Joint Circular No. 22/2011/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN guiding financial management for trial production projects supported by state budget funds.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for financial management of experimental production projects supported by state budget funds

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Pursuant to the State Budget Law and 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 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. 28/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 14, 2008, promulgated by the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Science and Technology;

Pursuant to Decision No. 62/2010/QĐ-TTg dated October 15, 2010 of the Prime Minister on not recovering state budget funds supporting experimental production projects of products;

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology issue guidelines for financial management of experimental production projects supported by state budget funds as follows:

Article 1. General Provisions

a) Cadres, civil servants, public officials, and workers as stipulated in Article 2 of Decree No. 178/2024/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2024 (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 67/2025/NĐ-CP dated March 15, 2025) of the Government on policies and treatment for cadres, civil servants, public officials, workers, and armed forces personnel in the process of organizational restructuring of the political system, having a total mandatory social insurance contribution period of at least 15 years when working in heavy, hazardous, or dangerous jobs or extremely heavy, hazardous, or dangerous jobs listed by the agency under the Government responsible for labor administration, or working in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions including time worked in places with regional allowances of coefficient 0.7 or higher before January 1, 2021, and reaching the retirement age as specified in Appendix II issued together with Decree No. 135/2020/NĐ-CP, ceasing work immediately due to direct impact from organizational restructuring and implementation of the two-level local government model;

These Circular applies to experimental production projects (hereinafter referred to as SXTN projects) supported by state budget funds to implement research programs and technology development priorities determined in the national science and technology development strategy and priority scientific fields of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, provinces, centrally governed cities (hereinafter collectively referred to as ministries, sectors, provinces, cities), including:

a) National-level SXTN projects comprising: Independent projects, projects under national key science and technology programs, projects under national science and technology projects, projects under science and technology programs and plans according to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 62/2010/QĐ-TTg dated October 15, 2010.

b) SXTN projects at the ministry, sector, provincial, and city levels.

2. These Circular does not apply to SXTN projects funded from the National Science and Technology Development Fund or other support funds.

3. State budget funds supporting the implementation of SXTN projects shall be allocated in the annual budget for science and technology activities of ministries, sectors, provinces, and cities in accordance with the State Budget Law and current implementing regulations.

4. Standards, procedures, and processes for reviewing SXTN projects supported by state budget funds shall be carried out in accordance with the guidance of the Ministry of Science and Technology in other documents.

Article 2. Specific Provisions

1. Contents eligible for state budget support

a) Costs for improving and innovating technology; completing and innovating production lines (improving and innovating technological processes, decoding foreign technologies, establishing optimal technological processes, technical design, product design of the project, improving and innovating production lines, supplementing or replacing equipment and testing tools... ) to implement SXTN projects.

b) Costs for producing the first batch of products of the project (purchase of seeds, raw materials; energy consumption costs; labor hiring costs...);

c) Costs for purchasing foreign technical documents (which are not available domestically);

d) Costs for consulting and hiring experts;

đ) Costs for leasing, purchasing, and importing specialized equipment directly serving the project;

e) Costs for training and instructing managers, technical staff, skilled workers, farmers (for agricultural SXTN projects)... directly serving the project;

f) Costs for inspecting and analyzing research results during the experimental process;

i) Costs for quality inspection of products and goods resulting from the project;

k) Costs for promotion, marketing, registering industrial property rights or registering plant varieties;

g) Other direct costs serving the implementation of the project (excluding travel expenses abroad, interest on loans incurred by the project owner due to borrowing funds to implement the project on the part of the organizing body);

2. Level of support from state budget sources

The state budget supports:

- Up to 30% of the total new investment cost necessary for the implementation of the project approved by the competent authority (excluding the residual value or depreciation costs of existing equipment and facilities);

- Up to 50% of the total new investment cost necessary for the implementation of SXTN projects in agriculture and projects implemented in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions as stipulated in Decision No. 30/2007/QĐ-TTg dated March 5, 2007 of the Prime Minister on issuing the list of administrative organizations in difficult regions and subsequent amendments and supplements (if any);

- Up to 70% of the total new investment cost necessary for the implementation of SXTN projects in agriculture implemented in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions as stipulated in Decision No. 30/2007/QĐ-TTg dated March 5, 2007 of the Prime Minister on issuing the list of administrative organizations in difficult regions and subsequent amendments and supplements (if any).

3. Approval Authority for Support Levels

The approval authority for specific support levels for each project is as follows:

a) For national-level SXTN projects

- Independent SXTN projects, SXTN projects under national key science and technology programs, SXTN projects under national science and technology projects: The Ministry of Science and Technology decides the level of state budget support for each project based on the total new investment cost necessary for the implementation of the project according to Clause 2 of this Article.

