Circular No. 99/2006/TT-BTC guiding the preparation of budget estimates, management, and use of funds to ensure civil service reform work.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for preparing budgets, managing, and using funds to ensure administrative reform work

of the State

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Pursuant to Decree No. 60/2003/NĐ-CP dated June 23, 2003 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on the State Budget;
Pursuant to Decision No. 136/2001/QĐ-TTg dated September 17, 2001 of the Prime Minister approving the Overall Program for Administrative Reform of the State for the period 2001-2010;

Pursuant to Decision No. 94/2006/QĐ-TTg dated April 27, 2006 of the Prime Minister approving the Plan for Administrative Reform of the State for the period 2006-2010;

The Ministry of Finance guides the preparation of budgets, management, and use of funds to ensure administrative reform work of the State as follows:

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I. OBJECTS AND SCOPE OF FUNDS ASSURANCE:

Organizations and agencies that are assured funding from the State budget to serve administrative reform work include:

- The Government's Steering Committee for Administrative Reform;

- The Steering Committees for Administrative Reform at all levels and specialized agencies, units, and organizations implementing administrative reform work under Ministries, central agencies, provinces, and centrally-administered cities;

- Ministries, central agencies, and localities assigned the main responsibility to implement action programs;

2. Source of funds:

- Funds for administrative reform tasks of Ministries and central agencies shall be guaranteed by the central budget.

- Funds for administrative reform tasks of provinces and centrally-administered cities shall be guaranteed by the local budget.

- In addition to the financial support from the budget for administrative reform mentioned above, Ministries, central agencies, and local agencies may also use funds allocated in regular expenditure budgets granted by competent authorities and from lawful sources such as loans and other forms of sponsorship from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals according to regulations (if applicable) to implement the administrative reform program.

II. CONTENT AND LEVEL OF EXPENDITURE:

1. Content of expenditure:

- Expenditure to ensure the operation of the Steering Committees for Administrative Reform at all levels.

- Building programs and plans for activities to implement administrative reform work, expenditure for management and execution of administrative reform programs and projects;

- Researching special topics and scientific research projects serving administrative reform work;

- Implementing surveys, data collection, and information gathering projects;

- Establishing electronic database systems to serve administrative reform;

- Implementing research projects and drafting proposals as a basis for issuing regulatory legal documents (including drafting, organizing the introduction of draft contents, reviewing, publicizing, and disseminating legal documents);

- Organizing scientific conferences, training sessions;

- Organizing the acceptance, evaluation of results of administrative reform programs and projects;

- Expenditure for training and enhancing professional skills and information technology for staff engaged in administrative reform work;

- Organizing research and pilot implementation of innovations and research outcomes in practice;

- Expenditure for hiring consultants;

- Purchasing publications, newspapers, magazines;

- Purchasing office supplies, materials, equipment, and other expenses directly serving the operations of the Steering Committees for Administrative Reform at all levels and specialized agencies;

- Expenditure for fact-finding missions both domestically and abroad;

- Information dissemination and publicity on administrative reform;

- Expenditure for inspection and supervision of administrative reform;

- Other activities directly related to the implementation of administrative reform work.

2. Expenditure levels:

The expenditure items supporting administrative reform work mentioned above shall be implemented according to current financial expenditure regulations. Specifically, as follows:

- For travel expenses for officials traveling domestically, and expenses for organizing meetings, conferences, seminars, reviews, and summaries, they shall be implemented according to the regulations of Ministries and central agencies and localities detailing the regulations of the Ministry of Finance on travel expense allowances and conference expense allowances for administrative agencies and public service units nationwide.

- For expenses for organizing overseas fact-finding missions, they shall be implemented according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance on travel expense allowances for state officials traveling abroad for short-term assignments funded by the state budget.

- For expenses for organizing training and enhancement of professional skills and information technology for staff engaged in administrative reform work, they shall be implemented according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management and use of training and enhancement funds for state officials.

