Circular No. 348/2016/TT-BTC on the management of financial resources for the implementation of the "Program to support the application and transfer of scientific and technological progress to promote economic and social development in rural areas, mountainous regions, and ethnic minority areas from 2016 to 2025".

CIRCULAR

Regulations on financial management for the implementation of the "Program to support the application and transfer of scientific and technological progress to promote economic and social development in rural areas, mountainous regions, and ethnic minority areas from 2016 to 2025"

On the basis of Article 1. This Decree regulates the use of state assets to pay investors when implementing construction projects under the Build-Transfer Contract form (hereinafter referred to as BT Project) in accordance with the provisions of the law. June 25, 2015;

Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP December 21, 2016, of the Government detailing implementation of certain provisions of the State Budget Law;

Decree No. Decision No. 95/2014/NĐ-CP dated October 17, 2014, issued by the Government, concerning investment and financial mechanisms for science and technology;

Decree No. 215/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 23, 2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Implementing Decision No. Decision No. 1747/QĐ-TTg dated October 13, 2015, issued by the Prime Minister, approving the "Program to support the application and transfer of scientific and technological progress to promote economic and social development in rural areas, mountainous regions, and ethnic minority areas from 2016 to 2025"

At the proposal of the Director of the Administrative and Public Financial Affairs Department,

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular to guide the financial management for the implementation of the "Program to support the application and transfer of scientific and technological progress to promote economic and social development in rural areas, mountainous regions, and ethnic minority areas from 2016 to 2025."

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Circular guides the financial management for the implementation of the "Program to support the application and transfer of scientific and technological progress to promotedevelopment   - social development in rural areas, mountainous regions, and ethnic minority areas from 2016 to 2025" approved by Decision No. Decision No. 1747/QĐ-TTg dated October 13, 2015, issued by the Prime Minister (hereinafter referred to as the Program).

2. This Circular applies to organizations, individuals, enterprises implementing and participating in the Program; state agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the Program.

Article 2. Financial Resources for Implementing the Programme

1. The funds for implementing the Program shall be guaranteed from the following sources:

a) State budget funds for science and technology allocated in the annual state budget estimate, including:

- Central government's science and technology expenditure to implement projects under the Program directly managed by the central government; common activities and regular tasks to implement the Program; targeted support for local budgets to implement projects delegated by the central government to localities.

- Local government's science and technology expenditure to implement projects at the local level; common activities and regular tasks to implement the Program at the local level. 

b) Other sources of funds, including:

- Funds of organizations, individuals, and enterprises participating in implementing projects under the Program.

- Funds raised from other lawful sources. 

2. The central government provides targeted support to local budgets to implement projects under the Program according to the principle:

a) For localities with difficulties and unable to balance their budgets, the central government will provide maximum support not exceeding 50% of the state budget funds supporting the implementation of the project. 

b) For the remaining localities, 100% of the funds will be arranged from local budgets to implement the project. 

In case the Prime Minister issues new regulations regarding the ratio of targeted support from the central government's budget to local budgets, the support levels stipulated in this Circular shall be implemented according to the new regulations of the Prime Minister.

3. The Ministry of Science and Technology, provincial people's committees, and centrally-administered city people's committees shall effectively manage and utilize state budget funds for implementing projects under the Program, integrate them with economic and social development programs in their respective areas, and avoid overlap with other programs and projects.

Article 3. Principles of support and use of funds from the state budget

1. The state budget allocation shall ensure a structure proportional to other sources of funds specified in Article 2 and Article 5 of this Circular according to the approved tasks.

2. State budget support funds shall be detailed planned according to each type of capital for the entire implementation period; they shall be allocated and utilized according to the schedule and structure in the approved budget estimate.

3. The process of preparing the budget estimate, allocating, utilizing, and settling accounts for state budget support funds for implementation shall comply with the provisions of the State Budget Law and related documents.

4. Organizations, individuals, and enterprises using state budget support funds to implement the Program must ensure compliance with the purpose, current standards, norms, and expenditure regulations, and be subject to inspection and supervision by competent authorities as prescribed by law.

