Circular No. 63/2005/TT-BTC guides the management and use of funds guaranteed for the dissemination and education of laws

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing and using funds

to ensure work on popularizing and educating about laws

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

Pursuant to Decision No. 13/2003/QĐ-TTg dated January 17, 2003 of the Government approving the Program on Popularizing and Educating Laws from 2003 to 2007;

Pursuant to Decision No. 212/2004/QĐ-TTg dated December 16, 2004 of the Government approving the National Action Program on Popularizing and Educating Laws and Enhancing Legal Compliance Awareness among Cadres and People at Communes, Wards, and Towns from 2005 to 2010;

The Ministry of Finance guides the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds ensuring work on popularizing and educating laws as follows:

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

1. This Circular guides the preparation of budgets, management, use, and settlement of funds provided by the state budget for work on popularizing and educating laws according to Decision No. 13/2003/QĐ-TTg dated January 17, 2003 of the Government approving the Program on Popularizing and Educating Laws from 2003 to 2007; the National Action Program on Popularizing and Educating Laws and Enhancing Legal Compliance Awareness among Cadres and People at Communes, Wards, and Towns from 2005 to 2010 and the operating costs of the Steering Committee for Popularizing and Educating Laws at all levels according to Decision No. 212/2004/QĐ-TTg dated December 16, 2004 of the Government.

2. The funds ensuring work on popularizing and educating laws; the operating costs of the Steering Committee for Popularizing and Educating Laws at each level shall be guaranteed by the respective level's budget and incorporated into the annual budget estimates of the agencies and units assigned the tasks.

3. Funds ensuring work on popularizing and educating laws must be used for their intended purposes, in accordance with regulations and provisions set forth in this Circular.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Contents of expenditures for work on popularizing and educating laws.

a) Expenditures for activities of the Steering Committee for Popularizing and Educating Laws at all levels:

- Expenditures for organizing professional seminars.

- Expenditures for office supplies and compiling materials serving the activities of the Steering Committee.

- Expenditures for directing and inspecting activities.

- Expenditures for mid-term reviews, final summaries, competitions, and awards.

b) Expenditures for information dissemination and publicity:

- Expenditures for disseminating and educating laws through mass media, including newspapers, magazines, periodicals, radio, television, mobile information services, and specialized exhibitions.

- Expenditures for compiling, printing, and distributing outlines introducing new legal documents; educational materials suitable for different target groups. Translation, publication, printing, and distribution of legal materials in ethnic languages.

- Expenditures for building a website for legal question-and-answer services.

c) Expenditures for establishing and consolidating legal libraries at agencies, units, schools, communes, wards, and towns.

d) Expenditures for collecting information and materials, establishing databases to serve the work of answering questions, disseminating, and educating laws.

đ) Expenditures for organizing legal knowledge contests; mediation contests; cultural exchanges incorporating legal education; and maintaining the activities of legal clubs.

e) Expenditures for organizing training courses and enhancing the capabilities of cadres responsible for legal education at all levels, including legal lecturers and educators.

f) Expenditures for organizing meetings of collaborators; meetings on disseminating and educating laws; implementing plans for legal education; implementing Programs and Projects; scientific conferences to exchange legal education practices.

g) Expenditures for remuneration for collaborators involved in legal education, including legal lecturers and educators.

h) Expenditures for grassroots mediation work:

- Remuneration for mediators.

- Expenditures for mid-term reviews and final summaries of mediation activities.

- Expenditures for competitions and awards.

- Expenditures for purchasing materials and office supplies for mediators; printing forms and record books.

i) Expenditures for conducting domestic surveys to implement legal education plans and implement approved Projects.

k) Expenditures for legal education for teachers and students:

- Expenditures for training and enhancing legal knowledge for teachers.

- Expenditures for compiling reference materials and guidelines for legal education.

- Expenditures for supporting legal understanding activities in schools.

- Expenditures for developing programs and updating lecture materials.

- Expenditures for conducting surveys on students' and pupils' legal awareness; surveys on the implementation of civics and law curricula and textbooks.

l) Expenditures for mid-term reviews, final summaries, competitions, and awards in legal education by sector, locality, and nationwide.

m) Management and operational expenses for Programs and Projects, including: drafting Programs and implementation plans; directing, inspecting, and supervising the implementation of legal education plans; writing reports summarizing and evaluating the implementation of Programs and Projects; overtime pay; expenditures for office supplies, materials, equipment, and other direct expenses serving the operations of the Program and Project support units...

2. Provisions on expenditure limits:

The regulations on expenditures related to the implementation of legal education tasks are carried out according to current regulations.

This Circular provides specific expenditure limits as detailed in the attached annex.

Based on the expenditure limit framework stipulated in this Circular and within the scope of the annual allocated funds, Heads of Ministries and Agencies at the central level and Chairpersons of Provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government decide on specific expenditure limits but they must not exceed the maximum limits specified in this Circular.

3. Preparing budgets, managing, and settling accounts for funds ensuring work on disseminating, popularizing, and educating laws:

- Annually, the ministries and sectors assigned the main responsibility to implement the National Program on Popularizing and Promoting Legal Education pursuant to Decision No. 13/2003/QĐ-TTg dated January 17, 2003, and the National Program on Popularizing and Promoting Legal Education and Enhancing Legal Compliance Awareness among Cadres and People at Communes, Wards, and Towns from 2005 to 2010 pursuant to Decision No. 212/2004/QĐ-TTg dated December 16, 2004 of the Government, based on the annual objectives of the Programs, shall be responsible for guiding other ministries, sectors, and localities regarding the content of tasks to be carried out under the Programs at their respective levels, serving as a basis for these entities to allocate budget funds for implementing the Programs in their annual budget estimates.

- Based on the guidance of the entity in charge of implementing the National Program on Popularizing and Promoting Legal Education and the requirements of legal education work; based on the content and activity plans of the Steering Committee for Legal Education Work; the agencies and units assigned the task of popularizing and promoting legal education and those that have established a Steering Committee for Legal Education Work shall prepare budget estimates to ensure funding for legal education work and funding for the activities of the Steering Committee together with the regular expenditure budget of the unit and submit them to the financial authority at the same level for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for approval and allocation of the annual state budget for the unit. The preparation, management, disbursement, settlement, and final accounting of the budget funds for implementation shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions set forth in Circular No. 59/2003/TT-BTC dated June 23, 2003, of 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, of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management, disbursement, and settlement of state budget expenditures through the State Treasury.

The ministries and sectors assigned the main responsibility for implementing the four projects approved in Decision No. 13/2003/QĐ-TTg dated January 17, 2003, of the Prime Minister, based on the objectives of each project, shall prepare budget estimates and submit them to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation and submission to the Prime Minister for approval and allocation in the annual budget estimates of the ministries and sectors in charge of implementing the projects.

The ministries and sectors assigned the main responsibility for implementing the four projects within the Program approved in Decision No. 212/2004/QĐ-TTg dated December 16, 2004, of the Prime Minister, based on the objectives of each project, shall prepare budget estimates (the portion of funding guaranteed by the central government) and submit them to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation and submission to the Prime Minister for approval and allocation in the annual budget estimates of the ministries and sectors in charge of implementing the projects.

The management, expenditure, settlement, and final accounting of funds for popularizing and promoting legal education; and funds for the activities of the Steering Committee for Legal Education Work shall be carried out according to the current financial regulations.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

This Circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette. For the year 2005, ministries, sectors, and localities shall proactively arrange within their allocated 2005 state budget estimates to implement it. During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, the units are requested to report to the Ministry of Finance for study, amendment, and supplementation to ensure appropriateness./.