CIRCULAR

Interim Provisions on the System for Expenditure on Welcoming Foreign Experts Working in Our Country

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Up to now, we have made efforts in organizing the welcoming, reception, and rewarding foreign experts from various countries who come to assist us in building and developing our economy, culture, and education, aiming to encourage experts to contribute their full enthusiasm to help build our country.

In recent years, due to significant fluctuations in prices, the old expenditure standards are no longer appropriate, leading to inconsistent application at different locations, causing difficulties in management and treatment of experts.

To implement a unified system for treating experts, the Ministry of Finance, after reaching agreement with the Director of the Office of the Council of Ministers and through consistent discussions with the Expert Bureau, temporarily stipulates certain provisions regarding the welcoming of foreign experts working in our country as follows:

1/ Welcoming and Receiving Experts at Airports, Stations, and Ports:

When experts arrive and depart at airports, stations, and ports while waiting, the expenditure for refreshments for the experts and Vietnamese staff responsible for welcoming them shall not exceed 5 dong/person.

In special cases where it is necessary to rent guest rooms to receive experts at these locations, the expenses will be settled according to the room rental invoice.

2/ Drinking Water for Experts During Working Hours:

Depending on specific conditions at each workplace, sufficient drinking water such as tea, boiled water cooled down, etc., should be provided for experts.

The expenditure shall not exceed 45 dong/expert/month.

If experts must travel far from their workplace and need to drink water during the journey, the expenditure shall not exceed 5 dong/expert/day (this amount does not count towards daily drinking water expenditure).

3/ Receiving Experts at the Workplace:

Units directly employing experts or higher-level agencies of such units shall receive experts at the workplace under the following circumstances, with expenditures for experts and accompanying Vietnamese staff not exceeding 8 dong/person.

- For the first reception when new experts arrive from abroad or when higher-level units receive experts as needed.

- Organizing ceremonies for awarding medals and awards given by the State to experts and signing formal documents between the State and experts organized by Ministries, General Departments, Provincial People's Committees, or City People's Committees.

- Organizing farewell meetings when experts complete their tasks and return home (replacing the current practice of seeing off experts).

4/ Congratulating Experts on Major Holidays and New Year Celebrations:

- For major holidays and festivals of experts, depending on specific circumstances, the head of the unit directly using the expert may send invitations or give flowers to congratulate them. If there are many experts in one place, they may meet the group of experts at the workplace or their residence to present flowers and congratulations.

- For major holidays and festivals of our country, if experts come to the workplace to congratulate, the expenditure for receiving experts shall be as stipulated in Point 3.

5/ Visiting Experts Who Are Ill and Hospitalized:

When experts are ill and hospitalized, the head of the unit shall visit the expert, with expenditures not exceeding 20 dong/expert.

6/ Giving Commemorative Gifts to Experts Upon Completion of Their Tasks and Departure:

In exceptional cases where experts have completed their tasks exceptionally well, the unit directly using the expert may consider it necessary to give commemorative gifts before the expert departs, with expenditures not exceeding 100 dong/expert.

7/ Organizing Banquets or Inviting Experts to Dinner

For major holidays such as National Day on September 2nd and Lunar New Year, if it is necessary to organize banquets, the Office of the Council of Ministers will issue separate directives, and no places shall organize banquets on their own initiative.

Generally, banquets and inviting experts to dinner should only occur when experts complete their tasks and depart, considering exceptional circumstances requiring such an invitation, the unit using the expert must obtain approval from the direct superior authority managing the unit with experts and can only organize once. If experts work with multiple agencies (two or more agencies), one agency will organize and invite representatives from other agencies to attend.

The number of Vietnamese staff attending the banquet or dinner should be limited to the necessary level, with the specific number determined by the head of the agency.

The expenditure shall not exceed 80 dong/person (including drinks).

All expenditures mentioned in this circular must be recorded in the cost of construction projects or product costs (for production and business units with economic accounting) or included in the annual administrative and public service budget of the agency (for administrative and public service units).

1. The Director of the Finance and Planning Department is responsible for guiding and supervising the implementation of this Circular.

Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Finance and the Expert Bureau for further research and resolution./.