Circular No. 52/2023/TT-BTC guiding the mechanism for using state budget funds to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as stipulated in Government Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP dated August 26, 2021.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for the mechanism of using state budget funds for regular expenditure to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as stipulated in Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP dated August 26, 2021 of the Government

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

On the basis of Law on Support for Small and Medium Enterprises June 12, 2017;

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

Decree No. 80/2021/ND-CP dated August 26, 2021 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Supporting SMEs;

Decree No. The Minister of Finance issues this Circular to repeal Circular No. 118/2013/TT-BTC Repeals Circular No. 118/2013/TT-BTC dated August 23, 2013 of the Ministry of Finance on guiding the financial management mechanism for ODA loans from the Government of Japan for the Forest Protection Rehabilitation and Sustainable Management Project (Project JICA2).

At the proposal of the Director of the Enterprise Finance Department,

The Minister of Finance issues this Circular to guide the mechanism of using state budget funds for regular expenditure to support SMEs as stipulated in Decree No. 80/2021/ND-CP dated August 26, 2021 of the Government.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular guides the mechanism of using state budget funds for regular expenditure to implement support contents for SMEs (hereinafter referred to as SMEs) as stipulated in Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP dated August 26, 2021 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Law on Supporting SMEs (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP), specifically:

1. Support technology for SMEs at Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4 Article 11; advisory support for SMEs at Article 13; support for innovative startups among SMEs at Article 22; support for SMEs participating in industry clusters and value chains at Article 25.

2. Support for human resource development for SMEs at Article 14.

3. Information support for SMEs at Article 12: funding for upgrading, maintaining, managing, and operating the National Portal for Supporting SMEs (hereinafter referred to as the Portal) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment; collecting and updating information into the database for supporting SMEs.

4. Management costs for support activities for SMEs according to Subpoint b Clause 2 Article 28.

Article 2. Applicability

1. Enterprises established, organized, and operated in accordance with the laws on enterprises, while meeting the criteria for SMEs as stipulated in Chapter II of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP.

2. Ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, and government agencies; People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities (hereinafter referred to as provincial-level People's Committees).

3. Agencies and organizations providing support to SMEs as stipulated in Clause 4 Article 3 of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP.

4. Providers of products and services supporting SMEs as stipulated in Subpoint c Clause 3 Article 32 of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP.

5. Workers employed in SMEs; vocational training institutions as prescribed by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

6. Agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the management and use of state budget funds to support SMEs.

Article 3. Source of Funding

The funds for implementing the support contents for SMEs as stipulated in this Circular include:

1. Regular state budget funds, including central and local budgets according to the budget allocation (hereinafter referred to as state budget support funds for SMEs).

2. Contributions and sponsorships from domestic and foreign enterprises, organizations, and individuals, and other legitimate funds outside the state budget (hereinafter collectively referred to as contributions and sponsorships).

Article 4. Principles for Managing and Using Funds

1. For state budget funds:

a) State budget support funds for SMEs are implemented through the state budget estimates allocated to agencies and organizations providing support to SMEs. The process of preparing, deciding, allocating, executing, accounting, auditing, and settling accounts for state budget support funds for SMEs must comply with the laws on the state budget, ensuring the correct purpose, target, content, expenditure standards, support levels, and principles of support as stipulated in Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP, guided by this Circular, and other relevant laws.

b) Support is based on the ability to balance resources and the priority direction of annual state budget support.

2. For contributions and sponsorships: the mobilization, management, settlement, and auditing of funds must strictly adhere to current legal regulations. In cases where agreements are made with enterprises, organizations, or individuals regarding the use of contributions and sponsorships to cover state budget support, such agreements shall be strictly followed.

3. Principles for determining costs:

a) For expenditures with specific standards and norms stipulated in legal documents issued by competent authorities: costs shall be determined in accordance with the prescribed system.

b) For expenditures without specific standards and norms: costs shall be determined based on specific circumstances, nature, scope, and related factors, referring to similar costs incurred within the last 12 months (if available) up to the time of cost determination.

