JOINT CIRCULAR No. 211/2010/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN ON THE FINANCIAL REGIME APPLICABLE TO KEY LABORATORIES

JOINT CIRCULAR

Regulations on financial regime applicable to

Key Laboratories

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

Pursuant to Decree No. 28/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 14, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology;

Pursuant to Decision No. 850/QĐ-TTg dated September 7, 2000 of the Prime Minister approving the Project "Establishment of Key Laboratories";

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology hereby issue regulations on financial regime applicable to Key Laboratories established pursuant to Decision No. 850/QĐ-TTg dated September 7, 2000 of the Prime Minister as follows: 1. Key Laboratories established pursuant to Decision No. 850/QĐ-TTg dated September 7, 2000 of the Prime Minister (hereinafter referred to as Key Laboratories) are scientific and technological organizations, funded by the State to equip modern material and technical facilities for leading basic research, applied-oriented basic research, and technology development, gathering and training high-level scientific and technological personnel in an environment of academic exchange, research collaboration, and technology development.

Article 1. General Provisions

2. The supervising authority of Key Laboratories, based on proposals from the main organizing body and in agreement with the Key Laboratories, decides whether the Key Laboratory shall be an independent accounting unit or a dependent accounting unit under the main organizing body.

An independent accounting unit Key Laboratory applies the financial mechanism as prescribed in Decree No. 115/2005/NĐ-CP dated September 5, 2005 of the Government on the self-governance and self-responsibility mechanism of public scientific and technological organizations and Decree No. 96/2010/NĐ-CP dated September 20, 2010 of the Government (amending and supplementing certain Articles of Decree No. 115/2005/NĐ-CP dated September 5, 2005 of the Government on the self-governance and self-responsibility mechanism of public scientific and technological organizations and Decree No. 80/2007/NĐ-CP dated May 19, 2007 of the Government on science and technology enterprises); a dependent accounting unit Key Laboratory applies the financial mechanism of the main organizing body; and specific provisions set forth in this Circular.

3. Encouragement is given to organizations and individuals to utilize assets of Key Laboratories for scientific research activities.

4. Key Laboratories may register to undertake scientific and technological tasks funded from the state budget according to current regulations.

Article 2. Specific Provisions

1. Sources of finance for Key Laboratories' operations

a) State budget funds

- Regular expenditure funding to maintain the operation of Key Laboratories (including funding for the specialized council of Key Laboratories; international cooperation activities; supplementary funding for regular maintenance, upkeep, and asset preservation beyond the income from using laboratory assets as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 2 of this Circular). Ensuring regular operational funding from the state budget is implemented according to the regulations for scientific and technological organizations under Clause 3, Article 4 of Decree No. 115/2005/NĐ-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 96/2010/NĐ-CP dated September 20, 2010 of the Government).

- Funding for major asset purchases and repairs according to approved projects.

- Funding for staff reduction according to the prescribed system (if applicable).

These funding items do not apply to Key Laboratories under State-owned Corporations or Economic Groups.

- Funding for national, ministry, sector, provincial, and city-level scientific and technological tasks through selection, commissioning, or direct assignment.

- Construction investment funding according to approved projects.

b) Revenue from business operations (income from providing scientific and technological services to external organizations and individuals; income from contracts using laboratory assets for scientific research; income from production and business activities; other business revenue...).

2. Accounting methods for Key Laboratories:

c) Other legitimate sources of income.

a) In the case of independent accounting Key Laboratories:

- Independent accounting Key Laboratories are legal entities with their own seals and bank accounts.

- Annually, Key Laboratories prepare plans and budgets for state budget-funded activities and submit them to the main organizing body for consolidation and submission to higher management authorities.

- Based on the approved budget, higher management authorities assign tasks and budgets to Key Laboratories either through the main organizing body's plan and budget or directly to the Key Laboratories.

- Key Laboratories exercise autonomy and responsibility according to Decree No. 115/2005/NĐ-CP dated September 5, 2005 of the Government, Decree No. 96/2010/NĐ-CP dated September 20, 2010 of the Government, and implementing guidelines.

- Key Laboratories are responsible for reporting on asset usage, budget utilization, task implementation, and final settlement according to regulations and submitting these reports to the main organizing body for annual settlement.

b) In the case of dependent accounting Key Laboratories:

- Dependent accounting Key Laboratories are subordinate units under the main organizing body, with their financial activities recorded in ledgers submitted to the main organizing body.

- Annually, Key Laboratories prepare plans and budgets for state budget-funded activities and submit them to the main organizing body for consolidation and submission to higher management authorities.

- Based on the approved budget, higher management authorities assign tasks and budgets, including those for Key Laboratory activities.

- On the basis of the budget allocated by the competent authority, the superior management agency assigns tasks, including tasks and budgets for the operations of the Key Laboratory.

