Joint Circular No. 94/2008/TTLT-BTC-BNN guides the management and use of state budget funds for the Priority Program on Developing and Applying Biotechnology in Agriculture and Rural Development until 2020 and the Project on Developing and Applying Biotechnology in Aquaculture until 2020.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines on the management and use of state budget funds for the Priority Program on the development and application of biotechnology in agriculture and rural development until 2020 and the Project on the development and application of biotechnology in fisheries until 2020

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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. 11/2006/QĐ-TTg dated January 12, 2006 of the Government approving the Priority Program on the development and application of biotechnology in agriculture and rural development until 2020;

Pursuant to Decision No. 97/2007/QĐ-TTg dated June 29, 2007 of the Government approving the Project on the development and application of biotechnology in fisheries until 2020;

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 management and use of state budget funds for the Priority Program on the development and application of biotechnology in agriculture and rural development until 2020 (hereinafter referred to as the Agricultural Biotechnology Program) and the Project on the development and application of biotechnology in fisheries until 2020 (hereinafter referred to as the Fisheries Biotechnology Project), as stipulated in Decision No. 11/2006/QĐ-TTg dated January 12, 2006 of the Government and Decision No. 97/2007/QĐ-TTg dated June 29, 2007 of the Government, respectively.

2. The sources of capital for implementing the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Fisheries Biotechnology Project include: annual state budget funds (central budget); funds from domestic and foreign economic organizations and individuals; international cooperation funds; and other lawful sources of funding.

3. The entities eligible to receive state budget funds to implement the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Fisheries Biotechnology Project must meet the conditions set forth in this Circular, regardless of their economic sector.

4. Units under Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and central agencies of associations and mass organizations (referred to collectively as Ministries and central agencies); organizations; and individuals using funds from the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Fisheries Biotechnology Project must ensure that they are used for the intended purposes and in accordance with established regulations; they are subject to inspection and supervision by competent authorities; and they must settle accounts for the funds used at the end of the fiscal year or upon completion of the project according to current regulations.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Sources of funding and expenditure items for the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Fisheries Biotechnology Project include:

1.1 Expenditure from public service funds:

a) Expenditure from science and technology public service funds:

- Implementing scientific and technological tasks under the Agricultural Biotechnology Program as specified in Point 1, Section II, Article 1 of Decision No. 11/2006/QĐ-TTg dated January 12, 2006 of the Government regarding the approval of the Priority Program on the development and application of biotechnology in agriculture and rural development until 2020;

- Implementing scientific and technological tasks under the Fisheries Biotechnology Project as specified in Point 1, Section II, Article 1 of Decision No. 97/2007/QĐ-TTg dated June 29, 2007 of the Government regarding the approval of the Project on the development and application of biotechnology in fisheries until 2020;

- Supporting pilot production projects for products;

- Importing new biotechnology technologies related to agriculture and fisheries for public institutions;

- Supporting the transfer of biotechnology to produce industrial-scale main products of agricultural and fisheries biotechnology, including: Training human resources and guiding the transfer of new technologies;

b) Expenditure from training public service funds:

- Overseas training: Doctoral and master's degree training; retraining for six months to one year for scientific staff in agricultural and fisheries biotechnology who already hold doctoral or master's degrees;

- Domestic training: Doctoral, master's, bachelor's, engineer, technician training in biotechnology; and training scientific staff and lecturers in agricultural and fisheries biotechnology;

c) Public service economic expenditure:

- Maintaining the operation of the national database and information system on agricultural and fisheries biotechnology to provide information on agricultural and fisheries biotechnology;

- Activities of the Office of the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Fisheries Biotechnology Project, including: Establishing and perfecting policies, legal documents; purchasing equipment; information dissemination and publicity; international cooperation with countries having advanced biotechnology; seminars, conferences, mid-term and final evaluations of the Program and Project; identifying and selecting scientific and technological tasks in agricultural and fisheries biotechnology; inspecting, accepting, and evaluating research topics and projects under the Program and Project; expenditures for market development activities to establish and develop the agricultural and fisheries biotechnology industry, and other expenses.

1.2 Expenditure from construction investment funds:

- Investing in building and improving key laboratories in agriculture for animal and plant cell technology, gene technology, and key laboratories in fisheries for genetic breeding, conservation of rare and valuable fish genetic resources, according to approved projects;

- Deepening and upgrading the research and training infrastructure; modernizing facilities, machinery, and equipment for existing laboratories in the field of agricultural and fisheries biotechnology of public institutions, according to approved projects;

- Supporting organizations and businesses of all economic sectors to invest in equipment and modernize laboratories serving research and training in agricultural and fisheries biotechnology;

- Building a national database and information system on agricultural and fisheries biotechnology to provide information on biotechnology and main products of agricultural and fisheries biotechnology.

1.3 To allocate funds from sources including economic organizations, individuals within and outside the country, international cooperation funds, and other lawful sources in accordance with the provisions of the law.

2. Expenditure levels:

- The expenditure level for implementing the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project shall be carried out according to the current financial expenditure standards and regulations;

- The maximum support level for trial production projects of products shall not exceed 30% of the necessary new investment costs required to implement the project, as approved by the competent authority in accordance with the financial management guidelines for science and technology projects supported by the state budget and subject to cost recovery issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology. The specific support level for each project shall be decided by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;

- The support level for organizations and enterprises of all economic sectors shall not exceed 30% of the value of specialized research equipment investment in agricultural and aquatic biotechnology. The selection of beneficiaries and specific support levels for each project shall be decided by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;

For scientific and technological topics and projects that have been approved by the competent authority, the heads of units assigned to carry out these topics and projects shall implement expenditures in accordance with Circular Joint No. 93/2006/TTLT-BTC-KHCN dated October 4, 2006, issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology, which provides guidance on the financial quota system for scientific and technological topics and projects funded by the state budget;

Regarding hiring experts: Based on the necessity to implement tasks and the available budget, the head of the unit assigned to lead the topic or project and the principal investigator may decide to hire domestic and foreign experts; the form of hiring (by time or by product) should be appropriate; the expenditure level shall be based on the actual contract agreed with the expert, ensuring quality and effectiveness (for hiring experts at a rate of 1,000 USD or more per person per month, approval from the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development is required);

In cases where it is necessary to hire experienced domestic and foreign experts to advise the Program Management Board, based on the necessity to implement tasks and the available budget, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development may decide to hire experts, the form of hiring (by time or by product) should be appropriate; the expenditure level shall be based on the actual contract agreed with the expert, ensuring quality and effectiveness;

3. Conditions for receiving financial support to implement projects under the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project:

a/ Conditions for receiving technology transfer support:

- The technology must align with the objectives of the Program and Project;

- The feasibility of the project: (1) The transferred technology, (2) The competitiveness of the product using the new technology compared to the transferred project, (3) The capability of the recipient unit (in terms of capital, technical skills, implementation location);

b/ Conditions for receiving investment support for equipment and laboratory modernization (for all economic sectors):

- The project must belong to the research and training system in the field of agricultural and aquatic biotechnology, as defined by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;

- The investment project must be approved by the competent authority and the commitment of the unit to invest according to the project (excluding the portion supported by the state budget);

- The state budget support fund shall be provided according to the progress of the project and corresponding to the actual investment ratio of the supported unit;

- The project has not received support from any state budget funding source.

