CIRCULAR

Regarding the settlement of the state budget for 1979

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Settling the state budget is a task that all Ministries, agencies directly under the Council of Ministers, local People's Committees, agencies, enterprises, and economic organizations responsible for collecting and spending the state budget must undertake and ensure accurate and truthful figures, accompanied by an analysis of the implementation of financial plans and budgets, according to unified forms prescribed by the Ministry of Finance (Article 38 of the Regulations on the Establishment and Implementation of State Budgets issued with Decision No. 168/CP dated October 20, 1961 of the Council of Ministers).

This Circular reiterates some points that need attention and specifies additional specific points in the settlement of the state budget for 1979 to suit the situation and characteristics of budget management during the year:

I. SETTLEMENT OF THE PRIMARY UNIT:

1/ To ensure comprehensive and accurate settlement, all primary units, including enterprises and central and local administrative-budgetary units, must pay attention to implementing:

a) Inventorying all assets, including both physical assets and monetary capital, according to current regulations, specifically:

- Enterprises engaged in production and business conduct a comprehensive asset inventory in accordance with the provisions set out in Circular No. 732-TC/CDKT dated December 1, 1962 of the Ministry of Finance;

- Administrative-budgetary units in accordance with Chapter V of the Accounting System for Budgetary Units issued with Decision No. 03-TC/TDT dated March 30, 1972 of the Ministry of Finance;

The requirement is to grasp the actual situation of assets, capital, and funds currently available, serving as a basis for accurately settling revenue and expenditure from the state budget; at the same time, handle excesses and shortages in accordance with regulations and develop plans to mobilize assets, fully utilize machinery and equipment, and materials for production and business, or take measures to economize and effectively use materials and equipment.

b) Checking accounting records and reconciling figures to ensure consistency between books and related accounts within the unit, between lower-level and higher-level units, and between the unit and banking and finance authorities at the same level. Through reconciliation, if discrepancies are found, the cause must be identified and adjustments made in accordance with state regulations.

c) Analyzing and explaining the settlement of revenue and expenditure from the state budget in conjunction with economic production and business activities or construction projects, or with the results of administrative and public service work carried out during the year. Through analysis, factors due to objective reasons (such as prices decided by the Central Government, etc.) and those due to subjective causes (such as labor management, material and asset management, standard and quota management, efforts to overcome difficulties and find substitute materials, utilizing waste products, etc.) must be highlighted. At the same time, abnormal factors (such as revenues from previous years paid into the state budget this year, extraordinary expenditures for combat readiness, etc.) must be analyzed to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses mentioned above honestly.

2/ Regarding settlement forms:

Generally, all primary units must prepare complete settlement reports as prescribed in their current accounting systems, specifically:

- Production and business enterprises, construction projects: prepare forms according to the provisions attached to Decision No. 233/CP dated December 1, 1970 of the Council of Ministers;

- Administrative and public service budgetary units: report according to Appendix 3 accompanying the Accounting System for Budgetary Units issued with Decision No. 03-TC/TDT dated March 30, 1972 of the Ministry of Finance.

In these forms, particular attention should be given to preparing and submitting the asset summary table early (for production and business enterprises, construction projects) or forms 11/BC, 12/BC, 13/BC, 14/BC, 59/BC, and 60/BC (for administrative and public service units). Additionally, depending on the content of public service work, the unit in charge must prepare specialized reports for each type of public service: agriculture, water conservancy, transportation, education, health, culture, etc., as stipulated in the Accounting System for Budgetary Units.

II. SETTLEMENT BY DEPARTMENTAL HEADS AND BOARDS:

1/ Departmental heads (at the local level) and boards and general departments (at the central level) must review the settlements of subordinate units to compile the overall settlement of the sector at the local and national levels and submit it to the corresponding finance authority.

2/ When reviewing the settlements of subordinate units, the supervising bodies at the local level (Departments, Offices) and at the central level (Boards, General Departments) must pay attention to checking and reconciling the settlement figures of each unit with the supervising body's records and analyzing each unit individually. At the same time, they must compare the settlement of one unit with another, comparing it with assigned tasks and plans and the actual potential at the grassroots level to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each unit and the entire sector.

3/ Based on the overall sector settlement, the supervising body conducts an analysis of its sector's settlement according to the following main contents:

a- On the results of production and business: it is necessary to delve deeply into the analysis of the economic efficiency of production capital of each enterprise and the entire sector, the increase in fixed assets compared to basic investment capital, compared to the increase in output, compared to the basic depreciation already paid, and compared to the increase in realized profits - profits paid to the state budget.

b- On administrative and public service activities:

- Analyze the staffing, labor force, and salary fund situations, the management and implementation of consumption standards and quotas;

- Analyze the implementation of administrative and public service performance indicators, comparing the results achieved with the state budget funds used to analyze the effectiveness of usage (state funds).

c- Note: To facilitate the fulfillment of tasks involving sectoral management combined with local and territorial management, it is recommended that central Ministries and General Departments not only analyze the final accounts of units directly under their management but also provide a general analysis of the entire sector nationwide. To achieve this, local Departments, Offices, and Branches must promptly submit their consolidated final accounts to the Ministries and General Departments for comprehensive analysis.

4/ Deadline for submitting consolidated final accounts:

- For production, business, and construction sectors: Final accounts must be submitted to the financial authorities within 90 days after the end of the year (i.e., before March 31, 1980, for the 1979 consolidated final accounts according to the State Accounting Organization Regulations).

