Circular No. 54/2014/TT-BTC detailing and guiding the implementation of administrative penalties for violations in the state treasury sector as prescribed in Government Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 21, 2013.

CIRCULAR

Detailed regulations and guidance on administrative penalties in the state treasury sector as stipulated in Government Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 21, 2013 Pursuant to Government Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 21, 2013 on administrative penalties for violations in the management and use of state assets; thrift and waste prevention; national reserves; state treasuries; The Minister of Finance issues this Circular detailing and guiding the implementation of administrative penalties in the state treasury sector as stipulated in Government Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 21, 2013 on administrative penalties for violations in the management and use of state assets; thrift and waste prevention; national reserves; state treasuries.

Pursuant to Decree No. 81/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 19, 2013 of the Government detailing certain provisions and measures for implementing the Law on Handling Administrative Offenses;

This Circular details and guides the implementation of administrative penalties in the state treasury sector as stipulated in Government Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 21, 2013 on administrative penalties for violations in the management and use of state assets; thrift and waste prevention; national reserves; state treasuries (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP).

Pursuant to Decree No. 215/2013/NĐ-CP dated December 23, 2013, promulgated by the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

At the proposal of the Director General of the State Treasury,

1. Budgetary units, budget-using state agencies, organizations supported by state budget funds (collectively referred to as budgetary units); project sponsors and project management boards funded from the state budget and government bonds (collectively referred to as sponsors).

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

3. Organizations and individuals related to administrative penalties in the state treasury sector.

Article 2. Applicability

Article 3. Principles for Determining Types of Penalties and Fine Amounts

3. Authorities with the power to prepare administrative violation records in the field of state treasury.

1. For violations that can be subject to both warning penalties and fines, the warning penalty shall be applied for the first offense without aggravating circumstances.

In cases not falling under the above category eligible for warning penalties, a fine shall be imposed.

2. For violations that are only subject to fines or do not meet the conditions for applying warning penalties, the specific fine amount shall be determined as follows:

a) The specific fine amount for a violation without aggravating or mitigating circumstances is the midpoint of the fine range prescribed for such violation. The midpoint of the fine range is calculated as the average between the maximum and minimum levels of the fine range.

b) For each mitigating or aggravating circumstance, the fine amount is reduced or increased by 20% of the midpoint of the fine range prescribed for such violation, but not less than the minimum level and not more than the maximum level of the fine range.

c) When determining the fine amount for a violation with both mitigating and aggravating circumstances, the principle of offsetting one aggravating circumstance with one mitigating circumstance is applied. After offsetting, if there remain mitigating or aggravating circumstances, they shall be applied according to the provisions of point b Clause 2 of this Article.

3. An organization penalized for administrative violations in the state treasury sector may not use state budget funds or funds derived from the state budget to pay the fine or rectify the consequences caused by its violations. After implementing the penalty decision, the penalized organization shall identify the individual responsible for the administrative violation to determine their legal responsibility, including paying back the fine amount and rectifying the consequences caused by their violation corresponding to the degree of their fault.

c) When determining the amount of fine for a violation that has both mitigating circumstances and aggravating circumstances, consider reducing the aggravating circumstances according to the principle that one mitigating circumstance reduces one aggravating circumstance. After reduction, if there are still mitigating or aggravating circumstances remaining, apply them in accordance with the provisions of point b of this Clause.

3. An organization subject to administrative penalty in the state treasury area shall not use state budget funds or funds derived from the state budget to pay the fine and remedy the consequences caused by its own violation. After implementing the penalty decision, the penalized organization shall identify the individual responsible for the administrative violation to determine their legal responsibility, including returning the fine amount and remedying the consequences caused by the violation corresponding to the degree of the individual's violation.

Article 4. Establishment of Administrative Violation Penalty Record

1. When discovering a violation act, the authorized administrative violation penalty authority as stipulated in Article 53 and Article 54 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP; and the State Treasury officer assigned to supervise state budget expenditure through the State Treasury as stipulated in point b Clause 1 Article 52 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP must promptly establish an administrative violation record.

2. The record must be established in accordance with the Model Record No. 01 attached to Decree No. 81/2013/NĐ-CP dated July 19, 2013 of the Government detailing certain provisions and measures for implementing the Law on Handling Administrative Violations (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 81/2013/NĐ-CP).

