Government vehicles are not permitted for use in meetings or business trips.

The Ministry of Finance leadership has officially issued a decision on allocating funds for the use of automobiles when on official business for general departments and departments (and equivalent units) at the local level.

Specifically, according to information released by a representative of the Ministry of Finance on May 19th, the allowance system will be applied to the following positions: Deputy Director General and equivalent; heads and deputy heads of departments (divisions) and equivalents of the General Department of Taxation, General Department of Customs, General Department of State Reserves, State Treasury, and State Securities Commission, who use official vehicles for business trips (including meetings) within Hanoi.

In addition, the positions of Director, Deputy Director, and equivalent positions in the Tax Department, State Treasury, Customs Department, and State Reserve Department located in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are also required to receive a fixed allowance for the use of official vehicles (including attending meetings) within these two cities. In other provinces and cities (excluding Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City), the fixed allowance for vehicle expenses applies to the following positions: Director, Deputy Director, and equivalent positions in the Tax Department, State Treasury, Customs Department, and State Reserve Department.

With the new policy on the management and use of government vehicles, the state budget will save at least 500 billion VND annually. (Illustration image: internet)

The official document from the finance sector also clarifies that the travel allowance is calculated by multiplying the fixed rate (13,000 VND/km) by the actual distance traveled on business trips each month for each position.

According to regulations, the actual distance for business trips is the number of kilometers from the agency's headquarters to the work location for each position, determined based on the actual work schedule of that position as confirmed by the head of the unit.

The above regulation from the Ministry of Finance takes effect from May 15th. The Ministry of Finance leadership reminds units to ensure that the allocation of funds for the use of vehicles for general work purposes is based on the correct recipients, does not result in increased annual administrative costs, and does not affect the performance of assigned tasks.

Previously, since October 2016, the Ministry of Finance was a pioneer in implementing a system of allocating funds for the use of official vehicles to transport leaders. However, at that time, the allocation system only applied to daily commuting from residence to work for the Deputy Minister of Finance and leaders with a position allowance coefficient of 1.25 (Director General and equivalent).

According to Vietnamplus