Circular No. 219/2009/TT-BTC stipulates certain consumption quotas applicable to projects/programs using Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on certain expenditure standards applicable to projects/programs utilizing Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds

using ODA funds

________________________

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

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. 131/2006/NĐ-CP dated November 9, 2006 of the Government promulgating the Management and Utilization Regulation for Official Development Assistance Funds;

The Ministry of Finance stipulates certain expenditure standards applicable to projects/programs utilizing Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds as follows:

Article 1. Scope, Objectives, and Principles of Application

1. Scope and Objectives of Application:

a) Scope:

This Circular applies to ODA loan projects (expenditures from foreign loans and domestic counterpart funds) and non-reimbursable ODA assistance projects (expenditures from domestic counterpart funds).

For non-reimbursable ODA assistance projects, expenditures from grant funds shall follow the expenditure standards set by the donor according to general regulations or as specified in the funding agreement; if the donor does not have general regulations and the agreement does not specify expenditure standards, the project management agency shall cooperate with the donor to establish expenditure standards and reach consensus with the Ministry of Finance for implementation; if the donor has not established expenditure standards and there is no agreement on such standards, the project shall apply the expenditure standards stipulated in this Circular.

b) Applicability:

This Circular applies to agencies, units, and organizations implementing ODA loan and assistance projects (expenditures from foreign loans and domestic counterpart funds).

2. Principles of application:

a) The expenditure standards prescribed in this Circular are the maximum ceilings. Within the scope of the expenditure standards stipulated in this Circular and within the permissible budgetary limits for managing the projects/programs, the directors of ODA project/program management boards, or the project/program managers (in cases where no management board is established), shall decide on specific expenditure levels for the projects/programs, ensuring efficient and economical project execution.

b) The directors of ODA project management boards, or the project managers (in cases where no management board is established), shall be responsible to the supervising agency for project expenditures in accordance with current regulations.

Article 2. Salary and Allowances

The salary and management allowances for ODA project staff working at dedicated or concurrently assigned ODA project/program management boards established by the supervising agency to implement the projects (hereinafter referred to as ODA Project Management Boards) are regulated as follows:

1. For administrative and public service ODA Project Management Boards (HCSN) and mixed ODA Project Management Boards with activities that include both administrative and public service and construction components:

Staff members, civil servants, and employees under the administrative and public service agencies' establishment who are transferred or assigned to work at ODA Project Management Boards shall have their salaries and allowances paid by the transferring agency according to the rank and salary allowances stipulated in Decree No. 204/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 14, 2004 of the Government on salary systems for civil servants, employees, and armed forces personnel, and contributions (health insurance, social insurance, trade union fees) as currently regulated by the State.

If the transferring agency does not pay the salary according to rank and allowance and has clearly stated this in the transfer decision, the ODA Project Management Board shall be responsible for paying the salary according to the rank and allowance stipulated in Decree No. 204/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 14, 2004 of the Government on salary systems for civil servants, employees, and armed forces personnel, and contributions (health insurance, social insurance, trade union fees) as currently regulated by the State from the project management budget.

2. For ODA Project Management Boards engaged in basic construction investment:

The salary and management allowances for staff, employees, and officials working at dedicated ODA Project Management Boards for basic construction investment (XDCB) established by the project manager or supervising agency shall be governed by Decision No. 198/1999/QĐ-TTg dated September 30, 1999 of the Prime Minister on the salary of staff and officials working at project management boards for basic construction investment and related documents.

