Public transparency of revenue and expenditure to avoid loss of budget capital

TDuring the discussion session in groups on the draft Law on State Budget (amended) and the draft Law on State Audit (amended) on the afternoon of October 29, the issue that National Assembly deputies focused on discussing was that currently, the State budget revenue and expenditure are very large, so units using state budget capital as well as localities need to be transparent in revenue and expenditure to avoid loss and waste.

Cashier at the State Treasury, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. Illustration photo: VNA

Discussing the draft Law on State Budget (amended), according to delegates, regarding the viewpoints and principles of amending the Law on State Budget, the promulgation of the 2013 Constitution has created an important basis for innovation, improving the efficiency of State Budget management, and is an important legal foundation for amending the Law on State Budget.

Many delegates said that the most important requirement in amending the State Budget Law is to ensure the institutionalization of basic principles in the Constitution related to the financial-budgetary sector. However, compared with the provisions of the draft law, some important orientations in the Constitution have not been specified.

Delegate Dang Dinh Luyen (Khanh Hoa delegation) proposed to clarify that the state budget is unified, has decentralized management and ensures the leading role of the central budget, clearly shows the central budget's spending tasks associated with the national spending tasks; clearly decentralizes functions and tasks associated with budget decentralization between the central and local levels. Accordingly, clearly define the scope of tasks of the National Assembly and People's Councils in deciding on the state budget estimates to avoid duplication and formality; strengthen regulations on improving spending discipline, publicity, transparency, and accountability in budget management and use, especially on state budget spending, which must comply with and concretize the basic principles stipulated in the Constitution.

Also according to delegate Dang Dinh Luyen, compared to the current State Budget Law, the provisions of this draft Law have a number of new provisions but there are still many general provisions that need to be more specific, such as provisions on revenue sources and expenditure tasks of budget levels; on state budget settlement, state accounting, budget transparency and publicity, authority of the Standing Committee of the People's Council and the People's Council in deciding on the budget of their level.

Delegate Bui Duc Thu (Lai Chau delegation) commented that the State Budget Law has been amended and supplemented with a number of articles to suit the management of public assets. However, the phenomenon of loss, dispersion, and failure to manage investment capital is quite common and is also a practical problem. To be consistent with international practices, the Law must be amended fundamentally and comprehensively, in which it is necessary to clearly define the authority to decide, allocate, and supervise the implementation of the budget.

Regarding the scope of state budget revenue, expenditure and deficit, for revenue from lottery activities and land use fees (Article 36), delegates agreed to include revenue from lottery activities in the state budget balance and supplement regulations on unused lottery revenue and land use fees to calculate the regulation ratio between the central budget and local budget, and calculate the additional balance from the central budget to the local budget.

In this amendment to the State Budget Law, delegates proposed only stipulating that the total development investment expenditure must be greater than the state budget deficit, without stipulating land use fees and lottery.

Delegate Truong Minh Hoang (Ca Mau delegation) agreed with the Government's proposal to decentralize revenue sources into three groups: 100% central budget revenue, 100% local budget revenue, and revenue divided between the central budget and local budget.

However, delegates suggested that the Government review each revenue item and divide it into groups appropriately to ensure the principle that the central budget plays a leading role.

Delegate Y Thong (Phu Yen delegation) was concerned that the new law stipulates that localities have the right to issue policies to collect more.

“If there is such a mechanism, people will not be able to bear it, complicating the local situation,” delegate Y Thong expressed.

Regarding extra-budgetary financial funds, there are many funds with revenue from taxes and fees - which are revenues that according to the law must be fully accounted for in the state budget, but are currently still kept outside the state budget, causing difficulties in State management and operation, and dispersing national resources.

Delegates Khuc Thi Duyen (Thai Binh delegation) and Dang The Vinh (Hau Giang delegation) proposed that the Government review and narrow down extra-budgetary funds in the direction of including in the state budget balance funds with revenue mainly from the state budget to ensure the unity and concentration of the state budget.

Regarding the expenditure carried over as stipulated in Article 62 of the draft Law, the Government proposes to allow expenditure carried over, in which for development investment expenditure, the source can be carried over to the following year according to the time stipulated in the Law on Public Investment; the decision-making authority must be specifically stipulated by the Government.

Regarding this issue, delegates Nguyen Thi Thanh (Ninh Binh delegation) and Truong Minh Hoang (Ca Mau delegation) said that, to ensure compliance with the Law on Public Investment and minimize the transfer of budget sources, it is recommended that regulations be made to allow the transfer of sources for development investment expenditures, expenditures for force majeure tasks, increased revenue and expenditure savings decided by competent authorities, sources for salary reform, and autonomous funding assigned to public service units and administrative agencies.

Particularly for development investment expenditure, it is necessary to control the limit rate of source transfer (expected to be a maximum of 10% of total investment expenditure) to strengthen financial discipline in the management of development investment capital from the state budget. In addition, to ensure the unity of the role of deciding on the state budget according to the Constitution, it is proposed to stipulate that the National Assembly has the authority to decide on source transfer, instead of the Government as in the Draft Law.

Regarding the advance payment of the next year's budget estimate (Article 55), the Government proposed to allow the advance payment of the next year's state budget as currently applied. Delegate Nguyen Thi Thanh suggested removing the regulation on the advance payment of the following year's budget estimate, ensuring accurate reflection of actual state budget revenues, expenditures, and budget deficits arising during the year.

Furthermore, allowing advance payment of next year's budget estimate would not be in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution: state budget revenues and expenditures must be estimated; at the same time, allowing advance payment would limit the National Assembly's authority to decide on the state budget because it would have to legalize the advanced payments while the National Assembly has not yet considered next year's budget.

Regarding the state budget reserve stipulated in Article 10 and Article 47, the Government plans to add regulations allowing ministries, government agencies, and other central agencies to retain a maximum of no more than 5% of the assigned regular expenditure estimates to proactively carry out unexpected tasks arising during the year (Current Law does not allow this).

Regarding this issue, delegate Khuc Thi Duyen proposed not allowing ministries to have reserve funds as stipulated in the draft Law because this provision contradicts the requirement to ensure sufficient and correct allocation of capital to agencies using the state budget according to the Resolution of the National Assembly.

According to Vietnam+