Decision No. 20/2002/QÐ-BTC on approving the plan for administrative reform in the finance sector for the period 2001-2005

Pursuant to …;

OF THE MINISTER OF FINANCE NUMBER 20/2002/QĐ-BTC
DATE MARCH 4, 2002 REGARDING THE APPROVAL OF THE PLAN
TO REFORM ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES IN THE FINANCE SECTOR FOR THE PERIOD 2001-2005

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

Pursuant to Decision No. 178/CP dated October 28, 1994 of the Government on the tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decision No. 136/2001/QĐ-TTg dated September 17, 2001 of the Prime Minister approving the overall program for administrative reform in state management for the period 2001-2010;

At the proposal of the Head of the Steering Committee for Administrative Reform of the Ministry of Finance.

Pursuant to …;

Clause 4 of Article 6Approves the plan for administrative reform in the finance sector for the period 2001-2005.

12/2025/TT-BNNMT dated June 19, 2025 issued by the Minister of Agriculture and EnvironmentThis Decision shall take effect from the date of signing.

Article 3. The Head of the Steering Committee for Administrative Reform of the Ministry of Finance, the Director of the Policy Department, the Director of the Organization and Cadre Training Department, the Chief of the Office of the Ministry of Finance, and the Heads of units under and directly under the Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for guiding and implementing this Decision.

PLAN FOR ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN THE FINANCE SECTOR FOR THE PERIOD 2001-2005

(Annexed to Decision No. 20/2002/QĐ-BTC
dated March 4, 2002 of the Minister of Finance)

Implementing Resolution of the Eighth National Congress, Resolutions of the Third Plenum, Sixth Plenum (second session), and Seventh Plenum (Eighth term), the work on administrative reform in managing the national financial system over the past years has achieved certain achievements regarding financial systems, organizational structure, development of cadres and civil servants, and administrative procedures. However, there are still some issues that need to be addressed such as:

- Mechanisms and policies are not synchronized and consistent, failing to keep up with practical requirements, not creating true equality for all parties involved, some areas still lack specific financial mechanisms and policies, policies issued are reactive rather than strategic, lacking overall direction; public finance reform is slow.

- Functions and tasks of some units within the Ministry overlap and duplicate while some tasks remain unassigned, cooperation mechanisms are ineffective, some units with advisory functions also manage operations, reducing the effectiveness of advisory work.

- Although there have been many improvements, administrative procedures in some financial sectors are still cumbersome, complex, involve multiple steps, and are formalistic.

- The cadre and civil servant workforce in the finance sector, although having made progress in many aspects, still lacks expertise, administrative skills, and a modern working style.

To address these issues and contribute to the implementation of the overall program for administrative reform in state management for the period 2001-2010 by the Government, the Ministry of Finance has developed the Plan for Administrative Reform in the Finance Sector for the period 2001-2005 with the following contents:

PART I

OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS OF ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM

IN THE FINANCE SECTOR

1. General objectives and requirements

Administrative reform in the finance sector must be integrated into the overall administrative reform of the country and meet the requirements set out in the Program for Administrative Reform in State Management for the period 2001-2010 approved by the Prime Minister on September 17, 2001, aiming to create a breakthrough in promoting administrative reform at the national level in key areas such as: institutional reform; organizational restructuring; improving the quality of the cadre and civil servant workforce; financial reform, particularly the reform of the financial and budgetary management delegation mechanism.

The objectives and requirements for administrative reform in the finance sector are:

- Financial institutions must meet the demands of the economy and provide a foundation for economic and social development. Completing the system of financial institutions, mechanisms, and policies in line with the industrialization and modernization period of the country; increasing the proactivity, dynamism, creativity, and responsibility of local authorities, budget-using agencies, and enterprises; reforming financial mechanisms to suit the nature of administrative agencies and public service units...

- Building a clean, strong, modern, and effective finance sector.

2. Specific objectives for the period 2001-2005:

- Establishing and perfecting financial institutions for various markets: capital market, money market, securities market, real estate market, science and technology market, labor market...

- Perfecting the institution regarding the authority of the state over enterprises in general and SOEs in particular, clearly distinguishing the rights of the owner, administrative management rights of the state, and business autonomy of enterprises. Enhancing the authority and responsibility of local governments for local finances and budgets, linking financial and budgetary decentralization with economic and social responsibilities.

