Circular No. 92/2011/TT-BTC dated June 23, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the provision of special allowances for business employees under the Prime Minister’s Decision No.471/QD-TTg of March 30, 2011

THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

Circular No. 92/2011/TT-BTC dated June 23, 2011 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the provision of special allowances for business employees under the Prime Minister’s Decision No.471/QD-TTg of March 30, 2011

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 118/2008/ND-CP of November 27, 2008, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 471/QD-TTg of March 30, 2011, on special allowances for low-paid cadres, pubic employees, civil servants, members of the armed forces and pensioners, beneficiaries of allowances for people with meritorious services to the nation and poor households facing difficult living conditions;

The Ministry of Finance guides the provision of special allowances for business employees as follows:

Article 1. Scope and subjects of application

This Circular applies to state-owned single-member limited liability companies and untransformed state companies. Other businesses (outside the state sector) may apply this Circular to provide special allowances to their employees.

Beneficiaries of special allowances under this Circular are employees who are named on businesses’ payrolls by March 30, 2011, and have a monthly income of VND 2.2 million or less (exclusive of bonuses paid from businesses’ after-tax profits, allowances for mid-shift meals, hazardous and dangerous jobs or extremely hazardous and dangerous jobs).

Article 2. Allowance levels and determination of funds for payment of special allowances to business employees

1. Businesses shall base themselves on their lawful financial funds and capacity to decide on specific levels of special allowances for their employees, which must not be lower than VND 250,000 per employee. Allowance amounts shall be excluded from employees’ salary amounts used to calculate social, health and unemployment insurance premiums and trade union dues.

2. Based on the number of employees eligible for special allowances specified in Article 1 and allowance levels specified in Clause 1, Article 2 of this Circular, each business shall make a list of allowance beneficiaries and determine the total payable allowance amount.

Article 3. Competence to decide on provision of special allowances

Chairpersons of boards of directors or directors, for untransformed state companies without board of directors, member councils or company presidents, for limited liability companies or partnerships, boards of directors, for joint-stock companies, and company owners, for private enterprises, shall, after consulting their trade union organizations, if any, approve allowance levels and lists of allowance beneficiaries.

Businesses shall pay special allowances in a lump sum to their employees in 2011, based on the approved allowance levels and lists of allowance beneficiaries.

Article 4. Accounting and finalization of special allowance amounts

1. Businesses may use their lawful financial funds to provide special allowances for their employees according to Article 5 of the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 471/QD-TTG of March 30, 2011. Lawful financial funds set up with profits after businesses pay enterprise income tax according to current regulations (after-tax profits), which can be used to pay special allowances to employees, are specified as follows:

a/ For a state-owned single-member limited liability company or an untransformed state company, these funds include the welfare fund (after reaching agreement with the grassroots trade union organization) and

financial contingency fund available by March 31, 2011, including also the welfare fund and financial contingency fund set up from 2010 after-tax profits;

b/ For a business of another type, these funds include lawful financial funds set up from after-tax profits (if any) available by March 31, 2011; should such lawful financial funds be insufficient or unavailable, the business may use its 2010 after-tax profit amount left after dividing profits to its shareholders or capital contributors according to current law.

2. A business with insufficient lawful financial funds or without lawful financial funds as mentioned above to pay special allowances to employees at the decided levels may account the deficit amount, for which no funding sources are available, as its production and business cost. When determining its taxable income, the business may account this amount as reasonable expense at a level not exceeding VND 250,000 per employee.

3. Businesses shall sum up special allowance amounts actually paid to employees according to lists of allowance beneficiaries approved under Article 3 of this Circular. Pay-lists must bear signatures of all payees. Businesses shall also determine amounts paid from each of their lawful financial funds and the amount accounted as their production and business cost; preserve accounting documents and books to serve cost accounting and financial settlement and finalize their 2011 enterprise income tax according to current regulations.

4. The accounting of special allowance amounts as production and business cost must be based on adequate payment documents according to law.

Article 5. Organization of implementation

This Circular takes effect on August 10, 2011.

Any problems arising in the course of implementation should be reported to the Ministry of Finance for timely settlement.-

FOR THE MINISTER OF FINANCE
DEPUTY MINISTER
Tran Van Hieu