Circular No. 94/2004/TT-BTC guides the implementation of Decision No. 158/2004/QĐ-TTg dated August 31, 2004 of the Prime Minister on continuing to pilot the allocation of staff quotas and operating funds for the General Department of Customs in 2004.

1. Pilot the allocation of staff quotas and operating expenses for the General Department of Customs under the Ministry of Finance in 2004 from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004.

The pilot allocation of staff quotas and operating expenses will not be implemented for the following units: Institute of Customs Research, Customs Newspaper, Customs College, and Export and Import Goods Analysis and Classification Centers. These units shall operate under the financial management mechanism for public service units.

2. The pilot allocation of staff quotas and operating expenses for units under the customs system must ensure the objectives and requirements set forth in Article 2 of Decision No. 159/2003/QĐ-TTg dated August 4, 2003 of the Prime Minister, specifically as follows:

Reforming the management mechanism of staff quotas and operating expenses of the General Department of Customs, promoting the reorganization and establishment of a clean, strong, and highly qualified workforce; focusing on modernizing the information system and equipping modern technology to enhance efficiency and modernize management technology to effectively perform state-assigned functions and tasks.

Creating autonomy in funding sources, practicing thrift and preventing waste in the use of funds to create conditions for investment in development, training to improve the quality of cadres and civil servants, and increasing their income.

Implementing transparency and democracy according to the provisions of the law, ensuring the legitimate rights of cadres and civil servants in the customs sector.

3. Operating expenses of units under the customs system that implement the allocation include: allocated state budget funds; state budget funds allocated to implement non-allocated items; retained revenue from customs fees and other lawful sources as prescribed by law.

4. The General Department of Customs is responsible for managing and using staff quotas, assets, and operating expenses allocated according to current regulations of the State and the guidelines provided in this Circular.

In cases where the allocated operating expenses and undistributed balances of funds at year-end are carried over to the next year for continued use.

5. Based on the characteristics and nature of activities of each unit within the customs system, within the scope of allocated staff quotas and operating expenses, the Director of the General Department of Customs decides on the subjects, scope, contents, and methods of allocation for units under the customs system to suitably meet the needs.

1. The number of staff quotas piloted for allocation to units under the customs system is implemented according to the decision of the Minister of Finance and is included in the total number of staff quotas allocated to the Ministry of Finance.

2. Within the allocated staff quota, the General Department of Customs may proactively organize, restructure, reduce staff quotas, recruit, manage, and use civil servants according to the Civil Servant Law, current guiding documents of the State, and the Ministry of Finance.

The General Department of Customs is responsible for allocating staff quotas to units under the allocation, ensuring that the total number of staff quotas allocated to these units does not exceed the staff quotas allocated by the Ministry of Finance to the General Department of Customs.

Outside the allocated staff quotas, during the allocation period, based on assigned functions, job requirements, and financial capacity, the General Department of Customs has the right to enter into labor contracts beyond the allocated staff quotas mentioned above and implement regulations for workers as prescribed by law.

3. The staff quotas allocated to the General Department of Customs will be reviewed and adjusted in cases of newly established (or merged) customs agencies in provinces and centrally-administered cities or additional functions and tasks according to decisions of competent authorities;

When it is necessary to adjust the allocated staff quotas, the Director of the General Department of Customs has the responsibility to report to the Minister of Finance for review and request the competent authority to adjust the allocated staff quotas appropriately.

1. The level of operating expenses piloted for allocation to units under the customs system is 1.6% of the total revenue collected into the state budget in 2004 organized by the General Department of Customs (excluding customs fees and revenue from anti-illegal business practices).

The Ministry of Finance determines the total revenue actually collected into the state budget organized by the General Department of Customs to determine the allocated operating expenses (based on the allocation ratio) for the General Department of Customs.

