Circular No. 43/2013/TT-BNNPTNT guides the management of scientific and technological tasks (KHCN), financial management of KHCN, and personnel organization work for public scientific and technological organizations under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing the management of scientific and technological tasks, financial management of scientific and technological tasks

and personnel organization work of public scientific and technological organizations

the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment dated November 17, 2020;

_______________________

Pursuant to Decree No. 01/2008/ND-CP dated January 3, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Decree No. 75/2009/ND-CP dated September 10, 2009 of the Government amending Article 3 of Decree No. 01/2008/ND-CP;

Pursuant to Decree No. 115/2005/ND-CP dated September 5, 2005 of the Government stipulating the mechanism of autonomy and self-responsibility of public scientific and technological organizations and Decree No. 96/2010/ND-CP dated September 20, 2010 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 115/2005/ND-CP;

Pursuant to Decree No. 104/2006/ND-CP dated September 22, 2006 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Intellectual Property Law regarding rights over plant varieties;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment,

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development issues this Circular guiding the implementation of the management of scientific and technological tasks (hereinafter referred to as "KHCN"), financial management of KHCN tasks, and personnel organization work of public KHCN organizations under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

1. This Circular guides the implementation of the management of scientific and technological tasks (hereinafter referred to as "KHCN"), financial management of KHCN tasks, and personnel organization work of public KHCN organizations under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. This Circular does not apply to KHCN tasks implemented according to Joint Circular No. 66/2012/TTLT-BNNPTNT-BTC-BKHCN dated December 28, 2012 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development - Ministry of Finance - Ministry of Science and Technology guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decision No. 846/QĐ-TTg dated June 2, 2011 of the Prime Minister on piloting the procurement of certain products of KHCN of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to public KHCN organizations under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development including special-ranked Institutes, other Institutes directly under the Ministry, and organizations and individuals implementing KHCN tasks managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Chapter II

MANAGEMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL TASKS

Article 3. Determination of KHCN Tasks

Public KHCN organizations under the Ministry select and compile a list of KHCN tasks proposed by units under their management authority and submit it to the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment for organizing opinions to determine KHCN tasks and submit them to the Ministry for approval.

Article 4. Inspection of KHCN Tasks

1. For KHCN tasks at the Ministry level managed by the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment: The Department takes the lead, coordinating with public KHCN organizations under the Ministry to organize regular inspections (or ad hoc inspections if necessary) in accordance with current regulations.

2. For KHCN tasks at the Ministry level managed by the General Department: The General Department takes the lead, coordinating with the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment and public KHCN organizations under the Ministry to organize regular inspections (or ad hoc inspections if necessary) in accordance with current regulations.

3. For special tasks: Heads of public KHCN organizations under the Ministry organize regular inspections (or ad hoc inspections if necessary) and report the results to the Ministry in accordance with current regulations.

Article 5. Evaluation and acceptance of scientific and technological tasks

1. For scientific and technological tasks under the management of the Department of Science, Technology and Environment at the Ministry level: State-owned scientific and technological organizations directly under the Ministry shall evaluate and accept at the basic level and submit the files to the Department for evaluation and acceptance at the Ministry level.

2. For scientific and technological tasks under the management of the General Administration:

a) State-owned scientific and technological organizations directly under the Ministry shall evaluate and accept at the basic level and submit the files to the General Administration for evaluation and acceptance at the Ministry level;

b) The General Administration shall report the results of the acceptance of scientific and technological tasks to the Ministry according to current regulations.

3. For special tasks: Heads of state-owned scientific and technological organizations directly under the Ministry shall organize evaluations and acceptances and report to the Ministry according to current regulations.

Article 6. Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer

1. Organizations and individuals implementing research topics and projects with intellectual property products (plant varieties, animal breeds, aquaculture breeds, technological processes, useful solutions, industrial designs, inventions) must register to protect intellectual property rights according to the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law, guiding documents for the implementation of the Intellectual Property Law, and must register with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to be recognized as new technical progress.

