Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance on work-trip allowances and conference expenditures

THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

Circular No.40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance on work-trip allowances and conference expenditures

Pursuant to the Law on Promulgation of Legislative Documents dated June 22, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on State Budget dated June 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Officials dated November 13, 2008;

Pursuant to the Law on Public Employees dated November 15, 2010;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 163/2016/ND-CP dated December 21, 2016 elaborating the implementation of the Law on State Budget;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 215/2013/ND-CP dated December 23, 2013 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of Ministry of Finance;

At the request of Director of Department of Public Expenditure;

Minister of Finance promulgates this Circular to provide for work-trip allowances and conference expenditures.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS ON WORK-TRIP ALLOWANCES AND CONFERENCE EXPENDITURES

Article 1. Scope of adjustment and subject of application

1. Scope of adjustment

This Circular deals with work-trip allowances and conference expenditures applicable to regulatory agencies, public service providers, political organizations, socio-political organizations, other organizations or associations funded by state budget (hereinafter referred to as agencies and units).

2. Subject of application:

a) Work-trip allowances:

- Officials, public employees and contractual employees who, as defined by law, work at regulatory agencies, public service providers, political organizations, socio-political organizations, other organizations or associations funded by state budget.

- Deputies of People’s Councils at all levels who participate in activities of People s Councils.

b) Conference expenditures:

- Professional conferences, thematic review conferences, annual review conferences, task performance training conferences held by state administrative agencies as prescribed in the Prime Minister s Decision No. 114/2006/QD-TTg dated May 25, 2006 promulgating regulations on meetings in the operation of state administrative agencies (hereinafter referred to as Decision No. 114/2006/QD-TTg dated May 25, 2006), sessions of People’s Councils and those of their Standing Committees and Boards.

- Professional conferences, thematic review conferences, annual review conferences, task performance training conferences held by public service providers.

- Professional conferences, task performance training conferences or other conferences held in accordance with regulations in the statutes of political organizations, socio-political organizations, other organizations or associations funded by state budget.

c) Particularly, the National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, congresses of Party Committees at all levels in preparation for the National Congress, conferences of Party agencies, National Assembly sessions, sessions of the Ethnic Council or other committees of the National Assembly, and sessions of the National Assembly Standing Committee must comply with specific regulations of competent authorities.

Article 2. Sources of funding for work-trip allowances and conference expenditures

1. Funding from state budget.

2. Revenues from collected fees which are retained under regulations of the Law on Fees and Charges.

3. Revenues from operations and provided services of public service providers.

4. Other sources of funding as regulated by law (if any).

Article 3. General provisions on work-trip allowances

1. Work-trip allowances, which are expenses payable to persons on domestic work trips, include travel expense, stay allowance, rent for lodgings in work-trip destinations, luggage charge, and document-carrying charge (if any).

2. Time for calculating work-trip allowances is the actual period of a work trip as determined in the written approval by the person who has the power to send official/ public employee on such work trip or the invitation for joining the work trip (including weakly days off, public holidays, and New Year’s Day according to the itinerary of the work trip, and travel time).

3. Eligibility requirements for work-trip allowances:

a) They must fulfill their assigned tasks;

b) They are sent on work trips by heads of their agencies or units, or they are invited to join the work trips;

c) They sufficiently present required documents for payment as regulated herein.

4. The following cases are ineligible for work- trip allowances:

a) Treatment or convalescence period spent at health care facilities or sanatoria;

b) Period of participation in long-term or short-term training courses during which trainees have enjoyed entitlements as regulated;

c) Period for doing private business during the work trip;

d) Time on resident or dispatched assignment in another locality or agency under a decision of a competent authority.

5. Heads of agencies/ units shall consider sending their staff on work trips (regarding the number and work-trip duration) to ensure the efficient and economical use of funding.

6. Agencies and units shall pay allowances to their staff that is sent on work trips, except the cases specified in Clause 4 of this Article.

7. During work trips, if work requires extra time, officials and public employees may, in addition to stay allowances, enjoy nigh work pay and/ or extra-time pay in accordance with effective regulations of law. Heads of agencies and units shall specify in their internal spending regulations procedures for certification of extra working time as a basis for payment and work trips eligible for extra-time pay, on the principle that payment may be made only in case such extra working time is required by a competent authority, not for cases in which officials, public employees or contractual employees on work trips concurrently settle their personal matters during days-off and not for travel time on ship, airplanes, cars and other means of transport.

