DECREE

REGARDING ESTABLISHMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT FUNDS

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015; the Law on Amending and Supplementing certain Articles of the Law on Government Organization and the Law on Local Government Organization dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control dated June 19, 2013; the Law on Amendments and Supplements to certain Articles of the Law on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the Law on Dykes dated June 17, 2020;

At the request of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development;

The Government herein promulgates the Decree on establishment and management of the Disaster Management Fund.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

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This Decree prescribes the establishment, management and use of the Disaster Management Fund, its financial sources, spending details, persons and entities eligible for exemption, reduction in and deferment of payment of contributions, procedures for regulation, public disclosure of information and final settlement of the Disaster Management Fund.

Article 2. Subjects of application  

This Decree shall apply to Vietnamese authorities, organizations and individuals; foreign entities and persons currently living, operating or participating in natural disaster prevention and control activities in Vietnam.

Article 3. Name and legal status of the Disaster Management Fund

1. The Disaster Management Fund is a state extra-budgetary financial foundation having its legal personality, its own seal and allowed to have its accounts opened at the State Treasury and commercial banks legally operating in Vietnam.

2. The Central Disaster Management Fund is established by the Government under the provisions of this Decree and run by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Its international name is Vietnam Disaster Management Fund, abbreviated to VNDMF.

3. Provincial disaster management funds (hereinafter referred to as provincial DMF) are established under the approval decisions of Presidents of the People's Committees of centrally-affiliated cities and provinces, and run by the People's Committees of centrally-affiliated cities and provinces. The Fund of each province or centrally-affiliated city is named after the name of that province or centrally-affiliated city.

4. Each DMF operates like a single-member limited liability company of which the charter capital is wholly held by the State.

Article 4. DMF’s duties

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2. Receive, manage and use financial sources.

3. Implement reporting and accounting regulations laid down herein and in other relevant laws.

4. Submit to the inspection, examination and audit conducted by competent regulatory authorities in accordance with laws.

5. Publicly announce the DMF’s operational regulations and results and report on the DMF's situations according to the provisions of this Decree and relevant laws.

Chapter II

VIETNAM DISASTER MANAGEMENT FUND

Article 5. Management and governance machinery

VNDMF is composed of the followings: Management Board, Control Board and the agency running the VNDMF.

1. VNDMF’s Management Board is composed of fewer than 09 members, including:  Chair, Vice Chairs and other members.

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b) The VNDMF’s Management Board is joined by 02 Vice Chairs and members appointed or approved by the Chair of the VNDMF’s Management Board at the recommendation of the agency running the VNDMF.

c) The VNDMF’s Management Board uses the machinery of the standing agency for disaster prevention and control as the agency running the VNDMF.

d) The working regime, tasks and powers of the Board’s members are assigned by the Chair of the Fund’s Management Board and are implemented under the Regulations on organization and operation of the VNDMF issued by the Chair of the Fund’s Management Board at the request of the agency running the VNDMF.

2. The VNDMF’s Control Board shall have no more than 05 members, including the Head of the Control Board and members.

a) The Head of the Control Board shall be appointed or approved by the Chair of the VNDMF’s Management Board at the recommendation of the VNDMF’s Management Board.

b) The working regime, tasks and powers of the Control Board shall be subject to the Regulations on organization and operation of the VNDMF.

3. The agency running the VNDMF is composed of the Director, Deputy Directors and specialized and professional units.

a) The VNDMF’s Director is appointed or approved by the Chair of the VNDMF's Management Board, and is the legal representative of the VNDMF. The VNDMF's Director is entitled to sign contracts in accordance with law for a number of jobs serving the Fund's operations and bears legal liability.

b) Deputy Directors and Chief Accountant are appointed or dismissed by the Chair of the VNDMF’s Management Board at the recommendation of the VNDMF's Director.

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d) The working regime, tasks and powers of the agency running VNDMF are assigned by the Chair of the VNDMF’s Management Board and are expressed in the Regulations on organization and operation of the VNDMF.

Article 6. Financial sources

1. Grants, aids, voluntary and trusted contributions of domestic and foreign organizations and individuals. Voluntary contributions, grants, aids and financial support given to the Fund shall be included in CIT-deductible expenses.

2. Amounts granted by provincial Funds according to the Prime Minister’s decision.

3. Interest earned from deposit accounts.

4. Other legitimate finances (if any).

5. Balance in the last year that may be carried forward to the subsequent year.

Article 7. Spending details

1. Provide assistance and support for emergency response to natural disasters when local budgets cannot afford to carry out these response activities; emergency assistance and support priority is given to food, drinking water, medicines and others meeting urgent needs of those affected by natural disasters, repair of houses, medical facilities, schools, environmental remediation and sanitation in affected areas. 

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3. Provide support for emergency projects on natural disaster prevention, control and recovery, basic survey projects and inter-provincial, inter-regional and inter-sectoral disaster prevention and control activities.

4. Provide support for disaster warning, monitoring, observation and communication activities.

5. Support disaster prevention and control information, communication, training, coaching and drilling activities; organize specialized and professional training, coaching, instruction and experience exchange and learning courses on managerial operations amongst provincial funds.

6. Expenses for management and operation of the VNDMF within a year shall not exceed 1% of total revenue of the Fund in that year.

Article 8. Financial, accounting and audit regime

1. Financial regime:

a) Annually, the agency running the VNDMF shall prepare a financial plan, including the operating, collecting and spending plan, and submit it to the Chair of the Fund’s Management Board to seek its decision.

b) Annually, the agency running VNDMF shall prepare financial statements and final settlement reports in accordance with the law on finance and accounting.

2. Accounting, audit, asset management and financial public disclosure regime:

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b) Manage and use property in accordance with laws;

c) Carry out independent audits of financial statements.

Article 9. Public disclosure of information

Information on the operations of the VNDMF shall be provided to domestic and foreign organizations and individuals in accordance with law; publicly announced on the website and at the head office of the agency running VNDMF, including:

1. Basic information about VNDMF and its operating plans.

2. Financial statements and final settlement reports.

3. Result assessment reports.

Article 10. Relationship between VNDMF and provincial Funds

1. Responsibilities of VNDMF:

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b) Provide instructions, inspect and supervise the management and use of VNDMF’s allocations granted to provincial Funds.

2. Responsibilities of provincial Funds:

a) Receive, manage and use VNDMF’s allocations.

b) Make transfers to VNDMF according to the Prime Minister’s decision.

c) VNDMF’s allocations that provincial Funds receive must be inspected and supervised by the VNDMF.

d) Report on management and use of provincial Funds to the agency running the VNDMF for its synthesis purposes.

Chapter III

PROVINCIAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT FUNDS

Article 11. Management and governance machinery

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2. The working regime, tasks and powers of the management and governance machinery are assigned by the Chair of the Fund’s Management Board and are implemented under the Regulations on organization and operation of the provincial Fund issued by the Chair of the Fund’s Management Board at the request of the agency running the Fund.

3. The agency running the provincial fund is located at the standing agency for natural disaster prevention and control; uses the apparatus of the standing agency for natural disaster prevention and control in the form of secondment or part-time participation in the Management Board, the Control Board and the agency running the provincial fund. The agency running the provincial fund has its Director and 02 Vice Directors or fewer. The Fund's Director is entitled to sign contracts in accordance with law for a number of jobs serving the Fund's operations and bears legal liability.

4. People’s Committees shall authorize district or commune People's Committees to take charge of collection and payment activities.

Article 12. Financial sources

1. The rate of compulsory contribution from domestic and foreign economic organizations within a locality per year is 0.02% of total value of existing assets according to the financial statement that the paying organization makes on December 31 each year to the tax authority, is VND 500,000 at minimum and VND 100 million at maximum, and shall be accounted as that organization’s operating expenses.

2. Voluntary contributions, grants, aids and financial support given to the Fund by organizations and enterprises shall be included in CIT-deductible expenses.