Article 4. Principles for using other sources of funding

The organizing bodies, units managing tasks under the Program, units managing funds for implementing tasks under the Program, and organizations, individuals, enterprises participating in implementing projects under the Program shall be responsible for:

1. Mobilizing, utilizing, and disbursing other sources of funding in accordance with the mobilization plan for financial resources, ensuring the correct ratio compared to the state budget as stipulated in Article 5 of this Circular, based on approved tasks.

2. Monitoring the mobilization, utilization, and disbursement of other sources of funding in accordance with the progress, structure, and total amount specified in the signed contracts.

Chapter II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 5. Contents and expenditure standards from the state budget for implementing the Program

1. Expenditure for implementing projects under the Program

a) Supplementary investigation and survey costs for project development (if applicable): Implemented according to the provisions of Circular No. 109/2016/TT-BTC dated June 30, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Finance, regarding the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds for conducting surveys and national censuses.

b) Sample analysis costs (if applicable): Implemented according to the expenditure standards prescribed by competent state agencies. In cases where specific standards have not been established, payment will be made according to the contract and actual expenses within the approved budget.

c) Costs for purchasing materials, raw materials, and equipment directly serving the implementation of the project; Costs for purchasing machinery and equipment that are decisive to the technology transfer of the project.

- The state budget will support up to 70% of the costs for the contents specified in point c, Clause 1, Article 5 of this Circular, but not exceeding the level of state budget support stipulated in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Circular for implementing projects in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions and extremely difficult conditions in ethnic minority and mountainous regions. Areas with difficult socio-economic conditions and extremely difficult conditions in ethnic minority and mountainous regions are determined according to the attached documents in this Circular.

- The state budget will support up to 50% of the costs for the contents specified in point c, Clause 1, Article 5 of this Circular, but not exceeding the level of state budget support stipulated in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Circular for implementing projects in other areas.

d) Labor costs for implementing the project, including: Labor costs of technical staff supporting application and technology transfer; labor costs of the project leader and technical staff receiving and implementing technology; general labor costs; labor costs of young scientists and volunteers working regularly to guide and transfer technology as stipulated in point c, Clause 2, Section III, Article 1 of Decision No. 1747/QĐ-TTg dated October 13, 2015, issued by the Prime Minister approving the Program.

The labor cost for implementing the project shall be applied according to the provisions of Joint Circular No. 55/2015/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated April 22, 2015, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding the establishment, allocation, and settlement of budgets for scientific and technological tasks funded by the state budget (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 55/2015/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN).

The determination of daily wage rates, research position coefficients, and scientific labor coefficients for project implementers shall be carried out according to the regulations of the Ministry of Science and Technology or relevant ministries, sectors, localities, and related agencies.

đ) Training costs for technical staff at local levels, training for farmers, machine operators, and local collaborators and volunteers: Implemented according to the provisions of Circular No. 139/2010/TT-BTC dated September 21, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance, regarding the preparation of budgets, management, and use of state budget funds for civil servant training and capacity building; Joint Circular No. 04/2014/TTLT-BKHĐT-BTC dated August 13, 2014, issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance, guiding assistance for training and capacity building for small and medium-sized enterprises.

e) Travel expenses, conference, seminar costs: Implemented according to the provisions of Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC dated July 6, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance, regarding travel expense regulations and conference organization expenses for state agencies and public institutions.

g) Costs for inspection, evaluation, and acceptance at the local level; model acceptance costs; general project management costs: Implemented according to the provisions of Joint Circular No. 55/2015/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN.

h) Other direct project implementation costs: Implemented according to current regulations on state budget expenditure standards and procedures.

2. Expenditure for information dissemination and publicity activities: Implemented according to current regulations on state budget expenditure standards and procedures, paid according to contracts and actual expenses within the approved budget. The contents include:

a) Developing and implementing special topics introducing the activities of the Program.

b) Popularizing scientific knowledge through mass media at central and local levels; reporting and writing articles in specialized newspapers and journals.

c) Publishing publications summarizing experiences, lessons learned from the application, transfer, popularization, replication, and expansion of models and other issues of the Program.

d) Building databases on technology and experts to serve the dissemination of science and technology.

