On October 24, 2024, the Government issued Decree No. 138/2024/ND-CP, regulating the preparation of estimates, management and use of regular state budget expenditures for the purchase of assets and equipment, as well as the renovation, upgrading, expansion and construction of new construction items in invested construction projects. This Decree is expected to resolve difficulties in allocating funds for these activities.
According to feedback from ministries, sectors and localities, the renovation and upgrading of small-scale facilities using public investment capital has encountered many shortcomings, because it is not included in the list of medium-term public investment plans. The State Budget Law does not prohibit the use of regular expenditures to purchase assets, but there are no regulations clearly distinguishing between investment expenditures and regular expenditures for these activities.
This Decree aims to implement the direction of General Secretary To Lam at the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly on October 21, 2024, emphasizing the implementation of the Party's policies into practice and creating conditions for the country's development. The Ministry of Finance has actively drafted the Decree, receiving consensus from 100% of ministries and localities.
The content of the Decree stipulates the following tasks: (1) Purchasing assets and equipment according to the provisions of law on public asset management, and (2) renovating, upgrading, expanding, and constructing new construction items according to the provisions of law on construction and public assets.
The subjects of application of the Decree include state agencies, political organizations, public service units, and organizations and individuals related to regular expenditure of the state budget for procurement and construction of works. The Decree also clearly stipulates the scope, decision-making authority, procedures for preparation, allocation, management, use and settlement of funds for these tasks.
The issuance of the Decree is expected to promptly resolve the problems that have been raised, contributing to accelerating the implementation of important tasks, including the Project "Developing applications of population data, identification and electronic authentication to serve national digital transformation in the period of 2022 - 2025, with a vision to 2030" according to Decision No. 06/QD-TTg dated January 6, 2022 of the Prime Minister.
