Circular No. 31/2008/TT-BTC guiding the management and use of funds under the Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan program for training, capacity building, and improving the quality of state officials and civil servants.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing and utilizing funds under the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Loan Program to train and enhance the quality of state officials and civil servants.

Pursuant to the State Budget Law and guiding documents implementing the State Budget Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 77/2003/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

To be appropriate with actual conditions, after receiving comments from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Finance guides the management and utilization of funds under the Program loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for training and enhancing the quality of state officials and civil servants (SOCS) as follows:

I. OBJECTS AND SCOPE

Administrative officials currently working in central and local Party and state agencies, political-social organizations; lecturers in the field of state administrative management trained and enhanced at courses within the framework of the Project using ADB loan funds under the Program supporting the implementation of the overall administrative reform program to train and enhance the quality of SOCS.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Content of expenditure:

a. Training and enhancing SOCS within the country:

- Costs for preparing curricula and textbooks;

- Honoraria for lecturers; travel expenses and accommodation costs for lecturers;

- Study materials; living allowances for students; rental housing support for students during concentrated study periods;

- Organizing class sessions:

+ Renting conference halls, classrooms, equipment for learning;

+ Exam preparation, invigilation, marking fees;

+ Translation fees (if required);

+ Electricity, water, office supplies, service, parking fees;

+ Organizing field trips for students;

+ Medical expenses for common medications for students;

- Travel expenses for class managers of training institutions when organizing classes away from the main institution.

b. Training and enhancing SOCS abroad:

- Service fees payable to domestic organizations implementing training services;

- Tuition fees and mandatory expenses payable to foreign educational institutions or service providers;

- Fees for translation and documentation services;

- Health insurance fees during study periods abroad (if required by the host country);

- Organization costs for class sessions: Survey, negotiation, and development of training programs with foreign educational institutions;

- Food, lodging, travel, airport taxes;

- Visa and passport processing fees.

2. Expenditure levels:

a. Training and enhancing SOCS within the country: Apply current expenditure standards for training and enhancing SOCS within the country.

In addition, due to the special nature of training and enhancing SOCS under the ADB loan project, this Circular specifies as follows:

- Supplementary expenditures over the budgeted amount (per training unit) for training and enhancing SOCS within the country include the following:

+ Transportation costs (or airfare) for picking up and dropping off lecturers and class managers, reimbursed based on actual expenses;

+ Rental costs for conference halls and teaching equipment (if applicable), reimbursed based on actual expenses;

+ Foreign lecturer rental costs: Depending on necessity, the ADB Project Management Board requests competent authorities to approve the hiring of foreign lecturers. The honorarium is agreed upon between the ADB Project Management Board and the expert;

+ Translation costs for lectures by foreign lecturers. Translation costs apply according to the rate specified in Point g Clause 1 Section I Circular No. 57/2007/TT-BTC dated June 11, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance "Regulations on expenditure for welcoming foreign guests to work in Vietnam, organizing international conferences and seminars in Vietnam, and hosting domestic guests";

+ In cases where training and teaching for the aforementioned subjects require new methods, specialized teaching materials requiring extensive experience, in addition to the current lecturer honorarium, the ADB Project Management Board decides to pay preparation fees for separate materials based on a lump-sum contract (including printing costs) based on the content and nature of the work.

- Allowance for renting accommodation, lodging subsidies, and transportation costs for officials and civil servants participating in training and enhancement courses (if applicable) but not exceeding the rates specified in Circular No. 23/2007/TT-BTC dated March 21, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance regarding travel expenses and organization costs for meetings for state agencies and public institutions. The ADB Project must inform the dispatching agency in the call-up letter to avoid duplicate expenses.

b. Training and enhancing SOCS abroad: Apply current expenditure standards for training and enhancing SOCS abroad set by the Ministry of Finance.

3. Budget Preparation, Allocation, and Settlement:

Budget preparation, allocation, and settlement procedures follow the current regulations for ODA project budgets. Specifically:

a. Budget Preparation:

Annually, in accordance with the State Budget preparation regulations, the ADB Project Management Board prepares the budget for the Project (including the budget for training and enhancing the quality of SOCS) and submits it to the Ministry of Home Affairs for consolidation in the Ministry's budget, which is then submitted to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consolidation and submission to the Government for approval by the National Assembly.

b. Budget Allocation:

After the authorized body approves the budget, the Ministry of Home Affairs allocates the state budget for training and enhancing the quality of SOCS to the Project and sends it to the Ministry of Finance for review according to current regulations.

c. Fund Disbursement and Expense Control:

- The Ministry of Finance disburses funds through payment orders to the account of the ADB Project Management Board;

- The State Treasury shall be responsible for controlling expenditures in accordance with current regulations for all expenses related to training and development activities within the scope of the Project implemented by the ADB Project Management Board.

d. At year-end, the Project Management Board shall settle accounts for funds spent on training and development activities of the Project, which will be consolidated in the final budget report of the Ministry of Home Affairs sent to the Ministry of Finance for review in accordance with current regulations.

Unspent Project funds at year-end may be carried over to the following year to continue implementation according to the objectives and contents already approved by the competent authority.

III. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

2. In case of difficulties during implementation, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the ADB Project Management Board are requested to promptly reflect such issues to the Ministry of Finance for study and appropriate amendments./.