8. With respect of deputies to People s Councils at all levels and deputies who are invited by the Standing Committees of People s Councils at all levels to attend sessions of People s Councils or of committees of People s Councils, conduct supervisory activities or meeting with voters and go on work trips to perform other tasks, the Standing Committee of People’s Council of which level that inviting such deputies shall be responsible for making payments for work-trip allowances to such deputies with budget from operating funds of the People’s Council of such level.

9. Officials, public employees and contractual employees who are invited by procedure-conducting agencies as witnesses in cases involving their expertise may receive payments for travel expenses and other expenses from operating funds of these agencies.

Article 4. General provisions on conference expenditures

1. Before holding conferences to grasp and implement nationwide the Communist Party s and State s major, important and urgent guidelines and policies in their assigned management domains; thematic review conferences; or conferences reviewing annual work programs, ministries, ministerial-level agencies or the government’s affiliates must obtain the Prime Minister s written approval thereof under the Prime Minister s Decision No. 114/2006/QD-TTg dated May 25, 2006. Before organizing national conferences, the Communist Party s central committees must obtain written approval of the Secretariat s Standing Committee.

Before convening the whole sector s meetings in localities to review the performance of annual tasks or training meetings attended by chairpersons or deputy chairpersons of district-level People s Committees or heads of other district-level specialized agencies, heads of specialized agencies of provincial-level People s Committees must obtain approval of chairpersons of provincial-level People s Committees under regulations.

Before convening the whole sector s meetings in districts to review the performance of annual tasks or training meetings attended by chairpersons or deputy chairpersons of commune-level People s Committees or heads of other commune-level specialized agencies, heads of specialized agencies of district-level People s Committees must obtain approval of chairpersons of district-level People s Committees under regulations.

2. When holding conferences, heads of concerned agencies or units shall arrange appropriate locations and increase online meetings, especially for national conferences, while meeting specific requirements of each conference; combine matters and problems to be addressed; rationally combine different meetings; make careful preparations for meetings. Depending on characteristics, contents, purposes and requirements of a meeting, the person convening the meeting shall carefully consider and decide the appropriate composition and number of participants, ensuring thrift and efficiency.

Conference organizers must strictly comply with regulations on conference expenditures under this Circular and provide conference delegates with convenient accommodations, preventing ostentation. They may not hold reception parties or pay for sightseeing activities, presents or souvenirs. Funds for conferences shall be included in agencies or units annual state budget estimates approved by competent authorities.

3. Duration of a conference:

a) The duration of a conference to review performance of tasks, thematic review conference, or task performance training conference shall comply with regulations in Decision No. 114/2006/QD-TTg dated May 25, 2006;

b) The duration of a training course with funds for training and retraining state officials and public employees or funds under programs or projects depends on the training program approved by a competent authority;

c) The duration of other meeting shall not exceed 2 days depending on its characteristics and contents;

d) The duration of a session of People s Councils or a meeting of committees of People s Councils is governed by specific guidelines of competent authorities.

Chapter II

WORK-TRIP ALLOWANCES

Article 5. Payment of travel expenses

1. Invoice-based payment:

a) Persons on work trips may receive payments of travel expenses, including:

- Expense for travel from their homes or offices to airports, railway stations or coach stations and vice versa; airfares, train tickets or tickets of mass transit vehicles from their agencies to work-trip destinations and vice versa.

- Expense for travel within localities of work-trip destinations, such as from lodgings to workplaces, from airports, railway stations or coach stations to lodgings and vice versa.

- Charges for transport by road, waterway or seaway for themselves and vehicles.

- Charges for carrying materials, equipment, devices and/or tools (if any) directly serving work trips paid by persons on work trips.

- Charges for transporting their baggage by airplane in case such baggage charges are not included in airfares.

In case sending and receiving agencies or units have arranged vehicles for officials, public employees or contractual employees, they will not have such expenses paid.

b) Based on agencies or units internal spending regulations, the nature of work trips and allocated funds, heads of agencies or units shall approve officials’ or public employees or contractual employees’ request for travel by air, train, car or public transport vehicles or other means of transport, ensuring thrift and efficiency;

c) Regulations on airfares for persons on domestic work trips:

- For high-ranking leaders (holding titles higher than ministerial level or equivalent), state current regulations shall apply.