Article 3. Allowance for Project Management of ODA

1. Civil servants, officials, and employees within the establishment of State Administrative Agencies who are transferred to work full-time or assigned to work part-time at ODA Project Management Boards shall be entitled to receive a project management allowance from the ODA Project Management Board (in addition to their salary and wage allowances specified in Clause 1, Article 2 above), with the maximum amount not exceeding the salary level according to their rank as stipulated in Decree No. 204/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 14, 2004 of the Government on the salary system for civil servants, officials, and armed forces personnel currently in effect, specifically:

a) For civil servants, officials, and employees transferred to work full-time at ODA Project Management Boards, they shall be entitled to receive a project management allowance up to 100% of their salary level and wage allowances.

b) For civil servants, officials, and employees assigned to work part-time managing projects at one ODA Project Management Board, they shall be entitled to receive a project management allowance corresponding to the proportion of time spent working on the project. In cases where civil servants, officials, and employees are assigned to work part-time at multiple ODA Project Management Boards, the part-time project management allowance shall be determined based on the proportion of time spent working on each ODA project, but the total part-time project management allowance for all projects shall not exceed 100% of their salary level and wage allowances.

The head of the agency directly managing civil servants, officials, and employees, and the head of the agency assigning duties shall ensure that the ratio of part-time work time at ODA Project Management Boards is reasonable between the time spent on the project and the time spent on regular duties at the main agency according to the prescribed regulations when issuing assignment decisions.

The agency issuing the assignment decision must clearly state in the decision the proportion of part-time work time at each project to serve as the basis for determining the project management allowance for ODA.

c) In cases where programs and projects do not establish a Project Management Board but have a decision assigning tasks to implement the project from the competent authority, then civil servants and officials assigned the task of implementing ODA programs and projects according to the decision shall be entitled to receive a project management allowance corresponding to the proportion of time spent on the project as mentioned above.

2. The project management allowance for ODA as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 3 above does not apply to ODA Construction Project Management Boards.

3. For members of the Project Steering Committee who participate in the Project Steering Committee meetings, they shall be entitled to receive a participation allowance for the Project Steering Committee with a maximum amount not exceeding VND 300,000 per member per meeting depending on the nature of each meeting.

4. Civil servants and officials working at ODA Grant Project Management Boards who receive allowances from foreign-funded sources shall not be entitled to receive a project management allowance for ODA from counterpart funds according to this Circular.

5. For staff working at levels implementing/undertaking projects such as implementation/undertaking teams/groups at central, provincial, district, commune, village, hamlet levels, directly participating in project activities:

a) Depending on the complexity and requirements of the project, staff working at implementation levels may be entitled to receive an ODA project implementation allowance during the execution of each project activity (they will receive the allowance when there is an activity, and will not receive it when there is no activity).

b) The project sponsor shall base the decision to apply the ODA project implementation allowance for staff at implementation levels on the job requirements, workload, duration, and complexity of the project, the capabilities, qualifications, and expertise of the staff assigned to undertake the project, and the opinion of the financial department at the same level to submit to the project management agency for issuance of the decision.

c) The allowance is defined as follows:

- For staff working at the district, commune, village, hamlet level in mountainous districts, difficult areas, remote and far-flung regions as stipulated in Document No. 705/TTg-KGVX dated May 11, 2009 of the Prime Minister on continuing to implement Resolution No. 30a/2008/NQ-CP (specific list of districts is detailed in Appendix 1 attached to this Circular): The maximum allowance rate is 40% of the current salary level, calculated monthly.

- For staff at other implementation levels not included in the list of difficult areas as stipulated in Document No. 705/TTg-GGVX mentioned above (including central, provincial, district, commune, village, hamlet levels): The maximum allowance rate is 30% of the current salary level, calculated monthly.

- In cases where staff at implementation levels do not receive salaries from the budget or work in positions without salary provisions according to their rank, they shall enter into labor contracts and be entitled to receive a maximum remuneration equal to 40% of the current minimum wage.

When issuing a decision to apply the ODA project implementation allowance for staff at implementation levels, the project management agency must clearly state in the decision the time spent by staff at implementation levels on the project to serve as the basis for calculating the project implementation allowance.

