Circular No. 24/2008/TT-BTC guiding the management, use, and settlement of state budget funds for economic public services tasks and planning projects.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing, using, and settling accounts for state budget funds for economic public services to implement planning tasks and projects

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

Pursuant to Resolution No. 20/2007/NQ-CP dated April 11, 2007 of the Government on the regular meeting in March 2007;

Pursuant to Directive No. 836/CT-TTg dated July 2, 2007 of the Prime Minister on strengthening management of investment with state capital in the last six months of 2007; tháng mười hai năm hai thousand seven;

The Ministry of Finance issues guidelines for managing, using, and settling accounts for state budget funds for economic public services to implement planning tasks and projects as follows:

I- GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. These Circulars guide the management, use, and settlement of accounts for funds to implement planning tasks and projects (including adjusted plans) guaranteed by the state budget from sources of economic public service funds; including:

- Comprehensive development planning for economic and social regions, special territories, provincial and district levels; industry and sector development planning, key product planning as stipulated in Decree No. 92/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 7, 2006 of the Government on comprehensive socio-economic development planning and Decree No. 04/2008/NĐ-CP dated January 11, 2008 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 92/2006/NĐ-CP dated September 7, 2006 of the Government.

- Regional construction planning, general urban construction planning; detailed urban construction planning at a scale of 1/2,000; rural residential area planning and detailed urban construction planning at a scale of 1/500 not belonging to construction projects carried out under business models as stipulated in Decree No. 08/2005/NĐ-CP dated January 24, 2005 of the Government on construction planning.

- National land use planning, regional, provincial, district, and commune-level land use planning; land use planning for security and defense purposes as stipulated in Decree No. 181/2004/NĐ-CP dated October 29, 2004 of the Government on implementing the Land Law.

2. Funds for implementing planning tasks and projects of Ministries, agencies equivalent to Ministries, and government agencies (hereinafter referred to as Ministries and central agencies) shall be guaranteed by the central budget.

Funds for implementing planning tasks and projects of localities shall be guaranteed by the local budget; Provincial People's Committees shall submit specific allocation tasks to the respective level budgets in their locality to the People's Councils at the same level for approval.

3. Planning tasks and projects must belong to the approved list of tasks and projects by the competent authority to meet the conditions for funding allocation and implementation.

4. Agencies and organizations assigned planning tasks and projects when implementing such tasks must comply with the legal provisions on bidding; they are responsible for managing, using, and settling accounts for funds according to their intended purpose and regulations, subject to inspection and supervision by authorized functional agencies, and must comply with current public finance transparency regulations.

5. Detailed planning tasks and projects for urban and rural functional zones, industrial zone planning, new urban area planning, and specialized planning (tourism, sports, services, etc.) funded from investment projects and included in the cost of implementing investment projects not falling within the scope regulated by this Circular.

II- SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Content of expenditures for implementing planning tasks and projects:

a) Establishing and adjusting planning:

- Preparing and approving project proposals and budgets for planning tasks and projects;

- Investigating, surveying, collecting data and information about natural conditions (geology, geophysics, map drawing, etc.), current socio-economic status related to planning establishment and adjustment;

- Analyzing and evaluating the current situation and potential activities in various fields and industries; forecasting trends and impacts of relevant factors on planning establishment and adjustment;

- Studying objectives, viewpoints, and development orientations; growth target plans; and implementation measures;

- Building maps, models, diagrams, drawings, reflecting the current status and spatial development orientation according to specified scales;

- Compiling comprehensive reports and related reports.

b) Reviewing and approving planning;

c) Other expenses: Conferences, seminars, expert opinions; publishing planning; marking boundaries in the field and other management costs related to the implementation of planning tasks and projects (if any).

2. Preparation, execution of budgets, and settlement of accounts:

The preparation, execution of budgets, and settlement of accounts for state budget funds for economic public services to implement planning tasks and projects shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and current guiding documents; these Circulars provide specific guidance on the following contents:

a) Basis for preparing budgets:

- For work items with established planning cost standards issued by competent state authorities: The budget expenditure is determined based on the quantity of work multiplied by (x) the current planning cost standard (or unit price).

- For work items without established planning cost standards: State management agencies according to their respective sectors and fields shall establish planning cost standards based on their functions and tasks assigned and submit them to the competent authority for issuance in accordance with regulations. In cases where there are no standards, the budget expenditure is determined based on specific quantities of work, current state financial expenditure regulations, and approved by the competent authority.

b) Preparation of budgets.

- For planning tasks and projects of Ministries and central agencies:

Annually, based on the Prime Minister's Directive on building plans for economic and social development and state budget estimates; Circulars guiding the preparation of state budget estimates issued by the Ministry of Finance; the implementation situation of tasks and planning projects from the previous year; the volume of tasks and planning projects to be carried out in the planned year; planning cost standards (or unit prices) and current financial expenditure regulations, units prepare detailed budget estimates according to each task and planning project and report them to central ministries and agencies for consolidation into the next year's budget estimate to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance for review and consolidation before reporting to the Government for consideration and approval by the National Assembly.

- For local planning tasks and projects:

Annually, based on the Prime Minister's Directive on building plans for economic and social development and state budget estimates; Circulars guiding the preparation of state budget estimates issued by the Ministry of Finance; guidance from provincial People's Committees on preparing local state budget estimates; the implementation situation of planning tasks and projects from the previous year; the volume of planning tasks and projects to be carried out in the planned year; planning cost standards (or unit prices) and current financial expenditure regulations, units prepare detailed budget estimates according to each planning task and project and report them to local specialized management agencies for consolidation into the next year's budget estimate to be submitted to local finance authorities for consolidation into the same level budget estimate before reporting to the Provincial People's Council for consideration and decision.

c) Budget allocation.

