Circular No. 43/2022/TT-BTC guiding the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work.

CIRCULAR

Hguiding the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work.

On the basis of Law on International Treaties dated April 9, 2016;

On the basis of Law on State Budget June 25, 2015;

On the basis of Law on International Agreements dated November 13, 2020;

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

Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP dated June 30, 2021, of the Government on the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work;

Decree No. 87/2017/NĐ-CP July 26, 2017 of 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 guiding the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Article 1. This Circular guides the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work as prescribed in Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP dated June 30, 2021 of the Government on the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP).

Article 2. This Circular applies to agencies, organizations, and individuals participating in the process of signing and implementing international treaties and international agreements as prescribed in the Law on International Treaties and the Law on International Agreements.

Article 2. Principles for managing and using funds and state budget sources to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work

Implement as prescribed in Article 3 and Article 4 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP.

Article 3. Contents of expenditures for international treaty work and international agreement work

Implement as prescribed in Article 5 and Article 6 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP.

Article 4. Levels of expenditure

Point 1. Expenditure levels for expenditure items that have been stipulated in regulations and cost standards: Implement according to current regulations, specifically:

a) Expenditures for organizing meetings, conferences, and domestic travel expenses: Implement according to the expenditure levels prescribed in Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance on travel expense regulations and conference expenditure regulations.

b) Foreign travel expenses: Implement according to the expenditure levels prescribed in Circular No. 102/2012/TT-BTC dated June 21, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance on travel expense regulations for civil servants and employees going abroad on short-term missions funded by the state budget.

c) Expenditures for reviewing matters related to international treaties and international agreements as prescribed at point c, Clause 1, Article 5; point b, Clause 2, Article 5; point d, Clause 3, Article 5; point b, Clause 2, Article 6; point c, Clause 3, Article 6 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP: Implement according to the expenditure levels prescribed in Joint Circular No. 122/2011/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated August 17, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice on the preparation, management, use, and settlement of funds to ensure the inspection, handling, review, and systematization of legal normative documents.

d) Translation costs; costs for welcoming foreign delegations to Vietnam: Implement according to the expenditure levels prescribed in Circular No. 71/2018/TT-BTC dated August 10, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance on regulations for expenses for welcoming foreign guests to Vietnam, organizing international conferences and seminars in Vietnam, and hosting guests within the country.

đ) Costs for building and operating the database on international treaties of Vietnam located at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as prescribed at point e, Clause 6, Article 5 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP; costs for building and updating the database on international agreements as prescribed at point c, Clause 6, Article 6 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP: Implement according to regulations on managing investment in the application of information technology using state budget funds and related supplementary documents; economic and technical norms in the field of information and communication and related guidance documents.

e) Costs for disseminating and popularizing international treaties and international agreements as prescribed at point c, Clause 7, Article 5 and point a, Clause 4, Article 6 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP: Implement according to the expenditure levels prescribed in Joint Circular No. 14/2014/TTLT-BTC-BTP dated January 27, 2014 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice on the preparation, management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure legal education and public awareness and access to law for the people at the grassroots level.

Point 2. Other expenditures:

a) Financial contributions or annual payments to international organizations established under international treaties to which Vietnam is a member as prescribed at point đ, Clause 7, Article 5 and financial contributions under international agreements as prescribed at point b, Clause 4, Article 6 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP: Implement according to the provisions of the international treaties and agreements approved by competent authorities.

b) Costs for providing copies of international treaties; costs for copying, printing documents; costs for purchasing and collecting documents; costs for purchasing office supplies directly serving the drafting of international treaties and international agreements; other incidental costs directly serving international treaty work and international agreement work: Implement based on actual occurrences supported by legitimate invoices and receipts within the scope of the budget allocated by competent authorities.