- Business-class or class-C airfares are applicable to leading officials who enjoy salaries for leadership posts or enjoy leadership post-based allowances under the National Assembly Standing Committee s Resolution No. 730/2004/NQ-UBTVQH dated September 30, 2004 on approval for post-based salaries and allowances applicable to state leading officials, and specialized salaries applicable in Courts and Procuracy domains, the Communist Party Central Committee Secretariat s Decision No. 128-QD-TW dated December 14, 2004 on salaries paid to officials and public employees working at agencies of the Communist Party and the Front and other organizations, or the Government s Decree No. 204/2004/ND-CP dated December 14, 2004 on salaries paid to officials, public employees and armed forces, consisting of: ministers and equivalent; deputy ministers and leading officials who enjoy post-based allowance coefficient of 1.3 or higher; deputy heads of central socio-political organizations; and the Standing Secretary of the central Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union.

- Economy-class airfares are applicable to persons holding other titles.

d) For regions in which vehicles of mass transit dealers are unavailable and persons on work trips have to hire other vehicles, heads of their agencies or units shall decide to approve payment of vehicle rents based on vehicle rent contracts or receipts of vehicle owners (taking into account freights of other vehicles at the same time in these regions);

dd) Levels of payment are based on prices indicated in tickets, ticketing invoices or receipts as regulated by law, or receipts of vehicle owners. The ticket price is exclusive of other service charges like those for sightseeing or special services on request.

In case the airfare does not cover baggage charge, the person on a work trip may have baggage charge paid according to the baggage charge rate of departing flight provided that the weight of baggage for which charge is paid shall not exceed the maximum weight of baggage transported free of charge of other normal types of air tickets (airfare includes baggage charge).

2. Provision of fixed travel allowance:

a) For leading officials who are entitled to use cars on work trips under regulations by the Prime Minister and voluntarily register for provision of fixed travel allowance: The fixed travel allowance shall be paid under regulations in the Circular No. 159/2015/TT-BTC dated October 15, 2015 by Ministry of Finance on guidance for certain articles of the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 32/2015/QD-TTg dated August 04, 2015 on criteria, norms, management and use of cars at state agencies, public service providers and one-member limited liability companies of which 100% charter capital is held by the State;

b) Officials or public employees who are not eligible to be arranged cars and who go on work trips on their own cars to localities 10 km or more (in communes facing social - economic difficulties or extreme social - economic difficulties under the Prime Minister s Decisions) or 15 km or more (in other communes) away from their working offices are entitled to provision of fixed travel allowance as 0.2 liter of petrol per kilometer based on distance between administrative divisions and the petrol price at time when they are sent on work trip, which must be included in the units internal spending regulations.

Article 6. Stay allowances

1. Stay allowances mean amounts paid by agencies or units to their staff on work trips in addition to their salaries for a period from the date they begin until they finish their work trips and return to their agencies or units (including time of journey and stay in work-trip destinations).

Stay allowance payable to a person on work trip: VND 200,000/day.

For a work trip within a day, the head of an agency or unit shall decide the level of stay allowance based on the actual number of hours of the work trip, the work time outside working hours (including the time of journey) and the distance from the agency or unit to the work-trip destination, which must be included in the internal spending regulations of the agency or unit.

2. Officials, public employees and contractual employees working on the mainland who are sent on work trips at sea or on islands are entitled to the maximum stay allowance of VND 250,000/person/day of actual work trip (applicable to days during which they work at sea or on islands and travel days at sea or to and from islands). In specific sectors for which allowances for work trips at sea or on islands have been stipulated by competent authorities, the highest allowance level (stay allowance or work trip allowance) may be applied to payment to persons on work trips.

Article 7. Payment of rents for lodgings in work-trip destinations:

1. Rules for payment of rents for lodgings in work-trip destinations:

a) For high-ranking leaders, state current regulations shall apply;

b) Officials, public employees and contractual employees who are sent by their agencies or units to work trips and must rent lodgings in work-trip destinations are entitled to payment of such lodging rents by adopting any of two following methods: payment of fixed allowance or invoice-based payment;

c) Persons on work trips to agencies or units that have arranged free lodgings are not entitled to payment of lodging rents. If requesting and receiving payment of lodging rents, they shall refund the rents to their agencies or units and be disciplined in accordance with laws on officials, public employees and contractual employees.

2. Payment of fixed allowance:

a) Holders of ministerial, deputy ministerial and leading titles who enjoy a post-based allowance coefficient of 1.25 or higher are entitled to a fixed lodging rent of VND 1,000,000/day/person, regardless of work-trip destinations;

b) For other officials, public employees and contractual employees:

- For work trips to urban districts or urban centers of central-affiliated cities and provincial grade-I urban centers, the fixed allowance is VND 450,000/day/person.

- For work trips to rural districts or towns of central-affiliated cities and other provincial towns or cities, the fixed allowance is VND 350,000/day/person.

- For work trips to other areas, the fixed allowance is VND 300,000/day/person.

3. Invoice-based payment:

Persons on work trips who refuse to receive payment of fixed lodging allowance under Clause 2 of this Article may receive payment based on actual lodging rents (accompanied with lawful invoices) as approved by heads of their agencies or units. To be specific:

a) Holders of ministerial and equivalent leading titles are entitled to the lodging rent of VND 2,500,000/day/room with one person per room, regardless of work-trip destinations;

b) For work trips to urban districts or urban centers of central-affiliated cities and provincial grade-I urban centers:

- Holders of deputy ministerial and leading titles who enjoy a post-based allowance coefficient of between 1.25 and 1.3 are entitled to the lodging rent of VND 1,200,000/day/room with one person per room.

- Other officials, public employees and contractual employees are entitled to the lodging rent of VND 1,000,000/day/room with 2 persons per room.

c) For work trips to other areas:

- Holders of deputy ministerial and leading titles who enjoy a post-based allowance coefficient of between 1.25 and 1.3 are entitled to the lodging rent of VND 1,100,000/day/room with one person per room.

- Other officials, public employees and contractual employees are entitled to the lodging rent of VND 700,000/day/room with 2 persons per room.

d) A person who is entitled to lodging room with 2 persons per room but goes on a work trip alone or odd persons or odd persons of different sexes in a delegation may rent a separate room at the actual rent rate not exceeding the rent applicable to other persons in the delegation (with 2 persons/room);

dd) A person who is entitled to lodging room with 2 persons per room but goes on a work trip in the same delegation with holders of leading titles who are entitled to hotel room with 1 person per room may receive payments based on actual rents of standard rooms in hotels in which such holders of leading titles stay with 2 persons/room;

e) Payment levels of lodging rents specified in this Clause include taxes and fees (if any) under effective regulations of law.

4. Persons on work trips who have to complete their tasks until the day-end or who can buy airfares, train or car tickets only from 18:00 hours to 24:00 hours of the same day may receive payment for an additional half-a-day rent (applicable to both payment of fixed lodging allowance or invoice-based payment methods) not exceeding 50% of the relevant level of fixed lodging rent. They may not receive fixed lodging rent for staying overnight on train, boat, ship, airplane, car or other means of transport.

Article 8. Payment of monthly fixed work-trip allowance

1. For commune-level officials and officials of other agencies or units who have to regularly go on work trips for over 10 days a month (such as correspondence clerks, accountants, forest rangers, officers of procedural agencies who conduct investigation, procuracy or verification or send legal notices and other duties), heads of agencies or units shall, depending on entities, task characteristics and financial capacity, set the fixed level of monthly work-trip allowance to support these officials in covering car-parking and fuel expenses, which must not exceed VND 500,000/person/month and shall be included in their internal spending regulations.

2. If these officials are sent by competent authorities to go on specific work trips, they may receive payments for work-trip allowance under regulations herein together with monthly fixed work-trip allowance if they go on work trips for over 10 days a month.

Article 9. Officials going on work trips with inter-branch or inter-agency delegations

1. In case an agency or unit wishes to requisition officials, public employees and contractual employees of another agency or unit for an inter-branch work trip to perform its political tasks or for fundamental research projects, that agency or unit shall pay all expenses for the delegation, including travel expenses, stay allowance, and lodging rent in work-trip destinations at the levels specified in its internal spending regulations.

2. In case officials, public employees and contractual employees join an inter-branch or inter-agency delegation on a work trip under the requisition of a superior regulatory agency or coordinate with one another in performing jobs within political tasks of each agency or unit, the agency or unit in charge of the delegation shall pay travel expenses to these officials, public employees and contractual employees. A delegation member who goes to the work-trip destination alone may have travel expenses paid by his/her agency or unit.

