Circular No. 285-TC/VP stipulates the regulations, standards, and quotas for conferences and receptions.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on Conference Systems and Reception Standards

(Implementing Directive No. 159-TTg dated September 5, 1970 of the Prime Minister on Saving Expenditure in Organizing Conferences and Receptions)

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A. EXPENSES FOR CONFERENCES

The Prime Minister's Directive clearly states that "the conference organizing agency must carefully consider the participants to be convened, thoroughly prepare the content so that all necessary matters can be resolved quickly and practically at the conferences, saving time and resources. Careful consideration and preparation before convening meetings will prevent the situation of convening meetings indiscriminately involving people with little relevance to the meeting content, or convening meetings with incorrect participants. It is also necessary to avoid organizing conferences in places too far from the location of the agency convening the conference, which would cause additional expenses; except for some specialized conferences held at locations with good examples to help the conference delegates have the opportunity to study practical situations on-site to learn more."

In the conferences (to be detailed below), the conference organizing agency is entitled to the following main expenditures:

- Water and tea, according to the standard of 0đ10 per delegate per day.

- Stationery and some common medicines according to actual needs.

Additionally, depending on specific circumstances, the following expenditures may be incurred (calculated as conference fees) with utmost thrift:

1. Oil for lighting in places without electricity according to actual needs.

2. Rent for personnel providing catering services when the agency does not have enough staff, according to the labor rate set by the local administrative committee and according to the standard:

- 1 person serving 20 to 25 delegates (for conferences organized in cities or towns);

- 1 person serving 15 to 20 delegates (for conferences organized in rural areas) or room and board fees if delegates stay at collective dining halls or state-owned retail stores that charge such fees.

3. Rent for personnel performing miscellaneous service tasks for the conference (such as cleaning...) according to the labor rate set by the local administrative committee and according to the standard of 1 person serving 40 to 50 delegates.

4. Rent for sleeping rooms if the agency does not have sufficient accommodation for delegates.

5. Any conference discussing the application of science and technology to production and requiring the organization of visits to certain production facilities for practical learning must be decided by the Minister (for central agencies) or the Chairman of the Provincial Administrative Committee (for local agencies). During the visit period, expenses are calculated as during the conference. Travel expenses for delegates on visits are calculated according to travel allowance regulations.

6. In exceptional cases where female delegates need to bring children under three years old, the conference organizing agency should arrange for them to send their children to the nearest nursery or private group care facility; if there are costs for childcare, the conference organizing agency will pay, while the child's meals are covered by the mother.

7. If the conference delegate is not a government employee, they are entitled to expenses up to a maximum of 0đ80 per day, including breakfast (or 0đ90 per day if belonging to an ethnic minority who eats sticky rice), travel expenses and road food according to current regulations.

Strictly prohibit the conference organizing agency from using public funds (budgetary funds or production capital) to cover the following expenses for conference delegates, members of the presidium, secretariat, and service staff:

- Daily meal expenses (except for non-salaried delegates mentioned above), additional meals, night allowances or weekend allowances, opening and closing banquet expenses whether they are formal dinners or tea parties;

- Cigarettes, high-quality tea, sweets, fruits, soft drinks;

- Arranging artistic performances or film screenings for entertainment. If the conference organizing agency invites art troupes to perform or state-owned cinemas to screen films for delegates to watch, they must collect fees from the delegates to pay the units according to current regulations; these units must not perform without charging or lend equipment or films;

- Gifts, presents, commemorative photos for delegates;

- Sightseeing tours for entertainment purposes.

All conferences must be budgeted at the beginning of the year by the Minister (for central agencies) or the Chairman of the Provincial Administrative Committee (for local agencies) for approval and inclusion in the annual budget. For administrative and public service agencies, conference expenses are included in the standard administrative expense limit and must be spent within this limit. If there are unexpected conferences, they must also be funded within this limit; the agency must arrange to resolve them without using other funds. For production and business units, conference expenses are included in enterprise management fees.

Each time a conference is organized, the budget unit does not need to submit a budget proposal to the financial authority for approval (as only expenses according to the regulations and standards stipulated in this circular and within the approved annual administrative expense limit are allowed). For special conferences requiring separate expense regulations, the unit must prepare a specific budget proposal for approval by the competent authority (Prime Minister or Chairman of the Provincial Administrative Committee).

Fifteen days after the conference concludes, a summary of the expenses must be submitted for approval by the competent authority within the unit. Only expenses that comply with the standards and regulations and are supported by valid documentation can be recorded in accounting books.

These expenditure regulations apply uniformly to sectoral work review and summary conferences, sector-wide training conferences organized by professional agencies, work review and summary conferences organized by administrative committees with participation from various sectors, and specialized topic discussion conferences with participation from various sectors.

Shall not enjoy the standard expenditure for internal meetings of the agency to review and summarize work, political study sessions, current affairs, professional training, and brainstorming meetings. Special important conferences (such as National Assembly meetings, People's Council meetings, hero and model worker congresses at various levels...) shall have separate expense regulations, not following the above provisions. To reduce conference expenses (rent for service personnel, purchase of furniture and equipment, dining fees, room rental, transportation costs, decoration expenses, etc.), provinces with material resources, venues, and frequent conferences may organize dedicated areas for conferences, equipped with management staff and necessary facilities, sufficient accommodation for delegates.

B. EXPENSES FOR ENTERTAINING DOMESTIC GUESTS, ORGANIZING MAJOR HOLIDAYS, HISTORICAL ANNIVERSARIES, AND CONFIDENTIAL MEETINGS.

1. Expenses for domestic guests:

For entertaining domestic guests, whether they are civilians or state officials, workers, or employees at any position, from higher levels coming down or local levels going up, visiting for work-related purposes, transactions, reporting situations, providing feedback, requesting personal matters resolution; or for sightseeing, studying practical experiences, visiting affiliated units, the hosting agency shall not incur additional expenses such as:

- Banquet or tea reception

- Tobacco

- Candy, snacks, fruits, beverages...

- Watching artistic performances, movies...

- Taking commemorative photos.

- Gifts, presents, souvenirs (even if they are existing items or products from production units without external purchases).

In conjunction with the policy prohibiting gift-giving, the Prime Minister has also decidedto prohibit gift-receiving by guests. The hosting agency may cover meal expenses for guests at a maximum rate of 0đ80 per day or 0đ90 per day (for ethnic minority individuals) in the following cases:

- For some guests who are not state-salaried officials, invited for work purposes due to job requirements;

- Special guests visiting leadership agencies at provincial level or higher;

- Representatives of families that were former bases, visiting central or local leadership agencies.

For officials with individual living standards, the hosting agency may entertain according to their own standards, with meal expenses paid by the official according to their own standards.

Regarding the reception of foreign guests, continue to implement Directive No. 12-TTg/TN dated February 5, 1969 of the Prime Minister. These expenses must be recorded separately, not mixed with domestic guest expenses.

Regarding the reception of relatives of officials working in mountainous regions, continue to implement Circular No. 411-TTg dated September 7, 1957 of the Prime Minister, Circular No. 43-NV/TT dated November 30, 1957 of the Ministry of Interior-Finance, and supplementary Circular No. 7-NV dated February 10, 1958 of the Ministry of Interior.

2. Expenses for organizing major holidays, historical anniversaries (previously called expenses for ceremonial occasions) and confidential meetings.

a) Decoration expenses

During major holidays and historical anniversaries, if decoration is needed, the agency must utilize existing means; in necessary cases where additional purchases are required, the spirit of thorough thriftiness and avoiding ostentatious display must be strictly adhered to. Items that can be reused multiple times (such as banner cloth, flags, leader portraits...) must be carefully stored.

b) Expenses for intimate gatherings.

If it is necessary to organize gatherings with families who have contributed to the revolution (on August 19, September 2...), with war invalids and families of martyrs (on July 27), with military personnel transitioning to civilian life (on December 22), or gatherings to see off officials joining the military, then enterprises and agencies may spend up to 0đ30 per person attending, to purchase necessary items (tea, tobacco, fruits...).

To minimize impact on production and work, gatherings should be organized briefly, simply, and not excessively large.

Apart from the 0đ30 standard, no additional expenses shall be incurred (including cultural performance expenses, movie screenings, commemorative photo sessions).

Domestic guest reception expenses, holiday organization expenses, and intimate meeting expenses are included within the administrative fee quota of administrative and public service agencies, or management fees of production and business units.

Annual expense limits for the aforementioned items are determined by financial authorities at each level, in coordination with corresponding administrative and public service agencies at the same level, based on specific circumstances of each unit and recorded in the annual budget (included in the administrative fee quota).

For production and business units, annual expense limits are decided by the respective Ministries (for central agencies) or Provincial Administrative Committees (for local agencies).

C. HANDLING OF EXPENSES INCURRED IN VIOLATION OF REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS

Expenses incurred in violation of regulations and standards will not be recognized by financial authorities and must be refunded. Both administrative and public service units as well as production and business units, the person responsible for issuing incorrect orders must bear responsibility for compensating the treasury for incorrectly spent funds (according to Decree No. 49-CP dated April 9, 1968 of the Government Council). Additionally, if deemed necessary, administrative disciplinary measures may also be imposed.

D. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

This circular applies to all administrative, public service, production, and business units at county level and above, mass organizations, and associations financially subsidized by the State, replacing previous regulations on conference, reception, and ceremonial expense regimes (Administrative Fee Supply Standards issued on June 18, 1957, Circular No. 31-TC/HCP dated March 31, 1958, and No. 264-TC/HCP dated April 27, 1962 of the Ministry of Finance). Directive No. 159-TTg of the Prime Minister and this circular need to be widely disseminated to all cadres, workers, and employees so that everyone understands, implements correctly, and proactively prevents or promptly identifies any violations.

This Circular applies to all administrative agencies, public service organizations, production and business units at the district level and above, social organizations, and associations financially subsidized by the State, replacing previous regulations on conference, reception, and ceremonial expenditure (the Administrative Fee Provision Standards Charter issued on June 18, 1957, Circular No. 31-TC/HCP dated March 31, 1958, and No. 264-TC/HCP dated April 27, 1962 of the Ministry of Finance). Directive No. 159-TTg of the Prime Minister and this Circular must be widely disseminated to all cadres, workers, and civil servants so that everyone can thoroughly understand, strictly implement, and proactively prevent or promptly detect any violations of the regulations.