Circular No. 3837-TC/TCDN regarding support for state budget capital in 1997 for banks serving the poor

Pursuant to …;

REGARDING THE PROVISION OF TEMPORARY GUIDELINES ON EXPENSE STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND AGRICULTURAL DIVERSIFICATION PROJECTS FUNDED BY ODA UNDER THE MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS 

THE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 73/CP dated November 1, 1995, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;
Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 87/CP dated August 5, 1997, promulgating the regulations on management and utilization of official development assistance funds;
Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 52/CP dated July 8, 1999, promulgating the investment management regulations;
Pursuant to Decision No. 691/TTg dated August 27, 1997 and No. 461/TTg dated September 28, 1999 of the Prime Minister approving the investment project for rural infrastructure development in 23 poor provinces funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the French Development Agency (AFD);
Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 349/QĐ-TTg dated April 25, 1998, approving the agricultural diversification project funded by the World Bank (WB) and the French Development Agency (AFD);
Pursuant to the Joint Circular No. 81/1998/TTLT-BTC-NHNN dated June 17, 1998, guiding the procedures and management of withdrawal of funds from official development assistance sources;
Pursuant to Circular No. 88/1999/TT-BT C dated July 12, 1999 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the financial mechanism of the Rural Infrastructure Sector Project, and Document No. 3837-TC/TCĐN dated August 5, 1999 of the Ministry of Finance regarding disbursement procedures and expense standards for the Agricultural Diversification Project;
Pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding No. 2383-TC/TCĐN dated July 3, 1999, and the Circular No. 4719/TC/TCĐN dated September 20, 1999, of the Ministry of Finance;
Considering the proposal of the Director of the Department of Finance and Accounting,

DECISION:

Article 1.

We hereby promulgate temporarily the Guidelines on Expense Standards applicable to the Rural Infrastructure Sector Project and the Agricultural Diversification Project under the Management Board for Agricultural Projects as attached hereto.

Article 2.

This Decision shall take effect 15 days from the date of signature and shall cease to be effective when the Ministry of Finance issues a unified expenditure regime for ODA-funded projects.

Article 3.

The Head of the Ministry's Office, Heads of relevant Departments and Services of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Directors of Provincial Project Management Boards/Provincial Coordination Boards, and Heads of Provincial Project Management Boards related to the above projects shall be responsible for implementing this Decision./.

PROVISIONAL GUIDELINES

 ON EXPENSE STANDARDS APPLICABLE TO RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND AGRICULTURAL DIVERSIFICATION PROJECTS FUNDED BY ODA UNDER THE MANAGEMENT BOARD FOR AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS
(issued together with Decision No. 130/1999/QĐ-BNN/TCKT dated September 21, 1999  of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development).

SALARY REGIME AND ALLOWANCES

I. Scope of Application: It is the Project Management Board established by the competent authority (the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for the Central Project Management Board, the People's Committee of the province for the Provincial Project Management Board) according to one of the project management forms issued pursuant to Circular No. 18/BXD-VKT dated June 10, 1995 of the Ministry of Construction. The organizational structure and staffing, including contractual staff, must be decided by the Ministry or the People's Committee of the province.

The source of payment is within the operational budget of the Project Management Board allocated from the project at the ratio specified in the appendix to the aforementioned Circular No. 18/BCD-VKT and other agreements (if any) of the Ministry of Construction. For projects where the Loan Agreement includes foreign funds for project management, such funds will be disbursed according to the capital structure as stipulated in the Agreement. Projects that do not use foreign funds for management expenses will be covered by counterpart funds.

II. Salary Payment Regime

1. For civil servants within the staffing of the Project Management Boards, salaries are paid according to the current salary scale as prescribed by the State;

2. For contractual laborers (if any), selected by the Director of the Project Management Board/Central Coordination Board, or the Head of the Provincial Project Management Board, through short-term contracts (with the consent of the Ministry or the province), the following applies:

- Administrative staff: maximum wage not exceeding 350,000 VND/person/month (26 working days);

- Drivers: maximum wage: 400,000 VND/person/month (26 working days);

- Economic and technical specialists with a bachelor's degree or higher: maximum wage: 600,000 VND/person/month;

- Interpreters: maximum wage: 500,000 VND/person/month.

- Senior experts and special cases requiring higher wages will be determined by the Ministry later.

