We will resolve all outstanding financial complaints.

The implementation of the State Audit Office's (SAO) recommendations for financial handling at ministries, sectors, localities, and audited units has shown positive progress, but there are still 67,513 billion VND outstanding from 2021 and earlier that have not been processed. Mr. Vu Ngoc Tuan, Director of the General Affairs Department of the SAO, said that a plan to address this amount will be developed soon.

Mr. Vu Ngoc Tuan, Director of the General Affairs Department, State Audit Office of Vietnam

According to the Resolution on the settlement of the state budget for 2022, recently signed and issued by the Chairman of the National Assembly , the implementation of the State Audit Office's recommendations for financial handling has improved, sir?

Regarding audit recommendations for 2022, as of December 31, 2023, audited ministries, sectors, localities, and units had implemented financial recommendations related to increasing state budget revenue and reducing expenditure totaling over VND 31,719 billion, reaching a rate of 91.69%; other recommendations totaled over VND 30,566 billion, reaching a rate of 82.72%. For audit recommendations prior to 2022, in 2023, audited units continued to implement an additional nearly VND 10,303 billion, but the number of unimplemented recommendations as of December 31, 2023, still amounted to approximately VND 67,513 billion.

Previously, the implementation rate for financial settlement recommendations from the previous year reached approximately 80%, and continued implementation of unimplemented recommendations from previous years, but the cumulative rate only reached about 86% of the total amount related to financial settlement.

According to him, what were the reasons for these positive results?

This achievement is due not only to the decisive direction of the State Audit Office, but also to the close coordination of ministries, sectors, and localities, especially the decisive direction of the Prime Minister in rectifying and strengthening discipline in the enforcement of laws on finance and budget (Directive 22/CT-TTg dated June 23, 2023).

It can be said that Directive 22/CT-TTg is a "iron discipline" because ministers, heads of central agencies, and chairmen of provincial People's Committees must be held accountable to the Prime Minister for delays in implementing recommendations and conclusions of inspection and auditing agencies regarding violations in the management and use of state financial and budgetary resources, public investment, and public assets under their assigned responsibility.

Furthermore, it is impossible to ignore the National Assembly's oversight of the auditing field in general, and the handling of audit recommendations in particular. Specifically, in August 2023, the National Assembly's Finance and Budget Committee requested the State Audit Office to explain this matter, and at the recent seventh session, for the first time, the Auditor General answered questions from National Assembly deputies regarding audit-related activities, including the implementation of financial recommendations.

But in reality, there are still 67,513 billion VND that have not been processed?

This matter was reported and explained by the State Auditor General during the recent interpellation session before the National Assembly. The National Assembly also passed a resolution on interpellation activities at the seventh session, requesting the Government and the Prime Minister to direct research and development of a general mechanism for handling inspection conclusions and audit recommendations that are no longer feasible. The results of this implementation will have to be reported to the National Assembly when submitting the 2023 state budget final accounts in June 2025.

In principle, the recommendations of the State Audit Office have legally binding force. Currently, many recommendations cannot be implemented due to both objective and subjective reasons, as well as legal obstacles. Therefore, the National Assembly requests relevant agencies to review, research, and propose amendments to the Law on the State Audit Office and related documents.

One solution to definitively resolve the aforementioned outstanding issues is to allow the cancellation of financial amounts that have been proposed for processing but could not be processed for objective reasons, similar to tax debt cancellation?

It is true that there are many outstanding issues that are difficult to handle, such as businesses and contractors that have dissolved or gone bankrupt; and individuals responsible who have died or lost their civil capacity. Regarding state budget debts, there are specific guidelines for handling these tax debts, as stipulated in the Tax Administration Law. However, there are no specific regulations for handling financial matters based on audit and inspection recommendations and conclusions, making implementation impossible.

The State Audit Office, the Government Inspectorate, and relevant agencies will study and propose solutions, as the outstanding amount will continue to grow if there is no definitive solution.

However, removing this claim is complicated because the business (contractor) may be dissolved or go bankrupt; the legal representative of the business may have died or lost their civil capacity, but in many cases, this financial responsibility falls to the investor.

Therefore, it is necessary to specifically and strictly identify the responsibilities leading to financial violations that necessitate recommendations for handling (recovery, increased revenue, or reduced state budget expenditure). Otherwise, simply citing reasons such as the contractor's dissolution or bankruptcy, or the death or incapacity of the responsible party, to request the cancellation of these financial amounts, could easily lead to the loss and misappropriation of state budget funds.

While there are no groundbreaking regulations yet to address the outstanding financial issues that have been recommended, do you hope that the implementation of the State Audit Office's recommendations will continue to improve?

This is certain because ministries, departments, localities, and units managing and using state budget funds must still thoroughly implement Directive 22/CT-TTg. Furthermore, the Chairman of the National Assembly has just signed a Resolution approving the 2022 state budget settlement. Accordingly, the National Assembly requires that, in 2024, the tasks and solutions not yet completed in the Resolutions of the National Assembly and the Standing Committee of the National Assembly related to the state budget settlement be urgently implemented; and specific solutions be developed to overcome existing shortcomings and limitations.

The National Assembly also instructed the Government to direct ministries, sectors, and localities to strengthen the monitoring and prompt implementation of the conclusions and recommendations of the State Audit Office related to financial and other handling; clarify responsibilities and compile reports for competent authorities to handle cases of force majeure that make it impossible to implement the conclusions and recommendations of the State Audit Office.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/se-xu-ly-dut-diem-kien-nghi-tai-chinh-con-ton-dong-d219281.html