Circular No. 63/2026/TT-BTC on the contents and expenditure limits for vocational skills competition activities

CIRCULAR

Providing for the contents and expenditure limits for vocational skills competition activities

Pursuant to the State Budget Law No. 89/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Vocational Education Law No. 124/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 73/2026/NĐ-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the State Budget Law;

Pursuant to the Government Decree No. 95/2026/NĐ-CP detailing certain provisions of the Vocational Education Law;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Economic Financial Affairs;

The Minister of Finance promulgates this Circular providing for the contents and expenditure limits for vocational skills competition activities.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular provides for the contents and expenditure limits related to organizing and participating in domestic and international vocational skills competitions (hereinafter referred to as vocational skills competitions) in accordance with the laws on vocational education.

In cases where there are separate guidelines for domestic and international vocational skills competitions, such competitions shall be implemented in accordance with the guidelines set forth in those specific documents.

Article 2. Sources of Funding

1. Regular budget expenditures of ministries, central agencies, and localities according to the budget allocation.

2. Contributions and fees collected from organizations and individuals participating in the competitions in accordance with the regulations and rules of each competition.

3. Donations and voluntary contributions from organizations and individuals both domestically and internationally, and other legitimate sources of funding as prescribed.

Article 3. Principles of Management and Use of Funds

1. Agencies, units, organizations, and individuals entrusted with managing and using state budget funds for vocational skills competitions shall be responsible for managing and using such funds in compliance with the laws on state budgets and relevant laws, in accordance with the designated objects, purposes, expenditure systems, and standards prescribed by competent authorities; they shall be subject to inspection, audit, and supervision by competent authorities in accordance with the law.

2. Priority shall be given to utilizing contributions, fees, aid, donations, and other legitimate sources of funding to implement vocational skills competitions in compliance with the law, the regulations and rules of each competition, and agreements with sponsors; during the period of balancing and allocating regular budget expenditures, it must ensure compatibility and avoid duplication with the contents that have already been sponsored, donated, or contributed.

For the management of voluntary donations to the state budget, the provisions of Article 7 of the Government Decree No. 73/2026/NĐ-CP dated March 10, 2026, detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the State Budget Law, shall apply.

Article 4. General Contents and Expenditure Limits

1. Expenditures for organizing meetings, seminars, conferences, group sessions, press conferences; travel expenses for implementing activities within the country and abroad to serve vocational skills competitions:

a) Within the country: The contents and expenditure limits shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC dated April 28, 2017, of the Ministry of Finance on travel expense allowances and conference systems, as amended and supplemented by Circular No. 12/2025/TT-BTC (hereinafter collectively referred to as Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC), and Circular No. 35/2026/TT-BTC dated March 31, 2026, of the Ministry of Finance on foreign guest reception systems when working in Vietnam, conference and seminar organization systems for international events in Vietnam, and domestic guest reception systems (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 35/2026/TT-BTC);

b) Outside the country: The contents and expenditure limits shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 140/2025/TT-BTC dated December 30, 2025, of the Ministry of Finance on travel expense allowances for short-term trips abroad funded by the state budget (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 140/2025/TT-BTC).

2. Translation and interpretation costs for international vocational skills competitions: The contents and expenditure limits shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of Circular No. 35/2026/TT-BTC.

3. Costs for purchasing raw materials, goods, and services related to serving the competition and national team training; costs for purchasing equipment, machinery, and tools when necessary; renting venues for organizing competition activities; renting machinery, equipment, tools, and related services such as transportation, dismantling, loading and unloading, installation, troubleshooting, packaging, storage locations, safety inspections for serving the competition (if applicable): Implementation shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on procurement, bidding, assignment of tasks, management and use of public assets, and related regulations.

4. Costs for information dissemination and publicity activities; printing and reproducing documents and forms; purchasing office supplies, badges, signs, pins, certificates of merit, commendation letters, certificates, frames, commemorative flags, invitation letter printing, express delivery, and other related contents (if applicable): Implementation shall be carried out in accordance with the current laws on bidding and assignment of tasks.

5. Other incidental costs arising from practical needs to serve vocational skills competitions (if applicable): The contents and expenditure limits shall be implemented in accordance with the standards and unit prices of similar industries and based on actual legal invoices approved by competent authorities in the budget estimate.

Article 5. Contents and Expenditure Limits for Domestic Vocational Skills Competitions

1. Costs for developing competition plans and regulations

a) Costs for developing organizational plans, monitoring, competition regulations, outlines, and programs: Maximum VND 1,000,000 per plan and regulation approved;

b) Costs for soliciting comments (no more than 3 comments per plan and regulation): Maximum VND 500,000 per written comment.

2. Costs for preparing examination questions

a) Costs for developing and compiling examination questions are calculated per module, including guidance on evaluation, scoring, and grading scales (no more than 5 modules per question set/profession): Maximum VND 1,000,000 per module/question set/profession;

b) Costs for soliciting written comments from independent experts for one question set (no more than 3 times participation in comments per question set): Maximum VND 500,000 per written comment/question set;

c) Costs for members of the examination question review board (no more than 3 times per competition session): Maximum VND 150,000 per person/session.

3. Costs for hiring AutoCAD drawings to illustrate examination questions: Maximum VND 1,000,000 per question set.

4. Printing, packaging, and sealing examination questions according to the quantity for use: Maximum VND 30,000 per question set.

5. Costs for marking examinations, assessing results, and compiling reports

a) Costs for marking examinations for each profession (no more than 7 people/judges panel): Maximum VND 35,000 per module/examinee/judge;

b) Costs for members involved in assessing examination results and awarding commendations: Maximum VND 100,000 per person/session;

c) Costs for compiling and reporting competition results: Maximum VND 400,000 per profession.

Article 6. Content and expenditure levels for international vocational skills competitions

1. Expenditure on organizing national teams training:

a) The duration of national team training to participate in international vocational skills competitions shall be decided by the competent authority in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, suitable for each profession;

b) Support for food, accommodation, and travel expenses for contestants and training experts for the round trip: The expenditure level shall be implemented according to the provisions of Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC and Circular No. 35/2026/TT-BTC;

c) Salary level for training experts: Apply the salary level per day or per hour as stipulated in Article 3 of Circular No. 004/2025/TT-BNV dated May 7, 2025, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which serves as the basis for determining the tender package price;

In cases where it is necessary to hire foreign training experts, the competent authority decides to invite foreign training experts. The remuneration level for foreign training experts shall be implemented according to the provisions at point a, Clause 2, Article 4 of Circular No. 100/2025/TT-BTC dated October 28, 2025, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the preparation of budget estimates, management, use, and settlement of funds allocated for civil servant and public official training and development work.

2. Expenditure on building competition questions to participate in international vocational skills competitions: The content and expenditure level shall be carried out according to the remuneration for preparing competition questions sent to the organizing committees of international competitions as stipulated in Circular No. 69/2021/TT-BTC dated August 11, 2021, issued by the Ministry of Finance guiding the management of funds for preparation, organization, and participation in examinations applicable to general education (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 69/2021/TT-BTC).

3. Expenditure on participating in international vocational skills competitions and related activities (if any): The content and expenditure level shall be carried out according to the provisions of Circular No. 140/2025/TT-BTC;

In cases where additional costs arise based on the requirements of the organizing committees of international vocational skills competitions that have not been specified or exceed the expenditure levels already stipulated in Circular No. 140/2025/TT-BTC, they shall be implemented according to legal and valid contracts and documents, ensuring economy and effectiveness, organized within the budget estimate of the agency or unit.

4. Expenditure on organizing meetings and concentrating the competition delegation before departure not exceeding four days: The content and expenditure level shall be carried out according to the provisions of Circular No. 40/2017/TT-BTC.

5. Uniform expenditure for the competition delegation: The expenditure level shall be carried out according to the uniform expenditure for delegations participating in international examinations as stipulated in Circular No. 69/2021/TT-BTC.

6. Expenditure on purchasing personal protective equipment for contestants participating in international vocational skills competitions: Maximum VND 1,000,000 per person.

7. In cases where additional uniforms and personal protective equipment are required based on the requirements of the organizing committees of international vocational skills competitions, the competent authority shall decide on additional support levels appropriate to actual needs.

8. Other additional expenditures: Medicines, medical supplies, gifts according to the customs of the competitions (if any). The expenditure level shall be decided by the competent authority based on actual occurrences.

Article 7. Implementation Provisions

1. This circular takes effect from June 5, 2026.

2. Circular Joint Circular No. 43/2012/TTLT-BTC-BLDTBXH dated March 14, 2012, of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, stipulating the expenditure levels for various levels of vocational skills competitions, shall cease to be effective from the date this circular takes effect.

3. Based on the requirements of tasks and the ability to balance local budgets, referring to the expenditure levels stipulated in this circular, the People's Council of provinces shall decide on the content and expenditure levels to organize vocational skills competitions at the provincial level, ensuring compliance with the state budget laws, professional tasks as prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training, and current regulations.

4. When regulations concerning expenditure systems and standards referenced for application in this circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced by new documents, they shall be applied according to the amended, supplemented, or replacing documents.

5. During implementation, if there are any difficulties, please promptly report to the Ministry of Finance for research, amendment, and supplementation.