3. Vietnamese citizens who are at least 18 years old or at retirement age under normal working conditions prescribed in law on labor shall make annual contributions as follows:

a) Officials, public officers, public employees, persons paid wages, salaries, allowances and employees working at agencies, organizations and non-business units of the Party, State, socio-political organizations and associations that are funded by the State budget to cover their operating expenses at the central level, in provinces and centrally-run cities, in urban/rural districts, towns, provincially-affiliated cities, cities under the central authority (district level), in communes, wards and townships (commune level), in special administrative-economic units and armed forces shall pay a half of the statutory base salary divided by the number of working days in a month.

b) Employees working under labor contracts in enterprises shall pay a half of the region-specific statutory minimum pay rate divided by the number of working days in a month as agreed upon in the labor contract. Employees who enter into multiple contracts with different enterprises shall only have to make a one-off contribution according to the labor contract of which the term is longest.

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4. Grants, aids, voluntary contributions granted by domestic and foreign organizations and individuals.

5. Allocations granted by the VNDMF and by another provincial Fund.

6. Interest earned from deposit accounts.

7. Other legitimate finances (if any).

8. The Fund’s year-end balance which is carried forward to the subsequent year.

Article 13. Persons and entities eligible for exemption, reduction or deferment of payment of contributions

1. Persons and entities eligible for exemption, reduction or deferment of payment of contributions:

a) Persons entitled to the preferential treatment intended for people with meritorious services to the revolution according to the provisions of Article 3 of the Ordinance on Incentives for people with meritorious services to the revolution No. 02/2020/UBTVQH14 dated December 9, 2020.

b) Social protection beneficiaries that are enjoying monthly welfare;

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d) Students and learners who are taking intensive and long-term courses at universities, colleges, secondary schools and vocational schools.

dd) Persons who are handicapped or are incapacitated at the rate of 21% or more, persons suffering from fatal diseases or mental illnesses that hold medical certificates issued by hospitals at the district or higher level.

e) Persons who are unemployed or jobless for 6 months in a year or a longer period.

g) Women that are rearing their children aged under 12 months.

h) Members of poor or near-poor households; members of households at extremely disadvantaged communes located at coastal areas, islands, region-III communes and extremely disadvantaged villages within ethnic minority or mountainous areas as referred to in Government’s Decrees, Prime Minister’s Decisions and other relevant legislative documents; members of families seriously afflicted by natural disasters, diseases, fires and accidents.

i) Cooperatives earning no revenue.

k) Domestic and foreign economic organizations that operate in the localities suffering damage to property, factories and equipment caused by natural disasters in a year to the extent that the cost incurred from repair or purchase accounts for 0.02 % of total value of their asset, or their production and business must be temporarily closed for 5 consecutive days or more as certified by the district-level People's Committees, or they are exempted from the requirement for payment of corporate income tax.

2. Persons and entities eligible for reduction or deferment of payment of contributions:

If any domestic and foreign economic organization within a province is entitled to a reduction in corporate income tax, they may be considered eligible for reduction in or suspension of contributions to the provincial fund. The rates of reduction in contributions to a fund are equivalent to the rates of reduction in corporate income tax announced by tax authorities on an annual basis.

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1. District-level People's Committees shall compile lists of entities specified at Points i and k, Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 13 of this Decree and submit them to the Presidents of the provincial-level People's Committees to seek their decisions on exemption, reduction or deferment of contributions to the Fund. The period of deferment of contributions to the Fund is from 06 months to 01 year.

2. Communal-level People's Committees shall compile lists of the rest persons and entities specified in Clause 1 of Article 13 of this Decree and submit them to the Presidents of the district-level People's Committees to seek their decisions on exemption from payment of contributions to the Fund.

3. The consideration of exemption, reduction and suspension of contributions to the provincial Fund by each local authority shall take place once a year at the time of setting targets of the provincial-level fund collection plan. In cases of exemption, reduction or deferment due to damage caused by natural disasters or epidemics, organizations and individuals must send damage reports and recommendations to local authorities for their preparation of a general report to be sent to competent agencies for consideration of exemption, reduction or deferment. If any of them has made contributions to the provincial fund, and is eligible for exemption, reduction or deferment, the paid amount will be deducted from the next year's contribution amounts.

