Circular No. 52/2018/TT-BTC amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance on management and settlement of investment capital using state budget funds, and Circular No. 108/2016/TT-BTC dated June 30, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance on management and settlement of investment capital using state budget funds, and Circular No. 108/2016/TT-BTC dated June 30, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance. ______________________________________________________________

Pursuant to the State Budget Law No. 83/2015/QH13 dated June 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Public Investment Law No. 49/2014/QH13 dated June 18, 2014;

Pursuant to the Construction Law No. 50/2014/QH13 dated June 18, 2014;

Pursuant to Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 32/2015/NĐ-CP dated March 25, 2015 of the Government on Article 24Management of construction investment costs;

Pursuant to Decree No. 37/2015/NĐ-CP dated April 22, 2015 of the Government Article 24Providing detailed regulations on construction contracts;

Decree No. 59/2015/NĐ-CP dated 18/6/2015 of the Government On project management for construction investment;

Pursuant to Decree No. 42/2017/NĐ-CP dated April 5, 2017 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 59/2015/NĐ-CP dated June 18, 2015 of the Government on project management for construction investment;

Decree No. 77/2015/NĐ-CP dated 10/9/2015 of the Government On medium-term and annual public investment plans;

Pursuant to Decree No. 136/2015/NĐ-CP dated December 31, 2015 of the Government guiding the implementation of some provisions of the Public Investment Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 87/2017/NĐ-CP dated July 26, 2017 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the proposal of the Director of the Investment Department;

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular to amend and supplement certain provisions of Circular No. 23/2021/TT-BTC dated March 30, 2021, issued by the Minister of Finance guiding the printing, issuance, management, and use of electronic stamps for alcohol and tobacco productsAmending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance on management and settlement of investment capital using state budget funds; Circular No. 108/TT-BTC dated June 30, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance.

 Article 1. Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance as follows:

1. Clause 1 of Article 1 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"This Circular stipulates the management and settlement of investment capital for projects using state budget funds (including government bond funds); projects using multiple sources of funding, including state budget funds, where the portion of state budget funds in the project shall be implemented according to the provisions of this Circular (hereinafter referred to collectively as the project)."

2. Clause 2, Article 1 is amended and supplemented as follows:

"2. This Circular does not apply to projects under the National Target Program for the period 2016-2020; projects of agencies representing Vietnam abroad; projects involving state secrets under the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Public Security.

For state budget investment capital participating in projects under the public-private partnership (PPP) model: the procedures, formalities, and documentation for settling state budget investment capital participating in the project shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 55/2016/TT-BTC dated March 23, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance providing certain contents on financial management for PPP projects and investor selection costs; Circular No. 75/2017/TT-BTC dated July 21, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance amending certain Articles of Circular No. 55/2016/TT-BTC dated March 23, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance; and Circular No. 30/2018/TT-BTC dated March 28, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance amending certain Articles of Circular No. 75/2017/TT-BTC dated July 21, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance. Other aspects of management and settlement of investment capital shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

For programs and projects using official development assistance (ODA) funds and concessional loans from foreign donors, the content of expenditure control, withdrawal procedures, and management of withdrawals shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Chapter IV of Circular No. 111/2016/TT-BTC dated June 30, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance on financial management for programs and projects using ODA funds and concessional loans from foreign donors. Other aspects of management and settlement of investment capital shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Circular."

"1. Households relocated to centralized rural resettlement sites shall be compensated for land (residential land, production land) through the allocation of land with the same purpose of use as the land expropriated according to the resettlement plan stipulated in Article 4 of this Decision."

"1. Principles for advance payment of capital:

a) For works carried out through contracts, the tenderer (project owner) shall make advance payments to the contractor (contractor) to carry out necessary preparatory work before implementing the works according to the contract. The amount of advance payment, the time of advance payment, and other matters to ensure recovery of the advance payment shall be agreed upon by the project owner and the contractor in accordance with the regulations and must be clearly stipulated in the contract.

b) Advance payment shall be made after the contract becomes effective, and at the same time, the project owner has received the advance payment guarantee from the contractor (if required) with a value equivalent to the amount of the advance payment. Specifically, for construction contracts, if there is land clearance, a land clearance plan in accordance with the agreement in the contract as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 18 of Decree No. 37/2015/NĐ-CP dated April 22, 2015 of the Government on detailed regulations on construction contracts must also be provided.

c) In cases where the parties agree to make advance payments at a higher level than the minimum advance payment specified in Point a, Clause 3, Article 8 of Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance, the portion of the contract value corresponding to the excess advance payment over the minimum advance payment will not be subject to price adjustment from the date of advance payment.

d) Based on the need for advance payment, the project owner may be granted advance payments once or multiple times for a contract but not exceeding the advance payment limit stipulated in the contract and the advance payment limit stipulated in Clause 3, Article 8 of Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance; in case the capital plan allocated for the year is insufficient to cover the advance payment stipulated in the contract, the project owner may request additional advance payments in the following year's plan.

e) The project owner is responsible for calculating reasonable advance payments in compliance with Clause 3, Article 8 of Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance, managing the use of advance payments for their intended purpose, for the intended recipients, effectively, and is responsible for fully repaying the advance payments in accordance with the regulations.

e) For works carried out without through contracts, advance funding shall be implemented after the budget estimate has been approved by the competent authority and based on the proposal of the project owner. Based on the need for advance funding, the project owner may be granted advance funding once or multiple times to ensure it does not exceed the maximum advance funding amount as stipulated in Point b Clause 3 Article 8 Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance. In cases where the capital plan allocated in the year is insufficient to reach the maximum advance funding level compared to the approved budget estimate, the project owner may continue to receive advance funding in the following year's plan.

4. The first bullet point of Clause 5, Article 8 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"- Advance funding shall be recovered through payments for completed contract volumes, with the recovery amount for each payment being agreed upon by the project owner and the contractor and specified in the contract, ensuring full recovery when the total payment value (including both advance funding and payments for completed contract volumes) reaches 80% of the contract value."

5. Clause 6, Article 8 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"- The State Treasury branch where the account is opened shall urge project owners to comply with regulations regarding the recovery of advance funding, cooperate with project owners to check the amount of advance funding already provided to recover any unused or improperly used funds. The State Treasury branch shall be responsible for checking the balance of advance funding to ensure full recovery of the advance funding when the total payment value (including both advance funding and payments for completed contract volumes) reaches 80% of the contract value.

- Before the 5th day of the first month of each quarter, project owners shall prepare a report evaluating the situation of advance funding and its recovery for each project and submit it to the State Treasury branch where the account is opened and the superior agency of the project owner. The report shall clearly state the overdue balance of advance funding that has not been recovered up to the reporting date and specify the reasons and difficulties encountered during the recovery process (if any), while also proposing measures to address these issues.

- Quarterly, before the 15th day of the first month of each quarter (except for the fourth quarter, before February 10 of the following year), State Treasury branches at all levels shall prepare a report evaluating the situation of advance funding and its recovery for ministries, sectors, and localities and submit it to the finance agencies at the same level. The report shall clearly classify the overdue balance of advance funding that has not been recovered up to the reporting date and specify the reasons and difficulties encountered during the recovery process (if any), while also proposing measures to address these issues. For projects managed by ministries and sectors, based on the report from the State Treasury, the Ministry of Finance shall issue a document to the relevant ministries and sectors to take measures to recover the overdue balance of advance funding. For projects managed by people's committees at various levels, the Department of Finance and Planning and Finance Departments shall report to the respective people's committees to take measures to recover the overdue balance of advance funding.

- Time limit for recovering advance funding:

For works of the project carried out under contracts: if the unrecovered advance funding exceeds three months from the date it should have been recovered according to the contract's provisions and the contractor has not fulfilled it or if it is found that the contractor has misused the funds, the project owner shall be responsible for taking the lead and coordinating with the State Treasury to recover and return the advance funding to the state budget. If the project owner fails to recover the funds, the State Treasury may issue a document requesting the project owner to recover the funds from the contractor or request the project owner to require financial institutions issuing guarantees to repay the advance funding according to their guarantee obligations when the contractor breaches the agreement with the project owner regarding the use of advance funding.

For compensation, support, and resettlement work: if the unrecovered advance funding exceeds three months from the date of advance funding provision without being paid to beneficiaries, the project owner shall be responsible for leading and coordinating with the State Treasury to require organizations performing compensation, support, and resettlement tasks to transfer the entire remaining advance funding balance to the project owner's deposit account at the State Treasury for easier control over payments and recovery of advance funding. After this period, if the organization performing compensation, support, and resettlement tasks has not transferred the entire remaining advance funding balance to the project owner's deposit account at the State Treasury, based on the project owner's request, the State Treasury may deduct from the deposit account of the organization performing compensation, support, and resettlement tasks at the State Treasury to the project owner's deposit account at the State Treasury and notify the organization performing compensation, support, and resettlement tasks.

After one year from the date of transferring funds to the project owner's deposit account without making payments to beneficiaries, the project owner shall be responsible for returning the advance funding to the state budget (except in cases where the failure to pay compensation and support is due to disputes over land use rights of the reclaimed area which have not yet been resolved, then the compensation and support amount for the disputed area shall continue to be deposited in the project owner's deposit account at the State Treasury; after the competent state agency resolves the dispute, it shall be returned to the land user). If the project owner does not handle the submission to the state budget, the State Treasury may deduct from the project owner's deposit account to repay the state budget, reduce the advance funding for the project, and notify the project owner.

For works not implemented through other contracts, if the advance payment has not been recovered more than six months from the date of the advance payment and the project owner has not settled to recover the advance payment, the State Treasury shall issue a document requesting the project owner to refund the advance payment (except for the following cases: there is a document from the competent authority (the budget approver) allowing the extension of the recovery period due to objective reasons; advance payments for project management costs for specialized and regional Project Management Units). If the project owner fails to refund the advance payment within three months from the date it should be refunded, the State Treasury is permitted to deduct from the project owner's deposit account to repay the state budget, reduce the advance payment for the project, and notify the project owner.

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

"- In the case of entrusting project management:

When the project owner signs a project management entrustment contract with a specialized Project Management Unit or a regional Project Management Unit, the payment shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the entrustment contract. The project owner and the entrusted party have the responsibility to clearly define the scope of entrustment in the contract.

In the case where the project owner signs a full entrustment contract with a specialized Project Management Unit or a regional Project Management Unit to manage the project (including drawing up budgets and transacting with settlement control agencies), in addition to the entrusted work content, the project owner must authorize the entrusted party as the main account holder and this must be clearly stipulated in the contract.

- To serve the final settlement of construction projects, in the case where the project owner and the contractor agree in the contract to temporarily withhold a certain amount or a certain percentage of the completed volume from the contractor's payment and agree to transfer the aforementioned amount to the project owner's deposit account at the State Treasury, the payment shall be carried out according to the provisions of the contract. The project owner and the contractor are responsible for complying with current regulations on construction contract management.

7. Amend and supplement Point a Clause 3, Article 9 as follows:

"a) After receiving detailed allocation plans for investment capital from central ministries, sectors, and localities, for projects that have completed all required investment procedures, the State Treasury shall base on the project owner's payment request documents, payment terms stipulated in the contract, assignment documents or internal contracts (in the case of self-execution of the project), the number of payments, payment stages, payment dates, payment conditions, and the value of each payment to make payments to the project owner.

In the event of discovering expenditures that do not comply with regulations or lack required documentation, the State Treasury shall refuse payment and issue a notification to the project owner detailing the reasons for refusal within four working days from the date of receipt of the payment request documents.

The State Treasury implements settlement control based on the principle of "pay first, control later" for each payment and "control first, pay later" for the final payment of the contract. Based on this principle, the State Treasury provides specific guidance on settlement control methods within the State Treasury system, ensuring favorable conditions for project owners and contractors while adhering to state regulations.

8. Amending and supplementing Article 10 as follows:

"1. Advance budget allocation for the next fiscal year is carried out in accordance with Article 57 of the State Budget Law; Article 37 of Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 2016 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law; and Article 45 of Decree No. 77/2015/NĐ-CP dated September 10, 2015 of the Government on the medium-term and annual public investment plan.

2. After the competent authority permits the advance allocation, ministries, sectors, and localities allocate accurately according to the assigned list. The inspection of allocation and advance payment, and the settlement of advance budget allocation for the next fiscal year are carried out like the investment capital allocated by the competent authority in the annual plan according to the provisions of this Circular.

3. Payment deadline: carried out as the payment deadline for investment capital in the annual plan permitted for advance allocation. Special cases are decided by the Prime Minister (for advance allocation of central government funds) and the People's Committee Chairmen at various levels (for advance allocation of local government funds) but not exceeding the implementation and disbursement time (advance payment and settlement) of the medium-term public investment plan.

