What are the responsibility of accounting units for loss or damage of accounting documents in Vietnam?

What are the responsibility of accounting units for loss or damage of accounting documents in Vietnam? (Internet image) 

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. What are the responsibility of accounting units for loss or damage of accounting documents in Vietnam?

According to the provisions of Article 42 of the Law on Accounting 2015, where accounting documents are lost or damaged, the accounting unit shall immediately:

(1) Check, determine the quantity, conditions, cause of the loss or damaged; notify relevant entities and competent authorities;

(2) Organize a restoration of damaged accounting documents;

(3) Contact entities having transactions and accounting documents for photocopying the documents or certifying the loss or damage of accounting documents;

(4) Regarding accounting documents about assets that cannot be restored as set out in Clause (2) and Clause (3) of this Section, it is required to conduct stocktaking to remake the accounting documents that are lost or damaged.

2. What are the penalties for violations against regulations on retention of accounting documents?

Pursuant to Article 15 of Decree 41/2018/ND-CP, penalties for violations against regulations on retention of accounting documents are as follows:

- A warning shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

+ Archiving accounting documents 12 months after the specified deadline or later;

+ Failure to arrange the archived accounting documents by fiscal year in chronological order.

- A fine ranging from VND 5.000.000 to VND 10.000.000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

+ Failure to retain accounting documents in full;

+ Damage or loss of accounting documents during the retention period;

+ Using accounting documents against regulations during the retention period;

+ Failure to inventory and sort accounting documents or to restore lost or damaged ones.

- A fine ranging from VND 10.000.000 to VND 20.000.000 shall be imposed for one of the following violations:

+ Destroying accounting documents before the end of the retention period specified in the Law on Accounting 2015 but not serious enough for criminal prosecution;

+ Failure to establish a destruction council, to apply the destruction methods correctly and to make a destruction report while destroying accounting documents.

Note: The fine level mentioned above is the fine level for individuals. For organizations that commit the same violation, the fine is 2 times the fine for individuals. (Clause 2, Article 6 of Decree 41/2018/ND-CP (amended in Decree 102/2021/ND-CP)

Thus, according to the above regulations, in case an enterprise does not preserve accounting documents safely, allowing them to be damaged or lost during the storage period, they may be subject to an administrative fine of VND 10,000,000. VND to 20,000,000 VND.

3. What is the durations of preservation and retention of accounting documents in Vietnam?

According to Article 41 of the Law on Accounting 2015, preservation and retention of accounting documents are as follows:

- Accounting documents must be fully and safely preserved by accounting units.

- In case of impoundment of confiscation of accounting documents, it is required to have a record and copies of the impounded or confiscated accounting documents; in case of loss or damage of accounting documents, it is required to have a record and copies of documents or a certification.

- Accounting documents shall be retained for 12 months from the end of the annual accounting period or completion of accounting works.

- The legal representative of the accounting unit is responsible for the preservation and retention of accounting documents.

- Duration of retention of accounting documents:

+ For accounting documents serving management and operation of the accounting unit, including those not directly used for making accounting books and financial statements: at least 05 years;

+ For accounting documents directly used for making accounting books, financial statements, accounting books, and annual financial statements: at least 10 years, unless otherwise prescribed by law;

+ For historical accounting documents or those of economic, national security, or national defense importance: permanently.

- The Government shall regulates types of accounting documents that need retaining, duration of retention, beginning time of retention mentioned in Clause 5 of Article 41 of the Law on Accounting 2015, places for retention, and procedures for destruction of accounting documents.

Nguyen Ngoc Que Anh

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