- The competent authority shall issue the Internal Delegation Regulation, under which the Director of the Key Laboratory is authorized to manage expenditures within the approved budget for the Key Laboratory's activities; to be proactive in public service activities and to account through bookkeeping with the competent authority.

3.  Management and utilization of Key Laboratory assets

a) Assets of the Key Laboratory are assigned to the Key Laboratory (in cases where the Key Laboratory operates independently), or assigned to the main unit (in cases where the Key Laboratory operates dependently) for management.

Key Laboratory assets include:

- Assets formed from investments in building the Key Laboratory;

- Assets purchased during the operation of the Key Laboratory;

- Assets transferred from other agencies and units to the Key Laboratory;

- Other source assets (purchased using state budget funds allocated for scientific and technological tasks at various levels; purchased using other funding sources; received as gifts, donations...).

b) Key Laboratory assets are used for scientific research and technological purposes; they are managed and utilized according to regulations on the management and use of state assets.

c) The agency responsible for managing Key Laboratory assets shall issue the Regulation on the management and utilization of Key Laboratory assets. Individuals, groups, or external organizations using Key Laboratory assets must pay usage costs for such assets. Individuals or groups under the management of the Key Laboratory who use Key Laboratory assets to implement scientific and technological contracts not funded by the allocated state budget must pay usage costs for such assets.

4. Principles for determining the cost of using the Key Laboratory.

a) The Director of the Key Laboratory establishes the cost standards for using the Key Laboratory, and submits them to the head of the competent authority for approval by the higher-level management agency.

b) Principles for establishing the cost of using the Key Laboratory:

- For contents that already have cost standards established by authorized agencies: the maximum cost equals the current prescribed level.

- For contents without established cost standards by authorized agencies: expenses for raw materials, energy, labor costs of scientists, technical staff, managers... are set based on the principle of collecting sufficient revenue to cover costs.

- Additionally, depreciation costs of assets can be included to ensure maintenance and repair costs; this also encourages scientists to utilize Key Laboratory assets.

5. Cost Standards and Expenditure Regulations:

The Key Laboratory applies current financial expenditure regulations issued by authorized state agencies and the internal expenditure regulations of the Key Laboratory (in cases of independent accounting) or the main unit (in cases of dependent accounting).

Specifically, the cost standards for the activities of the Key Laboratory's Professional Council (established in accordance with Circular No. 06/2010/TT-BKHCN dated July 2, 2010 of the Ministry of Science and Technology amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Regulation on the organization and operation of Key Laboratories issued pursuant to Decision No. 08/2008/QĐ-BKHCN dated July 8, 2008 of the Minister of Science and Technology) shall be applied in accordance with Joint Circular No. 44/2007/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated May 7, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding the establishment and allocation of budget funds for scientific and technological projects using state budgets; specifically as follows:

a) Honorarium for participants in regular and extraordinary meetings of the Council is equivalent to the meeting fee for the Council reviewing and selecting organizations and individuals leading scientific and technological projects:

- Chairperson of the Council: up to 300,000 VND per meeting.

- Members, scientific secretaries: up to 200,000 VND per meeting.

- Administrative secretaries: up to 150,000 VND per meeting.

- Invited delegates: up to 70,000 VND per meeting.

b) Expenses for written comments by Council members on the evaluation, review, supervision, and determination of the feasibility of directions, goals, tasks, and activities of the Key Laboratory are equivalent to the expense for one reviewer's opinion on one application for a task with three applications: up to 450,000 VND per comment.

c) Expenses for research, analysis, and processing of periodic or extraordinary reports serving the activities of the Key Laboratory's Professional Council sent to the Ministry of Science and Technology are equivalent to the expense for one summary report of one project or one topic: up to 3,000,000 VND per report.

d) Expenses for one specialized scientific report are equivalent to the expense for one type 1 specialized report in the field of social sciences and humanities: up to 8,000,000 VND per report.

e) Other expenditure standards of the Key Laboratory's Professional Council are implemented in accordance with current regulations.

6. Budget Preparation, Execution, and Settlement

The preparation, execution, and settlement of the state budget are carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and other regulations issued by authorized state agencies. State budget spending for Key Laboratory activities as stipulated in this Circular is balanced from the annual state budget allocated for science and technology and is included in the budget of the main management unit of the Key Laboratory.

Article 3. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from February 15, 2011.

2. The Council of Key Laboratories established in accordance with Circular No. 06/2010/TT-BKHCN dated July 2, 2010 of the Ministry of Science and Technology shall apply the levels of expenditure prescribed for the specialized council of key laboratories as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 2 of this Circular.

3. During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, relevant organizations and individuals shall report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology for consideration and amendment of this Circular.