Circular No. 65/2008/TT-BTC guides the management and use of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for managing and using state budget funds

to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work

_____________

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. 77/2003/NĐ-CP dated July 1, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decree No. 26/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 5, 2008 of the Government on managing and using state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work;

The Ministry of Finance hereby guides the management, use, and settlement of state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work 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. These Circulars guide the management, use, and settlement of funds provided by the state budget to ensure the signing, accession, and implementation of international treaties according to the Law on Signing, Accession, and Implementation of International Treaties 2005 (referred to as international treaty work) and the signing and implementation of international agreements according to the Ordinance on Signing and Implementation of International Agreements 2007 (referred to as international agreement work).

2. Funds for international treaty work and international agreement work are guaranteed by the budget level responsible for such tasks and are allocated in the regular expenditure budget of agencies implementing international treaty work and international agreement work, specifically:

a) The central government budget guarantees funds for international treaty work and international agreement work including:

- Funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work carried out by ministries and central agencies;

- Funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work assigned by the State and the Government to agencies under localities to implement;

b) The provincial government budget guarantees funds for international agreement work of provincial agencies aimed at implementing international cooperation within their functional, task, and authority scope.

3. In cases where international treaty work and international agreement work are funded from official development assistance (ODA) sources, foreign non-governmental organization aid, other organizations, and individuals abroad, the receipt, management, and use of such funding shall be implemented in accordance with Decree No. 131/2006/NĐ-CP dated November 9, 2006 of the Government on the regulations governing the management and use of ODA funds, Decision No. 64/2001/QĐ-TTg dated April 26, 2001 of the Prime Minister on the regulations governing the management and use of foreign non-governmental organization aid, and related guiding documents.

4. In cases where international agreements of central agencies of organizations are signed and implemented for international cooperation not covered by paragraphs 2 and 3 above, the funds for signing and implementing such international agreements shall be guaranteed from the financial resources of those central agencies.

5. Agencies assigned to lead the implementation of international treaty work and international agreement work are responsible for using the allocated funds in accordance with their intended purposes, current financial expenditure regulations, and the provisions of this Circular.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Content of expenditure:

a) Contents of expenditures for international treaty work:

Implementing the contents of expenditures as prescribed in Article 4, Chapter II of Decree No. 26/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 5, 2008 of the Government on managing and using state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work.

b) Contents of expenditures for implementing international agreement work:

Implementing the contents of expenditures as prescribed in Article 5, Chapter II of Decree No. 26/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 5, 2008 of the Government on managing and using state budget funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work.

2. Expenditure levels:

a) Expenditures for organizing domestic conferences, travel expenses for staff traveling domestically; travel expenses for staff traveling abroad; expenses for welcoming foreign delegations to Vietnam; overtime expenses, implemented according to current regulations;

b) Expenditures: Copying and printing costs for documents; purchasing and collecting document costs; purchasing office supplies directly serving the drafting of international treaties and international agreement work; publication costs for international treaties in the international treaty yearbook; dissemination costs for international treaties, review and statistics costs for international treaties; data construction costs for international treaties, implemented based on actual expense vouchers or contracts with suppliers, for the case of collecting documents, there must be valid vouchers (a list of payments signed by the provider of the documents), the above expenditures must be approved by the competent authority before implementation.

If printing and purchasing office supplies require bidding, it shall be carried out according to current regulations.

c) For financial contributions made pursuant to international treaties and agreements, the financial contribution levels are implemented as follows:

- Financial contribution levels according to international treaties (including financial contributions, annual fees for international organizations established under international treaties, aid to foreign governments, or other financial contributions under international treaties) are implemented based on the provisions of the international treaties and relevant international organizations of which Vietnam is a member; in cases where there is an increase in financial contribution levels compared to the provisions of the international treaties, the agency leading the implementation of the international treaties shall seek opinions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and submit to the Prime Minister for approval as the basis for contributions;

- Financial contribution levels according to international agreements (including financial contributions, annual fees for international organizations established under international agreements, or other financial contributions under international agreements) are implemented based on the provisions of relevant international agreements currently in effect; in cases where there is a change in financial contribution levels, the agency leading the implementation of the international agreements shall seek opinions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and submit to the agency that decided on the signing of the international agreements for approval of the financial contribution levels according to the international agreements;

d) In addition to the above provisions, this Circular specifies certain special expenditure regimes and levels serving international treaty work and international agreement work, specifically as follows:

- Translation costs:

The rate of expenditure is from VND 50,000 to VND 70,000 per page (approximately 300 words);

Translation states:

Common oral translation: Not exceeding VND 80,000 per hour per person, equivalent to not more than VND 640,000 per day for an eight-hour workday;

Literal translation: Not exceeding VND 200,000 per hour per person, equivalent to VND 1,600,000 per day for an eight-hour workday;

The above translation cost standards only apply in cases where it is necessary to hire interpreters; they do not apply to interpreters who are staff members of agencies and units assigned to provide interpreting services for international treaty and agreement work;

