Decree No. 94/2014/ND-CP on the establishment and management of the Disaster Prevention and Control Fund

DECREE

Provisions on the establishment and management of the Disaster Prevention and Control Fund

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Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to the Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control dated June 19, 2013;

At the request of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

The Government issues a Decree to provide for the establishment and management of the Disaster Prevention and Control Fund.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree provides for the establishment; contributors and contribution levels; management and use of the Disaster Prevention and Control Fund (hereinafter referred to as the Fund).

Article 2. Applicability

This Decree applies to agencies, organizations, households, individuals of Vietnam; foreign organizations and individuals, international organizations residing, operating, or participating in disaster prevention and control activities in Vietnam.

Article 3. Principles of Fund Operation

1. Management and use of the Fund must ensure the correct purpose, timeliness, transparency, fairness, and effectiveness.

2. The Fund operates without profit-making objectives.

Article 4. Establishment of the Fund

1. The Fund is established at the provincial level, managed by the People's Committee of the province. The end-of-year balance of the Fund is carried over to the next year.

2. The Chairman of the People's Committee of the province decides on the establishment of the Fund management agency. The Fund management agency is located within the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, has its seal, and opens an account at the State Treasury. The Director of the Fund is appointed, dismissed, or relieved of duty by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the province.

3. The Chairman of the People's Committee of the province promulgates regulations on the organization and operation of the Fund; delegates the People's Committees of districts and communes under their jurisdiction to organize the collection work of the Fund.

Chapter II

CONTRIBUTORS AND CONTRIBUTION LEVELS

Article 5. Contributors and Contribution Levels

1. Independent accounting economic organizations:

The mandatory annual contribution rate is two ten-thousandths of the total value of assets in Vietnam according to the annual financial report, but not less than 500 thousand dong and not more than 100 million dong, and is recorded as production and business activity expenses.

2. Vietnamese citizens aged 18 years and older up to the retirement age as stipulated by labor laws contribute as follows:

a) Officials, civil servants, employees in agencies, organizations, armed forces receiving salaries, and managers in state-owned enterprises contribute one day's salary per person per year based on the basic salary after deducting taxes and insurance contributions;

b) Workers in enterprises contribute one day's salary per person per year based on the minimum regional wage;

c) Other workers, except those specified in Points a and b of this Clause, contribute 15,000 dong per person per year.

3. Encouragement is given to organizations and individuals to voluntarily contribute to the Fund.

Article 6. Exemption, Reduction, and Temporary Suspension of Contributions

1. Exempted contributors:

a) War invalids, disabled veterans, and those entitled to benefits similar to war invalids;

b) Parents, spouses, or children of martyrs;

c) Military personnel performing duties in the armed forces, non-commissioned officers, and police serving with a subsistence allowance;

d) Students and pupils enrolled in long-term concentrated study programs at universities, colleges, secondary schools, and vocational training institutions;

đ) Persons with disabilities or reduced working capacity of 21% or more; persons suffering from serious illnesses certified by hospitals at district level or higher;

e) Persons who are unemployed or have been without employment for six months or more within a year;

g) Members of households classified as poor or near-poor; members of households in remote, mountainous, or far-flung areas; members of households affected by natural disasters, epidemics, fires, or accidents;

h) Cooperatives without income;

i) Independent accounting economic organizations that suffer losses due to natural disasters affecting assets, factories, equipment, requiring repairs or purchases with a value exceeding two ten-thousandths of the total asset value of the organization or causing cessation of production and business operations for five days or more.

2. Contributors eligible for reduction or temporary suspension of contributions:

Independent accounting economic organizations exempted or granted tax reductions on corporate income tax may be considered for reduction or temporary suspension of Fund contributions.

Article 7. Authority to decide on exemption, reduction, temporary suspension, and duration of exemption, reduction, and temporary suspension

1. The People's Committee of the province shall decide on exemption, reduction, and temporary suspension for the subjects specified in Article 6 of this Decree.

2. The examination of exemption, reduction, and temporary suspension of local Fund contributions shall be conducted once a year at the time when the collection targets for the Fund plan are set. In cases of exemption, reduction, or temporary suspension due to natural disasters, organizations and individuals must report losses and propose to the local authorities for consolidation and submission to the competent authority for consideration of exemption, reduction, or temporary suspension. If an individual or entity has already made contributions to the Fund and is subsequently exempted, reduced, or temporarily suspended, the amount paid will be deducted from the contribution for the following year.

Chapter III

MANAGEMENT AND USE OF THE FUND

Article 8. Management of Collection and Plan for Fund Contributions

1. The head of an independent accounting economic organization shall be responsible for contributing to the Fund according to the quota prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 5 of this Decree and transferring it into the account of the provincial Fund management agency or the district account authorized by the Provincial People's Committee.

2. The head of an agency or organization shall be responsible for collecting contributions from cadres, civil servants, public officials, employees, and personnel in the armed forces within their jurisdiction and transferring them into the account of the provincial Fund management agency or the district account authorized by the Provincial People's Committee.

3. The People's Committee of the commune shall organize the collection from other laborers within its territory (excluding those collected under Clause 2 of this Article) and transfer it into the district account authorized by the Provincial People's Committee. Cash collections must have receipts in the format prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

4. Deadline for Fund Contribution: For individuals, a single payment before May 30 each year; for independent accounting economic organizations, a minimum of 50% of the required contribution before May 30, with the remainder paid before October 30 each year.

5. The heads of agencies and organizations and the People's Committee of the commune shall base their plans for collecting contributions on the subjects and levels of contribution within their jurisdiction, as well as the subjects exempted, reduced, or temporarily suspended.

6. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall guide the establishment, approval, and announcement of the Fund collection plan for each relevant agency and unit.

