Circular No. 29/2003/TT-BTC guiding the implementation of the regime for using official telephones at home and mobile phones for leaders in administrative agencies, public institutions, political organizations, and political-social organizations.

CIRCULAR

OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

Guidelines for Implementing the System of Using Official Telephones at Home and Mobile Phones for Leaders in Administrative Agencies, Public Service Units, and Political-Social Organizations

Pursuant to Decision No. 78/2001/QĐ-TTg dated May 16, 2001 of the Prime Minister and Decision No. 179/2002/QĐ-TTg dated December 16, 2002 of the Prime Minister amending Decision No. 78/2001/QĐ-TTg dated May 16, 2001 of the Prime Minister on the issuance of Regulations on Standards and Quotas for Using Official Telephones at Home and Mobile Phones for Leaders in Administrative Agencies, Public Service Units, and Political Organizations;

The Ministry of Finance provides guidelines for implementing financial management systems for the use of official telephones at home and mobile phones as follows:

1. In addition to the subjects provided for in Article 2 and Article 3 of the Regulations issued together with Decision No. 78/2001/QĐ-TTg dated May 16, 2001 of the Prime Minister, based on the nature of work and actual needs, the Minister, Head of Government Agencies, Director of the National Assembly Office, Director of the President's Office, and equivalent positions in political organizations, political-social organizations (for central agencies); Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Council, Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally-administered cities (for local agencies) shall decide to equip official telephones at home or mobile phones for some cadres directly responsible for special tasks that are truly necessary.

The initial installation cost payment and the monthly usage fee payment for these subjects shall be implemented according to the provisions of Clause 2, Article 1 of Decision No. 179/2002/QĐ-TTg dated December 16, 2002 of the Prime Minister and the provisions of this Circular.

2. The initial installation cost payment includes: cost of purchasing the telephone, installation cost, network connection cost (or setup); repair and replacement costs for damaged telephones that cannot be repaired; Monthly usage fee payments for these subjects shall be carried out as follows:

2.1. Regarding the initial installation cost payment: The agency managing cadres shall provide a sum of money to cadres who are entitled to standard equipment for fixed-line telephones at home and mobile phones so that they can sign installation contracts with postal agencies, including:

- Cost of purchasing the telephone: VND 300,000 for fixed-line telephones and VND 3,000,000 for mobile phones

- Installation cost and network connection cost (or setup) shall be paid according to the invoice of the postal agency at the time of equipment provision.

2.2. Cadres who are equipped with fixed-line telephones at home and mobile phones must report to their supervising agency the results of installing the telephone after signing the installation contract with the postal agency, including: the start date of the contract's effectiveness, contact number, type of telephone installed (name and production number of the machine) for monitoring and management purposes.

The supervising agency is responsible for maintaining records of telephone installations for cadres within the agency according to the above contents.

2.3. Regarding the payment for repair and replacement of telephones:

- When the telephone is lost or damaged due to the user's fault, the person receiving the telephone is responsible for repairing or purchasing a new machine using personal funds.

- When the telephone is damaged due to external factors within the warranty period, all repair costs shall be borne by the supplier.

- When the telephone is damaged due to external factors (manufacturer's fault), if the warranty period has expired, the cadre receiving the telephone must report to the cadre management agency for repair or replacement (if repair is not possible). The cost of purchasing a replacement telephone shall not exceed the initial purchase cost specified in Clause 1, Article 1 of Decision No. 179/2002/QĐ-TTg dated December 16, 2002 of the Prime Minister.

All costs for repairing and replacing damaged telephones shall be covered by the cadre management agency within the unit's budget.

2.4. Payment for monthly usage fees:

Each month, along with salary payments, the cadre management agency shall pay the usage fees for official telephones at home and mobile phones for subjects entitled to standard equipment according to the amount specified in Clause 2, Article 1 of Decision No. 179/2002/QĐ-TTg dated December 16, 2002 of the Prime Minister.

3. The agency managing cadres that have signed installation contracts with postal agencies for cadres entitled to standard equipment for official telephones at home and mobile phones shall process the transfer of telephone usage contracts to the families of those cadres so that they can directly pay the usage fees to the postal agency.