2. Organizations and individuals implementing research topics and projects may only transfer or assign plant varieties, animal breeds, aquaculture breeds, technological processes, useful solutions, industrial designs, and inventions to organizations and individuals with demand after being officially recognized as new technical progress by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in writing.

3. State-owned scientific and technological organizations directly under the Ministry have the right to allocate the proceeds from technology transfer according to internal expenditure regulations consistent with the provisions of the law.

Chapter III

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL TASKS

Article 7. Budget Preparation

1. Scientific and technological tasks must prepare budgets according to a unified form issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The budget of each scientific and technological task must be prepared according to each content of work and divided into two types: allocated funds and non-allocated funds, implemented according to Circular Joint No. 93/2006/TTLT/BTC-BKHCN dated October 4, 2006, of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology on guidelines for the allocation system of research topic and project budgets using state funds (hereinafter referred to as Circular 93).

2. The content of expenditures and expenditure standards must be carried out according to current regulations. Based on the contents of the Task Description, the Head of the scientific and technological task shall determine appropriate activities linked to each budget item and according to Circular Joint No. 44/2007/TTLT-BTC-BKHCN dated May 7, 2007, of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology on guidelines for expenditure standards and budget allocation for research topics and projects using state funds (hereinafter referred to as Circular 44).

3. For areas and works without established expenditure standards issued by competent authorities, state-owned scientific and technological organizations directly under the Ministry shall establish temporary expenditure standards, submit them to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for approval as a basis for preparing budgets and implementing allocations.

4. Unit prices for budget estimates, in addition to applying expenditure standards and unit prices prescribed in the Circulars of the Ministries, shall unify certain expenditure levels as follows:

a) Labor unit prices:

- Technical labor is calculated at most equal to the salary and contributions based on the average salary grade of one scientific staff member with a coefficient of 3.66. Technical labor can only be calculated for contracted workers participating in the research topic or project. For scientific staff within the establishment who must perform project-related work outside regular hours, overtime work can be calculated according to regulations;

- For general labor, the head of the organization responsible for the research topic or project shall base the determination on market prices in each region at the time of budget preparation, with the maximum expenditure level being 80% of technical labor;

- For work requiring hiring domestic experts under a time-based contract according to Circular No. 18/2010/TT-BLDTBXH dated June 10, 2010, of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs on wage regulations for domestic consultants in tendered consulting packages and time-based contracts under state-funded projects;

- In cases where foreign experts need to be hired, the head of the state-owned scientific and technological organization shall decide or delegate decision-making on the expenditure level according to the actual contract agreed with the expert, ensuring quality and effectiveness.

b) Applying the "special topic" format:

- The organization implementing the research topic or project is responsible for developing the outline, assigning tasks, accepting content, settling contracts, and finalizing the budget for special topics.

- For special scientific and technological tasks, the head of state-owned scientific and technological organizations directly under the Ministry shall review and approve the number, type, and budget for special topics to ensure they do not exceed the ceiling set forth in Circular 44; for Ministry-level tasks, the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment shall review the number and type of special topics, while the Financial Department shall review the budget for special topics and submit for overall approval by the Ministry.

c) For materials, raw materials, tools, and equipment with prices set by competent authorities, these prices serve as the basis for budget preparation; if there are no prices set by competent authorities, the head of the research topic or project shall base the unit price determination on market quotations at the time of budget preparation and report to the direct superior for approval.

5. Budgets for travel expenses, conference, and seminar organization shall be carried out according to current guidelines of competent authorities and internal expenditure regulations of the unit. The head of state-owned scientific and technological organizations directly under the Ministry shall approve detailed budgets for travel expenses, conference, and seminar organization of subordinate units to ensure they do not exceed the approved ceilings in the overall description.

6. Budgets for investment-related items:

a) The investment content includes: infrastructure repair, procurement of machinery and equipment (forming fixed assets) and leasing of assets directly serving the implementation of the research topic or project;

b) In certain necessary cases, the Department of Science, Technology and Environment shall coordinate with the Department of Finance to examine and submit to the Ministry for approval of asset leasing costs and infrastructure costs; In cases where there is no leasing organization, the Department of Science, Technology and Environment shall coordinate with the Department of Finance to examine and submit to the Ministry for approval of procurement and repair costs.

