Chinanews.com, November 11, according to the Ministry of Finance website news, the Ministry of Finance recently issued the "Operational Guidelines for the Adjustment of the Use of Local Government Special Bonds."
Among them, it is clear that the use of special bond funds should adhere to non-adjustment as the normal and adjustment as an exception.
Once the special bonds are issued, the bond funds shall be used in strict accordance with the project purposes stipulated in the issuance information disclosure document. Where adjustments are indeed required due to special circumstances in various places, the prescribed procedures shall be strictly followed. It is strictly forbidden to adjust the purpose of the special bonds without authorization, and it is strictly forbidden to embezzle and adjust afterwards, etc. behavior.
The full text of the "Operational Guidelines for the Adjustment of the Use of Local Government Special Bonds" is as follows:
Operational Guidelines for the Adjustment of the Use of Local Government Special Bonds
Chapter One General Provisions
Article 1 In order to standardize and strengthen the management of local government special bonds (hereinafter referred to as special bonds), improve the performance of special bond funds, and prevent local government debt risks, in accordance with the Budget Law of the People’s Republic of China and its implementation regulations, Opinions on the Management of Government Debts (Guo Fa [2014] No. 43), the Circular of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council on Doing a Good Job in Local Government Special Bond Issuance and Project Supporting Financing, and the Ministry of Finance on Printing and Distributing the "Local Government Notice of the Measures for the Administration of Special Debt Budgets” (Caiyu (2016) No. 155), “Notice of the Ministry of Finance on Accelerating the Issuance and Use of Local Government Special Bonds” (Caiyu (2020) No. 94), and the Ministry of Finance on Printing and Distributing The "Notice of the General Financial Budget Accounting System" (Caiku [2015] No. 192) and other laws, regulations and systems stipulate these guidelines.
Article 2 The adjustment of the purpose of special bonds belongs to the scope of financial budget management. It mainly refers to the projects that have been arranged for new special bond funds. Due to changes in the implementation conditions of the bond projects, the special bond funds cannot be used in a timely and effective manner and need to be adjusted to other projects. Changes in the use of funds for special bonds.
Article 3 The use of special bond funds shall adhere to non-adjustment as the normal state and adjustment as an exception.
Once the special bonds are issued, the bond funds shall be used in strict accordance with the project purposes stipulated in the issuance information disclosure document. Where adjustments are indeed required due to special circumstances in various places, the prescribed procedures shall be strictly followed. It is strictly forbidden to adjust the purpose of the special bonds without authorization, and it is strictly forbidden to embezzle and adjust afterwards, etc. behavior.
Article 4 The adjustment of the use of special bonds shall be coordinated and arranged by the provincial government, and the provincial financial department shall organize the specific implementation of the financial departments at all levels below the province.
Chapter II Project Adjustment Conditions
Article 5 The specific circumstances under which special bond funds have been arranged for projects that can be adjusted include:
(1) Significant changes occur during the implementation of the project, and there is indeed no demand for funds for special bonds or the demand is less than expected;
(2) After the project is completed, there is a balance of special bond funds;
(3) Finance, auditing, etc. have discovered that there is a problem of irregularities in the use of special bonds, and it is indeed necessary to adjust according to supervision and inspection opinions or auditing opinions;
(4) Other needs to be adjusted.
Article 6 The adjustment of the use of special bonds shall comply with the following principles:
(1) The items to be adjusted must be reviewed and checked to meet the conditions for issuance and use.
The project is a public welfare project with a certain income, and the expected income and the financing scale are self-balanced.
The preliminary preparation of the project is sufficient, and the physical workload can be formed as soon as possible.
The project cycle should match the remaining maturity of the bond to be adjusted.
(2) Adjust the arrangement of special bond funds to give priority to supporting major projects that meet the conditions in key areas specified by the Party Central Committee and the State Council.
(3) The special bond funds of the adjustment arrangement shall be given priority to select projects of the same type and field as the originally arranged projects.
If it is necessary to change the project type, necessary explanations shall be made.
(4) Special bond funds for adjustment arrangements are strictly prohibited from being used to replace existing debts, for buildings, halls and halls, image projects and performance projects, and non-public welfare capital expenditure projects, and shall not be used for current expenditures in accordance with the law.
Article 7 The special bond funds of the adjustment arrangements shall be used first for the eligible projects of the government at the same level. If there are indeed no eligible projects, the provincial finance department may recover the special bond funds and the corresponding special debt limit overall arrangement.
Chapter III Project Adjustment Procedure
Article 8 In principle, provincial-level financial departments can organize and implement one or two project adjustments before the end of September each year.
Local financial departments at all levels and relevant departments organize to sort out the implementation of special government bond projects at the same level. If it is necessary to adjust the use of special bonds, objectively evaluate the expected income and asset value of the project to be adjusted, and prepare the financing balance plan and financial evaluation report of the project to be adjusted. After the approval of the government at the same level, the letter and legal opinion shall be submitted to the provincial finance department in a timely manner.
