Who are the inspectees of accounting services in Vietnam?

Who are the inspectees of accounting services in Vietnam? (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet responded as follows:

1. Who are the inspectees?

Inspectees in Vietnam are those specified in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 5, Article 2 of Circular 09/2021/TT-BTC, specifically as follows:

- Entities providing accounting services as provided in the Law on Accounting 2015, including:

+ Household businesses providing accounting services;

+ Accounting service businesses;

+ Branches of foreign accounting service businesses operating in Vietnam;

+ Auditing businesses, branches of foreign auditing businesses in Vietnam that provide accounting services.

- Persons practicing accounting services, including:

+ Certified accountants practicing accounting services at entities providing accounting services;

+ Accountants and auditors practicing accounting services at auditing businesses, branches of foreign auditing businesses in Vietnam that provide accounting services.

- Tax preparation service businesses that provide accounting services for microbusinesses under the provisions of the 2019 Tax Administration Law and certified accountants working at tax preparation service businesses providing accounting services for microbusinesses.

- Entities and persons involved in accounting services and business of accounting services.

(Article 3 of Circular 09/2021/TT-BTC)

2. Rights and responsibilities of the inspectee of the direct inspection in Vietnam

2.1. Rights of the inspectee of the direct inspection in Vietnam

Specifically, in Clause 1, Article 13 of Circular 09/2021/TT-BTC, the rights of the inspectee of the direct inspection in Vietnam include:

- Due to force majeure or objective reasons, the accounting service provider may request the presiding inspector to change the time of the direct inspection at the inspectee’s office.

They must inform the presiding inspector within 3 working days prior to the planned inspection date. The deferred inspection date must fall within the period of 30 days from the inspection date specified in the notified inspection plan;

- Sending a written notice to the presiding inspector, the inspectorate’s leader whenever it is established that the inspectorate’s member violates independence rules;

- Refusing to provide information or documents unrelated to the inspection, information classified as state secrets, unless otherwise regulated by laws;

- Giving explanations or recommendations about dissenting opinions included in the inspection conclusion of the inspectorate to the presiding inspector.

2.2. Obligations of the inspectee of the direct inspection in Vietnam

Obligations of the inspectee of the direct inspection in Vietnam specified in Clause 2, Article 13 of Circular 09/2021/TT-BTC are as follows:

- Assigning persons having related responsibilities to work with the inspectorate;

- Cooperating with and providing favorable conditions for the inspectorate to carry out their inspection activities, reporting on or providing information related to the business of accounting services to competent authorities upon request;

- Discussing their situations with the inspectorate, explaining and providing necessary documents and information related to the inspection subject matters in full, on time, accurately and truthfully as prescribed or at the inspectorate’s request;

- Signing the inspection minutes immediately after the inspection is ended;

- Within 30 days from the date of signature of the inspection minutes, the inspectee must notify the presiding inspector in writing of the results of implementation of recommendations to address and correct errors or issues discovered by the inspectorate during the inspection process.

3. Forms of inspection of accounting service activities

An inspection is carried out in a direct or indirect manner as follows:

- Indirect inspection means the presiding inspector’s supervision of an inspectee’s compliance with obligations to periodically notify or report to the Ministry of Finance upon request or in accordance with regulations of laws.

- Direct inspection means the presiding inspector’s establishing the Inspectorate to inspect accounting services at accounting service businesses.  Direct inspection comprises:

+ Periodic inspection

Annually, based on the time limits for periodic direct inspections specified in Article 7 of Circular 09/2021/TT-BTC, the presiding inspector shall make a plan for direct inspection of accounting service business activities.

+ Ad-hoc inspection

The presiding inspector shall undertake an unscheduled inspection of an inspectee in one of the following cases:

(i) An ad-hoc inspection is to verify petitions and complaint letters related to provision of accounting services;

(ii) An ad-hoc inspection is to check information about any sign of violation detected in the process of indirectly managing and inspecting accounting service business activities.

(Article 5 of Circular 09/2021/TT-BTC)

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE