Joint Circular No. 220/2012/TTLT-BTC-BGTVT guiding the assurance of costs for seizing maritime vessels and maintaining vessel operations during detention from the state budget.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for ensuring costs for the arrest of ships and maintaining ship operations during the period of arrest from the state budget

Ensuring costs for the arrest of ships and maintaining ship operations during the period of arrest from the state budget

 

Pursuant to the Law on Ship Arrest Procedures dated August 27, 2008;

Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 10, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget;

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. 51/2008/NĐ-CP dated April 22, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

Pursuant to Decree No. 57/2010/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2010 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Ship Arrest Procedures;

The Minister of Finance and the Minister of Transport hereby issue this Joint Circular guiding the state budget funds for the arrest of ships and maintaining ship operations during the period of arrest as follows:

Article 1. Scope of regulation and applicable subjects

Thông tư này quy định chi tiết khoản 4 Điều 38 Luật Thủy sản số 18/2017/QH14 đã được sửa đổi, bổ sung tại điểm c khoản 21 Điều 14 Luật số 146/2025/QH15.

This Circular details the state budget funds for the arrest of ships and maintaining ship operations during the period of arrest as prescribed in Decree No. 57/2010/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2010 of the Government.

Thông tư này áp dụng đối với tổ chức, cá nhân có liên quan đến hoạt động kinh doanh đối tượng thủy sản nuôi chủ lực trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam.

Organizations and individuals related to the implementation of ship arrests and maintaining ship operations during the period of arrest as prescribed in Decree No. 57/2010/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2010 of the Government.

Article 2. Sources of state budget funds to ensure the implementation of ship arrests and maintaining ship operations during the period of arrest

1. Central budget funds for the implementation of ship arrests and maintaining ship operations during the period of arrest for ships organized by maritime port authorities under the Vietnam Maritime Administration or inland waterway port authorities under the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration.

2. Local budget funds for the implementation of ship arrests and maintaining ship operations during the period of arrest for ships organized by inland waterway port authorities under the Department of Transport of provinces and centrally administered cities.

Article 3. Contents and levels of expenditure for the implementation of ship arrests and maintaining ship operations during the period of arrest from the state budget

1. Expenditure for implementing ship arrests as provided for in point d, Clause 2, Article 10 of Decree No. 57/2010/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2010 of the Government.

a) Costs for pursuing ships that cannot be pursued, costs for serving court orders for ship arrests and requests for ship arrests that are correct.

- Costs for using means to perform duties.

- Repair costs for means damaged during the performance of duties (the difference between repair costs and insurance compensation).

- Allowance costs for personnel directly performing duties.

b) Other special costs as decided by the Minister of Transport.

2. Expenditure for maintaining ship operations during the period of arrest (excluding cases specified in points a, b, c, Clause 4, Article 11 of Decree No. 57/2010/NĐ-CP dated May 25, 2010 of the Government).

a) Minimum fuel and material costs to maintain necessary operations of ships to ensure safety according to Decision No. 49/2005/QĐ-BGTVT dated October 4, 2005 of the Minister of Transport on applying international rules to prevent collisions at sea.

b) Minimum living expenses for crew members working directly on ships: food, beverage, and fresh water costs according to regulations for crew members working on Vietnamese ships as stipulated in Circular No. 16/2008/TTLT-BLĐTBXH-BTC dated August 15, 2008 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs guiding the implementation of Decision No. 72/2008/QĐ-TTg dated May 30, 2008 of the Prime Minister amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decision No. 234/2005/QĐ-TTg dated September 26, 2005 of the Prime Minister on special regimes for workers and officials in certain professions in state-owned companies. c) Costs for hiring crew members to ensure minimum safe operation of ships when crew members leave: living expenses, wages of crew members, and other reasonable costs based on the crew member hiring contract.

d) Medical and emergency costs in cases where crew members on arrested ships fall ill suddenly.

đ) Costs for anchoring and rectifying unforeseen incidents caused by objective factors during the anchoring period of arrested ships.

e) Supervision costs: Costs for using means to supervise and allowances for personnel directly involved in supervising ships.