- SXTN projects under science and technology programs and plans approved by the Prime Minister or delegated by the Prime Minister to ministries and sectors for approval and management: Ministries and sectors managing the projects decide the level of state budget support for each project based on the total new investment cost necessary for the implementation according to Clause 2 of this Article and according to separate circulars guiding these programs and plans.

b) For SXTN projects at the ministry, sector, provincial, and city levels: Ministries, sectors, People's Committees of provinces, and cities decide the level of state budget support for each type of project based on the total new investment cost necessary for the implementation of the project according to Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 3. Financial management for projects

The preparation, allocation, implementation, and settlement of state budget support funds for projects shall be based on the provisions of Circular Joint No. 44/2007/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated May 7, 2007 guiding the construction standards and budget allocation for science and technology topics and projects funded by the state budget; Circular Joint No. 93/2006/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated October 4, 2006 guiding the system of cost allocation for science and technology topics and projects funded by the state budget, and shall be implemented according to the provisions of the State Budget Law and current guiding documents, any replacing, amending, and supplementing documents (if any), and some guidance points in this Circular as follows:

1. Preparation and allocation of annual state budget expenditure

Each year, based on the approved budget for the entire project implementation phase (including state budget support funds), the progress of project implementation, organizations prepare the state budget expenditure plan and submit it to the competent authority (the Ministry of Science and Technology for national-level S&T projects; relevant ministries and sectors for S&T projects under programs and plans approved by the Prime Minister and assigned to manage; ministries, sectors, and provincial People's Committees for S&T projects at the ministry, sector, and provincial levels).

Ministries, sectors, provinces, and cities consider and consolidate the state budget expenditure plan for S&T projects supported by the state budget into their own budget revenue and expenditure plan according to regulations (in detail, by national-level, ministry-sector-level, and provincial-level projects).

Based on the allocated budget revenue and expenditure plan, ministries, sectors, provinces, and cities develop plans to allocate and assign state budget expenditures for implementing S&T projects to the leading organizations and implementing organizations according to current regulations.

Leading organizations of S&T projects that do not receive regular annual state budget allocations (such as enterprises, collectives, households, or scientific and technological organizations, public institutions implementing projects through bidding or commission from other organizations receiving state budget allocations) must enter into a scientific and technological contract with the approving agency or authorized agency to implement the project. The contents of the scientific and technological contract shall be carried out according to the regulations of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

2. Issuance, implementation of the budget plan, and settlement of state budget support funds for implementing S&T projects shall be carried out according to the provisions of the State Budget Law and current guiding documents.

3. Inspection of S&T project implementation

a) The competent authority approving the S&T project is responsible for organizing periodic or spot inspections of project implementation in coordination with the financial department at the same level and related agencies, specifically as follows:

- For national-level S&T projects not included in key science and technology programs: The Ministry of Science and Technology will lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, provinces, cities, and the Ministry of Finance to conduct inspections.

- For S&T projects under programs and plans managed by ministries and sectors: Relevant ministries and sectors will lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology, relevant ministries, sectors, provinces, cities, and the Ministry of Finance to conduct inspections.

- For national-level key science and technology program S&T projects: Implementation shall follow the current regulations on the organization and management of national-level key science and technology program activities.

- For ministry and sector-level S&T projects: Relevant ministries and sectors will lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance to conduct inspections.

- For provincial-level S&T projects: The Department of Science and Technology will coordinate with the main managing agency and the Department of Finance to conduct inspections.

b) Inspection content: The implementation of the project regarding progress, scientific and technological contents, etc., according to the signed scientific and technological contract, and the use of funds, including both state budget funds and other mobilized capital by the implementing organization.

During the inspection process, the ratio between state budget funds and other mobilized capital should be considered.

4. Responsibility for implementing S&T projects

The leading and principal organizations of the project are responsible for ensuring the implementation of the terms stipulated in the signed scientific and technological contract, mobilizing sufficient sources of funding as committed to implement the project, using funds for the intended purpose, complying with standard regulations, and reporting on the use of state budget funds according to regulations.

5. Handling violations of the scientific and technological contract for implementing S&T projects

a) Projects that fail to ensure the mobilization of sufficient non-state budget funds to match the implementation of the project as committed in the scientific and technological contract:

Based on the actual situation and the impact of changes in funding sources on the content and results of the project, the competent authority approving the specific support level for each project (as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 2 of this Circular) will consider and decide on adjusting the support level or recovering the support funds; specifically as follows:

- In cases where the leading and principal organizations of the project can prove objective factors leading to insufficient matching funds: The competent authority approving the support level will consider and decide to adjust the total project budget and increase the state budget support level but must ensure that it does not exceed the support ratio specified in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Circular.

- In cases where the leading and principal organizations of the project cannot prove objective factors leading to insufficient matching funds, the competent authority approving the support level will consider and decide:

+ To reduce the state budget support level according to the proportion of reduced non-state budget funds mobilized compared to the total project budget estimate if such a reduction does not change the expected project outcome.

