Circular No. 92/2013/TT-BTC dated July 8, 2013 of the Ministry of Finance defining the financial management regime of the Fund for Assisting Overseas Vietnamese Citizens and Legal Entities

THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE

Circular No.92/2013/TT-BTC dated July 8, 2013 of the Ministry of Financedefining the financial management regime of theFund for Assisting Overseas Vietnamese Citizens and Legal Entities

Pursuant to the Decree No.60/2003/ND-CP dated June 06, 2003detailing and guiding the implementation of the State Budget law;

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

Pursuant to the Decision No.119/2007/QD-TTg dated July 25, 2007 of the Prime Minister on setting up the Fund for Assisting Overseas Vietnamese Citizens and Legal Entities;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Public Expenditure;

The Minister of Finance promulgates the Circular defining the financial management regime of theFund for Assisting Overseas Vietnamese Citizens and Legal Entities.

Article 1. Scope of application

This Circular regulates the financial management of the Fund for Assisting Overseas Vietnamese Citizens and Legal Entities(below referred to as Citizen Assistance Fund for short)established by the Prime Minister under the Decision No.119/2007/QD-TTg dated July 25, 2007.  The international transaction name is the Fund for Assisting Overseas Vietnamese Citizens and Legal Entities –abbreviated to FAOV).

Vietnamese citizens who permanently reside in foreign countries or territories and have paid insurance premiums in those countries or territories are not in the scope of application under this Circular.

Article 2. Operating principles of the Fund

1. The Citizen Assistance Fund is operated not for profit. The Citizen Assistance Fund has the legal entity, account and its own seal and. The Fund opens its account in Vietnamese dong and foreign currency at the State Treasury or at the domestic commercial banks as stipulated under Article 2 of the Decision No.119/2007/QD-TTg dated July 25, 2007 of the Prime Minister.

2. Vietnamese overseas representative agencies coordinate with the board of directors and the Fund’s office to implement the citizen assistance activities as stipulated under the Regulation “organization and operation of the Fund for Assisting Overseas Vietnamese Citizens and Legal Entities” issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Article 3. Collecting source of the Citizen Assistance Fund

1. The original capital source of the Citizen Assistance Fund granted by the State Budget is twenty billion dong; the additional capital supplemented by the State Budget annually shall be based on the estimation approved by the relevant authorities.

2. Cash and assets are voluntarily contributed and funded by domestic and foreign organizations and individuals in accordance with the law.

3. Interest income and other legal incomes (if any);

Article 4. Expenses of the Citizen Assistance Fund

1. Expenses of the Citizen Assistance Fund are as follows:

1.1. Non-refundable expenses:

a) Expenses for direct activities related to assistingoverseas Vietnamese citizens and legal entities ofoverseas Vietnamese representative agencies. Expenses for officials of representative agencies to assist overseas Vietnamese citizens and legal entities or investigate cases in which overseas Vietnamese citizens are arrested, held in temporary detention of custody, brought to trial or sentenced to imprisonment the following: payment for plane tickets, transportation, petrol, mission allowance as stipulated.

b) Expenses for citizens that have met difficulties when they themselves and their family can’t afford to recover: transport fee at home country, food, temporary accommodation and necessary demands according to the documents for real payments. For these cases, the head of overseas Vietnamese representative agencies shall decide to be in accordance with the regulations under Point c Clause 3 Article 6 of this Circular.

c) For citizens who are suffered from the fatal diseases (mental disease, end-stage of cancer, dead, or having accident that may affect their life and they can’t afford to recover; or cases in serious circumstances that need assistance (war, natural disasters, epidemic diseases, terrorism) besides expenses mentioned under Point c Clause 3 Article 6 of this Circular if they need the assistance on transport to come back to country and other related expenses, the overseas Vietnamese representative agencies must report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for consideration and decision for each specific case.

d) Assist the expenses for taking women, children who are victims of human trafficking criminals to back to their country according to the content, expense rate to support them during the time of pending their repatriation; conducted by the overseas Vietnamese representative agencies as stipulated the Joint Circular of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs regulating on the content, expense rate for the assistance of citizens.

1.2. Refundable expenses:

Advances for air fares for repatriation, payments of hospital fees, temporary accommodation expenses and other expenses for citizens in the following cases:

a) When persons concerned have paid deposits or their families, companies, ship-owner offer guarantee and have the confirmation from the Commune People’s Committee where they have the registered residence or their offices are located, of the People’s Committee (at provincial, centrally run cities level or district, provincial cities, towns level) where the owner of using the labor, the ship-owner registered for operation for the refund of these amounts.

b) In special cases that persons concerned haven’t deposited or haven’t had the guarantee of family, domestic organizations or company, ship-owner, they must have the commitment to refund the advances for the Fund. The head of the representative agencies shall consider and decide on advances for each specific case.