Article 4. Regulations on wages, salaries, and insurance benefits for workers hired under contract by ODA Project Management Boards

1. Regarding wages and salaries:

a) For contractual workers performing specialized and professional work in ODA projects (both construction and non-construction ODA projects) shall follow the principle of paying wages equivalent to those of employees within the establishment having the same educational qualifications, professional qualifications, and years of service (adjusted according to the coefficient for ODA construction projects or supplemented with the ODA project management allowance for non-construction ODA projects as specified in Point a, Clause 1, Article 3 above).

b) For contractual workers performing simple jobs unrelated to the project such as driving, clerical work, security, cleaning, etc., the provisions of Decree No. 68/2000/NĐ-CP dated November 17, 2000 of the Government on implementing the contract system for certain types of work in administrative agencies and public institutions shall apply, with an adjustment factor not exceeding 1.5 times to negotiate the remuneration.

2. Insurance benefits:

The social insurance and health insurance regime for employees hired under contract terms shall be applied according to current regulations.

Article 5. Translation Cost Standards

1. Written translation:

a) Translating materials from foreign languages into Vietnamese: not exceeding 90,000 VND per page of 350 words.

b) Translating materials from Vietnamese into foreign languages: not exceeding 100,000 VND per page of 350 words.

2. Oral translation:

a) Ordinary oral translation: not exceeding 200,000 VND per hour per person, equivalent to not more than 1,600,000 VND per day per person working 8 hours.

b) Simultaneous oral translation: not exceeding 350,000 VND per hour per person, equivalent to not more than 2,800,000 VND per day per person working 8 hours.

c) In special cases requiring interpretation and translation of rare foreign languages or difficult content with few practitioners, the Project Management Board Director or the Program Project Leader (in cases where a Project Management Board has not been established) may negotiate and decide on the amount for hiring interpreters and translators, with the maximum amount not exceeding 150% of the rates specified in Points 1 and 2 above.

The aforementioned translation cost standards shall only be applied when it is necessary for the Project Management Board to hire external interpreters and translators, and shall not apply to interpreters and translators who are on the payroll of the Project Management Board.

Article 6. Travel Allowance Regulations

1. Applicability: Travel allowance regulations apply to staff members of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) Project Management Board, project consultants, and invited guests eligible for expense reimbursement from project funds.

2. Application Principles: Apply current state regulations on travel allowances and conference expenditure for state agencies and public service units.

Domestic travel allowances include transportation costs, accommodation subsidies, rental fees for lodging at the destination, baggage fees, and expenses for carrying work-related documents (if applicable).

3. To align with actual conditions, this Circular specifies special expenditure levels for specific items as follows:

a) Transportation Costs:

- Apply current state regulations on travel allowances and conference expenditure for state agencies and public service units.

- In cases where air travel is necessary, the project director may approve the use of project funds to cover travel expenses for project staff and invited guests.

- For regions without public transportation, travel expenses without invoices or receipts, and without a basis to determine public transport fares, lump-sum payments will be made based on current regulations.

- In cases of inter-agency joint missions:

+ If traveling as part of a centralized mission, the leading agency of the mission is responsible for covering transportation and baggage fees for mission participants; if traveling individually, the sending agency is responsible for reimbursing transportation and baggage fees for mission participants.

The sending agency is responsible for reimbursing accommodation subsidies and rental fees for lodging for its dispatched personnel.

+ When the leading agency of the mission covers transportation, accommodation, and rental fees for participants from different agencies, the leading agency must clearly inform this in the invitation letter to avoid duplicate expenditures. The leading agency is responsible for calculating these costs to prepare a budget estimate.

b) Accommodation Subsidies:

- Accommodation subsidy: The maximum accommodation subsidy for travelers is 100,000 VND per person per day.

- For day trips (returning on the same day) more than 10 km away from the office (for highland, island areas; mountainous and remote areas) and more than 15 km away (for other areas), the ODA Project Management Board Director or the Project Leader (if no Project Management Board is established) may decide on a specific allowance not exceeding 70,000 VND per day, which must be stipulated in the internal expenditure rules of the project.

