Joint Circular No. 22 TT/LB on closing the financial accounts for revenue and expenditure at all levels of the State Bank for the year 1978.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Regarding the closure of the state budget revenue and expenditure accounts for the end of 1978 at state banking agencies at all levels.

state at all levels.

___________________________

The Joint Circular of the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank No. 14 TT/LB dated November 25, 1977 has clearly stated the significance, effects, scope of objects subject to the implementation of the year-end budget revenue and expenditure account closure work, while guiding the tasks that all sectors, levels, agencies, units, and enterprises must prepare before the State Bank closes the accounts, specifying the deadline for closing the accounts and the tasks to be carried out after the State Bank closes the accounts.

All contents and procedures, measures prescribed in the above-mentioned Circular shall continue to be implemented during the closure of the state budget revenue and expenditure accounts for the end of 1978 and subsequent years. This Circular sets specific deadlines applicable this year and provides additional guidance on certain points suitable to the specific circumstances of 1978.

I. DEADLINES FOR CLOSING THE ACCOUNTS, TELEGRAPHIC REPORTING, DECLARATION, PAYMENT, AND REPORTING.

1. This year, the closure of the state budget revenue and expenditure accounts at state banking agencies at all levels nationwide will uniformly take place at 12 o'clock on December 31, 1978. Since December 31, 1978 is a Sunday, the State Bank and the finance agency will work throughout December 31, 1978 to carry out revenue and expenditure tasks. All sectors and levels must urgently prepare all aspects to ensure the completion of the state budget revenue and expenditure tasks for 1978, not allowing the last Sunday of the year to affect the completion of the annual plan.

- Departments, Stations, tax collection agents, state-owned trade stores, and cooperatives collecting taxes or sales proceeds on December 31, 1978 should discuss with the State Bank where they conduct transactions to collect and submit the budget to organize the collection of these amounts on December 31, 1978 and record them in the budget submission of 1978.

2. Telegraphic reporting of the results of revenue and expenditure, and remaining budget funds generated on December 31, 1978 (and previous days if not yet telegraphed) must be carried out within the following deadlines:

- From the county-level bank or equivalent to the provincial-level bank or city: within December 2, 1979.

- From the provincial-level bank or city to the Central State Bank: within December 3, 1979.

- Southern provincial and city State Banks (from Quang Nam Da Nang inward) need to note: report simultaneously to the Central State Bank in Ho Chi Minh City to serve the management of the budget situation locally by the Central State Bank in Hanoi to comprehensively and timely consolidate the overall situation nationwide.

3. The finance agency will set the date to suspend the approval of budgetary funding limits, and the State Bank will suspend the notification of distribution of budgetary funding limits for 1978.

a. For the Central Budget:

- The Ministry of Finance will suspend the approval of budgetary funding limits, and the Central State Bank will suspend the notification of distribution of funding limits:

+ From 4:00 PM on December 20, 1978 for central budgetary units located from Quang Nam Da Nang inward, and those located in Binh Tri Thien, Nghe Tinh, Ha Tuyen, Son La, Lai Chau, Cao Bang, Hoang Lien Son, and Quang Ninh, as well as subsidies for the budgets of these localities.

+ From 4:00 PM on December 23, 1978 for units located in other northern provinces (excluding Hanoi), as well as subsidies for the budgets of these localities.

+ From 4:00 PM on December 25, 1978 for units located in Hanoi.

Secondary budgetary units under the central budget located in the South have the right to distribute funding limits to their subordinate tertiary units, and must also suspend the distribution of funding limits according to the following deadlines:

- From 4:00 PM on December 23, 1978 for tertiary units located in provinces or cities other than where the secondary unit is headquartered.

- From 4:00 PM on December 25, 1978 for tertiary units located in the same province or city as the secondary unit.

b. For Local Budgets:

Provincial and municipal finance bureaus together with the State Bank of the province or city shall specify the time to suspend the approval and distribution of funding limits and transfer of funds to units under the local budget, in accordance with the specific conditions of the locality. The principle is to base the time for the circulation of documents from the approval or distribution of funding limits to the receiving entity so that the funding limit transferred can still be used in a timely manner. Therefore, units at the commune level must plan early to avoid hindrances and impacts on the activities of the unit due to the failure to suspend the approval and transfer of funds by the finance and State Bank agencies.

4. Direct spending units, regardless of which budget level they belong to, must suspend the issuance of "Guaranteed Payment Checks," "Quota Checks," or "Transfer Checks" from 4:00 PM on December 23, 1978, ensuring that issued checks have sufficient time to return to the bank holding the quota before December 31, 1978.

5. Deadlines for settling bank deposit accounts at the State Bank (accounts 770, 771, 772, according to the current accounting system of the State Bank):

- Submit to the budget any amounts derived from budget funds, including illegal funds if any: units must complete all procedures for submitting to the state budget no later than December 23, 1978.

- Prepare a statement of the balances of the bank deposit accounts, obtain confirmation from the State Bank where the account was opened, and request the finance agency to transfer to the next year: from December 26 to 31, 1978.

- The State Bank branch will submit all balances of the aforementioned bank deposit accounts to the budget if the unit does not prepare a declaration requesting the finance agency to transfer to the next year or has prepared a declaration but received agreement from the finance agency: by the end of December 31, 1978.

- The provincial or municipal State Bank will prepare a detailed statement of the amounts from each agency and unit transferred to the budget, send it to the provincial or municipal finance bureau and the Central State Bank, along with a report on the revenue already recorded for the transfer.

- The Central State Bank will consolidate all such statements from all regions nationwide and send them to the Ministry of Finance before January 31, 1979.

6. Preparation of funds for expenditures at the beginning of 1979.

By December 1978, all Ministries, sectors, Departments, and Departments in charge shall prepare plans for the first quarter of 1979's revenue and expenditure in coordination with the Finance Department and the State Bank to ensure sufficient funds for the first quarter and January 1979 for their own agencies and subordinate units, ensuring continuous operation in business, production, basic construction, or administrative and public services without encountering difficulties or obstacles due to the closure of the previous year's budget revenue and expenditure accounts.

In the accounts at the State Bank, if there are funds allocated from the 1979 state budget that were provided in advance during 1978, these funds will be automatically transferred for use at the beginning of 1979. The State Bank branches must pay attention not to transfer these funds into the 1978 state budget.

II. SOME ISSUES TO BE NOTED AT THE END OF THE YEAR 1978 FOR CLOSING THE STATE BUDGET REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNTS.

1. In 1978, the State Bank issued new banknotes for circulation throughout the country and collected old banknotes in both regions. Circular No. 72-b/TT/LB dated May 20, 1978, stipulated the procedures for closing the accounting books of the state budget, transferring the books after the currency exchange, and preparing various types of daily, monthly reports, and annual settlements using the new banknotes. During this period of closing the state budget revenue and expenditure accounts at the end of the year, all budgetary units are responsible for reviewing the closure and transfer of accounting books after the currency exchange, checking and reconciling figures with the State Bank where transactions take place, ensuring consistency between each unit’s figures and those of the State Bank, not only matching the total revenue or expenditure but also matching each type, item, category, and subcategory according to the state budget classification. If discrepancies are found, the units must identify them and verify adjustments to achieve consistency and compliance with regulations and reality.

2. The ratio of state budget revenues allocated to local budgets, as set forth in Decision No. 133 TC/QLNS dated April 29, 1978, of the Ministry of Finance, applies to the entire 1978 fiscal year. Therefore, provinces and cities that have not completed the adjustment of revenue between different levels of the budget in the first six months of 1978 must urgently prepare declarations according to the provided model and submit them to the Ministry of Finance for approval to complete the adjustment before the end-of-year closure date, reflecting the correct policy on decentralized financial management by the state.

3. Recently, in some areas, there has been inconsistency in the aggregated figures for state budget revenue and expenditure for the whole year between the reports of the Finance Department and the State Bank, particularly regarding the carryover surplus from the previous year, central government subsidies, central government funds delegated to local management, excess payments returned to the state budget by budgetary units, and the end-of-year surplus of local government budgets carried over to the next year. To address this issue, this year, after the State Bank closes its accounts, no later than January 31, 1979, the Finance Department and the State Bank at provincial and municipal levels must organize a reconciliation of state budget revenue and expenditure figures for 1978, preliminarily determine the surplus and end-of-year surplus of the 1978 budget to be carried over to 1979, as guided in Joint Circular No. 14 TT/LB dated November 25, 1977 (point 5 part IV). If there are discrepancies in the figures, both departments must investigate the causes and discuss measures to adjust according to the principle that the department which records incorrectly must rectify it. If they cannot reach an agreement on the adjustment, they must prepare a record detailing the reasons and specific discrepancies and report to the Ministry of Finance and the Central State Bank for review and decision on handling measures.

