The Government regulates the scope and subjects of saving 5% of regular expenditure in 2024.

On August 7, the Government issued Resolution No. 119/NQ-CP on the scope and subjects of saving 5% of regular expenditure in 2024.

Save and cut 5% of regular state budget expenditures

The Resolution clearly states that regular expenditures of the State budget will be saved and cut by 5%; deducted fee revenues will be retained, public service revenues and other revenues will be retained according to the regime assigned at the beginning of 2024 for regular expenditures of budget units under ministries, central agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities after excluding the following items:

Payroll expenses, of a wage nature, and personnel expenses:

The 10% savings for salary reform in the 2024 budget has been assigned by competent authorities according to regulations;

Paying salaries, allowances, salary-based contributions, and expenses of a salary nature;

Funds for implementing social security policies decided by competent authorities; human expenses according to the regime (including: budget for streamlining payroll; scholarships, regimes, policies for students; support for disadvantaged scholars; food expenses, bonuses according to prescribed regimes, expert hiring fees, wages and other human expenses; wages and human expenses for statistical surveys, implementation of policies on forest protection and development; specific allowances for each sector, both in cash and in kind; funding for tuition fee exemption and reduction according to prescribed regimes; royalties fund, literary and artistic awards...).

Expenditures under international commitments:

Expenditure from foreign capital sources; counterpart funds to implement ODA projects; annual fee payments; funds to implement conciliation agreements, judgments and decisions of international arbitration.

Funds for implementing purchasing and repair tasks according to signed contracts for the supply of goods and servicesbefore the date the Government issued this Resolution and continue to implement in 2024; bidding packages whose contractor selection results have been approved before the date the Government issued this Resolution;

Funding for implementing some special and important political and professional tasks will not be cut.:

Budget for National Assembly sessions, activities of the National Assembly Standing Committee and National Assembly delegations; budget for propaganda and press work serving the activities of the National Assembly; budget to support the development of laws and ordinances; budget to support religious organizations, religious dignitaries and religious officials in Vietnam; budget for production of reward objects;

Operating expenses of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad and other Vietnamese agencies abroad; other national diplomatic activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; expenses to support and protect Vietnamese citizens and legal entities abroad; expenses for foreign affairs tasks of leaders of the Party, State, National Assembly, and Government;

Funding for training foreign students in Vietnam and training Vietnamese students abroad under the Agreement; funding for implementing overseas training and development projects according to projects approved by the Prime Minister; Funding for training and development of officials and civil servants;

Funding for implementing national-level science and technology tasks; ministerial-level science and technology tasks carried over from previous years that will end in 2024; funding for implementing science and technology cooperation tasks with a number of countries under Agreements or Protocols;

Funding for activities serving preventive medicine (epidemic prevention, infectious diseases, specialized tasks for preventive medicine, grassroots health, food safety, population work, tasks of purchasing vaccines, testing drugs, water, pharmaceuticals, etc.); funding for activities of directing the line, providing professional support, transferring techniques, rotating professional staff from upper-level hospitals to support lower-level hospitals to improve the quality of approved medical examination and treatment; funding for medical examination, treatment, and care for patients with mental illness, leprosy, and tuberculosis at medical facilities;

Operating expenses for court sessions; expenses for investigation activities, exercising the right to prosecute and controlling judicial activities of the People's Procuracy; expenses for appraisal serving the activities of judicial, inspection and auditing agencies; expenses for the operation of the Jury, expenses for advance payment for compulsory execution of judgments, destruction of exhibits, bailiff expenses; expenses for conducting mediation and dialogue according to the Law on Mediation and Dialogue at Court; expenses for compensation for damages; expenses for implementing Ordinance 01/2022/UBTVQH15 on procedures for People's Courts to consider and decide on sending people from 12 years old to under 18 years old to compulsory drug rehabilitation facilities; expenses for implementing Ordinance 03/2022/UBTVQH15 on procedures for considering and deciding on the application of administrative handling measures at People's Courts; Funds to support the work of meeting to consider conditional early release of prisoners by the Court according to the provisions of the amended Penal Code; funds to support the execution of death sentences;

Career funding for implementing national target programs;

Funding for newspapers, magazines, publishing, subsidies; ordering, assigning tasks to provide products, public career services and public utility services;

Cost of purchasing industry uniforms, cost of renting headquarters;

Funds for purchasing rice for distribution according to decisions of the Prime Minister; funds for purchasing and printing tax and customs documents to carry out tax collection tasks.

The Government requires heads of budget-using units to determine the amount of reduced and saved funds and send them to the superior management agencies for review and synthesis. Ministers, heads of central agencies, and Chairmen of People's Committees at all levels decide on the amount of reduced and saved funds of their affiliated agencies and units, detailed by each spending area (including agencies and administrative units that have been assigned the mechanism of autonomy and self-responsibility for the use of payroll and administrative management funds; public service units that have been assigned the right to autonomy and self-responsibility for performing tasks, organizing apparatus, payroll and finance; agencies and units that regularly spend on deducted and retained fee revenues and retained professional revenues) and send them to the State Treasury for spending control.

Synthesize and report on cost reduction and savings to the Ministry of Finance before August 20, 2024.

The resolution clearly states that the cost reduction and savings are managed as follows:

Ministries, central agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities shall synthesize and report on the budget for cuts and savings to the Ministry of Finance before August 20, 2024 to synthesize the amount of cuts and savings in regular State budget expenditures of ministries, central agencies (except the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security) and localities to synthesize and report to the Government for reporting to competent authorities for consideration and decision.

The funds for cutting and saving management costs of Vietnam Social Security shall be paid to the respective Social Security Funds, Unemployment Insurance Funds, and Health Insurance Funds. The funds for cutting and saving of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor shall be from the revenue of 2% of the trade union fund transferred to the following year and used according to the provisions of.

For the State Bank of Vietnam's lump-sum budget as prescribed in Decision No. 07/2013/QD-TTg dated January 24, 2013 of the Prime Minister on the financial regime of the State Bank of Vietnam, make cuts and savings when developing the 2024 lump-sum budget plan.

For the cost of reduction, savings from fee revenue are deducted and left according to the provisions of the law on fees and charges.: Based on the decision to reduce and save by the governing body, the implementing agencies and units shall pay the reduced and saved funds to the state budget. By the end of the fiscal year, if the revenue fluctuates compared to the estimate assigned at the beginning of the year, the head of the agency or unit shall be responsible for reporting to the superior management agency to decide to adjust the reduced and saved funds as prescribed.

For the cost reduction, savings from career revenue, other revenue is retained.: Based on the decision to reduce and save by the governing body, agencies and units shall allocate to the unit's career development fund to increase investment in career development. By the end of the fiscal year, if the revenue fluctuates compared to the estimate assigned at the beginning of the year, the head of the agency or unit shall be responsible for reporting to the superior management agency to decide to adjust the budget for reduction and saving as prescribed.