Circular No. 59/2011/TT-BTC guiding the financial management mechanism and staffing for the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs for the period from 2011 to 2015.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing the financial management and staffing mechanism for the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs during the period 2011-2015

Guidelines for implementing the financial management and staffing mechanism for the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs during the period 2011-2015

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

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

Pursuant to Decision No. 16/2011/QĐ-TTg dated March 10, 2011 of the Prime Minister on the implementation of the financial management and staffing mechanism for the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs during the period 2011-2015;

The Ministry of Finance hereby provides guidelines for implementing the financial management and staffing mechanism for the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs during the period 2011-2015 as follows:

Article 1. Scope of Application

Implementing the financial management and staffing mechanism for administrative agencies and public service units (referred to as units) directly under the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs of the Ministry of Finance during the period 2011-2015 according to Decision No. 16/2011/QĐ-TTg dated March 10, 2011 of the Prime Minister.

Article 2. On Staffing

1. Administrative staffing of the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs shall be determined within the total number of administrative staff granted by the competent state authority to the Ministry of Finance. The Minister of Finance shall allocate staffing quotas for administrative and public service positions to the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs in accordance with their assigned functions and tasks, based on proactively organizing and arranging management structures and utilizing labor in compliance with the national policy of reducing staffing.

2. The Director-General of the General Department of Taxation and the Director-General of the General Department of Customs shall proactively organize, manage, and utilize civil servants and officials in accordance with the laws and regulations of the Ministry of Finance. The total staffing allocated to units directly under the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs shall not exceed the staffing quota granted by the Minister of Finance.

In addition to the allocated staffing, tax and customs authorities may enter into contracts for work outsourcing and employment contracts in accordance with the provisions of the law.

3. In cases where new tax or customs offices are established or merged at provincial or centrally-administered city levels or additional functions and tasks are added pursuant to decisions of competent authorities, the Director-General of the General Department of Taxation and the Director-General of the General Department of Customs shall proactively arrange staffing within the total staffing quota granted by the Minister of Finance. If it is necessary to increase staffing quotas to meet newly arising tasks, the Director-General of the General Department of Taxation and the Director-General of the General Department of Customs shall report to the Minister of Finance for consideration and coordination with the Minister of Home Affairs to submit to the Prime Minister for decision.

Article 3. Sources of Funding for Operations

1. The operational funding of the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs shall be allocated annually at a stable rate of 1.9% of the annual state budget revenue forecast decided by the National Assembly and assigned by the Prime Minister for the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs to implement and be consolidated in the annual state budget revenue-expenditure forecast of the Ministry of Finance submitted to the Government and the National Assembly for decision.

2. The annual state budget revenue forecast serves as the basis for determining the operational funding of the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs, including various taxes and other revenues (as specified in the appendix determining the budget revenue forecast accompanying this Circular).

3. The General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs shall cover any additional expenditures arising from new policies and systems issued by competent state authorities in accordance with the policy and requirements for changing current policies. In cases where the operational funding allocated to the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article is insufficient to ensure the minimum expenditure level for maintaining operations due to objective factors, the Minister of Finance shall report to the Prime Minister for consideration and adjustment to be appropriate.

Article 4. Other Sources of Funding

In addition to the funding sources provided for in Article 3 of this Circular, the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs shall also use the following funding sources annually:

1. State budget funding allocated:

- To carry out national-level scientific research projects and projects at the ministry level;

- Training and upgrading cadres and civil servants according to the national program;

- Implementing national target programs and other government programs outside regular tasks;

- Implementing staff reduction according to the regime prescribed by the State.

2. Fees and charges permitted to retain and other legitimate funding sources in accordance with the law.

The management and utilization of these funding sources must comply with the designated usage purposes and the current expenditure standards and norms applicable to each funding source.

Article 5. Utilization of Operational Funding

1. The funding source specified in Clause 1 of Article 3 of this Circular shall be allocated and budgeted for the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs to ensure: At least 10% for investment construction costs, at least 25% for equipment modernization purchases, and a maximum of 65% for regular operational expenses of the total allocated budget.

