1 State - People - Authorities - 15 Authorities - 152 Council of State and Cantonal Administration - Section 1: General Provisions (OR-DBF)

The Department of Training and Finance (DFFI; hereinafter: the department) fulfills the tasks assigned to the State in the areas of education, finance, public contributions, as well as in matters of relations with municipalities and State liability.

1. The department has a general secretariat.

2. It includes the following services

d) the tax service.

3. It is responsible for relations with the following entities

g) Cantonal Financial Control (CFC).

1. The Head of the Department regularly meets with the Heads of Services and other entities, either in a general or individual meeting format.

2. The Secretary General participates in these meetings and ensures liaison between the Head of the Department and the services.

3. The secretariat for these meetings is managed by the General Secretariat.

1 The responsibilities of the services are established by the present regulation.

2. The assignment of special tasks or mandates is reserved.

1. The General Secretariat is responsible for coordination, planning, advisory, and information tasks.

2. Its specific missions include

a) advising and assisting the head of the department;

b) managing and administering the head of the department's secretariat;

c) coordinating internal activities within the department;

d) interdepartmental coordination;

e) planning, directing, and coordinating financial management in accordance with the State and Municipal Finances Act (LFinEC), dated June 24, 2014 [3];

f) tasks pertaining to the department in the area of human resources;

g) communication and internal and external information in collaboration with the State Chancellery;

h) monitoring of IT and infrastructure projects intended for schools, in coordination with them, the IT service, and the building service;

i) monitoring education policy in Switzerland and abroad.

**1. The scope of activity of the mandatory education service includes:**

a) mandatory schooling;

b) specialized pedagogy for children and students aged 0 to 20;

c) education provided within the Neuchâtel Conservatory of Music;

d) psychomotricity services offered within the psychomotricity center;

e) school information technology addressing pedagogical, technical, and administrative aspects.

**2. Its main duties are:**

a) implementing the educational policy defined by national, inter-cantonal, and cantonal authorities, ensuring the connection with school districts;

b) applying the curriculum and teaching resources, supporting school management in implementation, and participating in relevant Roman-speaking work;

c) defining and developing the framework for assessing students' school work;

d) developing and implementing the timetable;

e) defining and allocating educational resources, equipment, and IT services;

f) defining the framework ensuring students' academic or specialized pedagogy paths, as well as the necessary supervision for organizing their placement;

g) managing human resources within its jurisdiction, including setting salary classes and the number of pay grades;

h) overseeing teaching, specialized pedagogy, and educational institutions, specialized schools, and classes in institutions for children and adolescents;

i) supporting regional authorities in applying the cantonal framework;

j) overseeing and coordinating the activities of the Neuchâtel Conservatory of Music.

The Service for Post-Compulsory Training and Guidance has the following areas of activity

a) the organization and supervision of initial vocational training;

b) the organization of qualification procedures;

c) the granting of training authorizations and the organization of training for company trainers;

d) the development and participation in the promotion of apprenticeships;

e) the management of vocational training under federal legislation in training establishments responsible for pre-apprenticeship and transition courses, initial vocational training, vocational baccalaureate, continuing vocational education, and higher education pathways;

f) the management of secondary level 2 education in high schools responsible for academic baccalaureate, specialized baccalaureate, and general culture school certificate pathways as well as university bridge programs and other non-university tertiary bridges;

g) the promotion and strategy concerning linguistic, cultural, and professional experiences;

h) the coordination of the management and development of digital education in secondary level 2 schools in Neuchâtel;

i) the management and oversight of tertiary level A training institutions;

j) information and counseling for students, young people, and adults regarding choices in school, vocational, university education, and career pathways, in accordance with the Law on School and Vocational Guidance, dated 4 November 2008 [4];

k) early intervention with students and the integration of young people into vocational training, in accordance with the Law on the Integration of Young People into Vocational Training (LIFP), dated 26 January 2016 [5];

l) the management of the integration system for migrants in training.

1. The financial service prepares, proposes, and implements the financial policy defined by the Grand Council and the Council of State.

2. Its duties and organization are the subject of a regulation.

1. The tax service is responsible for the assessment and collection of

a) Federal, cantonal, and communal direct taxes on the income and wealth of natural persons and on the profits and capital of legal entities;

b) The tax on real estate gains, the transfer duties on real estate transactions, and the cantonal and communal land taxes (excluding legal entities);

c) The tax on inheritances and inter vivos gifts;

d) The supplementary tax according to the ordinance on the minimum taxation of large corporate groups (Minimum Taxation Ordinance, MTO), dated December 22, 2023 [6].

2. It is responsible for reviewing refund claims of the federal withholding tax for natural persons and for applying international treaties to prevent double taxation.

3. It also conducts the valuation of unlisted securities for wealth tax purposes and the cadastral estimation of real estate.

4. As part of its duties, it is in charge of conducting tax investigations and inquiries to ensure compliance with tax laws, issuing tax reminders, imposing fines for tax evasion, and reporting criminal acts to the public prosecutor.

5. It collaborates with federal, cantonal, and communal partners.

**The Department May Establish Specific Provisions Regarding the Tasks and Internal Organization of the Services**

The department may establish specific provisions concerning the tasks and the internal organization of the services.

Regulation on the Organization of the Department of Education, Finance, and Digitalization (RO-DEFD), of March 6, 2024 [7], is repealed.

**Until August 31, 2025, the Service of the Communes shall continue to exist within the Department of Health, Youth, and Sports (DHYS). It will become, starting September 1, 2025, the Office of Communes and Fiduciary Management within the Financial Service. Until that date, the DHYS shall perform the tasks assigned to the State concerning relations with the communes.**

1. This regulation shall enter into force immediately.

2. It shall be published in the Official Gazette and inserted into the Collection of Neuchâtel Legislation.