On April 4th, 2024, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 277/QD-TTg ("Decision 277") approving a plan to simplify 18 priority internal administrative procedures within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance. Accordingly, in 2024, the Ministry of Finance will focus on implementing simplified administrative procedures for 18 types of procedures, including some notable points as follows:
1. Simplifying procedures related to rearranging and handling real estate of agencies and organizations
Procedures related to rearranging and handling real estate (hereinafter referred to as "Real Estate Arrangement") of central management agencies, organizations, units, and enterprises will be simplified, including:
- The procedure for implementing Real Estate Arrangement of central management agencies, organizations, units, and enterprises at the provincial and municipal levels (except Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho, Hai Phong);
- The procedure for implementing Real Estate Arrangement of central management agencies, organizations, units, and enterprises at the municipal level: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho, Hai Phong;
- The procedure for implementing Real Estate Arrangement of local management agencies, organizations, units.
The simplified plan is as follows:
Delegating authority to inspect the status of real estate of central agencies at the local level from ministries, central agencies to the higher management authorities of agencies, organizations, units, or provincial-level agencies (for ministries, central agencies, general departments, or equivalent vertically organized branches)/representatives of business owners with real estate that needs arrangement.
Unified regulation of 01 Real Estate Arrangement administrative procedure of central management agencies at 63 localities nationwide (without distinguishing between the 05 major cities and other localities).
2. Plans to alleviate difficulties for units renting, purchasing, and using public assets
a. For procedures to procure public assets to serve the activities of public non-business units in cases not requiring investment project establishment
Currently, Decree No. 151/2017/ND-CP only allows the heads of public non-business units to autonomously ensure regular expenditures and investment expenditures to decide on asset procurement (except for operational bases, automobiles) from the Enterprise Operation Development Fund and from capital sources borrowed, mobilized according to the prescribed regime to serve the operational and business activities of the unit. For cases of procurement using all or part of state budget funds or units using multiple funding sources for procurement, including state budget funds, the decision-making authority lies with the state management agency for that public non-business unit.
Decision 277 presents a simplified plan: management agencies will delegate decision-making authority for asset procurement for unit activities to the heads of public non-business units to ensure regular expenditures and investment expenditures without restrictions on funding sources for asset procurement.
b. For procedures to issue decisions to lease assets for the operation of agencies, organizations, units
Article 1 of Article 38 of Decree No. 151/2017/ND-CP allows the heads of public non-business units to autonomously ensure regular expenditures and investment expenditures to decide on leasing assets (except for operational bases, automobiles); however, excluding authority in cases where public non-business units use state budget funds.
The simplified plan allows authorized agencies to delegate decision-making authority to lease assets for the operation of public non-business units to the heads of public non-business units without restrictions on funding sources for leasing.
c. For procedures to approve plans for using public assets for business purposes, leasing purposes
Article 44 of Decree No. 151/2017/ND-CP stipulates that when preparing plans for using public assets as the basis for business activities with original costs according to the accounting records from 500 billion VND upwards, the Minister, Head of central agencies must seek the opinion of the Prime Minister (for public non-business units under central management), the Chairman of the provincial People's Committee must seek the opinion of the Standing Committee of the same-level People's Council (for public non-business units under local management) before approval.
Decision 277 presents a simplified plan for this procedure by bypassing the step of seeking the Prime Minister's opinion, supplementing detailed instructions on how to develop the Model Plan for using public assets for business purposes at public non-business units in business/leasing/joint ventures, associations in Section II on the main contents of the plan such as the plan for using public assets, methods of declaration, and preparation of the plan for using public assets.
d. For procedures to approve plans for using public assets for joint ventures, associations
Point c of Clause 4 of Article 44 of Decree 151/2017 stipulates the dossier for seeking opinions from the Ministry of Finance, the Standing Committee of the provincial People's Council includes:
The proposal document accompanied by the proposed opinion of the ministry, central agency, Provincial Department of Finance on the plan to use public assets for joint ventures, associations of the unit: 01 original;
The plan to use public assets for joint ventures, associations of the unit: 01 copy;
Documents of the agency, person with authority prescribing the functions, tasks, and organizational structure of the unit: 01 copy;
Other relevant documents (if any): 01 copy;
To facilitate the implementation and reduce the time for administrative procedures, the simplified plan proposed in Decision 277 includes:
- Adding to the document components: a report on the management and use of public assets within the jurisdiction of the Department of Finance.
- Adding detailed instructions on how to develop the Model Plan for using public assets for business purposes at public non-business units in business/leasing/joint ventures, associations.
Decision 277 takes effect from April 4th, 2024.
Comment: