What are 3 cases in which tax accounting documents must be retained for at least 5 years in Vietnam?

What are 3 cases in which tax accounting documents must be retained for at least 5 years in Vietnam?

*Cases where accounting documents must be retained for a minimum of 5 years (Based on Article 12 of Decree 174/2016/ND-CP)

[1] Accounting vouchers not used directly for bookkeeping and financial reporting, such as receipts, payment slips, warehouse receipts, and warehouse dispatch slips, which are not retained in the accounting department's document archives.

[2] Accounting documents used for the management and operation of the accounting unit, not directly recorded in the books and financial reports.

[3] If the accounting documents as stipulated in paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) above, are required by other laws to be retained for more than 5 years, then storage must comply with those regulations.

What are 3 cases in which tax accounting documents must be retained for at least 5 years in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

What must tax accounting documents ensure?

Based on the provisions in Article 9 of Decree 174/2016/ND-CP as follows:

Preserving, storing, and providing accounting documents and information

1. retained accounting documents must be the original according to the law for each type of accounting document except in the following cases:

a) Accounting documents stipulated in Clause 2 and Clause 3 of Article 6 of this Decree only have one original but need to be retained in multiple units, except for the unit keeping the original, the other units are allowed to store photocopied documents.

b) During the time accounting documents are temporarily held or confiscated as stipulated in Clause 4 of Article 6 of this Decree, the accounting unit must store photocopied documents along with a "Minutes of delivery and receipt of accounting documents" as stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 7 of this Decree.

c) If accounting documents are lost or destroyed due to objective reasons as stipulated in Clause 5 of Article 6 of this Decree, the accounting unit must store photocopied documents. If the documents cannot be copied according to Clause 6 of Article 6 of this Decree, the unit must store a "Certificate of non-photocopiable accounting documents".

2. The accounting documents must be fully and safely preserved during use by the accounting unit. The unit must establish a regulation on the management, use, and preservation of accounting documents clearly stating the responsibilities and rights of each department and accountant. Super-small enterprises, according to the law on supporting small and medium enterprises, are not required to establish such regulations but must still ensure the full and safe preservation of accounting documents as prescribed. The accounting units must ensure adequate physical facilities, management tools, and preservation of accounting documents. Accountants are responsible for preserving their documents while in use.

3. The legal representative of the accounting unit decides on the storage and archiving of accounting documents in paper or electronic form. Storage must ensure safety, completeness, confidentiality, and provide information upon request by competent state agencies.

4. Accounting documents must be fully and systematically retained, sorted, and organized into separate files according to the chronological order of occurrence and the annual accounting period.

5. The legal representative of the accounting unit is responsible for promptly, fully, honestly, and transparently providing accounting information and documents to tax authorities and other competent state agencies as prescribed by law. Agencies provided with accounting documents must maintain, preserve, and return the accounting documents fully and on time.

Thus, according to these regulations, tax accounting documents must be fully and systematically retained, classified, and arranged into separate files according to the chronological order of occurrence and the annual accounting period.

Is there a penalty for delayed storage of accounting documents in Vietnam?

The administrative penalty for the act of delayed storage of accounting documents is regulated in point a, clause 1, Article 15 of Decree 41/2018/ND-CP as follows:

Penalties for violations of regulations on preserving and storing accounting documents

1. A warning will be issued for any of the following acts:

a) Delaying the storage of accounting documents by 12 months or more past the prescribed deadline;

b) Failing to organize accounting documents for storage according to the chronological order of occurrence and the annual accounting period.

2. A fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 will be imposed for any of the following acts:

a) Incomplete storage of accounting documents as prescribed;

b) Unsafe preservation of accounting documents, leading to damage or loss during the storage period;

c) Inappropriate use of accounting documents during the storage period;

d) Failing to conduct inventories, classification, or restoration of lost or damaged accounting documents.

3. A fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 will be imposed for any of the following acts:

a) Destroying accounting documents before the expiration of the storage period as prescribed by the Accounting Law, but not to the extent of being criminally prosecuted;

b) Failing to establish a disposal council, not following the proper disposal methods, and not making a disposal record as prescribed when destroying accounting documents.

Delaying the storage of accounting documents by 12 months or more past the prescribed deadline may result in an administrative penalty with a fine or warning.