4. Agencies and units managing and using funds for implementing support contents for SMEs are responsible under the law for complying with the provisions of Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article; ensuring the rationality, legality, effectiveness, and economy in the use of funds; ensuring the truthfulness, accuracy, transparency, and completeness of legal documentation; and recording, settling accounts, and archiving documents in accordance with the prescribed system.

Chapter II

SUPPORT FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES

Section 1

TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT, ADVICE, INNOVATIVE STARTUPS AMONG SMEs, SMEs PARTICIPATING IN INDUSTRY CLUSTERS AND VALUE CHAINS

Article 5. Contents of Support

1. Contents of support for SMEs on technology; advisory services (excluding management, operation, maintenance activities, and development of advisory networks); support for SMEs in innovative startups; support for SMEs to participate in industry clusters and value chains as prescribed in Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP and Circular No. 06/2022/TT-BKHĐT dated May 10, 2022 of the Ministry of Planning and Investment guiding certain provisions of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 06/2022/TT-BKHĐT).

2. SMEs shall be supported according to the contents stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article through supporting agencies and organizations based on bilateral contracts or tripartite contracts as prescribed in Clause 1, Point b and c of Clause 3, Article 32 of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP. Supporting agencies and organizations shall determine advisory contracts, non-advisory contracts, and state budget funds for support for each contract based on the provisions of Articles 6 and 7 of this Circular.

Article 6. Support under Advisory Contracts

1. Advisory contracts supporting SMEs as prescribed in this Circular are contracts with one or more support contents as stipulated in Clause 1, Clause 3, Clause 4 of Article 11; Clause 2 of Article 13; Clause 2, Point a and d of Clause 3, Clause 4, Point b of Clause 6 of Article 22; Clause 2, Point c, e and g of Clause 3, Point a of Clause 4 of Article 25 of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP. In cases where there are two or more support contents in one contract, they must be separated into individual items to determine the value and state budget funds for support for each item.

2. Contents of support expenditure and determination of costs:

a) Remuneration for individual advisors: determined based on the corresponding salary level for the working time of individual advisors and as prescribed in Circular No. 02/2015/TT-BLĐTBXH dated January 12, 2015 of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs stipulating the salary level for domestic consulting experts serving as the basis for estimating the tender package for consulting service provision using the time-based contract form funded by state capital (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 02/2015/TT-BLĐTBXH).

b) Travel, food, and accommodation expenses for individual advisors when performing work, conducting field surveys, and attending meetings directly serving advisory activities: determined based on the provisions of Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance stipulating travel expense regulations and meeting expense regulations (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC).

c) Translation fees for foreign individual advisors: determined based on the provisions of Article 11 of Circular No. 71/2018/TT-BTC dated August 10, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance stipulating reception regulations for foreign visitors to Vietnam, international conference and seminar expense regulations in Vietnam, and domestic reception regulations.

d) Management activity costs of advisory organizations (applicable to contracts signed with advisory organizations): determined based on the principle set out in Point b of Clause 3 of Article 4 of this Circular.

3. Agencies and units shall base on the support ratio and standard for each advisory contract prescribed in Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP and the contract value to determine the state budget funds for support. The value of advisory contracts (including taxes, fees, and charges if applicable) includes the costs as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

Article 7. Support under contracts without advisory services

1. Contracts without advisory services supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as prescribed in this Circular are contracts containing one or more support contents specified in Clause 2, Article 11; Clause 1, Points b and c, Clause 3; Clause 5; Points c, d and đ, Clause 6, Article 22; Clause 1, Points d and đ, Clause 3; Point b and c, Clause 4; Clause 5, Article 25 of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP. In cases where there are two or more support contents in one contract, they must be separated into individual items to determine the value and state budget support funding for each item.

2. Contents of support expenditure and determination of costs:

a) Supporting costs for trainees of innovative SMEs, SMEs participating in industry clusters, value chains attending training courses:

For domestic specialized training courses supported by the state budget according to Article 8 of this Circular: tuition fees (including study materials) shall be determined according to Point b, Clause 3, Article 8 of this Circular; travel, food, and accommodation expenses for trainees shall be determined according to Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC.

