Circular No. 35/2018/TT-BTC stipulates on the preparation of budget estimates, management, use, and settlement of funds to ensure the operation of advisory councils under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees, and advisory boards under district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds for the activities of advisory councils under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees, and advisory boards under district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees.

Activities of the Advisory Council under the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the People's Front Committee of Vietnam at the provincial level, and the Advisory Board under the People's Front Committee of Vietnam at the district level

Vietnam and the Provincial United Front Committee, the Advisory Board under

the District United Front Committee

Pursuant to the Law on the Vietnam Fatherland Front dated June 9, 2015;

Pursuant to the State Budget Law dated June 25, 2015;

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

Pursuant to Decree No. 87/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 26, 2017, issued by the Government, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the proposal of the Director of the Administrative and Public Service Financial Department;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular regulating the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds for the activities of advisory councils under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees, and advisory boards under district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular regulates the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds for the activities of advisory councils under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees, and advisory boards under district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees.

Article 2. Applicability

1. Advisory council under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee.

2. Advisory council under provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees (hereinafter referred to as provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee).

3. Advisory board under district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees (hereinafter referred to as district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee).

Article 3. Sources of Funds

The source of funding for the activities of advisory councils under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, advisory councils under provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees, and advisory boards under district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees shall be guaranteed by the state budget according to the current classification of state budget management, specifically:

1. Funding for the activities of the advisory council under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee shall be guaranteed by the central budget and allocated in the annual budget of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee.

2. Funding for the activities of the advisory council under provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees and advisory boards under district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees shall be guaranteed by local budgets and allocated in the annual budgets of provincial-level and district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees according to the current classification of state budget management.

Article 4. Contents of Expenditure

1. Expenses for monthly support for leaders of the advisory council under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee; leaders of the advisory council under provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees; leaders of the advisory board under district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees who do not receive salaries from the state budget include:

a) Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the advisory council under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee;

b) Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of the advisory council under provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees;

c) Head and Deputy Head of the advisory board under district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees.

2. Expenses for conferences and seminars.

3. Travel expenses.

4. Expenses for purchasing documents and office supplies.

5. Expenses for writing reports and providing written comments.

6. Other related expenses (if any).

Article 5. Funding Levels

1. The amount of monthly support expenses for leaders of the advisory council under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee; leaders of the advisory council under provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees; leaders of the advisory board under district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees:

a) Advisory council under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee:

- Chairperson of the advisory council: Equal to 1.2 times the base salary.

- Deputy Chairperson of the advisory council: Equal to 1.0 times the base salary.

b) Advisory council under provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees:

- Chairperson of the advisory council: Equal to 1.0 times the base salary.

- Deputy Chairperson of the advisory council: Equal to 0.8 times the base salary.

c) Advisory board under district-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees:

- Head of the advisory board: Equal to 0.15 times the base salary.

- Deputy Head of the advisory board: Equal to 0.1 times the base salary.

2. The amount of expenses for conferences, seminars, and travel expenses: Shall be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance on travel expenses and conference expenses regulations.

3. The amount of expenses for writing reports and providing written comments: Maximum VND 500,000 per document or report.

4. Expenses for purchasing documents and office supplies, other expenses: Shall be settled based on valid invoices and payment vouchers within the allocated budget.

Article 6. Establishment, Implementation, and Settlement of Operating Expenses

The establishment, implementation, and settlement of operating expenses for the Advisory Councils and Advisory Boards under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees at all levels shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law, the Accounting Law, and related guiding documents.

Based on the workload of the Advisory Councils and Advisory Boards at all levels, current financial expenditure regulations, and the provisions of this Circular, each level of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee shall annually prepare the budget for operating expenses of the Advisory Councils and Advisory Boards under its jurisdiction, consolidate them within the overall operational expenditure budget of its own Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, and submit to the financial authority at the same level for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for decision-making in accordance with the State Budget Law and related guiding documents.

The allocation and assignment of budget estimates and settlement of operating expenses for Advisory Councils and Advisory Boards under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees at all levels shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations.

Article 7. Implementation Organization

1. Based on the actual situation in the locality and the ability to balance the local budget, the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall submit to the People's Councils at the same level for a decision on specific contents and expenditure levels that are appropriate but not exceeding the maximum levels specified in Clause 1 and Clause 3 of Article 5 of this Circular. In cases where necessary due to work requirements, the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall submit to the People's Councils at the same level for a decision on higher expenditure levels, but not exceeding 20% above the expenditure levels specified in Clause 1 and Clause 3 of Article 5 of this Circular.

2. In cases where localities have not issued documents specifying specific expenditure levels, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees at all levels shall decide on expenditure levels but not exceeding the maximum expenditure levels specified in Clause 1 and Clause 3 of Article 5 of this Circular, ensuring economy and effectiveness within the scope of the budget already assigned by the competent authority.

Article 8. Implementation clause

1. This Circular takes effect from June 1, 2018.

2. This Circular replaces Joint Circular No. 03/2008/TTLT-BTC-UBTWMTTQVN dated January 3, 2008, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, guiding the management, use, and settlement of operating expenses for the Advisory Councils under the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front Committees.

3. During the implementation process, when regulations on expenditure systems and standards referred to for application in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced by new documents, they shall be applied according to the amended, supplemented, or replacing documents.

4. In cases where difficulties or obstacles arise during implementation, it is requested that relevant agencies and units report to the Ministry of Finance for study and appropriate amendments or supplements./.