Circular No. 95/2016/TT-BQP guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP dated April 6, 2016 of the Government stipulating some regulations and policies for non-commissioned officers, conscripts serving on active duty, discharged conscripts, and relatives of non-commissioned officers and conscripts on active duty.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Certain Provisions of Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP

dated April 6, 2016, of the Government on Certain Regulations and Policies for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers Serving in Active Duty, Discharged from Active Duty, and Their Dependents

policies for non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel on active duty, upon discharge

and relatives of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel on active duty

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Pursuant to Decree No. 35/2013/NĐ-CP dated April 22, 2013, of the Government, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of National Defense;

Pursuant to Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP dated April 6, 2016, of the Government on Certain Regulations and Policies for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers Serving in Active Duty, Discharged from Active Duty, and Their Dependents;

Considering the proposal of the Director of the Political General Department;

The Minister of National Defense promulgates this Circular guiding the implementation of certain provisions of Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP dated April 6, 2016, of the Government on Certain Regulations and Policies for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers Serving in Active Duty, Discharged from Active Duty, and Their Dependents.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular guides the implementation of certain regulations and policies for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers Serving in Active Duty, Discharged from Active Duty, and Their Dependents as stipulated in Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP dated April 6, 2016, of the Government on Certain Regulations and Policies for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers Serving in Active Duty, Discharged from Active Duty, and Their Dependents (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP).

Article 2. Applicability

1. Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers Serving in Active Duty, Discharged from Active Duty.

2. Dependents of Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers Serving in Active Duty, including: biological father, biological mother; father-in-law, mother-in-law; legal foster parent; wife, husband; biological child, legally adopted child of Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers Serving in Active Duty.

3. Agencies, units within the Ministry of National Defense and organizations and individuals related to the implementation of certain regulations and policies for Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers Serving in Active Duty, Discharged from Active Duty, and Their Dependents as guided in this Circular.

Article 3. Payment in lieu of leave days that cannot be granted according to Clause 3, Article 3 of Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP

Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers Serving in Active Duty who meet the conditions for annual leave but due to combat requirements, readiness for combat, or difficult travel conditions in certain areas cannot be granted leave shall be paid the leave allowance as follows:

1. The amount of payment for each day not taken as leave equals the basic daily food allowance of infantry Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers at the time of non-leave; the maximum number of days to be paid for each Non-Commissioned Officer and Soldier is ten days. Travel expenses, transportation fees, and travel time are not included in the payment.

2. The head of a regiment or equivalent level and above is responsible for reviewing and deciding on cases eligible for payment of leave allowance at the unit.

3. The leave payment in lieu shall not be granted for cases meeting the conditions for special leave as provided for in Clause 4, Article 3 of Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP.

Article 4. Additional Allowance for Extended Service Time as Provided in Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP

1. Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers Serving in Active Duty, whose extension of service time in active duty is decided by the Minister of National Defense according to the Military Service Law 2015, shall receive an additional 250% of their current rank allowance from the 25th month onwards. The calculation method is as follows:

Where:

2. The additional allowance system guided in Clause 1 of this Article does not apply to Non-Commissioned Officers and Soldiers awaiting conversion to professional military personnel, workers, and defense civil servants; awaiting admission to school or entrance examination; studying at academies, schools within and outside the Military, and other similar cases.

Article 5. The file, procedure, responsibility, and principles for handling the emergency hardship allowance regime prescribed in Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP.

1. File for examination of entitlement to the allowance:

a) A request form for emergency hardship assistance (Form No. 01 attached hereto) confirmed by the People's Committee of the commune, ward, town (hereinafter referred to collectively as the commune level) where the family member of non-commissioned officers and soldiers resides.

b) In cases where the family member of non-commissioned officers and soldiers has documents such as: confirmation from the People's Committee at the commune level regarding the extent of material damage when houses collapse, float away, burn down, or require relocation, or if the family member suffers from prolonged illness for one month or more; discharge certificate from the medical facility where the family member was treated; death notice of the deceased family member; death certificate of the deceased or missing family member or confirmation from the People's Committee at the commune level sent to non-commissioned officers and soldiers, then the request form for emergency hardship assistance should be accompanied by these documents without needing to obtain confirmation from the People's Committee at the commune level as stipulated in Point a of this Clause.

2. Procedure and responsibility for handling the allowance:

a) Non-commissioned officers and soldiers:

- Prepare the request form for emergency hardship assistance;

- Submit the form and relevant documents as specified in Point b of Clause 1 of this Article to the battalion, regiment, or equivalent unit.

If the form does not have confirmation from the People's Committee at the commune level or lacks accompanying documents, submit the form to the battalion, regiment, or equivalent unit for review and approval of the allowance, then complete the file within thirty days (from the date of receiving the allowance) and submit it to the financial authority for settlement according to regulations; if non-commissioned officers and soldiers fail to complete the file within the time limit, they must return the received allowance amount.

