How shall the President of the provincial People’s Committee manage and use funds for repair and restoration of relic sites in Vietnam?

How shall the President of the provincial People’s Committee manage and use funds for repair and restoration of relic sites in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 16 of the Circular 04/2023/TT-BTC (effective from 19/03/2023) stipulating management and use of funds for repair and restoration of relic sites in Vietnam as follows:

Management and use of funds for repair and restoration of relic sites

1. President of the provincial People’s Committee shall authorize the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to perform the following tasks:

a) Apply for its account to be opened at a State Treasury to record transactions involving receipt, management and use of religious donations or grants for repair and restoration of relic sites;

b) Formulate and submit to the provincial People's Committee for promulgation of a document regulating the work of repair and restoration of relic sites within the remit, specifying the time limit and method of fund transfer, responsibility to transfer funds from units assigned to manage and operate relic sites within the province; the work of selection of relic sites that need to be repaired and restored; allocation of funds, payment and financial reporting of funds; inspection and supervision of implementation; reporting regime; assignment of responsibilities to agencies, units and other related issues.

2. Costs and expenses for receiving and managing religious donations or grants for the repair and restoration of relic sites of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, shall be covered by the state budget’s annual recurrent expenditures in accordance with law on state budget and decentralization of authority to use the state budget.

As regulations above, the President of the provincial People’s Committee shall authorize the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to perform the following tasks::

- Apply for its account to be opened at a State Treasury to record transactions involving receipt, management and use of religious donations or grants for repair and restoration of relic sites;

- Formulate and submit to the provincial People's Committee for promulgation of a document regulating the work of repair and restoration of relic sites within the remit.

What are specific expenditures on protection and promotion of value of relic sites in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Clause 2 Article 15 of the Circular 04/2023/TT-BTC (effective from 19/03/2023) stipulating specific expenditures on protection and promotion of value of relic sites in Vietnam as follows:

Specific expenditures, including:

+) PR, communication and advertising activities;

+) Installation, placement of instruction signs; decoration; sound and lighting systems used for attracting visitors to come to join and discover relic sites;

+) Security, health, food safety, hygiene, environmental protection, fire prevention and control, natural disaster or epidemic control;

+) Regular maintenance and repair of relic sites; renovation and restoration of relic sites (in the absence or lack of the state budget’s funding;

+) Regular maintenance and repair; renovation, upgradation and building of new ancillary works on the perimeter of the relic site, including working houses, guest houses, canteens, kitchens, toilets, internal roads, electricity lines, water supply and drainage systems, parking lots, perimeter fences or walls, and other similar works defined in law;

+) Application of science, technology and digital technology advances for better experience of visitors, tourists and researchers;

+) Planting and care of flowers and ornamental plants on the perimeter of the relic site;

+) Transfer of property rights according to the provisions of civil law; property auction; hiring of valuation of precious metals and jewels; hiring of assessment of objects that are allowed to be bought, sold, exchanged or donated in accordance with law;

+) Scented incense, worship flowers, offerings, lamps;

+) Charity and humanitarian activities;

+) Others that may vary depending on the actual state of each relic site and the payee who is the owner or the person authorized to manage or operate the relic site.

What are regulations on management and use of religious donations or grants for relic sites that are also religious establishments in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 10 of the Circular 04/2023/TT-BTC (effective from 19/03/2023) stipulating management and use of religious donations or grants for relic sites that are also religious establishments in Vietnam as follows:

- The religious establishment's representative shall solely decide and be responsible for receipt, management and use of religious donations or grants intended to fund the protection and promotion of the relic site's value and festivities in compliance with the provisions of law on belief and religion; law on cultural heritage; and other relevant regulatory provisions.

- Where a religious establishment is located on the perimeter of the relic site managed and operated under the authority of the public non-business unit delegated by the competent state agency, the regulatory provisions shall be as follows:

+) The religious establishment's representative may solely decide and be responsible for receipt, management and use of religious donations or grants intended to fund the protection and promotion of the relic site's value and festivities in compliance with the provisions of law on belief and religion; law on cultural heritage; and other relevant regulatory provisions.

+) The religious establishment's representative shall be responsible for partially paying a public non-business unit costs of repairing, maintaining, renovating, upgrading and building shared ancillary structures; costs of security, fire and explosion prevention and fighting, epidemic prevention and control, environmental health and other general and administrative expenses within the area where the relic site managed and operated under the authority delegated to the public non-business unit.

The amount of payment of these costs and expenses shall be calculated as the percentage (%) of received total amount of religious donations or grants for the relic site or festivities (except religious donations or grants serving specific purposes or sent to specific recipients) and shall be regulated under a particular Article in the Decision of the provincial People’s Committee on receipt, management and use of religious donations or grants of public non-business units.

Best regards!