4. On the day of the end-of-year closure, if the Ministry of Finance has not yet approved the settlement of the 1977 local budget, when the State Bank at provincial and municipal levels processes the transfer of funds from the previous year's budget accounts, the surplus of the local budget at the end of 1977 will be fully transferred to the 1978 state budget under item 117 of the 1978 state budget classification. Later, upon receipt of the formal approval of the Ministry of Finance, adjustments will be made: reducing "surplus revenue" to transfer into "reserve fund" according to the amount indicated in the notice if applicable.

5. By December 31, 1978, the Finance Department must coordinate with the State Bank and Construction Procurement Office at the local level to reconcile and confirm the figures and preliminarily analyze the situation of the local budget revenue and expenditure for 1978 and submit a report to the Ministry of Finance.

For central government subsidies to local budgets for new economic expenses, border work expenses, resettlement expenses, basic construction capital assistance, etc., all must be settled and the Construction Procurement Office must return the excess to the central government according to current regulations. If the Finance Departments receive these subsidies but have not fully transferred them to the Construction Procurement Office, the Finance Departments must return the remaining portion to the central government. Upon receiving the documents from the Finance Departments or Construction Procurement Banks sent to the State Banks of the provinces and cities, the State Banks must immediately deduct from the current account with the Construction Procurement Banks or the provincial and municipal treasury to return the excess to the central government.

After returning the excess subsidies to the central government, the surplus of the local budget including the excess revenue in the year, the surplus of 1977 and previous years, will all be transferred to the provisional revenue account of 1979 for the provinces and cities to spend on the 1979 budget. When the localities complete the overall settlement of revenue and expenditure for 1978, which is officially approved by the Ministry of Finance, the provisional revenue will be transferred to the "previous year's surplus revenue" account of the 1979 budget (type V item 83 according to the 1979 budget classification).

In the settlement of deposit accounts as well as budget quota accounts of agencies and units opened at the State Bank, if there is a case where funds are transferred to another place for purchasing goods during the end-of-year period but due to some reasons, the purchase cannot be made, and Bank B returns the funds to Bank A, with the returned amount reaching Bank A only in early 1979, it shall be handled as follows:

a. Based on the transfer document of the unit, if it clearly states that the funds are drawn from a specific item, category, or sub-item under the 1978 budget schedule, then Bank A shall record the reduction in disbursement in that item, category, or sub-item of the 1978 budget.

b. If the transfer document has drawn from the deposit account of the budget but does not specify the item or category, then Bank A will record it as a provisional receipt in the previous year's budget (account B1) in the books and report of receipts for 1979, while simultaneously informing the unit. The unit is responsible for analyzing and requesting the bank to adjust the record of reduced disbursement in which item, category, or sub-item to align with the unit's accounting records. This work must be completed before March 31, 1979. If beyond this date, the unit fails to analyze and request the bank to adjust, on April 1, 1979, the bank will transfer the remaining amounts in the previous year's provisional receipt account (B1) to the recovery of the previous year's expenditure item, i.e., item 80, category 2 under the 1979 state budget revenue schedule.

III. IMPLEMENTATION. 

Upon receiving this circular, provincial and municipal financial authorities together with the State Bank at the same level shall organize a review of Circular No. 14/TT-LB dated November 25, 1977, along with the additional provisions in this circular, considering the implementation of the closure of budget revenues and expenditures in the past year in their respective localities, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and proposing measures to improve and ensure that the year-end closing process this year meets requirements and has positive effects. The decisive measure is close cooperation between financial and State Bank authorities at each level, from the dissemination of the circular's content to its implementation, and paying attention to promptly informing each other about issues requiring timely resolution. The State Bank, through its direct function of collecting money into the budget and directly disbursing budget funds, if it finds units failing to meet revenue plans or having wasteful expenditures (such as exceeding quota limits, empty budget transfers, transferring funds for purchases without actual goods, excessive cash advances, frequent withdrawals of operating funds in large amounts...), near the end of the year, should promptly reflect these issues specifically to the corresponding financial authority for in-depth inspection and timely preventive measures. 

During the dissemination and enforcement of this circular, if there are issues deemed necessary for supplementation or amendment, they should be reported to the Ministry of Finance (Budget Management Department) and the Central State Bank (Accounting and Budget Fund Management Department) for further study and decision ./.