Regulations on Expenses for Organizing Summit Conferences

Circular 71 stipulates that for delegates and international delegations attending summit conferences:

- Subjects sponsored by Vietnam: Implement content and expenditure levels following the decision of the Communist Party and State leadership chairing the international conference organized alternately in Vietnam or the decision of the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam;- Foreign delegations that are not sponsored by Vietnam: Delegates are to self-finance expenses for food, accommodation, and transportation (no state budget expenditure).

For officials and public employees and staff serving summit conferences:

Circular 71 stipulates the service allowance for the conference as follows:

- Officials and public employees, and staff (including security personnel, drivers (except for hired car drivers), receptionists, volunteers, liaison officers, and other staff) directly participating in conference services (including public holidays and weekends as stipulated) are entitled to a service allowance according to the approved list by the competent authority, with expenditure levels ranging from 150,000 VND/person/day to 300,000 VND/person/day. The specific number and amount for each official and staff serving the conference are specified in the plan and proposal organizing the conference. If one person performs multiple duties in one day, they shall only receive the highest service allowance.- The number of days for which the service allowance is granted corresponds to the official days of the conference. If the work starts earlier or ends later than the official conference days, payment will be made based on the actual number of days the task is performed, as per the competent authority's approval stated in the plan and proposal organizing the conference. The total payment period shall not exceed 15 days; simultaneously, no night work salary or overtime pay shall be paid.

In the case that officials and public employees and staff serving the conference are at a location different from their residence, if they have already received the service allowance, no per diem allowance shall be paid according to the provisions of Circular 40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017, of the Ministry of Finance.

Regulations on accommodation rental: Implementation shall follow the provisions in Clause 2, Article 13 of Circular 71. In special cases requiring foreign relations, security, and safety assurances as stipulated in the plan and proposal organizing the conference, room rental shall be paid as per actual invoices and must be within the approved budget estimate.

Note that in necessary cases, the conference organizing committee may arrange centralized meals for security, drivers (except for hired car drivers), receptionists, volunteers, liaison officers, and other staff directly participating in conference services according to the plan and proposal organizing the conference, at a cost of 260,000 VND/person/day (including beverages); no cash will be given if meals are not taken centrally.

Circular 71 also stipulates the levels of mobile phone allowances for officials and public employees and staff serving the conference as follows:

- The allowance is applied as a lump sum during the summit conference period, ranging from 300,000 VND/person to 500,000 VND/person for the entire conference service period, depending on the level of responsibilities assigned.- The specific lump sum mobile phone allowance for each job position is defined in the plan and proposal organizing the conference.

For details, refer to Circular 71/2018/TT-BTC, effective from November 1, 2018.

-Thao Uyen-

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