Decree No. 128/2004/ND-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Accounting Law applicable in the state accounting sector.

DECREE

Implementing detailed regulations and guiding the enforcement of certain Articles of

 the Accounting Law applicable in the state accounting field

______________________

THE GOVERNMENT

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Based on the Accounting Law dated June 17, 2003;

WHEREAS, the Law on the State Budget dated December 16, 2002;

At the proposal of the Minister of Finance,

DECREE:

Article 1. Scope of application

This Decree provides detailed regulations and guidance for implementing certain provisions of the Accounting Law applicable to the objects specified in Article 2 of this Decree (hereinafter referred to as the state accounting field).

Article 2. Applicability

Pursuant to point a, b, e Clause 1 Article 2 of the Accounting Law, the objects subject to this Decree are the following organizations and individuals:

1. State agencies, public institutions, organizations using state budget funds, including:

a) Agencies and organizations with the responsibility to collect and disburse state budgets at all levels;

b) National Assembly Office;

"5. Special-purpose Internet access service is an Internet service that connects through the Internet gateway of the SPDN to serve applications for guidance, management, and operation of central Party and State agencies on the SPDN."

d) Government Office;

đ) People's Courts at all levels;

e) People's Procuracy at all levels;

g) Military units, including Military Courts and Military Procuracies;

h) Units managing state reserve funds, sectoral and level reserve funds, other state financial funds;

i) Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies; People's Councils, People's Committees at all levels;

k) Political organizations, political-social organizations, political-professional social organizations, social organizations, social-professional organizations using state budget funds;

l) Public institutions whose operating costs are partially or fully guaranteed by the state budget;

m) Organizations managing national assets;

n) Investment Project Management Boards with state budget funds;

o) Associations, Federations, General Assemblies, and other organizations whose operating costs are partially supported by the state budget.

2. Public institutions, organizations not using state budget funds, including:

a) Public institutions self-balancing income and expenditure;

b) Non-public public institutions;

c) Non-governmental organizations;

d) Associations, Federations, General Assemblies self-balancing income and expenditure;

đ) Social organizations, social-professional organizations self-collecting and self-spending;

e) Other organizations not using state budget funds.

3. Accountants and other persons related to accounting in the state accounting field.

Article 3. Accounting objects in revenue and expenditure activities of the state budget

Pursuant to Clause 1 Article 9 of the Accounting Law, accounting objects in revenue and expenditure activities of the state budget are defined as follows:

1. Money and equivalent monetary items;

2. Sources of funds and reserves;

3. Payments within and outside the accounting unit;

4. Revenue and expenditure of state budgets at all levels;

5. Surplus of state budgets at all levels;

6. State financial investment and credit;

7. State debt and debt resolution;

8. National assets;

9. Other assets related to the accounting unit.

Article 4. Accounting objects in administrative, public service activities, and operations of units and organizations using state budget funds

Pursuant to Clause 1 Article 9 of the Accounting Law, accounting objects in administrative, public service activities, and operations of units and organizations using state budget funds are defined as follows:

1. Money and equivalent monetary items;

2. Materials and fixed assets;

3. Sources of funds and reserves;

4. Payments within and outside the accounting unit;

5. Revenue, expenditure, and handling of revenue-expenditure discrepancies in operations;

6. State financial investment and credit;

7. Other assets related to the accounting unit.

Article 5. Accounting objects in operations of units and organizations not using state budget funds

Pursuant to Clause 2 Article 9 of the Accounting Law, accounting objects in operations of units and organizations not using state budget funds are defined as follows:

1. Money and equivalent monetary items;

2. Materials and fixed assets;

3. Sources of funds and reserves;

4. Payments within and outside the accounting unit;

5. Revenue, expenditure, and handling of revenue-expenditure discrepancies in operations;

6. Other assets related to the accounting unit.

Article 6. Currency units used in accounting when there is foreign currency income and expenditure

Pursuant to Clause 1 Article 11 of the Accounting Law, currency units when there is foreign currency income and expenditure are defined as follows:

1. For state budget revenue and expenditure transactions conducted in foreign currencies, they must be recorded in original currency and converted into Vietnamese Dong according to the exchange rate published by the Ministry of Finance at the time of transaction occurrence.

2. State agencies, public institutions, and organizations using state budget funds receiving funds in foreign currencies must record them in original currency and convert them into Vietnamese Dong according to the exchange rate published by the Ministry of Finance at the time of transaction occurrence.

3. State agencies, public institutions, and organizations using state budget funds conducting foreign currency transactions, except as provided in Clause 2 of this Article, must record them in original currency and Vietnamese Dong based on the actual exchange rate or converted according to the exchange rate published by the State Bank of Vietnam at the time of transaction occurrence.

4. Representative offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and units, organizations under the state accounting field abroad, if they have economic and financial transactions or state budget revenue and expenditure in foreign currencies, may choose one foreign currency for bookkeeping; when preparing financial reports and final accounts to be sent back to Vietnam, they must comply with the provisions of Article 29 of this Decree.

Article 7. Accounting period

Pursuant to point a Clause 1 Article 13 of the Accounting Law, the accounting period for units with special characteristics is defined as follows:

In cases where educational and training institutions select an annual accounting period different from the Gregorian calendar year, the annual accounting period must be twelve full months from July 1st of the current year to June 30th of the following year or from October 1st of the current year to September 30th of the following year. When implementing, they must notify the competent financial authority and the directly managing tax authority; at the end of the Gregorian calendar year, they still need to prepare financial statements according to the prescribed regulations.

Article 8. Responsibilities for managing, using, and providing accounting information and documents

Pursuant to Article 16 of the Accounting Law, responsibilities for managing, using, and providing accounting information and documents are defined as follows:

1. Accounting units must establish management and usage regulations for accounting documents, clearly defining responsibilities and rights for each department and each accountant; accounting units must ensure adequate physical facilities and means for managing and preserving accounting documents.

2. Accounting units must have the responsibility to provide accounting information and documents to state authorities with supervisory functions to carry out inspection, audit, investigation, and auditing tasks as stipulated by law. Authorities receiving accounting documents must have the responsibility to keep and preserve the documents during their use and return them fully and on time after use.

3. The provision of information and documents to the subjects specified in Clause 2 of this Article shall be decided by the legal representative of the accounting unit in accordance with the provisions of the law. The exploitation and use of accounting documents must be agreed upon in writing by the legal representative of the accounting unit or the person authorized by the legal representative of the accounting unit.

Article 9. Accounting voucher model

Based on Clause 2 of Article 19 of the Accounting Law, the accounting voucher model is defined as follows:

1. The accounting voucher model includes mandatory accounting voucher models and guiding accounting voucher models.

a) Mandatory accounting voucher models are special voucher models with the value equivalent to money, including: checks, receipts for payment collection, fee tickets, bond certificates, bills of exchange, treasury bonds, various sales invoices, and other mandatory vouchers. The mandatory accounting voucher model is prescribed by the competent state agency regarding the content and structure of the model that the accounting unit must strictly follow in terms of form, content, method of recording indicators, and uniformly applied to all accounting units or specific accounting units.

b) Guiding accounting voucher models are those prescribed by the competent state agency; in addition to the contents stipulated on the model, the accounting unit may supplement additional indicators or change the form of the model to suit the recording requirements and management needs of the unit.

2. The mandatory accounting voucher forms are printed and issued by the Ministry of Finance or units authorized by the Ministry of Finance. Units authorized to print and issue mandatory accounting vouchers must print according to the prescribed model, in the permitted quantity for each type of voucher, and must comply with the regulations on seal management of the Ministry of Finance.

3. The Ministry of Finance prescribes the list and mandatory accounting voucher models, the list and guiding accounting voucher models; regulations on printing and issuing accounting voucher models in each field of state accounting.

Article 10. Electronic document

Based on Clause 2 of Article 18 of the Accounting Law, the content of electronic vouchers is defined as follows:

1. Electronic vouchers must contain all the contents prescribed for accounting vouchers and must be encoded to ensure data security during processing, transmission, and storage.

2. Electronic vouchers used in accounting can be stored in data carriers such as magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and various types of payment cards.

3. For electronic vouchers, it is necessary to ensure confidentiality and data integrity during use and storage; measures must be taken to manage, inspect, and prevent unauthorized exploitation, intrusion, copying, theft, or improper use of electronic vouchers. When stored, electronic vouchers are managed like original accounting documents from which they were created, sent, or received, but must have appropriate equipment available for use when needed.

Article 11. Conditions for using electronic vouchers

Based on Clause 2 of Article 18 of the Accounting Law, the conditions for using electronic vouchers are defined as follows:

1. Organizations providing payment services, accounting services, and auditing services using electronic vouchers must meet the following conditions:

a) Having locations, information transmission channels, information networks, and communication devices that meet the requirements for exploiting, controlling, processing, using, storing, and preserving electronic vouchers;

b) Having a team of personnel with sufficient qualifications and capabilities corresponding to technical requirements to implement the process of creating and using electronic vouchers according to accounting and payment procedures;

c) The provisions of Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Organizations and individuals using electronic vouchers and conducting electronic payment transactions must meet the following conditions:

a) Having an electronic signature of the legal representative or the person authorized by the legal representative of the organization or individual using electronic vouchers and electronic payment transactions;

b) Establishing methods for receiving and transmitting electronic vouchers and the technology of data carriers;

c) Committing to activities conducted through their own electronic vouchers in accordance with regulations.

Article 12. Value of electronic vouchers

Based on Clause 2 of Article 18 of the Accounting Law, the value of electronic vouchers is defined as follows:

1. When a paper voucher is converted into an electronic voucher for payment transactions, the electronic voucher will have the value to perform payment operations, and at that time, the paper voucher will only have archival value for monitoring and checking, without transaction or payment validity.

2. When an electronic voucher has completed economic and financial operations and is converted into a paper voucher, the paper voucher will only have archival value for bookkeeping, monitoring, and checking, without transaction or payment validity.

3. The conversion of paper vouchers into electronic vouchers or vice versa must be carried out in accordance with the regulations on creating, using, controlling, processing, storing, and archiving electronic vouchers and paper vouchers.

Article 13. Translation of accounting vouchers into Vietnamese

Based on Article 19 of the Accounting Law, the writing on accounting vouchers is defined as follows:

1. Accounting vouchers generated outside the territory of Vietnam must be recorded in a foreign language; when used for bookkeeping in Vietnam, they must be translated into Vietnamese.

2. Vouchers that rarely occur must be fully translated. Vouchers that frequently occur must be translated into the main contents as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

3. The Vietnamese translation of the voucher must be attached to the original version in a foreign language.

Article 14. Electronic signature on electronic vouchers

Based on Clause 4 of Article 20 of the Accounting Law, the electronic signature is defined as follows:

1. An electronic signature is electronic information attached appropriately to electronic data to establish a link between the sender and the content of that data. The electronic signature confirms that the sender has accepted and is responsible for the information content in the electronic voucher.

2. The electronic signature must be encrypted with a cryptographic key. The electronic signature is established separately for each individual to determine the rights and responsibilities of the creator and related parties responsible for the security and accuracy of the electronic voucher. The electronic signature on an electronic voucher has the same value as a handwritten signature on a paper voucher.

3. In case of changing technical staff responsible for coding, the secret code symbols, electronic signatures, and security keys must be changed again and such changes must be notified to all parties involved in electronic transactions.

4. The person entrusted with managing and using secret code symbols, electronic signatures, and encryption keys must ensure confidentiality and bear legal responsibility if they disclose them, causing damage to the assets of the unit and the parties participating in the transaction.

Article 15. Sales invoices

Pursuant to Clause 1 and Clause 4 of Article 21 of the Accounting Law, the cases of selling goods and the amount of sales are defined as follows:

1. Organizations that use sales invoices, when selling goods individually or providing services once with an amount below the level specified by the Ministry of Finance, are not required to issue sales invoices, except when the buyer requests an invoice, in which case the seller must issue and provide the invoice according to regulations. Goods sold individually or services provided once with a value below the specified level, although not required to issue an invoice, still need to prepare a list of individual sales or service provision or may issue a sales invoice according to regulations as accounting evidence. In the case of preparing a list of individual sales or service provision, at the end of each day, based on the aggregated data from the list, a daily sales invoice must be issued according to regulations.

2. Organizations or individuals purchasing products, goods, or receiving services have the right to request sellers or service providers to issue and deliver two copies of the sales invoice for their use and storage according to regulations, while also having the responsibility to check the contents of the invoice's items and refuse to accept an invoice with incorrect items or discrepancies in value compared to the retained copy of the seller.

3. Organizations printing their own sales invoices must obtain written approval from the Ministry of Finance before implementation. Organizations printing their own invoices must have a printing contract with the printing organization specifying the quantity, code, and serial number of the invoices. After each printing session or upon completion of the printing contract, the contract must be terminated.

Accounting units must use sales invoices according to regulations; they are not allowed to buy, sell, exchange, or give away invoices or use invoices from other organizations or individuals; they are not allowed to use invoices to declare tax evasion; they must maintain ledgers, establish internal management rules, and properly store and retain invoices according to legal regulations; they must not allow invoices to be damaged or lost. If an invoice is damaged or lost, it must be reported in writing to the competent tax authority.

Article 16. Stamps, tickets, receipts for payment

Pursuant to Point d of Clause 3 of Article 21 of the Accounting Law, stamps, tickets, and receipts for payment are defined as follows:

1. Accounting units when collecting fees, charges, or fines must affix stamps, issue tickets, or provide receipts for payment to the payer. Stamps, tickets, and receipts for payment must be managed like cash.

2. Accounting units when paying fees, charges, or fines must request the collector to affix stamps, issue tickets, or provide receipts for payment.

Article 17. Arrangement and preservation of accounting vouchers

Pursuant to Clause 2 of Article 22 of the Accounting Law, the arrangement and preservation of accounting vouchers are defined as follows:

1. Accounting vouchers, after being used for recording in the accounting ledger, must be classified by economic content, arranged in chronological order, and bound into volumes, with each volume labeled with the name of the voucher set, month, year of the vouchers, and the number of vouchers in the set. These sets of vouchers must be stored in the accounting department for a period of 12 months from the end of the annual accounting period, after which they must be transferred to storage according to the provisions of this Decree.

2. Unused accounting voucher forms must be carefully preserved and not allowed to be damaged or deteriorate. Accounting vouchers related to state budget revenues and expenditures that have not been used must be managed under the stamp control system of the Ministry of Finance. Accounting vouchers with the value of money during their validity period must be managed like cash.

3. The arrangement and preservation of electronic accounting vouchers are regulated in Clause 3 of Article 10 of this Decree.

Article 18. Photocopies of accounting vouchers

Pursuant to Clause 3 of Article 22 and Clause 3 of Article 41 of the Accounting Law, photocopies of accounting vouchers are defined as follows:

1. Photocopies of accounting vouchers must be made from the original and must have the signature and seal of confirmation of the legal representative of the accounting unit where the original is kept or the competent state agency authorized to temporarily detain or confiscate accounting documents on the photocopy of the accounting voucher.

2. Photocopies of accounting vouchers can only be made in the following cases:

a) For accounting units with foreign loan or aid projects according to agreements, if they must submit the original voucher to the foreign sponsor. In this case, the photocopy of the voucher must have the signature and seal of confirmation of the legal representative of the sponsor or of the accounting unit;

b) For accounting units whose original accounting vouchers are temporarily detained or confiscated by a competent state agency. In this case, the photocopy of the voucher must have the signature and seal of confirmation of the legal representative of the state agency authorized to temporarily detain or confiscate accounting documents on the photocopy of the accounting voucher according to Article 33 of this Decree;

c) Accounting vouchers that are lost or destroyed due to external factors such as natural disasters or fires. In this case, the accounting unit must go to the purchasing unit, selling unit, or other relevant units to request a photocopy of the lost accounting voucher. On the photocopy of the accounting voucher, there must be the signature and seal of confirmation of the legal representative of the purchasing unit, selling unit, or other relevant accounting unit;

d) Other cases as prescribed by law.

Article 19. Recording accounting ledgers on computers

Pursuant to Clause 7 of Article 27 of the Accounting Law, the recording of accounting ledgers on computers is defined as follows:

1. When an accounting unit records ledgers on a computer, the selected accounting software must meet the standards and conditions as prescribed, ensuring the ability to reconcile and aggregate accounting data and prepare financial reports.

2. The Ministry of Finance stipulates the standards and conditions for accounting software.

Article 20. Period for preparing financial statements

Pursuant to Clause 2 of Article 29 and Clause 1 of Article 30 of the Accounting Law, the period for preparing financial statements is defined as follows:

1. Financial statements of accounting units engaged in state budget revenue and expenditure activities are prepared at the end of the monthly, quarterly, or annual accounting periods.

2. Financial reports of administrative and public service accounting units, organizations using state budget funds shall be prepared at the end of each quarter and year accounting period.

3. Financial reports of units and organizations not using state budget funds shall be prepared at the end of each year accounting period.

4. Accounting units that are divided, merged, or cease operations must prepare financial reports at the time of decision to divide, merge, or cease operations.

Article 21. Period for preparing final accounts report

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 30 of the Accounting Law, the period for preparing final accounts reports is stipulated as follows:

1. The final accounts report of state budget revenue and expenditure accounting units is the annual financial report after adjustments.

2. The final accounts report of state agencies, public service units, and organizations using state budget funds is the annual financial report according to regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

3. The final accounts report of public service units and organizations not using state budget funds is the annual financial report according to regulations of the Ministry of Finance.

Article 22. Responsibility for preparing and submitting final accounts reports

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 30 of the Accounting Law, the responsibility for preparing and submitting financial reports and final accounts reports is stipulated as follows:

1. Basic-level accounting units under state budget revenue and expenditure activities must prepare and submit monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports and annual final accounts reports to higher-level revenue and expenditure state budget agencies and competent state agencies.

2. State agencies, public service units, and organizations using state budget funds, when there are budgetary levels, lower-level budgetary units must prepare and submit quarterly and annual financial reports and annual final accounts reports to higher-level budgetary units.

Article 23. Content and method of presenting financial reports

Pursuant to Clause 3, Article 30 of the Accounting Law, the content and method of presenting financial reports are stipulated as follows:

The content and method of presenting indicators in financial reports must be consistent with the content and method of presenting indicators in the budget estimates of the fiscal year and the previous year's annual accounting period financial report. In cases where the financial report has different content and presentation methods from those in the budget estimates or from the previous year's annual accounting period financial report, explanations must be provided in the explanatory section of the financial report.

Article 24. Deadline for submitting financial reports

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 31 of the Accounting Law, the deadline for submitting financial reports is stipulated as follows:

1. The deadline for submitting monthly financial reports of accounting units under state budget revenue and expenditure activities must be submitted to higher-level accounting units and same-level finance agencies no later than 15 days after the end of the month.

2. The deadline for submitting quarterly financial reports:

a) Quarterly financial reports of accounting units under state budget revenue and expenditure activities must be submitted to higher-level accounting units and same-level finance agencies no later than 25 days after the end of the quarter.

b) Quarterly financial reports of state agencies, public service units, and organizations using state budget funds must be submitted to higher-level accounting units and same-level finance agencies no later than 25 days after the end of the quarter.

3. The deadline for submitting annual financial reports of accounting units under state budget revenue and expenditure activities to higher-level agencies and same-level finance agencies is no later than 45 days after the end of the year.

Article 25. Deadline and place for receiving annual final accounts reports

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 31 of the Accounting Law, the deadline and place for receiving annual final accounts reports are stipulated as follows:

1. Annual final accounts reports of all levels must be submitted to higher-level accounting units and same-level finance agencies no later than the end of October 1st of the following year for provincial budgets. For county and commune budgets, specific deadlines are determined by the Provincial People's Committee but must ensure the approval deadlines for all levels of budgets.

2. Annual final accounts reports of central budget first-level budgetary units must be submitted to higher-level agencies and same-level finance agencies no later than the end of October 1st of the following year.

The deadline for submitting annual final accounts reports of second and third-level budgetary units is specified by the first-level budgetary unit.

The deadline for submitting annual final accounts reports of first-level budgetary units of local budgets is specified by the Provincial People's Committee.

3. Annual final accounts reports of units and organizations not using state budget funds must be submitted to higher-level accounting units (if any) and same-level finance agencies no later than 45 days after the end of the year.

Article 26. Consolidated annual final accounts report

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 30 of the Accounting Law, the consolidated annual final accounts report is stipulated as follows:

1. Higher-level accounting units under state budget revenue and expenditure activities, in addition to preparing their own annual final accounts reports, must also prepare consolidated annual final accounts reports based on the consolidated annual final accounts reports of subordinate accounting units.

2. Higher-level accounting units of state agencies, public service units, and organizations using state budget funds, in addition to preparing their own annual final accounts reports, must also prepare consolidated annual final accounts reports based on the annual final accounts reports of subordinate accounting units.

Article 27. Responsibility for reviewing and approving final accounts reports

Pursuant to Article 31 of the Accounting Law, the responsibility for reviewing and approving final accounts reports of higher-level accounting units is stipulated as follows:

1. Higher-level accounting units under state budget revenue and expenditure activities must review and examine annual final accounts reports and notify the results of the examination to lower-level accounting units.

2. Higher-level budgetary units of state agencies, public service units, and organizations using state budget funds must review and examine annual final accounts reports and notify the results of the examination to lower-level units.

Article 28. Currency units shall round off figures when preparing financial reports or publicly disclosing financial reports.

Article 11 and Article 30 of the Accounting Law provide for the abbreviated monetary unit when preparing financial statements or publicly disclosing financial statements as follows:

1. The superior accounting entity when preparing consolidated final accounts reports from annual final accounts reports of subordinate accounting entities, if there are figures exceeding nine digits, may choose to use the abbreviated monetary unit of thousands of dong; if exceeding twelve digits, the abbreviated monetary unit is millions of dong; if exceeding fifteen digits, the abbreviated monetary unit is billions of dong.

2. An accounting entity when publicly disclosing financial statements may use the abbreviated monetary unit as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. When using the abbreviated monetary unit, the accounting entity shall round off figures as follows: if the digit following the abbreviated monetary unit is five (5) or more, it shall be increased by one (1) unit; if less than five (5), it shall not be counted.

Article 29. Conversion of financial statements of units and organizations under state accounting operating abroad.

Based on Article 29, Article 30, and Article 31 of the Accounting Law, the case of accounting entities operating abroad sending financial statements back to Vietnam is regulated as follows:

The representative agencies of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and units and organizations under state accounting operating abroad when preparing financial statements and final accounts reports sent back to Vietnam must record in foreign currency used for bookkeeping, simultaneously converting to Vietnamese dong according to the conversion method and exchange rate specified by the Ministry of Finance, and must translate into Vietnamese.

Article 30. Time limit for public disclosure of financial statements

Based on Clause 1 of Article 32 of the Accounting Law, the time limit for public disclosure of annual financial statements is regulated as follows:

1. Accounting entities under budget revenue and expenditure activities must disclose their annual financial statements within thirty days from the date the annual final accounts report is approved by the competent state authority.

2. Public institutions and organizations using state budget funds must disclose their financial statements within thirty days from the date the annual final accounts report is approved by the superior accounting entity or the competent state authority.

3. Public institutions and organizations not using state budget funds must disclose their financial statements within thirty days from the deadline for submitting annual financial statements to the superior accounting entity and the same-level finance agency.

Article 31. Authority to decide on accounting inspection

Based on Article 35 of the Accounting Law, the authority to decide on accounting inspection is regulated as follows:

1. The Ministry of Finance decides to inspect accounting of accounting entities under ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, provincial People's Committees, and other central-level accounting entities.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and other central-level agencies within their scope of duties and powers decide to inspect accounting of accounting entities under their assigned responsibility.

3. Provincial People's Committees and municipal people's committees directly under the Central Government within their scope of duties and powers decide to inspect accounting of local accounting entities under their management.

4. Superior accounting entities decide to inspect accounting of subordinate accounting entities.

Article 32. Authority to inspect accounting

Based on Article 35 of the Accounting Law, the authority to inspect accounting is regulated as follows:

1. Authorities deciding on accounting inspections as stipulated in Article 31 of this Decree also have the authority to inspect accounting.

2. State audit agencies, financial audit agencies, National Audit Office, tax authorities when performing tasks of inspection, auditing, and auditing of accounting entities have the right to inspect accounting.

Article 33. Sealing, temporary detention, confiscation of accounting documents

Based on Clause 3 of Article 22 and Clause 2 of Article 40 of the Accounting Law, the regulation on sealing, temporary detention, and confiscation of accounting documents is as follows:

1. When a state authority with the power to seal accounting documents according to the provisions of the law decides to seal accounting documents, the accounting entity and the representative of the state authority with the power to seal accounting documents must prepare a "Sealing Record of Accounting Documents." The sealing record of accounting documents must clearly state the reasons, quantity, type, and accounting period of the sealed accounting documents. The legal representative of the accounting entity and the representative of the state authority sealing the accounting documents must sign and stamp the sealing record of accounting documents.

2. In cases where a state authority with the power to temporarily detain or confiscate accounting documents decides to do so, the accounting entity and the representative of the state authority executing the task of temporarily detaining or confiscating accounting documents must prepare a "Handover Record of Accounting Documents." The handover record of accounting documents must clearly state the reasons, types, quantities of each type of detained or confiscated documents, and the condition of each type of detained or confiscated documents; if temporarily detained, the duration of use and the return date of the accounting documents must be clearly stated. The legal representative of the accounting entity and the representative of the state authority temporarily detaining or confiscating accounting documents must sign and stamp the handover record of accounting documents, and at the same time, must photocopy the detained or confiscated accounting documents and have the representative of the state authority temporarily detaining or confiscating accounting documents sign and stamp confirmation on the photocopies of the detained or confiscated accounting documents. For accounting vouchers, accounting books, and financial statements prepared on computers but not printed on paper, the state authority requires the accounting entity to print them on paper and follow the procedures for accounting documents before temporarily detaining or confiscating them.

Article 34. Types of accounting documents required to be stored

Based on Article 40 of the Accounting Law, the types of accounting documents required to be stored are regulated as follows:

1. Accounting vouchers.

2. Detailed accounting books, summary accounting books.

3. Financial statements, managerial accounting reports.

4. Other accounting-related documents other than those specified in Clauses 1, 2, and 3 of this Article include various types of contracts; documents related to receiving and using funds, capital, and funds; documents related to tax obligations to the State; documents related to inventory, asset evaluation; documents related to inspection, audit, and examination; documents related to division, separation, merger, and cessation of operations; minutes of accounting document destruction, and other accounting-related documents.

Article 35. Preservation and storage of accounting documents

Pursuant to Article 40 of the Accounting Law, the preservation and storage of accounting documents are regulated as follows:

1. Accounting documents must be fully and safely preserved by the accounting unit during their use. Accountants are responsible for preserving their own accounting documents during use.

2. Stored accounting documents must be original copies as prescribed by law for each type of accounting document. In cases where accounting documents are temporarily seized, confiscated, lost, or destroyed, there must be a record attached with a copy of the seized, confiscated, lost, or destroyed document. For accounting vouchers that have only one original copy but need to be stored in two places, one of the places may store a copy of the voucher according to Clause 18 of this Decree.

3. The legal representative of the accounting unit shall be responsible for organizing the preservation and storage of accounting documents to ensure their safety, completeness, and legality.

4. Accounting documents placed into storage must be complete, systematic, classified, and arranged into separate files in chronological order and according to the accounting year.

Article 36. Location for storing accounting documents

Pursuant to Article 40 of the Accounting Law, the location for storing accounting documents is regulated as follows:

1. Accounting documents of the accounting unit must be stored in the unit's archive room. The archive room for accounting documents must be located near the unit's headquarters, equipped with sufficient preservation equipment, and meet the legal requirements for safe storage.

2. If the accounting unit does not organize an archive department or room within the unit, it must hire an organization or agency to store accounting documents based on a storage contract signed in accordance with the law.

3. Accounting documents of the accounting years still within the retention period of the accounting unit that has been divided, separated, or merged must be stored at the newly established unit. In cases where accounting documents of the divided or separated units cannot be distributed to new units, they must be stored at the original unit or at a location as decided by the competent authority.

4. Accounting documents of units ceasing operations include accounting documents of the current accounting year within the retention period and documents related to the cessation of operations, stored at a location as decided by the competent authority.

5. Accounting documents related to security and defense, and permanently stored documents must be archived according to the law.

Article 37. Accounting documents must be stored for a minimum of five years

Pursuant to Article 40 of the Accounting Law, accounting documents must be stored for a minimum of five years, including:

1. Accounting documents used for regular management and operation of the accounting unit, not directly used for recording in accounting books and preparing financial statements, such as receipts, payments, warehouse entry, and exit forms, which are not kept in the accounting department's voucher set, must be stored for a minimum of five years from the end of the accounting year.

2. Other accounting documents used for management and operation, and other accounting vouchers not directly recorded in accounting books and preparing financial statements.

Article 38. Accounting documents must be stored for a minimum of ten years

Pursuant to Article 40 of the Accounting Law, accounting documents must be stored for a minimum of ten years, including:

1. Accounting vouchers used directly for recording in accounting books and preparing financial statements, detailed schedules, detailed accounting ledgers, summary accounting ledgers, monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports, final settlement reports, minutes of accounting document destruction, and other documents related to recording in accounting books and preparing financial statements.

2. Accounting documents related to the liquidation of fixed assets.

3. Accounting documents and final settlement reports of project management boards for completed investment projects.

4. Accounting documents related to the establishment, division, separation, merger, and cessation of operations of the accounting unit.

5. Other accounting documents of the accounting unit used in certain situations prescribed by law to be stored for more than ten years must be stored accordingly.

6. Audit documents and audit files of the State Audit Agency.

Article 39. Accounting documents must be stored permanently

Pursuant to Article 40 of the Accounting Law, accounting documents must be stored permanently, including:

1. Final settlement reports of state budget approved by the National Assembly.

2. Files and final settlement reports of basic construction investment projects under Group A.

3. Other accounting documents with archival value and significant economic, security, and defense importance.

Determining other accounting documents to be stored permanently is decided by the legal representative of the accounting unit, industry, or locality based on the archival value and significant economic, security, and defense importance. Permanent storage periods must be from ten years or longer until the accounting documents are naturally destroyed or destroyed according to the decision of the legal representative of the accounting unit.

Article 40. Storage of electronic vouchers

Pursuant to Articles 18 and 40 of the Accounting Law, the storage of electronic vouchers is regulated as follows:

1. Electronic vouchers, such as magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and payment cards, must be arranged in chronological order and preserved with adequate technical conditions to prevent degradation of electronic vouchers and unauthorized external access.

2. Before being stored, electronic vouchers must be printed on paper in accordance with the regulations on storing accounting documents. In cases where electronic vouchers are stored in special devices, appropriate reading devices must be stored to ensure accessibility when needed.

3. The time of storage, duration of storage, place of storage, and destruction of electronic vouchers shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Articles 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, and Article 43 of this Decree.

Article 41. Time for calculating the retention period of accounting documents

Pursuant to Article 40 of the Accounting Law, the time for calculating the duration of storage of accounting documents is specified as follows:

1. The time for calculating the duration of storage of accounting documents prescribed in Article 37, Clause 1, Clause 2, and Clause 5 of Article 38 of this Decree shall be calculated from the end date of the annual accounting period.

2. The time for calculating the duration of storage of accounting documents prescribed in Clause 3 of Article 38 of this Decree shall be calculated from the date the final settlement report on project investment capital is approved.

3. The time for calculating the duration of storage of accounting documents prescribed in Clause 4 of Article 38 of this Decree and auditing documents prescribed in Clause 6 of Article 38 of this Decree shall be calculated from the completion of the work.

Article 42. Destruction of accounting documents

Pursuant to Article 40 of the Accounting Law, the destruction of accounting documents is specified as follows:

1. Accounting documents that have exceeded the storage period as prescribed, if there is no other directive from the competent state agency, may be destroyed according to the decision of the legal representative of the accounting unit.

2. Accounting documents stored by an accounting unit shall be destroyed by that accounting unit.

3. Depending on the specific conditions of each unit, accounting documents can be destroyed by selected methods. For confidential accounting documents, they must be destroyed by burning, cutting, or shredding using machines or manually to ensure that the destroyed accounting documents cannot be reused for their information and data.

Article 43. Procedure for destroying accounting documents

Pursuant to Article 40 of the Accounting Law, the procedure for destroying accounting documents is specified as follows:

1. The legal representative of the accounting unit decides to establish a "Committee for Destroying Expired Storage Period Accounting Documents." The committee consists of leadership of the unit, chief accountant, and representatives of the storage department.

2. The Committee for Destroying Expired Storage Period Accounting Documents must conduct an inventory, evaluation, classification of accounting documents by type, prepare a "List of Accounting Documents to be Destroyed" and a "Minutes of Destroying Expired Storage Period Accounting Documents."

3. The "Minutes of Destroying Expired Storage Period Accounting Documents" must be prepared immediately after the destruction of accounting documents and must clearly record the types of accounting documents destroyed, the storage period of each type of accounting document, the method of destruction, conclusions, and signatures of the committee members.

Article 44. Arrangement of Accountants

Pursuant to Clause 1 of Article 48 of the Accounting Law, the arrangement of accountants is specified as follows:

Accounting units with a small volume of accounting work may arrange one person to be an accountant or arrange someone to concurrently perform other tasks not prohibited by accounting laws. In accounting units where a chief accountant must be arranged, the person appointed as an accountant or concurrently performing accounting duties must meet the criteria and conditions and be appointed as a chief accountant or responsible accountant as stipulated in Articles 45 and 47 of this Decree.

Article 45. Arrangement and Removal of Chief Accountant

Pursuant to Clause 2 of Article 48 of the Accounting Law, the arrangement and removal of chief accountants are specified as follows:

1. Accounting units must arrange a chief accountant, except for accounting units with a small volume of accounting work as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance. When establishing an accounting unit, a chief accountant must be arranged immediately.

2. The arrangement and removal of chief accountants in accounting units prescribed in Clause 1 of Article 2 of this Decree and self-balancing revenue and expenditure public institutions established by state agencies shall be proposed by the legal representative of the accounting unit and decided by the competent authority after obtaining written agreement from the chief accountant of the directly superior accounting unit. Other accounting units shall be decided by the legal representative of the accounting unit.

3. In cases where a chief accountant position is vacant due to the former chief accountant being promoted, transferred, or disciplined, the competent authority as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article must immediately arrange a new chief accountant to replace them.

Article 46. Standards and Conditions for Chief Accountants

Pursuant to Article 53 of the Accounting Law, the professional standards and conditions for chief accountants are specified as follows:

1. Chief accountants of accounting units engaged in government budget revenue and expenditure activities must have an accounting specialty at the bachelor's degree level or above for central-level and provincial-level units; for county-level and commune-level units, chief accountants must have an accounting specialty at the associate degree level or above.

2. Chief accountants in public institutions, organizations using government budget funds, and non-government budget fund-using organizations at the central and provincial levels must have an accounting specialty at the bachelor's degree level or above. For other-level units, chief accountants must have an accounting specialty at the associate degree level or above.

3. For those with an accounting specialty at the bachelor's degree level or above, the actual working experience in accounting must be at least two years; for those with an associate degree or college-level accounting specialty, the actual working experience in accounting must be at least three years for all levels and units.

4. The person appointed as a chief accountant must meet the following conditions:

a) Not belonging to the categories prohibited from being an accountant as stipulated in Article 51 of the Accounting Law;

b) Having attended a chief accountant training course and obtained a chief accountant training certificate as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance.

Article 47. Responsible Accountant

Pursuant to Clause 2 of Article 48 of the Accounting Law, the responsible accountant is specified as follows:

Accounting units that do not have individuals meeting the prescribed standards and conditions for appointment as chief accountants may appoint someone to be responsible for accounting. For units that collect and spend state budgets, public institutions, and organizations using state budget funds, they may appoint someone to be responsible for accounting for a maximum period of one fiscal year, after which they must arrange for the appointment of a chief accountant in accordance with regulations.

Article 48. Accounting organizational structures at various levels

Based on Clause 3, Article 48 of the Accounting Law, the accounting organizational structures at various levels are stipulated as follows:

1. Accounting units under activities involving collection and expenditure of state budgets shall organize their accounting structures according to the budget levels as prescribed by the State Budget Law.

2. Public institutions, organizations using state budget funds, state reserve units, and other state financial funds shall organize their accounting structures according to the planning levels as follows:

a) Level I accounting units;

b) Level II accounting units;

c) Level III accounting units.

3. In cases where an accounting unit at level III needs to establish a subordinate accounting department, the establishment of such a subordinate accounting department shall be decided by the legal representative of the higher-level accounting unit overseeing the accounting unit at level III.

Article 49. Hiring for accounting, hiring for chief accountant positions

Based on Clause 1, Article 56 of the Accounting Law, the provisions regarding hiring for accounting and chief accountant positions are as follows:

1. Public institutions and organizations not using state budget funds may hire accounting service enterprises or individuals registered to provide accounting services to perform accounting or serve as chief accountants. Public institutions using state budget funds may also hire for accounting or chief accountant positions, as decided by the legal representative of the institution.

2. Individuals hired to perform accounting or serve as chief accountants must meet the professional standards set forth in Articles 55, 56, and 57 of the Accounting Law and Article 46 of this Decree.

3. In cases where an accounting unit hires someone to serve as chief accountant, the individual hired must meet the following conditions:

a) Possess an accounting practice certificate as prescribed in Article 57 of the Accounting Law, except in cases where the individual is hired to serve as chief accountant in the capacity of performing work for an accounting service enterprise and in accordance with the provisions of Article 53 of the Accounting Law;

b) Possess a chief accountant training certificate as prescribed by the Ministry of Finance;

c) Be registered to provide accounting services or be registered to practice accounting within an accounting service enterprise.

4. The legal representative of the accounting unit shall be responsible for hiring for accounting and chief accountant positions.

Article 50. Effectiveness

1. This Decree shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Previous accounting regulations in the field of state accounting that conflict with this Decree shall cease to be effective from the date this Decree takes effect.

Article 51. Implementation

1. The Minister of Finance is responsible for guiding and organizing the implementation of this Decree.

2. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of People's Councils, and Chairpersons of People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities are responsible for organizing the implementation of this Decree./.