In addition, the sending agency or unit shall pay stay allowances and lodging rents to their staff on work trips.

3. Official letters (letters or official letters of invitation) requisitioning officials, public employees and contractual employees of other agencies or units for work trips must indicate each agency and unit s responsibility to pay work-trip expenses.

Article 10. Supporting documents for payment of work-trip allowances

1. Travel warrant of person on work trip, certified by the receiving agency (or by hotel or guesthouse).

2. A document or work plan approved by the head of an agency or unit; official letters or letters of invitation; official letters requisitioning officials, public employees and contractual employees to join the work-trip destination.

3. Ticketing invoices or receipts as regulated by law when going on work trip by means of transport, or receipts of vehicle owners. Particularly for documents for payment of airfares, boarding cards are required in addition to ticket counterfoils (or electronic tickets) under effective regulations of law. In case of loss of boarding cards, certification by sending agency or unit is required (in case payment is made based on actual travel expenses).

4. Table listing travel distances, which shall be submitted to heads of agencies or units for payment approval (in case payment is made based on actual travel expenses).

5. Lawful invoices or receipts of lodging rents (in case payment is made based on actual lodging rents).

6. Particularly for payment of fixed travel allowance for work trips as regulated in Point a Clause 2 Article 5 herein, documents mentioned in Clauses 2 and 4 of this Article are required.

Chapter III

CONFERENCE EXPENDITURES

Article 11. Spending contents for conference

1. Rents for meeting halls during conference days (in case the organizer has no venue or a venue is not large enough); projectors and equipment for the conference.

2. Expenditure for stationeries serving the conference, documents and stationeries delivered to conference participants.

3. Remuneration and work-trip allowances for lecturers and reporters in task performance training conferences, conferences to grasp and implement the Communist Party s and State s guidelines and policies; allowances for persons whose reports presented at conferences.

4. Rents for vehicles for transporting delegates from their lodgings to the conference venue in case the organizer has no vehicles or not enough vehicles.

5. Expenditure for tea-break drinks.

6. Allowances for guest delegates who are not salaried by state agencies, public service providers and enterprises to cover their meal, lodging rents and travel expenses.

7. In case of providing meals to all delegates, the conference organizer may offset the difference between the actual expense for meals provided to all delegates and the amount already deducted from the stay allowance of state budget-salaried delegates, delegates from public business providers or delegates from enterprises.

8. Other spending contents: expenditures for extra-time work, ordinary curative medicines or decoration of meeting halls, and other expenditures directly related to the organization of conference.

9. Reward expenses at annual review meetings and expenses for public information work shall not be included in conference expenditures but in the organizer s commendation and public information expenses.

Article 12. Conference expenditure levels

1. Remuneration for lecturers and allowances for reports and for persons whose reports presented at conferences shall be paid at levels specified in the Circular No. 139/2010/TT-BTC dated September 21, 2010 by Ministry of Finance providing for cost estimate preparation, management and use of state budget-derived funding for training and retraining officials and public employees.

2. Work-trip allowances for lecturers and reports shall be paid by the conference organizer under its regulations on officials, public employees and contractual employees, and must be specified in the letters of invitation sent to such lecturers or reports.

3. Expenditure for tea-break drinks: VND 20,000/ 1 session (a half of day)/ delegate.

4. Allowances for meal expenses for guest delegates who are not salaried by state agencies, public service providers and enterprises are fixed as follows:

a) For a meeting organized in an inner area of a central-affiliated city: VND 200,000/ day/ person;

b) For a meeting organized at an inner area of a provincial city, or in rural district or town of a province: VND 150,000/ day/ person;

c) For a meeting organized by the commune/ ward/ town government (regardless of meeting location): VND 100,000/ day/ person.

5. Expenditures for offsetting the difference between the actual expenses for meals provided to all delegates and the amount already deducted from the stay allowance of state budget-salaried delegates, delegates from public business providers or delegates from enterprises:

In case of providing meals to all delegates while the fixed amount specified in Clause 4 of this Article is insufficient, the head of the conference organizer shall, based on the characteristics of each conference and allocated state budget funds, decide a higher level of support for meal expense for guest delegates, which must not exceed 130% of the fixed amount specified in Clause 4 of this Article. The organizer shall deduct the meal expense from the stay allowance of state budget-salaried delegates, delegates from public business providers or from enterprises at a level not exceeding the stay allowance specified in its internal spending regulations and may offset the difference between the actual expense for meals provided to all delegates and the amount already deducted from the stay allowance of these delegates.