2. Allocated operating expenses for the General Department of Customs are used for the following purposes:

2.1. Regular expenditures, including:

a) Expenditures for personnel: Salaries, wages, allowances, bonuses, and collective welfare benefits as prescribed by the state, contributions (including: social insurance, health insurance, trade union fees), and other payments to individuals.

b) Administrative management expenditures: Payments for public services; office supplies; information, propaganda, and communication; conferences; travel expenses; rental costs; regular maintenance and repair of fixed assets, and other administrative management expenditures.

c) Operational expenses: Technical equipment and materials; fuel costs for anti-smuggling activities; seals; uniforms and labor protection; coordination expenses and other operational expenses.

d) Outward and inward travel expenses.

2.2. Short-term vocational training and development expenses for customs officers according to the programs and plans of the General Department of Customs and the Ministry of Finance.

2.3. Expenses for purchasing fixed assets to serve professional work; major repairs of office premises, equipment, and other fixed assets according to approved programs and plans.

2.4. Expenses for maintaining and developing information technology applications according to the programs and plans of the General Department of Customs and the Ministry of Finance.

For the contents of allocated activity funds specified in points 2.1 and 2.2 above, the General Department of Customs is authorized to independently establish standards, norms, and internal expenditure regulations that are suitable for its special operations and permitted funding sources, based on applying state-prescribed norms and regulations.

For the contents of allocated activity funds specified in points 2.3 and 2.4 above, the General Department of Customs shall implement under the current financial management mechanism and in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

The General Department of Customs may use saved funds in accordance with actual needs for the following purposes:

3.1. Supplementary expenses for strengthening material infrastructure and equipment to support customs operations and anti-smuggling efforts; major repair expenses for assets and office premises; payment support for construction of office premises; purchase and provision of fixed assets and other equipment to serve professional purposes; maintenance, application, and development of information technology.

3.2. Supplementary training expenses for staff.

3.3. Additional allowances outside the general policy for those who voluntarily retire during the process of labor organization restructuring. Supporting affiliated public institutions under the General Department of Customs to strengthen technical equipment and stabilize income for customs officials in these institutions.

3.4. Adjusting the minimum wage level for customs officials not exceeding 2.5 times the national minimum wage from January 1, 2004 to June 30, 2004, and not exceeding 1.8 times the national minimum wage from July 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004.

Allowances subject to adjustment in line with the wage increase include position allowances, regional allowances, responsibility allowances, seniority allowances, and retention allowances.

3.5. Establishing funds:

a) Reward and welfare funds for rewarding and promoting excellence, and welfare expenses. The maximum amount to be set aside for each fund: reward and welfare, shall not exceed three months' salary.

b) A reserve fund to ensure stable income for staff due to subjective reasons leading to reduced income; supporting staff in particularly difficult circumstances.

c) Development activity funds for the following uses:

Compensating losses in money and property for organizations and individuals due to objective reasons in customs operations.

Expenses for units and individuals within and outside the sector in coordinating professional activities and organizational activities to contribute to completing specialized tasks and developing the sector.

Supplementing operating funds to ensure reasonable distribution among assigned units.

Strengthening technical equipment.

Other necessary extraordinary expenses.

4. During the pilot period of allocating personnel quotas and activity funds, when the state changes policies or systems concerning the expenses stipulated in Clause 2, Part II of this Circular, the General Department of Customs must cover additional costs according to the new policies and systems.

The allocation of state budget funds for the General Department of Customs will be reviewed and adjusted if, due to objective reasons (changes in tax policies, additional tasks assigned by the state; natural disasters...), the allocated funds plus the reserve fund are insufficient to ensure the minimum wage expenses according to state regulations and maintain the operation of the customs system. The Director-General of the General Department of Customs has the responsibility to promptly report in writing to the Minister of Finance for review and submission to the Prime Minister for appropriate adjustments to ensure the completion of assigned tasks.

1. Centralized construction expenses funded by the state budget.

2. Expenses for implementing the project to computerize customs procedures as directed by the Prime Minister in Circular No. 805/CP-KG dated July 15, 2002.

3. Expenses for projects to equip specialized equipment for drug prevention and control; projects to equip X-ray machines approved by the Prime Minister.

4. Expenses for modernizing information technology according to the government's program.

5. Training and development expenses for staff according to the state plan.

6. Research expenses for national and ministry-level scientific topics.

7. Expenses for national target programs and other government projects.

8. Expenses for the activities of affiliated public institutions under the General Department of Customs.

9. Expenses for implementing staff reduction according to state regulations.

For the contents of expenses not to be funded from allocated funds mentioned above, the General Department of Customs is responsible for implementing them according to the current state-prescribed standards, systems, and norms.

