Joint Circular No. 48/2009/TTLT-BTC-BNN guiding the management, use, and settlement of state budget funds for maintenance and repair of dykes and levees

JOINT CIRCULAR

||| Guidelines on the management, use, and settlement of state budget funds for economic maintenance and repair of dykes

|||

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Pursuant to the Law on Dikes dated November 29, 2006;

||| Pursuant to the Flood and Storm Control Ordinance 1993; the Ordinance amending and supplementing certain articles of the Flood and Storm Control Ordinance 2000;

Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law;

||| Pursuant to Decree No. 08/2006/NĐ-CP dated January 16, 2006 of the Government detailing certain provisions of the Flood and Storm Control Ordinance which has been amended and supplemented on August 24, 2000;

||| Pursuant to Decree No. 113/2007/NĐ-CP dated June 28, 2007 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Dyke Law,

||| The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development jointly issue guidelines on the management, use, and settlement of state budget funds for economic maintenance and repair of dykes as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Application

||| These guidelines guide the management, use, and settlement of state budget funds for economic maintenance and repair of dykes and emergency handling of dyke incidents (hereinafter referred to as maintenance and repair funds for dykes).

||| Article 2. Sources of funds for maintaining and repairing dykes

||| 1. The central government budget ensures funds for the maintenance and repair of dykes at levels from Class III to Special; supports urgent repairs to address dyke incidents for Class IV and V dykes.

||| 2. Local government budgets ensure funds for the maintenance and repair of dykes below Class III and participate in ensuring the maintenance and repair of dykes from Class III to Special.

||| 3. For specialized dykes of various sectors and facilities, the maintenance and repair funds for dykes shall be guaranteed by the owners of such works.

||| Article 3. Principles of fund usage

||| Units responsible for using state budget funds for economic maintenance and repair of dykes and emergency handling of dyke incidents must use them for their intended purposes and according to regulations; they are subject to inspection and supervision by competent authorities; at the end of the year or upon completion of projects, they must settle accounts for the funds used in accordance with current regulations.

||| Article 4. Management, use, and settlement of maintenance and repair funds for dykes from Class III to Special, funded by the central government budget

1. Content of expenditure:

||| a) Expenses for repairs, improvements, and reinforcement of the dyke surface;

||| b) Expenses for repairs and reinforcement of access roads, footpaths along the dyke, and slopes leading up and down the dyke within the protected area of the dyke;

||| c) Expenses for repairs and planting grass on the dyke slope, crest, base, and revetment;

d) Filling soil, planting wave-breaking plants;

||| d) Expenses for surveys, detection, and treatment of pests and hidden dangers within the dyke body; grouting to reinforce the quality of the dyke body;

||| e) Expenses for inspecting and evaluating the quality of culverts under the dyke; addressing minor damages; dredging upstream and downstream of culverts under the dyke;

||| g) Expenses for inspecting the condition of protective revetments; expenses for minor repairs to revetments;

||| h) Supplementing and repairing facilities serving the management and protection of dykes: markers on the dyke; boundary markers, water level markers; dyke warning signs; monitoring stations and equipment; warehouses and storage areas for flood prevention materials; Repairing facilities serving the management and protection of dykes: flood diversion structures, flood retardation structures; pressure relief wells; dyke watchtowers;

||| i) Supplementing, maintaining, and collecting flood prevention materials under the responsibility of the central government;

||| k) Expenses for emergency handling of dyke incidents;

||| l) Expenses for topographic, geological surveys, periodic cross-sectional riverbed surveys, measurements of channel changes; measurements of beach changes before the dyke; updating the database on dykes for management and flood control;

||| m) Other related tasks directly related to the maintenance and repair of dykes (if any).

||| 2. Preparation, execution, and settlement of annual budgets for economic maintenance and repair of dykes

||| The preparation, execution, and settlement of annual budgets for economic maintenance and repair of dykes are carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and related guidance documents; this Circular provides guidance on certain points as follows:

a) Establishment of budget estimates:

||| Each year, based on the state budget expenditure plan announced by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will announce the plan to the National Dyke Management and Flood Control Agency (PCLB) and the Provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development managing dykes from Class III to Special, who will then allocate the plan to subordinate units and estimate the plan for direct implementation by the National Dyke Management and PCLB Agency;

||| Based on the condition of the managed dyke section, economic and technical standards, the content of expenditures stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular, approved unit prices and cost standards, current financial expenditure regulations, and the allocated budget from the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the unit will prepare detailed budgets for dyke maintenance and repair expenditures, report to the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for review and consolidation, and submit to the National Dyke Management and PCLB Agency for further consolidation and reporting to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (including the budget for direct implementation by the National Dyke Management and PCLB Agency) for submission to the Ministry of Finance as required.

||| b) Execution of the budget:

||| Allocation of the state budget expenditure plan assigned: Based on the state budget expenditure plan assigned by the competent authority, the state budget expenditure plan announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the maintenance and repair plan for dykes assigned by the competent authority, the National Dyke Management and PCLB Agency will develop a plan for allocating the state budget expenditure, including funds managed by Provincial Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development for dykes from Class III to Special and funds directly implemented by the National Dyke Management and PCLB Agency as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular; detailed by each dyke section, quantity, and budget (excluding emergency handling funds for dyke incidents, which will be allocated later based on actual occurrences); report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for review and consolidation, and submit to the Ministry of Finance for approval as required.

After receiving the unified opinion of the Ministry of Finance on the budget allocation plan for state budget expenditures, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall allocate the state budget expenditure to the Directorate of Dyke Management and Flood Control (including funds implemented by Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development and funds directly implemented by the Directorate of Dyke Management and Flood Control); the Directorate of Dyke Management and Flood Control shall allocate the budget to Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development managing dyke lines from Class III to Special Class; simultaneously send to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Finance, State Treasury, and the State Treasury where the unit has opened an account for detailed implementation according to the above expenditure content. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall allocate the budget to subordinate units; simultaneously send to the Directorate of Dyke Management and Flood Control, and the State Treasury where the unit has opened an account for detailed implementation according to the above expenditure content for coordination.

As for emergency expenses for handling dyke incidents: In cases where dyke collapse causing system safety issues are discovered, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall inspect, formulate repair plans, report to the Directorate of Dyke Management and Flood Control for review of volume and budget for implementation; in cases where dyke collapse occurs during typhoons or floods requiring immediate repairs to ensure system safety, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall report to the Provincial People's Committee to implement timely rescue measures, then complete repair documentation and report to the Directorate of Dyke Management and Flood Control for review. Based on the review results, the Directorate of Dyke Management and Flood Control shall compile and estimate the level of funding allocated to localities in detail according to projects from the undistributed economic maintenance and repair fund for dykes, report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consideration, and submit to the Ministry of Finance for verification to allocate the budget to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; emergency expenses for handling dyke incidents shall be withdrawn from the budget according to regulations.

c) Advance payment and settlement of maintenance and repair costs for dykes:

Based on the allocated state budget expenditure plan, subordinate units of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall withdraw the budget at the State Treasury where transactions are conducted to make advance payments and settle accounts with units responsible for maintaining and repairing dykes as prescribed.

The State Treasury where transactions are conducted shall control expenditures before making advance payments and settlements upon the request of the head of the state budget using unit, specifically:

- For regular expenditure tasks: The State Treasury shall control expenditures according to current regulations;

- For investment expenditure tasks: Documentation and supporting materials; advance payment documentation; capital settlement, the State Treasury shall control expenditures according to current regulations of the Ministry of Finance regarding management and settlement of investment capital and public service capital with investment characteristics from state budget sources.

d) Settlement of maintenance and repair costs for dykes:

- Settlement report: Units allocated the economic maintenance and repair budget for dykes shall prepare the settlement report according to the prescribed form and deadline as stipulated by the State Budget Law and guiding documents. The settlement report shall include a list of projects assigned in the year of implementation, settled in detail according to the expenditure content specified in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular;

- Review and audit of the settlement report: Annual review and audit of the economic maintenance and repair budget for dykes shall be carried out according to current regulations of the Ministry of Finance guiding the review, audit, and notification of annual settlement for administrative agencies, public service units, organizations supported by the state budget, and budgets at all levels; specifically: The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for reviewing the settlement of the budget for subordinate units tasked with maintaining and repairing dykes and compiling the settlement report to send to the Directorate of Dyke Management and Flood Control; the Directorate of Dyke Management and Flood Control is responsible for reviewing the annual settlement of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for reviewing the settlement portion of the budget implemented by the Directorate of Dyke Management and Flood Control and auditing the annual settlement of the Directorate of Dyke Management and Flood Control (portion of the budget implemented by the Departments of Agriculture and Rural Development); the Ministry of Finance is responsible for auditing the settlement of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development according to regulations;

For investment expenditure tasks, they shall be implemented according to the capital management process for investment; in addition to annual settlement and when the project is completed and put into use, final project settlement must be carried out according to the Ministry of Finance's guidelines on final settlement of projects funded by the state budget. In cases where the final project settlement approved by the competent authority differs from the total value already settled annually, the difference shall be adjusted into the settlement of the year approving the final project settlement.

Article 5. Management, use, and settlement of maintenance and repair costs for dyke systems guaranteed by local budgets

1. Content of expenditure: Based on the content of expenditure for economic public works maintenance and repair costs for dyke systems stipulated in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular, the actual situation of the dyke system managed by the locality, financial capacity, and current condition of the dyke system of the locality; the Provincial People's Committee shall specify the content of expenditure for maintenance and repair of the dyke system managed by the locality to ensure safety of the dyke line managed by the locality.

2. Preparation, implementation, and settlement of funds:

a) Based on the actual situation of the locality, the Provincial People's Committee shall implement the decentralization of management work for maintenance and repair of the dyke system at the provincial, district, and commune levels appropriately;

b) Based on the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents; the Department of Finance shall coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide specific guidance on the preparation, implementation, and settlement of funds for maintenance and repair of dykes in accordance with the characteristics of the locality (including sources of funding for maintenance and repair of dykes from level III to special level).

Specifically, for emergency response funds for dyke incidents, in cases where dyke incidents threatening the safety of dykes below level III are discovered within the year, the Provincial People's Committee shall direct relevant agencies of the locality to promptly handle the situation to ensure the safety of the dyke system managed by the locality from the local budget. In case the local budget faces difficulties, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shall coordinate with the Department of Finance to report to the Provincial People's Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consideration, and submit to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for consideration of support from the central budget, in the form of targeted grants to the local budget.

Article 6. Inspection Work

To ensure the proper and effective use of maintenance and repair funds for dyke systems, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the General Directorate of Dyke Management and Flood Control, and local dyke management agencies shall be responsible for coordinating with their respective financial agencies to regularly and urgently inspect the management, use, settlement, and final settlement of maintenance and repair funds for dyke systems at various units.

Expenditures for maintenance and repair of dyke systems exceeding the standard, expenditures not in accordance with regulations, and expenditures deviating from the prescribed content in this Circular must be settled and recovered and submitted to the state budget; at the same time, the person who decides on improper expenditures must compensate the public treasury and bear responsibility under the law.

Article 7. Implementation Organization

This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of issuance and abolishes Joint Circular No. 61/TT-LB dated September 5, 1997, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development guiding the management, allocation, use, and settlement of maintenance and repair public works funds for the dyke system. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, it is recommended that units report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consideration and resolution.

During implementation, if there are any difficulties, it is recommended that units report to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consideration and resolution./.