4. Source of funds:

- The funding for initial installation and monthly usage fee payments for subjects entitled to equipment shall be taken from the annual budget of the agency or unit.

- For retired professors who still serve as principal investigators of state-level or ministry-level scientific projects and have been awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize or honored with the title of Labor Hero or Military Hero, the funding for purchasing, installing, and paying usage fees for fixed-line telephones and mobile phones shall be covered by the agency or ministry-level scientific project management organization where the professor serves as principal investigator.

- For public service units with income that implement financial systems according to Decree No. 10/2002/NĐ-CP dated January 16, 2002 of the Government, the payment for usage fees for telephones shall follow the guidelines of the Ministry of Finance. The funding for purchasing, installing, and paying usage fees for official telephones at home and mobile phones shall be self-funded by the agency or unit from its own financial resources.

- For administrative agencies implementing quota-based personnel establishment and administrative management expenses according to Decision No. 192/2001/QĐ-TTg dated December 17, 2001 of the Government: The expenses for purchasing, installing, and paying telephone usage fees for official telephones at home and mobile phones shall be self-funded within the allocated quota budget.

5. In cases where officials are provided with fixed-line telephones at their homes and mobile phones, when they transfer to new positions where such provision is not allowed, or after retirement or cessation of duty, the managing agency may only reimburse telephone usage fees for those officials until the end of the month in which the transfer or retirement/cessation decision is made, except for certain categories specified in Point 6 below.

6. Leaders belonging to the categories mentioned in Points a, b, c, d, đ, e, and g of Clause 2, Article 2 of the Regulations on Standards and Quotas for Official Telephones at Home and Mobile Phones for Officials in Administrative Agencies, Public Institutions, Political Organizations, and Political-Social Organizations issued together with Decision No. 78/2001/QĐ-TTg dated May 16, 2001 of the Prime Minister, upon retirement or cessation of duty, will continue to be provided funds to pay for fixed-line telephone usage fees for three months from the date of the retirement or cessation decision.

7. The provision of telephones for officials in Vietnamese agencies abroad (such as diplomatic agencies, trade offices, news agencies, radio, television...), shall be implemented in accordance with Point 5, Section III of Circular No. 02/2003/TT-BTC dated January 9, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance guiding financial systems for Vietnamese agencies abroad.

8. Heads of agencies and units shall base their regulations on the standards and quotas for the use of official telephones at home and mobile phones issued together with Decision No. 78/2001/QĐ-TTg dated May 16, 2001 and Decision No. 179/QĐ-TTg dated December 16, 2002 of the Prime Minister; Regulation No. 68/QĐ/TW dated October 21, 1999 of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, regulations of the Central Organization Department of the Communist Party, and guidelines in this circular to establish rules on the provision, use, and payment of telephone usage fees in their agencies and units in accordance with state regulations (specifying which officials, in which units, are entitled to fixed-line telephones at home, which officials are entitled to mobile phones, and which officials with special tasks are entitled to telephones), and shall bear responsibility before the State if they violate these regulations.

The above rules on the provision, use, and payment of telephone usage fees must be publicly announced within the agency or unit.

9. Financial agencies and State Treasury at all levels shall be responsible for inspecting and supervising the use of state budget funds for providing telephones and the payment of telephone usage fees to ensure compliance with the standards and payment limits stipulated in Decision No. 78/2001/QĐ-TTg dated May 16, 2001, Decision No. 179/QĐ-TTg dated December 16, 2002 of the Prime Minister, Regulation No. 68/QĐ/TW dated October 21, 1999 of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Guideline No. 10HĐ/TCTƯ dated December 29, 1999 of the Central Organization Department of the Communist Party, and guidelines in this circular.

10. This circular takes effect from January 1, 2003 and replaces Circular No. 73/2001/TT-BTC dated August 30, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance.

During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, units are advised to report them to the Ministry of Finance for review, amendment, and supplementation to make them appropriate./.