4. Product Recovery:

- For topics and projects implemented from scientific research funds that produce recoverable products, they shall be carried out according to the current regulations for scientific and technological topics and projects funded by the state budget;

- For projects supported by the state budget for equipment investment and laboratory modernization (of all economic sectors), there will be no recovery of the state budget support funds;

- For trial production projects of biotechnology products in agriculture and aquaculture, the recovery amount shall be 60% of the state budget support funds. The recovery period for each project shall be determined by the approving agency but shall not exceed 24 months after the completion of the project;

If a project must be suspended due to objective reasons causing damage to the project, such as typhoons, floods, fires, epidemics (in areas declared as epidemic zones by the competent authority), then the recovery of funds can be reduced or waived according to the current regulations for scientific and technological topics and projects funded by the state budget. When encountering the above situations, the leading units of the projects must submit written reports to the superior management agencies; individuals must submit written reports to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for verification and confirmation about the implementation process and the reason for suspending the project; the ability to repay the state budget support funds. After verification and confirmation, the Ministries and People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consideration and decision on the reduction or waiver of the recovery funds, based on a written agreement with the Ministry of Finance;

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is responsible for monitoring and urging the recovery of products; annually, it shall compile the recovered funds together with the final settlement report of the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project budget;

5. Management and use of assets invested in and purchased under the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project through state budget funds shall be carried out in accordance with current regulations;

6. Budget preparation, execution, and settlement:

The establishment, implementation, and settlement of research funding, vocational training funding, economic service funding, and investment capital for the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and Aquatic Biotechnology Project shall be carried out in accordance with the State Budget Law and current guiding documents; this Circular provides specific guidance on the following points:

Based on the contents of the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project and the guidelines of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, relevant ministries, central agencies, localities, organizations, and individuals who wish to participate in implementing the contents of the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project shall develop and propose tasks (research topics, projects...) to register with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for organization to determine tasks, review, select, and approve them according to current regulations.

Annually, based on the tasks that have been reviewed and announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, units shall prepare budgets for the implementation of the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project and submit them to their superior management agencies for consolidation into the budgets of relevant ministries and central agencies and localities to be sent to related ministries and agencies according to current regulations, and also send copies to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; individuals preparing budgets for the implementation of the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project shall send them to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will consolidate these budgets at the time of annual budget preparation and send them to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and the Ministry of Education and Training for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for decision-making; specifically:

- For vocational science and technology funding: Annually, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will coordinate with the Ministry of Science and Technology to determine scientific and technological tasks and the budget for the implementation of the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project, which will be submitted to the competent authority for consideration and decision-making to be assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (including the funding for research topics and projects implemented by localities, organizations, and individuals), and relevant ministries and central agencies will implement according to current regulations. For the funding of research topics and projects implemented by localities, organizations, and individuals, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will sign contracts for implementation according to regulations.

- For vocational training funding:

+ For domestic training: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training to determine the need for human resource training and the funding required, which will be submitted to the competent authority for consideration and decision-making;

+ For overseas training: This will be carried out in accordance with Decision No. 356/QĐ-TTg dated April 28, 2005 of the Prime Minister regarding the adjustment of the Project "Training Scientific and Technical Personnel at Foreign Institutions Using State Budget Funds," the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will determine the training needs and work with the Ministry of Education and Training to implement it;

- For basic construction investment and economic service funding: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will prepare the budget at the time of annual budget preparation and submit it to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for consideration and decision-making.

7. Reporting and inspection work:

- Units and individuals assigned to carry out tasks under the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project shall report on the progress of implementation every six months and at the end of the year according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development;

- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall be responsible for coordinating with relevant ministries and agencies to conduct regular or spot inspections of the implementation and use of funds for the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project to ensure they are used for their intended purposes and are effective;

- Annually, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall compile the progress of implementation of the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project, report to the Prime Minister, and send copies to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Education and Training.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular takes effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette and replaces Circular Joint No. 96/2007/TTLT-BTC-BNN dated August 8, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on "Guidelines for the Management and Use of State Budget Funds for the Priority Program for the Development and Application of Biotechnology in Agriculture and Rural Development until 2020."

2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall provide guidance on registration documents and procedures; review tasks registered by relevant ministries, central agencies, localities, economic organizations, and individuals to implement the Agricultural Biotechnology Program and the Aquatic Biotechnology Project.

During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, units are requested to reflect them to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for consideration and appropriate amendments and supplements./.