- Staff members sent to work on islands or at sea receive a maximum accommodation subsidy of 150,000 VND per person per day of actual travel.

If current regulations on travel allowances provide higher accommodation subsidies than those specified above, the higher rates shall be applied.

c) Rental Fees for Lodging at the Destination: Apply current state regulations on travel allowances and conference expenditure for state agencies and public service units.

Article 7. Regulations on expenditure for conferences, seminars, and training sessions

1. Principles of application:

a) The conference, seminar, and training session expenses stipulated in this Circular shall apply to summary conferences, periodic evaluation conferences on the implementation of ODA projects, conferences, seminars, and training sessions aimed at directing, disseminating, and guiding the implementation of projects, and must be included in the project's approved activity plan by the competent authority. In cases where additional activities arise, they must be supplemented with a plan approved by the managing agency.

b) Projects organizing national-scale conferences, seminars, and training sessions must obtain permission in writing from the investment management agency or the Head of the Project Steering Committee, specifically.

- Conferences and seminars: the organization period shall not exceed three days

- Training sessions: the organization period shall not exceed seven days.

c) All ODA project management boards when organizing conferences, seminars, and training sessions must reasonably arrange locations, prepare high-quality content, and consider the composition and number of participants based on efficiency and cost-saving principles.

d) In cases where it is necessary to hold community meetings at village or commune levels, the Project Director or Project Leader (in cases where a Project Management Board has not been established) shall be responsible for reviewing and deciding within the approved project management budget.

đ) Training, upgrading, and specialized vocational training activities according to each project's specific fields (for example, teacher training in education projects, agricultural, forestry, and water conservancy technical training, field workshops in agriculture-related projects, health worker training in healthcare projects, etc.) shall apply current expenditure standards for specialized training funded by state budget.

2. Specific expenditure levels:

a) Payment for transportation and accommodation costs when attending conferences, seminars, and training sessions: apply the provisions set out in point a and c, Clause 3, Article 6 of this Circular.

b) Meal and incidental allowance:

- For conferences, seminars, and training sessions held in centrally-administered cities: staff members of the organizing committee, delegates, and lecturers of the conferences, seminars, and training sessions shall be entitled to a meal and incidental allowance not exceeding 100,000 VND per day per person.

- For conferences, seminars, and training sessions held in other provinces and cities nationwide: staff members of the organizing committee, delegates, and lecturers of the conferences, seminars, and training sessions shall be entitled to a meal and incidental allowance not exceeding 80,000 VND per day per person.

- Members of the organizing committee, delegates, and lecturers of the conferences, seminars, and training sessions who have received meal and incidental allowances as prescribed in point b, Clause 2, Article 7 of this Circular will not be entitled to travel expense allowances as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular.

- Uniform regulations for conferences, seminars, and training sessions organized by ODA project management boards: the organizing committee will cover 100% of meal and incidental allowances for all organizing staff, delegates, and lecturers from the project's budget. The sending agency will not reimburse accommodation allowances for delegates sent to attend the conferences and seminars. The organizing committee of the conferences and seminars must clearly inform the delegates of the expenditure regulations in the invitation letter. In special cases, if the organizing committee does not cover meal and incidental allowances for delegates, this must also be clearly stated in the invitation letter.

If the State adjusts the minimum wage upwards, the head of the agency or unit primarily responsible for organizing the meeting may decide to increase the meal and incidental allowances for the participants in the aforementioned conferences and seminars according to the percentage increase in the minimum wage.

c) Lecturer fees:

For conferences, seminars, and training sessions that hire lecturers, the lecturer fee standard shall be applied according to the regulations on lecturer fees in Circular No. 51/2008/TT-BTC dated June 16, 2008, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the management and use of training and upgrading funds for state officials and civil servants, and subsequent amendments and supplements to this Circular.

The ceiling mentioned above includes both lecturer fees and preparation of teaching materials.