3. Maximum allowance level for personnel participating in ship arrests (including personnel serving court orders for ship arrests, personnel directly involved in pursuing ships, and supervising ships as provided for in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article): The maximum allowance for one person per day is twice the average daily wage based on the government's minimum wage (For personnel who have received special allowances for sea work according to Decision No. 148/2008/QĐ-TTg dated November 20, 2008 of the Prime Minister, they shall not receive allowances for performing duties according to this Circular).

3. The maximum amount for subsistence allowance for individuals participating in the arrest of ships (including those serving court arrest orders on ships, those directly involved in pursuing ships, and those monitoring ships in cases stipulated in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article): The maximum amount for one person in one day shall be twice the daily wage rate based on the minimum wage level as prescribed by the Government (For individuals who are civil servants, public officials, workers, or employees on ships already receiving special allowances for sea service under Decision No. 148/2008/QĐ-TTg dated November 20, 2008 of the Prime Minister, such individuals shall not be entitled to subsistence allowance under this Circular).

Article 4. Preparation and Allocation of the Annual State Budget Estimate

1. Annually, the Ministry of Transport (Vietnam Maritime Administration, Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration), provincial Departments of Transport under central cities shall prepare the budget estimate for expenditures on the implementation of ship detention and maintenance activities during detention periods according to the current budget classification, and submit it to the financial authorities at the same level for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for decision in accordance with the State Budget Law.

2. Based on the budget estimate allocated by the competent authority, the Ministry of Transport shall allocate the budget estimate to the Vietnam Maritime Administration and Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration after obtaining the unified opinion of the Ministry of Finance regarding the budget allocation plan. The People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall allocate the budget estimate to the provincial Departments of Transport.

3. Based on the budget estimate received from superiors, the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, and provincial Departments of Transport shall allocate the budget estimate to subordinate units; simultaneously send it to the financial authorities, State Treasury, and State Treasury where the unit has an account opened for transactions.

Article 5. Advance Payment of Funds

1. Port Supervision Units shall withdraw the allocated budget estimate to make advance payments for tasks specified in Article 3 of this Circular. The advance payment amount shall not exceed 50% of the estimated costs for implementing the tasks of each organization or individual.

2. The application for advance payment submitted to the State Treasury includes:

a) A withdrawal form for the state budget estimate;

b) A detailed table of estimated costs for implementing tasks by participating organizations and individuals;

c) The court's decision on ship detention (a copy).

Article 6. Settlement of Cases and Payment of Funds

1. Based on the actual tasks performed, within a maximum of 60 days from the completion date of ship detention and maintenance activities during detention periods, port supervision units shall prepare a settlement report for each case including expenses incurred by the port supervision unit and related organizations and individuals, and submit it to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, or provincial Department of Transport for approval.

The settlement dossier includes:

a) A request for approval of the settlement report submitted by the port supervision unit;

b) The court's decision on ship detention;

c) The court's decision approving the costs for maintaining ship operations during detention periods (if applicable);

d) A confirmation and acceptance record between the port supervision unit and organizations and individuals involved in the tasks. A settlement statement of funds between the port supervision unit and related organizations and individuals.

e) Legal documents as required;

g) Relevant documents and texts from other functional agencies (if applicable).

2. Based on the settlement dossiers of port supervision units, the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, or provincial Department of Transport shall be responsible for approving the settlements in accordance with regulations.

3. Payment of Funds

a) Based on the approved settlement decision of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, or provincial Department of Transport, port supervision units shall prepare a payment dossier and submit it to the State Treasury.

b) The payment dossier sent to the State Treasury includes:

- The payment request of the port supervision unit;

- The decision approving the settlement of funds by the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, or provincial Department of Transport.

c) The State Treasury where the port supervision unit has an account shall recover the advance payment and pay to the relevant units. If the advance payment exceeds the approved settlement amount, the port supervision units shall be responsible for recovering the excess advance payment and returning it to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, or provincial Department of Transport.

4. Port supervision units, Vietnam Maritime Administration, Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, and provincial Departments of Transport shall settle the annual expenditure for ship detention and maintenance activities in accordance with the current provisions of the State Budget Law.

Article 7. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from February 11, 2013.

2. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, relevant agencies and units shall reflect them to the Ministry of Finance-Ministry of Transport for consideration and resolution.