Article 15. Management of collection and collection plans

1. Heads of domestic and foreign economic organizations within localities shall be responsible for providing complete lists of plans for collection and payment of contributions to funds by individuals under their management and remitting them to provincial-level funds according to the norms specified in Clause 1 and Point b of Clause 3 of Article 12 herein shall be transferred to the accounts of provincial funds or the accounts at the district level under the mandate of provincial People's Committees.

2. Heads of agencies, organizations, non-business units of the Party, State, socio-political organizations and associations operated using the state budget’s funds as specified at Point a, Clause 3, Article 12 of the Decree shall be responsible for collecting contributions from officials, civil servants, public employees, persons paid wages, salaries and allowances and employees under their management and transferring them to the accounts of the provincial funds or to the accounts at the district level with authorization from the provincial People’s Committees.

3. The commune-level People's Committees shall take charge of collecting contributions from other laborers within their remit according to the provisions of Point c, Clause 3, Article 12 of this Decree and transferring them to the district-level accounts with authorization from the provincial-level People's Committees. Collection of cash contributions must be proven by written evidence under the instructions from the Ministry of Finance.

4. Deadline for formulation and approval of the plan for collection and transfer of contributions of a provincial fund: By May 15 each year.

5. Deadline for transfer of contributions to a provincial fund: Individuals must make a one-off payment of contributions by July 31 each year; local domestic and foreign economic organizations must pay at least 50% of the required amount of contributions by July 31 and the rest by November 30 each year. In case of the prolonged disaster or disease causing large impacts, the Presidents of provincial People’s Committees may consider changing the deadline for payment of contributions or deciding whether exemption or reduction of contributions to the provincial fund is granted where appropriate.

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7. “Presidents of provincial-level People’s Committees shall provide each related agency or unit with instructions about the formulation, approval and notification of collection plans.   

a) Departments of Taxation in provinces and centrally-affiliated cities shall be responsible for cooperating with and directing district-level or regional Subdepartments of Taxation to support collection of contributions to the Fund, formulating collection plans and providing local domestic and foreign economic organizations with information about total value of existing assets determined according to annual financial reports made on December 31 each year; providing information prescribed in point i and k of clause 1 and clause 2 of Article 13 for agencies running provincial funds or district People’s Committees as a basis to formulate collection plans.    

b) Social Insurance agencies shall be responsible for providing information on the number of civil servants, public employees, persons paid wages, salaries, allowances, employees working in agencies, organizations and employees working under labor contracts of domestic and foreign economic organizations within their remit for agencies running funds of the provinces, the People's Committees of the districts and communes as a basis for the formulation of collection plans at all levels.

Article 16. Spending details

1. Spending on support for natural disaster response activities with priority given to the following activities:

a) Support for natural disaster response activities: Evacuating people out of dangerous areas; providing health care services; food and drinking water to those in muster areas; patrolling and detecting areas having risks of disasters or disaster prevention and control facility incidents; supporting forces called on to take response actions; supporting permanent forces performing on-call duties, commanding and ordering disaster response activities.  

b) Disaster aid, assistance and relief: Providing emergency relief by donating food, drinking water, curative medicines, learning notebooks, materials and other essentials to those suffering from damage caused by natural disasters; supporting the repair of houses, health establishments and schools, and environmental remediation and sanitation in natural disaster-hit areas; supporting agricultural production for recovery of production activities in affected areas; dismantling items or obstacles likely to cause disasters; assisting in traffic assurance actions to ensure traffic smoothness on roads and railroads in affected areas in case of land collision or landslide; granting funds for repair, overhaul, treatment and construction of emergency projects for disaster prevention and control provided that total investment in each project does not exceed 03 billion dong. 

c) Support for disaster prevention activities: Providing information, communicating and providing education about disaster prevention and control activities; formulating and reviewing natural disaster prevention and control plans and natural disaster response plans, depending on natural disaster risk levels; assisting in movement of population out of disaster-hit and dangerous areas; disseminating, propagating, educating, providing training and educational courses for forces participating in natural disaster prevention and control at all levels in the localities and community; going on natural disaster prevention and control exercises at all levels; buying insurance against disaster risk for participants in the commune-level disaster prevention and control vanguards; providing training courses and maintaining activities for participants in dyke protection, people's dike management forces, commune-level disaster prevention and control vanguards, disaster prevention and control volunteers; assisting in creating tools, software, monitoring, disaster forecast and warning in the community; purchasing and investing in means and equipment used in disaster prevention and control activities according to regulations.

2. Based on expenditures of provincial funds prescribed in clause 1 of this Article and the amounts actually collected at specific local levels, provincial-level People’s Committees may decide to distribute the following amounts to district- or commune-level People's Committees as follows:

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b) District-level People’s Committees retain 23% of contributions collected at districts (including those collected from communes) at maximum to pay for implementation of disaster prevention and control tasks at the district level (20% or less) and administrative costs incurred from collection activities (3% or less). The remaining amount (at least 77% of contributions collected in districts) shall be deposited in accounts of the provincial fund.

c) After all-level authorities report on cost settlement, the People's Committees of the provinces shall recover allocations if there is any residual balance, or decide on the allocation when the funding for performing natural disaster prevention and control tasks at the district and commune level is used up.

3. Expenses for management and operation of a provincial fund shall not exceed 3% of total revenue of that provincial fund.

Article 17. Spending authority

1. Provincial-level People's Committees shall elaborate on spending details and rates of provincial funds in Article 16 of this Decree at the request of agencies running provincial-level funds.

2. Presidents of provincial-, district- or commune-level People’s Committees may decide spending amounts and details for disaster prevention and control activities other than those specified in clause 1 of Article 16 for payees upon the request of the Steering Committee for search and rescue at the same level.

3. Provincial Steering Committees for search and rescue shall be responsible for synthesizing damage and demands for support of district-level People’s Committees and relevant agencies or organizations; carrying out inspection, review and submit reports to the Presidents of provincial People’s Committees to seek their decisions.

4. Making transfers to the VNDMF under the Prime Minister's decisions or provincial funds of other provinces under the decisions of the provincial People's Committees.

Article 18. Settlement reporting and approval

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2. Provincial-level People's Committees shall be responsible for directing agencies running provincial funds to report collection and spending results to the agency running the VNDMF by the 25^th of each month.

3. Funds shall carry out the accounting regimes prescribed in law and according to the instructions about accounting regulations given by the Ministry of Finance.

Article 19. Inspection, audit and supervision of activities

1. Provincial funds shall be subjected to the inspection, examination and audit conducted by competent state regulatory authorities in accordance with laws.

2. Provincial People’s Committees shall direct the inspection and supervision of operations of provincial funds. Taking actions to press agencies, organizations and individuals to strictly implement responsibilities and obligations to pay contributions to provincial funds under the provisions of laws.

3. Based on the approved annual collection plans, agencies running provincial funds shall advise provincial People's Committees on regular and irregular inspection of the compliance with regulations on tasks of formulation of plans for collection, spending and management of funds at localities and units according to regulations.

4. Provincial-level Fatherland Front agencies and associations related to provincial funds shall be entitled to request provision of information about funds and exercise the supervisory right through comments, proposals and criticism.

Article 20. Regulations on communication and public announcement of collections and expenditures

1. Agencies, units and organizations must publicize lists of collection and payment of contributions made by individuals, officials, civil servants, public employees and workers in the following forms: written notices, notices posted at the units; announced at the conferences of officials, civil servants, public employees and workers of units. The deadline for public disclosure of these lists shall not be later than 30 days from the date of transfer of contributions to the accounts of provincial funds.