4. Unpaid advance funds after the disbursement deadline are handled as investment capital in the annual plan according to the provisions of the State Budget Law and related guiding documents.

5. Recovery of funds: ministries, sectors, and localities are responsible for arranging investment capital plans for projects in the next fiscal year's budget to repay the advance funds. Based on the allocation plan for recovering advance funds issued by ministries, sectors, and localities, the State Treasury will recover the advance funds based on the actual disbursed amount of the project, with the maximum recovery amount equal to the annual recovery allocation plan arranged by the competent authority.

In the case where ministries do not arrange or do not fully arrange the recovery funds for each project according to the annual plan allocation decision of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance will issue a notice to inform the relevant ministry to arrange the recovery of the advanced funds according to the regulations; If, ten working days after receiving the notice from the Ministry of Finance, the ministries still fail to arrange the recovery plan according to the annual allocation decision of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance will report to the Prime Minister and simultaneously send a notice to the State Treasury requesting the State Treasury to temporarily suspend payment for projects that have not ensured the recovery of advance funds, pending instructions from the Prime Minister.

In the case of local budget capital and supplementary targeted capital from higher-level budgets to lower-level budgets, if the first-level budget units at the locality fail to allocate or inadequately allocate the amount of capital to be recovered as prescribed, the Department of Finance and the Financial Planning Office shall issue a written notice to such units to arrange for the recovery of the previously advanced capital as prescribed. If, within ten working days from the date the units receive the finance agency's document, the units fail to implement the allocation and recovery plan according to the decision on capital disbursement, the Department of Finance and the Financial Planning Office shall report to the People's Committees at all levels and simultaneously send a document to the State Treasury requesting the State Treasury to temporarily suspend payment for projects that have not ensured the recovery of advanced capital, pending instructions from the People's Committees at all levels.

6. Capital settlement: The deadline for settling advanced capital is based on the period allocated in the capital recovery plan. In cases where capital recovery is carried out over several years, the advanced capital allocated for recovery in each year's plan shall be settled in the corresponding fiscal year, and any paid capital that has not been allocated in the recovery plan shall be transferred to subsequent years' settlements in accordance with the recovery plan.

9. Amend and supplement Clause 3, Clause 4, and add Clause 5 to Article 11 as follows:

“3. In cases where projects require extending the implementation and payment periods into the following year, approval from the competent authority must be obtained in accordance with Article 64 of the State Budget Law; Article 76 of the Public Investment Law, and Article 46 of Decree No. 77/2015/NĐ-CP dated September 10, 2015 of the Government.

4. The State Treasury’s payment control period: Within a maximum of four working days from the date of receiving complete payment documents as stipulated by the project owner, based on the contract (or approved budget estimate for works implemented without contracts) and the amount requested for payment by the project owner, the State Treasury will review and make payments to the project and recover the advance capital as prescribed.

5. Unsettled capital plans after the disbursement deadline (excluding cases permitted by the competent authority to extend the implementation and payment periods) shall be handled in accordance with the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

10. Clause 1, Clause 2, and Clause 4 of Article 12 are amended and supplemented as follows:

“1. Adjustments to investment capital plans funded by the state budget shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law, the Public Investment Law; Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 2016 of the Government, and Decree No. 77/2015/NĐ-CP dated September 10, 2015 of the Government.

2. Principles of adjustment:

To ensure that projects achieve their planned objectives, minimize the extension of implementation into the following year; based on actual implementation conditions, ministries, people's committees at all levels shall review the progress and investment targets of projects in the year to submit to the competent authority for adjustments to the investment capital plans of projects within the total annual capital plan assigned; transfer capital from projects unable to be implemented to those capable of being implemented within the annual plan, ensuring that it does not exceed the total medium-term public investment capital plan for each project already decided by the competent authority.

Before submitting the adjusted investment capital plan for each project, ministries, people's committees at all levels shall instruct the project owners to determine the payment figures up to the adjustment point and work with the State Treasury to confirm the capital under the annual plan already paid to the project, determine the surplus capital due to non-implementation, ensuring that the adjusted project plan is not lower than the capital already paid by the State Treasury.

For projects expected to reduce the investment plan, while awaiting permission from the competent authority to adjust the plan, ministries, people's committees at all levels shall instruct the project owners not to disburse the capital expected to be reduced in the plan. Ministries, people's committees at all levels are responsible for the disbursement figures and the adjusted capital plan.