7. The contents and expenditure levels prescribed in this Article serve as the basis for preparing the budget for implementing the research topic or project. The approved budget and allocation of funds by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is the maximum amount for implementing the research topic or project.

8. For research tasks in the framework of ODA and NGO projects: unit prices and cost norms shall be based on the norms stipulated by the funding agency.

Article 8. Examination and Approval of Detailed Explanations and Budget Estimates

1. For research tasks at the Ministry level:

a) For research tasks managed by the Department of Science, Technology and Environment: Based on the overall explanations and budgets prepared by the affiliated scientific and technological organizations under the Ministry, the Department of Science, Technology and Environment shall take the lead and coordinate with the Department of Finance to examine the content and budget, approve the explanations and overall budget before July 30 each year.

b) For research tasks managed by the General Departments: Based on the overall explanations and budgets prepared by the affiliated public scientific and technological organizations under the Ministry, the Department of Science, Technology and Environment shall take the lead and coordinate with the Department of Finance and the General Departments to examine the content and budget; the General Departments shall approve the explanations and overall budget before July 30 each year.

2. For special research tasks: The heads of the affiliated scientific and technological organizations under the Ministry shall organize the examination and approval of explanations and budgets no later than one month from the date the Ministry approves the list.

3. The examination of content and budget and the approval of explanations and budgets shall be carried out in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the current documents of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

4. For research tasks implemented within the framework of ODA and NGO projects: the procedures for examination and financial management shall be in accordance with Decree No. 38/2013/ND-CP dated April 23, 2013 of the Government (hereinafter referred to as Decree 38); Decree No. 93/2009/ND-CP dated October 22, 2009 of the Government (hereinafter referred to as Decree 93); guiding documents for implementing Decree 38, Decree 93, and the regulations of the funding agency.

Article 9. Use of Research Project Funds

1. The head of the public scientific and technological organization under the Ministry shall direct subordinate units to implement expenditure control and payment procedures according to the detailed budget already approved (content, items); at the end of the year, reconcile with the State Treasury (hereinafter referred to as KBNN), confirm the use of funds; instruct the heads of units to carry out and the project leaders to perform their authority regarding the procurement of raw materials, tools, equipment, and assets (procurement, bidding). For the international cooperation component in the project, the project leader shall approve the budget and settlement separately and consolidate into the overall budget and settlement of the project. Payment for labor and special topics: may choose to use timekeeping or contract assignment methods.

2. Regarding the use of allocated funds:

a) For expenditure items assigned: The project leader may proactively apply higher or lower expenditure levels depending on the quality and effectiveness of the work and in accordance with the internal expenditure regulations of the leading agency;

b) For expenditure items not assigned: The project leader shall manage and expend according to the current regulations and within the approved budget range.

Article 10. On Adjusting the Budget Estimate

1. The budget estimate shall be adjusted when there is a change in content, volume, standard rate, unit price, or due to objective impacts such as natural disasters, epidemics leading to changes in the budget estimates of various contents or items, or even the total budget estimate.

2. In cases where it is necessary to adjust the total budget estimate: During the implementation period, if the consumer price index published by the General Statistics Office increases by 20% or more compared to the time the budget estimate was approved, or due to objective impacts such as natural disasters, epidemics leading to a change in the total budget estimate by 20% or more, the heads of public scientific and technological organizations under the Ministry shall submit a report explaining and requesting adjustment.

a) For Ministry-level scientific and technological tasks:

The Department of Science, Technology, and Environment shall take the lead, coordinate with the Finance Department to review and submit to the Ministry for approval of the adjustment of the total budget estimate; in cases where the task is assigned to a General Department to manage, the General Department shall take the lead, with the participation of the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment and the Finance Department in the review.

b) For special scientific and technological tasks: The heads of public scientific and technological organizations under the Ministry shall approve the adjustment of the total budget estimate after obtaining the consent of the head of the Department of Science, Technology, and Environment.

