JOINT CIRCULAR NO. 67/TTLB GUIDING THE HANDOVER OF ASSETS AND OPERATING FUNDS BELONGING TO THE LOCAL STATISTICS SECTOR TRANSFERRED TO THE GENERAL STATISTICS DEPARTMENT FOR MANAGEMENT

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines for transferring assets and operating funds of local statistics sector to be managed by the General Statistics Office

locality transfers to the General Statistics Office for management

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Pursuant to Point 8, Article 2 of Decree No. 23/CP dated March 23, 1994 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the General Statistics Office, which stipulates that the General Statistics Office has the responsibility and authority to manage the organization, staffing, and operating funds of the entire statistics sector (from central to grassroots levels) as prescribed by the Government; the Ministry of Finance and the General Statistics Office hereby provide guidelines for transferring assets and operating funds of the statistics sector at localities to be managed by the General Statistics Office as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS:

1. The objects of inventory are all assets including buildings, structures, equipment, means of transport, materials, capital, operating funds, receivables and payables, and other assets (if any) of the provincial and centrally-administered city statistics sectors according to current regulations.

2. The scope of transfer includes all assets, capital, and operating funds of the provincial and centrally-administered city statistics sectors reflected in the inventory records provided above, to be transferred from the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities to the General Statistics Office.

3. Prior to conducting the inventory and transfer, an Inventory Committee must be established. The Inventory Committee shall be chaired by a Deputy Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee and its members shall include representatives from the Provincial Statistics Bureau, Department of Finance, etc., to determine the value and data of assets and operating funds to be transferred from localities to the management of the General Statistics Office.

4. Operating funds of the statistics sector at localities in 1994 will still be resolved by the local budget until December 31, 1994. From January 1, 1995 onwards, the Ministry of Finance will allocate operating funds from the Central Budget for the entire statistics sector according to the provisions of Decree No. 23/CP dated March 23, 1994 of the Government.

II. CONTENTS OF INVENTORY AND TRANSFER:

1. Contents of inventory:

a) All assets of the local statistics sector as of August 1, 1994, as stated in Point 1, Part I above, must be inventoried and transferred, including:

a.1 Fixed Assets: (Annex No. 1)

- Buildings.

- Warehouses.

- Structures.

- Machinery and equipment, meters.

- Means of transport.

- Transmission equipment.

- Tools.

- Other fixed assets.

a.2 Land area for calculating land transfer tax: (Annex No. 2)

It includes the entire land area currently managed and used by the local statistics sector, comprising:

- Construction land area.

- Unused land area (if any) for parking lots, flower gardens, road construction, etc.

- Land area prepared for building headquarters (if any).

- Land area for constructing houses for staff (if any).

a.3 Current Assets: (Annex No. 3)

- Materials and supplies.

- Spare parts.

- Consumable items.

- Uncompleted construction projects.

- Receivables, payables, advance payments, and other amounts due for payment.

- Deposits, cash, and valuable papers equivalent to money.

b) Determination of asset value:

- For fixed assets, the original cost shall be used. For fixed assets serving production, business, services, etc., additional contents such as depreciation already deducted and remaining value must also be reflected.

- Materials, spare parts, consumable items are valued based on their purchase price.

- For construction projects in progress, the actual costs incurred are used.

- For land area, it shall be determined according to the provisions of Decree No. 80/CP dated November 6, 1993 of the Government on "Regulatory framework for land prices to calculate land transfer tax when allocating land, leasing land, valuing assets when allocating land, compensating losses when reclaiming land."

c) Inventory methods:

Before inventory, accounting records of activities up to August 1, 1994 must be recorded, and the accounting books must be closed to determine the quantity and value of each asset, each type of capital, and cash on hand as recorded in the accounting books up to August 1, 1994.

- During the inventory process, each item of property must be directly weighed, measured, counted, combined with analysis of the current situation using expert methods.

- For monetary capital, each type of capital and cash must be inventoried separately (including foreign currency).

- For bank deposits, bank loans (if any), money in transit, loans, and advance payments, they must be inventoried and reconciled with confirmation from the Treasury, Bank (if any), borrowers, and recipients of advance payments.

- Valuable papers equivalent to money must be inventoried like cash. The results of the inventory must be recorded on the inventory form (or inventory record) and signed off by the members of the inventory team. After the inventory, the results must be summarized, and if discrepancies are found between the inventory and the books, the causes must be identified and measures recommended for resolution.

2. Transfer of assets.

a) All assets of the local statistics sector shall be transferred intact to the General Statistics Office; it is strictly prohibited to divide, sell, exchange, move, rearrange assets, or retain assets for any purpose before the transfer.