đ) Editing materials in ethnic languages to serve communication and the dissemination of scientific and technological knowledge to ethnic minorities.

3. General management costs for implementing the Program

a) Consulting costs for determining tasks, direct assignment, inspection, formal acceptance at the central level for projects under the Program; costs for organizing scientific seminars: Implemented according to the provisions of Joint Circular No. 55/2015/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN.

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d) Salary according to the national salary scale; remuneration; contributions based on salary (social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, trade union fees) for staff working at the unit managing the Program's budget.

đ) Payment for public services (electricity, water, communication, office supplies): Payments shall be made according to contracts and actual expenditures within the approved budget estimate.

e) Outbound and inbound travel expenses: Implemented in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 102/2012/TT-BTC dated June 21, 2012, issued by the Ministry of Finance on travel expenses for state officials traveling abroad for short-term assignments funded by the state budget; Circular No. 01/2010/TT-BTC dated January 6, 2010, issued by the Ministry of Finance on expenses for receiving foreign guests visiting Vietnam, organizing international conferences and seminars in Vietnam, and hosting domestic guests.

g) Procurement of equipment and repair of assets serving the activities of the unit managing the Program's budget.

h) Survey and investigation expenses (if necessary) in localities to serve the development and approval of important projects with significant impact on local socio-economic development as required by the competent Program management authority: Implemented in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 109/2016/TT-BTC dated June 30, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Finance on the preparation of budget estimates, management, utilization, and settlement of funds for statistical surveys and the National Census.

i) Other expenses directly serving the common activities of the Program: Implemented in accordance with current regulations on state budget expenditure standards and norms.

Article 6. Preparation of the State Budget Estimate, Implementation of the State Budget, Accounting, Auditing, and Settlement of the State Budget for the Program

The preparation of the State Budget Estimate, implementation of the State Budget, accounting, auditing, and settlement of the State Budget for the Program shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law, Circular No. 55/2015/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN, Joint Circular No. 27/2015/TTLT-BKHCN-BTC dated December 30, 2015, issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance on the allocation of funds for the implementation of scientific and technological tasks using state budget funds (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 27/2015/TTLT-BKHCN-BTC), and other current regulations.

This Circular specifies the following contents:

1. Basis for establishing budgets

a) Tasks of projects under the Program that have been approved by the competent authority; detailed budget estimates for each project, divided by sources of funding (central government budget, local government budget, other sources of funding), detailed annually according to the project implementation schedule, including projects directly managed by the central government and projects delegated to local governments to manage, detailed by each locality.

b) Regular tasks under the Program as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 3 of Circular No. 07/2016/TT-BKHCN dated April 22, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology on the management of the Program (including: training and capacity building for participants in the Program; database construction; communication about the Program and other tasks serving the management of the Program): Based on the content and expenditure standards specified in this Circular, the budget estimate should be detailed for each task.

2. Annually, at the time of preparing the state budget revenue and expenditure estimates as prescribed, ministries, localities, and related units prepare the budget estimates for implementing the Program from the following sources of funding:

a) Central government budget for science and technology affairs:

- Projects directly managed by the central government, regular tasks of the Program: The budget management unit prepares the budget estimate, submits it to the superior management agency for approval and consolidation into the budget estimate of the Ministry of Science and Technology, which is then submitted to the Ministry of Finance.

