Proposal to spend up to 50 million VND on anti-corruption information in Vietnam

Proposal to spend up to 50 million VND on anti-corruption information in Vietnam​​ (Image from the internet)

The Ministry of Finance is drafting a Circular regulating the management and use of funds serving the activities of the Anti-Corruption and Misconduct Prevention Steering Committees at all levels.

Proposal to spend up to 50 million VND on anti-corruption information in Vietnam ​

According to Article 4 of the draft Circular, the expenditure levels for the activities of the Anti-Corruption and Misconduct Prevention Steering Committees at all levels are proposed as follows:

- The expenditure levels for the items specified in Article 3 of this draft Circular shall be implemented according to current financial spending policies, standards, and norms set by competent state agencies. The draft Circular specifies certain expenditure levels as follows:

+ Responsibility allowance for members of the Central Steering Committee and provincial-level Steering Committees: Implement according to guidance from the Ministry of Home Affairs;

+ Remuneration specified in Clause 2, Article 3 of the draft Circular: Implement according to guidance from the Ministry of Home Affairs;

+ Payment for public services, office materials, information, communication, purchase of books, newspapers, and documents serving professional tasks: According to legal invoices and documents, and must be approved by competent authorities within the allocated budget;

+ Conference and reception expenditure; organizing professional training courses, travel expenses for inspection and supervision teams established by the Central Steering Committee or provincial-level Steering Committees: Implement according to the regulations in Circular 40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017 of the Ministry of Finance regulating travel expenses and conference policies;

+ Purchase information with a maximum of 50,000,000 (fifty million) VND/information. Based on the content and nature of the provided information, the Standing Deputy Head of the Central Steering Committee shall decide the expenditure for each specific case; in exceptional cases, the Standing Office of the Central Steering Committee shall report to the Standing Committee of the Central Steering Committee for consideration and decision. The management and use of funds for information purchase shall follow secret policies;

+ Rewarding and praising collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in anti-corruption and negative prevention work annually or unexpectedly: Apply reward levels according to the regulations in Decree 98/2023/ND-CP dated December 31, 2023, of the Government of Vietnam, detailing the implementation of several articles of the Law on Emulation and Commendation;

+ Other expenditures as required by the Standing Committee of the Central Steering Committee or provincial-level Steering Committees (if any): Implement based on current regulations for each type of expenditure.

- For items without specified expenditure levels: The Standing Office of the Central Steering Committee or provincial-level Steering Committees shall report collectively to the Standing Committee of the Central Steering Committee or provincial-level Steering Committees for consideration and implementation according to the conclusions of the Head of the Central Steering Committee or provincial-level Steering Committees. All expenditures must have legal and actual invoices and documents within the allocated budget approved by competent authorities.

Thus, according to the expenditure proposals in the draft Circular, it is noteworthy that the content Purchase information with a maximum of 50,000,000 (fifty million) VND/information in anti-corruption and negative prevention activities at all levels. The management and use of funds for information purchase shall follow secret policies.

Operational funds for the Anti-Corruption and Misconduct Prevention Steering Committees at all levels in Vietnam according to the draft Circular

According to Article 2 of the draft Circular, the funding sources are mentioned as follows:

- State budget sources:

+ The central budget ensures the operational funds of the Central Steering Committee. Funds are allocated within the annual regular expenditure estimates of the Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (distributed through the Central Internal Affairs Committee). The Central Internal Affairs Committee shall directly spend and ensure the conditions and specialized assets serving the activities of the Central Steering Committee.

In case the Central Steering Committee uses the organizational apparatus, officials and public employees, and means of relevant agencies and organizations to serve the tasks of the Central Steering Committee, in addition to the expenses paid by the Central Internal Affairs Committee according to regulations, other arising expenses shall be balanced within the annual regular expenditure estimates assigned to ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated bodies for payment;

+ The local budget ensures the operational funds of the provincial-level Steering Committee. Funds are allocated within the annual regular expenditure estimates of the Office of the Provincial Party Committee and City Party Committee (distributed through the Provincial Internal Affairs Committee). The Office of the Provincial Party Committee and City Party Committee shall directly spend and ensure the conditions and specialized assets serving the activities of the provincial-level Steering Committee.

In case the provincial-level Steering Committee uses the organizational apparatus, officials and public employees, and means of local relevant agencies and organizations to serve the tasks of the provincial-level Steering Committee, in addition to the expenses paid by the Office of the Provincial Party Committee and City Party Committee according to regulations in this Circular, other arising expenses shall be balanced within the annual regular expenditure estimates assigned to local departments and agencies for payment;

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

Le Nguyen Anh Hao

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