Decree No. 46/2018/NĐ-CP stipulates the management, use, and exploitation of national railway infrastructure assets.

DECREE

Regulations on management, use, and exploitation of national railway infrastructure assets. National railway infrastructure assets.

 Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Management and Use of State Assets dated June 21, 2017;

Pursuant to the Railway Law dated June 16, 2017;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance;

The Government promulgates this Decree to regulate the management, use, and exploitation of national railway infrastructure assets.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree regulates the management, use, and exploitation of national railway infrastructure assets invested in and managed by the State.

Article 2. Applicability

1. State management agency for national railways.

2. Agencies entrusted with managing national railway infrastructure assets (hereinafter referred to as agencies entrusted with managing assets); state-owned enterprises holding 100% of the charter capital engaged in railway infrastructure business are entrusted with managing national railway infrastructure assets in accordance with point c, Clause 1, Article 5 of this Decree.

3. Agencies, units, and enterprises entrusted with using and exploiting national railway infrastructure assets.

4. Other entities related to the management, use, and exploitation of national railway infrastructure assets.

Article 3. Principles for the management, use, and exploitation of national railway infrastructure assets.

1. All national railway infrastructure assets shall be assigned by the State to the relevant entities for management and use in accordance with the law.

2. State management of national railway infrastructure assets shall be carried out uniformly, clearly defining the authority and responsibilities of each state agency and the responsibility for coordination among state agencies; distinguishing between the state management function of state agencies and the business activities of enterprises.

3. The exploitation of national railway infrastructure assets must follow market mechanisms and be effective. The State encourages socialization to mobilize social resources to maintain, develop, and exploit national railway infrastructure assets.

4. National railway infrastructure assets shall be fully inventoried and accounted for in terms of both physical assets and value. Assets at high risk from natural disasters, fires, and other force majeure causes shall be financially managed through insurance or other instruments as prescribed by law.

5. Management, use, and exploitation of national railway infrastructure assets must be transparent and public; ensuring unified and centralized traffic control; ensuring smooth, orderly, safe, accurate, and efficient national railway transportation operations; all acts violating laws on asset management and use must be promptly and strictly dealt with according to the law.

Chapter II

MANAGEMENT, USE, AND EXPLOITATION OF NATIONAL RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS

Section 1

MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS

Article 4. List of national railway infrastructure assets.

1. National railway infrastructure assets include land attached to national railway infrastructure and are divided into two types: national railway infrastructure assets directly related to train operation and national railway infrastructure assets not directly related to train operation.

2. National railway infrastructure assets directly related to train operation are railway works, components of railway works, or auxiliary works directly serving train operation, passenger pick-up and drop-off, cargo loading and unloading, including:

a) National railway tracks, bridges, culverts, tunnels, retaining walls, road crossings, fences separating national railways from roads;

b) Stations (railway tracks within stations, roads within stations serving train operations, waiting rooms, warehouses and yards for goods transported by rail directly related to train operations, train dispatching rooms, signal equipment rooms, platforms, platform canopies, pedestrian overpasses within stations, ticket booths);

c) Depots (locations for train assembly, maintenance, repair, and other technical operations);

d) Train dispatching rooms at national railway traffic control centers;

đ) Water supply and drainage systems; signaling systems; power supply directly related to train operations;

e) Railway demand and supply houses, railway track houses, railway signaling houses, houses for signal equipment, bridge watch houses, tunnel watch houses, level crossing watch houses.

3. National railway infrastructure assets not directly related to train operation are works, components of works, or auxiliary works not included in the assets specified in Clause 2 of this Article, including:

a) Roads within stations not serving train operations;

b) Station squares;

c) Warehouses and yards for goods not directly related to train operations;

d) Service and commercial facilities (sales, lodging, other services) at national railway stations;

đ) Office buildings of state agencies in station areas;

e) Other works and components not directly related to train operations.

4. National railway infrastructure assets related to national defense and security as stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of the law on protecting important works related to national defense and security.

5. During the course of operation, if it is necessary to adjust the classification of assets between the groups specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of this Article, the Prime Minister shall consider and decide based on the proposal of the Minister of Transport and the opinion of the Ministry of Finance.

Article 5. Transfer of management of national railway infrastructure assets

1. The Prime Minister decides:

a) To transfer national railway infrastructure assets to railway infrastructure business enterprises under the form of state capital investment in enterprises in accordance with the provisions of laws on the management and use of state capital for production and business investment in enterprises based on the proposal of the Minister of Transport and the opinions of relevant agencies;

b) To transfer national railway infrastructure assets to the agency responsible for managing assets as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Decree (which is the agency assisting the Minister of Transport in performing specialized state management functions for railways) to manage based on the proposal of the Minister of Transport and the opinions of relevant agencies regarding assets related to national defense and security and assets formed from projects decided by the Prime Minister to invest according to regulations;

c) To transfer national railway infrastructure assets to railway infrastructure business enterprises held 100% by the State without considering the state capital component in the enterprise.

Based on the actual situation of the management and use of national railway infrastructure assets, in cases where it is necessary to transfer national railway infrastructure assets to railway infrastructure business enterprises held 100% by the State to manage without considering the state capital component in the enterprise during a certain period, the Ministry of Transport shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies to develop a Proposal to be submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision. The management, use, and exploitation of assets in the case of transferring them to enterprises for management shall be carried out in accordance with Article 99 of the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets, the Proposal must be approved by the Prime Minister in accordance with this Decree and relevant laws; the Ministry of Transport shall be responsible for issuing regulations on coordination between enterprises entrusted with asset management and agencies implementing specialized state management functions for railways in the management, use, and exploitation of assets in accordance with regulations.

2. The Minister of Transport decides to transfer national railway infrastructure assets not within the scope stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article to the agency responsible for managing assets as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Decree to manage.

3. Documents for proposing the transfer of management of national railway infrastructure assets to the agency responsible for managing assets as stipulated in point b, Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article:

a) The proposal document of the agency responsible for managing assets: 01 original copy;

b) Review and classification record of the asset inventory or asset files handed over for use: 01 original copy;

c) List of assets to be managed (asset name, quantity, condition, original value, remaining value): 01 original copy;

d) Other related documents (if any): 01 copy.

4. Procedures for transferring national railway infrastructure assets to the agency responsible for managing assets as stipulated in point b, Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article:

a) Within 12 months from the date this Decree takes effect (for existing assets) or 60 days from the date national railway infrastructure assets are completed and handed over for use (for newly constructed or purchased assets), the Ministry of Transport directs the agency responsible for managing assets as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Decree to cooperate with the agencies or organizations currently managing and using the assets to complete the review, classification, determination of asset values, and prepare 01 set of documents for proposing the transfer of asset management as stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article, and report to the Ministry of Transport. The costs for organizing and implementing the review and classification of assets shall be allocated from the state budget in accordance with the laws on the state budget;

b) Within 30 days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the Minister of Transport examines and decides on the transfer of management of national railway infrastructure assets within his authority;

c) Within 30 days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the Ministry of Transport issues a document (including a copy of the documents specified in Clause 3 of this Article) to seek opinions from relevant agencies on the plan for transferring management of national railway infrastructure assets for assets within the authority to transfer; The Prime Minister.