3. In cases where it is not necessary to adjust the total budget estimate, the detailed budget adjustment shall be carried out as follows:

a) For allocated funds: Within the scope of the total allocated budget estimate and without changing between items, based on the proposal of the project leader, the head of the main agency has the authority to decide on adjusting the budget estimate among different expenditure items according to the actual needs of the work;

b) For unallocated funds: In necessary cases, the project leader and the main organization can proactively adjust the budget estimate among different expenditure items (if there is no change between items) up to a maximum of 10%. In cases of adjustment of 10% or more, it can only be implemented after obtaining the consent of the superior management agency.

Article 11. On Finalizing Scientific and Technological Tasks and Handling Year-end Balances

1. The finalization of scientific and technological tasks shall be carried out in accordance with Circular 93, annual settlement guidance documents of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and scientific and technological project management guidelines of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development:

a) For labor services: The settlement file includes the Labor Contract or Assignment Contract; must contain complete personal information of the contracted individual signed by the leader of the scientific and technological task and confirmed by the head of the implementing unit; in cases where the individual performing the contract does not belong to any legal entity, their full name, gender, identity card number (number, date of issue, place of issuance), telephone number, permanent residence registration address, tax identification number (if applicable) must be clearly stated and confirmed by the local government of the commune or ward;

b) For "special topics": The settlement file includes: the contract (or assignment document) along with the topic outline and budget, payment receipts for the person executing the special topic (lump sum), acceptance or confirmation of completion results of the topic by the project leader (or the head of the implementing unit) and contract termination; all documents in the file must be confirmed by the implementing organization.

2. Scientific and technological tasks must be finalized according to the fiscal year. Conditions for settlement include:

a) Confirmation by the competent authority or authorized body regarding the results of implementing the contents;

b) Complete files as stipulated in Circular 93 and annual settlement guidance documents of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Public scientific and technological organizations have the responsibility to guide, direct, inspect, and review the settlement of task leaders to compile into the unit's settlement report submitted to the supervising agency for review in accordance with Circular 93.

3. The remaining balance (budget estimate, advance payments) of projects and programs still within the implementation period according to the approved plan shall be transferred to the next year for continued implementation, detailed procedures are specified in Circular 108/2008/TT-BTC dated November 18, 2008 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the handling of end-of-year budgets and the preparation and reporting of annual state budget settlements (hereinafter referred to as Circular 108). The implementing unit of scientific and technological tasks must confirm all forms 02/DVDT and 03/DVDT (as guided in Circular 108) with the State Treasury office where transactions are conducted.

4. For tasks concluding within the year:

a) In cases where the deadline ends before September 30, acceptance and settlement must be completed before December 31 of the same year; in special cases, it may request the competent authority to consider extending the deadline and allow the transfer of unfinished content and funds to the following year;

b) In cases where the deadline ends from September 30 to before December 31 of the year, the completion of acceptance at the direct management level must be finished before December 31, and settlement must be completed before January 25 of the following year to ensure compliance with the deadline for handling balances as stipulated by the Ministry of Finance in Circular 108.

Article 12. On the use of management funds and savings of research topics and projects

1. The use of management funds for research topics and projects shall be carried out in accordance with the internal expenditure regulations of public science and technology organizations under the Ministry.

2. Savings funds must be reflected in the final settlement report of each research topic and project by the implementing unit. The implementing unit of the research topic and project organizes financial settlement and determines the amount of savings funds, reporting to the higher-level scientific and technological organization.

a) In the case where savings are in the form of surplus at the State Treasury: the implementing unit of the research topic and project must prepare a list and submit a final settlement report to the State Treasury before December 31 and request withdrawal of the determined savings fund amount.

b) In the case where savings are in the form of advance payments already withdrawn: the implementing unit of the research topic and project settles accounts after paying off the advance payments and determining the savings amount, then requests the State Treasury and the main authority to transfer the remaining advance payment balance to handle this savings.