(The above recipients shall not receive additional salary allowances if any)

III. Project Salary Allowance

Those entitled to the project salary allowance under this Document are state civil servants within the staffing of the Project Management Board, officials seconded from other agencies to participate in project management throughout the project period, and part-time officials participating in managing and directing ODA projects. In addition to their regular salary, they shall also receive a project salary allowance from the project budget as follows (excluding those hired by foreign experts):

1. Part-time officials shall receive an allowance not exceeding 30% of the basic salary;

2. Full-time officials of the Project Management Board/Central Coordination Board, Provincial Project Management Board (including those seconded) shall receive a salary allowance not exceeding 40% of the basic salary;

Annually, based on the specific activities of the Central Project Management Board, Provincial Project Management Board, the Director of the Central Project Management Board, and the Head of the Provincial Project Management Board shall prepare a budget estimate along with a list of officials entitled to the allowance as stipulated above and submit it to the Ministry (for the Project Management Board/Central Coordination Board) or the People's Committee of the province (for the Provincial Project Management Board) for approval.

Note: All allowances mentioned above shall not exceed the total amount approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development according to the plan for each year or period of the project.

The total cost of salaries and other expenses related to the project shall not exceed the percentage of management costs stipulated in Circular No. 18-BXD of the Ministry of Construction and other documents agreed upon by the Ministry of Construction.

EXPENSES FOR PARTICIPANTS IN DOMESTIC TRAININGS, SEMINARS, AND SPECIALIZED CONFERENCES RELATED TO THE PROJECT

Based on Document No. 3309/TC-ĐN dated September 16, 1997 of the Ministry of Finance regarding expense standards for training, seminars, the specific expense levels are defined as follows:

1. Meal allowance: For domestic training classes, seminars, and conferences in Vietnam, the maximum is:

+ Central level: 70,000 VND/day/person

+ Provincial level: 40,000 VND/day/person

+ District level: 30,000 VND/day/person

2. Accommodation expenses for trainees and delegates participating in training classes, conferences, and seminars: The Project Management Board (hosting unit) shall prepare a budget estimate for these expenses within the conference, training budget. The expense level is guided by Circular No. 94/1998/TT-BTC dated June 30, 1998 of the Ministry of Finance and must ensure valid receipts and invoices according to current regulations.

3. Travel expenses for trainees traveling from their place of residence to the location of the conference, seminar, or training session are reimbursed according to Circular No. 94/1998/TT-BTC dated June 30, 1998 of the Ministry of Finance. Invited delegates are reimbursed from the conference, seminar, or training budget.

4. Stationery expenses:

+ For central level: not exceeding 30,000 VND/person/class;

+ For provincial level: not exceeding 20,000 VND/person/class;

5. + For district and commune levels: not exceeding 10,000 VND/person/class.

6. Printing materials: To be paid according to actual receipts with the quantity of materials already approved.

Lecturer remuneration: (depending on specific cases, for each class hour taught, additional preparation hours up to a maximum of two hours are allowed)

+ For central level: 50,000 VND/hour/lecture;

+ For provincial level: 30,000 VND/hour/lecture;

+ For district and commune levels: 20,000 VND/hour/lecture.

In the case of lecturers who are contracted experts at a rate of 500 USD/person/month, they shall only be entitled to travel allowances and accommodation expenses as stipulated by the project regulations.

7. Translation fees (if outsourced):

+ Regular translation work: 40,000 VND/hour;

+ Translation during conferences and negotiations: 60,000 VND/hour;

+ If traveling to the field: additional travel allowances according to the project's regulations.

· 8. Fees for editing, typing documents:

· Translating from English to Vietnamese: For regular documents, 35,000 VND/page typed on A4 paper with font size 14 (including typing costs); for important documents, 40,000 VND/page (including typing costs);

· Translating from Vietnamese to English: 45,000 VND/page typed on A4 paper with font size 14 (including typing costs);

Writing documents and reports for conferences, seminars, training sessions shall be reimbursed at the rates specified in points 1 (written in Vietnamese) and point 2 (written in English) of this Section 8.

9. For translations of 50 pages or more, the Project Management Board must have a contract, acceptance, and valid payment receipts for final settlement.

Hall rental fees: To be paid based on actual expenditures approved beforehand and not exceeding 1,000,000 VND/day.

10. Drinking water expenses: Not exceeding 15,000 VND/person/day.

11. Other expenses (transportation for lecturers and guests, telephone charges if applicable): 10,000 VND/person/day.

(The total expense for participants in domestic training, seminars, and conferences shall not exceed 200 USD/person/week, as stipulated by the Ministry of Finance).

C. Travel Allowances (for fieldwork)

1. Travel expense allowances:

Staff members going on routine trips, such as staff from the Central Project Management Board traveling to provincial Project Management Boards and vice versa, shall be subject to the travel allowance regulations stipulated in Circular No. 94/1998/TT-BTC dated June 30, 1998, issued by the Ministry of Finance.

