DECREE No.50-CP OF MAY 10, 1997 ISSUING THE REGULATION ON THE SETTING UP AND OPERATION OF THE LOCAL FUND FOR FLOOD AND STORM PREVENTION AND FIGHT

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government of September 30, 1992;

Pursuant to the Ordinance on the Prevention and Fight against Floods and Storms of March 8, 1993;

At the proposal of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,

DECREES:

Article 1.- To issue together with this Decree the Regulation on the setting up and operation of the local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight.

Article 2.- This Decree takes effect 15 days after its signing. All the earlier provisions which are contrary to this Decree are now annulled.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Minister of Finance, the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Fight shall have to coordinate with the concerned Ministries and branches in guiding and supervising the implementation of the Regulation issued together with this Decree.

Article 3.- The Ministers, the Heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the Heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the Presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and the cities directly under the Central Government shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government

For the Prime Minister

Deputy Prime minister

PHAN VAN KHAI

REGULATION ON THE SETTING UP AND OPERATION OF THE LOCAL FUND FOR FLOOD AND STORM PREVENTION AND FIGHT
(issued together with Decree No. 50-CP of May 10, 1887 of the Government)

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- The local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight shall be contributed annually by the local organizations and individuals in accordance with the provisions of law.

The local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight shall be open to all voluntary contributions from organizations and individuals inside and outside the country.

The local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight shall not include the public labor fund.

Article 2.- The local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight shall be used only in support of dike consolidation; to prevent and fight against floods and storms and overcome their consequences.

The local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight must be used for the right purpose and according to the regime prescribed by law.

It is strictly forbidden to use the fund for wrong purposes.

Article 3.- The local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight shall be managed by the People�s Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government for use in the locality and to support other localities affected by floods and storms. The fund shall be placed under State financial management by the immediate higher financial agency and be allowed to open their own accounts at the State Treasury.

The remainder of the fund at the end of the year shall be carried forward to the following year.

Article 4.- The local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight is an independent financial organization, managed by the administration of a province or city directly under the Central Government and operates on a non-profit basis. The President of the People�s Committee of the province or city directly under the Central Government is responsible for running the Fund and is its account holder.

Article 5.- The setting up, raising, use and management of the local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight shall comply with the Ordinance on Accounting and Statistics and the provisions of this Regulation.

Chapter II

OBJECTS AND LEVELS OF CONTRIBUTION TO THE FUND FOR FLOOD AND STORM PREVENTION
AND FIGHT

Article 6.- The following objects shall have to make contributions to the fund for flood and storm prevention and fight:

1. Vietnamese citizens who are from full eighteen years to full sixty years of age for men and from full 18 years to full fifty five years of age for women.

2. All domestic and foreign economic organizations operating in the locality.

Article 7.- The following objects shall be exempted from or can postpone contributions to the fund for flood and storm prevention and fight.

1. Exemption from contributions to the fund:

a/ Disabled and diseased soldiers and the persons who are eligible for the policy applied to disabled and diseased soldiers.

b/ Parents and spouses of fallen soldiers.

c/ Persons who are performing their military duty in the armed forces and enjoying the cost-of-living allowances.

d/ Students under formal long-term training programs at universities, colleges, intermediate and vocational training schools.

e/ Persons who have lost 21 per cent or over of their working capacity.

f/ Members of poor households who are enjoying the Hunger Elimination and Poverty Alleviation Fund subsidies; households in the mountainous, island, remote and deep-lying areas and in the new economic zones, which are eligible for the agricultural land use tax exemption.

g/ Public utility enterprises and agricultural cooperatives.

2. Eligible for deferred contributions to the fund:

a/ Members of rural households living in areas stricken by natural calamities or crop failure, which are eligible for agricultural land use tax exemption.

b/ Enterprises and organizations which are eligible for turnover tax exemption or reduction.

Article 8.- Competence to decide on exemption or deferment of contributions and on the duration of the exemption and deferment

1. Competence to decide on exemption or deferment of contributions:

a/ The Presidents of the People�s Committees of the urban and rural districts, town and provincial cities are competent to decide on the exemption or deferment of contributions for objects specified in Clause 1 and Point a, Clause 2, Article 7 of this Regulation.

b/ The Presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and the cities directly under the Central Government has the authority to decide on the exemption or deferment of contributions for objects specified in Point b, Clause 2, Article 7 of the Regulation.

2. Duration of exemption or deferment:

The exemption and deferment of contributions to the local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight shall be considered once a year at the time when the quotas of collection for the fund are assigned. For those objects who have already made contributions to the funds before they are considered for exemption or deferment thereof, the paid sum of money shall be deducted from the following year�s contributions.

Article 9.- Levels of money contribution to the local funds for flood and storm prevention and fight are stipulated as follows:

1. Citizens in the age group specified in Clause 1, Article 6 of this Regulation shall contribute annually a sum of money calculated at the price of rice set for the agricultural land use tax at the time of collection: 1 kg of rice (one kilogram of rice) for a member of agricultural households; 2 kg of rice (two kilograms of rice) for other objects.

2. Enterprises of all economic sectors operating in the localities shall contribute annually 0.02 per cent of their total production and/or business capital which shall not exceed five million dong and shall be included in the product cost or circulation fee.

Chapter III

COLLECTION, MANAGEMENT AND USE OF THE FUNDS FOR FLOOD AND STORM PREVENTION AND FIGHT

Article 10.- Before January 15 each year, the People�s Committees of the provinces and the cities directly under the Central Government shall assign the quotas of collection for the local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight to the urban and rural districts, towns and provincial cities on the basis of the level of annual contributions by the objects specified in Clause 1, Article 9 of this Regulation.

The People�s Committees of the urban and rural districts, towns and provincial cities shall organize the collection for the funds in accordance with the provisions in Clause 2, Article 9 of this Regulation and assign the collection quotas to the organizations in the communes, wards and townships.

The collections for the fund and all voluntary contributions made by organizations and individuals inside and outside the country shall be remitted to the account(s) at the local State Treasure.

Article 11.- The local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight shall be allocated as follows:

1. 60 per cent shall be remitted to the funds for flood and storm prevention and fight in all the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government;

2. 40 per cent shall be remitted to the funds for flood and storm prevention and fight in the urban or rural districts, towns and provincial cities.

3. 3 to 5 per cent of the total collections shall be deducted to pay the fund collectors in the communes, wards and townships.

Article 12.- The collecting of monetary contributions shall be reflected in uniform receipts issued by the Ministry of Finance. Each receipt shall be made in two copies, used as a document for settlement with the district financial agency, the other as a voucher to be kept by the payer.

Article 13.- The People�s Committees of the urban and rural districts, towns and provincial cities shall directly manage and use the fund for flood and storm prevention and fight, allocated by the People�s Committees of the provinces and the cities directly under the Central Government.

Article 14.- The local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight shall be used in accordance with the provisions in Article 29 of the Ordinance on Flood and storm prevention and fight and be used for the following:

- Training of persons who take part in the dike protection.

- Exercises of optional plans for flood and storm prevention and fight.

- Emergency support in case of dike breaks or imminents breaks (for all the categories of existing dikes).

- Dike patrol and watch in the rainy season.

- Support for the repair and maintenance of schools, hospitals, health stations and other public utilities in the localities to overcome consequences caused by floods and storms.

- Purchase of the equipment necessary for the search and rescue of flood and storm victims.

Article 15.- The Presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and the cities directly under the Central Government shall decide on the levels of support for overcoming consequences, on the transfer of the fund for flood and storm prevention and fight from one district to another and the deduction of the fund for overcoming consequences caused by floods and storms in other localities.

Article 16.- The local Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Fight shall have to report on the collection results and draw up and submit the estimated expenditures to the People�s Committee of the same level for consideration and approval at the end of the first quarter every year.

The People�s Committees of various levels shall have to report the final accounts of the funds for flood and storm prevention and fight of their localities to the People�s Councils of the same level and the People�s Committees of the higher level(s) in accordance with current provisions of law.

At year-end, the People�s Committees of the provinces and the cities directly under the Central Government shall report the final accounts of the local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight to the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Fight, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance.

Chapter IV

REWARD AND HANDLING OF VIOLATIONS

Article 17.- Organizations and individuals that have recorded meritorious achievements in the formation, management and raising of the local funds for flood and storm prevention and fight shall be rewarded according to the common regime of the State.

Individuals who fail to make obligatory contributions in full to the local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight shall have to pay arrears in accordance with the provisions of law.

For an organization which fails to make contributions in full to the fund as prescribed, the fund collecting agency shall request the bank to transfer the prescribed sum of money from the account of such organization into the account of the local fund for flood and storm prevention and fight.

Article 18.- Persons who are assigned the tasks of collecting, managing and using the local funds for flood and storm prevention and fight violate the provisions of this Decree, shall, depending on the nature and seriousness of the violations, be disciplined or examined for penal liability. Compensation must be paid for any material damage in accordance with the provisions of law.

On behalf of the Government

For the Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister

PHAN VAN KHAI