Article 9. Contents of Fund Expenditure

1. Expenditure to support activities for preventing and combating natural disasters as stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 10 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Natural Disasters, including:

a) Emergency relief and assistance to mitigate the consequences of natural disasters: Immediate relief in terms of food, drinking water, medicine, and other urgent needs for victims of natural disasters; assistance in repairing houses, health facilities, schools, environmental sanitation in disaster areas, temporary evacuation shelters, or urgent repairs of disaster prevention works valued at less than 1 billion VND per project;

b) Support for emergency response activities: Evacuation of people from dangerous areas; medical care; food and drinking water for evacuees; support for monitoring, information dissemination, warning, and alarm systems for natural disasters in communities;

c) Support for preventive activities: Popularizing legal knowledge, planning, formulating, and practicing disaster prevention and control exercises at the commune level.

2. Payment of remuneration to those directly involved in collection and administrative expenses related to the Fund collection work at the commune level, but not exceeding 5% of the actual annual revenue in the commune.

3. Allocation to support other regions affected by natural disasters beyond their capacity to recover.

Article 10. Authority to Disburse from the Fund

1. The Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level decides on the amount and content of disbursement for beneficiaries based on the proposal of the Provincial Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control and Search and Rescue.

2. The Provincial Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control and Search and Rescue is responsible for compiling losses and support needs of the People's Committees at the district level and related agencies and organizations, and submitting proposals to the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level.

3. Based on the actual revenue of the Fund, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level decides on the disbursement of the Fund to support other localities.

4. The Prime Minister decides on the transfer of the Fund from one locality to another for support as follows:

a) In urgent cases to support localities affected by severe natural disasters, the Head of the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control shall coordinate with the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level concerned to report and propose to the Prime Minister for decision.

b) Based on the annual reports on the revenue and expenditure of the Fund of the locality, the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance, will develop plans to handle surplus funds in the locality, ensuring the maintenance of surplus funds in the locality and transferring support to other localities facing difficulties due to severe natural disasters; and submit these plans to the Prime Minister for decision.

Article 11. Reporting and Approval of Final Accounts

1. The Fund management agency is responsible for reporting the final accounts of revenue and expenditure of the Fund of the previous year to the People's Committee at the provincial level in the first quarter of the following year. The Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level directs relevant agencies to organize audits and approve the final accounts of the Fund according to current regulations.

2. The People's Committee at the provincial level is responsible for reporting the results of revenue and expenditure of the Fund to the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Finance.

Article 12. Inspection, Audit, and Supervision of Fund Activities

1. The Fund for Flood and Storm Control is subject to inspection, audit, and supervision by state agencies as prescribed.

2. The Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level directs relevant agencies and departments to inspect and supervise the activities of the Fund. Measures must be taken to urge agencies, organizations, and individuals to strictly fulfill their responsibilities and obligations to contribute to the Fund as stipulated by law.

3. The provincial-level Vietnam Fatherland Front and related associations have the right to request information about the Fund and exercise supervisory rights through opinions, proposals, and critiques.

Article 13. Publicizing Revenue and Expenditure of the Fund

1. Agencies, units, and organizations must publicize the list of revenue and contributions to the Fund of individual officials, civil servants, employees, and workers. Methods of publicizing: Notification by written notice, posting at the unit; announcement at the staff meeting of the unit. The latest time for publicizing is 30 days from the completion of the revenue and contribution process.

2. Communes must publicize the results of revenue and contributions, the list of workers who have contributed to the Fund within the commune; total funding allocated for flood and storm control work and the content of expenditures. Methods of publicizing: Publicly report and explain at the annual summary meeting; post at the headquarters of the Commune People's Committee, Cultural Centers of villages, and announce via commune radio.

3. The Fund management agency must publicize the results of revenue, lists, and rates of revenue for each agency, organization, unit, and each district; final accounts of revenue and expenditure; content of expenditures by district. Methods of publicizing: Post at the Fund headquarters; notify in writing to contributing agencies and organizations; publicize on the website of the Fund management agency.

Chapter IV

RESPONSIBILITIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF AGENCIES,

 ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS

Article 14. Responsibilities of People's Committees at all levels, the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, and relevant Ministries and ministerial-level agencies and government-affiliated agencies

1. The People's Committee of the province shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of the Fund's collection and expenditure; directing the inspection, examination, and supervision of the Fund's activities; and directing the public disclosure of the Fund in accordance with this Decree and related laws.

2. The Chairpersons of the People's Committees at the district and commune levels, and the heads of relevant agencies and organizations shall be responsible for organizing the collection and submission of the Fund in accordance with Article 8 of Chapter III of this Decree.

3. The Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and other relevant Ministries and ministerial-level agencies and government-affiliated agencies to inspect and urge the implementation of this Decree; annually compiling the results of the Fund's operations and reporting them to the Prime Minister.

Article 15. Obligations of independent accounting economic organizations and individuals obligated to contribute to the Fund

Independent accounting economic organizations and individuals specified in Article 5 of Chapter II of this Decree have the obligation to contribute to the Fund as prescribed.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 16. Effective Date

1. This Decree takes effect from December 8, 2014.

2. This Decree replaces Decree No. 50/CP dated May 10, 1997 of the Government on the establishment and operation regulations of the local flood and storm prevention fund.

3. For organizations and individuals who have contributed to the flood and storm prevention fund in 2014 according to the contribution levels stipulated in Decree No. 50/CP dated May 10, 1997 of the Government before this Decree takes effect, they will be exempted from contributing to the flood and storm prevention fund in 2014; the remaining balance of the flood and storm prevention fund will be transferred to the Fund management agency for management and use in accordance with this Decree.

Article 17. Responsibility for Implementation

The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of People's Committees at all levels, and relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals are responsible for implementing this Decree./.