Decision No. 20/2002/QD-BTC On Approving the Plan for Administrative Reform in the Finance Sector for the Period 2001-2005

DECISION

Regarding the approval of the plan for administrative reform in the finance sector for the period 2001-2005

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 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 the public administration 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 …;

Article 1. Approves the plan for administrative reform in the finance sector for the period 2001-2005.

Article 2. This 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 of the Ministry of Finance, the Director of the Organization and Cadre Training Department, the Director 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

PERIOD 2001-2005

(Issued together with Decision No. 20/2002/QĐ-BTC dated March 4, 2002 of the Minister of Finance)

Implementing the Resolution of the Eighth National Congress, Resolutions of the Central Committee 3, Central Committee 6 (second session), and Central Committee 7 (Eighth term), administrative reform work in managing the national financial system over the past years has achieved certain achievements regarding financial systems, organizational structures, development of cadres and civil servants, and administrative procedures. However, there are still some issues that need to be addressed such as:

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- 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 are reactive rather than proactive, lacking strategic direction, and public finance is slow to innovate.

- Functions and responsibilities 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, reducing the effectiveness of advisory work.

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

- The cadre and civil servant workforce in the finance sector, although having made significant 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 the public administration for the period 2001-2010 approved by the Prime Minister on September 17, 2001, the Ministry of Finance has developed the Plan for Administrative Reform in the Finance Sector for the period 2001-2005 with the following contents:

OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS OF ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN THE FINANCE SECTOR

PART I

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 the Public Administration for the period 2001-2010, aimed at creating a turning point to promote administrative reform nationwide in key areas such as: institutional reform; organizational structure reform; improving the quality of the cadre and civil servant workforce; financial reform, particularly the innovation of financial management and budget decentralization mechanisms.

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 country's industrialization and modernization period; increasing the proactivity, dynamism, creativity, and responsibility of local authorities, budget-using agencies, and enterprises; innovating financial mechanisms to suit the nature of administrative agencies and public institutions...

- 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 state's authority over enterprises in general and SOEs in particular, clearly distinguishing the rights of the owner, administrative state management rights, and enterprise business autonomy. Enhancing the authority and responsibility of local authorities for local finances and budgets, linking financial and budget decentralization with economic and social task decentralization.

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

- Clearly defining the functions, responsibilities, 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 sector organizational structure, adjusting the organizational structure of the ministry towards clearly distinguishing the functions and operational structures of advisory, policy enforcement, and public service provision units.

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

CONTENTS OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM PROGRAM

1. Institutional Reform

PART II

1.1. Orientation for the innovation of major financial mechanisms and policies:

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

1.1. Orientation for reforming main financial mechanisms and policies:

- Improving and harmonizing financial mechanisms and policies to establish a complete financial system for the financial market, real estate market, science and technology market, and labor market.

- 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, which were primarily developed and related to their areas of management; specifically identify those documents that remain applicable, those requiring amendment, supplementation, or abolition, and propose directions for amendment 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 staffing levels.

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, limiting the situation of chasing after handling 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, firmly 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 national budget revenue policies and mobilization policies, such that by 2005, amendments and supplements to current tax laws must be completed, and new tax laws such as property tax, personal income tax, land use tax must be promulgated.

- Reforming the mechanism of分级财政管理和预算管理，确保国家财政体系的统一性和中央预算的作用；同时发挥地方和各行业在管理财政和预算方面的主动性、灵活性、创新性和责任。保障各级人民代表大会对地方预算的决定权，为地方政府处理地方事务提供便利，保障一级预算单位在分配资金给下属单位时的决定权，以及各单位使用预算资金范围内的自主权和符合制度政策。因此，近期需要尽快完成《国家预算法》的修订并提交全国人大审议颁布于2002年。

- Reforming the control of budget expenditures 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 mechanism for allocating budget funds to administrative agencies, abolishing funding based on staffing levels, focusing on output control, expenditure quality, 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 government must directly undertake, the tasks that can and need to be transferred to economic organizations, social organizations, to have financial policies encouraging enterprises, social organizations, and the public to directly implement under the guidance, support, inspection, and supervision of government agencies.

- Implementing the autonomous financial mechanism for public service units with income that meet the 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 system reform is realized.

- Perfecting the audit, inspection, and financial supervision process. Reforming auditing, inspection, and financial supervision work for enterprises, administrative agencies, and public service units.

- Developing plans to amend 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 structure reform in the finance sector, specifically:

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

+ Determining 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 levels.

- 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 in the cooperative and cooperative sector economy...) to specifically assign lead units.

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

- Improve 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. Establish and put into operation a financial data center serving policy planning work, operational control, and state budget management, particularly in areas of financial management and tax collection, budget estimates and disbursements, expenditure control, and final settlement of the state budget. Complete programs for application and establish online technical infrastructure between units within the Ministry and some ministries, sectors, localities, and enterprises to ensure timely circulation and processing of information to serve management work.

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

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

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

By 2002, it is necessary to 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 their Party committees shall detail each task into a five-year action program and annual program of their unit to be submitted to the Steering Committee for Administrative Reform for approval as a 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.