In special cases, if the teaching materials or references are highly specialized, requiring extensive experience and intellectual effort, the Project Management Board Director or Project Leader (in cases where a Project Management Board has not been established) may enter into consultancy contracts to prepare and print the materials and pay according to those contracts.

d) Office supplies: the organizing committee may be reimbursed for actual expenditures but not exceeding 50,000 VND per person per session for conferences, seminars, and training sessions.

đ) Refreshments during breaks: the organizing committee may be reimbursed for actual expenditures but not exceeding 30,000 VND per person per day for conferences, seminars, and training sessions held in cities and urban areas of category I or higher, and not exceeding 20,000 VND per person per day for conferences, seminars, and training sessions held in other places.

e) Other expenses such as room rental, equipment rental, poster cutting and pasting... in the conference, seminar expenditure system shall be reimbursed based on actual expenditures as decided by the Project Management Board Director on the basis of economy and rationality.

Article 8. Domestic Consultant Fees

1. Hiring and payment for domestic consultants:

a) The hiring and payment for domestic consultants shall be carried out in accordance with current domestic regulations and the sponsor's bidding selection regulations for consultants.

b) In cases where it is not possible to select suitable consultants through bidding methods, based on project requirements, professional qualifications, academic titles, years of experience, language proficiency, implementation capacity, consultant tasks, project scale, and the execution area of the consultant, the project management board director may choose the consultant fee levels specified below, propose them to the competent ministry or local authority for approval and application.

c) These consultant fees include all social insurance, health insurance, and taxes as stipulated by current regulations.

2. Levels of domestic consultant fees:

a) Level 1: Consultants with a bachelor's degree and 3 to less than 5 years of experience, or with a master's degree and less than 3 years of experience, shall be paid a maximum of VND 5,400,000 per month per person or an equivalent amount not exceeding USD 300 (depending on the exchange rate at the time of hiring).

b) Level 2: Consultants with a bachelor's degree and 5 to less than 10 years of experience, or with a master's degree and 3 to 5 years of experience, shall be paid a maximum of VND 10,800,000 per month per person or an equivalent amount not exceeding USD 600 (depending on the exchange rate at the time of hiring).

c) Level 3: Consultants with a bachelor's degree and 10 to less than 15 years of experience, or with a master's degree and 5 to 8 years of experience, shall be paid a maximum of VND 21,000,000 per month per person or an equivalent amount not exceeding USD 1,200 (depending on the exchange rate at the time of hiring).

d) Level 4: Consultants with a bachelor's degree and 15 years of experience, or with a master's degree and more than 8 years of experience, shall be paid a maximum of VND 27,000,000 per month per person or an equivalent amount not exceeding USD 1,500 (depending on the exchange rate at the time of hiring).

e) Special level: In special cases where projects require highly specialized consultants in specific fields, especially in difficult and remote areas, the project management board may request the competent authority to approve higher remuneration levels agreed upon with the consultants.

If projects apply the lump-sum contract form as prescribed by the Bidding Law, the above domestic consultant fee levels serve as the basis for preparing and reviewing the contract value estimate.

Article 9. Other Regular Expenses

The purchase of office supplies, materials, fuel, vehicle repairs, maintenance of equipment serving professional work, communication costs according to the annual plan approved by the competent authority must be supported by valid and lawful expenditure vouchers and must not exceed the budget estimate or the management cost deduction rate for projects as stipulated by current regulations.

Article 10. Implementation Organization

This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of signature. This Circular replaces Decision No. 61/2006/QĐ-BTC dated November 2, 2006 of the Ministry of Finance on certain consumption standards applicable to projects using ODA funds.

During implementation, if the referenced documents for application in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced by new documents, the referenced projects shall apply the new documents.

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, central-level agencies, and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities have the responsibility to direct the implementation and guide subordinate units and projects using ODA funds to comply with this Circular./.