· In cases where staff from the Project Management Board (provincial Project Management Boards, sub-project management boards) go on fieldwork to remote and difficult mountainous districts, communes, villages, then the travel allowance shall be calculated as follows:

· For intra-provincial trips to mountainous districts, communes, villages that require overnight stays, the allowance is 40,000 VND/day;

7. For intra-provincial trips to plain districts, communes that require overnight stays, the accommodation allowance is 20,000 VND/day.

Any other provisions related to travel allowances not mentioned in this document shall be implemented according to the guidelines in Circular No. 94/1998/TT-BTC dated June 30, 1998, issued by the Ministry of Finance.

D. EXPENSES FOR DOMESTIC TOURS AND SURVEYS

If the Agreement includes funds allocated for domestic tours and surveys to support project management and post-project facility operation, the Project Management Board must prepare a budget estimate before organizing the tour and submit it for approval to the Ministry (for Central Project Management Boards) or the Provincial People's Committee (for Provincial Project Management Boards). The standards for some items are as follows:

1. Meals and accommodation: Participants, guests, and service personnel can be budgeted up to a maximum of 70,000 VND/person/day;

Accommodation: To be paid according to the regulations stipulated in Circular No. 94/1998/TT-BTC dated June 30, 1998.

2. Renting cars: To be paid according to the contract.

(The tour program must be within the plan approved by the Ministry. The above standard is the maximum basis for preparing the budget. When settling accounts, the Project Management Board must provide full valid receipts and cannot implement lump-sum payments).

E. EXPENSES FOR FOREIGN STUDY, RESEARCH, AND SURVEYS

All foreign research, surveys, and study programs must be approved by the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development beforehand.

1. Training program expenses: Training fees (if any) must be submitted for approval by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development according to the current training cost standards issued by the Ministry of Finance.

2. Food, accommodation, travel, petty cash, etc., shall be implemented according to Circular No. 45/1999/BTC dated May 4, 1999, issued by the Minister of Finance.

3. Settlement of overseas delegations.

Delegations participating in overseas surveys and studies must complete their settlement with the Central Project Management Board within 15 days upon return, to settle with the Ministry (Finance and Accounting Department) and the Ministry of Finance.

F. OTHER EXPENSES

1. Domestic experts: In loan agreements that include content and funding for hiring consulting experts, for domestic experts, based on the content, technical nature, and specific requirements regarding the expertise level of each project, the Project Management Board may pay short-term experts working on the project up to a maximum of 500 USD/month/person (for experts) and 700 USD/month/person (for team leaders). If experts travel to the field, they will receive fieldwork allowances (per diem) ranging from 15 to 20 USD/day depending on the specific conditions of each project.

2. Expenses related to international bidding and procurement: These can be covered from the proceeds of selling tender documents. If insufficient, they can be drawn from the project's budget according to Decision No. 501/BXD-VKT dated September 19, 1996, issued by the Ministry of Construction on the issuance of costs for review and investment advisory services.

Proceeds from selling tender documents: For international bidding, depending on the nature and value of the tender package, a minimum of 50 USD and a maximum of 500 USD per tender document (unless otherwise specified by the funding sponsor). For domestic bidding, follow current regulations.

Some specific expense levels related to international bidding are as follows:

- Bidding evaluation expert allowance: 100,000 VND/day/person;

- Drinking water: 15,000 VND/day/person;

- Translation costs for tender documents from English to Vietnamese and vice versa (if applicable) shall be applied as stipulated in Point 8, Section B of this Consolidated Document;

- Interpretation costs during international contract negotiations: 60,000 VND/hour and not exceeding 300,000 VND/day;

- Office supplies expenses according to the budget and settled based on actual expenditures with valid invoices;

The use and expenditure from bidding revenue must ensure complete legitimate receipts, signed by those involved in the evaluation process, and reflected in the unit's accounting system. At year-end, the Project Management Board must prepare a detailed settlement report along with the unit's overall settlement report;

3. Other expenses arising that are not specified herein shall be applied according to the current state regulations;

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Based on the above expenditure standards, the Director of the Project Management Board shall prepare a detailed budget for each category of expenditure, ensuring it does not exceed the total capital already balanced annually by the Ministry and the management fee ratio prescribed by the Ministry of Construction;

- Funding for items related to salaries, salary allowances, and basic travel expenses shall come from the counterpart funds. If any project has allocated a portion of foreign funds in the Agreement for project management expenses, then the payments for salaries, salary allowances, and travel expenses will also be made according to the ratio specified in the Agreement;

- Expenses for conferences, seminars, training sessions, and domestic and international visits shall be based on the content of the Agreement, if any, and sourced from the agreed structure and ratio (foreign funds, counterpart funds) as stipulated in the Agreement;

During implementation, any issues requiring reflection should be reported to the Ministry (Financial Accounting Department) for timely resolution./.