Flexibly promote spending control

	Hanoi State Treasury: Shortening spending control time and boosting public investment disbursement
	Improving efficiency of risk prevention for State budget via spending control

The public spending task is implemented in line with the estimate, meeting socio-economic development requirements. Photo: Internet

According to the Ministry of Finance, the State Treasury system spent VND340,520 billion as of mid-April, meeting 28.7% of the recurrent expenditure estimate in 2023. This payment does not include debt repayment, aid, additional payments to the financial reserve fund, and provisions. The payment via the State Treasury in the first four months of the year was higher than VND17,844 billion in value and decreased by 0.3% in proportion to the estimate compared with the year ago.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the spending task has been implemented under the estimate, meeting the requirements of socio-economic development, national defence and security, state management and payment of due debts, ensuring funds for epidemic prevention and control, social security spending tasks, taking care of beneficiaries of salaries, pensions and social allowances from the State budget.

Regarding payment for public investment, as of May 15, about VND 125,640 billion was spent on public investment under the 2023 plan, reaching 17.8% of the plan assigned by the National Assembly and the Prime Minister, which was higher in value and lower in the proportion of more than VND105,514 billion and 20.4% respectively compared with the same period in 2022. This result met 16.7% of the public investment capital plan.

The State Treasury said that the unit has actively coordinated with ministries, sectors and localities to provide many positive solutions, contributing to promoting disbursement of public investment; closely controlled the recurrent public expenditures, especially expenditures for festivities, conferences and seminars, especially followed Directive No. 589/CT-KBNN on strengthening expenditure control, improving customer service quality in payment transactions of the State Treasury system.

Accordingly, the Directive requires heads of branches under the State Treasury agency to regularly monitor and update new guidelines, policies, documents and regimes related to the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and the state budget estimate in 2023, and policy documents related to the control of public expenditure via the State Treasury to ensure smoothness, create favourable conditions for customers in transactions and following current laws.

The State Treasury has also promoted implementing the e-payment project for phone, internet, electricity bills..., upgraded online public services, links with commercial banks... to reduce procedures and documents and quickly control processes, thereby providing an effective control plan.

The State Treasury has flexibly applied two payment control methods. The first is "pay first, control later" to receive and process documents within one working day for instalment payments. The second is "control first, pay later".

The State Treasury has accelerated the processing of dossiers, controlled payments on online public services of the Treasury, shortened control time from 7 days to 1-3 days, and reduced foreign capital withdrawal time to within the day.

The Ministry of Finance requests the budget allocation following Circular No. 78/2022/TT-BTC. The Ministry also asks the agencies to allocate and assign the estimate to subordinate units, ensuring the principle of saving and concentrating on allocating funds for key objectives and tasks.

The Ministry of Finance has directed the State Treasury to closely coordinate with the collection agency to fully and promptly collect revenues into the state budget and expand collection accounts at commercial banks. Especially, the State Treasury should control public expenditures to ensure strict compliance with the provisions of law, promptly remove obstacles, and speed up the disbursement of public investment. The State Treasury also should implement state treasury management operations under the plan for state treasury management in 2023 and the second quarter of 2023 and urgently submit to the Ministry the management plan for the third quarter.