JOINT CIRCULAR No. 29/2014/TTLT-BGDĐT-BTC-BLĐTBXH detailing financial management, accounting, auditing, and taxation for cooperation and foreign investment in the education, training, and vocational teaching sectors.

JOINT CIRCULAR

Provisions on financial management, accounting, auditing, and taxation for cooperation and foreign investment in the education sector.

Training and education.

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Pursuant to Decree No. 36/2012/NĐ-CP dated April 18, 2012 of the Government, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of Ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

Pursuant to Decree No. 32/2008/NĐ-CP dated March 19, 2008 of the Government, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Education and Training;

Pursuant to Decree No. 215/2013/ND-CP dated December 23, 2013 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Finance;

Pursuant to Decree No. 106/2012/NĐ-CP dated December 20, 2012 of the Government, stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs;

Pursuant to Decree No. 73/2012/NĐ-CP dated September 26, 2012 of the Government, stipulating cooperation and foreign investment in the education sector.

The Minister of Education and Training, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs issue this Joint Circular to stipulate provisions on financial management, accounting, auditing, and taxation for cooperation and foreign investment in the education, training, and vocational education sectors.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Thông tư này quy định chi tiết khoản 4 Điều 38 Luật Thủy sản số 18/2017/QH14 đã được sửa đổi, bổ sung tại điểm c khoản 21 Điều 14 Luật số 146/2025/QH15.

This Circular stipulates provisions on financial management, accounting, auditing, and taxation for educational institutions participating in international joint training programs, and educational institutions with foreign investment in cooperation and investment in the education, training, and vocational education sectors.

Thông tư này áp dụng đối với tổ chức, cá nhân có liên quan đến hoạt động kinh doanh đối tượng thủy sản nuôi chủ lực trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam.

This Circular applies to preschool education institutions, general education institutions, vocational education institutions, higher education institutions, and continuing education institutions (hereinafter referred to as educational institutions), international organizations permitted to engage in cooperation and investment in the education, training, and vocational education sectors, and related organizations and individuals.

Article 2. Accounting

Educational institutions permitted to participate in international joint training programs and educational institutions with foreign investment must conduct accounting work in accordance with the Accounting Law and current guiding documents; apply accounting regulations issued by the Ministry of Finance that are suitable for the operational model of each institution.

Article 3. Auditing

Financial activities in international joint training programs and financial reports of educational institutions with foreign investment must be audited annually by legally operating auditing firms in Vietnam in accordance with the Independent Auditing Law and current guiding documents. Educational institutions have the responsibility to submit financial reports along with audit reports to the competent state management agency directly responsible for education and vocational training.

Article 4. Taxation

Educational institutions permitted to participate in international joint training programs and educational institutions with foreign investment are entitled to tax incentives and are responsible for fulfilling their tax obligations in accordance with current tax laws.

Chapter II

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT FOR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS PARTICIPATING

IN INTERNATIONAL JOINT TRAINING PROGRAMS

Article 5. Sources of income from joint training activities

1. Income from tuition fees and registration fees.

2. Non-repayable grants, gifts, and donations from organizations and individuals both within and outside the country in accordance with the law.

3. Other lawful sources of income as prescribed by law.

4. All income from joint training activities (related to activities carried out in Vietnam) must be transferred into the account of the Vietnamese joint venture institution opened at a credit institution in Vietnam.

Article 6. Contents of expenditures for joint training activities

1. Regular expenditures for joint training activities include: salaries, wages, allowances, social insurance contributions, health insurance contributions, trade union fees, and other lawful benefits of teachers, lecturers, and workers participating in joint training activities; public services, office supplies, business expenses (including raw materials, fuel, materials, electricity, water for theoretical and practical teaching), depreciation of fixed assets, interest payments on loans, interest on funds raised through borrowing for staff serving joint training activities.

2. Expenditures for scientific research, trial production activities, and service provision.

3. Expenditures for construction, renovation, upgrading of facilities; procurement, repair of fixed assets and equipment to maintain and develop joint training activities.

4. Other expenditures as prescribed by law (if any).

Article 7. Financial Management Mechanism

1. Educational institutions participating in joint training may decide specific revenue levels based on the principle of ensuring sufficient coverage of joint training activity costs and accumulation for reinvestment and development. The tuition fee level for the entire course must be publicly disclosed to students before enrollment.

2. Educational institutions participating in joint training shall establish expenditure standards (which must at least include contents related to salaries and remuneration for teachers, lecturers, and workers; investment in educational facilities and equipment; learning materials; expenditures for examination, evaluation, and quality assurance) based on meeting the conditions for ensuring training quality, consistent with the content of the approved joint training dossier pursuant to Article 16 of Decree No. 73/2012/ND-CP dated September 26, 2012 of the Government on cooperation and foreign investment in the education sector (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 73), ensuring practicality, economy, efficiency, and minimum wage levels for workers participating in joint training activities with foreign entities.

3. Revenue and expenditure standards, regulations on the use of surplus revenues over expenditures; regulations on the management of assets belonging to joint training activities must be reflected in the internal expenditure regulations of the participating institution as a basis for settlement, auditing, and financial supervision. Revenue and expenditure items must have legal invoices, vouchers, and accounting documents in accordance with the Accounting Law and current guiding documents.

4. Assets contributed for joint training by participating parties must be managed and depreciated or amortized according to Decision No. 32/2008/QD-BTC dated May 29, 2008 of the Ministry of Finance on the management and depreciation of fixed assets in state agencies, public service units, and organizations using state budget, Circular No. 45/2013/TT-BTC dated April 25, 2013 of the Ministry of Finance on guidelines for the management, use, and amortization of fixed assets.

5. Educational institutions participating in joint training with foreign entities are responsible for publicly disclosing their financial revenues and expenditures in accordance with Circular No. 09/2009/TT-BGDĐT dated May 7, 2009 of the Minister of Education and Training on the implementation of transparency for national education system institutions and other current regulations on financial transparency.

6. Annually, after covering all expenses, paying taxes, and other required payments, participating parties in joint training may use any surplus revenue over expenditures (if any) according to the agreed cooperation contract.

Foreign entities participating in joint training are permitted to transfer profits abroad according to Circular No. 186/2010/TT-BTC dated November 18, 2010 of the Ministry of Finance guiding the implementation of profit transfers abroad by foreign organizations and individuals from direct investments in Vietnam under the Investment Law and comply with foreign exchange management regulations.

Chapter III

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OF EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

WITH FOREIGN INVESTMENT CAPITAL

Article 8. Sources of revenue for foreign-invested educational institutions

1. Income from tuition fees and registration fees.

2. Revenue from scientific research, technology transfer, trial production, and services.

3. Non-repayable aid, gifts, donations from organizations and individuals both within and outside Vietnam as prescribed by law.

4. Dividends from joint venture and joint operation activities, interest on bank deposits.

5. Other lawful sources of revenue as prescribed by Vietnamese law (if any).

Article 9. Expenditure items for foreign-invested educational institutions

1. Regular expenditure for educational and training activities, including: salaries, wages, allowances, social insurance contributions, health insurance contributions, trade union fees, and other benefits of teachers, lecturers, and employees according to current regulations; public services, office supplies, business expenses (including raw materials, fuel, electricity, water for theoretical and practical teaching); depreciation of fixed assets; payment of loan interest and rental expenses.

2. Expenditures for scientific research, trial production activities, and service provision.

3. Investment and development expenditure, including construction investment for physical facilities, purchase of fixed assets, equipment, repair and renovation of physical facilities, implementation of investment projects to maintain and develop training activities.

4. Payment of loan interest and capital contribution interest for educational and training activities in Vietnam;

5. Other expenditures as prescribed by Vietnamese law (if any).

Article 10. Financial Management Mechanism

1. Foreign-invested educational institutions are autonomous units responsible for their own finances; they are permitted to open foreign currency and Vietnamese dong accounts at credit institutions authorized by law to serve their operations.

2. Foreign-invested educational institutions may independently determine specific tuition rates based on the principle of ensuring sufficient coverage of costs and accumulation for reinvestment and development. The full course tuition rate must be publicly disclosed to students before enrollment.

3. Based on the functions and responsibilities of the unit and financial capacity, foreign-invested educational institutions may independently determine expenditure levels that meet quality assurance conditions and are consistent with the approved education activity registration dossier. Expenditure standards must be reflected in the internal expenditure regulation of the educational institution. All income and expenditure items must have legal invoices, vouchers, and accounting documents according to the Accounting Law and current guiding documents.

4. Foreign-invested educational institutions are responsible for establishing a scholarship fund for study encouragement at least equal to 2% of total tuition revenue. Annually, when settling accounts, unused funds or funds used for improper purposes from this fund must be supplemented into the surplus revenue over expenditure of the foreign-invested educational institution. Only properly intended expenditures from the scholarship fund can be deducted as allowable expenses when determining corporate income tax for the tax period.

5. Foreign-invested higher education and vocational education institutions are responsible for establishing a science and technology development fund according to Clause 11, Article 1 of the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Corporate Income Tax Law and guiding documents.

6. Foreign-invested educational institutions are responsible for publicly disclosing financial income and expenditure according to Circular No. 09/2009/TT-BGDĐT dated May 7, 2009, issued by the Minister of Education and Training on the Regulation on Public Disclosure for Educational Institutions in the National Education System and other provisions on financial disclosure.

7. Foreign investors participating in investments in foreign-invested institutions are permitted to repatriate profits distributed abroad after fully paying all taxes, fulfilling other financial obligations to the Vietnamese State, and complying with foreign exchange management regulations.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 11. Responsibility for Implementation

b) Inspect and supervise educational institutions in implementing vaccination work.

a) Proactively identify and promptly coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to examine and handle any issues arising related to financial management for foreign cooperation and investment in the field of education as stipulated in this Joint Circular; if necessary, propose amendments and supplements.

b) Organize regular and surprise inspections of training-linked institutions and foreign-invested educational institutions operating in the field of education.

c) Take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs to review and evaluate the implementation of financial management regulations for foreign cooperation and investment in the fields of education, training, and vocational training.

2. The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall have the responsibility:

a) Proactively identify and promptly coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to examine and handle any issues arising related to financial management for foreign cooperation and investment in the field of vocational training as stipulated in this Joint Circular. If necessary, propose amendments and supplements.

b) Organize regular and surprise inspections of training-linked institutions and foreign-invested vocational training institutions.

c) Coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Finance to review and evaluate the implementation of financial management regulations for foreign cooperation and investment in the fields of education, training, and vocational training.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall be responsible:

Coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs to review and evaluate the implementation of financial management regulations for foreign cooperation and investment in the fields of education, training, and vocational training.

4. Provincial People's Committees and municipal people's committees directly under the central government are responsible for:

a) Directing, guiding, organizing implementation, and reporting semi-annually and annually to central ministries and sectors about foreign investment cooperation activities in the fields of education, training, and vocational training in their localities.

b) Inspecting and supervising the fulfillment of financial obligations, labor relations, wage payments, protection of workers' and employers' legitimate rights and interests; coordinating with ministries and sectors to conduct inspections of investment projects in the fields of education, training, and vocational training in their localities.

Article 12. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from October 10, 2014.

2. In cases where the referenced documents in this Circular are replaced or amended, they shall be implemented according to the replacing or amending documents.

Any issues arising during the implementation of this Circular shall be promptly reported to the Ministry of Education and Training, which shall take the lead in coordinating with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to study and resolve them./.