Circular 77/2017/TT-BTC on Policies for State Budget Accounting and State Treasury Operations

Document Storage Period for Accounting Records is 12 Months

This new content is added in Circular 77, according to which, the Ministry specifies that accounting documents must be archived within 12 months from the end date of the fiscal year or the completion of the accounting work.

The document storage period for accounting records is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Decree 174/2016/ND-CP.

Sound is Also Considered as Electronic Signature

Circular 77 lists the forms of electronic signatures such as: words, letters, numbers, symbols, sounds, or other forms by electronic means, attached or logically associated with the data message, capable of confirming the identity of the signer of the data message and affirming the signer's approval of the content of the signed data message (currently not regulated).

An electronic signature is considered secure if it is verified by a safety check process agreed upon by the transacting parties, and meets the following conditions:

- The data used to create the electronic signature is uniquely associated with the signer in the context in which the data is used;- The data used to create the electronic signature is under the sole control of the signer at the time of signing;- Any alterations to the electronic signature and the content of the data message after signing can be detected.

Writing on Accounting Documents Must Not Use Abbreviations

Circular 77 adds regulations on writing amounts in numbers and words on accounting documents. The highlighted content is newly added, while the rest remains as per existing regulations:

The amount written in words must match exactly with the amount written in numbers; the total amount must match the sum of the detailed amounts; the first letter must be capitalized, subsequent letters must not be capitalized; it must be written close to the beginning of the line, letters, and numbers must be written continuously without spacing, write to the end of the line before moving to another line, no abbreviations, no overwriting or writing over pre-printed text; blank spaces must be crossed out to prevent additions or modifications. Documents that are erased or altered are not valid for payment and accounting records. If a mistake is made on a pre-printed form, it must be canceled by crossing out the erroneous document.

Additionally, an extra provision has been added: "For expenditure documents, in cases where the unit withdraws multiple items, which cannot be recorded on one page, the unit can write on the next page (back page) or create multiple sets of documents (note that one document can only be made on a maximum of 2 pages). If the document is written on 2 pages, then on the next page, the unit must start writing about 1/4 of the page down from the top margin."

See more at Circular 77/2017/TT-BTC, effective from September 12, 2017.

>>> LIST OF APPENDICES AND DETAILED FORMS OF CIRCULAR 77

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE