Chương I Nghị định 60/2021/NĐ-CP về cơ chế tự chủ tài chính của đơn vị sự nghiệp công lập: Những quy định chung

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Decree introduces the mechanism for exercising the financial autonomy of public administrative units in the following sectors: education and training; vocational training; healthcare - population; culture, sports and tourism; information and communications; science and technology; economic activities and other sectors.

Article 2. Regulated entities

1. Public administrative units that are established by competent authorities in accordance with regulations of law, have legal status and their own seals and accounts as prescribed by law, and provide public administrative services or state management services (hereinafter referred to as “public administrative units”).

2. Public administrative units affiliated to Ministry of National Defence, Ministry of Public Security, Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam News Agency; public administrative units affiliated to public administrative units shall comply with regulations herein and other relevant laws.

3. Public administrative units affiliated to political organizations or socio-political organizations shall be allowed to apply regulations herein and other relevant laws.

4. Public administrative units established under Agreements and commitments between the Government of Vietnam and the Governments of foreign countries or international organizations shall exercise the financial mechanism according to such commitments, international treaties or Decisions of the Prime Minister.

Article 3. Definitions

For the purposes of this Decree, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. “financial autonomy mechanism of public administrative units” means a set of regulations on autonomy to the implementation of list of public administrative services; prices, fees and roadmap for pricing public administrative services; classification of financial autonomy levels; autonomy to use financial sources; autonomy to perform joint-venture, cooperation or association activities; management and use of public assets and other relevant regulations.

2. “public administrative services” include administrative services in the fields of education and training; vocational training; healthcare - population; culture, sports and tourism; information and communications; science and technology; economic activities and other sectors (including: agriculture and rural development, natural resources and environment, transport, industry and trade, construction, justice, labour, war invalids and social affairs, and other services).

3. “public administrative services funded by state budget" include basic and essential public administrative services and those with specific characteristics of some business lines or sectors which are included in the list issued by competent authority and on which all expenses are covered or supported by the Government.

4. “public administrative services not funded by state budget" include public administrative services which are rendered with private sector involvement; of which the prices are determined by service providers according to the market mechanism or by the Government in accordance with regulations of law on pricing or other relevant specialized laws, but must be adequate for covering expenses and rational accumulations of service providers; and which are not subsidized by the Government.

Article 4. Public administrative services funded by state budget

1. Funding derived from state budget for public administrative units shall be used to directly support the poor or people benefiting from state policies when they use basic and essential public administrative services; the average funding provision shall be replaced by the mechanism that the State shall place order or assign qualified units to provide public administrative services based on the quality of their provided services or organize bidding for provision of public administrative services.

The allocation of state budget for public administrative services funded by state budget shall be carried out according to current regulations on decentralization of power to manage state budget set out in the Law on state budget, and conformable with the state budget balancing capability and the revised roadmap for proper determination of costs constituting service prices as prescribed by competent authorities.

2. List of public administrative services funded by state budget

a) Basic and essential public services as defined in specialized laws and the Law on state budget, including: preschool education services, general education services; preventive medicine, grassroots healthcare, hospitals in disadvantaged areas, border and island areas; diagnosis and treatment of leprosy, tuberculosis, mental diseases; basic research; culture, traditional folk arts, provision of training for national sport coaches and athletes; care of people with meritorious services to the revolution, social protection, and other services included in the list of public administrative services funded by state budget, sorted by sectors, provided in Appendix I enclosed herewith.

b) Ministries, ministerial agencies and Governmental agencies (hereinafter referred to as “ministries and central agencies”), and People’s Committees of provinces or central-affiliated cities (hereinafter referred to as “provincial People’s Committees”) shall continue adopting the list of public administrative services funded by state budget promulgated by competent authorities if that list is conformable with Point a of this Law, and concurrently review that list for making necessary amendments.

3. Power to amend or promulgate the detailed list of public administrative services funded by state budget

Pursuant to specialized laws and provisions herein, ministries, central agencies and provincial People’s Committees shall perform the following tasks:

a) Ministries and central agencies shall play the leading role and cooperate with the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies in requesting the Prime Minister to decide amendments or promulgate the list of public administrative services funded by state budget within their delegated management;

b) Specialized agencies affiliated to provincial People's Committees shall request provincial People's Committees to request provincial People's Councils to amend or promulgate the list of public administrative services funded by state budget within their delegated management and according to the capabilities of local government state budget, and submit the list to the Ministry of Finance and supervisory ministries for monitoring during the application of the list.

Article 5. Prices, fees of public administrative services funded by state budget

1. Prices of public administrative services funded by state budget shall be determined according to law regulations on pricing, economic-technical and cost norms adopted by competent authorities and the roadmap for calculating prices of public administrative services funded by state budget as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article. To be specific:

a) Salary costs constituting the pubic administrative service price shall be calculated by taking into account the statutory pay rate, salary coefficients by payroll, salary grade, working position, salary-based contributions and allowances according to regulations and policies applicable to public administrative units or the working position- or title-based salary and salary-based allowances as prescribed by the State; labour norms introduced by ministries, central agencies or provincial People's Committees with their jurisdiction.

b) Depreciation of fixed assets shall comply with regulations on management and use of public assets and the roadmap for inclusion of fixed asset depreciation costs in public administrative service prices adopted by competent authorities.

2. In cases where economic - technical and cost norms are not available, prices of public administrative services funded by state budget shall be determined in accordance with law regulations on pricing or according to the average of rational expenses in the previous 03 years.

3. Roadmap for pricing public administrative services funded by state budget:

a) By the end of 2021, the fundamentals of the roadmap for pricing public administrative services (salary costs, direct expenses, administrative expenses, fixed asset depreciation costs, and other expenses must be fully calculated according to law regulations on pricing) are completed. In cases where another roadmap needs to be developed due to objective difficulties, ministries, central agencies and provincial People's Committees shall play the leading role and request the Prime Minister to consider issuing decisions after obtaining opinions from the Ministry of Finance.

With regard to prices of medical services rendered by public healthcare establishments, education and training, and vocational training services at public educational and training institutions, and public vocational training institutions: If the roadmap specified in Point a of this Clause cannot be applied, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall play the leading role and request the Prime Minister to request competent authorities to consider issuing decisions after obtaining opinions from the Ministry of Finance.

b) With regard to public administrative services ordered by the Government at the prices to which a full amount of costs have been added, such prices shall apply.

4. Pricing method and competent pricing agencies shall be determined in accordance with law regulations on pricing.

Pursuant to law regulations on pricing and the roadmap for pricing public administrative services specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, and based on the state budget balancing capability and market prices as well as economic - social situation in each period, ministries, central agencies and provincial People's Committees shall set specific prices of public administrative services within their jurisdiction or request competent authorities to set such prices.

Public administrative units shall decide specific price of each type of services within the framework of public administrative service prices stipulated by competent authorities. In case competent authorities set specific prices of public administrative services, public administrative units shall charge services at the stipulated prices.

5. Public administrative service fees

Public administrative services specified in the list of fees to be collected shall comply with law regulations on fees and charges. Public administrative units shall be entitled to collect fees according to the fee levels stipulated by competent authorities.

Article 6. Public administrative services not funded by state budget

1. Public administrative services not funded by state budget include:

a) Services which are not included in the list of public administrative services funded by state budget specified in Article 4 hereof;

b) Services provided by public administrative units from their business, joint-venture, cooperation and association activities which are conformable with their specialized fields in order to meet social needs in accordance with relevant laws.

2. Public administrative units are given autonomy to use their assets and resources for providing public administrative services not funded by state budget which are conformable with their specialized fields as designated by competent authorities according to the following rules:

a) They must comply with regulations of law;

b) They are allowed to decide service prices which must be enough for covering expenses and ensuring reasonable accumulated amounts; In case the services provided are included in the list of goods and services whose prices are set by the Government, such services shall be charged at specific prices or within the price bracket stipulated by competent authorities.

3. Public administrative units are given autonomy to decide expenses incurred from their provision of public administrative services which must be reasonable and lawful, and included in their regulations on internal expenses; shall organize accounting works in accordance with regulations of Law on accounting; open accounting books, use and manage documents/records, do bookkeeping works and monitor to ensure adequate and accurate recording of revenues and allocation of funding for covering all reasonable expenses associated with each activity; carry out registration, declare and pay all taxes and other payables to state budget (if any) in accordance with regulations of law; adequately and periodically carry out internal audits; accurately and punctually submit financial statements to their superior agencies and relevant agencies as prescribed. Heads of public administrative units shall assume responsibility for efficient management and use of public assets and land allocated by the Government, and their financial sources as prescribed by law.

4. In case the sum of revenues earned from the provision of public administrative services not funded by state budget is smaller than expenses incurred, the public administrative unit shall use its lawful funding sources for covering the deficit, and no funding from state budget shall be provided.

Article 7. Management and use of public investment capital

1. Public administrative units shall manage and use public investment capital in accordance with regulations of the Law on public investment and relevant laws.

2. The power to evaluate, approve and assign mid-term and annual investment plans to public administrative units in accordance with regulations of the Law on public investment and relevant laws.