- Projects delegated to local governments to manage: Based on the proposals of the localities, the Ministry of Science and Technology consolidates the budget estimates for targeted support for each locality and submits them to the Ministry of Finance.

b) Local government budget: Units responsible for implementing projects prepare the budget estimates for implementing projects under the Program using local government budgets and submit them to the competent authority in accordance with the State Budget Law and other current regulations.

c) Other sources of funding:

The leading unit prepares the budget estimates for its own participation in implementing projects under the Program and other legitimate financial sources to implement the projects, submits them to the competent authority for approval and consolidation together with the budget estimates from state budget sources for implementing the Program according to the分级任务如下：

3. Advance payment, settlement, and control of project funds

a) The advance payment, settlement, and expenditure control of funds for projects under the Program shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 and Article 13 of Circular No. 27/2015/TTLT-BKHCN-BTC and current regulations.

b) The provisional advance, settlement, and expenditure control for the common management activities of the Program: Implement according to the current regulations applicable to third-level budget units using state funds. The State Treasury shall implement expenditure control in accordance with Circular No. 161/2012/TT-BTC dated October 2, 2012, issued by the Ministry of Finance on the regime of expenditure control and settlement of state budget expenditures through the State Treasury, and Circular No. 39/2016/TT-BTC dated March 1, 2016, issued by the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 161/2012/TT-BTC dated October 2, 2012, of the Ministry of Finance on the regime of expenditure control and settlement of state budget expenditures through the State Treasury.

4. Final settlement of expenses:

a) The final settlement of expenses for implementing the Program: Implement according to Article 14 and Article 15 of Circular No. 27/2015/TTLT-BKHCN-BTC and the current regulations.

b) For expenses for implementing projects managed by local authorities: Accounted for in the chapter of the main implementing unit at the locality and corresponding account. The main implementing unit of the project is responsible for settling the project implementation expenses with the competent authority in accordance with the Law on State Budget and current regulations.

5. Expenses for implementing projects under the Program that are currently being implemented according to the decision of the competent authority may be transferred to the next year for continued implementation in accordance with Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 2016, of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on State Budget.

Article 7. Other expenses for implementing the Program

When approving projects under the Program, the competent state agency shall determine the level of expenditure from other sources based on the provisions of Article 5 of this Circular, ensuring the financial structure and expenses for implementing the Program.

Organizations, individuals, enterprises participating in implementing projects under the Program shall proactively mobilize resources outside the state budget, ensuring project implementation expenses.

The standards for expenditure, accounting work, and final settlement of other program implementation expenses shall be carried out according to the current regulations applicable to each type of capital source, encouraging units to follow the provisions of this Circular.

Article 8. Financial inspection work for implementing the Program

1. Annually, the Ministry of Science and Technology shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, localities, agencies, and units to regularly or suddenly inspect the implementation of tasks, contents, management, use, and settlement of expenses for implementing the Program.

Units entrusted with managing central and local funds and related units have the responsibility to regularly or suddenly inspect the management, use, and settlement of expenses for implementing projects under the Program.

2. In cases where tasks are not implemented according to the plan, the mobilization and disbursement of other sources of funds are not in line with the schedule, or do not comply with the structure and total amount specified in the signed contract; allocated funds are misused or used contrary to regulations: The competent state agency responsible for managing the Program shall take measures such as suspending the task; reversing the incorrect expenditure, recovering and returning to the state budget (for state budget funds), requiring the main implementing unit to handle the incorrect expenditure (for other funds), and other forms of handling within its authority or proposing the competent authority to handle according to the law.

Article 9. Management and handling of assets and products of the Program

1. Products formed from projects of the Program shall be managed and used in accordance with current regulations.

2. The management and disposal of assets formed through the implementation of tasks of the Program from state budget funds shall be carried out in accordance with Circular Joint Circular No. 16/2015/TTLT-BKHCN-BTC dated September 1, 2015 of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance guiding the management and disposal of assets formed through the implementation of scientific and technological tasks using state budget funds and current regulations.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 10. Provisions on implementation

1. This Circular takes effect from February 16, 2017.

2. During the implementation period, if the normative legal documents cited in this Circular are replaced, amended, or supplemented, they shall be implemented according to the replacement, amendment, or supplementation documents.

3. During the implementation period, if there are any difficulties, it is recommended that agencies, organizations, and individuals reflect them to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology for research, amendment, and supplementation to ensure appropriateness./.