Point 3. Certain expenditure levels with special characteristics serving international treaty work and international agreement work:

a) The construction of the types of files specified in Point đ, Clause 1, Article 5 and Point d, Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP includes: Files submitted for the study and development of negotiation plans, construction of negotiation proposal files for international treaties; files submitted for the proposal to sign international treaties; files submitted for the approval of international treaties; files submitted for the ratification of international treaties; files submitted for accession to international treaties; files submitted for acceptance or objection to reservations made by foreign contracting parties to international treaties; files submitted for withdrawal of reservations or objections to reservations in international treaties; files submitted for amendment, supplementation, extension of international treaties; files submitted for termination of effect, renunciation, withdrawal from, or temporary suspension of implementation of international treaties; files submitted for the proposal to sign international agreements; files submitted for amendment, supplementation, extension, termination of effect, withdrawal from, or temporary suspension of implementation of international agreements.

The maximum expenditure level is 10,000,000 VND per set of files, carried out by the leading agency submitting for implementation and calculated for the final product file approved by the competent authority. The list of a set of files is implemented according to the Law on International Treaties and the Law on International Agreements. Depending on the content, nature, and complexity of each international treaty or international agreement, the head of the unit decides on appropriate expenditure levels, not exceeding the maximum expenditure level stipulated herein.

b) Expenditure on drafting international treaties and international agreements specified in Point d, Clause 1, Article 5 and Point c, Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP (calculated for the final international treaty or international agreement product that is signed):

- Drafting new draft international treaties: Maximum 8,000,000 VND per document;

- Drafting draft international treaties for amendment and supplementation: Maximum 5,000,000 VND per document;

- Drafting new draft international agreements: Maximum 5,000,000 VND per document.

c) Expenditure on meetings of the Council for Reviewing International Treaties, the Council for Appraising International Treaties (if any) specified in Point e, Clause 4, Article 5 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP:

- Host of the meeting: 150,000 VND per person per session;

- Participants: 100,000 VND per person per session;

- Written comments from participants: 500,000 VND per document (the number of written comments is decided and responsible for by the head of the leading agency to ensure effectiveness within the allocated budget).

d) Expenditure on reports and evaluations from critics and members of the Council for Reviewing, the Council for Appraising in cases stipulated in Clause 3, Article 18 and Clause 3, Article 20 of the Law on International Treaties, and the Council for Scrutiny in cases of important and complex international treaties as stipulated in Point c, Clause 5, Article 5 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP:

- For new or replacement draft international treaties: 1,000,000 VND per report;

- For draft international treaties for amendment and supplementation: 700,000 VND per report.

đ) Reports on the signing and implementation of international treaties and international agreements as stipulated in Point h, Clause 7, Article 5; Point c, Clause 8, Article 5 and Point c, Clause 5, Article 6 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP:

- National reports on the implementation of multilateral international treaties as stipulated by the international treaty: Maximum 10,000,000 VND per report.

- Reports on the signing and implementation of international treaties and international agreements submitted to the Prime Minister, the Government, the State President: Maximum 8,000,000 VND per report;

- Annual reports on the signing and implementation of international treaties and international agreements by Ministries and sectors: Maximum 5,000,000 VND per report;

- Specialized or ad hoc reports on the signing and implementation of international treaties and international agreements upon request of the competent authority: Maximum 3,000,000 VND per report.

e) Expenditure on the preparation of appraisal reports and review reports for proposals to sign and accede to international treaties as stipulated in Point c, Clause 4, Article 5 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP and scrutiny reports on international treaties as stipulated in Point d, Clause 5, Article 5 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP:

- For new or replacement draft international treaties: 1,500,000 VND per report;

- For draft international treaties for amendment and supplementation: 1,000,000 VND per report.

g) Expenditure on providing legal opinions for international treaties, loan agreements, government guarantee agreements as stipulated in Clause 9, Article 5 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP: 4,000,000 VND per legal opinion (including all related costs such as drafting, meetings, translating documents, and other services supporting the provision of legal opinions).

h) Expenditure on obtaining expert opinions as stipulated in Point b, Clause 1, Article 5; Point d, Clause 2, Article 5; Point d, Clause 4, Article 5; Point h, Clause 7, Article 5 of Decree No. 65/2021/NĐ-CP: 1,000,000 VND per written opinion (implemented when it involves international treaties in specialized fields requiring independent expert advice; the number of experts is decided and responsible for by the head of the leading agency to ensure effectiveness within the allocated budget).

i) Expenditure on drafting sets of files, documents, and various types of reports as stipulated in Points a, b, d, đ, e, g of this Clause is calculated for the final product (including incorporation and revision), carried out by the agency assigned to lead the work on international treaties and international agreements.