Within 30 days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents from the Ministry of Transport, relevant agencies have the responsibility to provide opinions within their functions and tasks on the plan for transferring national railway infrastructure assets;

Within 30 days from the date of receiving the opinions of relevant agencies, the Minister of Transport issues a document (including a copy of the documents specified in Clause 3 of this Article and the opinions of relevant agencies) to report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision on the transfer of management of national railway infrastructure assets;

d) Main contents of the Decision on transferring management of assets include: Name of the agency entrusted with asset management; list of assets to be managed (asset name, quantity, condition, original value, remaining value); responsibilities for organizing implementation;

đ) Within 30 days from the date of the decision on transferring management of assets by the competent agency or person, the Ministry of Transport directs the organization to implement the handover and acceptance of national railway infrastructure assets in accordance with regulations. The handover and acceptance of assets shall be recorded in a Record in Form No. 01 stipulated in the Appendix issued together with this Decree.

5. Procedures for transferring national railway infrastructure assets to railway infrastructure business enterprises under the form of state capital investment in enterprises shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of laws on the management and use of state capital for production and business investment in enterprises, specialized laws on railways, and relevant laws.

Article 6. Management of State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets as Part of State Capital Component in Enterprises

1. The management and use of State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets as part of the State capital component in enterprises shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of laws on the management and use of State capital for production and business activities in enterprises, railway-specific laws, and related laws.

2. The revaluation of the value of State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets to determine the State capital component in enterprises shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of laws on the management and use of State capital for production and business activities in enterprises, laws on pricing, and related laws.

Section 2

RECORDS FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTING OF STATE-OWNED RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS

Article 7. Records for the Management of State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets

1. The records for the management of State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets include:

a) Documents related to the formation and changes in State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets as stipulated in this Decree and relevant laws;

b) Declaration reports; reports on the management, use, and operation of State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets as stipulated in Article 27 of this Decree;

c) Databases on State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets as stipulated in Article 28 of this Decree.

2. The agency entrusted with managing State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets shall be responsible for:

a) Establishing records for assets within its scope of management;

b) Managing and storing all records for assets within its scope of management and implementing reporting systems to the Ministry of Transport and competent state agencies as stipulated in this Decree.

Article 8. Accounting for State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets

1. State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets that have an independent structure or consist of multiple individual asset parts interconnected to perform specific functions are accounting objects.

In cases where a system is assigned to multiple agencies for management, the accounting object is the portion of assets assigned to each agency.

2. The agency entrusted with managing State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets shall be responsible for:

a) Opening books and conducting accounting for State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets in accordance with laws on accounting and the provisions of this Decree;

b) Implementing annual reports on increases, decreases, and depreciation of State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets in accordance with the law.

3. The original cost and remaining value of State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets shall be determined based on the following principles:

a) For State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets in use before the effective date of this Decree: If the State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Asset has information on its original cost and remaining value, the existing values shall be used for accounting entries; if there is no such information, an estimated value shall be used to determine the asset's value for accounting purposes; the estimated value is decided by the Minister of Transport;

b) For State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets completed and put into use from the effective date of this Decree, the accounting entry value is the purchase and settlement value as prescribed;

c) For newly constructed State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets that have been completed and put into use but not yet settled and approved by the competent authority, a provisional original cost shall be used for accounting entries. In this case, the provisional original cost shall be selected in the following order of priority: proposed settlement value; value determined by the A-B acceptance certificate; approved project budget value. When the settlement value is approved by the competent authority, the agency managing the asset must adjust the recorded value according to the accounting law;

d) For State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets undergoing upgrades or expansions during management and use, as approved by the competent authority, the settlement value of the project shall be accounted for as an increase in the asset's value.

4. The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, shall establish accounting regulations and depreciation methods for State-Owned Railway Infrastructure Assets.

Section 3

MAINTENANCE OF STATE-OWNED RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS

Article 9. Maintenance of National Railway Infrastructure Assets

1. National railway infrastructure assets must be maintained in accordance with the provisions of this Decree and relevant laws, ensuring compliance with procedures, processes, plans, and standards to maintain the technical condition of the assets, ensuring normal and safe operation when in use and exploitation.

2. Forms of maintenance for national railway infrastructure assets:

a) Quality-based maintenance:

Quality-based maintenance involves performing maintenance activities according to specified quality standards within a certain period and amount of money stipulated in an economic contract.

The agency entrusted with managing the asset is responsible for determining the maintenance cost quota for each asset under its management scope, submitting it for approval by the competent authority. The maintenance cost quota for national railway infrastructure assets is determined based on the economic-technical standard method of maintenance activities or the average cost method of maintenance activities over the three preceding years plus inflation factors (if applicable) or a combination of both methods.

The Ministry of Transport shall specify criteria for monitoring and accepting the results of quality-based maintenance of national railway infrastructure assets.

b) Volume-based maintenance:

Volume-based maintenance involves performing maintenance activities and paying according to the actual volume of work performed.

3. The Ministry of Transport decides or delegates the authority to decide on the application of the maintenance forms prescribed in points a and b of Clause 2 of this Article for each maintenance activity of national railway infrastructure assets in accordance with the provisions of this Decree, laws on quality management and maintenance of construction works, specialized laws on railways, and relevant laws, ensuring economy and efficiency.

4. The selection of organizations to perform maintenance of national railway infrastructure assets in accordance with the forms prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on bidding, specialized laws on railways, and relevant laws.

For cases prescribed in points a, b, and c of Clause 5 of this Article, the selection of organizations or individuals to perform maintenance shall be carried out in accordance with relevant laws.

5. Maintenance funds for national railway infrastructure assets are allocated from the state budget in accordance with the laws on the state budget, other sources of funds as prescribed by law, except for the following cases:

a) National railway infrastructure assets that have been included as part of the state capital in enterprises;

b) National railway infrastructure assets during the lease period for exploitation rights where the enterprise leasing the exploitation rights performs maintenance according to the signed contract;

c) National railway infrastructure assets during the limited-term transfer period for exploitation rights where the enterprise receiving the transfer performs maintenance according to the signed contract.

Article 10. Organization of Budget Expenditure Estimates for Maintenance Work of National Railway Infrastructure Assets

1. The procedures and formalities for establishing and allocating budget expenditure estimates for maintenance work of national railway infrastructure assets shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on the state budget:

a) Based on technical standards, technical regulations, economic-technical standards, maintenance unit prices, the volume of work required to be performed, and the approved maintenance plan, the agency entrusted with managing the asset shall take the lead in coordinating with related agencies and enterprises to establish the state budget expenditure estimate for maintenance work (except for cases prescribed in points a, b, and c of Clause 5 of Article 9 of this Decree) and submit it to the Ministry of Transport;

b) The Ministry of Transport shall examine the budget expenditure estimate for maintenance work of national railway infrastructure assets in priority order; incorporate it into the annual state budget estimate of the Ministry of Transport and send it to the Ministry of Finance in accordance with the laws on the state budget;

c) Based on the decision on allocating the state budget estimate by the competent state authority, the Ministry of Transport allocates the state budget estimate to the agency entrusted with managing the asset, including the portion of funds for maintaining national railway infrastructure assets;

d) The agency entrusted with managing national railway infrastructure assets shall organize the implementation of the budget expenditure estimate for maintenance work in accordance with the laws.

2. The procedures and formalities for establishing and approving medium-term budget expenditure estimates for maintenance work of national railway infrastructure assets for three and five years shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on financial and budgetary planning for three years and financial planning for five years.