In the case where adjusting the reduction of state budget funding leads to changes in the expected results of the project, it is required that the leading and principal organizations of the project must mobilize additional corresponding funds from sources outside the state budget to achieve the approved results. If the leading and principal organizations of the project do not confirm the additional corresponding funds, the competent management authority shall issue a decision to stop the implementation of the project and require the leading and principal organizations of the project to return the entire amount of state budget funds already supported to the state budget. The source of funds returned to the state budget: 50% shall be borne by the Project Principal for repayment; 50% from various Funds and other self-owned sources of the leading organization.

b) For projects that are not completed (including projects that must be stopped according to the decision of the competent management authority or projects evaluated at the level of "unsatisfactory") due to reasons other than the mobilization of corresponding funds outside the state budget as stipulated in point a, Clause 5 of this Article:

- Within fifteen working days from the date of receipt of the document determining that the project must be stopped or is not completed issued by the competent state management authority, the leading and principal organizations of the project are responsible for preparing a detailed report on the entire process of implementation (content of activities and fund usage) of the project; clearly identifying the causes and submitting them to the competent state management authority for approval of the project.

- Within thirty working days from the date of receipt of the report from the leading and principal organizations of the project, the competent state management authority approving the project shall be responsible for checking and determining the causes leading to the failure of the project.

- The competent state management authority shall issue a specific decision to handle as follows:

The leading and principal organizations of the project are responsible for:

+ Returning to the state budget all state budget funds that have been allocated but not yet used;

+ Recovering and returning to the state budget up to 100% of the state budget funds that have been used for the project.

Based on the actual situation (the amount of funds invested in the experimental production project, objective and subjective factors leading to the failure of the project, the ability to recover funds from the sale of project products and assets, etc.), the competent state management authority shall consider and decide on the specific amount to be recovered in accordance with the actual implementation of the project. The source of funds returned to the state budget: 50% shall be borne by the Project Principal for repayment; 50% from various Funds and other self-owned sources of the leading organization.

c) Within three hundred and sixty days from the date the competent authority approving the project issues a decision regarding the return of funds to the state budget, the leading and principal organizations of the project are responsible for returning the funds to the state budget according to the current budget management hierarchy.

In cases where the deadline has expired and the leading and principal organizations of the project have not returned the funds to the state budget, the budget estimate for the next year of the leading agency will be reduced accordingly. For organizations leading projects that are not regularly allocated state budget funds annually, they will not be considered for participation in SXTN projects for two years from the date of the decision to stop the project.

- In cases where the existing sources of Funds and other self-owned sources of the leading organization are insufficient to return the funds to the state budget, the remaining funds shall continue to be returned to the state budget in the following year.

- Organizations leading projects shall compile the situation of recovering funds returned to the state budget into their annual settlement reports and submit them to the higher-level supervisory agencies for consolidation and submission to the financial authorities at the same level in accordance with regulations.

d) Other forms of handling for organizations leading and principal organizations of projects that are not completed shall be specified by the Ministry of Science and Technology in other documents.

đ) The Project Principal, the leading organization of the project, and related organizations and individuals must return to the state budget the funds that were used for purposes, in violation of regulations, standards, and prescribed quotas.

6. Report on the use of funds

Every six months, the leading organizations of the projects shall submit a report on the use of corresponding sources of funds in relation to the volume of work implemented to the approving authority.

Ministries, sectors, provinces, and cities shall submit annual consolidated reports on the support funds for SXTN projects to the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance before the preparation of the budget for support funds for the following year.

Article 4. Organization of Implementation

1. This Circular takes effect from April 8, 2011, and replaces Circular Joint No. 85/2004/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated August 20, 2004, of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding financial management for scientific and technological projects supported by the state budget and subject to recovery of funds.

2. Scientific and Technological Experimentation and Transfer (SXTN) projects supported by the state budget that have been approved and are being implemented by the competent state management authority before the effective date of this Circular shall continue to be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Circular Joint No. 85/2004/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated August 20, 2004, of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

3. SXTN projects specified in Decision No. 62/2010/QĐ-TTg dated October 15, 2010, of the Prime Minister regarding non-recovery of funds supported by the state budget for SXTN product projects approved after December 1, 2010, shall be implemented in accordance with this Circular.

4. Within twelve months from the effective date of this Circular, ministries, sectors, provinces, and cities shall be responsible for inspecting and evaluating the recovery of funds, coordinating with the financial authorities at the same level to consider and handle exemptions and reductions in the recovery of funds for SXTN projects approved before the effective date of this Circular within their jurisdiction, compiling and reporting the situation and results of implementation to the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance.

During the implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, please reflect them to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology for research and appropriate amendments and supplements. /