Joint Circular No. 51/2013/TTLT-BNNPTNT-BKHĐT-BTC amending and supplementing certain articles of Joint Circular No. 26/2011/TTLT-BNNPTNT-BKHĐT-BTC guiding certain contents for the implementation of Decision No. 800/QĐ-TTg dated June 4, 2010 of the Prime Minister approving the National Target Program on New Rural Development for the period 2010-2020.

 JOINT CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular Joint No. 26/2011/TTLT-BNNPTNT-BKHĐT-BTC guiding certain contents for implementation of Decision No. 800/QĐ-TTg dated June 4, 2010 of the Prime Minister approving the National Target Program on New Rural Development for the period 2010-2020

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

Decree No. dated November 14, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Planning and Investment; November 14, 2008, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Planning and Investment;

Decree No. 118/2008/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2008 of the Government stipulating functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Implementing Decision No. 491/QĐ-TTg dated April 16, 2009 of the Prime Minister promulgating National Criteria for New Rural Areas and Decision No. 342/QĐ-TTg dated February 20, 2013 of the Prime Minister amending some criteria of the National Criteria for New Rural Areas;

Pursuant to Decision No. 135/2009/QĐ-TTg dated November 4, 2009 of the Prime Minister promulgating Regulations on Management and Implementation of National Target Programs;

Implementing Decision No. 800/QĐ-TTg dated June 4, 2010 of the Prime Ministerregarding approval of the National Target Program on New Rural Development for the period 2010-2020, Decision 54/2017/ND-CP 695/QĐ-TTg dated June 8 2012 of the Prime Minister amending principles of financial support mechanisms for implementing the National Target Program on New Rural Development, Decision No. 498/QĐ-TTg dated March 21, 2013 of the Prime Minister on supplementing investment mechanisms for the National Target Program on New Rural Development for the period 2010-2020;

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Finance issue this Circular Joint to amend and supplement some articles of Circular Joint No. 26/2011/TTLT-BNNPTNT-BKHĐT-BTC:

Article 1. Amend and supplement some articles of Circular Joint No. 26/2011/TTLT-BNNPTNT-BKHĐT-BTC as follows:

1. Amend and supplement Clause 1, Article 2 as follows:

"1. Contents and activities of the New Rural Development Program must aim at achieving the 19 criteria of the National Criteria for New Rural Areas issued by Decision No. 491/QĐ-TTg dated April 16, 2009 of the Prime Minister and Decision No. 342/QĐ-TTg dated February 20, 2013 of the Prime Minister amending some criteria of the National Criteria for New Rural Areas."

2. Amend and supplement Point a, Clause 3, Article 4 as follows:

"a) Based on specific conditions of the locality, the People's Committee of the province shall specify and guide the establishment of the Steering Board for New Rural Development at the commune level to lead the entire grassroots political system and the whole population in implementing the National Target Program on New Rural Development in the commune."

3. Amending and supplementing Article 7 as follows:

"1. Planning for building new rural communes shall be carried out according to the guidance provided in Circular Joint No. 13/2011/TTLT-BXD-BNNPTNT-BTNMT dated October 28, 2011 of the joint ministries: Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on the establishment, review, and approval of planning for building new rural communes.

- The rural development plan must comply with higher-level plans that have been approved (regional county plans, regional provincial plans, general urban plans...).

- For communes that already have plans meeting the criteria for new rural development, there is no need for re-approval; for communes currently preparing land use plans for the period 2011-2020, they should be reviewed and supplemented to align with the planning process under Circular Joint No. 13/2011/TTLT-BXD-BNNPTNT-BTNMT dated October 28, 2011 of the joint ministries: Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on the establishment, review, and approval of planning for building new rural communes.

- The approved rural development plan serves as the basis for developing projects for new rural development in the commune.

2. Planning costs shall be funded from the State budget: The People's Committee of the province, based on the support level from the central government budget, shall take the initiative to direct the preparation of planning cost plans; determine appropriate planning cost levels for communes in accordance with actual conditions of the province and allocate additional funds if necessary to implement the plans; direct the Department of Finance to coordinate with relevant departments and the Provincial Treasury to provide guidance on the settlement and finalization of planning costs according to the actual situation of the locality based on existing guidelines (and any amendments or replacements thereof) issued by relevant ministries and sectors."

4. Amend and supplement Point d, Clause 1, Article 8 as follows:

"d) The total budget estimate for implementing the program, clearly stating the capital needs from various sources for each project as prescribed in Decision No. 800/QĐ-TTg dated June 4, 2010 of the Prime Minister on approving the National Target Program on New Rural Development for the period 2010-2020, Decision No. 695/QĐ-TTg dated June 8, 2012 of the Prime Minister amending the principles of financial support mechanisms for implementing the National Target Program on New Rural Development, and resolutions and decisions of the People's Councils and People's Committees at all levels."

5. Supplement Clause 1, Article 9 as follows:

"c) Based on the allocation of target program funds from the central government budget and the local budget for the National Target Program on New Rural Development, the People's Committee of the province shall direct the Department of Planning and Investment to take the lead, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Finance, to develop a plan for allocating and integrating funds for new rural development to be submitted to the People's Council of the province for decision."