Section 4

EXPLOITATION OF NATIONAL RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS

Article 11. Methods and sources of revenue from exploiting national railway infrastructure assets

1. Methods for exploiting national railway infrastructure assets:

a) The agency entrusted with managing national railway infrastructure assets directly organizes the exploitation of such assets;

b) Leasing the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets;

c) Transferring temporarily the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets.

2. Leasing the right to exploit and transferring temporarily the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets must ensure synchronization in operation and exploitation of assets, ensuring the state management activities of relevant agencies related to national railway operations.

3. Sources of revenue from exploiting national railway infrastructure assets include:

a) Fees and charges as prescribed by laws on fees and charges and related laws;

b) Revenue from usage and service provision prices of national railway infrastructure assets as prescribed;

c) Revenue from leasing the right to exploit and transferring temporarily the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets as prescribed in this Decree in cases of leasing the right to exploit and transferring temporarily the right to exploit assets.

4. For national railway infrastructure assets serving public purposes, if the methods of asset exploitation prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 3 of this Article are not applied, the agency entrusted with managing the assets shall manage and use them according to regulations; there is no need to prepare an asset exploitation plan to be submitted for approval by competent authorities as prescribed in this Section. The Minister of Transport decides the list of national railway infrastructure assets under its management serving public purposes, which do not apply the asset exploitation methods prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 3 of this Article based on the proposal of the agency entrusted with managing the assets.

Article 12. Agencies entrusted with managing national railway infrastructure assets directly organizing the exploitation of assets

1. Agencies entrusted with managing assets directly organize the exploitation of assets in the following cases:

a) National railway infrastructure assets related to national defense and security;

b) Applying direct exploitation methods more effectively than those prescribed at points b and c of Clause 1 of Article 11 of this Decree;

c) There being no organization registering to implement the methods prescribed at points b and c of Clause 1 of Article 11 of this Decree.

2. Authority to approve asset exploitation plans for national railway infrastructure assets:

a) The Prime Minister approves asset exploitation plans for national railway infrastructure assets related to national defense and security and assets formed from projects decided to invest by the Prime Minister according to regulations upon the proposal of the Minister of Transport, opinions of the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies;

b) The Minister of Transport approves asset exploitation plans for national railway infrastructure assets not falling within the scope prescribed in point a of this clause.

3. Documents for requesting approval of asset exploitation plans for national railway infrastructure assets include:

a) Request for approval of the asset exploitation plan: 01 original copy;

b) Asset exploitation plan according to Model No. 07 prescribed in the Appendix issued together with this Decree: 01 original copy;

c) Other related documents (if any): 01 copy.

4. Preparing and approving asset exploitation plans for national railway infrastructure assets:

a) The agency entrusted with managing assets prepares 01 set of documents for requesting exploitation of national railway infrastructure assets as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article and reports to the Ministry of Transport;

b) Within 30 days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the Minister of Transport decides to approve the asset exploitation plan for national railway infrastructure assets according to authority or issues a response letter in case the plan is not appropriate;

c) The Ministry of Transport sends a letter along with a copy of the documents prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article to seek opinions of the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies regarding assets within their decision-making authority. The Prime Minister.

Within 30 days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies have the responsibility to provide opinions according to their functions and tasks on the asset exploitation plan for national railway infrastructure assets.

Within 30 days from the date of receiving opinions from the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies, the Minister of Transport sends a letter (along with a copy of the documents prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article and opinions of relevant agencies) reporting to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision to approve the asset exploitation plan for national railway infrastructure assets or issues a directive in case the plan is not appropriate.

5. Based on the approved asset exploitation plan for national railway infrastructure assets by competent authorities, the agency entrusted with managing the assets shall organize the implementation of asset exploitation according to the approved plan in accordance with the law.

Article 13. Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets

1. Leasing the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets is the act of the State transferring for a limited period the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets to enterprises to implement within a specified time frame according to the Contract in exchange for a corresponding amount of money.

2. Competence to approve the leasing project of the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets:

a) The Prime Minister approves the leasing project of the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets related to national defense, national security, and assets formed from projects decided to be invested by the Prime Minister based on the proposal of the Minister of Transport, opinions of the Ministry of Finance, and relevant agencies;

b) The Minister of Transport approves the leasing project of the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets not falling within the scope prescribed in point a of this clause, after receiving the participation opinions of the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies.

3. Documents for requesting approval of the leasing project of the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets include:

a) Request document for approving the leasing project of the right to exploit assets: 01 original copy;

b) Leasing project of the right to exploit assets according to Model No. 07 stipulated in the Appendix issued together with this Decree: 01 original copy;

c) Other related documents (if any): 01 copy.

4. Preparing and approving the leasing project of the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets:

a) The agency entrusted with managing the asset prepares 01 set of documents for requesting leasing rights as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article and reports to the Ministry of Transport;

b) Within 30 days from the date of receipt of complete valid documents, the Ministry of Transport sends a document along with a copy of the documents prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article to seek the opinion of the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies on the leasing project of the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets;

c) Within 30 days from the date of receipt of complete valid documents, the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies provide opinions on: The completeness and validity of the documents; the necessity and appropriateness of the project in accordance with the functions and tasks of the unit, laws on management and use of state assets, specialized laws, and related laws; the suitability of the basis and method for determining the rental price of the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets; contents in the project that need to be revised and supplemented appropriately;

d) Within 30 days from the date of receipt of the participation opinions of the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies, the Ministry of Transport directs the agency entrusted with managing the asset to absorb, revise, and perfect the documents;

đ) The Minister of Transport examines and approves the leasing project of the right to exploit assets within his/her authority or issues a response document when the project is not appropriate;

e) The Minister of Transport issues a document (attached with a copy of the documents prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article and opinions of relevant agencies) reporting to the Prime Minister for approval of the leasing project of the right to exploit assets within his/her authority or issues a directive document when the project is not appropriate.

5. Based on the approved exploitation project of national railway infrastructure assets, the Ministry of Transport directs the agency entrusted with managing the asset to sign a lease contract for the right to exploit assets with enterprises operating railway infrastructure held 100% by the State or organize auction to select enterprises to lease the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets according to regulations.

Enterprises participating in the auction must meet the conditions regarding capacity and experience in the field of national railway infrastructure business according to specialized laws on railways and related laws.

6. The lease contract for the right to exploit assets includes the following main contents:

a) Information of the lessor;

b) Information of the enterprise granted the right to exploit assets;

c) List of leased assets;

d) Lease term; rental price of national railway infrastructure assets; payment methods and deadlines; maintenance responsibilities under the Contract and other necessary contents;

đ) Rights and obligations of the parties;

e) Responsibilities for implementation organization.

7. Rights of enterprises leasing the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets.

a) Exploiting assets in accordance with the provisions of the law and the signed Contract;

b) Determining exploitation measures of national railway infrastructure assets ensuring compliance with the regulations on national railway operations;

c) Using and exploiting leased assets according to technical procedures, operating components, ensuring proper use and technical functions of the leased assets;

d) Collecting fees according to the service price of national railway infrastructure assets and other revenues related to service provision as prescribed by law and the signed Contract;

đ) Exercising other rights of the lessee as prescribed by law.