Chapter II
ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS IN THE FIELD OF STATE TREASURY

Article 5. Acts of Violating the Provision that Budget Expenditure Items Must Be Included in the Approved State Budget Estimate

The handling of violations of the provision that budget expenditure items must be included in the approved state budget estimate shall be carried out in accordance with Article 46 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP. Some specific contents are as follows:

1. Violations in regular budget expenditure are subject to penalties as stipulated in point a Clause 1 Article 46 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP, including:

a) Expenditure exceeding the approved budget estimate;

b) Expenditure deviating from the approved budget estimate: using funds intended for one purpose for another purpose; spending beyond the intended purpose, target, or content as specified in the approved budget estimate;

c) Other cases of expenditure deviating from the approved budget estimate.

2. Violations in capital construction investment expenditure and public service expenditure with investment characteristics in cases of designated tendering, self-execution, and works performed without contracts are subject to penalties as stipulated in point b Clause 1 Article 46 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP, including:

a) Expenditure for contents and works not included in the approved budget estimate;

b) Expenditure exceeding the annual capital plan approved;

c) Expenditure exceeding the approved budget estimate for various expenses (for works performed without contracts);

d) Expenditure from incorrect sources of investment funds or incorrect project lists approved.

3. Violations in capital construction investment expenditure and public service expenditure with investment characteristics are subject to penalties as stipulated in Clause 2 Article 46 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP, including:

a) Payment for work quantities not yet completed or partially completed and not meeting payment conditions;

b) Payment exceeding the contract value or supplementary contract adjustment; payment for contents and works not included in the contract or supplementary contract adjustment.

4. Remedial measures prescribed in Clause 3 Article 46 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP shall be applied to violations discovered after the State Treasury has made payments.

Article 6. Acts of Spending the State Budget in Violation of Regulations, Standards, and Quotas Established by Authorized State Agencies

The handling of violations of spending the state budget in violation of regulations, standards, and quotas established by authorized state agencies shall be carried out in accordance with Article 47 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP. Some specific contents are as follows:

1. Spending the state budget in violation of regulations, standards, and quotas established by authorized state agencies refers to spending the state budget not in accordance with standards (not in accordance with standards regarding positions, users), exceeding expenditure quotas (exceeding quantity, value), and violating regulations (spending not meeting conditions and principles of expenditure regulations).

In cases where organizations purchase or lease state assets exceeding the standards and quotas established by authorized state agencies, they will be penalized according to Articles 5 and 6 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP.

2. Remedial measures prescribed in Clause 2 Article 47 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP shall be applied to violations discovered after the State Treasury has made payments.

Article 7. Acts of creating false documents to disburse state budget funds

The penalty for acts of creating false documents to disburse state budget funds shall be implemented according to the provisions of Article 48 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP. Some specific contents are provided as follows:

1. Acts of creating false documents to disburse state budget funds include one of the following behaviors:

a) Using a fake stamp or forging the signature of an authorized person; illegally modifying the content or amount on the documents submitted to the State Treasury for disbursement of state budget funds;

b) Creating false documents related to disbursement of state budget funds (contracts, advance payment guarantees, decisions approving the results of tender selection, receipts for payments and other relevant documents) and submitting them to the State Treasury to request disbursement of state budget funds.

2. The measures to remedy consequences specified in Clause 3 of Article 48 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP shall be applied to violations discovered after the State Treasury has completed the payment or disbursement.

Article 8. Acts of violating the settlement system for state budget fund expenditures

1. The penalty for acts of violating the settlement system for state budget fund expenditures shall be implemented according to the provisions of Article 49 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP. Some specific contents are provided as follows:

2. Acts of creating documents to request settlement of state budget fund expenditures that are inconsistent with the settlement terms stipulated in contracts or contract amendment supplements between budgetary units or project owners and suppliers of goods or services (the contracts and contract amendment supplements must comply with current regulations on settlement of state budget fund expenditures) as specified in Clause 2 of Article 49 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP, including one of the following behaviors:

a) Errors in contract value;

b) Errors in payment deadlines;

c) Errors in payment methods;

d) Errors in payment ratios (including advance payments);

e) Errors in other settlement terms stipulated in the contract and contract amendment supplements.

Article 9. Acts of violating procedures for commitment control

1. Failure to follow the procedures for commitment control as stipulated in Article 50 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP is the act of not sending or sending commitment requests to the State Treasury late beyond the deadline prescribed in Circular No. 113/2008/TT-BTC dated November 27, 2008, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the management and control of state budget commitments through the State Treasury and any subsequent amendments or replacements.