6. Supplement Clause 2, Article 9 as follows:

"g) Allocation of funds shall be carried out for the entire period and for each year, following notification from the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance."

7. Supplement Point a, Clause 7, Article 10 as follows:

"- For small-scale projects with simple technology: Localities may apply special investment mechanisms without having to prepare an economic and technical report based on model designs or typical designs; it is only necessary to prepare a simple budget estimate and designate villagers and the community in the commune to carry out the work themselves. The People's Committee at the district level decides the list of projects that can apply the aforementioned special investment mechanism.

- Management of construction projects under this mechanism shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 03/2013/TT-BKHĐT dated August 7, 2013, issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment guiding the implementation of Decision No. 498/QĐ-TTg dated March 21, 2013 of the Prime Minister supplementing the investment mechanism for the National Target Program on New Rural Development during the period of 2010-2020, and any subsequent amendments and supplements thereto.

8. Amending and supplementing Article 11 as follows:

"Article 11. Development of Production and Services in Rural Areas

1. Objective: To meet the requirements of income and stable employment as stipulated in the National Criteria for New Rural Areas.

2. Beneficiaries:

a) Individuals, households, farm owners (including family farms),

b) Organizations: Cooperatives, production cooperatives.

3. Establishment of Activities and Support Standards:

a) The Provincial People's Committee directs the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to compile a list of activities to be supported for the development of production and services in rural areas suitable to the local conditions. Supported activities include: organizing training courses; supporting the establishment of production models and organizing seminars for replication; interest rate subsidies for loans; providing seeds, livestock breeds, agricultural chemicals, fertilizers; purchasing machinery and equipment for planting, breeding, harvesting, processing, storage, and marketing products in agriculture, animal husbandry, aquaculture, forestry, salt industry, processing of agricultural, forest, and aquatic products, rural small-scale industries, trade, and rural services.

b) Based on the actual situation and the ability to balance the state budget, the Provincial People's Committee directs the Department of Finance to coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Department of Planning and Investment, and relevant departments to establish support standards for activities related to the development of production and services in rural areas at the commune level for approval by the Provincial People's Council for the entire phase.

c) The basis for establishing activities and support standards for the development of production and services in rural areas includes regulations currently being implemented in the province such as agricultural extension programs, industrial extension programs, poverty reduction programs, Program 135 Phase III, the Project "Training Skilled Workers for Rural Labor to 2020" pursuant to Decision No. 1956/QĐ-TTg dated November 27, 2009 of the Prime Minister...

4. Procedure for Establishing and Approving Investment Plans:

a) Based on the Master Plan and the New Rural Development Project, the Commune Management Board coordinates with the Village Development Board and the Village Head to convene meetings of villagers (village meetings or inter-village meetings) to inform them about the content, beneficiaries, funding support levels, market information, and socio-economic development orientations of the commune so that households and organizations can choose sectors to develop and support contents.

The Commune Management Board agrees with the people to select some key products and services for concentrated support and the support contents to submit to the Commune People's Committee for consideration and selection. Selected products or services must be appropriate and practical for the commune, with clear market orientation. Support focuses on stages or processes that significantly improve efficiency, quality, increase product value, and profitability.

b) Based on the compilation of support contents in the commune, the Commune Management Board prepares an implementation plan and detailed budget estimates, and annual and five-year plans to report to the Commune People's Committee for submission to the District People's Committee for approval.

c) The District People's Committee compiles the annual and five-year plans of communes and organizations, conducts reviews, approves, and reports to the Provincial People's Committee.

d) The Provincial People's Committee annually allocates funds based on central government grants and local resources, prioritizing support for well-performing communes and those with difficult conditions (not necessarily evenly distributed).

e) The Commune Management Board organizes the implementation according to the plan and priority order based on the annual state budget support and other sources of funding.

6. Implementation Procedures Include Two Stages:

a) Preparation and Planning Stage

Step 1. Develop Development Orientation: Determine the development orientation for rural production and services of the commune linked to the restructuring of the agricultural sector and the transformation of production structure in the commune until 2015 and 2020.

Step 2. Provide Information to Villagers: Provide information about development orientation, policies, plans, implementation procedures for the development of rural production and services to all villagers to participate.

Step 3. Propose Development: Villagers propose development plans for the Commune Management Board to consider and select.

Step 4. Evaluate and Select Villager Proposals: The Commune Management Board evaluates and selects villagers' proposals and reports to the Commune People's Committee.

Step 5. Approve Proposals and Plan: The Commune People's Committee requests the District People's Committee to approve the list of villagers' proposals. After the proposals are approved, the Commune Management Board informs the villagers and develops a plan for implementation.

b) Implementation Stage

Step 6. Negotiate and Sign Contracts: The Commune Management Board negotiates and signs contracts with villagers for implementation.

Step 7. Implement: Villagers implement according to the approved proposals.

Step 8. Advance Payment, Settlement, and Finalization: The Commune Management Board assists villagers in advance payment, settlement, and finalization of the support funds according to current regulations.

Step 9. Supervision, evaluation, and reporting: The Village Management Board shall cooperate with the Commune Development Board to perform supervisory tasks, combining community monitoring throughout the implementation process of supported proposals in terms of quantity, quality, inputs, outputs, project results, target groups, funding, and progress of the proposals; prepare progress reports and evaluate outcomes quarterly and annually, and report to the People's Committee of the commune.

9. Supplement Point a, Clause 1, Article 15 as follows:

"- Localities shall proactively use revenue from construction lotteries to invest in welfare economic and social projects within their communes in accordance with current regulations."

10. Amend Point d, Clause 4, Article 15 as follows:

"d) People's Committees at all levels shall mobilize residents to contribute to building local infrastructure through appropriate forms based on promoting democracy for residents to discuss and voluntarily contribute. The Village Management Board shall compile contribution levels and propose them to the Commune People's Council for approval as a legal basis for implementation.

In cases where the commune organizes the construction of local economic and social infrastructure and pays wages to workers, the Village Management Board shall prioritize poor households to participate directly in labor and pay wages according to market rates and the budgetary capacity of the locality. The Commune People's Committee shall consider and decide on specific wage levels to be approved by the Commune People's Council. For poor households voluntarily contributing labor in新农村建设，不应支付劳动报酬。"

11. Amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 16 as follows:

"2. For activities supported by state budget funds, if the support amount is less than 50% of the total capital, the Village Management Board shall coordinate with the sponsor (if any) to determine the management mechanism; in cases where the Village Management Board and the sponsor (if any) agree to implement a special mechanism not following this Circular’s management mechanism, only the portion of state budget support will be settled.

For projects using ODA funds, they shall be implemented in accordance with the agreements signed with ODA providers."

12. Amend and supplement Clause 2, Article 17 as follows:

"2. Utilization of state budget funds

a) Principles of the mechanism for supporting funds from the state budget

- Public expenditure funds: Prioritize support for planning work; developing commune-level new rural construction plans; propaganda; activities of various levels' steering committees; training new rural construction knowledge for commune, village, and cooperative cadres; agricultural production and rural service development.

- Development investment funds: Mobilize and integrate funds from national target programs and targeted support programs in the locality to focus on implementing projects such as roads to commune centers; constructing commune offices; building schools meeting standards; building commune health stations; constructing communal cultural houses; water supply and domestic sewage treatment facilities in residential areas; village roads; intra-field roads and irrigation canals; village cultural houses; village sports facilities; infrastructure for concentrated production zones, small-scale industries, and aquaculture.

- For all communes, the state budget shall provide full support (100%) for activities under three contents: Planning work; Construction of commune offices; Training new rural construction knowledge for commune, village, and cooperative cadres.

- For communes located in poor districts under the Program for Rapid and Sustainable Poverty Reduction as stipulated in Resolution No. 30a/2008/NQ-CP dated December 27, 2008 of the Government, the state budget shall provide maximum support (100%) for activities under nine contents: Construction of roads to commune centers and village roads; Construction of intra-field roads and irrigation canals; Building schools meeting standards; Building commune health stations; Constructing communal cultural houses and village cultural houses; Building village sports facilities; Water supply and domestic sewage treatment facilities; Agricultural production and services; Infrastructure for concentrated production zones, small-scale industries, and aquaculture. For other communes, the state budget will only provide partial support. Provincial People's Committees shall establish support levels from the state budget for each specific activity and ensure they are suitable for local conditions and requirements, to be decided by the same level People's Council.

13. Amend and supplement Point a, Clause 3, Article 17 as follows:

"a) Management, settlement, and final accounting of investment capital for projects where the Village Management Board is the principal investor: carried out in accordance with Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BTC dated February 24, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance on managing capital from the commune, town, and township budgets and subsequent amendments (if any).

For projects approved by the People's Committee of the district to implement according to Decision No. 498/QD-TTg dated March 21, 2012 of the Prime Minister, the initial documentation for the project includes the decision approving the list of projects applying the special investment mechanism of the district People's Committee, the budget estimate, and the decision approving the budget estimate by the competent authority (replacing the project investment plan or technical and economic report for projects that only prepare a technical and economic report and the investment decision by the competent authority). Other initial documentation for the project shall comply with Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BTC dated February 24, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance.

- For projects implemented under the form of "State budget support for construction materials" and other forms of support, the provincial People's Committee shall specify the management, settlement, and final accounting of the state budget support portion in accordance with local and national conditions."

14. Amend Clause 2, Article 18 as follows:

"2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and other relevant ministries and sectors to submit to the Prime Minister a plan for allocating central government budget sources to provinces for both the medium-term period and annually to implement the National Target Program on New Rural Areas in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law."

Article 2. Implementation clause

This Circular shall take effect 45 days from the date of issuance.

During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, organizations and individuals involved are requested to report them to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for coordination with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to study and resolve them./.