Article 5. Establishment and allocation of budget estimates, management and settlement of funds for international treaty work and international agreement work

The establishment of budget estimates, allocation, management and settlement of funds for international treaty work and international agreement work shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law, the Accounting Law, guiding documents and the following regulations:

1. Establishment and allocation of budget estimates:

a) Establishment of budget estimates:

- For Ministries and central agencies: Each year, the units assigned to lead the implementation of international treaty work and international agreement work shall base on the expenditure items and levels specified in this Circular and related documents to establish budget estimates for international treaty work and international agreement work, report to the superior management agency, consolidate into the annual regular budget estimate of the Ministry or central agency, and submit to the Ministry of Finance.

- For localities: Each year, based on the tasks assigned to implement international agreement work within their functions, duties, and authorities, the unit responsible for leading the implementation of international agreement work shall establish budget estimates, report to the superior management agency, consolidate into the local budget estimate, report to the People's Committee at the same level, and submit to the People's Council in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

Specifically, for tasks assigned by the State and Government to implement international treaty work and international agreement work (funded by the central budget), the unit responsible for leading the implementation shall establish budget estimates for international treaty work and international agreement work, consolidate into the local budget estimate (supplementary budget from the central budget for the local budget), and submit to the Ministry of Finance.

- Based on the proposals of Ministries, central agencies, and localities, the Ministry of Finance will incorporate them into the annual budget estimate and submit to the competent authority for approval in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

b) Allocation of budget estimates, execution of the budget:

- After the budget estimate has been approved by the competent authority, the Ministry of Finance will allocate the budget to Ministries, central agencies, and localities for the implementation of international treaty work and international agreement work according to the approved plan;

- Ministries, central agencies, and localities will allocate funds to subordinate units implementing international treaty work and international agreement work, and send to the financial agency at the same level for inspection in accordance with regulations.

2. Use and settlement of funds:

Funds for international treaty work and international agreement work shall be used and settled in accordance with the State Budget Law, the Accounting Law, and guiding documents.

Article 6. Implementation Organization

1. The supplementary allowance system for cadres, civil servants, and public officials stipulated in this Circular shall apply until the new salary system for cadres, civil servants, public officials, and armed forces personnel, issued by the Government to implement Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW dated May 21, 2018 of the Seventh Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on salary reform for cadres, civil servants, public officials, armed forces, and workers in enterprises, comes into effect.

2. The expenditure levels specified in this Circular are the maximum expenditure levels serving as the basis for Ministries and central agencies to establish budget estimates for international treaty work and international agreement work. The Minister or head of a central agency shall specify specific expenditure levels suitable for implementation within the allocated budget estimate.

3. Based on the actual situation in the locality and the local budget balance capacity, the Provincial People's Committee or the People's Committee of a centrally-administered city shall submit to the People's Council at the same level to decide on specific expenditure levels suitable for implementation in the locality.

4. In cases where Ministries, central agencies, and localities have not yet issued documents specifying specific expenditure levels, the heads of agencies and units shall decide on expenditure levels for international treaty work and international agreement work based on the levels specified in this Circular, but not exceeding these levels, ensuring economy and avoiding waste within the allocated budget estimate.

5. For international treaties and agreements approved for implementation before the effective date of this Circular, they shall continue to be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 13/2018/TT-BTC dated February 6, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance on the management and use of state budget funds for international treaty work and international agreement work.

6. For funds allocated for international treaty work and international agreement work in 2022, Ministries, central agencies, and localities shall proactively arrange and adjust within the state budget estimate allocated for 2022 to implement.

7. If the referenced documents in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be implemented in accordance with those amended, supplemented, or replacement documents.

Article 7. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from September 5, 2022. Circular No. 13/2018/TT-BTC dated February 6, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance on the management and use of state budget funds for international treaty work and international agreement work shall cease to be effective from the date this Circular takes effect.

2. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, units are requested to reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for study, amendment, and supplementation to ensure suitability./.