1. Establishment of budget projections: The General Department of Customs is responsible for preparing annual state budget revenue and expenditure forecasts in accordance with regulations and guidance from the Ministry of Finance.

1.1. For allocated funds:

Based on the state budget revenue forecast for 2004 assigned by the National Assembly to the General Department of Customs, the Ministry of Finance will allocate the allocated funds according to regulations for the General Department of Customs to independently implement.

At the end of the year (or at the beginning of the first quarter of the following year), based on the amount of revenue collected by the Customs system and officially confirmed by the competent state agency, the General Department of Customs calculates the allocated budget funds according to the regulations, and requests the Ministry of Finance to formally approve the amount of allocated budget funds to be used for the year. In cases where the initial budget allocation at the beginning of the year is insufficient, the Ministry of Finance will allocate additional budget estimates for the shortfall for the General Department of Customs to continue using in the following year; in cases where the initial budget allocation exceeds the allocated budget amount as prescribed, the General Department of Customs shall be responsible for refunding the excess amount to the state budget or deducting it from the next year's budget estimate.

1.2. For contents not utilizing the allocated budget: The General Department of Customs prepares the budget estimate according to current regulations.

2.1. Based on the available budget funds, assigned tasks, and guidance from the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Customs implements the detailed budget allocation for units subject to budget estimates and sends them to the Ministry of Finance for review in accordance with the regulations.

Detailed budget allocation is divided into groups of items:

- Personal payment expenses

- Professional business expenses

- Purchase and repair expenses

- Other expenses.

Prior to allocating the allocated budget funds to units implementing the allocation, the General Department of Customs retains a portion of the budget funds to cover common industry tasks and to make supplementary adjustments for units when urgent tasks are assigned.

2.2. The Ministry of Finance conducts a review and issues a written notification regarding the review results for the General Department of Customs to allocate the budget to the units subject to budget estimates.

2.3. In cases where units subject to budget estimates under the General Department of Customs need to adjust the budget between expense categories and the General Department of Customs needs to adjust the budget between subordinate units, they must follow the procedures stipulated in Point 1-IV of Circular No. 59/2003/TT-BTC dated June 23, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance to guide the implementation of Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 6, 2003, of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget Law.

Based on the decision to allocate the budget estimate by the Ministry of Finance, the General Department of Customs, and the State Treasury implement the payment and settlement according to the expenditure proposal of the unit head (account holder). The unit head is responsible for the expenditure decisions of the unit.

The General Department of Customs and units implementing the allocation have the responsibility to account, bookkeep, and finalize the operational budget funds in accordance with the provisions of the State Budget Law, the State Budget Manual, the administrative and public service accounting regulations, and other applicable regulations for units implementing budget allocations.

The General Department of Customs and units implementing the allocation have the responsibility to fully comply with the reporting system according to current national regulations and those of the Ministry of Finance in organizing and implementing the allocation. Organizing internal audit and supervision activities for subordinate units subject to budget estimates.

3.4. The General Department of Customs and units allocated operational budget funds must implement financial transparency in accordance with current regulations.

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

The contents of the pilot implementation of staffing and operational budget allocation for the General Department of Customs are carried out in accordance with Decision No. 158/2004/QĐ-TTg dated August 31, 2004, of the Prime Minister and the guidance provided in this Circular. Any previous guiding documents that contradict the provisions of this Circular are abolished.

2. The Director-General of the General Department of Customs is responsible for guiding and organizing the pilot implementation of staffing and operational budget allocation throughout the industry in accordance with Decision No. 158/2004/QĐ-TTg dated August 31, 2004, of the Prime Minister, current regulations, and the guidance provided in this Circular.

3. The General Department of Customs organizes a mid-term evaluation of the operation situation and results of the pilot implementation of staffing and operational budget allocation during the period 2003-2004; develops a budget allocation plan for the period 2005-2007 and reports to the Ministry of Finance.

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