- Battalion, regiment, or equivalent unit: Receive the form and relevant documents submitted by non-commissioned officers and soldiers; compile, check, and propose to the immediate superior within one working day; receive and pay out the emergency hardship allowance to non-commissioned officers and soldiers based on the decision of the competent authority.

- Regiment or equivalent unit: Within two working days from the date of receipt of the proposal from subordinate units, complete the examination and decision on the emergency hardship allowance for non-commissioned officers and soldiers.

c) Political Department (Policy) of subordinate units under the Ministry of National Defense: Take the lead, coordinate with related agencies to organize dissemination, implementation guidance for non-commissioned officers and soldiers on the allowance system and procedures; direct and inspect implementation; annually prepare budget estimates to ensure the emergency hardship allowance system into the unit's budget estimate, send to the Ministry of National Defense (through the Financial Department and the Policy Department); confirm, manage, and settle accounts according to regulations.

3. Principles for handling emergency hardship allowances: When the residence of non-commissioned officers and soldiers on duty encounters accidents, fires, natural disasters causing house collapses, floating away, burning down, or requiring relocation, or economic losses due to property damage, they may receive assistance not exceeding twice a year per non-commissioned officer or soldier; when family members of non-commissioned officers and soldiers on duty suffer from prolonged illness for one month or more or hospitalization according to regulations, they may receive assistance not exceeding twice a year per family member of non-commissioned officers and soldiers.

Example 1: Comrade Sergeant Nguyen Van An had his child hospitalized in 2016. Specifically: First time from August 2nd to August 12th; second time from October 5th to October 15th; according to regulations, Comrade An's child is entitled to two allowances, each worth 500,000 VND.

Example 2: For the same subject mentioned in Example 1, in 2016, Comrade An's mother was hospitalized due to illness. Specifically: First time from September 2nd to September 10th; second time from December 5th to December 15th; according to regulations, Comrade An's mother is entitled to two allowances, each worth 500,000 VND.

Example 3: For the same subject mentioned in Example 1, in 2016, Comrade An's family suffered house collapse due to flash floods. According to regulations, Comrade An's family is entitled to an allowance of 3,000,000 VND.

Article 6. The file, procedure, responsibility for handling and time of enjoying the tuition exemption regime prescribed in Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP.

The tuition exemption and reduction regime for legitimate children and adopted children of non-commissioned officers and conscripts on active duty shall be implemented according to the provisions of Government Decree No. 86/2015/NĐ-CP dated October 2, 2015 on the mechanism for collecting and managing tuition fees for educational institutions under the national education system and policies on tuition exemption, reduction, and support for learning expenses from the 2015-2016 academic year to the 2020-2021 academic year. The file, procedure, responsibility, and time of enjoying the regime shall be carried out as follows:

1. File for examination of entitlement to the allowance:

a) A declaration form requesting to enjoy the tuition exemption regime (Form No. 02 attached hereto);

b) A certificate recognizing the object eligible for the tuition exemption regime (Form No. 3 attached hereto).

2. Procedure and responsibility for handling the regime:

a) Non-commissioned officers and conscripts: - Prepare a declaration form requesting to enjoy the tuition exemption regime; - Submit the declaration form to the company, battalion, or equivalent level; - Receive the certificate recognizing the object eligible for the tuition exemption regime and send it back to their family to submit to public and private preschool and general education institutions.

b) Company, battalion, or equivalent level: - Accept the declaration forms submitted by non-commissioned officers and conscripts; - Within a maximum of one working day, compile, check, and propose the immediate superior level to handle; - Receive the certificates and hand them over to non-commissioned officers and conscripts.

3. Time of enjoying the regime:

a) The time of enjoying the tuition exemption regime for the children of non-commissioned officers and conscripts is calculated from the date of issuance of the certificate until the end of the service period of non-commissioned officers and conscripts.

b) In case new objects eligible for the tuition exemption regime arise during the service period, non-commissioned officers and conscripts shall prepare additional declaration forms; the time of enjoying the regime corresponds to the remaining service period of non-commissioned officers and conscripts.

Article 7. Social insurance benefits, one-time separation allowance, additional allowance due to extended service period, and job creation allowance prescribed in Article 7 of Decree No. 27/2016/NĐ-CP.

1. Social insurance benefits:

a) The service period of non-commissioned officers and conscripts is counted as the social insurance (BHXH) contribution period to serve as the basis for calculating social insurance benefits according to regulations.

b) In cases where there was employment and mandatory BHXH contributions before enlistment at state agencies, organizations, or economic entities belonging to various economic sectors, if discharged to the locality, the pre-enlistment work period with BHXH contributions will be combined with the service period to calculate social insurance benefits according to regulations, which will be handled by the Social Insurance Department of the Ministry of National Defense.

c) In cases where there was employment and mandatory BHXH contributions before enlistment at state agencies, organizations, or economic entities belonging to various economic sectors, then discharged to the original agency or other state agencies, organizations, or economic entities belonging to various economic sectors, continuing BHXH contributions, the pre-enlistment period, service period, and subsequent work period with BHXH contributions will be combined to serve as the basis for calculating social insurance benefits according to regulations. Specifically:

