology application tasks) after receiving the review opinions of the same-level financial agencies.

2. The use and settlement of funds to ensure the implementation of information technology application tasks shall comply with the provisions of the State Budget Law, guiding documents, and the provisions of this Circular; funds for information technology application expenditures shall be accounted for and settled within the relevant field according to the current provisions of the State Budget Law. At year-end, they shall be consolidated in the annual state budget settlement of the unit as prescribed.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 12. Implementation Organization

1. This Circular takes effect from April 1, 2012, and replaces Joint Circular No. 43/2008/TTLT-BTC-BTTTT dated May 26, 2008, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Information and Communications, guiding the management and use of funds for information technology application expenditures in the operations of state agencies.

2. In the course of implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, agencies and units are requested to report to the Joint Ministries for study and resolution./.