- Eliminating bureaucratic administrative procedures that cause inconvenience to businesses and the people, reforming administrative procedures towards transparency, simplicity, and convenience for the beneficiaries. Eliminating ineffective formalities; reducing meetings and administrative paperwork.

- Clearly defining the functions, tasks, and powers of agencies and units in the national financial system, transferring some non-essential services to economic organizations, social organizations, and professional associations.

- Building a lean and efficient financial organizational structure, adjusting the organizational structure of the ministry towards clearly distinguishing between advisory functions, policy implementation, and public service provision.

- Modernizing the finance sector and building a cadre and civil servant workforce with sufficient qualities and capabilities to perform duties in new conditions. Determining the cadre and civil servant structure linked to functions and tasks in agencies and units as the basis for staffing and developing the cadre and civil servant workforce in the finance sector. Reforming training programs and methods according to job titles, standards, and responsibilities.

PART II

CONTENTS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM PROGRAM

1. Institutional reform

1.1. Orientation for reforming major financial mechanisms and policies:

- Completing and harmonizing financial mechanisms and policies to establish a complete financial institution covering financial markets, real estate markets, science and technology markets, and labor markets.

- To complete the financial system for the business sector in the direction of clearly distinguishing the rights of owners, administrative management rights of the state, and the autonomy in business operations of state-owned enterprises; to improve the financial management mechanism for state-owned enterprises transitioning to limited liability companies and state economic groups. Establish a comprehensive financial mechanism for non-state enterprises, cooperatives. Improve the legal framework and financial policies to promote shareholding and ownership transformation of state-owned enterprises (including foreign-invested enterprises).

1.2. Enhance the quality of drafting regulatory legal documents;

In 2002, units under and directly subordinate to the Ministry must basically complete the review of regulatory legal documents issued up to the end of 2001 that were primarily developed by their unit and related to their field of management; specifically identify those documents that remain applicable, those that need revision, supplementation, or abolition, and propose directions for revision and supplementation. The review of documents should be combined with the review of functions and tasks of agencies and units to facilitate organizational restructuring, simplification of administrative procedures, and reduction of staff.

The development and issuance of regulatory legal documents in the finance sector must be reformed in the direction of:

- Promoting initiative in building mechanisms and policies, reducing the tendency to rush to address practical issues.

- Reforming the process and methods of building mechanisms and policies, strengthening the solicitation of opinions from implementing entities, avoiding situations where mechanisms and policies only benefit managing agencies, and addressing delays in issuing guidelines for implementing laws, ordinances, and other regulatory legal documents of the state.

- Enhancing the responsibility of implementing entities, simplifying management mechanisms, policies, and administrative procedures, and resolutely eliminating unnecessary procedures.

- Regularly evaluating implemented mechanisms and policies to draw lessons and timely supplement and amend them.

2. Public financial reform

- Completing the system of policies for State budget revenue and mobilization policies, such that by 2005, all current tax laws must be revised and supplemented, and new laws on property tax, personal income tax, and land use tax must be promulgated.

- Reforming the mechanism for financial management decentralization and budgeting to ensure the unity of the national financial system and the leading role of the Central Budget, while promoting the initiative, dynamism, creativity, and responsibility of localities and sectors in managing their finances and budgets. Ensuring the decision-making power over local budgets of People's Councils at all levels, creating conditions for local authorities to proactively handle local affairs, ensuring the decision-making power of primary budgetary units in allocating funds to subordinate units within their approved budget estimates and in accordance with regulations and policies. Accordingly, it is necessary to promptly complete the revision of the State Budget Law and submit it to the National Assembly for consideration and promulgation in 2002.

- Reforming budget expenditure control to align with new financial mechanisms, ensuring the autonomy and enhancing the responsibility of budget users.

- Improving the transparency mechanism, strengthening supervision by officials, civil servants, and the public in financial and budget management at the grassroots level, preventing waste, embezzlement, and corruption in financial management.

- On the basis of clearly distinguishing administrative agencies and public service units, reforming the budget allocation mechanism for administrative agencies, abolishing funding based on staffing, focusing on output control, quality of spending, and administrative agency objectives. Reforming the expenditure standards system, increasing the autonomy of agencies and units using budget funds.

