Circular No. 57/2005/TT-BTC guiding the management, use, and settlement of funds supported by the state budget for organizations supplying labor that are designated to perform the task of managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing, using, and settling accounts for funds provided by the state budget to organizations supplying labor

designated to perform tasks managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam

These guidelines are issued based on the following:

Government Decree No. 85/1998/NĐ-CP dated October 20, 1998, stipulating regulations on the selection, utilization, and management of Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam;

Government Decree No. 46/1999/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 1999, amending certain articles of Government Decree No. 85/1998/NĐ-CP dated October 20, 1998;

Government Decree No. 75/2001/NĐ-CP dated October 19, 2001, amending and supplementing certain articles of Government Decree No. 46/1999/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 1999;

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

The Ministry of Finance hereby issues guidelines for managing, using, and settling accounts for the annual funds provided by the state budget to organizations supplying labor designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities to perform tasks managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam, as stipulated in the aforementioned decrees.

2. The source of funds supporting the task of managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam, which is designated by a level of government, shall be guaranteed by that level's budget.

This technical regulation sets out technical requirements, testing methods, sampling procedures; management requirements; responsibilities of organizations and individuals producing, trading, and importing cigarettes.

3. Funds supporting the management of Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam must be used for their intended purpose, in accordance with current regulations, and in compliance with this Circular.

1. Contents and levels of expenditure:

Funds from the state budget supporting units performing the task of managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam shall be expended according to specific contents and levels of expenditure as follows:

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

a) For direct expenses serving the task of managing workers:

- Salaries and allowances for those directly responsible for managing workers shall be implemented according to the current regulations set forth in Government Decree No. 204/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 14, 2004, concerning salary systems for civil servants, public officials, and members of the armed forces. Contributions related to salaries (social insurance, health insurance, trade union fees) shall be implemented according to current regulations.

- Hiring costs for labor shall be carried out according to labor contracts signed with each worker in accordance with the Labor Code and its guiding documents. The rate of hiring costs for labor based on actual work types at the local level shall be determined by the competent authority.

- Expenses for organizing mid-year and year-end meetings to review and conclude on the management of workers; expenses for organizing annual meetings with workers to promote Party and State policies; travel expenses: shall be implemented according to the current regulations of the competent authority based on Circular No. 118/2004/TT-BTC dated December 8, 2004, of the Ministry of Finance regarding travel expense systems and meeting expense systems for administrative agencies and public institutions nationwide.

- Training and capacity-building expenses for staff involved in labor management shall be carried out according to the current regulations of the State concerning the management and use of training and capacity-building funds for civil servants.

- Rewards for staff directly involved in labor management shall be implemented according to current regulations.

- Expenses for providing uniforms to staff frequently interacting with foreign organizations and individuals shall be at the rate of VND 500,000 per person per year.

- Expenses for hosting foreign organizations and individuals coming to work: shall be carried out according to Circular No. 100/2000/TT/BTC dated October 16, 2000, of the Ministry of Finance regarding the system of expenses for hosting foreign guests visiting Vietnam and organizing international conferences and seminars in Vietnam.

- Expenses for public services; purchasing office supplies; information dissemination, communication; renting, other expenses aimed at protecting the legitimate rights of Vietnamese workers (if any): based on valid and lawful invoices and receipts, according to current regulations and within the scope of the annual management fund supported by the state budget.

- Expenses for purchasing, repairing, and maintaining equipment and assets directly serving the task of labor management: according to the annual budget approved by the competent authority.

In addition to the above expenditure levels, for public service units with income that have been granted financial autonomy and are designated to perform labor management tasks, they can apply higher expenditure levels from their own assured funds based on their internal expenditure regulations. For state-owned enterprises designated to perform labor management tasks, they can apply higher expenditure levels based on their production and business characteristics, with the difference in expenditure levels being accounted for in the general production and business costs of the unit.

b) In cases where some expenses serving the task of labor management cannot be separated into individual invoices such as electricity bills, water bills, telephone bills, environmental sanitation fees, etc., these expenses shall be allocated according to the principle of cost allocation suitable for the nature of the use of each department's expenses within the unit.

2. Preparation of budgets, allocation, execution, and settlement of accounts for funds:

b) In cases where certain expenses serve labor management tasks but cannot be separated into individual expense receipts such as electricity bills, water bills, telephone bills, environmental sanitation fees, etc., these expenses shall be allocated according to the principle of cost distribution that is appropriate to the nature of the use of each type of expense by different business units within the organization.

2. Preparing budgets, allocating, implementing, and settling accounts for funds:

The preparation of the budget estimate, allocation, implementation, and settlement of the financial support from the State Budget for the management of Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions set forth in Circular No. 59/2003/TT-BTC dated June 23, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the implementation of Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on State Budget; and Circular No. 79/2003/TT-BTC dated August 13, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance, guiding the management, disbursement, and settlement of state budget expenditures through the State Treasury. This Circular provides additional guidance to suit the specific operations of units designated to manage Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam, as follows:

a) Annually (at the time specified for preparing the budget estimate), units designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to perform the task of managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam pursuant to Clause 1, Clause 2, and Clause 3 of Article 1 of Decree No. 85/1998/NĐ-CP dated October 20, 1998, of the Government; and units designated by the People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities to perform the task of managing Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam pursuant to Clause 1 of Article 1 of Decree No. 75/2001/NĐ-CP dated October 19, 2001, of the Government, shall prepare the budget estimate based on their assigned tasks and the expenditure regulations stipulated in this Circular and submit it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (for units designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) or to the Department of Finance (for units designated by the People's Committees) for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for approval.

b) After being allocated the budget estimate by the competent authority, the allocation, implementation, and settlement of the funds shall be carried out as follows:

- For central-level tasks: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for allocating funds to subordinate units to ensure that they correspond accurately with the budget estimate approved by the competent authority. The implementation and settlement of funds shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations.

Specifically, for units designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to perform the task of managing workers but which do not belong to the organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for signing a mandate contract with the authorized units within the scope of the budget estimate approved by the competent authority. Based on the signed contract and the progress of the task, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will process the withdrawal of the budget estimate to send to the State Treasury for direct payment to the authorized units. The settlement will be conducted through the finalization report of the contract (accompanied by a comprehensive report on the settlement of the support funds along with a list of supporting documents) and summarized in the settlement of state budget expenditures of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

- For local-level tasks: The allocation, implementation, and settlement of the financial support for the management of Vietnamese workers working for foreign organizations and individuals in Vietnam shall be carried out similarly to other local budget expenditures and in accordance with the guidance provided above for central-level tasks for units designated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to manage workers.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Finance for study, amendment, and supplementation to ensure compliance./.