For domestic specialized training courses not supported by the state budget: tuition fees and study material costs (excluding reference materials) shall be determined according to the principle at Point b, Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular; travel, food, and accommodation expenses for trainees shall be determined according to Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC.

For short-term specialized training courses abroad: tuition fees and study materials (excluding reference materials) shall be determined according to the principle at Point b, Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular; travel, food, and accommodation expenses for trainees shall be determined according to Circular No. 102/2012/TT-BTC dated June 21, 2012, of the Ministry of Finance on the regulations for travel expenses for civil servants and employees of state agencies traveling abroad for short-term missions funded by the state budget (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 102/2012/TT-BTC).

b) Organizing advanced technology and production technique training courses at SMEs participating in industry clusters, value chains: organization costs shall be determined as for training courses at SMEs in the manufacturing and processing sector as prescribed in Article 8 of this Circular.

c) Participating in international startup innovation contests by innovative SMEs: participation fees and charges shall be determined according to the announcement of the contest organizing committee; travel, food, and accommodation expenses in the host country for SME representatives and transportation costs for materials, products, and equipment for contest participation shall be determined according to Circular No. 102/2012/TT-BTC.

d) Participating in trade fairs and exhibitions promoting trade organized within the country or abroad by innovative SMEs, SMEs participating in industry clusters, value chains: rental, design, and construction costs for exhibition booths, transportation costs for displayed products shall be determined according to the principle at Point b, Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular; travel, food, and accommodation expenses for SME representatives shall be determined according to Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC (for domestic fairs) and Circular No. 102/2012/TT-BTC (for foreign fairs).

đ) Costs specified in Clause 2, Article 11; Clause 1, Points b and c, Clause 3; Point c, Clause 6, Article 22; Point d, Clause 3; Points b and c, Clause 4; Clause 5, Article 25 of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP (where Point c, Clause 6, Article 22 and Point d, Clause 3, Article 25 of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP are detailed in Clause 2, Article 15 and Clause 3, Article 18 of Circular No. 06/2022/TT-BKHĐT) shall be determined according to the principle at Point b, Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular.

3. Agencies and units shall base their determination of state budget support funding in contracts without advisory services on the support ratio and standard rates for each support content prescribed in Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP and the costs stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

Section 2

SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

Article 8. Training courses on business management; entrepreneurship; direct training at SMEs in production and processing sectors; online training through available e-learning tools

1. Content of support for organizing training courses:

a) Business management training course (basic or advanced) organized in direct training form:

- Survey costs (postage for sending survey forms); recruitment costs (postage for sending invitation letters, telephone charges, advertising fees for promoting the training course on various media channels or hiring service providers to handle full recruitment services).

- Instructor and speaker expenses: teaching remuneration (including preparation of lesson plans); meals, accommodation, and travel (applicable to instructors and speakers conducting direct training).

- Rental costs for conference halls, classrooms, computers, projectors, and other learning equipment; printing, photocopying, purchasing study materials for participants according to the training program content (excluding reference materials); refreshments during breaks; office supplies; opening and closing ceremonies (fresh flowers, banners); electricity, water, sanitation, parking, photographing and storing documentary images, and other direct expenses serving the training course.

- Costs for organizing practical activities for participants (if necessary) in the following forms: experiments, model demonstrations, real-life simulations (costs for renting, purchasing, and transporting equipment, raw materials, tools, and devices required for experiments and model demonstrations, real-life simulations); field trips to domestic businesses (transportation costs for picking up and dropping off participants from the classroom to the survey site and remuneration for speakers presenting at the actual site).

- Costs for organizing examinations and evaluating participants' learning outcomes (exam creation, invigilation, marking); issuing certificates to participants who request them upon completion of the training course.

