Joint Circular No. 35/2002/TTLT/BTC-BKHCNMT guiding financial management for national key science and technology programs

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for financial management of national key science and technology programs

Implementing Decree No. 87/CP dated December 19, 1996 of the Government detailing the division of authority, preparation, execution, and settlement of the State budget, and Decree No. 51/1998/NĐ-CP dated July 18, 1998 of the Government amending and supplementing certain provisions of Decree No. 87/CP dated December 19, 1996 of the Government.

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To unify the financial management of national key science and technology programs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology issue the following guidelines:

1- These Circular applies to national key science and technology programs for the period 2001-2005 (hereinafter referred to as Programs), which have been approved by the Prime Minister under Decision No. 82/2001/QĐ-TTg dated May 24, 2001.

I - GENERAL PROVISIONS

2- The Program implementation funds are balanced into the annual state budget for scientific and technological activities. Based on the allocated budget for each Program, the Ministry of Finance disburses funds to the Program Steering Committees into their respective budget limit accounts at the National Treasury.

3- State budget funds allocated to the Programs must be used for their intended purposes, effectively, to produce practical scientific and technological products serving the country's economic and social development.

II - SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

State budget funds allocated to the Programs shall be spent on the following items:

1- Contents of expenditure:

- Research and scientific project expenses with specific expenditures in accordance with the expenditure regulations detailed in Joint Circular No. 45/2001/TC-KHCNMT dated June 18, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology on some expenditure regulations for scientific and technological tasks and other current regulations.

- Common Program expenses:

+ Remuneration for members of the Program Steering Committee, salaries for contractual staff at the Office.

+ Evaluation fees for projects and proposals; periodic reports; inspection of projects and proposals;

+ Electricity, water, communication, travel, conference, printing, office supplies expenses.

+ Purchase of equipment, minor office repairs.

+ Database construction, scientific conferences, publication support, surveys, international cooperation, program summary.

+ Other expenses (if any).

The maximum total amount of common Program expenses shall not exceed VND 350 million/year, except for Program KC-06 on advanced technology application in export product and main product production, which shall not exceed VND 450 million/year. In special cases where Program activities require higher funding than specified, the Program Director shall submit a document to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology for consideration.

The remuneration for the Program Steering Committee is as follows:

Program Director and Office Head: VND 250,000/month.

Deputy Directors and Secretaries: VND 200,000/month.

Other Members: VND 150,000/month.

2- Annual budget preparation:

Annually, based on the Programs' mission plans, the Ministry of Science and Technology will coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to submit to the Prime Minister for allocation of state budget funds for the Programs.

On the basis of the state budget funds for the Programs approved by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance will directly allocate the state budget to the Program Steering Committees simultaneously with the annual state budget allocation.

Based on the allocated state budget for the year, the Program Steering Committee will prepare the state budget according to the work content and state budget item, clearly distinguishing between common Program expenses and research expenses, and submit it to the Ministry of Finance before January 30 each year.

3- Fund disbursement:

Based on the approved annual budget and the progress of the Programs, the Program Steering Committee will prepare quarterly budgets to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance as the basis for fund disbursement.

The Ministry of Finance will directly disburse funds to the Program Steering Committee according to Chapter - Type - Clause as follows:

- Chapter 017 "Ministry of Science and Technology".

- Type 11 "Science, technology, and environmental activities".

+ Clause 01 "Basic research, application, and development of natural sciences", applicable to Programs in the field of natural sciences and technology.

+ Clause 02 "Basic research, application, and development of social sciences and humanities", applicable to Programs in the field of social sciences and humanities.

Based on the funds provided by the Ministry of Finance, the Program Steering Committee will transfer funds to the units responsible for projects and proposals according to the contracts signed between the Steering Committee and the responsible units.

For Programs implemented by defense, security agencies, and Party agencies, fund disbursement will be carried out in accordance with current regulations.

4- Recovery of funds:

Projects with fund recovery shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 12/2001/TTLT/BTC-BKHCNMT dated February 13, 2001 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology on financial management of recovered funds from scientific and technological tasks.

The Program Steering Committee is responsible for the recovery of funds from projects within the Program, reporting annually to the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Science and Technology is responsible for urging and monitoring the recovery of funds from Programs and compiling the annual recovery of funds from Programs to the Ministry of Finance.

5- Final account report:

Heads of units implementing and directors of projects and proposals are responsible before the state management agency for using funds for their intended purposes, in accordance with regulations, effectively, ensuring truthful and accurate final accounting of the funds received.

The heads of the units responsible for implementation and the project leaders are liable before the state management agency for the proper, lawful, and effective use of funds, ensuring that the final accounts of the allocated funds are truthful and accurate.

Quarterly and annually, based on the allocated budget for the year and according to the volume of work completed at each stage, the units responsible for the projects and programs shall be responsible for reporting and settling the budget with the Program Steering Committee for verification and consolidation, and then reporting the settlement to the Ministry of Finance, while also sending it to the Ministry of Science and Technology and Environment.

The forms and time for reporting the budget settlement of the Programs shall be carried out in accordance with Decision No. 999 TC/QD-CĐKT dated November 2, 1996, of the Minister of Finance, accompanied by a detailed explanation of the settled budget for each project and program. The review and notification of the budget settlement to the units responsible for the projects and programs shall be conducted in accordance with Circular No. 21/2000/TT-BTC dated March 16, 2000, of the Ministry of Finance, "Guidelines for Reviewing and Notifying Annual Budget Settlements for Administrative and Public Service Units."

Annually, the Ministry of Science and Technology and Environment shall conduct evaluations and recognize the results of scientific research, confirm the volume of work completed for each project and program, accept and liquidate contracts (for concluded projects and programs), and consolidate these reports for each Program to send to the Ministry of Finance as the basis for reviewing the annual budget settlement for the Program; it shall be responsible for the results and quality of the acceptance of projects and programs upon completion.

For the budget allocated in 2001: The Program Steering Committee shall settle this budget under Chapter 017 instead of the Chapters of the units where the Program Office is located.

For Programs implemented by defense, security agencies, and Party agencies, the budget settlement shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations.

6- Financial inspection and asset disposal when the program concludes.

- The Program Steering Committee shall be responsible for the effective use of the Program's budget, regularly coordinating with the Ministry of Science and Technology and Environment and the Ministry of Finance to inspect and evaluate the use of the budget allocated from the state budget to implement projects and programs.

- Upon completion and acceptance, the units and heads responsible for the projects and programs shall report to the Program Steering Committee on assets purchased or constructed using the project or program funds. The Program Steering Committee shall report to the Ministry of Science and Technology and Environment and the Ministry of Finance for consideration and handling before contract liquidation.

III - IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS.

This Circular takes effect from the date of signature and replaces Circular No. 84/2001/TT-BTC dated October 24, 2001, of the Ministry of Finance, "Guidelines for Granting and Settling the Budget for 2001 for National Key Science and Technology Programs."

During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, they should be reflected to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology and Environment for study and appropriate amendments and supplements.