2. Expenses for the management of the Fund

Annually, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is allowed to use not exceeding 10% of the Funds approved annual fund for expenses for the management of the Fund, including:

a) Expense for allowance for the title of director according to the part-time regime as stipulated under the Circular No.78/2005/TT-BNV dated August 10, 2005 on guiding the implementation of part-time allowance for part timeofficials, civil servants and cadresfor titles of head of another organizations and units.

b) Expense for duty-allowance of the chief accountant for the head accountant of the Fund as stipulated under the Joint Circular No.50/2005/TTLT/BTC-BNV of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Home Affairsguiding the standards, conditions and procedures for the appointment, dismissal, replacement and benefit calculation of chief accountant, accountants in state accounting units.

c) Expense for duty-allowance for officials who are treasurer of the Fund as stipulated under the Circular No.05/2005/TT-BNVproviding guidelines on implementation of duty-allowance regime applicable to officials, civil servants and cadres.

d) Expense for wages, insurance premiums and allowances shall be paid in accordance with law to the Funds employees working under labor contracts;

dd) Expense for working extra  hours (if any) in accordance with law.

e) Expenses for public information work to raise capital for the Fund;

g) Expenses for inbound and outbound delegations to raise capital for the Fund; inspect the use of the Fund at overseas Vietnamese representative agencies; Expenses for survey and study the actual situation and specific activities of assistance of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities in domestic and foreign countries.

h) Expenses for buying, repairing, maintaining the fixed assets to serve for the operation of the Fund.

i) Expenses for stationery and public services;

k) Expenses for rewarding for organizations, individuals that have the contribution to the Fund or get high achievements in the operation of the Fund. The management and use of the rewarding fund is implemented according to the Circular of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of the Decree No. 42/2010/ND-CP dated 15 April 2010 by the Government on regulating details of implementing some articles of the law on the emulation and rewards. The source for rewarding fund is extracted from the operation budget of the Fund and assumed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the annual estimation of the Fund.

Article 5. Deposit, guarantee, and refund the advances

1. Responsibilities of individuals, domestic organization and ship-owner:

a) Individuals, domestic organization shall deposit or commit the guarantee for the refund of the expenses for buying tickets for repatriation and other expenses for citizens overseas must be responsible for refunding these amounts for the Fund on time as committed.

b) Individuals who directly commit to refund the advances with overseas Vietnamese representative agencies to buy ticket for repatriation and other expenses must be responsible for refunding these amounts for the Fund on time as committed.

c) The company sending labors working abroad, ship-owners who send fishermen working abroad must deposit and offer guarantee and refund the advances to buy tickets for repatriation and other expense for the Fund. .

2. Responsibilities of People’s Committee at all levels:

a) For cases individuals, domestic organization have deposited or committed the guarantee:  People’s Committee at commune level where the persons concerned have the permanent residence or their offices are located must confirm the deposit and guarantee in refunding the advances for the Fund; shall be responsible for collecting the debts from the advances of those individuals, organizations to refund for the Fund or ask individuals and organizations to refund these amounts for the Fund on time as committed.

b) For cases the company sending labors working abroad, ship-owners who send fishermen working abroad deposit and offer guarantee: People’s Committee at provincial or centrally run cities level or district or provincial cities, towns level) where labor owners, ship- owner register the operation shall confirm the deposit or commit the guarantee in refunding the advances for the Fund; shall be responsible for collecting the debt from the advances of labor owners to refund for the Fund or request the labor owner to refund these expenses for the Fund on time as committed.

When necessary, People’s Committees at all levels shall be allowed to advance from the local budget to deposit the guarantee or refund the expenses for advances when individuals or labor owners have difficulties and they can’t afford to refund on time as committed, then collect from individuals, labor owners to refund for the local budget.

3. Responsibilities of the Fund:

The Fund shall examine and coordinate with People’s Committees at all levels to collect the debt; For cases it is time to collect but individuals, organizations haven’t refunded yet, the Fund must sent the notifications to collect the debt to the persons concerned and People’s Committee at all levels.