- For planning tasks and projects of Ministries and central agencies:

Based on the budget estimates assigned by the competent authority, central ministries and agencies develop budget allocation plans for budget-using units; detailing according to planning tasks and projects, consolidating into the overall budget allocation plan of the ministry or agency, and submitting it to the Ministry of Finance for review as prescribed. After reaching a consensus with the Ministry of Finance, central ministries and agencies allocate budgets to units for implementation; simultaneously sending the allocation to the Ministry of Finance, the State Treasury, and the State Treasury where transactions take place for coordination.

- For local planning tasks and projects:

Based on the budget estimates assigned by the competent authority, local specialized management agencies develop budget allocation plans for budget-using units; detailing according to planning tasks and projects, consolidating into the overall budget allocation plan of the agency, and submitting it to the same-level finance authority for review as prescribed. After reaching a consensus with the finance authority, the specialized management agency allocates budgets to units for implementation; simultaneously sending the allocation to the same-level finance authority, the State Treasury where transactions take place for coordination.

d) Management, disbursement, and settlement.

The management, disbursement, and settlement of funds for economic public services implementing planning tasks and projects shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 79/2003/TT-BTC dated August 13, 2003, of the Ministry of Finance, which provides guidelines for managing, disbursing, and settling state budget expenditures through the State Treasury; this Circular specifically guides the following contents:

- Basis for the State Treasury to make advance payments to units:

+ Approval documents for planning tasks and projects from authorized state agencies;

+ Decisions allocating annual state budget estimates from authorized state agencies;

+ Decisions approving tender results or direct award decisions as stipulated;

+ Contracts or assignment documents;

+ Progress reports on the volume and budget estimates of planning tasks and projects;

+ Payment orders from unit heads.

- Basis for the State Treasury to settle accounts for units:

+ Completion acceptance certificates for work volumes in accordance with state agency regulations;

+ Contract termination certificates, handover certificates for completed work results, and final account reports for accepted completed volumes;

+ Legal vouchers as prescribed by law.

đ) Funds carried over to the next year:

The handling of surplus funds for economic public services implementing planning tasks and projects at the end of the year shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and the Ministry of Finance's guidelines on closing accounting books at year-end and preparing and reporting annual state budget settlements.

e) Settlement work.

- Settlement reports: Units allocated budget estimates for economic public services implementing planning tasks and projects prepare settlement reports and consolidate them into the annual settlement of the unit according to the prescribed forms and deadlines under the State Budget Law and related guiding documents.

- Review and audit of settlement reports: The review and audit of annual settlement reports for economic public service funds implementing planning tasks and projects shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BTC dated January 2, 2007, of the Ministry of Finance, which provides guidelines for reviewing, auditing, and announcing annual settlements for administrative agencies, public service units, organizations supported by the state budget, and budgets at all levels.

g) Accounting entries.

Funds for economic public services implementing planning tasks and projects as prescribed in this Circular shall be recorded and settled according to the corresponding Chapter - Type - Clause and detailed item expenses as prescribed in the current State Budget Manual.

3. Inspection work:

Central and local supervisory agencies have the responsibility to coordinate with the same-level finance authorities to regularly or randomly inspect subordinate units regarding the implementation of tasks, management and use, and settlement of economic public service funds for planning tasks and projects, ensuring that funds are used for their intended purposes and effectively.

III- IMPLEMENTATION

1. Planning tasks and projects in 2007 funded from construction investment capital, with unfinished volumes to be carried forward to 2008 and subsequent years (if any), shall be implemented as follows:

a) Ministries, central agencies, and local authorities allocate from the economic public service funds that have been assigned by the competent authority to implement the workload transferred from 2007. The detailed budget allocation for budget-using units from economic public service funds to carry out tasks and planning projects transferred from 2007 shall be consolidated into the plan for allocating the annual regular budget expenditure, and submitted to the financial authority for review in accordance with current regulations.

b) Management, disbursement, and settlement of tasks and planning projects transferred from 2007 shall be carried out according to the management process of construction investment capital until the completion of such tasks and planning projects.

c) Regarding final settlement:

- For the funds temporarily allocated from construction investment capital up to January 31, 2008, which have not completed payment procedures, the settlement shall be made during the period of adjusting the final accounts of each level of budget and settled into the development investment capital within the fiscal year 2007's budget cycle. In cases where the settlement has not been completed by the end of the adjustment period for the 2007 final accounts, it will be carried over to the next year for settlement and recorded in the development investment capital within the next fiscal year's budget cycle.

- For funds allocated continuously from economic public service funds starting from 2008, the final settlement shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BTC dated January 2, 2007, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the examination, review, and notification of the final accounts for administrative agencies, public service units, organizations supported by the state budget, and budgets at all levels.

When the project ends: Based on accurately determining the volume and identifying the sources of funds invested in the project (funds allocated from investment capital, funds allocated from economic public service funds), units assigned to carry out tasks and planning projects shall prepare a final settlement report to submit to the competent authority for approval in accordance with current regulations on final settlement of completed projects funded by state capital.

2. This Circular takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette and is implemented from 2008.

During implementation, if there are any difficulties, units are requested to reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for study, amendment, and supplementation to ensure appropriateness./.