The basis for transfer is the balance sheet at the time of transfer, which has been reviewed and approved by financial authorities at all levels.

In cases where the statistics office has been merged into the local planning office, the Provincial Statistics Bureau shall negotiate and coordinate with the Provincial Planning Commission and the Department of Finance to develop a transfer plan, report to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration and decision. For statistics offices that do not manage down to the district level, the District People's Committee and equivalent administrative units shall facilitate favorable conditions for the District Statistics Office in terms of office space as with other departments in the locality.

Specifically, the transfer of organizational structure and staffing, and salary funds between the local statistics sector and the General Statistics Office shall be carried out in accordance with Circular No. 245/TT-LB dated June 15, 1994 of the General Statistics Office and the Government Civil Service Organization Board.

b) Contents of the transfer work include:

b.1 Fixed Assets: Transfer all fixed assets listed on the balance sheet as of August 1, 1994, after the inventory, including:

- Fixed assets in use.

- Fixed assets not in use.

- Fixed assets awaiting liquidation.

- Fixed assets not needed.

- Land and fixed assets not subject to depreciation.

Fixed assets shall be transferred at their original cost and remaining value as shown on the fixed asset registration card and book. The quantity and value must match the balance sheet at the time of transfer.

b.2. Current assets: Due to the complex nature of current assets which are always fluctuating, in addition to the results from the inventory list, inventory form, and balance sheet figures at the time of August 1, 1994, after the inventory, there must be additions (+) or subtractions (-) of economic events occurring from the inventory date until the transfer date to determine the figures at the transfer date as the basis for recording the handover document.

- Materials, spare parts, and replacement parts are taken at the purchase price.

- For items that are inexpensive and prone to damage, they should be valued based on their purchase price; if such items are currently in use and have been allocated 50%, then the remaining value should be taken into account; if the full value has been allocated when these items are used, the actual items should serve as the basis for handover.

- Accounts payable include receivables, payables, advance payments, and other accounts payable: The unit must settle all accounts before the handover; for those that cannot be recovered, confirmation from the debtor is required; for those that cannot be paid, the reasons and causes must be clearly stated along with the handover document.

- Bank deposits with the State Treasury or banks must be confirmed by the State Treasury or bank.

- Cash on hand and negotiable instruments must be counted and reconciled with accounting records; the figures must be accurate and balanced.

- For unfinished construction or repair projects, the entire project file (budget estimate, construction permit, repair documents, etc.) and the capital allocated from the start of construction or repair until the handover must be handed over so that the receiving party can continue to monitor and manage.

b.3. Headquarters land: Hand over the land use rights documents or related documents.

Additionally, local statistical agencies must hand over all accounting files and documents they are holding to ensure the basis for future audits and inspections (if any).

3. Implementation schedule:

Starting from August 1994, units must prepare for inventory and handover (establish an inventory committee, reconcile accounts receivable and payable, resolve matters related to inventory and handover, prepare tools for inventory and handover) according to each level, specifically as follows:

- By September 1994, complete the inventory and proceed with the handover from district, county, town, city-level statistics offices under provincial administration and provincial statistics bureaus.

- By October 1994, provincial statistics bureaus must compile the inventory and handover results and report them to the People's Committee of the province, the General Statistics Office, and the Ministry of Finance.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. Local People's Committees at all levels are responsible for directing the departments of Statistics, Finance, and lower-level People's Committees in conducting the inventory and handover of assets and funds in accordance with the provisions of this Circular.

2. The Provincial Statistics Bureau shall coordinate with the Provincial Department of Finance and Prices to implement the plan for determining assets and funds through inventory and develop a handover plan to be submitted to the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee for review and decision before handing over to the General Statistics Office for management.

3. The Provincial Department of Finance and Prices is responsible for urging and guiding provincial and county statistical agencies to finalize the settlement for the first seven months of 1994, the settlement figures for August, September, and the fourth quarter of 1994, settle outstanding debts by December 31, 1994, conduct an inventory of cash on hand and bank deposits with the State Treasury (including other deposits if any) to continue reviewing the settlement for 1994 and consolidate it into the settlement of local government budget expenditures for 1994. From 1995 onwards, the operating funds of local statistical agencies will be provided by the central government budget and settled into the central government budget.

4. The General Statistics Office shall compile and report the results of the inventory and handover (including the results of organizational and staffing handover, salary handover) to the Ministry of Finance as the basis for increasing assets, capital, and funds.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

This Circular takes effect from August 1, 1994. During implementation, if difficulties arise, localities are requested to promptly reflect them to the Joint Ministries for resolution.