Directive No. 25/CT-TTg on the management and implementation of financial and state budget tasks in the last months of 2014

DIRECTIVE

VRegarding the management and implementation of financial and state budget tasks for the last months of 2014

In the first seven months of 2014, ministries, sectors, and localities have actively and proactively implemented the resolutions of the Party, National Assembly, and Government on managing and implementing the socio-economic development plan and the state budget estimate for 2014. As a result, the socio-economic situation has continued to improve positively, in the right direction, and achieved favorable results across most fields. Alongside these achievements, Vietnam's economy still faces many difficulties and challenges. Business recovery is slow; enterprises continue to face many difficulties; the number of dissolved and inactive enterprises remains high; access to capital is difficult; credit growth is low; natural disasters, epidemics, and climate change are complex. Particularly, China's illegal placement of the HD 981 oil rig in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf recently seriously violated international law, contrary to the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and the high-level agreements between the two countries, affecting Vietnam's socio-economic situation, including revenue and expenditure of the state budget. Additionally, efforts to address existing issues in state budget management (scattered distribution and allocation of budget funds, wastefulness, inefficiency...) although achieving some initial results, progress remains slow.

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In the first seven months of 2014, ministries, sectors, and localities actively and proactively implemented the resolutions of the Party, National Assembly, and Government regarding the management and implementation of the socio-economic development plan and state budget estimate for 2014. As a result, the socio-economic situation continued to improve positively, in the right direction, and achieved favorable results in almost all fields. Alongside these achievements, the economy of the country still faces many difficulties and challenges. Business recovery is slow; enterprises continue to face numerous difficulties; the number of dissolved and inactive businesses remains high, with difficulties in accessing capital and low credit growth; natural disasters, epidemics, and climate change have become more complex. Particularly, China's illegal placement of the HD 981 drilling rig in Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf has seriously violated international law, contravened the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), and affected the socio-economic situation of the country, including state budget revenue and expenditure. Additionally, while some initial results have been achieved in addressing existing issues in state budget management (fragmented distribution and allocation of budget funds, wastefulness, and inefficiency...), the progress remains slow.

To address these difficulties and challenges, contribute to completing the socio-economic development and state budget tasks for 2014, and proactively respond to urgent requirements and tasks related to national defense, security, and protecting maritime sovereignty under new circumstances, the Prime Minister requests that ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, central agencies, and chairpersons of provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committees (hereinafter referred to collectively as ministries and agencies), according to their assigned functions and tasks, continue to closely follow the contents of the National Assembly's resolutions, Government resolutions, and the Prime Minister's directives, actively and resolutely direct and manage, fully and effectively implement the proposed solutions, focusing on the following main contents:

1. Synchronize and effectively manage fiscal and monetary policies to support production and business operations, control inflation, stabilize macroeconomic conditions, and ensure social welfare. At the same time, proactively grasp situations, forecast potential negative impacts on the socio-economic development plan and state budget revenue and expenditure in the near future, prepare well for measures to respond to emerging situations. On this basis, strive to achieve the target for economic growth and aim to exceed the state budget revenue estimate for 2014 by about 8-10%.

a) Ministries, agencies, and localities according to their assigned functions and tasks:

- Implement solutions to resolve difficulties, obstacles, and suggestions from enterprises; focus on supporting enterprises to overcome losses, resume production and business activities as soon as possible; gradually reduce the number of inactive and dissolved enterprises.

- Promptly implement the Government Decree on certain policies for developing fisheries, timely and effectively organizing the implementation of support and encouragement policies for distant-water fishing activities (credit, insurance, training support...), promoting rapid, strong, and efficient development of the fisheries sector in line with practical demands.

- Continue to vigorously promote administrative reform, especially in areas such as market entry, import-export, access to capital, credit, tax, customs, land, real estate, investment, construction, natural resources and environment, labor... creating the most favorable conditions for enterprise operations.

b) The State Bank shall take the lead and coordinate with central ministries, agencies, and localities to implement appropriate credit management measures in line with macroeconomic trends, inflation control targets, and economic growth support, accelerate bad debt resolution; instruct credit organizations to proactively approach enterprises to advise on loans for effective production and business projects and plans; encourage the application of credit rating methods to enhance loan capacity for unsecured loans and restructure previous high-interest loans.

c) The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with central ministries, agencies, and localities:

- Promptly complete guidance on preferential, exemption, and reduction of corporate income tax according to the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Corporate Income Tax Law; build support tax measures or offset mechanisms for businesses facing capital difficulties due to inventory buildup and delayed settlement, reducing late payment penalties.

- Continue to vigorously simplify and modernize administrative procedures in tax and customs areas, creating favorable conditions for taxpayers to fulfill their rights and responsibilities towards the state.

- Closely monitor market price fluctuations, promptly propose appropriate measures in accordance with the law to intervene in the market to stabilize prices and control inflation at the local and national levels, particularly during holidays and festivals. Continue to manage essential goods prices (petroleum, electricity, coal, infant milk under six years old, service fees...) according to a market mechanism with state regulation. Vigorously carry out anti-price transfer, smuggling, fake goods production, and commercial fraud activities.