8. Obligations of enterprises leasing the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets.

a) Preserving leased assets (including land attached to national railway infrastructure assets); not allowing loss, encroachment, and other violations as prescribed by law;

b) Using and exploiting leased assets for their intended purpose; not transferring, selling, giving away, mortgaging, or contributing as capital;

c) Implementing maintenance of national railway infrastructure assets according to the signed Contract;

d) Paying full and timely rent for the right to exploit assets as stipulated in the Contract; if the enterprise fails to pay or pay fully within the deadline stipulated in the signed Contract, it must pay late payment fees according to the law on tax administration. The agency entrusted with managing the asset sends a request document along with a copy of the Contract and payment receipts of the enterprise (if any) to the Tax Department (where the asset is located) to determine and issue a Notice on the amount of late payment fees according to the law on tax administration;

đ) Accepting inspection and supervision by the lessor; jointly resolving arising disputes with the lessor.

e) Transfer the national railway infrastructure assets back to the State when the Contract expires and in other cases as stipulated in Clause 9 of this Article;

g) Regularly or promptly, as prescribed in the Contract signed for the enterprise leasing the right to exploit, report to the agency entrusted with managing the assets on the condition of the assets, ensuring safe and uninterrupted operation of national railway transport;

h) Fulfill other obligations of the lessee of the right to exploit assets as prescribed by law and the Contract signed;

9. During the period of leasing the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets, if the enterprise voluntarily returns the assets, breaches the Contract, or the State recovers them for national defense, security, national interests, public interest purposes, the handling of rights and obligations (if any) of the relevant parties shall be carried out according to the Contract, civil law, and related laws;

Article 14. Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets for a Term

1. Leasing the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets for a term is the act of the State transferring the exploitation right for a certain period tied to the investment in upgrading and expanding existing national railway infrastructure assets under a project approved by the competent authority according to the Contract in exchange for a corresponding amount of money;

2. The Prime Minister approves the Proposal for Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets for a Term based on the proposal of the Minister of Transport, opinions of the Ministry of Finance, and relevant agencies;

3. The leasing of the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets for a term shall be conducted through auction. The criteria for selecting enterprises to participate in the auction include:

a) The enterprise's capacity and experience in investing in and exploiting national railway infrastructure assets as prescribed by specialized laws on railways and related laws;

b) Financial capacity to implement the investment project as prescribed by law;

4. The term of leasing the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets shall be specifically determined for each transfer contract but not exceeding 50 years;

5. Documents for requesting approval of the Proposal for Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets for a Term:

a) A request for approval of the Proposal for Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets: one original copy;

b) The Proposal for Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets according to Model No. 07 stipulated in the Appendix issued together with this Decree: one original copy;

c) Other related documents (if any): 01 copy.

6. Preparing and Approving the Proposal for Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets for a Term:

a) The agency entrusted with managing the assets prepares one set of documents for requesting approval of the Proposal for Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets for a Term as stipulated in Clause 5 of this Article and reports to the Ministry of Transport;

b) Within thirty days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the Ministry of Transport issues a document along with a copy of the documents stipulated in Clause 5 of this Article to seek the opinion of the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies on the Proposal for Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets for a Term;

c) Within thirty days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies are responsible for providing opinions on the following matters: the completeness and validity of the documents; the necessity and appropriateness of the Proposal in leasing the right to exploit assets for a term as prescribed by laws on asset management and utilization, specialized laws on railways, and related laws; the appropriateness of the basis and method for determining the price of leasing the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets for a term; contents in the Proposal that need to be revised and supplemented;

d) Within thirty days from the date of receiving the opinions of the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies, the Ministry of Transport directs the agency entrusted with managing the assets to incorporate and refine the documents; based on this, the Minister of Transport issues a document (along with a copy of the documents stipulated in Clause 5 of this Article and opinions of relevant agencies) reporting to the Prime Minister for approval within his/her authority or issues a directive in case the Proposal for Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets for a Term is inappropriate;

đ) Based on the Proposal for Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets for a Term approved by the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Transport directs the agency entrusted with managing the assets to organize an auction to select the enterprise to take over the exploitation right according to Clause 3 of this Article and sign a Contract for Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets for a Term as prescribed by law;

7. The Contract for Leasing the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets for a Term includes the following main contents:

a) Information of the transferring party;

b) Information of the enterprise taking over the transfer;

c) List of assets subject to the transfer of exploitation right;

d) Term of transfer; transfer price; payment method and term; items of construction investment and upgrade and other necessary contents;

đ) Rights and obligations of the parties;

e) Responsibilities for implementation organization.

8. Within ninety days from the date of signing the Contract, the enterprise taking over the transfer is responsible for paying the transfer price to the agency entrusted with managing the assets according to the Contract. The agency entrusted with managing the assets is responsible for depositing the money into a temporary holding account within three working days from the date of receipt of the transfer payment.

In the event that the enterprise receiving the transfer of the right to exploit the national railway infrastructure assets fails to pay or fails to fully pay the amount stipulated in the Contract within the prescribed time limit, the agency entrusted with managing the asset shall submit a written request along with a copy of the Transfer Contract and payment receipts from the enterprise receiving the transfer (if available) to the Tax Department (where the asset is located) to determine and issue a Notice on the amount of late payment in accordance with the laws on tax administration.

The specific deadline for payment and the provisions regarding late payment must be clearly stated in the Auction Regulations and the Transfer Contract with the right to exploit the asset.

9. Rights of the enterprise receiving the transfer of the right to exploit the national railway infrastructure assets:

a) To use and operate the national railway infrastructure assets in accordance with the law and the signed Contract;

b) To enjoy investment encouragement and preferential policies in accordance with the laws on investment and other relevant laws;

c) To use the assets invested by the enterprise and the right to exploit the assets to raise capital in accordance with the law;

d) To collect fees and service charges for using the national railway infrastructure assets and other revenues related to service provision in accordance with the law and the signed Contract;

đ) To lodge complaints and initiate lawsuits in accordance with the law if their rights and interests are violated;

10. Obligations of the enterprise receiving the transfer of the right to exploit the national railway infrastructure assets:

a) To be responsible for implementing the transferred project according to the planning, on schedule, and of quality; to perform maintenance in compliance with technical requirements and other provisions in the signed Contract;

b) To perform maintenance on the national railway infrastructure assets in accordance with the signed Contract;

c) To periodically or urgently report to the agency entrusted with managing the asset on the condition of the asset, ensuring smooth and safe rail transportation operations;

d) To bear responsibility under the law for violations of the provisions in the signed Contract;

Article 15. Rental Price for Exploitation Rights and Transfer Price for the Right to Exploit National Railway Infrastructure Assets

1. The rental price for the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets and the transfer price for the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets is the amount that the enterprise renting or receiving the transfer of the exploitation right must pay to the State to use and exploit the assets in accordance with the signed Contract.

2. The rental price for the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets shall be determined as follows:

a) For national railway infrastructure assets directly related to train operation (excluding stations), the rental price for the exploitation right shall be based on the length of the route, the advantage of the exploitation line, and other factors affecting the exploitation capacity of the asset during the rental period;

b) For national railway infrastructure assets not covered by point a of this clause, the rental price for the exploitation right shall be determined in line with the market rental price of similar assets or those with the same technical standards and quality at the time of rental and consistent with the purpose of rental;

c) The rental price for the exploitation right of national railway infrastructure assets specified in points a and b of this clause is the rental price for enterprises operating national railway infrastructure assets held 100% by the State or is the starting price for auctioning to select enterprises to lease the exploitation right of the asset;

The Minister of Transport shall examine and decide on the rental price and the starting price for auctioning the exploitation right of the asset as specified in this clause.