4. Handle the violations or late payment:

a) Individuals who directly commit to refund the expense for the advances and individuals, organizations have deposited or offered guarantee fail to pay on time as committed, those individuals, organizations must pay interest for the amount of money that pay late according to the interest rate declared by the State Bank equivalent to the time of late payment at the time of payment besides expenses that were advanced.

b) For case not paying, it shall be handled in accordance with the law.

Article 6. Setting up the estimation, allocation of estimation and finalization and use mechanism

1. Setting up the estimation, allocation of estimation

a) Annually, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall set up the estimation on operating expenses of the Fund, summarizing into the general estimation of the Ministry and sending it to the relevant authorities according to the law on State Budget and other documents.

b) Based on the estimation approved by the relevant authorities, the Minister of Foreign Affairs shall allocate the expense estimation for the Fund (attached with the explanation of using the Fund) and send it to the Ministry of Finance for verification as regulated. Based on the allocated expense estimation, the Fund shall withdraw at the State Treasury to pay for the management of the Fund and grant the expenditure for overseas Vietnamese representative agencies to implement the expense task for assistingoverseas Vietnamese citizens and legal entities arising from the reality at theoverseas Vietnamese representative agencies.

2. Finalization

a) Annually, overseas Vietnamese representative agencies using the Fund shall be responsible for reporting the expenditure that has been used, and sending the expense document (original) to the Fund’s office for examination, review and summarizing the report on finalization to send the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

b) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be responsible for reviewing the revenue and expenditure finalization statements of the Fund and summarize in the general annual finalization report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and send it to the Ministry of Finance as stipulated under the Law on State Budget and other documents.

In case, the Fund doesn’t use up the approved capital for the year, the remaining amount shall be transferred for the use of the following year to be in accordance with the purposes, contents of using the Fund as stipulated.

3. Use mechanism:

a) Based on the annual allocated expenditure plan, the director of the Fund shall be responsible for guiding the overseas Vietnamese representative agencies to implement the management and use of the capital in accordance with the Vietnamese law, the home country’s law, international law and other regulations on the current financial management and regulations on the financial management of the Fund as well as the regulations on organization and operation of the Fund.

b) The director of the Fund shall have the rights to approve the expenses not exceeding 10,000 USD (ten thousands dollar). For expenses exceeding 10,000 USD and expenses as stipulated under Point c sub-point 1.1 Clause 1 Article 4, the director of the Fund must report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for consideration and decision.

c) The head of overseas Vietnamese representative agencies shall have the rights to approve expenses not exceeding 3,000 USD (three thousands dollar) for each case or affair. For any expense exceeding USD 3,000 and expenses as stipulated under Point c sub-point 1.1 Clause 1 Article 4, the head of representative agencies must propose to the Funds director for consideration and decision.

d) The Fund is not allowed to use the budget of the Fund for expenses that are not in accordance with the stipulated purposes of the Fund.

Article 7.  Accounting and the management of the Fund

1. The Citizen Assistance Fund must organize the accounting, and keep business account in accordance with the Decision No.19/2006/QD-BTCdated March 30, 2006 ofthe Minister of Finance on release the administrative accounting regulation; regulation on the financial management for Vietnamese overseas representative agencies as well as other regulations of the Fund.

2.  The Fund shall keep its own business account on expense activities for the management of the Fund.

3. The Fund shall keep its own business account to keep track of the contribution received from domestic and foreign organizations and individuals through overseas representative agencies.

4. Accounting currency: accounting, finalizing in Vietnam dong.

5. In the case of using foreign currency: The Ministry of Finance issues directly in foreign currency, it shall apply the accounting – finalizing rate declared monthly. In the case of purchasing the foreign currency at banks, it shall apply the foreign exchange rate according to the bank documents at the time of purchasing the foreign currency.

6. The director of the Fund and the Head of the representative agencies shall be responsible for expenses in accordance with the policy, regime and regulation under this Circular.

7. The Citizen Assistance Fund must comply with all current regulations of the State on examining, inspecting the financial activities of the Fund.

Article 8. Organization of implementation

This Circular takes effect on October 01, 2013 and replaces the Circular No.177/2010/TT-BTC dated November 05, 2010 of the Ministry of Financedefining the financial management regime of theFund for Assisting Overseas Vietnamese Citizens and Legal Entities.The Ministry of Foreign Affairsshall be responsible for guiding overseas Vietnamese representative agencies, related agencies to implement this Circular.

In the course of implementation, any arising problems should be reported timely to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and guidance.

For the Minister of Finance

Deputy Minister

Nguyen Thi Minh