Joint Circular No. 40/2006/TTLT/BTC-BTTUBTWMTTQVN-TLĐLĐVN guiding the funding for the operation of the People's Inspectorate Committee

JOINT CIRCULAR

GUIDELINES ON FUNDS TO ENSURE THE OPERATIONS OF CITIZEN AUDIT BOARDS

Pursuant to Decree No. 99/2005/ND-CP dated July 28, 2005 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Inspection Law on the organization and operation of Citizen Audit Boards;

Based on Decree No. 221/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 30, 2013 of the Government stipulating the system of applying administrative handling measures for placement in compulsory drug rehabilitation facilities (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 221/2013/NĐ-CP);

The Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Central Committee of the National Front for Unity and Development, and the General Confederation of Labor of Vietnam jointly issue guidelines on funds to ensure the operations of Citizen Audit Boards as follows:

I GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Scope of application:

This Circular provides guidelines on funds to ensure the operations of:

a) Citizen Audit Boards at communes, wards, and towns (hereinafter referred to as Citizen Audit Boards at commune level);

b) Citizen Audit Boards at state agencies;

c) Citizen Audit Boards at public service units;

d) Citizen Audit Boards at state-owned enterprises.

2. Sources of funds:

a) Funds to ensure the operations of Citizen Audit Boards at commune level shall be provided by the People's Committee of the province, which will coordinate with the People's Council at the same level to allocate from the commune budget for the People's Committee of the commune to provide to the Citizen Audit Board for its operations.

b) Funds for the operations of Citizen Audit Boards at state agencies shall be allocated by the head of the agency within the scope of the annual state budget estimate granted by the competent authority to that state agency.

c) Funds for the operations of Citizen Audit Boards at public service units shall be allocated by the head of the unit within the scope of the financial resources of the unit (including the annual state budget estimate granted by the competent authority, the revenue of the unit, and retained earnings if applicable).

d) Funds for the operations of Citizen Audit Boards at state-owned enterprises shall be allocated by the General Director or Director of the enterprise according to the financial capacity of the enterprise and recorded as reasonable expenses when calculating corporate income tax in accordance with the Corporate Income Tax Law and related implementing regulations.

3. Citizen Audit Boards at commune level, Citizen Audit Boards at state agencies, Citizen Audit Boards at public service units, and Citizen Audit Boards at state-owned enterprises are responsible for using funds for their operations in accordance with current financial expenditure regulations, reporting quarterly and annually on the funds used to the People's Committee of the National Front for Unity and Development at the commune level (for Citizen Audit Boards at commune level) or the grassroots trade union organization at the unit (for Citizen Audit Boards at state agencies, public service units, and state-owned enterprises).

The People's Committee of the National Front for Unity and Development at the commune level is responsible for reporting the final accounts of the funds used by the Citizen Audit Board at the commune level to the Financial Department of the commune.

The grassroots trade union organization is responsible for reporting the final accounts of the funds used by the Citizen Audit Board at the unit to the Finance Department of the state agency, public service unit, or enterprise.

II SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1 Contents of expenditures to ensure the operations of Citizen Audit Boards include:

a) Expenditures for purchasing office supplies, information dissemination, publicity costs, telephone charges, postal charges;

b) Conference fees, travel expenses;

c) Payment for remuneration to members of the Citizen Audit Board directly performing inspection work according to approved plans;

d) Expenditures for meetings to discuss recommendations for handling violations of laws;

đ) Allowances for members of the Citizen Audit Board who cooperate with state audit organizations when conducting inspections at localities or units (if applicable).

2 Regarding expenditure levels:

The above expenditures serving the operations of Citizen Audit Boards shall be implemented in accordance with the current standards and financial expenditure regulations prescribed by the competent authority, specifically as follows:

a) For Citizen Audit Boards at commune level:

- Expenditures for purchasing office supplies based on actual invoices; telephone charges and postal charges based on actual invoices from the post office.

- Conference fees and travel expenses according to the regulations of the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level detailed in Circular No. 118/2004/TT-BTC dated December 8, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance regarding travel expenses and conference regulations for administrative agencies and public service units nationwide.