3. The starting price for auctioning the transfer of the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets for a limited period shall be determined based on the remaining value of the asset at the time of transfer according to revaluation, the remaining depreciation period of the asset, additional investment value, estimated revenue and costs from exploiting the asset during the transfer period.

The Minister of Transport shall examine and decide on the starting price for auctioning the transfer of the right to exploit the asset as specified in this clause.

4. For national railway infrastructure assets that are railway works attached to land not used for business or services, the rental price structure for the exploitation right and the transfer price for the exploitation right for a limited period does not include land rental fees.

5. The Ministry of Finance shall provide detailed guidance on this Article.

Article 16. Exploitation of land funds to create capital for developing national railway infrastructure assets

1. The exploitation of land funds to create capital for developing national railway infrastructure assets shall be carried out in accordance with Article 118 of the Law on Management and Use of State Property and laws on land.

2. The agency entrusted with managing the assets shall prepare a proposal for exploiting land funds, submit it to the Ministry of Transport; the Ministry of Transport shall seek opinions from the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies, and report to the Prime Minister for consideration and approval.

3. The main contents of the proposal for exploiting land funds include:

a) Basis and necessity of the proposal;

b) Expected area of land to be exploited;

c) Form of land use;

d) Total investment amount of the project to build national railway infrastructure;

đ) Expected revenue from exploiting land funds;

e) Other information related to land fund exploitation;

g) Responsibility for organizing implementation.

Article 17. Management and use of revenue obtained from direct exploitation organized by the agency entrusted with managing the assets

1. Revenue from exploiting national railway infrastructure assets as fees and charges stipulated in point a, Clause 3, Article 11 of this Decree shall be managed and used in accordance with laws on fees and charges, laws on state budget, and related laws.

2. Revenue from exploiting national railway infrastructure assets as income from usage fees and service provision stipulated in point b, Clause 3, Article 11 of this Decree shall be managed and used according to the financial mechanism applicable to the agency entrusted with managing national railway infrastructure assets.

Article 18. Management and use of revenue from exploiting national railway infrastructure assets and land funds to create capital for developing national railway infrastructure

1. Revenue from leasing rights to exploit, transferring rights to exploit national railway infrastructure assets for a period of time, and exploiting land funds to create capital for developing national railway infrastructure assets shall be deposited into a temporary account at the State Treasury by the following agencies:

a) The agency entrusted with performing the task of managing assets as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 19 of the Law on Management and Use of State Property for assets approved by the Prime Minister's decision on exploitation proposals;

b) Department of Finance (where the asset management agency is headquartered) for assets approved by the Minister of Transport's decision on exploitation proposals.

2. Costs related to exploiting national railway infrastructure assets and land funds must be budgeted and approved by the Ministry of Transport, including:

a) Costs for inventorying, determining value, organizing auctions, and other related costs in cases of leasing exploitation rights as prescribed in Article 13 of this Decree;

b) Costs for inventorying, determining initial valuation, organizing auctions, and other related costs in cases of transferring exploitation rights for a period of time as prescribed in Article 14 of this Decree;

c) Costs related to exploiting land funds as prescribed in Article 16 of this Decree.

3. The preparation of cost budgets; procedures and formalities for settling related costs for exploiting national railway infrastructure assets and land funds shall be carried out in accordance with Article 26 of this Decree.

4. Quarterly, the temporary account holder shall deposit the remaining revenue from exploitation of assets and land funds that have completed cost settlement into the state budget in accordance with laws on the state budget.

5. Revenue already deposited into the state budget shall be prioritized for allocation of capital in the public investment plan, budget estimates for state budget expenditure to construct new, upgrade, renovate, and develop national railway infrastructure assets in accordance with laws on the state budget, laws on public investment, and related laws.

Section 5

DISPOSAL OF NATIONAL RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS

Article 19. Forms of handling national railway infrastructure assets

1. Recovery of assets.

2. Transfer of assets.

3. Sale of assets.

4. Using infrastructure assets to settle with investors when implementing investment projects for construction works under build-transfer contracts.

5. Liquidation of assets.

6. Handling assets in cases of loss or destruction.

7. Other forms of handling assets as prescribed by law.

Article 20. Recovery of national railway infrastructure assets

1. National railway infrastructure assets shall be recovered in the following cases:

a) When there is a change in planning or management levels;

b) Assets are assigned to incorrect subjects, used for improper purposes; lending out assets;

c) Selling, leasing, giving away, mortgaging, contributing capital, joint ventures, or joint operations not in accordance with regulations;

d) Assets have been assigned but are no longer needed or their exploitation is ineffective.

đ) Other cases as prescribed by law.

2. Authority to decide on recovery:

a) The Prime Minister decides to recover national railway infrastructure assets related to national defense and security based on the proposal of the Minister of Transport;

b) The Minister of Finance decides to recover national railway infrastructure assets attached to land based on the proposal of the Minister of Transport and opinions of relevant agencies, except for national railway infrastructure assets related to national defense and security;

c) The Minister of Transport decides to recover national railway infrastructure assets not within the scope prescribed in points a and b of this clause.

3. Recovered national railway infrastructure assets shall be handled in the following ways:

a) Transfer according to Article 21 of this Decree;

b) Sale according to Article 22 of this Decree.

4. Procedure for recovering national railway infrastructure assets in cases where they are voluntarily returned:

a) The agency managing the asset shall prepare one set of files and report to the Ministry of Transport. The file requesting asset recovery includes: A request letter from the managing agency: one original copy; a list of assets requested for recovery according to Model No. 06 stipulated in the Appendix issued together with this Decree: one original copy; other related files (if any): one copy;

b) Within thirty days from the date of receiving complete valid files, the Minister of Transport shall examine and decide according to authority or issue a report (with a copy of the file specified in point a of this clause) to the agency or person with authority prescribed in Article 2 of this Decree for examination and decision on asset recovery;

c) The recovery decision shall include the main contents: The managing agency has recoverable assets; the agency responsible for implementing the recovery decision; the list of recoverable assets (name of asset, quantity, original cost, remaining value); reasons for recovery; responsibility for organizing implementation;

d) After the recovery decision is made by the competent agency or person, the agency responsible for implementing the recovery decision shall organize the acceptance of assets; develop a plan for handling recovered assets according to Clause 3 of this Article; organize the implementation of asset handling according to the plan approved by the competent agency or person; organize the preservation and protection of assets during the waiting period for handling.

5. Procedure for recovering national railway infrastructure assets in cases not within the scope prescribed in Clauses 4 and 6 of this Article:

a) Based on the proposals of functional agencies for inspection, audit, administrative penalty, and other state management agencies, the Minister of Transport shall examine and decide according to authority or issue a report to the agency or person with authority prescribed in Article 2 of this Decree for examination and decision on asset recovery;

b) The main contents of the recovery decision and the responsibilities of relevant agencies in implementation shall follow the provisions in points c and d of Clause 4 of this Article.