Article 8. Management and use of public assets

1. Public administrative units shall manage, use and apply standards and norms for use of public assets in accordance with regulations of the Law on management and use of public assets.

2. Public administrative units shall make depreciation and amortization of fixed assets in accordance with regulations of the Law on management and use of public assets; fixed asset depreciation amounts shall be paid to their funds for development of administrative operations.

With regard to assets acquired from borrowed or mobilized capital, fixed asset depreciation amounts shall be used for repaying debts. The remaining fixed asset depreciation amounts after paying debts shall be paid to the fund for development of administrative operations of the public administrative unit. If the fixed asset depreciation amounts are not enough for repaying debts, the fund for development of administrative operations shall be used for repaying debts.

Assets established from the fund for development of administrative operations and other lawful financial sources of the public administrative unit shall be considered as the State assets and capital.

3. Pursuant to regulations of the Law on management and use of public assets and regulations on financial management set out in this Decree, heads of public administrative units shall promulgate regulations on management and use of public assets within their delegated management.

Article 9. Classification of levels of financial autonomy of public administrative units

1. A public administrative unit self-covering both recurrent and investment expenses (hereinafter referred to as “group-1 unit”) is the one meeting one of the following conditions:

a) The public administrative unit has a rate of self-covering of recurrent expenses which is determined according to the plan specified in Article 10 hereof is equal to or higher than 100%; the total amount of self-covered investment expenses is equal to or higher than its total amount of depreciation and amortization of fixed assets.

Total amount of self-covered investment expenses includes the followings:

- Estimated amounts paid to the fund for development of administrative operations in the planning year or the average of contributions paid to the fund for development of administrative operations in the previous 05 years;

- The amount of collected fees retained for covering recurrent expenses as prescribed.

b) The public administrative unit provides public administrative services which are not funded by state budget and of which prices are determined according to the market mechanism, and include adequate fixed asset depreciation costs and accumulated amounts for covering investment expenses.

2. A public administrative unit self-covering recurrent investment expenses (hereinafter referred to as “group-2 unit”) is the one meeting one of the following conditions:

a) The public administrative unit has a rate of self-covering of recurrent expenses which is determined according to the plan specified in Article 10 hereof is equal to or higher than 100%, and has not yet covered its investment expenses with funding from its fund for development of administrative operations, collected fees retained as prescribed by law regulations on fees and charges, and other lawful financial sources as prescribed by law;

b) The public administrative unit provides public administrative services which are included in the list of public administrative services funded by state budget, or provides public administrative services in the form of order placement or bidding at the price to which a full amount of costs has been added (excluding fixed asset depreciation costs).

3. The public administrative unit self-covering part of its recurrent expenses (hereinafter referred to as “group-3 unit”) is a unit that has a rate of self-covering of recurrent expenses which is determined according to the plan specified in Article 10 hereof is from 10% to less than 100%, and provides public administrative services in the form of order placement or bidding at the price to which expenses have not been fully added, and is classified as follows:

a) The public administrative unit self-covering 70% to less than 100% of recurrent expenses;

b) The public administrative unit self-covering 30% to less than 70% of recurrent expenses;

c) The public administrative unit self-covering 10% to less than 30% of recurrent expenses.

4. The public administrative units of which recurrent expenses are covered by state budget (hereinafter referred to as “group-4 unit”) include:

a) The public administrative unit has a rate of self-covering of recurrent expenses which is determined according to the plan specified in Article 10 hereof is less than 10%;

b) The public administrative unit does not earn revenues from administrative operations.

Article 10. Determination of rate of self-covering of recurrent expenses

1. Calculation formula:

Where:

a) A includes the revenues specified in Point a, Point b Clause 1, Clause 2, Clause 3 and Clause 5 Article 11; Point a, Point b Clause 1, Clause 2, Clause 3, Clause 5 Article 15; Clause 2 Article 19 hereof. For the revenues specified in Point b Clause 2 Article 11; Point b Clause 2 Article 15 and Clause 2 Article 19, only the positive difference between revenues and expenses (after fulfilling obligations to the Government) shall be determined; revenues specified in Clause 3 Article 11 and Clause 3 Article 15 exclude expenses for non-recurrent tasks.

b) B includes the expenses specified in Article 12, Article 16, Article 20 hereof; excludes the expenses incurred from the provision of public administrative services not funded by state budget as prescribed in Article 6 hereof.

2. The values A and B specified in Clause 1 of this Article shall be calculated on the basis of the estimates of revenues and expenses of the year in which the plan to exercise financial autonomy is developed and submitted to competent authorities.