2. Usage of Operational Funding

a) Investment construction costs:

- Implementing investment projects and works of the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs according to plans approved by competent authorities.

- In cases of necessity, the Minister of Finance may reallocate funds already allocated for projects and works under the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs to concentrate funds to implement ongoing projects and works that have not yet been funded to accelerate progress and put them into operation and use as soon as possible.

Management and utilization of investment construction funds shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on investment and construction.

b) Expenditure on purchasing and modernizing equipment:

- Purchasing assets and equipment for work serving professional tasks;

- Applying information technology according to the approved plan by the competent authority;

- Implementing programs and projects serving the common tasks of the finance sector such as communication infrastructure projects, database projects, information technology training center projects, disaster prevention projects, and other projects as decided by the Minister of Finance.

The Minister of Finance shall decide on the management and allocation of the budget for the above expenditures to ensure they meet the modernization goals and requirements of the General Department of Taxation, the General Department of Customs, and the finance system in accordance with the regulations.

c) Recurrent expenditure: The recurrent expenditure of the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs includes the following contents:

- Personal payment expenses (including additional salary payments; collective reward and welfare expenses according to state regulations; outsourcing work and labor contract hiring expenses as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 2 of this Circular).

- Administrative management expenses and expenses for ensuring professional business operations, including:

+ Expenses for public services, office supplies, telecommunications, communication, conferences, travel expenses, rental and other expenses as prescribed;

+ Expenses for propaganda on policies, guidelines, tax laws, customs laws of the State; supporting taxpayers;

+ Expenses for special business operations such as anti-smuggling, inspection, supervision, customs intelligence activities aimed at preventing tax evasion and violations of tax and customs laws;

+ Expenses for purchasing materials, seals, tax collection agency fees, uniforms, training, and maintaining working dogs, risk management, and other special business operation expenses;

+ Expenses for coordinating work to fulfill tasks;

+ Costs for compensating organizations and individuals according to the law in professional activities;

+ Expenses for basic scientific research; training and professional development expenses for staff according to the system's program and plan;

+ Expenses for repairing assets, equipment, facilities, and office premises serving professional work;

+ Expenses for overseas trips; expenses for receiving foreign guests for work in Vietnam, organizing international seminars and conferences in Vietnam, and contributions to international organizations as prescribed;

+ Expenses for supporting the transfer, rotation, and assignment of staff within the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs;

+ Expenses for ensuring the operation of party organizations according to the Decision of the Central Party Secretariat; expenses for ensuring the operation of mass organizations according to current laws.

+ Other regular costs.

d) The activity funds of the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 3 of this Circular that remain unused at the end of the year may be carried over to the next year for continued use (except for construction investment capital).

Article 6. Standards, levels, and expense regulations

1. For expense standards and levels already issued by competent authorities, the General Department Heads of Taxation and Customs shall proactively guide subordinate units to implement them in accordance with the activities of their units.

2. For special expense items, the General Department Heads of Taxation and Customs shall establish special expense standards based on specific circumstances and available funding, applying existing expense standards and levels, and submit these for approval and issuance by the Minister of Finance.

3. Salary and wage levels: Based on the number of positions assigned by the Minister of Finance and the available budget, the average salary and wage level for staff in the Tax and Customs systems shall not exceed 1.8 times the state-prescribed salary level for civil servants and employees (grade, rank, position, and allowances, excluding night and overtime allowances).

The General Department Heads of Taxation and Customs, and Unit Chiefs shall decide on the distribution of salaries and wages based on the quality and results of work completed by each staff member, adhering to principles of fairness and reasonableness, linking pay to performance, and reflecting this in the unit's internal expenditure regulations.

Article 7. Utilizing saved funds

Annually, the saved funds from recurrent expenditure as stipulated in Point c, Clause 2, Article 5 of this Circular (after ensuring sufficient funding for completed and ongoing tasks to be continued in the next year), the General Departments of Taxation and Customs may use these funds for the following purposes:

1. To allocate for construction projects that have completed necessary procedures but require accelerated progress due to insufficient investment capital; to purchase modern equipment to meet modernization requirements.

The General Department Heads of Taxation and Customs shall report to the Minister of Finance for approval of plans, lists, and budgets according to regulations.