2. Measures to remedy consequences

When discovering that budgetary units or project owners fail to follow the procedures for committing state budget funds for expenditures that must be subject to commitment control according to regulations, the authority responsible for imposing penalties shall apply remedial measures requiring the unit to complete the commitment procedures before requesting the State Treasury to settle or pay state budget funds.

Article 10. Acts of violating the deadlines for advance payment settlement of state budget funds

The penalty for acts of violating the deadlines for advance payment settlement of state budget funds shall be implemented according to the provisions of Article 51 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP. Some specific contents are provided as follows:

1. Violations of the deadlines for advance payment settlement of regular expenditures include:

a) Violations subject to handling according to point a, Clause 1 of Article 51 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP: Making advance payments for regular expenditures without purchase contracts for goods or services after the final deadline for advance payment settlement as prescribed in Circular No. 161/2012/TT-BTC dated October 2, 2012, issued by the Ministry of Finance regarding the control and settlement of state budget expenditures through the State Treasury and any subsequent amendments or replacements (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 161/2012/TT-BTC);

b) Violations subject to handling according to point a, Clause 2 of Article 51 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP: Failing to settle all advance payments in the final settlement of contracts for regular expenditures with purchase contracts for goods or services as prescribed in Circular No. 161/2012/TT-BTC.

2. Violations of the deadlines for advance payment settlement of construction investment expenditures and public service expenditures with investment characteristics include:

a) Violations subject to handling according to point b, Clause 1 of Article 51 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP: Failing to make advance payments for construction investment expenditures or public service expenditures with investment characteristics in the first settlement request according to the regulations prescribed in Circular No. 86/2011/TT-BTC dated June 17, 2011, issued by the Ministry of Finance regarding the management and settlement of investment capital and public service capital with investment characteristics from state budget sources and any subsequent amendments or replacements (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 86/2011/TT-BTC);

b) Violations subject to handling according to point b, Clause 2 of Article 51 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP: Failing to settle all advance payments when the completed work volume reaches 80% of the contract value as prescribed in Circular No. 86/2011/TT-BTC;

c) Violations subject to handling according to point c, Clause 2 of Article 51 of Decree No. 192/2013/NĐ-CP: Making advance payments for land compensation and resettlement support after more than 30 working days from the date of payment to beneficiaries as prescribed in Circular No. 86/2011/TT-BTC.

3. Measures to remedy consequences:

a) Remedial measures requiring the completion of advance payment settlement procedures shall be applied in the following cases:

- Violations as specified in point a, Clause 1 of Article 10 and the expenditure has been completed, with sufficient settlement documents, still within the state budget disbursement period as prescribed in Circular No. 108/2008/TT-BTC dated November 18, 2008, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the end-of-year budget processing and annual budget settlement report preparation and any subsequent amendments or replacements (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 108/2008/TT-BTC);

- Violations as specified in points a, b, and c, Clause 2 of Article 10.

b) Remedial measures requiring the recovery of advance payments of state budget funds shall be applied in the following cases:

- Violations as specified in point a, Clause 1 of Article 10 and the expenditure has exceeded the state budget disbursement period as prescribed in Circular No. 108/2008/TT-BTC;

- The act of violating the provisions set forth in point b Clause 1 Article 10.

Article 11. Reporting to the competent authority to issue a penalty decision

In cases where the administrative violation does not fall within the authority to impose penalties of the person drafting the record, such person must report to a higher competent authority to issue a penalty decision, specifically:

1. In cases where the person drafting the record is a civil servant assigned the task of monitoring state budget expenditure through the State Treasury while performing their duties, they must promptly report to the unit's leadership to draft an Administrative Violation Penalty Record. If the unit's leadership does not have the authority to impose penalties, then no later than two working days from the date of drafting the record, the unit must report to the Director of the State Treasury of the province or centrally-administered city (for units under the State Treasury of the province or centrally-administered city) or report to the General Director of the State Treasury (for the State Treasury Trading Department), accompanied by the record and all related files and vouchers (photocopies).

2. In cases where the person drafting the record is a specialized inspector or a specialized inspection team, depending on the severity of the violation and the authority to impose penalties, they shall either issue a penalty decision on the spot or within the time limit prescribed by the Law on Handling Administrative Violations. In cases where the violation does not fall within the authority to impose penalties of the specialized inspector, then no later than two working days from the date of drafting the record, the inspector must send the record and all related files and vouchers (photocopies) to the competent authority to issue a penalty decision:

a) Specialized inspectors under the State Treasury report to the General Director of the State Treasury;

b) Specialized inspectors under the State Treasury of the province or centrally-administered city report to the Director of the State Treasury of the province or centrally-administered city.