- Direct management activity costs for a training course by the training organization (training organizations specified in Clause 1, Article 11 of Circular No. 06/2022/TT-BKHĐT): costs for class managers (meals, accommodation, and travel if the class is far from the training organization, overtime pay, communication expenses); costs for organizing meetings to implement the training course (refreshments during breaks, remuneration for meeting chairpersons and attendees).

b) Business management training course (basic or advanced) organized in blended learning form (blended learning form defined in Clause 4, Article 11 of Circular No. 06/2022/TT-BKHĐT):

In addition to the costs specified in point a of this clause, there are additional costs: electronic teaching and learning materials, rental costs for standard classrooms when the training organization cannot arrange classrooms and must rent externally; purchase or rental of special equipment, internet connections for instructors and speakers to conduct online teaching, and participants to learn online; remuneration for technical support staff for online training.

c) Entrepreneurship training course:

The support content follows the provisions of points a and b of this clause but does not include costs for domestic business field trips; costs for organizing examinations and evaluating participants' learning outcomes.

d) Training at SMEs in production and processing sectors:

The support content follows the provisions of points a and b of this clause but does not include recruitment costs. Among these, rental costs for conference halls, classrooms, projectors, and learning equipment, as well as electricity, water, sanitation, and parking costs, are only determined when the SME does not have a conference hall to organize the training course.

đ) Online training courses through available e-learning tools:

The content of expenses follows the provisions of points a and b of this clause but does not include travel, accommodation, and meal expenses for instructors, speakers, and class organizers; hard copy material costs, refreshments during breaks, and office supplies for participants; field trip costs; electricity and water costs.

2. Determining costs:

a) Instructor teaching remuneration and speaker remuneration for participating in classroom teaching or presenting at actual sites: determined according to the provisions of point a, Clause 2, Article 5 of Circular No. 36/2018/TT-BTC dated March 30, 2018, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the preparation, management, use, and settlement of training and capacity-building funds for civil servants and public officials (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 36/2018/TT-BTC).

b) Meal, accommodation, and travel expenses for instructors, speakers, and class organizers; refreshments during breaks: determined according to the provisions of Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC.

c) Examination creation, invigilation, and marking costs: determined according to the provisions of Clause 4, point c, Clause 8, and Clause 10, Article 8 of Circular No. 69/2021/TT-BTC dated August 11, 2021, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the management of examination preparation, organization, and participation costs applicable to general education.

d) Teaching and learning material costs, electronic learning material costs: determined according to the provisions of Circular No. 194/2012/TT-BTC dated November 15, 2012, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the level of expenditure for creating electronic information to maintain the regular operation of state budget-funded agencies and units.

đ) Overtime costs; determined according to the provisions of the Labour Code, Decree No. 145/2020/NĐ-CP dated December 14, 2020, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain articles of the Labour Code regarding working conditions and labour relations (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 145/2020/NĐ-CP) and related implementing documents.

e) Other actual expenses (survey, recruitment; printing, photocopying, purchasing learning materials; renting conference halls, classrooms, computers, projectors, and other learning equipment; purchasing or renting internet connections, special equipment, and remuneration for technical support staff for online training; office supplies; opening and closing ceremonies; participant practical activity costs; issuing certificates to participants; electricity, water, sanitation, parking, filming, photographing, and storing documentary images; communication expenses for class organizers): determined according to the principles set out in point b, Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular.

In cases where expenses relate to multiple training courses (such as surveys, recruitment, communication; purchasing, leasing packages of transmission services, special tools and equipment for online training over time), such expenses must be allocated to each course according to criteria determined by the training unit to ensure the rationality of the expenses.

g) Expenses for directly managing a training course by the training unit shall be carried out at the level prescribed in point m, Clause 2, Article 5 of Circular No. 36/2018/TT-BTC, amended by Clause 7, Article 1 of Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BTC dated January 31, 2023 of the Ministry of Finance amending and supplementing certain provisions of Circular No. 36/2018/TT-BTC (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BTC).

3. Determining state budget support funds:

a) Agencies and units shall base on the support ratio and standard for each training course as stipulated in Article 14 of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP (wherein the maximum support is 100% of the costs for organizing an online training course through existing online teaching tools) and the total cost of a training course (determined according to the provisions of Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article) to calculate the state budget support funds for organizing the training course.

b) Students shall be supported tuition fees as prescribed in point b, Clause 1, Article 14 of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP. The state budget support funds shall be determined based on the amount of support for tuition fees for one student and the number of students eligible for tuition fee support.

Determining the amount of support for tuition fees for one student:

Where:

- Total costs for organizing a training course as determined according to the provisions of Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article.

- State budget support funds for organizing a training course as determined according to point a of this clause.

- The amount of sponsorship for the training course (if any) raised from domestic and foreign enterprises, organizations, and individuals.

4. Training units are responsible for preparing detailed budgets and reporting final accounts for the costs of organizing each training course according to the form attached to this Circular.

Article 9. Training through the E-Learning Online Training System

1. Contents of training expenses for starting a business and managing enterprises through the E-Learning Online Training System as prescribed in point a, Clause 2, Article 14 of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP and as provided in Part I, Clause 1, Part II, Clause 1 and Clause 2, Part III, Section 6 of Appendix 3.2 attached to Circular No. 06/2022/TT-BKHĐT.

2. Expenditure levels:

a) Building, renting, purchasing an online training system; maintaining, upgrading software, adding, updating new features, maintaining and operating the online training system; renting, purchasing servers, transmission lines; digitizing and entering data, creating electronic information: carried out according to the provisions of Decree No. 73/2019/NĐ-CP dated September 5, 2019 of the Government on management of investment in application of information technology using state budget funds (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 73/2019/NĐ-CP) and relevant laws; economic and technical standards in the field of information and communications.

b) Building online lectures, electronic learning materials: carried out according to the provisions of Circular No. 76/2018/TT-BTC dated August 17, 2018 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the content and expenditure standards for building training programs, compiling textbooks for subjects in higher education and vocational education and related current documents.

c) Organizing communication and promotion activities for online training: costs determined according to the principles prescribed in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular.

Article 10. Vocational training for laborers of SMEs

Laborers of SMEs who meet the conditions stipulated in Clause 4, Article 14 of Decree No. 80/2021/NĐ-CP when participating in vocational training courses at the primary level or programs lasting three months or less shall be supported by the state budget for training costs, once per person, with the amount of support according to the notification of the vocational training institution but not exceeding the maximum level specified in Point d, Clause 1, Article 7 of Circular No. 152/2016/TT-BTC dated October 17, 2016 of the Ministry of Finance on the management and use of funds to support primary-level training and training under three months.

Section 3

NETWORK OF ADVISORS, INFORMATION PORTAL, DATABASE AND MANAGEMENT OF ACTIVITIES SUPPORTING SMEs

Article 11. Management, operation, maintenance of the network of advisors and training and development of the advisor network

1. Contents and levels of expenditure for managing, operating, and maintaining the network of advisors:

a) Expenditure for purchasing, constructing software to manage the network of advisors; purchasing, upgrading, maintaining hardware infrastructure, communication services, servers, and related services for storing and operating the network of advisors; building, maintaining, and updating data for the advisor network: carried out in accordance with Decree No. 73/2019/NĐ-CP and guiding documents.

b) Expenditure for organizing conferences, seminars, summarizing, and evaluating the formation, management, operation, and maintenance of the network of advisors: carried out in accordance with Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC.

2. Training and development of the advisor network:

a) Contents and levels of expenditure for organizing training and upgrading courses for advisors as stipulated in Points a, b, or d, Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 8 of this Circular.

b) The unit recognizing advisors (when directly organizing training courses) or the service provider has the responsibility to prepare detailed budgets and report on the settlement of funding for each training course according to the attached appendix of this Circular.