- For the financial mechanism in the public service sector, based on clearly defining the tasks that the state must directly perform, the tasks that can and should be transferred to economic organizations and social organizations, to have financial policies encouraging enterprises, social organizations, and the people to directly implement these tasks under the guidance, support, inspection, and supervision of state agencies.

- Implementing the autonomous financial mechanism for public service units with sufficient conditions, piloting the widespread application of financial mechanisms such as leasing public service units, leasing land for school and hospital construction... Encouraging socialization in public services, including attracting foreign investment.

- Widely implementing financial mechanisms to create resources for salary reform so that by 2005, basic salary reform can be achieved.

- Improving the audit, inspection, and supervision procedures for financial matters. Reforming auditing, inspection, and supervision work regarding financial matters for enterprises, administrative agencies, and public service units.

- Developing plans to revise and supplement financial mechanisms and policies related to international commitments; planning specific policies not subject to commitments to replace policies that must be abolished if necessary.

3. Regarding organizational structure

- In 2002, it is necessary to complete some preparatory work for organizational restructuring in the finance sector, specifically:

+ Completing the review of functions, tasks, organizational structures, and staffing of agencies and units in the finance sector, developing plans and schemes for restructuring and reorganizing the sector's organizational structure.

+ Determining the staffing needs linked to the functions and tasks of each agency and organization according to the standards for official positions; completing the plan for reducing staffing.

- On the basis of reviewing the functions and tasks of agencies and units, adjust some functions and tasks among units under and directly under the Ministry towards centralizing responsibilities according to fields, avoiding overlap; gradually separate the function of policy advisory from management functions; review tasks that do not have lead units (Vietnam's foreign investment integration, foreign debt of non-state-owned enterprises, finance of cooperative and cooperative economic sectors...) to specifically assign lead units.

- Develop a plan to submit to the Government regarding clearly defining the financial management functions and tasks between Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government agencies; reform and clearly define the functions, tasks, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance.

- Complete the functions, tasks, and organizational structure of the Tax System, Financial Inspection, State Treasury, and National Reserve.

- Promote modernization in the financial sector to enhance capacity and efficiency in national financial management. Build and put into operation a financial data center to serve policy planning work, operational control, and state budget management, especially in areas such as tax management and collection, budget preparation and disbursement, expenditure control, and final settlement of the state budget. Improve programs for application and establish online technical infrastructure among units within the Ministry and some ministries, sectors, localities, and enterprises to ensure timely circulation and processing of information for management purposes.

4. Build and develop the cadre and civil servant workforce.

- Perfect regulations on the responsibilities of cadres and civil servants when performing official duties; develop a cadre planning for the entire industry at each level, creating sources of leadership and management cadres, and top experts.

- Develop an overall training plan for cadres to ensure professional competence, language proficiency, computer skills, administrative management capability, and political theory, ensuring sufficient quantity and reasonable structure according to standard cadre positions.

By 2002, implement specific projects aimed at administrative reform in the financial sector, focusing on administrative procedure reform, financial business process reform, and organizational restructuring, reducing staff establishment, and gradually reforming the financial system, with a focus on public finance issues (List of projects in the attached appendix).

PART III

IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Steering Committee for Administrative Reform of the Ministry of Finance shall base this Program and annual administrative reform tasks to assign specific tasks to units under and directly under the Ministry.

2. For units under and directly under the Ministry, based on assigned administrative reform tasks, heads of units together with the Party committees at the same level shall detail each task into a five-year action program and an annual program of their unit to be submitted to the Steering Committee for Administrative Reform for approval as the basis for implementation.

3. Annually, every six months, units must evaluate, summarize, and conclude on the implementation of assigned administrative reform tasks, prepare reports to send to the Steering Committee for Administrative Reform of the Ministry.

4. The Standing Office of the Steering Committee for Administrative Reform is responsible for monitoring and urging units under and directly under the Ministry to implement assigned tasks, compiling reports on financial sector administrative reform, and proposing necessary measures.

5. Quarterly, the Steering Committee for Administrative Reform of the Ministry of Finance shall convene meetings to review and assess the implementation of administrative reform tasks in the sector and promptly issue guidance measures.

LIST OF ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM PROJECTS

IN THE FINANCE SECTOR FOR THE PERIOD 2002