2. Strengthen revenue management, prevent revenue loss, and handle overdue taxes:

The Ministry of Finance, ministries, agencies, and localities:

a) Review and firmly grasp the taxpayer base and revenue sources on the territory; control tax declarations and settlements of enterprises, organizations, and individuals to collect all tax, fee, and other revenues into the state budget accurately, completely, and promptly.

b) Urgently collect the full amount of taxes and state budget revenues extended for payment in 2013. Organize timely collection of receivables based on audit results, inspection findings, and legal enforcement agencies. Strictly manage tax refunds to ensure they are given to the correct recipients and in accordance with established regulations, promptly and strictly handle any violations.

c) Continuously maintain tax inspection and audit activities, and coordinate between revenue collection agencies, financial departments, and law enforcement forces in managing revenue collection, preventing revenue loss, and handling overdue tax debts. Vigorously implement measures to prevent and combat commercial fraud, transfer pricing, import price fraud, and cross-border smuggling.

3. Strengthen management of state budget expenditures to ensure economy, strictness, and effectiveness:

a) Ministries, agencies, and localities according to their assigned functions and tasks:

- Recover funds to supplement the central government's and local governments' budget reserves for investment capital allocated in the initial budget for 2014 but not distributed to projects by June 30, 2014, or distributed but not implemented according to the laws on basic construction investment management; regular expenses allocated in the initial budget but not fully distributed by June 30, 2014 (except for certain amounts allowed to be distributed later as provided by law).

- Accelerate the progress of construction and disbursement of development investment capital, especially from the state budget, government bonds, national target programs, ODA funds; intensify efforts to resolve arrears in basic construction investment according to Prime Minister's Directive No. 27/CT-TTg dated October 10, 2012 on key solutions to address arrears in basic construction investment at local levels and No. 14/CT-TTg dated August 26, 2013 on strengthening investment management and resolving arrears in basic construction investment from the state budget and government bonds. In particular:

- Do not extend the implementation period of investment capital plans for 2014, advance payments from the state budget, and government bonds, or postpone plans to 2015 (except for some cases permitted by competent authorities).

- Minimize the use of state budget funds for projects and programs, except in truly necessary and urgent situations such as ensuring national defense, security, territorial sovereignty protection, and where sources can be reasonably allocated to repay advance payments.

b) Review and inspect the implementation of social welfare policies, ethnic minority and mountainous region policies. Ensure timely and accurate payment of funds according to established standards and expenditure limits.

c) Seriously implement the policy of thrift and anti-waste in managing regular expenditures; proactively review and rearrange to cut or delay non-essential and non-urgent spending tasks. Among other things:

- Proactively cut or delay spending on equipment replacement, vehicle purchases, etc., even if they have reached the disposal age but are still usable. After October 31, 2014, stop and cancel procurement and repair budgets that have not been approved or tendered by that date.

- Minimize organizing festivals, commemorations, groundbreaking ceremonies, and inaugurations; firmly cut or not organize meetings and seminars with irrelevant content. Combine meeting contents and issues, reasonably combine different types of meetings, and strengthen the use of online meetings in directing operations and handling related work, thereby reducing electricity, water, telephone, office supplies, fuel, hospitality, domestic travel costs; suspend unnecessary overseas trips funded by the state budget.

Do not add new projects, programs, or issue new policies that increase state budget spending without securing funding sources.

d) Strictly review and manage fund transfers, only implementing transfers for truly essential tasks as prescribed by law. Firmly refuse to transfer funds for tasks delayed due to the negligence of budget-using agencies and units.

4. Actively and proactively manage the budget to ensure balance at all levels:

The Ministry of Finance and People's Committees of centrally governed cities and provinces should focus on directing:

a) Strictly manage the allocation and use of budget reserves already included in the budget estimates at all levels.

Central government budget reserves have been concentrated to meet urgent national defense, security, and territorial sovereignty protection needs. Localities should proactively use their budget reserves to respond to natural disasters, floods, and urgent needs arising. The central government will only consider and support localities when these urgent needs exceed their capacity.

b) Based on budget revenue potential, proactively arrange and manage spending tasks and apply appropriate measures to ensure budget balance at all levels.

In cases where the local state budget revenue decreases compared to the estimate, it is necessary to review and rearrange expenditure tasks in order of priority, reduce or postpone the implementation time for non-essential expenditure tasks, while ensuring the source of payment for salary-related expenditures, regular expenditures to ensure normal operations of agencies and units, social welfare expenditures, and basic construction investment expenditures on important projects; at the same time, actively utilize local financial resources to make up for the remaining shortfall in local state budget revenue. Localities are not allowed to borrow commercially to fund local budgets (including basic construction investment); the mobilization of capital for the development of important and urgent infrastructure within their jurisdiction shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3, Article 8 of the State Budget Law and must ensure the source of repayment in the annual local state budget estimate.

c) Strengthen inspection, supervision, and auditing of budget expenditures within the scope of management and according to assigned functions and tasks; ensure that budget funds are used for their intended purposes, in accordance with regulations, economically, and effectively.

d) Vigorously promote thrift and anti-waste practices at agencies, units, and localities. Promptly issue and implement detailed implementing regulations for the Law amending and supplementing certain articles of the Law on Thrift and Anti-Waste to ensure that the Law is quickly implemented in practice.

- Directing the Department of Information and Communications to advise on management, plan formulation, and implementation after approval by the Provincial People's Committee;

a) Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, central agencies, Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall base themselves on their functions, tasks, and the provisions of this Directive, promptly organize its implementation and organize inspections of implementation at lower levels and subordinate units to ensure the completion of state budget revenue and expenditure tasks for the year 2014. At the same time, they shall review responsibilities, strictly and promptly handle in accordance with relevant laws any cases of violations by organizations and individuals under their management authority.

b) The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead, coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and other ministries, agencies, and localities to monitor, urge, and inspect the implementation of this Directive; compile and report on the state budget situation at monthly regular meetings of the Government./.