6. In cases of recovering national railway infrastructure assets attached to land as prescribed by land laws, before deciding to recover land attached to national railway infrastructure assets, the agency or person with authority to recover land according to law shall send a document seeking opinions from the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to provide opinions on the plan for recovering land attached to national railway infrastructure assets.

The opinion-seeking document shall clearly state the reasons for recovering land, the area of land to be recovered, the suitability of the land recovery plan with the land planning and utilization plan approved by the competent agency or person, and other necessary contents.

Article 21. Transfer of National Railway Infrastructure Assets

1. National railway infrastructure assets may be transferred in the following cases:

a) When there is a change in the managing authority or management level;

b) When the assets have been assigned for management but are no longer needed for use or their exploitation is not effective.

c) Other cases as provided by law.

2. Authority to decide on transfer:

a) The Prime Minister decides to transfer national railway infrastructure assets from the agency entrusted with asset management under the Ministry of Transport to a business entity through state capital investment in the business entity and related national railway infrastructure assets concerning national defense and security upon the proposal of the Minister of Transport, the Minister of Finance, and relevant agencies;

b) The Minister of Finance decides to transfer national railway infrastructure assets not within the scope specified in point a of this clause between the Ministry of Transport and other central agencies or localities;

c) The Minister of Transport decides to transfer national railway infrastructure assets not within the scope specified in point a of this clause among agencies under his/her management.

3. Documents for requesting the transfer of national railway infrastructure assets include:

a) A request document for transferring assets from the agency entrusted with asset management: 01 original copy;

b) A request document from the agency or business entity receiving the assets: 01 original copy;

c) A request document for transferring and receiving assets from the superior managing agency or business entity (if applicable): 01 original copy;

d) An inventory of assets proposed for transfer according to Model No. 06 stipulated in the Appendix issued together with this Decree (specifying the current purpose of use and the expected purpose of use after the transfer in case the transfer is linked to a change in the function of the asset): 01 original copy;

đ) Documents related to changing the function of the asset (in case the transfer is linked to a change in the function of the asset): 01 copy;

e) Other related documents (if any): 01 copy.

4. Procedures and formalities for transferring national railway infrastructure assets:

a) When there is a need to transfer national railway infrastructure assets, the agency entrusted with asset management shall prepare 01 set of documents for requesting the transfer as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article and report to the Ministry of Transport;

b) Within 30 days from the date of receipt of complete and valid documents, the Minister of Transport shall examine and decide on the transfer of assets within his/her authority or issue a document along with a copy of the documents prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article to seek opinions from relevant agencies to submit to the agency or person with authority as prescribed in points a and b of Clause 2 of this Article for examination and decision or issue a response document in case the request for asset transfer does not comply with regulations;

c) The decision on asset transfer shall include the following main contents: The agency entrusted with asset management has assets for transfer; the agency or business entity receiving the transferred assets; the list of transferred assets (asset name, quantity, original cost, remaining value); reasons for the transfer; responsibilities for organizing implementation;

d) Within 30 days from the date of the decision on asset transfer by the competent agency or person, the agency entrusted with asset management and the agency or business entity receiving the assets shall be responsible for: Organizing the handover and acceptance of assets according to Model No. 01 stipulated in the Appendix issued together with this Decree; implementing accounting entries to reduce or increase assets according to the current accounting system; registering ownership and usage rights of assets according to the provisions of the law (if applicable); reporting changes in assets according to Article 27 of this Decree;

đ) Reasonable costs directly related to the handover and acceptance of assets shall be paid by the receiving entity according to the regulations;

e) No payment of asset value shall be made when transferring assets.

Article 22. Sale of National Railway Infrastructure Assets

1. The sale of national railway infrastructure assets shall be applied in the following cases:

a) Assets that have been reclaimed according to the provisions of Article 20 of this Decree but are no longer needed for use;

b) Assets that have been assigned for management but are no longer needed for use and whose exploitation is not effective;

c) Change in land use purpose associated with the conversion of the function of national railway infrastructure assets in accordance with planning approved by competent authorities;

d) Other cases as prescribed by law.

2. Authority to decide on the sale of national railway infrastructure assets

a) The Prime Minister decides on the sale of national railway infrastructure assets related to national defense and security and national railway infrastructure assets formed from projects decided to invest by the Prime Minister according to the proposal of the Minister of Transport, the opinion of the Ministry of Finance, and relevant agencies;

b) The Minister of Finance decides on the sale of national railway infrastructure assets attached to land not within the scope provided for in point a of this clause according to the proposal of the Minister of Transport and the opinions of relevant agencies;

c) The Minister of Transport decides on the sale of national railway infrastructure assets not within the scope provided for in points a and b of this clause.

3. The sale of national railway infrastructure assets shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on auction.

4. Documents for selling national railway infrastructure assets include:

a) A request for asset sale document from the agency managing the asset: 01 original copy;

b) An asset list for sale according to Model No. 06 prescribed in the Appendix issued together with this Decree (indicating the reasons for sale and current usage purposes): 01 original copy;

c) Other related documents (if any): 01 copy.

5. Procedures and formalities for selling national railway infrastructure assets:

a) When there are national railway infrastructure assets to be sold, the agency managing the asset shall prepare 01 set of documents for requesting the sale as stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article and report to the Ministry of Transport;

b) Within 30 days from the date of receiving complete valid documents, the Minister of Transport shall examine and decide on the sale of assets within their authority or issue a document along with a copy of the documents stipulated in Clause 4 of this Article to seek opinions from relevant agencies to submit to the competent authority specified in point a and point b of Clause 2 of this Article for examination and decision-making, or issue a response document in case the request for asset sale does not comply with regulations;

c) The sale decision includes the main contents as follows: The agency managing the asset has assets for sale; the list of assets for sale (asset name, quantity, original cost, remaining value); method of selling assets; management and use of proceeds from asset sales; responsibilities and deadlines for organizing implementation;

d) Based on the asset sale decision of the competent authority, the agency managing the asset shall organize the determination of the initial price, submit it to the competent authority for approval of the initial price, and organize the sale of assets in accordance with regulations;

đ) Within 90 days from the date of signing the asset purchase and sale contract, the buyer shall be responsible for paying the purchase price to the agency managing the asset according to the contract. The agency managing the asset shall be responsible for depositing the money into a temporary holding account within 03 working days from the date of receipt of the sale proceeds.

In case the buyer fails to pay or fails to fully pay the amount according to the signed contract beyond the time limit stipulated herein, the agency managing the asset shall issue a document accompanied by a copy of the asset purchase and sale contract and payment receipts of the successful bidder (if any) to the Tax Department (where the asset is located) to determine and issue a notice on late payment fees according to the law on tax administration.

Specific deadlines for payment and regulations on late payment must be clearly stated in the Auction Sale Regulations and Asset Purchase and Sale Contracts;

e) The agency managing the asset shall be responsible for issuing a public asset sale invoice to the buyer in accordance with the law on the management and use of public assets. The transfer of assets to the buyer shall be conducted at the location where the asset is situated after the buyer has completed payment;

g) Within 30 days from the completion of the asset auction sale, the agency managing the asset shall carry out accounting reduction of assets and report changes in asset declarations in accordance with Article 27 of this Decree.

