Summary of Notable Documents in the Past Week

1. Increase in Salary for Military Officers from July 1, 2017

This is noteworthy content in Circular 145/2017/TT-BQP regarding the application of a new statutory pay rate of 1.3 million VND/month to calculate salaries and allowances for individuals receiving salaries or rank allowances from the state budget in the agencies, units under the Ministry of National Defense, replacing Circular 77/2016/TT-BQP.

From July 1, 2017, the salary for military officers will be adjusted up according to the new statutory pay rate, specifically as follows:

- General: 13,520,000 VND (previous salary was 12,584,000 VND);- Colonel General: 12,740,000 VND (previous salary was 11,858,000 VND);- Lieutenant General: 11,960,000 VND (previous salary was 11,132,000 VND).

Circular 145 takes effect from July 31, 2017, attaching the following salary, promotion, and allowance schedules:- Salary schedule for officer ranks and cipher ranks;- Rank promotion schedule for officer ranks and cipher ranks;- Leader position allowance schedule;- Rank allowance schedule for non-commissioned officers, soldiers, and cipher cadets;- Salary schedule for professional soldiers and technical professionals in cyphers;- Salary schedule for national defense workers.

1. Some Notes on Using Tax Items and Sub-items in the State Budget Index

On May 30, 2017, the Ministry of Finance issued Official Dispatch 7078/BTC-KBNN guiding the implementation of some contents of the State Budget Index (NSNN). Noteworthy are the regulations on the use of tax items and sub-items in the NSNN Index, such as:

- Item 1050 “Corporate Income Tax”:- Sub-item 1052 “Corporate Income Tax from production and business activities (including services in the oil and gas sector)”: Corporate income tax from oil and gas exploration activities is not accounted for in this sub-item but is accounted for in sub-item 1056.- Item 1400 “Land Levy”:- Sub-item 1401 “Land allocated by the State”: Reflects land levy revenues from organizations, households, and individuals allocated homestead land by the State;- Item 1550 “Natural Resource Tax”:- Sub-item 1551 “Oil, condensate (excluding natural resource tax collected under agreements and contracts)”: Reflects natural resource taxes from oil and gas extraction not under product-sharing agreements and contracts (natural resource tax collected under oil and gas exploration and extraction agreements and contracts is accounted for in Item 3750, Sub-item 3751, and Item 3800, Sub-item 3801).

Refer to the full Official Dispatch 7078/BTC-KBNN, which takes effect from the signing date.

1. Utilizing Experts in the Operational Audit of the State Audit

Decision 07/2017/QD-KTNN effective from August 4, 2017, enacts the procedure for the operational audit of the State Audit (KTNN). It includes the usage of experts in the preparation stage of the audit.

The KTNN uses experts when it is necessary to employ individuals with professional experience in specific fields to gather sufficient and appropriate audit evidence.

Experts participating in an operational audit must ensure they have the required competence and skills to perform and complete the audit. When selecting experts, consider factors such as:- The expert's field of expertise,- The expert's competence,- The expert’s integrity.

1. Internal Spending Regime for Units under the State Audit Agency

The State Audit (KTNN) approved Decision 1006/QD-KTNN that enacts the internal spending regime for advisory units under the executive apparatus and specialized audit units.

This regulation sets principles, standards, and budget policies for internal spending on the following:- Salary, wage, and salary-like allowance regimes;- Travel expenses, meeting expenses, training, drafting legislative documents; expenses for foreign business trips and receiving foreign delegations to work in Vietnam, domestic guest reception, and translation and interpretation expenses.- Expenses for regular purchase and repair of fixed assets and management and use of cars.- Expenses for office supplies, communication, advertising, and public services;- Special characteristic expenses.

Decision 1006/QD-KTNN takes effect from July 1, 2017.

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