- For expenses for establishing electronic databases to serve administrative reform work, they shall be implemented according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance guiding the level of expenditure for establishing electronic information systems under information technology and current regulations on information technology, database construction, and management.

- For organizing statistical surveys and sociological surveys, they shall be implemented according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management of funds for surveys from state budget sources.

- For research and drafting administrative reform proposals, they shall be implemented according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology guiding certain expenditure regulations for science and technology tasks.

- For drafting regulatory legal documents, they shall be implemented according to the regulations of the Ministry of Finance guiding the management and use of state budget funds to ensure the drafting of regulatory legal documents.

- Hiring domestic consultants: Based on the necessity to implement research activities and financial capacity, the heads of agencies and organizations decide on hiring domestic consultants. Among these, priority should be given to the form of work assignment contracts. In cases where monthly hiring is necessary, the heads of the administrative reform steering committees at all levels (or their authorized representatives) shall decide on the consultation fee rates with the condition that the consultant ensures continuous working hours throughout the month as stipulated, depending on the consultant's qualifications and the consulting tasks, but not exceeding a maximum rate of from 1,600,000 VND to 4,800,000 VND/person/month.

- Hiring foreign consultants: Based on the necessity to implement research activities and financial capacity, the heads of the administrative reform steering committees at the ministerial level and provincial/municipal levels under the central government decide on hiring foreign consultants. The expenditure level shall be implemented according to the actual contract agreements with the consultants based on quality requirements, quantity, and time for performing the work.

The above-mentioned expenditure levels are the maximum levels. Depending on the budget capacity and the complexity of each specific task, the heads of the administrative reform steering committees at all levels (or their authorized representatives) responsible for implementing the tasks may decide on specific expenditure levels appropriate to the situation, but they must not exceed the aforementioned maximum levels.

- For other expenses: night work, overtime, printing costs, preparation of materials, and office supplies... shall be based on specific requirements for expense vouchers according to the current regulations.

III. ESTABLISHING BUDGET PROJECTIONS, IMPLEMENTATION AND SETTLING ACCOUNTS OF EXPENSES

The establishment of budget projections, management, disbursement, payment, and settlement of accounts of expenses shall be carried out in accordance with the current provisions set forth in Circular No. 59/2003/TT-BTC dated June 23, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding 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; Circular No. 79/2003/TT-BTC dated August 13, 2003, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the management, disbursement, and payment of state budget expenditures through the State Treasury. This circular provides guidance on certain points to suit the characteristics of administrative reform work, specifically as follows:

1. Establishing budget projections: Annually, within the deadline for establishing the state budget projection as stipulated by the State Budget Law; based on the annual administrative reform plan of the Government, agencies, units, and organizations assigned the task of implementing administrative reform shall be responsible for building the necessary budget projection for implementing the tasks of the annual plan, which will be consolidated in the regular activity budget projection of the agency and submitted to the financial authority at the same level for consolidation into the state budget expenditure projection to be submitted to the competent authority for approval and allocated together with the annual regular budget expenditure projection of the agency or unit.

2. Allocation and assignment of budget projections: Based on the state budget projection assigned by the competent authority; the heads of agencies and units shall be responsible for allocating and assigning budget projections to subordinate units, including the budget support for assigned administrative reform tasks (budget assigned without self-management system) after receiving the audit opinion of the financial authority at the same level.

3. Utilization and settlement of funds:

The use and settlement of accounts of funds to ensure the implementation of administrative reform work shall comply with the provisions of the State Budget Law and the guiding documents for its implementation. At the end of the year, the administrative reform activity budget shall be consolidated into the annual budget settlement of the agency or unit.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This circular takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. For the year 2006, ministries, central agencies, and localities shall proactively arrange within the scope of the 2006 state budget projection already assigned by the competent authority to implement it.

3. During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, units are requested to reflect them to the Ministry of Finance for study, amendment, and supplementation to make them appropriate.