Article 23. Liquidation of National Railway Infrastructure Assets

1. National railway infrastructure assets shall be liquidated in the following cases:

a) The asset is damaged and cannot be repaired or the repair is not effective;

b) Demolition of old national railway infrastructure assets to invest in constructing new national railway infrastructure assets according to a project approved by competent authorities;

c) The competent state authority adjusts the planning, making part or all of the national railway infrastructure assets unusable for their intended purpose;

d) Other cases as prescribed by law.

2. The Minister of Transport shall decide or delegate the authority to decide on the liquidation of national railway infrastructure assets.

3. National railway infrastructure assets shall be liquidated through demolition or cancellation. Materials and supplies recovered from the demolition or cancellation shall be handled as follows:

a) Transferred to the agency managing the liquidated asset for maintenance purposes for usable assets: The Minister of Transport decides to transfer recovered materials and supplies for use; in this case, the value of the materials and supplies is deducted from the budget estimate, Maintenance Contract;

b) Transferred to agencies, organizations, units for management and use. The Minister of Transport decides to transfer to agencies and units under its jurisdiction; the Minister of Finance decides to transfer to agencies, organizations, and units outside the Ministry of Transport upon the proposal of the Minister of Transport, the Minister, the head of central agencies, and the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province concerned;

c) Sell materials and supplies that are not needed.

4. Documents for requesting the liquidation of national railway infrastructure assets include:

a) A request for liquidation of assets by the agency managing the assets: One original copy;

b) A list of assets proposed for liquidation according to Model No. 06 prescribed in the Appendix issued together with this Decree (specifying the reasons for liquidation): One original copy;

c) Other related documents (if any): 01 copy.

5. Procedures and formalities for the liquidation of national railway infrastructure assets

a) The agency managing the assets prepares one set of documents for requesting liquidation and reports to the competent authority specified in Clause 2 of this Article;

b) Within thirty days from the date of receiving complete valid documents, the competent authority specified in Clause 2 of this Article examines and decides on the liquidation of assets within its authority or responds in writing if the sale of assets does not comply with regulations. In the case where materials and supplies recovered from the liquidation of assets are handled by transferring to agencies, organizations, and units outside the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Transport proposes and sends to the Ministry of Finance for examination and decision within its authority;

c) The decision on the liquidation of assets includes the following main contents: The agency managing the assets has assets for liquidation; list of assets for liquidation (name of asset, quantity, original cost, remaining value, reason for liquidation); form of liquidation; method of handling recovered materials and supplies; management and use of proceeds from liquidation; responsibility for organizing implementation;

d) Based on the decision on the liquidation of assets of the competent authority, the agency managing the assets organizes the demolition and cancellation of assets and handles recovered materials and supplies in accordance with regulations. The sale of recovered materials and supplies is carried out in accordance with Article 31 of Decree No. 151/2017/NĐ-CP dated December 26, 2017 of the Government detailing some provisions of the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets;

đ) After completing the liquidation of assets, the agency managing the liquidated assets performs accounting to reduce assets and reports on changes in assets in accordance with Article 27 of this Decree and relevant laws.

Article 24. Handling of national railway infrastructure assets in cases of loss or destruction

1. National railway infrastructure assets are lost or destroyed due to natural disasters, fire, or other causes.

2. The Minister of Transport decides or delegates authority to decide on handling national railway infrastructure assets as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Documents for requesting handling of national railway infrastructure assets in cases of loss or destruction include:

a) A request document for asset handling from the agency responsible for managing the assets: 01 original copy;

b) An inventory report confirming the loss or destruction of assets: 01 original copy;

c) A list of lost or destroyed assets according to Model No. 06 prescribed in the Appendix issued together with this Decree: 01 original copy;

d) Documentation proving the loss or destruction of assets: 01 copy.

4. Procedures and formalities for handling national railway infrastructure assets in cases of loss or destruction:

a) Within thirty days from the date of discovery of the loss or destruction of assets, the agency responsible for managing the assets shall prepare 01 set of documents as stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article and report to the competent authority for consideration and decision;

b) Within thirty days from the date of receipt of complete valid documents, the competent authority as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article shall decide on handling the national railway infrastructure assets in cases of loss or destruction;

c) The decision on handling assets in cases of loss or destruction shall include the following main contents: Name of the agency with lost or destroyed assets; list of lost or destroyed assets recorded as reduced assets (asset name, quantity, original cost, remaining value according to accounting records); reason (cause) for the loss or destruction of assets; responsibility for implementation.

5. Within thirty days from the date of the decision on handling by the competent authority, the agency responsible for managing the assets shall implement accounting reduction of assets in accordance with the provisions of the law on accounting; report on changes in assets according to the provisions of Article 27 of this Decree.

6. The state budget ensures funding for the repair and restoration of national railway infrastructure assets to ensure safe and uninterrupted train operations.

In cases where national railway infrastructure assets are lost or destroyed and compensated by insurance companies or related organizations or individuals, the compensation amount shall be handled according to the provisions of Clause 1 of Article 26 of this Decree, after deducting relevant costs (if any), and shall be deposited into the state budget as prescribed and prioritized for allocation in the public investment plan and state budget expenditure estimate to construct replacement assets in accordance with the laws on state budget and public investment, and other relevant laws.

Article 25. Management and use of national railway infrastructure assets invested through public-private partnership

1. Investment construction, management, and operation of national railway infrastructure assets through public-private partnership and transfer of assets formed through the implementation of projects under the public-private partnership model to the State shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Articles 95 and 96 of the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets.

2. The use of national railway infrastructure assets to settle debts to investors when implementing construction-transfer contracts shall be carried out in accordance with the Government's regulations on using public assets to settle debts to investors when implementing construction-transfer contracts.

3. The use of national railway infrastructure assets to participate in public-private partnership projects, except for the form specified in Clause 2 of this Article, is regulated as follows:

a) The Prime Minister decides to use existing national railway infrastructure assets to participate in public-private partnership projects based on the proposal of the Minister of Transport, opinions of the Ministry of Finance, and related agencies.

The Prime Minister's decision on the use of existing assets to participate in public-private partnership projects serves as the basis for deciding or submitting to the competent authority to decide on investment policies in accordance with the laws on investment and public investment;

b) Based on the Prime Minister's decision on the use of existing assets to participate in public-private partnership projects, the public-private partnership project shall be approved by the competent authority and the contract signed, and the agency responsible for managing the assets shall hand over the assets to the investor to carry out the project. The handover shall be documented in a Record according to Model No. 01 prescribed in the Appendix issued together with this Decree.

Article 26. Management and use of funds obtained from the disposal of national railway infrastructure assets

1. The entire amount of funds obtained from the disposal of national railway infrastructure assets shall be deposited into a temporary holding account at the State Treasury by the following agency acting as the account holder:

a) The agency entrusted with the task of managing the asset as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 19 of the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets for assets decided to be disposed of by the Prime Minister or the Minister of Finance.

b) The Department of Finance (where the agency managing the asset has its headquarters) for assets decided to be disposed of by the Minister of Transport.

2. The temporary holding account shall be monitored in detail for each agency with assets subject to disposal.

3. The agency entrusted with managing national railway infrastructure assets shall be responsible for preparing a budget estimate for expenses related to the disposal of assets and submitting it to the Ministry of Transport for approval. Expenses related to the disposal of national railway infrastructure assets include:

a) Inventory and surveying costs;

b) Relocation, demolition, and dismantling costs;

c) Valuation and appraisal costs;

d) Organizational sale costs;

đ) Other reasonable costs related to the disposal.

