Joint Circular No. 20/2013/TTLT-BNNPTNT-BTC amending and supplementing certain articles of the Joint Circular No. 61/2007/TTLT-BNN-BTC dated June 22, 2007, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance guiding the management and use of state budget funds allocated for forest rangers' activities at all levels; payment of costs for organizations and individuals mobilized to prevent illegal logging and forest fire prevention and control.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular Joint Circular No. 61/2007/TTLT-BNN-BTC dated June 22, 2007, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance guiding the management and use of state budget funds allocated for the activities of forest protection agencies at all levels; payment of expenses to organizations and individuals mobilized to prevent illegal logging and forest fires

Pursuant to Decree No. 119/2006/NĐ-CP dated October 16, 2006 of the Government on the organization and operation of Forest Protection;

Decision No. 118/2008/QĐ-TTg dated August 27, 2008 of the Prime Minister promulgating regulations governing search and rescue, disaster response activities;

Implementing Decision No. 0

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/QĐ-TTg dated 0

Implementing year 2012 of the Prime Minister on issuing policies to strengthen forest protection work;

The Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development and of Finance hereby issue this Joint Circular amending and supplementing certain provisions of Joint Circular No. 61/2007/TTLT-BNN-BTC dated June 22, 2007, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance guiding the management and use of state budget funds allocated for the activities of forest protection agencies at all levels; payment of expenses to organizations and individuals mobilized to prevent illegal logging and forest fires (hereinafter referred to as Joint Circular No. 61/2007/TTLT-BNN-BTC) as follows:Decision No. 07/2012Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain provisions of Joint Circular No. 61/2007/TTLT-BNN-BTC8 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of2 1. Paragraph b, Clause 1, Section II shall be amended and supplemented as follows: - The Chairman of the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city (hereinafter referred to as the Provincial People's Committee) shall mobilize forces, means, and assets of organizations and individuals within their jurisdiction to prevent illegal logging and firefighting in cases where there are incidents of illegal logging or forest fires spanning multiple districts or exceeding the control range of a district.

- The Chairman of the People's Committee of the district, town, or centrally governed city (hereinafter referred to as the District People's Committee) shall mobilize and direct forces within their jurisdiction to prevent illegal logging and firefighting in cases where there are incidents of illegal logging or forest fires spanning multiple communes or exceeding the control range of a commune and state-owned forests within their jurisdiction.

- The Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, ward, or town shall mobilize forces within their jurisdiction promptly to prevent acts of illegal logging and forest firefighting according to the four-in-place plan (command, force, means, logistics) within the commune's jurisdiction.

2. Clause 3, Section II shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

a) Paying allowances for duties performed by directly mobilized or voluntarily participating forces in urgent tasks to prevent illegal logging and firefighting (including police and military forces): the maximum amount payable per person per day is equal to the highest daily wage for forestry workers in the locality.

b) Paying additional food expenses for directly mobilized or voluntarily participating forces in urgent tasks to prevent illegal logging and firefighting: the maximum amount payable is VND 50,000 per person per day.

c) Paying gifts and慰问金给直接执行紧急任务防止非法砍伐森林和扑灭森林火灾并取得显著成绩或在执行任务中受伤的组织和个人：

- 在由国家林业保护和发展计划2011-2020阶段国家指导委员会领导的慰问团团长带领的情况下：对集体的最高支付金额为每单位500万越南盾，对个人的最高支付金额为每人50万越南盾。

- 在省人民委员会主席带领的慰问团团长带领的情况下：对集体的最高支付金额为每单位300万越南盾，对个人的最高支付金额为每人30万越南盾。

d) Costs for emergency medical care and health assurance for personnel participating in urgent tasks to prevent illegal logging and firefighting:

- Personnel participating in urgent tasks to prevent illegal logging and firefighting who suffer accidents shall receive medical care and have their medical examination and treatment costs reimbursed according to current regulations. The basis for determining the reimbursement amount is based on the payment receipt for medical examination and treatment after deducting the insurance payment made by the insurance agency (if any).