2. Additional support beyond general policy for those voluntarily retiring during restructuring and organizational changes; assistance to staff facing particularly difficult circumstances, suffering from serious illnesses, or other special cases; support for affiliated public service units; support for activities of the party and mass organizations of the General Departments of Taxation and Customs.

3. Supplementing income for staff in the Tax and Customs systems up to a maximum of 0.2 times the state-prescribed salary level for civil servants and employees (grade, rank, position, and allowances, excluding night and overtime allowances).

The level of supplementary income for each staff member is decided by the Unit Chief based on linking it to performance, fairness, and reasonableness, and must be agreed upon with the unit's trade union organization and publicly disclosed throughout the unit.

4. Rewards and benefits for organizations and individuals inside and outside the Tax and Customs systems who contribute to tax and customs management activities; collective welfare expenses.

The total annual rewards and benefits expenses in the Tax and Customs systems shall not exceed three months' worth of actual salaries, wages, and income earned in the year.

5. Any remaining funds after using them for the above purposes may be carried over to the next year for continued use by the General Departments of Taxation and Customs.

Article 8. Funds to ensure the operation of public service units

The units under the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs shall be guaranteed operating funds from the state budget as prescribed in Article 3 of this Circular; they shall apply the expenditure regime as stipulated in this Circular and exercise autonomy and responsibility for the performance of their tasks, organizational structure, staffing, and finance according to the provisions of Decree No. 43/2006/ND-CP dated April 25, 2006, Decree No. 115/2005/ND-CP dated September 5, 2005, Decree No. 96/2010/ND-CP dated September 2, 2010 of the Government, and current guiding documents.

Based on the assigned functions and tasks, the units under the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs shall prepare plans for autonomy and responsibility for financial matters to be submitted to the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs for consolidation and submission to the Ministry of Finance (level I) for examination and review of revenue and expenditure estimates; classification of public service units; and the level of regular state budget funding (for units that partially self-fund their operations and those fully funded by the state budget). The state budget funds allocated to public service units shall be included in the annual expenditure budget of the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs as decided by the Minister of Finance.

Article 9. Preparation, execution, and settlement of budgets

The preparation, execution, and settlement of budgets (including both regular expenditure funds and construction investment funds) shall be carried out in accordance with the current regulations of the State.

Article 10. Implementation

1. The Ministry of Finance (level I) shall be responsible for guiding and implementing the financial management and staffing mechanism for the Tax System and the Customs System as prescribed in Decision No. 16/2011/QĐ-TTg dated March 10, 2011 of the Prime Minister and as detailed in this Circular.

2. On the basis of guidance from the Ministry of Finance (level I), the Director of the General Department of Taxation and the Director of the General Department of Customs shall be responsible for guiding and organizing the implementation of these mechanisms for units within the Tax System and the Customs System.

By the third quarter of 2015, the Directors of the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs shall organize a summary and evaluation of the results of the financial management and staffing mechanism for the period 2011-2015, develop the financial management and staffing mechanism for the subsequent period, and report to the Ministry of Finance for submission to the Prime Minister and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for decision.

3. Operating funds allocated to the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs (including all funds) prior to 2010 that remain unused and unspent may continue to be utilized for specialized tasks, construction investment, and procurement of modern equipment as guided in this Circular.

Based on the amount of unused and unspent funds and the needs for expenditures to fulfill specialized tasks, construction investment, and procurement of modern equipment, the Directors of the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Customs shall prepare plans, lists, and budgets to report to the Minister of Finance for approval to ensure practical and effective use of these funds.

This Circular shall take effect from July 1, 2011 and shall apply to fiscal years from 2011 to 2015.

The Circulars No. 116/2009/TT-BTC and No. 117/2009/TT-BTC dated June 5, 2009 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decisions No. 63/2009/QĐ-TTg and No. 64/2009/QĐ-TTg dated April 20, 2009 of the Prime Minister regarding the establishment of the financial management and staffing mechanism for the Tax System and the Customs System in 2009 and 2010 are hereby repealed.

During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, units are requested to reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for timely research and resolution./.