3. After obtaining permission from the competent authority to adjust the investment capital plan: ministries and people's committees at all levels shall send a letter allocating the adjusted investment capital plan to the financial agencies, planning agencies, and the State Treasury at the same level. The inspection of the allocation of adjusted investment capital shall be conducted as per the capital plan assigned by the competent authority for the year as prescribed in this Circular.

11. Add Section 4 to the Circular, providing regulations on the management and settlement of capital for special construction projects as follows:

"Section 4

Management and Settlement of Capital for Special Construction Projects

Article 13. State Secret Construction Projects.

1. Types of state secret construction projects as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 42 of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP dated June 18, 2015 of the Government on Investment and Construction Management (excluding state secret construction projects under the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security which shall be implemented according to separate Circulars issued by the Ministry of Finance).

2. The allocation and inspection of investment capital; control and settlement of public investment projects for state secret construction projects shall be carried out in accordance with regulations applicable to state budget investment capital (except where there are specific provisions regarding direct transfer of funds from the Ministry of Finance to ministries, sectors, and localities, such transfers shall be conducted in accordance with the regulations of the competent authority).

For public investment projects for state secret construction projects that are implemented through a mechanism of direct fund transfer from the Ministry of Finance to ministries, sectors, and localities, ministries, sectors, and localities shall assign competent agencies to manage, control, and settle funds for these projects.

3. Advance payment and capital settlement:

- For public investment projects for state secret construction projects managed by ministries, sectors, and localities, the State Treasury shall only monitor the appropriateness and completeness of withdrawal vouchers and transfer documents based on the investor's request without monitoring other contents in the investor's or its authorized representative's payment application dossier. Ministries, sectors, localities, and investors shall bear full responsibility for monitoring payment content and project dossiers.

- At the end of the plan year, ministries, sectors, and localities shall report to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance on the implementation of plans, the receipt and use of capital; confirm the amount of capital settled in the year, cumulatively the amount of capital settled from the start of construction to the end of the state budget fiscal year for each project; provide comments on the implementation of investment plans and compliance with financial policies and regulations.

Article 14. Construction Projects Under Emergency Orders and Urgent Orders and Temporary Construction Projects:

1. Types of construction projects under emergency orders and urgent orders as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 42 of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP dated June 18, 2015 of the Government.

2. Types of temporary construction projects as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 42 of Decree No. 59/2015/ND-CP dated June 18, 2015 of the Government.

3. Advance payment and capital settlement:

a) Advance payment: The level of advance payment and recovery of advance payment shall be implemented in accordance with regulations applicable to state budget investment capital. The advance payment dossier includes:

- An emergency order from the competent authority or a document permitting the implementation of the project or program under an emergency order from the competent authority;

- A decision approving the investment project of the emergency construction or temporary construction project by the authorized person;

- A payment request for investment capital;

- Transfer documents.

- A guarantee for the advance payment amount by the contractor (in cases where a guarantee for advance payment is required according to Point a, Clause 4, Article 8 of Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance);

b) Settlement of completed work volume: to be carried out in accordance with regulations applicable to state budget investment capital.”

12. Amend and supplement Article 13 (now Article 15 of this Circular) as follows:

“1. For investors, ministries, and provincial People's Committees: implement in accordance with Circular No. 82/2017/TT-BTC dated August 15, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance on the system and reporting forms for the implementation of basic construction investment plans from the state budget and government bonds.

2. For the State Treasury:

- Implement the reporting system as prescribed in Circular No. 82/2017/TT-BTC dated August 15, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance.

- At the end of the plan year, the State Treasury shall compile data on investment capital settlement and report to the finance department at the same level in accordance with regulations on finalizing the state budget. Simultaneously, it shall confirm the amount settled in the year, cumulatively the amount settled from the start of construction to the end of the state budget fiscal year for each project established by the investor.”

13. Supplement Article 18 (now Article 20 of this Circular) as follows:

“4. Implement the inspection of investment capital allocation in accordance with this Circular.”

14. Repeal the form attached as Appendix No. 06 to Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated June 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance.

Article 2. Amend and supplement some articles of Circular No. 108/TT-BTC dated June 30, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance as follows:

1. Clause 1 of Article 1 shall be amended and supplemented as follows:

"Article 4. Capital investment allocation inspection:

1. Annually, after being assigned plans (including initial capital allocation plans for the beginning of the year; supplementary plans within the year) by the Prime Minister, People's Councils, relevant ministries, sectors, and local People's Committees at all levels and primary budgetary units at the locality level (in cases where primary budgetary units are allocated by higher authorities), detailed capital investment allocations must be made for each project according to the project investment code and economic sector (type, item) as specified in Appendix No. 02 issued together with Circular No. 324/2016/TT-BTC dated December 21, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance on the State Budget Classification System.

2. For advance budget allocations for the following year, after being decided by the Prime Minister and provincial and district People's Committees (as stipulated in Article 37 of Decree No. 163/2016/NĐ-CP dated December 21, 2016 of the Government), central ministries, sectors, and primary budgetary units at the locality level (if authorized) shall implement detailed allocation plans for investment projects for subordinate budgetary units and lower levels.

3. The detailed allocation and assignment of annual investment capital plans for projects must be completed before December 31 of the preceding year or within the specific time frame set forth in the capital allocation decision of the competent authority. In cases of supplementary plan assignments, within ten working days from the date of receiving the supplementary plan, ministries, sectors, and local People's Committees must complete the allocation and assignment according to regulations. Simultaneously with the aforementioned capital allocation, ministries, sectors, and local People's Committees assign detailed capital plans to project sponsors for implementation.

Based on the capital allocation plans assigned by local People's Committees, primary budgetary units at the locality level (if authorized) shall implement detailed allocation plans for investment projects for their direct and lower-level sponsors; concurrently send these plans to the same-level financial agencies for inspection according to the State Budget Law.

(Detailed capital allocation plan model according to Appendix No. 01 attached to this Circular)

4. After allocating the investment capital plans, ministries, sectors, and local People's Committees shall send detailed capital allocation documents to the same-level financial agencies and State Treasury for implementation of management and operation of the state budget according to the State Budget Law and guiding documents; primary budgetary units at the locality level shall send the same-level financial agencies and concurrently send the State Treasury for control, payment, consolidation, and reporting purposes.

5. Ministries, sectors, and localities shall assign detailed capital plan indicators to project sponsors in accordance with all criteria specified in Appendix No. 01 above, detailing the investment capital plan: initial allocation plan (including recovery of advance capital), adjusted investment capital plan, extended investment capital plan, advance capital plan for implementation, and simultaneously send to the State Treasury where accounts are opened for basis of payment control.

6. Ministries, financial agencies, and State Treasury have the responsibility to enter investment capital plans into the TABMIS system according to the guidance provided in Circular No. 123/2014/TT-BTC dated August 27, 2014 of the Ministry of Finance on organizing operation and exploitation of the TABMIS system and document No. 4754/BTC-KBNN dated April 11, 2017 on procedures for entering and allocating budgets, accounting entries, recording revenues and expenditures of Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds, preferential loans from foreign donors, and foreign aid.

7. Allocation inspection:

a) Regarding content inspection:

- Inspect the accuracy and consistency with the indicators assigned by the competent authority regarding: total investment capital plan, project list; total investment amount; capital structure (domestic capital, foreign capital; sectoral and field structure; by tasks); allocated capital for each project (if applicable).

- Inspect compliance with investment procedures as prescribed for projects receiving capital.

b) For projects managed by ministries and sectors:

- After receiving detailed capital allocation plans for central ministries and sectors as prescribed, the Ministry of Finance shall conduct allocation inspections. If discrepancies are found in the allocation contents as stipulated in Point a Clause 6 of this Article, within ten working days from the receipt of the document, the Ministry of Finance shall issue opinions to central ministries and sectors to adjust according to regulations, concurrently sending to the State Treasury and the State Treasury where payment accounts are opened to temporarily halt payments for projects not allocated according to regulations. Ministries are responsible for directing sponsors of projects not allocated according to regulations to return state budget funds already paid (if applicable).