- For those not entitled to salary from the state budget, during hospitalization, in addition to the support for medical examination and treatment, they will also receive a maximum of VND 100,000 per person per day.

- In the event that personnel participating in urgent tasks to prevent illegal logging and firefighting unfortunately die while performing their duties:

+ Those who are subject to mandatory social insurance and voluntary social insurance: social insurance will pay out death benefits according to the Social Insurance Law and implementing regulations.

+ Those who are not subject to social insurance: the state budget will provide funeral expenses equivalent to ten months of the minimum wage; compensation for families with deceased members equivalent to thirty-six months of the minimum wage. At the same time, they will be considered for posthumous awards according to the Regulations on Preferential Treatment for Persons with Merit and implementing regulations.

đ) Costs for payments arising during the execution of urgent tasks to prevent illegal logging and firefighting:

Payment for meetings outside working hours for representatives attending meetings organized by the National Steering Committee to discuss measures to implement urgent tasks to prevent illegal logging and firefighting: the maximum amount payable for the meeting chairperson is VND 100,000 per person per session, and VND 70,000 for other representatives per person per session.

+ Participants who belong to the categories required to contribute to mandatory social insurance and voluntary social insurance: shall be entitled to have social insurance pay out survivor benefits in accordance with the provisions of the Social Insurance Law and guiding documents for the Law.

+ Participants who do not belong to the categories required to contribute to social insurance: shall be supported by the state budget with funeral expenses equivalent to ten (10) months of the minimum wage; compensation for families of deceased persons equivalent to thirty-six (36) months of the minimum wage. At the same time, they shall be considered for posthumous awards according to the provisions of the Ordinance on Preferential Treatment for Persons with Merit and guiding documents for implementing the Ordinance.

d) Costs for paying out amounts arising during the implementation of urgent tasks to prevent illegal deforestation and forest fire fighting:

Reimbursement for meetings held outside regular working hours for representatives attending meetings to discuss measures to implement urgent tasks to prevent illegal deforestation and forest fire fighting organized by the National Steering Committee: The maximum expenditure for the chairperson of the meeting is one hundred thousand (100,000) dong per person per session, and for other representatives it is seventy thousand (70,000) dong per person per session.

For localities, based on the guidance provided in this Circular and the availability of financial resources, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall decide the expenditure level for meetings of each level of the Steering Committee as appropriate.

Agencies sending representatives to the aforementioned meetings shall not pay overtime to the staff members who are assigned to attend these meetings.

e) The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall base the specific expenditure level for each item of expenditure on the actual situation of the locality and the budget capacity, but it must not exceed the expenditure level prescribed in this Circular.

3. Paragraph b, Clause 7, Section II is amended and supplemented as follows:

The Provincial People's Committee is responsible for allocating into the annual state budget of the locality (allocating within the state budget for economic affairs expenses) to ensure a source of funds for paying compensation and damages to organizations and individuals mobilized by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, the Chairman of the District People's Committee, and the Director of the Forest Protection Service according to their orders. When such tasks arise, based on the approval of the Provincial People's Committee regarding compensation and damage payments, the Department of Finance at the provincial level will allocate funds to the Forest Protection Service to cover the costs of compensation and damages for organizations and individuals mobilized to prevent illegal logging and forest fires.

4. Add paragraph c, Clause 7, Section II as follows:

Funds for paying allowances to those participating in firefighting activities; support for those involved in forest protection and firefighting who suffer accidents, mobilized by the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, shall be implemented in accordance with Decision No. 07/2012/QĐ-TTg dated February 8, 2012.

Article 2. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from May 15, 2013. The provisions at paragraph b, Clause 1; Clause 3 and paragraph b, Clause 7, Section II of the Joint Circular No. 61/2007/TTLT-BNN-BTC dated June 22, 2007 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance are hereby abolished.

2. In the course of implementation, if any difficulties arise, please report them to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance for guidance./.