3. Handling of savings funds:

a) Savings from allocated funds can be used to reward teams and individuals directly involved in the implementation of research topics and projects according to specific provisions in Circular 93. The specific award amount for each individual is proposed by the head of the task and decided by the head of the main authority, consistent with the internal expenditure regulations of public scientific and technological organizations.

b) Savings from non-allocated funds are transferred to the Development Fund of the implementing unit.

Article 13. Handling of assets when research topics and projects conclude

1. In the case where assets are purchased using state budget funds, they become state assets; after the completion, acceptance, and final settlement of the research topic and project, based on the proposal of the main organization, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development authorizes the Director of the Finance Department to consider handling as follows:

a) Permitting the main organization to retain and continue using them;

b) Transferring to state agencies or units that have a need for use or are below the standard and usage quota set by the state;

c) Permitting liquidation;

d) The handling of assets is determined and recorded in the Settlement Certificate of the Ministry.

2. In the case where assets are purchased using Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds, the handling of assets when research topics and projects conclude shall be carried out according to the agreement in the project documentation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the sponsor.

Chapter IV

ORGANIZATION AND STAFF

Article 14. On organizational structure, job positions, number of staff, and salary

The heads of public science and technology organizations under the Ministry shall perform tasks related to organizational structure, staffing, and salaries as follows:

1. Deciding on the establishment, restructuring, or dissolution of organizations without legal entity status such as departments or laboratories (hereinafter referred to as organizations without legal entity status) under scientific and technological organizations after reporting and obtaining approval in writing from the Minister.

The procedures and formalities for establishing, restructuring, or dissolving organizations without legal entity status shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. Approving the charter and operational regulations of subordinate organizations in accordance with current regulations. For the charter and operational regulations of special-ranked Institutes and Centers under the Institute, written approval from the Ministry must be obtained before issuance.

3. Public science and technology organizations under the Ministry shall review job position plans or job position adjustment plans of public service units under their management; compile and build job position plans or job position adjustment plans for the entire organization and report to the Ministry for review and approval in accordance with regulations.

Public service units granted full autonomy in task execution, finance, organizational structure, and personnel: decide on the number of staff based on job positions and the cadre structure approved by the Minister and manage cadres within the delegated authority.

4. Decide on salary increases for cadres from the senior researcher rank and below in accordance with the provisions of the law; report to the Ministry on the implementation of salary increases in units in accordance with current regulations.

Article 15. On Cadre Work

1. The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development decides on planning, appointment, reappointment, resignation, dismissal, transfer, secondment, rotation, retirement, and disciplinary action for the Director and Deputy Directors of the Special Ranking Institute; the Institute Heads and Deputy Institute Heads of subordinate Institutes under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

2. The Director of the Special Ranking Institute decides on planning, appointment, reappointment, resignation, dismissal, transfer, rotation, retirement, and disciplinary action for positions from Department Heads and Deputy Department Heads; Institute Heads and Deputy Institute Heads; Center Directors and Deputy Center Directors; Laboratory Directors and Deputy Laboratory Directors and other organizations directly under the Special Ranking Institute. The Director of the Special Ranking Institute must report and obtain written approval from the Minister before implementing the procedures for appointing Department Heads and Deputy Department Heads; Institute Heads and Deputy Institute Heads; Center Directors and Deputy Center Directors; Laboratory Directors and Deputy Laboratory Directors and other organizations directly under the Special Ranking Institute.

The Director of the Special Ranking Institute decides on other positions not specified herein in accordance with the provisions of the law.

3. The Institute Head of subordinate Institutes under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development decides on planning, appointment, reappointment, resignation, dismissal, transfer, rotation, retirement, and disciplinary action for the heads and deputies of units directly under the Institute in accordance with the provisions of the law.

4. The head of a public scientific and technological organization stipulates the signing of contracts to hire domestic and foreign experts to carry out the tasks of their unit in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 16. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from December 6, 2013.

2. This Circular replaces Circular No. 67/2010/TT-BNNPTNT dated November 17, 2010 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development guiding the self-management and self-responsibility mechanism of public scientific and technological organizations under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

3. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, it is requested that agencies, organizations, and individuals reflect these issues to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for study, amendment, and supplementation to be appropriate./.