I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Food quality, hygiene and safety control charges and fees constitute a source of State budget revenues to partly offset the expenses for State management activities as well as professional technical management over food quality, hygiene and safety.

2. Units organizing the collection of food quality, hygiene and safety control charges and fees are allowed to spend at most 90% of the collected charge and fee amounts on the contents stipulated in this Circular. The remainder (10%) must be remitted into the State budget according to the chapter, category, clause, item and sub-item of the current State budget contents.

3. The use of food quality, hygiene and safety control charges and fees must be estimated annually and approved by the competent authority.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Spending contents:

1.1. Regular expenses for inspection of food hygiene and safety conditions of production and business establishments; granting of registration numbers for imported and home-made food; granting of certificates for the lots of food commodities that meet the quality and hygiene requirements; and certification of single criterion checking results. The spending contents include:

- Wages and allowances (if any);

- The expense for the laborers� contributions which fall under the employers� responsibility according to the prescribed regime (social and medical insurance premiums, trade union fees);

- The expense for remuneration to officials and employees who collect charges and fees besides their assigned functions and tasks, which shall depend on the extent of each person�s involvement in the work (including extra-time allowances);

- The expense for printing (buying) forms and tables, dossiers, books and certificates in service of the registration-number granting and certification of checking results;

- The expense for compilation of evaluation dossiers; expense for operations of the evaluation councils, for consideration and approval of such dossiers according to decision of the competent authority;

- The expense for inspection of food hygiene and safety conditions in production and business establishments.

1.2. Expenses for professional and technical operations particularly related to food quality, hygiene and safety control:

- The expense for procurement of chemicals in service of the test, check and inspection of food and biological product samples;

- The expense for procurement of supplies and payment for services provided from outside in service of inspection of production establishments� hygiene and safety conditions and food sample examination;

- The expense for the procurement of equipment and instruments for checking sections in service of the regular food sample test and check;

- The expense for regular maintenance and repair of equipment and instruments in direct service of the inspection of food quality, hygiene and safety.

1.3. The expense for the work of propagation on food quality, hygiene and safety control.

1.4. The deduction for establishment of the reward fund for officials and employees in charge of collection and remittance of food quality, hygiene and safety control charges and fees. The fund�s annual average deduction level for reward for each person shall not exceed the 3-month actually-paid salary.

1.5. Other expenses for the collection of food quality, hygiene and safety control charges and fees.

2. Elaboration and implementation of draft revenues and expenditures of food quality, hygiene and safety control charges and fees

2.1. Annually, basing themselves on the tables of charge and fee levels for food quality, hygiene and safety control prescribed by the Finance Ministry, the spending contents prescribed in this Circular and the current financial expenditure regime, the agencies organizing charge and fee collection shall elaborate the draft revenues and expenditures of food quality, hygiene and safety control charges and fees according to the current State budget contents and send them to their respective managing agencies for consideration, acceptance and augmentation into a sum-up report to the finance agencies of the same level for approval.

2.2. Based on the draft revenues and expenditures already approved by the competent authority, the agencies organizing charge and fee collection shall elaborate quarterly revenue-expenditure estimates according to the current State budget contents and send them to their respective managing agencies, the State treasuries where their transactions are effected and the finance agencies of the same level to serve as basis for revenue and expenditure control.

2.3. Units organizing the collection of food quality, hygiene and safety control charges and fees shall have to open accounts of charge and fee revenues at the State treasuries of their transactions. Once every 7 to 10 days, the collected charge and fee amounts must be remitted into the above-said accounts.

2.4. On the basis of the collected charge and fee amounts, the draft expenditures already approved by the competent authorities; the spending orders issued by the heads of the concerned units as well as other lawful and valid vouchers and dossiers, the State treasuries shall make advance allocations or payments to the units according to the current regulations on management, allocation and payment of the State budget funding via the State treasuries as well as the provisions of this Circular. All improper expenses beyond the estimates already approved by the competent authorities must be excluded from accounts and refunded to the State budget. The persons who make wrong spending orders shall have to refund the spent amounts and be handled according to the provisions of law.

2.5. The agencies organizing charge and fee collection shall have to declare, collect, remit and manage charge and fee money in strict compliance with current regulations.

3. Final account settlement of revenues and expenditures of food quality, hygiene and safety control charges and fees

- Units organizing the collection of food quality, hygiene and safety control charges and fees shall have to open accounting books to record, account and finally settle charge and fee revenues and expenditures in strict compliance with the provisions of the Finance Minister�s Decision No.999/TC/QD/CDKT of November 2, 1996 promulgating the system of accounting regime applicable to administrative and non-business sector.

- The managing agencies shall have to approve the final account settlements of revenues and expenditures of food quality, hygiene and safety control charges and fees of their dependent units and incorporate them into the general final account settlement reports to be sent to the finance agencies of the same level for evaluation and notification of the approval thereof, together with the yearly final account settlements of the concerned managing agencies.

- Where, by the year end, the charge and fee amounts left for the units are not used up, the remainder must be remitted into the State budget.

- The managing agencies shall have to coordinate with the finance agencies of the same level in organizing regular (or irregular) inspection of the collection organizing unit to ensure that all revenues and expenditures comply with the prescribed regime.

III. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISION

This Circular�s provisions shall apply as from March 7, 2000. The earlier regulations on the use of food quality, hygiene and safety control charges and fees contrary to this Circular are all now annulled.

In the course of implementation, if any problem arises, concerned bodies should promptly report it to the Finance Ministry for study and solution.

For the Finance Minister
Vice Minister
NGUYEN THI KIM NGAN