Regulations on the time limit for keeping accounting documents of the company in Vietnam

Companies operating in Vietnam are legally mandated to retain accounting documents for specific periods. Adherence to these regulations is critical for ensuring compliance and mitigating potential legal and financial liabilities for the company. This introductory section outlines the statutory requirements concerning the retention timeframe for accounting records in Vietnam. The time to keep the company’s accounting documents is one of the important and necessary knowledge of people who follow the accounting profession. Viet An tax agent will represent the company’s accounting book retention time as well as important notes in the storage process.

What types of accounting documents need to be stored in Vietnam

The types of accounting documents that need to be archived are:

• Detailed accounting documents and general accounting documents.
• The Ministry shall make financial statements under Circular 133 or Circular 200, budget settlement reports for units using part or all of the state budget.
• Other enclosed documents such as: Types of contracts, management reports upon request from managers, reports on settlement of completed work projects, reports on the results of inspection and evaluation of assets at the unit, documents related to inspection, etc finalization, minutes of destruction of accounting documents, decisions on supplementation of capital from profits and regulations on distribution of funds from production and business profits, documents related to the dissolution, division, separation, merger and transformation of enterprises, documents related to the fulfillment of tax obligations,  charges and fees to the State.

How long are the company’s accounting documents stored in Vietnam

Types of accounting documents with a minimum storage period of 5 years

According to regulations, the following accounting documents need to have a minimum archival period of 5 years:

• Accounting vouchers are not allowed to be used directly in recording accounting documents and making financial statements at the end of the year: receipts, payment slips, warehousing receipts, ex-warehousing slips, and other professional documents.
• Accounting documents are used for the purpose of administration and management of administrators and must not be recorded in accounting documents as well as used as a basis for making financial statements.

Accounting documents must be stored for a minimum of 10 years

• Accounting vouchers are directly used in accounting documents and serve as a basis for making financial statements, VAT lists, detailed summary lists of accounts, quarterly and annual financial statements of units, settlement reports, etc. report on self-inspection of the accounting work of the unit if there is an internal audit department, records of destruction of archival accounting documents.
• Documents related to liquidation and sale of fixed assets, reports on inspection and valuation of assets at the unit.
• Accounting documents of the investor include documents related to the annual accounting period and accounting data as a basis for making the settlement report on the project of the completed work volume of groups B and C.
• Documents related to the activities of separation, merger, dissolution, transformation of capital ownership, transformation of enterprise types, etc.
• Documents related to inspection and settlement activities of competent units such as independent audit organizations, State audit (if the unit uses the State budget).

Accounting documents must be permanently archived

• For public sector accounting units, accounting documents that must be permanently archived include: Annual state budget settlement reports approved by the National Assembly, local budget settlement reports approved by People’s Councils at all levels; Dossiers and reports on settlement of completed projects and works of group A, national key projects and accounting documents of historical significance to the economy, national defense and security.
• For production and business activities, accounting documents are permanently archived, including accounting documents of historical nature, making important contributions to economy, defense and security.

Note: The permanent record retention period must be more than 10 years and until the accounting document is destroyed due to natural factors.

Regulations on penalties for violations of regulations on keeping accounting documents of companies in Vietnam

Acts of failing to keep records at the unit

Enterprises that fail to archive accounting documents at the head office or other locations specified in the company’s charter will be fined from VND 30,000,000 million to VND 50,000,000 million.

Violations in the process of archiving accounting records

Caution shall be imposed for the following acts:

• Bringing accounting documents to be archived 12 months or more behind regulations
• Failing to arrange accounting documents according to the timeline of occurrence

A fine of between VND 5,000,000 million and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following acts of violation:

• Storing the company’s accounting documents incorrectly and sufficiently as prescribed.
• Failing to ensure the safety and integrity of accounting records, causing damage and loss of records during the archival period.
• Using accounting records and books during the storage period in contravention of regulations.
• Failure to conduct an inventory and take measures to recover lost documents.

The fine level is from VND 10,000,000 million to VND 20,000,000 for acts of:

• Arbitrarily destroying accounting documents before the expiration of the archival period, but not to the extent of having to be examined for criminal liability.
• Failure to carry out procedures for destruction of accounting vouchers in accordance with regulations

Above are some regulations on the period of keeping accounting documents of the company that Viet An tax agent would like to share with readers. Hope our article below will help you in the accounting profession!