- Expenditure on compensating for drafting international treaties, international agreement work (final product):

+ The rate of expenditure from VND 1,500,000 to VND 2,500,000 per draft international treaty;

+ The rate of expenditure from VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 per draft international agreement;

- Expenditure for individuals participating in meetings to seek opinions on draft international treaties and draft international agreements; seminars on negotiation plans, signing, ratification, approval of accession to international treaties and international agreements:

+ The person chairing the meeting: VND 150,000 per person per session

+ Participants attending: VND 70,000 per person per session

- Expenditure on compensating for review and verification work for international treaties:

The maximum rate of expenditure does not exceed VND 400,000 per review and verification report;

- Expenditure on compensating for the direct participation of members during days of negotiations and meetings with the counterpart side regarding international treaties and international agreements organized within the country: VND 70,000 per person per session.

d) Other expenses incurred directly serving international treaty work and international agreement work: Payment according to invoices and valid expense vouchers in accordance with the Accounting Law and within the budget estimate allocated to the agency responsible for implementing international treaties and international agreement work.

The expenditure rates stipulated in this Circular are the maximum rates. Based on the budget capacity and the complexity of each draft international treaty and draft international agreement, the head of the agency or unit entrusted with the responsibility of implementing international treaties and international agreement work shall determine specific expenditure rates but shall not exceed the stipulated rates or the maximum rate framework set forth in this Circular.

3. Budget preparation, management, and settlement of funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work:

The preparation of budgets, management, allocation, payment, and settlement of funds to ensure international treaty work and international agreement work shall be carried out in accordance with the current State Budget Law and related guiding documents. This Circular provides additional guidance to suit the characteristics of international treaty work and international agreement work, specifically as follows:

a) Preparation of budgets and allocation of funds:

- Preparation of budgets:

+ For Ministries and central agencies: Annually, agencies and units entrusted with the task of international treaty work and international agreement work shall base their budget preparation for ensuring international treaty work and international agreement work on the contents and rates specified in this Circular and related documents, and submit them to the superior supervisory agency. The supervisory agency will consolidate the budget for ensuring international treaty work and international agreement work of subordinate agencies and units and send them to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government Office, and the National Assembly Office for consolidation and monitoring; at the same time, consolidate them into the annual regular budget of the Ministry, the agency at the level of a ministry, and the agency under the Government, and submit them to the Ministry of Finance in accordance with the State Budget Law and related guiding documents.

+ For localities:

Annually, based on the tasks of implementing international agreement work within the scope of functions, duties, and powers of provincial-level agencies, provincial-level agencies shall prepare the budget for ensuring funds from the local budget, consolidate it into the agency's budget, and report it to the Provincial Department of Finance for consolidation into the local budget, which is then reported to the People's Committee of the province for approval by the People's Council of the province in accordance with the State Budget Law and related guiding documents.

Specifically, for the task of implementing international treaty work and international agreement work assigned by the State and the Government (funded by the central budget), provincial-level agencies shall prepare the budget for ensuring international treaty work and international agreement work and submit it to the Provincial Department of Finance for consolidation into the local budget (the supplementary budget target from the central budget for the local budget) to be submitted to the Ministry of Finance for consolidation into the annual budget for approval by the competent authority in accordance with the State Budget Law and related guiding documents; simultaneously, submit it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government Office, and the National Assembly Office for monitoring and consolidation.

- Allocation of budgets and implementation of budget allocations:

+ After the budget has been approved by the competent authority, the Ministry of Finance shall allocate the budget to ministries, sectors, and central agencies in the annual regular budget and provide funds to localities through targeted supplementary funding to implement international treaty work and international agreement work according to the approved plan;

+ Ministries, sectors, and localities shall allocate funds to subordinate agencies and units responsible for international treaty work and international agreement work in accordance with the State Budget Law and related guiding documents, after receiving the financial department's review comments at the same level, and simultaneously send them to the financial department and state treasury where the unit opens its transaction account for coordination in implementation;

In cases where urgent activities such as signing, joining, implementing international treaties, or signing, implementing international agreements need to be conducted according to the decision of the competent authority, and these activities are not included in the planned international treaty work and international agreement work, the agency entrusted with the main responsibility for international treaty work and international agreement work shall prepare a detailed budget and submit it to the financial department for consideration and submission to the competent authority for approval to advance the budget expenditure of the following year.

b) Utilization and settlement of funds:

- The funds for international treaty work and international agreement work shall be utilized and settled in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law and guiding documents.

- The use of funds to implement international treaty work and international agreement work must ensure lawful and valid documentation in accordance with current regulations.

- The funds for implementing international treaties and international agreements shall be recorded under the non-autonomous budget expenditure section and according to the chapters, types, clauses, and items of the state budget classification as stipulated by current regulations.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

2. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, units are requested to reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for study, amendment, and supplementation to ensure suitability./.