- For administrative and public service sectors: Primary budget units at both central and local levels must submit their consolidated final accounts to the financial authorities of the same level within 40 days after the end of the year (i.e., before February 10, 1980, according to the current unit budget accounting system).

III/ COMPREHENSIVE FINAL ACCOUNTS OF THE BUDGET

1/ The preparation of comprehensive final accounts for the Central Budget, Provincial Budget, or equivalent County Budget shall be undertaken by the Ministry of Finance, Provincial Financial Departments, and County Financial Departments and Price Control Boards.

2/ In 1979, some localities had already decentralized financial management and state budget management to all counties and towns from the beginning of the year; others conducted pilot programs in certain counties or began forming county budgets mid-year. The preparation of comprehensive final accounts for the 1979 budget is specified as follows:

a- County Financial Departments and Price Control Boards that have established separate budgets prepare comprehensive final accounts of revenue and expenditure of the state budget on their respective county territories from the date of decentralization until the end of the year.

b- Provincial or Municipal Financial Departments prepare comprehensive final accounts of revenue of the state budget on their respective provincial or municipal territories based on the consolidation of comprehensive final accounts of revenue of the state budget at the provincial or municipal level (including revenue of the state budget in counties during the period before decentralization) together with comprehensive final accounts of revenue of the state budget in counties that have been decentralized. Simultaneously, Provincial or Municipal Financial Departments prepare comprehensive final accounts of expenditure of local budgets, including expenditure of provincial or municipal budgets and expenditure of county budgets that have been decentralized.

It should be noted that: While consolidating comprehensive final accounts of revenue of the state budget at each level (county or equivalent provincial or municipal level), a separate analysis of the comprehensive final accounts of revenue of each budget level (central, provincial or municipal, and county or equivalent) should be conducted. Regarding expenditure, comprehensive final accounts of local budget expenditure should be consolidated while separately analyzing comprehensive final accounts of expenditure of provincial or municipal budgets and county budgets or equivalents.

c- The Ministry of Finance (State Budget Management Department) prepares comprehensive final accounts of revenue and expenditure of the state budget, with a separate analysis of each level of the central budget and local budget.

3/ For certain counties and towns belonging to locality A, which were merged into locality B in the middle of 1979:

- Final accounts of revenue and expenditure from the beginning of the year to the transfer date must be consolidated into the comprehensive final accounts of locality A.

- Final accounts from the transfer date to the end of the year must be consolidated into the comprehensive final accounts of locality B.

Therefore, these counties and towns must urgently complete and submit their final accounts of revenue and expenditure from the beginning of the year to the transfer date to the Provincial or Municipal Financial Departments of locality A; simultaneously, they must submit final accounts of revenue and expenditure from the transfer date to the end of the year to locality B for comprehensive consolidation without duplication.

For the special zone of Vung Tau-Cong Dao, final accounts of revenue and expenditure of the state budget from the beginning of the year to the establishment date of the special zone:

- The part of Vung Tau is consolidated by the Dong Nai Provincial Financial Department.

- The part of Cong Dao is consolidated by the Hau Giang Provincial Financial Department.

The Special Zone Financial Department prepares comprehensive final accounts of revenue and expenditure of the state budget from the establishment date to the end of the year.

4/ After consolidating and preparing comprehensive final accounts of revenue and expenditure of local budgets, Provincial and Municipal Financial Departments must carefully review and reconcile to fully understand the remaining balances and surplus at the end of the year for each budget level, distinguishing clearly the portion deposited in provincial or municipal banks and the portion deposited in specific county banks to propose appropriate handling measures for the following year. At the same time, results of revenue and expenditure must be compared with plans, previous years, and between budgetary units and counties to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each unit and county, based on which explanations and analyses of comprehensive final accounts of revenue and expenditure will be conducted in conjunction with economic and administrative and public service activities in the locality. From this, valuable experiences and existing issues in budget management and accounting work in the locality will be identified. For counties that have been decentralized in financial management, progress and issues since decentralization must be analyzed and evaluated in comparison to the pre-decentralization period regarding economic and financial management and accounting work in the county.

5/ Deadlines for submitting comprehensive final accounts of various levels:

- Comprehensive final accounts of revenue of the state budget on the county territory, comprehensive final accounts of expenditure of the county budget, and the county's balance sheet must be submitted to the Provincial or Municipal Financial Departments before February 10, 1980;

- Comprehensive final accounts of revenue of the state budget on the provincial or municipal territory must be submitted to the Ministry of Finance before February 29, 1980;

- Comprehensive final accounts of expenditure and the balance sheet of the local budget must be submitted to the Ministry of Finance before March 31, 1980;

- Explanations and analyses of comprehensive final accounts of revenue of the state budget on the provincial or municipal territory and comprehensive final accounts of expenditure of the local budget, accompanied by basic data tables used as bases for explanation and analysis, must be submitted to the Ministry of Finance before April 30, 1980.

It is requested that the Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, People's Committees of provinces and cities, and Departments of Finance organize guidance for subordinate units to prepare the final accounts for the 1979 state budget in accordance with the State regulations and the provisions set forth in this Circular. During the implementation process, if there are any obstacles or difficulties, it is requested that they be reported to the Ministry of Finance (Department of State Budget Management) for joint study and resolution.