2. One-time separation allowance:

a) In addition to the social insurance benefits enjoyed according to the guidance in Clause 1 of this Article, when discharged, non-commissioned officers and conscripts are entitled to a one-time separation allowance, with each year of service in the Military (full 12 months) entitling them to an allowance equal to two months' basic salary as stipulated by the Government at the time of discharge. Specifically:

One-time separation allowance = Number of years of service x Two months' basic salary

For fractional months, the following applies:

- Less than one month does not qualify for the one-time separation allowance;

- From one month to six months qualifies for one month's basic salary;

- More than six months up to twelve months qualifies for two months' basic salary.

b) In cases where non-commissioned officers and conscripts are discharged early by the Minister of National Defense before the deadline specified in Clause 2, Article 43 of the 2015 Law on Military Service and recognized as having completed their military service obligations, they are entitled to a one-time separation allowance according to the provisions in Point a of this Clause.

3. Additional allowance due to extended service period: Non-commissioned officers and conscripts who have served an extended period as prescribed, upon discharge, are entitled to additional allowances as follows:

a) Service period from the 25th month to less than 30 months entitles to an additional one-month rank allowance currently received;

b) Service period of 30 months entitles to an additional two-month rank allowance currently received.

Example 4: Comrade Nguyen Van Anh enlisted in May 2014 and was discharged in August 2016. Comrade Nguyen Van Anh's one-time separation allowance is as follows:

- Total service period is two years four months (28 months).

- Additional allowance due to extended service period: One-month rank allowance currently received.

4. Job creation allowance:

a) Non-commissioned officers and conscripts completing their mandatory service period according to the 2015 Law on Military Service, upon discharge, are entitled to a job creation allowance equal to six months' basic salary as stipulated by the Government at the time of discharge.

b) Non-commissioned officers and conscripts discharged early by the Minister of National Defense before the deadline specified in Clause 2, Article 43 of the 2015 Law on Military Service and recognized as having completed their military service obligations are entitled to a job creation allowance according to the provisions in Point a of this Clause.

Article 8. Sources of funds

The funds for implementing the policies and regulations stipulated in this Circular shall be guaranteed from the central budget and allocated in the annual state budget of the Ministry of National Defense as prescribed by the State Budget Law.

Article 9. Implementation Organization

1. Units under the Ministry of National Defense: Direct subordinate agencies and units to strictly and meticulously implement the systems and policies prescribed in Decree No. 27/2016/ND-CP and the guidance provided in this Circular.

2. Functional agencies of the Ministry of National Defense:

a) The Policy Department, General Political Department shall take the lead and coordinate with functional agencies of the Ministry of National Defense to direct and inspect agencies and units in implementing the systems and policies prescribed in Decree No. 27/2016/ND-CP and the guidance provided in this Circular; resolve any difficulties and issues arising.

b) The Military Personnel Department, General Staff Department shall coordinate with functional agencies of the Ministry of National Defense to direct and inspect, resolve difficulties and issues arising in implementing the systems and policies prescribed in Decree No. 27/2016/ND-CP and the guidance provided in this Circular according to their assigned functions and tasks.

c) The Finance Department, Ministry of National Defense shall take the lead and coordinate with functional agencies to direct and guide agencies and units in preparing budget estimates; inspect and settle accounts as prescribed.

d) The Social Insurance Department of the Ministry of National Defense shall take the lead and coordinate with functional agencies to provide guidance and implement social insurance policies for non-commissioned officers and soldiers upon discharge as provided in this Circular.

Article 10. Provisions on implementation

1. This Circular shall take effect from August 15, 2016.

2. The systems and policies prescribed in this Circular shall be implemented from January 1, 2016.

3. Circular No. 213/2006/TT-BQP dated December 23, 2006 of the Ministry of National Defense guiding the implementation of Decree No. 122/2006/NĐ-CP dated October 26, 2006 of the Government on systems and policies for non-commissioned officers and soldiers serving in active duty; Circular No. 75/2009/TT-BQP dated September 18, 2009 of the Ministry of National Defense amending and adjusting certain allowances, subsidies, and expenditure standards in the military; Clause 2, Article 5 of Circular No. 11/2012/TT-BQP dated February 20, 2012 of the Ministry of National Defense regarding the implementation of discharge for non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Vietnam People's Army; and Joint Circular No. 20/2012/TTLT-BQP-BTC dated March 6, 2012 of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of Decree No. 88/2011/NĐ-CP dated September 29, 2011 of the Government on systems and policies for families of non-commissioned officers and soldiers in active duty shall cease to be effective from the date Decree No. 27/2016/ND-CP takes effect.

4. The Chief of the General Staff, Director of the General Political Department, commanders of agencies and units within the Ministry of National Defense, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular. In case of difficulties during the implementation process, agencies and units shall report to the Ministry of National Defense (through the Policy Department of the General Political Department) for consideration and resolution.

During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, agencies and units shall report to the Ministry of National Defense (through the Policy Department of the General Political Department) for consideration and resolution./.