Decision No. 97/2001/QD-BTC On the Issuance of Regulations on Distribution and Utilization of Interest from the National Fund for Employment Support Loans.

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the issuance of the Regulation on the distribution and use of interest from loans from the National Employment Support Fund

From the National Employment Support Fund

___________________

 

THE MINISTER OF FINANCE

Pursuant to Decree No. 15/CP dated March 2, 1993 of the Government on the authorities and responsibilities of State management of Ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

BASED ON DECREE NO. 178/CP DATED OCTOBER 28, 1994 OF THE GOVERNMENT ON THE TASKS, POWERS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE;

After receiving the opinions of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (document No. 2241/LĐTBXH-VPVL dated July 30, 2001) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (document No. 5302/BKH-LĐVX dated August 7, 2001).

At the proposal of the Director of the Administrative and Public Finance Department and the General Director of the State Treasury;

Pursuant to …;

Article 1. This Decision promulgates the "Regulation on the Distribution and Use of Interest from Loans from the National Employment Support Fund."

Article 2. This Decision takes effect from October 1, 2001 and replaces Decisions No. 950 TC/HCSN dated October 17, 1996 and Decision No. 811 QĐ/TC/HCSN dated June 26, 1998 of the Ministry of Finance.

Article 3. The Chairmen of Provincial People's Committees, the heads of central-level agencies and organizations entrusted with the management of the National Employment Support Fund, and the General Director of the State Treasury are responsible for implementing this Decision.

REGULATIONS

DISTRIBUTION AND USE OF INTEREST FROM LOANS FROM THE NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT FUND

(Issued together with Decision No. 97/2001/QĐ-BTC dated October 2, 2001 of the Minister of Finance)

Chapter 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. The distribution and use of the interest income collected from loans from the National Employment Support Fund, including the Employment Support Fund with sources from the Central Budget (hereinafter referred to as the Central Employment Support Fund) and the Job Creation Fund with sources from local budgets (hereinafter referred to as the Local Employment Support Fund), which have been actually deposited into the State Treasury, shall be implemented according to the provisions of this Regulation.

Article 2. The interest income, after setting aside the risk reserve fund, shall be distributed to the beneficiaries based on the principle of proportionality to the amount of capital allocated for management and the results of loan disbursement and debt recovery by the units.

The distribution of interest shall be carried out quarterly. For the portion of interest transferred to the Central level, the Central State Treasury shall open accounts to monitor and allocate to the beneficiary units according to the decision of the competent authority.

Article 3. The interest allocated to the units shall be used to support guidance, appraisal, and project management work under the employment program. The management and use of the allocated interest funds shall be conducted like other state budget funds and must be reported and settled with the financial department at the same level according to current regulations.

Chapter 2

DISTRIBUTION OF INTEREST

Article 4. The interest income actually deposited into the State Treasury from loans from the Central Employment Support Fund shall be distributed as follows:

1/ Deduct 40% to cover costs related to loan management and recovery by the State Treasury system (including 30% to cover management costs and 10% to support staff directly involved in loan disbursement and debt collection).

2/ Deduct 26% - 30% (the specific ratio for each locality is attached as an appendix) to support guidance, appraisal, organization, implementation, and project management activities at the grassroots level (commune, ward, project owner) up to the County and Provincial Steering Committees (including organizations that implement projects on the local level funded by central-level organizations).

3/ Deduct 4% to transfer to the Central State Treasury to support the operational expenses of central-level management agencies and central-level organizations and ministries allocated loan funds.

4/ The remaining portion shall be transferred to the Central State Treasury to establish a risk reserve fund.

Article 5. The interest income actually deposited into the State Treasury from loans from the Local Employment Support Fund shall be distributed as follows:

1/ Deduct 40% to cover costs related to loan management and recovery by the State Treasury system (including 30% to cover management costs and 10% to support staff directly involved in loan disbursement and debt collection).

2/ Deduct 30% to support guidance, appraisal, organization, implementation, and project management activities at the grassroots level (commune, ward, project owner) up to the County and Provincial Steering Committees.

3/ Deduct 30% to establish a risk reserve fund to remain at the local level (managed by the Provincial State Treasury).

Article 6. Allocation of decisions on the distribution of interest:

1/ At the provincial level, based on the actual interest income announced by the Provincial State Treasury, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee shall issue a decision to distribute to the beneficiary units (including projects of organizations and ministries implemented on the local level by central-level organizations) upon the proposal of the Provincial Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs after consulting with the Provincial Department of Finance and Price Control. Depending on the conditions of each province, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee may delegate the Provincial Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to issue the distribution decision.

2/ At the central level, based on the actual funds transferred as announced by the Central State Treasury, the Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall issue a decision to distribute to the units based on the proposal of the Director of the National Program Office on Employment.

Chapter 3

USE AND MANAGEMENT OF FUNDS FROM ALLOCATED INTEREST

Article 7. For the 40% interest allocated to cover costs related to loan management and recovery by the State Treasury system, the Central State Treasury shall guide the management and use in accordance with current regulations.

Article 8. For the 26% - 30% interest allocated for local program management units and the 4% allocated for central program management units, the use and settlement shall be as follows:

1/ Contents of expenditure:

- Expenses for office supplies and printing materials to serve the implementation of training sessions on business guidance, project development, review and appraisal of projects, information reporting, and project management.

- Expenses for business guidance, mid-term reviews, and final summaries of loan disbursement and job creation work. The expenditure levels shall be implemented according to the state regulations for conferences.

- Expenditure on publicity and guidance through mass media;

- Overtime pay and travel expenses for staff directly involved in project appraisal, inspection, monitoring, and management. The expenditure levels shall be according to state regulations. - Salary for contracted staff directly engaged in project appraisal, inspection, monitoring, and management tasks according to the salary stipulated in their contracts, consistent with state regulations.

- For purchasing, repairing assets and office equipment serving the work of job creation loan disbursement (desks, chairs, cabinets, computers, photocopiers), supporting the purchase of transportation means (motorcycles, boats) for mountainous areas, remote regions, riverine areas with difficult access to facilitate inspection and assessment of loan disbursement and debt recovery work.

- For conducting labor surveys, investigations, program evaluations, supporting research on policy development and improvement, drafting and promulgating guiding documents for program implementation.

- For rewarding units and individuals with outstanding achievements in guiding and organizing loan disbursements and debt recovery under the program. The maximum expenditure for units is 400,000 VND/year, and for individuals is 200,000 VND/year. For provinces with overdue debt ratios below 3% and idle capital ratios below 5%, the maximum expenditure for units is 1,000,000 VND/year, and for individuals is 500,000 VND/year.

The competent authority to decide rewards for local units is the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, while for central ministries, departments, and mass organizations, it is the Minister or the head of the central mass organization.

- For subsidizing fuel expenses and travel costs for staff from legal institutions, local authorities at all levels, and mass organizations participating in debt collection when debts cannot be recovered (excluding payment of 5% of the total amount actually collected as stipulated in Point 1, Article 9 of this Regulation).

2/ Budget preparation:

- Each unit receiving interest income must prepare a detailed budget for each expense item according to the current state budget classification and submit it to the State Treasury and Finance Department at the same level (at the provincial level, to the State Treasury and Provincial Department of Finance and Price; at the central level, to the Central State Treasury and the Administrative Affairs Department of the Ministry of Finance) as the basis for funding allocation. At the beginning of the fourth quarter each year, based on the interest income allocated during the year as decided by the competent authority and the emerging tasks for the year, units must prepare an adjusted budget and submit it to the State Treasury and Finance Department at the same level for tracking, management, and settlement purposes.

Specifically, for village-level project owners, expenditures can be made according to the allocated amounts and provisions set out in this regulation, and the general expenses will be settled within the business operation costs (Item 119, other sub-items).

3/ Settlement:

- Each unit must settle the distributed interest income and utilized funds with the financial department annually as follows:

- For funds distributed according to the Decision of the Provincial People's Committee Chairman, the unit settles with the Provincial Department of Finance and Price (with confirmation from the State Treasury regarding the amount of funds disbursed), which then consolidates and reports to the Ministry of Finance.

- For funds distributed according to the decision of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, the unit settles with the Ministry of Finance.

- For funds distributed to the Provincial State Treasury: The Provincial State Treasury settles with the Central State Treasury. The Central State Treasury consolidates and reports to the Ministry of Finance.

Expenditures must strictly follow the approved budget. If there is a need to adjust the expenditure items within the approved budget amount, the unit must send a letter to the State Treasury and Finance Department at the same level requesting the adjustment. Any expenditures outside the approved budget will not be accepted for settlement. Units that fail to report annual settlements may have their interest payments suspended until they provide new settlement reports.

Article 9. The interest transferred to the Central State Treasury to establish a risk reserve fund (derived from the National Employment Support Fund) shall be used and settled as follows:

1/ Contents of expenditure:

- To cover losses of central capital loans due to force majeure causes, as determined by the competent authority to write off the debt.

- To compensate the police, prosecution, courts, and mass organizations involved in recovering difficult-to-collect overdue debts.

- To pay court fees according to the current regulations of the State.

- To supplement the National Employment Support Fund according to the decision of the Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, after consultation with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

2/ Allocation and Settlement:

- For risky loans due to force majeure, the handling and write-off procedures shall be carried out according to the joint guidelines of the Ministries of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, Finance, and Planning and Investment for dealing with national employment support fund loan projects affected by force majeure risks.

- For overdue debts that are difficult to collect: After multiple urging by the State Treasury but the project owner still refuses to repay, the project file is transferred to the relevant government agencies, police, and legal bodies for debt recovery. Once the project owner repays the principal and interest (including overdue interest penalties), the State Treasury pays a reward to the participating recovery agencies equal to 5% of the total principal recovered.

- Source of payment for cooperative debt recovery agencies: The local State Treasury temporarily allocates funds for payment simultaneously every six months and reports annually to the Central State Treasury (along with a list of supporting documents for the rewards paid to the participating recovery agencies) to serve as the basis for reviewing and reimbursing the local State Treasury. The Central State Treasury is responsible for compiling and settling the total cost of difficult-to-recover debt recovery with the joint ministries. - For projects with overdue debts that must be transferred to the court: The local State Treasury pays the temporary litigation fee according to the court's regulations on litigation and filing fees. Subsequently, based on the court's decision, if the State Treasury does not bear the litigation fee, the entire litigation fee will be refunded. If part of the litigation fee is borne, the State Treasury prepares a settlement report (attached with a list of supporting documents for the litigation fee payment) and sends it to the Central State Treasury for reimbursement of the litigation costs borne by the local State Treasury.

Article 10. The interest amount designated for establishing a risk reserve fund (derived from local employment support fund loans) as specified in Point 3, Article 5 shall be used for the following purposes:

- Reimburse the losses of local capital loans due to force majeure causes as decided by the Provincial People's Committee for debt write-off.

- Allocate funds to compensate the agencies of public security, the Office of the Inspectorate, the Court, the authorities at all levels, and social organizations involved in recovering overdue difficult-to-collect debts.

- Pay court fees in accordance with current state regulations.

- Supplement the Local Employment Support Fund.

The distribution and use shall be based on the proposal of the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the State Treasury, and the Department of Finance and Prices of the locality, as decided by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.