Circular No. 30-TC/VT guides the financial management regime of the State for non-repayable aid sources

CIRCULAR

OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE NUMBER 85/1997/TT-BTC DATED NOVEMBER 22, 1997 GUIDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DIRECTIVE 254/TTG DATED MAY 6, 1994 OF THE PRIME MINISTER ON SUPPORT AND CREATION OF CONDITIONS TO ENHANCE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE VIETNAM RED CROSS SOCIETY

Pursuant to Directive No. 01/CT dated January 5, 1989 of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now the Prime Minister) on management of organizations and activities of mass associations;
Pursuant to Directive No. 254/TTg dated May 16, 1994 of the Prime Minister on support and creation of conditions to enhance the effectiveness of operations of the Vietnam Red Cross Society;
Pursuant to Decree No. 87/CP dated December 19, 1996 of the Government detailing the division of management authority, budget preparation, implementation, and settlement of the State budget;
Pursuant to Decree No. 87/CP dated August 5, 1997 on issuance of regulations on management and utilization of Official Development Assistance funds;
Pursuant to Circular No. 30 TC/VT dated June 12, 1997 of the Ministry of Finance on guiding the financial management system of state-owned assets from non-reimbursable aid;
After reaching consensus with the Vietnam Red Cross Society, the Ministry of Finance guides the implementation of financial revenue and expenditure of the Vietnam Red Cross Society as follows:

I. SOURCES OF FINANCIAL REVENUE OF THE VIETNAM RED CROSS SOCIETY

The Vietnam Red Cross Society is a mass association operating according to its charter approved by the Government. The sources of financial revenue of the Society include the following items:

1. Membership fees contributed by members to the organization.

2. Revenue from production and service activities of the Society in accordance with the law.

3. Revenue from donations and benevolent contributions from individuals and organizations both domestically and internationally supporting the Society and the Humanitarian Fund.

4. Revenue from humanitarian relief and assistance, projects, and development programs provided by international individuals and organizations through the Society.

5. Revenue from State Budget support as prescribed by the State Budget Law.

II. REGULATIONS ON THE USE OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES OF THE SOCIETY

1. Relief funds;

All relief resources received by the levels of the Society from international organizations and humanitarian organizations must be transferred entirely to the designated recipients according to the agreements of the relief organizations, without retaining them without permission from the Government. For projects and programs where the relief organizations do not allow management and transportation costs, the Society must request the People's Committee and the financial authority at the same level to consider support under the condition that:

- For consignments with designated recipients, the recipient unit or locality must bear the cost of receiving and transporting the goods. The Vietnam Red Cross Society assists in the procedures for receiving the goods but does not charge this fee.

- Packages without recipient addresses shall be directly received by the Vietnam Red Cross Society and work with the Ministry of Finance to consider advance funding for initial reception costs. After receiving, if distributed to localities or units, those localities or units must bear their own transportation and management costs. The Vietnam Red Cross Society is responsible for collecting these costs and settling the aforementioned advance funding with the State Budget.

2. Revenue from development aid, projects, and programs: The Society shall implement in accordance with the agreed agreements with partners. All project management costs such as organization implementation, transportation expenses, travel expenses, and allowances for project organizers shall not be automatically deducted but must be negotiated with the funding and aid organizations to be included in the project budget. In cases where funding and aid organizations have agreed to allow the Society to deduct a certain percentage to supplement administrative management expenses of the Society to reduce State Budget expenditures and build a humanitarian fund, the Society must fulfill its commitments to these organizations. If the funding and aid organizations do not agree, the Society still must comply strictly with the commitments made to these organizations.

3. Revenue from production and services of the Society shall be allocated and utilized as prescribed for self-financing entities as stipulated in Circular No. 01TC/HCVX dated January 4, 1994 and Circular No. 25 TC/TCT dated March 28, 1994 of the Ministry of Finance.

4. Revenue from voluntary donations from individuals and organizations: The Society must maintain records and establish a Humanitarian Fund to address immediate relief needs when required, and if donated to a specific locality, the Society shall transfer it to that locality and spend it according to the requirements of the donating organization or individual. The Society may allocate 3% of the total fundraising and donation proceeds without specific addresses to the Humanitarian Fund for management and transfer to the designated relief recipients.

5. Financial support provided by the State Budget in accordance with the State Budget Law together with other legitimate revenues of the Society shall be used for payment of annual membership fees to the International Federation, regular administrative management expenses of the Society such as salaries for staff according to the approved staffing plan, travel expenses... Salaries must be paid in accordance with Circular No. 252/TCCP-TC dated November 20, 1995 of the Government Civil Service Organization Board.

Administrative management expenses of each level of the Society shall be supported by the budget of that level. Allowances for grassroots leaders of the Society shall be funded from the Society's own revenue, and the allowance levels shall be in accordance with current state regulations.

III. MANAGEMENT AND SETTLEMENT OF FINANCIAL RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES

1. To have a basis for supporting regular operational expenses, each level of the Society must prepare budgets, implement budgets, and settle accounts in accordance with current state budget management regulations annually.

2. Financial resources obtained from aid, relief, development projects... in the form of money or goods must complete all procedures for receipt according to Decision No. 80/QĐ dated March 28, 1991 of the Prime Minister on the issuance of regulations on the relationship of receipt of aid goods from non-governmental organizations and Decree No. 87/CP dated August 5, 1997 of the Government on the issuance of regulations on the management and use of official development assistance. In cases where aid goods are not suitable for use by the people, the Society shall prepare documents to request the Government's approval to sell through public auction as regulated by the State, and the proceeds must be used for the intended purpose of the aid agreement with the donor organization.

- When implementing relief and aid projects, if there are additional costs such as handling, management, storage, wharfage, etc., the levels of the Society shall prepare budgets to submit to the People's Committee and the financial authority at the same level for consideration of supporting this amount of funds.

- If the relief and aid organizations have agreed to cover management, storage, wharfage, etc., costs in the project, the levels of the Society must strictly adhere to the commitments with the partners. Any savings during the execution of committed management costs shall be supplemented to the Society's administrative expense fund and rewarded to units and individuals serving the project.

3. Each level of the Vietnam Red Cross Society is responsible for preparing budgets, managing, executing, and finalizing accounts for non-reimbursable foreign government, organizational, and individual aid and relief funds in accordance with Decree No. 87/CP dated December 19, 1996 of the Prime Minister detailing the delegation, management, preparation, execution, and settlement of the State Budget; and Circular No. 30/TC-VT dated June 12, 1997 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the financial management system of the State for non-reimbursable aid sources.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of signature. Any previous provisions contrary to the content stipulated in this Circular are hereby abolished.

In the course of implementation, any difficulties encountered should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance for study and amendment.