- Remuneration payments and allowances shall be applied according to the expenditure levels decided by the competent authority. In cases where specific expenditure levels have not been established, the Chairman of the People's Committee of the National Front for Unity and Development at the commune level shall consult with the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune to decide appropriately within the allocated budget for the Citizen Audit Board at the commune level.

b) For Citizen Audit Boards at state agencies:

- Conference fees and travel expenses according to the regulations of the Minister or Head of the central agency or the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level detailed in Circular No. 118/2004/TT-BTC dated December 8, 2004 of the Ministry of Finance regarding travel expenses and conference regulations for administrative agencies and public service units nationwide.

- Other expenditures shall be carried out according to the internal expenditure regulations of the agency. If the agency has not established internal expenditure regulations, it shall follow the current regulations.

c) For Citizen Audit Boards at public service units:

Expenditures shall be made in accordance with the internal expenditure regulations for units operating under the self-financing system. For public service units that have not implemented the self-financing mechanism, they shall follow the current national financial expenditure regulations.

d) For Citizen Audit Boards at state-owned enterprises:

Expenditures shall be made according to the agreed levels between the grassroots trade union committee and the General Director or Director of the enterprise but shall not exceed the current national regulations.

3 Budget preparation, allocation, execution, and final accounting of funds:

a) For funds for the operations of Citizen Audit Boards at commune level:

- The establishment, implementation, and settlement of operating funds for the People's Supervisory Board at the commune level shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 60/2003/TT-BTC dated June 23, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance on the management of commune budgets and other financial activities of communes, wards, and towns.

This Circular provides detailed guidance on the following points:

+ Budget preparation and execution: For the initial years of the period of local budget stabilization, based on the tasks of the People's Supervisory Board at the commune level in the planned year and the current financial expenditure regulations, the Commune-level United Front Committee shall direct the People's Supervisory Board at the commune level to prepare a budget for expenditures that ensure the operation of the People's Supervisory Board, which shall be submitted to the Commune People's Committee for review and consolidation, then reported to the District People's Committee for review and consolidation, and finally submitted to the Provincial People's Committee for reporting to the Provincial People's Council for decision-making and balancing the operating funds of the People's Supervisory Board. For subsequent years during the period of local budget stabilization, based on the allocated budget and the actual budget capacity of the locality, the funds shall be arranged in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law.

+ The balance of operating funds for the People's Supervisory Board at the commune level must ensure a minimum of two million VND per year.

- Quarterly and annually, the Standing Committee of the Commune-level United Front Committee is responsible for consolidating and settling the operating funds of the People's Supervisory Board together with the operating funds of the Commune-level United Front Committee, and submitting them to the Commune Financial Department for consolidation into the annual financial settlement report of the Commune People's Committee in accordance with current regulations.

b) Regarding the operating funds of the People's Supervisory Board in state agencies and public service units:

- The establishment, implementation, and settlement of operating funds for the People's Supervisory Board in state agencies and public service units shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 59/2003/TT-BTC dated June 13, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law; additionally, public service units must also comply with the current regulations on the self-management financial system for public service units.

- Quarterly and annually, the Trade Union Committee at the grassroots level in state agencies and public service units is responsible for settling the operating funds used by the People's Supervisory Board with the Financial Department of the state agency or public service unit for consolidation into the annual revenue and expenditure settlement of the agency or unit in accordance with current regulations.

c) Regarding the operating funds of the People's Supervisory Board in state-owned enterprises:

- Annually, based on the program and plan of activities of the People's Supervisory Board, the Trade Union Committee at the state-owned enterprise shall prepare a budget for ensuring the operation of the People's Supervisory Board, which shall be submitted to the Financial Department of the enterprise for consolidation into the financial revenue and expenditure plan of the enterprise, to be approved by the General Director or Director as the basis for implementation.

- Quarterly and annually, the Trade Union Committee at the grassroots level is responsible for settling the operating funds used by the People's Supervisory Board and submitting them to the Financial Department of the enterprise for consolidation into the annual financial revenue and expenditure settlement report of the enterprise in accordance with current regulations.

III IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

This Circular replaces Joint Circular No. 51/2003/TTLT-BTC-BTTĐCTUBTWMTTQVN dated May 23, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, guiding the operating funds of the People's Supervisory Board in communes, wards, and towns.

2. In the course of implementation, if any difficulties arise, they should be reported to the Ministry of Finance, the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor for consideration and resolution./.