4. Based on the preparation of a budget estimate for expenses related to the disposal of national railway infrastructure assets as stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article:

a) For expenditure items that have standards, norms, and regulations set by competent state agencies, they shall be implemented according to the standards, norms, and regulations established by those agencies;

b) For service rental expenses related to the disposal of assets, they shall be carried out according to the contract signed between the agency entrusted with managing the asset and the service provider. The selection of the service provider related to the disposal of assets shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the law;

c) For expenditure items outside the scope specified in points a and b of this clause, the head of the agency entrusted with the task of selling and liquidating the asset shall decide on the level of expenditure, ensuring compliance with the current financial management regime of the State, and shall bear responsibility for their decision.

5. Within thirty days from the completion of the disposal of assets, the agency entrusted with managing the assets shall be responsible for preparing one set of payment request documents to send to the account holder for disbursement. The head of the agency shall be legally responsible for the accuracy of the requested payment. Payment request documents shall include:

a) A payment request document from the agency entrusted with managing the national railway infrastructure assets (specifying the amount received from the disposal of assets, total disposal expenses, information about the receiving account for payment) accompanied by a detailed list of expenditures: one original copy;

b) Decision on the disposal of assets by the agency or authorized person: one copy;

c) Documents and certificates proving the expenditures such as: approved budget estimates; contracts for valuation and auction services, demolition; invoices, receipts (if any): one copy.

6. Within thirty days from the date of receipt of complete and valid documents, the account holder shall be responsible for disbursing funds to the agency entrusted with organizing sales and liquidation to cover expenses related to the disposal of national railway infrastructure assets.

7. Quarterly, the account holder shall remit the remaining balance of revenues from completed asset disposals, after deducting related expenses, into the state budget in accordance with the laws on the state budget.

8. In cases where the proceeds from the sale and liquidation of assets are insufficient to cover the expenses, the shortfall shall be covered from the state budget allocation assigned to the agency entrusted with managing the assets.

Chapter 6

REPORTING REGIME AND DATABASE ON NATIONAL RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE ASSETS

Article 27. Report on National Railway Infrastructure Assets

1. National railway infrastructure assets must be declared and reported, and updated in the national railway infrastructure asset database for unified management.

2. The forms of declaration and report on assets include:

a) Initial declaration and report on assets currently under management at the time this Decree takes effect;

b) Supplementary declaration and report on new assets generated or changes in information about managing agencies or declared assets after this Decree takes effect.

3. The agency entrusted with managing the assets shall prepare the declaration and report on assets according to Form No. 02 prescribed in the Appendix accompanying this Decree, submit it to the Ministry of Transport for confirmation to enter data into the national railway infrastructure asset database. The deadline for submitting the declaration and report is thirty days from the date of receiving the asset according to the decision on entrusting asset management by the competent authority or when there is a change in information about the managing agency or declared assets.

4. Report on the management, use, and operation of national railway infrastructure assets: Annually, the agency entrusted with managing the assets shall prepare a report on the management, use, and operation of national railway infrastructure assets of the previous year and submit ad hoc reports as required by the competent state authorities.

5. The forms of report on the management, use, and operation of assets include:

a) Report on asset management according to Form No. 03 prescribed in the Appendix accompanying this Decree;

b) Report on asset disposal according to Form No. 04 prescribed in the Appendix accompanying this Decree;

c) Report on asset exploitation according to Form No. 05 prescribed in the Appendix accompanying this Decree.

6. The deadline for submitting annual reports on the management, use, and operation of national railway infrastructure assets is as follows:

a) The agency entrusted with managing the assets shall prepare and submit the report to the Ministry of Transport before February 28;

b) The Ministry of Transport shall compile the situation of management and use of national railway infrastructure assets and submit it to the Ministry of Finance before March 15;

c) The Ministry of Finance shall compile the situation of management and use of national railway infrastructure assets and report to the Government to report to the National Assembly as required and implement transparency regarding the assets of the entire country.

Article 28. Database on National Railway Infrastructure Assets

1. The database on national railway infrastructure assets is part of the national database on public assets, constructed and managed uniformly throughout the country; information in the database on national railway infrastructure assets has legal value equivalent to paper records.

2. The Ministry of Transport shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies to build and manage the database on national railway infrastructure assets ensuring the following requirements:

a) Compliance with the architecture of Vietnam's e-Government framework, meeting national database technical standards, information technology standards and technical regulations, information security standards, and economic and technical norms;

b) Ensuring compatibility and integration capability with the national database on public assets; sharing information and expanding data fields in system design and application software;

3. The Ministry of Transport shall direct the agency entrusted with managing the assets to declare and report, and enter data into the national railway infrastructure asset database according to regulations.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 29. Responsibility for Implementation

1. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Transport

a) Lead in formulating and promulgating the regime and procedures for maintaining national railway infrastructure assets;

b) Direct and guide the preparation of detailed lists of each type of national railway infrastructure assets for accounting, depreciation calculation, reporting, and building the asset database;

c) Take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to build the database on national railway infrastructure assets to integrate into the national database on public assets; report on the management, use, and operation of national railway infrastructure assets in accordance with laws on the management and use of public assets and as required by competent authorities;

d) Coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to guide the determination of rental prices and starting prices for auctioning the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets through leasing or transferring the right to exploit assets for a limited period;

đ) Perform other tasks and powers as stipulated in this Decree.

2. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance

a) Prescribe the accounting regime for national railway infrastructure assets;

b) Prescribe the management regime and depreciation calculation for national railway infrastructure assets;

c) Guide the determination of rental prices and starting prices for auctioning the right to exploit national railway infrastructure assets through leasing or transferring the right to exploit assets for a limited period;

d) Take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Transport to guide the integration of the national railway infrastructure asset database into the national database on public assets;

đ) Perform other tasks and powers as stipulated in this Decree.

3. Relevant ministries, central agencies, provincial People's Committees, and centrally governed city People's Committees have the responsibility to cooperate with the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance in managing, using, and exploiting national railway infrastructure assets as prescribed in this Decree.

Article 30. Forward Processing

1. Within twelve months from the date this Decree takes effect, the Ministry of Transport shall direct the agency entrusted with managing the assets as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Decree to coordinate with related agencies, organizations, and enterprises to complete the review, classification, and valuation of existing national railway infrastructure assets to implement their management, use, and exploitation as prescribed in this Decree.

During the period of conducting reviews, classification, establishment, approval of plans for managing state railway infrastructure assets, the Ministry of Transport shall direct relevant agencies and organizations to manage and utilize assets in accordance with laws on public property, specialized laws on railways, and related laws, ensuring smooth and safe railway operations.

2. For contracts for exploiting national railway infrastructure assets that have been signed by competent authorities in accordance with the law before this Decree takes effect, they shall continue to be implemented according to the provisions until the expiration date of the signed contract. In cases where such contracts are amended or supplemented from the date this Decree takes effect, they must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Decree.

3. For national railway infrastructure assets that have been decided to be disposed of by competent authorities before this Decree takes effect, the decisions already signed shall continue to be implemented; works not yet carried out until the date this Decree takes effect, and the management and utilization of funds obtained from asset disposal shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Decree.

Article 31. Effective Date

1. This Decree takes effect from March 14, 2018.

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees under central cities, and Heads of relevant agencies are responsible for implementing this Decree./.