Circular No. 85/1997/TT-BTC guiding the implementation of Directive No. 254/TTg dated May 16, 1994 of the Prime Minister on the support and facilitation provided by all levels of government to enhance the effectiveness of the operations of the Vietnam Red Cross Society.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for implementing Directive 254/TTg dated

May 6, 1994 of the Prime Minister on support and creation of conditions to enhance the effectiveness of operations of the Vietnam Red Cross Society
Support and create conditions to improve the efficiency of the activities of the Vietnam Red Cross Society

Pursuant to Directive No. 01/CT dated January 5, 1989 of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (now the Prime Minister) on management of organizations and activities of mass associations;

Pursuant to Directive No. 254/TTg dated May 16, 1994 of the Prime Minister on support and creation of conditions to enhance the effectiveness of operations of the Vietnam Red Cross Society;

Pursuant to Decree No. 87/CP dated December 19, 1996 of the Government detailing the division of management, preparation, implementation, and settlement of the state budget;

Pursuant to Decree No. 87/CP dated August 5, 1997 on issuance of regulations on management and utilization of Official Development Assistance funds;

Pursuant to Circular No. 30 TC/VT dated June 12, 1997 of the Ministry of Finance on guiding financial management systems for non-reimbursable aid;

After reaching consensus with the Vietnam Red Cross Society, the Ministry of Finance guides the implementation of financial revenue and expenditure of the Vietnam Red Cross Society as follows:

I. SOURCES OF FINANCIAL REVENUE OF THE VIETNAM RED CROSS SOCIETY

The Vietnam Red Cross Society is a mass association operating according to its charter approved by the Government. The sources of financial revenue of the Society include the following items:

1. Membership fees contributed by members to the organization.

2. Revenue from production and service activities of the Society in accordance with the law.

3. Revenue from donations and benevolent contributions from individuals and organizations both domestically and internationally supporting the Society and the Humanitarian Fund.

4. Revenue from humanitarian relief and assistance, projects, and development programs provided by international individuals and organizations through the Society.

5. Revenue from State Budget support as prescribed by the State Budget Law.

II. REGULATIONS ON THE USE OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES OF THE SOCIETY

1. Relief funds;

All relief funds received by levels of the Society from international organizations and charitable organizations must be transferred entirely to the designated recipients in accordance with agreements with the relief organizations, without retaining any portion without permission from the Government. For projects and programs where relief organizations do not allow management and transportation costs, the Society must request the People's Committee and the finance authority at the same level to consider providing support under the condition that:

For consignments with designated recipients, the entity or locality receiving them must bear all reception and transportation costs. The Vietnam Red Cross Society assists with the procedures for receiving goods without charging these expenses.

For consignments without designated recipients, the Vietnam Red Cross Society directly receives them and works with the Ministry of Finance to consider initial reception cost advances. After receipt, if distributed to localities or entities, those localities or entities must bear transportation and management costs. The Vietnam Red Cross Society is responsible for collecting these costs and settling the aforementioned advance with the State Budget.

2. Revenue from development assistance, projects, and programs: The Society implements in accordance with the agreed agreements with partners, all project management costs such as organizational deployment, transportation expenses, travel expenses, and allowances for project organizers cannot be automatically deducted but must be negotiated with the funding organizations to be included in the project. In cases where organizations have agreed to allow the Society to allocate a certain percentage to supplement administrative management costs to reduce State Budget expenditures and build a humanitarian fund, the Society must implement in accordance with commitments to these organizations. If organizations do not agree, the Society still must comply with the commitments made to the funding organizations.

3. Revenue from production and service activities of the Society shall be allocated and utilized in accordance with regulations applicable to self-financing public institutions as stipulated in Circular No. 01TC/HCVX dated January 4, 1994 and Circular No. 25 TC/TCT dated March 28, 1994 of the Ministry of Finance.

4. Revenue from benevolent donations from individuals and organizations supporting the Society: The Society must maintain records, establish a Humanitarian Fund for immediate use in relief efforts, and transfer to the locality if supported by a specific organization. The Society can allocate 3% of total fundraising and donation collection costs to the Humanitarian Fund for management and distribution to designated relief recipients.

5. Financial support from the State Budget in accordance with the State Budget Law together with other legitimate revenues of the Society shall be used for payment of annual international dues, regular administrative management expenses of the Society such as salaries for staff according to the approved staffing plan, travel expenses... Salaries must be paid in accordance with Circular No. 252/TCCP-TC dated November 20, 1995 of the Government Civil Service Organization Board.

Administrative management expenses of each level of the Society shall be supported from the budget of that level. Allowances for Society grassroots leaders shall be funded from the Society’s own resources, and the amount shall be in accordance with current State regulations.

III. MANAGEMENT AND SETTLEMENT OF FINANCIAL RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES

1. To have a basis for supporting regular operational expenses, each level of the Society must prepare budgets, implement budgets, and settle accounts in accordance with current state budget management regulations annually.

2. Financial resources obtained from assistance, relief, development projects... in the form of money or goods need to complete all necessary procedures for acceptance according to Decision No. 80/QD dated March 28, 1991 of the Prime Minister on issuing regulations on the relationship of accepting goods from non-governmental organizations and Decree No. 87/CP dated August 5, 1997 of the Government on issuing regulations on management and utilization of Official Development Assistance funds. In cases where donated goods are unsuitable for use by the people, the Society must submit a document to the Government for approval to sell through auction as prescribed by the State, and the proceeds must be used for the agreed purpose of the donation.

When implementing relief and assistance projects, if certain expenses such as handling, management, storage, wharfage, etc., arise, the levels of the Association shall prepare a budget proposal to submit to the People's Committee and the financial authority at the same level for consideration and support of this amount of funds.

If the costs for management, storage, wharfage, etc., have been agreed upon in the relief and assistance project, the levels of the Association must fulfill their commitments to the donor. During the implementation of the committed management costs, if there is any savings, that portion of the savings shall be supplemented into the administrative funding source of the Association and rewards shall be given to units and individuals serving the project.

3. The levels of the Red Cross Association are responsible for preparing budgets, managing, executing, and settling accounts for non-repayable foreign government, organization, and individual aid in the form of money or goods in accordance with the detailed regulations on decentralization, management, preparation, execution, and settlement of state budget revenues and expenditures stipulated in Decree No. 87/CP dated December 19, 1996 of the Government Chairman, and Circular No. 30/TC-VT dated June 12, 1997 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the financial management system for non-repayable aid sources.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of signature. Any previous provisions contrary to the content stipulated in this Circular are hereby abolished.

In the course of implementation, if any difficulties arise, they should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance for study and amendment./.