6. Allowances for lodging rents for guest delegates who are not salaried by state agencies, public service providers and enterprises: payment of fixed allowance or invoice-based payment shall be made according to spending levels mentioned in Article 7 herein.

7. Allowances for travel expenses for guest delegates who are not salaried by state agencies, public service providers and enterprises shall be paid under regulations in Article 5 herein.

Article 13. Invoices and supporting documents for payment of conference expenditures

1. Document or plan for conference organization approved by an authorized official as regulated by law.

2. Lawful invoices or receipts and table listing in-cash payments made to conference participants as prescribed in this Circular (if any) under effective regulations of the law on invoices and receipts for payment.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Implementation responsibility

1. Funds used for payment of work-trip allowances and conference expenditures shall be managed and used according to norms, criteria and regulations issued by competent state agencies and within allocated annual state budget spending estimates.

2. Spending levels specified in this Circular are maximum levels and used as the basis for ministries, ministerial-level agencies, the government s affiliates and other central-level agencies to prepare estimates of work-trip allowances and conference expenditures. Based on the allocated state budget funds and other lawful sources of funding, ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, government’s affiliates or other central-level agencies shall specify levels of work-trip allowances and conference expenditures for their attached agencies and units.

3. Based on balancing capacity of local government budget and actual conditions, the People s Councils of provinces or central-affiliated cities stipulate specific levels of work-trip allowances and conference expenditures for their attached agencies and units.

4. State agencies that implement the autonomy in use of administrative funding and public service providers that implement autonomy in finance shall, based on specific levels of work-trip allowances and conference expenditures stipulated by ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies or government’s affiliates, the People s Councils of provinces or central-affiliated cities, decide levels of work-trip allowances and conference expenditures under the Government’s regulations on autonomy in payroll and finance for state agencies and public service providers in each domain.

5. Conferences funded by organizations and individuals are encouraged to apply provisions on conference expenditures in this Circular to ensure thrift, efficiency and suitability to the state budget capacity of concerned units.

State enterprises may apply regulations on work-trip allowances and conference expenditures under this Circular to ensure thrift, efficiency and suitability to their production and business characteristics. State enterprises allocated with state budget funds for implementation of specific programs or projects which require payment of work-trip allowances or conference expenditures shall pay such allowances or expenditures at the levels specified by competent authorities under approved programs or projects.

6. For work-trip allowances or conference expenditures which are detected through inspection as contrary to this Circular, superior regulatory agencies, financial agencies at all levels, inspectorates and state audit offices may cancel their payments and request responsible agencies or units to recover and remit them into state budget if funding for making such payments is derived from state budget. Makers of improper payment orders shall compensate the improperly paid sums to concerned agencies or units and shall, depending on the severity of their violations, be handled under current regulations.

7. In case no specific spending levels are issued by ministries, regulatory bodies and local governments, heads of agencies and units shall, based on the spending levels specified in this Circular, decide actual spending levels of work-trip allowances and conference expenditures not higher than the maximum spending levels herein, ensuring thrift and preventing waste within their allocated state budget estimates. These spending levels must be included in their internal spending regulations.

Article 15. Reporting

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, the Government’s affiliates, other central-level agencies, and governments of provinces or central-affiliated cities shall be responsible for submitting reports to Ministry of Finance when promulgating written regulations on work-trip allowances and conference expenditures which are higher than those prescribed herein.

Article 16. Effect

1. This Circular takes effect on July 01, 2017.

2. To abrogate the Circular No. 97/2010/TT-BTC dated July 06, 2010 by Ministry of Finance on work-trip allowances and conference expenditures applicable to regulatory agencies and public service providers.

3. If referred documents on expenditure levels specified in this Circular are amended or superseded, the new ones shall be applied.

4. Any difficulties arising in the course of during the implementation of this Circular should be reported to the Ministry of Finance for consideration./.

For the Minister

The Deputy Minister

Tran Xuan Ha