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3. Commune-level authorities must publicize the results of collection, the lists of domestic and foreign economic organizations that have paid contributions within districts and communes; total funding allocated for disaster prevention and control activities and spending details in the following forms: public explanatory reports presented at annual review meetings, posted at the headquarters of the district-level People's Committees and publicly announced on websites of district-level People’s Committees.

4. Agencies running provincial funds shall publicize collection results, lists and rates of collection at specific agencies, organizations, units and districts; balances of revenue and expenditure; spending details within districts in the following forms: sending them to the agency running VNDMF; posted at the headquarters of provincial funds; notified in writing to agencies or organizations contributing to funds; publicized on the websites of provincial funds or provincial People's Committees.

Chapter IV

PROCEDURES FOR TRANSFER OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT FUNDS

Article 21. Transfers from provincial funds to VNDMF

Based on natural disaster situations, relief and support needs of the localities and balances of provincial funds determined at the time of transfer, the Chairman of the VNDMF Management Board shall petition the Prime Minister to consider transfers from provincial funds to the VNDMF.

Article 22. Transfers from VNDMF to provincial funds

1. People’s Committees of centrally-affiliated cities and provinces:

a) Make a report on the mobilization of local resources to spend on mitigating consequences of natural disasters, including details about specific funding for implementation: reserves of local budgets, provincial funds, financial reserve funds and other lawful resources.

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2. The agency running the VNDMF shall synthesize local demands for aids and support and request the Chairman of the VNDMF Management Board to consider giving financial support from the VNDMF to localities for use in disaster recovery activities.

Article 23. Transfers between provincial funds

Presidents of provincial People’s Committees may decide other fund transfers for support for localities. 

Chapter V

RESPONSIBILITIES AND OBLIGATIONS OF AGENCIES, ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS

Article 24. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, relevant ministries, ministry-level agencies and Governmental bodies and all-level People’s Committees

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the following responsibilities:

a) Bear responsibility for management, operation, use and settlement of the VNDMF.

b) Take charge of and collaborate with relevant ministries, central authorities in enforcing regulations related to the organization and operation of DMFs.

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d) Take charge of, and cooperate with the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries, ministerial-level agencies and governmental agencies to inspect and expedite the implementation of this Decree.

dd) Summarize results of management and use of DMFs on an annual and irregular basis and submit ad-hoc reports to the Prime Minister.

e) Manage, organize, monitor, examine and supervise all activities of VMFs.

g) Take charge of and organize regular and irregular inspection and examination of the compliance with regulations on formulation of collection and spending plans and the management and use of provincial funds in accordance with law.

2. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the following responsibilities:

a) Provide guidance on the financial management mechanism and accounting regime for DMFs according to the provisions of this Decree.

b) Cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in inspecting and supervising the management and use of the VNDMF.

3. Provincial People's Committees shall undertake the formulation of collection and spending plans of provincial Funds in accordance with law; direct the inspection, examination and supervision of fund activities; direct the public disclosure of information about funds in accordance with this Decree and relevant laws.

4. Presidents of district- or commune-level People’s Committees, Heads of agencies and organizations shall undertake collection and payment of contributions under the provisions of this Decree.

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IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 25. Entry into force

1. This Decree shall enter into force as of September 15, 2021.

2. This Decree shall replace the Government's Decree No. 94/2014/ND-CP dated October 17, 2014 on formulation and management of DMFs; the Government’s Decree No. 83/2019/ND-CP dated November 12, 2019 on amendments and supplements to certain articles of the Government's Decree No. 94/2014/ND-CP dated October 17, 2014 on the establishment and management of DMFs.

3. Provincial DMFs that have already been established and operated under the provisions of the Decree No. 83/2019/ND-CP dated November 12, 2019 and the Decree No. 94/2014/ND-CP dated October 17, 2014 must complete their organization and operation under the provisions of this Decree by January 1, 2022.

Article 26. Implementation responsibilities

Ministers, Heads of Ministry-level agencies, Heads of Governmental bodies, Presidents of People’s Committees at all levels, other relevant organizations and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Decree./.

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Nghị định 78/2021/NĐ-CP về thành lập và quản lý Quỹ phòng, chống thiên tai