The proposed adjustment of the project financing balance plan shall accurately reflect the basic situation of the project, the preliminary procedures, the scale of investment and financing, the source of income, the construction period, the annual investment plan, the expected income and financing balance within the original bond term, the reasons for the adjustment of the originally arranged project, Potential risk assessment, the responsibility of the competent authority, and the arrangement for the repayment of the principal and interest of the bond after adjustment, etc.
Article 9 The provincial finance department is responsible for summarizing adjustment applications from various regions, coordinating research and proposing adjustment plans including special debt limits and special bond projects, and submitting them to the provincial government for approval before the end of October according to procedures, and then reporting to the Ministry of Finance for the record.
Chapter IV Project Adjustment and Implementation Management
Article 10 In accordance with the Budget Law and other laws and regulations, regulate the budget adjustment and adjustment management involved in the adjustment of special bond projects.
After approval by the provincial government, if the adjustment of the use of special bonds involves increasing or reducing the total budget expenditure, reducing the amount of key expenditures on special bonds in the budget arrangement, and increasing the amount of borrowed debts, the local financial department shall prepare a budget adjustment plan and submit it to the same level in accordance with the procedures. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress shall deliberate; other budget adjustments shall be handled by the local financial department in accordance with the procedures.
Article 11 Standardize the budget execution management involved in the adjustment of special bond projects in accordance with the provisions of the "General Fiscal Budget Accounting System".
Regarding the adjustment of the purpose of special bonds, local financial departments at all levels shall, in accordance with relevant regulations, promptly adjust and reduce the revenue and expenditures of the budget items corresponding to the original projects, and adjust the revenue and expenditures of the budget items corresponding to the adjusted projects.
The reduced amount of the original project should be equal to the increased amount of the adjusted project.
If the adjustment of cross-regional special bonds is involved, the budget items such as debt (on-lending) income and debt (on-lending) expenditures of the special bonds shall be adjusted accordingly.
In the case of cross-year special bond adjustments, the relevant budget items shall be adjusted in the current year's budget revenue and expenditures in accordance with the accounting requirements of the receipt and payment realization system.
Article 12 When the provincial finance department adjusts the use of bond funds between regions, it shall re-sign on-lending agreements with relevant regions or clarify adjustment matters through budget indicator documents.
Chapter 5 Information Disclosure
Article 13: For the adjustment of the purpose of special bonds, the provincial finance department shall disclose information in a timely manner according to the following principles:
(1) The purpose of special bonds is adjusted without changing the registration information of the original special bonds, including bond issuance volume, maturity, code, name, interest rate, redemption arrangement, etc.
(2) To adjust the use of special bonds, it is necessary to issue an adjustment announcement, highlighting that the adjustments have been approved by the provincial government, and disclose the economic and social development indicators of the region, the budget of local government funds, and the status of special debts.
(3) To adjust the use of special bonds, it is necessary to announce the project adjustment information, including the name of the originally arranged project before the adjustment, the amount of adjustment, and the overview of the adjusted project, annual investment plan, project funding source, expected income and financing balance plan, and potential risks Evaluation, responsibility of the competent authority, third-party evaluation information (including financial evaluation reports, legal opinions, credit rating reports, etc.), etc.
(4) Other information that needs to be disclosed according to regulations.
Article 14 The provincial finance department shall, within 10 working days after the approval of the provincial government (after reporting to the provincial people’s congress or its standing committee in accordance with the procedures for budget adjustments), in the national unified local government debt information disclosure platform (www.celma.org.cn), as well as the portal websites of provincial governments or financial departments, the portal websites of issuing registration depository institutions, etc. to disclose relevant budget adjustment and project adjustment information.
The financial department at the city and county level shall, within 10 working days after the approval of the provincial government, the city and county people’s congress, or its standing committee, publish the relevant information on the adjustment of the use of special bonds in the region on the portal website of the government or the financial department at the same level.
Chapter VI Supervision and Administration
Article 15 The local financial departments at all levels shall, in accordance with the requirements of integrated budget management, register the adjustment of special bond usage through the information management system throughout the process, and urge relevant departments and project units to regulate the use of bond funds in a timely manner and improve performance.
Article 16 The local regulatory bureaus of the Ministry of Finance shall supervise the adjustment of the use of special bonds in accordance with the law to ensure the use of bond funds.
Article 17 For regions or departments that have arranged special bond funds for large-scale and frequent project adjustments, the provincial finance department may appropriately deduct the new special bond quota for the next year, and guide all regions and departments to increase the reserve of special bond projects And the accuracy and standardization of the arrangement.
Article 18 All localities shall not adjust the purpose of special bonds in violation of regulations, and it is strictly prohibited to misappropriate or arbitrage funds of special bonds under the name of special bonds.
For violations of laws, regulations and policies, the relevant responsible units and responsible persons shall be held accountable in accordance with laws and regulations.
Chapter 7 Supplementary Provisions
Article 19 These guidelines shall come into force on the date of issuance.