Article 12. Provisions on record-keeping and reporting systems

1. Administrative violation penalties must be recorded in an administrative violation penalty file, including: Administrative violation record; penalty decision; relevant documents and papers, which are indexed and kept according to regulations.

2. Reports on the situation of administrative violation penalties are conducted semi-annually and annually; specifically:

a) Content of the report:

- General observations and evaluations of the situation of administrative violations and administrative violation penalties in the treasury sector;

- Number of violations detected and handled; violators; application of penalty forms and measures to mitigate consequences; common types of violations;

- Results of implementing the administrative violation penalty decision: Total amount of fines collected; number of penalty decisions not yet implemented; number of decisions to postpone, reduce, or exempt fines; number of cases subject to compulsory enforcement; number of cases appealed or litigated;

- Number of files with signs of criminal offenses transferred for criminal responsibility pursuit;

- Difficulties and obstacles in implementing the law on administrative violation penalties; recommendations and proposals.

In addition to written reports, compile statistical data on the situation of administrative violation penalties according to the Report Form provided in the Appendix issued together with this Circular.

b) Reporting period:

For semi-annual reports, the data reported covers from October 1st of the previous year to March 31st of the following year; for annual reports, the data reported covers from October 1st of the previous year to September 30th of the following year.

c) Reporting entity:

- The State Treasury of the province or centrally-administered city compiles and reports the situation of administrative violation penalties in the treasury sector within its jurisdiction to the State Treasury. The Director of the State Treasury of the province or centrally-administered city reports to the State Treasury.

- The State Treasury compiles the situation of administrative violation penalties in the treasury sector nationwide and reports to the Ministry of Finance.

d) Reporting deadline: For semi-annual reports, the State Treasury of the province or centrally-administered city sends the report to the State Treasury before April 5th of the reporting year; the State Treasury reports to the Ministry of Finance before April 10th of the reporting year. For annual reports, the State Treasury of the province or centrally-administered city sends the report to the State Treasury before October 5th of the reporting year; the State Treasury reports to the Ministry of Finance before October 10th of the reporting year.

Chapter III
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 13. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from July 1, 2014.

1. The Minister, Heads of Ministries equivalent to ministries, Heads of government agencies, Chairmen of provincial People's Committees under the central government, and related agencies, units, and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular.

1. Units of the State Treasury are responsible for fully exercising their rights and obligations in detecting and handling violations in the treasury sector as stipulated in Decree No. 192/2013/ND-CP and the guidance provided in this Circular.

2. National functional agencies, organizations, and individuals, when discovering violations in the treasury sector, are responsible for transferring the files or notifying the competent state agency to issue a penalty decision as stipulated in Decree No. 192/2013/ND-CP for consideration and handling in accordance with regulations.

3. During implementation, if any difficulties arise, it is recommended that agencies, organizations, and units reflect these issues to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and coordination in resolving them./.

 

ANNEX

MODEL REPORT ON THE SITUATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATION PENALTIES
(Issued together with Circular No. 54/2014/TT-BTC dated April 24, 2014 of the Ministry of Finance)

(Reporting period: 6 months, 1 year)

SerialNoPenaltyDecisionVPHCTransferFileForCriminalPursuitExecutionResultOfPenaltyDecisionNumberPenaltyDecisionsViolatorViolationFormsOfPenaltiesMeasuresToMitigateConsequencesExecutedDecisionsPostponedReducedExemptedDecisionsNotYetExecutedImplementationStatusTotalAmountCollectedIfAny1234567891011                                 

(2) Clearly indicate the number of the Administrative Violation Penalty Decision and the date of issuance.

(3) Clearly indicate the name of the entity committing the Administrative Violation.

(4) Clearly indicate the point, clause, or article of the Decree or Circular violated.

(5) Clearly indicate the form of penalty, warning or fine, in case of a fine, clearly indicate the amount of the fine.

(6) Specify the measures to remedy the consequences, and if the remedial measure involves recovering the amount of money that was violated, specify the amount of money.

(7) Mark with an (X) for files showing signs of criminal offenses transferred for criminal responsibility pursuit.

(8) Mark with an (X) when the Decision on Administrative Sanction has been enforced.

(9) Total amount of money collected up to the reporting time (if applicable).

(11) Mark with an (X) when the Decision on Administrative Sanction has not been enforced.

 

 Preparer of the report(signature, full name)..., Day....Month....Year..Unit Heads(signature, full name)