Within seven working days from the receipt of the Ministry of Finance's request, central ministries and sectors must adjust and send revised capital allocation plans to the Ministry of Finance, State Treasury, and the State Treasury where payment accounts are opened for projects that meet conditions. In cases of disagreement with the Ministry of Finance's opinion, ministries and sectors shall report to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision. During the waiting period for the Prime Minister's decision, central ministries and sectors and sponsors are not permitted to make payments for the portion of the plan requested by the Ministry of Finance to be adjusted.

c) For projects managed by localities:

- Within ten working days from the receipt of detailed capital allocation plans for primary budgetary units at the locality level (in cases where primary budgetary units are allocated by higher authorities), financial agencies shall conduct allocation inspections. If discrepancies are found in the allocation contents as stipulated in Point a Clause 6 of this Article, financial agencies shall issue opinions to primary budgetary units to adjust according to regulations; concurrently sending to the State Treasury where payment accounts are opened to temporarily halt payments for projects not allocated according to regulations. Within seven working days, primary budgetary units are responsible for directing sponsors of projects not allocated according to regulations to return state budget funds already paid for the project (if applicable).

Not later than within seven working days from the date of receipt of the document of the Finance Authority, the first-level budgetary unit shall adjust and send the document allocating the adjusted capital plan to the Finance Authority and the State Treasury where the account for payment of the project that has met the conditions is opened. In case there is disagreement with the opinion of the Finance Authority, the first-level budgetary unit shall report its opinion to the People's Committee (where the budget is assigned) for consideration and decision. During the time waiting for the People's Committee (where the budget is assigned) to consider and decide, the first-level budgetary unit and the project investor are not permitted to make payments for the project (or part of the allocation plan of the project) that does not comply with the requirements of the Finance Authority to be adjusted.

2. Paragraph a of Point 1 and Paragraph a of Point 2 Clause 2 Article 1 are amended and supplemented as follows:

“1. For investment preparation capital:

a) The decision approving the investment preparation budget of the competent authority attached with the cost estimate for the investment preparation work or the budget estimate of each item of work under the investment preparation work;

2. For project implementation capital:

a) The decision approving the investment project (or the decision approving the economic and technical report for projects only preparing such reports) of the competent authority, and decisions adjusting the project (if any).”

Article 3. Changes and amendments to the name of sections and some articles in Circular No. 08/2016/TT-BTC dated January 18, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance

1. Amend the name of Section 4 Chapter II of the Circular to "Section 5. Reporting, inspection, and settlement system".

Transfer Articles 13, 14, and 15 of Section 4 Chapter II of the Circular to Articles 15, 16, and 17 of Section 5.

2. Amend the name of Section 5 Chapter II of the Circular to "Section 6. Responsibilities and Authorities of Relevant Agencies".

Transfer Articles 16, 17, 18, and 19 of Section 5 Chapter II of the Circular to Articles 18, 19, 20, and 21 of Section 6.

3. Transfer Articles 20 and 21 of Chapter III of the Circular to Articles 22 and 23 of Chapter III.

Article 4. Transitional Provisions

Contracts signed and being implemented before this Circular takes effect shall be carried out according to the regulations on management and settlement of state budget capital investment prior to the effective date of this Circular.

Article 5. Effectiveness and implementation

          1. This Circular takes effect from July 10, 2018.

2. Repeal the following Circulars of the Ministry of Finance:

a. Repeal the provisions on management and settlement of state budget capital investment at the following Circulars:

- Circular No. 231/2012/TT-BTC dated December 28, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance on management, settlement, and finalization of capital investment for projects using government bond funds during 2012-2015;

- Circular No. 22/2015/TT-BTC dated February 12, 2015 of the Ministry of Finance on management, settlement, and finalization of capital investment and public service investment funds in poor districts and districts with high poverty rates;

- Circular No. 28/2012/TT-BTC dated February 24, 2012 of the Ministry of Finance on management of capital investment from district, town, and commune budgets;

- Circular No. 85/2014/TT-BTC dated June 30, 2014 of the Ministry of Finance guiding management, settlement, and finalization of state budget capital investment implementing the Forest Protection and Development Plan;

- Circular No. 107/2007/TT-BTC dated September 7, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding management, settlement, and finalization of state budget capital investment for land clearance and resettlement projects.

b. Repeal Points 2 and 3 of Section II on review of capital allocation and adjustment of capital allocation plans stipulated in Circular No. 138/2007/TT-BTC dated November 29, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance guiding management, settlement, and finalization of compensation, support, and resettlement capital for the Son La Hydropower Project.

3. During the implementation process, in case of difficulties, units are requested to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for research and appropriate amendment and supplementation./.