Circular No. 004/2025/TT-BNV stipulates the salary level of domestic consulting experts as the basis for determining the tender package price.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on the salary level of domestic consulting experts as the basis for determining the tender package price

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Pursuant to Decree No. 24/2024/NĐ-CP dated February 27, 2024 of the Government detailing some provisions and measures to implement the Law on Bidding regarding the selection of contractors;

Pursuant to Decree No. 17/2025/NĐ-CP dated February 6, 2025 of the Government amending and supplementing some articles of decrees detailing some provisions and measures to implement the Law on Bidding;

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 25/2025/NĐ-CP dated February 21, 2025 stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Home Affairs;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Remuneration and Social Insurance;

The Minister of Home Affairs issues this Circular regulating the salary level of domestic consulting experts as the basis for determining the tender package price.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular regulates the salary level of domestic consulting experts (hereinafter referred to as consulting experts) as the basis for preparing, reviewing, and approving the budget estimate of tender packages under investment projects, procurement budgets, provision of public products and services, purchase of medicines, chemicals, laboratory materials, medical equipment, national reserve goods, storage of national reserve goods, tender packages for equipping infrastructure and technical facilities, machinery, and equipment supporting science and technology, or other tasks that must be organized through bidding as stipulated in Clause 1, Clause 2, and Clause 3 of Article 2 of the Law on Bidding.

Article 2. Applicability

Agencies, organizations, and individuals participating in the preparation, review, approval, or related to the preparation, review, and approval of the budget estimate of tender packages within the scope regulated by this Circular.

1. Monthly salary applicable to consulting experts with a working period of at least 26 days is specified as follows:

a) Level 1, not exceeding VND 70,000,000 per month, for one of the following cases: consulting experts holding a bachelor's degree, having a relevant major trained in accordance with the consulting field and having at least 15 years of experience in the consulting field; or consulting experts holding a master's degree or higher, having a relevant major trained in accordance with the consulting field and having at least 8 years of experience in the consulting field; or consulting experts holding the position of Head of the Consulting Team or leading the organization and management of the consulting tender package.

b) Level 2, not exceeding VND 55,000,000 per month, for one of the following cases: consulting experts holding a bachelor's degree, having a relevant major trained in accordance with the consulting field and having from 10 to less than 15 years of experience in the consulting field; or consulting experts holding a master's degree or higher, having a relevant major trained in accordance with the consulting field and having from 5 to less than 8 years of experience in the consulting field; or consulting experts holding the position of leading the implementation of one or more components of the consulting tender package.

c) Level 3, not exceeding VND 40,000,000 per month, for one of the following cases: consulting experts holding a bachelor's degree, having a relevant major trained in accordance with the consulting field and having from 5 to less than 10 years of experience in the consulting field; or consulting experts holding a master's degree or higher and having from 3 to less than 5 years of experience in the consulting field.

d) Level 4, not exceeding VND 30,000,000 per month, for one of the following cases: consulting experts holding a bachelor's degree, having a relevant major trained in accordance with the consulting field and having less than 5 years of experience in the consulting field; or consulting experts holding a master's degree or higher, having a relevant major trained in accordance with the consulting field and having less than 3 years of experience in the consulting field.

đ) For large-scale projects or works with complex technology, using modern technology requiring consulting experts with special technical expertise, limited supply capacity in the labor market, or difficult working conditions in remote areas where the project owner or tender inviter deems it necessary to apply a higher salary for consulting experts than the monthly salary stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the project owner or tender inviter shall determine, report to the competent authority for consideration and decision on a higher salary for consulting experts, but not exceeding 1.5 times the monthly salary corresponding to the standards and conditions prescribed in Point a, Point b, Point c, and Point d of this Clause.

2. Weekly salary applicable to consulting experts with a working period of at least 6 days is determined based on the monthly salary stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article multiplied by 12 months and divided by 52 weeks.

3. Daily salary applicable to consulting experts with a working period of at least 8 hours is determined based on the monthly salary stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article divided by 26 days.

4. Hourly salary applicable to consulting experts with a working period of less than 8 hours is determined based on the monthly salary stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article divided by 26 days and then divided by 8 hours.

5. The salary levels for consulting experts stipulated in Clause 1, Clause 2, Clause 3, and Clause 4 of this Article are the maximum levels, including the wages for holidays, New Year's Day, and paid leave according to the Labor Code, social insurance costs, health insurance costs, unemployment insurance costs, and personal income tax under current laws on social insurance, health insurance, unemployment insurance, and personal income tax; excluding employer contributions to social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance, management fees of the unit managing and using the experts (if any), travel expenses, survey expenses, rental fees for office space, communication expenses, and other expenses to ensure that the consulting experts can perform their duties.

Article 4. Effective date

Article 32. Responsibilities of Agencies

Circular No. 02/2015/TT-BLDTBXH dated January 12, 2015 of the Minister of Labor, War Invalids, and Social Affairs, which stipulates the salary level for domestic consulting experts as the basis for the budget estimate of tender packages providing consulting services under time-based contracts using state funds, becomes invalid from the date this Circular takes effect.

Article 5. Responsibilities for Implementation

1. The project owner or tender inviter shall base on the scale, nature of the consultancy package, the price of the consultancy package, the location where the consultancy service is performed, and the monthly, weekly, daily, or hourly salary of the consultant as stipulated in Article 3 of this Circular to determine the specific salary as the basis for preparing, reviewing, and approving the budget estimate of the consultancy package applicable to time-based contracts, lump-sum contracts, fixed unit-price contracts, adjustable unit-price contracts, cost-plus contracts, results-based contracts, or hybrid contracts, ensuring economy and efficiency.

2. For consultancy packages that have been prepared, reviewed, and approved with a budget estimate prior to the effective date of this Circular, adjustments to the budget estimate of the consultancy package and handling situations during the tendering process due to changes in the salary of consultants as prescribed in this Circular shall be carried out in accordance with the Bidding Law, Construction Law, and related guiding documents.

3. The Minister, Head of a ministerial-level agency, Head of an agency under the Government, Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally-run cities, relevant agencies, organizations, units, enterprises, and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Circular. In case of any difficulties during implementation, it is recommended that agencies, units, and individuals report to the Ministry of Home Affairs for research and resolution.

During the implementation process, if there are any difficulties, it is recommended that agencies, units, and individuals report to the Ministry of Home Affairs for research and resolution./.