Legalization of state asset management

(Baonghean) - Since the Law on Management and Use of State Assets took effect from January 1, 2009, regulations on the management and use of state assets (including public cars) have been legalized. Currently, with the new policy on the management and use of public cars, each year, the state budget will reduce spending by at least 500 billion VND, creating a turning point in the management of state assets (TSNN). Nghe An Newspaper had a conversation with Dr. Tran Duc Thang, Director of the Department of Public Asset Management (Ministry of Finance) about this issue.

With the new policy on management and use of public cars, the State budget will reduce spending by at least 500 billion VND each year. Illustration photo: internet

PV:Dear Director Tran Duc Thang, what is the main reason for the Ministry of Finance to advise the Government to issue new regulations on the management and use of public cars?

Director Tran Duc Thang:According to the provisions of the current Law on Management and Use of State Assets, agencies, organizations and units must purchase and use state assets in accordance with standards and norms, and use them for the right purposes; the heads of agencies, organizations and units are responsible for promulgating and organizing the implementation of regulations on management and use of state assets within their scope of management; complying with regulations on standards and norms for management and use of state assets and being responsible before the law within the scope of management. The Ministry of Finance is responsible to the Government for management of state assets, submitting to competent authorities for promulgation of regulations on standards, norms, and regimes for management and use of state assets, including public cars; guiding and inspecting the management and use of state assets.

According to our assessment, the provision, management and use of cars in recent times have been basically seriously implemented by ministries, branches and localities; the management and use of public cars have gradually become orderly, economical and effective; at the same time, meeting the operational requirements of agencies and units in carrying out assigned political tasks.

However, the number of public cars in our country is quite large (nearly 40,000 public cars, not including cars in the people's armed forces and state-owned enterprises); there is still a phenomenon of buying cars that exceed standards and norms; the transfer of cars between units is not in accordance with the prescribed authority. The agreement and purchase of specialized vehicles is not strict, the prescribed standards and norms are not suitable for some agencies and units. The purchase and liquidation of cars is complicated, time-consuming and costly; the cost of using cars is quite large in difficult budget conditions (about 320 million VND/1 car/1 year).

In addition, the regulations on time and number of kilometers used are not suitable for reality, the regulations on car budget allocation are almost not applied. The use of cars for private purposes, the use of cars for the wrong subjects, the use of shuttle cars from home to work with positions that do not meet the standards and norms still occur... Therefore, in order to overcome the above shortcomings, to adapt to the new situation when public transport and personal cars have developed much more than 7 years ago; in accordance with the mechanism of autonomy in operating costs at administrative agencies, public service units and the implementation of the Law on Practicing Thrift and Combating Wastefulness, the Ministry of Finance has researched and submitted to the Prime Minister for promulgation regulations on standards, norms and management and use of cars in state agencies and public service units, effective from September 21, 2015.

PV:In the newly issued contents, according to the Director, what specific impacts will there be on the process of reducing state budget expenditures, that is, reducing the burden on taxpayers?

Director Tran Duc Thang:In the contents of Decision No. 32/2015/QD-TTg, the regulation of the unified quota of cars for general work is from 1 to 2 cars/unit for all agencies and units that meet the standards to be equipped with cars (including units that have been equipped with cars according to previous regulations) is very important. With this regulation, ministries, branches and localities are responsible for reviewing and rearranging the number of cars currently available at agencies and units under their management to ensure that they meet the standards and quotas. The remaining cars will be transferred to agencies, units, and project management boards under their management that do not meet the prescribed quota of cars or transferred to the Ministry of Finance, and must report the results by March 2016.

In addition, the Government also stipulates more clearly how to determine the fixed budget in case the positions that are eligible to use cars voluntarily register to receive the fixed budget for using public cars. Accordingly, the fixed budget is determined on a monthly basis, based on the actual distance from home to work or the actual distance from work; the average price of public transport (prices of popular taxi companies on the market); the number of working days according to regulations; the number of pick-up and drop-off trips (2 trips/day). Inheriting the current regulations, this regulation clearly states: only leadership positions with a position allowance coefficient of 1.25 and the position of Deputy Minister (or equivalent) or higher are allowed to use cars to pick up and drop off from home to work.

PV:How do you evaluate the impact of the new policy on current practice?

Director Tran Duc Thang:Firstly, the specific determination of the number of cars equipped for each agency, organization, and unit is done in groups: cars serving the title, cars serving general work, and cars for specialized purposes. This classification ensures publicity and fairness in the use of public cars and state agencies can easily control the number of public cars equipped compared to the standards and norms prescribed by the Prime Minister. By changing the method of equipping public cars from the principle of "not exceeding the number of existing cars" as before to equipping according to the norm of 1 to 2 cars/unit, a large number of cars serving general work will be reduced. According to the National Database on State Assets, the number of cars serving general work currently is 24,460, if calculated according to the new norm, it is estimated to decrease by about 7,000 cars compared to the present. Thus, each year the budget will save about 500 billion VND in replacement car purchases, not including operating costs during use. To ensure strict implementation of standards and norms for car use, Decision No. 32/2015/QD-TTg specifically stipulates the management and use regime, sanctions for violations against agencies, units, individuals using cars and the responsibilities of heads of agencies and units; thereby contributing to limiting the wasteful and improper use of public cars.

Staff of the Budget Department of the Department of Finance discuss daily work. Illustration photo - C. L

Second, we believe that the new regulations will gradually change the management and use of public cars according to the market mechanism. The regulation of unifying the quota of 1 to 2 cars/unit, renting car services and allocating car usage costs according to market prices will be a major change in the equipment, arrangement and use of public cars in agencies and units. This will encourage a gradual shift to the form of allocating car usage costs, promoting public transport services, reducing administrative staff and vehicle usage costs. This regulation is consistent with the Party and State's policies and orientations in the management of public assets (including public cars), which is to gradually reduce the provision of physical equipment and switch to a leasing/contracting mechanism. This is a trend that is consistent with the market economy, effective and economical, and has been applied by many countries.

PV:Thank you comrade!

Red River