Article 12. Upgrading, maintaining, managing, and operating the Information Portal and collecting, updating information into the database supporting SMEs

1. Content of expenditure:

a) Expenditure for upgrading activities includes: upgrading, testing functions of software supporting SMEs; upgrading existing hardware systems (supplementing components, equipment).

b) Expenditure for maintenance, management, and operation activities includes: leasing maintenance, repair services for technical infrastructure systems, software; leasing management and operation services, system administration, technical support services, cybersecurity, information security; renewing commercial software licenses, antivirus software, ensuring information security; renewing domain name services, digital certificate services (SSL) and other related services directly linked to maintaining and operating the Information Portal; renewing and leasing additional communication lines to develop services supporting SMEs in digital transformation, financial support, and other supportive services; training costs for system administrators and operators (if applicable); organizing updates of news articles, supportive information, policies, and supportive services for SMEs (payment for writing articles, reports, research).

c) Expenditure for collecting and updating information into the database supporting SMEs includes: collecting, creating data to form databases; managing, maintaining, and updating data, managing data changes; sharing data and managing data sharing; exploiting and using managed data and exploiting and using shared data from other state agencies; entering structured data into the SME database.

2. Levels of expenditure: carried out in accordance with Decree No. 73/2019/NĐ-CP and relevant laws, economic and technical norms in the field of information and communications, Circular No. 36/2018/TT-BTC, Circular No. 06/2023/TT-BTC, Decree No. 18/2014/NĐ-CP dated March 14, 2014 of the Government on remuneration rates in the fields of journalism and publishing, and the principles stipulated in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular.

Article 13. Management of Support Activities for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

1. Content of expenditure:

a) General management expenses include: communication costs (newsletters, articles) on support work, content supporting SMEs; costs for organizing inspection teams to assess the implementation of support tasks for SMEs, surveying support needs of SMEs; conference and seminar costs for guiding and summarizing support work for SMEs.

b) Direct management expenses for support activities include: costs for serving the implementation of support tasks for SMEs by support agencies and organizations and the operation costs of the Council for Selecting Innovative Start-up SMEs as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 21 of Decree No. 80/2021/ND-CP (traveling to SMEs for direct assessment and decision-making on support; overtime work; communication; hiring experts; organizing meetings and seminars to evaluate applications and assess the results of selecting innovative start-up SMEs); costs for selecting service providers for SME support products and services.

2. Expenditure levels:

a) Conference and seminar organization costs; travel and survey costs for staff shall be implemented according to Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC.

b) Overtime costs shall be implemented according to the Labor Code, Decree No. 145/2020/ND-CP, and related guidance documents.

c) Expert hiring costs shall be implemented according to Circular No. 02/2015/TT-BLDTBXH.

d) Communication and information transmission costs shall be implemented according to the principle set out in Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular.

đ) Costs for selection activities shall be implemented according to the Public Procurement Law and related guidance documents.

Chapter III

ALLOCATION, PREPARATION, IMPLEMENTATION AND SETTLEMENT OF STATE BUDGET FUNDS FOR SUPPORTING SMEs

Article 14. Allocation of State Budget Funds for Supporting SMEs

1. For support contents for SMEs specified in Sections 1 and 2 of Chapter II of this Circular: state budget funds for supporting SMEs are allocated within the annual regular expenditure budget of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and provincial People's Committees; specifically, training costs as stipulated in Article 9 of this Circular are only allocated to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and provincial People's Committees.

2. For management, operation, maintenance activities, and capacity building and training for developing the advisory network as stipulated in Articles 10 and 11 of this Circular: SME support funds (central budget) are allocated within the annual regular expenditure budget of ministries and ministerial-level agencies to transfer to support agencies and organizations under their jurisdiction with the functions and responsibilities to manage, operate, and maintain the advisory network and recognize advisors.

3. For upgrading, maintaining, managing, and operating the Information Portal; collecting and updating information into the support database for SMEs as stipulated in Article 12 of this Circular: SME support funds (central budget) are allocated within the annual regular expenditure budget of the Ministry of Planning and Investment; these funds will not be allocated from the annual administrative management budget of the Ministry of Planning and Investment for this purpose.

4. For managing support activities for SMEs as stipulated in Article 13 of this Circular:

a) General management activities: state budget funds for implementation are consolidated and allocated within the annual regular expenditure budget of the Ministry of Planning and Investment; the lead agency of the ministry, ministerial-level agency, and government agency; Provincial Department of Planning and Investment according to the State Budget Law and related guidance documents.

b) Direct management activities: based on annual needs and plans, support agencies and organizations prepare the budget for implementation, submit it to the supervising agency, which then submits it to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consolidation as stipulated in Article 15 of this Circular.

Article 15. Establishment, Allocation, and Transfer of State Budget Funds for Support

The establishment of the budget, allocation, transfer, management, utilization, and settlement of state budget funds for support to SMEs shall be carried out in accordance with the principles stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 4 of this Circular and the following provisions:

1. Establishment of budget projections:

a) At the time of building the annual state budget, based on the guidelines for establishing the state budget and the guidelines for establishing support plans for SMEs issued by competent authorities, agencies and organizations shall establish the budget for implementing support contents for SMEs, including specifically determining the state budget funds for support as prescribed in this Circular, which will be consolidated into the state budget expenditure plan of the agency or organization to be submitted to the competent authority for consolidation into the state budget plan of the ministry, central agency, or locality.

b) Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and provincial People's Committees shall submit the state budget funds for supporting SMEs to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and submit the state budget funds for vocational training support for SME employees to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs for consolidation and submission to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

c) The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall review and consolidate detailed needs for state budget funds for supporting SMEs (including vocational training support for SME employees) according to each area of state budget spending and targeted support from the central budget for each locality that has not balanced its budget (if any), and submit it to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation in accordance with the State Budget Law.

d) Based on the ability to balance the central budget for the planning year, the demand for state budget support proposed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance shall notify the planned level of central budget support for SMEs for the planning year in detail according to each area of spending to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. On the basis of the notification from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall develop a plan for allocating funds to ministries, central agencies, and localities in detail according to each area of state budget spending, and resubmit it to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation into the central budget allocation plan to be reported to the Government for consideration and decision by the National Assembly.

Article 16. Settlement of State Budget Funds for Support

Based on the state budget support plan for SMEs assigned by the competent authority, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and localities shall implement the allocation and transfer of budgets to supporting agencies and organizations under their jurisdiction in accordance with the laws on the state budget.

2. Allocation and Transfer of Budget:

Based on the state budget support plan for SMEs assigned by the competent authority, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and localities shall implement the allocation and transfer of budgets to supporting agencies and organizations under their jurisdiction in accordance with the laws on the state budget.

Paragraph 1. The settlement of state budget funds for support to SMEs as prescribed in this Circular shall be implemented through the withdrawal of the budget, with the State Treasury controlling expenditures.

Paragraph 2. The procedures, formalities, documentation, control, and settlement of state budget funds for support to SMEs shall be carried out in accordance with Decree No. 11/2020/ND-CP dated January 20, 2020 of the Government on administrative procedures within the State Treasury sector (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 11/2020/ND-CP); Circular No. 62/2020/TT-BTC dated June 22, 2020 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the control and settlement of regular expenses from the state budget through the State Treasury (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 62/2020/TT-BTC), and certain specific provisions as follows:

a) Advance payment level from the state budget:

For expenditures with a contract value exceeding 50 million VND (including both state budget support and non-support portions): the advance payment level shall be in accordance with the signed contract between the state budget using unit and related parties. The state budget using unit may request advance payments once or multiple times for a single contract, but the total amount must not exceed 50% of the state budget support value recorded in the contract at the time of signing and must not exceed the approved annual budget for that expenditure.

For expenditures without contracts or with a contract value not exceeding 50 million VND (including both state budget support and non-support portions): the advance payment level shall be based on the request of the state budget using unit within the allocated budget. The state budget using unit shall bear responsibility for the requested advance payment level in accordance with regulations.

For expenditures without contracts or contracts that do not need to be sent to the State Treasury: they shall be carried out in accordance with Point a, Clause 3, Article 7 of Circular No. 62/2020/TT-BTC.

For expenditures with a contract value exceeding 50 million VND (including both state budget support and non-support portions), the state budget using unit shall begin advance payment settlements from the first completed work volume of the contract, with each advance payment level clearly specified in the contract, ensuring full settlement when the total payment (including advance payments and completed work volumes) reaches 80% of the state budget support value recorded in the contract.

When making advance payments, the state budget using unit shall comply with the provisions of Point c, Clause 3, Article 7 of Circular No. 62/2020/TT-BTC.

c) Control and Settlement: The State Treasury shall carry out control and settlement based on the expenditure control documentation as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 7 of Decree No. 11/2020/ND-CP, and Article 6 of Circular No. 62/2020/TT-BTC, ensuring compliance with the expenditure content and standards (for expenditure items with specific standards and norms stipulated in legal documents) as prescribed in this Circular.

For budgetary state funds support expenses under contracts as stipulated in Section 1 Chapter II of this Circular, where the contract has one party being a Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) that is the beneficiary of support: the budgetary unit shall submit the dossier to the State Treasury in accordance with Clause 4, Article 7 of Decree No. 11/2020/ND-CP (regardless of the value of the contract). The State Treasury shall monitor and ensure that expenditures from the state budget do not exceed the ratio of state budget support as prescribed in Decree No. 80/2021/ND-CP and as specified in this Circular.

3. In cases where agencies or organizations directly provide products or services to SMEs under bilateral contracts:

a) The State Treasury shall implement expenditure control in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article. The amount of state budget support for each contract provided to SMEs shall be directly paid to the supporting agency or organization, as specifically stipulated in the contract and according to the following provisions:

For state agencies that are supporting agencies or organizations: payment shall be made into a deposit account at the State Treasury. When making payments from the deposit account, the State Treasury shall monitor and make payments based on internal spending regulations, standards, and quotas prescribed in legal documents and the relevant documents as stipulated in Article 7 of Decree No. 11/2020/ND-CP.

For public service units that are supporting agencies or organizations: payment shall be made into a deposit account at the State Treasury or into an account opened by the unit at a commercial bank. When making payments from the deposit account at the State Treasury, the State Treasury shall not monitor the expenditure but shall make payments based on the request of the public service unit.

b) Agencies or organizations supporting SMEs shall record the amounts received as stipulated in point a of this clause as income from operations; they shall be responsible for complying with legal regulations in managing, using, and settling costs related to direct provision of products and services to SMEs and other activities in accordance with their operational regulations.

Article 17. Settlement and consolidation of state budget support funding

Agencies and units shall be responsible for settling and consolidating state budget support funding for SMEs into their annual budget expenditure settlement reports for review and verification by competent authorities in accordance with the State Budget Law and current guiding documents.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 18. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from September 23, 2023.

2. Repeal Circular No. 49/2019/TT-BTC dated August 8, 2019 of the Ministry of Finance guiding management and use of state budget funds to support human resource development for SMEs and Circular No. 54/2019/TT-BTC dated August 21, 2019 guiding management and use of state budget funds to support SMEs for consulting services within the network of consultants.

3. From the date this Circular takes effect, state budget support funds for SMEs approved by authorized bodies according to Circular No. 49/2019/TT-BTC and Circular No. 54/2019/TT-BTC before the effective date of this Circular and which have not been utilized may continue to be implemented according to the approved budget; or adjusted according to the content and expenditure quotas prescribed in this Circular, but must ensure that they do not exceed the allocated budget.

4. When the referenced legal documents in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced by new documents, the new documents shall apply.

Article 19. Implementation

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall organize the management and use of state budget support funds for SMEs based on the provisions of this Circular. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, they should promptly report to the Ministry of Finance for research and resolution.

ANNEX

(Issued together with Circular No. 52/2023/TT-BTC dated August 8, 2023 of the Minister of Finance)

BUDGET (SETTLEMENT REPORT) FOR ORGANIZING TRAINING COURSES... (Applicable for training courses: starting a business/basic business management (in-depth)/training at SMEs in production and processing/online training through available teaching tools for training consultants)

SMEs receiving training support (***): ...

Training organization: ...

Location: ...

Time period: ...

Training content/topics: ...

PART I - DETAIL OF EXPENSES

PART II - LIST OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE TRAINING COURSE (**)

Note: